Title: Let it Be in Zero G 1/3
Author: Roguie/ SunSpecOps/ Danae Bowen
Fandom: Eureka
Pairing: Jo/Zane
Rating: M/ NC17 (Pt 1 - G, Pt 2 - NC17, Pt 3 - Strong T to Mild M)
Spoilers: Up to One Time at Space Camp, at least.
Warnings: Explicit het sexual situations. Not safe for work.
Summary: Could Zane really have walked away from Henry's off hand comment without making an effort to experience it with Jo? Or did he just get to work on it behind the scenes…
Disclaimer: Eureka doesn't belong to me, I just like to borrow the characters and mutate their inner voices. Please don't sue, my house is small, my car is useless and my dogs are pains in the arse, but they're all I have.
A/N: Smut that got way too plotty. Damn Jo and her endless questioning of Zane's every motive. Damn Zane for being a guy. In other words: they wouldn't shut up and ruined their own happy ending. :/
A/N2: I am not a science girl. Google is God, yes, but I'm REALLY not a science girl. The 2S really does exist though. All the other science, yeah, there's a reason this is called Science Fiction… just so you know.
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Part One of Three
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She really shouldn't have been surprised when he came towards her, one brow lifted, his eyes dancing in that way only Zane Donovan could manage. His lips turned upwards when he saw her and he lifted a hand in greeting, dropping it quickly when she took notice of the harness dangling from his fingers.
"S'up, JoJo?"
She lifted a single eyebrow, trailing her gaze up from the harness, across the white tank top that demanded attention paid to his biceps, all the way up to the mischievous dance of his blue eyes.
"Hmm. Do I want to know?"
His grin grew wider. Before she could step away he was in her personal space, his free hand finding her waist unerringly, pulling her towards him so that he could lower his lips to her ears. "We've got an appointment, you 'n me. Fargo got his hands on a new flight suit design, we've got to go in for… a fitting." His last words were whispered, forcing a shiver to run down her spine, heat flushing her face without warning.
She narrowed her eyes as she stepped out of his hold, cocking her head to the side. "It's late, Zane. Everyone's gone home, and I'm going with them. A flight suit fitting can wait until morning."
Again his grin flashed, white teeth, perfect lips, that look that stalled her heart no matter how hard she fought. "C'mon, Jo, I had to pull in a few favours to get this done tonight."
She frowned, a sharp laugh escaping her lips. "What favours? No one owes you any."
He shrugged. "While you were busy playing the Enforcer, I was busy making friends." He winked. "Trust me, would you, JoJo?"
She sighed. He was impossible. This was impossible. Their entire god forsaken existence was impossible and yet she couldn't stop herself from turning as he did, following him to the elevator that took them down far below the surface of the earth to where all the components of the Astraeus mission were being held. He stopped at a door, punching a code into the panel and watching as it opened before them.
"Everything you need is in the right locker." He winked at her. "Since a proper fitting of this suit means you take everything off," he paused, his lips tugging up into a grin, "I'll be in the next room. Meet me at 14B when you're ready."
Her frown deepened. "You're giving me privacy? Now I know you're up to something."
He leaned in, pressing his lips to hers in a gentle kiss, lifting a hand to run his thumb over her throat softly before backing away. "I said to trust me, JoJo. I mean it."
She swallowed thickly before backing away, entering the room, letting the door slide shut behind her before turning to the locker he'd indicated. A part of her mind scoffed, expecting pieces of black and red lace to drop out of the cabinet, something small and body conforming, something to make his mouth go dry, his mind to melt, something to force his heart to beat out of his chest. That same part of her frowned in disappointment when the door clicked easily open, revealing the white jump suit hanging innocently on the rack within.
She picked up the suit gingerly, noting the label within that read 2S, and she frowned. Nothing at GD was ever named so simply, it was barometric this, isolinear that, nothing so incredibly dull as 2S. Still suspicious, she glanced quickly around the room, checking for cameras or any other small recording device that Zane could be using to spy on her as she stripped down, not that it would have mattered, naked was no longer an issue between them, but she'd toed the line on the "Just Friends" rule firmly and wouldn't put it past him to push the limits she'd imposed.
She found nothing, however, and sighed. Her pantsuit dropped to the floor easily, her blouse followed, and then her tank, leaving her standing in the cold room clad in just two small scraps of pale, pink lace. Pink. What had possessed her to wear pink lingerie under all the black today, she couldn't say, but her eyes flicked to the door suspiciously, just in case. After a moment, when Zane failed to appear as she expected, another sigh flew past her lips and she stripped out of the lingerie that she refused to admit she wore just in case. Just in case those blue eyes pinned her in place and froze her breath in her throat. Just in case his hand trailed down her back, resting just above her arse, one finger trailing dangerously low as he grinned at her in what anyone else would believe was complete innocence. Just in case Zane happened to corner her in a deserted hallway and whisk her away to an empty lab for a mid-afternoon tryst.
Except it was closer to eight at night and there didn't seem to be any plans for a tryst.
As she pulled the roomy jumpsuit over her caramel flesh, she took notice of the straps of Velcro holding panels of fabric to her body, and what appeared to be belt loops across her front, back and hips even though the suit didn't appear to come with a belt. She frowned slightly in confusion, poking at the reams of Velcro realizing that the entire front of the suit basically came away with a single good tug. She laughed to herself, wondering if the design came about from a scientist's night out at a strip bar. She wouldn't put it past them. This was Eureka after all.
Tugging the suit into place, she made her way out of the lab and down the cold metal hallway towards room 14B. When she got there however, the door was secured and the lock beeped quietly in denial of her security code. She frowned, turning to walk away when it whisked open behind her and Zane's arms came quickly around her waist, pulling her back into the room.
"Not so fast, Lupo. One little delay and you try to escape?" His tongue ticked the back of his teeth as he shook his head even as she heard the laughter in his voice.
Pushing him away, she turned and forced a mock glare, glancing back at the control panel with a raised eyebrow. "Care to tell me why my security clearance didn't open this door?"
He grinned. "This lab is all mine for the night. We'll have no interruptions; for twelve hours, my code is God."
Her eyebrow lifted higher. "So, no chance of getting caught in a compromising position then, hmm? Doesn't that… I don't know, take the fun out of it for you?"
His eyes flashed something unreadable, his normal icy blue gaze turning to steel. "You still think so low of me?" Jo instantly regretted her words, turning herself in his stiffened arms to reach up and trail her fingers lightly along his jaw.
They'd never been good at this, this talking thing, not in any timeline.
"I'm not that guy anymore, JoJo."
Not which guy? Not the guy she fell in love with two years before? Not the guy who worked his way under her skin no matter how hard she fought? Not the guy who so easily garnered her forgiveness no matter what he'd done?
Or something more simple?
Not the guy she'd met only a few short months before? Not the guy who teased her and tormented her? Not the guy who pushed her and broke her? Not the guy who met her in closets, made love to her on desks?
It was a heady realization when she finally understood. Standing before her was a Zane she didn't really know at all.
She sighed. "I know." The just friends line demanded she back away, put some distance between them as he unveiled what had given him such pride. The magnetic draw that hadn't dissipated through time, however, kept her where she stood. Her fingers trailed from his jaw down his neck, curling just right at his hairline to pressure his head down to her own, to encourage his lips to cover her own in a kiss so gentle and loving that a soft whimper escaped her before he backed away.
He smiled down at her as the tension eased between them and he spun them to face the lab, his arm swinging out with a flourish. "Welcome to GD's Zero-Gravitational Modulator."
"Zero Gravitational Modulator?" Jo smirked. "Thought Zero-G simulators were just science fiction."
He laughed sharply, pulling her into his arms before moving towards the control panel to the left of the room. "And you've lived in Eureka how long?" He punched in a series of codes and the machine in front of her began to whirr and spin, a loud whine filling the room as the metal ball moved faster than her eyes could follow. "It's a prototype of course, something we've been working on for months. Fargo didn't figure we'd get it done in time for the Astraeus training program," he winked, "So when I stuffed him in it yesterday, proving the thing works exactly up to spec, he had no choice but to give me what I asked for."
Jo laughed, pride for the man in front of her radiating in the shine of her eyes. "And what did you ask for?"
He shrugged, punching in another series of codes, watching as the prototype wound down. "My code is God, remember?"
Jo blushed from root to tip as his words sunk in and her gaze travelled between Zane and the prototype warily. "You asked… he gave… you 'n Fargo came up with… ZANE!"
He chuckled, reaching out for her hand, pulling her towards the prototype. He punched his code into the tablet in his hands and the door opened obediently. "Yes, I asked to use the prototype for personal reasons. Yes, Fargo gave me permission to do what I like for twelve hours. No, we didn't discuss the details because I didn't want him to renege and force me to break in here tonight. And don't take that tone with me, Josephina." She relaxed slightly, punching him in the arm even as he pulled her through the door, sealing first the outer layer, and then the inner layer, leaving them in the dark spherical chamber. "Besides, this was more Henry's idea than Fargo's."
At her squeak of mortification, he punched another series of numbers into his tablet and the airlock hissed quietly, finalizing her understanding that she'd allowed Zane to lock them in a ball of metal at the heart of GD, and no one would come to rescue her.
"Great, now you're thinking at me in that tone of voice, would you relax?" She could almost hear his cocky grin as his tablet changed frames, illuminating them in the deep darkness. With a few finger strokes, the pot lights that peppered the entire sphere illuminated, filling the room with a soft glow, almost starlight. "How do you feel about dinner?"
She fought the tug of her lips, fought the romantic atmosphere, fought that damned pull between them that made him work just that much harder for her attention. "Do I have a choice?"
"We all have a choice, JoJo. Stay or go, I'm just offering."
She didn't miss the double meaning of his words, but chose to ignore the olive branch he'd extended to her. "Offering what?" Her voice was hesitant, eyeing the man before her with careful caution.
He moved across the sphere to a bag he'd attached to one of the many eye loops that made up the interior structure. He pulled out a blanket, and several of Vincent's take away boxes, cocking his eyebrow up as he settled into laying out dinner.
"Nothing complicated, just a meal."
She coughed in surprise, now thoroughly confused. "You bribed Fargo for twelve hours in a prototype zero gravitational simulator to take me to dinner? What, Café Diem wasn't good enough for you?"
"Café Diem's great, but aside from the food, no, it'll never be good enough. This isn't a simulator, it's a modulator. A simulator is something fake, only giving you the impression of what you're trying to achieve. A modulator actually alters the environment without permanently changing the original characteristics, giving you the exact experience of what you're trying to achieve. And before you ask about the dynamics of eating dinner in zero g, that part's for dessert."
Of course it was. What had Henry gotten her into?
~~~TBC