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itsallovernowOk, so it's unbeta'd (and boy does it need one), it's NC-17, although only at the end, and I know I should have been working on Blue Eyes, but I got distracted.
Besides, after a week that included IP, The Choice, and Fractures, fluff is much deserved, season 2 fluff none the less, which assumes that at least some of season 2 was spent gettin' it on. Although, I'm afraid I'm repeating myself on the porn!
Also, it's my trading card for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fbf
Cave Canem
From a purely practical standpoint, it seemed a shame to waste a full-sized body bag on the little Vorc. They were running short, and it felt a little like tempting fate to use one. Besides, Zhaan had wanted to dissect the creature, find out more about its ability to shapeshift.
John brushed Aeryn’s hair off her neck, gently resting his lips there as she fought against the unexpected grief that had seized her at this death They knelt in the hallway, looking at the Vorc as his body grew colder. John held onto her tightly, and she allowed it, accepting his comfort.
He delicately kissed her shoulder, breathing in the scent of her hair, her silky skin, trying to focus on her unexpected grief, but feeling monumentally distracted by her flesh.
Life with Aeryn was all about firsts, he was continually discovering. First time he made her laugh, first kiss, first family pet, first fight, first time she knocked him out. He grinned into her shoulder, and she turned her head a little.
“What?” she said suspiciously, still sniffing. She sounded tired and more than a little confused.
“Nothin’ baby. Just thinking. We should probably get your bird dog to Zhaan, don’t you think?” He responded softly, wanting to give her just a little more time to compose herself.
The last time he’d seen tears on her face had been the result of the ragged ravages of her past. These tears were part of her future, and he would have liked to protect her from the sorrow that life inevitably caused. That, he also knew, was completely beyond his power.
“I hate that we misjudged it,” she said finally, sitting up straighter. “It was trying to help us. How often does that happen?”
He kissed her cheek then, stroking the fine hairs away from her face, amazed at her.
“That’d be about never,” he conceded easily, thoughts of the disturbing flashes of Scorpius momentarily pushed aside. Releasing her, he stood, helping her up as she continued to cradle the Vorc.
“I’m so sorry,” she said to it again, and retreating back into herself, she proceeded him down the hallway.
***
“I say we space the dren filled corpse,” said Rygel, morosely picking through the remains of their supplies, searching for something to eat.
Aeryn’s open palm caught him on the back of the head, sending the throne chair forward into the table.
“Show a little respect Rygel. You’re here, complaining, because of that creature.”
Rygel glared at her, muttering, “Frelling Peacekeeper, saving your compassion for the dead.”
“Cut it out Sparky,” John said resignedly, knowing there was little he could say to stop the tiny Dominar from pissing off the rest of the crew. Aeryn just ignored him.
“Well, it doesn’t seem fair to let Zhaan cut him up,” Chiana added, settling into place at the table. “He didn’t do anything to us.”
“She might find something that could help us in the future, Chi.”
Chiana shrugged her slim shoulders. “I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem right.”
Aeryn took a sip of water, looking into the cup thoughtfully. “If there is a chance that Zhaan can find something in the Vorc that could possibly be of use to us, I think we have to let her go ahead.”
Chiana made a noise of protest, but John backed Aeryn up. “I understand how you feel, Pip. But, we need all the breaks we can get.”
Chiana slumped in her seat, still oddly graceful. “Well, I hope if I die, you don’t cut me up to see if I’ve got anything useful.”
Aeryn glared at her. “You barely have anything useful alive, Chiana.”
“Well, at least I can do more than kill things,” Chiana squeaked in return, somewhat taken aback.
“Hey, hey, neutral corners, ladies,” John broke in quickly, hoping to stave off another fight, looking from one woman to another.
“You're right.” Aeryn said, continuing to look at Chiana. “I’m sorry.”
Chiana stared at her, jaw suspended open in surprise. Aeryn pushed back from the table and walked out of the room.
The Nebari turned to John, still stunned. “Did she just apologize, to me?”
John rubbed the spot in his eye socket that always started to throb after conversations like this. “Just give her a little bit of a break, Chi, all right?”
She made a noise of agreement, and John grinned at her, and then caught his breath as the black clad figure of Scorpius stroked his fingers over Chiana’s soft, white hair.
John slammed his palms down on the table, enraged and scared, startling Chiana and Rygel.
“Crichton,” Rygel yelled. “Have you gone completely fahrbot?” over Chiana’s worried, “Old man, you ok?”
His shipmates stared at him, Scorpius huddled behind them, and John struggled to relax, to appear
normal. He cleared his throat. “Um, sorry about that guys. Just thought of something I need to do.”
They continued regard him warily, and Chiana reached out a tentative hand, laying her gloved palm on top of his fingers. “You sure you’re all right?”
John turned his hand up, caught her fingers, and squeezed reassuringly. “I’m fine, but I’d better go make sure Aeryn isn’t breaking anything.”
Aeryn was in fact doing inventory of what was left after the infestation, and grunted noncommittally when he asked if she needed help.
“The slug should be on his way soon,” she added, “Why don’t you go get some rest?” He quirked an eyebrow, stepping towards her. He casually hooked a finger in her gunbelt, drawing her towards him, the clip board sandwiched between them.
“Any particular reason why I’d need the rest?” he inquired, struggling for seductive, but barely able to keep the amusement out of his voice. Aeryn didn’t appear to be in the mood for distractions though. She looked at him shrewdly and seemed to weigh her options.
“You’ve been acting strangely lately," she hesitated.
He shrugged, and she pushed on, “I’m worried that you’re cracking up.”
He released her and backed up. “I’m not cracking up, Aeryn” he said in annoyance.
He turned and left. “I’ll find Rygel though.”
He was playing chess with himself when she knocked on his door later that evening.
“What,” he said, not looking up from the pieces. “Chiana not give you a full enough report.”
“John,” she sighed, worry and exasperation dueling heavily in her voice. She entered his room, sat down across from him and picked up a chess piece. Aeryn normally didn’t fiddle with things, and this was obviously making her uncomfortable and unhappy. “Crichton... when we were hunting... you uh, almost blew my head off. That was a bad shot, even for you.”
And he gave in, told her about Scorpius, the flashes, how real he looked, the taunting threats. He reassured her that he’d be fine, that he wasn’t losing his mind, and she bit her lip, looking unbearably young and uncertain. But she nodded, trusting him and giving him space. He continued to move pieces around, forcing himself not to ask her to stay, not to pull her onto his lap, not to see how far he could get before she clocked him. The chances were 50/50 that she’d agree to stay, to meet his kisses and caresses with her fierceness, and laughter and lust. It wouldn’t be the first time. But after today, hell after the last monen, he didn’t want to tempt fate any further, so he didn’t even watch her walk out.
***
The Vorc and the parasites had caused surprisingly little damage to Moya, but had wreaked havoc among the food supply and Zhaan’s apothecary. Another stop was going to be needed in the near future. This news was met by collective groaning and mumbling, and not a little fear. Each stop was a risk, that they’d be captured by the PK’s, that they’d meet something that finally defeated them, that this dance with fate and death was eventually not going to come down on their side.
Through it all, the flashes and threats continued, robbing John of sleep. He knew Aeryn was worried about him, watching him carefully over first meal, and he’d taken to avoiding her during the day in order to save himself from the queries. The ramifications of almost shooting her had also hit him in the middle of the night, and he’d sat up in bed, sweating, his pulse pounding in his ears as the action finally sunk in. He’d leveled his gun at her, aimed, and was damned lucky that he’d aimed wide. It scared him almost as much as the spector did.
But he missed her and filling up his time on Moya, when they were not under attack, could be something of a challenge. He’d given up on golf after accidently smacking one of the DRD’s with the ball, and chess was now tainted by the leather-clad freak waiting to face off across the board. The pieces lay in checkmate, and John was afraid to touch them. So he asked Pilot what he could do to help out. Pilot, tired of the human’s incessant wandering and tendency to take things apart when unoccupied, readily found tasks for him.
D’Argo had agreed to help John move some cables from one tier to another. They’d been going back and forth in companionable silence for an arn or so when the sight of one of the DRD’s seemed to trigger something in John.
“Hey D’Argo, you guys have dogs on your home world?” John asked as they navigated the heavy cable through the corridors.
“Dogs?”
“Yeah, pack animals. Dude, you’ve got to remember that conversation. Creatures like the Vorcarians, but without the talking and the bounty hunting? Pets. House animals.”
D’Argo pondered that.
“We have Oulans that help to guard our herds, but we’d hardly keep them inside. Sometimes children will play with the infants, but Oulans are very dangerous when their adult teeth come in.” he responded thoughtfully.
“Of course,” said John with a sigh. “Everything out here is a critter. You think it’s a pet, nope it’s lunch. Think it’s harmless, it’ll eat you for dinner. Nothing’s ever what it seems to be,” he said in disgust, scuffing his toe in the ground and hefting the coil of cable from one shoulder to the other.
“Crichton, what are you talking about?” D’Argo asked, stopping and turning to his friend.
“Nothing, D. Just missing my dogs, I guess. The Vorc kinda reminded me of one of ‘em.”
Putting on his best I have some idea of what you’re talking about face for the sake of his friend, D’Argo nodded in encouragement. “Pets, yes?”
“Yeah. Companions,pets. You’re responsible for them. We use them for hunting and fishing and guarding as well, but mostly, they’re just part of the family. We had a little Aussie who was a herding dog. She’d round up kids, cats, anything, but only when she wanted to. She was a little too smart for her own good, though.”
D’Argo’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“And you’d like one of these, dogs?”
John nodded, and resumed the trek to the next tier. “Yeah. It’d be nice to have something like that around. Something you just had to feed and water and talk to that wouldn’t make our lives a living hell.”
D’Argo snorted, “Well, up to that point it sounded a lot like Rygel.”
John grinned in return. “Yeah, without the more pleasant aspects.”
***
“We are not getting a pet for Crichton, Chiana, and that is final,” Aeryn slammed her fist into the padded triangle. The force of the impact resonated up her arm, clearing her head.
“D’Argo said he just looked really unhappy about something,” Chiana said, her lithe body weaving back and forth behind the form, staying far clear of the former Peacekeeper’s reach.
“Well I don’t think adding another creature that needs to be fed and watched over is the answer,” Aeryn struck again, a double jab, quick and clean.
“He misses his dogs,” she insisted. Aeryn stepped back, kicking out quickly to the side, bending the block and returned to her fighting stance before it sprang back. John had talked about those creatures with affection when relaying stories of Earth. She knew they were important to him. What this had to do with anything was beyond her though.
“And he’s been really distracted lately,” Chiana added more loudly as Aeryn launched into a combination of kicks and punches.
Landing a vicious palm strike on the bag and catching herself, feeling the sweat on her skin, Aeryn rested one hand on the top of the triangle. She looked Chiana dead in the eye, freezing the younger woman in place. Chiana’s concern for John was grating, only because it so closely matched Aeryn’s own. The frelling human had been staying away from her lately, and when she saw him he looked tired and unfocusd, but they were not going to purchase something that would just add to their current chaos.
“No pets,” she said with finality.
Chiana made a moue of protest. “But you liked the Vorc!” she insisted.
Aeryn narrowed her eyes. “The Vorc was useful. It saved Rygel, probably saved all of us, and we killed it. What does that tell you Chiana?”
That stopped the young woman’s enthusiasm short and her body bowed a little.
“I guess you’re right,” she agreed reluctantly, then adding, “But he’s not sleeping very well.”
Aeryn sighed, and walked away from the bag to get her towel.
“I know,” she said, “I do know that.”
The last thing that John Crichton expected to see when he opened the door to his quarters that evening was Aeryn Sun, sitting at his table, clearly waiting for him. Aeryn rarely invaded anyone else’s private space, the novelty of having her own still fresh.
He raised an eyebrow as he walked in, looking at her quizzically. “Officer Sun, something I can do for you?”
She pursed her lips, dismissing the dig, and truthfully, she hardly looked like an officer at the moment. She was clearly fresh from the shower, her hair still slightly damp, cheeks pink and skin milky. He could smell her soap, and that clean scent of her body. She wore a black tank top, and loose black pants and her feet were bare. Something about that always got to him and he tried to get his brain back on track.
John swallowed heavily, before repeating his question, “What do you want Aeryn?”
She rested an arm on the table, rolling something between her fingers, and looked at him, considering her options. She didn’t say anything, though, so he shrugged and continued to move around the room, unholstering Winona, unsnapping his gunbelt and sliding out of his vest.
“Pilot said you had taken apart one of the DRD’s and attempted to reprogram it,” her husky voice sounded dryly amused. “He was uncertain what your intentions were.”
John opened his mouth to respond as he hung up the gun belt and then just added, “Yeah, well, I wanted to see how they were wired.”
Aeryn thought about that for a moment.
“Chiana thinks you want a pet.” she paused, curious “Is that what this foolishness with the DRD’s is all about?”
John shrugged again, trying very hard to tamp down his irritation. “It’s not foolishness, Aeryn, to want something to take care of.”
He didn’t look at her, but instead sat down on the bed and started to unlace his boots. He didn’t hear her get up and cross the room, her bare feet silent on the golden floor. Instead he saw her toes, pale and pink at the edge of her pants, and felt her fingers gently brush through his hair. He still didn’t look up until she slid a small blue bottle under his nose. He raised his eyes, looking at her strong features framed by the mass of black hair.
“Zhaan gave it to me.” She offered softly. “She said it will help you sleep.”
John shook his head, but took the bottle from her hand anyway. She was standing very close to him, his eyes level with the exposed skin where the shirt didn’t quite meet the pants. Without stopping to consider the consequences, he raised his hand, tracing his fingertip lightly along the white skin of her taut belly. She sucked in her breath, her abdomen fluttering, and he felt a genuine smile start on his face.
Wrapping his hand around her hip, tilting her towards him, he brushed his lips across her stomach, stopping briefly on the puncture marks left, pressing his mouth to the wound in supplication. She curled her fingers around his neck in response. He slid his thumb into the waistband of the pants, tugging down slightly to reveal her birthmark, and placed his lips there, teasing her gently with his tongue. He felt her nails sharp in the back of his skull, but she didn’t pull away. He tilted his head back lazily, his emotions and priorities having shifted monumentally from a few moments prior.
His voice sounded ridiculously hoarse, when he murmured, “I know something else that will help me sleep.”
She arched her brow, and made a non-committal noise. But she had released her death grip on him and was stroking his neck with her cool fingers. Not letting go of her, he reached over and set the herbs from Zhaan on the nightstand next to Winona, and then placed his hands on both of Aeryn’s hips, pulling her closer so that she stood between his legs.
Laying his head on her belly, he whispered, “I’m not cracking up Aeryn. I promise. And if I do, you’ll be the first to know.”
She remained still for a moment, and then let out a short puff of laughter, bending his neck back to look up at her.
“Just promise me that you’ll return the DRD’s to their former state?” she requested, and he nodded, gliding his hand up under her shirt, exposing more of her torso and nuzzling the smooth skin there.
She moaned lightly, feeling him grin against her, her own desire overriding her judgment in this particular case. She knew better than to encourage him, but she’d missed his constant presence, his companionship, and after all, it was only recreating. Pleasure to take them away from the daily struggles for survival. Something good to offer to each other after the pain and fear and disappointment that they seemed to encounter at every turn. Besides, his hands felt warm, calloused, strong on her waist andher breasts. His mouth was equally warm, and wet, the suction on her nipple shooting heat straight to her groin. The tension was soothed by his tongue and she felt her legs turn to liquid at his skill with fingers and lips.
She raised her arms as he stood up, stripping the shirt from her body, twisting it around her wrists while they were above her head. He grinned at her, his eyes dark and smoky, a welcome cry from the fear and worry and irritation he’d been carrying around lately, and she angled her head, nipping at his neck. He held onto her wrists, knowing she was indulging him, and skimmed down her back, grabbing onto her buttocks and pulling her to him, his erection hard and heavy between them. She shook her wrists sharply, breaking his easy hold and he let go, the shirt falling to the floor. She wrapped her hands again around his neck, pulling him towards her in a fierce kiss, tongues sliding together, teeth clinking, her gentleness at an end, and tumbled them onto the bed.
He leaned on his elbow, head resting in his hand and looked down at her as she dozed lightly, one arm over her head, her dark hair spread out over his pillow. Her skin was flushed from the sex, and glowed in the dusky light of his room. He knew she’d wake up in a few minutes, get dressed, kiss him softly and leave, but he wanted to delay the moment, soak up her beauty and her strength, and unyielding view of the universe and him. And he wanted to revel, for just a few moments, in the fact that she was in his bed, had just taken him inside herself, squeezing love and life out of him, before she left him alone with only her memory and her scent on his sheets. He drew tiny figures over her torso, watching the muscles twitch in response, wanting to softly tell her what she meant to him, but not knowing how.
Scorpius was currently banished to the furthest reaches of his mind and as he stroked her stomach, he decide he wasn’t ready for her to go yet. He wandered his fingers down to the damp curls at the apex of her thighs, sliding between them, rubbing the spot right on her pubic bone that always made her gasp. She moaned a little, and canted her hips up slightly, allowing him in further. He slipped his fingers inside, penetrating gently, not wanting to startle her out of slumber. She moaned again and tightened against him. He was busy watching her body blush in pleasure and didn’t notice her grey eyes open, seeing him rapt in concentration. She contracted her muscles tightly, squeezed her thighs together, surprising him, and rolled over on her side, wincing at the loss as he withdrew.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” she answered. “Why have you been avoiding me?”
“I haven’t exactly been avoiding you,” he denied, although with a guilty edge to his voice. “In fact I just spent the last arn very much not avoiding you?”
She snorted. “Really?” she replied sardonically. “That’s why I’ve only seen you at meals lately? Because the vast amount of activity we’ve been experiencing has kept you preoccupied?”
He was mildly surprised at the sarcasm in her tone.
“Aeryn, I really don’t want to talk about this right now,” he insisted, moving in to kiss her.
He brushed her lips, plying them with his tongue, until she opened her mouth, meeting his questing tongue with her own. She wriggled closer, pressing her long limbs to him, and he buried his hands in her hair, pulling her onto him as he rolled onto his back. Her sex was damp against his belly as she straddled his waist, her breasts flattened against his chest. He ran his hands down her back, gripping her ass. She growled low in her throat, moving her lips to his jaw, and the sensitive flesh under his ear, biting gently. She moved her body further down, connecting with his burgeoning erection and he groaned as she forced her hips over him, and then sat up quickly, his straining penis trapped between their bodies.
He caught his breath at the sight of her, beautiful, and ferocious and pale, looking soft and rumpled, but no less dangerous. She licked her bottom lip, and cocked her head to the side, as if considering what to do. He watchd her in anticipation. Scooting back a fraction of an inch, allowing him to bob free, she slowly dragged her tongue across her palm, and then encircled his engorged flesh, sliding him slowly up and down in her grip. He tried to arch his hips off the bed, but she tightened her thighs, pressing down on him. The base of his sex was flush against her clitoris, and he could feel the moisture pooling on his thighs, the combination of the slick friction from her hand and the very sight of her making him ache so badly he didn’t know how long he could hold out.
Wanting to delay his release, he tried to sit up and reach for her, but she simply leaned forward, and captured his hands in hers, threading her fingers through his. He grasped her tightly as the added pressure of her pubis spurred even more sensation.
“Aeryn,” he forced out between gritted teeth, “Baby, you need to stop.” She just looked at him, eyes narrowed slightly, her bottom lip caught between her teeth in concentration and continued to work him, the contact facilitating her own pleasure and he couldn’t help the upward thrusts of his pelvis. Finally, whimpering, and jerking her towards him as hard as he could, she relented, releasing him briefly before sliding her hot, wet sex onto him. He groaned, the feeling rolling up from his belly and clenched her hips, thrusting up as hard as he could, meeting her sharp downward motions. She braced her hands behind her on his thighs, her back curved, and rocked vigorously. He had the barest shred of awareness left, and slid his thumb between her thighs, pressing against her as forcefully as he could and let her motions take them both into a welcome release.
He felt the tiny contractions continue, the muscles in her thighs quivering, as she knelt forward to rest on his body, curled tightly over him. He caressed her back, running his hands over her hair, his face buried in her neck, trying to catch his breath. He wouldn’t ask her to stay. He knew better than that. They were going to a commerce planet the next day to restock and needed sleep. But for now, he just held onto her, wrapped in her hair, and her scent and her caring and tried not to think much about the future.
Besides, after a week that included IP, The Choice, and Fractures, fluff is much deserved, season 2 fluff none the less, which assumes that at least some of season 2 was spent gettin' it on. Although, I'm afraid I'm repeating myself on the porn!
Also, it's my trading card for
fbfCave Canem
From a purely practical standpoint, it seemed a shame to waste a full-sized body bag on the little Vorc. They were running short, and it felt a little like tempting fate to use one. Besides, Zhaan had wanted to dissect the creature, find out more about its ability to shapeshift.
John brushed Aeryn’s hair off her neck, gently resting his lips there as she fought against the unexpected grief that had seized her at this death They knelt in the hallway, looking at the Vorc as his body grew colder. John held onto her tightly, and she allowed it, accepting his comfort.
He delicately kissed her shoulder, breathing in the scent of her hair, her silky skin, trying to focus on her unexpected grief, but feeling monumentally distracted by her flesh.
Life with Aeryn was all about firsts, he was continually discovering. First time he made her laugh, first kiss, first family pet, first fight, first time she knocked him out. He grinned into her shoulder, and she turned her head a little.
“What?” she said suspiciously, still sniffing. She sounded tired and more than a little confused.
“Nothin’ baby. Just thinking. We should probably get your bird dog to Zhaan, don’t you think?” He responded softly, wanting to give her just a little more time to compose herself.
The last time he’d seen tears on her face had been the result of the ragged ravages of her past. These tears were part of her future, and he would have liked to protect her from the sorrow that life inevitably caused. That, he also knew, was completely beyond his power.
“I hate that we misjudged it,” she said finally, sitting up straighter. “It was trying to help us. How often does that happen?”
He kissed her cheek then, stroking the fine hairs away from her face, amazed at her.
“That’d be about never,” he conceded easily, thoughts of the disturbing flashes of Scorpius momentarily pushed aside. Releasing her, he stood, helping her up as she continued to cradle the Vorc.
“I’m so sorry,” she said to it again, and retreating back into herself, she proceeded him down the hallway.
***
“I say we space the dren filled corpse,” said Rygel, morosely picking through the remains of their supplies, searching for something to eat.
Aeryn’s open palm caught him on the back of the head, sending the throne chair forward into the table.
“Show a little respect Rygel. You’re here, complaining, because of that creature.”
Rygel glared at her, muttering, “Frelling Peacekeeper, saving your compassion for the dead.”
“Cut it out Sparky,” John said resignedly, knowing there was little he could say to stop the tiny Dominar from pissing off the rest of the crew. Aeryn just ignored him.
“Well, it doesn’t seem fair to let Zhaan cut him up,” Chiana added, settling into place at the table. “He didn’t do anything to us.”
“She might find something that could help us in the future, Chi.”
Chiana shrugged her slim shoulders. “I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem right.”
Aeryn took a sip of water, looking into the cup thoughtfully. “If there is a chance that Zhaan can find something in the Vorc that could possibly be of use to us, I think we have to let her go ahead.”
Chiana made a noise of protest, but John backed Aeryn up. “I understand how you feel, Pip. But, we need all the breaks we can get.”
Chiana slumped in her seat, still oddly graceful. “Well, I hope if I die, you don’t cut me up to see if I’ve got anything useful.”
Aeryn glared at her. “You barely have anything useful alive, Chiana.”
“Well, at least I can do more than kill things,” Chiana squeaked in return, somewhat taken aback.
“Hey, hey, neutral corners, ladies,” John broke in quickly, hoping to stave off another fight, looking from one woman to another.
“You're right.” Aeryn said, continuing to look at Chiana. “I’m sorry.”
Chiana stared at her, jaw suspended open in surprise. Aeryn pushed back from the table and walked out of the room.
The Nebari turned to John, still stunned. “Did she just apologize, to me?”
John rubbed the spot in his eye socket that always started to throb after conversations like this. “Just give her a little bit of a break, Chi, all right?”
She made a noise of agreement, and John grinned at her, and then caught his breath as the black clad figure of Scorpius stroked his fingers over Chiana’s soft, white hair.
John slammed his palms down on the table, enraged and scared, startling Chiana and Rygel.
“Crichton,” Rygel yelled. “Have you gone completely fahrbot?” over Chiana’s worried, “Old man, you ok?”
His shipmates stared at him, Scorpius huddled behind them, and John struggled to relax, to appear
normal. He cleared his throat. “Um, sorry about that guys. Just thought of something I need to do.”
They continued regard him warily, and Chiana reached out a tentative hand, laying her gloved palm on top of his fingers. “You sure you’re all right?”
John turned his hand up, caught her fingers, and squeezed reassuringly. “I’m fine, but I’d better go make sure Aeryn isn’t breaking anything.”
Aeryn was in fact doing inventory of what was left after the infestation, and grunted noncommittally when he asked if she needed help.
“The slug should be on his way soon,” she added, “Why don’t you go get some rest?” He quirked an eyebrow, stepping towards her. He casually hooked a finger in her gunbelt, drawing her towards him, the clip board sandwiched between them.
“Any particular reason why I’d need the rest?” he inquired, struggling for seductive, but barely able to keep the amusement out of his voice. Aeryn didn’t appear to be in the mood for distractions though. She looked at him shrewdly and seemed to weigh her options.
“You’ve been acting strangely lately," she hesitated.
He shrugged, and she pushed on, “I’m worried that you’re cracking up.”
He released her and backed up. “I’m not cracking up, Aeryn” he said in annoyance.
He turned and left. “I’ll find Rygel though.”
He was playing chess with himself when she knocked on his door later that evening.
“What,” he said, not looking up from the pieces. “Chiana not give you a full enough report.”
“John,” she sighed, worry and exasperation dueling heavily in her voice. She entered his room, sat down across from him and picked up a chess piece. Aeryn normally didn’t fiddle with things, and this was obviously making her uncomfortable and unhappy. “Crichton... when we were hunting... you uh, almost blew my head off. That was a bad shot, even for you.”
And he gave in, told her about Scorpius, the flashes, how real he looked, the taunting threats. He reassured her that he’d be fine, that he wasn’t losing his mind, and she bit her lip, looking unbearably young and uncertain. But she nodded, trusting him and giving him space. He continued to move pieces around, forcing himself not to ask her to stay, not to pull her onto his lap, not to see how far he could get before she clocked him. The chances were 50/50 that she’d agree to stay, to meet his kisses and caresses with her fierceness, and laughter and lust. It wouldn’t be the first time. But after today, hell after the last monen, he didn’t want to tempt fate any further, so he didn’t even watch her walk out.
***
The Vorc and the parasites had caused surprisingly little damage to Moya, but had wreaked havoc among the food supply and Zhaan’s apothecary. Another stop was going to be needed in the near future. This news was met by collective groaning and mumbling, and not a little fear. Each stop was a risk, that they’d be captured by the PK’s, that they’d meet something that finally defeated them, that this dance with fate and death was eventually not going to come down on their side.
Through it all, the flashes and threats continued, robbing John of sleep. He knew Aeryn was worried about him, watching him carefully over first meal, and he’d taken to avoiding her during the day in order to save himself from the queries. The ramifications of almost shooting her had also hit him in the middle of the night, and he’d sat up in bed, sweating, his pulse pounding in his ears as the action finally sunk in. He’d leveled his gun at her, aimed, and was damned lucky that he’d aimed wide. It scared him almost as much as the spector did.
But he missed her and filling up his time on Moya, when they were not under attack, could be something of a challenge. He’d given up on golf after accidently smacking one of the DRD’s with the ball, and chess was now tainted by the leather-clad freak waiting to face off across the board. The pieces lay in checkmate, and John was afraid to touch them. So he asked Pilot what he could do to help out. Pilot, tired of the human’s incessant wandering and tendency to take things apart when unoccupied, readily found tasks for him.
D’Argo had agreed to help John move some cables from one tier to another. They’d been going back and forth in companionable silence for an arn or so when the sight of one of the DRD’s seemed to trigger something in John.
“Hey D’Argo, you guys have dogs on your home world?” John asked as they navigated the heavy cable through the corridors.
“Dogs?”
“Yeah, pack animals. Dude, you’ve got to remember that conversation. Creatures like the Vorcarians, but without the talking and the bounty hunting? Pets. House animals.”
D’Argo pondered that.
“We have Oulans that help to guard our herds, but we’d hardly keep them inside. Sometimes children will play with the infants, but Oulans are very dangerous when their adult teeth come in.” he responded thoughtfully.
“Of course,” said John with a sigh. “Everything out here is a critter. You think it’s a pet, nope it’s lunch. Think it’s harmless, it’ll eat you for dinner. Nothing’s ever what it seems to be,” he said in disgust, scuffing his toe in the ground and hefting the coil of cable from one shoulder to the other.
“Crichton, what are you talking about?” D’Argo asked, stopping and turning to his friend.
“Nothing, D. Just missing my dogs, I guess. The Vorc kinda reminded me of one of ‘em.”
Putting on his best I have some idea of what you’re talking about face for the sake of his friend, D’Argo nodded in encouragement. “Pets, yes?”
“Yeah. Companions,pets. You’re responsible for them. We use them for hunting and fishing and guarding as well, but mostly, they’re just part of the family. We had a little Aussie who was a herding dog. She’d round up kids, cats, anything, but only when she wanted to. She was a little too smart for her own good, though.”
D’Argo’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“And you’d like one of these, dogs?”
John nodded, and resumed the trek to the next tier. “Yeah. It’d be nice to have something like that around. Something you just had to feed and water and talk to that wouldn’t make our lives a living hell.”
D’Argo snorted, “Well, up to that point it sounded a lot like Rygel.”
John grinned in return. “Yeah, without the more pleasant aspects.”
***
“We are not getting a pet for Crichton, Chiana, and that is final,” Aeryn slammed her fist into the padded triangle. The force of the impact resonated up her arm, clearing her head.
“D’Argo said he just looked really unhappy about something,” Chiana said, her lithe body weaving back and forth behind the form, staying far clear of the former Peacekeeper’s reach.
“Well I don’t think adding another creature that needs to be fed and watched over is the answer,” Aeryn struck again, a double jab, quick and clean.
“He misses his dogs,” she insisted. Aeryn stepped back, kicking out quickly to the side, bending the block and returned to her fighting stance before it sprang back. John had talked about those creatures with affection when relaying stories of Earth. She knew they were important to him. What this had to do with anything was beyond her though.
“And he’s been really distracted lately,” Chiana added more loudly as Aeryn launched into a combination of kicks and punches.
Landing a vicious palm strike on the bag and catching herself, feeling the sweat on her skin, Aeryn rested one hand on the top of the triangle. She looked Chiana dead in the eye, freezing the younger woman in place. Chiana’s concern for John was grating, only because it so closely matched Aeryn’s own. The frelling human had been staying away from her lately, and when she saw him he looked tired and unfocusd, but they were not going to purchase something that would just add to their current chaos.
“No pets,” she said with finality.
Chiana made a moue of protest. “But you liked the Vorc!” she insisted.
Aeryn narrowed her eyes. “The Vorc was useful. It saved Rygel, probably saved all of us, and we killed it. What does that tell you Chiana?”
That stopped the young woman’s enthusiasm short and her body bowed a little.
“I guess you’re right,” she agreed reluctantly, then adding, “But he’s not sleeping very well.”
Aeryn sighed, and walked away from the bag to get her towel.
“I know,” she said, “I do know that.”
The last thing that John Crichton expected to see when he opened the door to his quarters that evening was Aeryn Sun, sitting at his table, clearly waiting for him. Aeryn rarely invaded anyone else’s private space, the novelty of having her own still fresh.
He raised an eyebrow as he walked in, looking at her quizzically. “Officer Sun, something I can do for you?”
She pursed her lips, dismissing the dig, and truthfully, she hardly looked like an officer at the moment. She was clearly fresh from the shower, her hair still slightly damp, cheeks pink and skin milky. He could smell her soap, and that clean scent of her body. She wore a black tank top, and loose black pants and her feet were bare. Something about that always got to him and he tried to get his brain back on track.
John swallowed heavily, before repeating his question, “What do you want Aeryn?”
She rested an arm on the table, rolling something between her fingers, and looked at him, considering her options. She didn’t say anything, though, so he shrugged and continued to move around the room, unholstering Winona, unsnapping his gunbelt and sliding out of his vest.
“Pilot said you had taken apart one of the DRD’s and attempted to reprogram it,” her husky voice sounded dryly amused. “He was uncertain what your intentions were.”
John opened his mouth to respond as he hung up the gun belt and then just added, “Yeah, well, I wanted to see how they were wired.”
Aeryn thought about that for a moment.
“Chiana thinks you want a pet.” she paused, curious “Is that what this foolishness with the DRD’s is all about?”
John shrugged again, trying very hard to tamp down his irritation. “It’s not foolishness, Aeryn, to want something to take care of.”
He didn’t look at her, but instead sat down on the bed and started to unlace his boots. He didn’t hear her get up and cross the room, her bare feet silent on the golden floor. Instead he saw her toes, pale and pink at the edge of her pants, and felt her fingers gently brush through his hair. He still didn’t look up until she slid a small blue bottle under his nose. He raised his eyes, looking at her strong features framed by the mass of black hair.
“Zhaan gave it to me.” She offered softly. “She said it will help you sleep.”
John shook his head, but took the bottle from her hand anyway. She was standing very close to him, his eyes level with the exposed skin where the shirt didn’t quite meet the pants. Without stopping to consider the consequences, he raised his hand, tracing his fingertip lightly along the white skin of her taut belly. She sucked in her breath, her abdomen fluttering, and he felt a genuine smile start on his face.
Wrapping his hand around her hip, tilting her towards him, he brushed his lips across her stomach, stopping briefly on the puncture marks left, pressing his mouth to the wound in supplication. She curled her fingers around his neck in response. He slid his thumb into the waistband of the pants, tugging down slightly to reveal her birthmark, and placed his lips there, teasing her gently with his tongue. He felt her nails sharp in the back of his skull, but she didn’t pull away. He tilted his head back lazily, his emotions and priorities having shifted monumentally from a few moments prior.
His voice sounded ridiculously hoarse, when he murmured, “I know something else that will help me sleep.”
She arched her brow, and made a non-committal noise. But she had released her death grip on him and was stroking his neck with her cool fingers. Not letting go of her, he reached over and set the herbs from Zhaan on the nightstand next to Winona, and then placed his hands on both of Aeryn’s hips, pulling her closer so that she stood between his legs.
Laying his head on her belly, he whispered, “I’m not cracking up Aeryn. I promise. And if I do, you’ll be the first to know.”
She remained still for a moment, and then let out a short puff of laughter, bending his neck back to look up at her.
“Just promise me that you’ll return the DRD’s to their former state?” she requested, and he nodded, gliding his hand up under her shirt, exposing more of her torso and nuzzling the smooth skin there.
She moaned lightly, feeling him grin against her, her own desire overriding her judgment in this particular case. She knew better than to encourage him, but she’d missed his constant presence, his companionship, and after all, it was only recreating. Pleasure to take them away from the daily struggles for survival. Something good to offer to each other after the pain and fear and disappointment that they seemed to encounter at every turn. Besides, his hands felt warm, calloused, strong on her waist andher breasts. His mouth was equally warm, and wet, the suction on her nipple shooting heat straight to her groin. The tension was soothed by his tongue and she felt her legs turn to liquid at his skill with fingers and lips.
She raised her arms as he stood up, stripping the shirt from her body, twisting it around her wrists while they were above her head. He grinned at her, his eyes dark and smoky, a welcome cry from the fear and worry and irritation he’d been carrying around lately, and she angled her head, nipping at his neck. He held onto her wrists, knowing she was indulging him, and skimmed down her back, grabbing onto her buttocks and pulling her to him, his erection hard and heavy between them. She shook her wrists sharply, breaking his easy hold and he let go, the shirt falling to the floor. She wrapped her hands again around his neck, pulling him towards her in a fierce kiss, tongues sliding together, teeth clinking, her gentleness at an end, and tumbled them onto the bed.
He leaned on his elbow, head resting in his hand and looked down at her as she dozed lightly, one arm over her head, her dark hair spread out over his pillow. Her skin was flushed from the sex, and glowed in the dusky light of his room. He knew she’d wake up in a few minutes, get dressed, kiss him softly and leave, but he wanted to delay the moment, soak up her beauty and her strength, and unyielding view of the universe and him. And he wanted to revel, for just a few moments, in the fact that she was in his bed, had just taken him inside herself, squeezing love and life out of him, before she left him alone with only her memory and her scent on his sheets. He drew tiny figures over her torso, watching the muscles twitch in response, wanting to softly tell her what she meant to him, but not knowing how.
Scorpius was currently banished to the furthest reaches of his mind and as he stroked her stomach, he decide he wasn’t ready for her to go yet. He wandered his fingers down to the damp curls at the apex of her thighs, sliding between them, rubbing the spot right on her pubic bone that always made her gasp. She moaned a little, and canted her hips up slightly, allowing him in further. He slipped his fingers inside, penetrating gently, not wanting to startle her out of slumber. She moaned again and tightened against him. He was busy watching her body blush in pleasure and didn’t notice her grey eyes open, seeing him rapt in concentration. She contracted her muscles tightly, squeezed her thighs together, surprising him, and rolled over on her side, wincing at the loss as he withdrew.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” she answered. “Why have you been avoiding me?”
“I haven’t exactly been avoiding you,” he denied, although with a guilty edge to his voice. “In fact I just spent the last arn very much not avoiding you?”
She snorted. “Really?” she replied sardonically. “That’s why I’ve only seen you at meals lately? Because the vast amount of activity we’ve been experiencing has kept you preoccupied?”
He was mildly surprised at the sarcasm in her tone.
“Aeryn, I really don’t want to talk about this right now,” he insisted, moving in to kiss her.
He brushed her lips, plying them with his tongue, until she opened her mouth, meeting his questing tongue with her own. She wriggled closer, pressing her long limbs to him, and he buried his hands in her hair, pulling her onto him as he rolled onto his back. Her sex was damp against his belly as she straddled his waist, her breasts flattened against his chest. He ran his hands down her back, gripping her ass. She growled low in her throat, moving her lips to his jaw, and the sensitive flesh under his ear, biting gently. She moved her body further down, connecting with his burgeoning erection and he groaned as she forced her hips over him, and then sat up quickly, his straining penis trapped between their bodies.
He caught his breath at the sight of her, beautiful, and ferocious and pale, looking soft and rumpled, but no less dangerous. She licked her bottom lip, and cocked her head to the side, as if considering what to do. He watchd her in anticipation. Scooting back a fraction of an inch, allowing him to bob free, she slowly dragged her tongue across her palm, and then encircled his engorged flesh, sliding him slowly up and down in her grip. He tried to arch his hips off the bed, but she tightened her thighs, pressing down on him. The base of his sex was flush against her clitoris, and he could feel the moisture pooling on his thighs, the combination of the slick friction from her hand and the very sight of her making him ache so badly he didn’t know how long he could hold out.
Wanting to delay his release, he tried to sit up and reach for her, but she simply leaned forward, and captured his hands in hers, threading her fingers through his. He grasped her tightly as the added pressure of her pubis spurred even more sensation.
“Aeryn,” he forced out between gritted teeth, “Baby, you need to stop.” She just looked at him, eyes narrowed slightly, her bottom lip caught between her teeth in concentration and continued to work him, the contact facilitating her own pleasure and he couldn’t help the upward thrusts of his pelvis. Finally, whimpering, and jerking her towards him as hard as he could, she relented, releasing him briefly before sliding her hot, wet sex onto him. He groaned, the feeling rolling up from his belly and clenched her hips, thrusting up as hard as he could, meeting her sharp downward motions. She braced her hands behind her on his thighs, her back curved, and rocked vigorously. He had the barest shred of awareness left, and slid his thumb between her thighs, pressing against her as forcefully as he could and let her motions take them both into a welcome release.
He felt the tiny contractions continue, the muscles in her thighs quivering, as she knelt forward to rest on his body, curled tightly over him. He caressed her back, running his hands over her hair, his face buried in her neck, trying to catch his breath. He wouldn’t ask her to stay. He knew better than that. They were going to a commerce planet the next day to restock and needed sleep. But for now, he just held onto her, wrapped in her hair, and her scent and her caring and tried not to think much about the future.
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no subject
Date: 2003-06-26 10:41 am (UTC)Great Googly-moogly! Very, very hot!
Re:
Date: 2003-06-26 10:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-26 11:13 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-06-26 11:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-26 12:27 pm (UTC)That was yummy - if something was going to distract you from working on Blue Eyes, I'm glad it was this! :D
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Date: 2003-06-26 12:56 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-06-26 01:08 pm (UTC)Do you figure at this point in time that Aeryn was in love with John? I was thinking of her telling herself "it's just recreation" and wondering if she believes that or is just telling herself that. I'm thinkin' she probably was but wasn't ready to admit it to herself. I'm taking it for granted that he was already in love with her and could admit it to himself.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-26 01:09 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-06-26 03:54 pm (UTC)I guess I also take for granted that John knew what he felt, understood it, and understood her well enough to know she wasn't ready to hear it.
They have such different culturally programmed attitudes towards sex that I wanted that to come through just a little, that John ties his feelings for her to sex, and that she doesn't necessarily do that. And I wanted there to be some of that difference presence, her convincing herself that this was a physical act, but still expressing caring for him.
It's difficult to do without spelling all of that out. I'm not sure that it came across.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-26 01:22 pm (UTC)That was the very definition of hot!
I really, really enjoyed your John characterization and his hesitation to talk to Aeryn. Its very fitting of J/A's relationship at this time. They are growing close, but still leery about each other.
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Date: 2003-06-26 03:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-26 04:01 pm (UTC)*phew*
And I thought it was hot in Toronto before...
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Date: 2003-06-26 04:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-26 07:52 pm (UTC)D'OH! I gotta to remember not to make these kind of agreements with other writers. Well, It won't be tomorrow that I post it cuz work is so not helping with my fic writing needs right now, but I am re-watching OOTM tonight for research. See? I'm getting closer.
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Date: 2003-06-27 09:50 am (UTC)