Stargate SG-1: In For a Penny
“So, here’s the problem,” Vala Mal Doran stated, setting her drink down on the bar and folding her hands in front of her. “I know Daniel’s attracted to me, he’s just got a very bad case of denial. I’ve done my best to persuade him of this, but apparently I must be doing something wrong, as it doesn’t seem to be working.”
Jack set down his martini. “Which is where I come in.”
“Well, it makes a good deal of sense,” she argued with a sly smile. “And it was dreadfully kind of you to give me that temporal locator beacon or whatever it was. I did think about selling it, but I’m rather glad I didn’t–it’s proved useful, as you can see.” She covered his hand with hers, lips widening in a wicked smile and the gleam in her eyes bringing back pleasant memories. “But anyway, when my powers of persuasion fail, clearly the only thing left to do is bring in the one man I know who’s even more persuasive, and we combine forces. Which is exactly where you come in.”
He pretended to consider, but a smile matching hers in mischief was already trying to work its way onto his face. “So what does this Daniel Jackson look like?”
“Gorgeous,” she stated simply. “Tall, perfect body, face a sculptor would kill for, and the most amazing blue eyes.” She looked Jack up and down once, then smirked. “Rather like yourself, actually, although truth be told he doesn’t look a bit like you either.”
Jack grinned. “That’s okay. I like variety.”
Vala poked her tongue out between her teeth in a display that was girlish and seductive all at once. Her voice dipped into a low, sultry tone that he loved. “Oh, I remember. So, have we got a deal?”
“Depends,” he teased, delighting almost as much in tormenting her as he would when the torment ended in favor of a different kind. “What’s in it for me?”
Vala looked at him, doing her best to look disappointed. “Really, Jack. If I have to tell you that, you’re clearly not the man I’ve always believed you to be.”
That made him laugh out loud. “You’ve got a deal.”
Right on cue, a man matching Vala’s description entered the bar and made straight towards them. Only she’d forgotten to mention the glasses, which somehow not only completed but enhanced the whole picture.
“Vala, how many times do I have to tell you not to run off?” Daniel fumed, and Jack couldn’t help but think of how all that energy could be redirected. If he hadn’t been interested before, he certainly would be now.
“Dreadfully sorry, Daniel, I was just having a drink with Jack here, who just happens to be is one of my oldest…acquaintances.”
That stopped Daniel in the middle of whatever he’d been intending to say. “He’s…what?”
Jack grinned and stuck out a hand. “Captain Jack Harkness. You must be Daniel Jackson–I’ve heard all about you.”
The other man frowned. “Ah…exactly how much is ‘all’?”
Jack made a show of glancing around at the very public place they were in before suggesting in his most persuasive voice, “Shouldn’t we find ourselves somewhere a bit more…private, before I answer that?”