Work Text:
He blamed her.
It was entirely irrational and unfair on Daniel’s part, but at least that way, he could pretend she was the one to blame, and not him. Not that it was a matter of right and wrong or blame, but it made him feel better and allowed him to continue in his delusions. Because there was no way in any reality that he would ever have serious feelings for Vala Mal Doran… right?
Daniel rued the day it all started – the day a new archeologist and linguist joined the SGC.
As head of the archeology and linguist departments, it was his duty to oversee the new hire’s transition into their new role with the SGC, and while he was the one who found and recruited the new member, he hadn't expected what he got. Lacey Harris on paper versus in person was an entirely different person in his mind. He knew what her skills and qualifications were, but experiencing her knowledge firsthand made her all the more interesting.
Her first day, he spent most of the day with her – going over her training, getting her situated in the department, and once he was finished, he didn't leave, but instead engaged her into conversation on topics they were both interested in. Daniel realized she was essentially the female version of him professionally, and their shared mutual interests, goals, and drive for their work was, quite frankly, attractive to him – he also found her physically attractive.
He left Lacey that day with the hope that he was perhaps ready to move on from Sha’re and ‘get back on the horse’ as Jack liked to tell him. What he hadn't realized at the time – or completely ignored – was Vala flashing in his mind right after these thoughts. With this new hope, Daniel intentionally sought out the new archeologist to explore what this could possibly mean or even be.
Daniel’s new pursuit left little time for Vala. In fact, he started inviting Lacey to do the translations he would normally ask Vala to, and without even realizing it, he phased Vala out of lab work, and only saw her for missions. He never caught on to what she was trying to do when she stopped by his office and offered up her services. He certainly hadn’t noticed the hurt on her face whenever he said that Lacey was helping him or he would ask her instead.
Vala eventually stopped coming around and she became less frequent on SG-1 missions. At the time, he thought the off feeling was due to the fact that the team’s dynamic had shifted, and he had to get adjusted to the change. As she took on more missions with other SG teams, he asked Mitchell what was going on, and the Colonel told him she had requested to be loaned out to other teams. His explanation created an off feeling in Daniel – what it meant, he didn't know, but decided it meant he simply missed her presence.
She was his friend and co-worker after all.
The feeling didn't alleviate like he expected it to. In fact, it got worse, and drove him to the point of seeking out Vala himself. It took a while since she hadn't been in any of the departments or labs as he assumed and had to resort to asking someone where she was – he had received a weird and disbelieving look from the person in question. Not that Daniel blamed them – he normally knew where the former space pirate was, and people asked him .
Upon finding her in the IT department and her for the first time in – well, he didn't really know how long – made the odd pressure in his chest recede some on first glimpse. But her less than enthusiastic reaction at seeing him, made a new kind of pressure to build up, and it had a sting. It has been a while since Vala was aloof with him. In his attempt to draw her into conversation, she had acted with professional courtesy before ending his attempts by stating she was busy with upgrading the base’s mainframe and firewalls.
Daniel left feeling worse than he did before he found her.
In an attempt to rid himself of this feeling, Daniel accepted when Lacey asked him out on a date later on that day. He told himself Vala was just busy with her new duties in IT (when did that even happen?) and he interrupted at a bad time – that was all . It would all sort itself out, and things would get back to the way things had been. He put it from his mind and decided to focus on the first date he had in over a decade.
It was the first time he blamed her.
Instead of enjoying the date and the attractive woman in front of him, he spent the whole night miserable and thinking about Vala, and if she really was mad or upset with him – and why . He had been a poor date and even worse company that night. The only saving grace was that Lacey didn't seem to notice his inner turmoil.
Daniel blamed Vala again when he no longer wanted Lacey’s company in his office or while he worked anywhere. He blamed her for his recent lack of interest in the new archeologist. He blamed her for the emptiness he seemed to be experiencing – which only started when she disappeared from his daily life. He blamed her for ignoring him or for only being polite when he sought her out. He blamed her for avoiding him on the few missions Cameron made her come on. He was annoyed with her for pairing with Teal’c instead of him as usual. He was also angry at Mitchell for allowing it.
Daniel’s anger quickly abated for Mitchell when the man called for a team night and used the word ‘mandatory’ for all of them. It was his turn to host it, and he quickly began coming up with a plan to fix things between Vala and him. A little hard since he wasn't entirely sure what caused the rift, but he was assuming it had something to do with him. In his defense, he hadn't known how invested she was in helping him with his workload.
The day of the team night, he had things all planned out. He went shopping the night before and bought many of her favorite foods and drinks – his little way of telling her he did care and paid attention to her. Next, he had the perfect plan to get her to agree to leave the base early with him – to ‘help set up.’ Based on her current attitude towards him, he expected resistance, but had a plan to combat whatever protests she may have.
He admitted to himself that it was low of him to corner her, but desperate times and all that.
Vala sighed after he asked her to come with him. “Daniel, I promised Dr. Lee to help with the device SG-6 brought back.”
She tried to go around him, but he quickly grabbed her hand to stop her. Touching her, being this close to her after the last couple weeks of being apart, made his pulse speed up. “Please,” he pleaded softly.
She sighed again. “Daniel…”
“Is it important? The device? Is it urgent?”
Daniel saw her hesitate and he knew she was debating whether or not to lie to him. “No,” she replied honestly.
He smiled smally. “Then come with me,” he implored again. Doubt clouded her features again, and he acted before she could deny him again. “ Please . I miss my friend.” He knew it was wrong to manipulate her like this – with the eyes, the voice, and pleading expression, but he wanted things to go back to the way they had been, so this damn feeling inside him would go away.
Vala was quiet for a minute before taking a deep breath and nodded. “Okay,” she relented. “But I need you to take me to the store first. There’s something I want to make for tonight.”
He agreed to it right away.
Daniel almost wondered if it was a ploy to keep them from being alone for as long as possible with the amount of time she was taking in the grocery store but watching her scrutinize all the herbs and produce quickly put that from his mind. Even Vala Mal Doran wouldn't be this committed in avoiding him. Thought he supposed it would keep her focused on something other than him once they were back at his place…
“What’re you gonna make?” he asked curiously as he loaded the groceries into his car.
Vala shut the rear door and flashed him a smile. “Havitis,” she opened the passenger door but didn't get in, but instead leaned her arms against the frame on the door. “It’s something my mother used to make when I was little whenever we needed a bit of cheering up.”
The smile slipped from his face. “You need cheering up?” was she truly that unhappy? Had he really made her feel like that? The thought of that being true made him sick.
The Vala he knew quickly slipped away only to reveal the one he had been experiencing for the last few weeks. “No,” she denied instantly before quickly slipping into the car, and he followed suit. “I’ve just been craving it for a while, and I can’t seem to get it right.”
He knew she was lying.
Daniel brought the seatbelt across his chest. “Wait, what do you mean ‘can’t get it right?’” he asked and gave her a confused look. “You’ve tried making it before? Where?”
“Eddie from the kitchen allows me to use the facilities whenever it’s quiet,” she explained.
He raised his brows in disbelief. “How did I not know about this?” Seriously, how didn't he? “And who the hell is Eddie?”
Was that a bite to his voice?
Vala’s brows scrunched at him. “Eddie from the kitchen,” she explained slowly. “Anyways, I’ve been getting close, and Eddie recommended that I try some alternative spices, herbs, and vegetables. It’s been difficult finding comparative ingredients, but Eddie is positive these will work, so I’m eager to try.”
Seriously – who the hell was this Eddie from the kitchen!
Daniel blamed her again for his irrational reaction to whoever this Eddie was. She should have introduced him to Daniel so he could… what exactly? Approve of him as a friend for her? Who did he think he was – her father?
He cringed at the thought.
He blamed Vala for fucking his life for the last couple of weeks and making him completely irrational. For twisting him up in knots. For making him feel things that he would rather not feel for her .
Daniel stewed over his thoughts as he watched in fascination as Vala Mal Doran cooked something from scratch – and from memory. The past couple of weeks flashed before him, and he was confronted with it all with nothing distracting him and forced to consider everything deeply. As he analyzed it, he didn't know what to make of it…except for the one thing it couldn't be.
His phone pinged with a text notification, and the sound brought him out of his thoughts. He flipped open his phone and saw that it was from Lacey. He quickly opened it in a desperate attempt to get his mind away from where his thoughts were heading.
Hey Daniel, I had a great time on our date. I was wondering if you were free tomorrow?
His jaw clenched at his immediate reaction and the vehement ‘no’ that echoed throughout his mind. He blamed Vala for this too. There was a nice, beautiful woman that was into him who shared the same interests and hobbies as he did and who he found attractive, but for some reason, Vala always entered his mind and redirected his train of thought to her. What the hell was wrong with him? Lacey was a better choice for him. She –
Vala’s squeal of delight interrupted his thoughts, and he found himself smiling as she hopped on her feet like a bunny in happiness. “I did it!” she cheered and turned to him in pure excitement. He felt his breath get caught in his throat. “Daniel, darling, try this!” she insisted.
He reluctantly stood up from his chair to stand in front of her. She held out a wooden spoon filled with…whatever she cooked, and he took an obliging bite all while keeping his eyes locked on her. He was too distracted and couldn't tell you what the hell he just ate – he tasted nothing of it – but hummed as if he approved.
Vala’s face split into a huge smile. “Now, it isn't 100% authentic since I don't have the ingredients from my planet, but it's close, you’d never know!” her excitement radiated out of her every pore and was infectious. “It took a lot of trial and error to get the spices right. Even the herbs were diff–”
Daniel wasn't able to hold back anymore. The dam broke. She smashed all his barriers. Whatever you wanted to call it, it was gone, leaving it in its place raw emotions – ones he couldn't ignore or fight. He heard the spoon clatter on the floor as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him before he did what he subconsciously wanted to do for a long time.
He kissed her.
Daniel swallowed her gasp of surprise and used it to deepen the kiss. He felt as her nails dug into his arms momentarily as she recovered from her shock and regained her balance before they quickly snaked up to his neck and used them to bring him impossibly closer – leaving no room in between them.
They stayed locked in each other's embrace until the need for air became absolutely necessary and they broke apart. Daniel took a step back to regain his breath – and wits.
"Daniel?" she breathed out, also out of breath herself.
He didn't know why he did that, but the more Daniel analyzed it, the clearer things became, and he didn't like it. He blamed Vala for making him fall for her – someone who was the riskiest choice for him and could be taken from him in a heartbeat. But… “It’s always going to be you, isn't it?” he mused mainly to himself as he accepted it.
It was always going to be her, no matter how hard he fought it, and it was now time to accept it.
Vala blinked and her whole demeanor suddenly became hesitantly and almost…shy. "I…I don't know about you," she began warily, "but for me…it's always you."
Daniel didn't know why, but her confession made him feel like the weight of the world was lifted off of him, and an immense burst of relief spread throughout him. He stepped into her again and grabbed her chin gently. "You better not be messing with me," he tried to tease but it came out more serious than intended.
Vala stood straighter and gave him a challenging look. "And you better not be toying with me," she retorted.
He knew she was referring to Lacey. "Never," he promised vehemently. "Only you. Always you."
Her face broke out into a grin that lit up her whole face, and could feel his face doing the same, but before he could kiss her, a loud knock pounded on his door before he heard it open. They quickly separated before their friends descended upon them.
"What the hell smells so damn good?" Mitchell's booming voice asked as he made his way into the kitchen.
"Vala made a family dish," Daniel commented lightly, and did his best to act like he and Vala didn't just share a moment.
" Vala cooked?" Mitchell asked dubiously.
"Hey!" Vala snapped. "Don't mock it until you try it," she grabbed a fresh serving spoon and started to transfer the food from the pan to a dish. "Go on to the living room, and I'll bring it right out."
Mitchell shrugged and grabbed a few beers on his way out. "It's good to see you two together again," he commented as he exited. "It was weird without the two of you attached at the hip."
There was an awkward pause after he left.
Daniel cleared his voice before opening the fridge to grab the rest of the food. Before he left the kitchen, he half turned and said to her, "I really did miss you," he smiled smally at her surprised look. "Mitchell's right – it didn't feel right without you."
Vala inhaled sharply. "Daniel," her cautious voice stopped him from moving, "what is this?"
His smile grew into a full on grin. "It's the beginning," he replied softly.
Vala arched an eyebrow. "Of?"
He closed the distance between them and lowered his lips to her ear. "You. Me. Us."
Daniel had never seen such pure happiness radiated from someone, and he had never been so excited to be at the beginning.
The End.