Pudding

Title: Pudding
Author: Irana Potter-Snape
Rating: R
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Disclaimer: Nope. The characters or places are not mine.
Feedback: Oh please.
Summary: Jack doesn't have a clue what he's doing, only that he has to do it.
Beta(s):
A/N: First SG1 fic ever. Omg, I'm hyperventilating. Written for The Seduction Challenge, since I couldn't very well issue a challenge and not write for it. I couldn't have done this without you. Thank you so much for dealing with the wibbling and helping me focus and suggesting the way for me to start. Much love to and for their encouragement. I doubt this fic would have materialized as fast as it did with all of you. 4,894 words.

*~*~*~*

What the hell am I doing? I wonder as I open the bottle of wine and set it aside to 'breathe' as I've seen Daniel do. I don't know a thing about wine except for what wine Daniel likes. Rare and expensive. Like him. Rare. Rarer than this wine. My Danny is one of a kind. Except he's not mine. Yet. I hope.

I look at the clock and curse, thinking that maybe this isn't a good idea. But it's too late to back out now. I've already made dinner, bought the wine and opened it. Hell, I made dinner. What the hell am I thinking?

I don't know what I'm doing. This is Daniel for crying out loud! I'm definitely having second thoughts about this. Maybe if I give myself a pep talk. Works with the SF's, right?

Alright O'Neill. You did Black Ops for years. This is just a little seduction. It can't be much different from a woman right? This is Daniel. You know what he likes already. Just relax, it'll be fine.

Nope.

Didn't work. I check my watch again.

Five minutes.

Daniel will be here in five minutes. And then I'll know.

I head into the kitchen and grab the bottle of Johnny Walker Black and pour myself a shot. I need the fortification. See, I know big words. Just don't like using 'em. Not unless I have to, and besides, it drives Daniel nuts when I play dumb.

Dinner smells good at least. Nothing fancy, just something I know I do well. The steak should be done just after he gets here, and the salad is already on the table. I got some of those dinner rolls he likes and put them in a bowl next to the stick of butter. Potatoes are done too; chopped and cooked with onions in the oven. I look over at the wine and frown. Maybe I shouldn't have opened it yet. 1996 Clos du Marquis St. Julien. The woman in the store said it was rare. Better be, at fifty dollars for the bottle. I bought another bottle of something else just in case, a wine I know he likes.

I hear the key jangle in the door and feel myself stiffen up. My mouth is dry, my senses are all on alert, and my palms are sweaty. What if he doesn't want this? Doesn't want me? I'm no prize. I'm sarcastic, I have bad knees, I'm stubborn, and I'm old. He's not the kid I met years ago, but he could do so much better than me.

"Jack?" I hear him call out as he shuts the door. Shit. Showtime.

*~*~*~*

I can't help but wonder what's on Jack's mind. If I didn't know better, I'd say Jack had been nervous when he asked me about coming over tonight. I don't know why, I always come over on Fridays. Except for when I was ascended, or when we weren't talking, or when I'm off world.

I hang my coat up and head into the kitchen with a smile on my face. Of course I'm smiling, I'm spending time with Jack. I sniff the air and frown a little. Did he cook? Jack never cooks. We always have take out on Friday; pizza or Chinese.

"Jack, did you cook?" I ask as I walk into the kitchen.

"Yeah," he says as he turns from the cupboard. "Grilled some steak," he adds.

Oh. Nothing weird about that. Jack grills all the time. Except…

Something doesn't feel right. I look around the kitchen and catch sight of the wine and I can feel my brow arching. "Jack?"

"Want some?" he responds, not waiting for my answer; just getting me a glass and pouring some in it.

I take it from him when he hands it to me and sniff it and turn my eyes to the label. Damn. I'm right, this is the good stuff. The really good stuff. "Jack?" I question again, knowing full well if he can escape without answering, he will.

Jack grabs a dish from off the counter behind him and says, "Be right back. Gotta get those steaks off the grill."

I watch him walk away, eyes dropping to his ass in those faded jeans I love as I sip my wine and wonder what's going on in his head. He made dinner and bought good wine. He's obviously planning something, as I know this isn't wine I've left here. No way would I have brought over a fifty-dollar bottle of wine and not drunk it. Maybe the wine was an accident and he just grabbed the first bottle he saw. Maybe it was on sale. But I don't think so. Something tells me he bought this one deliberately.
No, Jack's up to something. I just have to figure out what.

*~*~*~*

That wasn't too bad. Could have been worse I think as I pull the steaks off the grill and close it. I know Daniel. The questions will come, but hopefully not until we've finished dinner. I am not shaking at the idea of telling Daniel I want to... that I have... nope, not shaking at all. It'll be fine, everything will be fine. Daniel likes my steak and we hang out every Friday together. Nothing for him to be suspicious about. Well, nothing except the wine, but I have bought wine when I knew he was coming over before. I know he wants to ask about it, so I'll have to think of something to say first.

"Like the wine?" I ask him as I pass him on the way to the kitchen. "Saw it in Denver the other day when I went to pick up some stuff for the truck. Thought you might like it." It's a lie... sort of. I was looking for something special in that store in Denver, he just doesn't need to know that yet. But it's got enough truth in it to ring true and it ought to make him relax a little.

I see that brow of his arching again. I'm not sure he believes me but he's not curious enough to question it. Yet. So far, so good. "Make yourself useful will ya?" I yell back at him as I pull out the potatoes and dump them into a dish. I hear him come into the kitchen and don't bother to turn around. "Grab me a beer," I grin at him, taking the bowl of potatoes and heading for the dining room. "And bring the steak," I add, grinning. He'll be rolling his eyes about now. If I just act like myself, he won't know what hit him. Hopefully, by the time dinner is done, he'll be mellow from the wine and more open to what I have to say.

It's not that I think he's going to freak or something. Yeah, alright, he might just a little. It's not every day your best friend - your male best friend - tells you he wants to throw you down and fuck you. Only I don't want to just fuck him, I want to be with him. Like I was with Sara, only without all the bad shit. I can be myself with Daniel. I can talk about work, not have to hide anything, not have to freeze him out when he pushes, and boy, does he push sometimes. Sometimes I don't mind, but tonight... tonight my nerves are already strung so tight I don't need the extra aggravation of Daniel curiosity. Not right now anyway.

I look up as he walks into the dining room and for the first time get a good look at what he's wearing and smother a groan. If I didn't know better I'd swear he was trying to kill me. He has on those black jeans Carter made him buy and a blue shirt that makes his eyes look bluer than the sky when the sun comes out. I duck my head and clear my throat as I fuss ith the bowl of rolls. I was going to say something, but damn if I didn't forget looking at him. All I can think about right now is kissing him, and that's not part of the plan. Not before we talk anyway. My stomach twists at the very idea of talking, but I know Daniel, and I know he's going to want to talk this through before we do anything. I hate talking, and he knows it, and I figure if nothing else, that ought to tell him how serious I am about this.

This could cost me my career, but I've retired before, and I'll do it again if it means I get to keep Daniel. If he wants me.

*~*~*~*

Something is definately going on. It might just be the light - which is lower than it normally is - but I could swear that Jack just blushed. Jack O'Neill, Special Ops, SGC 2IC, just checked me out and blushed. It was a barely there kind of blush, but I'm sure he blushed. I look down at what I'm wearing and frown. I like this outfit. It's one of the few that Sam and Janet made me buy that I actually wear. It's comfortable. What's wrong with it?

I look up again and see him sitting down. Time to figure out what's going on.

"No hockey tonight, Jack?" I ask as I take the seat across from him. I want to sit next to him, but I need to see his face, see what he's trying to hide. I know he's hiding something. His behaviour is off. Different. Almost Jack, but not quite Jack. Not the Jack I'm used to seeing on Friday nights.

Jack shakes his head and picks up his beer. "No. Got movies though, none of that History Channel stuff tonight. We did that last Friday," he says, reminding me that this week it's my turn to endure whatever torture he insists on calling entertainment. Probably something with lots of scantily clad women and loud explosions.

Don't get me wrong, I like pretty women, it's just that lately - since I descended actually - it seems as though I'm more attracted to men than ever before, and I'd rather not have to watch Jack drooling all over the screen all night. Not that the attraction to men is new. It's just never been this strong before that I can remember. Most of it seems to center around one cocky, sarcastic colonel. Who as far as I know is the very definition of straight. He knows I've gone with guys - I told him about that years ago - he just doesn't know that the only guy I want these days is him.

I laugh at myself - internally of course - and my own blindness. I doubt I just suddenly started feeling this way about Jack. I've always been close to Jack, always felt comfortable with him, even during the NID sting. It hurt like hell when he said our friendship had no foundation but... alright, so even once he explained why he did it, it still hurt. I still don't remember much from when I was ascended, but I imagine if I missed anyone, it would be Jack. It was only after I descended that it began to dawn on me just how much Jack meant to me. Jack means home to me in a way I don't think he'd expect or feel comfortable with.

"Daniel? Earth to Daniel," I hear Jack say. From the look on his face, he's been trying to get my attention for a while.

I look up and smile. "Sorry Jack. Spaced out for a while there."

*~*~*~*

I've lost him. He's wherever he goes when he gets that blank look in his eyes. He's been doing that a lot lately and I can't help but want to know what he's thinking. We'll be done with dinner soon, and I want him comfortable when we are. Finally he brings his eyes to mine and I can see him focus on me.

"I asked if you wanted some more wine," I repeat, gesturing at his nearly empty glass.

He nods and I lift the bottle and pour, then set it back down. "Where did you go?" I can tell from the shrug that he won't be giving me a straight answer, but then, he never does.

"Just thinking," he says, and I'm not surprised.

"Not about work," I say. "We're on downtime Daniel, no translations, no work." I don't think it's work, but it wouldn't surprise me. He works too hard, sleeps too little and doesn't eat enough. he adamantly refuses to accept that coffee is not a food group.

He just grins at me and says, "Yes, Mother." Not how I want him to see me at all. Hopefully, that will change tonight. Maybe it's time to put my plan into effect. Something small... hmm, coffee.

"Ran out of coffee," I say and smirk at his groan, "so I went by Starbucks to pick some up. They got some new thing in, Yacco something," I say, deliberately misspronouncing the name and smiling when he corrects me with 'Yauco Select'. "Yeah that. Figured we could have it after dinner." I love seeing that smile, even though hearing him laugh is better. He doesn't laugh enough. I want to change that.

Coffee and wine, two sure fire ways to lower Dannyboy's defenses.

*~*~*~*

Definitely planning something. Expensive wine and really good coffee. What are you up to, Jack O'Neill? Maybe I ought to try flying under the radar, so to speak. Jack is a master of deflection, diversion and obfuscation. I need to play this right, or he'll catch on to what I'm doing.

"This is really good, Jack," I tell him, raising my fork and lifting my glass to let him know I mean the combination of flavors.

He just grins at me. Typical. "How did you know they would match?" I ask in a way that clearly lets him know I'm fishing.

"Didn't," he says around a bite of salad. "But it's red, so I figured it would be alright with steak. And you like red."

Okay. We’re getting somewhere. Not sure where yet, but somewhere. "I really need to teach you more about wine, Jack. It could have been awful with this. I wish you'd come to a wine tasting with me," I prod, mainly to see what he says. I've asked before, but he always says no.

"Maybe."

Maybe? "I'm going to hold you to that," I grin.

"I said 'maybe' Daniel, not yes." I smother my grin at the exasperated tone in his voice.

"True, but maybe indicates a possibility, which is closer to a yes than the 'no' I always get."

I grin as he snorts and keeps eating. I can almost see the gears turning in that mind of his and I'm carefully choosing what to throw at him next.

"Save room for dessert," he says before I can say anything, completely throwing me off.

*~*~*~*

I watch my linguist close his mouth with a snap and smirk. Gotcha Danny.

"Dessert?" slips out of his mouth like it's a huge set of ruins he can't wait to explore.

"Dessert," I affirm, waiting for it.

"Jaaack."

And there it is. "Chocolate and coffee pudding." Here it comes, that look of pure delight I want to put on his face with my hands and mouth.

"Chocolate… and coffee…"

"Pudding," I finish for him, pushing away my dish. "You got room or should I just toss it?" I know he wants it. I know he can already taste it, but I can't resist the tease.

*~*~*~*

Toss it? Is he crazy? It's chocolate and coffee, of course I'm don't want him to throw it out. I'll leave figuring out what he's doing alone for right now. Or at least as long as it takes me to eat dessert.

Wait.

Wine. Coffee. Chocolate.

Those are things you give to someone you're dating, someone you want to spend time with you, someone you're attracted to. Is Jack trying to tell me he's attracted to me? Is that what's happening here? Of course, he's bought me wine before, and coffee – definitely coffee – and even chocolate, but never all together. Maybe I'm misreading things. Seeing what I want to see. Jack's straight, he can't want me that way. He doesn't know how. He's never been with a man, he's told me that himself.

No. I'm imagining things.

But… the lights are lower than I'm used to them being. And he blushed when I caught him looking at me. He bought expensive wine because he thought I'd like it, coffee he knows I love, cooked a meal and even had the rolls I like, and now he's offering me my two vices in one dessert.

Maybe I'm not imagining things.

Maybe he does want me.

This is one theory I have to test.

I follow him into the kitchen, bringing my mostly empty dish and scraping what's left of my roll and salad into the trash. I've never yet thrown away even a small piece of Jack's steak, it's way too good to waste. Now to focus on the problem at hand. How do I figure out if Jack is, in fact, trying to tell me he's attracted to me?

*~*~*~*

He's staring at me. I can feel it as I move around the kitchen, pulling down the glass bowls I haven't used since Carter got them for me some Christmas. Think that was three years ago, but with Danny in the room and staring at me, it's getting hard to think. Ha, hard. Like a fucking rock. I'm glad I at least took them all out the box and washed them earlier so now all I have to do is get the pudding in them.

"Something wrong, Daniel?" I ask. I'm afraid of the answer, afraid he's figured it out and is trying to find a good way to tell me he isn't interested. Danny's like that. He'd never make fun of someone's feelings, never be deliberately cruel. I don't know what I want more; for him to want me or for him to want to just be friends. The only thing I do know is I have to tell him, somehow.

"What?" he says in that distracted way of his. "No. No, nothing's wrong Jack, just thinking."

Uh huh. That's what I'm afraid of. Can't have you thinking too much Dannyboy. Not right now. Hell, I'm thinking too much. I'm a man of action. Every time I think too much or too long something goes wrong. I've done enough worrying and thinking tonight. Now it's time to act. I hand him a bowl and smile my most charming smile; the flirty one I use when i want to get my way or charm some unsuspecting woman. I figure if it works on them, it might work on Daniel. If he's interested of course.

Damn I want to laugh right now. His eyes widened and he flushed. My Danny blushed when I gave him that smile. There might be hope yet. I soften it to a grin - the one no one else ever gets but him - turn my back and start walking to the living room.
"Coming Daniel?" I ask, just a little bit of emphasis on the first word. Not too much, I don't want to be too obvious, but enough to make him wonder.

*~*~*~*

Goddamnit, he is! After all this time, now he decides he wants me, when I had just managed to accept it wouldn't happen?

I can't help but laugh at myself. This is Jack. Considering how long it took me to figure out what I was feeling for him, and exactly what event it took to bring home just how much I love him and what kind of love it was, I suppose i can't be too hard on him. I've been with a man before, and unless there's something he hasn't told me since we talked about it, he never has. Of course it's going to be harder on him than me. That he's doing anything at all takes an immense amount of courage. Knowing I've gone with a guy before doesn't necessarily mean I'll want to go with him.

Damn him. He just had to go and make me love him more. No, it's not enough he's sexier than anything I've ever seen, smart as hell, funny, kind, generous, sarcastic, cocky and did I mention sexy as hell? i knew Jack was brave, hell we all know it. You have to be more than a little brave to do what we do, to be a first contact team. But this...

This takes a hell of a lot more courage than I have. I know myself well enough to know that no matter how badly I want this, I wouldn't have done anything. I've lost everyone I've ever loved. The idea of losing him, of pushing him away because of how I feel about him terrifies me. Or well, it did. I wonder if he's thought about this, if he's considered what he might lose if we do this. What am I thinking? This is Jack. of course he's thought about this. He's impulsive, but he's a master strategist. He's had to be to get where he is. Thinking on your feet is a requirement in our job, and I've seen him do it too often to have forgotten how good he is at it. Regardless of how much or little time he's given it, if nothing else he's already thought through how he wants to do this, if not all the consequences. But knowing him as well as I do, i'm pretty sure he's thought about those too.

"Daniel, where are you?" he calls through the house and I grin as I stick a spoonful of pudding into my mouth and head into the living room.

I'm right here, Jack. Right where I want to be.

*~*~*~*

He's definitely trying to kill me. I'm looking toward the kitchen, wondering what's keeping him, when he comes walking out, tongue licking at chocolate that has found a home in the corner of his mouth. I can barely tear my eyes away from his mouth and it's only when he rasies a brow that i realize I've been staring too long. I clear my throat and ask "Good?"

"Umm hmmm," he mumbles at me. Mumbled hell. He damn well moaned and that sound is doing things to me that will be damn hard to hide in a little while. How I've managed to keep my dick under control with him walking around here looking like a wet dream come to life I don't know. Guess I'm more worried about how this will go than I thought if my dick's behaving so well with Daniel in those jeans. How the hell does he even get underwear in there?

Fuck, I better not think about that. Jack Junior here is a little too happy about the thought of Daniel going commando. Shaking myself I finally manage to say something.

"Glad you like it." Damn, is that my voice, all low and hungry? Oh yeah, that was me if the look he's giving me is anything to go by. It's part curiosity, part insecurity and one hundred and ten percent hot. Me? Crazy over Daniel? Yeah sure you betcha.

"But you already know I like it, don't you Jack?" he asks and now his voice is the one all silk and sex and damn, is it hot in here? Maybe I ought to pen the window or something.

"Half the base knows how much you love coffee and chocolate, Daniel," I snort, trying to regain some composure. I'm on fire already and I haven't even touched him.

"Well, yes, but you're the only one who knows how much I like them together."

I shrug. I didn't know that, but that's gotta be a good thing right? If I have my way, I'm gonna be the only one who knows a lot of things about Daniel from now on. What he sounds like when he's turned on, what he looks like when he comes, how he likes to be touched and where, what he tastes like. I shift on the couch to give myself some room as my dick is taking up all the spare room in my jeans. Not that there was a lot to begin with but...

I look up at him, intending to answer and JesusfuckingChrist he's sucking on the spoon. I know I was going to say something but I can't remember what it was. That pink tongue of his is taking little licks from the pudding on the spoon and my dick is sitting up and taking notice. There's no way I can hide it now and he knows I'm hard because he just looked. Daniel just looked at my cock! Well, the bulge in my pants but that's my cock in there and Daniel just looked at it.

I'm so screwed.

*~*~*~*

Oh yes. Jack's wants me.

His cock is hard and pushing so hard at his jeans it's got to be painful.

I want to see it. Fuck that, I want to suck it. If that bulge is anything to go by it'll be nice and thick and God... I haven't let myself think about this too often because I thought I'd never get it, but now... Now I just want him to fuck me; hard and fast or soft and slow, however he wants it.

I take a deep breath and remind myself he might not be ready for that, might not have even thought about the mechanics of it yet. When it comes to this, Jack's a virgin and we'll need to go slowly.

Kissing. Kissing would be good; slow and not nearly enough to turn him off from the whole idea. Kissing is safe.

Now I just have to figure out how to kiss him or get him to kiss me.

*~*~*~*

Daniel's distracted and not paying attention, and he's got pudding on his upper lip. I want to reach over and lick it off, see what it taste's like on his skin. I still don't know what the hell I'm doing, haven't been able to get past kissing and touching and maybe jerking him off, but I know I want him. All of him, not just his body.

I guess if I think about it, I already have all of him except his body. I think. And if I don't have his heart, well, I'll get it, no matter how long it takes, because I want that too. Hell knows, he's damn sure got all of me.

I'm moving before I even realise I'm moving and I catch myself just in time to use my finger to wipe off the pudding before I lick it off. Daniel must see something in my face or in my eyes, because he's grabbing my hand and pulling my finger back and holy fuck he's sucking my finger!

His mouth and hot and wet and his tongue is doing things I can't describe and he's just watching me. I don't even think I'm breathing anymore but for crying out loud, Daniel has his mouth on my finger and it feels like the damn thing is hardwired to my dick because I swear I'm gonna blow right here.

I can't help it. I pull my finger from his mouth and stick it in mine to taste him. I have to kiss him, now, and if that thing with my finger is anything to go by, he'll be all right with that. I move the bowls on of the way, shift closer, sink my fingers into his hair to hold his head steady, and plant on one him.

*~*~*~*

Damn but Jack can kiss. The feel on his lips pressed against mine, his tongue sliding inside my mouth is better than I expected, better than the few fantasies I allowed myself to have. I was wrong. Kissing Jack isn't safe, it's damned dangerous because all I want is to be closer, touch more and it dawns on me that I'm laying on top of him on the couch with no idea how were got in this position.

We break for air and I have to ask, have to know. "Jack?"

"Later, Daniel," he growls and pulls my head back down for another brain melting kiss.

Later. Later is fine, later is good, I decide because his hands have found their way under my shirt and if all we do all night is kiss and touch and cuddle I will die a happy man.

*~*~*~*

I know what he wants to ask. He wants to know if I'm sure, but I am. We can talk about everything else later. I may not know what to do with a man, but I know how to kiss, how to touch and I figure anything else I don't know, Danny can teach me. That's one lecture I'll be paying a hell of a lot of attention to, and I can't wait.