&fic;

 

Worst Kept Secret in Vancouver

by sugargroupie

PG-13, 1564 words

Summary: she only wished this time it was something she could brag about.

Disclaimer: This portrayal is entirely fictional.

Notes: I guess this is what you'd call a crossover of the SG-1 and SGA cast members. This is also my first official RPF story. Feedback would be lovely.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

Of course there were rumors.

Rumors that seemed to have followed them from the long ago destroyed Farscape sets and had returned with a vengeance to Vancouver, even though she and Ben shared less than half the screen time now. Being in the business for as long as she has, it should not have surprised her that the cast and crew were already acquainted with the supposed details of her personal life before she stepped foot on the set.

But Claudia's and Ben's reputations had always preceded them. She only wished this time it was something she could brag about.

The first time someone boldly asked her about Ben -- and she still remembers it so clearly -- she was caught completely off guard, and thus couldn't answer so much as gape at the person until they went away. She was sure her inability to answer that question only exacerbated the situation.

(And, she admitted, it did explain the sudden rise in speculation of their working relationship that surfaced while filming season nine.)

The second time, Claudia was much more prepared; probably (definitely) because she'd just spent the better part of an hour beforehand with her hand down Ben's pants as he murmured her name against her neck. If pressed, she was prepared to blame it on drinking too much wine on an empty stomach.

Truthfully, most times they couldn't keep their hands off each other, even, especially, when they were just being friendly, which happened to work to their advantage because no one really questioned whether or not they were being serious.

Of course they weren't, except when they were, because she and Ben had become exceptionally skillful at keeping certain things hidden.

It also helped that Ben was never more dangerous than when playing the role of good friend and co-star. His hands always seemed to linger a little too long at the small of her back or on her hip. When he kissed her on the cheek or on the mouth, it was always a warning of what was to come.

(His weight pressing her against the wall; fingers combing through her hair, cupping her face as he leaned his cheek against hers. Breath warm on her skin as he whispered, "Missed you," and she moved closer in response. Lips, smooth on her mouth as he gently kissed her, followed by tongue, wet as he sought permission to deepen the kiss.)

The third and most recent time Claudia was confronted with the rumors, her first thought was that perhaps she and Ben weren't as discreet with their relationship as they thought. Maybe theirs was the worst kept secret on both Stargate sets. And if that were true, she mused as she observed the woman standing in front of her, then the indiscretion happening between Torri Higginson and Joe Flanigan had to be the best kept secret in all of Vancouver.

Claudia never saw that one coming.

*

Earlier...

She stood in a semi-secluded corner of David Hewlett's living room, hands holding nothing at the moment but Ben had promised to return with something to get her suitably drunk.

Incidentally, she and Ben had shown up to the party at David's house to show their faces for a few hours just to be polite, but as with previous cast parties, they almost never left when they intended.

While Claudia waited on her partner in crime to return, Torri had come up from behind her, laying a hand on her back to alert Claudia to her presence, and met Claudia's eyes with a smile.

"It's good to see you again," Torri greeted.

"Likewise," Claudia returned, leaning closer to keep herself from yelling over the noise. "Without things like this," she gestured around her, "we'd never see each other."

Torri nodded. "I know!" She looked distractedly around her before returning her gaze to Claudia. "So... I see you're here with Browder."

Oh, this one's not subtle at all, Claudia thought. Although, she was amused at how everyone seemed to refer to Ben as 'Browder' In absentia. It only took one person - Chris, if she recalled correctly - before everyone caught on.

"Well, we did walk through the door at the same time," Claudia finally answered. Just because they were apparently so bloody obvious about their relationship didn't mean she had to make it easy on everyone else by admitting it.

Torri grimaced lightly. "Sorry." She smiled absently as she lifted the bottle of beer she'd been nursing to her lips. After taking a deep drink, she finally worked up the nerve to say, "That must be difficult, being that close to him and having your friendship under constant scrutiny."

Claudia shrugged. "You get used it after a while, though yes, you certainly shouldn't have to." She eyed the other woman who seemed to be lost in thought again. "Good on you, for not having to deal with that problem."

"Yeah, I certainly avoided that train wreck," she said dryly, her gaze skirting out to the crowd.

To Claudia, it wasn't so much what Torri had said, but how she said it. Plus, the woman just looked guilty.

"Torri." When she looked back, Claudia decided to level with her. "Let's drop the act, shall we? What is it that you want to know?"

Smiling gratefully, Torri moved to stand with her back against the wall a few paces away and waited for Claudia to join her. "No hypothetically speaking bullshit, just flat out honesty?"

Claudia sensed it was rhetorical, but nodded anyway.

"All right then." Torri took a deep breath and forged ahead. "I'm sleeping with Joe."

She'd had her suspicions, but she never expected it to be with Joe, of all people. "Wow. You two certainly know how to keep a secret," Claudia replied with a smile. She was sure the genuine surprise was still easily read on her face, if Torri's eager nod in agreement was anything to go by.

"We do work on completely different sets, you know, " Torri teased. "There's a lot you SG-1 people don't know about us."

"And yet, anyone who's ever had anything to do with either Stargate series knows more about my sex life than should be possible."

Torri chuckled. "True." Her expression sobered as she continued, "No offense to you or Browder, but I don't want to end up like that. I mean, I can deal with set rumors without an ounce of truth to them; it comes with what we do for a living." Torri shook her head. "Maybe this is my conscious giving me a swift kick in the ass."

"Hmm," Claudia said noncommittally. "So you're asking what Ben and I have done wrong, so you can do the opposite?"

"Maybe. And you haven't done everything wrong. From what I hear, which is still unsubstantiated, this thing with you and Browder goes all the way back to your Farscape days."

Claudia wasn't touching that one. "Yes, well, that rumor's going to remain unverified."

They were both quiet for a minute after that, and Claudia wondered where the hell Ben had gone off to when she caught the back of his head across the room. He was talking animatedly, as he often did once he got going, to Rachel and... Claudia grinned. Speak of the devil.

She bumped her shoulder against Torri's, nodded in the direction of where Joe and Rachel were laughing at whatever Ben was saying.

Torri blushed prettily and took another sip of her beer.

Well, Claudia thought, I can certainly have fun with this later.

"Claudia, I need to know if it's worth it. Is it?"

Finally, the question. On any given day, Claudia's answer was different. What hadn't changed was that she's never regretted her decision, not once.

"I can't answer that for you," Claudia said, her voice low.

Torri nodded, seeming to find the answer she sought in Claudia's response. "Well," she smiled, "tonight, the answer is yes, and it'll have to do for right now."

Claudia smiled in return and, feeling that part of the conversation was over, moved to rejoin the party. She felt Torri's warm touch on her arm before the woman clasped her hand briefly.

A quietly stated "Thank you," was all Torri said, and the topic was put away.

As they joined the small group, Claudia hid her grin as she observed the way Joe's eyes lit up upon seeing Torri. Instead, she leaned into Ben's side and he draped his arm loosely around her hip; his breath warm against her ear as he spoke quietly. "Hey, I saw you talking to Torri earlier and didn't want to interrupt."

"That's fine," she murmured, nodding her thanks when he held out a glass of wine which she drank from eagerly.

Claudia found her gaze once again on Torri and Rachel, who seemed to be in their own world as they gesticulated in between laughter, while Joe sat idly by, watching them with affection.

Ben leaned close again. "Do you wanna hang around for a bit or call it a night?"

Claudia inclined her head, as if giving the question some thought. Torri was right; tonight was one of those moments when everything was worth it. "No, I think I'd like to stay a while," she answered.

And when Ben smiled at her, she forgot that they were the worst kept secret in Vancouver.

*

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