This isn't really any particular shipping...Sawyer/Juliet, Sawyer/Kate, Kate/Jack, Juliet/Jack...they're all present. Sawyer's POV. one-shot. Takes place during season 5 after Kate and Jack are living in Dharma-ville.
You're leaving Hurley's when you spot him. You've been visiting Hurley a lot. He's a nice, neutral base between your new world and your old one. There are no pretenses there, just amicable conversation and friendly banter. The memories, they still come to you, but there's nothing to be done about them.
Hurley tells you about seeing Libby. You shudder, although, you're not really surprised. You've seen your fair share of ghosts on this island. Some still walk among you, back from the dead.
You're not sure where you prefer them more, haunting you in your mind or forging smiles every time you see them, really see them, standing inches away.
You've been fending off your demons quite admirably for years, but when you see him, Jack, scratching the back of his neck as he knocks on the door of your house, the walls come tumbling in. There's been an unspoken don't-ask-don't-tell code between the four of you for weeks, and it's just like Jack to be the first to make amends.
Not that anybody has anything to be sorry for anymore. No, it's too far past that point.
You find yourself momentarily stunned as your hear the front door open. You can nearly see the scene, Jack's earnest, boyish smile and Juliet's reluctant yet vague smirk. They always look at each other as if they're in on some kind of joke. And in this joke, you're the fool. You've always been the fool next to Jack.
The windows are open and if you keep walking, they're bound to see you. So you slip behind the house, leaning against the back of the wood, knees bent in the grass.
You can hear them well, which is what you'd hoped for, but you're less thrilled when you realize that their voices are so clear because they're in the bedroom. Jack's in your bedroom with your girl.
You're sure you've been here before.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," Jack muses.
It's just like him to sound so wholly apologetic about events he has no control over. He has a god complex and you're fed up with his savior routine.
"It's okay," Juliet says softly and you don't recognize the lilt of her voice. It's a certain slant of vernacular you've never heard in her before. She's pulling out the person she was before, with Jack. She's not only speaking to him, she's speaking for him.
"Is it?"
You hear Juliet sigh. There's a rustling sound and you're positive someone sat down on the bed. You imagine it's Juliet. "It's fine Jack," she says almost dutifully. "I didn't expect you'd come here, but I was surprised when you didn't." She pauses. "Does that make any sense?"
You can almost feel the pull of the smile on his lips. You sneer, teeth grinding quietly.
"Yeah, it's actually the most sane thing I've heard since I've gotten here," he laughs.
There's another pause. You've grown to hate their silences. You know what a look can express.
"Go ahead," you hear Jack say quietly. There's another rustling sound. He's fucking sitting next to her. You're sure of it.
"What do you mean?" Juliet asks and there's terror in her voice. The demons aren't just after you.
"Ask me," Jack says roughly. "I know you want to."
You hear her swallow and then the soft click of her lips parting. "All right," she says, giving in easily. Perhaps she never wanted to fight Jack. She never did before. "Tell me what you've been up to these past three years."
You hear him sigh and it sounds like he's rearranging himself on the bed, your bed. It's silent save for the occasional creaking sound of one of them adjusting their weight.
"We got back to LA. We lied. We..."
"Jack, I already know all of that," she says softly. "I want to know what you did."
There's another long pause. Your palms are sweaty over the course fabric of your coveralls. You feel like you're an imposition in your own life. Kate would mock you shamelessly with metaphors about tigers and stripes. You'd tell her to go to hell. She'd smile.
"I proposed to Kate," he says firmly and you let go of the breath you didn't realize you were holding. You try to picture them in a fancy restaurant, Jack wearing some damn designer tux, Kate in a black dress and maybe even pearls, just another costume change in the long line of characters she's played. You see her smile, maybe even tear up as she accepts, kissing him quickly. Doctors always get the girls, isn't that what your momma told ya?
"You two are married," Juliet says, like it's a fact. No room for discussion.
"No," Jack admits, his voice wavering. "We uh...we never..." He chuckles. "She threw me out."
There's more silence. Juliet's patient. She'll wait all day. He knows that.
"There were these phone calls at night that she used to make," he begins. "To someone Sawyer used to know. Something about a promise to Sawyer. Something about an obligation." Another pause. "I let it go at first. We just left these people stranded and...I just let it go."
"And then what happened?" Juliet asks.
"Kate started having nightmares. I don't think she even realized it, or maybe she's just a better liar than I thought. She used to scream about Claire and coming back to the island, which made sense because of..."
"Aaron," Juliet finishes.
"Right. Then she began waking up around two or three in the morning. I always pretended to be asleep. She'd go downstairs, get a glass of water, and just cry."
"And you didn't go after her."
"No," Jack says bitterly. "I should have. I know that. But, Kate's always so private about certain things. I didn't want to...I think I was afraid that..."
He ends it there. The bed creaks.
"You were afraid she wouldn't tell you the truth?"
"Worse than that," Jack starts, sighing again. "I think she hated herself for letting Sawyer jump off that plane. Or for not going after him. Whatever it was, she couldn't get over it. She couldn't let it go."
"Kate's never been good at letting things go," Juliet recites like a memorized line. "At least, that's what James said."
"He talks about her with you?" Jack asks. There's genuine shock there. You could punch him...again.
"No," she says sharply. "Only the once. Before we..." She half-laughs. "Well, it was a long time ago. It feels like a lifetime."
"Yeah," Jack agrees. "It does."
"Is that why you didn't marry her?" Juliet questions. "Because you thought she still loved James?"
"No," Jack remarks. "No, I knew...I...like I said, she threw me out."
You can picture Juliet frowning, brow furrowing into a question of sorts.
"She loved...loves that little boy more than..."
"Aaron," Juliet clarifies.
"Yes, Aaron," Jack replies. "He's like a son to her. I mean, he calls her mom. I started drinking. We had a fight. I told her she couldn't lie to Aaron forever, that...that she wasn't his mother. Aaron heard us and started crying. She...well, I don't think she ever forgave me."
The air's too still around you, too eerie. You're remembering something Kate said, something about how Juliet wouldn't have hesitated to kill you, back then. But your whole life's boiled down to timing and you can't start holding grudges against the past again. Hell, back then you would've killed Juliet without flinching. For that matter, Kate could have been Cassidy and you still would have left her. The people, the faces, they didn't matter. It was always about the situation. Jack's never understood this. He clings too tightly to past alliances.
"She came back with you," Juliet breathes after what feels like ages.
You look up to see a flash of light, Kate opening her kitchen window, pausing at the sight of you, or maybe the sight of Juliet and Jack. You can't be certain which. But she sees you and there's nothing to be done about that.
"She came back for Claire," Jack mutters. "Not for me."
"Jack I..."
You freeze, locking eyes with Kate as you hear a noise you can't interpret. They stand up, that much is apparent, but you're not sure what they're doing or if they're doing anything at all.
Kate's eyes pierce yours once more and then she's gone.
You hear footsteps and take this to be your cue. You walk along the other side of the house, waiting until you see Jack disappear into his own house to come out from hiding.
Juliet's on the porch when you amble over to her, eyes looking gray and tired.
"You all right?" you ask, mostly out of habit.
She nods curtly. "Of course."
"So," you begin, kissing her forehead lightly. "Anything happen while I was gone?"
You back up to study her face, to gauge her reaction to your question.
If she feels anything, it's a secret to you. Her expression reveals nothing, a trait you've come to hate about her.
"No," she says simply, offering you a patronizing smile. "Finished my book."
You nearly crumble. And so it begins.
"Oh yeah?" you manage, coolly. "What book?"
She definitely falters, for a second, regret or something like it fading quickly from her face. "The Great Gatsby."
You smirk. "Oh yeah? Is that what you want to be? A beautiful little fool?"
Juliet's brow arches, confusion etched onto her skin.
"Daisy," you reply. "That's what she says."
She smiles thinly. "You read too much."
You narrow your eyes slightly. "You should stay out of the sun," you begin. "You look like you're getting..."
Freckles, you nearly say. Freckles.
You catch yourself quickly, her eyes hanging on you expectantly.
"Sunburn," you finish, pushing your way inside.
She meets your gaze, catching you, though you don't think she know in what.
"I'm used to the sun," she insists, following you, door shutting behind her.
"Yeah," you nod, heading into the bedroom. "I reckon you can get used to anything."
fin.