Title: Paris, Je T'Aime
Summary: He'd told her once he'd show her Paris; now she was the one showcasing it for him.
Characters: John, Teyla
Pairing: John/Teyla
Rating: T
Beta: Jess (kind of, cause I edited some of it)
Spoilers: Enemy at the Gate

Notes: In the style of Indomitable, this will be a series of one-shots that form a cohesive whole. They will not be in chronological order (I lack the ability to write in linear time) but the timing will be obvious. Mainly John-/Teyla, they won't all be but those that aren't form the story around about it. I hope that you enjoy.

Earth hadn't been what Teyla had expected. For instance, she had believed that she would one day return to her people in the Pegasus Galaxy; that those of Earth would ensure her safe return – that perhaps they too would return to continue their fight. While she had accepted the possibility that she may never return to her home, it had never occurred to her that those of Earth would not even try. And in that light, it had taken her longer than she had thought to assimilate to life on Earth; it was with a pang of regret and sadness that she had come to understand the lives that her friends had lived before Atlantis; sporadic phone calls and the complimentary dinner when one or more of them was 'in town', a few emails passed along lines of empty connectivity that it had her longing for home.

But they had assimilated; she better than Kanaan but in those early days it was difficult to temper their resentment for those in command of Earth. She had seen the change in Woolsey almost instantly, returning to the rules and codes that he had clung so tightly to in those first months on Atlantis. She had seen how quickly Rodney and Ronon and Sheppard had given up the fight for their return to Pegasus and she had begun to resent them and the longer that they had been apart, the more she had grown to envy them; none of them had anything back in Pegasus, not even Ronon – what he had, he brought with him; Atlantis, he'd once told her, was his home. For Teyla, Atlantis had been home while it had been in Pegasus; she missed her people, she missed her way of life and while she was used to living on Earth, it was not something she had ever hoped for – not since Torren's conception, at least.

But time had worn on and months had turned into years and she'd grown to accept life on Earth. Those she had called friends on Atlantis were still friends now and while she did still miss her people, she had come to terms with never seeing them again. She had to admit that their lives (hers and Kanaan's and Torren's at least) were easier on Earth; there was no fear of a culling, no sense of the Wraith and although she was sure of Kanaan's continued love for her, she was lonely. All of her life, she had had people surrounding her; on Athos, the sounds of the village had surrounded her every moment of every day. On Atlantis, no one was any farther away than a quick radio call and a brisk walk. Here, on Earth, plans had to be made and kept and while life on Atlantis was busy, life on Earth was hectic and their relationships were spread around the globe in a way that had taken her longer to comprehend than she thought it would. The thought that she could not simply walk down the corridor to John's quarters for a late night chat, or that the commissary – where friendships were made and kept – was not a part of her home but on a city that floated on the shores of a land she couldn't fathom. John and Rodney had joked, albeit humourlessly, that they would always have Starbucks.

She sighed and looked up to the sky. It had taken her a long time to realise that the pollution of the cities distorted the images of the night but it was beautiful none the less. The amber glow of the street lights tainted the purity of the clouds, but it was a sight she had familiarised herself with long before. She sighed and her breath swirled in a white puff in front of her face, warming her for a moment in the bitter cold night. She tucked the jacket closer around her body and fought off the shiver; life on Earth had spoiled her for the cold weather, she mused as she thought back to the long winters she suffered without protest on Athos.

"You all right?" Startled, she turned to the voice with a quick smile, automatically reaching out to take the wine glass offered to her. "Sorry," he quirked, his lips turning up at the edges with a cheeky smile she had come to know over the years. Life on Earth had been good to him.

"It is a cold night," she said as she turned back to the view, leaning her arms on the metal rail. It had been a ritual of theirs back on Atlantis, standing on balconies. She was glad it had carried on to Earth. From the corner of her eye, she watched as he leaned beside her, his tall frame leaning far out over the balcony looking at the road below. In the distance, the tower sparkled and she wondered how many Parisians walked past the spectacle without thought, while each tourist in the vicinity stopped and stared. The black shirt he'd worn neatly all evening was tucked up at the sleeves, the top button undone, his collar vacant of the tie he'd worn and his hair had managed to break free of the restraints he'd tried to impose on it. She liked him better this way, anyway. "Though I suppose you are used to colder climates," she said with a half smirk and he turned to look at her, leaning the small of his back against the short rail, stretching his legs out in front of him.

"We have heating out there, too, you know." She quirked an eyebrow at him and he grinned boyishly down at her. Silence descended on them but cars still buzzed below and in the distance she could hear the blast of boat horns as they made their way through the heart of the city. "Why Paris?" He asked eventually, his voice gently questioning and he cocked his head to the side as he watched her face.

She narrowed her eyes in thought slightly, tilting her own head as she watched people wander below her, oblivious.

"Why not?" She replied some moments later, the answer eluding her. She shrugged when he half smiled, his eyes narrowing slightly as they glanced over her body. "See the world; is that not what you told me?"

He conceded with a nod and turned away from her, turning back to the city.

"Why not New York?"

She shrugged again.

"Would it have made any difference?"

He looked back at her and for a moment she thought she caught a glimpse of the longing she had liked to believe he still held for her but it was gone before she could be sure, replaced with the camaraderie that now characterised their relationship.

"I suppose not," he said with a quiet laugh and turned back to the city. "At least I don't have to pay to fly here," he said thoughtfully a beat later and she laughed.

"So you will only visit when one the ships are in orbit?"

He turned to her, grinning and chuckled.

"Why waste all those hours on a flight when I can have instantaneous travel?"

She quirked her eyebrow mirthfully and nudged his shoulder.

"Why come at all then?"

He paused a beat, two and for a moment she thought to turn to him, to look at his face as the back of his hand brushed across her elbow but he shifted before she could and when she turned to him, he had that smile on his face again and she glanced down to the wine in her hand, lifting the glass to sip at the cool liquid.

"I can't leave you with the French." She quirked an eyebrow but didn't turn to him. "Or the tourists," he added as an afterthought and she laughed at that.

They were quiet once again, both looking out over the city and she wondered if he, like she, was thinking of their quiet moments on balconies of Atlantis. If he even thought about Atlantis, as the City had been before. She turned to him slightly, watched as he swirled the ice in his glass but didn't drink and when he turned to her she knew. He smiled, almost wistfully and glanced away to the city beyond. He'd told her once he'd show her Paris; now she was the one showcasing it for him.

"We should go back in," he said as he pushed himself from the railing. "Can't have your boss suing me for letting their top buyer contract frost bite."

She nodded and laughed half heartedly. She gathered herself, wrapping the coat around her body as it opened slightly, letting in the cold air. She heaved a sigh, breathing in through her nose and closed her eyes as she expelled the breath through her mouth.

"Shall we?" She said as she stepped in front of him, walking back across the balcony to the function room. His grip on her hand stopped and she turned, startled, and frowned when he didn't let go, nor make a move to follow her. "John?" She asked half amused, half concerned. She watched as he breathed in deeply, his eyes falling to their hands for a moment before he looked up to her with a genuine, small smile on his lips and her breath caught in her throat as he tugged her body closer to his from their joined hands. She didn't breathe as he lowered his head and her eyelids fluttered shut as his breath washed over her cheek. It took an eternity for his lips to touch her skin and when they did she felt the breath leave her slightly parted lips. A kiss that she knew was meant for her cheek had managed to catch the edge of her lips and she felt long dormant tingles tickle her lips, even after he pulled back.

"Congratulations, Teyla." His voice was heavy and thick and she daren't look at him, even as his forehead touched hers for a brief moment in a gesture she thought long forgot. Quickly, she nodded her thanks and fell into step beside him as they made their way back inside.

Even through her woollen jacket she could feel the heat of his hand on the small of her back and the shivers up her spine that accompanied his almost possessive touch.

As they stepped inside, they separated with smiles and Teyla closed her eyes briefly.

Paris, she thought, je t'aime.