Teyla usually didn't spend much time thinking about her future – every day she was still alive was a gift from the ancestors. She'd never particularly desired a family, not wanting to leave behind some little child like her own mother had done, or worse, to have that child taken away from her. The Wraith had always been a fact of her existence, and only recently had her eyes been opened to a new way of life, and new people to be a part of it. She had found friends that she considered a second family, and an equal in a very unexpected place.

After returning from a mission to one of Atlantis' trade allies, Teyla was in the mood for a sparring match, but couldn't find Ronon anywhere. At the lowest level of the main spire, she finally found him in what was currently one of their least-frequented recreational facilities.

"How cold is the water?" she asked as she came to stand beside one of the tidal pools that could be used for swimming.

"Pretty damn," Ronon told her with a grin, wiping his hair out of his face. "Feels good."

"I shall take your word for it," she replied. The pools were filled with the water that Atlantis floated on, and even in the lower parts of the northern hemisphere, winter was still chilly and it was a waste of generator power to continuously heat water for the barely-utilized pools.

"You don't want to join me?" he asked, splashing some water in her direction. It just barely fell short of hitting her legs. Teyla took a step backward.

"No."

He smiled, accepting the challenge. "Come on, it's not as bad as you probably think. Once you start moving around…feels pretty good."

"Are you sure you have not gone completely numb?" she asked, earning another splash that actually got some water on her BDU pants.

"No," Ronon replied. "Come on."

"I am not going to wear my uniform in the water," she reasoned with him. "And I have nothing else here with me to swim in."

"Neither did I," he shot back. At her raised eyebrow, he added, "Wear my clothes, I mean."

"What are you wearing?" Teyla suspiciously asked.

"Will you get in if I tell you?"

"That will most certainly depend on the answer."

He pointed to a cabinet behind her. "I think there's a 'wash and return' policy." Inside, Teyla found a few different types of swimming attire, for both men and women. It had all been donated by various crewmembers for the use of those who hadn't brought swimsuits from Earth – or wherever else the city's inhabitants had come from.

Ronon chivalrously turned his back to her, and Teyla realized that despite the temperature, the water probably would be fun. She hadn't been swimming since she'd still lived on Athos. And at least the room was enclosed and heated.

"Can I turn around?" Ronon asked after a few minutes, having heard the rustle of fabric behind him stop.

"Only if you do not laugh."

He risked a glance over his shoulder. "Why would I?"

"This…is not normally what one would swim in." Ronon turned. He didn't see anything wrong with the sky blue one-piece bathing suit that she had chosen, but he assumed her tastes would typically be even more conservative. He would have loved to have seen her reaction to a couple of the other outfits in the locker.

"You look fine," he assured her. She stepped toward the edge of the pool, testing the water temperature with her foot. "Just jump in."

She hesitated, but finally obeyed. "It is freezing," Teyla sputtered as she surfaced.

Ronon laughed. "Too late now, you're already wet." She splashed him, and he threw a wall of water back. It went back and forth, each of them trying to duck the other's retaliation. Ronon finally caught Teyla's arms, successfully keeping her from hitting him in the face with more salty water. They were both laughing as he finally managed to immobilize her and on an impulse, Ronon leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers. She didn't pull back as he'd feared she would, so he deepened the kiss, steering them toward shallower water so they could both touch the bottom.

Teyla finally broke away for air, getting a moment to think about what they were doing. Would this be another complication to add to their already crazy lives, or perhaps a link to stability? "Ronon…"

He looked down at her, ready to hear her say it was a mistake, that he'd been wrong. However, that wasn't what happened. As his eyes opened, he suddenly was met with images from the destruction of his world, from the last time he'd dared to care for someone. She'd ended up a broken, bleeding, and burned mass in his arms, and he couldn't bear the vision of the same thing happening to the woman before him. He'd never been able to protect the people that mattered most to him.

Teyla turned, surprised, as he suddenly moved away from her, pushing himself up and out of the water. "Ronon!" she tried to call after him, but he quickly grabbed his things and left without a word.

TBC... (reviews make me happy and make story come faster)