Title: A Song to Pass the Time
Pairing: Sawyer/Juliet friendship
Words: 2,035
Rating: PG
Summary: Sawyer glances up at the monitors every few minutes, but it's always the same nothing that's been on them all night, so eventually he stops looking, just leans back and focuses on Juliet, smiles whenever she does, listens to her stories about learning how to fix vans instead of people.
**
They've only been Dharma for three weeks when Sawyer ends up working his first overnight shift at the security station.
There's not a hell of a lot happening security-wise on a Tuesday night here in Mayberry, but he volunteered to work these ridiculous hours in order to convince Horace that he is, in fact, Dharma material. Whatever the hell that means.
So here he is. Sitting in an uncomfortable chair, nothing to do but stare at a bank of security monitors showin' a completely deserted commune. Didn't even bring a book or anything to keep him occupied, in some kind of misguided attempt to prove that he takes the job seriously. But, damn, he's bored. He looks over at the clock on the wall. Only eight more hours of starin' at nothing to go.
He's about decided to make a quick run home to get a book or something—ain't like anything's gonna happen in the next 15 minutes anyway—when the phone rings.
Great. Just what he needs tonight, some idiot hippie spooked by a shadow he thinks is a Hostile tryin' to kill him. Sawyer snatches up the receiver, growls into the phone. "What?"
"Well, that doesn't sound like the proper Dharma way to answer a telephone," Juliet replies, sounding amused.
Sawyer can't help the smile that spreads across his face. "Well, gee, I didn't realize I was gonna be tested on my phone etiquette tonight." He hears her laugh softly and his smile gets wider as he continues, "What's up, Toolbox Barbie?"
He can practically hear her roll her eyes at the nickname, but she lets it go. "Nothing much. I'm bored." Now it's his turn to laugh as she sighs a little before continuing. "Want some company?"
"Hell, yeah, I do."
**
Ten minutes later, he watches on the monitor as Juliet walks across the barracks to the security station. She's holding a paper bag in one arm and has a folded up blanket tucked under the other.
Sawyer makes it up the stairs and opens the door before she can knock. He reaches out and takes the bag from her, peering inside. "What's all this?"
"Just some sandwiches and stuff. Thought you might be hungry," she says with a shrug.
Sawyer looks up at her and she smiles at him, brushing a piece of hair that fell from her ponytail away from her face, and he feels weirdly self-conscious. Of all the crazy shit he's had to get used to since he got to this island, sometimes he thinks this thing with Juliet is the strangest. It's been a little hard for him to get used to the casual way she does things like this for him. Keeps him company when he's bored. Brings him some food because he might be hungry. It's a weird feeling.
Juliet's looking at him kind of expectantly, and he realizes he's just been staring at her, so, shutting the door behind her, he clears his throat and nods at the blanket still under her arm. "What's that for? You plannin' on seducin' me tonight?"
Juliet rolls her eyes and tosses the blanket at him, but she's still smiling and he can tell she's amused. "Don't be a smartass, James. It's for us to sit on. The chairs here suck."
Can't argue with that. He carries the stuff inside and they spread out the blanket on the cold cement floor of the security station. Juliet starts taking stuff out of the bag—a couple of sandwiches, a six pack of Dharma beer, a thermos of coffee, and a book that she throws aside before he gets a chance to read the title—and lays it all on the blanket.
Handing him one of the sandwiches, she looks over at the monitors. "Anything exciting happening in Dharmaville tonight?"
Sawyer scoffs and shakes his head. Pulls two of the beers off the plastic ring, hands one to her and pops the tab on the other one. "Is there ever?"
She takes the beer and shrugs, conceding the point.
They sit on the blanket and Sawyer nods at the corner of the book he can see peeking out from under the paper bag. "What's with the book?"
"I thought you might want to do some reading, James," she says, her voice taking on the overly patient tone it always does when he asks something stupid.
"So, what, I'm gonna read and you're gonna watch me?"
"That is one idea. Or," she says, quirking an eyebrow at him, "you could wait and read it after I go home."
"Wait, you're goin' home?"
"Eventually, yes."
"But why? I thought you came to keep me company."
Juliet almost laughs at how petulant he sounds. "I did, but I also have to be at the motor pool at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, so I can't stay here all night."
He lets out a heavy sigh and crosses his arms across his chest. "Okay, fine. What'd you bring me?"
She hands him the book.
Taking it, he glances down at the cover. "The Exorcist?"
"Yeah, it came over on the sub with the last shipment," she replies and takes a sip of her beer. "You ever read it?"
"Course I read it. It's a classic, ain't it?" His tone implies that she's an idiot for even asking.
"Well, I don't know about that, but it's pretty good," she says with a shrug.
Sawyer can't believe what he's hearing. "Pretty good? You're kiddin', right? It's fuckin' terrifying. Scariest book ever, hands down. First time I read it, I had nightmares for a damn week."
"Should I have chosen something less scary?" she asks, eyes wide with feigned innocence. "I think the sub also brought the new Jackie Collins. Want me to run home and get that?"
"You're hilarious," he replies, rolling his eyes. "Besides, I told you, I read it already."
"You've read The Stud? How was it?"
"The Exorcist, wise ass." As he takes another drink of his beer, he tries to keep the smile off his face. Doesn't quite succeed.
**
They sit on the blanket with their backs against the wall, their sides pressed up against each other, and their legs stretched out in front of them. They drink the beer and eat the sandwiches and Juliet tells him about her day, things that happened over at the motor pool, all the hot Dharma gossip.
Sawyer glances up at the monitors every few minutes, but it's always the same nothing that's been on them all night, so eventually he stops looking, just leans back and focuses on Juliet, smiles whenever she does, listens to her stories about learning how to fix vans instead of people.
According to her, being a mechanic's not all that different from being a doctor. Although, somehow, Sawyer doubts that it's that there's actually much vocational similarity and more that Juliet's some kind of mechanical savant or something. Either way, she's apparently learning pretty quickly, impressing everyone. Well, almost everyone.
"You work with that guy Phil, right?"
"Yeah," he says with a grimace.
"I hate that guy."
Sawyer laughs. "Yeah, Phil's an asshole, all right. What'd he do to you?"
"He brought a van over for servicing. Stood over my shoulder the whole time I looked at it. Made a crack about a woman doing a man's job. I almost punched him in the face."
"Well, I'd offer to beat 'em up for you, but you'd probably do a better job kickin' his ass than I would." He nudges her foot with his, and she laughs.
After that, they just sit next to each other in silence. James drinks his beer and Juliet leans more heavily against him, drops her head so it's resting on his shoulder.
Sawyer thinks about how easy this is, being around her. How talking to her doesn't constantly feel like a test or a con, which is how he normally feels when he talks to pretty much anyone. Especially around here. Truth is, it's probably the least complicated relationship he's ever had. Which, considering where they are and how they met, seems kind of fucked up. Sometimes he thinks about asking her about it, talking about the cages and the Others, but the thing is, that stuff doesn't even seem real anymore. Like it was a different life or something. Which, he guesses, it kind of was. Figures there's probably no point in talking about it now.
So he doesn't say any of this to her. Instead, just reaches over and picks up the book. Pulls his glasses out of his pocket and starts to read.
**
After about an hour he can feel himself start to drift off to sleep and he looks down at Juliet and her eyes are closed, her breathing slow and even, and he can tell she's out.
He thinks about laying down next to her, sleeping beside her on this scratchy blanket on the floor of the Dharma security station, but he knows that's probably not the best idea. Mostly because he'll have to deal with all kinds of shit from Phil when the little bastard gets in for his shift in the morning.
So, instead, he leans over and brushes his hand lightly down Juliet's cheek. "Wake up, Sunshine."
She makes a quiet noise in the back of her throat and presses her face into his shoulder with a little sigh and then looks up at him, squinting her eyes against the bright fluorescent lights. "What time is it?"
"Uh," he shifts a little to look over at the clock and he's suddenly very conscious of her body pressed against his, "a little after midnight."
She smiles at him and sits up so she's no longer leaning against him and that whole side of his body feels suddenly, inexplicably, heavier.
"I should probably get home. You going to be okay here alone with The Exorcist?" She smirks at him, but the effect is ruined as she yawns hugely.
Sawyer chuckles. "Yeah, I'll manage. Here," he reaches out and takes her hand, pulls her to her feet. "I'll walk you home."
Juliet opens her mouth to protest, probably going to remind him he's not supposed to leave the security station unmanned, but he cuts her off. "Nothing's gonna happen in the next ten minutes. Besides," he teases, "can't have a pretty little thing like you walkin' around such a bad neighborhood by yourself at night, all alone and defenseless." He gives her a little wink as he says this and, if he didn't know any better, he'd swear she was blushing.
She doesn't respond aside from the maybe-blush, so he just helps her gather up the remaining beers and the blanket, leaving the sandwiches and thermos of coffee behind.
They make the short walk through the barracks in silence, and Sawyer waits patiently while Juliet unlocks the door to the house and tosses the blanket inside.
She turns around and leans against the doorframe. "Thanks for walking me home."
"No problem, Blondie. Thanks for the company. And the book." She smiles at him and, before he quite knows what he's doing, he leans over and gives her a soft kiss on the cheek. He really has no idea why he just did that; since when the hell does he kiss women on the damn cheek? Feeling incredibly awkward, he steps back from her, thinks that maybe he should offer some kind of explanation for that. He also thinks that maybe he's the one blushing now.
But, when he looks at her, Juliet's biting her lip in a way that looks like she's trying not to smile and, for some reason, that makes him feel about a million times better, less like a moron. "Goodnight, James."
He thinks again that maybe he should say something else to her, but he figures he's probably already pressed his luck with that absurd kiss so he just clears his throat, and says, "'Night, Juliet."
The door makes a quiet click as she closes it and Sawyer turns around and heads back to the security station. Smiles the whole way there and thinks about how maybe this whole Dharma Initiative, stuck in the 70s thing isn't going to be nearly as terrible as he thought it would.
****
end