Title: In Admiration - Part 21
Fandom: Lost
Characters: Jack Shephard, Boone Carlyle
Prompt: #31 Sunrise
Author's Notes: Written for the LiveJournal community slash100 (underscore between "slash" and "100" – for some reason FFN deletes it)
…………
It was a shame to Boone that the beach camp wasn't on the other side of the island where it faced east instead of west. He didn't think he'd ever been awake early enough to see the sun rise in his life, and now he was missing his chance. Oh well, he thought, at least it wasn't raining anymore.
"Why are you awake, loser?"
Boone blinked slowly, turning his head to look at Shannon. He was sitting on the beach, facing the ocean, sitting just far enough from the water so the waves couldn't reach him. Despite Shannon's words, her expression was soft, and Boone knew he shouldn't, but he felt bad for ignoring her the last few days. "I could ask you the same thing. I don't think I've ever seen you awake before noon."
"The caves are, like, drama central. No way in hell anyone is going to be able to sleep there." Boone had heard about Charlie killing Ethan. News seemed to travel quickly between the caves and the beach. He hadn't known they had access to guns on the island, but Boone figured that was how it was supposed to be. He knew Jack could be trusted. He also knew he was a little biased. "I bet Jack's pissed."
Boone noticed the amused grin. "Don't bait me."
Shannon pouted. "You can't humor me just a little?"
"Unlike you, Shannon," Boone smiled, "I do not kiss and tell."
She leaned down, shoving against his shoulder to push Boone into the sand. "All this time I thought I was wrong about Jack and that's why you were avoiding me!"
"Lying like that was a little bitchy."
"I don't think you're in any position to complain," Shannon laughed, but Boone could tell she was relieved. He thought it was nice that she had been genuinely worried about him. Boone couldn't remember the last time Shannon had been compassionate towards anyone, even him. She looked over her shoulder and then turned back towards him smiling. "I gotta go."
Boone turned to look in the direction Shannon had been to see Jack approaching, his posture telling Boone how exhausted he was. While Boone found it endearing that Jack worked so hard to make sure everyone was safe and healthy, it crossed a line when he didn't extend the same courtesy to himself. He looked around, noticing that Shannon was the only one in the vicinity who was awake, and she seemed to be heading back to the caves. As Jack got closer, Boone could see he wasn't happy at all.
"Can we go somewhere?" Jack asked, and Boone could see that he was a little more frazzled than usual. Boone stood, pressing his hand against Jack's chest.
"Are you hiding a boat on you?" Boone asked, glad to see the smile that drew out of Jack.
He felt Jack leaning into the touch. "I need to get away from everyone for a little bit."
"I think you need some sleep."
"I have a blanket in my bag."
An amused grin spread across Boone's face. "I'm dating a boy scout," he said, tone teasing. Boone ran his hand down Jack's chest and over his stomach, feeling the strong muscles underneath. He felt one of Jack's arms go across his shoulders, holding him close. Boone didn't want to move, but he could feel Jack swaying as he stood. "Okay, let's go."
They walked down the beach in silence, Boone watching Jack as they went along. He noticed that the backs of Jack's fingers were bruised, the skin over his knuckles broken in some places. He hoped it was dirt under Jack's fingernails and not dried blood. They walked for about fifteen minutes, and when Boone looked back, he couldn't even see the beach camp anymore.
"Maybe if we keep walking we'll find a beach resort," Boone said, half to get Jack to talk and half because he thought they were far enough. Jack didn't seem to be paying attention to their surroundings, and Boone didn't feel like walking all the way around the island. Jack stopped so suddenly that Boone walked into him, grabbing Jack's arm to regain his balance. "Yeah, here is good."
"Charlie killed him," Jack sighed, lowering the bag off his shoulder and unzipping the larger compartment. "Shot him six times in the chest before we could ask him anything."
Boone watched as Jack removed a decent sized blanket from the bag and spread it out over the sand. "It wasn't your fault. Charlie's...irrational."
"I tackled Ethan, dropped the gun. Charlie got it, shot Ethan."
"Charlie probably thought he was helping Claire. Ethan also hung him from a tree and left him for dead - I'd probably kill him too."
Jack's eyes leveled with Boone's, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips. "You would have slept through the whole thing."
Boone knew he was getting teased, and he knew he should be irritated, but he was glad that Jack was lightening up about the situation. Now Boone just needed to work on Jack's tendency to shoulder the blame for everything by himself. "Typical the one night I'm on sentry duty is the one night I'm not an insomniac."
Jack snorted. "And you tell me I need sleep." He kneeled on the blanket, reaching out and taking one of Boone's hands with his own, tugging him down onto the blanket with him. "Maybe we both need to catch up." Boone lowered himself in front of Jack, leaning forward to lightly caress his lips against Jack's. The kiss was gentle, caring, and despite its innocence, Boone found it unbelievably sexy.
"So you brought me out here to sleep with you."
Jack shrugged. "I came out here to get away. You're here because you're the only person I can stand to be around."
Boone smiled. "Thanks... I think."
"If you want to sleep, that's fine. If not, well," Jack paused, kissing Boone again, hands moving to find themselves on Boone's hips, "that's fine too."
"As tempting as that is," Boone said, leaving one hand twined with Jack's and bringing the other to cup his face, "I'm not up to fooling around with someone who is about to pass out on me."
"I'm not about to pass out on you," Jack said, giving an embarrassed grin as the last word stretched into a yawn. "All right, I am a little tired."
"You should sleep," Boone said, trying to be stern, but he was finding sleepy Jack utterly adorable. He watched Jack lie down across the blanket and let himself get pulled down next to him.
"Don't leave." Jack closed his eyes. "I like knowing you're safe."
Boone laid his head down, resting his chin against Jack's shoulder, and feeling Jack's body nestle closer into his. He hadn't realized how much the ordeal with Ethan had shaken Jack up. "I won't," he replied, not closing his eyes until he was sure Jack had fallen asleep.