Eyes in the Dark

By JayEm

Out of the shadows I see two eyes looking at me.

Two beautiful, expressive blue eyes. Moonlight is filtering in from somewhere, deepening the shadows, but somehow fixed on Daniel’s eyes where he leans on the wall opposite me. I can barely see the rest of him, just the eyes.

How the hell did we wind up stuck in here anyway? Just a few minutes, he said…check the runes, get some footage and we’re out of here and home for dinner.

Right.

It must have been some kind of booby trap left over from whoever built this temple and disappeared centuries ago. All I know is one minute I’m standing next to Daniel, who’s not paying mind to anything but the lens of his vidcam, and the next I’m pushing him off toward the far wall while I dive in the other direction. The door is jammed by a huge beam that was rigged to drop when we triggered it - however we managed to do that. Now Daniel’s stuck on the other side of the room and I’m twiddling my thumbs on this side because Daniel says there might be more little surprises tucked around this place.

So we’re just sitting here in the dark, waiting for Carter and Teal’c to get back with equipment to get us out of here - preferably without bring the rest of the temple down on us - and I’m watching Daniel’s eyes in a little shaft of moonlight. Nothing unusual about that is there?

Thinking about it, I’ve been doing a whole lot of Daniel-watching lately. Ever since I pushed the button on the bomb that came within seconds of killing him.

Strange. Our lives came together over a bomb, separated then came together again when I stopped Hammond from sending out another bomb. Three years later, one phase of our lives - at least from where I’m sitting, metaphorically not literally - altered over another bomb; a bomb I activated knowing Daniel might die. Daniel knew I would, knew I had to, but took the chance in order to keep me from making the choice to kill one civilization to save another. Followed his ‘function’ even as I followed mine, giving me an option that worked and shattered every illusion of distance I’d ever set up for myself.

Funny thing, standing there with that detonator in my hand, making that decision, then watching the LED seconds count down - it was almost like a near death experience, but I was the one seeing the light. I took a long look at a forever without Daniel; a big gaping hole stretched in front of me, and it hurt. God, it hurt. When that bomb shot off into the atmosphere, it felt like the hole was filled again - only bigger. A lot more came back to fill it than there had been before and I - started watching Daniel.

The way he moves, the way his eyes dance when he’s excited, the way he pouts when he thinks or when he’s pissed. The way his lips quirk when he pulls a fast one on me. Oh yeah, those lips....

Yes, folks, I’m in love with my best friend - and falling harder every day. Took me a while to figure it out. Why I was watching, why it was different than before, why it was more important. Did I mention I was in love with my very straight best friend?

Yeah, that one.

Daniel’s being awfully quiet over there.

Once the dust cleared, he asked if I was okay, told me the beam had caught his leg but he’s pretty sure it’s just stuck not hurt, told me to stay put in case there are more booby traps tucked around the place, then got quiet. I think he even went to sleep for a while.

I watched that too.

Call me hopeless, but I think I could get used to watching him sleep. Morning, night, whenever. Wouldn’t take much practice, just a few easy lessons in archaeological observation, satisfaction guaranteed.

He’s awake now, staring over here like he can see through all these shadows and straight into my thoughts. God, I wish. Might solve a lot of problems in the long run.

Or not.
His eyes are almost glowing in the moonlight, blue - almost too blue - and...sad.

“Daniel?”

He’s startled by my voice, blinking as if he was thinking on some pretty deep shit over there and I called him back to Earth - or wherever the hell this is - too soon.

He coughs a little, buying time to get back to the here and now. “Um, Jack? Anything wrong?”

Wrong? Gee, Daniel, got a few years?

He’s still looking over at me. Eyes still holding that ‘weight of the world expression’ I’ve seen before but never quite got the full effect of since he’s usually doing it in the middle of a duck-and-cover maneuver.

“No, no. I’m fine. You?” Oh, that’s clever, O’Neill.

He nods, blinking into my corner. “Tired, a little stiff...”

He shifts against the wall, wincing at the movement, and I’m catching a clue that maybe he’s hurt more than he’s saying. When he looks back up, I’m sure of it. “Daniel?”

A head shake, more blinking. “It’s okay, Jack. I’m okay...”

Like hell...

Traps or no, I’m moving. Twenty feet with a beam to cross over. Piece of cake.

“Jack, no!”

Step.

Good try, Danny. Not happening though. There’s been too much distance already. If I blow it, it’s blown, but I’m not letting you sit over there alone and hurting.

Step.

Halfway there, just placing my feet carefully and taking a deep breath every time nothing comes flying out or down or up...

Step.

What is with these temple guys anyway?

Step.

A ‘keep out’ sign not good enough?

Step.

Universal paranoia about sharing their religion?

I’m no Indiana Jones, not by a long stretch, so by the time I reach Daniel’s side my heart is racing like I’ve been chased halfway across Chu’lak by Apophis and a horde of jaffa. I have to slip down the wall next to Daniel and catch my breath before I can take a good look at him.

Pale, even more than I thought, like he’s....

Crap.

There’s enough light for me to see that the strap that usually holds his gun in place is now tightened around his bicep holding his wadded bandanna against it.

“Damn it, I asked you if you were okay...” I can’t help letting it slip out angrily as I poke around the wound. Deep, but not too deep and the blood isn’t flowing anymore.

He flinches back, eyes snapping shut with a hiss. “There wasn’t anything you could do, Jack...” His voice sounds hollow, like it’s coming from too far away, almost desolate.

“I could have been here, Daniel, instead of...” The words are out before I mean them to be, in a tone that reveals a lot more than I want it to. What the hell, can’t get any worse. “I could have been here.”

Daniel’s really looking at me now, all big eyed confusion, not even breathing....

Shit, shit, shit...

What have I done?

He blinks once, finally, breath releasing in a slow sigh and his eyes go soft. “You’re here now.”

Oh.

Before I can ponder too much on that, his hand is on mine where it rests on his thigh, squeezing gently. Could mean anything, but for some reason I can’t breathe at the moment...

“Jack...?” Oh, it’s that tone. The infinitely gentle one he hardly ever uses, except with kids, bald white naked guys - and me at my stubborn worst.

My heart is doing a double time march while my eyes search his for a clue. I see something there in that band of moonlight, something new, something I’ve been looking for actually - but now that it’s here, I’m not sure what to do with it.

“Daniel?” I’m not even sure what I’m asking, permission maybe.

His hand squeezes mine again bringing it up to rest against his chest in a gesture I don’t need interpreted.

Got it in one.

His eyes tell me more: I’m not the only one who’s been watching, I’m not the only one who feels the hole refilled, I’m not alone in this. Hell, I’m not alone anymore at all. How’s that for communication?

Funny how four years can teach you the little things about a person; the looks, the mannerisms, the core integrity that can turn a smile into an essay and a look into a dissertation. Daniel does that and I’ve learned to read him really well.

Not alone.

Damn.

I bring his hand close to my lips, watching Daniel’s eyes; they’re smiling, crying, laughing, aching - pick a verb - for me. I nod agreement, to all of it and more, then kiss his fingers. The long, sensitive fingers he uses to communicate as much or more than he can in all his impressive words; the trembling fingers that stretch out to run along my lips in a feather touch that sets my soul on fire and steals my breath again. Just a touch, a simple touch, and current runs through me from his fingers to my toes and back...making a pit stop in the area of my groin that brings a moan slipping up and out.

What the hell...?

I’m no saint in the love and sex department, I’ve been around the block too many times to count, but - damn. Nothing has ever rocked me to the core this way. I need...

His fingers have slipped behind my head, rubbing against my neck while his thumb strokes my cheek, and he’s pulling me closer to him. No need to ask me twice.

I shift around until I’m facing him, letting my own hands wander freely like they’ve wanted to for so long - even before the Enkaran thing. I think I’ve wanted this all my life. His skin is warm, soft yet hard and lean, so different from touching a woman, somehow more...just more. Daniel is more. Everything. I lean in to his grasp, letting him guide me to the place I want most to be.

Our lips touch cautiously, saying hello, getting acquainted. No, that’s not quite right either. The act is new, but they know each other. We know each other. This is just a culmination of something that’s been building almost from day one. From the day I knew in my gut that Daniel wasn’t just another guy on another team, that his life was as integral to mine as day is to dark. We come from different places on just about everything, but in this...we are one.

Damn, I’m getting mushy; or maybe Daniel’s slipping me some words along with his tongue.

God...

Should have known he’d be good at this....

The kiss has progressed from gentle hello’s to something that’s got the juice turned up to the mega-watt level. He’s making love to me and he hasn’t even touched me below the neck. Need to remedy that....

I move in as close as I can without sitting on his lap, sparing a second to curse the damn beam that’s the only thing keeping us for taking this to the horizontal. He really is just stuck though; I could probably get him out if I took off his boot, but there’re still those booby traps to worry about and damn it, I think we’ve waited too damn long as it is.

I let my fingers roam to his jacket, fumbling with the zipper, seeking skin, seeking Daniel. His hands are already under my shirt - don't even remember how that happened - and cutting a trail of fire down my spine that could just about send me over the edge on its own. He whimpers a little under his breath and I remember his wound; shit, we shouldn't be doing this now, he's hurt. I pull back, trying to come up with coherent word - even two would be good.

"Daniel…" Oh, that's progress, sounds more like a moan.

He smiles against my lips and his breathless laughing tickles my nose. "Shut up, Jack."

A bold statement followed by a forceful pull that brings me chest to chest with him. Okay, I can live with this; if he's up for it, I'm definitely up for it.

"Captive audience, Jack…"

I have to snicker at that one. As many times as I've wished I could tie Daniel down on a mission - and I’m not forgetting for a moment we’re on a mission - I never actually thought of it in exactly this way. I never considered myself a kinky kind of guy, but this situation definitely has some erotic potential.

"Guess I'm going to have to take advantage of you then…"

Shifting back and to one side - definitely a hard thing to do when my cock is convinced that it belongs in the opposite direction, I sit and take a good long look at Daniel. His eyes are smiling, full of love and brimming over in a way I’ve never seen there before – and I’ve seen Daniel at some of the highest and lowest points of his life. It’s almost too much to know I put it there, and suddenly – totally uncharacteristically – I need to hear the words, to know this won’t disappear with the moonlight and darkness.

“Danny?” I don’t even recognize my own voice; the need is so strong even if I can’t completely express what it is I need.

His eyes go even softer, looking up at me with no barriers remaining, sharing all he is in this moment of complete honesty. “I love you, Jack.”

And I know it.

It’s here between us, filling us, washing us away in a wave that I’d gladly drown in.

“Good,” I swallow hard on the word. “Hate to think I was in this alone.” Which isn’t what I mean to say at all.

Daniel smiles, hands reaching to pull me back to him. “Not unless you want to be.” There’s a touch of uncertainty there, giving me a last chance to back out.

“Not in this lifetime,” I promise it. “I love you, Daniel; you’re stuck with me.”

I think a tear does spill over then - hell, that’s okay, my eyes aren’t all dry here either - so I lean over to kiss them away, licking the salt onto my tongue and savoring the taste of Daniel’s happiness. Nice, like the rest of him. Even covered in grit and dust and the sweat of the hike to this place, he tastes like Daniel. Warm, salty, distinctive. And he really likes being kissed right behind the ear so I do it again and again, and, for good measure, again until he’s gasping and his hands are pulling me back to his lips and we’re speaking in tongues again. I could really get excited about learning this new language; shifting my legs to accommodate my swelling cock, I realize I already am - excited, that is. I laugh into the kiss, just for the hell of it and it feels so damn good to be able to do that. To be happy, to know the place in me that was refilled by Daniel’s continued existence just got so much bigger that before long we’ll have a damn pyramid in its place.

I kiss my way down his neck, pulling his jacket off and putting it behind him to cushion him against the wall. The t-shirt is next, carefully over his arm – for once I’m glad we’re in desert camo; one jacket, one shirt – and then I’m touching skin.

Damn, even in this half-light he’s perfect. Daniel’s always been kind of shy about his body, even his clothes seem chosen to hide it, but damned if I know why. He’s not exactly pumped up like Teal’c - then who the hell is - but he’s hard and tight in all the right places and making me harder just looking at him. Smooth skin, damn smooth – if I make a ‘baby’s bottom’ comment and I know I’m dead, but it really is. I let my tongue do a little commenting down his chest, across one hard nipple and over to the other by way of the scenic route down his flat stomach and back up again. His hands are in my hair, stroking through, tightening and relaxing as I hit the hot spots. Lots of those and I’m committing each one to memory for later exploration.

“God, Jack…” The words are a sigh of pleasure, almost a purr, which makes me smile against his stomach, knowing he can feel it. I feel something myself, pulsing under my cheek insistently.

Whoa, now….

I rub down on his cock with my chin, feeling it jump even under the fabric and I put my fingers on his belt, looking up for permission. The moonlight is still on him, though it has moved a little lower, but I can still see his eyes clearly. His pupils are dilated so hugely his eyes almost look black and his faced is flushed, soft with passion and desire. He nods, beyond speech at this point and I raise up to kiss him again while my hands take care of business down below.

His hands are all over me, my jacket is already gone, don’t remember when, but he tugs my shirt up and over my head before pulling us together. Now this is a full body press of the most excellent kind. I rub against him, feeling him arch into it, enjoying the sensations of skin on skin. His belt finally cooperates and I go for the buttons on his fly, releasing each one slowly then carefully moving his boxers down as far as possible.

I already knew Daniel was nicely made – like I said I’ve been watching him a lot lately and not exactly with the purest of thoughts - but this is the first time I’ve seen it – well – in action. Looks like the rest of him, lean and strong, hard and soft, and surprisingly sensitive. When I let my fingers stroke gently up its length, it pulses back against the touch.

“Jack!”

That’s a warning if I ever heard one. Guess it’s been too long for either of us to expect things to last. I let go of him for a moment, going back up for a long slow kiss and he’s shaking against me, right on the edge. Four years for both of us – with exceptions we can both count on one hand and prefer not to think about at all - with little more than our right hands for company, if that in Daniel’s case. Knowing him, I doubt it happened much; he’s just that kind of guy. A little hedonism goes a long way; we’ll have to work on that with him, on him, for him. Once I’m sure he’s back under control, I start nipping that place behind his ear again and feel his tongue start similar operations across my collarbone....

Jesus!

How’d he do that? Maybe we’ll be learning that hedonistic process together. Damn. His hands are on my cock; I didn’t even feel him undoing my clothes. Those long fingers seem to be all over at once, stroking the tip as more of them squeeze me in a gentle vise that has me gasping for breath against his neck. Oh, yeah, definitely going to have to get him to show me that one. He reaches around my back to pull me against him, letting me thrust against his hard abs while he works his tongue across my chest and his free hand kneads my ass in deep thrums of sensation that drive me so close to losing it, but I want…

I pull away long enough to shove off my boots and pants, then come back to straddle his lap, pushing his pants down as far as his position will allow, so that our cocks meet up almost perfectly. Damn awkward, but – shit – more than worth it.

I go back in for a kiss and let my hand move between us to slide the pre-come over both of us then pump our two cocks together tentatively. He gasps against my lips; a choked, needful sound and I understand that we’re both at the point of no return. Hands slip up my back, kneading and stroking in a mirror of what my hand is doing down below, as he pulls me closer and gets intimately acquainted with my back teeth. He can’t get much leverage for pushing up, so I thrust down, pumping against him while I stroke us both faster and faster. He stiffens suddenly and I know he’s coming so I give us one, two more long, hard strokes and let myself go so we come nearly at the same moment. He arches up and away from the kiss, calling my name in an entirely new tone of voice I know in that instant I want to hear for the rest of my life. He collapses against my neck and I’m more than happy to have him there, breathing in long gulps and shaking in reaction. It really has been a long time for him…or maybe it’s just the company because right now I feel like I just took gold, silver and bronze in the Danny-pleasing Olympics.

He stays that way so long it starts to worry me, but finally he looks up. His eyes are…

Damn.

Did I do that?

For as long as I’ve known him – except for a few precious hours on Abydos - Daniel has had this ‘haunted’ look in his eyes, even when he was laughing, which never has been often enough. The tragedy in his life was always there to read if you watched his eyes. But I don’t see it now. He looks....at peace. Thoroughly fucked, no doubt of it, but happy. The moonlight has a lot of competition in the sheer brilliance factor shining out of Daniel’s eyes.

I lean down to kiss him again, whispering “I love you” between nips and pecks all around his lips, his eyes, his dimples. His arms come up around me, just holding on in a gesture both tender and possessive. I don’t mind, I already belong to him, my heart knows it, my body knows it.

Just like he belongs to me.

Daniel’s radio crackles. It’s Carter, they’re back and should reach us before morning. Four or five more hours. Daniel’s looking up at me, hands stroking along my sides. I fumble for the radio and acknowledge her message with a quick update on our situation - leaving out the mostly naked and sweaty part, of course.

“What now, Jack?” The words sound steady enough. I know what he means, but have to erase those worry lines on his forehead.

“We go home, get horizontal and do this right.”

He swats my ass and laughs, definitely a sound I’m looking forward to getting used to. “Jack…”

I look him straight in the eye and stroke his cheek, I don’t want there to be any mistakes about this. “We’ll work it out. There’ll be some adjustments to be made at work, but we’ll make them. I’m not giving this up for anything. The team stays together and so do we. Got it?”

He nods with a smile. “Got it, Jack.”

Oh, that was too easy. “What?”

“Nothing…”

Uh huh.

I sit back on my knees, taking in his incredible body, part of me figuring how long we’ve got before I have to get us cleaned up and dressed. “Daniel?”

He grins again. “I was just thinking.”

“About?”

“Makeup sex.”

Okay, he’s lost me. “And…?”

“Well you know,” his hands are wandering up and down my thighs and making it really hard to concentrate on his words, “we don’t always agree on – stuff.”

Understatement of the century, don’t expect that will change anytime soon, Daniel wouldn’t be Daniel if he didn’t disagree with…

Oh.

Makeup sex.

Now I’m grinning like an idiot, know it, don’t care. “Hey, Daniel…” I let my hands do a little roaming of their own.

“Ummm…” He’s soaking up my touch like a sponge, starting to purr again, figuratively speaking.

“Wanna argue?”

He laughs, looking up at me with an impish grin I know I’ve never seen before. I think I’ve got a lot to discover about this new facet of my Daniel, and I couldn’t be happier about the prospect.

“Nah, I’d rather....”

He pulls me in for a long slow kiss and I already know I’m going to agree, maybe not right away, but soon. Hey, kisses like this are hard to come by; I may be cheap, but I’m never easy. As his hands wander back to my cock and set up a slow, easy stroke, I figure I may have to amend that.

Easy, but not cheap?

Easy. Oh, God, definitely easy.

At least to Daniel.

*fin*