Three Lost Ficlets

[ozmissage]

Some more substantial stuff should be coming soon, but in the mean time I hope you guys enjoy these completely self-indulgent ficlets.

Title: Sleeping Arrangements
Pairing: Dan/Charlotte
Rating: PG
Words: 568
Setting: Early season five.
Warnings: Fluff.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Forvalhalla37 who requested early season five left-behinders fluff a long time ago.

Charlotte shivers and pulls her arms tight across her chest. The rain has stopped, but she’s still freezing and her clothes are drenched. Around her everyone is settling in for the night, it’s been a half an hour since the last flash and they’re all feeling optimistic that it might actually stay night long enough for them to get some sleep.

She notes that Juliet and Sawyer have settled near each other but far enough apart that they won’t touch should one of them roll over in the night. Charlotte shakes her head as she walks by them. She wonders how long it’s going to take them to figure it out.

Locke is next. He lies on his back, his face turned to the stars. He smiles at her as she passes. She smiles back, but there’s something about his calmness that she finds unsettling. If ever there was a time not to be calm this was it.

She spots Miles several feet away. He’s curled on his side, his pack tucked under his head as some crude version of a pillow. He’s settled himself as far away from Locke as possible. Charlotte can’t blame him; the man strikes her as a bit unstable. She makes a note to herself to ask Miles what the story is there…that is if the island will stop skipping about trying to make her brain explode long enough for her to indulge in a bit of small talk.

She grins when she gets to Daniel. He’s sitting with his legs crossed, and she can tell that he’s been tracking her progress down the beach. His clothes are wet as well and the effect on him is startling. He looks a bit like the cats that used to live in the alley outside her flat in London after a rainstorm. His dark hair is pressed to his forehead and the effect makes him look small and helpless. She knows better though, Daniel’s proven himself to be anything but helpless.

When she reaches him she can’t help but run her hand through his messy hair. She giggles as she tries to straighten it. Dan laughs softly and takes her hand, tugging her gently down onto the sand next to him.

“I was waiting for you,” he says shyly.

“I noticed,” Charlotte replies. “I’m a big girl you know, I can make it to the shoreline and back without an escort.”

Daniel tilts his head to one side and gives her one of those concerned looks of his. He reaches out hesitantly and touches the place right above her lip that had been crusted with blood a few moments ago.

“I know…I was just worried that there might be another flash. And then you might be alone and…” he trails off.

“It’s okay, Dan. Let’s get some sleep, yeah? I feel like we haven’t slept in years.”

Dan looks thoughtful.

“It’s possible that we haven’t.”

Charlotte snorts and stretches out in the sand. She smiles to herself when she feels Dan’s slender body curl against hers. He slips one arm around her waist and the other under her head.

“You know you’re too smart for your own good sometimes,” Charlotte sighs. She can already feel her eyelids drooping shut.

Dan just laughs and twines their fingers together. Charlotte snuggles closer to him. Just before she drifts off to sleep she realizes she’s not shivering anymore.

 

Title: Sweet Dreams
Pairing: Jack/Boone
Rating: R
Words: 552
Setting: Season one.
Warnings: Some sexual content. Probably NSFW.
Disclaimer: Not mine.

 

Boone traces the outline of red stars with his tongue and smiles. He never imagined the sky would taste so salty. A murmur draws his attention upwards and he reaches out to find the hard line of Jack’s jaw bone, his fingers rake across the stumble of Jack’s five o’clock shadow and it stings, but in a nice way that Boone can feel all the way down in his stomach.

He lets his hand drift to Jack’s lips and he can feel Jack grinning against his fingertips. And then Jack rolls Boone so that he’s pressed into the sand, trapped between Jack and the beach and Boone moans as Jack runs a hand down his chest. Boone thinks it’s Jack’s hands he loves most of all, the way they wrap around him, strong but never rough, his fingernails always clean even though they’re on an island.

Boone can smell the ocean suddenly and it’s sharp and strong and it fills his senses until he can’t breath. He struggles to tell Jack this, but he can’t make his mouth form the words. He feels panic rising in his chest but then Jack presses his lips against Boone’s and slips his tongue into Boone’s mouth and Boone rises up to meet his kiss.

“You saved me,” Boone whispers against Jack’s ear. And Jack laughs, a low sound that seems to come from somewhere deep inside him and it’s so familiar it makes Boone ache.

“That’s what I do,” Jack mutters back before leaving a trail of kisses down Boone’s neck. Jack moves downwards until he reaches Boone’s stomach. He pauses there to circle Boone’s belly button with his tongue.

“Oh God…” Boone moans. And then Jack pokes him sharply in his side…..

“Boone, wake up!”

Boone blinks, bleary-eyed up at sister. His heart is racing and his skin is slick with sweat. He reaches down to rub his side where Shannon had kicked him with her pointy stiletto.

“Shannon…what are you doing? What time is it?”

Shannon smirks at him. “It’s morning, Jackass.”

“Right,” Boone says as he takes a shaky breath.

“Must have been a nice dream,” Shannon says. Boone follows her gaze to his crotch and feels his face grow warm.

“Get out, Shannon.”

She shakes her head and laughs. “Whatever, I just wanted to let you know that your new boyfriend is looking for you.”

Boone waits until Shannon has left his tent before collapsing against his pillow. John’s going to chew him out for being late. He sighs and pulls himself to his feet. He tugs his shirt over his head and runs his fingers through his messy hair before stepping out into the warm sunshine.

He hears the sound of laughter drifting down the beach and his heart beat quickens again. He turns to see Jack standing a few feet away. He’s with Kate and the two of them are standing close together, laughing about something, Jack’s hand is resting casually on Kate’s arm and Boone feels his stomach twist at the sight.

Jack looks up then and catches Boone staring. He smiles and waves at Boone, who waves back meekly before turning away to head into the jungle. He tries valiantly not to think about red stars or warm hands as he makes his way to the hatch.

Title: Some Things Can Be Fixed
Character: Shannon (slight Shannon/Sayid)
Rating: PG-13
Words: 630
Setting: Season one.
A/N: This was written ages ago for the rare fandom challenge. The prompt was Shannon, broken ballerina.

Shannon stopped dancing for good the day she let a married man run his hand up her thigh. She was his kid’s nanny and she knew he would feel guilty about it later and add a couple hundred bucks onto her pay for the week. She wasn’t proud of it exactly, but as Sabrina had said, she had to grow up. It was time to fend for herself and this seemed like a good enough place to start.

She told herself there wasn’t time for dancing now, not between babysitting bratty kids and convincing older men she had more to offer them than the other desperate, pert little twenty-somethings vying for their attention. The truth was it hurt too much. Every pirouette, every Jeté petit reminded her of the life she wanted to be living. A ballerina is meant to be graceful and after a night of binge drinking Shannon felt anything but graceful.

So she pushed it aside. She threw out all of her leotards and her first pair of Pointe shoes and she never looked back. Sometimes Boone would ask her why she didn’t dance anymore. She always rolled her eyes and said it was just a stupid hobby, that she was too old for that crap now. She never told him the real reason; she never told him that part of her was broken. When she danced she felt light and good and innocent. She couldn’t imagine feeling innocent now.

Then her damn plane fell out of the sky and she landed on Craphole Island and met a man who looked at her like she was all of those things. The first day Sayid took her to their private beach they made love on one of the blankets from the plane. Afterwards she stretched across him letting her legs drape over his waist. He was quiet as usual, but after awhile he spoke.

“Were you ever a dancer?” he asked.

The question shocked Shannon. She looked away from him and shrugged.

“I took some lessons. Ballet mostly.”

Sayid smiled and ran his hand down the length of her leg.

“I thought you must have, you move like a dancer.”

Shannon snorted. “You’re a ballet fan?”

Sayid nodded. “I’ve always enjoyed watching beautiful women dance.”

“I bet,” Shannon replied. The subject was making her nervous.

Sayid sat up and kissed her softly on the cheek. The feeling of his warm breath against her skin made her shiver.

“Dance for me?” he whispered in her ear.

Shannon shook her head.

“I can’t…I haven’t danced in years. Plus sand is not really the best place for ballet,” she said sharply.

Sayid was persistent. “Please, just a little.”

There was something about the way he asked. Maybe it was the gentleness in his voice or the earnest look in his eyes. He made her feel like he wanted nothing more in this world than to see her dance. She sighed and stood up slowly.

For a moment she was afraid she wouldn’t remember what to do. She felt strange and gawky as she lifted her arms above her head, but Sayid was watching her, his eyes roaming over her body caused a smile to creep across her face. She took a deep breath and rose up until she was standing on the very tips of her toes. She wobbled a little, she was barefoot and the sand was unsteady, but the move was so familiar it felt like some old, forgotten part of herself was rising to the surface. Carefully she brought her left leg up and turned.

Sayid was grinning at her.

“You look very graceful,” he told her. She laughed then, feeling lighter than she had in years and did another turn. Maybe she wasn’t so broken after all.

Comments

[valhalla37.livejournal.com]

YOU ARE AWESOME. THIS IS AWESOME.

Okay, all three of these were fantastically written and so in-character (and how much does it say that you can skip from a pseudo, almost-canon couple to one that definitely wasn't to another that totally was and do all of them so well) but you know my heart belongs with the first, especially since it's Dan/Charlotte and especially since you used my prompt.

I love, love, love it a million and one times over ... I'm such a sucker for fluffy, snuggling, comfort fic and this was just absolutely perfect! Your Charlotte voice is so wonderful -- just the perfect amounts of keen observation (and what a clever connection between the title and how where they choose to sleep says about them and their relationships) and sharp wit and still that softness she only has with Dan.

And Dan! You create such a visual picture of his mannerisms and reactions; I could completely picture their entire interaction. Of course he was waiting and of course she'd have to get in a good-natured jib about being able to look after herself and of course he throws that so-literal time travel stuff ... it's all perfect. Officially part of my personal canon, for real. Thank you so, so much for doing such an incredible job with such a vague prompt.

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm so glad you liked it! You know I always worry about writing Dan so I'm so glad you liked him here. I have a soft spot for snuggling/comfort fics too and Dan/Charlotte are so adorable they lend themselves to it nicely.

Personal canon! Wow, thank you so much! *blushes* This is pretty much what came to mind the minute I read your prompt it just took me awhile to get around to posting it. :)

(That is a gorgeous Dan/Charlotte icon btw.)

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

Love the Dan/Charlotte :) And of course you had to slip some Suliet in there - I admire your dedication ;)

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Heh. Thanks! I think it's an illness at this point. ;)

[lozateazer.livejournal.com]

Oh, the Jack/Boone. You can just feel Boone's longing, and need, and the heartache at him not having that. I also love seeing Jack the way Boone sees him in his dreams. And the snark between Boone and Shannon was perfect. Very lovely, thank you.

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for such a nice comment!I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

[sedauny.livejournal.com]

I liked these very much. Charlotte's assessment of the other time-travelers was very astute and the placement--Juliet and Sawyer near each other, Locke and Miles far apart--fit neatly into the character's pasts and their futures. Her cuddling with Dan was so sweet it made me "awww" out loud, which I then repeated for Shannon.

I thought there was a lot of potential in Shannon's backstory and it all was wasted when she got killed so soon. I could see her deciding to accept sexual advances for the sake of the money and security but then punishing herself by giving up a valued part of herself, the way she warped her love for Boone by turning him into the mark in her con games. I wasn't a big fan of Shayid, but I did like how Sayid helped Shannon learn that she could do valuable things without money or sex and it seems right that he could give her back her dancing as well.

Shannon and Boone worked well in the B/J ficlet. The dream was hot, even though this is not a pairing that lights my fire, so to speak, and I enjoyed seeing Boone's relationships with Shannon and Locke, and his crush on Jack and discomfort at Jack's closeness with Kate. Neatly and economically written, and the last image "red stars and warm hands" stayed with me.

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you so much! Your feedback always makes me happy.

I wasn't a fan of the Shannon/Sayid pairing either, but I like the influence he had on Shannon. She seemed to loosen up around him and let her guard down. I agree there was a lot of potential in her character that the writers never bothered to explore.

[aurilly.livejournal.com]

Oh! The Shannon/Sayid one is so incredibly wonderful. I love it so. Your flash to her past was so heartbreaking and just... my new personal canon, poor thing. And I loved how you had Sayid SEE it, and intuitively know and make her feel better. The way you wrote their relationship here is my absolute favorite interpretation, just encouraging and supportive and Shannon feeling alive and worthwhile again.

This was lovely. Thank you!

[ozmissage.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I had never attempted writing their relationship before so I wasn't sure if I had gotten their dynamic just right. I'm so glad you liked it! :)