baby baby baby

[notcooldude]

See, the first time he'd needed new clothes on the new island (the one that wasn't his) Sawyer'd gone for him. For his own good, or at least that's what he'd said. Given how messy his first couple hours had been, he'd basically needed new clothes immediately, so when he was told to stay where he was and don't get in any more trouble, he did what he

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[notcooldude]

He lets himself take that comfort she's offering, because he knows - it's the most he's ever gonna get, from anyone. And he can feel, it's honest, it's not just some platitude of familiarity making her let him cling all over her. Maybe it's pathetic, but he doesn't care.

"Years," he admits, rolling his head one last time against her shoulder before moving away. He looks around the room for a chair -- finds a few of them nearby. And parts off to move and sit heavily down in it before he either gets jelly legs or starts blubbering or something else totally stupid. "Jack just said, we have to go back. The island's not finished with us. He said all of us had to go back, so we did."

He can't quite meet her eyes again, though. Because he knows. He knows it was Ben that convinced him to go, in the end; Ben who ruined Hugo's resolve. Ben who stayed with Hugo at the end of everything. Juliet and Ben ... he doesn't know much about them, not really. He wasn't really as much a part of all that. But he knows it's complicated.

"I don't know if I should talk about it. It could be bad."

[blondieburke]

She sits beside him, listening intently to him. Every question that she has she stifles for now, and there's quiet for a few minutes before she finally speaks again.

"Hurley, those years you're talking about? Whatever happened in them, I can't remember all of it. Just bits and pieces. The last thing I remember about you, is that you got on Frank's helicopter."

This can't be about her, she won't try to twist his feelings into something that means he'll tell her. She'd like to know she has at least one good friend from home (home?) in this place.

"If you want to tell me you can, but if you think it could be bad, maybe that's a secret you'll keep for a while. Until you're ready."

[notcooldude]

She gets a long, thoughtful stare after the revelation of just what she doesn't know. It really is enough to drive him nuts, trying to piece together all of these separate pieces that are the people he knows, here, on this island. But he can handle it. For once in his life, he thinks he can handle it. That's why it's his job. That's why he's doing Jacob's work, now.

Or should be, anyway.

He folds his hands in his lap and shrugs. "It's okay, it's okay. It is so okay. I mean, I'm totally over it now, sorry. It's just ... I guess I wasn't really ready to see all these faces, like, all at once. Bam, bam, in a row. It's nice, though. It really is nice. Seriously."

[blondieburke]

Does that mean he hasn't seen them in a while? If he's back on the island then she should be there, with James and Miles and Jin. A wave of uneasiness floods through her while she sits there silently. Maybe because she and Will are assuming she's dead after what happened on Halloween. Her mind goes back to Hurley's previous words: you look okay. She's not sure how she's supposed to look. Alive? Healthy?

Juliet lets her passive mask slip just a little bit as she looks back at him, one eyebrow arched up like she's suddenly trying to keep any emotion from making a grand appearance. Just like that it's gone, and she wants to ask him; she knows he knows, but instead she manages some kind of wobbly smile.

"It's really nice to see you too, Hurley."

[notcooldude]

He doesn't notice the tightness in her expression, because he's looking down at their feet, her smaller ones, and his own, dirty and bare - he'd foregone shoes by choice when he left the house that day. When he looks up, though, he smiles, and he notices the little tremor in her own smile. Only because he's gotten pretty good at noticing things.

Slipping one hand into one of Juliet's in hopes of giving it a strong squeeze, he says, "But hey, like, we should totally hang out together sometime, right? We could do ... whatever. Something you think is fun."

[blondieburke]

Juliet holds onto his hand tightly, somehow feeling better with that small gesture. She even laughs quietly.

"Something I think is fun? Hmmm...well, I've been trying to teach myself how to cook. Depending on whether or not you're amused by someone who tends to set things on fire in a kitchen, that could be fun. I do have board games though, and I feel like I remember you liking a good two player game."

[notcooldude]

"I love cooking," he says, cutting in immediately - because it's true. There's not a lot else in the world he can imagine, right now, he'd like to do better than spend time in a kitchen with Juliet.

"Sometime soon, okay?" He slips his hand from hers to fist it, holding out one stubby pinky finger. "Promise?"

[blondieburke]

The smile that blossoms on Juliet's face makes her dimples come out, and she holds out her pinky, hooking it with his. "I promise."

She reaches out and hugs him again, letting out a soft breath. "I'm glad you're here. Even if this place is a little weird. We've been to weirder, right?"

[notcooldude]

"Man, am I glad you're here, too." he says, when she reaches out to hug him again, and Hurley finds himself laughing, a loud giggle without pretension or anxiety. Maybe it should be upsetting, all these faces that he knows as no longer living, but all he can feel right now is relaxed, relieved of his worries about the other island.

"It just has personality, okay? Hey, you wanna help me find some clothes? Maybe we'll have better luck if you search for me, and I search for you. It's worth a shot."

[blondieburke]

Juliet stands up and goes to the box, peering into it. "If you get me something other than a tank top, I'm going to start bringing you every time I need an outfit."

Reaching into the box, she digs around for a little bit before wrapping her fingers around a piece of cloth and pulling out a shirt. First thing she checks is that it's Hurley sized, and yes, it is. Then she unfolds it, looks at it, and laughs. "Oh, Hurley. I told you I'm no good at this."

[notcooldude]

As soon as he sees the flash of bubblegum-pink, he's on his feet again, leaning over her shoulder to get a good look at what she's fished out of the box.

"No," he says, with a startled bark of a laugh as he catches the print on this new one. "No, no. That one's good. It's better than mine, anyway. Mine's just creepy. That one's at least ironic. Like, funny ironic, not sad ironic, 'cause I'm not a girl and I'm not even a little Irish. You're better than me."

He truly believes it, too, and believes that he'll never be able to work the box - though whether that's why it doesn't work for him or not, he isn't sure, and doesn't want to think about too hard yet. Either way, when he bends over to search, he comes up with a frilly black and white ... corset. Sliding a glance between it and Juliet, once he realizes what he's even holding, he quickly stuffs it back into the box, burying it and giving a nervous cough.

"Yeah, uh, that works for now. Sorry."

[blondieburke]

She's not sure she's laughed this hard in a long time, the corset and the look on his face combining to send her into a laugh that dissolves into church giggles that stop and start until she slides down onto the ground against the box. She's needed this laugh, the release of pent up emotions, and she finally takes a deep breath to try and calm herself down.

Juliet doesn't expect him to get it, but she looks up at him once she's recovered. "Thank you, Hurley. That was perfect."

[notcooldude]

He can't imagine anything, just then, in those few seconds, that can make him happier than hearing Juliet dissolve into laughter like that - maybe because there was always something he felt he could see in her eyes that was so dissatisfied.

Leaning his hands on his knees, he offers a smile that's almost a little shy, and says, "Yeah, well, that's what I'm here for."

[blondieburke]

Taking a deep breath and letting it out softly, she studies her hands for a second, small smile still on her face as she thinks about what she knows and has pieced together. What his facial expressions have and haven't said.

Looking up at him, even though she's smiling, there's that slight sadness there, like it's a part of her.

"You're a good person, Hurley. I hope you know that."