[LC] Outside by the 'Gate (for sevenvirtues)

[shepcrew]

After leaving the gorup and grabbing his share of the gear, John's by the DHD sorting through the packs and making sure he's got everything. He's distracted by random thoughts and trying to not think about things by going through the packs yet again.

Ronon's already come and gone, presumably headed back into the cafe to help out McKay.

He's here for someone to find him, if they so chose...

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[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

He pulls away slightly, but only so he can tilt her chin up so she's looking up at him. His hand cups her face and his thumb wipes away any remaining moisture on her cheek.

He's grinning in a quietly amused sort of way. "Yeah, I suppose it is sorta funny. In a weird sort of....you know, you aren't the only one new to this," he says, changing the train of the conversation suddenly.

[sevenvirtues.livejournal.com]

That also kind of surprises her, but it's a quiet surprise, eyebrows lifting slightly by way of tacitly asking him and leaving him free to interpret it as only surprise instead of a question.

And. And he's there, and his touch is soothing, and she's turning into a total ditz over this. And scolds herself mentally.

"So we're just figuring this out as we go along?"

[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

His grin turns a little sad at her unspoken question. He supposes that now would be a good time to say, "I was married once. Wasn't very good at it."

And it's evident by the way he says the last part that it's more than highly likely that his ex-wife was the one that did the leaving. And he can't say anything else because it would require the use of the currently forbidden word.

Then he nods. "Yeah. I suppose we are. Am...Am I allowed to apologize in advance for anything that I might screw up?"

[sevenvirtues.livejournal.com]

"You certainly are..." There's a wry twist of amusement when she says that, knowing they're both going to screw up, touched and amused that he offers up the apology in anticipation.

With a bit of exaggerated seriousness, and some real seriousness underneath. "And I apologize for anything I might screw up," she adds, softly brushing her fingertips over his shoulder, resting her hand finally against his chest. "And..." She might be blushing a little when she says it.

"I will tell you, instead of making you guess, as best I can, if you do."

[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

"Apology accepted...and you've got a deal. I'm not too good about...about talking about..." vague gesture. "Anyway. Yeah. I'll try, too."

He smiles. "Just wish we didn't have to rely on this damned place to see each other."

[sevenvirtues.livejournal.com]

She does her very best not to make her answering smile goofy or girlish or shy. It only kind of works. "Then that's a bargain."

And. This place. Yes. Sigh. "Especially since it always seems to catch us in the middle of having to go somewhere else..."

[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

"Nah. Sometimes I show up on my day off. But, um. Not consistently enough to be predictable. Sucks that you might not come from a place on the grid..."

[sevenvirtues.livejournal.com]

While the phrase is familiar, she's not certain what the specifics are. So she tilts his head. "Define 'grid.'"

She may be plotting how to see him more often, or more consistently. Or at least with more forward planning.

[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

He gestures with his head to the 'Gate. "The 'Gate grid. Network. Whatever. And hell, even if you did have a couple of places with one, who's to say we'd be in the same time line...or the same galaxy."

He hates the nexus with a passion right now.

"Though galaxy is doable," he says, thinking out loud, more for himself. "Specially if it's close enough..."

Wheels are turning in John Sheppard's head. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[sevenvirtues.livejournal.com]

She listens to his thoughts with raised eyebrows and some thought, glancing at the Stargate. It certainly looks impressive. She has no idea how it works.

But just the fact that he's thinking about it seems to indicate that he thinks it's possible, and if he thinks it's possible then it just mightbe, and now she's thinking too...

There might be a few things she could look into. Hmm.

"And if we did have a Gate, what else would we need?" It doesn't look big enough to fly a ship through, but if it's only a personal transportation device, that's eminently do-able.

[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

"Well, if you did have a 'Gate, then you'd need an IDC and...well, the address for our Stargate. Getting you the IDC would be complica...not that hard, actually."

And it may not look big enough to fly a ship through to her now. Just wait till she sees a jumper go through...

[sevenvirtues.livejournal.com]

She tilts her head slightly as he takes back the complicated part. "Not that hard?"

And now, she's decided, she needs to visit Atlantis. At least once. Preferably many more times than once, but at least once.

[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

Rueful grin as he pulls out his GDO. "I can just give you mine. Then when I get back I can bribe one of the techs to re-program it to read the signal as coming from you and not me on our end."

He tucks the GDO back into his pocket and smiles his sheepish smile. "Only thing is that I'd have to tell people why I don't have it anymore, and that might raise a few eyebrows."

[sevenvirtues.livejournal.com]

She looks amused at that. "And what would you tell the tech? Seems to me that saying why you don't have yours anymore would be easier, maybe there was a terrible brawl of some kind."

Because really, if John's that much like Mal, she has the feeling there are or will be brawls. Of some kind. Possibly being a military commander would forestall it, but... not necessarily.

And she loves his smile. Maybe traces her fingertip across his lips, briefly. "Maybe you were seduced by a beautiful princess from another world who robbed you in the middle of the night." Mischievous sparkle to that.

[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

"I won't have to tell the tech anything. I have junk food stashed for just such an emergency bribing."

He nips at her fingers before they depart, and he blushes. He feels he needs to admit one more thing: "Sadly enough, a beautiful princess robbing me in the middle of the night would be the story least likely to raise eyebrows."

Because they'd be expecting it from him, really.

[sevenvirtues.livejournal.com]

"Mm-hmm." Which is something to note. She thinks of Saffron, of Mal. And then she remembers something else he said.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with your question earlier, the higher plane of existance, and all that?"

[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

The blush deepens. Just a bit. "Er, sorta. It has a little more to do with something McKay said to me earlier. But, um...yeah. I suppose the two are kinda inexorably linked, now that I think about it..."

If he could facepalm, he would.

"I think this is a story that needs to be told from the beginning, and perhaps not while waiting for my team decides they want to show up and get on with our previous mission."

[sevenvirtues.livejournal.com]

"You're cute when you blush," she says finally, because she can't keep from saying it any longer, and it makes her smile and blush to say it, too.

"All right." And maybe she would trade him that one for Saffron getting Mal stuck out in the middle of nowhere, naked.

And, because him saying that implies that they'll have at least some moment in the future where they have time for such stories. And because, even if it makes her blush, she has to say it, too. "It's a date, then."

[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

Her first comment doesn't help the blushing. Her next two have him grinning like an idiot. "It's a date, then," he agrees.

[sevenvirtues.livejournal.com]

And now they're both grinning goofily at each other, blushing and shining happily, and it's obvious to anyone who'd look at them how much they feel for each other. Along with a few words we don't say yet.

He really is cute when he's blushing. He's handsome just about all the time. And this is so much better than the conversation earlier, so much happier.

And since it is, and there are really no words that express it quite as well, she leans up and kisses him softly, smiling, wordlessly showing him how happy she is.

[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

He smiles into the kiss, returning it happily. After what had happened earlier, he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to have the privilege of kissing her again.

And then, of course, he's drawing her closer and wrapping his arms around her.

[sevenvirtues.livejournal.com]

And she's more than happy to press closer, to wrap her arms tightly around him and hold him close, deepening the kiss a little. To let the world melt away and try to take him with her, into their own little pocket universe of quiet bliss and, um. Words we don't say.

It's strange, a little, how easily this happened. How easily and quickly they fell into each other's arms. Later it may make her wonder; right now it only underscores how perfect this is.

[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

And he is so very willing to follow her, sighing softly as she deepens the kiss. As far as he's concerned now, his Ancient and Quasi-Ancient lovers kissing-partners have nothing on Inara.

He hates that they're going to have to part, this time because he needs to go, instead of her.

[sevenvirtues.livejournal.com]

She wants to hold onto him as long as she can, and she knows it won't be long enough. Although she isn't sure what would be long enough, right now. Maybe no span of time would be enough.

So, making the best of the time they have, now. And now words are pressing against her lips and it makes her moan against his mouth and it makes her head spin with the implications of what she wants to say.

[shepcrew.livejournal.com]

And we wouldn't be surprised if those words are the same ones bouncing around his head, either. The ones that he's scared to say, because it's too soon. It has to be too soon.

So, he responds to her moan by truly deepening the kiss, easing the desperate need to say things he's not ready to say by letting them out in the same way they've done most of their communicating thus far...