Tan Lines
"Vala!"
Opens her eyes and behind the tinted lenses of those wonderful Tau'ri glasses she views Daniel's boots, still covered in desert dust, just a few inches from her face.
"What're you doing?" His voice is loud, frantic even, like he's never seen a scantily clad woman before, which she knows isn't true because on her first night at the mountain she snuck into his room in her unmentionables.
Flipping the glasses up on her head she offers him a flashy grin. "Sunbathing, Darling."
"You can't do that here."
"On the contrary Daniel, you'll find that it's actually quite plausi—"
"No." Rubs a hand over his face, which has turned from pale to bright red, and either he's the fastest tanner in the world, or he's feeling a bit flummoxed. "What I mean is it's entirely inappropriate and against protocol."
Points behind Daniel to Mitchell who has since joined them on the terrace, leaning against the railing. "I asked Colonel Mitchell, who gave me permission."
"What?"
Mitchell shrugs. "What's the problem? On a scale of things Vala asks for, it's pretty small."
"She's in a bikini on an Atlantean balcony—"
"She told me she just wants to work up a base—"
"How is that—"
"She's stuck in the bottom of that mountain and she's so pale, she nearly haunts the damn place."
"Well I'm sure that our Atlantean based colleagues don't want—"
Supports herself on her elbows, the glasses slide back down to her nose with a thump. "I also asked Colonel Shepperd's permission which he seemed more than eager to give."
Daniel's face winds tight, his lips turning white, before he throws up his arms. "Fine. Whatever—" he turns plodding off "—come find me when you're ready to leave."
She bites her lower lip to keep from bursting into laughter while locking eyes with Mitchell, who releases the guardrail and wipes his hands together. "Told you he'd get angry." He turns to leave but before disappearing, points back at her. "You owe me a doughnut."