No Longer Clueless

spacegypsy1

word count - 2100

pairing: Daniel and Vala

Synopsis: Daniel runs through the clues that indicate he is more than friends with Vala. D/V short fluff.

~0i0~

Some may wonder why I woke up this morning in bed with Vala asleep naked and wrapped around me like a pretzel.

First Clue?

A week or so ago I dropped an artifact that I'd been studying for a few years. It didn't faze me. I felt a bit disheartened, but nothing more.

When it happened Vala jumped, spun around in her chair... or my chair that she claims as hers, and with eyes wide and mouth open to capacity she waited.

"Crap." Is all I said before I leaned over to pick up the pieces. I remember that I dumped them into a box and decided to put them aside in case it had some use later. Settling upright again, I flipped on my laptop and went to update the catalog to show the loss when I heard her squeak. When I lifted my gaze to her she was leaning forward with that look – the one that is half worry that she'd be accused of doing something wrong and half full of fortitude to fight for her innocence. "Oops." I said with a shrug.

Blinking, Vala remained silent. Staring adorably at me, making my heart race and my hands sweat. I swallowed. Then I'm sure that the grin that I could no longer control was completely ridiculous because she did that nervous staccato fake laugh.

"Vala." I began then stalled, suddenly unsure of what to say.

"Yes?"

"Ah... er... how 'bout we go out to dinner. Just the two of us. Somewhere nice and cozy. Of course I mean when we get back from PM3-201." She watched me warily but she was bobbing her head in acquiescence. It was hard for me to not blurt out something completely inappropriate. Something all feely-touchy, something about how she makes me feel. How the past few years have made me... made me happy. How she had made me happy and still does. That's when I thought with a wave of fear all tangled up with a hefty dose of bliss that I am happy.

Oh my god, Vala makes me happy!

Second Clue?

Happened a few days later on Corsi, PM3-201, in 120 degree Fahrenheit heat. No shade. No grass. No nada. I should have been miserable. I should have been short tempered and most of all I should have been annoyed by her chatty, upbeat, grinning, storytelling cheerfulness in the face of the debilitating oppressive heat. Not to mention the megalomaniac indigenous people who Mitchell called anal retentive crispy critters.

Vala found them cute.

Short, hairless, and wrinkled skin the color of coagulating blood, the Corsians were anything but cute.

Mitchell was on point. Teal'c was on our six. Sam was up in her nice comfortable ship working on some schematics and waiting for us. Corsi's Stargate had been buried by the Goa'uld years ago. We'd been contacted by the Free Jaffa that the inhabitants were struggling to survive and needed help getting their Gate up and running.

I walked beside Vala, laughing at her story about the first time she'd been to Corsi – long before the Ori.

"You see, darling," she was saying in a voice I'd long ago deemed sexy, "my ship crashed as I was running... er I mean being chased by the bad guys. Oh, alright! Don't give me that look. I was running from the Lucian Alliance when my ship crashed! These people hid me, patched me up. And when I did leave I didn't even steal anything... well except for..."

I burst out laughing.

"What's so damned funny?"

"You. 'well except for...' " I mimicked her voice.

She slapped my arm, grinning at me. "I'd had a broken leg!" She said turning to walk backwards a few steps ahead of me. "I was in need of a stake for fuel and food. It was only one tiny gold statue! And then while trying to reach the Stargate I jumped a fence and I got a very big long cut on my hip – which was bleeding profusely and I'd had to sew myself! I would love to show you my scar, of course only to prove that I did actually have a cut."

"Oh. THAT scar. Yeah, I saw it on the Prometheus. Kinda puffy and snake like. Left hip. High up, way high up." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them and by the look on her face I knew I'd said it out loud with a tone indicative that I was pleased by the memory.

A dark brow rose. The edge of her lovely lower lip got pulled between teeth. Her grey eyes darkened. She twisted to and fro. She liked that I remembered. That I'd seen her naked. That I wasn't looking away from her flirty response. That I flirted back.

Oh my god, I'm flirting with her!

Third Clue?

A few more days later on our walk towards the newly unburied Stargate on Corci, more like a run, because we were so anxious to be finally going home.

"Jackson," Mitchell drawled out as we walked side by side on the six, Vala right in front of us and Teal'c on point. "When you see the DHD I want you to run like hell and dial us outta this hell hole as fast as you can."

"No problem." I replied, my gaze unwaveringly on Vala's backside. My mind wondered then as I studied the way her black BDU pants fit and the way the straps of her holster and utility belt only made the pants draw tighter with each step.

"Damn, man, you got a thing for Vala, don't you?"

That snapped me out of my daze. "Hell no!"

He laughed. A hardy, head thrown back, laugh. When he caught his breath, he shook his head, grabbed my sleeve and pulled me to a stop. "Listen, your eyes aren't saying what your mouth is, they're following her like a love sick puppy when you think no one is watchin'."

I spit out a 'pfft', then tried to laugh it off... unsuccessfully.

"You gotta take the leap man. You're slam dunk in love with her."

I sighed then in a mix of surrender and resignation. There was no way I could verbalize a response so I turned and walked ahead.

Mitchell dogged my steps, chuckling at my side, yammering away. "A year ago... hell a month ago you would have denied that. But you seem to have man upped."

"Yeah." I managed. "I realized day by day she'd stopped being unstable. Flighty."

"And don't forget the innuendos."

"Ha! I kinda miss those."

Again my CO laughed loudly.

"What are you two talking about?" Vala called over her shoulder.

"Nothing!" I yelled as Mitchell barked out, "Nothin'!"

We hastened our steps to catch up, anxious to be home.

"She's changed." I whispered as we approached the DHD where Teal'c and Vala waited, P-90s slung low, relaxed. Teal'c studying our perimeter. Vala studying me.

"Hell, Jackson, you're the one who changed." Mitchell said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "You opened your eyes, buddy. She mighta toned down a notch or two, but you did the three sixty, man – you're head over heels. Now, dial us home."

As I dialed my eyes flicked to Vala after pressing each symbol and my mind accepted the truth.

Oh my god! I'm in love with Vala!

How she ended up in my bed?

There's a certain way a woman wears a dress that can seal the deal. Some may call it slinky. This one wasn't revealing – sleeveless with a square neck but the electric blue material seemed to move and settle or stretch and emphasize in all the right places. One of those small jeweled purses was casually clutched in one hand, high heels with toes bare and strapped around her ankles clicked with each step. Spellbound I watched her approach.

"I'm not over dressed am I? You did say a nice restaurant." She checked the bracelet watch she wore. "And you did say meet at your office at nineteen hundred hours... sharp. Which by the way, I always thought the sharp was part of all Tau'ri time telling for quite some time."

"Oh. Right. No. Not over dressed. And yes, seven. Let me get my jacket." I snatched the jacket off the chair and slipped it on never taking my gaze from her. She seemed to glow. She looked too beautiful for words. I just wanted to... I wanted to... I wanted to take that damned dress off her. I wanted to kiss her senseless. I wanted to... touch her everywhere. I wanted so badly to make love to her. I did not want to go out to dinner. I wanted to take her to my quarters as fast as I could.

"You look rather dashing tonight in your lovely black suit and that amazing eye matching blue shirt. So where to?"

Taking her hand I tugged her down the corridor and was pleased when she wrapped her fingers with mine. A few people passed us looking curiously our way. But I ignored them, loosened my hold on her hand and slipped my arm around her waist.

Surprise captured her face before she smiled, pleased.

When we stepped into the elevator it was nearly full and we had to stand right at the door. I could feel all the eyes on us.

"Daniel and I are going to dinner." Vala announced to the others. The surprising thing was I didn't hang my head, or blush, or deny it. I simply squeezed her waist.

"I thought you two might be dating, such a pity." One of the female SF's behind us said.

"Yep. We are now." Vala's deep, throaty laugh followed as her head turned to see the occupants. "He's no longer on the market."

Now I blushed and stared at the door. The elevator stopped and emptied at the floor where the commissary is.

The door slid shut.

I pushed her up against the wall. One of my hands went through her hair and clasped her neck to pull her mouth to mine as my other hand snaked up to cup a breast. Her response was the sexiest thing I have ever experienced. She arched into my hand while the rest of her body melted against mine for a moment that seemed to last a life time. The kiss was soft and slow and said more than any words could ever explain.

Unexpectedly Vala shoved me away. Smoothed her dress. Fluffed her hair and picked her little purse up off the floor just as the elevator doors flew open. Three Airmen got on board as Vala and I exited.

It took some time for me to find my voice and get my head and other body parts to stop reacting to the feel of her. "Close call. I didn't even know the thing had stopped." I confessed, taking her hand as we made our way towards my car.

I opened the car door and she slid in, suddenly quiet.

I got in, buckled up and started the car. Vala sat there staring ahead without a word or movement.

"Are you going to put your seat belt on?" I asked, nervous because of her odd reaction.

"I'm not hungry."

"Seat belt, Vala." I said smiling. She must be a bit dazed.

"I know, but I want you to know that I'm not hungry. Are you hungry?" Still she wasn't looking at me.

"No." I confessed and then I rushed to admit my feeling before I could chicken out. "I love you."

I don't know whether it was a laugh or a squeal she managed to contain before she answered matter-of-factly. "Good. Let's get a room. I love you too."

I couldn't get my seat belt undone fast enough. I scooped her into my arms and kissed her. Her hands were all over me. I was going crazy.

With barely breaking contact I mumbled, "We... we can go to my..."

"Sometimes you can be so clueless, Daniel. Not your place. Too far, darling. Too far. There's a very nice hotel right at the end of the road before the turn off." All the while she spoke Vala's hands were all over me, her mouth somehow remaining attached to mine.

"Seat belt." I said even though I could hardly breathe as I put mine back on.

She scooted back over but just to the middle belt and clicked it. "Done, go, hurry, drive." Her head went back against the seat as she put her hand between my legs. "No longer clueless." She purred and then laughed out loud.

~END