kathierif_fic: (fandom:sga)
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Title: Spark
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: John Sheppard/Atlantis (sentient!Atlantis)
Rating: FRT-13
Disclaimer: Not mine. Sniff.
Summary: John is the only one who can feel it.
Author’s Note: Written for kink_bingo, prompt “electricity”. 1484 words.



The first thing John Sheppard felt when he stepped through the Stargate for the very first time and set foot on Atlantis was the typical confusion and queasiness associated with travelling by wormhole, but as soon as that had faded, there was something different that hadn’t been there before.

It was a spark, tiny and almost extinguished, until they came and fanned it into a blazing, burning pulse of life. It filled John with warmth and a sense of belonging, something he hadn’t had for quite some time before coming here.

He needed a while to figure out that signal, and careful and subtle questioning had revealed that the other members of the expedition didn’t feel anything like it. Carson had come closest, but he had been drunk on Athosian wine when he’d confided in John and Rodney about Atlantis making him feel at home and welcome sometimes, when he was on the edge of drifting off into sleep.

To John, it looked as if it had to do something with the ATA gene. It didn’t influence him in any way, and after mentioning it to Carson once he just tried to ignore it.

There was nobody on Atlantis besides John who could feel the steady thrum, like a heartbeat. He adapted to the feeling of almost-awareness shimmering under each gleaming surface and behind every panel, just out of reach for everyone else.

The first time he touched a wall and a weak electrical current raced through him, he frowned and cursed Rodney and his department under his breath.

He continued to blame Rodney for the little zaps he received every now and then, and when Rodney insisted loudly that it wasn’t his fault and had never been, John simply rolled his eyes and refused to believe him.

~*+*~

He wasn’t feeling his best, John thought as he stalked through the Stargate, his entire body tense and aching. He was supporting Teyla, and Rodney was unconscious and slung around Ronon’s shoulders like a bag of potatoes.

It was definitely not the time to get zapped on the way to the infirmary, but this time, he definitely felt something else, too. The steady pulse in his mind had quickened as if frightened or scared, like a real heartbeat.

It was impossible, John thought irritably, his body growing even more tense. He had figured out that the pulse he could feel was emitted by the city. It was artificial and couldn’t get excited and scared. It had probably been intended as some sort of early warning system, to let him know that something wasn’t quite working at that moment. He’d talked to Zelenka, and the scientist had agreed with him on that.

However, if this was an early warning system for something, it was broken, because nobody noticed anything out of the ordinary. The sensors showed no attack, no structural damage, no breaches or absolutely anything out of the ordinary.

Everything was fine.

John put it out of his mind, as much as he could.

A few days later, another weak current hit him. It wasn’t strong enough to hurt him, but it was again followed by that almost gleeful spike in his mind.

Nobody else was experiencing these jolts. John mentioned it again to Rodney, who promised to look into it, but then, an alarm sounded and both of them were distracted for three straight days dealing with the latest crisis.

When John was finally satisfied that Atlantis and all of its inhabitants were safe, he was exhausted and every single part of his body was aching dully. He kicked off his boots and clothes as soon as his door had hissed shut behind him, stumbled into the shower and struggled to stay awake long enough for the water to wash the sweat and grime off of him.

It wasn’t until he was sprawled out over his bed and dozing off when he felt it.

An electrical current was running through his body, tugging at his muscles and sending sparks through his belly. It was weak enough not to hurt, and it carefully avoided all the bruised areas on his torso.

It was, John slowly realized, intentional and gentle.

Focusing on it, he could feel the delighted pulse in his mind, quickening when he didn’t move and just let it happen.

The jolts grew stronger, then weaker, focused on different parts of his body, and through his daze of half-sleep, John realized that, whoever did this was experimenting and trying to find out which touch was okay and which one wasn’t.

It could be dangerous, he knew. It could be yet another attempt of a hostile takeover. It could be an attempt to study him, to find out how to cause the most damage to his body.

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, the pulse in his awareness and the touch on his body grew gentler and soothing, and John realized two more things.

One: whoever was doing this was already in his mind and knew everything he did.

And two: Whoever was in his mind had been there from the beginning, from the second he’d set foot on Atlantis and the city had lit up around him.

The logical consequence was clear, and yet, it was unexpected enough that John fell out of bed when he reached it.

~*+*~

“You don’t think we would have noticed by now if Atlantis was sentient?” Rodney scoffed, not stopping shoveling food into his mouth.

John shrugged and took a bite of his sandwich. “Hey, it’s just a question,” he drawled. “Would be cool, huh?”

“Yeah,” Rodney agreed and straightened slightly. His eyes lit up when he saw Dr. Keller approaching, and John rolled his eyes good-naturedly and collected his tray.

“You don’t – hey, why are you leaving?” Rodney spluttered. John smiled and clapped his shoulder gently.

“Paperwork,” he replied. “I think Lorne is ready to bury my ass in it. Besides, you should go and have lunch with Jennifer.”

The happy, thankful look immediately returned to Rodney’s face, and John shook his head amusedly as he disposed of the tray and left the room.

He turned his steps toward his office when suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

If his theory was right and Atlantis was sentient enough to try and make contact with him, there was only one place where John could go to strengthen that connection between himself and the City.

The Chair.

The pulse in his mind shivered excitedly as he went into the transporter and to the control room.

He just wanted to check his theory, he told himself as he stepped close to the Chair and ran his fingertips along it.

Weighing his options in his mind he finally made a decision and tapped his radio, to contact Zelenka and to tell him that he would be using the Chair.

Gentle currents, resembling low-grade arousal, ran through his entire body when he sat down, closed his eyes and focused on the pulse at the back of his mind.

They grew stronger, and then, a bigger current arched around his head without really hitting him, just surrounding him and wrapping around him.

John gasped. Images were suddenly in front of his inner eye, flickering rapidly, almost too fast to be recognized and deciphered by his brain.

He grinned and reached a thought out. Hi.

Sparks flew. Electricity ran around and through him, setting fire to every nerve ending and synapse in his body. It wasn’t really hurting him, but the intensity of Atlantis’ joy was so great that it overwhelmed John. His breath caught in his chest, his muscles locked his body in an almost painful arch, and he couldn’t even begin to parse the sensations that arrived in his brain. Pain and pleasure ran together like water colors, mixing to form something new, something he’d never experienced before.

This was better than sex.

It was even better than flying.

It was, he managed to think, like having sex while flying a really fast plane.

It was even better.

Finally, the intense mental storm eased. John became aware of his body again, the way his clothes stuck to his sweat-wet, trembling body, the racing of his heartbeat, the rapidity of his breathing; the soft static hiss of the radio in his ear and, in the background, the sounds of the city.

He managed an exhausted, sated smile.

Hi, he cooed again, his thoughts filled with love and affection. He didn’t think about it. If he’d started to think about it, he knew that his thoughts would become stilted and awkward, the emotion hidden. He wasn’t really good at expressing his emotions, not out loud and not in his head; not when he was aware what he was doing.

Hi, he thought, protectiveness and love and the feeling of being home in his mind.

Electricity sparked to his fingertips. Hi.

John laughed.

~end.

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June 2013

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