Disclaimer: Lost belongs to ABC and is in no way mine. No copyrights infringement intended.
A/N: This was written right after This Place Is Death and therefore isn't compatible with canon. Thought I'd post anyway!
On A Breather
The camp was back and Charlotte was buried. As they waited for Faraday to pull himself together, Sawyer juggled a bottle of sun lotion in his hands.
"What are you planning to do with that, James?"
Juliet's voice was always the same, but when Sawyer faced her he saw exhaustion all over her. It made her smile dim.
"Love my back a little." He tossed the bottle to her, smirking at her surprised blink. "Wanna make yourself useful?"
She watched him, then past him. "Don't you think Jin might need this more?"
Sawyer followed the line between Juliet's eyes and Jin, who was walking in the water line, scratching at the side of his jaw. It had to blow to skip from near drowning to hosting a sunburn.
"Maybe you're right." He flopped down to the sand, stretching his legs out. He tugged at the buttons of his shirt. "Make it fast, Capulet."
He couldn't see her, but he knew she was amused. Sawyer was a funny guy.
It wasn't cool yet, but the air was starting to feel good instead of sticky, for which his back was grateful. He heard Juliet settle down on her knees behind him, the bottle uncork.
"Do you think Locke will be all right?"
Sawyer curved out his back as he felt Juliet's hand on him, rubbing his skin in search of tender patches.
"He has a way of making things go his way," he mumbled, swaying lightly to her touch. He had to swallow a wince as Juliet came upon sore muscle. Unreasonably long swimming trips had their effects. "He'll be back in no time. Now, whether anybody comes back with him, that's a different story."
Now she chuckled. "You wouldn't?" Juliet asked, taking a moment to pour lotion into her palms. Her touch was slick and cool on his skin as she began to spread it, kneading him in slow, careful circles.
"Not a Dumbo." She had nice hands, that Juliet. Steady and not at all afraid to feel him. "It was a life time opportunity, Doc. They'd better not waste it."
"They shouldn't, no." Juliet smoothed out a thicker smudge of lotion to the rest of his skin. "I hope not."
Her tone was even. If he looked at her now, it would be like looking at a lake. Like she wasn't angry. It pissed him off so much.
"And it's our turn anyway," he said aloud, rolling his shoulders. Juliet had to move back to avoid his elbows, and he could have sworn he saw a slight frown when he turned to her. He grinned and extended his hand. "Gimme that."
His fingertips touched the underside of her wrist as she handed over the bottle. It wasn't much, but it made him feel warm. Juliet lifted an eyebrow when Sawyer squeezed a few drops of lotion on his thumb.
"Yes, I'm sure Jin will appreciate your willingness to apply it," she told him, and Sawyer smiled.
"Maybe." He pointed the thumb to her. "But I like your face better."
With that, Sawyer stroked the tips of each cheek and the slide of her nose, and wiped the rest on himself. As he stood up, Juliet was baffled, and about to smile.