Warning: serious fluff ahead.
I'm not so impressed with this, but it is something I've been wanting to write for a while, so I hope you can bear with me and enjoy!
You'd Be Surprised
The Athosian woman never wavered for a second as she voiced her thoughts to the somewhat confused-looking colonel.
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" John eyed Teyla, who standing in his doorway with a determined but calm air about her, with uncertainty. She merely blinked back expectantly. "You want me to practice my meditation skills on movie night of all nights?"
"John, I believe that since we now have the time to spare, it is important that we relax our bodies and minds in such a way that would release ourselves from the anxiety to which we have been subjected for these past months. I know firsthand the effects of long term stress and they are far from harmless."
"All right, stress is bad, I get that," John said, turning back to his bed to pick up his football, "but why on a Friday night?" The tinge of a whine in his voice was evident. "How about tomorrow?"
"I am sorry, John, but I have already promised Ronon that I would spar with him until late tomorrow evening."
"Late night, huh?" John hinted at a smirk. "There something goin' on that I should know about?"
Teyla gave a small smile. "No, we simply wish to see how much we have improved the skills that we have implemented during our recent missions in combat."
"Mmhm," he hummed in obvious disbelief. "Well, what about Sunday? I don't usually have plans then."
"I am afraid that I will be holding training sessions on the mainland for some of our promising Athosian warriors." She smiled apologetically.
"Teyla, you're killin' me here," he complained, tossing the football from hand to hand.
"I am simply looking out for you, John. During meditation, one does not only relieve the body and mind of the strains it must frequently endure, but, through tranquil contemplation, one opens their eyes to new truths about themselves that had long remained concealed, but which were present all along. This is an opportunity for introspection like no other and I would like for you to experience it. You would be surprised at what you might learn."
"Uh... okay. If you say so," John conceded, not quite remembering where the whole idea of receiving revelations through meditation had come from, "but only if you come to movie night next week. I don't know about you, but I find that relaxing enough for me." He paused, unsure of what else to say. "So... here? Tonight?"
She dipped her head in agreement, satisfied. "Tonight."
The aroma of freshly brewed espresso aroused Elizabeth like a wake up call.
The expedition leader looked up from her computer and smiled. "Strong. Just the way I like it."
"Well, you were up the whole night," John eyed her pointedly, but offered a crooked grin nonetheless.
"With all this free time, I just wanted to finish up all these reports. Sleep is just a bonus." She took a sip of her coffee and closed her eyes. "Mmm... this was much needed, thank you."
John contented himself with gazing at her smile. He couldn't ignore the warm feeling that came from watching the serenity that emerged in her beautiful features. Especially since it didn't occur as often as he liked.
"Hey, you busy tonight?" John tried to sound casual.
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, John. Do you have something planned?"
"I was just, er, Teyla and I were going to spend a nice evening in meditation," he started as he scratched the back of his neck absently, "and I thought you might like to, you know, relax a little. I hear it's really good for you every once in a while." He smiled.
"That's very thoughtful of you, John, but I'm not sure that I'll have the time, believe it or not."
"Just one night, 'Lizabeth." He rested his hands on her desk and leaned across it. "What could possibly happen in the meantime?"
She raised her eyebrow again and suppressed a smirk.
"Okay, that was rhetorical." John hung his head slightly. "Just... think about it, 'kay?" He pinned her with a pleading look.
"No promises," she replied, feeling a slight loss of control of her body in the space of a millisecond. Damn those puppy eyes. He knew the effect they had on her.
Elizabeth returned her attention to the report in front of her and waited for John to be on his way. After a few minutes, she ventured a cursory glance of the activity in the control room and was met with the gaze of her military commander standing next to one of the technicians. Her heart skipped a beat.
'No, Elizabeth,' she scolded herself. 'You cannot fall for your second-in-command, you cannot fall for him, you cannot...' She felt her face flush as his eyes still held hers and he flashed her that flyboy grin. 'Dammit!'
On the way back to his quarters, John stifled a yawn and briefly wondered if he could get away with taking a nap while trying to meditate. His thoughts were cut short when a vision of green next to his door caught his eye.
"So, you decided to come."
She turned around, a warm smile playing at her lips. "I thought I might give this a shot after all."
"You look nice," he complimented, admiring the emerald hues of her v-neck that brought out her eyes.
"Thank you." She felt a blush creeping into her cheeks. "Figured I'd opt for something that didn't remind me of the stress of everyday. After all, this is relaxation, is it not?"
"For your sake, I hope so," he eyed her and waved his hand to open the door.
John's first clue that something was off was the soft melody of a Spanish guitar floating throughout the darkened room. His forehead crinkled in confusion.
"Where's Teyla?" Elizabeth asked, taking in the scent of vanilla candles covering nearly every available surface.
"I don't..." John trailed off when he felt a small breeze caress his skin. Both turned to find the doors to his balcony wide open and countless flora adorning the entrance.
"John, what is this?" Elizabeth breathed, stepping toward the doorway in awe. He simply trailed after.
Neither could speak their mind, for the site before them was breathtaking.
Laid carefully upon a large and beautifully woven Athosian rug sat an array of enticing foods from Teyla's home world. Sprinkled throughout the meal were a multitude of rose petals, many of which were fluttering from the gentle wind that caused the flames of the candles surrounding them to dance. The scene would not have been complete without the brilliant glimmer of stars carpeting the dark sky in all directions.
"I can't believe it... you think Teyla...?" Elizabeth looked at John questioningly, already guessing the answer.
"She said she wanted me to realize something..." he murmured to himself.
"What?"
He smiled and held out a hand. "Shall we?"
Tentatively, she took it. "All right."
As they sat next to each other, they both felt their heart rate speed up a bit. Not too much, just a bit.
Elizabeth was the first to notice the bucket filled with ice. She pulled out the bottle, which was dripping with cold water that suddenly sparked her thirst.
"Champagne," John commented with surprise. "Teyla must've been planning this for a while now."
"John," Elizabeth started, turning to face him. She now realized how close they were.
"Elizabeth," he whispered back, eyes falling to her lips.
"Should we... be here right now? Doing this? If Teyla was trying to-"
He didn't know if it was the music, the aroma, the stars, or a mix of everything that prompted him to lean in and kiss her.
After the shock had registered in her mind, Elizabeth surprised herself by not pushing him away. Instead, she moved closer and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down onto floor with her and deepening the kiss.
Oh, God. How she wanted this so badly. It wasn't hard to figure out that he felt the same way, as he ran his hands through her hair and left soft kisses along her jaw.
"John," she breathed, opening her eyes and meeting his, mere centimeters away.
A few rose petals had fallen into hair and for that moment, he truly believed he was in the presence of a goddess.
"Can I say that I love you?" John asked, grinning with his can't-refuse-these-eyes face.
Instead of replying, Elizabeth smiled and pulled his head closer to capture his lips again.
Somewhere in the city, an Athosian woman smiled to herself. It was as if she'd heard the silent message sent by her two best friends.
Thank you, Teyla.
FIN
Review? Even a word or two is fine. :)