diehard_daniel | (no subject)

The hand that's not clutched in Eris' closes the door behind them as Daniel follows the goddess into his apartment. The place is empty except for his fish, and if they're surprised to see a beautiful blonde precede him into the living room, it's impossible to tell from their faces.

"Uh, this is my apartment...kitchen, living room, dining room of sorts...bathroom..." Daniel points out all the rooms as he speaks their name, then blushes faintly, pointing behind them. "And that would be my bedroom we just came out of, if it wasn't the bar instead."

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She looks around, still grinning. "Small, but cozy. I like it." She walks over to the tank to examine the fish. "Any of these kids have names?"

From:

diehard_daniel

"Uhm, yes," Daniel admits as he joins her at the tank, blushing. "They do. They're named after fish-related figures in the mythology I study. Tinirau, the Polynesian god of the ocean and the fish...Labuna, he's from Islamic popular tradition...Atargatis, the Polynesian fish goddess...Hatmehit, she's an Egyptian fish goddess...and...uhm..." The blush deepens, and he looks down at his feet as he points at the last one. "Poseidon."

From:

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She looks at the last fish for a moment, then snickers, looking up at Daniel.

"Don't ever tell him I told you this, but it actually kinda looks like him."

From:

diehard_daniel

Daniel joins her in the snickering. "I won't say a word. I promise."

He walks over to his answering machine and plays his messages. There's nothing important, until...

"Daniel? It's Jack. You there? C'mon, Danny-boy, pick up the phone...I know you're there, you don't have a life and I already tried the SGC...you're probably in the shower. I'm coming over, there's a game on and my reception's gone out. Don't worry, I'll bring the beer."

It's from before, of course, and Daniel clutches the rim of his table, fingers tightening around the edge. 'Jack. Oh God, Jack,' and he reaches out with trembling hands and replays the message, because it's Jack's voice, Jack's words, and he would give anything to have his friend show up on his doorstep, even if it was to watch a hockey game. When the message ends, he plays it again, and again. Eris will probably need to stop him.

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After the first repetition, she moves away from the fish to start studying the bookshelves. She's easily lost in the titles, at first...

... but after the fourth repetition, she tears herself away, and walks over to him.

After the fifth, she touches his arm, lightly. "Daniel?"

After the sixth, she pulls him away from the answering machine, and wraps her arms around him, whispering to him.

"Be calm, my Daniel, be calm... do not fall apart now, or you will have a harder time helping bring him home."

From:

diehard_daniel

But Daniel is shaking in her arms, and he's crying, and the warning about not falling apart is a little late. He hasn't really let himself fall apart before this, and maybe it's a little healthy that he's doing it now. It might be better if he did it when everything was taken care of, and knowing Daniel it's entirely possible that he'll break down all over again when Jack's safe, but right now this is what's happening, the shaking and the tears and clinging to Eris because without Jack in his world he feels as if everything is spinning out of control and maybe she's the only gravity keeping him from falling off the edge.

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So she sighs, and smiles, and presses a kiss to his temple, and leads him over to the couch, and sits with him, holding him, and lightly stroking his hair.

Anything he asks, she'll give him.

From:

diehard_daniel

Daniel's talking to her, but not really, and it's not all in English, it's a hodgepodge of English and Abydonian and Egyptian, but most of it is variations on "best friend, miss him" so she'd probably understand it even if she wasn't a goddess.

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She holds him close, rocking gently, comforting him as one would any child. She hums quietly for a few minutes, until it seems as though the very air is playing music, and then she lets the harps in the air continue as she sighs once more.

What's left of the bottle of apple brandy from the bar makes its way to Daniel's coffee table, and pours itself into a glass.

It's there when he's ready for it.

From:

diehard_daniel

Daniel clings for a few more minutes, then straightens abruptly, wiping his eyes, looking embarassed. "I'm sorry...you must think I'm such a weakling..." He musters a smile, wide and utterly false. "I'm fine now."

From:

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She looks at him wordlessly, her eyes very green, and passes him the glass of brandy.

"Don't lie to me, Daniel. You know I know."

The harps are still playing faintly in the background.

Maybe he'll think it's just the stereo.

From:

diehard_daniel

Daniel draws in a breath and nods, accepting the glass. "Yes, I do. I'm sorry. It's a habit. Not a good one, I realize, but a habit nonetheless." He sips from the brandy, seeming not even to notice the music. "I'm not fine. I won't be fine until he's thawed out and annoying me again." He smiles wryly at her, shrugging. "It's a weird kind of friendship, but it works for us."

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"Apology accepted." She leans over and kisses him lightly on the cheek, lacing her fingers through his at the same time.

"I don't think you're a weakling, either. And thank you for telling me the truth."

From:

diehard_daniel

"Welcome." Daniel smiles, squeezing her hand...then yawns, somewhat rudely, in her face.

"...sorry."

From:

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"Don't worry, my Daniel. Sleep."

Maybe it's the brandy, or maybe it's the long day, but he's feeling tired, isn't he? She pulls the glass out of his hand, letting it sit on the table, and tugs lightly on his hand, leaning back on the couch and pulling his head to rest on her shoulder.

"I'm here, Daniel, rest."

From:

diehard_daniel

He puts up a token protest, because time is moving again now that they're in his world and shouldn't he be helping Jack? But he is feeling tired, and oddly warm (partly from the brandy and partly from his proximity to Eris' breasts), so in the end it's easier for him to lean into her, allowing himself to be lulled to sleep by a woman's embrace for the first time in quite a while.

From:

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She smiles when, not long after, he's fallen asleep against her shoulder, as she thought he might; and it's the work of but a moment to arrange things so that she can carry him to bed.

It's a rather amusing picture, really, as he's got a good eight or nine inches height on her... but that doesn't bother her.

She tucks him into bed, smoothing back his hair and pressing a kiss to his forehead, and watches him for a moment as he settles more deeply into sleep. She smiles.

From:

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And then she leaves his bedroom and goes back to studying his bookshelves and the contents therein. She grins at the unfamiliar titles and starts to read.

From:

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At some point in the small hours of the morning, Eris gets an idea. He's still asleep, she sees, but...

She doesn't waste time on her quick trip to San Francisco to have a few Words with Mal-2, even if he is calling himself Dexter Sinister these days. Not much more than an hour has passed before she returns to Daniel's apartment, a small thin black-bound book with the image of a golden apple on the cover.

She moves quietly over to his "dining room of sorts" - read "office" - and looks around on his desk before finding an open spot next to an old-fashioned typewriter. She tucks the book next to it, and then shrugs and adds a golden apple of a paperweight on top of it as well.

And then she goes back to the couch, grabbing a handbound book that appears to be an Abydonian language primer, and settles in to read until he wakes.

From:

diehard_daniel

Daniel finally staggers out of bed several hours later, rubbing his eyes and making incomprehensible grunting sounds. As he is Daniel, he makes a beeline for the coffeepot. He doesn't quite notice that somebody's on his living room sofa, though that won't last.

From:

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She looks up, watching him with a faint smile, but doesn't speak yet.

She closes the book, though, as she's finished it and three others like it.

From:

diehard_daniel

It isn't until the smell of coffee starts to fill the room that Daniel really begins to wake up. When this happens, he remembers that Eris came home with him last night, and he spins around, looking frantic for a second. When he sees her he smiles, then looks embarassed. "Good morning. I'm sorry, I...ah...forgot you were with me."

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Her smile widens.

"Good morning, Daniel. At least you remembered eventually. How did you sleep?"

From:

diehard_daniel

Daniel's answering smile is decidely sheepish. "I don't do very well before I have coffee...I slept pretty well, actually, thanks for asking." He looks around, then back at her. "Did you...what did you do all night?"