2 LOST ficlets
Apparently the end of Lost and a few conversations with people got my mind gears a turnin'. Who knew?
Prompt: Sawyer, Rachel Carlson -->> children
Words: 900
Warnings: set post-series
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Notes: For cynthia-arrow and her love of a reformed Southern con man.
Her son kicked the ball across the grass and it rolled on and on as if pulled by magnet held by the tall blonde man whose feet it came to rest before. Instead of kicking it back, the man picked it up and carried it over to her son. She watched from her park bench as Julian took the ball and talked with the man for a moment before jogging away to bounce the ball off of his head.
Just as she was smiling at her son’s apparent good manners, she let her eyes drift over to catch the gaze of the kind stranger. He was standing there showing off dimples that were almost indecent on a man his age. Rachel reddened and had to look away when he didn’t break his stare. As he started in her direction, she silently thanked whatever force helped her remember to put on her sunglasses this morning; those brilliant devices couldn’t betray that her eyes were the size of saucers. Fearing the pretense of looking through her bag for something was flimsy at best, she dug around like she was looking for the Holy Grail, trying to give herself time to regain some sort of composure, or at the very least lose the red face, before he reached her bench..
She put her bag aside and after taking a breath, looked up to find the man standing silently before her, smirking, his eyes filled more with curiosity than the amusement his smile revealed.
“I hope my son thanked you. We’ve been working on manners lately,” she confided to him, putting her sunglasses on top of her head.
“He did indeed thank me,” he said with a grin. “But he also told me he was saying it so his mommy would get him a puppy.”
“Well, we’ve never been able to get a handle on what’s appropriate to say to strangers,” Rachel said, shaking her head and smiling. “Can’t have it all I suppose.”
“Guess not. You mind?” he asked and gestured to the bench. She shook her head and he sat down next to her. They sat for a moment silently watching as Julian kicked his ball at a tree and then chased after it when he missed his target.
“James,” he said sticking out his hand.
“Rachel,” she replied, clasping his hand. “And you already meat Julian.”
“Julian?” He seemed to get a nostalgic look on face, his eyes squinting for a moment before smiling sadly, letting what looked like relief spread across his face and down into his body. His shoulders relaxed and his whole demeanor seemed to open up. “It’s a good name.”
“Thank you.” She had a suspicion that if she could look in a mirror right now, their expressions would be nearly the same. “You have any kids?”
“Uh, yeah. Just one.” His face had gone from soft to hard in an instant, and though something told her she shouldn’t push it, a louder voice was telling her to be nosey, that maybe he needed someone to pry, to ask the questions he didn’t want to ask himself.
“Girl or boy?” He looked at her, his face practically a mask, before looking away across the park.
“A little girl. She’s probably not much older than your little Beckham there.”
“You don’t get to see her that much?” She asked it gently and quietly, leaning towards him.
“Believe me, she’s better off that way.” If he looked sad, it was all in the clinch of his jaw, and he watched Julian and another boy run after the ball.
“Oh, I doubt that.” Afterward, she couldn’t tell you what possessed her, but she put a hand on his arm lightly and gave him advice the way she would a friend. “Look, I don’t know you. You don’t know me, but trust me, you don’t want to lose the chance to know your child. And more importantly, don’t let your daughter lose the chance to know you.” He looked from her hand on his arm to her eyes. “She’s too young to be able to do anything about it, but you aren’t.”
Rachel thought for a moment that James might get up and walk away, or that he’d tell her none of this was her business. Judging by the tilt of his brow, she thought he might even get violent. Instead his features softened as if the hard clay mask he was wearing had just been soaked in water, and, to her surprise, he laughed.
“Man, do I miss someone tellin’ me the stuff I don’t want to hear!” He put his hand over hers and squeezed. “Thanks.”
He was on his feet before she could shake the dumbfounded off her face. “You got a good kid there. Do me a favor and get him that puppy?” She nodded, still unsure of what just happened, and he smiled as he turned to walk away. “A boy needs his dog!”
She looked over to see that Julian had abandoned his ball to go down the slide with his new friend, and when she looked back towards the gravel path, she watched James round a corner and walk out of sight. She couldn’t help smiling and laughing to herself, thinking that it would be awfully hard to dig yourself out of those dimples once you fell in. Not that you’d want to.
Prompt: Hurley, Ben -->> first order of business
Words: 880
Warnings: end of the series spoilers
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Notes: For lint138 who provided the prompt and watched the finale with me :)
When Ben says, “So what’s the first order of business?” all Hugo can think is Dude, how should I know? Because he should know, right? He drank that water and he’s staring at the yellow light and he should know. Right?
Desmond is just lying there, out cold and probably dreaming of home. Jack is gone - like really gone - and Ben is looking at him with those too big eyes with something akin to reverence and humility in them. It kinda freaks him out.
“Stop looking at me, man. You’re freaking me out.” If it’s possible, Ben’s eyes get bigger.
“I could go stand… over there,” he gestures almost lazily and walks out of the stream after the smallest nod of Hurley’s head. He just needs time to think, you know, without the pressure of expectations and the eyes and all that. So he stares at Desmond’s chest rising and falling, and he takes breaths with him for a few moments letting his mind concentrate on the rhythm and nothing else.
Okay, so business. First thing’s first. Stop just thinking the words! He should probably think about the basic necessities. Food, water, and shelter. He remembers reading somewhere that you have to have the necessities and feel safe before you can do anything else, like have ideas and stuff. Hmm. Hugo puts a finger in his mouth and absentmindedly starts biting the nail of his thumb.
Maybe they should head for the Dharma houses or stay near that yellow light for a while? Maybe it will make him feel different, make him feel something other than alone. He chews a small sliver clean off the end of the nail and spits it out.
“Being in charge sucks.” He mumbles it, but immediately looks around in a paranoid panic, like the Island might have heard it and would get angry. Smiling, he rolls his eyes at himself. It’s more likely one of his dead friends is lurking behind a tree, able to listen to anything whiney or self-indulgent he likely won’t be able to stop himself from saying.
Huh. He is surprised he hadn’t already thought of that.
When Ben appears, he jumps. “It’ll be dark soon, Boss. Might want to get moving.”
“Boss?” Hugo can’t keep from chuckling.
“Thought I’d try it out,” Ben says shrugging. “Not really us, huh?” They smile at each other and spend the next few minutes reviving Desmond and making sure he can walk.
The light is fading fast, and soon they’ll need at least one torch. “We’re gonna need to stay around the light here for tonight. Maybe we could camp out on the beach?” No one objects, and Hurley thinks he sees Desmond grin. They walk along quickly without talking, Ben hacking away at a branch here and there.
“This way,” Hurley tells them when Ben tries to lead them into a clearing. Just through the stalks here… somewhere. They could wait until morning, but they are so close and he’s supposed to take care of people and he knows he needs to do this now.
They hear Vincent before they see him, and Hugo stoops to greet the dog with a scratch behind the ears and a belly rub. “Good to see you, Vincent. Now go on home to Rose and Bernard.” He barks once and runs off in the direction Hurley is pointing without further ado.
“It’s just there, through the bamboo. We’ll need a fire.”
“A fire? For what?” No one has to answer when Hurley stops suddenly in the middle of the bamboo field. It’s nearly dark, but the man lying there is easy to recognize.
“I’ll start a fire,” Desmond tells them. Hurley nods and kneels down next to the body. It’s weird, but he thinks all the memories he has of Jack will come flooding into his vision. Like maybe he’ll see him in his suit running around plane wreckage or in a gym with a basketball in his hands or in a Dharma jumpsuit fixing a fence. But all Hugo sees is Jack’s face in front of him, his eyes closed and his features more relaxed than he’s ever seen them. He’s Jack at his most Jack - his best Jack. One hand on Jack’s chest and the other coming up to rub his face, he expects to find tears there, but instead there is a smile.
“First order of business?” Ben asks. Hugo looks up at him and nods with a sad smile.
/\/\/\/\
Two hours later they are standing in the dark around a mound surrounded by bamboo, a torch lit and stuck in the ground on either side. Desmond’s head is bent and Ben looks straight ahead, his mind probably either completely void of thoughts or so full he can only stand still.
The new protector of the island stands with his hands in his pockets some distance away from the other two men, watching the torches burn. “It’d be cool if we could have a beer or maybe some music.” He turns and smiles at the man beside him, unable to keep his eyes from going a little wide and from saying the next words. “Dude, this is so totally Return of the Jedi right now.”
His companion laughs and looks down. “It’s perfect. Thanks, Hurley.”
“You’re welcome, Jack.”
Prompt: Sawyer, Rachel Carlson -->> children
Words: 900
Warnings: set post-series
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Notes: For cynthia-arrow and her love of a reformed Southern con man.
Her son kicked the ball across the grass and it rolled on and on as if pulled by magnet held by the tall blonde man whose feet it came to rest before. Instead of kicking it back, the man picked it up and carried it over to her son. She watched from her park bench as Julian took the ball and talked with the man for a moment before jogging away to bounce the ball off of his head.
Just as she was smiling at her son’s apparent good manners, she let her eyes drift over to catch the gaze of the kind stranger. He was standing there showing off dimples that were almost indecent on a man his age. Rachel reddened and had to look away when he didn’t break his stare. As he started in her direction, she silently thanked whatever force helped her remember to put on her sunglasses this morning; those brilliant devices couldn’t betray that her eyes were the size of saucers. Fearing the pretense of looking through her bag for something was flimsy at best, she dug around like she was looking for the Holy Grail, trying to give herself time to regain some sort of composure, or at the very least lose the red face, before he reached her bench..
She put her bag aside and after taking a breath, looked up to find the man standing silently before her, smirking, his eyes filled more with curiosity than the amusement his smile revealed.
“I hope my son thanked you. We’ve been working on manners lately,” she confided to him, putting her sunglasses on top of her head.
“He did indeed thank me,” he said with a grin. “But he also told me he was saying it so his mommy would get him a puppy.”
“Well, we’ve never been able to get a handle on what’s appropriate to say to strangers,” Rachel said, shaking her head and smiling. “Can’t have it all I suppose.”
“Guess not. You mind?” he asked and gestured to the bench. She shook her head and he sat down next to her. They sat for a moment silently watching as Julian kicked his ball at a tree and then chased after it when he missed his target.
“James,” he said sticking out his hand.
“Rachel,” she replied, clasping his hand. “And you already meat Julian.”
“Julian?” He seemed to get a nostalgic look on face, his eyes squinting for a moment before smiling sadly, letting what looked like relief spread across his face and down into his body. His shoulders relaxed and his whole demeanor seemed to open up. “It’s a good name.”
“Thank you.” She had a suspicion that if she could look in a mirror right now, their expressions would be nearly the same. “You have any kids?”
“Uh, yeah. Just one.” His face had gone from soft to hard in an instant, and though something told her she shouldn’t push it, a louder voice was telling her to be nosey, that maybe he needed someone to pry, to ask the questions he didn’t want to ask himself.
“Girl or boy?” He looked at her, his face practically a mask, before looking away across the park.
“A little girl. She’s probably not much older than your little Beckham there.”
“You don’t get to see her that much?” She asked it gently and quietly, leaning towards him.
“Believe me, she’s better off that way.” If he looked sad, it was all in the clinch of his jaw, and he watched Julian and another boy run after the ball.
“Oh, I doubt that.” Afterward, she couldn’t tell you what possessed her, but she put a hand on his arm lightly and gave him advice the way she would a friend. “Look, I don’t know you. You don’t know me, but trust me, you don’t want to lose the chance to know your child. And more importantly, don’t let your daughter lose the chance to know you.” He looked from her hand on his arm to her eyes. “She’s too young to be able to do anything about it, but you aren’t.”
Rachel thought for a moment that James might get up and walk away, or that he’d tell her none of this was her business. Judging by the tilt of his brow, she thought he might even get violent. Instead his features softened as if the hard clay mask he was wearing had just been soaked in water, and, to her surprise, he laughed.
“Man, do I miss someone tellin’ me the stuff I don’t want to hear!” He put his hand over hers and squeezed. “Thanks.”
He was on his feet before she could shake the dumbfounded off her face. “You got a good kid there. Do me a favor and get him that puppy?” She nodded, still unsure of what just happened, and he smiled as he turned to walk away. “A boy needs his dog!”
She looked over to see that Julian had abandoned his ball to go down the slide with his new friend, and when she looked back towards the gravel path, she watched James round a corner and walk out of sight. She couldn’t help smiling and laughing to herself, thinking that it would be awfully hard to dig yourself out of those dimples once you fell in. Not that you’d want to.
Prompt: Hurley, Ben -->> first order of business
Words: 880
Warnings: end of the series spoilers
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Notes: For lint138 who provided the prompt and watched the finale with me :)
When Ben says, “So what’s the first order of business?” all Hugo can think is Dude, how should I know? Because he should know, right? He drank that water and he’s staring at the yellow light and he should know. Right?
Desmond is just lying there, out cold and probably dreaming of home. Jack is gone - like really gone - and Ben is looking at him with those too big eyes with something akin to reverence and humility in them. It kinda freaks him out.
“Stop looking at me, man. You’re freaking me out.” If it’s possible, Ben’s eyes get bigger.
“I could go stand… over there,” he gestures almost lazily and walks out of the stream after the smallest nod of Hurley’s head. He just needs time to think, you know, without the pressure of expectations and the eyes and all that. So he stares at Desmond’s chest rising and falling, and he takes breaths with him for a few moments letting his mind concentrate on the rhythm and nothing else.
Okay, so business. First thing’s first. Stop just thinking the words! He should probably think about the basic necessities. Food, water, and shelter. He remembers reading somewhere that you have to have the necessities and feel safe before you can do anything else, like have ideas and stuff. Hmm. Hugo puts a finger in his mouth and absentmindedly starts biting the nail of his thumb.
Maybe they should head for the Dharma houses or stay near that yellow light for a while? Maybe it will make him feel different, make him feel something other than alone. He chews a small sliver clean off the end of the nail and spits it out.
“Being in charge sucks.” He mumbles it, but immediately looks around in a paranoid panic, like the Island might have heard it and would get angry. Smiling, he rolls his eyes at himself. It’s more likely one of his dead friends is lurking behind a tree, able to listen to anything whiney or self-indulgent he likely won’t be able to stop himself from saying.
Huh. He is surprised he hadn’t already thought of that.
When Ben appears, he jumps. “It’ll be dark soon, Boss. Might want to get moving.”
“Boss?” Hugo can’t keep from chuckling.
“Thought I’d try it out,” Ben says shrugging. “Not really us, huh?” They smile at each other and spend the next few minutes reviving Desmond and making sure he can walk.
The light is fading fast, and soon they’ll need at least one torch. “We’re gonna need to stay around the light here for tonight. Maybe we could camp out on the beach?” No one objects, and Hurley thinks he sees Desmond grin. They walk along quickly without talking, Ben hacking away at a branch here and there.
“This way,” Hurley tells them when Ben tries to lead them into a clearing. Just through the stalks here… somewhere. They could wait until morning, but they are so close and he’s supposed to take care of people and he knows he needs to do this now.
They hear Vincent before they see him, and Hugo stoops to greet the dog with a scratch behind the ears and a belly rub. “Good to see you, Vincent. Now go on home to Rose and Bernard.” He barks once and runs off in the direction Hurley is pointing without further ado.
“It’s just there, through the bamboo. We’ll need a fire.”
“A fire? For what?” No one has to answer when Hurley stops suddenly in the middle of the bamboo field. It’s nearly dark, but the man lying there is easy to recognize.
“I’ll start a fire,” Desmond tells them. Hurley nods and kneels down next to the body. It’s weird, but he thinks all the memories he has of Jack will come flooding into his vision. Like maybe he’ll see him in his suit running around plane wreckage or in a gym with a basketball in his hands or in a Dharma jumpsuit fixing a fence. But all Hugo sees is Jack’s face in front of him, his eyes closed and his features more relaxed than he’s ever seen them. He’s Jack at his most Jack - his best Jack. One hand on Jack’s chest and the other coming up to rub his face, he expects to find tears there, but instead there is a smile.
“First order of business?” Ben asks. Hugo looks up at him and nods with a sad smile.
/\/\/\/\
Two hours later they are standing in the dark around a mound surrounded by bamboo, a torch lit and stuck in the ground on either side. Desmond’s head is bent and Ben looks straight ahead, his mind probably either completely void of thoughts or so full he can only stand still.
The new protector of the island stands with his hands in his pockets some distance away from the other two men, watching the torches burn. “It’d be cool if we could have a beer or maybe some music.” He turns and smiles at the man beside him, unable to keep his eyes from going a little wide and from saying the next words. “Dude, this is so totally Return of the Jedi right now.”
His companion laughs and looks down. “It’s perfect. Thanks, Hurley.”
“You’re welcome, Jack.”