A Question of Ownership
By: Bone
CATEGORY: Humor, UST
WARNINGS: Adult Themes
AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:
http://sly-bone.livejournal.com
PART 1
When
For instance, it would have been helpful to know that a reverse Stockholm
syndrome was just as annoying as a the regular kind. Though the people were
nice, and he was from the south, he’d never really pictured himself as a slave
owner, whether the slavery was voluntary and high status or not.
“
“Spit it out Daniel,”
“Will you take me with you tomorrow? Please?” Daniel asked softly, dipping his
head a little so that his hair tickled against
Sucking it up,
“No, I think I’m getting closer, these people have an extraordinarily rich oral
history full of allusion to the grail, but,” Daniel tipped his head back up to
look at Cam, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. “They’renotfeedingme.”
“What?”
Intel said the planet had a caste of females that were kept in a slave like
existence called companionship.
Companions were a status symbol and treated accordingly by the highest class of
rulers. Immediately, Vala had volunteered to go, Sam had volunteered to not go
and SG-1 minus one was once again undercover in leather pants.
They posed as trade negotiators from across the continent, the ruse giving them
just enough leeway to make some cultural faux pas without truly offending
anyone. It wasn’t until they were in the thick of opening introductions that
they realized their mistake. Not all companions were female.
“You’ve been with the Council, I assume you noticed their meal time ritual of, ah, feeding their,” Daniel looked
uncomfortable, pulling his hand back and blushing across his chest and neck,
“their, companions. The others think
that you’re punishing me by not having me with you to eat.”
Cam counted to ten. He blew out a breath that stirred the top of Daniel’s hair
and counted to ten again. “Why didn’t you say something? We’ve been here for three days,” Cam asked, thinking back to the amazing meals he’d had,
while he’d tried to ignore the way the council members hand fed their
companions who knelt at their sides.
Apparently there was special status accorded to those leaders who managed to
keep a male companion. Currently there was only one attending the council in
this town. Cam didn’t know what he’d done to deserve the honor. The good news
was that it had gotten them the access they needed to finish the mission.
“It was fine,” Daniel said carefully scrunching his eyes away from Cameron’s, a
sure sign that he was at the very least glossing over the truth. “I had a few
power bars saved in my bag, and I was making progress finding out where and how
Galahad disappeared.”
Daniel had taken it well, much better than Cam would have had their roles been
reversed. He sank to his knees beside Cameron when it became obvious that he
was bothering the locals. Cam still hadn’t understood what was going on, but he
didn’t miss the guards relaxing their weapons. Introductions were made, and
Daniel shifted so that he could press against Cam, from hip to floor. Before he
could think better of it, Cam dropped his hand to bury in Daniel’s hair.
“All right,” Cam breathed out again, inhaling the warm smell of Daniel without
the normal covering scents of shampoo and aftershave. “Tomorrow morning you’ll
come with me. Maybe you can make more out of these people than I can.”
Mostly, he’d tried to be a good team leader, watch out for his teammates, set
up a decent trade agreement, and not cop too much of a feel - but he was only
human. Being forced into the equivalent space of a sleeping bag with Daniel in
the Headman’s sleeping chamber while said Headman was keeping the “company” of
a different companion each night was not helping in the least.
“Hey,” Daniel said, shoving into Cam a little so that their chests were pressed
tightly together. “It’s going to be okay. A couple more days and we’ll be back
at the SGC.”
Daniel was forced into pseudo sexual slavery and he was still the one trying to comfort Cam.
“Where you will be getting a haircut, pronto,” Cam added, trying very hard not
to let Daniel know how very hard he was. “And that’s an order, this time.”
Companions, whether male or female, were the only ones on this planet to let
their hair grow longer than their ears. Daniel, busy saving the world every
other day, had missed his last five appointments with the base’s barber. Cam
had liked it at first, the soft curling edges setting Daniel apart from the
marines he saw everyday.
Actually, if he were being honest, he still liked it, and took every
opportunity to let his hand rest at the nape of Daniel’s neck where his hair
would twist across Cam’s fingers. Fortunately, there were a lot of excuses to
grope his linguist on the planet of ‘Inappropriate-Touching’.
“Whatever you say,” Daniel agreed sleepily, though Cam wasn’t fooled for a
second.
Daniel tucked his head under Cameron’s chin and eased into sleep, his breath
slowing and blowing on to Cam’s neck. Cam decided he was utterly and completely
screwed.
PART 2
The next morning arrived with a chill in the air, finding
Daniel well rested and Cam cranky with sleep crusted in his eyes. He manfully
ignored the way Daniel had spooned up behind him in the night and crept out
from under the covers to shiver barefoot on the cold floor.
The sun was already above the horizon and it was probably warmer outside than
it was in, where the marble-like stone looked
very impressive but was less than a good insulator. The sun-warmed planks that
made up the observation deck were a welcome relief to his numb toes and the
musical clinks of one of the hundreds of wind chimes in the palace eased his
thoughts.
Cam turned his face to the light and shut his eyes, leaning on the railing and
vowing to never take his privacy for granted again. There was always someone
watching, a servant ready to answer his every whim or a council member talking
terms of trade. There was never time to be anything but ‘master’ and
‘companion’ and Cam found that he missed Daniel.
This whole farce was incredibly fucked up to begin with. They were grasping at
straws trying to find Galahad and Merlin’s weapon. It was only due to one of
Daniel’s impassioned speeches that Landry let them come in the first place. Cam
wondered if it was just so he wouldn’t have to listen to Daniel anymore.
Vala was treating their excursion like a vacation, living the pampered life of
a Companion. Cam couldn’t say she didn’t deserve it, but he wished he dared to
relax as she did. Daniel was drooling over the ‘rich cultural tapestry’ of the
planet, and even Teal’c was using the downtime to rest and heal up. He was the
only one more stressed and depressed now than before they’d stepped through the
gate.
An arm wrapping around his waist jarred him from his thoughts, but he couldn’t
help leaning into Daniel. It was something the he had no idea he wanted until
he had it, and no idea if he really had it at all. It was all too tempting an
idea to slip into a game of playing “house” with Daniel and confuse what was
going on inside his head with what was necessary for the mission.
“You shouldn’t think so hard, it’ll give you wrinkles,” Daniel teased, bumping
Cam’s shoulder with his own.
“What’s O’Neill’s excuse, then?” Cam asked, smiling despite himself.
“I’m telling him you said that,” Daniel replied, leaning his head on Cam’s
shoulder and twisting in so that Cam’s arm pulled around Daniel’s shoulders. He
continued softly enough for only Cam to hear, “So, about breakfast?”
Cam stiffened as disentangled Daniel from his side, stepping away and facing
back toward the landscape. P3X-G59 was a very lovely planet, trees and ocean
crests like a scene out of an old samurai movie. The only things missing were
long swords and a soundtrack.
“Let’s go back in,” Cam said as though it was his own idea, thoroughly stomping
down on the insane urge to pull Daniel closer and pretend like it was real for
a few seconds longer.
Daniel fell in step to his right and just a shade behind him, as they’d seen
the other companions do. Inside, the others were waking up, some with more
enthusiasm than others.
“Just five more minutes,” Vala murmured, burying her head under the small
pillows they were given. She was curled tightly around another pillow, the
outline of her body trembling underneath the top blanket.
Smirking, Teal’c pulled the blanket away, leaving Vala exposed to the chill
air, and grinning at her shrieks. He pulled her up and over his shoulder, slapping
her hip and walking out the door with her.
Cam rolled his eyes at the showing of testosterone, not a little jealous of
Teal’c and his relationship with Vala. The two aliens were comfortable enough
that this playacting was more fun than angst-inducing. He and Daniel on the
other hand were a wrong step in quicksand waiting to happen.
Teal’c and Vala would eat with the lesser council, and spend their day among
the city workings. Up till now, Daniel had went to the scholars, but today he
would stay with Cam and the council members, who so far had done nothing but
put Cam to sleep.
“C’mon Daniel,” Cam said, jerking his head toward the door on the other side of
the chamber where Kal and Ren were disappearing through. “Grub’s this-a-way.”
The dinning room had a filtered skylight made out of multicolored glass, and
was heated through two of its three walls. It opened up onto yet another
balcony which over looked several sets of waterfalls. It had been an Asgard
planet and was unspoiled by the touch of the Goa’uld.
“Ah!” Kal turned when several of the other council members inclined their heads
in greeting. “Cam! Beautiful morning to you and your companion!”
He clapped Cam on his shoulder full of exuberance, which had mostly been
manifesting as bruises over Cam’s body. H was all for manly bonding, but these
people took it to an excess. At least they knew how to throw a tea party. He
took his usual seat at Kal’s left hand side, but it was the first time that
Daniel folded himself neatly by his side, the cushion saving his knees from the
harsh floors.
Daniel let himself slouch into Cam’s chair, his spine bending into a curve that
begged to be petted. Servants brought out the main dishes that everyone served
themselves from, and breakfast began without any formal announcement.
Normally, Cam took some of everything, but this time, he really looked at the
food. He knew that Daniel had a bit of a sweet tooth, and Cam had never seen
him have anything but coffee in the morning. Not knowing what else to do, he
dished out what would be easiest for him to feed to Daniel with his fingers.
He picked up a piece of biscuit and dipped it in one of sweet sauces before
holding it down to Daniel’s lips. He didn’t want to watch, turning his head as
though he was listening to the conversation further down the table. He felt
Daniel lift up, and his lips brush against Cam’s fingers as the food was gently
taken from him.
The warm brush of moisture against his fingers was completely unexpected as
Daniel swirled his tongue down to Cam’s knuckle seeking the last drop of sauce.
Cam’s breath caught in his chest, every muscle in his body tensing until Daniel
sank back on his heels.
He was definitely going to hell for this.
Without thinking, he picked up a piece of meat, still warm with spices that
made it taste almost like sausage. He held it down to Daniel, and this time
watched in fascination as Daniel took dainty bites, closing his eyes and
licking his lip after each time he swallowed.
It was like watching a car wreck, he thought stupidly, knowing he should look
away from the shine of Daniel’s lips. He held the last bite between his thumb
and index finger, thinking he’d just place it on Daniel’s tongue, but Daniel
had other ideas.
Wet and heat. Daniel took both Cam’s fingers into his mouth along with the
sausage. At first, he moved them aside, gently grazing them with his teeth as
he ate the meat. Then, he began sucking on them in earnest, letting the thumb
slip away to curl around his jaw while he concentrated on Cam’s other finger.
Cam could have come in his pants right there, with no other touch needed. Ba’al in the jumpsuit, O’Neill glaring down
his nose, Vala and the Nair incident.
Across from him, Kal was smiling like a cat that got the canary. He watched as
Cam pulled his fingers away from Daniel and picked up potato-like wedge to eat
for himself. Cam couldn’t help but lick at his own fingers a little, warming
further as Daniel curled his hand around Cam’s bare ankle.
“It is good that you brought Dan here,” Kal began, passing a bowl to Cam before
he bent to feed Ren. “Some of the others were beginning to think you too harsh
for such a fine companion.”
“Uh, well,” Cam searched for words to say, something made much too difficult by
the lack of blood reaching his brain. “Sometimes it needs to be done.”
“So I said,” Kal agreed, though Cam had never seen him be anything but gentle
with his own companions. “Still, now that you are both free, we would like you
to join us tonight to watch the entertainment. I think you’d both enjoy it.”
Daniel tightened his hold on Cam, sliding his nails along the inside of Cam’s
ankle and sending goose bumps up along Cam’s skin. Though he couldn’t say
anything out loud in the situation, Cam knew him well enough to know what he
meant.
“We’d be delighted to join you,” Cam answered smiling and turning back to his plate, thinking it would be a miracle if he didn’t die from blue balls first.
PART 3
“Well, I guess, that’s that,” Daniel said when the door shut
to the room they’d been shown.
Cam was fairly certain that the room wasn’t spinning around him, but he wasn’t
going to place any bets. The night had been a complete disaster from the moment
they’d sat down on the little reclining couch. And by ‘little’ he really meant
midget sized.
Following the cues of the others, Cam sat first at a slight angle on the couch
so that he could watch the show without having to turn his head much. After a
moment of deliberation, Daniel turned backwards and flopped down more on Cam
than beside him.
With Daniel’s head resting on his shoulder, and warmth pressed together from
neck to knee, Cam didn’t really catch much of what happened on the stage. He’d
been to busy praying that Daniel wouldn’t shift his elbow any and discover that
the real action was going on in Cam’s lap.
“What?” he asked, trying to buy some more time to get himself under control.
Kal’s little pep talk about he and Daniel needing some ‘private’ time was not
helping his libido at all.
Daniel stretched, his long arms over his head, dragging up the sleeveless tunic
they’d dressed him in for the night. His stomach, golden and dusted with hair
was visible for just a second, taunting Cam with all he couldn’t have.
Rolling his shoulders, Daniel looked at him with a mix exasperation and
amusement, and asked, “Were you even watching?”
I was watching you. Cam flushed,
ducking his head and that was all the assurance Daniel needed that the answer
was ‘no’.
“If you had been, you would have realized that this planet is a dead end,”
Daniel said, walking over to the small table in the corner to pour himself a
cup of water. “I thought it was pretty obvious.”
“Pretty -? Wait, I thought it was about some guy looking for his companion,”
Cam said, he had caught that much at least.
It really was a pity he couldn’t have watched better, since the production,
what he’d seen, hadn’t been bad. The costumes had been very intricate, and the
actors must have been in the zone to play their parts so well without
forgetting any lines.
“A guy named ’Gad’,” Daniel said
pointedly, and then threw his hands up in despair at Cam’s blank look. “The
shortened form of Galahad. And the
search for his wife was a metaphor for the grail, either that, or really bad
interpretive dance.”
“Interpretive?” Cam shook his head, his libido rapidly cooling now that Daniel
had switched modes. He didn’t know anyone else who could go from sultry to
bitchy in under sixty seconds. “Wait, so what?”
“So, we can get on with this intergalactic road trip tomorrow after you settle
the trade agreement,” Daniel explained, his tone patient, his stance anything
but.
Cam sighed, imagining for a split second, his life if he cast Daniel as he
nagging wife. He’d never get away with anything ever again. Although as he kept
imagining, he decided that Daniel did look pretty good barefoot and in the
kitchen. He still didn’t want any kids.
“Then I guess we leave tomorrow,” Cam tried to ignore the niggling in the back
of his head, the craving that this could have lasted just a little while
longer. He walked over and crashed face down on the pallet in the corner,
fatigue overwhelming him all at once.
He was going to need a vacation from this vacation, maybe he’d take some sick
days when they got back to Earth and go home to visit his family. It was
mid-fall and there was always plenty to do on the farm, fairs to visit and
football games to see. Granny was always glad when he had he time to swing by.
“Wow, you’re so tense, I can see from here,” Daniel’s voice was soft and warm,
comforting since Cam couldn’t see the other man.
He should think about doing books on tape,
Cam thought, the stress of the last several days catching up with him all at
once. Aloud, he said, “I have a bit of a headache.”
The pallet moved slightly, but that was the only warning Cam had before Daniel
straddled his thighs and pushed his shirt up. “Maybe I can help a little,”
Daniel said, smoothing his fingers over the tight muscles in Cam’s back.
He groaned before he could click his mouth shut, a low rumble tunneling through
his chest. Daniel was talking again, his voice washing over Cam as his hands
wandered over Cam’s back, pushing, tugging, and rubbing away the past few days.
He drifted for a moment just enjoying the sensations of having another human
being touching him on purpose. It wasn’t everyday he had the catch of the SGC
sitting on him. Well, actually, it had been everyday lately, but he didn’t
think that should count.
Suddenly, laying face down wasn’t as comfortable as it had been a moment ago.
Cam tried to wiggle a bit, stretching his arms out so he could push up,
anything really, to get Daniel off of him. In theory, Air Force officer versus
a doctorial linguist should have been a no brainer. Too bad no one told Daniel
that.
Daniel just clamped his thighs down, shifted up so that more of his weight was
on Cam’s butt, and put more effort into teasing the strain out of Cam’s
muscles. Daniel’s hands were quite clever, and managed to ease Cam’s shoulders
back to the ground while pushing his shirt up even farther.
His karma was either be at an all time high or an all time low to find himself
in this situation. Cam could feel his body betraying him by relaxing under
Daniel’s heat. It did feel good, but enjoying it felt as though he was cheating
at some cosmic matchmaking game.
“That’s good enough, Jackson,” Cam said, curling his arms under his head,
pulling the muscles on his back tight so that Daniel wouldn’t have anything to
dig in to. “Thank you.”
“You sure?” Daniel asked still sitting on Cam. “I know I don’t have any oil but
most people beg me not to stop.”
For a moment, Cam’s head swam between the thoughts of Daniel slicked up and
shiny, their skin rubbing together effortlessly and images of letting his
tongue loose to beg Daniel not to stop like he really wanted too.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” he had to clear his throat just to get that little bit out.
“I just need to get some sleep so we can get back to the SGC. I think I left
the oven on.”
Daniel chuckled, trailing his hands down Cam’s back as he slid off to the side,
his thigh heavy against Cam’s ass. “Last one up has to figure out how to write
the mission report without using the words ‘sex slave’,” Daniel suggested
tugging up the blankets to cover them.
“It’s a deal,” Cam agreed rolling to his side facing away from Daniel. He was
always awake before Daniel, and this way he wouldn’t be stuck in his office
watching the curser blink at him from a blank word document.
“Good night, Cam,” Daniel said softly, curling into Cam’s back.
Sighing, he readied himself for another sleepless night, “’Night.”
PART 4
Back at the SGC, things had slid into neutral; a normal day
at the office. Or at least as normal as was likely when mad scientists got to
play with alien technology on a daily basis.
His office was quiet, and he found that he missed the sounds of chimes swinging
in the wind. The only breeze he got in here was the recycled air conditioner
that kicked on once an hour. He clicked a few more buttons on his keyboard,
adding a few comments to Daniel’s report.
“Hey Cameron!”
Daniel’s voice echoed down the hallway, and Cam stifled a sigh. It would have
been nice to have more than a couple of days to get his dignity back. “Nobody’s
home!” he yelled back.
“Funny,” Daniel deadpanned, coming through the door and closing it behind him.
“No really, long time no see.”
“Oh, yeah,” Cam replied, shuffling some of the papers around on his desk and
straitening of pile that he should have been going through instead of playing
free cell. “Just staying busy, thinking about taking some leave before the next
Ori push.”
“Really?” Daniel asked, his voice coming closer until his legs slid into Cam’s
peripheral vision. He lifted himself up on Cam’s desk, his thighs splaying,
until Cam had to look up or get caught staring right at Daniel’s crotch. “Where
will you go?”
“Uh.” Once again, Cam’s powers of speech left like watching the bus drive off,
while he wished for exact change. Not only had Daniel gotten a hair cut, but
he’d got his hair buzzed shorter even than Cam’s.
Daniel lifted an eyebrow and then ducked his head a blush spreading across his
face as he lifted a hand to brush over his hair. “Oh, yeah. The barber said
this would save time later. I think he might be working for the Ori,” Daniel
grinned a little, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s growing on me. Sam thinks it’s
cute and Vala keeps petting me.”
“Petting you?” Cam swallowed on his jealousy, his hands curled in tightly until
he could feel his nails digging into his palms.
“Yeah,” Daniel replied, swinging his legs a little and looking disgruntled.
“She keeps talking about this baby animal she had as a child comparing
softness, it’s . . . disturbing.”
His chair groaned as he pushed away from his desk and Daniel, “Disturbing,
yeah, I’ll bet.” Maybe he could push through the paperwork on his leave a
little faster.
“Hey, you want to touch it?” Daniel asked, looking all together too earnest for
Cam’s comfort.
“What?”
“Everyone else wants to, I just thought that I’d cut to the chase,” Daniel
grinned and hoped off the desk. He grabbed Cam’s hand quickly and eased his
fingers straight, bringing the hand up to the side of his head.
It was soft and tickled the palm of his hand, gentle were earlier Cam had
wanted pain. Daniel let go, but Cam kept his hand in place, rubbing first with
the hair and then the grain, relishing the softness against his calluses.
Pushing a little harder, his palm brushed against the warm skin of Daniel’s
head. He curled his fingers around the curve of Daniel’s skull, and sucked in a
breath, more than a little hypnotized by the repetitive motion.
“You do like me,” Daniel said, his voice soft and awed.
Cam jerked back as if he’d been burned, shifting his attention from Daniel’s
hair to his face. “I do not!” he yelled reflexively and then blushed all the
harder for acting like he was still in sixth grade chasing Sarah Jane around
with a frog.
“You do,” Daniel purred, and took a step into Cam’s personal space.
“Maybe I just like the haircut,” Cam said, trying to shift away, but finding
himself blocked off with his only escape route to climb over his desk to make a run for it. It just might be worth it.
“I’m sorry,” Daniel said, and Cam’s heart plummeted.
It was only at night when he let himself wonder about what might happen if Daniel returned his feelings. Now he didn’t have to
wonder anymore. At least it would only take a few words to change his request
off to indefinite leave of absence. It wasn’t like SG-1 really needed him
hanging around on their coattails.
“I’m sorry,” Daniel repeated, tugging on Cam’s rolled up sleeves until Cam cut
a quick look at him. “I wouldn’t have teased while we were out if I’d have
known.”
“It’s fine,” Cam said reflexively, he was raised to accept apologies, after
all. He was fully prepared to push past Daniel and find a cleaning closet
somewhere so he could have his freak-out in private.
Daniel slid his grip from Cam’s sleeve to forearm, his eyebrows smooshing
together behind his glasses. “No it’s not,” Daniel took another step toward
Cam, making him meet Daniel’s gaze. He said again, “I wouldn’t have teased.”
Well, that was a curveball. Cam started to ask just what Daniel was trying to
get at, when Daniel cut him off. With his mouth.
“Oh,” Cam said when Daniel finally let him up for air, licking his lips and
wondering why he had to feel so completely lost for words while Daniel looked
like the cat that got the canary.
Daniel reached up and tugged on a bit of Cam’s hair, deftly laying it out over
Cam’s ear. “So, I feel like a little companionship
tonight,” he said casually, and then smirked, “You -up- for it?”
Cam couldn’t help but laugh, closing his eyes and reaching out to grab Daniel
by the hips and pull him in. “You should leave the punning to O’Neill,” he
teased, lifting a hand to the back of Daniel’s head and angling for another
kiss.
** The End **
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