One Kiss

by Sistine

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/ass/sistine/onekiss.php
Summary: A Christmas tradition leads to a revelation for Jack and Daniel.
Info: Written for Ancient's Gate 15 zine last year.

It started off innocently. The rule 'don't ask, don't tell' didn't apply to the SGC Christmas party where the alcohol was flowing and some people were getting past the stage of rational actions. There was a piece of mistletoe hung at every doorway, so there was no excuse for finding someone and kissing them under the guise of 'Christmas tradition'. The new rule for the evening was 'nothing leaves this room'.

Colonel Jack O'Neill had no time for such nonsense. It had only been a few days since SG-1 had got back from their mission with Thor to prevent the Replicators from invading Earth - and consequently, only a couple of weeks since Daniel had almost died from appendicitis. It had been the third time that year Daniel had come close to death, the other times being when Amaunet had ribboned him and falling down an unstable cliff while on a mission; about average judging by the last three years. The linguist and archaeologist - Doctor Jackson to most people on the base but Daniel to a few select people, including Jack - had neglected to tell anyone that he was in pain and consequently, his appendix had been close to bursting before he said anything resembling 'ow'.

How many more times could Daniel cheat death before it became permanent?

Stop it! Jack ordered himself, not wanting to become morose in public. He might not want to be jovial but he wasn't going to show how much his best friend's experience had shaken him. And Daniel was his best friend, a fact that amazed him at times. The younger man had a way of breaking down his defences and sneaking into his soul, and the experiences they had been through had only cemented their unique friendship. And no matter how gruff or disagreeable Jack got, Daniel always knew how to lighten his mood. It was the best friendship he'd had in years, one he didn't want to lose but too often almost did. Somehow he had to get Daniel to stop risking his life so much.

Speaking of the linguist, where was he? The two of them had arranged to meet at the party half an hour ago. Knowing Daniel, he was probably tied up with some translation or something. Time, then, to go fetch him.

He had managed to get halfway across the room when he saw his linguist appear in the doorway opposite. At least... he thought it was Daniel. The younger man was wearing slim black jeans and a close-fitting emerald green shirt; not the type of clothes that Daniel usually wore. And people had noticed. Heads were turning all throughout the room to see the normally shy civilian dressed in figure-hugging clothes. Even from this distance, Jack could see that Daniel was uncomfortable with the stir he had created so he kept walking, planning to rescue the young man before anyone took advantage of him.

Too late. Jack was still twenty metres away when one of the young nurses, a buxom brunette, cornered Daniel under the mistletoe and kissed him thoroughly. The surge of jealousy he felt at the sight surprised Jack, and he faltered in his advance. He didn't have any particular designs on that nurse, and he certainly didn't want Daniel that way... did he?

Jack continued towards Daniel, his eyes flickering down to the linguist's groin. There was no telltale bulge there, so Daniel hadn't obviously enjoyed the kiss, or maybe it had just been the surprise of it. Maybe if it had gone for longer... There was another bolt of jealousy inside him and Jack ruthlessly pushed it aside; he didn't have time to work this out now. "Daniel."

Blue eyes turned to him in relief. "Jack." Daniel hadn't been looking forward to the party; only the fact that his friend was going to be there had given him the courage to come. He had almost backed out again when Sam had arrived with the outfit he was currently wearing because he wasn't into showing off his body. He had reluctantly relented to wear the clothes she'd given him because she said that everyone else would be wearing something similar. As he had stepped into the room, he had seen that most of the men were indeed wearing well-fitting clothes but that hadn't stopped him from feeling embarrassed by his own outfit. And then Nurse Walker had come over and kissed him before he could protest, and he had heard hoots of laughter and encouragement, making him even more embarrassed. He wasn't into kissing every woman he saw, especially when he barely knew them, and was afraid that there were going to be more attempts as the evening wore on. Just as well his friend was there to protect him. "Sorry I'm late."

"Gathering up the courage to come?" Jack commented, eyeing the outfit again now that he was up close. It certainly showed Daniel's body to great advantage but he could see that the younger man definitely didn't want to be wearing it. Over the course of the past year, he had come to understand that Daniel didn't like being the centre of attention and that's why he wore clothes that hid his body. Jack figured there had to be a story behind that, that somewhere in Daniel's past someone had given him inappropriate attention, but he wasn't going to pry until Daniel was ready to tell him.

"Something like that," Daniel agreed, knowing that Jack would understand. He stepped forward out of the doorway so that no-one else could ambush him, which coincidentally brought him closer to Jack. "So, have I missed anything?"

"Nope. Just your average Christmas party," Jack replied, his eyes scanning the room for those whose gazes lingered too long on Daniel. "Drinking, dancing... that kind of thing."

"Right." Daniel didn't admit that this was the first work Christmas party that he had ever attended. When he had started at the SGC, the first Christmas party had been cancelled because of the cancellation of the program, and the second year, SG-1 had been stuck on Hathor's planet. In his life before the Stargate program, he had never wanted to go to faculty parties when he was working as a researcher or teaching assistant, especially since he would have had to go on his own. And being someone who got drunk on only a couple of beers, he really hadn't wanted to run the risk of that happening amongst such stuffy company. Here, everyone looked like they were having fun, and General Hammond had said earlier in the day that a blind eye would be turned to everything bar violence of any nature.

He felt a hand on the small of his back and he looked at Jack in surprise. Jack didn't say anything, just gestured across the room, and then gently pushed Daniel along beside him. Daniel complied, mainly because he was still taken aback to realise how natural it felt for Jack to do that.

Jack, for his part, didn't consciously realise what he was doing, nor what signals he was sending out. To many watching, the simple action said 'back off, he's mine', and so they kept away. Some, however, were either too drunk or too oblivious to work it out and so they - both men and women - tried to entice Daniel into dancing. Jack simply steered Daniel out of the way, telling the dancers that Daniel needed something to drink first while keeping the young man to himself.

They actually did get a drink but Jack made sure it was non-alcoholic as he knew that Daniel got drunk easily and he didn't want that happening tonight. He had seen the way people had been eyeing up the linguist and he didn't want them trying to take advantage like the nurse had under the mistletoe. It was his job, as friend and team leader, to watch out for Daniel, and that's what he was going to do.

Daniel, for his part, enjoyed the attention that Jack was giving him. Although part of him realised that Jack was just looking out for the innocent and naive geek, the rest of him believed that the older man enjoyed his company. Certainly, they hung out a lot at the weekends and Friday nights, or after a difficult mission, or simply when Daniel needed someone to talk to about Sha're. He supposed he could talk to Sam but she hadn't been there on the first mission and although she was a friend, he had simply got into the habit of reminiscing with Jack.

He pinched Jack's beer and drank half of it before his friend took it away from him, teasing him about being a cheap date. Daniel thought back to that first evening after coming back from Abydos, where grief, guilt and homesickness had combined with the alcohol to make him get drunk fast. Jack had called him a cheap date then and Daniel knew what he meant, which was why he was amused by the comment tonight. He wasn't going to get drunk this evening, much and all as he might like to, because he knew he would regret his behaviour in the morning - much like some of the others at the party, he guessed, looking around.

When Sam asked him to dance, he looked over at Jack, not wanting to leave the older man by himself, but Jack gestured for him to go have fun. So Daniel followed Sam into the middle of the room where many couples - including some of the same sex - were dancing and then tried to follow her lead.

Jack grinned to himself when he saw Daniel try to dance. The potential gracefulness was there but Daniel was too self-conscious and too inexperienced to dance well. The green shirt rippled as Daniel moved, showing off the linguist's body even more, and Jack shifted uncomfortably as he realised that his body was reacting to the sight. Panicked, he looked away and focused his eyes on Carter, hoping that the arousal had just been an aberration. But no, it hadn't been; either that, or he just didn't find Carter desirable because watching her did nothing for him. He switched his attention to another female nearby, one who was gyrating energetically to the music. Nothing, nada, zilch. What was wrong with him tonight?

His eyes were drawn back to Daniel, who had relaxed a little bit and was drawing attention from nearby dancers, mainly female. There seemed to be a lot of touching going on from what he could see, women leaning in to talk to Daniel and putting their hands on his arms or his chest. Daniel, he noticed, was polite to all the women but remained dancing with Sam, not accepting any invitations to go elsewhere. That pleased him; Daniel was smart enough to stay where Jack could see him.

No, not for that reason, he told himself as he started getting hard at the thought of Daniel dancing for him. He knew that wasn't why his young friend was dancing; it was just because Daniel enjoyed doing it.

Jack's eyes narrowed as a young man approached Daniel, obviously unaware of his protector watching from a close distance. The young man - Jack identified him as Corporal Wilson - put his hand on Daniel's back just below his waist... which meant that the hand was touching Daniel's ass! A bolt of jealousy went through Jack; no-one else was allowed to do that!

He was moving towards Daniel before he knew what he was doing, intent on letting Wilson know that sort of touching was inappropriate. Then he pulled himself up short as he realised that Daniel was taking care of things himself. The linguist had moved out of Wilson's reach while making it look as though it was part of the dance and was now talking to the young soldier. And by the dejected look on Wilson's face, Jack figured that Daniel was letting him know not to do that again. Feeling happier about the situation, Jack went back to propping up the wall while threat-assessing the other personnel.

Daniel felt flattered with all the attention he was receiving but he wasn't attracted to anyone of them enough to risk what they were suggesting, especially Wilson. He wasn't interested in men, although he'd had offers in the past. He was glad that Wilson understood that and he hoped that he wouldn't receive too many offers from men tonight; Daniel was aware that some of the military types thought he was gay and he didn't want to give them reason to think that was true.

After a while, he went back to talk with Jack, whose posture almost seemed too relaxed, as if the older man was trying hard to make everyone think things were okay. Having lived with Jack for several months a couple of years ago, and spending a lot of time with him since then, Daniel knew differently though. Something was up. "Jack?"

"What?" Jack tried hard to look as though he hadn't been keeping an eye on his young friend.

"Have you danced?" Daniel asked, knowing what the answer would be. He stood next to Jack, probably a little closer than necessary, but he didn't notice.

"Uh, colonel here," Jack pointed out, as if his rank was an excuse. He leaned closer to Daniel, close enough to feel his body heat. "Thirsty?"

"Yes, please." Daniel remained leaning against the wall as Jack went to fetch him a drink. A couple of men came over to talk to him but they left when Jack came back, an unspoken message radiating from him that Daniel couldn't understand. He accepted the soft drink that Jack had got for him and smiled at the older man.

Jack was surprised by the warmth he felt inside at that smile. Daniel's genuine smiles - ones that lit up his whole face - were rare and Jack was thrilled to be the recipient of this one. "Enjoying yourself?" he asked, simply to make conversation.

"It's better than I'd thought it would be," Daniel replied, having to lean towards Jack to make himself heard over the music. Up close, he could smell the aftershave Jack was wearing - something spicy, Daniel determined. Surprisingly, he liked it.

The two of them engaged in more conversation, having to be really close to do so. To observers, they seemed to be having a very cosy chat, standing much closer to each other than propriety demanded. Still, since nothing was going to leave the room after tonight, no-one thought anything about it except for a few people who were interested in Daniel. The women were disappointed; the men were encouraged although wary since none of them wanted to cross the colonel.

When the party started to wind down, Daniel decided it was time to go home. He mentioned it to Jack, as he was driving the older man home, and the two of them started saying their goodbyes. They had just reached the doorway when Teal'c caught up with them.

Teal'c looked above the two men and observed the mistletoe. "Should not the two of you kiss, O'Neill?" he asked innocently.

"Excuse me?" Jack's voice came out a little higher than he would have liked. "Teal'c--"

"Is that not the custom?" Teal'c inquired further.

"Not between two men," Daniel replied, at ease discussing traditions with his Jaffa friend.

Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow. "I have observed many men do so this evening. Are they unaware of the custom?"

"They're probably just drunk," Jack stated, uncomfortable with the way this conversation was heading. Given his strange feelings earlier when watching Daniel dance, he didn't really want to find out whether it was more.

"Maybe, O'Neill. But that does not answer my question," Teal'c pointed out.

"Then no, Teal'c, we should not." He was the 2IC of the base, and kissing someone as hot as Daniel was definitely not a good idea. Wait a second... did he just think that Daniel was hot?

"Why not?" Daniel turned to Jack to ask the question. He genuinely wanted to know the answer. Not that he actually wanted to kiss Jack but he was curious as to what excuse his friend would come up with. "I could be a good kisser," he continued, teasing.

"That's not the point, Daniel." Jack couldn't believe the younger man was going along with Teal'c. "The point is that everyone does not need to see the second in command of this base kissing you."

"So you'd kiss me if no-one else was around?" Daniel persisted, twisting Jack's words in jest.

"Yes," Jack answered before he had thought about it then he realised what he had said. "No! No, I wouldn't." He hoped that Daniel wouldn't push any further, not when he himself didn't know what he was talking about.

Daniel's eyes widened. Jack wanted to kiss him? He hadn't expected that. "Jack?"

Oh boy, he was in trouble now. Daniel would pursue that slip of the tongue until he got the answer he wanted. "Can we go now?" Turning on his heel, Jack walked out of the room before Daniel could ask any more questions.

Daniel looked at Teal'c, whose expression professed innocence. Having the sneaking suspicion that Teal'c might have set Jack up, Daniel headed off in the direction of elevator, hoping to catch up with the older man. He needed to get to the bottom of what Jack had meant.

He decided not to say anything during the car ride home; Jack's body language was tense, which meant any attempt at probing would be met with silence or anger. Best to wait until they were home and Jack couldn't walk out on him. Jack wanted to kiss him. Either it had been one of the moments where Jack hadn't thought before he had spoken, or Daniel was totally blowing this out of proportion.

For some reason, he hoped it was the former.

Straight after entering the house, Jack headed for the kitchen and got a beer. He'd already had a few at the party but he felt he needed the fortification to get through the upcoming discussion. He hadn't been fooled by Daniel's silence in the car, knowing how the linguist operated in these circumstances. Much as he wanted to hide from this discussion forever, he knew that eventually, he would have to talk. Still, maybe Daniel would give him a bit of time. "Can I have half an hour?" He needed to sort out his feelings first.

"You're stalling," Daniel commented, knowing Jack's tactics.

"No, I need to think a few things out first," Jack corrected. He couldn't just throw away 'don't ask, don't tell' on the spur of the moment; he had to think about whether it was something he could - or should - do. If he decided against it, he needed some good arguments to throw Daniel off the trail. "I'll be on the roof. Make yourself at home." He headed out the back door without letting Daniel reply.

"I'll wait here then," Daniel said to the empty room.

~~~~

Jack sipped his beer and looked up at the stars. He shouldn't have run back on the base, shouldn't have given Daniel any cause to dig further into what he had said. After all, he hadn't even known that he wanted to kiss Daniel until his brain had made that slip. He should have been able to cover for it, should have been able to convince Daniel that he had been kidding or something, instead of running away like an adolescent. He had no-one else to blame but himself for the current situation... well, except maybe Teal'c for raising the possibility in the first place.

Carefully peeking past the blocks he had put up around his heart, Jack was surprised to realise that he had been noticing Daniel as more than a friend for some time. Feelings of jealousy had been around when women had tried to prey on Daniel; mixed feelings of relief and grief when Sha're had died; feelings of warmth whenever he had seen Daniel shirtless or even naked... why hadn't he noticed any of these before?

He hadn't wanted to notice, that was why. Like Daniel, Jack was afraid of losing those he loved so he had tried to make sure that he didn't love anyone else. He had thought he'd managed it.

Something cold landed on his head and Jack looked up to see that it had started snowing. "Great," he muttered to himself but he made no move to go back inside as that would mean he would have to talk to Daniel.

More snow fell lightly, accompanied by a drop in the temperature, but still Jack remained where he was. Having just figured out that he loved Daniel as more than a friend, he wasn't ready to bare those feelings to anyone else, not even the object of his love. For all he knew, Daniel would reject him and then where would he be? No, better not to say anything at all and be content with what he had. Besides, even if Daniel did say 'yes', how could Jack ask him to keep it a secret in an environment that discouraged homosexuality?

Soft footsteps warned him that Daniel was about to arrive. Jack looked up from his position on the deck of the observatory just as Daniel's face appeared above the edge. "What are you doing up here?" Jack was positive that it wasn't half an hour yet.

"I came to see why you're still up here when it's snowing," Daniel replied, stepping onto the deck and then going over to the older man. He had put on a coat before venturing outside. "Mind if I join you?"

"Be my guest," Jack invited, gesturing towards the seat that was nearby then focusing his stare back on the wooden boards of the deck.

Daniel looked at the seat and then decided to sit down on the decking next to Jack. Snow immediately began to soak through his trousers but he ignored that, wanting to know what was going through Jack's mind. "Are you ready?"

"No." Jack didn't look at Daniel; he didn't need to. The linguist was sitting so close that the warmth from his body was radiating into Jack's. A smouldering desire ignited within him and he focused on the melting snow to distract himself.

Daniel wasn't sure what to say next. In the agonisingly slow minutes that he had been indoors by himself, he had come to realise that he wanted Jack to kiss him. And not just out of curiosity either. Sensing that Jack wasn't going to say anything, Daniel decided to take the forthright approach. "So are you gay?"

"Heck, no!" Jack responded immediately, whipping his head around to look at Daniel's determined face. "Are you?"

"I don't think so. At least, I wasn't until you said you wanted to kiss me," Daniel replied, trying to be totally honest. He was well aware that this conversation could end their friendship but he was going to be open with Jack anyway.

"Geez, Daniel!" Jack's body reacted when he heard those words and it surprised him so much that he went on the attack. "You really are a cheap date if you're prepared to switch teams for one kiss."

The words hurt but Daniel argued back nonetheless. "No, I'm not. If I was, I would have taken up any one of the offers I've had in the past few months. I haven't been interested in any of the men at the base until tonight." Jack's slip of the tongue had made him see things in a new light.

That caught the attention of Jack's jealousy. "How many offers have you had?" Why hadn't Daniel told him about these offers before? And just what had these offers entailed?

"A few." Daniel wasn't about to elaborate any more than that when he saw the glint in Jack's eyes. So, Jack was jealous, was he? That was very interesting indeed.

"Who were they?" Jack would have a serious talk with them about fraternising and make sure they didn't bother Daniel again.

"You don't really expect me to tell you, do you?" Daniel responded, not wanting anyone to get into trouble for a bit of harmless flirting.

Jack looked at him with wide eyes, unable to believe Daniel's naivety. "Yes, I do! If they were bothering you--"

"They weren't," Daniel interrupted before Jack could get up a head of steam. "All of them took 'no' for an answer, Jack."

"Good." Jack put a lid back on his jealousy and stared at the decking again, wondering how he could find out who those men had been.

"And don't even think about prying," Daniel ordered; he knew his friend too well. "They didn't do anything wrong and they don't deserve whatever you've got planning."

"Hmph," was all Jack was dignify that with. He hated that Daniel could read him so well.

"Now, getting back to our original topic... you want to kiss me, I want to kiss you, and neither of us are gay," Daniel stated calmly although he was starting to feel nervous. "Does that about sum it up?"

Again, there was movement in Jack's groin when Daniel admitted wanting to kiss him. Okay, he thought to himself; I definitely want that. But he couldn't let this go any further. "Regardless of what we want, it's not going to happen."

"Why not?" Daniel questioned immediately, not taking his eyes off Jack.

"Why not?" Jack echoed, a hint of incredulity in his voice. "Daniel, you can't have lived in a military environment for three years without learning why not."

"Oh, I know about that rule but it's wrong so why should we follow it?" Daniel stated.

"Why should...?" Jack trailed off, reassessing his opinion about Daniel's naivety. "Do you know what would happen if we were caught?" At Daniel's raised eyebrow, he continued, "For starters, I would be discharged, and as for you, the Marines would make your life a living hell if they didn't kill you first." His stomach clenched in fear at that thought; he always hated it when Daniel got hurt and he didn't want it to happen over this.

"That's not going to happen." Daniel figured that he could keep their relationship a secret from everyone else. "Besides, some people already think we're a couple and they haven't tried to 'teach me the error of my ways'," he pointed out.

Jack was surprised that Daniel had heard the scuttlebutt; he had always thought that Daniel would be oblivious to that. "So, what are you suggesting? Hide in plain sight? Somehow I don't think that will work," he said dryly.

"I'm saying that if we both want to take this further, then we'll keep our private and work lives separate," Daniel stated. He reached over and put his hand over Jack's, hoping that the gesture wouldn't be rejected. "I'm as scared as you are about this, Jack. I hadn't even contemplated this until tonight and now I can't stop. And neither can you," he guessed.

Jack looked away, denying the statement, but he didn't withdraw his hand from Daniel's.

"I'm not saying we jump straight into bed," Daniel continued, "but we could at least kiss and see what happens." He kept his eyes on Jack's face, waiting hopefully.

"Why would you want me?" Jack asked, his concerns shifting to his self-image. "I'm ten years older than you, I've got grey hair and a scarred body, and I frequently yell at you..."

With a straight face, Daniel replied, "I've always liked old things." He waited until Jack turned towards him before breaking into a grin.

Jack found himself grinning as well. "You're sure about this?" It would be just like Daniel to jump in without considering what it would do to him.

"No, but I'm willing to try it," Daniel stated, virtually daring Jack to do the same. He shifted uncomfortably; the melting snow was making him cold, and because of all the talk about kissing, he was getting an erection.

"Me too," Jack decided. He had almost lost Daniel too many times to count; if there was a next time, he wasn't going to regret missing this opportunity. He pulled Daniel towards him and suddenly, the linguist was virtually sitting in his lap.

Daniel straddled Jack's legs, almost as surprised as the older man to be there. But he didn't waste any time. He cupped Jack's face with his hands and leaned in for a kiss. Nothing happened for a moment, then one of them - Daniel wasn't sure who - parted their lips and a thrill ran through him. Obviously, something similar happened to Jack as well because the kiss suddenly increased in intensity. Daniel felt hands grip his hips, pulling him into towards Jack so that their bodies were pressed together. They couldn't get enough of each other as seconds melted into minutes as they explored this new level to their relationship.

It was only the need to breathe that drew them apart. Daniel leaned back slightly and looked at Jack. The older man was flushed and his lips swollen; Daniel imagined he must look similar. "That was interesting," he commented, his mouth dry.

"Ya think?" Jack couldn't help responding. He couldn't believe that kissing Daniel had made him feel so good - better than he had felt in a long time. Keeping one hand on Daniel's hip, he let the other brush over the linguist's kiss-swollen lips. Aroused was definitely a good look on Daniel. "So, what next?"

Daniel shivered, partly because of the cold and partly because of the desire in Jack's eyes. "Well, I think there's no doubt that we definitely enjoyed that. So the question is, do we want to go further?"

"And by further, you mean...?" Jack invited Daniel to clarify as he slipped both hands around to cup the younger man's buttocks. He could definitely get into this 'gay' thing but only with Daniel.

"Have a... a sexual relationship," Daniel stated, swallowing hard as Jack's hands kneaded. He hadn't expected that, nor the fact that he actually liked it.

"I could live with that." Now that the possibility was open to him, Jack thought that taking Daniel to bed would be no hardship.

"Jack," Daniel reprimanded; he wanted a serious talk about this.

"Right." Serious - he could do that. He looked up into the cerulean eyes and caught his breath; Daniel was so beautiful. At a loss for words, Jack had to look away and gather his wits, most of which weren't situated in his brain at the moment. He shifted his hands higher to stroke Daniel's back in an effort to think a little more clearly. When he had gathered his thoughts, he turned back to Daniel. "I love you."

The simple statement struck Daniel with more power than an eloquent profession of love. A smile slowly spread over his face. Jack loved him. Jack wasn't in the habit of making statements like that so Daniel had no choice but to believe him. And with those three words, Daniel knew that despite the love he'd had for Sha're, he still had room in his heart to love Jack as well. "I love you too."

"Sweet." Jack dove back in for another kiss, losing himself in the pleasure. However, he didn't get too lost because Daniel pulled back sooner than he expected. "Daniel?"

"I don't know about you, Jack, but I'm freezing," Daniel said, a laugh in his voice. The snow was seeping through his trousers and covering his hair. "Let's take this inside."

"Sounds like a good plan," Jack agreed. He waited until Daniel had stood up before getting up himself. Then both of them went down into the house, holding each other's hand once they were off the ladder, and into the bedroom, ready to explore their new feelings.

All because of one kiss.