Title: Hot Child
Author: Lazuli
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Lost is owned by that glorious bastard, J.J. Abrams. Love you, sugarplum.
Summary: A mercilessly hot day on the island inspires Shannon Rutherford to "take a day off". Swims, laziness, and hanging around the men of the island seem like a perfect way to pass the time. More importantly, she wants to know why Sayid has been avoiding her…
Chapter Two
"…in The Caves"
The jungle hummed with life, leaves softly swaying in the breeze, the chatter of animals running like a nonstop soundtrack. Shielded from the heavy sun, the trees were thick with vegetation, showing no signs of growing barren due to the rapid picking of it's fruit. Everything had its place, which made the uneasy survivors feel like trespassers every time they dared step beyond the beach. It was almost as if a stern eye had suddenly been cast upon them, making them feel watched and exposed. It was an uncomfortable feeling for most.
For Shannon, however, it was a bunch on green stuff that would occasionally fall down her shirt. Unlike the others, she had absolutely no problem stomping through the great green beyond, mashing whatever got in her way. It wasn't any different from fighting her way through a crowd in order to get to a bar, just a lot less quiet. Swinging her pink purse, she wrapped the shawl Sun had graciously lent her even tighter around her shoulders to protect against the harsh branches. Sometimes it worked-
"OW! JESUS!"
Sometimes it didn't.
She stopped and examined one of her legs. A branch had swiped across her path and scraped across her kneecap, leaving a slightly bloody scratch. Nothing serious, just incredibly unattractive. Sticking her finger in her mouth, she used her spit to wipe away some of the blood, as Sun would most likely kill her if even a drop of blood was found on the shawl. Shannon remained in that position for a few more moments, then straightened and looked at the sun.
"So hot," she sang under her breath, "soooo….hot," and continued on her way to the caves, "The RAPE Caves," she added disparagingly. Why Jack had even bothered to remain there was beyond her comprehension. After Claire had returned, he had insisted on doubling the watch so that nothing else would have a chance in harming the survivors. However, most everyone else had chosen to head for the caves. It seemed to her that Jack had taken this "Me Leader!" role far too seriously. He had yelled at her twice yesterday for going off on her own to search for fruit, to which she simply rolled her eyes, and then stuck her tongue out when he turned his back. No one had seen, except Walt, who giggled softly. She liked that kid.
Up ahead, she could hear Sawyer and Charlie cursing at each other at a hearty rate. After their united front dedicated to dunking Shannon, the two quickly dissolved back into taunting each other, their preferred curse words being either incredibly British, or ridiculously Southern.
"Slimy gut-throated cattle-jumpin'…"
"Bloody git of a wanker…" which made her laugh out loud, until she heard, "Don't think we won't come back there and give you a second helpin- of water in that pretty little face!" Increasing her pace, she caught up with the two other men, who looked at her in a bemused fashion. Sawyer rung his shirt out again, and slapped it over the shoulder of his bare chest.
"Poncy little model," Charlie muttered.
"And don't you forget it, Shorty."
Shannon's mouth quirked into a smile, "We should give you a nickname, Sawyer. Since you seem to freaking love doing it to us."
"I can think of a few," Charlie said, earning a glare from Sawyer.
"So can I," Boone added, falling into step with them, "Where the hell have you three been?"
"Didn't you hear, pretty boy?" Sawyer responded, lazily draping an arm around Shannon, who would have twisted it off had she not enjoyed the reddening of Boone's face, "Me and your little sis have been getting miiiiiiiighty acquainted down in the water."
"Oh, I don't know," Shannon said, "I'd say you and Charlie were getting along a lot better." Sawyer looked at her like she had told him she was really a man, and then looked at Charlie, who, with perfect timing, blew him a kiss.
"Okay," Boone said, glaring at both Shannon and Sawyer, "if you guys are done screwing around, I'd like to remind you that we have jobs to do. Just because it's a little hot out doesn't mean the three of you can go off doing whatever you damn feel like. Get back to the caves and help." And with that, he stalked off, leaving the aforementioned three looking annoyed.
"UGH," Shannon cried, exasperated, "Jackass."
"That one's taken," Sawyer reminded her.
"Bugger it, Shan," Charlie said, sticking his thumb in the direction Boone had left, "he's just sad because his master left on another hunting trip without him." The image of Boone as a yapping dog caused all three of them to laugh, and as Charlie slung an arm around her waist, they walked out of the foliage and into the clearing where the caves were.
Everyone looked up from their work to see the unlikely linked-and-laughing trio, poking fun at Boone and strutting towards the small group of Kate, Sayid, Jack, Michael, and Hurley. Claire was sound asleep against the back of the cave, her hand resting on a protective Vincent, crawled up in front of her. When he saw her, Charlie immediately quieted down.
"How is she?" he asked Jack, as he and his companions sat down to join the group. Jack scratched the back of his neck and looked back at her.
"She's fine, Charlie," he said, his voice weary, "I've checked on her every hour. She'll be okay." The younger man's face looked relieved, and barely kept his happy grin in check.
"We're trying to figure out the best way to hike up the island," Kate explained, tucking her hair behind her ear, "it's confusing, but we think we might have a plan, thanks to the maps that Sayid brought back with him." Shannon looked at him, excited.
"Did you find out anything else from those translations?" she asked. Look at me, a little voice desperately shouted in her head.
"I've just managed to draw some things into scale," he said quietly, not meeting her gaze. Shannon felt something in her stomach twist in disappointment. Again, he was avoiding her. She had made it clear to herself that today was the day in which she confronted him about his weird behavior, but getting him alone was proving to be harder than she thought. Plus, the way his eyes had grazed over her, hanging over two men laughing with her, had made her feel a little guilty.
You don't belong to him, she told herself, physically straightening her back to show she wasn't bothered by his coldness. Shannon tossed her hair, and focused in on what Michael was saying.
"…if we can possibly leave in a few days, with enough food and ammunition, we can last more than a week out there," he said, motioning to the jungle, "now, we know that this way…." Everyone strained to look at the small piece of paper he was referring to, "could be quicker thanks to the rocks. But if we travel by the beach, we can surpass some of those mountains." He leaned back to ponder the routes, "I like the beach way better."
Hurley disagreed, and pointed out faults in Michael's plan. The others joined, arguing over which path was better. Shannon looked at Sawyer, who was staring off into the distance with a faraway look in his eye. Noticing her looking at him, he turned to her and raised an eyebrow. She jerked her head towards the small pool and waved her hand like a fan in front of her face, feigning heat.
"Already?" he asked. Jack looked up.
"Already what?" Shannon stood up and in one motion, threw off Sun's shawl to reveal her bikini.
"We're leaving this Swiss Family Robison crap to you guys," she said. Everyone stared at her blankly. "Come ON!" Shannon gestured to the other people around the caves, who were one by one stopping what they were doing and either scooping water from the pool into their face, or resting underneath a tree.
"It's like 1000 degrees out, and you duds want to go hiking," she announced, pulling her hair back, "Well, I'm hot as hell, and I'm going swimming." Shannon reached over and pulled Kate up with her, "and you're coming with me. I refuse to be stuck with The Grabby-Hands Brothers."
"Man, she's right," Hurley complained, fanning himself with Boone's copy of Watership Down, "maybe we just need to take a break from all this."
"Right on," Shannon said, "Charlie, you coming with?" Charlie shook his head and made his way to the back of the cave to be with Claire, "Fine, Jack? Michael? Sawyer, I know you're up for it," the blonde man climbed to his feet.
"Ain't every day a man gets to enjoy the company of two lovely ladies such as yourselves," he said with a leer. Jack had initially declined, but at this statement, jumped up like a flash and announced he was in. Sawyer stopped smiling, but joined as the group made its way to the pool. Sayid remained crouched over the map, until a shadow obstructed his view.
"Now I know YOU have to be sick of maps," a teasing voice came gently. He looked up as Shannon sat down beside him. Strong, she reminded herself, be assertive. Sayid looked away.
"I need to read these designs," he said softly, keeping his head turned away from her. Shannon bit her lip.
"For Christ sakes, give it a rest! You've been working nonstop on this stuff. You NEED to take a break," she reached over and placed her hand on his arm. At her touch, his head jerked up. His dark brown eyes slowly connected with hers, and she felt her breath catch in her throat. Wow!, the little voice squealed. She had forgotten how it felt to be the subject of that unrelenting and intense stare, how it made her feel like a deer caught in the headlights, yet sent a pleasing shiver down to the small of her back. Shannon felt a bead of sweat start to collect on her forehead
"I really need to….do this," he answered in that delicious deep voice of his, the last word unintentionally ending in a sort of growl. Shannon's stomach twisted.
"Sayid…." She whispered. His eyes held hers. The bead of sweat languidly began trailing down her face. She felt it as if someone had poured a drop of hot tea on her cheek.
"It's really hot out," she rushed out. The bead had luxoriously seeped down the side of her chin and hesitated at her jaw.
"Yes," he said, his eyes now diverted to its progress, "It's very hot out." His jaw clenched as he saw that the sweat had begun to grow heavy with moisture, hanging tantalizingly off her perfect face.
I can't take this, Shannon thought frantically, I absolutely cannot take this. Heat began to pool in the pit of her stomach. He watched the bead. It grew heavier.
"We never talk," she said, licking her lips, trying to regain composure, "I haven't seen you in so long." She took a small breath and slowly tightened her grip on his arm. As he flinched, the bead fell, and he helplessly watched it land on the upper part of her breast.
"STICKS!" a voice slashed through the moment, "BACKUP IS REQUIRED!" As Shannon turned to look at Sawyer, who was currently being thrown into the water by both Hurley and an overenthusiastic Walt, Sayid sucked in a breath and reared to his feet. Shannon's head whipped back around, but he was quickly moving away from her. Her mouth dropped open in surprise at being abandoned the second time by the same man that morning. Hearing a noise, she turned to see Charlie staring, puzzled at her.
"What was that?" he asked, astonished. She could only shake her head.
End Chapter Two
Author notes: I'm having a lot of fun writing this story, and it's coming out at a quicker pace than I expected. The whole piece will probably be about five (snort) chapters long, so yeah…I'll be churning them out. For those who thought the Sawyer/Shannon/Charlie interaction was a little weird, I'll explain. Due to both their personalities, I find Shannon and Sawyer to be a lot alike. Also, me thinking about Josh Holloway equals Happiness. Therefore, it seems only fitting that they'd (somewhat) get along. As for Charlie, well, I just absolutely adore him, and wouldn't think twice about writing a fic with him jamming on a guitar with the Iron Giant to Phish songs. He's just that awesome. Next chapter will be in Sayid's POV. Pray that I don't spontaneously burst with lust as I try to write. crosses fingers R/R!
