janie_tangerine: (lost jacob)
janie_tangerine ([personal profile] janie_tangerine) wrote2009-07-12 06:00 pm

fic, Lost: Let Time Stand Still (Jacob/Richard), PG13

Title: Let Time Stand Still
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Jacob/Richard
Words: 1138
Spoilers: heavy for the season five finale. Probably also in the summary.
Summary: After all, it's all about the island; it's about who gets to stay and who has to leave because it's too big for the two of them. For Richard, well, for Richard it's all about who stands in the end. In one case, things go on, in the other, not so much. After all, his destiny became Jacob's the day he woke on a beach after a shipwreck; there's no backing out now, and he doesn't even want to.
Disclaimer: nope, Lost isn't mine. NEWS!
A/N: for the most lovely Queen [livejournal.com profile] emiliglia at [livejournal.com profile] lostsquee who wanted S6 speculation. Er. I really wish I could have given you some nice reset scenario which I hadn't already written, but it didn't want to happen and, er, considering that what interested me most about Lost S5 were those two and it happened. I hope you like it! ♥ Using for [livejournal.com profile] 10_shakespeare, 'I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.' Title stolen from a random Jeff Buckley song which doesn't have a thing to do with this otherwise.

Richard tries not to hurry; that wouldn't really do. Not now.

He takes a breath, hoping that people don't notice his absence long enough for him to reach his destination; that's why he wants to run, but it really wouldn't do, not now, not when if someone discovers him (John Locke especially, or what is pretending to be John Locke) there would really be some trouble. He shakes his head, then speeds up just a bit. When he casts glances behind him, the path he came from is empty. Good. He's far enough now; people probably already noticed that he sneaked away in the confusion, but no one will reach him before he arrives.

He gets to what the crash survivors referred to as the caves in another twenty minutes, more or less; they're abandoned, but there's still some trace of their passage. Some clothes, plastic bottles, a random bag, a diary. Any other day he'd have picked them up; not this one. He quickly gets into one specific cave, walks for maybe twenty second and reaches an inside waterfall; then goes forward, gets through the cascade and finds himself in another cave, separated from the rest.

There's a fire in a corner, and Jacob is sitting near there. There's a noticeable spot of blood on his shirt, but it's dried and he doesn't movie like he's wounded. Richard knows there should be a rip too, but as far as he sees the cloth is in perfect conditions, blood excluded. Richard wordlessly comes forward and sits in front of him, hoping that the fire helps drying him soon.

"Did it work?" Jacob asks, calmly, like it was just common business. Richard shrugs and raises his head.

"If you mean, does everyone think you're dead, then it did. Did you really need to go through... that, though? Didn't it hurt?"

"That was a projection. It might have, but nothing I can't bear. He should know better than thinking it'd be so easy, but let him believe what he wants for now. They need to believe I'm dead, for now."

"Well, I won't be the one questioning your decisions," Richard says, feeling slightly warmer and way less drenched. "It's not my place to."

"You know you're welcome to share doubts, if you have them. No one wants an advisor who doesn't speak his mind."

It isn't the first time Richard hears this and it probably won't be the last, and he keeps his face as neutral as possible.

"You know I never said I was one. And since I've known you, there never was a decision you took which wasn't the right one, in the short run or long one. I can't see why I should start questioning now. If you believe that this is the right course of action, then... then I will follow it."

As always, is unsaid. Jacob nods, but he still doesn't look satisfied and Richard doesn't drop his stare just on principle.

"There's something on your mind, though."

"No. I just... I'm glad I didn't have to see it. I might have blown the cover up."

It's a lie, and Richard knows that Jacob knows. He's thankful when Jacob lets it drop, though.

"Anyway. Before I left, Ben said you said something about them coming. You mean that..."

"The people you helped with the bomb thirty years ago, yes."

"They're... they survived?"

No answer. Just a tiny smile and a hand reaching closer to the flames. Richard is about to ask why didn't he ever tell when he realizes he should have known. After all, if he brought Juliet Burke to the island in 2001, she can't have died in 1977. And if everyone else was from the plane crash they couldn't have possibly died thirty years before.

"Right. And then?"

"And then it'll be time to end things once and for all."

Richard nods, knowing what it means. After all, it's all about the island; it's about who gets to stay and who has to leave because it's too big for the two of them. For Richard, well, for Richard it's all about who stands in the end. In one case, things go on, in the other, not so much. After all, his destiny became Jacob's the day he woke on a beach after a shipwreck; there's no backing out now, and he doesn't even want to. If it implies a cheat like this one was, so it shall be.

"Will you stay here?" Richard asks, his hands and clothes dried by this point. Jacob nods, his hand retreating. Richard unconsciously breathes out in relief. Too close to the fire, and he hasn't even witnessed it. But he can't help it; even if he hasn't been human (or at least not completely, in some ways he still is) for almost two centuries, he hasn't lost all of his humanity and, to be honest, he hopes he never does lose it. That's what makes Richard different from Jacob and him, but he wouldn't ever renounce it, inconvenient as it might be. He raises his head again, looking straight in front of him; Jacob's eyes are blue and clear and shine with something inhuman, but it's alright; it's the way it is. Richard wordlessly stands up and goes to sit next to Jacob on the opposite site of the fire; a hand which was still over Jacob's knee suddenly places itself over Richard's and Richard breathes out, his face not showing a reaction on the outside. It doesn't matter; he thinks that Jacob can actually feel how grateful he feels right now.

"I will until it becomes dangerous. In case, you will know where I am. Remember, not a word until it's time."

Richard nods and turns his attention from the fire. Jacob's lips are turned into the barest hint of a smile and Richard just waits.

"They'll be here soon."

"Alright."

"You will meet them before they can."

"And then it starts?"

"Then it starts. But don't go just now. There's still some time to spare."

Yes, Richard mouths, and then lips press against his and a hand grips the back of his neck; Richard shivers, reminders of a first time doing this floating through his head, a first time when the kiss had been a mean and maybe nothing more, or maybe not. There's something unique about this, about the taste and how it feels and about Jacob as a whole, but that's just the point. After all, Richard did lose himself to this too much time ago to count. There's time, he thinks as his hands' grip on the white cloth of Jacob's shirt gets a bit too tight, and he doesn't pay a thought to the blood staining it. There's time, and if it ends the right way, there always will be.

End.

[identity profile] lostpuffin.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 04:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Interesting. And brings back all the many questions in my own head about what Richard's role in all this really is, and how much does he know, and how much is he just following directions, and... and...
anyway, this was good. :)

After all, it's all about the island; it's about who gets to stay and who has to leave because it's too big for the two of them.
Hmmmmm. :D
siluria: (Lost_Richard glasses)

[personal profile] siluria 2009-07-12 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooooooooooh *ponders* Well this definitely makes you think (and the thought of Jacob and Richard is also a little hot ;). Very nice!!

[identity profile] toestastegood.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 07:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Ha, if only Richard/Jacob kisses were what was really in store for us with S6! ;) I find that whole branch of the mythology to be so interesting, Jacob and his human pet friend. The thought of Jacob's death being planned and a total fake-out is so Lost! And, aww, the two of them grabbing a kiss in what little spare time they have is unexpectedly sad and adorable. ♥

[identity profile] ozmissage.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)
This was wonderful! It has this wonderful sense of foreboding, like something is coming just around the corner, but you don't know what it is. It made me feel a little anxious.

Oh, and Richard is spot on. You balanced that mix of humanity and other-worldliness that makes him such an interesting character perfectly.

Awesome fic!

[identity profile] wandaxmaximoff.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Awesome story. I think this is the first Richard pairing I've found and liked/ made sense of (because, with anyone else, Richard's 'other-worldliness' makes it hard to imagine him with a mere mortal).

I LOVED the idea that Jacob projected himself to fake his death and give his side enough time before fakeLocke finds out, so that the Losties can arrive in the current timeline.

However, one line didn't ring true for me.

After all, if he brought Juliet Burke to the island in 2001, she can't have died in 1977. And if everyone else was from the plane crash they couldn't have possibly died thirty years before.

It was my understanding - after watching Some Like it Hoth and The Variable - that the Losties could indeed die in 1977, but still be able to come to the island in 2004, because the crash is their past and the events from season five/ 1977 is their present.

Aside from that though, I thought you did a wonderful job with this story. The characterization of both Richard and Jacob was perfect. Your use of language and description really set up the scene and the tension/ forboding of it. Plus, the Richard/ Jacob kiss at the end was SO hot!!

Great job!!

~ Wanda

[identity profile] slybrunette.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
This is very thought provoking, and, well, intriguing, since Jacob/Richard has certain been catching my attention more and more as of late. Wonderful work!

[identity profile] bittersweet325.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
I really liked this story :) I'm really starting to love the idea of Jacob/Richard.

[identity profile] valhalla37.livejournal.com 2009-07-13 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Oooooh, I love your interpretation of Richard here, and his role in what's going on. And your Jacob! *hearts* Mysterious and ambiguous and totally intriguing.

Oh! And the ending -- There's time, he thinks as his hands' grip on the white cloth of Jacob's shirt gets a bit too tight, and he doesn't pay a thought to the blood staining it. There's time, and if it ends the right way, there always will be. -- just incredible. Hits all the perfect notes.

[identity profile] tellshannon815.livejournal.com 2009-07-13 09:38 pm (UTC)(link)
I can totally see this - I'd always imagined Jacob as someone who couldn't easily be killed, before he appeared, thinking about Richard's involvement in the whole thing tends to make my head hurt at times, but this works!

[identity profile] alliecat8.livejournal.com 2009-07-14 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm really starting to get into the idea of Richard/Jacob. I have no idea what's going on between the two of them in canon, but this was a fascinating glimpse at the possibilities. I hope you write more of these two. Great job!

(Now I really need to get a Richard and a Jacob icon!)

[identity profile] zelda-zee.livejournal.com 2009-07-15 09:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Oooh, I like! Interesting relationship you built between these two, very intense and intimate. It fits very well with canon, if only we would get these two kissing, then I would be sure to love S6!

[identity profile] elliotsmelliot.livejournal.com 2009-07-19 08:23 pm (UTC)(link)
This is such a provocative start! I love the idea of there will always been some time to spare for them. It was incredibly sexy for such a plotty fic!

[identity profile] emiliglia.livejournal.com 2009-08-28 11:06 am (UTC)(link)
Ooooh, I liked this! Another take on the prompt I left that was completely different and something that I hadn't thought about. Everything that's happened so far seems to be intentional because of Jacob, so why wouldn't this? Loved it, hun!

[identity profile] acrimonyastraea.livejournal.com 2010-02-12 09:59 pm (UTC)(link)
I only just found this fic based on someone's recommendation. I think it's the first Lost fanfic I've read! I've been watching from the beginning, just never got into fanfic.

Anyway, I loved this so much. It makes perfect sense for the two of them and the end is hot.