Lennah fidgeted nervously in front of the mirror. With a disgusted sound, she stripped down for the umpteenth time and stood staring at her closet. Sheppard's unsolicited advice looped on repeat.
"Throw him off his game." He'd smiled his signature fly-boy smirk around one of Keller's lollypops. "Show him that his little buddy has a lot more bang than he knows."
"What do you mean 'little buddy'?"
"Well, anyone can see that you're a perfectly attractive woman, Colare, sometimes you just gotta remind some people now and then." His candy prodded the air in emphasis.
Lennah snorted and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, right, of course. Who would be that slow?"
Sheppard gave her a pointed look. "You."
Clothes littered her floor and her bed. Make-up, the barest of accoutrements, had come out of hiding.
"What was I thinking?" She flopped onto her bed and blew out a huge sigh. "Closet, one. Colare, zero."
She needed a strategy. Risks only had to be minimal, comfort at the maximum. Stick with the devil you know.
"Round two." There was a pair of black pants comfortable enough to see plenty of wear. "Now what?" She looked around the floor until her eyes landed on something of Teyla's.
Lennah held it up and figured she knew how to wear it but wondered if she actually could. There were some key aspects of anatomy that differed. Despite years of gymnastics, her parents' genes had prevailed. She was of a normal height but stood out as freakishly tall for a gymnast. Then, once the intense daily training went down to weekly, Mother Nature had a field day.
It was not enough to be humiliated by guys all through high school, now she had to be retrofitted with bait for the lower echelons of ape-hood. But, it was only at this low point that she considered showcasing.
Momma always said that a woman was responsible for how she presented herself and that she should take care not to lead men's thoughts on. Lennah had discovered that you didn't have to lead a horse to water for them to drink. Sometimes they found their way all by themselves.
She put it on and was considering angles when the door chimed.
"Um, just a minute!!" She threw clothes aside as she looked for her robe but the door slid open before she could find cover.
Teyla and Keller looked up in surprise. One look around the room told them why Colare was late.
"Sure, come on in." Lennah shrugged lamely. Only Keller betrayed any shock. It was quickly covered and replaced with a pleased smile.
"You look good. Ready to go?" She moved toward Lennah and carefully took her arm. "Teyla tell her how good she looks."
Teyla smiled. "You look quite attractive, Lennah. But we are rather late. Sheppard was explicit that we arrive early to assist."
"Are you sure?" Lennah dragged her feet as Jennifer guided her to the door. "You don't think I look too…"
"No different than Teyla when she wears that top. So let's go now. Here's your radio. There's your camera. Pick up your feet. That's it. Here we go."
Sheppard was orchestrating the crowd with complete tactical mastery. "Ladies, about time. Check the roster. Pick up a Sharpie and tag off Keg Watch. Limit is three cups per. No exceptions. Lighting! Move that tower a meter left or you're gonna bake Sound!"
The flurry of activity as people carried equipment and supplies increased as more arrived. Music blared as the smells of BBQ reached maturity. The hot sun moved low on the horizon and poured through the window of the sunroom. People settled to chat and eat, settling down only to throw things at Sheppard as he gave a little speech about opening 'The Watchtower' and the Fourth of July celebration disguised as 'Summer-fest'.
"The Watchtower was a gathering place for superheroes who saved the world over and over: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. By pulling together, you are all superheroes and this is your party!"
Lennah sat on the table by the keg, marking people's hands to tally up their drinks. Some talked to her, asking her if she was new. Sheppard was loving it. He'd occasionally give her a thumbs-up when she caught him watching.
The line was moving quickly and she had developed a rhythm. She'd offer her hand to shake and marked a line on their right hand before they knew what was happening. She had to explain it to a few. One Marine got quite vocal about the arrangement.
"Are you serious!?! Only three? I'm a big guy, I need more than three drinks!" The black Marine boasted loudly.
Lennah shot back calmly. "Well you can't drink them all at once. Come back later and I'll buy you one." She held up her unmarked hand as proof.
"For real?" He smiled. "That's decent of you. What's your name?"
She smiled. "Lennah Colare."
He gripped her hand again. "Lennah Colare, nice to meet you. Marcus Stein." Lennah balked and blushed. Figures…But it's not like there are ten thousand guys named 'Marcus' in the world. You just have to deal with one.
"Nice to meet you too, Marcus." She waved him aside and continued marking hands.
Marcus plopped down next to her and started eating, asking her questions between bites. He was still there when Teyla tapped her on the shoulder. She was relieved to get back to the group and waved a quick farewell to Marcus. He pointed at her forebodingly.
Sheppard was overseeing the cooking of his rare steak. Ronon was content to watch people as always.
"Does that count?"
Ronon smirked. "As Sheppard setting you up? No."
"Why not? He gave me the job."
"You started talking to him."
"Only because I had to."
"And buying him a drink?"
"I was keeping the peace."
"Yeah, sure."
"Shut up."
"You."
"Man! This is the perfect steak." Sheppard reverently displayed his plate with a slow turn. He was oblivious to Dex and Colare staring daggers at each other. He cut into it and faintly pink juice poured out.
"'Muah-ah-ah! I vant to drink your blood.' Now that is a steak that a vampire can appreciate, right Colare?"
She raised an eyebrow in response. "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, come on… I've seen your stash of trashy vampire novels." Sheppard waved his fork at her before resuming his worship of red meat.
"You mean the one in my underwear drawer?"
John almost choked on his fork.
"What's a vampire?" Ronon asked her with a sneer. He was in a foul mood.
Lennah gulped and equivocated. For good reason, she never brought up the subject with Pegasus natives. "Just a mythical creature from Earth. Many vastly different cultures have them somewhere in historic legends."
Sheppard smoked her out of her neutral territory. "But that's not why you like them, huh? Why don't you tell him?"
Lennah kicked him under the table and glared. Sheppard moved out of her range and didn't yield.
Ronon looked at her with impatient confusion.
"Vampires… Some people… On Earth, there are—is… lots of different… stuff." Ronon knit his eyebrows and started to smile as she haltingly attempted to 'explain'. "So you see… These legends… And then…"
"Colare likes to be bit." Sheppard translated. "She likes it, likes it."
"Oh, is that all?" Ronon grinned suggestively and Lennah felt herself wither into her shoes. Her ears burned red.
"Yeah, remember that time you bit her arm and she got all twitchy?"
"Oh! THAT's what it was about…" He looked over at her as she tried to coolly recover. "On Sateda there was a rule about biting during fights for the same reason. Two people can hate each other going into the fight then, afterward..."
"Well, different people like different things. There's nothing wrong with it." She was mostly relieved she didn't have to explain that her secret obsession was oddly similar to Wraith Worshipping. "I mean Sheppard likes tall powerful women he can't have."
Sheppard just smiled off into space as a piece of steak melted in his mouth. Red meat and women…
Lennah rolled her eyes at him and turned to watch the dance floor. The last of the sun's light faded and the light show began sprinting alongside the music. Everybody was dancing. The skylight poured the full moons over the sardined crowd. A few ambient lights zipped shapes like blades through the misty fog. Cool air slipped in though the open balcony where people talked and drank away from the cinnamon smell of the smoke machine.
Ronon grabbed her from behind and bit her shoulder quickly before letting her go.
Sheppard was loosing it busting a gut as Lennah's fury simmered below the surface. She flicked her head and her neck cracked loudly. She glared at Sheppard, looking like she'd claw through the table with her nails and rip him to shreds. Thoughts were muddled. Things got fuzzy.
In her red haze, she snatched Sheppard's cup and chugged. Dropping the empty cup on the table she rose and moved toward the dancing.
She was surprised how quickly she got over it. She'd be pissed at Ronon for a good while but the party got to her and dancing was the perfect release. She tried to fade into the crowd but too many had seen the 'dirty dishes' vid.
Marcus showed up alongside her and she smiled at him. Much of Capioera looks like break dancing and soon they had an open battle going. It brought a crowd to watch and cheer. Some of the spectators were obviously drunk on someone's personal brew. The Marines took turns smacking her ass and laughing.
Marcus tried to help her out but this only encouraged the other males to grab and taunt. She was ready to start kicking when Ro showed up.
He grabbed her waist and hauled her off the floor, plopping her down behind him. The guys on the edge of the battle looked at each other in apprehension. Regardless if they were actually as drunk as they were acting, they knew Ronon could exact pain when he meant to.
He stared them down to drive the point home then turned to guide Lennah out into the night air.
"I don't want to go anywhere with you!" She jerked to a halt and Ro plowed into her.
"Shut up and keep walking." His voice thrummed in her chest like gravel not to mention the vestiges of their last interaction. But alcohol in her system was an easy scapegoat and she had to blame something for how helpless she felt against her own emotions.
Colare didn't want Ronon to think he'd had anything more than a passing effect on her. She played it cool. "Wow, that was awkward." She stated dryly.
Ronon shifted on his feet and smiled boastfully down at her. "What, exactly?"
Lennah blinked and stammered. "Uh—um, the, uh, Marines. With the whole drunk thing."
"Oh."
Lennah leaned on the railing for support as she first thought about, then avoided the subject. Next topic. She fidgeted in the lengthening silence.
"I'm sorry for tricking you into coming." His voice was soft in the quiet of ringing ears. Lennah smiled and shivered in the cold and from her typical post-performance anxiety. Most wouldn't call dancing with strangers a 'performance' but her nerves treated it so. He came to lean on the bar with his shoulder against hers.
Lennah had to remind herself she'd touched him a hundred times. Here, now, the contact had a whole new tenor.
It's no big deal, Colare. She admonished herself. A moment more and she surrendered to the cold, wrapping her arms around his and edged closer. She was aware it had been a while since anyone talked but was at a loss as to what to say.
"It was Sheppard's idea." Ronon continued.
Lennah scoffed. "For what?"
"For messing with your head. Getting you to come." He smiled at her.
"Yeah." She cleared her throat. "That could have been done differently." Sheppard was definitely playing both sides against the middle.
"You did good, though." He nodded. "Better than expected."
She narrowed her eyes at him but smiled. "You, too. You owe me."
Opened his mouth then snapped it shut. He paused and smiled at her. "I'll deal."
Lennah snickered at that and shivered again. Ro extracted his arm and wrapped her up. The heat he radiated at her back was a shock and she shuddered one last time. Lethargy hit and she sighed with relief.
"I should take you back inside." He whispered and his breath warmed the back of her neck.
"I'm okay." She said through clenched teeth so they wouldn't chatter. He chuckled and she shook with him. They stood silently observing the lights over Atlantis a while longer. Lennah leaned her head against his chest to look up at the stars.
Ronon started swaying to keep warm and Lennah followed suit.
"Sheppard says this is your thing."
"What?" She asked from behind closed eyes.
"This." He said. "Dancing. He says you're really good at it." He'd said it when he'd shown him that 'Dirty Dishes' video.
She smiled and chuckled. "He says that, huh?"
"You should show me." He hummed. "If he's wrong, so I can tell him."
Lennah groaned. That was a challenge. She laughed. "Okay. Fine."
"Really?" he sounded surprised.
"Sure. I'm thirsty."
"Yes, Ma'am." He agreed and practically dragged her back down the hallway. Apprehension dawned but the music drowned that out soon enough. He moved away, leaving her to feel awkward until the persuasive beat pulled her in. She pressed into the crowd toward the cluster of break-dancers joking around and goofing off. There were a few talented ones Lennah applauded as she got back into the swing of things. The songs flowed smoothly through a change and the males groaned as some 'girl power song' started playing.
Lennah jumped into the ring. She shooed the boys aside and clowned them as they jeered her. There were a few girls on the sidelines and she shared an exasperated look with them as she moved sensuously to the beat. Lennah wasn't the best at this particular style but she had fun showing up the boys. She finished with a spin and stepped back as another girl took the spotlight. Lennah stayed nearby, dancing alone as she watched and cheered the others on.
A cup appeared in front of her face and she took it as Ronon synced up behind her.
"That was pretty nice." He said in her ear. She shrugged and took a swig of something bitter and alcoholic. Lennah made a face and Ronon took it and chugged with a smile. "Don't like Tequila?" He crumpled the paper cup and threw it at Sheppard. He looked up, confused, but failed to discover the source of the magic flying cup.
Ro and Lennah laughed. She spun to hide her grin from Sheppard. She shook her head at Ro and guided him into some Latin steps.
It wasn't this tense when they were sparing so she put off teaching him anything new. She stuck with the break-dancers and led Ronon through some two-steps by his belt loops. Lennah got the impression he was being intentionally difficult.
"You can go if you want." She offered, leaning in to be heard. "Am I boring you?" He shook his head and put his hands on her waist. Ronon suddenly took the lead and showed a firm grasp of intricate rhythms. He pushed her into a spin and took a turn pushing her around for a while.
Whatever she'd taken a swig of had been potent, not to mention her status as a non-drinker lightweight. She felt dizzy and sought support by putting her hands over Ro's. Earth was spinning. Many billions of light years away, but spinning somewhere out there none the less.
It wasn't a great leap to move against him. It was hot but his breath on her wasn't uncomfortable. She wasn't too tired but her eyes were heavy. The room was full but they were alone.
He turned her to face him and he held her hand before placing it at his neck. Her other hand found its way there with a mind of its own. Lennah raised an eyebrow at the offending limb and turned the uncertain look at Ronon who just smiled easily. It was pretty cozy and became more so as his hands slid around on her back.
This new level of proximity opened the door for some other styles of dance Lennah didn't normally mess with. She met his eyes and felt his hands tighten at her waist. The pressure slipped up to cradle her ribs and she felt an unfamiliar tightening in her chest. She was breathless with the dance and the tensions of the last few weeks seemed to weigh her down. Lennah's chin dropped to her chest. Ronon murmured something unintelligible in her ear and she turned up into him. He felt her elevated breathing on his neck and wrapped his arms tighter around her. She sighed and relaxed into him. He followed suit and snuggled his face in the crook of her neck.
The music was good but it wouldn't have mattered. There were lights flashing but few saw them.
Lennah didn't realize her eyes were shut until his lips found her neck. She gasped in surprise. Encouraged, he bit down. She tensed and her nails dug into his neck. His hand tangled into her hair as he continued. She found his ear and bit a reply before remembering her purpose.
"Let's go."