Echoes of Familiarity
Title: Echoes of Familiarity
Pairing: Richard/Charlotte
Rating: PG
Spoilers: 4.13/14 “There’s No Place Like Home”
Disclaimer: Not mine.
lostsquee luau: For superduperkc, who requested Unusual Pairings, and amongst them, Richard/Charlotte.
When she walked into the jungle that day - so many weeks after the boat, after the island’s shift, after Daniel - she probably should’ve known that everything was about to change.
Miles gave her a small, creepy smile as she edged furtively along the edge of camp. He must have known, just like he seemed to know everything else about her. Knows more than she does, knows it before she does.
She wonders, now, if he knows who the mysterious man standing in front of her is.
“Hello there.”
His voice is calm, reassuring. He holds his hands out to show her that he is unarmed. She has the sense that his lack of a weapon doesn’t matter much; neither does the .45 she has tucked into the back of her belt. If he wanted to hurt her, she’d be dead already.
His thin smile bewitches her and she does not want to hurt him.
“Hello,” she murmurs back, barely finding her voice.
“What are you doing out here, all by yourself?”
Charlotte steels herself, tightening her jaw. She doesn’t have an answer but she is hardly about to admit it. Stating that she felt the vague but strong pull of the jungle was not an option.
“And who are you?” She answers back, crossing her arms over her chest.
“That’s not important.” He is so strangely calm. His eyes are dark, and they narrow at her as his gaze rests on her face. “Have we met?”
“Think I might remember that.”
“You might. You might not.” He shrugs slightly and takes a step forward. She takes a step back, startled by the movement. He concedes his identity then as if to give her a token of trust. “I’m Richard.”
“Charlotte.” She swallows hard and plants her feet firmly in the loose dirt, refusing to be taken aback by this stranger again.
“Charlotte, I think you should come with me.”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“I think you know.”
He’s right. She does.
Richard holds his hand out to her. She doesn’t take it, but she follows him, her footfall carefully placed in his tracks, concealing her trail. It’s second nature.
He is second nature.
She knows not where she’s going - only that it’s home.