Midnight Conversations
By Dragon's Daughter 1980
Disclaimer: Other being a fan, I don't have anything to do with Stargate: Atlantis.
Author's Notes: Though this was written as a future moment based in my "Eternity" universe, it can be read as a stand-alone. Either way, it's pure fluff. I hope you enjoy!
"Do you think this is getting out of hand?" she asked him as they lay together in bed. Judging by her tone, it was a rhetorical question on her part, but he answered it anyway as he pulled her closer to him. She cuddled against him with a contented sigh, resting her head against his shoulder. Unable to resist, he began playing with the silky curls of her hair.
"Possibly," he deadpanned and pressed a kiss against her temple, "Do you want to elope?"
She laughed and looked up at him with mischievous eyes that sparkled in the moonlight, "I don't think we'll get away with it."
"Come on," he teased, "you know that Chuck loves you and Evan never minds when I leave him in charge of the city for a little while. We could write a note, grab a jumper and escape to PX4-519. I'm sure the Reians will be thrilled to host a wedding."
"Oh no," she chuckled, shaking her head gently, "absolutely not." He stared at her, the silvery moonlight casting a soft glow on her features, easing the lines and wrinkles of stress and worry on her forehead. As he did every night, he silently thanked whatever or whomever had given him this blessing: to be with her as friend, partner, lover and more, for as long as they both lived. Though he knew the reasons behind her response with perfect clarity, he asked "Why not? They've practically adopted you as one of their sisters."
"For one thing, it could possibly be worse than staying here. Their ceremonies take weeks to prepare for, and we'd need my blood-family and yours to give consent, in person, at the ceremony, which would mean that Woolsey and Steven, respectively—"
"Okay, okay," he said quickly, the reminder that his part-time Commanding Officer had been presented as his "uncle" to their allies two year ago was a bit much for this conversation, "So we're not going to the Reians. What about the Athosians? Teyla said their marriage ceremonies are short on prep time, long on celebration, and we wouldn't need to have our relatives there because they already know about us, so all we need are three people and Teyla….Oh."
"'Oh' is right," she said, picking up on his train of thought, "because Teyla would need to officiate and that's hardly an elopement."
"What about Halling?" he suggested with mock desperation. "He has to have stood in for Teyla before."
"Teyla will kill you if we elope," she responded with mock sternness.
"Why would she kill me? She knows you have me wrapped around your little finger."
"Because she'd know that you were the one who brought up the idea in the first place."
He sighed, "Yeah. There is that." He stroked her shoulder with gentle fingers, "I just wish that this wasn't so complicated."
"I know," she sighed, "but when have our lives even been uncomplicated?"
"It's just one day, you know…" he traced aimless patterns on her skin, "one day out of the rest of our lives. I wish the bureaucracy and all that would just stay out of it."
She propped herself on one elbow and turned onto her side to look at him before faking a Southern accent and saying, "Why, John Sheppard, you are a closet romantic."
"So are you," he retorted without any heat. She draped her free arm over his chest and rested her chin on her other hand, "That's true."
He kissed her nose and she laughed, "So what are we two romantics to do in this little conundrum?"
"Well," he leaned back against the headboard, "If you're willing to take on the IOA, I'll take on the city and we'll convince them all to leave us alone?"
She smiled as she turned onto her back and scooted close to him, "I don't think that'd work too well."
Putting his arm around her shoulders, he sighed, "So I guess we're going through with this then…."
"One on Earth, with all the pomp and ceremony—"
"Do we have to invite the IOA?" he asked, giving her a Look that fairly begged her to say no.
"It's polite," she sighed, "But yes, I hope they can't make it either. But Jack and George have both gone to bat for us, so have Samantha and Daniel…we owe them the chance to see our happiness. Plus, it's not like the President can disappear for a month and not have the entire world in uproar."
"That is a little surreal," he admitted, "that he's going to attend."
She shrugged, "I don't know what Jack said to him, but just try not to panic too much."
He gave her a mock glare, "My Commander-in-Chief is going to be at my wedding ceremony, and I'm not supposed to panic?"
She smiled ruefully, "You won't be the only one."
He nodded and started tracing invisible patterns up and down her arm, "Then we spend a week in Prague before we board the Daedalus and spend eighteen days freaking out Caldwell."
She playfully slapped his shoulder, "John!"
"What? I'm just saying!"
"No mischief," she said sternly. He chuckled, "I do have some sense of self-preservation."
"Oh?" she raised a questioning eyebrow. He shifted nervously and didn't respond, which was an answer in and of itself.
"Oh no…" she groaned quietly, her voice muffled in the covers, "Please don't tell me he actually—" She looked at him with exasperation in her eyes.
"It wasn't as awkward as…" He cleared his throat. "Can we not talk about this?"
"Yes," she agreed quickly, because it was rather embarrassing whenever she thought about the number of people who had come to her over the past few months and offered to "teach him a lesson" if he ever hurt her in any way. After a moment of silence, she said, "And then when we get back here…"
"The entire city goes nuts and throws us a gigantic wedding, complete with a massive reception and a lot of guests …" he said and then added thoughtfully, "possibly a lot of very drunk guests if Halling brings out the moonshine."
He felt her body shake as she muffled her laughter with one hand. The last time Halling brought moonshine to a party, things had gotten quite….celebratory. Besides several unforgettable karaoke performances, half the city had woken up with massive hangovers that even six cups of Rodney's strong coffee couldn't cure. As for the other half…they learned that there was going to be a noticeable increase in the city's below three years old population by the end of the year. When she got her giggles under control, she uncovered her mouth.
"We'll just have to make sure it doesn't get too out of hand," she said with a smile in her voice. He ran a hand through her curls, "I don't want you to stress yourself out over it."
"I have a few dozen of our most important and dearest allies to worry about," she responded dryly, "and that's not even talking about the planning that has to go into this so we don't offend anyone. I'll try not to stress."
"So does that mean I'm allowed to haul you out of long, boring meetings to have my way with you?" he teased hopefully. She rolled her eyes, "No, absolutely not."
"Not even once?"
"No."
"All right, fine," he sighed with mock disappointment before he looked at her, "You're that worried that Rodney was serious about the Botany Department and sex-pheromone plants?"
"After what happened last month? Yes," she admitted, "I'm slightly concerned. Katie's been incredibly evasive for the past few weeks."
"I'm sure that Katie's putting something fantastic together and she just wants it to be a surprise. She doesn't strike me as the type to be overly adventurous."
"You haven't seen her on Poker Night," she commented without thinking. He, and the rest of the male population, was intensely curious about what happened on Ladies' Poker Night. It was a point of ongoing teasing between couples about the gossip and plotting that went on behind closed doors. Nothing really did, besides a lot of female-only time, but it was still fun to speculate and tease.
"Oh?"
"That's all you're getting out of me, Minister."
"Oh, really?" He slid his hands under the covers and started tickling her sides. "Do you want to test that?"
She shrieked with giggles and tried to pull away, "Oh no, you don't."
He flipped her over and pinned her to the bed, trapping her with his heavier weight. He caught her wrists when she tried to push him away and then froze. It took a few moments before she stopped laughing and by then, they both had other ideas on their minds that had only a tangential relation to their conversation.
Letting go of her hands, he leaned forward and kissed her lazily, almost chaste, but not quite. She responded in kind, running her hands through his hair before pulling him closer to her. Enough words, they decided silently, enough for tonight.
As his hands caressed her skin, his delicate touch said
I love you.
Her eyes told him as she nipped his collarbone
I know.
Her wordless cry in the darkness of their bedroom was enough to say
I'm yours.
Just before they drifted off to sleep, they kissed again, sealing their silent vows to each other.
Forever.
