005. Outsides; Sunshine
Title: Sunshine
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters: Amelia Banks, Ronon Dex
Prompt: 005 Outsides
Word Count: 804
Rating: PG
Summary: It was the first time she had been off-world since coming to Atlantis.
Notes: I seem to have lost the ability to write fluff somewhere along the way... I’m not quite sure if that’s a bad thing or not. LDT and renisanz made a beautiful drawing of the scene in this story. Go check it out.
*
She couldn’t believe it; she was out of the city. She was out of Atlantis! She had to suppress the urge to twirl around in the sunshine as they stepped out of the gate’s vicinity.
She didn’t think that the team would appreciate her acting like a little child in the first snow of the season. But there was no snow, and she wasn’t a little child. She was just happy she wasn’t stuck at that desk in the control room for one more day.
Amelia turned to glance back at the ‘gate she had just travelled uncountable light years through, instantaneously. But there was something in the way - something dark, large and looming over her with the afternoon sun behind it so it was nothing more than a silhouette.
Amelia jumped in shock before she could stop herself. The shadow chuckled a low, rumbling sound at her expense.
“What?” She snapped at him, getting defensive very quickly.
“Nothing,” Ronon answered her, the amused expression still planted firmly on his face. “Just how your face changed...”
Amelia waited for him to finish the thought but it never came. He just trailed off as he continued to walk past her and towards the retreating forms of the scientists he was babysitting for the day. He lightly brushed her side as he did and Amelia couldn’t help but glance down at the pulse pistol at his side. It certainly didn’t seem necessary, but knowing the danger that these military men attracted, it made her feel just that little bit safe - and scared.
She hesitated before following the tall Satedan. It was difficult to catch up with his long strides but she managed, keeping pace only by doubling her steps when she reached his side again.
“What do you mean ‘how my face changed’?” She asked, just to break the silence that had fallen over them. She knew the man didn’t like to talk much but long silences made her uncomfortable for some reason. She had hardly had many opportunities for deep and meaningful conversations while on Atlantis and working and now she was away from there, it might actually be nice to talk to someone, even if it was him, the only person around.
“I saw you,” He said simply in reply at first. She waited and this time he continued. “It was like you’d never seen a place like this before.”
She looked away from his face to take in her surroundings once again. There was greenery everywhere, flowers in full bloom and the sun just now starting to fall behind the humongous trees that filled the skyline each way she looked.
“Well, if you had been stuck inside that city for as long as I had, you would look...” She paused, once again looking at him. She pursed her lips in thought then shook her head. “Never mind.”
Ronon just chuckled that same rumbling sound again. But this simple act seemed to finish her sentence for her. The usually brooding man seemed more carefree out here, Amelia had never even heard him laugh before and now he had done it twice in the space of five minutes. She just walked on, now sporting a smug little smile.
“Do they all look the same to you?” She asked again after a while of more silence. Since they had last spoken, a few of the scientists had stopped along the path to observe the wildlife and greenery of the planet. Ronon and Amelia seemed to be the only ones not totally obsessed with single entities, but rather the general splendour.
“McKay sometimes complains that they do...” Ronon answered evasively. He wasn’t looking at her, choosing instead to gaze up at the clear blue sky that was slowly becoming darker, even while he watched.
“But you?”
“No. They each have something different...” He did the trailing off thing again and she just rolled her eyes, not expecting him to continue. She was pleasantly surprised. “Before... I came to Atlantis, I would jump from planet to planet not caring what they looked like - only that they didn’t have wraith on them.”
He stopped suddenly, his face emotionless. She prompted him gently. “And now?”
“And now... I notice. Knowing I won’t bring death to it, knowing that it will survive another day.”
Amelia was stunned by the depth of the man standing next to her. She had always just thought he was another warrior, built for killing the bad guys, just like the rest of them. But this one seemed to have a conscience. She offered a sad smile when he looked down at her.
“It’s nice to be outside.” Amelia pondered honestly after the silence stretched on. Ronon simply nodded in agreement as the sun finally set behind the trees in the distance, setting off a brilliant display of colours across the horizon.
*