Fic, Coffee and Chocolate, Jess/Ryan, 15
Jan. 18th, 2014 10:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fredbassettTitle : Coffee and Chocolate
Author : fredbassett
Fandom : Primeval
Rating : 15
Characters : Jess/Ryan
Disclaimer : Not mine, no money made, don’t sue.
Spoilers : None
Word Count : 1,229
Summary : Jess finds Captain Ryan rather scary, but then again, he does bring her coffee and chocolate.
A/N : Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
celeste9 for fandom stocking.
“Can I get you a coffee?”
Jess jumped like a startled kitten, wondering –not for the first time – how someone as imposing as Captain Ryan could manage to move quite so silently. She just managed to catch the arms of her chair in time as it scooted away from her on its castors, hauling it back under her bottom to prevent herself landing in an undignified heap on the floor.
“Sorry,” he said, smiling down at her. “I didn’t mean to give you a shock.”
Jess beamed at him, hoping he wouldn’t think she was really, really stupid for nearly falling off her chair. “A coffee would be lovely, thanks… lots of milk… two sugars… not too strong…” She trailed off, remembering how she’d babbled exactly the same list at him yesterday when he’d asked her exactly the same question. And the fact that she’d probably done something similar the day before that as well, really wasn’t doing much for her image as competent team co-ordinator.
Oh boy, Parker, way to go to impress the hot new captain, she thought. Although, more accurately, he was actually an old captain, not a new captain, on account of the whole coming back from the dead thing. Or maybe the alternative universe thing, or maybe…
“I remember,” Ryan said, and she could swear his blue eyes were twinkling with amusement. He had really, really nice eyes.
He also had a really nice bottom, and Jess had to do her best not to stare as he walked off. But not staring was pretty hard, as the velcro straps cinched tightly around each thigh – one holding a conventional semi-automatic and the other an EMD pistol – did rather indecent things to both his arse and his crotch, and not staring was actually a lot harder than it sounded.
Five minutes later he was back, bringing with him a mug of coffee made exactly the way she liked it and a packet of her favourite chocolate biscuits.
“Lester!” she called, as her boss appeared in the door of his office. “He followed us home, can we keep him? Please!”
Lester rolled his eyes. “He did and I thought we had. I’m please to inform you, Captain, that as of half an hour ago, you have been officially reinstated on the payroll of Her Majesty’s armed forces. But I’ve been instructed to inform you that two year’s back pay isn’t part of the resurrection package.”
Ryan grinned. “Somehow I didn’t think it would be.”
He’d been unofficially part of the team for the last three weeks, having arrived back in the middle of Convergence, dressed in rags, covered in scars, but still capable of holding his own against anything the anomalies cared to throw at them. At that point, the team had been stretched to breaking point and not inclined to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Since then he’d quietly and unobtrusively become indispensible. And he really did make excellent coffee.
* * * * *
At the end of her shift, Jess gathered up the numerous mugs strewn around her workstation and took them back to the break room.
Ryan, dressed now in jeans and a sloppy grey sweater, was sprawled across one of the sofas reading a newspaper. He looked as good in civvies as he did in uniform.
On impulse, Jess said, “We ought to do something to celebrate. It’s a shame Becker and the others won’t be back until late.” She hesitated, but then ploughed on before she had chance to lose her nerve. “Would you like to go out for a drink?”
“I’d like that very much,” he said, his smile seeming almost shy. “Lester raided the petty cash for a 50 quid advance on salary and I’m told that I’ll have access to my bank account again by the end of the week, so I’ll be able to repay all the meals everyone’s been standing me.”
“It’s been a pleasure,” Jess said, and meant it. “You’re a bit of a legend around here, you know.”
She’d read his file, along with everyone else’s when she’d first started at the new ARC, waiting for Becker and the others to arrive. She’d had a bit of a crush on the new captain at first, but it had quickly become obvious that Becker’s relationship with her new boss was slightly more than purely professional. They made a very sweet couple, although Becker would rip anyone to pieces if they so much as dared to suggest that. He claimed, quite erroneously, that he didn’t do cute.
* * * * *
Over a rather nice bottle of red wine in a bar mid-way between the ARC and Jess’s flat, they talked and laughed, and at times it was hard for Jess to believe that the man she was sharing the wine and chatter with was a Special Forces soldier who probably knew more ways of killing people than she had shoes. And Jess had an awful lot of shoes. It was equally hard to remember that in her day job she directed field teams dealing with some of the most dangerous creatures ever to have walked the earth. Ryan made her feel like a normal young woman for once, away from her computers, and away from the almost ever-present miasma of danger that she swore hung over the ARC, even with the collapse of the New Dawn project.
The celebratory drink turned into a celebratory meal – on her, Jess insisted. Several hours later, Ryan walked her home, his arm linked with hers. On the steps of her flat, he thanked her for her company, and promised that the next meal would be on him.
Before the moment became drawn out and awkward, Ryan held her hand and lifted it to his lips, setting a light kiss to it and then stepping back. “Thank you for making me so welcome, Jess. And, more to the point, thank you for keeping us all safe in the field.”
Jess blushed furiously at his praise, caught off guard by his curiously old-fashioned gesture.
“Thank you for taking me seriously,” she said, saying the first thing that came into her head and then blushing even more furiously.
“Hard not to when you’re busy giving me the sort of ops intelligence that saves my life. From what I’ve seen, there’s no one on the team who doesn’t take you seriously.”
Acting on the same sort of impulse that had made her ask him out for a drink, she went up on her toes and kissed him lightly on the lips. “Goodnight, Tom.”
He slipped his arms around her, and kissed her, conclusively proving that he was as expert as kissing as he was at everything else. When they finally drew apart, Jess murmured, “Would you like to come up for a coffee?”
“Strong… two sugars… not much milk.”
“I think I can manage that.”
And she did, but it wasn’t until the following morning that either of them spared a thought for coffee.
Author : fredbassett
Fandom : Primeval
Rating : 15
Characters : Jess/Ryan
Disclaimer : Not mine, no money made, don’t sue.
Spoilers : None
Word Count : 1,229
Summary : Jess finds Captain Ryan rather scary, but then again, he does bring her coffee and chocolate.
A/N : Written for
celeste9 for fandom stocking.“Can I get you a coffee?”
Jess jumped like a startled kitten, wondering –not for the first time – how someone as imposing as Captain Ryan could manage to move quite so silently. She just managed to catch the arms of her chair in time as it scooted away from her on its castors, hauling it back under her bottom to prevent herself landing in an undignified heap on the floor.
“Sorry,” he said, smiling down at her. “I didn’t mean to give you a shock.”
Jess beamed at him, hoping he wouldn’t think she was really, really stupid for nearly falling off her chair. “A coffee would be lovely, thanks… lots of milk… two sugars… not too strong…” She trailed off, remembering how she’d babbled exactly the same list at him yesterday when he’d asked her exactly the same question. And the fact that she’d probably done something similar the day before that as well, really wasn’t doing much for her image as competent team co-ordinator.
Oh boy, Parker, way to go to impress the hot new captain, she thought. Although, more accurately, he was actually an old captain, not a new captain, on account of the whole coming back from the dead thing. Or maybe the alternative universe thing, or maybe…
“I remember,” Ryan said, and she could swear his blue eyes were twinkling with amusement. He had really, really nice eyes.
He also had a really nice bottom, and Jess had to do her best not to stare as he walked off. But not staring was pretty hard, as the velcro straps cinched tightly around each thigh – one holding a conventional semi-automatic and the other an EMD pistol – did rather indecent things to both his arse and his crotch, and not staring was actually a lot harder than it sounded.
Five minutes later he was back, bringing with him a mug of coffee made exactly the way she liked it and a packet of her favourite chocolate biscuits.
“Lester!” she called, as her boss appeared in the door of his office. “He followed us home, can we keep him? Please!”
Lester rolled his eyes. “He did and I thought we had. I’m please to inform you, Captain, that as of half an hour ago, you have been officially reinstated on the payroll of Her Majesty’s armed forces. But I’ve been instructed to inform you that two year’s back pay isn’t part of the resurrection package.”
Ryan grinned. “Somehow I didn’t think it would be.”
He’d been unofficially part of the team for the last three weeks, having arrived back in the middle of Convergence, dressed in rags, covered in scars, but still capable of holding his own against anything the anomalies cared to throw at them. At that point, the team had been stretched to breaking point and not inclined to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Since then he’d quietly and unobtrusively become indispensible. And he really did make excellent coffee.
* * * * *
At the end of her shift, Jess gathered up the numerous mugs strewn around her workstation and took them back to the break room.
Ryan, dressed now in jeans and a sloppy grey sweater, was sprawled across one of the sofas reading a newspaper. He looked as good in civvies as he did in uniform.
On impulse, Jess said, “We ought to do something to celebrate. It’s a shame Becker and the others won’t be back until late.” She hesitated, but then ploughed on before she had chance to lose her nerve. “Would you like to go out for a drink?”
“I’d like that very much,” he said, his smile seeming almost shy. “Lester raided the petty cash for a 50 quid advance on salary and I’m told that I’ll have access to my bank account again by the end of the week, so I’ll be able to repay all the meals everyone’s been standing me.”
“It’s been a pleasure,” Jess said, and meant it. “You’re a bit of a legend around here, you know.”
She’d read his file, along with everyone else’s when she’d first started at the new ARC, waiting for Becker and the others to arrive. She’d had a bit of a crush on the new captain at first, but it had quickly become obvious that Becker’s relationship with her new boss was slightly more than purely professional. They made a very sweet couple, although Becker would rip anyone to pieces if they so much as dared to suggest that. He claimed, quite erroneously, that he didn’t do cute.
* * * * *
Over a rather nice bottle of red wine in a bar mid-way between the ARC and Jess’s flat, they talked and laughed, and at times it was hard for Jess to believe that the man she was sharing the wine and chatter with was a Special Forces soldier who probably knew more ways of killing people than she had shoes. And Jess had an awful lot of shoes. It was equally hard to remember that in her day job she directed field teams dealing with some of the most dangerous creatures ever to have walked the earth. Ryan made her feel like a normal young woman for once, away from her computers, and away from the almost ever-present miasma of danger that she swore hung over the ARC, even with the collapse of the New Dawn project.
The celebratory drink turned into a celebratory meal – on her, Jess insisted. Several hours later, Ryan walked her home, his arm linked with hers. On the steps of her flat, he thanked her for her company, and promised that the next meal would be on him.
Before the moment became drawn out and awkward, Ryan held her hand and lifted it to his lips, setting a light kiss to it and then stepping back. “Thank you for making me so welcome, Jess. And, more to the point, thank you for keeping us all safe in the field.”
Jess blushed furiously at his praise, caught off guard by his curiously old-fashioned gesture.
“Thank you for taking me seriously,” she said, saying the first thing that came into her head and then blushing even more furiously.
“Hard not to when you’re busy giving me the sort of ops intelligence that saves my life. From what I’ve seen, there’s no one on the team who doesn’t take you seriously.”
Acting on the same sort of impulse that had made her ask him out for a drink, she went up on her toes and kissed him lightly on the lips. “Goodnight, Tom.”
He slipped his arms around her, and kissed her, conclusively proving that he was as expert as kissing as he was at everything else. When they finally drew apart, Jess murmured, “Would you like to come up for a coffee?”
“Strong… two sugars… not much milk.”
“I think I can manage that.”
And she did, but it wasn’t until the following morning that either of them spared a thought for coffee.