Kark it! Let’s Drink!

[Damon Riggs]

Had it been four months already? Riggs caught a glimpse of the chornometer built into the dash of his ship after some fancy escape work once again. Teyla was a damn good pilot, and since she had taken the job all she did was prove Riggs had made the right call in hiring her. Still, the close calls were getting to be too much and that damned pirate he’d turned down needed to die already. Riggs hadn’t found a tracer on the ship anywhere, and all he could think was this guy was shadowing his jobs. We’re they using the same contact for work?

Riggs released the safety restraints of the co-pilot seat. They’d gotten into hyperspace okay, and the course was set for the closest shadow port, the closest not pirate friendly shadow port. ”Kark it,” he said as he walked down the corridor which connected to the main corridor of the ship. He turned and went into his quarters and grabbed an unopened bottle of scotch from the bottom drawer of the nightstand. He had two glasses with it as well.

With the glasses held in one hand and the bottle in the other, Riggs walked back to the cockpit. He looked at Teyla, whom he’d caught taking a peek at him walking off a few weeks ago. Damon was sure she’d caught him, and neither one of them had said anything. With what Damon had in mind, that could possibly change.

Riggs popped his head in.

”That one was too close. C’mon, time for a drink. A lot of them!”

Riggs waved the bottle scotch and lifted the glasses into view. He knew Teyla wasn’t much of a hard liquor type of gal, but even she could knock it back when she wanted to. After an escape like the one they had just pulled off, Riggs was pretty sure she’d take him up on the offer.

He turned and headed for the lounge. Riggs slid into the booth enough to kick his legs up on the cushion. He was feeling very lazy at the moment, wanted to relax, and didn’t care how he looked. This was a moment to just be happy they were alive.

The bottle was opened, and the glasses were poured.

[member=Teyla Ee’everwest]

 

[Amz]

Her body slumped into the chair once they’d made it into hyperspace, chest decompressing with a heavy sigh and eyes closing while two fingers rubbed hard into the temples on the side of her head, trying to ward off the headache forming. “Do we have any more comaren? Wait, no. Think I used the end of it last time. Shiraya almighty, I’d kill for some right now. Remind me to pick up more when we land.” By the end of each encounter with the barbel, Teyla was popping pills for migraines.

Half of the shipment had been lost this time...HALF! Couldn’t load all of the crates because of the pirates, and while being pursued she’d tipped the ship onto its side to avoid getting blasted - effectively seeing them lose more of their cargo. Teyla knew, and Damon probably too, that they weren’t getting paid for this job. Which made it worse, considering all of the trouble they’d had to go through. That alien was creating problems for them, and they needed a solution to deal with him.

When Damon left, only to come back with a couple glasses and scotch, Teyla unlatched herself and flipped on the autopilot. His solution wasn’t what she had in mind, but the deep throb in her head was preventing her from thinking of anything sound, so she let whims lead her like a lamb to the slaughter.

She plopped next to him on the booth and yanked her hair loose from the tight ponytail, rustling the cascading hair with her fingers.

Taking her glass, Teyla took a sip. Normally she was a ‘glass of wine’ at the end of the day, sorta girl, but she'd started making exceptions every once in a while, when Riggs wanted someone to drink with.

“This...this was a fantastic idea.”


[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Riggs didn’t even want to think about the cargo that was lost. He didn’t want to think that this job was not going to be paid. Barbel was causing them too much trouble and he needed to go. Riggs plan was simple for now. He was gong to drink until he forgot about how upset he was with this whole thing. Teyla got them out alive, but they really needed the pay for that job. The ship had been acting funny on and off. There was a repair coming up, and the ship needed to be looked at.

A smile stretched on Riggs face when Teyla slid into the booth. When she took a sip Riggs took another. He did have a good idea. She was absolutely right.

”Well, we can toast to that. To good ideas.”

Riggs raised his glass and nodded to Teyla. Damn she was gorgeous, and with how drunk Riggs planned on getting he hoped he was going to behave. The last thing he needed was something coming out of his mouth that would make her quit. Damon was going to drink half the bottle on his own. Riggs felt his stomach growl. Yeah he was hungry.

”You hungry, I’m gonna raid the cold storage.”

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

Teyla couldn’t help the smile when he’d suggested a toast, then raised her own glass in good order and downed a larger portion of the contents inside.

“Starving, actually.” she answered, having not realized it until he asked. She hadn’t eaten much since before they’d landed on Jandur around 1500. Teyla glanced at the chrono, half-passed 1800 already. Having to run for their lives hadn’t really given her the time to think about anything else except for getting the hell out of there, let alone food. The woman was grateful Riggs had thought of it now.

More of the scotch was nursed, and Teyla tried to keep her gaze from lingering too long on Damon as he left her side for food - keenly aware of the warmth he took when he left. She had caught him stealing glances, he had caught her. Truth be told, she found it all highly amusing and kind of had fun playing coy, acting non the wiser to any of it going on - but that didn’t mean Teyla wanted anything other than a working relationship. She’d venture to say that the Captain was of a similar mindset. Teyla didn’t know, because he never talked about it - but she thought there might have been someone in his past.

But perhaps that was just her projecting, because there was certainly someone in hers.

Through the course of the last few years, she had a lot of time to self-reflect on the nature of her last relationship, one she had grown a lot from as a person, seeing her thaw from the ice queen she used to be. Still, moving from the professional boundaries with Baros had turned into a turbulent affair (then again, things had always been that way between them), and suffice to say, they hadn't ended on a high-note. There were regrets there, mistakes made, and Teyla wasn’t up to repeating the same thing. Even though the Captain had a jawline for days and a disarming charm, in that scoundrel type of way, at the end of the night she just wanted to be Damon’s pilot, and get paid.

The headache began to subside.

Thinking on it, getting drunk was actually a really, really, bad idea.

If he didn’t come back soon, Teyla might change her mind about it all together.


[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

There wasn’t much in the cold storage to ship anything up with, but when he wanted to he could be very creative. There was nothing to be creative with, just a bunch of freezer type appetizers which was actually the perfect thing for a night of getting drunk. He didn’t really pay attention to what he was putting together. Grabbing a little of this and a little of that, the rugged captain put together a platter of assorted snack foods and when they were ready he brought them out to the booth.

Teyla looked as though she was about ready to leave. Riggs couldn’t read people's minds, but he was good at reading people. He frowned.

”You weren’t just about to ditch me were you?”

Riggs hadn’t had a drinking partner since Russo left, and as much as he was not trying to treat Teyla as a replacement for her, Riggs did like the similarities. At this point he really wanted to drink and he didn’t want to do it alone. There had been a lot of alone in his life, and Riggs was getting extremely tired of it. He wasn’t anywhere near ready for the type of relationship he’d had with Russo. Force knew he wanted to marry that woman, but they hadn’t wanted the same thing, not career wise anyway. Russo might have married him if he’d asked, but he knew she was really married to being a fighter pilot at the time of their break up.

Damon slid back into the booth and downed the rest of the scotch. He had to drink that thought away. Without even thinking he filled their glasses again. While it had never come up, Riggs was pretty sure both of them were hiding a lot of details in their past. Depending on how much they drank it was going to be an interesting night of discovery.

Riggs grabbed a mini taco and popped it in his mouth. It was still hot, but food was best that way. He shoved the plate over to Teyla.

”We’re gonna have to get more food when he hit the shadow port. Also.... I think I have an idea on how to deal with Barbel. You opposed to me bringing an extra body on board to help with ummmm public relations?”

Sober. This was a good question to ask when they were still sober.

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

Riggs had come with a tray full of little nibbles in hand, and by the frown he wore, Teyla could tell that he’d realized what was up. She felt a modicum of guilt for thinking of running off before he got back, and it made Teyla settled back into the booth again, shaking her head. “What? Nope...I’m staying right here. Not going anywhere. We're gonna drink and enjoy tonight.” There was no leaving now, but she wasn’t going to get off the handle drunk, either.

Just take it slow, and you’ll at least be able to remember your evening by tomorrow.

She made room for him and scooted over when he sat back down, waiting for him to set down the tray on top of the table before she took the refilled glass in her hands again. Teyla was taking notice of his behavior, thinking she might have mentally felt a wave of something from him, but remained quiet through the moment - unable to place what that was, or what it meant. Absently, she wondered if he was trying to suppress something, or was just that stressed out about how their day had turned out - Teyla knew he could drink, but she didn't usually stick around to see how hard at it he went when he did.

The tray was slid over and she leaned forward, feeling her stomach growl as the aroma hit her nose. A hand slipped over her stomach, hoping he hadn't heard the beast, and began looking over the tray of food he’d brought. “Perfect snacks for this kind of night,” she smiled before plucking up an appetizer and taking a bite. It wasn’t a feast, but it was food, and Teyla was grateful to get something else in her besides a morning ration bar.

He mentioned their need for more food when they landed, she nodded, she could take care of that after getting the repairs underway for the ship, but when the mention of how to deal with the barabel was brought up, Teyla paused before the rim of the glass met her lips and set it down. “With how things have been going lately, it doesn’t really matter if I'm opposed to it. No, I don’t necessarily want someone else on board - but I know we need the assistance.”

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

In the past four months Riggs could count on one hand how many times he’d gotten completely smashed. The man who used to drink himself to sleep no longer had that practice, but there were occasions where the dress did get to him. Teyla and Riggs had let private things stay private. He didn’t go digging into her world, and Riggs certainly didn’t try digging up whatever she was running from. He knew she was running. It was written all over her the day they had met. Damon didn’t care as long as didn’t cause them any problems. They already had enough.

They were agreed on needing the help. Riggs simply nodded at her answer. Damon was more enraptured in how close they were. Usually they ate in shifts, one of them monitoring the cockpit while the other ate. This was also a rare moment over the past four months, and they were adding alcohol into the mix. There was a part of the captain which was telling him not to go too far with the drinking, but he was four glasses in by the time that thought came around.

Riggs picked up on her scent. It was a mix of whatever she was wearing and the natural musk the stress of the situation had produced. A couple more glasses in, and Riggs was feeling very talkative. Half of it was a blur, but there was a lucid moment where Riggs could only think about one thing. They’d been lucky to get out alive from that last encounter and he knew they both knew it.

”You know they’re gonna have to give me an award if I keep cheating death like this...” he said with slurred speech. He wasn’t obnoxiously drunk, Riggs never was the type to be, but he’d gotten enough in him to be overly friendly. ”Ever since the war with the Sith. My ship blew. Lost the whole crew. My XO... best friend. The captain is supposed to go down with his ship, but that bastard punched me, knocked me out cold and shoved me in an escape pod. It was the last one. That rat bastard... his fault I’m the one that has to live with what happened. I’ll never escape it...”

Riggs looked at the bottle and his empty glass. He pushed it away. He was done drinking for now.

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

After finishing the second glass he’d poured for her, Teyla had stopped all together and switched to water - keeping it where there was not enough in her that she might blunder and reveal secrets she didn’t want to share, but sufficiently tipped over the ledge to be in that calm and relaxed state.

She smiled inwardly at the quip about the award for living, but said nothing, being in something of a similar boat herself. Teyla also listened intently, quietly, to what he was saying. A few glasses in had brought him to a place of vulnerability and with it, conversation. Despite herself, Teyla was being pulled in by this honest and inebriated state, desiring to have a better understanding about the Captain who was still as much a mystery to her, as she was to him.

Suffice to say, what he told her of his personal story left her stunned. He’d survived something he shouldn’t have, so had she. She couldn’t empathize with him, because she had no idea what it was like to live with a loss as great as the one he’d been through, but she could certainly sympathize and offer compassion. “Riggs…” she addressed gently. “I can only imagine what that must feel like to have to live with, and I wish I had something to say that wouldn’t sound so empty.” there was a small part of her that wanted to reach out and do something to comfort him, but Teyla resisted, keeping the space between them. They did not share the kind of relationship where such an act would be thought to be appropriate. “Your friend must have cared a lot for you, making the decision to save your life. Surely the anguish you are feeling is not something he would want you to carry around."

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

It was called survivor’s guilt. Riggs had never learned to let that go. Finding Russo had helped, but suffered from it als. Her entire squadron had been lost in the same battle. When Riggs drank he always remembered. People drank to forget, but whiskey had a way of making memories stand out. In this case it was the scotch. Teyla was trying to keep the distance between them, and Riggs had noticed she stopped drinking with number two. There was too much scotch in the bottle so Riggs filled hers up again. He pushed it at her.

”You haven’t had enough,” Riggs said as it became clear he wasn’t taking no for answer.

He looked at her. The sunkissed brunette hair, and for a moment Riggs thought he was looking at Russo. He was too drunk to know better, but not drunk enough to say it out loud, not yet anyway. His story wasn’t over. Teyla was trying to be empathetic, but he knew she didn’t understand the guilt on the same level he did.

”You’re damn right Jenkins was a good man. Best friend a guy could have. The Corellian sure knew how to have a good time, but hated the fact I wouldn’t take a chance on the ladies, until she came on board. Lithe, gorgeous, sunkissed brunette hair, burgandy chocolate eyes, a figure to die for, Alexandra Russo. She had this sway to her hips that was hypnotic... a lot like yours...” apparently Riggs was toasted enough to admit he’d been watching. ”The attack happened the day I got the courage to tell her that I was in love with her... she survived, but took a year to track her down. In the end... we gave it a go, but she never liked the smuggler life like I did. Last time I saw her she was engaged to some Jedi guy...”

Riggs took Teyla’s glass and downed what was left in it. He looked her in the eyes, despite the fact his were glazed over he couldn still make out how vibrant they were.

”Life is short you know. People die, they move in and out. Here we’ve been flirting with each other, stealing looks when no one is looking. What the hell are we doing? Next time we run into that pirate could be our last, and you only love once.”

With that said the extremely inibriated Riggs leaned over and kissed Teyla full on the lips. There had been no warning, just action. It was likely time for Damon to put the alcohol away.

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

She gave the utmost attention to Riggs as he’d drawled on, the emotion behind his words escalating while she nursed at yet a third glass that he’d insisted on her drinking, repeatedly setting it down throughout his story.

A mistake that seemed to be, for the last time she put it down, Riggs quickly chucked back the rest of amber liquid inside.

Teyla continued to remain silent, acting as a sounding board, but kept noticing the lingering looks of his azure gaze. She flushed hotly when he made mention of her hips, comparing them to that of Russo.

So, there was someone else.

After that, she tried to avoid his stare. There were questions she had now, after that reveal. Like the reasons behind why he’d really hired her, uncomfortable by the thought of how close the two women resembled each other - it couldn't be pure coincidence, could it? Had he wanted her on board because he only saw her as a replacement Russo? She didn’t want to be anyone's replacement. He was probably even seeing a liquor induced version of the woman he’d just mentioned. Yeah. Teyla wasn’t going to stoke the fire on any ideas he might have.

Then he started rambling about love, and the alien, and maybe not making it out alive the next time.

Yup. It was time to call it a night.

“Ohhhkay. I think we put the bottle away, and that maybe it’s time we get you off to bed Capta-”

But before she could finish her thought, Damon had leaned forward. The smell of his musk was thick, and tangled with the sweet scents from his caramelized breath as his lips covered hers.

She hadn’t reacted as quickly as she should have to stop it, eyes wide from shock as her mind raced to catch up with what was happening. Under different circumstances, it might not have been entirely unpleasant. But the circumstances and timing were most unfavorable. Thankfully, one of them was still in control of their better senses and Teyla was determined to put an end to his nonsense before anything escalated. Both hands went to his chest and pushed forcefully, giving her room to breathe. “RIGGS! Captain! Stop!”

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Riggs was never going to be able to recall this night, or exactly what happened. The only moment he was going to recall was the one where Teyla slammer her hands into his chest and with sheer will desperation, pushed him off of her. Everything before that was a blur and everything after was as well. He would somehow manage to get out of the booth and stumble his way to where his quarters were. The bottle of scotch was left on the table along with the glass he’d been drinking from.

The next morning when Riggs woke up he was face down and diagonal on his bed. He’d never made it under his covers which told him he’d succeeded in drinking himself sleep. His head pounded like someone was taking a jackhammer to it which meant he hadn’t gotten enough water or food. Pushing off the bed his cheeck stuck to a puddle of drool before his face was free from the sheets. A hand wiped away at the wet spot on his face as sat up and put his feet on the floor.

Damon let his clothes fall on the floor of the fresher as he started the shower. It was going to take a while to heat up, but he needed a nice hot shower to help chase off the chill. A change of clothes had been set on the toilet seat, and when the shower was done and Riggs was dry, he dressed in something simple.

Riggs needed caf. The brew was one thing the ship never out of. Damon noticed the scotch was still on the table, and Teyla was no where in sight. By the looks of things he pretty much guessed he made an ass of himself and decided they were both going to need a full pot. When it was ready, Riggs grabbed his mug and a ration bar. As bit down on the ration bar he heard a clunking sound.

Then another.

Then whirring.

Then a sputtering.

”TEYLA!!!! How close are we to that shadow port!?”

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

Teyla was already up, showered, and in the cockpit since bright and early that morning, having thrown herself into work mode the second her feet hit the floor. It was what she did whenever something bothered her, because it was easier to keep herself occupied and busy, than having to deal with what happened the night before.

The ship groaned and rattled, Teyla let go a huff of exasperation. “Come on girl, just hold it together...” and rolled her eyes when she heard Damon yelling. Nice to know sunshine had finally rolled out of bed. “We’re not going to make it to the port! About to hit atmosphere! I gotta bring us down!” Teyla hollard back, eyeing the blinking lights, one of them being for the stabilizer.

Word had been sent down below to air control, asking to be granted permission to land. Shiraya be thanked, they were cleared after a clean ID check. Even if they hadn’t been, this ship was coming down.

Teyla hissed when the Inquisitors Revenge broke through the planet's atmosphere. She pulled hard on the controls to stabilize it, until she finally got it to flatten out. Still, the thing was shaking like it would break apart at any second. “Preparing for landing cycle! Get to the cockpit and strap yourself in!”

Once Damon had made it to his seat and she’d regained some of the control, Teyla brought them to land. She was too busy trying to keep them from crashing and killing anyone on the platform, to notice if he was strapped in or not.

The ship finally scraped to a screeching halt and everything died almost immediately.

Sweat beaded on her forehead, and after several moments she let go of a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding,letting her head fall to rest against the controls.

Looking up, she glanced towards Damon. She didn’t know if he remembered what happened, or how much of it, but Teyla did. Her lips pressed into a hard line, trying to not remember how his lips had felt - which in turn reminded her of how incensed she was with him. As soon as that memory came back, Teyla’s mouth opened. Then closed. She scowled and unlatched her restraints. “Why?” she asked, then shook her head, made her question more pointed. “Why did you wait until you were drunk? Is it because I'm unapproachable, or because you needed enough in you to pretend that I'm Russo."

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Get to the cockpit. He didn’t need to hear that twice before rushing in and strapping into the seat next to Teyla. She had good control of the ship, and while she was trying to land, Riggs took the damage report in between bursts of helping to keep the ship stable. When they broke the atmosphere everything went to hell and in a hand basket quickly. They were about to crash, and would have if Teyla wasn’t such a good pilot. Riggs wanted to make a b-line for the door, but Teyla had already unstrapped herself and looked at him with a glare that could kill.

It was quiet for a while after she asked her question. Riggs tried piecing the night together enough to understand why she was so upset.

”You’re not her,” he answered and went quiet again.

Riggs looked out of the front view of the cockpit as he contemplated what to say and how to say. There was a lot in the question Teyla had asked. Why has he waited until he was drunk to make a move? That question could imply she would have welcomed something if he was sober. The blow to his courage though, that was a hard one.

”We’ve both been stealing looks and not saying anything since you first walked on this ship. I’m pretty sure we’ve both been trying to keep this relationship a professional one, but yeah, I’m attracted to you. I don’t want to pretend you’re her either. There are things that remind me about her, but dammit I’ve been fair in how I see you. Never once have I looked at you as a replacement for her. Whether you want to believe that or not that’s that.”

Riggs sighed.

”You can think I’m a coward for waiting until I was drunk, and that’s fair, but it isn’t because you’re unapproachable. It’s not because I wish you were Russo. By the force I hope I didn’t say that because it’s not true.”

He knew he was in a catch 22. By admitting he was attracted to her it meant that it was now out there. No matter how much they wanted to keep things professional this admission would always be underneath it all. It was a better alternative to than letting her think a lie that he just wanted her to be Russo.

”Russo and I are done... and part of me hasn’t moved on from that. Haven’t you ever been close enough to someone that it took time find yourself fully past whatever it was you had, good or bad?”

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

Teeth stayed at the tip of her tongue, her jaw set firmly while Damon explained himself.

What he said about the flirting was true, though it was neither here nor there. They had tread close to the edge with whatever kind of dance around they were doing over the last four months, but managed to keep their involvement cordial and only shared some small bits and pieces of their lives that would be otherwise seen as inconsequential to any deeper developments. There was space, there were lines. Glances did not change that. But after the admission he’d just given, and with what he poured out to her last night, that space and the lines they normally kept between them, now felt much smaller.

She tried to regain some composure, letting her shoulders fall as she sighed, but continued to keep her posture stiff. Hands found the armrests of her chair and she hoisted herself up from the seat to reach over and send the damage report to her datapad.

Teyla wanted to bristle at him about Russo, but had the better judgment to let it go. She could choose to hold onto the fact he had left out the resemblances she bore to his ex, and not believe that it had all just been coincidental and he saw her for being the individual she was and not some shadow of his last love - but she chose to give him the benefit of the doubt in this instance and set it aside, choosing to believe in his sincerity.

When he posed his last question, Teyla had to shift her eyes to hide her silent response that rushed to the surface, bringing up a wall to force the reaction back down. Baros was not something she wished to discuss, enough had already been said.

She closed her eyes, sighed.

“Look... let’s just forget any of this ever happened. Last night, whatever was or was not said, it was a mistake. We go back to how things have been, and make an addendum to our contract that there will be no more late night drinking together, okay? Okay.” Teyla didn’t wait for his response, she knew that what she said was not plausible. “I’ve got work to do, going to find us a mechanic to fix our ship, then going to shop around for supplies.” she needed space, held up a hand to stop him from following her. “Please, just go.” Teyla pressed a hand to her forehead, “I mean go look for the guy. The relations specialist, or whatever. I'll do the rest on my own.”

With that, she turned on her heel and shot out the door.

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

There wasn’t any arguing. Teyla gave him the benefit of the doubt, but it was clearly begrudgingly. Riggs wanted to protest, to try and “win” the argument, but he was very certain that would be a bad idea. He watched her leave in a hurry and huff, but it felt wrong. As much as she said she wanted to go back to how things had been, Riggs knew the truth. They could not. It wasn’t because Riggs had crossed a line that they couldn’t retreat from. It was for two things. The first Riggs had already spoken, they’d been flirting with the line from a distance and would find themselves back at it. The second reason was something Teyla had voiced, why had he waited to be drunk? Teyla and Riggs both wanted something more. They just didn’t want to admit it.

When Teyla was gone, Riggs plugged in a message for a friend of his to find him at the next shadow port. The small furball wasn’t much to looo at, but that was the point. He would be underestimated. Riggs knew better though. Rocco was the type to blow things sky high without any regret. This pirate would hate meeting him.

Things were awkward on the ship even with Teyla gone. Some air would help clear Riggs head. It was time to get his part in all this done so they could move on. They’d connect. They would talk. Hopefully they would reconcile.

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]