Happy Anniversary, siriaeve!

[trinityofone]

siriaeve and I first met a year ago today! We met in front of Trinity's campanile, recognizing each other thanks to her purple coat and my stripy bag. We went to Dublin's first Starbucks (which, since it appeared not long after my arrival, I still blame myself for), where I ordered a Frappuccino and she (foolish newbie!) had tea. Then she told me about her gay cows and thus, a friendship was born!

Siria, I'm so, so glad I met you this year. I can't quantify it. In fact, I'm going to be very John-like and do almost anything to avoid actually having to talk about my feelings, so instead, I wrote you fic.

Well, a ficlet. A very sad attempt at Rodney/Teyla. But I tried!

*huge transcontinental hugs*

Title: Lingua Franca
Rating: PG
Pairing: Rodney/Teyla
Length: ~700 words
Summary: "Does it bother you that we do not speak the same language?"
A/N: For siriaeve, on our anniversary. And in memory of pot holders and presses.
A/N2: I may have committed a major Stargate fandom faux pas in writing this. More notes at end, but if it really bothers you, just pretend it’s AU.

Lingua Franca

"Does it bother you that we do not speak the same language?"

At first Teyla thinks that he is speaking metaphorically, which is unlike him. Rodney is refreshingly straightforward. Then it comes to her and her brow furrows—such an odd question. Growing up in the Pegasus Galaxy, it is something one so rarely thinks about.

She tells him that. "And it doesn't affect the way we communicate. Does it?" she asks him, holding a finger gently to his lips.

He folds his hand over hers. "No," he admits. "But it does make it sound as if you do not know how to use contractions." He frowns. "I have told you that, right?"

She smiles against his skin. "Yes, Rodney. It does the same for you."

His mouth twists down. "Weird."

She shifts a little, moving in closer. It feels good to lie beside him: he's like a furnace, pumping out heat. She can feel tension leave her body with every moment she's with him, which when they first met was something she would have never imagined.

Rodney's shoulders are still tense, however. She would say, You think too much, except that would mean protesting against one of the very things she likes most about him. He's thoughtful, and in so many, unexpected senses of the word. Even now he looks at her as if to ask, Are you comfortable? then shifts his arm to be more supportive of her neck without even having to hear the answer.

She thinks they communicate just fine.

But, "You don't like anything you don't understand," she says.

"In a word? No. I mean," a frustrated sigh, "it is not even consistent! Some languages translate, others do not—what is that about? And I get why the Ancients wanted to keep their language separate, but how come going through the gate did not suddenly enable me to understand Zelenka when he is swearing at me in Czech?"

"I'm always happy to translate for you," Teyla says, and swallows a yawn.

"Sorry." Rodney seems to realize what time it is. "I do not know why I am even thinking about this. Who am I, Daniel Jackson?"

"It's fine," Teyla says. Although she is tired, it's restful just to lie here and think about things. She places a hand on his bare chest, just above his belly. "You make a very cunning linguist."

She can feel him start, feel him tilt his head and blink at her. She tries to close her eyes and play innocent, but a smile creeps onto her face.

"See!" Rodney says finally. "How does that joke even translate?

"Do you mean it?" he asks a moment later, for once a modest quaver in his voice.

"Oh, yes," she says, and she does. "I'd have thought my meaning earlier tonight could have been understood in any language."

He blushes. "Well. Thanks. And you— I know I have said it before, but it is a subject on which I can be uncharacteristically inarticulate—"

"I know, Rodney." She tilts her head up and kisses him, eyes closed. She opens them as she draws away, though his remain fluttering, closed. Even in the darkness she can make out the gentle fall of his eyelashes.

"I just," he says a little while later, long after she thought he'd drifted off to sleep. "What if it stopped working?"

"You'd fix it," she says instantly, confident.

"What if I could not? Er," he adds, "as inconceivable as that may be."

She finds his hand again. "You would teach me English. And I would teach you Athosian."

He nods, seeming to accept this. "I am a very fast learner."

She doesn't know if he means the action in proof of this statement; she doesn't think so. But he shifts his body, rolls to look at her, until they are both sideways, face to face on the bed. Then gently, he brings his forehead down to rest against hers.

"I wish I could hear what it sounds like," he says. "I am sure it is beautiful."

Pressed together, she looks down into his eyes. "There are a lot of things," she tells him, "that I would like you to one day hear from my lips."

With one finger she draws the letters over his heart, where he will always be able to read them.

---

NOTES:

1. Okay, so (as I’m sure many, many people have said before) the canonical language thing REALLY DOESN’T MAKES SENSE. I like the idea that the Stargate does something Babel fishy to your brain…although that doesn’t explain why Daniel had to do all that translating in the movie and S1. We’re just gonna go with the theory that those planets had something that interfered with the Babel fish technology. And…well, actually, this is a subject deserving of a much longer fic, which I kind of want to write now…do you see what you do to me, Siria? *unfairly blames this on you*

2. Siria, I actually wrote you a little McKay/Sheppard ficlet, too, but something about it’s still bugging me. I may still post it later today, though. It is our anniversary, after all. =)

Comments

[etben.livejournal.com]

!!!!!!!!

linguistics in pegasus! contractions! inappropriate linguistics jokes (or, ok, the only linguistics joke that actually exists)! Rodney and Teyla! babelfish! mocking Daniel Jackson! inconsistencies in translation!

...um, yes. Basically? I love you more than anything else ever. and if you write that much longer fic? I may well die of GLEE.

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

Oh, hee. I love the idea that the Earth people sound as stilted to Teyla as she does to us! It's very cool that you took an irritating incongruity that most of us just handwave so we don't have to think about it, and built a ficlet around it!

[fairestcat]

Oh, see, that's actually one of my favorite ways of handwaving this particular issue and you've done it so lovelyly.

Plus Rodney/Teyla!!! I love them together and I love how you've shown them here, this little soft moment between them.

[siria]

OMG YOU ARE MY FAVOURITE.

[dar-jeeling.livejournal.com]

*squee* It's lovely Rodney/Teyla! With the SG language stuffs! *is eloquent*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

NO, YOU'RE MY FAVORITE!

[siria]

I'm going to be entirely un-John-like for once (I know! The horror!) and say I love you and I love this and eeee. I am sitting on the living room floor making high-pitched noises. Just.

"Rodney's shoulders are still tense, however. She would say, You think too much, except that would mean protesting against one of the very things she likes most about him. He's thoughtful, and in so many, unexpected senses of the word. Even now he looks at her as if to ask, Are you comfortable? then shifts his arm to be more supportive of her neck without even having to hear the answer."

And Teyla speaking with contractions, and Rodney with none, and Teyla making dirty jokes, and OMG THE LINGUISTICS. *adores*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

I don't want you to die, though a gleeful death is a good one. And, THANK YOU! Because I want to write it too!

Although...if I get the time off next week that I think I may get off...do you want to try again with that thing which I have so royally sucked on? *is vague*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And now I'm all interested to see what would happen if it really did stop working...

Actually, what I really wish is that they'd do an episode from Teyla's POV, and all the Earth people would talk really awkwardly. Imagine poor DH, still trying to talk quickly but not allowed to use any contractions at all!

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I love this pairing, too—I wish it were easier for me to write. *finally gets to use the pretty icon you made me, with pride*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

I love you, too. A lot. I'm so glad I met you. I feel like I ought to send a thank you note to Darryl Jones or something.

And I'm so glad you like my little fic! Can you imagine DH trying to deliver the contraction-free dialogue? It is to laugh.

*uses the first icon I stole from you*

[etben.livejournal.com]

seriously, linguistic issues of the pegasus galaxy? make me insanely happy. when I started to convert my flatmate to SGA, we had to pause for a good while in the middle of Rising so that I could explain how I think the translation scheme works (or, well, how I've decided to think that it works), and it was so much fun I almost died.

As for the other thing, I'd love to poke at it some more with you! and, for the record, you don't suck; life is a pain in the ass, sometimes, and I understand. I'll be around a whole lot until Monday, at which point we're migrating to Oregon to see my mom's extended family. We're staying with my aunt and uncle, though, who should have wireless? but time with the computer (and no small cousins peering over my shoulder) will probably be harder to come by. So, you know, I may be kind of slow - but, hi, cowriting with you on That Thing? *twirls in glee*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I only use the best handwaves. *g*

I only wish I could write a full-out Rodney/Teyla fic, including a plausible way to get them together. Hmm.

Your icon is AWESOME.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

It translated just fine. Thank you!

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It's weird: I can totally picture them in a relationship (and have several established relationship story ideas) but I always feel like I'm cheating because I can't figure out how to get them into a relationship.

[saturnalia.livejournal.com]

Okay. I have to admit that when I first clicked this link, I spent far too long blinking at Rodney's first line and wondering where all his contractions had gone. Thankfully I figured it out before too long- and what a wonderful idea, hearing what Rodney sounds like from Teyla's point of view.

And yes, the language thing in canon makes NO sense. I mean, English as it is now is a pretty recent development- how could it possibly have spread through the Stargate to other worlds in that time? Bizarre. The idea of the 'gate acting as a Universal Translator is pretty cool though- a lot like what they do on Doctor Who with the TARDIS. I'm totally going to take this ficlet as my personal canon from now on. *grin*

[newkidfan.livejournal.com]

I love this a lot. I'm really liking Teyla/Rodney. The whole language thing is very confusing to me. I prefer to believe Teyla and Ronon do speak English as well and that there's no translating brain altering device. I prefer an unexplained incoherence than an incoherent and therefore bad explanation.

[darcydodo]

Awwwwwww. (Not the fic, of course, which naturally I didn't read.)

[dar-jeeling.livejournal.com]

*snort* Gotta love fandom with its language of squee. It's very easy to understand. *nods*

[fairestcat]

You know, I thought you might like this icon *g*

[siria]

Hee, can you imagine?

"Dear Dr Jones,

Thank you for allowing Trin and I the opportunity to speak. Were it not for that one time you brought up your Jane Austen fanfiction in the middle of a lecture, we might never have met! We would never have had the opportunity to drink copious amounts of tea together, or run around various countries, or write zombie fic, or sing loudly of the joys of David Hewlett's ass while walking down Grafton Street. Truly, you have created a marvellous thing!

Love,

Siria."

He would run in horror! Though, actually, knowing Darryl Jones, he might very well be incredibly happy.

I did! I loved the fic! Sekrit het otp and everything! David Hewlett should deliver this dialogue. In that upcoming episode where Rodney and Teyla get together. It is to daydream. *starry eyed*

[grey-bard.livejournal.com]

... That would *rule*! Oh, man. Someone should write in suggesting that. Mmmm... language theories!

[grey-bard.livejournal.com]

Language and contraction issues! Sweet, sweet Rodney/Teyla that's all cuddlesome! Oh, three cheers.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Why am I now picturing Johnny Depp saying, "But why have the contractions gone?" *g*

The canonical view on languages is just horribly headache-inducing. And as much as I like English—you could even say that it's my favorite language!—I think it's kind of elitist to assume that it's the galactic tongue and not Czech or French or Japanese or Athosian. So yeah, Universal Translator is the best thing I can come up with. (Although it still doesn't really make sense. Oy.)

But personal canon, yay! That makes me very happy, thank you.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

It gives me a headache either way! Luckily, Rodney/Teyla is a known headache cure. *g*

Thank you! And ooh! *remembers that she should be searching for quotes for you*