What The Morning Brings

by Berty

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asb/berty/whatthem.php
Summary: Jack finally asks, but Daniel needs a little help from a friend to get him there. Response to Nicci's Sunrise Manip for Flashfic Challenge 1 on Pepe's Place.

"Danieljackson."

The distracted archaeologist jumped at the interruption. Teal'c stood in the doorway of his office, head cocked in an inquisitive manner.

"Teal'c...I was just..." Daniel hurriedly flipped open the closest file, "...you know, not enough hours in the day..."

"It is not day. It is, in fact, night-time. 3.52 a.m. to be precise."

"Yes, well, you know me. I get my nose stuck in a translation and I just lose track of time." Daniel futzed with the paperwork, smiling at Teal'c in a way he hoped was friendly yet dismissive.

Teal'c however, came to stand in front of Daniel's desk.

"You did not appear to be working, you appeared to be deep in contemplation."

"Ha! Well, yes, it's a tricky one," Daniel replied, tapping the unread document with his forefinger.

"It is a stationery request form," Teal'c supplied helpfully, raising an eyebrow at his flustered friend.

Daniel slammed the file shut and pinched the bridge of his nose with forefinger and thumb. "You're right, Teal'c, I'm not working," he admitted.

"Were you not supposed to be joining O'Neill for a meal at 'his place'?" After all this time, Teal'c still had not fully embraced the use of colloquialisms.

"Yeah," Daniel confirmed warily.

"Did he cancel?"

"No."

"Then you did not wish to see O'Neill tonight?" Teal'c looked politely interested, but Daniel suspected there was more to this than idle curiosity.

"I don't know, that's why I'm still here," Daniel admitted, cautiously. He was dressed for the world outside in a pair of white cotton pants and a washed-out chambray shirt, having managed to shower and change before he'd lost his nerve earlier.

"Perhaps I may be of assistance in your decision making process, Danieljackson."

Daniel laughed hollowly, but said nothing.

"Your choices are to stay away and signal your lack of interest in his offer or go and indicate that you wish to pursue the romantic attachment you have forged."

Daniel's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened in surprise. "Romantic attachment?"

"Indeed. I have observed your growing affection for O'Neill and his attraction to you for many months now. On several occasions I have urged him to make his intentions clear but he has always deemed that you were unready for such a step."

Daniel's cheeks flushed pink as Teal'c blunt appraisal continued.

"Yesterday he informed me that he had made it clear to you where his affection lay and invited you to eat with him to discuss the situation."

"Are you not freaked by this?" Daniel wheezed, finding his voice.

"I am not," Teal'c intoned magnificently. "It is you who appears to be perturbed."

"It's Jack!" Daniel expounded incredulously, as if this explained everything.

"Indeed."

"And me!"

"That is correct."

"Me and Jack!" Daniel reiterated, looking slightly wild.

"Indeed," Teal'c repeated comfortingly. "Do you not love O'Neill?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Do you not feel strongly enough about him to wish to enter into a partnership with him?"

"I do, except..."

"Then you are hesitant about embarking upon a physical relationship."

"Teal'c," Daniel moaned, his head in his hands, "It's not that simple."

"He loves you, the rules do not prevent your union, neither of you are involved with another. The only thing which prevents the escalation of your relationship is you, Danieljackson."

"You're right," Daniel sighed.

"Are your feelings for him as deep as his for you?" Teal'c asked gently.

"At least," Daniel admitted with a small wistful smile.

"Then I will drive you to O'Neill's 'place'," Teal'c concluded, taking Daniel gently, but persuasively by the arm.

The sky was edging from black to blue as Teal'c pulled into Jack's driveway. Daniel had lapsed into pensive silence after five minutes of Jaffa logic and he started when Teal'c spoke as they contemplated the dark house.

"You have both endured much in your lives, DanielJackson. It is a measure of the strength you share that you are still able to find hope and courage enough to continue. Is it such a stretch to imagine that you can find happiness too?"

Daniel grasped his friend's forearm and got out of the car without a word.

Daniel hadn't used his key to Jack's house in a long time. He'd stayed there between apartments and Jack had never asked for it back.

The house was in darkness and it took Daniel a few moments to adjust to the pale dawn light that leached the colour from the familiar room, rendering it strange and unsettling. He removed his shoes so as not disturb the silence that hung over the house.

Turning left instead of right, Daniel stepped down into the living room. Rationally, he knew Jack was in bed, but looking for him there seemed such a big step to take. He stalled by checking out the other rooms first. In the kitchen there was evidence of a carefully prepared dinner; cookbooks stood open and the counter was littered with all the gadgets Jack possessed.

Daniel glanced at the table, which was set for two with a bottle of his favourite red, uncorked but untouched beside the glassware. Daniel wondered how long Jack had waited for him before he'd given up.

A sense of rightness settled upon him.

He was sure.

Making his way back to the living room, Daniel unbuttoned his shirt and dropped it on the sofa. He undid his pants, intending to arrive in Jack's bed with all the Colonel's questions answered in one glance.

He paused, noticing that the door to the deck was slightly ajar. Curiously, Daniel moved towards the open door, stilling when the silhouette of a figure came into view.

Jack leaned with his elbows resting on the railing, his head turned to where the dazzle of the newly risen sun spread its clarity over the waking landscape. There was a soul-deep weariness in Jack's posture. The shoulders that Daniel was accustomed to seeing take the weight of the world were slumped and beaten looking. Jack was dressed in jeans, but Daniel guessed he'd just pulled them on after a sleepless night as he was barefoot and in his undershirt.

Daniel slipped out onto the deck, pausing by the door, suddenly unsure of his welcome. How should he let Jack know he was here at last? A kiss? A touch? A word?

"Took your time," Jack said quietly, his voice suspiciously rough. "Think the chicken is a little overcooked now."

Daniel smiled to himself - when would he learn that Jack always knew where he was?

"Just say what you came to say, Daniel," Jack told him, dropping his head to hang between his shoulders. He sounded resigned. With a shiver, Daniel realised that Jack thought he'd come to tell him no.

"I like my chicken well done," Daniel admitted softly, straightening his shoulders and licking his lips in anticipation of the kiss he hoped would follow.

Jack's head swung around, his eyes questioning. At a glimpse of Daniel, shirtless on his deck, he quickly stood and turned. He blinked at the younger man, his gaze flicking from Daniel's face to his chest, to his pants and back to his face. A slow, incredulous smile broke across Jack's face, putting the brilliance of the rising sun to shame.

"I thought..."

"I know."

Daniel was beginning to become unnerved by Jack's obvious approval of all things naked. To avoid Jack's stare, Daniel stepped boldly up to the older man. Taking a deep breath, he ran his hands down Jack's sides and brought them to rest on the exposed tanned skin of his waist.

Jack turned his head as Daniel pressed a kiss to his neck, forcing him to bring his face up to Jack's. Daniel had never seen Jack's eyes so close-up before nor looking so infinitely tender.

Gently, Jack leaned in and kissed Daniel. His lips were soft, neither rushing Daniel nor demanding anything of him. Daniel angled his head to deepen the kiss. Again Jack simply accepted what Daniel was doing rather than initiate anything.

Daniel realised that Jack wanted him to show the way. His hands shaking as his body responded emphatically to Jack's closeness, Daniel popped the buttons on Jack's jeans. He pushed back the stiff denim and cupped his hand over Jack's hot, hard dick.

Tangling his other hand in the short, silver hair of Jack's head, Daniel began to rub the heel of his palm along Jack's length. He dropped his head back and Daniel took the opportunity to lick a path from his Adam's apple to the soft skin behind his ear.

Suddenly Jack's fingers were at his zipper, tugging it harshly and he moaned as Daniel's rigid cock leapt free of the confining material and into his waiting hand. Daniel slipped his fingers under the tight cotton of Jack's boxers and mimicked the older mans long, languid strokes, teasing his climax from him in a way that was both perfect and almost painful in it's intensity.

Jack braced himself against the rail, his free hand down the back of Daniel's pants, squeezing his ass rhythmically. Jack's cock pulsed in Daniel's grasp and he groaned deeply. Daniel felt the heat of Jack's cum brand his stomach and groin. With an answering moan, Daniel shot into Jack's fist, his orgasm rolling over him like a long slow swell, leaving him shaking.

Ignoring their sticky, slippery skin, Daniel wrapped both arms around Jack's waist, laying his head on his shoulder. Jack stroked Daniel's back, pressing kisses in his hair, murmuring softly.

Behind them the sun rose, golden and majestic into the clear sky. It was going to be a beautiful day.