Fic: Handle With Care, Lost, (Richard, Miles, Frank, James), Gen, Rated G
for bittersweet325, who asked for Richard in the modern world at the lostsquee Luau.
Title: Handle With Care
Characters: Richard, Miles, James, Frank
Word count: 800 words, rated G
Summary: Richard seems both fascinated and weary of technology.
Note: Not shippy, at least that’s my take on it. BFFs though.
After they get off the Island, they end up living in the same house. Then the girls leave, saying it's time for Claire to be reunited with Aaron, and life goes on pretty much unchanged.
Miles always expects Jim to disappear without saying goodbye. One morning, he finds Richard and Frank eating their breakfast silently and he thinks that's it, he's gone. Miles would not say they collectively mope, but it's pretty damn close and the house is too silent. They're sitting in the living room not doing much when there are the sounds of a car pulling in their driveway, then a door slamming.
"I need some help, here!" is bellowed from outside and the three of them all but jump to their feet, smiling wide, and isn't that pathetic.
Jim's wrestling with a huge cardboard box in the back of a rented minivan and he looks up to frown at them, since they stopped on the porch.
"What? This is not gonna haul itself in, boys! C'mon!" Jim says, and they go help him.
***
The biggest box, the fucking heavy one, is a fifty inches plasma TV. They put it temporarily on the old TV stand until they have what it takes to fix it on the wall. Frank's plugging in the new home theater system while Jim fiddles with the speakers; Miles checks out their hundreds of channels of crap now big and crispy. Richard is staying a couple of feet away, eying everything with curiosity. When he finally walks to it and measures the thickness of the screen with his fingers - and it's pretty thin so Jim must have paid a fortune - there's something awed in his gaze.
"Pretty neat, huh?" Miles says.
"Incredible," Richard says.
Jim gets up to go loom over Frank's shoulder.
"You're not done yet?" he asks, and tries to take the manual from Frank, but he gets his fingers slapped.
"I almost got it, damnit. Go fetch some chips," Franks snaps.
"If I come back and there's still no sound, I'm taking over," Jim warns, tapping his watch. "The Super Bowl is in less than an hour.
****
If Richard seems fascinated by technology, he also generally stays as far from it as he can. He rarely answers the phone, for one. And he prefers reading a book over watching a movie, though he generally sits down with them for the old black and white flicks Jim seems to have a fondness for. They're watching the original King Kong one day when Richard laughs softly.
"I saw that one five times," he says. "Got myself convinced that I'd find a big gorilla on the Island when I'd go back."
"I think I saw his name crossed in Jacob's cave," Jim says, deadpan, and Frank sprays out some beer.
***
"You got him, Miles?" Frank says.
"Yep," he answers, sitting next to Richard on the sofa and ready to catch him if he tries to flee. "Bring it on."
"What?" Richard says, eyes a bit wide, when Jim puts a notebook on his lap.
"It's time," Miles says. "Richard, it's my pleasure to introduce you to the wonders of high speed Internet."
"You'll see, it pretty awesome for porn," Jim says with a smirk, checking that the extension cord and the network cable are plugged in correctly.
***
Miles gets up and on his way to the bathroom he sees that Richard hasn't moved from the couch. He blinks, observing Richard who's looking intently at his screen and typing carefully on the laptop.
"You didn't go to bed?" Miles asks.
"I found this place, it's... well it's huge. So much information, all in one place," Richard says and when Miles peers over his shoulder, he's on Wikipedia at a page about Harry Potter.
Snorting, Miles bends over the back of the couch, pushes Richard's hands away and opens a new browser window. He sets it on You Tube and types in some keywords.
"If you want to waste your life away, and you're not immortal anymore if you recall, this is a better place," Miles says, hitting play with a flourish.
Richard's mouth falls as he watches the battle of Kruger between a herd of water buffaloes, a pride of lions and a crocodile over the seizing of a young buffalo calf.
Miles wonders if Jim and Frank would agree to a betting pool on how many consecutive hours You Tube will occupy Richard.
He doesn't seem so technology-phobic anymore.
***
Operation Get Richard Updated backfires spectacularly when Richard discovers Britney Spears and becomes an instant fan.
But then Miles thinks he catches a little smirk on Richard's face one day, as he slips her CD in the stereo as easy as breathing, and it's possible they're all getting played.
The End
Title: Handle With Care
Characters: Richard, Miles, James, Frank
Word count: 800 words, rated G
Summary: Richard seems both fascinated and weary of technology.
Note: Not shippy, at least that’s my take on it. BFFs though.
After they get off the Island, they end up living in the same house. Then the girls leave, saying it's time for Claire to be reunited with Aaron, and life goes on pretty much unchanged.
Miles always expects Jim to disappear without saying goodbye. One morning, he finds Richard and Frank eating their breakfast silently and he thinks that's it, he's gone. Miles would not say they collectively mope, but it's pretty damn close and the house is too silent. They're sitting in the living room not doing much when there are the sounds of a car pulling in their driveway, then a door slamming.
"I need some help, here!" is bellowed from outside and the three of them all but jump to their feet, smiling wide, and isn't that pathetic.
Jim's wrestling with a huge cardboard box in the back of a rented minivan and he looks up to frown at them, since they stopped on the porch.
"What? This is not gonna haul itself in, boys! C'mon!" Jim says, and they go help him.
***
The biggest box, the fucking heavy one, is a fifty inches plasma TV. They put it temporarily on the old TV stand until they have what it takes to fix it on the wall. Frank's plugging in the new home theater system while Jim fiddles with the speakers; Miles checks out their hundreds of channels of crap now big and crispy. Richard is staying a couple of feet away, eying everything with curiosity. When he finally walks to it and measures the thickness of the screen with his fingers - and it's pretty thin so Jim must have paid a fortune - there's something awed in his gaze.
"Pretty neat, huh?" Miles says.
"Incredible," Richard says.
Jim gets up to go loom over Frank's shoulder.
"You're not done yet?" he asks, and tries to take the manual from Frank, but he gets his fingers slapped.
"I almost got it, damnit. Go fetch some chips," Franks snaps.
"If I come back and there's still no sound, I'm taking over," Jim warns, tapping his watch. "The Super Bowl is in less than an hour.
****
If Richard seems fascinated by technology, he also generally stays as far from it as he can. He rarely answers the phone, for one. And he prefers reading a book over watching a movie, though he generally sits down with them for the old black and white flicks Jim seems to have a fondness for. They're watching the original King Kong one day when Richard laughs softly.
"I saw that one five times," he says. "Got myself convinced that I'd find a big gorilla on the Island when I'd go back."
"I think I saw his name crossed in Jacob's cave," Jim says, deadpan, and Frank sprays out some beer.
***
"You got him, Miles?" Frank says.
"Yep," he answers, sitting next to Richard on the sofa and ready to catch him if he tries to flee. "Bring it on."
"What?" Richard says, eyes a bit wide, when Jim puts a notebook on his lap.
"It's time," Miles says. "Richard, it's my pleasure to introduce you to the wonders of high speed Internet."
"You'll see, it pretty awesome for porn," Jim says with a smirk, checking that the extension cord and the network cable are plugged in correctly.
***
Miles gets up and on his way to the bathroom he sees that Richard hasn't moved from the couch. He blinks, observing Richard who's looking intently at his screen and typing carefully on the laptop.
"You didn't go to bed?" Miles asks.
"I found this place, it's... well it's huge. So much information, all in one place," Richard says and when Miles peers over his shoulder, he's on Wikipedia at a page about Harry Potter.
Snorting, Miles bends over the back of the couch, pushes Richard's hands away and opens a new browser window. He sets it on You Tube and types in some keywords.
"If you want to waste your life away, and you're not immortal anymore if you recall, this is a better place," Miles says, hitting play with a flourish.
Richard's mouth falls as he watches the battle of Kruger between a herd of water buffaloes, a pride of lions and a crocodile over the seizing of a young buffalo calf.
Miles wonders if Jim and Frank would agree to a betting pool on how many consecutive hours You Tube will occupy Richard.
He doesn't seem so technology-phobic anymore.
***
Operation Get Richard Updated backfires spectacularly when Richard discovers Britney Spears and becomes an instant fan.
But then Miles thinks he catches a little smirk on Richard's face one day, as he slips her CD in the stereo as easy as breathing, and it's possible they're all getting played.
The End