time in a bottle - chapter 2
Chapter: 2. Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again
Author: pengyn
Rating: PG13
Spoilers: Through to "The End"
Summary: James returns to the real world, trying to deal with his grief and still hold on to his memories of Juliet. Meanwhile, thirty years earlier, a series of sabotages in Dharmaville leads him to suspect the one person he doesn't want to believe could have done it.
A/N: If you didn't read 'Cabin Fever' here's what you should know - it literally rained the entire way through that fic. If you did read it - I'm picking up exactly where I left off.
previous: prologue one
Chapter 2. "Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again"
April 1975
Juliet woke to fingers tracing lightly across her hand. She opened her eyes slightly, sunlight greeting her from the windows. It had been days since she’d seen any sunshine at all, but the squalls that had dominated the Island for more than a week seemed to have finally given up and gone elsewhere. She found it amusing that she had been praying for days for a reprieve only so she could get out and get away from the tension between her and James - and now here she was, curled up against him on the sofa, cursing the sun for its return. Allowing her fingers to lace with his own, she ran her thumb over his, examining his hand. It was tanned and slightly course. Strong, she thought, just seconds before images of last night flooded through her waking mind. Hands - touching, stroking, caressing, pinning, exploring, holding, ripping shirts off before rationalization could return. What would have happened if Miles and Jin hadn’t picked that particular moment to karaoke Otis Redding right outside their front door? She blushed involuntarily.
“Mornin,’” he whispered.
Juliet hoped he couldn’t feel the increase in her heartbeat, but she knew she’d never be so lucky as to have him miss the color in her cheeks. Since she was doomed anyway and he’d already discovered that the effect he had on her was more than just a “Hey, you’re my roommate” kind of thing, she rolled over to face him. The sofa wasn’t wide and when your noses were that acquainted on a cell-to-cell level, well, there was very little the eyes could miss. She studied him, her expression neutral. He had a slight smirk to his lips that told her he didn’t buy her neutrality, but she’d be damned if she was going to let him win. She watched as his eyebrows rose slightly in acknowledgment that this was some sort of duel - and then he smiled. Dammit, Juliet thought, bringing a hand up to trace his dimples. Whatever she was thinking didn’t matter anymore. This was the first day that rain hadn’t been coming down in torrents and James would have to get up and spend all of it checking the security of every single Dharma station and facility on the Island. If she didn’t want to spend the entire day with her stomach in knots, she was just going to have to let him dismantle her for a few minutes. As his lips found hers and his tongue began a slow and thorough examination of her mouth, she had to admit that there were - after all - far worse things.
***
When he got in, it was well after dark. There was a note on the fridge labeled “dinner” and an open bottle of red wine on the counter, an empty glass standing next to it. He wolfed down the plate of chicken and vegetables, washed it down with the merlot, then took a longer than necessary shower. His day had consisted of driving the jeep from one end of the Island to the other, making sure that nothing - translation: the hostiles - had taken advantage of the Dharma Initiative’s brief lapse in activity. There was nothing out of place that he could see and that actually made it worse, because it meant that he could’ve spent the entire day getting to know Juliet a lot better. He patted himself down with a towel but didn’t dry off completely - no rain meant that the humidity was back and it seemed in a mood to give no mercy. Pulling on a vest and boxers, he made his way down the hall and walked in to Juliet’s room. He could see bare leg sticking out from beneath the covers and realized that she too, had exchanged sweats for shorts. He turned to go when he heard her stir.
“James?”
He double-backed towards her and sat down on the bed. “Hey. Did I wake ya?” he whispered.
Juliet made a noise somewhere between a word and a sigh. “Sorta.”
James moved the hair out of her face, “Sorry.”
“’s’okay,” she replied. “I never sleep well when you’re out anyway.”
“Oh really?” he grinned, teasing her.
Juliet swatted at him, aiming for his chest and hitting his knee. He grabbed her hand - more to ward off another attack than anything else - and found that she was using her own to pull him down next to her. She nestled against him, somewhere in-between sleep and awake, her head coming to rest just below his.
“Mm, cold,” she breathed.
“That’d be the shower I had,” he told her, running his fingers down her back.
“Nice,” she replied.
“Well I’m glad you approve.”
“Mm,” she managed, before falling asleep against his chest.
Author: pengyn
Rating: PG13
Spoilers: Through to "The End"
Summary: James returns to the real world, trying to deal with his grief and still hold on to his memories of Juliet. Meanwhile, thirty years earlier, a series of sabotages in Dharmaville leads him to suspect the one person he doesn't want to believe could have done it.
A/N: If you didn't read 'Cabin Fever' here's what you should know - it literally rained the entire way through that fic. If you did read it - I'm picking up exactly where I left off.
previous: prologue one
Chapter 2. "Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again"
April 1975
Juliet woke to fingers tracing lightly across her hand. She opened her eyes slightly, sunlight greeting her from the windows. It had been days since she’d seen any sunshine at all, but the squalls that had dominated the Island for more than a week seemed to have finally given up and gone elsewhere. She found it amusing that she had been praying for days for a reprieve only so she could get out and get away from the tension between her and James - and now here she was, curled up against him on the sofa, cursing the sun for its return. Allowing her fingers to lace with his own, she ran her thumb over his, examining his hand. It was tanned and slightly course. Strong, she thought, just seconds before images of last night flooded through her waking mind. Hands - touching, stroking, caressing, pinning, exploring, holding, ripping shirts off before rationalization could return. What would have happened if Miles and Jin hadn’t picked that particular moment to karaoke Otis Redding right outside their front door? She blushed involuntarily.
“Mornin,’” he whispered.
Juliet hoped he couldn’t feel the increase in her heartbeat, but she knew she’d never be so lucky as to have him miss the color in her cheeks. Since she was doomed anyway and he’d already discovered that the effect he had on her was more than just a “Hey, you’re my roommate” kind of thing, she rolled over to face him. The sofa wasn’t wide and when your noses were that acquainted on a cell-to-cell level, well, there was very little the eyes could miss. She studied him, her expression neutral. He had a slight smirk to his lips that told her he didn’t buy her neutrality, but she’d be damned if she was going to let him win. She watched as his eyebrows rose slightly in acknowledgment that this was some sort of duel - and then he smiled. Dammit, Juliet thought, bringing a hand up to trace his dimples. Whatever she was thinking didn’t matter anymore. This was the first day that rain hadn’t been coming down in torrents and James would have to get up and spend all of it checking the security of every single Dharma station and facility on the Island. If she didn’t want to spend the entire day with her stomach in knots, she was just going to have to let him dismantle her for a few minutes. As his lips found hers and his tongue began a slow and thorough examination of her mouth, she had to admit that there were - after all - far worse things.
***
When he got in, it was well after dark. There was a note on the fridge labeled “dinner” and an open bottle of red wine on the counter, an empty glass standing next to it. He wolfed down the plate of chicken and vegetables, washed it down with the merlot, then took a longer than necessary shower. His day had consisted of driving the jeep from one end of the Island to the other, making sure that nothing - translation: the hostiles - had taken advantage of the Dharma Initiative’s brief lapse in activity. There was nothing out of place that he could see and that actually made it worse, because it meant that he could’ve spent the entire day getting to know Juliet a lot better. He patted himself down with a towel but didn’t dry off completely - no rain meant that the humidity was back and it seemed in a mood to give no mercy. Pulling on a vest and boxers, he made his way down the hall and walked in to Juliet’s room. He could see bare leg sticking out from beneath the covers and realized that she too, had exchanged sweats for shorts. He turned to go when he heard her stir.
“James?”
He double-backed towards her and sat down on the bed. “Hey. Did I wake ya?” he whispered.
Juliet made a noise somewhere between a word and a sigh. “Sorta.”
James moved the hair out of her face, “Sorry.”
“’s’okay,” she replied. “I never sleep well when you’re out anyway.”
“Oh really?” he grinned, teasing her.
Juliet swatted at him, aiming for his chest and hitting his knee. He grabbed her hand - more to ward off another attack than anything else - and found that she was using her own to pull him down next to her. She nestled against him, somewhere in-between sleep and awake, her head coming to rest just below his.
“Mm, cold,” she breathed.
“That’d be the shower I had,” he told her, running his fingers down her back.
“Nice,” she replied.
“Well I’m glad you approve.”
“Mm,” she managed, before falling asleep against his chest.