Author's Note: This was a little blurb written to go with a pic I posted on deviantART (you can find a link to my account in my profile), and a friend insisted I share it with all the lovely people here at FFN. Hope you enjoy! Title refers to the fact that John and Lizzie were jipped of a real first kiss due to "The Long Goodbye" (I'm sure it's been done by other people, but thought I'd still give my version a spin). Spoilers only for that episode.

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate Atlantis or its characters. They belong to SciFi Channel and others.

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"That wasn't how I thought our first kiss would be."

Elizabeth Weir, commander of the Atlantis Expedition, blinked in surprise. She and Lt. Col. John Sheppard had both been unable to sleep after the massive amounts of enforced bedrest Dr. Carson Beckett had put them on were finally over. They had run into each other in the halls, both dressed in their usual uniform of t-shirt and standard issue pants but without the comm devices and other odds and ends they usually also wore as Atlantis' leaders. By mutual, silent agreement, they had turned as one and let their feet lead them to "their" balcony. This was the first either of them had spoken since they arrived, and she had certainly never expected John to say that.

"You've thought about our first kiss?" Elizabeth asked to make sure she'd heard him right.

John turned his head to look down at her, "Haven't you?"

She swallowed at the emotions that threatened to choke her at his warm, husky tone. She couldn't lie to him when he looked at her like that.

"Yes," Elizabeth admitted quietly. "But even if the motivation behind their kiss," she just couldn't think of it as hers and John's, despite the fact that it had been their arms, their lips, their... she shuddered slightly, "happened to be hatred, it was still... passionate."

John looked thoughtful for a long, silent minute before he said, "Just because a kiss isn't forceful doesn't mean there isn't passion... and more... behind it."

"Care to prove it?" Elizabeth asked, feeling safe from judgment and responsibilities in their private, quiet space.

Instead of acting surprised, John moved closer to her, gently placing his left hand at her waist but not pulling her to him or otherwise guiding her. He bent his head slowly, allowing her plenty of time to pull away if she was so inclined. Elizabeth leaned toward him slightly, tipping her face up to his. She hardly felt the first contact of his lips on hers, the physical sensation much like that of the butterfly kisses her mother used to give her as a child. But there was something beyond the physical that warmed her own lips, softening them for when John kissed her a second time. She felt every milimeter of contact this time, every nerve in her body snapping to attention because it was this man kissing her.

The kiss never went further than lightly closed lips pressed to each other, but Elizabeth discovered what John had meant quickly. She stepped in closer, raising her own arms slightly so that her hands could rest lightly on either side of his waist, his left hand moving to the small of her back, his touch still light, not a hold. His right arm never touched her, keeping their embrace innocent and yet, at the same time, so complete she almost felt like crying. It was if every moment that built what they now were to each other was being reaffirmed, strengthened by the soft contact of their mouths. It was a kiss with the best kind of passion behind it, a kiss of love built on a strong foundation of trust and friendship.

When John finally pulled away, Elizabeth smiled softly up at him. "That was our first kiss."

"Best kiss I've ever had," he told her.

She couldn't agree more.