"She had the eyes of someone older...." - The Eels
He finds her on the beach, overlooking water that appears as bleak and restless as she is.
"He took Karl," Alex tells Richard simply when he finally finds her. She is perched on a rocky outcropping stretching out to the sea, and does not seem to notice as the waves rush over the surface at high tide. Her eyes are glossy with tears as she turns to him, but her voice is steady.
He nods. "I know."
"Do you know where he is?" she asks. The hopelessness in her voice stabs Richard, but he shakes his head.
"Alex, you know I can't tell you that. What are you doing out here, anyway?" He refuses to look abashed when she stares at him. "Getting yourself lost in the dark won't help Karl."
She utters a dry exhalation that resembles a mirthless laugh and shakes her head, staring up at the stars, wondering if, wherever he is, Karl can see them too. "I'm not lost," she answers as Richard draws nearer, sloshing through the waves and rising up onto the rock where she sits. The water is bitingly cold, unusual for their location, but nothing is entirely predictable, anyway. "Don't tell Ben where I am," she adds over her shoulder, expecting him to retreat.
Instead, Richard sits down beside her. He does not say anything, just wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close. Alex tenses, feeling something inside her threaten to break. She cannot have her resolve shattered like a dam; once the tears start, she knows they will never stop. It isn't just Karl, of course. In her heart of hearts, she believes he will be okay. This is another of Ben's threats, and if they cooperate, Karl will be back in a day or two. It's the life she cries over, savage and sabotaged, circumscribed to the size of the island. She has never been further away from her home than Hydra island. Once, she tried to sail beyond the borders of their water, only to have the little boat capsize, and even then, the water refused to do her the honour of drowning her. The waves brought her back to the shore, back to prison.
Sighing heavily, she leans her head against Richard's chest, willing herself not to cry. "It's late, isn't it?"
"I told him I'd bring you back in the morning," Richard replies.
Alex shakes her head. "I'm not going back."
"You'll have to, sooner or later," Richard answers knowingly. He too has tried to outrun his life, but fate is inescapable.
"Why?" Alex demands, wanting to hold onto the fantasy. "I can hunt, fish, I know where to find fresh water." She sits up, drawing her knees in close to her body, and shakes as she feels a particularly tall wave cascade over her bare feet. "I don't want to go back," she starts to explain, but then her voice breaks. "No," she says as Richard reaches for her. "I won't," she speaks through tears. She takes a deep breath as Richard daubs the tears away, trying to regain control. Her breath catches in her throat as she looks at him full in the face and reads sympathy there.
Richard lets her go, sliding off the rock and into the thigh-deep water, suddenly feeling too hot despite the shrill wind and the icy water. Alex's voice makes him pause before he reaches the beach, however.
"You're leaving?"
"I thought you'd want to be alone."
"No," Alex admits, sniffing.
"Come on, then," he answers, holding out his hand.
She catches his hand as she leaps into the frigid water, her mind spinning, but not with thoughts of currents and weather patterns. Richard is staring at her in a way that should be unfamiliar, except she has been expecting it without really knowing. The intensity makes her heart pound and makes it hard to concentrate as she follows him back onto the damp sand. She does not pull away and he does not let her go, holding her hand until they are back near the line of trees.
To her surprise, he has already pitched a tent on the beach overlooking the teaming water, and there is a bundle of twigs for the fire. "You were planning to stay here?" Alex questions, surprised.
"It's late," Richard acknowledges. Something inside him gives and he sighs, sympathetic. "The Hydra," he explains, knowing he does not need to go into detail. "I don't want you to worry," he adds by way of explanation. "I'll speak to Ben tomorrow. No promises," he says warningly as Alex beams at him.
"He always listens to you," Alex says with certainty. She shifts uncomfortably, thinking of the way she has been acting of late, as hostile as the Dharma nickname for their people. "I'm sorry," she adds. It isn't Richard's fault her father is a maniac. "I've just been so worried!"
Richard offers a smile. "It's fine, Alex." His gaze lingers on her, and he has to concentrate to turn away, focussing on the fire in need of building.
"Thank you," Alex says, startling him as she tentatively touches his shoulder. As Richard straightens up, reaching for her hand, Alex furrows her brow, trying to read the expression in his dark eyes. He squeezes her hand and she squeezes back, a curious thrill in her belly as she examines his face, memorizing the set jaw and the curve of his lips. It occurs to her that she is feeling desire, something different from the love she has for Karl, something which is distinctly less innocent and more dangerous, the thing her father has been fearing. Before Richard can turn aside, Alex presses her hand against his cheek, capturing his attention.
He looks at her, agonized, and when he speaks, it is to plead. "Alex...."
"It's okay," Alex tells him. They are cloaked in darkness, surrounded by the crash of the waves, and no one is there to see as she closes her eyes, drawing him closer to her. It takes very little convincing for Richard to make the next move, seeking out her mouth with his own, kissing her in ways she has only ever dreamed about before. Her knees go weak as he slides his tongue delicately past her lips, but she holds on tight, letting him kiss away the tears left clinging to her eyelashes, shivering as he trails kisses along her collarbone.
When he finally draws away, Alex feels suddenly cold. "Don't go," she tells him, and her voice is pleading now too. She wraps her arms around his neck. "Richard."
Successfully persuaded, he kisses her again, his tongue delving into her mouth and capturing her taste, one hand holding her against him, the other stroking her body through the thin cotton shirt.
"I've waited for this," he confesses when they break apart, breathless.
Alex smiles, feeling the truth from deep inside her core as she runs her hands through his hair. "So have I," she realizes. She eyes the tent, trembling in the cold breeze coming off the water. Her eyes sparkle mischievously as she tugs Richard towards the tent perched on the beach. "Come on," she urges him, impatiently urging him inside. She glances out at the turbulent water for a moment, reading the signs of the dense cloud cover above. A storm is coming, and Alex has the presence of mind to shiver. Then Richard pulls her back to him, and as she rises up to kiss him, she forgets about the world outside, for just a little while.