we were lovers
we were lovers; kate/sayid; tame; 1046 words
Months of trekking the Australian outback had taught Kate nothing about cartography. She was used to the endless burning sand on both sides of the dry road, punctuated by the occasional ramshackle farm with patches of dead grass rubbing together in the wind, threatening to spark. She was not used to buildings. Buildings surrounded her now, towering and shimmering in the polluted Los Angeles sky.
It had been almost two days since she had escaped the airport and she was frantic now. Exhaustion had begun to take its toll on her physically and mentally, leaving the busy streets a web of disorientation. There was one solid thing on her mind as she turned the corner on a rare rainy day- coffee. A café sat nestled between an apartment building and a video rental shop and Kate sighed, already feeling the caffeine pumping through her body.
She entered and glanced up for video cameras but there were none. She allowed herself to relax a bit, taking off her baseball cap and shoving it in her pocket. The strong smell of coffee, cinnamon and rainwater overwhelmed her as she stood in the short line near the counter. It was a small place, with local art hung on the burnt orange walls (that reminded her all too much of the Australian outback) and overstuffed armchairs and couches in the place of tables.
“Hi, what can I get for you?” The woman behind the counter asked. Kate looked up, flashing her usual charming smile.
“Just a black coffee.”
“Alright, that’ll be two dollars.” The woman turned around to fill the mug with coffee and Kate fished through her jacket for change. She felt the wallet Claire had given her in her pocket but she didn’t want to use it again. She felt horribly guilty using it to buy a toothbrush and toothpaste and she didn’t want to feel it once more. After everything she’d done in her life, leave it to be using someone else’s credit cards that would make her feel human again.
She placed seven quarters on the counter, digging as deep as her fingers would go in her pockets to find the eighth she knew probably wasn’t there. The woman smiled politely, pushing the coffee towards Kate. A hand reached from behind Kate and placed a silver coin on the counter. She spun around to thank the stranger and found herself looking into the chocolate brown eyes of a beautiful Middle Eastern man.
“Thank you,” she said, forcing her voice from her throat.
“No problem, miss,” he said with a smile. He crinkled his eyes at her for a moment but didn’t speak.
“What?” She asked, taking her coffee cup and moving out of the way. He had already placed his order and took his cup after he paid.
“You look strikingly familiar but I can’t place where we’ve met before.” She heard his accent clearly but as he spoke, his words fuzzed and morphed into a rhythmic lull she had trouble focusing on.
“I don’t know. I’m not from LA so I don’t think we’ve met here before.”
“Where are you from?” She looked down into the black liquid in her hands.
“Not LA,” was her only answer. He nodded, understanding her hesitation.
“Normally I’m not this persistent, but I really feel like we’ve met before. Would you drink your coffee with me?” She looked up at the stranger and nodded without thinking. He stood before her in a black suit but she kept picturing him in a white shirt with torn pants and sweat gathering at his temples.
They sat down at two of the armchairs facing each other and sipped their drinks silently.
“So if you’re not from LA, what brings you here if you don’t mind me asking?”
She looked up at him, seeing the small smile playing on the sides of his lips, seeing his fingernails tap out a mindless rhythm on his cup. All of it screamed of something she knew, something she wanted: his hands on her waist, his lips on her cheek, her jaw, her lips- she swallowed hard.
“I just…needed to get away,” she answered honestly. “Do you live here?”
“Yes. I’m from Iraq but I followed someone here.” He didn’t know why he was telling her these things.
“A girl?” She asked with a knowing smile.
“A responsibility.”
They were staring at each other now, eyes locking over the coffee table, unable to understand what it all meant. Responsibility. The word rang in Kate’s ears until the man broke their eye contact and stood up.
“I’m sorry. We don’t even know each other. I just felt like….we might have,” he said, clearing his throat. She stood as well and stuck her hand out.
“We can know each other.” He smiled and took her hand, freezing as their warm flesh met in a tight grip. He saw her standing on the beach watching him walk away. He felt her eyes burning into his back, a tear in the corner of her eye. He saw her bobbing in the water streaming into a submarine, clutching her chest in pain- her wound and her gunshot.
She too saw him. She saw him kiss her hand and leave- felt her body and mind pulled towards him, her thoughts invaded by his absence. She saw him look her in the eye and grab the bomb and run. In that moment she had known he was hers, he had been for quite some time but he was gone.
They looked at each other now in the coffee shop, hands locked in a death vice grip.
“Kate,” he breathed out quietly.
“Sayid,” she said with a sad smile. He took her in his arms, hugging her tightly, smoothing her curly hair with his hand.
“I am so sorry. I am so so sorry,” he apologized profusely. She choked back a sob, inhaling his all too familiar scent with ease, knowing he loved her.
“It wasn’t your fault, Sayid.”
“It happened. It all happened,” he said reassuringly, pulling her back and looking into her light eyes. She felt his lips on hers once more. They fit perfectly and she sighed, feeling a warmth she hadn’t felt in months fill her veins.
“We happened,” she whispered.
Months of trekking the Australian outback had taught Kate nothing about cartography. She was used to the endless burning sand on both sides of the dry road, punctuated by the occasional ramshackle farm with patches of dead grass rubbing together in the wind, threatening to spark. She was not used to buildings. Buildings surrounded her now, towering and shimmering in the polluted Los Angeles sky.
It had been almost two days since she had escaped the airport and she was frantic now. Exhaustion had begun to take its toll on her physically and mentally, leaving the busy streets a web of disorientation. There was one solid thing on her mind as she turned the corner on a rare rainy day- coffee. A café sat nestled between an apartment building and a video rental shop and Kate sighed, already feeling the caffeine pumping through her body.
She entered and glanced up for video cameras but there were none. She allowed herself to relax a bit, taking off her baseball cap and shoving it in her pocket. The strong smell of coffee, cinnamon and rainwater overwhelmed her as she stood in the short line near the counter. It was a small place, with local art hung on the burnt orange walls (that reminded her all too much of the Australian outback) and overstuffed armchairs and couches in the place of tables.
“Hi, what can I get for you?” The woman behind the counter asked. Kate looked up, flashing her usual charming smile.
“Just a black coffee.”
“Alright, that’ll be two dollars.” The woman turned around to fill the mug with coffee and Kate fished through her jacket for change. She felt the wallet Claire had given her in her pocket but she didn’t want to use it again. She felt horribly guilty using it to buy a toothbrush and toothpaste and she didn’t want to feel it once more. After everything she’d done in her life, leave it to be using someone else’s credit cards that would make her feel human again.
She placed seven quarters on the counter, digging as deep as her fingers would go in her pockets to find the eighth she knew probably wasn’t there. The woman smiled politely, pushing the coffee towards Kate. A hand reached from behind Kate and placed a silver coin on the counter. She spun around to thank the stranger and found herself looking into the chocolate brown eyes of a beautiful Middle Eastern man.
“Thank you,” she said, forcing her voice from her throat.
“No problem, miss,” he said with a smile. He crinkled his eyes at her for a moment but didn’t speak.
“What?” She asked, taking her coffee cup and moving out of the way. He had already placed his order and took his cup after he paid.
“You look strikingly familiar but I can’t place where we’ve met before.” She heard his accent clearly but as he spoke, his words fuzzed and morphed into a rhythmic lull she had trouble focusing on.
“I don’t know. I’m not from LA so I don’t think we’ve met here before.”
“Where are you from?” She looked down into the black liquid in her hands.
“Not LA,” was her only answer. He nodded, understanding her hesitation.
“Normally I’m not this persistent, but I really feel like we’ve met before. Would you drink your coffee with me?” She looked up at the stranger and nodded without thinking. He stood before her in a black suit but she kept picturing him in a white shirt with torn pants and sweat gathering at his temples.
They sat down at two of the armchairs facing each other and sipped their drinks silently.
“So if you’re not from LA, what brings you here if you don’t mind me asking?”
She looked up at him, seeing the small smile playing on the sides of his lips, seeing his fingernails tap out a mindless rhythm on his cup. All of it screamed of something she knew, something she wanted: his hands on her waist, his lips on her cheek, her jaw, her lips- she swallowed hard.
“I just…needed to get away,” she answered honestly. “Do you live here?”
“Yes. I’m from Iraq but I followed someone here.” He didn’t know why he was telling her these things.
“A girl?” She asked with a knowing smile.
“A responsibility.”
They were staring at each other now, eyes locking over the coffee table, unable to understand what it all meant. Responsibility. The word rang in Kate’s ears until the man broke their eye contact and stood up.
“I’m sorry. We don’t even know each other. I just felt like….we might have,” he said, clearing his throat. She stood as well and stuck her hand out.
“We can know each other.” He smiled and took her hand, freezing as their warm flesh met in a tight grip. He saw her standing on the beach watching him walk away. He felt her eyes burning into his back, a tear in the corner of her eye. He saw her bobbing in the water streaming into a submarine, clutching her chest in pain- her wound and her gunshot.
She too saw him. She saw him kiss her hand and leave- felt her body and mind pulled towards him, her thoughts invaded by his absence. She saw him look her in the eye and grab the bomb and run. In that moment she had known he was hers, he had been for quite some time but he was gone.
They looked at each other now in the coffee shop, hands locked in a death vice grip.
“Kate,” he breathed out quietly.
“Sayid,” she said with a sad smile. He took her in his arms, hugging her tightly, smoothing her curly hair with his hand.
“I am so sorry. I am so so sorry,” he apologized profusely. She choked back a sob, inhaling his all too familiar scent with ease, knowing he loved her.
“It wasn’t your fault, Sayid.”
“It happened. It all happened,” he said reassuringly, pulling her back and looking into her light eyes. She felt his lips on hers once more. They fit perfectly and she sighed, feeling a warmth she hadn’t felt in months fill her veins.
“We happened,” she whispered.