[For Claire]

[noonelaughed]

For all that Chris might complain to some people on the island that he's bored, he's not. Not really, anyway. There isn't fucking college to go or any place he's got to to be, and all he's got now is time. Time to explore or meet people or do whatever the fuck he wants. Being on the island means he's got time to think about all the things he never

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[lucked]

Claire's starting to freckle, at last. Only a couple of months back, she had been doing her best to stay inside, wary of hanging out with strangers, wary of settling on the island at all, feeling very much like she had to cling to home to some degree, even if it meant reminding herself how miserable the island was in comparison without her family and friends. But now, she's starting to crawl, inch by inch, toward some sort of nebulous happiness, and it couples with her desire to stay out in the sun all day. Strangely, caring for her skin is one of those things that's just habit, for Claire. She knows she shouldn't have to, there's no reason to suspect that she won't just heal over in a few seconds, cool off from any burn. But after years of having Sandra Bennet smear Banana Boat sunblock all over her face (it's really thick and gummy, Claire remembers), it's just habit now for Claire to do the same

[noonelaughed]

"I never got the point of all that. I mean, if you've got a fuckin' treasure, why not spend it? Burying it's like... counterproductive, innit?" Chris says, looking up at Claire from his spot in an already ankle-deep hole. He figures that digging's at least half of the job, since he's got to get enough sand for this from somewhere.

"But... I'm not burying anything. What you're witnessing is the beginning of the island's biggest sand castle." He reaches over and picks up a bucket he's nicked from the compound to show her.

[lucked]

She chooses not to answer right away, instead quickly rushing on over to the hole and stepping down in it with some amusement. Claire used to be a lot more sensitive about her height, years ago, getting irritated whenever someone pointed it out or deliberately made her life harder by putting the things she needed in difficult-to-reach places. These days, it's more of a point of pride than anything else, being able to wheedle things out of people with a legitimate excuse, and definitely being able to fit into some of the cutest outfits the island provides (on the rare occasion that it does) without looking like she's skimpy out on clothing too much. It's a win-win. The world raises itself by a couple of inches when she steps down, which only makes her laugh under her breath; she wonders if Chris, as a kid, ever tried to dig his way to China

[noonelaughed]

Chris hadn't so much tried to dig to China when he was littler as he tried to dig the world's deepest hole. It was probably a good thing that he'd grown tired of it before he could realize just how little a chance he had of actually breaking that particular world record.

"Yeah, alright," he says, face brightening into an even wider grin at the prospect. Though, the last time someone helped him out, it'd turned into them eating the fucking sugar cubes instead of using them to build, then Tony'd showed up and fucked it all up for good. At least sand isn't edible at all. He'll just have to hope it doesn't rain at all.

"You're sure you haven't got something else to do though?" He gestures at the bag she's brought with her, because it looks like she already had plans.