Chug
Characters: Daniel, Juliet, Sawyer, Miles, Jin
Rating: PG
Words: 861
Summary: An AU that takes place after 5.5.The Lefties find some booze. This is mostly an implied Daniel/Juliet story.
A/N: A quick little ditty for comment_fic .
They’d been wandering aimlessly for two days, stopping only to pick whatever fruit they could find. With their mission to the Orchid complete, there was nowhere else for them to go and nothing to do but wait and try to survive. There had only been one flash since they lost Locke, but they had come across no signs telling them where in time they now were.
With Charlotte gone, Daniel had lapsed into quiet reverie. Juliet had tried talking to him, tried different approaches to help him with his grief. She’d asked him about his childhood, she’d asked him about his studies, she’d asked him what his favorite movie was. She’d even tried to get him to talk about Charlotte. It was sweet, and her voice was the only thing he had to hold onto: sweet and calm and capable, she was the one person in the group who made him feel like it was worth going on.
It didn’t matter what they did anymore. They were doomed. His nose was the only one left to start bleeding, but it was only a matter of time. Juliet and James tried to hide their pain, but without any means to wash their faces, Daniel had seen the dry brown trails that threatened to creep out of their nostrils. No one talked about it.
They rounded some rocks and found a beach, a new one that neither Juliet or James seemed to recognize. Miles followed up in the rear, looking at the trees. They all stopped in their tracks as they spied what looked like an abandoned camp, similar to the one the 815 survivors had lived in, but infinitely smaller and made out of only twigs and island material---not airplane.
“This isn’t your camp, is it?” Miles asked.
“Don’t look like it,” James replied. There were tables and beach chairs and even a few coolers. “This one’s much classier than ours ever was. I think I could get used to it…until another flash comes and takes it all away.”
Juliet, as usual, focused on the positive and practical. “This looks like an excellent place to rest for awhile.”
“Do you think they’ll come back? I don’t want a repeat of the canoeing fiasco,” Miles said.
Juliet surveyed the beach. “This camp has been deserted for a long time. You can see how the shelters are falling apart because no one has looked after them.”
Jin went rooting around in the coolers while the rest of them collapsed into beach chairs. He returned with four bottles of alcohol. “Drink,” he said.
James jumped out of his chair. “Hell, yeah! Let’s dig in. You look like a man who needs a drink, four-eyes. Hell, I think if anyone ever deserved a drink, it’s us, right now.”
“I don’t wear glasses,” Daniel mumbled in reply as James pulled the cork out of the first bottle with his teeth and spat it into the sand. Daniel’s first instinct was to protest that now they’d get sand in the bottle when they wanted to close it again, but then he realized that James probably wasn’t interested in leaving any. James took another deep drink and handed the bottle to Jin, who smiled knowingly.
“Good brand,” he nodded, before taking a sip.
James’s face lit up with the first sign of good humour any of them had shown in days. “And how do you know that, Jin?”
“Desmond said.”
“I guess he would know, wouldn't he?” James shook his head, ridding himself of serious thoughts. “You want some, Juliet? It’s warm, but it’s still scotch.”
Juliet picked up another bottle. “I’ll drink out of my own, thank you, James.” After taking a swig, she offered it to Daniel with a kind smile. “Would you like some?” she asked.
Daniel’s fingers flexed, unbidden, as he tried to decide what to do. He knew he shouldn’t. With Locke gone to who-knows-where, and Sawyer and Juliet about to get drunk, someone needed to keep his or her head. Miles was off by himself, doing that whispery thing he sometimes did. Daniel wondered who had died in this place and what Miles was learning. He was sure Miles would tell him soon enough.
Juliet’s hair glinting in the sunlight around her face like an angel’s halo, created an odd dichotomy with her words. “Come, I know it seems like a bad time to get drunk, but I don’t think it matters anymore.”
Daniel hated to see the fateful despair that lurked behind her serene eyes. “I mean… I think… we need to keep our brains sharp.”
“What for?” she asked.
He took her hand. “Don’t say that. Whatever Locke’s doing… whatever Desmond’s doing… I think it will work. I think we’ll be saved.”
“I’m glad you think so.” Juliet sighed and handed him a third bottle that she had just opened. “On the count of three?”
Daniel held the bottle to his mouth. This wasn’t his thing at all, but he wanted to do it for her. If this was how he could make her feel better, as she’d been trying to make him feel better, so be it.
He chugged.
Rating: PG
Words: 861
Summary: An AU that takes place after 5.5.The Lefties find some booze. This is mostly an implied Daniel/Juliet story.
A/N: A quick little ditty for comment_fic .
They’d been wandering aimlessly for two days, stopping only to pick whatever fruit they could find. With their mission to the Orchid complete, there was nowhere else for them to go and nothing to do but wait and try to survive. There had only been one flash since they lost Locke, but they had come across no signs telling them where in time they now were.
With Charlotte gone, Daniel had lapsed into quiet reverie. Juliet had tried talking to him, tried different approaches to help him with his grief. She’d asked him about his childhood, she’d asked him about his studies, she’d asked him what his favorite movie was. She’d even tried to get him to talk about Charlotte. It was sweet, and her voice was the only thing he had to hold onto: sweet and calm and capable, she was the one person in the group who made him feel like it was worth going on.
It didn’t matter what they did anymore. They were doomed. His nose was the only one left to start bleeding, but it was only a matter of time. Juliet and James tried to hide their pain, but without any means to wash their faces, Daniel had seen the dry brown trails that threatened to creep out of their nostrils. No one talked about it.
They rounded some rocks and found a beach, a new one that neither Juliet or James seemed to recognize. Miles followed up in the rear, looking at the trees. They all stopped in their tracks as they spied what looked like an abandoned camp, similar to the one the 815 survivors had lived in, but infinitely smaller and made out of only twigs and island material---not airplane.
“This isn’t your camp, is it?” Miles asked.
“Don’t look like it,” James replied. There were tables and beach chairs and even a few coolers. “This one’s much classier than ours ever was. I think I could get used to it…until another flash comes and takes it all away.”
Juliet, as usual, focused on the positive and practical. “This looks like an excellent place to rest for awhile.”
“Do you think they’ll come back? I don’t want a repeat of the canoeing fiasco,” Miles said.
Juliet surveyed the beach. “This camp has been deserted for a long time. You can see how the shelters are falling apart because no one has looked after them.”
Jin went rooting around in the coolers while the rest of them collapsed into beach chairs. He returned with four bottles of alcohol. “Drink,” he said.
James jumped out of his chair. “Hell, yeah! Let’s dig in. You look like a man who needs a drink, four-eyes. Hell, I think if anyone ever deserved a drink, it’s us, right now.”
“I don’t wear glasses,” Daniel mumbled in reply as James pulled the cork out of the first bottle with his teeth and spat it into the sand. Daniel’s first instinct was to protest that now they’d get sand in the bottle when they wanted to close it again, but then he realized that James probably wasn’t interested in leaving any. James took another deep drink and handed the bottle to Jin, who smiled knowingly.
“Good brand,” he nodded, before taking a sip.
James’s face lit up with the first sign of good humour any of them had shown in days. “And how do you know that, Jin?”
“Desmond said.”
“I guess he would know, wouldn't he?” James shook his head, ridding himself of serious thoughts. “You want some, Juliet? It’s warm, but it’s still scotch.”
Juliet picked up another bottle. “I’ll drink out of my own, thank you, James.” After taking a swig, she offered it to Daniel with a kind smile. “Would you like some?” she asked.
Daniel’s fingers flexed, unbidden, as he tried to decide what to do. He knew he shouldn’t. With Locke gone to who-knows-where, and Sawyer and Juliet about to get drunk, someone needed to keep his or her head. Miles was off by himself, doing that whispery thing he sometimes did. Daniel wondered who had died in this place and what Miles was learning. He was sure Miles would tell him soon enough.
Juliet’s hair glinting in the sunlight around her face like an angel’s halo, created an odd dichotomy with her words. “Come, I know it seems like a bad time to get drunk, but I don’t think it matters anymore.”
Daniel hated to see the fateful despair that lurked behind her serene eyes. “I mean… I think… we need to keep our brains sharp.”
“What for?” she asked.
He took her hand. “Don’t say that. Whatever Locke’s doing… whatever Desmond’s doing… I think it will work. I think we’ll be saved.”
“I’m glad you think so.” Juliet sighed and handed him a third bottle that she had just opened. “On the count of three?”
Daniel held the bottle to his mouth. This wasn’t his thing at all, but he wanted to do it for her. If this was how he could make her feel better, as she’d been trying to make him feel better, so be it.
He chugged.