NOTES:
Author: Yana
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Season Three
Disclaimers: All the characters or mentions of characters
in this story that you find vaguely recognizable aren't mine.
Archive: SoTU, if you want it; others please ask
AN: Moose meat, not anywhere near as gross as BVW made
it out to be.
“Niagara Falls.”
Josh grunted.
“You should get into the spirit. It’s a North American landmark.”
“It’s a lot of water.”
“And we’re going to see it, Josh.”
“You are going to see it. I’m going to stay in Buffalo, catch a Sabres game, eat some Buffalo wings, and drink beer. Things any true Buffalonian would do.”
“Buffalonian?”
“A resident of Buffalo is...”
“This is your idea of a holiday?”
“I wouldn’t call 30 hours a holiday.”
"We could drive back to DC."
"Please don't repeat that out loud. I want my 30 hours."
“So? Seize the day!”
“You seize the day. I’ll drink the beer.”
Donna ignored him. “You know, we’ll have to cross the border to get the best view.”
“There’s another thing. Crossing an international border is fairly low on my list of fun things to do.”
“The Canadians have pretty good beer, you know.”
“I’m quite proud of our American breweries and fine master brewers, Donna.”
“Ah. The Canadian stuff is strong. I forgot.”
“You know, you think you’re gonna bait me until my ego takes over, but it’s just not gonna happen.”
“I wasn’t baiting...”
“And that’s another thing. Canada. Are you even allowed back there?”
“Why not?”
“You spurned them.”
“I didn’t spurn. I was Canadian for all of five minutes before reclaiming my American citizenship.”
“Refresh my memory. Who helped with that?”
She gave a long suffering sigh. “You, Josh.”
“See, even if they do make allowances for you, they won’t like me. I took you away from them.”
“Josh. It’s not like Bob and Doug Mackenzie are at the border trying to take you out with a slapshot."
"Wouldn't matter to me if they were."
"Josh - "
"You know why?"
She glared at him.
"Because I'm getting Sabres tickets."
"No you aren't."
"Excuse me?"
"It's May."
"What?"
"No hockey. At least, not in Buffalo this year."
"Oh."
"So basically you're just gonna hang around in the hotel, getting drunk and stuffing yourself with fatty foods.”
"Yeah..." He brightened. "Hey, that sounds like fun. C'mon, when was the last time I did that?"
"Bartlet For America."
"Funny girl."
"C'mon Josh. You can hang out in a Canadian hotel, drink beer and eat crap at much lower prices."
"Exchange rate?"
"Canadian dollar's tanked."
"Okay then."
*****
"See? No problems at the border."
“They wanted to look at my license!”
“Well...yeah.”
“They were staring.”
“It’s a good picture.”
“It’s really not.”
“So bring your passport next time.”
“One, there is not going to be a next time. Two, you’ve seen my passport photo.”
“Oh, right. So your license was the better choice. The important thing is, we’ve left the country with a minimum of fuss.”
He shot a look at her, trying to figure out where her cheery-optimist routine was heading."Let's try getting back in tomorrow, shall we?"
"It'll be fine."
"And you booked us into..."
"The Marriott."
"Canadian dollars, right?"
"It's on my card. I did this for you. Their site says 'Experience the best view of Niagara Falls without leaving your room.'"
"So I have to look at them regardless."
"Yup. I'll even let you have first pick of the beds."
"Okay then. Wait. What do you mean I get to pick my bed?"
"If you want the one nearest the window..."
"You didn't get two rooms?"
"Oh. No I didn't. Oops."
"Oops?"
"I wasn't thinking you..."
"Donna..."
"I'll upgrade us to a suite."
"As soon as possible."
"But in return, I get first pick of the beds."
"In return? In return for what?! Us not being fired for improper conduct?"
She ignored him. "So I'll need your credit card."
"You just said you paid!"
"The upgrade goes on your bill."
"Turn the car around."
"No, Josh! It'll be fine. Look, we'll each have charges from the hotel on our cards. The appearance of improper conduct goes away."
He sighed. "Fine."
"Besides, it isn't like you can't afford it."
"Donna..."
"Even I can afford it. Know why?"
"Why?"
"I've been economizing."
"Really?"
"Yes. Instead of buying my lunch at the mess, I'm eating smoked Moose meat sandwiches for the next six months."
"See, it's a gift that keeps on giving."
"I missed you so much."
"I know."
*****
"There's only one bed." He poked his head back into the living room.
"The sofa in here pulls out."
"Ah."
"It'll be nice. There's a fireplace."
"By this you mean to say, 'Josh, I'm taking the bed.'"
"Josh?"
"Yes?"
"I'm taking the bed."
"Okay."
"Come see the Falls with me."
"I thought we'd been over this. Beer. Room service."
"C'mon, Josh -"
"Fine. Come here."
"What?"
He took her arm and pulled her over to the picture window. "See? Falls."
"They're beautiful."
"Can I go now?"
"Oh, come on, Josh. They'll be so much more impressive close up."
He gave up. "Twenty minutes."
"Excellent!"
*****
"I'm getting wet."
"Well, you are standing near Niagara Falls."
"Can I go now?"
"Just look at them for a while. Oh, and here. Take a picture of me."
"Fine. Smile."
"Thank you. You want me to take one of you?"
"As momentous as this occasion may be, no."
"Fine. Wait - " She grabbed a passing tourist, a mother with a baby stroller. "Could you take a picture of the two of us?"
"Sure."
Donna looped an arm around Josh as he stood stiffly.
"Smile," said the tourist.
Donna pinched him.
"Ow!" He turned his head to look at her. The flash went off.
"Here." The tourist thrust the camera back at them.
"Thanks!" Donna exclaimed. Josh sighed.
*****
"You know, Niagara Falls is the Honeymoon Capital of North America."
"Still?"
"Apparently, the negative ions generated by the falling water are a strong aphrodisiac."
"You've got to be kidding."
“Amazing, isn’t it?”
“It’s just a lot of water. Falling.”
“Mmm. They do call it the bride’s second disappointment.”
“Ah. Donna?”
“Yes?”
“Why am I walking?”
“Because you can.”
“I mean, why am I not in my room?”
“Because.”
“Because?”
“I am going to make you appreciate the sheer magnificence of this natural wonder.”
“Donnaaaaa...”
“Come on.”
*****
“Okay, now I’m really wet.”
“Well, you were in a boat that sailed up to the base of Niagara Falls.”
“Get this thing off me.”
“You don’t want to keep it as a souvenir?”
“It’s a cheap blue garbage bag.”
“It kept you dry. Kind of.”
“Gaaaah!” He tore off the disposable raincoat. “And there’s something stuck to my shoe.”
“Calm down.”
“Can I go now?”
She sighed. “Yes.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Sightsee.”
“Okay.”
“Have fun.”
“You too.”
*****
“Hello?”
“Hey.”
“Josh?”
“Yeah. Where are you?”
“At the casino.”
“Oh.”
“What? Why are you calling?”
“No reason.”
“You’re bored.”
“Not really.”
“You’re stuck in a hotel room with nothing to do.”
“True.”
“While I’m out having fun.”
“Gambling?”
“It’s fun, if you tell yourself you’re going to lose. You know how long I made twenty bucks last on the nickel slots?”
“See, that part doesn’t -”
“Excuse me.” Her voice was muffled as she covered the phone.
“Donna?”
Her voice was suddenly clear again. “And, apparently, I’m meeting interesting men.”
“I doubt that.”
“Someone’s just bought me a drink.”
“Wanting to get you liquored up qualifies as interesting?”
“Bye Josh.”
“Donna-” He was talking to dead air.
*****
“Hey.”
“What are you doing here?” She was definitely annoyed.
“I just - I was bored.”
“Right.”
“Where is he?”
“Who?”
“Interesting guy.”
“His girlfriend showed up.”
“Ah.”
“She was pretty upset.” Donna took a long swig.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
“Bastard,” she muttered into her glass.
“Not you, her.”
“Bastard.”
“Him? Or me?”
“Bastard.”
“Okay. Donna? How much have you had to drink?”
“Just one. One lousy...”
“Free...”
“I guess.”
“And rather strong drink. Let me take you back to the hotel.”
“I’ll catch the shuttle.” She drained her glass.
“It’s okay. We’ll get a cab.”
“Shuttle’s free.”
“I think I can afford a cab. Just bring me a Moose meat sandwich on Monday,” he joked.
“Oh, my god. Why didn’t I ever think of that?”
“What?”
“I could have had you eating Moss meat for the last month!”
“You what?”
“You could have eaten the whole thing before you caught on.”
“Back up. I could have eaten what?”
“And I could have pocketed your lunch money.”
“Donna!”
“You are so getting a sandwich on Monday.”
“You’re a little frightening right now.”
“You’re gonna eat half that moose if I have to shove it down your throat.”
“Just don’t steal my lunch money.” He steered her out the exit.
*****
“It’s dark out.”
“It’s night.”
“Look at the Falls!”
“Yes, someone shone spotlights on them.”
“Josh...”
“It’s pretty, yes.”
“Let’s get a closer look.” She dragged him down to the railing.
He sighed and let her pull him along.
*****
“Done looking yet?”
She shivered. “Just a bit longer.”
He stepped behind her, put his hands on her upper arms, and rubbed. “Phthwa.” He spit out the blonde hair that the night breeze had blown into his face.
“Sorry.”
He reflected that she didn’t sound sorry. He squeezed her arms and let his chin rest on her shoulder for a little while longer.
Finally, he murmured in her ear. “You know, you can watch the colours change from your wonderful fallsview suite.”
She stiffened a bit, then sagged back against him. “Fine,” she bit off.
“Or we could look at the Falls some more,” he amended, wondering why she’d lost the happy-go-lucky veneer that had been driving him nuts for most of the day.
“No, we’ll go.”
He decided not to answer, but hailed a cab.
*****
“I’m gonna try out the jacuzzi tub.”
“Okay.” The suite also came with a Sony PlayStation, and he’d managed to pull out the sofabed in front of the TV.
“I may be in there a while.”
“Okay.”
“Are you listening to me?”
“Okay.”
“Never mind.”
“Okay.”
*****
He shifted a bit. The last of the beer was getting to him and he realised he hadn’t heard anything from Donna in a while. “Donna?” He knocked on the bathroom door.
“Yeah?”
Her voice wasn’t coming from the bathroom, so he went in and relieved himself.
“Donna?” He peered into the bedroom.
She was standing at the big picture window in her robe, forehead pressed against the glass.
“Can’t get enough of the view?”
She grunted, “Mmm.”
He came up behind her and put his hands on her waist, leaning his chin on her shoulder so that he could share her view of the city lights and the pastel colours lighting up the Falls. She didn’t respond, placing her palms on the glass as well.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” She exhaled, but her breath caught.
“Donna...” He knew she was thinking about something.
“It’s just...” She broke off.
“What?”
“I’ve always wanted to come here.”
“And now you are here.”
“I just thought...”
“What?”
She sucked in her breath and pressed her nose against the window. “It’s the Honeymoon Capital.”
He tried for levity. “You’re telling me it was a secret dream of yours to honeymoon in Niagara Falls?”
“No.”
He let the silence close in for a moment, then asked, “Then what is it?”
“It’s nothing.” She raised her head and let it fall again with a thump against the window. “I don’t know. May be it’s this room, with the view, and the big bed, and the jacuzzi...”
“Ah.”
“I just thought I’d be here with someone.”
“I’m here,” he offered.
“It’s not the same,” she said softly.
“I know.”
“I went sightseeing today by myself.”
“You didn’t enjoy it?”
“No - I did. I really did. But then I started to wonder if I would be having more fun...”
“With someone,” he finished.
“Yeah.”
He thought about his own track record and decided not to comment. She kept her face pressed against the cool surface of the window, gazing out at the water, and he watched her breath fog and then evaporate on the glass.
They stood that way for a few minutes, until he felt a little jerk of her torso. He stopped looking out the window, refocusing his gaze on her reflection in the glass. Her lips were pursed tight and she was blinking.
“Hey,” he murmured in her ear. “Don’t do that.” He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him. He could feel her chest jerk a bit more as she tried to stifle her crying and he held her tighter.
The feel of her soft body pressed against his slowly made him realise that she wasn’t wearing anything under her robe. The awareness gradually began to arouse him, but almost immediately he felt disgusted with himself. Abruptly, he loosened his grip on her, hoping to keep his body’s reaction secret. She didn’t take his sudden release of her well. She shrugged him off completely and pressed her face and palms against the glass again, staring out over the Falls. He watched her helplessly, trying to figure out what to do next.
He didn't know exactly how it had happened. He'd leaned forward to kiss her cheek, and she'd made a little sighing noise. He'd decided that the sigh was better than crying, or feeling lonely, and he kissed her again, a little bit farther down on her jaw.
He wasn't sure when his lips had begun moving down the length of her neck.
He wasn’t sure what she intended when she tilted her head to give him better access to her throat, and made another noise, but she kept staring determinedly out the window.
He wasn't sure why his hands gripped her hips again, why his thumbs began caressing the soft skin of her waist, or why she hadn't said anything at all to acknowledge what he was doing.
When her ass brushed against his groin, he shuddered. When her hand slipped away from the window briefly to loosen the tie on her robe, and the robe fell open, he decided he didn't care about her motives.
His hands slipped over her belly and she gasped at the unfamiliar feel of his touch on her naked skin. She pressed her forehead against the window more firmly and he wasted no time on gentle caresses, sliding his hands up to cup her breasts and tweak her nipples.
Her breath left her in a rush. She didn't want to cry out. If she kept the sensations bottled up inside her, she thought she could control them. It was difficult to keep quiet, though - gasps escaped from her mouth, as did little stifled moans.
And she couldn't control her body's reaction, not entirely. She stared out at the night, palms and forehead pressed hard against the glass, and tried to ignore the thrust of her torso as her breasts pushed themselves farther into his hands, begging for a tighter grip, a firmer pinch.
His mouth began teasing her ear as one hand abandoned her breasts to slide down to her sex. His fingers circled her curls briefly, then sank down into her folds. Immediately she arched her back, thrusting her ass back towards him, forehead now painfully pushed against the glass. A strangled cry escaped her as he slipped his fingers inside her.
She wanted to call his name, but she didn't. He wasn't hers, she told herself, not really, not in this way. If she didn't acknowledge him, maybe she could lose herself in a fantasy where she really was...with someone.
He circled her clit with his thumb. Her hips ground down, pushing into his hand. She could feel the tension building in her lower body and moved her hands to brace against the window frame. He wasn’t being particularly gentle, but he was thorough and had started to pick up on her non-verbal clues as her sex writhed on his fingers. His free arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her ass flush against his erection as he continued to stroke and flick her.
It was almost within her grasp. She could feel her climax coming down to meet her and her head turned, just for a moment, so that she could lay her cheek flat against the glass. She caught sight of his face out of the corner of her eye; he was much closer than she’d thought, his body beginning to curl around hers as her hips bucked towards orgasm. She squeezed her eyes tight shut and turned away to look outside again, ignoring the look on his face.
Finally it came. She felt herself clench and her head fell back. A brief cry escaped her and she tried to swallow it back, sucking in air as she did. She kept her gaze trained up at the place where the ceiling met the wall and panted, trying to get herself back under control as quickly as possible.
She realised that she hadn’t lost herself in a fantasy. While she was physically relieved, she hadn’t released her emotions. Nothing had changed. The feelings that she’d been trying to ignore that day, the ones that had worked her into a blue funk that night, the ones she’d been trying to forget when she’d stretched her neck and arched her back for Josh, were still twisting at her insides.
Regret. Loneliness. Other things she didn’t care to name.
She could see Josh’s face reflected in the window and realised his expression wasn’t much different than hers. She sighed and let her head fall forward against the glass again.
Suddenly, he was gone. His arms disappeared from her waist and she felt a chill where his body had covered her back. She squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in some air, trying to regain some sense of normalcy. She tried to convince herself that what they’d just done - what she’d just let him do - hadn’t been yet another mistake in a long line. She heard him stalk into the bathroom and rummage around in his bag, and she sighed, ducking her head and leaning bonelessly on the window frame.
Then, just as suddenly, he was back, brushing her robe away from her backside, baring her skin and pulling her hips up towards him. She caught his reflection in the window and saw him looking down, frowning with concentration. There was a sound of rustling, then a scrap of bright packaging fell at her feet. She realised what it was, looked up and met his gaze in the window reflection. He was asking the question and she nodded briefly.
He nudged her feet apart and let one arm wrap around her, supporting her belly. She braced her hands on the window frame and pressed her forehead against the window again, looking out at the Falls. They were dark now, the spotlights turned off for the remainder of the night. She tried to pick out the lights of Buffalo, ignoring the tease of his fingers as he separated her folds to make a path for himself.
Then he was pressing the head of his cock against her entry and she couldn’t ignore him anymore. He tilted her hips for his own comfort and pushed into her with one swift movement. She gasped, but he gave her only a few seconds to adjust before sliding out and thrusting back in, harder than before. His mouth fastened on her throat, moving over the sensitive places he’d found earlier, and his free hand circled and rubbed her nipple. She bit back a moan.
The arm supporting her hips pulled her tight to him and he began moving inside her, teasing her walls and slowly lengthening his strokes until he was withdrawing from her almost completely before thrusting himself back in.
She didn’t want to remain detached the way she had when Josh had been masturbating her. She was in a city famed for romance, in a room built for romance, and though she didn’t have a romantic partner she didn't want to settle for an impersonal fuck. Briefly she considered that this type of compromise had gotten her into trouble before, but with Josh pounding into her insistently, she brushed the thought aside.
She gave up her efforts to stay quiet. This was Josh, she told herself. Josh, kneading her breast, fucking her hard. She let her whimpers and grunts fill the air as he pushed into her over and over, and realised that he was suddenly vocalizing his pleasure as well. She stared out into the blackness and listened to the sound of skin meeting skin, the sound of their moans mingling, the sound of their sex.
She caught his rhythm and pushed back and down against him the next time he thrust into her, taking some of the control over his movements. He groaned and gripped her tighter, and they began to move in tandem, finding a new pace. The feeling of heaviness built in her groin and twinges of pleasure started to wash over her.
Her hips wriggled, seeking more stimulation, and a moan escaped his lips as her inner walls caressed him. She smiled when she heard him, and not thinking, she looked up to catch his reflection in the window. Her smile faltered when she immediately caught his gaze. He’d been watching her face the whole time, and now his reflection smiled back at her.
Her mouth fell open. He’d been waiting for her - waiting patiently until she looked up and saw him. She couldn’t have looked away from his expression if she’d wanted to. His hand snaked down to tease her clit and then she couldn’t smile back. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in wonder, and his eyes held hers as he sped up his thrusts.
Finally, the intensity of his gaze and the sensations he caused overwhelmed her. She exploded, wailing "Josh!" and pushed against him, taking him in as far as she could, wanting to savour the hard length of his cock inside her as she contracted around him. He seemed to understand and kept himself pressed deep inside her while she came.
Once he could see her coming down from her orgasm, he began to drive into her again. Now he was pushing himself to completion and she writhed on him, clenching around him and helping him get to where he needed to be. It wasn't long before he was shouting her name, bucking into her wildly as her muscles tightened around him to push him over the edge.
When it was over he collapsed against her. She covered his arm with hers, gripping him tightly. After a few moments he pulled himself out of her. He winced and she whimpered as their bodies broke apart. Their eyes met briefly in the reflection of the window, then he disappeared into the bathroom.
She finally turned away from the window and leaned her back up against it, readjusting her robe so that it wrapped around her again. She stared at the bathroom door, pushing away a desire to follow him by telling herself that any more intimacy might embarrass him, especially if this interlude had been no more than a friendship thing.
The bathroom door opened and he stepped out, naked. His t-shirt and boxers were crumpled up in his hand and he tossed them haphazardly in the direction of her suitcase, then wandered over to the bedside table and dropped a few more condoms there.
She sucked in her breath. "Oh."
He suddenly noticed she'd covered herself up again and froze. "Oh."
She took a couple of steps towards him as he frowned, trying to mask his embarrassment. There was a flicker of anger in his gaze when she reached him.
He began stiffly, "I didn't -"
She covered his lips with her fingers to silence him. "I'm sorry," she said. Her free hand went to the tie of her robe and she unknotted it, letting it fall open. His eyes widened, but he didn't reach out to touch her.
She took her hand away from his mouth, stepped back, and shrugged out of the robe completely, tossing it aside. He stared at her naked skin and she flushed.
Placing her hands on his chest, she stepped towards him again. "We should have talked about this." She let one hand travel up over his collarbone, across his shoulder, and along his neck to cup his jaw.
"Yeah." His arms circled her waist, holding her loosely, and she took that as a good sign.
Her other arm came up to drape over his shoulder. "Thank you."
"For what?" He was still frowning.
"For everything." She brought her lips close to his, pressing her breasts against his chest, and felt his heart quicken.
Deciding that was a good sign, she leaned in, slowly, and savoured the feel of his warm breath on her mouth.
Suddenly he pulled back from her face and grinned. "You're still paying for the room, right?"
She couldn't help but laugh. “But not the room service.”
She tumbled them both onto the bed, pounced on him, pinned him down, and kissed him. “Are you enjoying your holiday?”
He rolled them over so he was on top, tangling their legs together.
“So far.” She wriggled underneath him and he paused to enjoy the sensation
of her warm, naked body pressed to his. “But I think it’s about to get
better.”
THE END