Chapter Text
Jonas smiled as he spotted Teal’c across the dining area and rushed over. “May I join you?”
The Jaffa raised an eyebrow, but tilted his head toward the seat next to him in permission. “Do you require assistance, Jonas Quinn?”
He still didn’t understand the man’s odd way of speaking, but sometimes he didn’t understand the Earthlings’ way of speaking either so… “Actually, I do. Since we’re the only two people on the base from other planets and you’ve been here a lot longer than I have, I was hoping you could help me comprehend the significance of cultural anomalies between the people here and those of Kelowna.”
Teal’c nodded a single time, but his experience with the warrior over the last two months told him this was permission to proceed.
“Pets. The people of this planet have domesticated animals that serve no practical purpose for work, food, or clothing, and they keep them in their homes. Why?”
Teal’c took a large bite of a piece of fruit called an ‘Apple’ and chewed and swallowed it. “It can mimic the feelings of both companionship and parenthood. I possess a hamster in my quarters that I obtained to research this very phenomenon. I still do not understand the allure.”
Jonas was scribbling notes furiously in his ever present notebook. “Maybe I need to try further study on that. Now, about football…”
They carried on in this manner, the conversation morphing into commiseration over the things neither of them understood. The throng of people present at the rush hour had dwindled to a few lone stragglers, scientists mostly.
There was one more question on his mind, but Jonas wasn’t sure how appropriate it was to ask it. “There is one more thing I don’t understand around here that I think you would be…uniquely qualified to answer.”
Another tilt of the head singled him to continue.
“How long have Colonel O’Neill and Major Carter been together?”
“O’Neill and Carter are both original members of SG-1, founded at the inception of the Stargate program approximately five years ago.”
Jonas shook his head. “Right. Sorry, I was under the impression that asking questions in regards to people being ‘together’ was of a more specific meaning. What I meant is, how long have they been involved in an interpersonal relationship?”
Teal’c stood and lifted his tray, which was empty save for dishes, and tilted his head to indicate Jonas should follow. “The military bodies of this planet have a construct which they call ‘fraternization regs’ that prohibits interpersonal relationships between persons serving in the same chain of command.”
Jonas scribbled notes, trying to keep up with the taller man and not walk into any walls or people at the same time. “Oh. Perhaps I misread the dynamic between them.”
Teal’c stopped and turned toward him, a single side of his mouth twitching in the closest thing to a smile Jonas had seen from him. “You did not.”
The Jaffa strode away down the hall, disappearing around a corner before Jonas figured out exactly what he’d meant.