Story: Once Upon A Time
Author: Steph, aka Fanatic482 (stephanie406@att.net)
Disclaimer: Alias and the characters of the show aren't mine. They belong to JJ Abrams, ABC, Bad Robot Productions, etc etc
Rating: PG-13 overall, individual chapters that are R will be marked as such
Spoilers/Summary: Sequel to "Beyond All Limits"; General Season 1 Spoilers; Sydney and Sark on a private island with one Prophecy goal to fulfill
Distribution: Cover Me, Sarkgasm, Dark Enigma yes; all other please ask first
Thanks To: Glenna, Jennifer and Becky for the betas!
Author's Note: *ducks and hides* oh dear. I don't even know how to begin apologizing for the hugely long time it's been since I've updated. Life sorta… happened. And I wound up getting busier and busier and this just got pushed on the back burner. But the new chapter of S/S gooey perfectionism is now posted, so you can be happy (and stop threatening all sorts of deliciously evil things *grin*). Enjoy, review, and encourage me to get Chapter 5 out quicker! (hint: it's mostly almost done! Heh)
Story Note: Ethan is Sark, Amanda is Sydney (refer back to chapter 2 when she asks him to call her by her middle name. Since the official web page only gives "Sydney A. Bristow," I gave her a middle name for the story
Chapter Four: Dangers & Addictions"You realize, do you not, that the peak hours of sun exposure are when one is most susceptible to sunburns?" His amused tone brought a smile to her face as she shaded her eyes and tilted her face in the direction his voice had come from. "Mind if I sit?"
"Not in the least." He settled next to her on the blanket she'd spread on the sand. "Was there any particular reason for the reminder of the evils of sun worshipping?" She propped her head on her hand and looked at him while digging her feet into the warm sand.
"Well…" He looked around furtively, which made her laugh, and then triumphantly produced a bottle of sun block he'd hidden under his shirt. "As a lead-in to seeing if I could use this for its proper use."
Sydney couldn't help it. She dissolved into giggles. He was cute when he was trying to reach out and make connections with her, because endearingly enough he didn't seem to have much experience dealing with people on a personal level.
It was day twenty-seven, a day short of two weeks since that late night encounter. Slowly, but surely, the walls of self-defense began to inch down as they became more comfortable with each other. On the mornings when Sydney woke early to run on the beach, she found him already stretching on the firmly packed damp sand. By default, they'd settled into a schedule of eating together. When it suited their moods, they settled into the library at night to read their respective books in a companionable silence. But mostly, they'd begun to probe into each other's lives. Sometimes, it was a game of twenty questions, or a general philosophical debate. Other times, there were shared memories or stories.
There was just one thing she hadn't yet asked him. She wasn't quite sure if she really wanted to know the truth behind it, or if there was even a definitive answer. Ultimately, she was afraid that the answer would strike too close to home. Maybe tonight she would ask. Maybe not. For now, she just answered the unspoken question he'd posed and let him have creative license with the bottle of sun block, because she had, after all, forgotten to put it on.
Sydney mumbled something along the lines of "Do as you wish" as she sleepily burrowed her face back into the T-shirt she was using as a pillow. The cool drizzle of sunscreen on her sun-warmed skin was startling, but it was the immediate touch of his hands that followed as he massaged the lotion onto her back that more than made up for it. A tiny moan of pleasure escaped as his fingers worked her spine, moving in broader circles as he moved towards her shoulders. One thing she knew for certain—Ethan McMillan could make a killer of a career out of his hands.
Then again, didn't he do that already?
Sydney immediately dismissed the unwelcome taunting of her mind. She was trying so hard to forget his outside persona, the image he wore for her mother, instead trying to concentrate on him as a person. Concentrate on him being Ethan, someone who could be a friend in these odd circumstances, because she could understand better than most what it was to live a lie. Assuming, of course, that he was. And that the person she was coming to know bit by bit wasn't just another persona.
Ethan interrupted what were quickly becoming seriously deranged and unsettling thoughts with a question. "So… any special requests I should place with Maria for dinner?"
Maria and Leonardo were the elderly caretakers of the house and island, living on the island year round. Sydney couldn't figure out if they were there for the solitude, were being blackmailed into taking care of the place, were there as a personal favor, or were being heavily recompensed with money they'd never have the chance to spend. She couldn't imagine the sweet old couple having some deep, dark secret to hide. But then, one just never knew, did they?
"Pickles," she mumbled in answer to his question. He got suspicious when she disappeared into her thoughts.
"What was that, Amanda? I seem to have massaged you into an incoherent puddle. Again," he teased.
Sydney could hear the laughter in his words and cracked open an eye to glare at him. He'd stopped the glorious massage to lie on his back next to her. "Pickles," she repeated slowly and clearly, trying purposely to make it sound as if she thought he was daft for not being able to decipher Sydney-mumble when he spoke something like 8 languages fluently. But she also knew full well she'd been unintelligible, and this was all just a game. It eased the tension, made living life here easier.
Ethan sighed a long, drawn out sigh, indicating that he too was playing his part. "Amanda, Amanda… must I remind you that you finished off all the pickles a full six days ago, only hours after the food had even arrived?"
Sydney propped herself on her elbows and pouted prettily in his direction. She figured she should feel some guilt for having eaten them all so fast, but she'd always had a weakness for them. It didn't matter what kind—all pickles were good. "But…" she whined.
"Tomorrow, love. Tomorrow. I made sure to request crates full of the things, but until then you'll just have to eat your vegetables." He tried to give a pointedly chastising look, but a brilliant half smile emerged instead as her pout grew deeper. "Although," he teased, breaking off in a way that let her know he had something up his sleeve.
She immediately sat up all the way, propping her sunglasses on top of her head. "What? Tell me, tell me!" she begged eagerly.
"Well, you see, I did manage to put a few cans of tuna into hiding before you ate them all… and I'm hoping that offering them now in place of the pickles will serve as an acceptable replacement for my oversight in not ordering 'adequate' pickles for Her Majesty of the Island last week."
"Tuna!?" she squeaked. "You've been hiding tuna from me! Ethan!" Sydney swatted him on his bare stomach before he could turn away. "Traitor! Where'd you hide it?" she demanded, trying hard not to laugh at the wounded expression on his face. "Hey, you asked for it!" she exclaimed in self-defense.
"Kill me now and you'll never find out where it is," he teasingly threatened.
Her pout returned in full force, and Sydney widened her eyes innocently and batted her eyelashes at him. "Puh-lease!!!" She pulled out all the stops, scooting closer, pushing her bottom lip out, drawing out the word in a tone that mixed whining, begging, and sex-kittenish teasing.
He finally had to cave, the tough, hard look on his face broken by laughter. "Really, truly not hard to see why you're so good at your day job. I think you'd be able to talk a dead man into waltzing with you should you ever try."
Sydney clapped her hands in glee. "Now?" she asked hopefully.
"Positively not. Dinner," he emphasized. "You know, that meal where you're actually supposed to have a salad, main course, vegetable, bread and starch? Not the meal where we throw peas at the guys with guns and ask for a peanut butter sandwich instead of steak."
"You're no fun," she pouted, mumbling "Traitor" under her breath as she flopped onto her back. Time to tan the front again, seeing as how dinnertime wasn't any time soon. She settled into a comfortable position, her legs and arms sprawled in all directions and sunglasses firmly in place on her face.
This time, she really wasn't expecting the cold drizzle of sun block when it landed on her stomach. She squealed in protest, flying into a sitting position, and pulling her sunglasses up just enough that he could see the death glare she sent him. "Next time, warn me before you do that!"
He managed to have a completely innocent look on his face as he told her "Now, now… no need to get snarky or anything, Amanda." And then he just smiled.
She vowed to get even… and soon… when he least expected an attack. So she shot a haughty look at him, proceeding to ignore him as she rubbed the sun block into her skin. Then she laid down again, her sunglasses in place once more, and pretended that he ceased to exist. Well, at least until the tuna showed up on her dinner plate at least.
**********
Sydney gave Leonardo a gracious smile as he pushed her chair in as she sat down at the dining room table. Since he'd made a point of joining her for her meals, Ethan normally arrived before her so he could seat her and make sure his choice of wine for the night was to her liking. Normally it was, considering he was much more of a wine connoisseur than she. Sometimes, it was all too apparent to Sydney that he tried too hard to normalize himself and their surroundings. She knew he was doing it to change her perceptions—most of the time he succeeded. No need to let him know that flat out, though.
Sydney heard his voice coming from the hallway that connected the dining room and kitchen. Sure enough, the swinging door opened and he held it so that Maria could pass by with the cumbersome food cart. She nodded her thanks and he smiled at her.
That smile always caught Sydney off guard. He was usually so serious, and that beautiful smile just changed everything.
Sydney eyed the cart next to her suspiciously as Maria quietly slipped from the room and Ethan let the door close behind her. Before she could even open her mouth to ask about the food, he gave her a look telling her to be patient. Sydney tried to relax into her seat, but she was too suspicious. First, he wasn't there to greet her as usual, then Maria left without putting the dishes on the table, and now the prolonged silence. What else about their normal routine was going to change before the night was over?
"Wine?" he pleasantly asked, uncorking and offering a vintage red wine as he moved closer.
"Please." She picked up her wine glass and held it while he poured the standard half glass. "Thank you," she smiled and took a sip. Per usual, it was delicious. He turned to pour some into his own glass and Sydney's hand snuck towards the nearest food dish. Before she could even get a finger hooked under the cover, Ethan's foot pushed the cart out of reach. "Hey!" She figured she could express her indignation at being robbed since he'd obviously known her well enough to foil her plans. So much for being a stealthy spy.
"Wouldn't you rather keep the element of surprise, Amanda? Worried that I wouldn't keep my word about tuna for dinner?"
"Not exactly…" she trailed off in reply. He eyed her in disbelief as he seated himself in his chair. "What? I just like knowing everything there is to know about my surroundings. Besides," she grinned, "I'd just have to kick your ass if you lied to me, so it's in your best interest not to provoke that."
"You could certainly try, Amanda. You could certainly try." He gave her a self-satisfied smirk that made her wonder what secrets he hid. "Besides, as the phrase goes, didn't curiosity kill the cat?"
Sydney shrugged. "Maybe that particular cat just that once. I tend towards being the slinky cat who was curious and still got away. Now, may we please eat? All the fun in the sun today has me particularly hungry tonight."
"Yes, we may eat now." He stood, picked a covered plate up in each hand and delivered one to each of their seats.
In great anticipation, Sydney made short order of the plate cover, squealing in delight at the pleasantly surprising sight that greeted her. There sat her favorite meal from when she was a young child—tator tots, a tuna burger, and fresh green beans from the garden. She looked up in shock. "I—how in the world did you know that?" Then it hit her—her mother. Of course. "Never mind. It still was very sweet. Really. Thank you." She gave him a huge smile, still blown away that he'd cared enough to surprise her like this. Even if it had involved the woman she hated in the plan and risking an unpleasant trip down memory lane. He smiled back, and their gazes held for a moment. Sydney broke what was quickly becoming an uncomfortably too intimate moment to see what he was having for dinner. She laughed when she discovered that his plate held what hers did.
Ethan shrugged. "What? Sometimes, one must try new foods, or run the risk of being bored by food." She smiled at him again, and then turned her attention to her plate.
They ate their meal in a comfortable silence, finishing off with strawberry shortcake for dessert, and then made their way into the library to finish the evening off with reading from their current book choices.
All in all, it had turned out to be a pleasant day. A surprising day, yes, but it had been comfortable and easy the way days were when one was adjusted to a new routine.
Author's Note: Read. Review. Make me happy, and I post chp 5 soon. hee