fic: Willing Enough [Teyla/Lorne, PG-13]

[tielan]

TITLE: Willing Enough
SUMMARY: Lorne finds himself faced with the interest of a local woman.
CATEGORY: Humour, vignette, UST
PAIRING: Teyla/Lorne UST
RATING: PG-13
NOTES: For purple_cube who was feeling down. Sorry it's a day late - my muse refused to co-operate.

Willing Enough

"Teyla says you come from a world without thali," said Danlavi as they stepped off the paved road-path leading from the Stargate and onto the coarse blue-green grass avenue that led to the Moelian guest-village.

A little surprised at the direct query, Evan Lorne glanced with some wariness at the Moelian woman walking beside him. She tilted her head in query as she caught his gaze, and he smiled briefly as he answered. "That's right, ma'am. It's not a common custom in our world."

Danlavi shook her head, a froth of dark curls bouncing around her bronzed shoulders. "It seems so strange to us - that the men should have no assistance dealing with the women - but then doubtless you feel our ways are strange as well."

"The idea takes some getting used to," Lorne said, hedging for all he was worth. He doubted he - or any other man on the expedition - would ever 'get used' to the idea of being thali. He wouldn't stand for it.

"But you could accustom yourself to the practise?" This time, there wasn't any mistaking her tone. The Moelian woman was definitely being coquettish.

Evan was flattered by her interest - Danlavi was statuesque and stunningly beautiful - but he was also a little wary. Teyla had briefed all members of the negotiating party on the rules before they came to Moelia, and assured them that the Moelia were accepting of kan parditay. Still, Lorne couldn't help remembering Captain Bannock of SG-17, who'd unintentionally pledged himself to an alien princess while on a routine meet-and-greet back in the Milky Way.

And he really didn't want to end up as a thali in a parditay culture.

He kept his expression light. "I don't know," he hedged. "My mother always said I was bad at sharing my toys." As soon as the words were out, he internally winced, hoping that she wouldn't take offence to the likening of a wife to a toy. Thirty-four or not, his mom would whack him one with her paintbrush.

But Danlavi only tossed back her head and laughed. "It is not for every man," she said as they reached the close cluster of stone houses that was the guest-village for . "But my thali are often glad of each other - that they have time for themselves and not only attending to me." Her eyes gleamed warmly as a tall, rangy man approached them from out of one of the guest-houses, "And I am glad of my thali - for without the variety, I should be very bored!"

Evan smiled a little as he glanced around, checking on the other members of his party - Dr. Weir was engaged in discussion with one of the Moelian elders, Lieutenant Hyson was listening interestedly to a young Moelian woman, and Teyla was smiling broadly at something one of the Moelian males had just said to her. As she turned to answer, she saw Evan watching and half-arched a brow, asking if he needed help. Evan shook his head, both eager and reluctant to drag her away from her admirers.

"...cozening a khatey thali." The tone of voice caught his attention - a light tone of voice, but with an underlying possessiveness that was only too plain to Evan.

The newcomer had slid his arm around Danlavi's waist, fitting her into his side with obvious affection.

"Jealousy does not become you, Anden," Danlavi said, brushing one hand along the man's jaw so he turned his head towards it, leaning into the caress. "And I would never cozen a khatey thali without the consultation of my thali."

Belatedly, Evan realised they were arguing about him. He met the man's expression squarely as a new voice added, "And his people are kan parditay. They are kan thali and would not take well to becoming so."

Danlavi grinned. "See how Teyla speaks the truth," she said to Anden before she addressed Teyla. "I am very disappointed that you bring us kan thali, Teyla. It is very cruel."

"Cruel was not my intention, Danlavi," Teyla said, smiling. "We come to trade. Just not in thali."

"Well, if Major Lorne were willing, I would cozen him - after consulting my thali," she added as Anden made a warning noise in his throat. "And it seems that this thali is in need of a little attention from his pardita kopi. So if you will excuse us..."

Her roll of the eyes as she dragged the lanky Anden away was equal to any expression of exasperation Evan had ever seen one woman give another on Earth. He bit back a grin. Some things didn't change, no matter what galaxy you were in - or whether a woman had one husband or a dozen.

When he looked back, Teyla was watching him with laughter in her eyes. "Danlavi has four thali, already," she said. "And seeks another, so it seems."

"Not me."

"She is a good pardita kopi. Her thali are happy with her." Her gaze swept the neat village. "It is an arrangement that works for the Moelians."

He watched her as she smiled briefly at a cluster of Moelian men. One grinned back in an open invitation, and Evan had the sudden urge to slip his arm around Teyla's waist as Anden had claimed Danlavi. "Would you have been a...a pardita kopi?"

With a rueful smile, Teyla admitted, "Ronon already jokes that I have khatey thali enough in him, Colonel Sheppard, and Rodney."

Evan half-smiled. "And they're happy with their pardita kopi?"

"They have not complained." Her eyes gleamed with mischief before she smiled. "I do not think that any of the men I would consider cozening would be thali - not willingly."

"And if we were?"

Her start alerted him to what his question implied a moment before his mind caught up with his mouth.

Evan fought the urge to wince, to stutter some apology, or to take back what he'd just said. He hadn't meant to imply that she found him attractive enough to 'cozen' but he had - and he hoped she did. Not just because it would be a boost to his ego, but because...she was Teyla.

And she was regarding him with a very steady, very calm gaze. Beneath that gaze, Evan felt as though the entire universe contracted down to just the two of them standing on the short grass of the Moeli guest-village lawn - a question and a challenge.

"I do not think I would enjoy being pardita kopi," she said at last. "One man is enough effort to maintain."

Evan frowned. It sounded like she'd had prior experience of 'maintaining a man' - that, or she might be referring to any or all of her team-mates. The serious turn of the conversation made him uncomfortable, so he asked, lightly, "You'd be happy with just one?"

Her mouth twitched, but her attention was drawn away as Dr. Weir called her name and signalled that they were going into the guest-village meeting house to start the negotiations.

Teyla started off after Dr. Weir, then paused, and turned back with a smile that retained a seriousness about it. "I would be happy with a man I...cared about, and who cared for me in return. I would not ask such a man to share me if he was not willing, Major."

An in the instant while she waited for an answer, Evan realised didn't have an response that he didn't consider dangerous.

After a moment, she turned back and continued on to the meeting house.

But as he followed her over, Evan reflected that he understood why a man might endure being thali.

- fin -

Comments

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

I love it when aliens take English words and come thisclose to using them they way we do, but not quite make the same connection. So mad bonus points for creative use of the word "cozen". :)

[tielan]

Thank you. :)

You mentioned trying to write Teyla's voice - it's really just trying to write in a 'non-Western' voice: thinking of things in different ways from different angles...and trying to catch all the 'casual phrasing' that we use without even thinking about it.

[margarks.livejournal.com]

I love Lorne fic. And I really like the way he accidentally outed his UST with the unintentional wording of his question to her.

I'd never considered this pairing before until someone else, I think it might've been mirable_dictu? I'm not sure, but someone else wrote a ficlet about them and got me a little interested. I think they have a very interesting dynamic, and would love to see Lorne act on Teyla's veiled invitation at the end of your fic! :)

[tielan]

If you're interested in further reading about the pairing, the Isis Awards have just finished, with nominations for lots of really awesome but rather unloved pairings in the fandom.

You might like to check out the Teyla/Lorne nominations for some reading material.

[margarks.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'll check those out :)

[raisintorte.livejournal.com]

Ohh! Teyla/Lorne! I love it. Of course someone on a gate team has pledged himself to a princess - it always happens that way. :-)

[tielan]

You know, I nearly got into an 'aside' about Captain Bannock's situation, and then realised it wasn't relevant to the story.

I really do have to write some story where the Atlantis boys end up 'accidentally married' to someone completely inappropriate.

[purple-cube.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is great - thank you so much! I love that Lorne didn't back down after his little 'slip'. And thank you for including the lovely details of Moelian life - I love reading about other Pegasus cultures, especially ones that don't adhere to Earth (mostly Western) traditions.

[tielan]

*hugs*

There are so many possible variants on society other than the ones traditionally endorsed by the West. And we see so few of them, alas!

So glad you liked it!

[inimicallyyours.livejournal.com]

Oh, nice, very nice. I love Teyla as a character, and Lorne is fast becoming a favorite (okay, that's a lie. I love Lorne). I think they'd have a rather intersting relationship, with Ronon and Sheppard leaning over them all the time.

Also, your fic, really good. Just enough descriptions and "otherness", but with humor.

Um, actually, I like the idea of Lorne, etc as part of Telya's harem. Just saying...

[blacksquirrel.livejournal.com]

Nice! I do always wish for more sociological diversity in Stargate aliens.

[maxbo.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, the thought of Lorne in Teyla's harem... YOWZA! More, more, more.

Love how you gave us a little slice of life in the Pegasus galaxy.

[rhianona]

Nicely done here. I enjoy Lorne's stuttering and his unexpected honest with Teyla.

[rhianona]

Nicely done here. I enjoy Lorne's stuttering and his unexpected honest with Teyla.