#desolation!sev

“Does it hurt?”

“The sparking? No, but it's hot, like–”

“No, no,” Jon cuts him off, and then looks away. Sev can see the way the archivist bites at his lip, worrying the skin between his teeth, eyebrows furrowed. “I mean… If you, uh.” It takes Sev a moment to place what the emotion in Jon's voice is.

He's embarrassed.

Sev grins, giddy, suddenly feeling like he has control of the situation again. “Cat got your tongue? Come on, don't get all shy on me now,” Sev taunts.

Jon glances at Sev's hands, then looks away again. “Would it hurt if you touched me?”

“Feels like a stupid question,” Sev says with a roll of his eyes. “You saw Daisy's arms, Jon. What do you think? Think it just tickled a little bit?”

Then the archivist is glaring at him, half hearted as it is. “Yes, okay, obviously it hurts. But I want to know what it feels like. Is it immediate? How hot does it feel? Can you control the temperature? Can–”

“Are you looking to find out?”

Sev means it as a joke, as a way to taunt Jon further, to make him stumble and splutter and try to back out again. But instead Jon looks at him with wide, curious eyes, and fear laced in the lines of his face, and Sev knows that Jon really does want to find out. Sev's never been one to back down from hurting someone when given the chance, but Jon's hunger for knowledge is downright frightening. He swallows down the fear as best as he can.

“Yes or no, Jon,” Sev prompts.