Differences Aside

By: Honolulu

Breathe in through the nostrils and out through the mouth. Deep, slow, calming breaths. Elizabeth lay on the floor of the gym, eyes close, legs straight and slightly apart, her arms about an inch away from her body, palms facing the sky. All the muscles in her face completely relaxed as she practiced her breathing. In the background, all she could hear was the soft beats coming out of the small radio she brought with her, playing only instrumental music.

As the song came to an end, she opened her eyes and laid still for a couple beats from the next song then gradually rose to her feet. She brought her left arm across her chest using her right arm to press it against her, stretching her shoulder and arm then proceeded to do the same with her right. Silent, Elizabeth continued stretching completely focused on her body. When she was satisfied that her muscles were warmed up, she grabbed the chair from the corner of the room and placed the butt of the chair against the wall so the back was faced towards her.

She gripped the back of the chair with her right hand and used it as a barre. She raised her left arm in front of her and curved her hand forming a semi-circle. She rose her left foot off the ground and pointed her toes, then proceeded to swing her foot in front of her then off to her left and finally in back of her. She continued this motion but with each swing she would bring her leg higher and higher until her leg would be at a 90-degree angle from her waist at all sides. Done with her left leg, she turned around and did the same with her right.

Elizabeth had closed the doors to the gym so she would not be disturbed and yet wasn't surprised when she heard the familiar whooshing sound as they opened. For the past several months, whenever Elizabeth could find free time, she would have Teyla teach her self-defense. Today, they had a schedule session with each other. Teyla usually remained quiet as Elizabeth did her stretches allowing the time to focus herself.

Elizabeth now gripped the chair with both hands and positioned her feet in a way that her heels were facing each other but not touching. At an easy pace, she bent her knees and came down in a squat, she occasionally brought her hand back to make sure her butt was tucked in and not sticking out. She would do a 30 second count before moving back in her starting position. She did this five times, then from her squat position she would lift her heals up and balance on her toes doing a 30 second count. From her balance position on her toes, she would rise up, release her grip on the chair and extend her arms in front of her in a circle. From the standing position, she would squat down, bring her arms back to the chair, place her heals down on the floor and rise and then begin again.

After 3 sets of 7 with a one-minute rest, she placed the chair back in the corner. Elizabeth moved back to her spot in the gym and placed her feet shoulder width apart, placed her left foot behind her and took a slight step with her right. With the momentum, she pushed herself down and lifted her legs up, toes pointed, legs locked creating a handstand. She held the position for more than a minute then unlocked her legs, pushing one leg back causing her to fall backwards, Elizabeth used the momentum to fall into a backbend and push her upper body allowing her to come back into her standing position.

Elizabeth smiled to herself and turned around, ready to begin her lesson. Her eyes widened to find not Teyla but Ronon sitting down on the bench. He had both legs on the bench, one leg bent at the knee, his arm placed on top. To her, he looked like a giant, lazy lion watching her. "You're not Teyla." Was the first thing that popped out of her mouth. Her eyes widened and a light blush colored her cheeks. A small smirk graced his features. It amused him to no end that he could make her nervous around him.

Ronon ran his eyes down her body, seeing how her body fitted into the loose, gray sweat pants, her feet bare and shoulders exposed due to the tight black camisole she wore. Her clothing was loose for flexibility but fitted so it would not get in the way. Her hair was tied up in tight ponytail so her hair was not a distraction. She received his approval for that. He could see that she was in no way fat nor skinny but lean. Ronon pushed himself off the bench and cracked his neck. "Teyla was called away to the mainland. She asked me to take her place." She didn't respond, still caught off guard from his presence. "Is that alright?"

That jolted her out of her daze. "Yes, of course." She cleared her throat. "Teyla has been taught me the basics and today we were to begin stick fighting." He nodded and reached for his bag. He pulled out two sets of sticks and gave her a pair.

"We'll begin with defensive techniques. It's always better to have an extensive knowledge on how to defend yourself because it gives you time for back-up to arrive and it allows you time to learn your opponents moves." Elizabeth blinked, that's probably the most she's ever heard out of his mouth in one time. "With the sticks, you want to move as if it is an extension of your body, not something foreign otherwise you will never move with grace and speed that you want. Now go into the defensive stance Teyla showed you but with the sticks." She nodded and complied. He moved around her, straightening her shoulders and widening the space between her legs.

He grabbed one stick and hit the stick in her right hand. Her body jerked a bit and she winced at the pain that radiated out of her wrist. "First lesson, keep your wrists loose," He grabbed her hand and repositioned it. Elizabeth noticed that his fingers could easily wrap around her wrist with no problem. "Don't ever grip it too hard, when someone hits the stick, the vibrations from the hit will irritate your wrist and since you are locked in that position your opponent could also break it." He swung at her again. "Did you feel anything?" She shook her head. "Good."

The lesson pretty much went on like that for the rest of their training session. Ronon would only speak so much when he was instructing her how to position her body correctly and why. The only time Elizabeth would find herself, not so much embarrassed but awkward around him was when Ronon had touched her near her thighs, butt and abdomen. He only did that was of course to fix her position but she couldn't help but blush. If it were anyone else, she would understand but Ronon made her anxious and flustered. Her body would become extremely warm whenever he touched her and her thoughts would turn…suggestive. Thoughts like these distracted Elizabeth, which was how her lesson ended with her receiving a hit to the arm.

Elizabeth cried out and dropped the sticks. Ronon dropped his sticks as well and walked to her to check out her arm. He gripped her left arm and saw the red welt she received, he tenderly prodded around for any more damage. Beneath her eyelashes, Elizabeth watched him inspect her arm with such gentleness. This muscular man who could take down all her marines she brought from Earth surprised her more today since the five months he's been here. When he noticed her stare, she quickly averted her eyes down to her arm.

"So, how is it?" She could feel him staring at her head, trying to catch her eyes.

"It's fine. You'll bruise but that's it. We're finished for today." She nodded but still refused to meet his eyes.

"Thank you for everything today, I appreciate it." Elizabeth moved to turn around when she was stopped by the grip he still had on her. "You can let go now."

"No." She quickly looked up at him and saw that he had a smirk on his face. She smiled.

"Very funny but you can let go now." She tugged at her arm but he still wouldn't budge. He leaned towards her; this made her nervous yet annoyed.

"Do I scare you?"

"No."

"Do I make you nervous?" She raised an eyebrow and hardened her features to show that he had no affect on her.

"No." She replied in a resolute tone. He moved closer to her, bodies almost brushing against each other, her arm resting between the two of them.

"Then why do you have such a hard time looking at me in the eye?" Now he just annoyed her. She closed the space between them; Ronon released her arm so she could pull it away. She tilted her chin back and looked at him hard in the eyes.

"I don't have a problem so don't think otherwise. And you don't have any affect on me." She received a chuckle from him at her ballsy answer. This time he moved to walk away but she wouldn't let him after that. Elizabeth grabbed his shirt and tugged him back to her. "Don't walk away when I'm talking to you." In her mind, Elizabeth was torn in two. A part of her was screaming. What the hell was she doing talking to him like that when he could very well snap her like a twig with his hands? And the other part was applauding her, telling her not to show any weakness and not let him treat her like this.

"Do you enjoy pushing my buttons?" She asked.

"Yes." That surprised her.

"Do you enjoy the sight of seeing me all flustered?" He smiled like a predator.

"Yes." Elizabeth couldn't stop her next actions. She gripped his face between her hands and brought it down to hers and kissed him hard. He reciprocated by grabbing her hips and lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist while her arms went around his neck. Ronon whirled them around so her back was pressed against the wall. Elizabeth winced as her back collided but bit his lip in return causing him to grunt. Ronon broke from the kiss to breathe but proceeded to make his way down, sucking and licking a soft spot on her neck.

Elizabeth delved her fingers into his dreadlocks and moaned as he grinded his hips into her. She gripped his locks and pulled him back so she could see his face, this action almost caused him to growl at her. "Why?" She asked, her breathes coming fast. He tightened his hold on her hips making her buck into him.

"For the same reason you avoid looking at me." She simply nodded; satisfied with his answer before she resumed kissing him. Ronon started to move his hands underneath her camisole. In the corner of the room, neither heard the beeping of Elizabeth's radio, both too involved with each other.

Finish….

Authors Note:

Still deciding whether or not I keep it done here or continue to something bigger because I do have an idea in mind. Hoped you liked it so please review!