Owies
by
Puff
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DISCLAIMER: Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.
Owies
The sleeping weight of him draped across my chest comforts me like nothing else. He's here. Safe.
In my bed.
In my house.
On Earth.
Not some stinking cell with bastards who are drooling to torture him. S.o.b's.
Mumbling an objection, he nestles closer against me, his lightly stubbled cheek rubbing my chest.
God, I love that. A little raspy but mostly smooth skin. His body heat against mine. Tenderness without thought.
"Jack…"
Love that too, the way he smiles and sighs my name in sleep. I can feel my lips smile in answer. Can't help it. He warms the cold places inside me just by being…him. Precious. Heart-swelling.
Perfect.
Up and down. Up and down. The fingers of my right hand trail along the silky length of the skin I can reach. The other doesn't. It's too busy holding Daniel tight.
Protecting. Calming. Joining.
Like I wanted to when he looked at me from two cells down, admitting he couldn’t find a peaceful solution this time. People were going to die. Unas were going to die. Shoulder-bowing inevitability.
Damned if I would let him die too…even if part of what still remained of his innocence did.
Torture him by taking lives until he broke. Yeah, that asshole caught on quick. All you gotta do to shred Daniel into pieces is to hurt someone else because he won't cooperate.
Not like he had a choice. Neither of us could give up gate coordinates.
Still, the man wouldn't have stopped there. I recognized the type. When that method didn't work, he was going to try others. Hurt me. Yeah. Then, when even that didn't work, he was going to torture Daniel just because.
Just because he could.
Stinking heartless bastard.
My grip on Daniel tightens, and he makes a small noise deep in his chest. I ease up, beginning the petting I unconsciously stopped. A deep breath escapes him in another sigh before Daniel kisses the skin above my thumping heart.
Yeah. I know. I know.
You're safe. So'm I. We got out even if the world we left behind was turned upside down. Chaos replacing sanity.
We'll make love, renew ourselves, revel in life. Reaffirm and rededicate.
Later.
Still need a little more time even though twelve hours has passed.
Couldn't do it at first with the stench of the planet on our skin like smokescent.
Couldn't make love when we first got back to my house.
Couldn't do anything but hold hands and touch.
God, I needed his touch so bad…and Daniel needed mine.
I pulled him with me into the shower; both of us shed clothes as we walked down the hall. We were silent, solemn with grief as we stepped into the steaming cascade of water. I washed him as he washed me. Slow, careful rubs with soap and fingers, more to loosen tensed muscles than cleanse skin or arouse. Fresh mint and citrus blend replacing the moldy hay smell of the cell in my nose. Holding him close under the purifying spray, feeling his body shudder in unison with mine, not in desire but in release of fear.
My hands were trembling by the time I twisted the water knob closed and urged Daniel from the shower.
Before I could grab the fluffy towels, he had and was smoothing my skin dry in gentle, slow strokes. I matched his movements, towelling his hair without a word as he finished my shoulders.
We dropped the damp cloths on the floor. They didn't matter right now. Warming us both up did.
Cool air prickled our skins as we leaned against each other and moved for our bed. My arm braced his shoulders as Daniel's hugged my waist.
Neither of us were letting go.
Wordless, we got under the covers and snuggled close, the misery of the mission blunted but still alive in the back of our minds.
Only a couple of good sessions of tender, hot lovemaking will help dislodge the memories, send them back to the files in our brains which store bad stuff to be deleted.
Yeah, like that happens.
Daniel's just like me. He can forget sometimes. Forgiveness is something else.
Making love helps. If not by bringing total absolution then by making new memories to weigh against the bad.
Yeah, we'll make love. Just not now. We need this more. The drowsing sleep cocoon of togetherness in bed.
If I close my eyes, I can almost ignore how that stinking straw poked through my uniform, how they separated us in two cages, how the Unas howled as Daniel writhed on the floor, unable to call out to me because the painstick sucked the breath from his lungs.
"Jack, don't."
I blink at his husky plea. How did he know?
Simple. Because we're part of each other now.
Daniel's arms tighten around me, pulling me into the here and now, away from tragedy, away from the pain.
Away from everything except the love in his arms.
I look down, see his shadowed blue gaze staring into mine, asking me to make it better, to kiss the owies of body and heart away.
"Love you," I breathe.
Shadows in blue lessen as he slowly nods, creating that friction of stubbled cheek against my skin again.
"Love you too," Daniel whispers, looking up at me in trust and naked honesty.
And for the first time, I begin to relax and feel him melt into the same against me.
It's enough, this balm of joined hearts. When nothing else makes sense, at least that does.
Owies don't stand a chance.
Now when we're together, skin to skin, soul to soul.
THE END