And I'm back... and with another
Zoroaster's Legacy filler. (also see aeryncrichton's
Touching Bases)
The beta's are all over the place with this one. I'm not sure it works, but I'll let you be the judge. Many, thanks, though, to shipsister, aeryncrichton and chaz for reading, correcting and advising. They did a great job so anything that's wrong is my fault entirely.
Rated: NC-17 for s.e.x. (I mean it. Not 18? Shoo..)
Set: This takes place just where
ZL Pt 2 left off, or before.
Plot: This is all about Valerie and Juran. With a little of the family Crichton thrown in for good measure.
Disclaimer: Farscape is owned by Henson. No money being made, much less a profit.
This is a fic in three parts...you'll see what I mean.
Enjoy.
Three Course Meal
AppetizerShe stood on the bank and looked out over the glassy lake, the light from the sun fading slowly as she watched. Its orange glow was almost enough to make her think she was home. Until she looked up and saw the three moons in the distance. She rubbed her arms. The air turned chilly fast here and she was only wearing one of her cousin Ellie’s hand-me-downs, although Valerie was surprised that the girl she’d met a few weeks ago would have ever worn a thin, sleeveless shift like this. It was a pretty blue, but surely Ellie was too much of a tomboy to be comfortable in it. Valerie would have thought the same about herself until now, but at the moment she was glad she was wearing something feminine and pretty.
She shivered as a sudden breeze blew up. Feminine and pretty wouldn’t keep you warm, though. They should go back in.
Still…she didn’t want to go inside just yet. She looked around at her companion. Dressed in a black tee shirt and some worn leather pants that D’Argo had grudgingly given up, he looked like one of those biker guys she’d seen in the old movies she used to watch in the wee hours of the night. Only, instead of giving her dark brooding looks, he was staring at the water as though he expected something to jump out at him.
“Whatcha thinkin’?” Valerie asked.
She watched as Juran shook his head slightly and bent to pick up another smooth rock and throw it into the lake. He snorted in disgust as it landed in the water with a thunk and sank swiftly to the bottom. He’d been trying to learn to skip rocks all day. She grinned to herself. It was actually kind of fun to see him fail at something.
“What makes you think I’m thinking anything at all?” he replied.
“I don’t know. Could be that frown you get when you don’t think anyone is looking.”
“I do not frown,” Juran said indignantly.
“Do, too!” Valerie reached out a hand and smoothed it over his forehead which was slightly wrinkled in a frown. “If you’re not careful it will freeze that way.”
Juran snorted. “Impossible! No, wait, don’t tell me. Another of your Human superstitions. I seriously wonder how your people will ever become intelligent enough to...” He stopped and stared at Valerie suspiciously. “You’re making fun of me again, aren’t you?”
Valerie couldn’t hold back her laughter. “I’m sorry. But it’s your fault. You’re so very easy to tease, you know.”
“I’m glad I can amuse you,” Juran said coldly.
But Val had seen the spark of hurt in his eyes underneath the mask he liked to wear these days. After a month of seeing him day in and day out, it was getting easier to read him. He’d changed a bit from the man she’d first come to know. Withdrawn into himself more, but she figured that was from the pressure of being around his new ‘family’ 24/7. She didn’t think he was nearly as stoic and unfeeling as he liked to pretend sometimes.
She reached out to take his hand. She wondered if he would let her, but slowly his hand tightened on hers. His hand was slightly cool to the touch and just for a moment she imagined how it would feel on other parts of her body. ‘Down, girl!’ she said to herself. At almost thirty surely she had a little self control.
“Walk with me,” she said, tugging on his hand. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t making fun. It’s just something mothers say to their kids to make them behave. A silly joke.”
He left his hand in hers as they started walking along the lakeshore, watching as the mist began to creep onto land.
“So, you think of me as a child?” Juran asked suddenly.
“No!” She gave a startled yelp and then could have kicked herself. Damn it. She was supposed to be playing it cool. She didn’t want him to guess her feelings for him. Of course, Aunt Aeryn thought it was too soon for her to know what her feelings truly were. And she could very well be right. Was a month enough time to fall into…what? Lust? Sure. Like? Possibly. L… Never mind.
“No?” Juran stopped suddenly and faced her. “So you do think of me as a man?”
“Yes. No. I mean...Yes.” Val stumbled, which pissed her off. She was never nervous. Except with Juran. “Of course, you’re a man.” She flicked him a look that took in his well-toned body. “As you know all too well.”
It was a bone of contention between them, the fact that all the women around here, and apparently everywhere else, seemed to go raptoid over him. He didn’t seem to think there was anything annoying about it, but if she had to see that vacuous flirty smile from another half-wit female again she was going to scream. At least Aunt Aeryn seemed immune to Juran's charms. That would have been too gross to deal with.
“It’s not like you can’t get a date,” she said, turning her attention back to Juran himself.
“Date? Another Earth custom, I assume?”
“What else?” She picked up a stone and expertly sent it skipping over the water to disappear in the mist. Ha! Take that!
He threw her a dirty look before continuing. “And what does one do on a…date?”
“Huh?” How did she get herself into these things? “Oh, well…a date is…it’s where a man or a woman asks another man or a woman if they’d like to spend time with them. And if the other person says yes, they, uh, go out.”
“Go out?” Juran raised an eyebrow quizzically.
“Yeah, you know, they do something together. Like go out to eat or...or see a movie,” Valerie explained.
“Ah. A movie. Like the ones John Crichton has?” Juran asked.
“Yeah, exactly. Well, not exactly, those are pretty out of date, but something like that.”
There was a pause.
“And then what?”
“Huh?” Val cocked her head questioningly.
“What happens then?”
“Then? Well, then, uh, I guess they go home. I didn’t really date a lot,” Make that almost never, she thought. She’d gone out with a couple of guys from the University, but she’d been so focused on doing well in school and then later trying to make it into the space program that she hadn’t really had the time for a lot of extracurricular activities. And with her one long term relationship, well, they’d never really had many dates. Something she had never regretted until now.
“So they just watch one of these movies and go back to their domicile? That sounds very unproductive to me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It doesn’t sharpen your reflexes, it doesn’t increase intelligence. It doesn’t even reduce fluid levels. Unproductive,” Juran said, a touch of smugness lurking in his voice.
“I know all about you and your fluid levels Mr. ‘dip your stick’. And how creepy is that?” She shook her hand free of his. “Having sex with someone with no more thought than using the bathroom.”
“That’s not exactly…” Juran mumbled and came to a stop. “Well, perhaps. But if all you do is eat and watch these…movies, I don’t believe that’s any better.”
“Does everything have to have a purpose? Haven’t you ever done anything just for fun?” Val asked.
“We have… fun,” he protested, but he didn’t seem quite certain about it.
“And I’m not talking about recreating. Surely you Peacekeepers could think of other things to do for fun. You couldn’t have sex every waking minute.” She paused. “Could you?”
“No, no, of course not,” Juran said. “We have lots of things we do to relax. There are games of skill, combat tra…” He trailed off, looking vaguely disturbed.
“Never mind,” Valerie said. “I don’t know why we’re even having this conversation. It must be about time for dinner anyway. We should get back.” She turned to go.
“Wait!” Juran said.
She stopped and turned back to him.
He stood there, stiff and proud. “I can’t help the way I grew up, Valerie. It’s the only way I have ever known.”
Val shushed him with a finger to his lips. She forgot sometimes that, like herself, he, too, was far from everything he knew. She couldn’t fault him for something that he had had no control over.
“No. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to criticize,” she whispered.
The bright blue of Juran’s eyes darkened and for a minute she wondered if she had made a mistake in feeling sorry for him. He didn’t look vulnerable now. He looked…hungry.
“I’m sorry, Valerie,” Juran said softly. “Apparently I have not yet overcome my upbringing.”
“What do you mea—?”
Her words were stopped cold when Juran bent and captured her lips swiftly with his. It was sudden and unexpected, though she’d been dreaming about this since the minute she’d laid eyes on him. She couldn’t believe they’d held out this long.
His lips were cool on hers and she tilted her head just a little to find the perfect angle. His tongue came out to nudge her lips open and she did so willingly, the first touch of his tongue against hers causing a shiver to go up her spine. Not to mention the warmth flooding down below. But he wasn’t the only one who could play this game. She might not have a lot of experience, but she thought she could at least do this right. She stroked his tongue with her own and they both began a rhythmic searching that left them breathless. Oh, my, she thought. His mouth wasn’t nearly as cool on the inside. It was warm and delicious and she explored its mysteries eagerly.
They came up for air for just a moment, their breathing harsh and loud as they looked at each other. Then, like magnets, they came together for another round. His hands moved down her back to her hips, kneading her buttocks reflexively. He nibbled and she sucked and she felt her body melting against him, breasts to chest, thigh to thigh, feeling his arousal pressed tightly against her as the kiss went deeper, wetter, longer.
It was a kiss that was working its way to full-out desperation, when she heard a voice in her head, shouting.
No, wait, that wasn’t in her head. It was coming from the house. They broke apart just in time for her to see Aeryn walking towards them, a strange shadowy figure in the misty light.
It didn’t take her long to reach them. “I called you for dinner, but apparently you had…other things on your mind.” Aeryn shot an enigmatic look at Juran, then gestured in the direction of the house. “We’re just ready to sit down to eat. Don’t stay too long. It gets cold here at night.” With that she turned and retraced her steps.
Val glanced at Juran who was just starting to breath normally again. Thank god she wasn’t the only one affected by that kiss. But they couldn’t continue this here.
“Well.” She cleared her throat. “Come on then, we wouldn’t want to miss dinner.” She turned to follow her aunt, leaving a silent Juran behind her. She hoped the short walk to the house would get her back to normal. The last thing she needed was for everyone to see her looking like she’d just been kissed within an inch of her life and turned into a confused, breathless mass of female hormones. But she couldn’t think about that now. Later. Definitely later.
Maybe after dinner.
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