Courtship

Chapter One:

Vala sighed and flicked her hair over her shoulder as she leaned against the doorway to Daniel's office. She idly watched him as he pored over some ancient text or another and scribbled little indecipherable notes down in his notebook.

"Daniel I'm bored!" She proclaimed loudly enough that he jerked and his pen dragged halfway across his paper, making a neat, dark line.

"Vala!" He cried in frustration as he looked in dismay at the somewhat ruined piece of paper before him. "These are my notes on the ancient artifact from P5X-229!"

Vala walked calmly to his desk and leaned over the front edge to peer at his notebook, simultaneously giving him an ample view of her cleavage in the snug crimson shirt she was wearing. She pursed her lips skeptically and kept turning her head this way and that, her loose black hair swishing softly as she did so.

Daniel was unwillingly but quickly entranced by the thick, loose waves of hair before him, and promptly forgot about being mad at Vala for startling him. All he could think about was the light, enticing scent of jasmine that emanated from that soft, shiny, silky mass that he wanted to bury his hands in so badly…

"…And you call these notes! Why, I can hardly- no, I take that back- I simply can't read these 'notes' darling." Vala lifted her head up to grin at him and tossed her hair over her shoulder as she did so.

"Um, uh…" Daniel stuttered, as he realized he had no idea what she'd been talking about. "Well, uh, I can read them!" He managed to get out in his own defense. "And besides, I, uh, I quoted a lot from some Ancient texts that were found nearby, so some of it's in Ancient…" He trailed off as he remembered that he'd simply translated the Ancient texts to English, so she'd still be able to read them. Daniel frowned slightly and leaned back in his chair. "So other than discussing my handwriting-"

"Or lack of it." Vala interjected eagerly, then shut her mouth at Daniel's look.

"What are you here for?" He finished, then watched her with some impatience, yes, but mostly apprehension as a slow smile spread across her face. "Uh-uh. No, Vala."

She pouted momentarily, then flounced around the edge of his desk to sit on his lap. Vala wriggled on his lap for a moment to get comfortable then wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him lightly. She softened her eyes and managed to stick her lower lip out an outrageous distance without looking ridiculous. "But, Daniel, you didn't even know what I was going to say…Then you just say 'No' without thought for my feelings on the matter, and…" her full, pale lips had started to tremble, and her eyes were getting brighter by the second.

"Vala, you know I don't fall for your acts, just come on, please?" Daniel was vaguely aware of the fact that his hands had somehow found her waist and were gently resting there.

Vala took a deep shuddering breath and stood abruptly, taking hesitant steps towards the door. Her emotion may have been faked at first, but now it was genuine. "Fine. If that's the way you want it, so be it. I-I just thought that maybe you of all people would-but no. No, I was wrong." She turned to face him just before she reached the doorway, and he was startled into guilt when he saw several tears trickling down her ivory cheeks.

Daniel immediately sprang from his chair and strode over to Vala, encircling her in his arms. "Shh…" He murmured soothingly as he rubbed her back. She slipped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder for a few minutes. Daniel couldn't help but bury his face in her hair and breathe in its sweet scent as he held her. Eventually- Daniel didn't know how long they had stood there- she pulled away and looked up at him with a watery smile. "Thank you Daniel, and- I'm sorry. I guess I'm just having something of a hard time lately."

"It's alright Vala," He gave her a soft smile. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" She lifted her hand up and traced his jawline lightly. "Just…" Vala stood on tiptoe and pulled his head down slightly so she could kiss him. "This."

A/N: This is set somewhere in or after season 10. Yes, I know it's short. I'm not sure if I got the characters down ok, so R&R, please? P.S. Let me know if I should continue this! DV Tentative / established.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Stargate related characters; they belong to their own companies, studios, etc… I am not trying to steal anything, so please don't sue me. I'm just an obsessed fan who likes to write. ;-p