Rain

She loved the summer rain. On Earth it was a gentle delight to hear the drops on the roof, to stand outside with her face upturned, to receive the thundering deluge as a purification of the soul. On the days when she splashed through puddles from her bike, she threw a longing glance at the dark blue-grey skies above before heading underground to her work. But she couldn't help her attention wandering from whatever machine she was working on today, or smile ruefully when the report for a desert planet mission landed on her desk.

She loved the feeling of her blonde hair, darkened and plastered to her forehead, dripping across her face, running rivulets down the back of her collar. To become so drenched that her clothes stuck to her arms, shoulders, legs and neck and to laugh, because inside was a hot shower and a warm friendly robe.

No hot showers and kettles on this planet; but this wasn't Earth, and it didn't matter that a warm arm slipped around her waist as she stood enraptured on the unfamiliar balcony. Soaked from the alien rainfall, she turned dazzling eyes softened with a smile to the man beside her, who squinted up into the purple skies, trying to hide a grin.

"If there was a Goa'uld god of weather, I swear you would defect to his side," he leant to whisper laughing in her ear.

"Don't tell me that you don't like it too," she teased, resting her head against his shoulder. "And there was a weather god. Ba'al was one." He shuddered theatrically at the name, her damp hair and the sheeting water soaking his own clothing.

"Say you wouldn't," he mock growled.

"Defect? Oh, I don't know," she replied seriously, a lock of hair dripping into her eyes as she considered.

"If you do, I'll…"

"You'll what?" she challenged playfully, glancing up to feel his mocking brown eyes on her own.

"Oh, I'm sure I can think of something," he finished, leaning down to brush her damp lips with his own in a heart-stopping motion. They stood a while longer on the alien veranda, both soaked by the river of water cascading from the sky.

"Rea'ka is waiting for us," he commented after a while, reaching over to brush the straggle of soaked hair from her nose.

"Did Daniel say that is was a cultural insult to keep the host waiting?"

"Nope." He grinned slyly at the tone of thoughtfulness she had adopted. "Why, were you thinking of keeping her waiting a little longer?"

"The thought had crossed my mind," she admitted, locking her other arm about his waist until the pair were facing each other, faces close, rain the only thing between their intense gazes.

"I have plenty of things that we could be doing instead," he replied, smiling one-sidedly and letting his hands fall to caress her back slightly, pulling her hips closer to him.

"I also thought that you would say that," she murmured, unconsciously running the tip of her tongue across her lips.

"Whilst the team's away…"

"I guess the mice can play," she pressed her soaking form against him, the damp clothing clinging to both of them and leaving the skin underneath hyper sensitive. She brought her hands up to clasp the back of his neck, and smiled slowly with veiled blue eyes as she felt his reaction to her close proximity. It had been long, so long since the last off-world mission where they had free rein. Earth was too dangerous at the moment; what they nurtured was too new and precious to risk losing in some stupid regulations.

Unable to resist her enticement any longer, he laughed and caught her in a passionate kiss, savouring what they so rarely shared. Against his chest he could feel her breathing catch in ragged gasps, both surprised by how aroused they were so soon. As they broke apart, she grinned wickedly.

"It's the rain. I love the rain."

"I know, and I love that you love the rain," his eyes wandering suggestively to the soaking shirt that outlined her form and left little to the imagination. And believe it, he had a great imagination when it came to her. She blushed slightly, then gasped as he roughly spun her to press her against the wall, his kiss hungry and urgent this time.

"Mmmm… Jack," she whispered hoarsely as his mouth left hers to trail down her neck, hands on her shoulders, gripping her arms and leaving her feeling helpless, which excited her even more. After having to be so assertive her entire life, the feeling of no longer being in control made her more receptive, and he knew that. She arched slightly to press herself against his tense soaking form, and he grunted slightly as her own hand reached up to lock the fingers in his short hair. He broke off gently, looking around the sparsely populated village, trying to calm his breathing.

"Let's take this inside shall we, Major?" A long slow smile lit his face as he swept her up, palming the door mechanism to their quarters with a firm hand.

"As you wish, sir," and their soft laughter lingered in the miasma outside long after the door swirled shut once more. Eventually pelting raindrops knocked the sound from the air, and the summer rain began its assault on the planet once more.

Fin