[TM] 259 - "I don't understand..."
NOTE: The Nikki referenced here is dont_needtodie and the setting references an AU RP storyline where Sawyer was rescued and began dating the younger sister of a former mark...Nikki Fernandez, who was never on Oceanic 815. No other muses are affected by this prompt.
“I don’t understand how you can do something so disgusting!”
“What?” he protested with a mouthful of Twinkie before thinking enough to finish chewing and swallowing as a means of being a little less disgusting. “Don’t ya know they don’t go bad?”
“Yes, they do! That’s gross! You have no idea how long they’ve been in that cupboard!”
“And I don’t see an expiration date on the dam box, d’you?” he protested with a scowl, shoving the rest of the snack cake into his mouth as he wrote off her disgust as just another piece of the feminine mystique he had no interest in understanding and every likelihood of misinterpreting at some later date.
Throwing out the now empty box, he went back to rooting through the cupboard as he licked the last of the cream filling from his lips while he helped her clean out the kitchen. He’d had a sudden craving for pasta, but nothing to make it with, so Nikki’s offer to hit the grocery store had exploded into a shopping trip for the 5th Regiment. That left him to make room, and cook later…if he had the energy or the appetite.
“Is there room for the canned good yet?”
“Yeah, just gimme a sec to move these old cereal boxes…”
For a moment, there was silence.
“I need to tell her.”
“Tell who what?”
“You know who.”
It didn’t sink in until he had the last cereal box off the bottom shelf, and then it hit him so hard he dropped the stack of containers as he stood and turned to face her, eyes wide in shock.
“You sayin’ what I think yer sayin’?”
She didn’t answer right away, just looked at him with that expression that tore his guts out and made his chest tight. Knowing her eyes would shine and her voice would catch if she spoke, he lifted a hand to stop her with a gesture and thought as quickly as he could.
Nothing came into his head except Fuck. Over and over again, just the mindless cursing of a frightened dead man.
Crossing the kitchen to stand before Nikki, he took his raised hand and pointed at her as he spoke, his voice quiet and modulated…beautifully depicting none of the terror and confusion he was feeling.
“You don’t need to tell her. You want to tell her.” He corrected acidly. “If you ain’t pullin’ my leg, and I hope to God you are, that’s how it is. ‘Cause you listen to me, if you tell her? I’m a dead man. We’ll be done, and I’ll be leavin’. She’ll come for me, he’ll come for me, and havin’ you around’s only gonna get us both killed. So if yer serious ‘bout stayin’ here…you ain’t gonna tell her a blessed thing. We clear?”
He didn’t wait for an answer…just walked out of the room and out to the pool, shucking off his shirt and jeans before diving into the water with the familiar ease of practice. Back on the island, the warm tropical waters had always been just a degree or two cooler than the worst heat of his temper…it wasn’t much, but it helped.
The pool was even colder, and nowhere near as comforting…but right now, it was all that he had.
Muse: James "Sawyer" Ford
Fandom: LOST
Words: 550
“I don’t understand how you can do something so disgusting!”
“What?” he protested with a mouthful of Twinkie before thinking enough to finish chewing and swallowing as a means of being a little less disgusting. “Don’t ya know they don’t go bad?”
“Yes, they do! That’s gross! You have no idea how long they’ve been in that cupboard!”
“And I don’t see an expiration date on the dam box, d’you?” he protested with a scowl, shoving the rest of the snack cake into his mouth as he wrote off her disgust as just another piece of the feminine mystique he had no interest in understanding and every likelihood of misinterpreting at some later date.
Throwing out the now empty box, he went back to rooting through the cupboard as he licked the last of the cream filling from his lips while he helped her clean out the kitchen. He’d had a sudden craving for pasta, but nothing to make it with, so Nikki’s offer to hit the grocery store had exploded into a shopping trip for the 5th Regiment. That left him to make room, and cook later…if he had the energy or the appetite.
“Is there room for the canned good yet?”
“Yeah, just gimme a sec to move these old cereal boxes…”
For a moment, there was silence.
“I need to tell her.”
“Tell who what?”
“You know who.”
It didn’t sink in until he had the last cereal box off the bottom shelf, and then it hit him so hard he dropped the stack of containers as he stood and turned to face her, eyes wide in shock.
“You sayin’ what I think yer sayin’?”
She didn’t answer right away, just looked at him with that expression that tore his guts out and made his chest tight. Knowing her eyes would shine and her voice would catch if she spoke, he lifted a hand to stop her with a gesture and thought as quickly as he could.
Nothing came into his head except Fuck. Over and over again, just the mindless cursing of a frightened dead man.
Crossing the kitchen to stand before Nikki, he took his raised hand and pointed at her as he spoke, his voice quiet and modulated…beautifully depicting none of the terror and confusion he was feeling.
“You don’t need to tell her. You want to tell her.” He corrected acidly. “If you ain’t pullin’ my leg, and I hope to God you are, that’s how it is. ‘Cause you listen to me, if you tell her? I’m a dead man. We’ll be done, and I’ll be leavin’. She’ll come for me, he’ll come for me, and havin’ you around’s only gonna get us both killed. So if yer serious ‘bout stayin’ here…you ain’t gonna tell her a blessed thing. We clear?”
He didn’t wait for an answer…just walked out of the room and out to the pool, shucking off his shirt and jeans before diving into the water with the familiar ease of practice. Back on the island, the warm tropical waters had always been just a degree or two cooler than the worst heat of his temper…it wasn’t much, but it helped.
The pool was even colder, and nowhere near as comforting…but right now, it was all that he had.
Muse: James "Sawyer" Ford
Fandom: LOST
Words: 550