Merry Christmas, Jack

By

zoodenizen

Daniel was smashed. Jack knew that Daniel was smashed because Daniel had just giggled. Daniel never giggled unless he'd had too much to drink.

Daniel was also leaving. Now, Jack was never happy to see Daniel leaving. Sappy as it sounded, the world was always a brighter place for Jack when Daniel was within reach. There was just something about the man, whether it was his shy, sweet smile or his beautiful blue eyes or his deep, gentle voice...Hell, Jack could wax lyrical about Daniel's many attributes for hours - days even.

Naturally no one would ever know that he was such a sap. He'd go to his grave long before he'd reveal that to anyone...ever. Well, he might consider telling Daniel.

Of course he'd have to tell Daniel that he was in love with him first.

Jack looked over at his still giggling friend and sighed. Yeah, right he would. He hadn't worked up the courage to reveal his feelings yet and it had been more than two years since he'd realized that he was in love with his best friend.

Jack stood up from the chair that he'd been sitting on then headed towards the front door of the restaurant and Daniel. He checked his watch and smiled when he saw that it was barely past midnight. It looked like he was going to be able to make an early night of it after all since he didn't plan on coming back after dropping Daniel off at his apartment.

Giving his inebriated friend a ride home was the perfect way to leave before the party ended at 0300 without half the base teasing the shit out of him with comments about his age and stamina.

He wasn't sorry that he came though. Janet really knew how to throw a party and he'd had a good time. He'd especially enjoyed watching Daniel relax and have fun.

The annual SGC Christmas party was the only party that Daniel ever voluntarily attended and it was, as far as Jack could tell, the only celebrating that Daniel did at Christmas time.

The man was far too serious and self-contained.

This year Janet had out done herself. She'd booked the Briarhurst Manor for the night, one of the best restaurants in the area. The place was built in the 1880's and was, according to Daniel, modeled after an English Country House, complete with bubbling brook. Daniel had nearly hyperventilated when he'd first seen the place and Jack had been forced to physically drag the protesting archeologist back to the party when it became obvious that Daniel was going to spend the night grilling the hostess about the Manor's history.

The food was great, not a single rubber chicken in sight, and the booze was plentiful, hence yon giggling geek.

Jack reached Daniel just in time to catch him when his uncoordinated fumbling with his coat caused him to stumble and lose his balance.

"Woah, there, Danny, you're gonna make yourself sea sick."

Daniel giggled again and said, "Thanks, Jack."

Jack helped Daniel into his coat and said, "You weren't planning on driving, right?"

Daniel looked at him with big, wounded eyes. "Course not. I'm taking a cab."

"No you're not. You're coming home with me."

Daniel blinked his eyes slowly. "'Kay," he said and smiled dopily.

Jack's heart gave a little lurch and he smiled back.

He put an arm around Daniel, intending to guide his tipsy friend to his truck, but before they could go anywhere Jack became aware of the commotion going on in the room that he'd just left. He turned his head to look behind him and saw several drunken revelers banging their utensils against their glasses.

He groaned.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Daniel asked and then he too looked behind them.

Daniel grinned. He looked at Jack and then clumsily pointed at the archway above them. "Mistletoe. Means we hafta kiss."

Jack's heart started pounding loud enough, he was sure, to be heard over the cat calls and blaring music. "Nuh-o. No. We don't..." He said but his protest lacked conviction.

"Sure we do. It's tradition."

"Um, Daniel, it's traditional for a guy to kiss a girl under the mistletoe, or vice versa, not for two men to kiss."

Daniel shifted under Jack's arm to more fully face him. With big, sad eyes and a quivering lip he said, "You're not homer...homif...bigoted, are you?"

"Of course not! How could you even ask that?"

Daniel looked sheepishly down at his feet, swayed a bit, and then said, "Sorry, Jack."

A second later, Daniel suddenly threw his arms up and over Jack's shoulders and collapsed against Jack, resting most of his weight on Jack. Jack stumbled and wrapped his arms around Daniel's waist in an attempt to keep his balance.

It worked until Daniel's lips landed on his.

One second he was sober and in control and the next he was weak-kneed and having the shit kissed out of him. And Daniel could really kiss. If he'd been capable of rational thought then he would have wondered about how amazing kissing Daniel would be if Daniel was sober. But he wasn't so he didn't. Instead, when Daniel's mouth touched his he'd opened his lips to let out a shocked gasp - that was his story and he was sticking to it - and Daniel's tongue had immediately set out to excavate his tonsils.

It was only instinct that caused his tongue to duel with Daniel's.

And it was only his worry about Daniel falling over that kept him from pushing Daniel away. Honest.

Right. He wasn't buying any of that.

He was eagerly reciprocating and he knew it.

But Daniel could really kiss.

After far too short a time Daniel pulled away and breathlessly said, "Love you, Jack."

As Daniel dropped his head onto Jack's shoulder and the party goers in the background whistled, clapped, and shouted out their approval of the show that they'd just thoughtlessly put on, Jack desperately tried to draw air into lungs paralyzed from shock.

Daniel had just said that he loved him.

"Um...Daniel? Did you just...?"

"Home, James," Daniel said into Jack's shoulder and giggled again.

Shit! Daniel was drunk. He didn't know what he was saying. He probably loved everyone right now.

Well, maybe not everyone. Daniel never got that soppy even when he was smashed. Still, he hadn't meant that he was in love with Jack. He only meant that he loved Jack as a friend.

"Come on, Daniel; time to get you into bed."

Jack managed to rearrange Daniel in his arms and led the sotted, but accommodating, linguist out to his truck.

He propped Daniel up against the side of the truck while he pulled out his keys and tried to unlock the door. Tried being the operative word since Daniel had suddenly become all touchy-feely and kept grabbing at Jack.

Jack pushed Daniel flat against the truck and pinned his arms at his sides. "Daniel, please!" He said and then made the mistake of looking directly into the big, blue eyes inches away from him.

Momentarily distracted, he rested his weight against Daniel and tried to remember what he had been doing or saying seconds earlier. Then Daniel licked his lips and softly said Jack's name.

Before he knew it he was touching his lips to Daniel's, pressing their mouths together. The tip of Daniel's tongue slipped out and stroked wetly across Jack's lips. Jack opened his mouth and invited it in to play.

The sound of someone - him - moaning snapped Jack back to his senses. He pulled back and had to fight not to dive back into the kiss when Daniel whimpered a protest.

He rested his forehead against Daniel's for a moment and said, "Home. We need to get you home."

He peeled Daniel's arms off of his shoulders because sometime during the kiss Daniel had wrapped his arms around Jack. How long had they been standing out here necking?

He quickly unlocked the door, Daniel wasn't interfering this time, and bundled Daniel inside.

Once he'd started up the truck and was heading back to Daniel's apartment, he took a few deep breaths and tried to cool his overheated libido.

If he was lucky Daniel wouldn't remember any of this in the morning. If he wasn't lucky...

If he wasn't lucky then he was going to have to explain to his best friend, and secret love, why he'd been making out in a parking lot with said friend - while that friend was drunk no less.

Jack winced and nearly groaned out loud. He'd taken advantage of Daniel. What kind of friend - what kind of man - was he to do that to someone who trusted him, someone he loved?

He was an asshole. A Grade "A", 100 percent, unredeemable bas...

His self-flagellation was abruptly cut off by the feel of a hand stroking along his thigh.

A hand that definitely wasn't his.

He dared a glance down at his lap and, sure enough, there was Daniel's hand.

Daniel's long-fingered, sensual hand. Stroking slowly up and down the length of his thigh, kneading into the muscle and sliding in between his legs and up towards...

"Daniel!" Jack cried out and jerked backwards as he reached down to grab the maddening hand that was doing such incredible things. He was hard enough to pound nails and he was beginning to sweat.

He'd done something really evil recently to deserve this kind of torture.

"Daniel, stop."

"Don't wanna," Daniel replied. Jack looked over at Daniel and was treated to the sight of Daniel in full pout. He groaned and shifted in his seat trying to relieve some of the aching pressure on his dick in his now too tight jeans.

"Daniel, we can't...You don't really want..." Jack took a deep breath and tried again to speak coherently. "You're drunk, Daniel. You don't know what you're doing right now."

"Not a child, Jack. I know what I'm doing." Daniel said and tightened his grip on Jack's hand.

The hand that Jack had never released after removing it from his thigh. He groaned and decided that it was safer for everyone if he just hung on to that wandering hand.

"Let's just try to get back to your place without killing ourselves in a fiery wreck. Alright, Daniel?"

"'Kay," was the sullen murmur from the perplexing man beside him.

Luckily, Daniel stopped trying to feel him up so they made it back to Daniel's in one piece and Jack's arousal had subsided enough that it was no longer painful. He figured the cold night air would finish the job when he got out to help Daniel into his apartment. Daniel was in no shape to make it there on his own.

It would all be over soon. If he was lucky then Daniel would pass out the minute Jack dumped him on his bed. Jack would then be able to leave Daniel alone without worrying that he'd do something stupid. And he'd be able to go home and jerk off to fantasies of a beautiful, naked linguist.

After that he'd repent whatever sins landed him in this hell and forget that this night had ever happened.

Yeah, right. And there was this really nice bridge for sale that he was thinking of buying...

Pulling up in front of Daniel's apartment building, he repeated his new mantra. It would all be over soon.

Including his career, most likely.

He hauled Daniel out of the truck and helped him up to his apartment door where he encountered an unanticipated problem.

"Daniel? Where are your keys?"

Daniel looked up at Jack from under his lashes and batted his eyes. "In my pocket."

"You wanna get them out for me?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. You get them."

"No." Jack said. There was no way that he was hunting around in Daniel's pockets for the keys. With Jack's luck it would be in the left, front pocket of Daniel's jeans, the pocket that was on the side of Daniel that Jack wasn't.

"No?"

"No."

"OK," Daniel said but didn't make any move to get the keys.

"Daniel?"

"If you want the key then you get it," was Daniel's reply and Jack was treated to another pout.

Jack groaned. Oh, yeah. His career was so gonna be over after tonight.

He hesitated a moment, trying to decide on a strategy. Should he go straight for the most likely place, given his luck tonight, which was Daniel's left, front pocket, or should he try that pocket last in the hope that he wouldn't have to go there at all?

"Fuck," he said and reached for the dreaded pocket.

"Sure," Daniel said and Jack's hand froze inches away from Daniel, right in front of his dick.

"What?"

"You said 'fuck' and I said 'sure'," Daniel explained and rocked his hips forward.

And Jack found himself with a handful of aroused archeologist.

Jack's semi-subsided erection went back to rock hard. He couldn't take this any more.

He pinned Daniel against the wall and observed Daniel's parted lips and dilated eyes.

Heart pounding, he reached down and in one swift move reached into Daniel's pocket, grabbed his keys - and nothing else - and pulled them out.

He knew that his Special Ops training would come in handy some day.

He opened the door and pulled Daniel into the apartment.

"Bed now, Jack."

"Yeah, bed now," he replied and helped Daniel negotiate the ups and downs of his apartment.

He lowered Daniel onto the bed and easily evaded Daniel's uncoordinated attempts to grab him.

Daniel gave up on pulling Jack onto the bed and closed his eyes.

Jack pulled off Daniel's shoes and decided that Daniel was going to have to sleep in his clothes because Jack didn't trust himself anywhere near a semi-naked Daniel.

He wasn't too sure that he could trust himself around a fully clothed Daniel right now.

Turning to leave, Jack heard Daniel say, "Don't go."

He turned back to the bed to find Daniel's eyes open again and those unfocused eyes looking in his direction. "Get some sleep, Daniel, before we do something that you'll regret in the morning."

Daniel frowned and his eyes slipped closed again. "Won't regret it. Love you."

Jack sucked in air, feeling like he'd been punched in the gut. Could Daniel really mean...?

Then Daniel sighed out Jack's name with such need and longing that Jack had to sit down on the edge of the bed or fall down.

"Daniel?" He said and looked over at his friend, only to find that Daniel had finally passed out.

He moved over to Daniel's side and stroked a hand down Daniel's cheek.

Maybe tonight hadn't been so terrible after all.

Jack now knew that his love was returned, even if Daniel didn't remember anything tomorrow.

Jack headed for Daniel's couch. His plans had changed. He was going to be here in the morning when Daniel woke up and they were finally going to talk.

Hopefully, by this time tomorrow he'd be sleeping, or not sleeping as the case may be, in Daniel's arms.

***

It was nearly 1030 when Jack finally heard Daniel stirring. He, on the other hand, had been awake since just past dawn and had been wavering between manic impatience and overwhelming terror.

He'd run to a near by convenience store earlier for a coffee because he'd needed something to do to kill the time until Daniel woke up. Although, he had spent some time thinking about brewing some coffee, hoping that the smell would wake Daniel sooner. But he'd eventually decided that things would go a lot smoother if Daniel wasn't in a pissy mood.

He got up from the couch and headed into the kitchen to start the coffee brewing for Daniel. He was going to need it.

He also filled a glass with water and grabbed a bottle of aspirin. Before he could bring them to Daniel, the man stumbled out into the kitchen, still wearing his clothes from the night before and looking sexy as hell.

Daniel grunted a hello to Jack and headed for the coffee maker.

"It's not ready yet."

Without replying Daniel changed direction and headed for the sink. Jack stepped into his path and handed him the water and aspirin.

"Thanks," Daniel said and swallowed the pills.

"Go take a shower. The coffee will be ready when you get out."

Daniel looked at Jack for a moment, a considering look on his face. He opened his mouth as if to speak but then shut it and headed back towards his bedroom without saying another word.

Twenty minutes later Daniel was back. He sat down across the table from Jack and wrapped his hands around the full mug of coffee that Jack had placed there for him.

Without looking at Jack, Daniel said, "I wasn't sure you'd be here when I woke up."

"I almost wasn't," Jack admitted.

Daniel finally looked at him. "I'm glad that you stayed."

You would have thought that they were discussing the weather except that Daniel's knuckles were white from the death grip he had on his mug and Jack's heart was hammering in his chest.

This was it. The Moment of Truth.

"Yeah, well...I...You know."

Daniel smiled. "I do know. Now."

"Um..."

"I remember everything, Jack."

Jack arched an eyebrow. "Everything?"

Daniel blushed but didn't look away. "Yes. Everything.

"'...before we do something that you'll regret in the morning'," Daniel softly quoted to him. "You didn't say that you would regret it, Jack."

"I would have though."

Looking surprised and unhappy, Daniel said, "What?"

"I want our first time to be special, not some drunken roll in the hay." He said and swirled his index finger through a fresh coffee ring on the table, unwilling to meet Daniel's gaze. "That is...if we have a first time. I want a first time but maybe you..."

"I want a first time, too."

"Hey. That's good. Real good. Great even. You know, that you want a first time..."

"Jack," Daniel interrupted, with a grin. "Do you always babble like that before you kiss someone?"

When Daniel said "kiss" Jack focused in on that luscious mouth. They were going to kiss and then, probably, do a lot more than kiss. A thought occurred and Jack frowned. "Daniel, how's the hangover? Are you feeling alright?" Daniel wouldn't enjoy himself, and Jack needed him to enjoy himself, if he had a pounding headache.

"I'm fine, Jack."

That was exactly what he expected Daniel to say because Daniel was always fine, even with a gaping chest wound.

This whole declaring their feelings thing wasn't progressing quite like he'd expected. He'd envisioned lots of drama and tearful confessions. Instead, they didn't seem to need flowery declarations. They already knew each other inside and out; this was just one more facet to their relationship.

Not that they were completely at ease here. Daniel still had a white-knuckled grip on his coffee and every muscle in Jack's body was tensed. He felt like he did right before they stepped through the wormhole to a new world, braced for anything because they never knew what they'd find on the other side.

Jack was pulled out of his thoughts by Daniel's hand tugging him up from his chair.

"No more waiting, Jack."

Daniel was right, like usual, they'd waited five years for this moment to come. It was time, maybe even past time.

Doubts banished Jack wrapped his arms around Daniel, pulling him in close. "You feel so good in my arms."

Daniel smiled and captured Jack's lips in a passionate kiss.

Yeah. Daniel was right, again. The time for talking had passed.

***

Jack breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of his lover. Half awake, he had trouble believing that this wasn't just another dream.

"Are you sniffing me?" He heard a soft voice, rough with sleep, say.

Wide awake now, he tightened his arms, which were wrapped around Daniel's torso.

Jack buried his nose in the nape of Daniel's neck and snuffled loudly, like a dog sniffing out a scent. Daniel squirmed against him and laughed.

"You're nuts."

Jack placed a sucking kiss against Daniel's shoulder and said, "Yup. I'm completely crazy for you."

"Sap," Daniel accused.

"Never. You must be confusing me with some other drop-dead gorgeous Air Force Colonel."

Daniel chuckled. "Must be."

Daniel stretched, causing warm, silky skin to slide along the length of Jack's naked body.

"It's after midnight."

"Mmm," Jack replied and did a little rubbing of his own.

"It's Christmas morning." Daniel twisted his head and upper body so that he was facing Jack. "Merry Christmas, Jack," he said and bestowed on Jack a soft, loving kiss.

Jack returned the kiss with interest and agreed whole-heartedly with Daniel. It was a very Merry Christmas indeed because Jack had received the greatest gift of all... the love of the incredible man in his arms.

**The End**