Title: Chocolate and Time
Author: dvshipper
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Warnings: Cam/Vala
Summary: Movie night between Vala and Cameron becomes a sort of comfort.
A/N: Thanks to taraleesg1, the awesomest beta ever! This story started as one thing and turned completely in a different direction. It definitely had a mind of its own and hopefully it picked a good way to go.
Vala found herself heading toward the commissary in search of comfort food. Although a perfectly bad habit, chocolate cake and macaroni and cheese often found their way to Vala through her emotions. Coming to Earth was supposed to make her happy but all it had done was make her miserable. Things had gone south between her and Daniel and not the way she had hoped. Arguing was all they did, leaving him angry and her hurt. They weren't even dating or a couple yet Vala felt like they had broken up. Breaking up for her at least, meant sulking for a while and dessert was the perfect thing to be depressed over.
Cameron was sitting at one of the cloth covered tables of the commissary, enjoying a roast beef sandwich and one of SG-3's mission reports. They ran into almost as much trouble as SG-1, which he thought was impossible. While opening the small bag of barbecue flavored chips, Cameron saw a gloomy looking Vala slowly walk into the dining hall and head straight for the counter of cake and Jell-o. How that woman stayed thin, he'd never know.
Vala grabbed a plate with a piece of chocolate cake covered in fudge frosting and moved to a table in the corner which was vacant. Before even fully sitting down, her fork stabbed at the dessert with determination. All her sadness and frustration released through quickly eating as much of the chocolate she could. Chocolate was definitely a cliché feel better food for a reason.
"Mind if I join you?" Cameron asked, pulling out a chair and sitting next to Vala. "How come you're not working with Jackson?"
Vala suppressed a sob with a bite of cake. It wasn't Cameron's fault he couldn't see why she was hurting. He just wasn't very observant. "Ah, bad day uh?" Cameron asked before licking the frosting he'd swiped with his finger.
"Try bad couple of months," Vala replied quietly. Though she didn't really want to talk about it, she felt she needed to. To many people Vala appeared two-dimensional; just some space pirate that flaunted her sexuality. Cameron didn't see her that way. Looking past the walls she tried to keep from crumbling, he saw her as the multi-layered person she was.
"Last I saw, you guys were actually getting along. Guess that was rare, huh?" Cameron carefully asked, but seemed eager to know more and see how Vala felt.
"Probably the only time. He's so selfish, he can't see past his work at all. When I even do the slightest thing wrong he gets that mad face. It's like I can't do anything right by him," Vala laid it out for Cameron to see. Her world with Daniel was coming to an end, or so it seemed. She could tough it up and work with him professionally eventually, but that time was not here yet. Besides chocolate, the only thing Vala needed was a shoulder to cry on.
"Jackson is an idiot," Cameron was surprised at his own bluntness. "If he can't see what he's doing to you, he doesn't deserve you. You, Princess, need to be able to have a good time."
"And what did you have in mind, my dear Colonel?" Vala asked, not sure what her answer would be but still curious. Wiping the single tear that crept down her cheek, Vala shed Daniel's harsh remarks and cold looks. Instead of crying, she needed to laugh.
"A stack of DVDs and beer sound good?" Cameron suggested, thinking that just hanging out watching movies would be better than some fancy dinner or a bar.
"Tristan and Isolde?" Vala grinned, naming the most romantic movie she could think of. Plus, it had James Franco which was never a bad thing.
"How 'bout we compromise. Flyboys?" Cameron asked, knowing that the lead actor would catch Vala's attention. Even though it was a bit of a love story, it was also about pilots in World War One. That was pretty cool in Cameron's book.
"Deal," Vala replied with a wide grin. As she finished her cake, with a little assistance from Cameron, she thought of how kind he was being. Trusting him enough to not take advantage of her when she was vulnerable was something that didn't happen often. Yet for some reason, Vala knew that just sitting watching movies with him was the right thing she needed to do.
Seated in Cam's vintage mustang, the pair made their way off the base and stopped at Blockbuster. Cameron grabbed Flyboys and looked around to realize that he had lost track of Vala. After a little searching he found her reading the back of a case with a smile on her face. "What'd ya find?" Cameron asked, sneaking up behind her and looking over her shoulder.
"The Holiday. It's a romantic comedy and looks very good," Vala turned around to come face to face with Cameron, their noses just mere inches away.
"Hmmm," Cameron pondered a romantic comedy. It wasn't that he was scared of them or anything, he just didn't like them very much. "How 'bout we each get a movie we like, plus this one," Cameron held up the grey cover with the picture of James Franco on it. Vala smiled, so close to him he could smell her vanilla perfume. Not quite realizing, Cameron lingered for a moment, his gaze fixed on Vala.
"Well, go on then. Just don't get that Snakes On A Plane. I hate snakes," Vala told Cameron, watching him walk away. It wasn't because of Qetesh that she hated snakes, she had actually been creeped out by them her whole life. Cameron returned to her, quicker than she had expected, with his hands behind his back and a barely suppressed grin. Without saying a word, he pulled a DVD case from behind his back. ANACONDA was written across the front and he was failing miserably at keeping a straight face. Vala decided to play mad and arched her eyebrow, demonstrating her disapproval.
"Just wanted to see your reaction. Sweeney Todd sound good?" Cameron asked, putting the joke DVD on a shelf nearby. Judging by Vala's expression when she saw Johnny Depp on the cover, Sweeney Todd was just fine.
They walked up to the register, past all the candy meant to entice young children. Apparently, it wasn't just attractive to kids because Vala was browsing the shelves with the innocent look of a 5 year old. Spotting her target, she grabbed a large container of chocolate covered gummy bears and handed them to Cameron. After a huge dessert on base, you'd think her chocolate craving would be taken care of. Obviously some wounds just took more Hershey's to bandage.
After paying the pierced teenager, Cameron and Vala were on their way. Stopping at the liquor store just down the road from the base, Cameron grabbed a six pack of Coors Light. Stepping outside, he saw Vala in the passenger seat, eyes turned down, smiling to herself. It was one of those smiles women had when they were thinking about someone they liked. An almost secretive grin that told the world they were in love, even if they themselves didn't quite know it yet.
Arriving back at the base, Cameron got an odd look from one of the SF's. Even though most of the SGC, fueled by the ever persistent rumors, thought Daniel and Vala belonged together, Cameron was with her now. Daniel had treated her worse than she deserved and Cameron was going to try to show her some of his southern gentlemanly qualities, which included showing a lady a proper good time. If that meant watching a romantic comedy starring Jude Law and Cameron Diaz and eating chocolate covered gummy bears, so be it.
Upon arriving in Cameron's quarters, which housed a very large screen TV, Vala couldn't help but think how Daniel was feeling right now. Hopefully, he was sorry because he had permanently lost his chance with her. Cameron was there when Daniel didn't want to be and that's what Vala needed: someone to be there for her. Throughout her life there had been many times when Vala needed someone to lean on but there wasn't anyone to help her carry her burden. With one kind act Cameron had offered to help her with her load of sadness and anger.
Movies were watched with laughter and tears, shed mostly by Vala, and beer disappeared from its bottles. The population of gummy bears steadily decreased, soon leaving them an endangered species. About halfway through The Holiday, Vala leaned onto Cameron's shoulder with a contented sigh. Clearly she was feeling much better and that was just perfect in Cameron's opinion. There was nothing better than making Vala happy, a fact he was quickly realizing. In time, maybe fate would guide them towards happiness together. In Cameron's mind regular movie nights with Vala were a very appealing possibility. Hopefully it would develop into something more than just mere friendly comfort over time. That was just it: only time would tell.