likesthecoat | (no subject)

Ianto would sing Sir Robin's song if the mun could remember the words.

He says, "Sorry. More Earth stuff." He sips his tea.

"That is quite all right," Teyla says, and she smiles a bit. "I have become used to being the one who does not understand the reference."

Ianto looks down at his tea cup. "My boss is . . . from another place. Time, too. It's complicated. And sometimes we say stuff and he just looks blank . . . he never asks. I wish he would."

Teyla nods. She can sympathize. "Sometimes it becomes...tiresome to always be asking questions. It is easier not to ask unless you need to."

"Yes, I see. I also suspect he's given up on staying current. It can be tiring."

"And if it is not necessary, it does no one any harm."

"No, I suppose not."

"Your boss, you...worry about him?"

He nods. "Quite a bit. I'm . . . fond of him."

"Yes, I can see that," Teyla says with a gentle smile.

Once again, bluuuuuuuuuuuuush.

"Yeah," he mutters. "I'm no good at hiding that."

"It is nothing to be ashamed of," Teyla says, laughing quietly. "Why would you wish to hide it?"

"Well. Um. We have what would be considered in some circles to be an inappropriate relationship."

"How so?"

Earth's social conventions continue to baffle her.

"Bosses and secretaries is generally frowned upon. It's considered an abuse of power. But . . . with Jack it's not about power." He thinks. "Not his power, anyway."

"Ah. I can see why that might be considered an issue. Still...it seems unfair to regulate such things where there is genuine affection." She very much understands about power dynamics in a relationship.

"Oh, we're not regulated. We're not the American military. Just, my co-workers, they're great but they're also . . . well, they wouldn't respect it. Does that make sense?"

"No," Teyla says, quite honestly. "But I have long given up hope of understanding other cultures' relational mores."

Ianto quietly laughs. "I'm not sure I understand my own culture's relational mores, to be honest. They're a bit in flux. And Jack is from a time when, um, there aren't any, which makes things doubly interesting."

And entertaining.

"Perhaps it is best, then, to make your own rules."

"Yeah. I think we're kind of doing that."

He inhales. "Sorry. I didn't mean to distract you from the ceremony."

Teyla smiles and sips her tea. "Sometimes the distraction is as much a part of the ceremony as the ritual is."

"I could talk about Jack more," he offers. "I can talk about him for hours."

Teyla laughs, though the smile that follows is tinged with melancholy. "Only if you wish to."

She pauses. "In the first year's ceremony, and often the second, there is very little conversation. Our minds cling to memory, to the pain of loss that is still so fresh. But in time we move on, forming new attachments, adjusting to life without those we have lost. The ceremony keeps us from forgetting, but it becomes less and less somber as the years pass."

"Celebrating life, like," Ianto says thoughtfully. "Not just the one you lost, but the one you're living."

He sips, contemplative.