Brothers of War
Teal'c was just arousing from his meditative state of kelnoreem when there was a loud knock on the door to his private quarters. He had only been on the world of the Tau'ri for a couple of week now but Colonel O'Neill had managed to convince the others in his military and government that Teal'c was an honorable warrior on their side and would not betray them. Although he was confined to the base of the Stargate Command he was allowed to leave his quarters without a guard.
Teal'c had proven his loyalty but unfortunately the cost had been high, especially to O'Neill, a man he respected and admired. There was something about this particular human's spirit, a fire in his eyes and passion in his heart that had immediately called out to Teal'c. This was a warrior who fought for a noble cause yet knew the darkness of war.
The human woman Captain Carter was still unwittingly naïve, and the other man Daniel Jackson seemed as innocent and idealistic as a child who was struggling with great loss. A loss to which Teal'c had contributed, and yet, this human had already seemed to forgive him, had considered him as much a victim of Apophis as Daniel's wife Sha're now was.
Yet despite their inexperience they both had the same spirit as O'Neill, they both knew and expected freedom and that was something Teal'c craved for his people.
Teal'c struggled to understand the ways of the Tau'ri. He found it difficult to relate to their sense of naivety but in O'Neill he had found a kindred spirit, a brother-in-arms. Already the man had fought on his behalf, and done battle with his own people to ensure Teal'c's safety and freedom. And somehow he had even secured a place on his own team, SG-1, for him.
Teal'c had been indirectly responsible for the death of O'Neill's friend, Major Kawalsky, with O'Neill himself having to give the order to terminate his life. He knew it was difficult for O'Neill to do so, but Teal'c now knew that his soon-to-be team leader would do whatever had to be done to protect his friends, the people under his command, and his planet.
Both warriors were able to assign the blame to its rightful place, to the Goa'uld who had taken over control of Major Kawalsky. O'Neill did not blame Teal'c for his part in his friend's death, but Teal'c could see how much the loss of his friend had hurt O'Neill. There was nothing he could do.
Teal'c glanced at the door and began to stand up as he said in a loud voice, "Enter." He hoped that was the appropriate response.
The door opened quickly and he recognized O'Neill, who was carrying a large, but thin square, white box that carried a pleasant odor of some kind of unrecognizable food. There was definitely some kind of meat.
O'Neill blinked into the blackness of the room, seeing that Teal'c had turned off the lights. "Oh, hey, sorry Teal'c. I didn't mean to wake you. I can come back later if you like."
"You did not wake me, O'Neill. Jaffa do not require sleep." He flipped the light switch to illuminate the room.
"Really? Sweet. So what do you do at night? With the lights off?" O'Neill entered the room and closed the door behind him, setting the box down on the bed and shoving his hands into his pockets.
"I rest, allowing my symbiote to do the necessary repairs to maintain my health."
"And it has to be dark to do that?" O'Neill waved his hand at the lights above.
"Darkness is not required but I prefer less illumination than is offered in this setting."
"Ah." O'Neill looked around thoughtfully. "You know, we could probably set you up with something. It is kind of drab in here. How about a lamp, or maybe some candles?"
Inwardly, Teal'c smiled at the thought of having candles. They would be perfect. "Candles would be acceptable."
"I'll see what I can do about that. Would you want the smelly kind or…" he trailed off as he glanced at Teal'c. "Nah, we'll get you the unscented. Definitely wouldn't want you smelling like autumn celebration, or spring water or peach mango or…" he trailed off again and shrugged. Teal'c often found O'Neill's mannerisms amusing. How would one smell like an autumn celebration?
"Unscented candles would be satisfactory." Teal'c informed him.
O'Neill clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously for a moment. "Excellent. Anything else I can help you with? I don't mean to be a critic but this room sure could use an interior decorator."
Teal'c raised an inquiring eyebrow.
"Never mind." O'Neill shifted nervously from foot to foot, but Teal'c knew it had nothing to do with discomfort towards Teal'c himself. O'Neill did not fear him, had trusted him almost immediately, and though he was clearly disgusted by the symbiote Teal'c carried he had nothing against Teal'c himself. He was also the only human who never seemed to mind Teal'c's quiet and often overbearing silence.
"Did you have something you wished to discuss, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked. Sure, he like the silence, but O'Neill was obviously struggling with whatever he had come here to do.
"Actually, I though you might like some company. Or I would. Or…" he trailed off again, his final words mumbled so that Teal'c couldn't even begin to understand them. "The truth is I'd like to get to know you better, seeing as we're going to be teammates and all. I brought pizza." O'Neill exclaimed excitedly as he picked up the box and pulled back the top, revealing a circular object within, cut through the middle at various angles to create triangular slices.
"Pizza?" Teal'c inquired.
"It's food. Great stuff, American tradition, so to speak. You'll love it, I promise." He knelt down on the floor and set the box down in front of him, waving for Teal'c to join him. Teal'c sat down with his legs crossed and watched O'Neill pick up a slice, pulling at the long strings of cheese until they broke and placing them on top. "Go on," he encouraged and took a bit bite, smiling as he chewed.
Teal'c picked up a slice of his own and studied it warily. He sniffed it and decided he like the smell and took a bite. His eyes locked with O'Neill's as they chewed and swallowed.
"Well?"
Teal'c was ecstatic. It was delicious, better than anything he'd ever had before, even his wife's own cooking. But he simply replied, "I find this pizza to be agreeable."
O'Neill gave him a knowing smirk, then scoffed, "Agreeable? That's all you've got to say? It's agreeable? I'll bet it's more than agreeable, and you're just too stoic to admit you enjoyed it." He grinned at his companion and made a great show of enjoying his next bite.
It was rare to find someone who understood him so well, and that much more surprising that it was a human rather than a Jaffa. "It is quite pleasing," he admitted.
O'Neill's grin became exceedingly smug. "Now there, was that so hard to admit?" he asked as he took another bite. "It comes with different toppings but I thought we'd start out simple with just pepperoni. We'll try something different next time."
Teal'c was glad there was going to be a next time.
They ate the rest of the pizza in silence, with Teal'c marveling over the wonder that was pepperoni pizza and savoring every bite.
"Thank you, O'Neill," he said once the pizza was gone.
"Yeah, don't mention it." O'Neill flinched then added, "Seriously. Don't mention it. I kind of smuggled it down here. Air Force doesn't really like us eating so good. Can you imagine what shape we'd be in if we had access to food like this all the time? Talk about your beached whales."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow at the unusual reference, understanding the implied sentiment but not the actual words.
"Never mind. So. I'll see about getting those candles in here for you." O'Neill rose to his feet and gathered up the pizza box and crumbs. "Just let me know if you need anything, Teal'c. Anything at all, don't hesitate to ask, okay?"
Teal'c acknowledged the offer with a slight bow of his head.
"Okay then. Well, maybe you Jaffa don't need sleep but I certainly do, especially since it's our first official mission tomorrow. I'll come by and get you in time for the briefing. Good night, Teal'c."
Teal'c considered the strange farewell, but decided that he like it. "Good night, O'Neill."
It was well worth it to see O'Neill's huge smile. "I think you're going to fit in nicely around here, Teal'c," he said as he closed the door behind him.
Although not much had been said between them, this strange ritual had brought them closer together. They hadn't mentioned Kawalsky or the Goa'uld or the uphill struggle they both knew was coming but just being in each other's company had cemented the roots of their friendship.
Teal'c had no doubt that O'Neill would return with the promised candles and perhaps a pizza every once in a while. He would try to understand the strange Tau'ri customs and behavior without judgment. And together they would fight each other's battles with the Goa'uld, to free the Jaffa and to find Sha're and Ska'ara and return them to Abydos. Neither knew if they would truly accomplish their goals, but knowing that they weren't in it alone gave them strength and hope that one day they might succeed.
O'Neill was more than just a man. He was a man with ideals, with realistic dreams and simple pleasures. He was a man with pizza. Teal'c was a man with an optimistic but noble dream, with no concerns for his present comfort, only a hope for the future.
But one day soon, they would be brothers, sharing the simple pleasures as friends and the hardship of battle as brothers of war.
Author's Note: This was meant to be a oneshot but if you're interested I've got more stories to tell. The Jack/Teal'c friendship in the first few seasons always seemed so amazing to me, that they became so close so quickly. Let me know if you'd like me to continue.
Bixata
