Dinner, Dancing and Dessert

UNIVERSE: Farscape

SUMMARY: Under the influence of a rainstorm, John and Aeryn finally get a genuine, full - blown romantic moment without getting interrupted. Written for the SFFWA challenge #1.

SPOILERS: Written after 'Dream a little dream', specifically for 'A Human Reaction', references to more eps than is worthwhile to list. RATING/CONTENT: NC-17. M/F consensual sex

DISTRIBUTION: Rebecca's realm, list archives. Anyone else, ask and I'll see. DISCLAIMER: All things Farscape belong to Rockne S O'Bannon, the Jim Henson company and Nine Network Australia.

FEEDBACK: Yes please! AUTHOR'S NOTES:
1) For you unfortunate people who haven't discovered Farscape yet and are slightly confused, drop by the Tour Guide to the Uncharted Territories (http//:perriverse.dreamhost.com/farscape/main.html).
2) The SFFWA challenge was to pick three items from a list; I chose a rainy night, a romantic dinner and a dance contest. You also had to include a wet and wild sex scene (specifically wet).

SOUNDTRACK (OR MUSE - IC): 'Touched' by VAST.

* * * *

"Well, that was interesting. I didn't realize ANYONE could move quite like that. Granted, humans only resemble about a fifth of the races out here, but still…" John trailed off and shook his head. He'd seen some pretty strange stuff since an unscheduled wormhole had sent him to a galaxy so far away that they'd never heard of the Milky Way, but this had been right up there.

"When I was going through commando training, I did hear a rumor about a race that was part serpent. But I don't think that they could do that, either," Aeryn offered.

"Just as well you said no to joining in," John added ruefully. He hadn't really expected to be able to persuade her, though. He was a little surprised that she'd even agreed to stay to the end. Spending this much time down planet, away from the others, was actually having a relaxing effect on the ex-PeaceKeeper. He briefly wondered what Aeryn looked like completely relaxed. Was it even possible?

Aeryn raised one ebony eyebrow. "Just as well, considering I *couldn't* have joined in." At John's inquiring look, she looked at him in mild exasperation (a frequent state of affairs) and added, "Crichton, you know how strict PeaceKeeper discipline is. Did you really think we spent time learning frivolous things like that?"

"No, now that I think about it. But anyway, it was interesting to watch," John chuckled and added, "Not even Travolta could keep up with that dance contest, Saturday night fever or not!"

Aeryn dismissed the 'Crichton-ism' with the ease of long practice, and replied, "Yes, that was definitely unique. Is this what you had in mind when you promised me a big night out?"

"Not exactly, but it was another first for today! We actually managed to get Rygel to buy some food everyone eats - no 'Hynerian delicacies' - without arguing, Chiana spent the entire day without doing something vaguely illegal or trouble making -" at Aeryn's skeptical look, John paused, then added, "we'd better wait until we get back to Moya and double - check that one."

Aeryn gave him a half smile and teased, "You spent the whole day on a commerce planet without getting into trouble."

John replied hotly, "Hey! I am perfectly capable of spending time on a planet without getting into trouble." At Aeryn's even more skeptical look, he grimaced and continued, "okay, so it doesn't happen very often, but it does happen."

Aeryn actually chuckled at that. In another woman, it might have been a giggle, but Aeryn's voice was too deep and throaty. And lovely. And sexy. And-- John quickly shut down that chain of thought, and took a deep breath to re-start his heart.

He continued, "I actually managed to get you down to a commerce planet alone with me for an entire evening and night."

"I only agreed to the evening, Crichton. That ion storm is the only reason we're not headed back to Moya right now."

John ignored her magnificently and rambled on, "And the greatest accomplishment, without a doubt, is Aeryn Sun dressing in a full outfit that isn't black! Does the Uncharted Territories have a Guinness Book of Records?"

Aeryn smoothed a hand down the side of the dress that John had insisted she wear, including a golden chain around her hips as a belt, with a short length dangling down that swayed as she moved. It was a bright, hot blue that reminded John of the sky at high noon at Cape Canaveral, and made Aeryn's eyes look even bluer. Sleeveless, with a deeply scooped neckline and a hem a few inches above the knee, John had been cutting off chains of thought almost every time he looked at her. "Only because you insisted, Crichton."

"I told you, Aeryn, it's an old tradition. Whoever buys the clothing gets to pick it out, and you didn't have enough money on you to buy something to replace your clothes."

Aeryn muttered a few words the translator microbes wouldn't deign to translate, and continued sourly, "I still can't believe the nerve of that Cherreag! Spilling that… goop… all over me, and insisting that it was my own fault!"

"Lucky for him that weapons aren't allowed within a metra of the city, or he'd BE goop right now," John offered, hiding a smirk. "At least he was nice enough to give us a credit chit for the hotel. We even got a good dinner out of it."

"It was very nice," Aeryn conceded. It had also been unexpectedly romantic. She'd smiled at Crichton more times during dinner than she had for the last monen, influenced by the dimly lit room, the luxurious atmosphere, and the quiet strains of music that Crichton said resembled something called 'piano'. "Do you think we could persuade Chiana to try duplicating that stew?"

"Worth a shot," John mused. He took a look up at the sky, and asked, "Didn't that guy at the hotel say something about the ion storms eventually affecting the weather?"

"Yes, why?" Aeryn asked.

"Well, I'm thinking we'd better get back to the hotel," John told her. "The wind's picking up, and I'm sure it's gotten colder."

Aeryn shrugged. Like most Sebaceans, she tended not to notice cold, despite (or perhaps because of) their dangerous vulnerability to heat. "So, what kind of condition are our rooms?"

John bit his lip, and started, "Well, I didn't get a chance to see, I just sent our things up to the room without looking. We were so close to the end of dinner hour as it was- "

"Wait," Aeryn interrupted him. She stopped dead in the street, turned to face him, and folded her arms over her breasts. John tried desperately not to notice what it did to the neckline of the dress, and forced himself not to step backward. Aeryn wasn't going to pentak jab him over this. He hoped.

"You said 'room'. That implies one room, not two."

John sighed, and explained, "The credit chit only covered one room, and we didn't have the money for another. Don't worry, I asked for one with two beds." At Aeryn's continuing steady glare, he added, "Aeryn, this city is the most popular destination on the planet. If it weren't for that chit, we would probably be sleeping in the transport pod tonight. I don't know about you, but I for one think it's frelling uncomfortable. Are you going to glare at me all night for something that wasn't my fault, or are you coming back to the hotel with me for a decent night's sleep?"

Aeryn let her arms drop, and nodded. "The hotel." As a particularly strong gust of wind ruffled the skirt of her close-fitting dress, she added, "I see what you mean about the wind. Let's go!"

*

"I don't believe this."

John was struggling to lock the door to their room and didn't realize what Aeryn was talking about, until he turned around.

"Oh my God," John muttered in astonishment. "They gave us the damn honeymoon suite!"

John and Aeryn both gazed about the huge room. A door on the left led to what must be the bathroom, a pair on the right led out to a balcony.

"I thought you asked for a room with two beds."

"I did. I guess that thing's supposed to count as two."

The room, large as it was, was dominated by the bed, which looked like it could sleep three Luxans comfortably, complete with sheer curtains somehow falling from the ceiling, and a quilt that looked like it could serve as a mattress on its own.

Areyn looked towards the balcony doors, as a sound they'd never heard in the Uncharted Territories filtered through to them. "Isn't that rain? Like on the false Earth?" Without waiting for an answer, she moved eagerly towards the balcony doors.

"Aeryn!" As she turned to face him, John suddenly choked on what he'd been about to say. "Take off your boots, if they're soaked, we can't replace them too."

Aeryn hurriedly yanked them off, discarded the chain belt with them and moved out onto the balcony, leaving the doors open behind her. As she moved out of sight, John moved to the bed and sat down, tugging off his own boots. Then he dropped his head into his hands and half - groaned, half - sighed. Alone in a hotel with Aeryn, with it raining outside?

He was vividly reminded of when the same situation had happened, on the false Earth the Ancients had conjured up. Even though he'd been so full of despair and hopeless anger on what he'd thought had been his last night alive, it had still been one of the best. He and Aeryn had made love that night, and it was still one of the most incredible experiences of his life. It had been a good quarter cycle ago, but he still dreamed about it at least once a weeken. Even now, his body stirred in arousal at the memory.

He'd always suspected that Aeryn was hiding an incredible amount of emotion behind the icy PeaceKeeper façade, but the flood of passion he'd unleashed in her had amazed him. She'd drawn an equally powerful response from him. Each climax had been like dying and being reborn, violent and tender by turns. They'd made love all night and neither had felt even a trace of exhaustion. Every lover he'd had before had turned into a shadow; even Alex, the woman he'd wanted to marry.

He'd started to get a bad feeling the next morning, when Aeryn refused to even acknowledge, much less discuss, what had happened between them. All her emotions had been locked up tight once more.

When John had realized that the whole thing was an illusion, he'd been cut to the quick, that he'd been cheated of something so very precious as his first time with Aeryn. He'd turned on her in heartbroken anger, repudiating not just her, but the whole 'game'. It was the worst possible thing he could have done. For while Earth had been faked, it had been the real Aeryn in the illusion with him.

After they were back on Moya, she'd still avoided any talking on the topic, but John had gradually realized that while he'd been ready for the most intimate step in their relationship, Aeryn hadn't been. He had eventually accepted that he needed to let her make the next move, and been encouraged by their strengthening relationship after Moya had been fractured in the dimensional rift. But then a PeaceKeeper Marauder had turned up, complete with an intellent virus and a Captain called Larraq.

Seeing the way Aeryn 'clicked' with Larraq, John had felt like Aeryn had torn out his heart and atomized it with her pulse rifle. Even as he recognized that for Aeryn, Larraq was a last brush of the life she'd left behind, even as Gilina had been for him, it had still hurt incredibly that Aeryn could possibly choose someone else over him, when she was the most important person in his life.

John sighed again, and stood. Even as part of his mind screamed at him not to, he walked to the balcony. One look at Aeryn, and his cock sprang to hard, insistent life inside his cargo pants, starting a need inside that could not be denied.

Aeryn was standing with her eyes closed and her head tilted back, her mouth slightly open to catch the rain. Her hands ran through her raven hair, now drenched flat against her skull. Even in the brief time she'd been standing there, her dress was soaked through, clinging to her body.

She seemed to sense his presence, and looked at him with a joyful expression. She gave him the zillion - watt smile that made his heart turn over, and time stopped for John. His common sense ordered him not to go out; his heart begged him to.

John had never been able to master casual sex; never been able to go to bed with a woman without taking his heart with him. Even when it had been spelled out that one night was all that was for offer, he'd still ended up in a painful emotional tangle afterward. Alex had left two years before the Farscape One's launch; that night with Aeryn had been the only time since.

Aeryn's rejection of him and what they'd shared had ripped him apart inside. He wasn't sure that he'd survive it again. Stepping out to her would be an open invitation to emotional suicide. But he had needed her so badly for so long…

Time started again as he stepped out onto the balcony. His peripheral vision noted some kind of table next to them, as Aeryn's smile faded. He knew she could see the raw hunger in his eyes. Even now, he couldn't help but give her a chance to tell him what she wanted. John waited a fraction of a microt, his urgency so great he couldn't wait any longer, almost enjoying the way he was dancing on the line of agonizing anticipation.

Then the line snapped.

John reached forward, catching the back of her head with one hand as he crushed his mouth onto hers. The other hand went on her ass, holding her in place as he ground his hips into hers. He distantly realized that Aeryn had opened her lips for him, even as his tongue plunged inside her mouth; her arms were around his waist, holding him to her.

He urgently lifted her up, those gorgeous long legs of hers circling him as he shifted to the table. He almost slammed her down flat on the table top as the hand that had been holding her ass went to the bottom of her dress, trying to push it up, but the pressure of their bodies kept it trapped. Aeryn pushed him back and sat up, her lips still attached to his. She used the desperate clasp her legs had around his hips as leverage to lift herself off the table and work the hem of her dress up and over her hips.

John sat her back on the table and reached around to the back of her dress, guided by a distant memory of when he'd made her model it for him down at the market. He found the right place on the neckline and ripped, tearing open the line of sealant that acted much like an Earth zipper. He tugged at the straps, sliding them off her shoulders and down, until the dress was bunched up around her midriff, leaving her breasts bared. Immediately, he laid Aeryn back down and tore his lips from hers. As they both panted for breath, his hands sought her breasts, fondling them the way she'd taught him that night. Aeryn's back arched, pushing her breasts further into his hands, and John remembered something else.

After Aeryn had almost died due to the Drak's invading Moya for their breeding cycle, he'd gone to Zhaan for a fairly detailed lesson on Sebacean anatomy, claiming he wanted to know how he passed for Sebacean so easily. Zhaan had merely given him a serene smile and told him about the few differences. Humans and Sebaceans were almost identical in physical makeup, with the exception of a few glands (including those that regulated internal temperatures and toxin cleansing), and a few extra nerve clusters. Including a couple that had really gotten a reaction out of Aeryn.

Suiting the deed to the thought, John brought his lips to the top of Aeryn's cleavage and kissed it gently. Aeryn gave a low cry, and her hips thrust sharply against his. He then sucked at the place, running his thumbs around her erect nipples at the same time, and Aeryn convulsed beneath him in orgasm.

Her reaction brought a fierce answering response from him. John used both hands to drag down the boxers she was wearing - the same ones she'd stolen from him, long ago. Once again, he couldn't get them down far, and stepped back just far enough to give Aeryn room to raise her hips. Aeryn, eyes still glazed in fulfillment, brought her knees up to her shoulders, giving him enough room to let him drag the soaking wet garment down and off her legs. She sat up, her eyes firing with a need that matched his, and attacked his shirt, tearing open the front sealant line. She didn't bother to push it off, instead unfastening his pants, shoving them and his own boxers as far down as she could.

John groaned in relief as his erection sprang free, then groaned again as Aeryn stroked his shaft and the flames inside roared even higher. He wrapped his arms around her, lowered her back onto the table and fastened his mouth on hers. He didn't need any guidance, he simply plunged himself inside her to the hilt in one smooth stroke.

Aeryn screamed into his mouth, and in turn swallowed his shout. John stayed frozen for a microt, shocked into immobility by sheer pleasure. It was still raining, now pounding, and John wondered that it didn't turn into steam as it hit their heated bodies. Then John started pistoning in and out of his lover, slamming his hips into hers so hard that they'd both have bruises in a very short time. But he didn't care. Nothing mattered but the roar of the flames inside him. John tightened his arms around Aeryn, trying to draw her closer to him. Needing to be so far inside her that he would be a part of her always, so that she could never turn away from him again.

Such raw desire couldn't last very long. Even as Aeryn's mouth broke away from his on a strangled moan, John felt the last threads of whatever self - control he had left break. Even as Aeryn stiffened beneath him, every muscle in her body taut, John felt his release spurt out of him like liquid fire.

His knees went weak and gave way, making him collapse on Aeryn's trembling body beneath him. He rested his head against her shoulder as she stroked his hair. With a supreme effort, he lifted his head to kiss her gently, then looked into her eyes. Apparently, it was indeed possible for Aeryn to be completely relaxed. She looked incredibly beautiful.

"John?" she murmured. At his answering grunt, she continued with a smile, "Remember when we didn't get dessert at dinner, and you said we'd get some later? Is this what you meant?"

John felt his mouth stretch in a lusty grin, as the flames he'd thought extinguished only a moment before starting to crackle again. He reluctantly withdrew from her, pulled his pants up just enough that he wouldn't stumble or trip, and replied, "Aeryn, this is just the start."

Then he swept her up into his arms, the dress still twisted around her, and carried her inside, heading straight for the bed.