Title: (Rarely) Pure And (Never) Simple
Author: Pepper
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1410
Featured Character(s): Sam, Jack
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Summary: This wasn't a situation she'd ever expected to relive.
A/N: Written for dayofindulgence. Thanks to holdouttrout, who looked this over and said I ought to add this warning: "Do not read at work. No. Just don't. You'll thank me later. Also avoid drinking anything while reading this fic."

Happy birthday, surreallis!



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Jack was kissing her neck, and his hands were pulling at her T-shirt as he walked her backwards to the bed, and oh god it was nice, and oh god, she'd put it off as long as she could, but now – now, she was finally going to have to say it.

"Ja-mmph."

Sam put her hands on his shoulders, meaning to push him back a little so she could speak, but her treacherous hands clutched him closer instead, and when her knees hit the bed, of course she had to fall backwards and pull him down too. He landed on top of her, and oof, he was heavy, but not an unwelcome weight – and she was still putting it off. She couldn't delay it forever… could she? Well, of course, she could just tell him afterwards... no. No, they needed to be honest with each other. They'd agreed.

"Ja... ooh... mmm..."

His hands were touching skin, now, and she helpfully wriggled as he pulled at her jeans – but they were kind of tight, because she worn them knowing the effect this particular pair had on him, so halfway down they got stuck, and damn, she'd have to... Panting, she sat up, nearly knocking heads with him, and tugged them off herself, them pushed him over and straddled him, starting to work with shaky hands on his shirt buttons. His eyes were wide, dark and intent, staring at her, his expression serious, absorbing every moment of this, and – oh, screw it, he had other shirts.

She wrenched it open, and he grabbed her and kissed her, almost ferociously. And she still hadn't told him. This wasn't a situation she'd ever expected to relive.

"Ja... Jack," she mumbled against his lips, "just be... mmm... gentle, okay? Well, a little gentle. Not too gentle. Guhhhhh... But a little. Only I'm – oh. Oh. Mmm."

He rolled them back over, and kissed from her ear down to her breastbone, starting to push down her bra strap. "You're?" he prompted, vaguely.

"Hmm? Oh. I'm..." He was resting on one hand, his other hand greedily trying to encompass as much of her breast as possible. "...I'm... I'm... god... kind of a virgin."

He stopped.

Whoops.

After a few frozen moments, she asked, tentatively, "Jack?"

"You're what?" he said, tightly, his breath tickling her ear.

"Uh, a virgin." It was easier to say the second time.

Silence.

"But haven't you... didn't you... you must have..." He paused, evidently searching for the right words. "Weren't you engaged?"

"Twice," she agreed. "It was after that." The silence became more puzzled. "The T'fon – you remember them? With the medical scanner thing? They kind of... re-virginized me."

"Ohhh!" He rolled over and sat up, but she noticed the distinct lack of eye contact and touching, and the fact that he'd pulled his shirt closed. She leaned up on her elbows, trying to see his expression. He gave her a swift, sideways glance, and then grimaced, rubbing his hands over his face. "Sorry. I don't mean to... ugh. It's just a little..."

"Weird."

"God, yes."

"Tell me about it." Rather regretting that she seemed to have put a damper on events, she sat up too, and straightened her bra, then nudged him slightly. "I was going to tell you before we got to this point, but... there was never a good moment."

"To tell me you're a virgin." He huffed a laugh. "Yeah, I guess it's not one of those things that slips naturally into conversation."

Not that they'd had much conversation – at least, not this evening. She'd come around intending to ask him if he'd help her clear her basement – a completely obvious pretext for getting some time alone with him without either of them feeling pressured. But then he'd opened his door, and she'd seen him standing there barefoot, with his hair in a mess, soft-looking shirt untucked, scruffy old jeans, and the stubbly beard he'd been cultivating since he retired, two weeks ago. His wary expression had softened into a welcoming smile when he'd realized it was her, and then... she'd kind of thrown herself at him.

He hadn't exactly objected.

But before today, there had been times when they'd talked. They'd even been on a couple of proper dates – which had been horribly awkward, but that wasn't the point. If she'd told him before, maybe they could be doing something about it right now.

Dammit.

"That mission was, what, a year ago?" he asked, slowly.

"About that, yes," she admitted. Now she was blushing?

"Huh." She could practically hear his brain whirring. "And in all that time you've not... not..."

"Well, I could have – I've got some, um, toys – but it would've hurt, and it never seemed particularly urgent. I never got around to it." He was looking at her like she was being dense. Oh, that. "Oh. No, since then I've not... not..." Gah! This frickin' hymen was clearly affecting her brain, too. "I've not had sex with anyone. Can you imagine trying to explain that to someone not in the program? I would've," she paused to swallow, "I would have asked Janet to fix it. But."

"Yeah," said Jack, softly. He put his arm around her, and she leaned into him. A more comfortable silence ensued, until he finally broke it. "How did you—"

"The T'fon told me."

"Ah."

"I got a little annoyed at them." Well, okay, a lot annoyed. She'd certainly given them a piece of her mind. They'd been left in no doubt that she was not pleased with their so-called 'gift of renewal'.

"It wasn't in the report," he remarked. "I feel sure I would have noticed." She lifted her head enough to shoot him a glare. "Not that it matters," he added, hastily.

"I didn't see how it was relevant." Then, in the spirit of honesty, she added, "And I didn't want anyone to know. How would you feel if it happened to you?"

"Extremely surprised," he said, dryly. She chuckled, but then sobered, remembering.

"It was the worst timing. I was still kind of in a mess after my dad and Pete, and you and I were – well, I wasn't sure how you and I stood. I just couldn't add this to the mix, too."

"Mmf," he said, and rubbed her arm sympathetically.

"You don't..." She hesitated.

"I don't what?"

"You don't think it's hot?"

He glanced down at her. "Well, to be honest, Carter, I'm still trying to get my head around it," he confessed. "I mean, yes, when I was eighteen, it would have been hot. Now? It's..."

"Weird," she sighed.

He nodded. "Sorry."

"No. No, I'm glad you're being honest." She sighed again, heavily. "My love life. So freaky."

He squeezed her tightly against him, and turned his face into her hair. "Yes, well, we all have the odd alien experience in our past that we'd really rather forget," he said, generously reminding her that his love life hadn't been entirely standard over the years, either. "Would you be terribly disappointed if I promised you years and years of straightforward, ordinary, normal sex?"

"Ooh. Yes, please."

She was fairly sure that it occurred to both of them at the same time that they were partially undressed and on his very convenient bed. She was proud to say that she moved first, though, pushing him back down and straddling him, pinning his arms above his head.

"Jack O'Neill," she declared dramatically, "I've been saving myself for you!"

For a fleeting moment, he looked terrified. Then his face creased into a broad smirk. "Oh, really?"

"Yes. All these years. These long, long, long years..." She writhed slowly in his lap, reawakening his flagging interest. His eyes drifted shut, and then snapped back open again when her nose brushed his. "Waiting for the right man to come along," she said, aiming for Gone With The Wind but suspecting she was hitting Days Of Our Lives. "A man to whom I can entrust my most precious treasure—"

He tugged a hand free and threaded his fingers through her hair, pulling her down into a kiss that made her toes curl. When they came up for air they were both breathless. Yeah – they'd definitely recaptured the moment.

He rested his hand tenderly alongside her face, his thumb stroking her temple and his eyes alight with humor and affection.

"Let me teach you the ways of love," he purred, throbbingly.

She snorted.

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CURTAINS!