by Lady J
He entered her quarters and found her stretched out on her bed, barely beneath the covers. She was still dressed in her uniform pants and her own top while her jacket had been thrown haphazardly on a nearby chair. The sheer hangings on the walls fluttered from a breeze blowing through an open window.
Teyla turned on her side and smiled at him. "Hello."
He took her greeting for assent and sat on the side of the bed next to her. "Hey," he replied. "I saw you in the gate room earlier. You looked tired."
She propped her head up on one hand and rested the other hand on the bed. "My trip went a bit differently than I expected," she said slowly. "However, I was successful in getting the grain my people needed."
His hand hesitantly covered hers, one roughened thumb stroking the soft skin of her fingers. "Never had any doubt that you'd get the job done," he murmured. "Want to tell me what happened?"
Her fingers curled around his and squeezed gently. "No, not today."
The finality of her statement brooked no argument and he tamped down the urge to dig until he got the answer he wanted. During his stay in Atlantis, he'd observed many things about Teyla Emmagan and one of those things was when not to push her on something.
"I hear you." He slipped his hand away from hers and gently brushed a stray lock from her forehead before reaching down to rub her shoulder. Teyla's slight wince and the tenseness he felt beneath his fingers told him everything he needed to know about her day.
He got up and walked over to the low table that held a small incense burner. Recalling the times she'd used it when they meditated together, he took a small ball of sticky resin, put it on the charcoal and lit it. Smoke drifted upward filling the room with a soft, musky scent. When he was finished, he turned to find her sitting up, watching him.
"Some would say that you are presumptuous," Teyla said, her voice considering. "You know where I keep my things."
He ducked his head, oddly shy. "It's my job to notice things," he replied then paused. "Especially when I'm courting someone."
This merited one perfectly arched eyebrow. "Courting?"
"Yes."
"I see."
She slipped off the bed and walked up to him. Teyla, though petite, had a presence which made her seem so much larger. "Those times we have spent together meditating, you have had other motives." Her eyes swept over him before landing once more on his face. "You think to play the hunter with me."
He could hear the amused undercurrent in her words. "Maybe."
"You will find that I am no easy prey, Marcus."
"Didn't think you would be." Marcus grinned at her. "I was sort of counting on that."
Teyla's lips twitched as she worked to hold back a smile, the day's cares seeming to drop from her. "I did not realize that you would be this...clever." She stepped in until they were almost touching and her voice dropped to a low growl. "Now that I know, I will have to be more careful around you."
Marcus chuckled. "You do that, ma'am. In the meantime, I came by to see if you'd like to get some dinner in the mess or I could bring some back here and share it with you."
Teyla grinned back at him. "I think we should go to the mess hall lest you get other ideas." Stepping back, she gestured towards the door. "If you would wait for me while I change?"
"Of course."
Marcus slipped into the hallway. A few minutes later, Teyla came out, having changed from her mission clothes to some soft leather pants and a linen shirt. "Shall we go?" she asked.
He nodded and they walked down the hall together talking. Neither of them saw Ronon step out from behind a nearby pillar. Just as he was about to follow the couple, a weary voice stopped him.
"You might want to leave that alone."
Ronan turned to find John standing behind him, having just stepped out from the transporter. From what Ronon had heard, his commander had had a fairly hard day himself and it showed. "I was just..." Ronon began.
John stepped up to him, his eyes hard. "You were just nothing. I don't know what happened today but I saw how Teyla looked when you two got back. I think you need to let her be for now. Understand?"
The faint undertone of command was enough for Ronon. He nodded at John and walked the other way.
John stuck his hands in his pockets and then followed in the wake of Teyla and Major Marcus Lorne. It looked like he'd be having a talk with the Major about his intentions at some point. Discretely of course.
Endnote: I'd seen Lorne referred to as Marcus on one particular site so that's what I went with.