OTP Project -- "Favor" [Lost, Sawyer/Charlie]
Title: Favor
Fandom: Lost
Pairing: Sawyer x Charlie (Charlie x Claire, implied Sawyer x Kate)
Prompt: 089-She
Rating: PG-13, mostly for lots of swearing
Disclaimer: Lost and its characters do not belong to me.
Summary: Sawyer’s never really believed in ghosts, and now he’s pissed as hell at one. Takes place before Locke’s group reaches the Others’ camp.
Sawyer didn’t believe in ghosts. He used to, when he was a child, when he still cried in his bed every night and thought the blinking lights in the sky outside his window were his mama winking at him. Then he realized they were just airplanes. And ghosts no longer existed.
So, he didn’t know how to explain Charlie sitting there, shaking his left foot.
“What the hell-” He sat up quickly, cutting himself off. Everyone else was asleep nearby and he didn’t want to cause a panic; his heart was already hammering away, faster than his head could comprehend. He lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper, “What the hell is this? Some kind of sick joke?”
“If it is,” the thing that could definitely not be Charlie replied, “I can’t think of what the punch line would be. ‘Boo’, perhaps?”
He laughed and Sawyer surged forward, grabbing the lapels of a jacket he should not have been able to touch.
“Don’t you sit there grinning at me,” he hissed. “You better explain what the fuck you’re doing here, wearing that face and speaking with that voice, before I fill your head with lead.”
“Sawyer,” he said, softly, reaching up to cover the man’s hands with his own, “it’s me. It’s Charlie.”
Sawyer stared at him for a long moment, his hard expression softening into something rather telling. His grip on the jacket loosened and then tightened, pulling the Brit closer so their foreheads could bump together.
“Don’t do this to me,” he said. “You’re dead.”
“Yeah.” Charlie’s eyes looked into his. “But I had to see you.”
Sawyer exhaled shakily, letting his eyes fall shut. “Charlie…”
“And I wanted to ask you-” Charlie leaned closer and their noses brushed; Sawyer’s lips parted on instinct. “-to just watch over her for me, make sure she stays safe-”
“She?” Brow furrowed, Sawyer opened his eyes and narrowed them. “You’re talking about Claire?”
“Yeah.” Charlie looked a little surprised that the other man would even have to ask. “And Aaron, too. I want you to-”
“Now wait a goddamned minute,” Sawyer scowled. “You came back from the grave and woke me the hell up to talk to me about Claire?”
“Yes.” Charlie frowned faintly, looking confused as Sawyer released his jacket and slid his hands out from underneath Charlie’s.
“Look here, bucko. I don’t do no one no favors, dead or alive. And I got better things to do than look after your girlfriend and her little brat.”
“Oh, like what, I wonder?” Charlie shot back. “Maintaining your status as island asshole when everyone knows that you actually give a shit?”
Snarling, Sawyer’s hand shot out, closing around Charlie’s neck. “Boy, what makes you think you can talk to me like-” He suddenly fell silent, suddenly remembering, suddenly realizing there was no pulse beneath his thumb. He let his hand drop slowly, and Charlie caught it, holding it in his own.
“Listen,” he said. “If it was you, I would do the same thing-with Kate.”
“Yeah,” Sawyer sighed, hanging his head slightly, his hair falling gently in front of his face. “I know you would.” He looked over Charlie’s shoulder where he could see, faintly, Claire curled up on her side, baby nestled snugly in her arms. He looked back at Charlie, and then down at his hand, clasped in the ghost’s own. “All right.”
“Thank you.” Charlie grinned fetchingly and dropped Sawyer’s hand so he could lean in and wrap his arms around the American’s neck.
“Mm, great, a hug,” Sawyer said dryly, the corner of his mouth quirking upward just slightly.
“Hey.” Charlie nudged his cheek against the other man’s. “Sawyer?”
“Yeah, Casper?”
“Don’t miss me too much.”
“I won’t.”
Charlie pulled back a bit, only to lean in again, pressing his mouth to Sawyer’s. Sawyer closed his eyes, responding when a tongue ran along the seam of his lips, and then there was nothing. And when he opened his eyes again, Charlie was gone, nothing more than a wink, a blink of light in the sky.
Fandom: Lost
Pairing: Sawyer x Charlie (Charlie x Claire, implied Sawyer x Kate)
Prompt: 089-She
Rating: PG-13, mostly for lots of swearing
Disclaimer: Lost and its characters do not belong to me.
Summary: Sawyer’s never really believed in ghosts, and now he’s pissed as hell at one. Takes place before Locke’s group reaches the Others’ camp.
Sawyer didn’t believe in ghosts. He used to, when he was a child, when he still cried in his bed every night and thought the blinking lights in the sky outside his window were his mama winking at him. Then he realized they were just airplanes. And ghosts no longer existed.
So, he didn’t know how to explain Charlie sitting there, shaking his left foot.
“What the hell-” He sat up quickly, cutting himself off. Everyone else was asleep nearby and he didn’t want to cause a panic; his heart was already hammering away, faster than his head could comprehend. He lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper, “What the hell is this? Some kind of sick joke?”
“If it is,” the thing that could definitely not be Charlie replied, “I can’t think of what the punch line would be. ‘Boo’, perhaps?”
He laughed and Sawyer surged forward, grabbing the lapels of a jacket he should not have been able to touch.
“Don’t you sit there grinning at me,” he hissed. “You better explain what the fuck you’re doing here, wearing that face and speaking with that voice, before I fill your head with lead.”
“Sawyer,” he said, softly, reaching up to cover the man’s hands with his own, “it’s me. It’s Charlie.”
Sawyer stared at him for a long moment, his hard expression softening into something rather telling. His grip on the jacket loosened and then tightened, pulling the Brit closer so their foreheads could bump together.
“Don’t do this to me,” he said. “You’re dead.”
“Yeah.” Charlie’s eyes looked into his. “But I had to see you.”
Sawyer exhaled shakily, letting his eyes fall shut. “Charlie…”
“And I wanted to ask you-” Charlie leaned closer and their noses brushed; Sawyer’s lips parted on instinct. “-to just watch over her for me, make sure she stays safe-”
“She?” Brow furrowed, Sawyer opened his eyes and narrowed them. “You’re talking about Claire?”
“Yeah.” Charlie looked a little surprised that the other man would even have to ask. “And Aaron, too. I want you to-”
“Now wait a goddamned minute,” Sawyer scowled. “You came back from the grave and woke me the hell up to talk to me about Claire?”
“Yes.” Charlie frowned faintly, looking confused as Sawyer released his jacket and slid his hands out from underneath Charlie’s.
“Look here, bucko. I don’t do no one no favors, dead or alive. And I got better things to do than look after your girlfriend and her little brat.”
“Oh, like what, I wonder?” Charlie shot back. “Maintaining your status as island asshole when everyone knows that you actually give a shit?”
Snarling, Sawyer’s hand shot out, closing around Charlie’s neck. “Boy, what makes you think you can talk to me like-” He suddenly fell silent, suddenly remembering, suddenly realizing there was no pulse beneath his thumb. He let his hand drop slowly, and Charlie caught it, holding it in his own.
“Listen,” he said. “If it was you, I would do the same thing-with Kate.”
“Yeah,” Sawyer sighed, hanging his head slightly, his hair falling gently in front of his face. “I know you would.” He looked over Charlie’s shoulder where he could see, faintly, Claire curled up on her side, baby nestled snugly in her arms. He looked back at Charlie, and then down at his hand, clasped in the ghost’s own. “All right.”
“Thank you.” Charlie grinned fetchingly and dropped Sawyer’s hand so he could lean in and wrap his arms around the American’s neck.
“Mm, great, a hug,” Sawyer said dryly, the corner of his mouth quirking upward just slightly.
“Hey.” Charlie nudged his cheek against the other man’s. “Sawyer?”
“Yeah, Casper?”
“Don’t miss me too much.”
“I won’t.”
Charlie pulled back a bit, only to lean in again, pressing his mouth to Sawyer’s. Sawyer closed his eyes, responding when a tongue ran along the seam of his lips, and then there was nothing. And when he opened his eyes again, Charlie was gone, nothing more than a wink, a blink of light in the sky.