Title:Tea for Two: Desire
Author/Artist:
sjhw_toleranceTheme: Stages of Sexual Response-Desire
Rating:Teen
Tea for Two
Part One
It’s a burning fire low in her gut and Teyla has become accustomed to keeping the embers banked, her duty to her people-and to those she has adopted-overrides the desire she hides from him. But she fears that soon she will no longer have the luxury of unlimited time. Helia and the other Ancients from the Tria have demanded the return of their city and while Teyla has learned that the Ancients are not as all-knowing and powerful as she had once believed, she does believe they will prevail in their demand; the presence of General O’Neill and Mr. Woolsey a testament to the seriousness of the situation.
And when the Ancients reclaim what is theirs, John will be gone and she will not spend the rest of her life regretting a course not taken.
With a determination borne from a life that has not always been kind, she opens the closet door. Kneeling down, she pushes aside the satchel that contains the few belongings and items of clothing she brought with her from Athos and pulls out the carved wooden box hidden in the back. She sits cross-legged on the floor then and releases the ornate silver latch, lifting the lid. The ceremonial tea set that was her mother’s rests inside, carefully nestled in intricately embroidered linens.
Teyla gently removes the tea pot and then the two handle-less cups-only two, as her mother had instructed long ago when as a young child, Teyla had first watched her prepare them for use. If the ceremony involved more than two, her mother explained, there were other tea pots and cups, this particular set always reserved for the more intimate encounter between two people, be they friend or foe.
There had not been many occasions on Atlantis for her to use this tea set, but it is one of the few links she holds to her mother and the customs of her people, so she cherishes it. With great care, she unfolds one of the heavily embroidered linens and lays it on the small table within her quarters. With equal care, she arranges the tea pot and the twin cups on the linen cloth, the elegant simplicity a temporary salve to the seething emotions she struggles to control.
Forcing her features to reflect a calm she does not feel, Teyla leaves for the scheduled meeting with Elizabeth and Mr. Woolsey; a mere formality, if what she fears is true. But no matter the outcome of the negotiations, she is determined that she will still have tonight, when she will serve John tea and quench her desire.
THE END