Title - Let me show you my world
Rating - G
Characters - John Sheppard, Vala Mal Doran
Summary - John gives Vala a tour of the city and comes to realise something in the process.
A/N - prompt given by anna_sg1
'Uuuuu, how 'bout Vala/Sheppard crossover? :D Set after the last ep of Atlantis - SG-1 comes to visit and Sheppard asks her out/gives her a private tour/whatever.'
written for the 'Lets Blow Something up' Big Bang Challenge for stargateland on livejournal
"Hi, welcome to Atlantis," John Sheppard grins because no matter where the city is parked, be it on some alien planet in the middle of the Pegasus galaxy or just a few miles away from the golden gate bridge, he still thrills at her.
SG-1 all smile and Sam already looks at home, Mitchell stares intently round like it's his first time there and Jackson just looks like a kid in a candy store. Again.
"Where is Ronan Dex? I believe we have a sparring match to finish off." Teal'c steps forward, eager to get going.
"He's waiting for you," John waves his arm in the general direction of the sparring room and Teal'c walks off with a bow of his head and a smile on his face.
"Dr Jackson," John steps back as an enthusiastic Radek dashes past holding a data screen. Suddenly Jackson and Radek are in deep conversation nobody understands because it's all in Russian. Both of them look eagerly at the screen like the candy has just arrived and John knows its the last he's seen of either of the men until they realise it's suppertime.
"I'm gonna check out the view," Mitchell thumbs over his shoulder and Sam joins him with a smile like it's good to be back. They walk companionably side by side up the steps to the balcony and John follows them with his eyes for a moment before turning around, aware one person of the team is still hovering nearby.
Vala seems to un-nerve most people but every time John has met her he's impressed by her eagerness of, well, everything. And eagerness in his beloved city is something he's definitely encouraging about.
"Hi," Vala smiled wildly and tugs at the scarf she has around her neck. It's a social visit and the whole team are in civvies, Vala not withstanding. John likes her taste in earth clothes, a little bit of everything thrown into the mix and definitely 'Vala'.
"Hey, so, what did you have planned for the visit?" John asked her, stepping closer.
"Well, last time I was here I didn't get much of a chance to look around properly so I was hoping perhaps, for a tour," Vala pointed out hopefully. She gave another of her trademark smiles just in case but John is all for showing off Atlantis.
"Sure, where'd you like to start? The east pier has a great view of the city," he said waving an arm in the general direction, inviting her to join him. "Both of them."
Cracking his own smile, he steals a glance her way and is rewarded with a genuine laugh and he's glad she's been around earthlings enough to get his subtle humor. He explains a bit about the city as they stroll along the hall and asks her if she'd prefer to walk, it doesn't take long, or if she wants to use the transporter. Surprisingly she says walk and he leads them off and away from the transporter and along more corridors instead.
"This is mainly the living quarters," John tells her as they wander along at a slow pace. "Everyone mixes, scientists, civilians, military. All one big happy family. Well aside from Rodney, who goes out of his way to piss people off. But that's just Rodney - we put up with him mainly because we know what he's capable of and we're not keen on living without power, hot water, ability to breathe."
He's joking and Vala laughs along with him and he's feeling more at ease around her. He finds her attractive and he'd be lying if he said she were anything but sexy, beautiful, a damn fine looking woman. But he's well aware she's gone through shit and though he's tempted to up the flirting to the highest level something holds him back. Because he genuinely wants her to like him and putting on a bravado show just to peak her interest isn't something he wants.
The city thrums around him, a natural energy which keeps him talking about how things work, the section of the city they are coming to, what they hope for the future. A few staircases upwards and he exits onto the East Pier and he's glad the sun is shining. He turns to watch her walk forward, the breeze catching her side fringe from her face and blowing it gaily. Her eyes light up and he wonders what her reaction would have been back on the water planet, where at this time of day the sun would have been dipping and created a smudged red sky across the horizon.
Instead they are faced with a view of Atlantis city behind them and the cityscape beyond them over the water. They wander silently to the railings and lean against them, enjoying the breeze and sight and each others company.
"I can't imagine this place ever gets boring for you," Vala pipes up just as John is starting to really pine for Pegasus. The wraith presented a lethal threat to their existence, but he misses the galaxy and his water planet like it's home.
"Boring, Atlantis? Nah," John shakes his head and gives a smile. "Too much going on here to get boring. Always some crisis to be averted, always some new hallway or room or technology being discovered. It's like living in a treasure trove."
"Ah, now there's a metaphor I can understand," Vala laughs, giving him another wide smile.
There's an enjoyment in her eyes which warms John somewhere deep inside and he has to avert his eyes because he's afraid she can see everything, see how much he likes her. Like a teenage boy he buries his feelings because he barely knows the woman and it's ridiculous to be crushing on a woman at his age.
"You miss it don't you," Vala says suddenly and John looks sharply at her, wondering what she means. "Pegasus, being out there in the big, wide, open galaxy."
She gets it, because no matter how much Earth has become home for her, Vala isn't from here. She's from out there, where the universe doesn't seem so big and scary. Where it's a place of adventure and discovery and teeming with life. John finds himself nodding and turns to look back over his city.
"Yeah, I want to take her back someday. Back where she belongs," John says quietly and the city sings to him like she understands and knows that one day, he'll fulfill his promise.
"Don't go too soon," Vala points out to him, turning with him to view the remarkable place he lives in. "I won't get to visit that often when you leave."
"You're getting the guided tour, I'm afraid once you've seen it once it's all the same kind of hallways and corridors and rooms," John tells her.
"With a treasure trove of undiscovered places," Vala corrects him. "And there would be other reasons why I'd wish to visit."
John looks at her carefully and tries to read the meaning behind that remark, only she's hard to read and he doesn't want to get his hopes up. Sighing, he looks away again, eyes roving the turrets and taking in the extent of his home. She's right, he never gets bored of his city, so why would she grow bored of visiting.
Suddenly Vala is jumping forward and tugging at his arm, bubbling over with excitement, the melancholy moment forgotten and brushed aside.
"Where to now?" John asks her eagerly, carried along by her bubbly demeanour.
Pointing upwards to the tallest tower, Vala gives him a smile. "There, I want to go to the highest place this side of the city, then we'll transport over to the highest place over there. And then the next and the next."
John thinks it sounds silly and he doesn't quite understand why because the turrets aren't as high as the main one right in the middle of the city but it doesn't matter anyway. Vala makes it sound like an adventure and he's well aware she's still holding his hand as she pulls him back inside the corridors.
So they jump from place to place and he's carried along with her excitement, adding to it with his own because he loves this city and Vala seems to want to love it as much as he does. None of his explanations are technical because he doesn't want to know why the city lights up for him, only that she does, that she thrives under his touch and presence and has become part of who he is. So he tells fun stories instead, the kind of stories associated with the various rooms, halls, turrets, and Vala laughs and giggles and pulls him along, not wanting to stay in one place for too long. Finally they end up back on the east pier, having gone full circle and laughing and panting they lean up against the rails again. The sky is changing, the sunset starting to pierce the clouds with pinks and reds.
"Next time I come you can show me all the lower parts," Vala smiles, tugging at her scarf again as it's caught by the breeze.
John reaches out and settles it into place, thumb catching her cheek, and if he lets it rest there for a moment too long she doesn't seem to mind. Self conciously he pulls his hand away but she turns and sidles closer to him, fingers resting just by his and arm pressed up against him. He can't be sure but he likes to think she's leaning into him.
"Then where?" John asks her, not wanting to pull away or spoil the moment.
"Then all your particular favourite places," Vala tells him. "Then all the undiscovered places."
"That could take a while," John replies happily.
"Doesn't matter," Vala shrugs and he can feel her shoulder brushing up and down against his.
"People may start to talk if we keep disappearing every time you visit," John teases. It's flirtatious, but he's in the moment and forgets any wariness he may have.
"People talk," Vala says, an entirely earthly view that makes John smile. She leans closer to him, giving him a nudge, and gives him a side glance that's all knowing and flirtatious. Dangerous some might say, but John thinks it's sexy. "Let's give them something to talk about."
John can think of nothing more than turning and pulling her into his arms, kissing her right there on the east pier pavilion. But he doesn't, because he wants this to be more than just a passing fancy they both may feel or need. He wants to make this woman understand he wants more than a fling and if that means showing her every part of his city, telling her every story he knows of the place, of suffering peoples rumours and questions then so be it. Because once he has her he knows he won't want to let go. Like treasure - it takes time to search and find but once you have it, you own something precious.
So he'll wait and - to coin a phrase of his grandmother, long since dead - woo her. It won't be easy, their jobs keep them apart for long periods of time and who knows when Rodney suddenly decides they can get back to the Pegasus because he found a button to 'make it so'. But she seems eager to return and John is eager to welcome her, and two people travelling along two separate paths heading for the same place have to collide sometime.
It's all a matter of waiting for the right moment, and with Vala he knows the journey getting to that moment is going to be half the fun.
~fin~