Okay...this is AU, so here's the setup. Set around mid Season 4, except they never get rescued, they're all just living on the beach in the camp. Jack and Kate are together, and so are Sawyer and Juliet.
Title: Infidelity
Summary: "Could you ever fall in love with me again?" Nothing has ever been simple between Sawyer and Kate. They both like to pretend too much. With all that pretending...reality can get a little messy.
Pairings: Sawyer/Kate, mentions of Jack/Kate and Sawyer/Juliet
Rating: T
"He told me not to be alone with you," she says wryly, her mouth twisting into some kind of ironic smile.
"I don't care what he thinks," he says, and she laughs a little bit.
"I know," she says, and the silence hangs in the air for a few seconds, before she breaks it.
She's always been good at breaking things.
"How's Juliet?" she asks.
He chuckles.
"Fine. But you don't care."
She doesn't answer, her lack of response admitting the truth more than words could.
"I'm not even going to ask how he is, so don't wait for it," he says, and she grins.
"I wasn't planning on it."
"Good."
More silence. Things feel different between him and her. Neither of them likes the change.
"Have any alcohol?"
"Always," he says, and pulls two small bottles out of the pocket of his jeans. He leans up against a tree, and she sits down on a rock. He tosses one of the little bottles at her, and she catches it easily.
"It's like you planned this," she says, a touch of amusement in her voice.
"Now why would I do that?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.
She doesn't even acknowledge the question.
"Wanna play the question game?" she asks.
"The what?"
"The question game."
"I've never heard of it."
"You're such a liar," she says, and he fakes being indignant.
"I ain't no liar!"
She laughs, rolls her eyes.
"It's a game where you get to ask any question, and the other person has to answer truthfully, and then you never speak of any of it again."
"Sounds like my kind of game."
"So you'll play?"
"Have I ever turned you down?"
She looks stricken for a split-second, but quickly covers it up with a grin.
"All right. You first."
"Ever done drugs?"
"No," she says, shaking her head, "Never felt the need."
"Your turn."
"How old were you, when you had your first kiss?"
"Seven. Kissed a girl behind the church," he drawls.
She fakes being impressed.
"Wow, you're so tough, kissing around a church."
He rolls his eyes. There is more silence, as they sit there, drinking.
"Your turn," she says softly.
He doesn't reply for a long while.
"Could you ever fall in love with me again?"
Her expression doesn't change, but he can see the sudden darkness behind her eyes.
She drinks, as if to give herself a shot of courage.
"Yeah."
He almost grins, but then he thinks about Juliet and stops himself.
She stares at him like a hawk, waiting for a reaction that he won't let himself give her.
"Your turn, Freckles."
She hides her disappointment, and she's too proud at the moment and not nearly drunk enough to ask the question she wants to ask.
"Have you ever...have you ever eaten octopus?" she asks lamely.
He laughs. She's so transparent to him.
"No. Ain't got no octopus where I'm from."
"Your turn."
"What do you love about him?"
"What?"
"That's my question. What do you love about the Doc?"
"None of your business."
"Hey, I thought the rules were that you had to answer anything!"
She sighs.
"Maybe it's just because you don't know," he rambles.
"I know what it is," she snaps.
"Then why don't you tell me?"
She glares at him.
"Fine. I love that he gives me another chance to do things right. I love that he takes care of me. Things feel right when I'm with him."
"Well ain't that precious," he says sarcastically, and rolls his eyes.
To his surprise, she kind of laughs, looking down at the ground.
She continues to be unpredictable, drinking the rest of her small airline tequila.
"Could you ever fall in love with me again?" she asks, a bit of a wild look in her eyes.
He hesitates. But she answered his questions. He owes her this at least, after everything they've been through.
"Yeah. Yeah, I could."
She doesn't even try to hide her delight at this.
He wants to laugh at her, to say something demeaning or crack a joke, but something stops him. It doesn't feel right, to try to cover up vulnerability when he's with her. Maybe it's because they've been through so much. He doesn't know why, but there really doesn't seem to be a point to trying to hide anything from her.
"Your turn," she finally says.
"What's your favorite song?"
"Crazy," she says, and it's so ironic that he almost laughs, "Crazy by Patsy Cline."
"I've never heard that one."
She sings a bit of it softly. She doesn't have a bad voice, a little hoarse, but sweet, he thinks.
Crazy, crazy for feeling so lonely…
"Your turn," he says.
She doesn't ask anything. She sits there absolutely silently for several minutes. If she wasn't so absolute in her silent stillness, he would've thought she couldn't think of anything to ask. But he knows she knows exactly what she's going to ask.
"Do you want to pretend?"
"Pretend what?" he asks, his voice barely more than a soft whisper.
"Pretend to be in love again."
"What?"
She almost looks like she wants to backtrack and take away what she said. But she's never been that kind of person.
"I'm asking you if for a few hours…if for a few hours we could pretend to be in love again."
He's never been able to refuse her anything.
He responds by setting down the little empty bottle. She stands, and he puts his arm around her waist.
"What're we doing?" she asks, staring into his eyes.
He half laughs.
"Dancing," he whispers in her ear, "Pretending to be in love again."
He holds her close, and they sway gently back and forth to music that neither can hear but both can feel. She rests her head on his shoulder, asking for comfort – though he has no idea why she'd need it. He'll give it to her anyways. He'll give it to her in any way she needs.
She doesn't think when she kisses him. She doesn't think about why, or how, or the consequences that could come from it.
"What was that?" he asks, his voice nothing more than a soft breath.
"Me. Pretending to be in love again."
It all sounds so nice to him. Except for one word.
Pretending.
I have more to this, so if people seem interested I'll post the whole set-up, which includes a lot more Jack/Kate. Please tell me what you thought, I'd really like some constructive criticism.