girlsolo | [for Sawyer] fade out - up to my old tricks

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[for Sawyer] fade out - up to my old tricks

Kate falls asleep in the curve of Sawyer's arm, not the first time it's happened and how things are between them now, probably not the last, either. It's nothing yet, but not nothing, so dreaming about him on a retrieval with her, that's no great shakes. 'Course, the fact they're wearing what they went to sleep in, her in his shirt and him in his boxers, that's a little weird but it's a dream. Probably means she's gonna end up against a tree with her legs around his hips, soon. She quirks a grin for that. Now that's her kind of dream.

She takes a step sideways toward Sawyer, hand out to rest against his hip, and the tall grasses beneath her bare feet bend and poke. They swish on the breeze, which is blowing toward them. Smart, staying upwind of whatever she's hunting. The poking bugs her. Her dreams are vivid, but not usually this vivid, and it's a hell of a long way to go in terms of detail, just to get laid.

Gaze narrowing, she turns to glance back, make sure it's still him. Something downwind of them scampers farther away. Kate puts her finger to her lips and mouths, Stay with me, while she scans the clearing they're in. If the dream's going to force her to go through with this retrieval, it can damned well provide her gear.

A small creature bursts from cover and scampers halfway up a tree. It looks like a cross between a guinea pig and a koala bear. Shit. Oh shit shit shit. If this is going to be one of those kinds of dreams, Kate just wants to wake up. She wants to wake up now. But since that doesn't seem to be happening, she grabs Sawyer's wrist, squeezes tight and hisses low, "Quiet. Slow. Back away."

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In spite of being surrounded everywhere by it on the small span of Tabula Rasa, it isn't often that Sawyer wakes up nestled in grass. Only sleep keeps him from immediately thrashing at the feel of it, usually none too eager to enjoy the way the blades cut and poke against his skin or get his clothes vaguely sticky in the wake of a walk. OF course, sleep is an easy thing to toss aside when times call for it, and the voice which cuts through his consciousness is enough of a trigger for Sawyer, eyes wide and slowly sitting up when he hears Kate calling for something to back away.

It's not Halloween yet, is it?

Raising a brow, Sawyer stares at the sight around them, slightly startled at how deeply he feels that they're no longer on the island. There's a subtle difference in the flora. In the weather. Just the smell of the place.

It's not the other island, either.

"The hell's goin' on?" he mutters, sitting up more wholly and staring up at the bizarre animal nestled in the tree. "And the hell's that?" It doesn't look particularly threatening, but it isn't anything that he's seen before either. And it's scaring the wits out of Kate, something surely not to be ignored.

"For once in your life, Sawyer, just do what you're told," Kate hisses at him, low, already on her feet and putting her mostly naked self between the peridax and him like it's gonna help if the peridax freaks and gases them. "Just get up. Please." There's an edge of desperation in her voice that she fucking hates, but she's not ready to lose him. Not ready to die if he's too stupid to listen, either. Why couldn't his dream-self be less prickly and stubborn than his real self?

"Promise I'll explain later." As much as she can. As much as the dream lets her. Maybe it'll just change? C'mon, change damn it. Why aren't they somewhere else just because she wants to be? "We just need to get out of here. Slow and quiet. 'Kay?" she pleads, never taking her eyes off the cuddly, harmless-looking creature.

The island does crazy things. Actually, both of them do. If Sawyer didn't know better, he'd assume that all islands have got that little something to them, something a little off and a little uneven, something to drive a person mad. Too much contained space. So he can't really help the fact that it's harder to take Kate's words completely to heart right now, not when all of this could very easily be some type of dream, or something that's taking advantage of an illogical phobia on Kate's end.

Because, seriously. Look at that animal. It's not going to hurt either of them.

"Okay, okay," he concedes nonetheless, a little less grace than she's probably asking for as he gets to his feet, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Calm your horses, Kate. So we woke up in the middle of a field. I've done crazier things, believe me."

"So've I, like--" she stops her snark in its tracks when the peridax skitters around the back side of the tree and peers out at them again. Telling Sawyer that believing he could be smart and use his head is insane isn't worth either of them dying in a gas attack.

She grips his wrist again and squeezes it hard, so hard her fingernails dig half moons into the skin, like the pressure can convey her seriousness. Her voice comes back softer, a low, velvet tone that's almost crooning because Biggie taught her some animalian Abnormals like the sound. "Babe, do you happen to hear anything else making noise around here besides you and me?" Kate waits, paused for effect and to let the silence sink in. "No? That's 'cause that little guy right there can kill us with a fart. So please, please, just back up slowly and keep moving til I tell you to stop."

Hissing with pain when Kate's nails dig against his skin, the only thing that keeps Sawyer from immediately swearing is the look in Kate's eyes when he glances over at her, something long past fear and smacking instead of recognition. And it strikes him then— no matter how ridiculous he thinks any of this is, worlds differ in ways that no one can quite fathom. What seems like it'd be harmless in his world could be the deadliest threat ever in hers.

He only wonders why she's failed to mention the deadly koalas until now.

"With a f— do you even realize how crazy that sounds?" Sawyer says, but obliges all the same, keeping his steps light as he heads in the direction that she tugs him in, only allowing himself a slight twist of his hand to keep her nails from digging constantly in the same space.

When Sawyer quiets down and starts moving, she slips herself between him and the peridax again, walking backwards to keep an eye on the Abnormal. It's not like she can block Sawyer from the gas if it releases, probably, but eye contact's important to establishing dominance, Biggie taught her.

"I know," she agrees, low, and loosens her grip on his arm without letting go. Keeping contact with him seems as important as watching the peridax. Like if she lets him or it go, it'll all go to hell. He'll disappear or die and it'll be her fault.

"Poison gas attack. Keeps it safe from much bigger predators. It's called a peridax. It's only like one step up the ladder of crazy, maybe two. If we get back to the Sanctuary, I'll introduce you to the mermaid, Sally. We can even swim with her." Why not? It's a dream. They can do anything if they survive this part.

Although he still makes good progress with Kate across the field, Sawyer can't help but break into an amused grin when he realizes the full extent of what she's saying. It's not just a matter of spotting animals that she knows from home. This actually is where Kate's from, a fact that hits Sawyer square in the chest as his pace slows down a little, making time for his eyes to graze about and take everything in.

"Wait, so you know where the hell we are? And we're in your backyard right now," Sawyer muses with a huff of amusement, nudging her arm with his elbow, not enough to hurt, but enough to be noticeable. "Does that mean that you like me? I hear that most of the people who tag along for trips like these mean a hell of a lot to the person who's headed home."

Not answering him until they're a safe distance from the peridax, something she judges by the sounds of birds and other creatures starting up and growing stronger, Kate finally turns and swats him in the bare chest with the back of her hand. The thwack of it rings loud in her ears after so much quiet, and hits her, too, with what he's already realized. It's not just a dream. It's one of those dreams. It dims her smirk a few notches to think of Lilo freaking out back on the island, but she'll go to Daniel and Daniel already knows what to do if something happens to her.

It dims the sass in her tone, too, when she answers, "No, jackass, it means I was sleeping next to you when it happened." But there's time then for a breath of relief for getting him away from the peridax, especially since it wouldn't have reset when she woke up. There's an urge, too, to slide her arms around him and press her ear to his chest and let him be warm and kind the way he pretends not to be, but she ignores the crap out of that, waiting a beat to say, "Stepping in front of a deadly fart for you wearing nothing but your shirt, though. That might mean I like you."

He flinches at the hit, more for show than anything else, wearing a wince as he presses his fingers to the spot and rubs in a circle to ease away the hit. In many ways, it's the similarities between Kate and himself that leave Sawyer calm as he glances down at her, daring to let his arms slip around her waist and pull her close in spite of whatever protests she might raise. He knows this territory, knows how to navigate this person and speak her language, a strong anchor in the midst of all the chaos that they've known since arriving on the island.

Letting a finger slide along her hairline, pushing a few strands out of the way, Sawyer lets his free hand sneak further around her waist.

"Hey, the shirt's a good look for you," Sawyer points out, tugging at the hem and letting his gaze wander to where her skin peeks above the collar. "Might've done you a fashion favor."

"You saying you don't like my fashion sense?" Kate demands, but it's a pretty idle protest since her eyes slip closed at is touch and she steps in that extra foot to bring them flush. Her pulse still races but at least her heart stopped slamming up against her ribcage, and she's going with getting her shit together as the excuse for the series of long breaths and her thumb rubbing against the line of his hip cut like some kind of worry stone.

"Probably good you like this look," she finally lets herself say, eyes opening to focus up on his face. It hits her, she's really fucking glad he's here instead of Imri or Neal or even Pheebs. He's tougher and they'll get out of this okay. "Stuck with it for awhile. We're in the ass end of nowhere Australia and I don't even have a clue where the nearest town is." Once they got there, they were good. A professional con artist and a thief? Yeah. Even with her new do-good rules, they'd have clothes and access to her credit line in no time.

"I'm sayin' that I prefer wrapping you up in mine," Sawyer replies idly, brows both raising when she presses herself against his chest, close enough that he can easily weave his fingers into her hair, running them through the strands. There's a thin layer that keeps him at an emotional distance— a desire not to cause more trouble for her than he's worth. But sometimes, he slips. Somehow, he finds it easiest to do so when the two of them are close to one another.

A thought to be explored another time.

"You're wearing underwear, right?" he asks, tilting his head over as though trying to get a peek, although the dimples give away the fact that he doesn't expect to get much of a view. "Well, anyway, pretty sure people ain't gonna have so much of a gripe with you wearing less as they will with me, if my memory of Australia serves."

"Be a good boy and maybe I'll let you put me up against a eucalyptus tree and find out," Kate teases, bold as brass and looking right up into those smiling eyes of his. For a guy who can lie like nobody's business if he feels like it, those eyes and those dimples are dead giveaways.

If they've gotta be stuck here, half-naked and miles from anywhere, they damned well better have fun doing it. Maybe not up-against-a-tree legs-around-his-waist fun, but if they start getting all up in their heads about this, it's going to be a long freaking walk to Adelaide or wherever.

"If you know anything about southeast Australia, babe, now'd be the time to spill it. Or at least pick a direction, 'cause underwear or no underwear, the bug bites are gonna get ugly once the sun goes down."

"I doubt that I know any more'n you do, chère," says Sawyer with a wince against the sun and a long, slow sigh. Letting his hand brush down the side of her arm, Sawyer links their hands together and tugs them in a random direction of his choosing. If they walk long enough, there must be some type of road waiting for them, and chances are between the experience that both of them have had on islands, they'll know sustenance when they see it, too. "Let's head somewhere that makes it possible to hitchhike."

Glancing down with a grin, Sawyer raises his chin lightly. "You may have to be the driver bait, though. Not sure if any old coot would stop for me."

Kate's not thinking about that little flip in her chest from him deciding to hold her hand. It's a stupid little thing, except it's not, it can't be, not when it's affection for no reason. Maybe he won't notice the way her thumb scallops along the side of his hand just to feel him there.

"I'd stop for you. Might have a gun on my thigh, but I'd stop for you," she says and keeps walking, wincing when a blade of something like grass slices the side of her foot. It's not the first and it won't be the last. What does give her pause is his bare chest and shoulders. It's good he's tanned, but, "We should try to walk in the shade, Sawyer. You'll whine like a baby if you burn." By which, of course, she means she's really worried about him.

Edited 2012-10-28 15:21 (UTC)

"Oh, ye of little faith," Sawyer wrinkles his nose at once, glancing over at Kate and shaking his head minutely before catching the way her expression changes, just a touch, and frowning down at her foot. She'll probably be pissed as hell for it, but it doesn't stop Sawyer from bending down to sweep her off her feet entirely, one arm lifting her by the knees and the other pressed against her shoulder blades as he walks with more surety.

His own feet are cut up to hell from the years spent on islands, anyway.

"Been on these islands a whole lot longer than I ever wanted, but it ain't like I haven't learned anything from it," he says, keeping to the shade without another reminder. "'sides, you've seen my skin. Practically as close to leather as it can get over a few years."

Pure instinct keeps her from pulling a takedown on him when he bends to lift her up, but she's still glaring like a hellcat when she jams him in the chest with the heel of her hand (not shoulder; a bruise he can fight through if he needs to, but if she fucks up his shoulder and they end up needing to fight or climb, they'll be screwed). "Jerk," she hisses, but mostly 'cuz Declan used to pick her up like this and 'cuz she's not wearing even a thong underneath that shirt.

She subsides, though, a few seconds later. The heat of his skin against her helps drain away the tension and the jittery edge of a high adrenaline rush. The next breath out is longer, slower, and the next after that, even more so and her fingers are already rubbing over where she hit him when she concedes, "Just til we get out of this hell grass, whatever it is, okay?" and rests her head against him.

She trusts him too damned much, she realizes just then, and even though she's thinking it was a lot easier to keep my distance when he wasn't so gallant, what comes out of her mouth is, "Liked you better when you didn't give a fuck about my feet." Doesn't really matter what she says anymore. He can hear the lies as easy as she can.

"Liked you better when you weren't such a bitch," Sawyer retorts in turn, nose still slightly wrinkled from the impact to his chest, although truth be told, that little amount doesn't bug him. There's little that Kate can do to truly grate on his nerves, at least anymore, and Sawyer's more than willing to bet that it has something to do with the way she's unraveled over the past months, exposing sliver by sliver until now, he feels like he can distinguish the truth from the lies.

She doesn't hate that he cares about her. She probably doesn't even care about the way in which he's showing it now, presumptuous, protective, and reverent in his own way.

"Look, I got thicker skin than you do," he points out. "If there ever comes a day that the grass bleeds me quicker'n it does you, you've got full permission to start carrying me out in your arms. If you can."

"Don't need your permission to save your ass," Kate points out, the only heat in it the kind that ended them up half-naked in the first place. "Do it whether you wanna let me or not." That's the truth, full and final, because somehow Sawyer turned out to be one of the people she'd step in front of a bullet for on pure instinct.

Maybe that's why she twists in his arms, lifting her head up to see his eyes. Or maybe it's just a delayed reaction to getting away from the peridax, but her heart's thumping a mile a second again suddenly and she's fighting every urge to wrap herself around him and use her weight to drag him back against some tree. Her lips graze the scruff along his jaw, then find his mouth, just for a minute she tells herself, and tells him, "Didn't know you liked me at all," instead of thanks and I'm glad you're here and I'm glad you're okay.

"Guess you don't," Sawyer laughs, both at the truth of the statement, and the edge of sass that Kate still needs to worm into every statement. There's a part of it that rings like a wall, the same brand of humor that Sawyer raises around him, but beyond that, there's an endearment all its own in the words, genuine smiles shared without reserve. He lets his lids drop slightly when she brushes her lips against his jaw, sighing slightly in frustration.

There'll be time for that later, he almost wants to say.

"What, you thought I was so much of a bad boy that my smile was just for show?" he asks her with a slight snort as he leans forward, bumping his lips against her forehead in a way that might easily be mistaken for an accident— it's anything but. "Am I supposed t' take that as a compliment?"

Kate's not one for thinking before talking, unless she's running a con. Usually the words out of her mouth are the ones in her brain. That's what makes it...significant, there's that Will word again, significant...that Kate's mouth zips shut before she can say what she knows about smiles and cons and how they use them.

It's significant that she'll sass him left right and center, but she won't hurt him or push him away anymore. Besides, she's pretty sure he's thinking about the ways she makes him smile and if he's not, she is.

Goddamn he makes her soft. Weird ways too. Like Declan never did. Like no one ever really did, except maybe Will. In that other world where...and she needs to cut that train of thought right there or she'll be thinking about all kinds of things she shouldn't, but mostly about Lilo. She's worried about the kid.

It takes her too long to answer, she knows that, and her voice is all kinds of too quiet, hand sliding through his hair too gentle, everything too full of emotion when she finds words to say, "I thought I wasn't supposed to mention it when you're smiling, in case you notice it and stop," reminding him of how this started, when what she really wants to say is promise me Lilo's going to be okay and mean it.

"Whatever. Way I see it, we've got..." Sawyer shrugs, shaking his head to try and toss his hair out of the way. "A month, tops, in sunny Australia. A month tops where we don't have to worry about new crap fallin' on top of us whenever the island wants. You know the rules here. If that ain't a reason to start smiling, I don't know what is."

He purses his lips, wagging his head briefly at Kate before smirking and taking them towards a clearing, the canopy of the trees still providing them shade even as he squints at a bare, golden stretch in the distance.

Realistically, he knows that things aren't likely to be as easy as he says. There's a chance that this is one of those crazy loop trips, that they'll be forced to jump through hoops until they reach the right happy ending.

Doesn't quite feel like that, though.

Else she'd remember this exact place, this exact point in time. And as far as Sawyer can tell, Kate's eyes don't carry that amount of weight just yet.

Kate frowns, lifting her head up to get a better look into his eyes. She brushes his hair aside for him - least she can do, since he's carting her ass around. Definitely, she's gonna be owing him a rubdown later, not that she minds or he will.

"You think we're still on the island?" That hadn't really occurred to her, but it makes as much sense as this dream that doesn't feel much like a dream. "That's..." She catches her bottom lip between her teeth and frowns a little more. "Kind of double-edged. Peridax aren't the scariest thing in this neck of the woods. Not what I want to be dealing with without our tech and containment capabilities. But if we're here..." No, she is not going to get all emo about this, she isn't. Sawyer knows her too goddamned all well already. "Means Lilo's not freaking out from me sleeping like the dead."

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[for Sawyer] fade out - up to my old tricks

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