Elizabeth stretched her neck and felt the vertebrae crack and pop, easing the dull headache that had been building all day. When she stood, her knees joined in with the popping and she stretched her arms out to the side to ease the stiffness in her shoulders. She had spent most of the day in meetings, a necessary part of her job but on days like this she half-wished that she could be out with her teams, exploring this new galaxy.
There were dozens of good reasons why she couldn't do that and Elizabeth agreed with every one of them. That didn't mean she could get through three hours of food allocations without having the odd wistful thought about being somewhere else.
And thinking about missions, exploring new planets with probably lethal inhabitants, was a lot less distracting than thinking about Teyla. She had zoned out in a meeting yesterday and almost agreed to Dr. Dubenko's request for a citywide shut down so that he could test an Ancient gadget that would probably blow all the power relays. Luckily she had regained some sense and made a mid-sentence about face that had earned her some odds looks for mangled grammar but thankfully hadn't left her with a dead city.
No, Teyla was much too distracting right now. Maybe she wouldn't be if that afternoon on the balcony had gone differently, but Elizabeth had spend three days speculating, wishing and plain old daydreaming while the entire world had conspired to keep them apart. On reflection, she couldn't work out why they hadn't just headed for Elizabeth's quarters as soon as they'd established that they really were going to give this a chance. It would have been easier.
Instead they had wasted the afternoon kissing on the balcony until Elizabeth's radio had crackled and Grodin's voice had intruded with the information that something was causing power spikes around the city and they needed her in the control room. Eighteen hours later, she had tumbled into bed alone with another crisis averted and a thumping headache. When she'd woken up, Teyla had already left for a mission with Sheppard.
Elizabeth knew Teyla was back. She'd watched the team return through the Gate, smiled at Teyla and then returned to her fourth meeting of the day. She was too professional to cancel the rest of her meetings and run down to Teyla's quarters. Damn her ethics.
It was late, or possibly very early in the morning, and the city was in its nighttime cycle. The control room had a skeleton staff and the lights were low, leaving dark shadows in the corners. Elizabeth turned off her workstation and left her office, waving to the technician on duty at the Gate controls. The lights in the corridors were just bright enough to see by. The marines guarding the more sensitive areas snapped to attention as she passed.
It was much too late to call on Teyla. It really was. Elizabeth kept a firm grip on herself and didn't let her feet take her to Teyla's quarters.
She was fairly sure that the distraction and daydreaming would get better when they finally had sex. A small voice inside whispered, "If you ever find time to have sex."
It had been a long time since she'd had sex and Elizabeth was honest enough, at least internally, to acknowledge that she missed it. Her body, it seemed, had already decided that now sex was a possibility she needed it as soon as possible. Last night she'd had the most erotic dream she'd had in years, ending just as dream-Teyla was about to do something very interesting with a feather that left Elizabeth frustrated, worked up and in need of an icy shower.
Damned hormones.
Elizabeth's bed was still a mass of tangled sheets when she entered and she glared at it before sorting out the mess into something she might be able to sleep in. A glance at a clock showed that it was definitely too late to call on Teyla so she changed into old sweatpants and a T-shirt - comfortable yet practical for midnight calls - and settled down in bed with a book. She was too wired to sleep, even though she knew that she was exhausted.
She had barely read more than a paragraph when there was a quiet tap at her door. There was nothing particular about the knock, but her heart leapt. If there were an emergency then they would have contacted her on the radio. Nobody would come by for a social call at this time of night unless . . .
The door swished open to reveal Teyla smiling slightly uncertainly. Her smile brightened when her eyes met Elizabeth's.
Elizabeth took her hand a pulled her into the room, uncaring whether anyone spotted her odd behaviour. The door was not quite closed when she kissed Teyla.
Warm, strong arms wrapped around Elizabeth and she smiled against Teyla's lips for a moment. Teyla tasted of mint and a hint of the spicy tea she often drank in the evening. Elizabeth pushed closer, needing to feel everything.
Soft breasts against her chest, something she had missed for years, and thick hair that she could run her hands through.
Elizabeth twined one hand through Teyla's hair and wrapped an arm around her waist. Teyla sighed into the kiss, warm breath tickling Elizabeth's cheek. She felt rising heat and urgency, more potent than anything she'd felt for a long time.
For a while, everything else disappeared and Elizabeth thought of nothing but the kiss. It was intoxicating, overwhelming.
When Teyla's hand crept under the hem of Elizabeth's T-shirt, warm fingers against naked skin, Elizabeth tore her mouth away and tried to catch her breath.
"Is something wrong, Elizabeth?" Teyla asked, her hand stilling but not moving away.
Elizabeth smiled and looked up to meet Teyla's eyes. "No, nothing's wrong. It's late and I didn't think you'd still be awake. Are you sure about this?"
A mischievous smile spread over Teyla's face. "I have been waiting for your meetings to end. But if you are too tired . . ."
Elizabeth cupped Teyla's cheek and smiled as Teyla closed her eyes for a moment, leaning into the touch. "I'm not too tired."
Details were lost in the burning need to be closer to Teyla. Elizabeth tasted the skin at the base of her neck and raised her arms when Teyla reached for her T-shirt. The plain white bra looked stark against Teyla's coffee skin and the buttons on Teyla's pants refused to obey shaking fingers.
Teyla's eyes were hot, raising a flush on Elizabeth's skin when she slipped her sweatpants and panties off to stand naked in front of her. Elizabeth wondered for a moment whether she had the same expression before leading Teyla to the bed and pushing her down on it.
Uniforms had never entirely hidden Teyla's curves, something Elizabeth had tried unsuccessfully to ignore, but now she could appreciate the beautiful body with nothing in the way. Soft full breasts called to her, strong flat stomach and muscular legs were there to touch. Elizabeth crawled up the bed and placed a gentle kiss on Teyla's stomach.
She was surprised to feel the muscles clench under her lips and hear Teyla giggle. Intrigued, Elizabeth trailed her fingers feather-light up Teyla's belly and grinned when Teyla tried to curl away from her hand.
"Ticklish?" Elizabeth asked.
Teyla tried to glare, but her crooked smile spoiled the effect. "No."
Elizabeth had rarely heard Teyla laugh so openly. It was a beautiful, happy sound and Elizabeth took advantage of as many ticklish spots as she could until Teyla turned on her and reduced Elizabeth to a weakly laughing wreck.
Gradually tickling turned to touching and laughter into quiet moans. Elizabeth licked sweat from between Teyla's breasts, just as she'd dreamed, and Teyla found the spot at the base of Elizabeth's neck that made her catch her breath. The Athosian woman gasped when Elizabeth kissed her inner thigh and Elizabeth sighed as Teyla tongued a nipple.
Touches were like fire on the skin, gasps the rewards.
Everything became a blur of sensation until Elizabeth came with a wordless cry. She was still panting heavily when Teyla took her hand, guided it to her and came a few moments later.
For a long time, they lay tangled together until the sweat dried on their skin and a chill crept in.
Then Elizabeth turned her head and said, hesitantly, "Do you want to stay?"
"Do you want me to?"
For an answer, Elizabeth kissed her. Teyla nodded and they crawled under the blankets, Elizabeth spooning around Teyla with a feeling of deep contentment.
*fin*