New SGA Fic: From the entrance to the exit, it's farther than it looks
Title:From the entrance to the exit, it's farther than it looks
Authors: Sarah T. and the Spike
Warnings: BDSM, general kink, dubcon, xenophilia, fannish clichés #317 through 321 inclusive, and inappropriate moments of comedy
Summary: An Athosian, a Lt. Colonel and a Wraith walk into a sex club...
The music in the club was hypnotic and loud, pounding through John like his own heartbeat sped-up and fed back to him. The air was heavy with the thick scent of leather, and the sharpness of ozone and amyl nitrate. It got under John's skin and made it hard to stay focused on the mission. Mission...well, that was a joke and not a good one. Taking Todd out of his prison cell to help track alternate universe Wraith in the San Francisco tenderloin was maybe the worst idea John had ever heard-and yet here they were, undercover in some bizarrely kinky sex club that was making John twitch like a new recruit.
His "team" wasn't helping, either. They'd kept the group small to make it easier to infiltrate the club. Teyla, who he'd counted on to keep her head in the game, turned out to be his biggest distraction. She wore an outfit that was all fitted Athosian leather, unexpected glimpses of bared skin and glints of bright metal. It was hot-hot enough to get her open stares on the street, hot enough that she was giving his time-tested techniques of repression a real workout. But it wasn't just her revealing clothes that kept him off balance tonight. It was something in her attitude, like she'd dropped the curtain of diplomacy she kept her true strength behind. She walked in front of him, a small but powerful presence that-he hoped-drew everyone's eye away from him and the looming presence of Todd behind him. Fat chance, John thought. Even made up as a "human", Todd's height and the long shock of bone-white hair turned heads. John himself could feel his presence like a press of heat against his back.
The guy guarding the door at the end of the hallway eyed Teyla appreciatively. "Welcome, Mistress. You're new?"
"Yes," Teyla said. "Philip the Fool suggested we visit."
Door Guy's gaze shifted back to include John and Todd, and his smile dimmed slightly. John glowered back. What, weren't they pretty enough? "These are your subs, I assume?"
"I-yes."
John almost choked as the surge of surprise and excitement broke across his skin like a fever. The bouncer's look turned knowing, which John resented even more, but he kept it in. Finally, the bouncer nodded. "Go on in."
As they pushed through the doorway, Todd muttered in his ear, "Subs?"
"Sub-submissives." John hadn't really thought-but apparently that was how it looked. "They think Teyla is dominant. To us. In a porno kind of way."
Todd laughed, a soft, husky chuckle. "Of course. I keep forgetting that such matters are actually negotiable among your kind."
John scowled at him. Had Todd assumed it was going to be like this? It wasn't like Woolsey had ever sat him down for a talk about the birds and the bees and the bondage. Had Todd and Teyla talked about it, then? Planned…planned what? The thought sent another electric shock along his skin. "Well, they are, so try not to freak if you see women. You know. Doing stuff for men."
Todd looked innocent, which was hard, considering that a Wraith made up to resemble a human-slender to the point of boniness, pale, unnaturally smooth-skinned and blue-eyed, like some goth glam metal rocker-was about the damned kinkiest thing John had ever seen. "I am in no danger of…freaking."
Teyla turned and glanced at them, imperious. "Boys. Let us do what we need to do."
And get out of there? John liked that idea. He tried to concentrate on that, and not on the shadowy thrill that Teyla's way of carrying herself was starting to send through him. Todd made a soft murmur that sounded way too much like satisfaction, and John resolved to step on his foot the first chance he got.
They had passed into a corridor. On one side were openings into darkened niches. A flash of light, and John caught a glimpse into one: a bare-chested man with his eyes closed as a woman caressed his face with a cat o'nine tails. He jerked his eyes away from the freeze-frame and heard Todd chuckle again.
Of course, it was probably all just weird to Todd. John wondered how he'd have reacted, if he'd ever been on a mission where he'd had to watch some Wraith queen with a warrior. If they even had sex like humans did, if the queen pushed the warrior to his knees and-
He stopped his imagination short. There was enough freaky stuff right in front of him.
On the other side of the corridor, several arches opened out into a large, low-ceilinged room full of people. Naked people, or people who were only just not naked, and in ways that made you want to finish the job. The air was thick with noise and excitement and sweat. There was a mix of ages and races and types, but in that overheated atmosphere they all looked hot, one way or another. He tried not to look too close. It was just like a locker room, right? People getting naked for a good reason, not for you.
Plenty of people were looking at them, though, in a way that you would punch somebody for on the street. Their exploring eyes made him even more nervous. It was a violation of the locker room social contract that let you shower next to a magnificently muscled Satedan whipping his dreads around in the spray and still be able to look him in the eye during a debriefing an hour later. John wasn't sure that there even was a social contract in here.
"Do you feel anything?" he asked the other two softly. "I mean from the-you-know-what."
They traded glances, quick and hard to read.
"He is here," Teyla said, "but I cannot tell where yet."
"What's a Wraith doing down here, anyway?" he muttered irritably. "It's not like humans turn you on, right, Todd?"
"Not…humans," Todd said, eyeing Teyla. John braced for her reaction, but Teyla just looked back at him, serene, like Todd wasn't saying anything remotely creepy.
Right, they were undercover. Playing roles. They could kick Todd's ass later. Right now, they had to focus. Not that it was easy to focus when, right over Teyla's shoulder, he could see a naked woman, blindfolded, standing still and shivering while several men ran their hands, feathers, even a small electric device of some kind all over her. One of the guys was holding a leash, her leash, and-Christ. Okay, he was going to get hard, there was no way you could ask him not to, and it wasn't like he'd be able to ignore that anywhere.
A tall woman who had been leaning against the wall watching the men straightened up and headed over to them. She was dressed relatively normally for that crowd, in jeans and a tight t-shirt, but she had a definite air of being in charge. Her long grey hair was braided around her head.
"I hear you're new," she said to Teyla.
"Yes."
"You understand the house rules? I have to ask. These days, we can only give newcomers one warning."
Teyla nodded. "Philip told me of them. They are very reasonable."
John hadn't paid much attention to that stuff. He'd kind of assumed that it wouldn't matter, since they wouldn't be doing anything. Good thing Teyla had been more detail-oriented. Not that she would have thought they would be doing anything, either, though…right?
"Then welcome. We're glad to have you here." She looked them over. "Very glad. Have you been on the scene long?"
"None of us are from this place."
Teyla spoke with a kind of remote grandeur, like she was on a formal diplomatic mission, and he had to envy her. The way she knew-the way she and Todd both knew, come to think of it-the way they could walk through the city protected by the certainty that they were part of something bigger and better. In here, she could let it show, and it was dazzling.
"Well, I hope you'll appreciate what we have to offer here."
"I am sure we shall enjoy ourselves," Teyla said, and started to turn away.
"Your subs are gorgeous," the woman said, stopping her. It was scary to John how quickly his brain had started accepting that description of himself. "Do they like to play with each other?"
Play. With each other. John's brain pretty much just stopped there, so that he hardly even registered Teyla saying, "I have often wondered that myself. Perhaps it is time to learn." Her voice firmed. "Todd…"
Half a breath and Todd was entwined around him. John was dumbfounded. He would've staggered if Todd wasn't already holding him up. The kiss was awkward for a second-John had never kissed someone that much taller before-and then it wasn't at all. Then it was something he'd needed for years. Todd's grip was like being wrapped in a thunderstorm, shocks discharging everywhere they touched, knocking John senseless and breathless.
"Oh, that's lovely," the woman sighed.
Other people had come close to watch, too, discreetly murmuring their approval. "They look like they've been wanting to do that for a long time," someone said.
They did? They did? This was just supposed to be an act. It was all happening so fast. John could hardly believe it was happening, that Teyla had told Todd to kiss him, that Todd was doing it, that all these strangers were watching him make out with a Wraith like it was…hot. Todd's lips were dry and faintly bitter with lipstick, and his darting tongue was excitingly rough, making John's own mouth tingle. Todd's feeding hand in its fingerless leather glove crept up his back. John remembered abruptly when it had been on his chest. He whimpered at the memory and his hips jerked, working himself against the leg Todd had thrust between his.
Todd was murmuring things against his cheek. John couldn't really follow over the pounding of blood in his temples, but he caught the word "brother" over and over again. He'd fought that idea since the first time Todd had mentioned it, but now, just for a second, it seemed natural. They both belonged to Teyla here, and that made them the same, didn't it?
Teyla who'd said she'd been wondering. Not that she wondered. He turned his head for a glimpse of her, and she was watching them with a smoldering expression he'd never seen before. Except, he thought with a shudder, except when she'd been possessed by a queen.
And why the fuck that made him thrust again, even harder, against Todd, he'd never understand.
He pulled back, or tried to. Todd's arms were iron bands, but he broke the kiss. John still felt breathless, his mouth tingling. Todd's face was still so close to his, he could feel his breath rush past his ear.
Todd smelled of leather and the unsmudgeable makeup and latex he wore. Even though he knew it was an illusion, John kept getting distracted by the pinkness of the artificial skin. It had felt soft and warm against his mouth, but the wraith's tongue had still been stronger and more mobile than a human tongue.
John shivered hotly. It didn't make sense that this was turning him on like this. Wraiths were not hot, Todd in particular was not hot, and okay he'd come once under Todd's hands but that had been the effect of the enzyme and the "gift of life."
He scowled suspiciously at Todd, whose bland reply gaze, only inches from his face, gave nothing away. He was about to say something, when a small, strong hand pressed down on his shoulder.
"Is your attention wandering already, John?" Teyla said. John turned his face toward her, but did not take his eyes off Todd. He was still trying to read that veiled expression for ulterior motives, so it took him a moment to register what Teyla was saying. Something about keeping him focused.
"I find subs focus better the more they are exposed," said the woman who had spoken before.
"That would certainly work for me," said another voice-male this time. A tinkle of feminine laughter followed and John instinctively tried to place the speakers. Teyla's hand flexed around his shoulder-nothing obvious changed but her fingers were implacable. She was in charge here, not him.
"It would be very pleasing to see them naked," said the woman. "If you wouldn't mind, Mistress." The word was deferential but the woman's tone made it clear this was not a simple request.
Their informant, Phil, had said they would be challenged. For some reason, John hadn't really thought about what that might mean. It hit him now, viscerally, as Teyla pursed her lips, apparently contemplating.
John felt a tingle of nervousness run through him. He felt it run through Todd too-a wire of tension gone taut through his limbs. John wondered how far the human guise extended under the leather and chains. This could be disaster.
"No," Teyla said firmly. John held his breath hearing the mutters of disappointment from the impromptu audience, ready to fight their way out by hand to hand combat if necessary, so it took a moment for the content of Teyla's next words to penetrate.
"Todd has been nothing but obedient," she said. Todd inclined his head briefly to her. "It is John who needs to learn."
"What?" John said, reflexively, but no actual sound came out of his mouth. Teyla ignored him anyway.
"Todd," she said. "You will strip him. Slowly. John..." she paused, catching his gaze and holding it. He had always trusted Teyla. Always. But all this Wraith mind-whammy business...she had been taken over once before. And there was the strange hold she seemed to have over Todd. John felt a thrill of fear go through him.
But when he looked into her warm, brown eyes, he saw only Teyla there. Strong and unrelenting and definitely in charge, but Teyla nonetheless.
John swallowed and willed himself to stillness as Todd's fingers touched the first button at his throat. He couldn't help the slight trembling though. Adrenaline. And the sudden breath of cool air against his damp skin raised goosebumps wherever Todd's knuckles brushed against his chest. Todd worked methodically and without hurry. Each button's surrender was followed by a gentle parting of the cloth of his shirt, Todd's slow concentrated gaze.
It was still way too soon when the long nailed fingers came to rest on his belt buckle. He waited, trying to clamp down on the rising tension but Todd made no move to unbuckle it. Instead John felt the tip of one bony finger brushing the tender skin under the waistband of his jeans. It tickled, and worse, it sent tiny electric shivers through him that made him want to move. He'd been half hard since they'd made out. Now he found it hard to keep his rising arousal in check. His cock thickened uncomfortably in his jeans.
"Would you get on with it," John hissed under his breath. Todd smirked his strange Wraith smirk.
"You wish to be naked before me, John Sheppard," he said it too low and close for anyone to have heard him but it made John want to shut him up with a fist anyway.
"What I wish..." John began, but he was interrupted by Teyla.
"I do not believe I told either of you you could speak," she said, sternly, coming up beside them and pulling them both down to her face by the simple expedient of grasping them both by the hair. She leaned in and bit Todd's ear and then John's-a sharp, hot little nip that nearly made him gasp. Then she leaned in closer.
"He is nearby," she said speaking low and very fast: "I can sense him watching. If we are to lure him out of hiding we must give him what he cannot resist. You must be perfect." She released them and said, in a louder voice, for the crowd. "Now, behave and be silent."
Todd inclined his head submissively, but John had to gather his strength not to spin around and look for their quarry. Todd's hands on his belt again brought his focus back to what they were doing.
This time Todd didn't hesitate. He smoothly undid the buckle and then the button and zipper of John's fly. John's erection had wilted somewhat but when Todd slipped his hands under both waistbands and went to one knee in front of him, it surged again.
What the hell was wrong with him? John thought, but he didn't have time to contemplate an answer as Todd slid pants and boxers down to his ankles where they rested on top of his boots.
He stared down at Todd-human-faced Todd, who was no longer monstrous but striking, whose human-painted lips had parted softly only inches from his cock. It'd been too damn long since he'd been in this position with-well, with anyone, except in his head. John's hips jerked again involuntarily and Todd looked up at him, his face suddenly gone soft and serious.
He mouthed something silently. "Brother..." John realized and it made heat pool again at his groin. He knew he was supposed to be keeping it together here, but he was starting to feel hazy with need.
Teyla's hands at his shoulders sent more waves of gooseflesh down his sides. She tugged at his shirt, pulled it off his shoulders, leaving it hanging from his wrists and he was naked. John's mouth was dry, his breath coming fast. Teyla wrapped her strong fingers around his shoulders and started to turn him.
He resisted, but only for a second. They had to be perfect. He had no idea what that entailed, but he knew it meant following Teyla's lead. He let her move him, shuffling to keep his balance against the restraint of his pooled jeans, as she turned him outward to face the crowd.
He tried not to, but he had to close his eyes against the glittering brightness of the patrons, the appreciative murmurs, the weight of their combined gaze. Even when he narrowed them to slits, he could feel them like a wash of heat against his chest and belly, heating his face, his thighs. He couldn't see Teyla with his eyes half closed like that but he could feel her, cool as a blade behind him, a gentle breath of her light, spicy perfume.
And then Teyla's fingers were in his hair again, pulling him back. He stumbled this time, and Teyla's fist tightened in his hair, making his scalp sting. John didn't fall, though. There was something solid behind his knees and reflexively he tried to turn his head to look.
He didn't get a real look before Teyla's implacable grip pulled his head back around, so a whiff of leather was all the warning he had before his hips were caught by strong hands and he was pulled back and down onto what he realized with a kind of numb horror was Todd's leather clad lap.
His eyes sprang open and he looked to Teyla in disbelief. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't in any dark or bright corner of his fantasy life that Teyla would pull his head back and kiss him.
If he'd been thinking, he would have stopped the whole charade right there and then. But how could he think with Teyla's mouth lush against his -- her lips full and soft, tongue sweet and hot against his own, stroking him open. His hands rose automatically to reach for her, but Todd had shifted his embrace and now held him tight around the chest, pinning his arms to his sides.
The combined sensations were too much for him and John moaned into Teyla's mouth, the sound of his own helpless desire making his cheeks flame with embarrassment. It didn't lessen it in any way.
Nor did it stop Teyla from taking what she wanted from him, kiss after long sweet kiss until John was nearly writhing.
Teyla pulled back from him too soon and John's mouth followed hers.
"Sorry," he gasped. "Can't help it."
"John, " Teyla said. "You are doing well. You are ... perfect." Her voice still sounded confident and calm but John was close enough to see that her eyes were shining and there was the most amazing dimple at one upturned corner of her mouth.
"You..." he began, but Teyla had straightened her shoulders, settled her face back into the regal calm and the hand that was not still entwined in his hair stroked his jaw, trailed down his throat, finger resting on the pulse there. John's mouth went dry again. He was very hard now, too turned on for clear thought.
Her nails carded through the hair on his chest, brushed over his nipple. He shivered, a strangely erotic sensation, and then Teyla pulled him in for another quick, deep kiss before releasing him entirely and sinking to her knees.
John felt heat rise in his cheeks again as Teyla lifted his foot to her lap and began undoing his boot. It seemed almost more perverse than anything else they'd done, and hotter. Todd must have thought so too, because his grip on John's arms tightened and for the first time John became aware of the hard length of what must be Todd's erection pressing against him through the leather. God, he didn't want to think about that. About the familiarity of it, the sudden sense memory of the two of them grinding together as Todd had filled him with the Gift of Life. It made him want to grind back against it or pull away. Either way, he was in trouble.
Teyla gracefully levered his boot free and peeled off his sock. The cool air on his bare foot made him feel even more naked than being naked, if that was possible. Something inside him gave way then, softly, the way foundations slip away in a flood. He felt suddenly loose, light, almost drunk.
Teyla freed his other foot, pulling away the last bit of his armor with his jeans and he was naked in a way that had nothing to do with losing all his clothes. His whole body seemed to uncoil and he let his head fall back on Todd's shoulder. The dark heat in Teyla's eyes almost too bright to look at without the well-fortified fiction of their lives-that they didn't do this. Didn't want this. He couldn't hide any of it from her like this.
He knew that he should be more scared that he didn't want to. The sharp shock of teeth in the bared crook of his neck should have scared him, too, but it was followed immediately by the slick heat and suction of Todd's mouth at his pulse point and John's whole body arched up on a rolling wave of arousal.
"Oh yes," Teyla breathed. "Like that." Todd did it again, and then again-fiercely, harder each time until John thought he must be drawing blood but it didn't hurt at all.
Teyla's nails gently raked his inner thighs and John's body rolled again as she lifted first one of his legs and then the other, settling each on on the outside of Todd's thighs, spreading him wider. John's feet no longer touched the floor and Teyla's fingers were relentless, drawing trails of cold fire up to and around his aching dick.
"Beautiful," someone said, a man with a low rough voice, and John couldn't help but picture himself. Naked. Vulnerable. Open. There was a Wraith out there watching, waiting for his chance. There was a Wraith right behind him. Holding him, and Todd's grip was suddenly too tight. The dreamy feeling was fractured by panic, and John half-surged, frantic, before fighting himself still.
"John!" Teyla said sternly. She'd come up with him, and her palm was against his chest.
"Teyla," he said through his teeth, so that she leaned in, "I can't. Not…not…"
But even that close, her eyes stayed implacable, without a flicker of awareness that she was playing a role. A fear glittered through him, and he sank his teeth into his lip so as not to whimper. They stared at each other, John desperately trying to guess what was behind her expression. Clinging to his faith in her abilities. If she'd been taken over, his only hope was instant action. It couldn't be. She wouldn't let it happen. He had to let go and trust her to take care of them.
The crowd seemed to be holding its breath, even though they couldn't possibly understand what was going on. He felt his quads cramping with the effort of holding them motionless. Sweat streamed into his eyes, and he didn't dare blink it away.
"I fear it was my fault, mistress," Todd's voice finally broke in. "In my clumsiness, I hit a nerve cluster."
He sounded oddly-courtly-and John had to swallow a wild laugh. Teyla nodded and broke their gaze. "You should be more careful, Todd," she said. "John is more fragile than you."
She kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "Well done. He is almost close enough, now."
John almost sagged from the adrenaline rebound. Teyla was saying something else, softly, to Todd, and then he was being moved, shifted around by hands. More than four, he thought blearily, but before that could fully register, he was stretched out on a nearby couch, and Teyla was lowering his head into her lap.
The leather of her skirt was wonderfully supple under his cheek. He could smell a dark undertone that conjured up images of the Athosian forests, and, that close, he could smell her. The combination was so primal he knew he'd never be able to see her in leather again without dreaming of fucking her, wild and wordless, somewhere far away from all the rules and responsibilities of their two worlds. His cock had already hardened again. But he knew he needed to lay still now.
John became aware that Todd had settled himself at about his knees, wriggling his legs under John's. He felt suspended between the two of them. They were both stroking him-slow, sensuous touches that seemed random yet at the same time felt like they were building to something. John shifted a little, aware of the softness of Teyla's thighs, the heat of her sex so near his cheek. Aware too of the strength in Todd's hands where they cupped his thighs, the thumbs stroking the tender skin between them. He shifted again, wanting to stay as still as they needed him to be, but not able to keep his body from trying to follow the lines and whorls of arousal the two of them were working into his skin. He reached blindly for something to hold himself still against.
Perhaps they sensed how close he was to breaking. Teyla took pity on him and grasped his reaching hand with one of her own. With her other hand, she stroked his face, ran her fingers lightly across his lips. He opened his mouth at her touch and she slipped a finger inside.
"Suck," she said and he obeyed fervently, sucking each of her fingers as she dipped them between his lips, singly and then two and three at once.
"My queen," Todd said, with a ragged need in his voice that made John smirk, "he is too-I must-"
"You must?" Teyla cut him off with a stern tone that gave John more childish pleasure.
Todd's hands stopped. "I mean, if it is your will."
There was a long pause.
"If your slave is too unruly, mistress..." The voice from the crowd was deep and darkly insinuating. John felt Teyla's whole body tense at the sound. Todd's hands tightened on his thighs and John jerked his head up in sudden fury.
Son of a bitch, he thought. How dare he address the...the...John's head swam with sudden images of Teyla towering over him as he knelt, his mind bending easily to her will. The thought made his heart pound wildly in his chest, anger and arousal feeding into one another. His gaze searched the crowd but he caught only glimpses-a solid circle of bodies, flowing skirts and naked flesh and leather. Some were watching, others kneeling, still others writhed at the edge of his vision.
Teyla guided his head back down into her lap.
"Be still," she said, firmly, and John felt his body relax of its own volition. There was a silent tension growing between Teyla and Todd. John knew he should care more somehow, but it was as if Teyla's command had stilled his mind as much as his body. He waited, content to let Teyla take the lead.
"It has been too long since you bowed to the will of a queen, has it not, Todd?" she asked.
"Yes," Todd said reluctantly.
"You have missed it."
"…yes."
"In fact, you crave it," she said.
Another pause. John could feel the tension between them ratchet up another notch. She was doing something, pushing Todd in some way. John could tell by the way Todd's hands twitched restlessly against his thighs how much the Wraith wanted to give in to her. How hard he fought against his own desire. John knew that feeling well. He'd never realized how foolish it was to put up the front of resistance.
"I-perhaps-yes," Todd hissed.
"It is more important to you than your brothers," she said, very quiet, very sure.
Give it up, John thought, languorously. Teylas fingers moved in tiny circles against his scalp. It shouldn't have been such a turn on, but from her it was.
Todd's voice was thick with feeling when it came. "As it has been always, my queen."
John sighed, awash with satisfaction.
"Good," she said. "Fealty has its rewards, Todd. You may claim your desire."
It didn't occur to John to wonder what that was until he felt Todd shifting again. He was immediately aware then of the hardness pressing against him.
"Woah," he said, attempting clumsily to sit up again. "Woah...wait..."
"John...?" Teyla said, catching him by the shoulders. Her tone was so perfectly arch, that for a moment he felt like a disobedient child caught sneaking out of school before the bell rang. He caught himself automatically lying back down. He forced himself to fight the urge. For a second, he was pushing against a massive weight in his mind, but almost as he sensed it, it vanished.
He sat up panting, Teyla's hands still light and warm around his arms.
"John," Teyla said, again. "What is wrong?"
"I..." For a second, he had no idea, but then he looked up and saw Todd between his legs. Todd's expression was avid. The humanized eyes gone glassy blue and soft.
"I can't," John said. "Not..." he glanced from Todd to the half-seen crowd, and swallowed thickly. Teyla hesitated, and John watched a look pass between her and Todd.
"You can, John," Teyla said, in that calm, implacable tone that took his breath away. "And I will tell you why." She had moved up so that she was pressed up against his back, and now she brought her lips to his ear. "John, he is here," she said, her archly confident tone changed to a low and urgent whisper. "He is here and I believe he has guessed our purpose and so does not reveal himself. Still he has not run and I think it is the possibility of this that holds him. If you truly cannot do this, then of course we shall find some other way. But if it is only your pride..."
John swallowed again. "Only" his pride. Only his pride, which he figured had probably run screaming into the night hand in hand with his dignity about the time he had humped Todd's leg while checking out his tonsils. It was just...this was... It was... His face prickled with embarrassment and the fact that that made him even harder was testament to how... whatever... it was.
And still not worth another human life. He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax against her, nodding.
"Okay," he said, tightly."Just..." He glared at Todd.
"I will be... gentle," Todd said, unable to hold back his smirk.
"You will sheath yourself in this," Teyla cut in sharply before John had a chance to bristle. She handed Todd a small, plastic square. Todd looked at it as though she'd handed him a small, live mammal, but he took it, and after a long moment he tore the plastic and removed the shiny latex condom. Now it was Todd's turn to glare.
John could only imagine the look Teyla must have returned, because Todd bent his head and, muttering under his breath, lowered the condom to somewhere below John's line of sight.
It occurred to John that maybe he should have looked over Zelenka's shoulder at the Wraith genitalia entry that time that McKay downloaded the virused database. It occurred to him also that there were some things man was probably not meant to know.
And then he wasn't thinking anymore, he was lying back and gasping as Teyla sucked at his neck and Todd spread his legs and lifted him up and took John deep into his mouth.
If he'd flagged during his brief panic attack, and he couldn't honestly have said whether he had or not, he was back to full arousal now. Their onslaught on his body was merciless. He could hear himself making sounds, trying to choke them off before they escaped into the crowd.
And oh, God... the crowd. Those people, cool eyes watching them, amused to see them-to see him spread out like this, watching him want it. God, if they only knew what Todd really was. Maybe they did know, which meant that they knew what he was. John shuddered, the icy wash of shame feeding into the unstoppable arousal. He needed to come. He had to come, but he couldn't.
Fuck, they weren't letting him.
He could feel it now, the way they brought him right to the edge and then backed off just that much-Teyla with her lips and tongue, her clever fingers at his mouth, across his nipples-and Todd following Teyla like a... a thing that follows another thing, Todd's mouth sucking and licking at him in turns-sharp teeth capped with smooth but his tongue was still alien enough-like a cat's, muscular and pointed.
And then Todd's fingers. As clever as Teyla's but long and pressing inside of him. Breaching him and sliding deep, stroking him open while that inhuman tongue, wandered everywhere -- dick, balls, thighs.
Everywhere but where he needed it.
He needed it. Please. He bucked helplessly between their hands and mouths. "Please..."
"Yes," Teyla said, her voice a rough whisper. "Now. Take him now."
John felt the tight shiver that ran through Todd's thighs as he sat up and back, his hands moving to John's hips to lift him. Lower him.
The blunt head of Todd's dick at his hole felt impossibly huge. But those finger had done their work on him and it slipped into him almost painlessly and he slid down and down...
He thought he might be whimpering, his thighs trembling as Todd's dick filled and filled him, but then his ass pressed down against Todd's thighs and he realized the Wraith was in no better shape-trembling all over, mouth open, head back. He seemed frozen like that and John's hips jerked fitfully and without leverage to give them strength. Todd shook his head, but still didn't move and John couldn't take it.
He grabbed Todd's hair in both hands and pulled him close, Todd's eyes shot open, his mouth curled in a sudden snarl.
"She said now, goddamit," John said, yanking. "Now."
Teyla didn't say anything, but he felt it-the way her mental grip tightened just as his physical one did. The transformation was instant and nearly terrifying. Todd roared and lifted his hips, fucking hard into John. It should have hurt and maybe it did hurt, but it hit like a hammer on flint, sparking inside him again and again until everything caught fire, lighting him up everywhere and so he came.
As the pleasure subsided, he realized he could feel Teyla trembling and breathing hard behind him. The queen, he thought fuzzily, they'd pleased the queen, he and his brother, and the thought was like a long gentle echo of his orgasm. Todd lay where he had fallen between John's thighs, his cheek cool against John's stomach, his breath hitching in his throat. John could have stayed there forever like that, pressed between the two of them-but then Teyla was moving, gone, letting his head drop to the couch. A few seconds later, and Todd was scrambling after her. John blinked, unable to process the abandonment, the air washing cold over the sweaty skin where they'd been holding him.
Something crashed, and someone screamed, and someone else hissed, "Traitor!"
The Wraith echoes in the voice startled John to a half-sitting position. Teyla had another man on his knees, arm twisted up behind him in a way that should have dislocated his shoulder, while Todd wiped blood from his mouth. The crowd had hushed and drawn back.
Not another man, of course. The Wraith they'd been tracking, made up a lot like Todd, except he wore sunglasses that now dangled askew from his face. Teyla jerked on his arm. "Be silent!"
The Wraith stiffened, his mouth clamping shut, and John watched a little burst of painful ecstasy work through him. He wondered if that was what he'd looked like, but shoved the thought aside.
Then he shoved himself to his feet.
"Um..." he croaked, staggering a little. He cleared his throat. A few faces turned to him curiously. And okay, he hadn't felt this awkward and useless in front of a crowd of freaked out civilians since his first mission, landing a Blackhawk full of medics in the main square of a blown-out peasant village... Which was a long, long time ago. And he could only do what he'd done then.
Fake it 'til you make it had been a personal motto for long enough that he could play the role of John Sheppard, military authority, sober or drunk. Or stark naked and in need of therapy and a shower.
"Okay, folks," he said, "We're law enforcement officers, and this man is under arrest…" Now everyone was staring at him, their expressions running the gamut from skepticism to shocked disbelief and outright anger. John had to pause a second to shove down the rising sense of his own ridiculousness before he just plowed on ahead. "I'm sure a lot of you would prefer not to be around when our backup arrives, so if you'd like to save yourself the embarrassment, feel free to sneak off right now."
The older woman said coolly, "You might have warned us."
John wanted to hit her, but closed his eyes until the feeling passed. He heard Teyla say, just as cool, "It was not possible."
"We were undercover, lady," John said.
Her eyes swept over him, and she raised an eyebrow. "If you say so, officer…?"
He flushed. "I do."
"In that case, you won't have any reason to come back. Good." She turned away and raised her voice. "All right, everyone, you know what to do…"
The crowd began to thin rapidly. It occurred to John that he could probably save himself not only embarrassment, but a possible court martial, if he got his damn clothes back on before the SGC's Men In Black arrived. He looked around, but, in the confusion, he couldn't find them. This night just kept getting better.
He was at the point of considering a toga made from the draperies when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled to find Todd holding out an armful of clothes.
"These aren't mine," John said, gingerly fingering the leather pants and vest Todd held out to him.
"I couldn't find yours," Todd said. "Perhaps when your marines arrive..."
"Goddamn it," John said. He grabbed the ridiculous fetishwear and struggled with it. He could sense Todd's amusement, but whether the wraith was openly laughing at him, he couldn't tell. He told himself it didn't matter that he couldn't bring himself to look Todd in the face.
By the time he got dressed, the room was empty. Without the people, it was just another dim, smoky underground chamber. Nothing to see here, folks, move along.
"And now," Todd said, "for my half of the bargain."
It took John a minute to remember what he was referring to. Then he looked at Teyla and shrugged. She nodded.
Regardless of what certain optimists at the SGC liked to think, it wasn't like Todd would have cooperated with them just for the chance at a little night air.
"Do it quick," John said. "There's not much time."
Todd approached the other Wraith, whose eyes widened.
"Do not kill him," Teyla ordered. "He must be interrogated."
"Yes, my queen," Todd murmured.
It was only later that John thought to be troubled by his use of the title, or the faint avidity in Teyla's eyes as Todd laid his hand on the other's chest.
Even though it felt endless, the post mission briefing was relatively brief, being long on details about which the brass couldn't ask and John had no intention of telling. Thank God they'd let him grab a quick shower and a change of clothes before facing Woolsey and O'Neill and the various IOA bean counters and government flunkies. Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling they were giving him sly, sidelong looks, sharing knowing glances with one another.
And why shouldn't they? The more he thought about what had happened, the weirder it all seemed. He had his fair share of sexual fantasies, but he was pretty certain none of them involved Todd and crowds of strangers in latex corsets.
But this had been, if he were going to be honest about it, not only the best sex he'd ever had, but better than the best sex he could even imagine. He'd been totally out of control. Out of his body, almost, he'd been so turned on. And at the same time, he'd never felt so safe and right as he had in Teyla's arms. Even now, just looking at her helped him keep his cool.
He even found himself leaning closer to her chair at the briefing table, trying to catch a whiff of her warm, spicy scent. She glanced at him and smiled and the warm flush of pleasure and pride it gave him made him quickly avert his gaze. He'd been perfect, she'd said. And her cheeks were still flushed with her obvious satisfaction.
"Well, gentlemen and ladies and... any disguised aliens who may or may not be in the room," the General said, interrupting John's musing. "I think we can call this mission a delightfully suprirsing success. So...good night." John half-expected to be called back for a private debrief, but apparently whatever O'Neill and Woolsey suspected about how they'd smoked out the Wraith and made the arrest, they really were satisfied with the bare bones report. O'Neill shook all their hands and grabbed a chopper back to Colorado, and that was that. For him, anyway.
There was still the matter of the captured Wraith.
John had hoped for a word with Teyla before they went down to do the interrogation, but Woolsey insisted on accompanying them. The interrogation went surprisingly smoothly. John had a bad moment or two at the beginning, when the Wraith seemed intent on dropping innuendo about what had happened at the club, but a meaningful glance from Teyla and the casual mention of the other, hungry Wraith in the cell down the hall changed his attitude. He sullenly gave up information on the possible hiding places of other Wraith who'd gotten through the rift.
It was still more than a couple of hours before they finished. The three of them rode together in the transporter, Woolsey going on, in his way, about the operations to come and the obvious problem of what to do with the Wraith as they captured them. John nodded along, only half-listening. The adrenaline that had kept him going had dissipated, leaving him feeling hollowed out and a little shaky on his feet. The smart thing to do would be grab something to eat and go the hell to bed. What he wanted to do was curl up at Teyla's feet right there in the transporter and soak up her warmth.
There was something wrong with that idea, he knew, but at that moment he couldn't put his finger on it. He was still pondering it, lazily, when the transporter stopped and Woolsey exited, tossing them one final congratulations.
Finally alone with Teyla, John recalled vaguely that there had been something he wanted to do, but when he looked at Teyla, her smile wiped it from his mind.
She was so amazing. Her strength, her determination, her kindness. He'd always shut these feelings away, and even more so since she'd become a mother and something like a wife. But now he couldn't seem to hold them back. He wanted to-
But the transporter stopped again, disrupting the unformed thought. Teyla tilted her head for a second, and a wicked gleam flashed in her eye. She turned to him and took his face in her hands. She looked up at him, waiting, and when he didn't do anything of the things he might normally have done to fend off the moment, she spoke.
"You did well tonight, John," she said. "Better than I ever imagined you could." She pressed a kiss to his forehead, and a warm lazy curl of pleasure swirled through him.
Like before, and suddenly it was all very real and vivid to him again. But there was no mission now. If she was offering, it was because it'd been so good, and if he let go it was because he wanted it. Even if it was just for a minute or two.
He leaned in and took her mouth in a soft, sweet, reverent kiss. It felt like taking a step off a very high cliff, like freefall. He couldn't have stopped if he wanted to and he really, really didn't want to. It was Teyla who broke the kiss, pushing him gently away.
John waited for the inevitable hard landing.
Teyla just smiled at him.
"There will come a time, John," she said. "The City of the Ancients cannot stay in this galaxy forever."
He nodded fervently. Of course it couldn't. He was so unbelievably grateful that she understood. She stroked the side of his face affectionately.
"I'm glad you will be with us, John," she said, gazing deeply into his eyes. "When the time comes." The transporter started moving. He was falling again, but slowly this time, sinking down to his knees, his heart full of some upwelling emotion. He wanted that. To be with her, flying Atlantis back to Pegasus where they all belonged.
"Yes," he said, breathlessly, ardently, losing himself in the word and the feeling. "Yes."
The indicator chimed. Teyla pulled him to his feet again as the transporter slowed to a stop.
"I guess I'm more tired than I thought," John said, rising with effort. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd been doing down there, but he hoped, after everything else she'd seen him do, that she'd let it slide. He wasn't really worried though.
Teyla had his back, she always would.
Authors: Sarah T. and the Spike
Warnings: BDSM, general kink, dubcon, xenophilia, fannish clichés #317 through 321 inclusive, and inappropriate moments of comedy
Summary: An Athosian, a Lt. Colonel and a Wraith walk into a sex club...
The music in the club was hypnotic and loud, pounding through John like his own heartbeat sped-up and fed back to him. The air was heavy with the thick scent of leather, and the sharpness of ozone and amyl nitrate. It got under John's skin and made it hard to stay focused on the mission. Mission...well, that was a joke and not a good one. Taking Todd out of his prison cell to help track alternate universe Wraith in the San Francisco tenderloin was maybe the worst idea John had ever heard-and yet here they were, undercover in some bizarrely kinky sex club that was making John twitch like a new recruit.
His "team" wasn't helping, either. They'd kept the group small to make it easier to infiltrate the club. Teyla, who he'd counted on to keep her head in the game, turned out to be his biggest distraction. She wore an outfit that was all fitted Athosian leather, unexpected glimpses of bared skin and glints of bright metal. It was hot-hot enough to get her open stares on the street, hot enough that she was giving his time-tested techniques of repression a real workout. But it wasn't just her revealing clothes that kept him off balance tonight. It was something in her attitude, like she'd dropped the curtain of diplomacy she kept her true strength behind. She walked in front of him, a small but powerful presence that-he hoped-drew everyone's eye away from him and the looming presence of Todd behind him. Fat chance, John thought. Even made up as a "human", Todd's height and the long shock of bone-white hair turned heads. John himself could feel his presence like a press of heat against his back.
The guy guarding the door at the end of the hallway eyed Teyla appreciatively. "Welcome, Mistress. You're new?"
"Yes," Teyla said. "Philip the Fool suggested we visit."
Door Guy's gaze shifted back to include John and Todd, and his smile dimmed slightly. John glowered back. What, weren't they pretty enough? "These are your subs, I assume?"
"I-yes."
John almost choked as the surge of surprise and excitement broke across his skin like a fever. The bouncer's look turned knowing, which John resented even more, but he kept it in. Finally, the bouncer nodded. "Go on in."
As they pushed through the doorway, Todd muttered in his ear, "Subs?"
"Sub-submissives." John hadn't really thought-but apparently that was how it looked. "They think Teyla is dominant. To us. In a porno kind of way."
Todd laughed, a soft, husky chuckle. "Of course. I keep forgetting that such matters are actually negotiable among your kind."
John scowled at him. Had Todd assumed it was going to be like this? It wasn't like Woolsey had ever sat him down for a talk about the birds and the bees and the bondage. Had Todd and Teyla talked about it, then? Planned…planned what? The thought sent another electric shock along his skin. "Well, they are, so try not to freak if you see women. You know. Doing stuff for men."
Todd looked innocent, which was hard, considering that a Wraith made up to resemble a human-slender to the point of boniness, pale, unnaturally smooth-skinned and blue-eyed, like some goth glam metal rocker-was about the damned kinkiest thing John had ever seen. "I am in no danger of…freaking."
Teyla turned and glanced at them, imperious. "Boys. Let us do what we need to do."
And get out of there? John liked that idea. He tried to concentrate on that, and not on the shadowy thrill that Teyla's way of carrying herself was starting to send through him. Todd made a soft murmur that sounded way too much like satisfaction, and John resolved to step on his foot the first chance he got.
They had passed into a corridor. On one side were openings into darkened niches. A flash of light, and John caught a glimpse into one: a bare-chested man with his eyes closed as a woman caressed his face with a cat o'nine tails. He jerked his eyes away from the freeze-frame and heard Todd chuckle again.
Of course, it was probably all just weird to Todd. John wondered how he'd have reacted, if he'd ever been on a mission where he'd had to watch some Wraith queen with a warrior. If they even had sex like humans did, if the queen pushed the warrior to his knees and-
He stopped his imagination short. There was enough freaky stuff right in front of him.
On the other side of the corridor, several arches opened out into a large, low-ceilinged room full of people. Naked people, or people who were only just not naked, and in ways that made you want to finish the job. The air was thick with noise and excitement and sweat. There was a mix of ages and races and types, but in that overheated atmosphere they all looked hot, one way or another. He tried not to look too close. It was just like a locker room, right? People getting naked for a good reason, not for you.
Plenty of people were looking at them, though, in a way that you would punch somebody for on the street. Their exploring eyes made him even more nervous. It was a violation of the locker room social contract that let you shower next to a magnificently muscled Satedan whipping his dreads around in the spray and still be able to look him in the eye during a debriefing an hour later. John wasn't sure that there even was a social contract in here.
"Do you feel anything?" he asked the other two softly. "I mean from the-you-know-what."
They traded glances, quick and hard to read.
"He is here," Teyla said, "but I cannot tell where yet."
"What's a Wraith doing down here, anyway?" he muttered irritably. "It's not like humans turn you on, right, Todd?"
"Not…humans," Todd said, eyeing Teyla. John braced for her reaction, but Teyla just looked back at him, serene, like Todd wasn't saying anything remotely creepy.
Right, they were undercover. Playing roles. They could kick Todd's ass later. Right now, they had to focus. Not that it was easy to focus when, right over Teyla's shoulder, he could see a naked woman, blindfolded, standing still and shivering while several men ran their hands, feathers, even a small electric device of some kind all over her. One of the guys was holding a leash, her leash, and-Christ. Okay, he was going to get hard, there was no way you could ask him not to, and it wasn't like he'd be able to ignore that anywhere.
A tall woman who had been leaning against the wall watching the men straightened up and headed over to them. She was dressed relatively normally for that crowd, in jeans and a tight t-shirt, but she had a definite air of being in charge. Her long grey hair was braided around her head.
"I hear you're new," she said to Teyla.
"Yes."
"You understand the house rules? I have to ask. These days, we can only give newcomers one warning."
Teyla nodded. "Philip told me of them. They are very reasonable."
John hadn't paid much attention to that stuff. He'd kind of assumed that it wouldn't matter, since they wouldn't be doing anything. Good thing Teyla had been more detail-oriented. Not that she would have thought they would be doing anything, either, though…right?
"Then welcome. We're glad to have you here." She looked them over. "Very glad. Have you been on the scene long?"
"None of us are from this place."
Teyla spoke with a kind of remote grandeur, like she was on a formal diplomatic mission, and he had to envy her. The way she knew-the way she and Todd both knew, come to think of it-the way they could walk through the city protected by the certainty that they were part of something bigger and better. In here, she could let it show, and it was dazzling.
"Well, I hope you'll appreciate what we have to offer here."
"I am sure we shall enjoy ourselves," Teyla said, and started to turn away.
"Your subs are gorgeous," the woman said, stopping her. It was scary to John how quickly his brain had started accepting that description of himself. "Do they like to play with each other?"
Play. With each other. John's brain pretty much just stopped there, so that he hardly even registered Teyla saying, "I have often wondered that myself. Perhaps it is time to learn." Her voice firmed. "Todd…"
Half a breath and Todd was entwined around him. John was dumbfounded. He would've staggered if Todd wasn't already holding him up. The kiss was awkward for a second-John had never kissed someone that much taller before-and then it wasn't at all. Then it was something he'd needed for years. Todd's grip was like being wrapped in a thunderstorm, shocks discharging everywhere they touched, knocking John senseless and breathless.
"Oh, that's lovely," the woman sighed.
Other people had come close to watch, too, discreetly murmuring their approval. "They look like they've been wanting to do that for a long time," someone said.
They did? They did? This was just supposed to be an act. It was all happening so fast. John could hardly believe it was happening, that Teyla had told Todd to kiss him, that Todd was doing it, that all these strangers were watching him make out with a Wraith like it was…hot. Todd's lips were dry and faintly bitter with lipstick, and his darting tongue was excitingly rough, making John's own mouth tingle. Todd's feeding hand in its fingerless leather glove crept up his back. John remembered abruptly when it had been on his chest. He whimpered at the memory and his hips jerked, working himself against the leg Todd had thrust between his.
Todd was murmuring things against his cheek. John couldn't really follow over the pounding of blood in his temples, but he caught the word "brother" over and over again. He'd fought that idea since the first time Todd had mentioned it, but now, just for a second, it seemed natural. They both belonged to Teyla here, and that made them the same, didn't it?
Teyla who'd said she'd been wondering. Not that she wondered. He turned his head for a glimpse of her, and she was watching them with a smoldering expression he'd never seen before. Except, he thought with a shudder, except when she'd been possessed by a queen.
And why the fuck that made him thrust again, even harder, against Todd, he'd never understand.
He pulled back, or tried to. Todd's arms were iron bands, but he broke the kiss. John still felt breathless, his mouth tingling. Todd's face was still so close to his, he could feel his breath rush past his ear.
Todd smelled of leather and the unsmudgeable makeup and latex he wore. Even though he knew it was an illusion, John kept getting distracted by the pinkness of the artificial skin. It had felt soft and warm against his mouth, but the wraith's tongue had still been stronger and more mobile than a human tongue.
John shivered hotly. It didn't make sense that this was turning him on like this. Wraiths were not hot, Todd in particular was not hot, and okay he'd come once under Todd's hands but that had been the effect of the enzyme and the "gift of life."
He scowled suspiciously at Todd, whose bland reply gaze, only inches from his face, gave nothing away. He was about to say something, when a small, strong hand pressed down on his shoulder.
"Is your attention wandering already, John?" Teyla said. John turned his face toward her, but did not take his eyes off Todd. He was still trying to read that veiled expression for ulterior motives, so it took him a moment to register what Teyla was saying. Something about keeping him focused.
"I find subs focus better the more they are exposed," said the woman who had spoken before.
"That would certainly work for me," said another voice-male this time. A tinkle of feminine laughter followed and John instinctively tried to place the speakers. Teyla's hand flexed around his shoulder-nothing obvious changed but her fingers were implacable. She was in charge here, not him.
"It would be very pleasing to see them naked," said the woman. "If you wouldn't mind, Mistress." The word was deferential but the woman's tone made it clear this was not a simple request.
Their informant, Phil, had said they would be challenged. For some reason, John hadn't really thought about what that might mean. It hit him now, viscerally, as Teyla pursed her lips, apparently contemplating.
John felt a tingle of nervousness run through him. He felt it run through Todd too-a wire of tension gone taut through his limbs. John wondered how far the human guise extended under the leather and chains. This could be disaster.
"No," Teyla said firmly. John held his breath hearing the mutters of disappointment from the impromptu audience, ready to fight their way out by hand to hand combat if necessary, so it took a moment for the content of Teyla's next words to penetrate.
"Todd has been nothing but obedient," she said. Todd inclined his head briefly to her. "It is John who needs to learn."
"What?" John said, reflexively, but no actual sound came out of his mouth. Teyla ignored him anyway.
"Todd," she said. "You will strip him. Slowly. John..." she paused, catching his gaze and holding it. He had always trusted Teyla. Always. But all this Wraith mind-whammy business...she had been taken over once before. And there was the strange hold she seemed to have over Todd. John felt a thrill of fear go through him.
But when he looked into her warm, brown eyes, he saw only Teyla there. Strong and unrelenting and definitely in charge, but Teyla nonetheless.
John swallowed and willed himself to stillness as Todd's fingers touched the first button at his throat. He couldn't help the slight trembling though. Adrenaline. And the sudden breath of cool air against his damp skin raised goosebumps wherever Todd's knuckles brushed against his chest. Todd worked methodically and without hurry. Each button's surrender was followed by a gentle parting of the cloth of his shirt, Todd's slow concentrated gaze.
It was still way too soon when the long nailed fingers came to rest on his belt buckle. He waited, trying to clamp down on the rising tension but Todd made no move to unbuckle it. Instead John felt the tip of one bony finger brushing the tender skin under the waistband of his jeans. It tickled, and worse, it sent tiny electric shivers through him that made him want to move. He'd been half hard since they'd made out. Now he found it hard to keep his rising arousal in check. His cock thickened uncomfortably in his jeans.
"Would you get on with it," John hissed under his breath. Todd smirked his strange Wraith smirk.
"You wish to be naked before me, John Sheppard," he said it too low and close for anyone to have heard him but it made John want to shut him up with a fist anyway.
"What I wish..." John began, but he was interrupted by Teyla.
"I do not believe I told either of you you could speak," she said, sternly, coming up beside them and pulling them both down to her face by the simple expedient of grasping them both by the hair. She leaned in and bit Todd's ear and then John's-a sharp, hot little nip that nearly made him gasp. Then she leaned in closer.
"He is nearby," she said speaking low and very fast: "I can sense him watching. If we are to lure him out of hiding we must give him what he cannot resist. You must be perfect." She released them and said, in a louder voice, for the crowd. "Now, behave and be silent."
Todd inclined his head submissively, but John had to gather his strength not to spin around and look for their quarry. Todd's hands on his belt again brought his focus back to what they were doing.
This time Todd didn't hesitate. He smoothly undid the buckle and then the button and zipper of John's fly. John's erection had wilted somewhat but when Todd slipped his hands under both waistbands and went to one knee in front of him, it surged again.
What the hell was wrong with him? John thought, but he didn't have time to contemplate an answer as Todd slid pants and boxers down to his ankles where they rested on top of his boots.
He stared down at Todd-human-faced Todd, who was no longer monstrous but striking, whose human-painted lips had parted softly only inches from his cock. It'd been too damn long since he'd been in this position with-well, with anyone, except in his head. John's hips jerked again involuntarily and Todd looked up at him, his face suddenly gone soft and serious.
He mouthed something silently. "Brother..." John realized and it made heat pool again at his groin. He knew he was supposed to be keeping it together here, but he was starting to feel hazy with need.
Teyla's hands at his shoulders sent more waves of gooseflesh down his sides. She tugged at his shirt, pulled it off his shoulders, leaving it hanging from his wrists and he was naked. John's mouth was dry, his breath coming fast. Teyla wrapped her strong fingers around his shoulders and started to turn him.
He resisted, but only for a second. They had to be perfect. He had no idea what that entailed, but he knew it meant following Teyla's lead. He let her move him, shuffling to keep his balance against the restraint of his pooled jeans, as she turned him outward to face the crowd.
He tried not to, but he had to close his eyes against the glittering brightness of the patrons, the appreciative murmurs, the weight of their combined gaze. Even when he narrowed them to slits, he could feel them like a wash of heat against his chest and belly, heating his face, his thighs. He couldn't see Teyla with his eyes half closed like that but he could feel her, cool as a blade behind him, a gentle breath of her light, spicy perfume.
And then Teyla's fingers were in his hair again, pulling him back. He stumbled this time, and Teyla's fist tightened in his hair, making his scalp sting. John didn't fall, though. There was something solid behind his knees and reflexively he tried to turn his head to look.
He didn't get a real look before Teyla's implacable grip pulled his head back around, so a whiff of leather was all the warning he had before his hips were caught by strong hands and he was pulled back and down onto what he realized with a kind of numb horror was Todd's leather clad lap.
His eyes sprang open and he looked to Teyla in disbelief. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't in any dark or bright corner of his fantasy life that Teyla would pull his head back and kiss him.
If he'd been thinking, he would have stopped the whole charade right there and then. But how could he think with Teyla's mouth lush against his -- her lips full and soft, tongue sweet and hot against his own, stroking him open. His hands rose automatically to reach for her, but Todd had shifted his embrace and now held him tight around the chest, pinning his arms to his sides.
The combined sensations were too much for him and John moaned into Teyla's mouth, the sound of his own helpless desire making his cheeks flame with embarrassment. It didn't lessen it in any way.
Nor did it stop Teyla from taking what she wanted from him, kiss after long sweet kiss until John was nearly writhing.
Teyla pulled back from him too soon and John's mouth followed hers.
"Sorry," he gasped. "Can't help it."
"John, " Teyla said. "You are doing well. You are ... perfect." Her voice still sounded confident and calm but John was close enough to see that her eyes were shining and there was the most amazing dimple at one upturned corner of her mouth.
"You..." he began, but Teyla had straightened her shoulders, settled her face back into the regal calm and the hand that was not still entwined in his hair stroked his jaw, trailed down his throat, finger resting on the pulse there. John's mouth went dry again. He was very hard now, too turned on for clear thought.
Her nails carded through the hair on his chest, brushed over his nipple. He shivered, a strangely erotic sensation, and then Teyla pulled him in for another quick, deep kiss before releasing him entirely and sinking to her knees.
John felt heat rise in his cheeks again as Teyla lifted his foot to her lap and began undoing his boot. It seemed almost more perverse than anything else they'd done, and hotter. Todd must have thought so too, because his grip on John's arms tightened and for the first time John became aware of the hard length of what must be Todd's erection pressing against him through the leather. God, he didn't want to think about that. About the familiarity of it, the sudden sense memory of the two of them grinding together as Todd had filled him with the Gift of Life. It made him want to grind back against it or pull away. Either way, he was in trouble.
Teyla gracefully levered his boot free and peeled off his sock. The cool air on his bare foot made him feel even more naked than being naked, if that was possible. Something inside him gave way then, softly, the way foundations slip away in a flood. He felt suddenly loose, light, almost drunk.
Teyla freed his other foot, pulling away the last bit of his armor with his jeans and he was naked in a way that had nothing to do with losing all his clothes. His whole body seemed to uncoil and he let his head fall back on Todd's shoulder. The dark heat in Teyla's eyes almost too bright to look at without the well-fortified fiction of their lives-that they didn't do this. Didn't want this. He couldn't hide any of it from her like this.
He knew that he should be more scared that he didn't want to. The sharp shock of teeth in the bared crook of his neck should have scared him, too, but it was followed immediately by the slick heat and suction of Todd's mouth at his pulse point and John's whole body arched up on a rolling wave of arousal.
"Oh yes," Teyla breathed. "Like that." Todd did it again, and then again-fiercely, harder each time until John thought he must be drawing blood but it didn't hurt at all.
Teyla's nails gently raked his inner thighs and John's body rolled again as she lifted first one of his legs and then the other, settling each on on the outside of Todd's thighs, spreading him wider. John's feet no longer touched the floor and Teyla's fingers were relentless, drawing trails of cold fire up to and around his aching dick.
"Beautiful," someone said, a man with a low rough voice, and John couldn't help but picture himself. Naked. Vulnerable. Open. There was a Wraith out there watching, waiting for his chance. There was a Wraith right behind him. Holding him, and Todd's grip was suddenly too tight. The dreamy feeling was fractured by panic, and John half-surged, frantic, before fighting himself still.
"John!" Teyla said sternly. She'd come up with him, and her palm was against his chest.
"Teyla," he said through his teeth, so that she leaned in, "I can't. Not…not…"
But even that close, her eyes stayed implacable, without a flicker of awareness that she was playing a role. A fear glittered through him, and he sank his teeth into his lip so as not to whimper. They stared at each other, John desperately trying to guess what was behind her expression. Clinging to his faith in her abilities. If she'd been taken over, his only hope was instant action. It couldn't be. She wouldn't let it happen. He had to let go and trust her to take care of them.
The crowd seemed to be holding its breath, even though they couldn't possibly understand what was going on. He felt his quads cramping with the effort of holding them motionless. Sweat streamed into his eyes, and he didn't dare blink it away.
"I fear it was my fault, mistress," Todd's voice finally broke in. "In my clumsiness, I hit a nerve cluster."
He sounded oddly-courtly-and John had to swallow a wild laugh. Teyla nodded and broke their gaze. "You should be more careful, Todd," she said. "John is more fragile than you."
She kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "Well done. He is almost close enough, now."
John almost sagged from the adrenaline rebound. Teyla was saying something else, softly, to Todd, and then he was being moved, shifted around by hands. More than four, he thought blearily, but before that could fully register, he was stretched out on a nearby couch, and Teyla was lowering his head into her lap.
The leather of her skirt was wonderfully supple under his cheek. He could smell a dark undertone that conjured up images of the Athosian forests, and, that close, he could smell her. The combination was so primal he knew he'd never be able to see her in leather again without dreaming of fucking her, wild and wordless, somewhere far away from all the rules and responsibilities of their two worlds. His cock had already hardened again. But he knew he needed to lay still now.
John became aware that Todd had settled himself at about his knees, wriggling his legs under John's. He felt suspended between the two of them. They were both stroking him-slow, sensuous touches that seemed random yet at the same time felt like they were building to something. John shifted a little, aware of the softness of Teyla's thighs, the heat of her sex so near his cheek. Aware too of the strength in Todd's hands where they cupped his thighs, the thumbs stroking the tender skin between them. He shifted again, wanting to stay as still as they needed him to be, but not able to keep his body from trying to follow the lines and whorls of arousal the two of them were working into his skin. He reached blindly for something to hold himself still against.
Perhaps they sensed how close he was to breaking. Teyla took pity on him and grasped his reaching hand with one of her own. With her other hand, she stroked his face, ran her fingers lightly across his lips. He opened his mouth at her touch and she slipped a finger inside.
"Suck," she said and he obeyed fervently, sucking each of her fingers as she dipped them between his lips, singly and then two and three at once.
"My queen," Todd said, with a ragged need in his voice that made John smirk, "he is too-I must-"
"You must?" Teyla cut him off with a stern tone that gave John more childish pleasure.
Todd's hands stopped. "I mean, if it is your will."
There was a long pause.
"If your slave is too unruly, mistress..." The voice from the crowd was deep and darkly insinuating. John felt Teyla's whole body tense at the sound. Todd's hands tightened on his thighs and John jerked his head up in sudden fury.
Son of a bitch, he thought. How dare he address the...the...John's head swam with sudden images of Teyla towering over him as he knelt, his mind bending easily to her will. The thought made his heart pound wildly in his chest, anger and arousal feeding into one another. His gaze searched the crowd but he caught only glimpses-a solid circle of bodies, flowing skirts and naked flesh and leather. Some were watching, others kneeling, still others writhed at the edge of his vision.
Teyla guided his head back down into her lap.
"Be still," she said, firmly, and John felt his body relax of its own volition. There was a silent tension growing between Teyla and Todd. John knew he should care more somehow, but it was as if Teyla's command had stilled his mind as much as his body. He waited, content to let Teyla take the lead.
"It has been too long since you bowed to the will of a queen, has it not, Todd?" she asked.
"Yes," Todd said reluctantly.
"You have missed it."
"…yes."
"In fact, you crave it," she said.
Another pause. John could feel the tension between them ratchet up another notch. She was doing something, pushing Todd in some way. John could tell by the way Todd's hands twitched restlessly against his thighs how much the Wraith wanted to give in to her. How hard he fought against his own desire. John knew that feeling well. He'd never realized how foolish it was to put up the front of resistance.
"I-perhaps-yes," Todd hissed.
"It is more important to you than your brothers," she said, very quiet, very sure.
Give it up, John thought, languorously. Teylas fingers moved in tiny circles against his scalp. It shouldn't have been such a turn on, but from her it was.
Todd's voice was thick with feeling when it came. "As it has been always, my queen."
John sighed, awash with satisfaction.
"Good," she said. "Fealty has its rewards, Todd. You may claim your desire."
It didn't occur to John to wonder what that was until he felt Todd shifting again. He was immediately aware then of the hardness pressing against him.
"Woah," he said, attempting clumsily to sit up again. "Woah...wait..."
"John...?" Teyla said, catching him by the shoulders. Her tone was so perfectly arch, that for a moment he felt like a disobedient child caught sneaking out of school before the bell rang. He caught himself automatically lying back down. He forced himself to fight the urge. For a second, he was pushing against a massive weight in his mind, but almost as he sensed it, it vanished.
He sat up panting, Teyla's hands still light and warm around his arms.
"John," Teyla said, again. "What is wrong?"
"I..." For a second, he had no idea, but then he looked up and saw Todd between his legs. Todd's expression was avid. The humanized eyes gone glassy blue and soft.
"I can't," John said. "Not..." he glanced from Todd to the half-seen crowd, and swallowed thickly. Teyla hesitated, and John watched a look pass between her and Todd.
"You can, John," Teyla said, in that calm, implacable tone that took his breath away. "And I will tell you why." She had moved up so that she was pressed up against his back, and now she brought her lips to his ear. "John, he is here," she said, her archly confident tone changed to a low and urgent whisper. "He is here and I believe he has guessed our purpose and so does not reveal himself. Still he has not run and I think it is the possibility of this that holds him. If you truly cannot do this, then of course we shall find some other way. But if it is only your pride..."
John swallowed again. "Only" his pride. Only his pride, which he figured had probably run screaming into the night hand in hand with his dignity about the time he had humped Todd's leg while checking out his tonsils. It was just...this was... It was... His face prickled with embarrassment and the fact that that made him even harder was testament to how... whatever... it was.
And still not worth another human life. He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax against her, nodding.
"Okay," he said, tightly."Just..." He glared at Todd.
"I will be... gentle," Todd said, unable to hold back his smirk.
"You will sheath yourself in this," Teyla cut in sharply before John had a chance to bristle. She handed Todd a small, plastic square. Todd looked at it as though she'd handed him a small, live mammal, but he took it, and after a long moment he tore the plastic and removed the shiny latex condom. Now it was Todd's turn to glare.
John could only imagine the look Teyla must have returned, because Todd bent his head and, muttering under his breath, lowered the condom to somewhere below John's line of sight.
It occurred to John that maybe he should have looked over Zelenka's shoulder at the Wraith genitalia entry that time that McKay downloaded the virused database. It occurred to him also that there were some things man was probably not meant to know.
And then he wasn't thinking anymore, he was lying back and gasping as Teyla sucked at his neck and Todd spread his legs and lifted him up and took John deep into his mouth.
If he'd flagged during his brief panic attack, and he couldn't honestly have said whether he had or not, he was back to full arousal now. Their onslaught on his body was merciless. He could hear himself making sounds, trying to choke them off before they escaped into the crowd.
And oh, God... the crowd. Those people, cool eyes watching them, amused to see them-to see him spread out like this, watching him want it. God, if they only knew what Todd really was. Maybe they did know, which meant that they knew what he was. John shuddered, the icy wash of shame feeding into the unstoppable arousal. He needed to come. He had to come, but he couldn't.
Fuck, they weren't letting him.
He could feel it now, the way they brought him right to the edge and then backed off just that much-Teyla with her lips and tongue, her clever fingers at his mouth, across his nipples-and Todd following Teyla like a... a thing that follows another thing, Todd's mouth sucking and licking at him in turns-sharp teeth capped with smooth but his tongue was still alien enough-like a cat's, muscular and pointed.
And then Todd's fingers. As clever as Teyla's but long and pressing inside of him. Breaching him and sliding deep, stroking him open while that inhuman tongue, wandered everywhere -- dick, balls, thighs.
Everywhere but where he needed it.
He needed it. Please. He bucked helplessly between their hands and mouths. "Please..."
"Yes," Teyla said, her voice a rough whisper. "Now. Take him now."
John felt the tight shiver that ran through Todd's thighs as he sat up and back, his hands moving to John's hips to lift him. Lower him.
The blunt head of Todd's dick at his hole felt impossibly huge. But those finger had done their work on him and it slipped into him almost painlessly and he slid down and down...
He thought he might be whimpering, his thighs trembling as Todd's dick filled and filled him, but then his ass pressed down against Todd's thighs and he realized the Wraith was in no better shape-trembling all over, mouth open, head back. He seemed frozen like that and John's hips jerked fitfully and without leverage to give them strength. Todd shook his head, but still didn't move and John couldn't take it.
He grabbed Todd's hair in both hands and pulled him close, Todd's eyes shot open, his mouth curled in a sudden snarl.
"She said now, goddamit," John said, yanking. "Now."
Teyla didn't say anything, but he felt it-the way her mental grip tightened just as his physical one did. The transformation was instant and nearly terrifying. Todd roared and lifted his hips, fucking hard into John. It should have hurt and maybe it did hurt, but it hit like a hammer on flint, sparking inside him again and again until everything caught fire, lighting him up everywhere and so he came.
As the pleasure subsided, he realized he could feel Teyla trembling and breathing hard behind him. The queen, he thought fuzzily, they'd pleased the queen, he and his brother, and the thought was like a long gentle echo of his orgasm. Todd lay where he had fallen between John's thighs, his cheek cool against John's stomach, his breath hitching in his throat. John could have stayed there forever like that, pressed between the two of them-but then Teyla was moving, gone, letting his head drop to the couch. A few seconds later, and Todd was scrambling after her. John blinked, unable to process the abandonment, the air washing cold over the sweaty skin where they'd been holding him.
Something crashed, and someone screamed, and someone else hissed, "Traitor!"
The Wraith echoes in the voice startled John to a half-sitting position. Teyla had another man on his knees, arm twisted up behind him in a way that should have dislocated his shoulder, while Todd wiped blood from his mouth. The crowd had hushed and drawn back.
Not another man, of course. The Wraith they'd been tracking, made up a lot like Todd, except he wore sunglasses that now dangled askew from his face. Teyla jerked on his arm. "Be silent!"
The Wraith stiffened, his mouth clamping shut, and John watched a little burst of painful ecstasy work through him. He wondered if that was what he'd looked like, but shoved the thought aside.
Then he shoved himself to his feet.
"Um..." he croaked, staggering a little. He cleared his throat. A few faces turned to him curiously. And okay, he hadn't felt this awkward and useless in front of a crowd of freaked out civilians since his first mission, landing a Blackhawk full of medics in the main square of a blown-out peasant village... Which was a long, long time ago. And he could only do what he'd done then.
Fake it 'til you make it had been a personal motto for long enough that he could play the role of John Sheppard, military authority, sober or drunk. Or stark naked and in need of therapy and a shower.
"Okay, folks," he said, "We're law enforcement officers, and this man is under arrest…" Now everyone was staring at him, their expressions running the gamut from skepticism to shocked disbelief and outright anger. John had to pause a second to shove down the rising sense of his own ridiculousness before he just plowed on ahead. "I'm sure a lot of you would prefer not to be around when our backup arrives, so if you'd like to save yourself the embarrassment, feel free to sneak off right now."
The older woman said coolly, "You might have warned us."
John wanted to hit her, but closed his eyes until the feeling passed. He heard Teyla say, just as cool, "It was not possible."
"We were undercover, lady," John said.
Her eyes swept over him, and she raised an eyebrow. "If you say so, officer…?"
He flushed. "I do."
"In that case, you won't have any reason to come back. Good." She turned away and raised her voice. "All right, everyone, you know what to do…"
The crowd began to thin rapidly. It occurred to John that he could probably save himself not only embarrassment, but a possible court martial, if he got his damn clothes back on before the SGC's Men In Black arrived. He looked around, but, in the confusion, he couldn't find them. This night just kept getting better.
He was at the point of considering a toga made from the draperies when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled to find Todd holding out an armful of clothes.
"These aren't mine," John said, gingerly fingering the leather pants and vest Todd held out to him.
"I couldn't find yours," Todd said. "Perhaps when your marines arrive..."
"Goddamn it," John said. He grabbed the ridiculous fetishwear and struggled with it. He could sense Todd's amusement, but whether the wraith was openly laughing at him, he couldn't tell. He told himself it didn't matter that he couldn't bring himself to look Todd in the face.
By the time he got dressed, the room was empty. Without the people, it was just another dim, smoky underground chamber. Nothing to see here, folks, move along.
"And now," Todd said, "for my half of the bargain."
It took John a minute to remember what he was referring to. Then he looked at Teyla and shrugged. She nodded.
Regardless of what certain optimists at the SGC liked to think, it wasn't like Todd would have cooperated with them just for the chance at a little night air.
"Do it quick," John said. "There's not much time."
Todd approached the other Wraith, whose eyes widened.
"Do not kill him," Teyla ordered. "He must be interrogated."
"Yes, my queen," Todd murmured.
It was only later that John thought to be troubled by his use of the title, or the faint avidity in Teyla's eyes as Todd laid his hand on the other's chest.
Even though it felt endless, the post mission briefing was relatively brief, being long on details about which the brass couldn't ask and John had no intention of telling. Thank God they'd let him grab a quick shower and a change of clothes before facing Woolsey and O'Neill and the various IOA bean counters and government flunkies. Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling they were giving him sly, sidelong looks, sharing knowing glances with one another.
And why shouldn't they? The more he thought about what had happened, the weirder it all seemed. He had his fair share of sexual fantasies, but he was pretty certain none of them involved Todd and crowds of strangers in latex corsets.
But this had been, if he were going to be honest about it, not only the best sex he'd ever had, but better than the best sex he could even imagine. He'd been totally out of control. Out of his body, almost, he'd been so turned on. And at the same time, he'd never felt so safe and right as he had in Teyla's arms. Even now, just looking at her helped him keep his cool.
He even found himself leaning closer to her chair at the briefing table, trying to catch a whiff of her warm, spicy scent. She glanced at him and smiled and the warm flush of pleasure and pride it gave him made him quickly avert his gaze. He'd been perfect, she'd said. And her cheeks were still flushed with her obvious satisfaction.
"Well, gentlemen and ladies and... any disguised aliens who may or may not be in the room," the General said, interrupting John's musing. "I think we can call this mission a delightfully suprirsing success. So...good night." John half-expected to be called back for a private debrief, but apparently whatever O'Neill and Woolsey suspected about how they'd smoked out the Wraith and made the arrest, they really were satisfied with the bare bones report. O'Neill shook all their hands and grabbed a chopper back to Colorado, and that was that. For him, anyway.
There was still the matter of the captured Wraith.
John had hoped for a word with Teyla before they went down to do the interrogation, but Woolsey insisted on accompanying them. The interrogation went surprisingly smoothly. John had a bad moment or two at the beginning, when the Wraith seemed intent on dropping innuendo about what had happened at the club, but a meaningful glance from Teyla and the casual mention of the other, hungry Wraith in the cell down the hall changed his attitude. He sullenly gave up information on the possible hiding places of other Wraith who'd gotten through the rift.
It was still more than a couple of hours before they finished. The three of them rode together in the transporter, Woolsey going on, in his way, about the operations to come and the obvious problem of what to do with the Wraith as they captured them. John nodded along, only half-listening. The adrenaline that had kept him going had dissipated, leaving him feeling hollowed out and a little shaky on his feet. The smart thing to do would be grab something to eat and go the hell to bed. What he wanted to do was curl up at Teyla's feet right there in the transporter and soak up her warmth.
There was something wrong with that idea, he knew, but at that moment he couldn't put his finger on it. He was still pondering it, lazily, when the transporter stopped and Woolsey exited, tossing them one final congratulations.
Finally alone with Teyla, John recalled vaguely that there had been something he wanted to do, but when he looked at Teyla, her smile wiped it from his mind.
She was so amazing. Her strength, her determination, her kindness. He'd always shut these feelings away, and even more so since she'd become a mother and something like a wife. But now he couldn't seem to hold them back. He wanted to-
But the transporter stopped again, disrupting the unformed thought. Teyla tilted her head for a second, and a wicked gleam flashed in her eye. She turned to him and took his face in her hands. She looked up at him, waiting, and when he didn't do anything of the things he might normally have done to fend off the moment, she spoke.
"You did well tonight, John," she said. "Better than I ever imagined you could." She pressed a kiss to his forehead, and a warm lazy curl of pleasure swirled through him.
Like before, and suddenly it was all very real and vivid to him again. But there was no mission now. If she was offering, it was because it'd been so good, and if he let go it was because he wanted it. Even if it was just for a minute or two.
He leaned in and took her mouth in a soft, sweet, reverent kiss. It felt like taking a step off a very high cliff, like freefall. He couldn't have stopped if he wanted to and he really, really didn't want to. It was Teyla who broke the kiss, pushing him gently away.
John waited for the inevitable hard landing.
Teyla just smiled at him.
"There will come a time, John," she said. "The City of the Ancients cannot stay in this galaxy forever."
He nodded fervently. Of course it couldn't. He was so unbelievably grateful that she understood. She stroked the side of his face affectionately.
"I'm glad you will be with us, John," she said, gazing deeply into his eyes. "When the time comes." The transporter started moving. He was falling again, but slowly this time, sinking down to his knees, his heart full of some upwelling emotion. He wanted that. To be with her, flying Atlantis back to Pegasus where they all belonged.
"Yes," he said, breathlessly, ardently, losing himself in the word and the feeling. "Yes."
The indicator chimed. Teyla pulled him to his feet again as the transporter slowed to a stop.
"I guess I'm more tired than I thought," John said, rising with effort. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd been doing down there, but he hoped, after everything else she'd seen him do, that she'd let it slide. He wasn't really worried though.
Teyla had his back, she always would.