Work Text:
He never said "I love you". It was always "back atcha", "ditto", "me, too", and
other variations. His actions, however, were another story entirely.
Something as simple as the worry in his eyes from a galaxy away when she lost
someone under her command. Or the way he traced the lines of her face when he
brushed a lock of her hair back. Or the outrage he felt when they took Atlantis
from her, even though she so badly wanted to come home. It was in the way he
silently held her when they lost General Hammond, knowing that no words could
make her feel any better.
Even in the throes of passion, those three words never came, because for so many
years he wasn't allowed to say them. But she didn't need to hear the words to
know how he felt.