Cultural Exchange
By zeilfanaat
Category: Humor
Ratings: G or K
Disclaimer: Stargate: SG-1 is not mine. No infringement intended. Any characters that are not from the series or the movie, are mine.
Spoilers: No specific spoilers. It's early days in Season 1.
Summary: #5 in the Language Series. Teal'c has not been on Earth for very long yet, when Jack O'Neill comes to him with a request. (Homework Secrets, Family Secrets, A Birthday Colonel, and Comfort Food preceded this one, although it actually takes place before all of these, early on in Season 1.)
A/N: Apologies for the shortness of this story. It has been sitting on my laptop for a while, with more added to it... but I decided the rest worked better as a separate story. So it will be.
Finished: October 5, 2015
A knock on the door had Teal'c opening his eyes. When nothing else happened, he rose from the floor, and opened the door. On the other side was the man who had inspired him to leave behind his False God. Teal'c was not surprised to find him at his door, as he was one of the few Tauri who sought him out on a regular basis.
"Hiya T," the man greeted him, thumbs casually hooked in his pockets.
"O'Neill," Teal'c returned the greeting with a nod. Unlike most people who came face to face with the imposing, stoic figure of the Jaffa, this Tauri did not seem intimidated in the least. Not due to oblivion or lack of respect, but due to trust. Something Teal'c had not often come across, and therefore valued even more.
"Are you busy?" O'Neill asked, apparently having caught the glow of the candles behind the Jaffa.
"I am not. I had just completed my cycle of Kel'no'reem. Do you wish to come in?" Teal'c took a step to the side.
"Don't mind if I do," Jack nodded as he entered. Teal'c raised an eyebrow.
"If I did mind, I would not have offered, O'Neill."
"Ah, no, that's an expression, Teal'c."
Tilting his head slightly, Teal'c waited. The Tauri had a lot of these expressions. And despite DanielJackson being the linguist, Teal'c found that O'Neill used expressions more than the average human being he had come across so far. Fortunately, he was also more than willing to explain them.
"Basically it just means 'sure', 'thanks', 'glad you asked', 'would love to'," Jack explained, then thought of how those explanations could cause the idiom to be misused, so he added, "It really is just a way to say 'I accept' when someone has offered you something."
Apparently this sufficed as an explanation, as Teal'c nodded once again. "Thank you."
He started moving the candles slightly out of the way. Meanwhile, Jack watched, but seemed to try and figure out how to say something. His fingers tapped softly against his leg as if to rid himself of extra energy.
"You are… preoccupied, O'Neill," Teal'c stated.
A grin appeared on the Colonel's face. "Ha, imagine that, my name and 'thinking too much' in one sentence."
Teal'c couldn't keep a smile from his face either. He had not been with the Tauri for long, but it was true that the Colonel was not often accused of over-thinking things; or of thinking at all, for that matter. Nonetheless, it was obvious to Teal'c that his companion was in fact very intelligent. He simply hid it. In these matters, Teal'c decided, they were very similar. Except where Teal'c hid his thoughts behind silence, O'Neill's mask was more of a pre-emptive strike from the other direction. He talked much, but said little.
Aware that this time, O'Neill had not come to make 'small talk', Teal'c simply waited.
"Oh for crying out loud, yes, I did come here to ask you something, Teal'c." His fingers had stopped their restless tapping, and he was looking Teal'c straight in the eye. The former First Prime knew that O'Neill was serious about this request.
"Would you mind teaching me the basics of the Goa'uld language?"
Teal'c considered this request, then nodded. "Mal we-ia. It would be my honour, O'Neill."
"Uh, right. Thanks." He waited for a beat, regarding the man he'd been teaching things about Earth culture that he would probably not learn from Daniel or Carter. Then he said, "You don't seem surprised."
"Indeed. You are a man of Ring Kol Nok – strategy. Knowing the Goa'uld language would give you a strategic advantage. I was expecting you to come and ask."
O'Neill grinned. "So…if I hadn't come to ask you, would you have come to me instead?"
"I knew you would come, O'Neill."
Jack studied the other man for a moment. "Thanks for your faith in me, T. But just so you know, if there's anything else that you think would give us an edge, tell me."
"Edge?" Teal'c queried.
"Tactical or strategic advantage," Jack explained. "I may have thought of something already, it may come to me later… or it may not occur to me at all. I'd rather hear an idea twice, than think of it when it's too late."
Teal'c conceded with a nod.
"Oh, and would you mind keeping this quiet? The less people that know about an advantage, the more likely you are to be able to use it… Well, and, you know Daniel would keep shoving Goa'uld rocks under my nose to translate. And as much as I like getting an advantage in…wrinkle-knock …I'd rather keep my eyes on the surroundings."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow at the pronunciation of the Goa'uld word, but deemed it 'close enough'. The Jaffa could see the wisdom in the precaution of not announcing an advantage. Or a potential weakness, he thought, thinking of his family, wishing them to be safe. "Indeed. Your…edge…will be safe with me."
Jack grinned. "Thanks, T. Now, have you already tasted doughnuts?"
The End
A/N: The Goa'uld language references come from Arduinna's Stargate SG-1 Handbook. Fabulous source of information! If you've never been there, check it out, it's great!