Danziger was more than happy to take guard duty the night they returned from their impromptu trip to the East Coast. He couldn't sleep. Couldn't get the image of Devon standing there on that beach out of his mind. She'd been so hopeful, only to have that hope dashed once more.
And once more it had been him to dash those hopes.
And after he'd overheard her confession to Alonzo about losing him. About New Pacifica not being the same without him. About her coming to rely on him. Maybe more.
And the revelation alone was enough to shake his very core. For as long as he could remember all that mattered to him was True. Did he have room in his heart to allow not one but two more people into his life?
He stared into the fire, letting its flames consume him. Every time he touched her, as innocent as they may be, he found he almost couldn't stop.
And her mouth. It was a constant source of full on annoyance, but he'd often imagined kissing her to silence her. And that shook him once again.
He shifted, pulling his eyes away from her the fire and toward the biodome. He saw movement. He was surprised to see her emerging and heading in his direction. His eyes gave a slight roll toward the sky. He brought the cup of coffee toward his lips, sipping at the contents that had long since gone cold.
When she reached the fire and his side, she reached for his cup, taking it and dumping the contents toward the opposite side from where he sat and refilled his mug from a thermos. "Can't let you drink that stuff cold. It's bad enough when it's hot." The weak coffee type substance that Bess had managed to concoct wasn't the greatest but it kept you warm on nights like tonight.
"Thanks..." he muttered, bringing it to his lips once more. He studied her over the rim of his cup and tilted his head slightly. "Can't sleep?" He scooted over slightly to give her more than enough room on the log beside him. He took the thermos, sitting it on the ground near his foot.
Shrugging her shoulders slightly, she took a seat, not bothering with conversation. She stared into the flames and rested her elbows upon her knees.
"Adair?" Now Danziger started to worry. She was always barking orders at him, even if she didn't always mean to, he knew, but to hear her take on silence like she was had his nerves all akimbo. He raised his voice slightly, changing his tone to one of concern, "Hey, Adair, you with me?" Still nothing. So his hand slipped from around his cup, and he touched her shoulder slightly. "Devon? You okay?"
Her body went rigid, jumping slightly and bringing her hand to her throat when she realized that he'd been trying to get her attention. She felt her heart slowly sliding back into her chest from where it had jumped into her throat. She turned her head then, putting more distance between them. "Huh? Oh, Danziger. Did you say something?"
He frowned then, setting his cup beside the thermos on the ground near his feet. "Well, I asked if you couldn't sleep, but now you've got me scared, lady. What's wrong?"
"Wrong?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow and turning her eyes away from him and to the ground at their feet.
"Yeah. Wrong." He shifted on the log, making sure to be careful and not dislodge her from her seat as he moved one leg onto the other side of the log and now sat astraddle of it. He scooted closer to her then, touching her back. "Talk to me."
She could hardly breathe. The closeness of his body to hers and the smell of him, manly and still something she hadn't been able to put her finger on, invading her nose, effecting all her other senses. The heat fell onto her back from his hand. She wanted to fold into his arms and beg him to just hold her, but that would be wrong. It would be inappropriate. Right? Inappropriate.
She closed her eyes and whispered, "Today when I thought we'd lost you..."
His heart hammered then, knowing what was coming and wanting her to know he'd already heard her admission, and that he'd spare her the need to say it again. "I heard you... In the cave talking with Alonzo."
Her eyes snapped up and over, locking with his. "You did?" The blush burned on her cheeks and she was grateful for the darkness. Her only fear was that the flames weren't bright enough to show it. She started to get up, feeling the need for distance. This was how she'd survived this far. She'd kept them all at arms length with the exception of Uly and Yale. His hand moved from her back to around to her hip, keeping her in place. "Look, Danziger..."
He moved his other hand up, placing two fingers onto her lips. "You ever shut up long enough for anyone else to do any talking?" And just as quickly as his fingers had been placed over her lips, he removed them, but the hand on her opposite waist stayed in place. He even relaxed his hold on her, keeping it more friendly than holding her by force.
She frowned then, looking down and then back up. She didn't dare speak again for fear that he'd totally lose his cool and say or do something they'd both regret. She shifted her body, but only slightly. She felt her knee brushing up against his and those feelings swelled in her chest again. The butterflies in her stomach were enough to make her tremble outwardly.
"You cold?" He slowly moved his hand from her waist and shrugged quickly out of his jacket to slip it around her slight frame, and once he'd pulled it tight together in the front, he held the fabric with one hand and pulled her toward him. Their noses bumped. He felt her pull away slightly and then felt her change tactics and lean into him. Her compliance and the silence was damn near eating him alive. "Say something..." he begged. His tone was lowered, almost a whisper.
"Thought you wanted me to shut up," she whispered back. He could feel her warm breath on his chin, smell her sweetness as she spoke. Her heart was hammering so loud she wasn't even sure she could think long enough to form anything coherent, let alone speak.
"Can't a man change his mind?" His head leaned just a bit further in, lips brushing slightly against hers and then slowly pulling back. He'd made the first move, and it was up to Devon Adair to make the next.
The kiss was over too quickly for Devon's liking. She expected him to take control, lead the charge and make her mind up for her, but instead, he'd taken his calculated move and waited for her to make the next. She felt her bottom lip quiver as the anticipation was much to much for her. She leaned forward, capturing his lips again and this time she tilted her head slighlty, deepening the kiss.
Then his hand was in her hair, moving his other arm around her slight frame as she was bundled in his jacket for warmth, and suddenly it was as hot as the summer days had been and he was pressed tight against her as their tongues entered the fray. And it wasn't as he'd expected. He'd expected a battle for dominance, but she was taking his lead, matching him move for move. And it thrilled him to know that he'd had this kind of hold on her in this moment of intimacy.
Her hand came up, pushing against his chest ever so slightly as their lips parted. She gave a few pants for air as her lungs filled and contracted. Her head spun slightly, and she was damn certain that it wasn't from lack of oxygen. It was from the kiss, his lips, his taste, his everything. She moved closer to him and whispered, "Danziger..."
"John," he gently reminded, lifting his fingers to put them under her chin and lift her face so that he could look into her eyes. The firelight did little to make them bright like he knew them to be, and he nuzzled her nose with his own before he peppered her cheek gently with kisses. "Devon..."
"John." A shiver ran straight down her spine as she moved and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his mouth again. Her lips parted, giving him entrance once again. Their tongues danced along one another in a tango of sorts. His arms engulfed her, crushing her smaller frame to his larger one. One of her hands managed to tangle in his curls, giving them an ever so soft tug before their lips parted once more. "What are we doing?"
Story Notes:
Disclaimer: All characters, names, and trademarks are the copyrighted property of Amblin/Universal. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.