Spoilers: None really, but let's say up to Exodus part II to be safe.
A/N: Okay I wrote this a million years ago as a part of a longer series of one shots that were all Charlie/Claire centric but I didn't have them finished by the time Claire actually came back and well, long story short, I picked out some of the less plot orientated ones and set about tweeking them. This is one. Claire PoV, set some time after Exodus.
Read, review, let me know what you think.
He kisses her in the dark while Aaron sleeps in his crib by her side.
His fingers slip into her hair, calloused against the nape of her neck. She can feel the frayed edges of his bandaged fingers tickle her skin as his thumb fans across her cheekbone. His hands are restless, touching all of her, fingers reverent.
If she were in her proper mind she might even think he was committing her to memory.
He kisses her and holds her, like a drowning man clings to a piece of driftwood. Her own hands curl around his shoulders, keeping her grounded while the warmth of his body envelopes her, a safety blanket; the sort she thought couldn't exist on the island.
Claire kisses him and finds herself believing everything might truly be all right in the end, that Charlie will keep them safe, for no other reason than because he promised he would. Nothing can harm her or Aaron while he watches over them.
But the thought shatters when her fingers touch the scar around his neck, almost invisible, yet distinct beneath her touch. The vision slams into her, pushing the air out of her lungs, making her choke on a sob and her eyes flood. She sees him handing, hears the vines being pulled taunt, the sound echoing in the heavy air of the clearing, their private jungle mausoleum. The sputtering sound her name spilling from his contorted mouth as Ethan chuckled near her ear…
"I'm sorry." She whispers against his lips, "I'm sorry, Charlie." Again and again, his name and her apology, all her words muddled together as her lips press against his cheeks, his eyelids, his throat, every kiss tasting of the tears that fall from her eyes.
'I love you' she thinks desperately and its then that he tenses beneath her hands and it takes her a moment to realize she's crossed a line. It's all good for them to be close friends in the day and have him play unofficial-daddy with Aaron, to hold each other in their little corner of the caves in the dead of night but this, love, is too much.
She thinks she can hear her heart breaking behind her ribs, and she begins to pull away, retreat back to her son and her fear but he's captured her in his arms and pulled her flush against him.
He kisses her again, fiercely this time, his beard scratchy against her skin but she's beyond caring because it's his tears she taste now, mingling with her own.
He's branding her with his fingers, L-O-V-E traced down her spine, her arms, his fingers quick with each letter, making her shiver.
'Love' He whispers against her skin so many times she loses count far too quickly, flooded and overwhelmed by his outpour. Charlie pushes the picture from her mind, and all that remains in it's wake are his hands and his lips and love and trust and hope and him, alive, warm, her own.
She feels his fingers slip beneath the hem of her shirt, press against the small of her back and she isn't afraid. Nor is she afraid when she finds herself beneath him, his solid weight pinning her to the pile of blankets that make her bed.
The truth is Claire does not think she is capable of fear for the time being.
Not when there are kisses and breathy sighs and whispered promises and a secret only the night will know.
EndIf anyone thinks they'd be interested in reading the AU one-shot story let me know and I'll post it.