Author's Note: Happy Juneteenth, everyone! Hoping you're having a fabulous day.
I wrote this one a while ago and it just got buried, but it was inspired by several of Taylor Swift's songs (there's way more I could've done, but I've already written stories closely related to it).
If you can guess each song, I'll give you 10 points per song - some are more conceptual of the song and not direct lyrics.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I wish I did sometimes.
o0o
Like a Taylor Swift Song
1.
After Sha're, Daniel felt like he wasn't allowed to love again. Every time he tried, something went horribly wrong. It was as if the universe was giving him a sign to just give up.
And for a while, he did.
He accepted that he wasn't meant to have that type of relationship in his life and his SG-1 family would be all the family he would have and need. That is, until a crazy, beautiful, space pirate, thief, and con artist named Vala Mal Doran crashed into his life like a tidal wave and completely turned it upside down. He fought the undeniable attraction to her but as it turned out, it was a losing battle.
He never dreamed they could be anything. For the longest time, Daniel believed nothing between them could last – they were complete opposites in almost every way, so how could anything between them last? Vala came in and out of his life a few times and he sincerely believed she'd leave again.
When she was lost in the Ori galaxy, he denied he felt anything at her disappearance, but he struggled with the knowledge she was there all alone. Without his permission, she had left a permanent mark on him. He had to live with the fact that he couldn't save her. So, he let her go, but to his surprise, she came back…to him. They'd found each other just in time.
The more he got to know her, the more he believed they weren't right for each other. But no matter what he believed, he was obviously wrong because out of nowhere, the love he believed he'd never find again suddenly came back to him – alive back from the dead. It flared up out of nowhere and there was no denying it – and he didn't want to.
Because it was good…and sometimes it was bad, crazy, and everything in between – just like them. And he would never trade it for the world.
o0o
2.
Vala knew who she was.
She was selfish, self centered, rash, and sometimes never thought things through before jumping. She didn't leave things alone and was always getting into trouble or it followed her around.
Overall, she was a handful.
A handful Daniel willingly took on because, come on, let's face it – she was one of a kind. She balanced him out to where they just worked. Sure, they were messy a lot of the time but they were also exquisite. While she tended to make things about her, Daniel never allowed her to get away with it – at least, not all the time. They fought more than she'd like, but he was different than any man she'd been with. He never walked away – no matter how far she pushed him…and believe me, she had.
"God, you are infuriating sometimes!" Daniel often yelled at the end of particularly bad arguments.
She used to worry that one day, she'd push too far and lose him, but he simply told her that wasn't how it worked – that she was stuck with him. So, it no longer worried her when they fought. At the end, she would always smile and say, "You'll never find another like me – and no one's ever gonna love you like me."
He had no choice but to agree.
o0o
Daniel had issues – no secret there.
On occasion, he had unrealistic expectations, especially when it came to the people he loved, and it was known to cause tension.
And problems…lots of problems.
"You're impossible!" Vala would often complain. "Your standards are impossible to meet!"
"Standards?" he'd scoff sarcastically. "You mean being a decent person in general? Yeah, so hard."
"Ugh!" she growled. "Well, maybe I'll find someone else less restrictive."
Daniel arched his eyebrows. "Like who?"
Vala shrugged. "There's plenty of other geeks in this place who'd love an opportunity to be with me and would appreciate my language skills."
"What, think you could love another archeologist?" he bit out. The idea was laughable to him. "You're forgetting something."
"What's that darling?" She was so confident he couldn't rattle her.
He leaned forward. "They'd bore you to death in ten seconds flat," he pointed out, smiling when he caught her. "But me? I never bore you, not truly."
He could see he made his point and it resonated with her.
"Look, I know I can be hard and even make things about me sometimes," though she was typically the one who did that, "but the way I love you? No can ever match or even come close to it," he told her, softening his voice as he spoke.
Vala fought a smile. "So you're saying we're it for each other? Stuck together."
Daniel smiled back. "Yeah, because like you said the other day, there's never gonna be another like me."
She sided up to him, arms slinking around him. "I like it when you quote me," her sultry made him squirm.
He rolled his eyes. "Why do I get the feeling you enjoy picking fights?"
"Oh come on, you know it's foreplay for us." She wasn't wrong – even though it was kinda wrong that it did. "And you love it."
He couldn't deny it. "Yeah, I do."
And he loved her just she loved him. Together, they were unique. There would never be another Vala Mal Doran just like her – especially one who'd love Daniel Jackson the way this one did.
o0o
3.
Meeting Vala was like someone throwing a giant boulder into a peaceful lake – huge waves and ripples disrupting the calm and normalcy that was his life.
As rough as she was on the surface, he soon began to realize there was much more to her. While she would probably never admit it, she wasn't in the best of places when they met again on Earth – and neither was he.
Somehow, they both saw through each other's bullshit. They both recognized something between them but neither of them made the first move – them ending up together didn't seem feasible. It was almost like it was an open and shut case…but it didn't stop him from wanting her though. He knew she felt the same. Vala had the opportunity to leave so many times but she always stayed. He wouldn't say it was for him, but he knew it had something to do with him – they just didn't do anything about it.
Daniel often worried they missed their chance. His life was going one way and hers another. He was always waiting for a sign that showed she reciprocated his feelings but he never noticed anything. It wasn't until later on in their relationship that he discovered she had been waiting for the same from him.
But somewhere along the way, their paths met and started going the same way. He wasn't sure what changed but he found himself opening up to her – maybe it was being trapped in a severe snowstorm together for hours, cut off from everyone else. In that cold, dark place, he finally realized she was just as scarred as him. Maybe not in the same way but they both had been through hell.
Upon this revelation, he was able to ascertain that there was no way Vala Mal Doran would open up first. While life had swallowed, chewed, and spat him out just like her, he had one thing she didn't – family, friends, a support system to help get through the tough times. So he cracked first. He let her in emotionally. He was vulnerable with her and shared his past trauma and the scars it inflicted on him.
It wrecked any plans they had to not pursue anything between them, but they were okay with it in the end because it altered the course of their relationship and not just them as a couple but also as individuals. Together, they were able to heal and become them. They still struggled with their demons but at least now they had each other to lean on.
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4.
You could hear it in the silence.
You could see it in every action and deed.
Daniel Jackson loved her – just like she loved him. They both were just too chicken to say it to each other.
It was in the simplest things – things people often took for granted. Things people never really thought of or didn't consider valuable. She first realized it two months into their relationship. She could still remember that exact moment when she knew for sure.
She'd woken up to an empty bed in his small little apartment and hadn't been happy. Annoyed, she'd thrown on one of his shirts, which happened to be the one he'd been wearing the day they met – a nice burn hole on one of the sleeves from where she shot him – and followed her nose to the kitchen where was preparing breakfast. He greeted her like every morning when she spent the night, but noticing her frown, asked what was wrong.
"It's not even eight in the morning and you've already abandoned me in bed for…" she gestured to whatever he was doing, "this!"
Daniel fought a smile. "This," he pointed to the bowl of batter and a hot pan, "is me making you apple pancakes like I promised last night, but I can always stop," he teased.
Vala wasn't sure why, but him keeping his word to make her pancakes that she read about in some random magazine flooded her with love. As sad as it was, it was the first time a man she'd been in a relationship had kept his word – and she knew he always would because he was her Daniel. She didn't know how to process this new found feeling so she ended up jumping him. Though surprised, he caught her effortlessly before gently setting her on the counter next to a stack of warm pancakes.
"If I knew making you apple pancakes would've elicited this reaction, I would've done it a long time ago," he quipped when they finally pulled apart. He tugged at her shirt. "This my shirt?"
She grinned at him. "Well now you know and yes it is," she answered him. "But I'm totally stealing it – it's mine now."
Instead of fighting her, he just grinned back. "Looks better on you anyways," he stated before swooping down to kiss her again.
She'd never forget that day or that feeling, nor would she forget the day she knew he loved her – without him saying it or even realizing it himself.
It hadn't been long after her little revelations, but it had been a particularly bad day. They had gone on a mission and it had been a near miss for Vala. It was obvious to everyone that the event had terrified Daniel and brought back horrible flashbacks of his wife dying.
So it was no surprise that same night, Daniel dreampt of how it could've ended, resulting in a nightmare. She'd been right beside him, waking him up immediately to assure him she was safe. It didn't do a lot to abate his fears. He needed physical touch – to fear the warmth of her skin and the beating of her heart, to know that she was alive.
He held her for so long, she was surprised he hadn't gone back to sleep and almost jumped when he whispered in a hoarse voice, "I could've lost you today."
Her heart squeezed the pain and terror he was feeling. She shifted so her arm was resting on his chest and her chin on her arm. "But you didn't," she assured him as she locked their eyes.
His gaze was intense, almost burning, and as he struggled for words, that's when she knew – he loved her. Despite the darkness, she could see it without the lights. She could feel it in the air. She could hear it in the silence and there was no need for words. Neither was ready to admit it aloud but they knew nonetheless.
"I know," she whispered when he couldn't get the words out. "Me too."
He swallowed thickly but didn't seem as afraid as before – losing her or admitting he loved her.
They fell asleep holding each other.
Sometimes you don't need words to express love. They certainly didn't.
o0o
5.
Bickering and fighting with Daniel wasn't anything new.
In fact, many people believed it was their twisted way of expressing their love – they may have a point there. Vala never concerned herself with the little spats they had. They were often unimportant and petty in nature – born out of pure frustration, annoyance, and selfishness.
But she wasn't an idiot and could recognize a true and concerning fight. She wasn't even sure if she could call what they had a fight – it was much more severe than any word she could think of. In fact, it reminded her a lot of the fights her parents used to have and that's what scared her. She could clearly remember the one that broke her parents and their marriage, and the one she just had with Daniel gave her a sinking feeling her marriage was about to end in the same way her parents did.
It felt like everything was slipping through her fingers – everything she ever wanted and cared for – and she couldn't take it. The weight of what was happening was too much to bear and she found herself bolting from the house, blatantly ignoring Daniel's cries to stop and come back. But she didn't, not even for a coat to protect her from the frigid air. She ran into the little woods that sat behind their little house until she couldn't run anymore.
She didn't make it far since she was on the verge of a panic attack and forcing herself not to completely break down and cry – she lost that battle, especially when she heard Daniel's footsteps crunching in the snow behind her. She started crying earnestly into her arms as she waited for the inevitable to happen – the goodbye. The end of their marriage.
Because it's all she's ever known.
She couldn't help but be surprised when she felt a warm coat draped over her shoulders and the movement of Daniel crouching in front of her. "Vala, hey," he cooed softly – all anger melting in favor of genuine concern for her. "Sweetheart, what is it? What's wrong?"
Vala refused to look at him. "I love you," she croaked out, "and I don't want us to be over. I don't want to say goodbye. I don't want this to be the end!"
Sensing her growing hysteria, she was quickly enveloped in his arms. "Hey, hey," he squeezed her to him. "We have one little measly fight and suddenly our marriage is over?" he tried to tease but it fell flat on her ears.
She buried her face in his warm chest. "In my experience, yes," she whimpered. "We fight too much, just like my parents. Just like every relationship I've been in, and it always ends the same – I don't want that with us."
"Oh sweetheart," she felt him kiss her head. "You can't get rid of me that easily."
Vala pulled away and met his eyes. "But we're like water and oil – we don't mix," she argued, not entirely sure why she was trying to strengthen her case. "My parents were the same and look how that turned out."
"Vala –"
"They even had a fight just like ours tonight and Jacek walked out and I didn't see him for years, Daniel," she closed her eyes at the painful memory of watching her father walk out and her mother struggle in the aftermath. "Losing you would be the hardest thing I'd ever go through."
Daniel smiled ruefully and brushed her cheek. "Well, it's a good thing you'll never have to go through that."
"But –"
"I am not Jacek," he stated emphatically. "And we are not your parents. I will never leave you like that, no matter how bad things might get. You're my wife and I fucking love you, okay?"
She sniffed. "What if love isn't enough?" she whispered her greatest fear in that moment.
He sighed, his breath creating a puff cloud in the cold night air. "It may not be," he admitted reluctantly. "But we have overcome so much more than this fight – it's so small in comparison. We've fought against the odds and won. We've been to hell and back together. Vala, we've bonded in a way that goes beyond mere love, and I have no doubt in my mind that we'll make it – we just need to always try and never give up."
Only Daniel Jackson could make her feel like she could do anything – accomplish anything. "Do you really believe that?"
"Of course I do," he rested their foreheads together. "I knew what I was getting myself into when I married you. Your father is a careless man and that scarred you more than you even know."
Vala's face twisted in displeasure. "Thanks," her voice dripped in sarcasm.
Daniel grinned at her. "Well, you know I'm no picnic either," he reminded her. "I'm just as fucked up, but you've accepted me for my flaws."
"You do make an excellent point."
He huffed a small laugh. "I know we're not perfect, but as long as we never give up, we'll make it – I promise you that because you're the best thing that's ever been mine."
He had yet to ever break a promise to her and he had a way of making her believe whatever he said. "So, we're breaking the cycle?"
Daniel pressed their lips together for a brief moment. "Yeah, we are."
Vala silently agreed in her head before closing the small space between them and hugged him fiercely.
Together, they'd break the pattern of broken marriages and disastrous relationships, and never give up – no matter how hard it got.
o0o
1+
He hated it that this was his reaction to the situation.
Who the hell laughed at the end of a huge fight?
Daniel blamed Vala wholeheartedly because she was the reason his brain went there.
"Daniel Jackson, why the fuck are you laughing at a time like this?" his wife grumbled as she pushed him away from her.
He shook his head incredulously. "It's your fault," he shifted the blame. "You got that damn song in my head and now it's all I can think about right now since the chorus is literally playing out right now."
Vala gaped at him. "Have you gone completely wonko?" she practically screeched at him. "What're you talking about, what song?"
He wiped away the water collecting on his face from the light drizzle. "The one by that blonde artist you like – the country turned pop girl."
"You mean Taylor Swift?" she guessed as she moved wet strands of hair out of her face.
"Yeah, her," he nodded. "That one song you like, it's actually happening now – the one about screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain."
They'd had another stupid, pointless argument where she stormed out into the rain. He quickly realized there was no substance to the argument and couldn't remember why they were even fighting. So, he followed her out to apologize, which led them to making up and kissing in the rain.
And that's when he was suddenly reminded of that damn song.
Vala started laughing. It was infectious – it always was and never failed to make him join her. "Oh my gods, we really are like a Taylor Swift song," she giggled as she pulled him back to her. "I never thought about it before but you really are exactly like the way she describes in the beginning…and even the second verse," she mused as she remembered the lyrics.
Daniel frowned, looking down at her. "Seriously?" Didn't she know what the song was about and how that wasn't necessarily good?
"What?" she asked like he was crazy. "Darling, you sensible and oh so incredible, and multiple women at the SGC are insanely jealous that I've snagged you. You always know what to say when I need it – when it matters."
As flattered as he was, he suddenly needed to make her understand what the song actually meant. "You do realize she's singing about how she has this great guy but is missing someone else and their dysfunctional relationship, right?"
Vala opened her mouth to argue but stopped. Her face went pensive as she analyzed the lyrics and he knew she made the connection when her eyes went wide. "Oh," she mumbled. She frowned. "Wait, so the dysfunctional relationship part she's singing about, that's what makes you think of us?"
Shit. he hadn't thought this through. In truth, it always made him think of Vala and the way he loved her. She was wild and crazy and was constantly pushing him over the edge. Sure, they fought a lot and he could admit he cursed her name at random times just as he knew she did. She could bring out the worst in him and visa versa but also the best and the best outweighed the worst.
It was definitely a roller coaster of emotions but Taylor Swift had one thing right – he never knew he could feel that much, love someone as much as he loved Vala.
"Vala, c'mon, you gotta admit – we are a little dysfunctional." Why pretend otherwise. "But it works for us. Besides, it's not like we are all the time."
She hummed thoughtfully as she played with the buttons on his shirts. "I guess you're right," she agreed more easily than he expected. "It's kinda scary how spot on she is."
"Think she's watching and using us for inspiration?" he teased.
Vala laughed. "Probably," she brushed his cheek. "If she keeps it up, she'll go places."
"Nah," he disagreed. "She'll probably go back to country and become another Carrie Underwood or something."
"No, she's going to kill it out there," she stated with certainty. "But enough about her. How 'bout we get back to kissing in the rain?"
Daniel wasn't opposed to that but… "Or we could go inside and do something even better in the shower?"
Vala raised her brows and smirked. "I like the way you think, darling." She grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the house.
The End.
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Author's Note: Did you guess them all?
Also, let me know your thoughts!
