Lesasaur at Large

Title: Midnight
Words: approx 2 700
Rated: adult
Genre: first time
Season: seven
Notes: Response to Image Prompt #31: JD Chess Set and Image Prompt #28: Midnight by Antares at Jack/Daniel Prompt Fic
My beta is temporarily unavailable so all mistakes are my own.

Midnight

The silence is absolute in the still of the night. The glow from the moons bathes the world in a soft, blue light; an ambiance that is strange and eerie and yet at the same time magical and wonderfully perfect. The unknown lies ahead of me, but in this place of exotic beauty and tranquility, there is no fear, just a sense of wonder and the calm certainty that fate has led me here…to this moment…to this union...with this man.

I feel him move into position above me, not touching me at all, but stretched out along the length of my body, as if that alien light were a rival for my affections against which I am jealously guarded. His hands and toes, close to mine, are holding his weight off me. His warm breath ghosts the skin on the back of my neck, and a thrill of anticipation runs through me. My skin prickles and gooses despite the warmth of the night, and I silently urge him on while at the same time willing him not to move just yet, wanting to savor the moment, the sense of being on the brink of something extraordinary.

As if reading my thoughts, he remains still, silently maintaining the position, and it suddenly occurs to me to wonder if the moment is as special to him as it is to me. It’s not something I’d ever ask, and I know he’d never willingly say, but I choose to believe it is, and my sense of euphoria increases many fold.

I hug it to me, wrapping it around me like a cloak, making my bare body impenetrable to everything except the man above me. To him, I am as naked and receptive as it is possible to be, and I tremble slightly as he initiates contact; a single part of his body gently nudging the part of me that desires him most. I stifle my groan of pleasure, and he begins to push. It’s gentle but insistent and so, so sweet. My body opens to welcome him…to embrace the connection. There’s no pain, no discomfort of any kind, and he slowly sinks inside until he is fully sheathed and his body is in complete contact with mine. He wraps his legs possessively around my legs and moves his hands to entwine our fingers. And then he lies still…not moving at all.

I feel stretched and full, and he’s so heavy and constraining. I couldn’t move if I tried, but it’s completely and utterly perfect, and I melt into the ground beneath me, sighing with contentment.

“Daniel,” he whispers.

“Mm,” I murmur back.

“So…what do you think?”

“It’s perfect.”

“Sure?”

A laugh bubbles up inside me. “Too late if it isn’t.”

“What?”

“What?” I suddenly realize I’m not on an alien world alone with Jack; I’m in a novelty store with Jack, a sales assistant and a whole bunch of other people, most of who seem to be staring at me. I feel my face growing hot and clutch the jacket that I’m holding at waist level more tightly to me, trying to will my errant body back under control before anyone notices.

I feel Jack’s scrutiny but focus instead on the chess set that had sparked my little…fantasy. It’s a novelty one with all the characters related to Jack Daniel’s whisky. It’s my birthday and all of my teammates have chipped in to get me a present, with Jack having drawn the short straw of taking me shopping to buy said gift. Knowing how much Jack loves shopping, we’d been headed directly for my favorite antique bookstore where I had previously seen several rare volumes I had already anticipated adding to my collection at some point.

Our trek from his truck had taken us via the novelty gift store where for some inexplicable reason---inexplicable because I rarely look in shop windows as I pass---the chess set caught my eye. I stopped to take a closer look and was immediately struck by the thought that they had the apostrophe of possession on the wrong word. It should have read Jack’s Daniel…because that’s what I am; that’s what I’ve always been since the moment we met. At first, it was simply a kind of hero worship, but later, I realized…

Of course I knew there could never be a future in such a relationship. Even if Jack ever shared my feelings, which he never would, there was too much in the way. But it never stopped me from dreaming, although such dreams were usually confined to ‘alone time’, for obvious reasons!

Noticing the direction of my gaze and no doubt hoping the shopping trip would be over before it had really begun, Jack had grabbed my sleeve and dragged me into the store to have a closer look at it, seemingly tickled pink by the notion of such a set. The assistant had happily taken it out of the window, set it on a counter in the middle of the store and begun to extol its virtues. Several other patrons had drawn closer to observe. I had actually heard his opening sentence, but then…

“Daniel?” Jack queries, catapulting me back to the present; a present I would cheerfully trade for a skirmish with superior-powered aliens on some far-distant world in the future.“Everything okay?”

I gather my scattered wits around me and look up, meeting his gaze with a smile. His eyes are warm and yet full of genuine concern. I can’t handle that so I turn to the sales assistant. “We’ll take it,” I say decisively. “I’ll make up the difference,” I throw in Jack’s direction, reaching for my credit card.

“I think not.” Jack already has his Visa out and is handing it over.

“Thank you, sir,” the assistant says cheerfully. “I’ll have it wrapped for you.”

I wait until the assistant is out of hearing range and the other bystanders have drifted away before I address Jack again. “You don’t have to do this, Jack. I know it’s expensive and-”

“Would you just relax,” Jack cuts in. “It’s your birthday for crying out loud. Besides, the amount on the card was only nominal. We’ll still be going thirds.”

“But-”

“Uh!”

“Jack!”

“Daniel.” Jack smiles. “Actually, considering you weren’t around this time last year, we probably got off cheap.”

I study his features. There’s something in his expression I can’t interpret, but before I can formulate a reply, he speaks again.

“So where were you?”

I frown my confusion as I look around to make certain no one is within hearing range. “Last year? You know where I was…with Oma.”

“Yeah, and didn’t I know it!”

“Jack?”

He glares at me but then rolls his eyes. “I didn’t mean last year, genius, I meant just now…when you were…you know, wherever you were.”

Comprehension dawns and I wish I’d taken my original answer and got more mileage from it. “Oh, that. Yeah, the mind did wander a bit,” I say with a nod, willing him to drop it whist trying to think of a plausible excuse.

He gives me a measured look. “Anything you’d care to share with the rest of the class?”

I feel my face growing warm again. “Not here,” I reply before I can stop myself.

Jack’s eyes open wider and his gaze flicks momentarily to my jacket covered groin, but the arrival of the shop assistant with the receipt for him to sign forestalls any comment.

I take advantage of the situation and head out of the shop, mentally castigating myself for my stupidity and still racking my brains, which seem to have mostly gone AWOL.

When Jack joins me on the footpath a few minutes later, I still haven’t got a satisfactory story, but he simply raises his eyebrows in silent query, which I take to mean did I want to do any further shopping, and after I shake my head, he begins to walk in the direction of his truck, and I fall into step beside him.

The ride back to my apartment is achieved in total silence, and I’m so busy still trying to construct a plausible story about the chess set that I don’t realize we’re going the wrong way until we pull up outside of Jack’s house.

“Jack?” I throw him a puzzled look.

He shrugs in an offhand manner and gives me a lopsided smile. “Thought you might like to christen the set. I can get you home in time to get ready for the dinner tonight.” He shrugs again, “But if you don’t want to…?”

The thought of going home to my empty apartment does not at all appeal. I’d MUCH rather spend the afternoon with Jack. And if we’re playing chess, he might forget about any kind of interrogation. I mentally grimace. Jack forget? That’s like expecting a ravenous dog not to fight for a bone. At least if we were at my place, I’d be able to claim a headache and ask him to leave. Come to think of it, why aren’t we?

I look directly at Jack who is still waiting patiently for my answer and am instantly struck by incongruence. Jack normally doesn’t DO patient…not with adults…and especially not with me. I feel my brow furrowing. “Jack, why are we here?”

He shoots me an incredulous look. “What, you’re saying your mind’s just been AWOL…AGAIN?”

I immediately shake my head. “No. No, I mean I know you said you brought me here to christen the chess set. I was just wondering why we came HERE…to your house. Why didn’t we just go to my place since you have to take me back there anyway to get ready for the dinner?”

Jack’s face breaks into a grin. “You see, Daniel, it’s like this. I’ve got a bigger…” His expression barely falters but his eyes fill with horror, and they’re momentarily shuttered. “…television,” he finishes brightly, looking directly at me again. “Something to watch while you take forever to make your move. So…coming in or what?” He gives the impression of nonchalance although I know him well enough to know it’s just an act. Curioser and curioser.

“Okay,” I agree with a nod, wondering what he’d originally been going to say. “You’re on.”

“All right then.”

We climb out of the truck and are soon settled with drinks apiece---coffee for me, beer for him--- and the chess set between us. Not surprisingly, he turns on the television, but the sound is muted, and he barely glances at it. I’m waiting for the interrogation to start but it doesn’t, and I find I’m not surprised by that either. Jack seems really off-balance, and although I’m relieved in terms of my own situation, I really don’t like seeing him this way.

I take the first match easily even though I’m not exactly concentrating well either, and he gives me a rueful smile. “Best of three?” he asks.

“Sure,” I reply amiably.

I watch as he sets up the pieces with an economy of movement. It’s his turn to start so when he’s finished, he picks up one of his pawns in the shape of a Jack Daniel’s bottle only instead of positioning it, he holds it in his hands and seems to study it.

“Good craftsmanship,” I offer after a few moments of silence.

He nods in an absent fashion.

“Although of course you pay extra for the brand name,” I add dryly.

He nods again. “Great one isn’t it,” he says with a quick grin in my direction, “although…” He trails off, staring down at the pawn again.

“Although…?” I prompt curiously.

He takes a while to reply. “When I saw this, I thought… It seemed like the perfect…especially since you…” He stops and I wait, trying to make sense of the nonsensical. “I think maybe the words would be better if they were...reversed,” he finally finishes quietly.

“What?” I say automatically while at the same time doing the math in my head. Reversed? Jack Daniel’s…Daniel’s Jack? DANIEL’S Jack? Daniel’s JACK! I stare at him with a mixture of hope and dread, willing him to look up at me and yet afraid of what I'll see.

Eventually, he lifts his head and focuses on me. His expression is wary but it’s all there in his eyes. I’m filled with elation and fear. So many possibilities run through my mind along with an equal number of reasons why this would be a bad idea...more than an equal number in point of fact. I see in his expression that Jack is on the same page…thinking my thoughts right along with me. He knows exactly what I know; what we’ll be up against, all the reasons why it would be smarter to just walk away, but he’s obviously deliberated and made HIS decision. Now it’s up to me, and I know---because even though it appears that I didn’t know Jack as well as I thought, I DO know him---it’s the only chance I’m ever going to get. So do I take it or does the chess set get put into storage, never to see the light of day again?

I study the brown eyes of possibility and my mind begins to quiet. One by one, the problems begin to fade until they’re all just a niggling annoyance at the back of my mind. I know they’re always going to be there but…

Tranquility descends, and I smile ruefully to myself. Yes, it IS a bad idea…very bad…probably the absolute worst idea I’ve ever even contemplated, but my answer is a complete no brainer. It always has been. “Actually, I’ve always thought the apostrophe was on the wrong word,” I offer in an offhand fashion.

I see his brain ticking over before his eyes open perceptibly wider, and then a tentative, hopeful smile forms. “You do?”

That smile is incredibly infectious and I find myself beaming right along with him as I nod. “I do.”

The smile increases in magnitude until everything else in existence dulls and pales beside its brilliance...at least to me. “Sweet,” he says softly and then promptly positions his piece on the board.

We play in silence, both of us back on our game, and while I’m waiting for Jack’s next move, I suddenly make a connection. “Bed.”

Jack looks up. “Sure, if you want to. But I thought it might be nice to…you know, wait till after dinner...make it sort of…” He lowers his gaze to the board. “…special.” He blows out a breath and looks back at me in a guarded fashion.

I feel my jaw dropping and have to work on keeping it in place. Who’d have thought hard-assed Jack O’Neill would be such a romantic? “Works for me,” I say cheerfully, “but I was actually referring to something else.”

He frowns.

“When we first got here, you said we had to be here because you had a bigger television. What you were going to say was bigger bed, right?”

Jack tilts his head to the side. “I’ve seen yours,” he says dryly.

“You were that sure?” I ask in surprise.

He shakes his head. “No, but after seeing your reaction to this,” he indicates towards the gameboard, “I decided to live up to my nickname.”

“Which is?” I query in confusion.

“Mr. Positive.” He reaches forward and moves his queen. “Check.” His grin is cocky.

Since for the entire game I've been two steps ahead of him, I don’t even have to think. I reach for my knight and position it for the kill. “Mate,” I declare sweetly.

Obviously far from impressed, he studies the board, while I complacently lean back in my chair with my arms folded.

A few moments later, he looks across at me. “Best of five?”

***

The glow from the moon bathes the room in its soft, yellow light; an ambiance that is ordinary, familiar but at the same time magical and wonderfully perfect. The unknown lies ahead of me, but in this place of time-honored beauty and tranquility, there is no fear…just a sense of wonder and the calm certainty that fate has led me here…to this moment…to this union...with this man.