Title: In Admiration - Part 27
Fandom: Lost
Characters: Jack Shephard, Boone Carlyle
Prompt: #39 Food
Author's Notes: Written for the LiveJournal community slash100 (underscore between "slash" and "100" – for some reason FFN deletes it)
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"I'm going to head down to the beach and see how Michael's doing with the raft," Jack was saying as he pulled on a clean shirt. Well, cleaner, he thought. Boone had spent the night again, not that Jack minded at all. The first night he had more or less forced Boone to stay, having been in no condition to walk back to the caves. Last night he just showed up and stayed, never asking, but Jack didn't question it either. He liked the way Boone looked first thing in the morning - bleary-eyed and hair all rumpled. "We could get your stuff and bring it back here."
Jack could hear Boone moving, so he turned away from where his bag leaned against the cave of the wall. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Boone sitting up, arms extended behind him to support his upper body. "Are you asking me to move in with you? As in your cave, this time, not the caves as a whole."
"I think you've already moved in and that you might want your things here as well."
"I've stayed two nights. That hardly counts as moving in. Besides, we're on an island. There aren't any rules about this sort of thing. Who said it was your cave? Maybe now it's my cave." Boone looked amused, while made Jack smile. With the constant drama of island life, Jack was finding his good moods very short-lived, but Boone always seemed to help. "It's still kinda early - you don't need to go see Michael now."
"That's true," Jack agreed, moving so he was crouching next to Boone, "but once I step outside there'll be at least ten people waiting with a stomach ache, scrape, or bug bite of some form. I'll need to deal with that before I can head down to the beach, and it usually takes an hour."
Jack felt shivers run down his spine when Boone's fingers splayed against the base of his skull, drawing him down for a slow kiss that gave Jack second thoughts about ever leaving the cave again. Jack was having a hard time keeping his balance in his crouching position, leaning down and forward to reach Boone. He had to grasp the hand of Boone's that was still propping him up against the ground, wrapping fingers around the younger man's wrist. If he hadn't, Jack was sure he would've fallen over when Boone sucked gently on his tongue. He felt Boone's hand moving down his neck and across his shoulder, down his arm to stop at the inside of Jack's elbow, lightly drawing circles around the tattoos found there.
With a sigh, Jack regretfully pulled away, understanding that if he didn't go soon, people would get impatient and start coming in on their own accord. "I really should get out there."
"Yeah, I know," Boone said, sitting up fully and stretching his arms as Jack stood, grabbing his backpack and easing it on his shoulders. "My boyfriend's a very important person around here."
Jack grinned at that. It had been the first time the term "boyfriend" had been used by either of them, and Jack liked the sound of it. "Are you going to come or sit in here all day?"
"I have to meet John. He, uh, thinks we're onto something."
"Boar?"
"No. Something else. Something…bigger."
Jack watched as Boone averted his gaze, blue eyes stopping where his sneakers sat on the ground. Jack wondered if Boone was avoiding the conversation or really was looking for his shoes. It wasn't that he didn't trust Boone. He just didn't trust Locke. Between the fish and the fruit, they had enough food to sustain everyone fairly comfortably. Going out into the jungle hunting everyday wasn't necessary, especially since they weren't bringing anything back. People also seemed to be forgetting about the polar bears and whatever the hell it was that had killed the pilot back when they'd first crashed.
"Stop it, Jack."
"Stop what?"
"Stop thinking about a way to talk me out of going." Boone's attention was still on his sneakers as he laced them up. "I need to do this."
"I don't trust Locke," Jack said honestly, hoping that the sincerity from him would draw some out of Boone. He needed to understand that their hunting wasn't needed even if John found it important.
Boone stood, combing his fingers through his hair in a gesture that Jack recognized as aggravation. "And he doesn't trust you. It gives me something to do, though, Jack. I don't like feeling useless, and I'm completely out of my element on this island."
Jack could see that Boone was silently pleading with him to drop the subject, which he did reluctantly. He could confront Locke about it later. Boone could make his own decisions, but John's faith in the island being part of something bigger than it appeared made Jack weary. "Just...be careful. We don't know what else could be out there."
"Hopefully a beach resort with gourmet dinners and a fully-stocked bar." Boone gathered his own bag, going over to where Jack stood inside the mouth of the cave, leaning up to give Jack a quick kiss before leaving. "I'll see you later." Jack watched Boone head in the opposite direction of the beach, and he was tempted to follow for a moment but realized he had responsibilities here he had to deal with.
He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the onslaught of people that were sure to approach when he stepped outside the cave. Jack was surprised when no one approached, so he filled some bottles to bring to the beach, and headed off to see the new raft Michael was working on.