Title: Two flirt or not two flirt
Rating: K
Timeline: Very early S1, probably even before I, E.T.
Beta: Nobody
Notes: Written somewhere mid 2005. Fashionably late, this was my contribution to a ficathon in honor of CatherineBruce's one year writing anniversary (I was a day late). It started out as two separate stories, but then I wrote another part (ended up in the middle of this one), which nicely linked the two other parts together. I also had another idea, which was great on the flirting aspect, but halfway through, I realized it wasn't taking place in S1 at all. I may finish that one anyway and post it later.
Aeryn sighed as she made her way back to her quarters. What in Hezmana was wrong with her? Yes, she'd been... interested in men before, and even approached them, but always for simple recreation and only with other Peacekeepers, not some unclassified alien. So, why was she behaving so differently now? Why was this... human given her these strange feelings and thoughts?
She'd noticed his arrival while she'd been working out. He never intended her to notice him, of that she was sure. He'd come to watch her. And she'd let him. Not only that, she had made sure to maneuver in such a way that would certainly entertain him, smiling each time her back was turned to him just at the thought of what he must have been thinking then. And she was sure she heard him groan on several occasions.
She'd realized even then that her behavior had nothing to do with recreation. Yet. No, this was something else, something she couldn't understand. It made her heart beat faster and produced an odd feeling in her stomach. She frowned when she remembered the only occasion she'd had those reactions before, though to a lesser degree.
"Well, that didn't turn out so good, did it?" She muttered as she closed her cell door. She walked towards the refreshing chamber but halted mid-stride, fear gripping her heart as she thought of Crais capturing Crichton. She shook her head. "No, I will not let that happen." She resumed her course to the refreshing chamber.
John adjusted the shower controls to raise the temperature a little. He closed his eyes and shook his head a little. What the hell was wrong with him? He'd almost behaved like a peeping Tom back there. Alright, it wasn't like she was wearing less clothes than usual, but still. He'd been quiet enough so she wouldn't notice him; stayed in the shadows so she wouldn't see him. Just so he could watch her, undetected.
He figured her daily workout must have had finished by then, although at first he thought he'd caught her at her warm-up session, considering the amount of stress she seemed to be putting into her muscles and tendons. But after she had finished those, she left the room.
But what a sight it was! John sighed and turned to the controls to lower the temperature again. He smiled this time. He sure was lucky she hadn't heard him. Some of her movements had nearly been too much for him and he'd groaned on several occasions, as quietly as possible. He probably would've been lying on the other side of the workout room if she'd heard him.
What was it about this warrior babe that made him love her? Because he knew that's what it was: love. Maybe even a thousand times stronger than what he'd had with Alex, or anyone else. He knew that he couldn't do anything with those feelings. Yet. No, his warrior babe needs time to get more familiar with emotions first. Trying to press her now would be counterproductive. She needs time, and that's what she'll get.
Way to go, idiot! Crichton thought to himself. Didn't you decide a little while back to give her time? Angry at himself, he stalked into his quarters. He moved towards the shower to wash up and find something clean to wear.
They'd been working on something or other on Moya, Aeryn and he, virtually pushed against each other. Well, he hadn't been working at first. He'd been watching her working on the various conduits, wires and components. For someone who'd never done anything remotely technical, she knew astoundingly much about the Leviathan inner workings. He'd just watched to learn.
And he had learned. Soon he had been able to make the required repairs by himself and Aeryn had suggested they could work separately. They still worked in the same room, just each on a separate section, but always next to each other. He hadn't dared to even glance in her direction, fearing her noticing he'd do so.
But once they were done with the repairs, he'd made the mistake. She had a smudge on her cheek and he'd gently removed it. He sensed her tension increasing, eyes growing wide. He had pulled back and explained what he'd done. But his emotions betrayed him. He knew his expression and the tone of his voice made her feel threatened. Not physically, hell, he wouldn't be able to land even a single blow. But the emotions, those were too much for his warrior babe.
He had swallowed, apologized and walked out in the span of two seconds. He sighed. It would be a long time before she'd ever talk to him again. Shaking his head, he left his quarters and went to the maintenance bay. Working on his module would help him clear his head.
Aeryn stood in the corner of the room, confused. Why had Crichton reacted like that? They had worked close to each other, making required repairs and adjustments to Moya's Zelum regulators.
She'd gone to Pilot's Den earlier, when Crichton was still sleeping, and had asked him to give her instructions on how to perform this duty. Pilot had given her detailed instructions, displaying several schematics. Using her Peacekeeper training she'd memorized everything, knowing the human was unlikely to ask anyone beforehand.
She'd been right, too. He had no frelling idea what they were suppose to be doing, but she'd shown him. Much to her surprise, he'd learned more quickly than she'd expected. At one point, she noticed he had to deal with a situation even she hadn't had the necessary instructions for. She moved her hand to her comms, intending to request Pilot's help, but Crichton saw the solution for himself.
It shouldn't have been a surprise, knowing that he was something of a tech on his home world, but the technology he was used to was so far behind any of this. After a moment she noticed she'd been focused on the movement of his hands, instead of making her own repairs. Her hand had moved to her cheek of its own volition. She quickly shook herself and finished her repairs.
She finished before him, and stepped back to watch him from behind. Once again she noticed he was quite handsome from back there as well. His build was quite muscular, though she was sure there was a little bit of fat here and there that should be replaced with muscles. He wasn't likely to get as strong as most Peacekeepers.
Her thoughts had stopped then as he turned around and walked towards her. She started to smile but was surprised when his hand caressed her cheek. Hezmana, that felt good. Then he stepped back and explained he'd seen a smudge there and tried to wipe it away.
But the tone of his voice, his expression, both were quite similar to they way Velorek had once talked and looked at her. She liked it, but Crichton had swallowed and apologized, before quickly making his way out of the room.
Aeryn sighed. Perhaps the Peacekeepers were right after all; emotions are a weakness. She turned around and left the room.
Aeryn heard him approach the maintenance bay. She realized there was no way she could leave without running into him. Instead she moved further into the corner, so he wouldn't notice her. She was in no mood to talk to him and though she didn't know this frelling human that well, she was sure he probably would be in the mood to talk.
When he walked in, he didn't seem to be in a very good mood either, though. He seemed frustrated and angry. She watched him grab some tools and walk over to his bucket of dren. Though her field of view was partially blocked, she didn't dare to move. He may not be facing her directly, she was in his peripheral vision and even his deficient eyes would notice her moving.
But she watched him anyway. She couldn't help it; her eyes were always drawn to him, from the moment she saw him the first time. She smiled at the memory. She'd pretended to be unconscious for a bit longer when she'd seen him lying in the cell. She shook her head, trying to push the thought from her head.
Crichton had already moved and his back was now turned towards her. She took a step to the side to get a much better view of him. Her eyes took him in once again and she nearly gasped out loud when he bent over. He'd look good in leather, she decided. She should try to get him to wear some, soon.
He started humming a tune now, moving his eema to the rhythm. Aeryn knew she'd be in trouble if he didn't stop doing that soon. She decided to move back, so her view of him would be obstructed again. She had barely reached her position when Crichton took the tools and replaced them in their proper place, leaving her behind, alone.
She waited a little longer after his footsteps had completely died down and then made her way out of the maintenance bay as quickly as possible. She was in dire need of a very cold shower.
Now that he had reached his module, John had no idea what to do. Yes, he wanted to modify the Farscape 1 to use the local propulsion units, but he couldn't do that just yet. But he'd need to, and probably soon.
For one, his ship was slow compared to the rest of the neighborhood. Not that he desperately wanted to have the fastest vehicle on the block, hell, he'd settle for the slowest, as long as the differences wouldn't be that big.
The other reason was that he was low on fuel. He realized the odds of finding fuel that would agree with the engines weren't looking that good. It wasn't very likely there was a refinery anywhere near, and if there was, the prices would undoubtedly be high, considering the low volume they would be able to sell here.
But that still didn't give him anything to do right now, other than a quick inspection. He moved to the front and opened the panel. He looked at the various components, but as his eyes traveled, he noticed movement in the reflection of the canopy. He smiled when he saw it was Aeryn. Then he frowned. Was she checking him out?
He decided to take a little test. Her eyes seemed to wander to his butt and he saw her eyes and smile widen as he bent over, keeping his head in an orientation that would allow him to witness the reaction. Well, that was clear; she was checking him out, alright.
Remembering his own voyeuristic behavior earlier, he felt he should provide her with some enticing movement as well. True, she hadn't known he had seen her, but that made no difference. The best way would be to hum a song and sway his hips to the beat.
From his vantage point, he knew he'd made the right decision. She was going to be in trouble soon. Apparently she realized it too, as she suddenly moved away, out of sight. He didn't want to put to much pressure on her now, so he decided to close the panel, put the tools back and leave. It could be interesting, trying to win his warrior babe over.