Detention to Dinner for soda_and_capes
Title: Detention to Dinner
Author: key_sama
Recipient: soda_and_capes
Pairing or Characters: Ben, Locke, Sawyer, mentions of others
Rating: PG
Warnings: Some religious overtones, not much different from canon.
Prompt: 1. I'd love Locke/Ben fic from the point in season four when they're shacking up together in the Others' little suburb. Hatesex and manipulation is a plus, but mostly I'd just love to see them snarking/bitching at each other. Slash or gen is actually fine.
Summary: Ben finds it all too easy to get under John's skin during their stay in Dharmaville. Missing scenes from Locke's rule during season four.
Author notes: You asked for Locke and Ben at the Barracks, my porn muse is on vacation so it's gen but I hope you like it! Thank you to whitequeenwalks and cynthia_arrow for the beta work.
Ben squirmed uncomfortably against the ropes. He was sure John would prove to be the utterly incompetent leader Ben knew he was, but the man did know how to tie a knot. There was nothing pressing Ben to escape since he was exactly where he needed to be, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Hearing the sound of the doorknob being turned, Ben stilled and watched Sawyer come inside, casually pointing a gun in his direction.
“Evenin', Bug-eye. Time to take a trip.”
Ben kept a neutral expression. “Where are we going?”
“We aren't goin' nowhere. You, however, are goin' downstairs-all the way down.” Sawyer frowned at Ben, who was sitting almost unnaturally still on his chair.
“Why?” Ben wondered if he'd been given a reason or he was just doing John's bidding.
“The hell if I know. I'd ask, but I've had enough mystical island bullshit.”
“Just following orders, James? Maybe we were misinformed about you.” Ben gave him a superior smirk.
Sawyer, careful to keep the gun out of Ben's reach, pulled him up by his shirt collar. “Come on, creepy, move it!” He let go, then marched Ben downstairs with the gun pressed to his back.
Ben gave a pained sigh after he was tossed unceremoniously on the concrete floor, the door locked behind Ford on the way out. The ropes fell away from his hands and Ben felt a flicker of irritation that he hadn't noticed them being cut. He got up and rubbed the circulation back into his hands, pacing the room a few times to take stock of his injuries. Nothing he couldn't ignore until he got free, so Ben sat down and tried to sleep-the good thing about metal doors was that they'd make enough noise to wake him if John decided to show up.
Ben had actually woken up an hour or so before John brought down his attempt at breakfast and information gathering. He'd been somewhat disappointed there was no midnight interrogation by flashlight, but Locke's temper tantrum with the breakfast tray had cheered Ben right up. Following that he hadn't been locked inside too long, and aside from the odd interruption ($3.2 million, really?) Ben was quickly released among the rest of John's sheep-nice of him to undermine his own position.
John was set on having a group dinner, so Ben had decided to put together a sweet potato casserole. He'd have to get there early so everyone else wouldn't know Ben had made it and assume he'd poisoned it or something equally ridiculous. Ben paused to reconsider as he pulled the container out of the oven, but decided to stay the course-it would have meant more food for him, but less time to antagonize John.
Ben knocked at John's door, smiling at his suspicious glance at the dish Ben carried. “Not a sweet potato man? Alex likes it, anyway.”
John's eyes shifted from the casserole to Ben, still suspicious. “You're early.”
“Am I? Well, I'll just have to leave this in the oven to keep it warm.” Ben brushed past John to the kitchen before he could object, setting the oven as low as it went. “There, that should keep it hot without burning the top.”
Ben's smiling, upbeat attitude seemed to deeply unsettle John, but what could he do about it? Order Ben to stop smiling? Ben could, in fact, do worse. Unfortunately despite his best efforts, John always got a shot in sooner or later.
“Since you've got extra time, Ben, you could tell me what you know about Jacob.”
“Could I?” Sarcastic bitterness seeped into Ben's false cheer for a moment, before settling back into a more neutral, but mocking tone, “You're such great friends and all, John, why don't you ask Jacob to tell you about himself?” Ben paused long enough for John to open his mouth before cutting him off. “Oh wait, you can't find him! Darn.”
Asking about Jacob had irritated Ben for a moment, but he'd managed to turn it around-not one of John's better ideas. Not only was Ben still smiling, he had the air of a man who'd won something.
“You might have just said no,” John said mildly.
Ben wasn't fooled. He saw the way John's jaw had been clenched, and he could smell blood in the water, “You know what the saddest thing is? You really think you're important to these people. Ford doesn't give a damn about you, he just wants to keep out of jail. Littleton? Warned away by her dead boyfriend-nothing to do with you. Reyes? The same as Claire. The rest? Who the hell are they anyway? Do they even have names? I'd tell you the baby was against you too, but I have to admit-eating and pooping are pretty much the same no matter who's in charge.”
“You are only trying to upset me, and it isn't going to work, Ben,” John said, but the redness of his face and the way his veins stood out contradicted his words.
“Mmm.” Ben's sound neither agreed or disagreed. He ignored John and dug out a cup from the cabinets, helping himself to some coffee before sitting down at the kitchen table.
John loomed over Ben in his chair. “The petty jealousy and mind games aren't going to get your people to put you back in charge, Ben.”
Ben acted as if John wasn't there, taking plenty of time adjusting his coffee with the condiments on the table. “Have you heard of Sabbatai Zevi, John?” Ben could see from John's expression he hadn't. “Most of this may be lost on you then. Sabbatai Zevi was one of many false Jewish messiahs. He did pretty well for himself in the beginning-collected Jews and Christians across Europe, earned the attention of the authorities, and eventually ended up arrested in Istanbul. This didn't really affect the devotion of his followers-they expected he would take the sultan's crown. You might guess the sultan didn't like this idea, and Zevi was forced to convert to Islam. The Muslims and local Christians mocked his followers for this, though he tried to play it off as the will of God. There was some double dealing for a while, where he'd try to convince the Jews or the Muslims he was just trying to get more converts on the other side, but it didn't last. In the end he was banished to Albania and died alone in obscurity.”
John looked resigned to Ben's grandstanding. “I suppose this applies to me somehow?”
“You aren't what they think you are, John, and every move, every decision you make tells me I'm right.” It made Ben sad to think that even Jacob could be wrong, but in his mind there could be no other explanation for John. “In the end, John, you will fail-if you haven't already.”
He looked furious, but Ben didn't find out what John wanted to do about his amateur prophesying-there was a knock on the door since everyone else had decided to come on time for dinner. “Make yourself useful for once and set the table.” If there was anything that John could do to knock Ben off his high horse it would have to wait for another day.
Dinner was a quiet, sullen affair, despite futile efforts by Hurley to lighten things up. There were a few times Ben thought the crazy French woman was going to leap across the table and sever an artery or two with her butter knife, but she somehow restrained herself-it probably helped that he was as far from Alex as seating would allow.
These people wanted answers, not a dinner party, and all they were going to get was John stewing in his own juices. Soon enough he'd have Alex back, he'd have Juliet back, and he'd have his people back, because this time the Messiah was going to crucify himself. Ben took a bite of his casserole, smiling to himself as he watched Alex do the same-it was starting already.
Author: key_sama
Recipient: soda_and_capes
Pairing or Characters: Ben, Locke, Sawyer, mentions of others
Rating: PG
Warnings: Some religious overtones, not much different from canon.
Prompt: 1. I'd love Locke/Ben fic from the point in season four when they're shacking up together in the Others' little suburb. Hatesex and manipulation is a plus, but mostly I'd just love to see them snarking/bitching at each other. Slash or gen is actually fine.
Summary: Ben finds it all too easy to get under John's skin during their stay in Dharmaville. Missing scenes from Locke's rule during season four.
Author notes: You asked for Locke and Ben at the Barracks, my porn muse is on vacation so it's gen but I hope you like it! Thank you to whitequeenwalks and cynthia_arrow for the beta work.
Ben squirmed uncomfortably against the ropes. He was sure John would prove to be the utterly incompetent leader Ben knew he was, but the man did know how to tie a knot. There was nothing pressing Ben to escape since he was exactly where he needed to be, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Hearing the sound of the doorknob being turned, Ben stilled and watched Sawyer come inside, casually pointing a gun in his direction.
“Evenin', Bug-eye. Time to take a trip.”
Ben kept a neutral expression. “Where are we going?”
“We aren't goin' nowhere. You, however, are goin' downstairs-all the way down.” Sawyer frowned at Ben, who was sitting almost unnaturally still on his chair.
“Why?” Ben wondered if he'd been given a reason or he was just doing John's bidding.
“The hell if I know. I'd ask, but I've had enough mystical island bullshit.”
“Just following orders, James? Maybe we were misinformed about you.” Ben gave him a superior smirk.
Sawyer, careful to keep the gun out of Ben's reach, pulled him up by his shirt collar. “Come on, creepy, move it!” He let go, then marched Ben downstairs with the gun pressed to his back.
Ben gave a pained sigh after he was tossed unceremoniously on the concrete floor, the door locked behind Ford on the way out. The ropes fell away from his hands and Ben felt a flicker of irritation that he hadn't noticed them being cut. He got up and rubbed the circulation back into his hands, pacing the room a few times to take stock of his injuries. Nothing he couldn't ignore until he got free, so Ben sat down and tried to sleep-the good thing about metal doors was that they'd make enough noise to wake him if John decided to show up.
Ben had actually woken up an hour or so before John brought down his attempt at breakfast and information gathering. He'd been somewhat disappointed there was no midnight interrogation by flashlight, but Locke's temper tantrum with the breakfast tray had cheered Ben right up. Following that he hadn't been locked inside too long, and aside from the odd interruption ($3.2 million, really?) Ben was quickly released among the rest of John's sheep-nice of him to undermine his own position.
John was set on having a group dinner, so Ben had decided to put together a sweet potato casserole. He'd have to get there early so everyone else wouldn't know Ben had made it and assume he'd poisoned it or something equally ridiculous. Ben paused to reconsider as he pulled the container out of the oven, but decided to stay the course-it would have meant more food for him, but less time to antagonize John.
Ben knocked at John's door, smiling at his suspicious glance at the dish Ben carried. “Not a sweet potato man? Alex likes it, anyway.”
John's eyes shifted from the casserole to Ben, still suspicious. “You're early.”
“Am I? Well, I'll just have to leave this in the oven to keep it warm.” Ben brushed past John to the kitchen before he could object, setting the oven as low as it went. “There, that should keep it hot without burning the top.”
Ben's smiling, upbeat attitude seemed to deeply unsettle John, but what could he do about it? Order Ben to stop smiling? Ben could, in fact, do worse. Unfortunately despite his best efforts, John always got a shot in sooner or later.
“Since you've got extra time, Ben, you could tell me what you know about Jacob.”
“Could I?” Sarcastic bitterness seeped into Ben's false cheer for a moment, before settling back into a more neutral, but mocking tone, “You're such great friends and all, John, why don't you ask Jacob to tell you about himself?” Ben paused long enough for John to open his mouth before cutting him off. “Oh wait, you can't find him! Darn.”
Asking about Jacob had irritated Ben for a moment, but he'd managed to turn it around-not one of John's better ideas. Not only was Ben still smiling, he had the air of a man who'd won something.
“You might have just said no,” John said mildly.
Ben wasn't fooled. He saw the way John's jaw had been clenched, and he could smell blood in the water, “You know what the saddest thing is? You really think you're important to these people. Ford doesn't give a damn about you, he just wants to keep out of jail. Littleton? Warned away by her dead boyfriend-nothing to do with you. Reyes? The same as Claire. The rest? Who the hell are they anyway? Do they even have names? I'd tell you the baby was against you too, but I have to admit-eating and pooping are pretty much the same no matter who's in charge.”
“You are only trying to upset me, and it isn't going to work, Ben,” John said, but the redness of his face and the way his veins stood out contradicted his words.
“Mmm.” Ben's sound neither agreed or disagreed. He ignored John and dug out a cup from the cabinets, helping himself to some coffee before sitting down at the kitchen table.
John loomed over Ben in his chair. “The petty jealousy and mind games aren't going to get your people to put you back in charge, Ben.”
Ben acted as if John wasn't there, taking plenty of time adjusting his coffee with the condiments on the table. “Have you heard of Sabbatai Zevi, John?” Ben could see from John's expression he hadn't. “Most of this may be lost on you then. Sabbatai Zevi was one of many false Jewish messiahs. He did pretty well for himself in the beginning-collected Jews and Christians across Europe, earned the attention of the authorities, and eventually ended up arrested in Istanbul. This didn't really affect the devotion of his followers-they expected he would take the sultan's crown. You might guess the sultan didn't like this idea, and Zevi was forced to convert to Islam. The Muslims and local Christians mocked his followers for this, though he tried to play it off as the will of God. There was some double dealing for a while, where he'd try to convince the Jews or the Muslims he was just trying to get more converts on the other side, but it didn't last. In the end he was banished to Albania and died alone in obscurity.”
John looked resigned to Ben's grandstanding. “I suppose this applies to me somehow?”
“You aren't what they think you are, John, and every move, every decision you make tells me I'm right.” It made Ben sad to think that even Jacob could be wrong, but in his mind there could be no other explanation for John. “In the end, John, you will fail-if you haven't already.”
He looked furious, but Ben didn't find out what John wanted to do about his amateur prophesying-there was a knock on the door since everyone else had decided to come on time for dinner. “Make yourself useful for once and set the table.” If there was anything that John could do to knock Ben off his high horse it would have to wait for another day.
Dinner was a quiet, sullen affair, despite futile efforts by Hurley to lighten things up. There were a few times Ben thought the crazy French woman was going to leap across the table and sever an artery or two with her butter knife, but she somehow restrained herself-it probably helped that he was as far from Alex as seating would allow.
These people wanted answers, not a dinner party, and all they were going to get was John stewing in his own juices. Soon enough he'd have Alex back, he'd have Juliet back, and he'd have his people back, because this time the Messiah was going to crucify himself. Ben took a bite of his casserole, smiling to himself as he watched Alex do the same-it was starting already.