Out of the Blue
"Hey, y'know…"
Syd groaned quietly as Jack flopped down beside her on the rec. room couch. Whenever those words came out of Jack's mouth it was never a good sign. The ideas might not be as off the wall as some of Bridge's were, but they did generally lean towards the outrageous and she had no intention of being dragged into anything like that today. "Yeah?" she replied anyway, more force of habit than anything else and she was surprised when, instead of the suggestive grin she'd been expecting, Jack's expression was more serious. "What is it?"
Jack opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again, shaking his head. "Doesn't matter. Forget it."
She frowned. "You can't just say something like that and expect me to let it go," she pointed out, quite reasonably, she thought. "It's counter-productive."
Jack just shook his head again and went to stand. "Seriously, Syd. Forget it."
Grabbing hold of his uniform jacket she yanked him back down, ignoring the surprised yelp that accompanied the action. "Spill it," she said firmly. "If something's bothering you, you should talk about it. Sky's the one who clams up, remember? And aren't you usually the one calling him on it?"
"Not the same thing, Syd," he replied defensively and tried to stand again. She pulled him back down and inwardly wondered why he was letting her; for someone who said he didn't want to talk, Jack wasn't exactly fighting to get away. "Seriously, can we just let it drop?"
Brown eyes pleaded with her and for a moment she wavered. Then hardened her will. No. Something was wrong with Jack and he clearly needed to talk about it or he wouldn't have brought it up in the first place. "No. Talk. Come on, Jack," she coaxed. "You can tell me, it's not like I'm going to blab it all over the base."
"God, I hope not," he muttered, then sighed. "Alright. Promise you won't get mad at me?"
"Jack, what could you possibly tell me that would make me mad at you?"
He stared at her for a moment, then the next thing she knew Jack's mouth was pressed against hers and she squeaked with surprise. This was not what she'd been expecting. Before she had a chance to really respond Jack was gone, leaving her sitting in the rec. room, slightly flushed with her fingers pressed against her lips.