Shortfic No. 022: Rewriting History

It wasn’t the first time a timeline needed to be fixed, and John doubted it would be the last. Still, he couldn’t help but feel trepidation as he walked delicately along the edge of the abyss. Could he pull it off this time around? Maybe it wouldn’t be enough.

He was too on edge, and he realized it a moment too late when a sound echoed through the chamber unexpectedly, causing him to whirl and lose his footing. Tripping, he tumbled over the edge. His mouth opened to let out a scream…

… which abruptly died in his throat as a strong hand caught his arm and hauled him back onto firm ground. John found himself staring into the eyes of a Wraith – one he knew well.

“Todd,” he said, breathing heavily. “What are you doing here?”

“I received word that you would be coming here,” Todd responded. “But I did not expect to find you so far in. What is it you hoped to accomplish by walking this treacherous path?” He nodded to the stone they stood on.

John licked his lips, wondering what to say. He couldn’t exactly explain to Todd what Rodney had said, everything about needing to fix something that was going to happen in the future because of the device at the other end, the one he was going to destroy before it was too late.

As he considered this, he felt Todd’s eyes boring into his, more and more deeply. Suddenly he realized he couldn’t look away.

“Tell me what you hope to accomplish,” the Wraith repeated, and this time his voice was laced with a mesmerizing undertone that made John want to tell him, to explain…

He shook himself and automatically took a step backwards, almost falling off the edge once more. Todd reached out to grab him, this time with both hands, and he was abruptly overwhelmed with a sensation of – oddly – pleasure.

The contact broke too soon, and when his eyes cleared, he saw that his companion looked unnerved.

“What was that?” he whispered, frowning at Todd.

“I do not know. That… has never happened to me with a human before,” Todd replied, equally softly.

John had never heard a Wraith speak in that tone before. It was even more mesmerizing than the order from before, and this time he found himself stepping closer, wondering if the feeling would be the same the second time around. Todd, too, seemed entranced, reaching his feeding hand forward tentatively towards John’s face.

He stopped barely an inch from the skin, and his eyes grew intense once more, studying John closely.

“Why have you never killed me?” he asked.

John could feel heat radiating from Todd’s hand. He struggled not to lean his face closer. “I don’t know. Why haven’t you killed me?”

“You were useful,” said Todd, obviously trying to sound dismissive, but John sensed a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

“Is that all?” he replied, his voice suddenly hoarse with confused but strong emotions.

Then he was distracted by the feel of Todd’s breath on his face, and that moment was enough to press his cheek against the hand that was so near. The Wraith drew in a sharp breath, and John felt overwhelmed again, a rush of emotion going through his veins. Not all of it seemed to be his own.

Slowly, he rubbed his cheek against Todd’s palm. His companion had his eyes half closed, focusing solely on John. Stepping forward, the Wraith brought his body together with John’s, and John leaned in gratefully, the contact easing some of his confusion and distress.

Todd’s nose was rubbing against his forehead. John reached up to grasp his wrist, holding the hand in place as he turned his head to nuzzle the palm.

They didn’t realize they were leaning in towards the abyss until John lost his footing again and fell backwards. Even then, Todd just leaned forward even more, wrapping himself around John, and John threw himself into the pleasure of their contact, no longer caring that in a few short minutes he would be dashed to death among the rocks far below.

Meanwhile, the device continued to tick down, down…