Politically Incorrect.
Daniel wasn’t quite sure what he’d said to put that expression on the Colonel’s face, the one that told him that Jack was considering calling Janet to check that his friend was in full control of his faculties; but whatever he had said it had done the job. Jack was barely a foot away from him, and Daniel could feel the weight of Jack’s arm on his shoulder, his thumb lying solidly against his collarbone. It wouldn’t take much to breach the distance; half a step, a shuffle, really. He sucked in his breath. It was now or never. Carpe diem. Grab it with both hands.
The half step shuffle was taken so quickly that their chests thumped together with the force of Daniel’s nervous speed. Jack’s hand slipped a little from Daniel’s shoulder down to his bicep, and his frosted brows were drawing down into a frown. Daniel recognised the point of no return and as Jack’s mouth opened to ask what he was doing, Daniel lifted his chin and kissed him.
It was… different. Jack was frozen against him, his lips fixed in that half open position, and Daniel’s heart was beating so hard in his chest he could barely concentrate on anything. Trying to ignore his heart attack in progress, he tilted his head further to the left, releasing and then engaging Jack’s lips again, and then he finally closed his eyes.
With his vision in darkness, sensation was heightened, and the feeling of the kiss cleared away his fog of panic. His heart still beat furiously against his ribcage; he could feel it in his throat and beneath Jack’s fingers curling into his arm, but the tingling rush that swept up from his feet to his mouth made all of that secondary.
For a moment, as long a moment as Daniel could draw it out for, he pretended that this was something that they did all the time. That it was normal for them to kiss on other worlds, normal for them to be so close and locked together at the mouth like sea and river. For that long, long moment before Jack started to stir, Daniel indulged his fantasies. He knew the reality that this could be the only time they would be like this. It broke his heart, but it was a risk his soul insisted he had to take.
At the sensation of Jack’s fingers clenching around his bicep, Daniel knew it was time to pull back. Disengaging their lips took effort, Daniel had to fight against his desire to keep them together, but eventually sense took control and pulled him away.
Setting back on his heels, Daniel forced his eyes open before his fears could coerce them to stay closed. Jack’s face showed nothing. It was just as it was before the kiss, but the eyes were something else. Daniel didn’t know most of what was in them, but the big fat ‘what?’ was as clear as day.
“What?” Jack’s voice emoted nothing but controlled confusion. Daniel felt relief rush through him that the first thing Jack didn’t do was hit him. Though that was still a possibility as Daniel had just kissed him in front of a bunch of natives and once Jack’s shock wore off he was probably going to be really embarrassed about it. Which Daniel was already way ahead of him with.
Falling back on the tried and true, Daniel replied to Jack’s ‘what?’ with his own.
“What?”
And there, the light in Jack’s eyes signifying the end of his statue state and the entry into Angry Colonel Mode. Daniel tried not to shift his feet and betray his nervousness, but Jack knew him so well by now that his fear must be setting off all of Jack’s colonel senses.
Those grey brows drew down into the frown they had been threatening with before Daniel kissed him.
“I don’t think that’s going to work this time, Daniel.” Jack’s voice was even, but the strength behind the words was palpable.
“Yeah, well,” Daniel replied, trying to sound unworried but failing miserably. “It was worth a try.”
Jack blinked slowly. “Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
“What?”
And Daniel started. “Um,” he tried, fumbling for the right words to say, but was cut off by strong hands gripping his hips and pulling him forwards onto the balls of his feet. His hands flew up to grip Jack’s shoulders, an instinctive move to keep his balance, but the motion proved all but worthless as Jack kissed him hard and shot his equilibrium all to hell.
Daniel relied heavily upon his ability to adapt quickly and efficiently in his role as a member of SG-1, but with Jack’s hands holding him tightly and his lips laying siege to his own all his abilities and experiences availed him for naught. This time it was his turn to play at being the statue.
“What?” Daniel asked as Jack finally let him go.
The smirk that waited at the corner of Jack’s lips did nothing to ease Daniel’s rising nerves.
“I though we covered that already,” Jack answered.
“Um, yeah…”
“So…”
“So…” Daniel licked his lips and flexed his fingers on Jack’s shoulders. He could taste Jack on his skin, could still feel his hands on his hips, and in his mind it was slowly dawning that Jack had kissed him back. “I think we should, um, maybe we should…”
<i>Talk about it</i> were going to be the next words out of his mouth, but once again Jack cut him off.
“Fuck this,” he said.
“What?”
Jack pulled him closer, bent his head the small distance that separated their heights, and while Daniel tried to breathe through the sudden arousal that gripped him at being so close, Jack’s arms slid up beneath his jacket and pulled their bodies in hard against each other.
“That comes after the kissing, Daniel,” he said, then covered the distance between them.
This time Daniel was ready, and the kiss was all that it should have been. Hot, different, awkward, and so very personal. It felt odd having an equally rough chin against his jaw, but the hot mouth that opened to him, and the soft tongue that pushed inside his own mouth felt so overwhelmingly right that the differences between a woman and Jack were of no importance whatsoever.
“Okay,” Daniel said as they mutually pulled away. Jack chased after him and rubbed their noses together as though it was something he’d wanted to do for a long time.
“That’s enough talking, Danny boy,” he said. “Kissing is a higher priority right now.”
“Okay,” Daniel assented, nodding. “Okay.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
More lips, tongues and even a bit of teeth this time, and when Carter calling their names finally broke them apart they were both breathless, hard, and becoming aware of the audience they had gained while caught up together.
Carter gave them a look which made Daniel flush with embarrassment, yet all Jack did was pull him more firmly against him. Maybe it was to show that he was unashamed, or maybe it was to hide their mutual erections, but whatever it was caused a rush of happiness to flow through Daniel. He’d hoped to be held this close to Jack, ever since the incident with his addiction to the sarcophagus, but the thought of it actually happening again was something that Daniel fantasised about, but never seriously considered.
“Sir?” she asked.
“I’d say it should be obvious, Major,” Jack answered.
“Well, yes sir,” she replied. “But I was wondering what you were going to do about the angry natives behind you.”
“Huh?”
Daniel turned his head to look over his shoulder, and swallowed at the mixture of expressions on the faces of the people inhabiting the world they were currently exploring. It seemed as though the majority, who had at first been quite welcoming, were looking at both he and Jack as though they would make fantastic objects for target practise. There were only about three that Daniel could see that seemed to be okay with the proximity of the two men to each other.
“Oh,” Jack said, the heat of his breath sweeping over Daniel’s jaw. “Them.”
“It appears that they do not condone homosexual partnerships, O’Neill.” Teal’c’s voice sounded out from in the midst of the group. One of the three that Daniel noticed were alright with him and Jack still holding onto each other. The only one grinning, in fact. It sent a warm flush through him that their dark friend was apparently happy for them.
“So it seems,” Jack agreed.
“Sir?” Carter asked as a few of the natives appeared to be reaching for their crude weapons.
Jack looked back at Daniel. “Time to call a strategic retreat, yeah?”
Daniel felt his lips twitch as he tried to restrain a smile. “Mmm, yeah.”
“Okay. Get ready to run, kids,” Jack ordered. Sam immediately crossed to the DHD and dialled the address for home.
“Three,” Daniel volunteered as the gate whined and glowed.
“Two,” Teal’c continued as the event horizon burst out in a watery cloud.
“One,” Jack stated, and holding Daniel by the wrist he pulled and pushed him in front of him as they ran for the active wormhole.
The stargate closed behind them just in time.