Disclaimer: I don't own them. Oops, sorry, that was kind of harsh. Maybe I should have broken that to you more gently. Sorry if your universe just exploded.

Title: A Harvest Dance

Author: ChaosCarter

Character/Pairing: Ronon, Teyla, Ronon/Teyla, plus some more people that I made up.

Rating: T (or PG-13, if you like)… just because I don't want people yelling at me.

Timeline: Well, it would certainly help if you had seen Runner. I don't think there are any particular spoilers… set sometime during Season 3 when life is good and nobody's trying to blow up Atlantis.

A/N: Hi everybody! Thanks to all you who reviewed chapter one, and to everybody who came back for chapter 2! I hope you all are enjoying the story. Also, I have to apologize for the confusing appearance of this chapter. For some reason the document upload system doesn't seem to like my computer, and I get the impression the feeling is mutual. One way or another, it won't preserve any of my formatting… SO, if you see something that looks like this " – break –", it means time has passed / there is a break in the scene. Thanks in advance for your understanding… hopefully I will have all of this sorted out soonish.

Also, thanks to rach0486 for her lovely beta work. She deserves cookies and hugs.

CHAPTER 2

Teyla couldn't help but curse as the clay pot slipped to the floor, shattering into a dozen pieces.

Rheana came running out of the adjoining pantry, practically flying into the kitchen. "What was that?"

Teyla grinned apologetically at her friend and, for the moment, host. "It was a grinding bowl. I am afraid it isn't much of anything now."

Rheana struggled to maintain an expression of mock disapproval. "Teyla, sometimes I worry that you have become too much of a warrior. Cooking is not supposed to be this violent."

Teyla punched her in the arm gently before reaching down to help pick up the pieces. "It has obviously been too long since you last watched me cook, friend."

And today was just the beginning. Teyla groaned internally as she pulled a new bowl down from the cupboard and began to toss spices in. The Harvest Celebration was only a day away, and with food to prepare for several hundred people the women of the village were hard-pressed. The air was thick with the smell of herbs and spices; in a few hours, the scent of roasting meat would carry all the way to the fields, coaxing the exhausted men back home for the night.

Most of the women enjoyed it, of course. In the small village cooking was always a social activity; no one ever had quite everything they needed to prepare a meal. With the celebration approaching so quickly, many women had formed teams of several households. Teyla, of course, did not have a choice; without her own kitchen (or a permanent home on the mainland, for that matter), she was forced to use her host's.

Not, of course, that she was much help. After Teyla had burned the third batch of bread, Rheana had banned her from access to the clay oven; fire-cooking privileges were soon to follow. At that point, Teyla had been put on permanent grinding and chopping duty; at least she knew how to handle the knives.

Rheana returned from the pantry a second time, brandishing a handful of threatening-looking plants. They were deep red in color and dripped a darkly colored juice. Teyla eyed them suspiciously. "What are those?"

"Grava plants." Rheana slapped them on the cutting board and turned back to the fire, as if the name were self-explanatory. Teyla coughed pointedly. "Oh, right," Rheana chuckled, turning back around. "This is you we're talking about."

Teyla raised an eyebrow. "I do not see how this constant taunting is helping."

Rheana laughed. "Oh, trust me, it is." She lifted one of the long stalks, breaking it neatly in two lengthwise. "You have to peel off the outer skin. It's too tough to eat. The juicy stuff inside needs to be finely chopped so I can add it to the soup." She demonstrated on the first stalk before returning to the cooking pot, humming contentedly as she stirred.

Teyla sighed, setting to work on the heap of stems. Why, again, was she doing this? She had practically begged for a spot on the hunting party, but her pleas had fallen on deaf ears. Rheana was determined to teach her to cook, no matter how painful the process was going to be. So Ronon had gone, armed to the teeth as usual, as Teyla watched with envy and brandished her stirring spoon in the general direction of his retreating figure. Some things just weren't fair.

Her mind snapped back to the present as deep maroon juice sprayed into her eyes. She cussed loudly this time, stabbing her knife into the wooden board. Ronon was so going to die.

– (break) –

It was almost nightfall and Teyla was convinced she had mastered the art of grava chopping when she heard the laughter of children outside.

She squinted into the darkness outside, making out the figures of the hunting party beneath a handful of torches. Older boys took the neeba (a larger local version of deer) from their fathers, proudly carrying one or more off to each of the Athosian homes. It appeared the hunters had been very successful.

Teyla returned to her chopping as she saw Ronon's large silhouette in the light outside Rheana's doorway. She feigned disinterest.

A loud knock and the sound of the door opening followed, but Teyla kept her eyes on the grava. If Ronon got to have all the fun, she damn well wasn't going to let him brag about it.

But her plans were foiled as Rheana came bubbling across from the fire. "Ronon! Welcome! Come in, come in. How was the hunting?"

Teyla looked up as Ronon shrugged dismissively. "Okay, I guess," he mumbled, dumping not one but three neeba onto the table.

Rheana laughed. "Okay?" She turned to Teyla. "Three neeba and he says the hunting was 'okay'?"

Ronon smiled slightly, pulling a knife from the sheath on his wrist. "Throwing knives. Pack more of a punch than arrows."

Rheana bowed her head. "I thank you for your gift. Please, join us for dinner. Teyla is preparing grava soup."

Ronon glanced at Teyla and her plants, then back to Rheana. "You got Teyla to cook?"

The tall Athosian nodded proudly.

"Impressive!" Ronon made his way over to the other side of the table to peer at Teyla's stack of peeled grava. "And it's edible?"

It was a testament to his reflexes that Ronon was able to duck before the handful of peels hit him in the face. The thick red shucks landed in the fireplace, sending up a cloud of bad-smelling steam. He laughed, meeting Teyla's fiery gaze.

"You will eat the soup, or you will prepare your own meal," she ordered venomously.

Ronon squeezed her shoulders gently. "Long day, huh?"

Teyla sighed, attempting to calm herself. "You have no idea."

He sat down, pushing a neeba leg out of his way unceremoniously. "Go ahead, tell me about it."

Teyla bit her lower lip, poking the tip of the chopping knife into the wood of the table. "I reduced three loaves of bread to ash, shattered two pots, cut my hand on a chopping knife, and came dangerously close to adding a poisonous herb to the soup."

Ronon whistled quietly, eyebrows raised. "That all?"

Teyla chuckled to herself. "There was an unfortunate incident involving a stirring spoon and the fire pit, but I must admit that it was not entirely accidental."

Ronon returned her smile. "Ah." There was a comfortable pause. "Well, I've got something that'll make your night." He grinned proudly, opening his hand to reveal a clump of tangled black stems. "I found these."

Teyla eyed the plants suspiciously. She didn't know them by name, but she remembered seeing a bunch of them growing by the stream. She scowled, meeting Ronon's smiling eyes fiercely. "If you want them chopped, stewed, or otherwise cooked, then I hope you are prepared to either do it yourself or find another kitchen."

A look of confusion crossed his face. "What? Oh. They're not for eating."

Teyla tried to remain patient. She knew her annoyance was foolish, but there were grava leaves under her fingernails and her hands ached from chopping. "And what, then, do you intend to do with them?"

He grinned deviously. "If I told you, it would ruin the surprise."

Teyla frowned. "Surprise?"

"It's my turn tonight, remember?"

Her heart skipped a beat. She had forgotten about that.

He stood. "Speaking of… we'd better get going."

Teyla grabbed hold of her chair defensively. "Going? Where?!"

"Well, the rest of my stuff is at Arden's, and the walk will take half an hour at least. What I have in mind will take at least another hour or so, and then you have to walk back… so if you intend on getting a decent amount of sleep tonight, we should probably head over to Arden's soon."

Teyla scrambled for an excuse. "Won't I be intruding?"

Ronon shook his head dismissively. "Nah, he's staying with the marines tonight. Something about learning to play poker. I've got the place to myself."

She tried again. "My soup…"

Rheana cut her off as she walked back into the room. "Don't worry, it still needs to simmer for another hour or so, and I can keep an eye on it. I'll send one of the younglings down with a few bowls if you're not back in time." A poorly suppressed grin crossed her face as she eyed Ronon. "Go, have your fun. Oh, and Ronon?"

He turned to her, eyebrows raised. "Yeah?"

Rheana winked. "Try not to keep her out too late." With that, she ushered the two of them through the door and shut it tightly. Indulging in a self-satisfied sigh, she returned to the kitchen.

- end chapter 2 -

A/N: Okay, folks. Thanks for reading. Y'all know the drill. Reviews are chocolate and fluffy unicorns. Next chap should be up soonish, so keep your eyes open!