Lost Fic: I'll slay all of our dragons, win all of our wars (Claire/Jack/Sawyer)

[ozmissage]

Title: I’ll slay all of our dragons, win all of our wars
Pairing: Claire/Jack/Sawyer
Rating: PG
Words: 921
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: They just want to keep her safe. The feeling’s mutual. (Kind of AU.)

A/N: Written for the awesome crickets who requested Jack/Sawyer/Claire, “wolves”.

Sawyer teaches her how to shoot the gun. He presses the cold metal into her tiny hands and smiles, flashes his dimples at her, his way of telling her to relax. She points the pistol at an old tin can, some bit of garbage Sawyer found on the side of the road.

Jack’s sitting in the passenger’s seat of the truck, the door open his feet dangling against the side, just watching.

Claire squares her shoulders and lets her finger hover over the trigger.

“Easy there, Annie Oakley, you don’t want to shoot until you aim,” Sawyer chuckles. He moves to stand behind her, his body pressed along her back as he maneuvers her into her place.

“There’s gonna be a kick---“

“I know,” Claire sighs.

She hates when they talk to her as if she’s a child, as if they haven’t all been through the same hell.

She pulls the trigger and hits the can, but just barely. She feels the force of the shot reverberate through her arm and then Sawyer’s hand at her elbow, steadying her.

“Not bad,” he says. “Could be better.”

That’s as close to a compliment as Sawyer comes, she nods; she learned a long time ago to take what she can get from him.

Sawyer leaves her to go reset the can and just like that Jack’s beside her.

“You did good.”

“I still don’t know why I need to be able to shoot,” she says.

“Just in case.”

“In case of what?”

“We might not always be here, Sunshine. Big bad wolf comes knocking; we need to know you can put a bullet in him,” Sawyer cuts in.

She knows they still worry, still dream of monsters---she doesn’t dream at all anymore. If she does, she doesn’t remember. She likes to believe that they’ll always be together, the three of them safe in their own little world of hotel rooms and bad diner food. A life in constant motion, they prefer it that way after so much time wasted trapped in one place.

“I can take care of myself, with or without a gun. But I’d rather not have to, if it’s all the same to you.”

She ducks her head; the truth of what she’s saying lingers between them. The request she can’t quite bring herself to make---Don’t leave me. It sounds too clingy, even in her head, but she doesn’t want to be alone anymore, she suspects (hopes) they feel the same way.

Jack brings a hand up to her cheek and she leans into his touch, presses a fleeting kiss to his thumb as it ghosts across her lips.

“We’re not going anywhere, Claire.”

“Not if we can help it,” Sawyer mutters, his gaze trained on his dirty boots.

Claire turns the gun over in her hand, pretends to understand.

“Alright then, I’ll try again.”

***

They sleep in a dank, trucker’s motel that night. It’s just off the interstate and Claire lies awake watching as the lights of passing cars briefly illuminate the room, casting shadows across the walls.

The boys are sprawled on either side of her. Sawyer sleeps with his back pressed to her side, his knees pulled up, so he’s curled protectively into himself. Jack tries to wrap himself around the both of them at once, one arm stretched out across the pillows, so his hand can tangle in Sawyer’s hair, the other draped across her waist.

She knows the rhythm of their breathing by now, can always tell when they’re sleeping or faking. Jack’s dead to the world, his face relaxed and content. Sawyer’s tense though, there’s no shallowness to his breath, no ease in the slope of his back. He’s wide awake.

She turns carefully so as not to disturb Jack and brings her lips up next to Sawyer’s ear.

“Faker,” she whispers.

He laughs softly.

“How do you do that?”

“It’s a gift. Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“Shouldn’t you?” he shoots back.

He’s always so defensive, it drives her crazy sometimes. They’ve all got their walls, ghosts they’d rather not talk about, but Sawyer’s got more than Jack and Claire put together and he keeps them close. As much as she tires of him treating her like a child, she can’t help but think of him as a little boy himself. He’s afraid. She gets that; they all are---she just wishes she could convince him there’s no shame in it.

“You won’t have to go back. I promise.”

She feels his back stiffen and she moves closer, forces her leg between his knees and slips her arm around his chest, let’s her hand come to rest over his heart. They’re twisted together now, so close she can feel his heart beating beneath her fingers.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Always so damn stubborn.

“I’ll protect you,” she says.

And she means it. No monster, no island, no man will get near them. She’ll keep them moving, keep them running. They won’t ever stop. She doesn’t need any gun to keep the wolves at bay; she just needs a full tank of gas and her boys by her side.

“We’ll be okay.”

“We’ll be okay,” he echoes in the dark, disbelief tainting his words.

She buries her face against his back to block out the lights from the highway and smiles when she feels his hand come to rest over hers. It doesn’t matter if he believes, she’ll believe enough for all of them.

“Go to sleep, Sawyer.”



Comments

[crickets.livejournal.com]

There are no words for how much I love this. The way you've written the dynamic between them is just perfect. I love the imagery here, especially that of Claire clinging to Sawyer's back at the end. The detail of her being able to tell they're not asleep by just the sound of their breathing, everything about them being on the road.

And Claire telling Sawyer that she'll protect him. God that was perfect. Beyond perfect.

Seriously, this is amazing x 10. Can't believe this is the only time you've written them.

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

*squees*

Thank you so much! It makes me so incredibly happy to know that you liked this.

everything about them being on the road.

It's weird, but I think because I'm so in love with your and gigglemonster's fics for this pairing they have to be on the road. That's like canon for me now. ;)

[lowriseflare.livejournal.com]

WHOA I liked this a lot. Like...a lot a lot. All of it, the dynamic between all three of them, how it's kind of unclear what happened to everybody else but you can imagine and now they're just this weird little unit, moving from place to place like nomads and sleeping in the same bed. Her calling them "the boys" and Jack's hand in Sawyer's HAIR, my god that did a weird thing to my stomach, her knowing that Sawyer is awake and all of them trying to keep each other safe, and the fear and the total creepiness and just. Awesome, awesome work.

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Wow, thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed this. :D

[akzseinga.livejournal.com]

Perfect! Especially liked the moment when Claire tells Sawyer she will protect him but everything is equally amazing.

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you! :)

[gigglemonster.livejournal.com]

Oh man, everything about this is just perfect. I especially love the way you've written Claire and their whole dynamic together. All the subtle little details in their interactions speak volumes. This is gorgeous!

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you so much! That means a lot coming from you, you and crickets do such lovely things with this pairing. :)

[angela-weber.livejournal.com]

Wow--this is so, so beautiful! I really love the Claire you've written here, how she's so strong and knows them both so well. All of the little details kind of break my heart, especially this Sawyer, all vulnerable and teaching her to shoot a gun because he and Jack might not always be around and guhhhhh. This:

She knows they still worry, still dream of monsters---she doesn’t dream at all anymore. If she does, she doesn’t remember. She likes to believe that they’ll always be together, the three of them safe in their own little world of hotel rooms and bad diner food. A life in constant motion, they prefer it that way after so much time wasted trapped in one place.

is just SO TRUE and gorgeous and real and sad that I refuse to believe it isn't canon. Amazing. Going to my memories now. ♥♥♥

[squeakyboots.livejournal.com]

“I’ll protect you,” she says.

Absolutely loved this. <3

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you so much! You're far too kind. I'm so glad Claire worked for you. I'm still not sure how I've suddenly managed to fall for her, but I totally have. :D

[zelda-zee.livejournal.com]

Nice! I really like this!

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! :)

[valhalla37.livejournal.com]

This is total awesomesauce -- there's this overarching sense of dread and restless movement to the whole thing, that they have to keep running, and that their pasts and the island and their relationships with each other sort of keep them separate from real -- or normal -- life.

I love the way you've set up, and described, their relationships -- that Sawyer is so guarded, but still sort of opens up to Claire, that she extends herself to that protector role in a different way, that Jack hangs back and observes ... so great!

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Thank you so, so much! :D

I was really intrigued by the idea of writing Claire as the protector of the group. I think Jack and Sawyer would need someone to hold them together post-island.

[pellamerethiel.livejournal.com]

I really, truly adored it! A great with the one of the best threesomes ever. ;)

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you so much! :)

[missy-useless.livejournal.com]

O_O

HOLY CRAP!

How much do I love this? That's right, a lot. Amazing. I am such a sucker for on the road stories, and this one is just all kinds of wonderful and gorgeous and perfect and whatnot. I always like seeing Claire as the strong one, and I adore the way you have portrayed their whole dynamic here. Everything - everything! - about this fic is perfect, from your Claire to your Sawyer voice to Jack to the imagery to ...

Just guh! What a beautiful, beautiful fic! Thank you so much for writing and sharing. ♥

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you so much! :D

I'm a sucker for road trip stories too. They're just so much fun.