It dangles between them, a grenade without its pin. They've paused at the corner where their paths split to finish up their conversation, and they both look up at it in muted horror. Hopefully it will actually, literally explode.
Sam is going to kill Daniel for introducing Vala to the concept of mistletoe. It's not that big of a deal- Daniel always bounces back from death anyway. But since that afternoon, when Daniel had gone on about the cultural roots of modern winter holidays, Vala had pranced around with a crown of mistletoe, plucking bunches to hang in convenient places around the base.
And now Sam is standing underneath one of these clumps of holiday cheer and awkwardness with John Sheppard.
He smiles and shuffles his feet. "You're not technically my commanding officer anymore, so I think it doesn't break regs." As if he's ever cared that much about regulations.
Sam has though, except when it came to world saving. "And there's nobody around."
"That's another good point," John says, inching a little closer. He suddenly feels shy. "And it's tradition."
"Another good point," Sam echoes.
They're in each other's personal space now. Moving slowly, John cups her face, giving Sam plenty of time to back away if she wants.
Sam doesn't want to back away; she slips her hands around his waist and tugs him so their bodies are pressed against each other. It feels right.
It's surprisingly easy for him to lean down just a little and press his lips to hers. Both of their lips are chapped, but it doesn't matter.
It's a short, chaste kiss that's unremarkable, except for the way it sends sparks shivering across both of their bodies. They've both wanted this for a long time, way before it would have been even close to proper.
Sam's fingers press into John's hips hard as they pull apart, like she almost can't believe what's happened. They don't pull apart too far, though. John slides his hands down to hug her as Sam lays her head on his chest. She can hear his heart pounding in his chest, and she smiles, feeling a closeness that she hasn't felt for a long time.
"There's a nice restaurant in town- O'Malley's. Maybe we could get dinner there tomorrow?" John asks hesitantly. He doesn't know if he's misread this completely, but John has let too many chances pass him by- he couldn't live with himself if he let this one go, too.
Burying her face in his chest, Sam tries to stifle her snort. When she looks up at John's face, he looks suddenly closed off. Whoops. "John, wait-" She moves her hands up to cup his face, smiling to look reassuring. "I'd love to go to dinner with you. I'm just banned from O'Malley's for life, by the orders of both management and the United States Air Force. So we'd have to go somewhere else. Or else we could end up arrested."
John's eyes widen. "What?"
"I want to go out with you. Tomorrow," Sam says. She presses another quick kiss to John's lips. It surges through both of them.
"And that other thing?" John's brows are furrowed.
Sam shrugs. "I can tell you over dinner tomorrow. I'll make the reservations."
"Okay. Okay, that sounds good. I'm not banned from any restaurants, just so you know. At least not on Earth," John says. A smile starts to spread across his face and Sam can feel it under her hands. "I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."
"Me too. I'll see you then," Sam says, reluctantly pulling away.
"Goodnight, Sam," John says.
"Goodnight, John." Sam tries and fails to hide her happiness. Maybe she won't kill Daniel after all.
Sam takes a few steps forward to kiss him one more time before going to her quarters. John watches her go, leaning against the wall. He hopes it looks cool and put together (not that Sam is watching) because inside, he's blown away. Of all the ways that finding himself under the mistletoe with Sam could have gone, this is by far the best.
Not all grenades are bad. John thinks, looking up at the innocent little bauble.