[for Dale || Monday, Oct 2]

[more_flexible]

Showered and sated from the day at the beach, Jack left Eric and headed off to Dale's hut with a bounce in his step. He'd gotten some clarity, and not just from the sex. It was the intimacy and the friendship...and talking to River had gotten him thinking about things he hadn't thought he needed on the island. But maybe having a plan wasn't so bad.

But not tonight. Tonight he and Dale would drink some wine, play some cards, and hopefully had gotten all the deep, meaningful things out of the way so they could just have a nice night together.

Platonic life partners. Just the idea made Jack smile.

Comments

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"I don't think that matters much, to them," said Dale, studying his hand for a few moments before pulling a card. His hand didn't change no matter how long he stared at it. "And sometimes the magnitude of a thing matters less than what the thing is." He added a seven to his run and tossed a nine.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He looked at the nine, then his hand, then drew and dropped the queen like it burned.

"Yeah, I can see that. What do you think?" he asked as he took another drink, his lips lingering for amoment before he took another.

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"What do I think?" said Dale, pausing in his play for a moment. "I think you need to do what you need to do, and maybe only you know what that is."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"You're really good at that, you know?" he replied with a soft laugh. Laying his cards face down, Jack leaned forward with both elbows on the table.

"I think I need to live my life, have some fun, do the right thing as often as I can, and find something to do around here besides fuck," he said, abandoning the cards altogether. "Not that I don't like it...it's just not very productive."

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"That sounds," said Dale, laying his cards down as well, "like an excellent plan. Do you know what it is you might like to do around here?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Not really. No real call for a soldier or a spy," he said with a shrug. "I'll come up with something. Something besides carpentry."

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"Any thoughts on the subject at least?" Dale asked, with more than mere curiousity. "Anything you've always wanted to try out?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I like fixing things, but there isn't a whole lot of machinery around. I kind of thought...don't laugh. I like the kids. I kind of thought about signinguptoteach," he mumbled, taking another drink.

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"That sounds like a fine idea," said Dale immediately. "There's a lot more than the kids to teach around here, too. I always imagined the school here would end up something like a community college when we got it going: a little something for everyone, at every level.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack looked at Dale over the rim of his cup and was genuinely surprised. He didn't know what he expected, but certainly not a hands down endorsement from him.

"You really think so? I mean...right. I can offer more than just, you know," he said, becomming almost shy about it. "The Academy was pretty rigorous. I can do languages or mechanics or combat or history or...yeah."

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"I think that the population is in dire need of services such as those," he said, quite seriously. "It hasn't escaped my notice that a number of people are still strugging to find their place here, to find something to do with their time. You wouldn't just be finding something for yourself to do, you'd be doing them a service too."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He had an absolutely goofy grin as he took another sip and set the cup aside.

"I was sort of afraid that people wouldn't take me seriously, but I really think I can do it."

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"No reason for them not to take you seriously," said Dale, with a bit of a grin. "Lots of people around here are doing things they never did before. Hell, I was an FBI field agent and now I arrange housing for people, of all things."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Okay, yeah...I see your point," he laughed, then looked down at his cards. "Whose turn is it, anyhow?" he asked as he took up his cup again, not really caring one way or the other.

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"No idea," said Dale, though he knew it was his and was already reaching out to draw a card. "I thought the cards were just an excuse for the wine."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Does a fine wine like this need an excuse?" Jack laughed, looking at the bottle. "Wait, don't answer that."

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"It's probably better if I don't," said Dale, looking at the bottle a little fondly himself. "Though the other stuff really was worse, if you can believe it."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I can't wait to try the strawberry. Have you ever had strawberry wine?"

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"Not since high school," said Dale with a shake of his head. "In Angie Robinson's basement."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack raised an eyebrow and smirked, tapping his cards into a pile before leaving them on the table and leaning back.

"Angie Robinson and underage drinking? That has to be a good story."

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"Only as good as any story about two high school kids can be," said Dale with a laugh. "Back when getting to second base was a big deal."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Second base? What did that mean when you went to high school?"

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"Under the shirt," said Dale, shaking his head in amusement. "Third was into the pants, and after that was all the way. It was all so simple in high school; no one knew anything."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Whoa, okay," he laughed and polished off his wine. "I don't know that we ever deliniated things like that. It was dressed, naked, and caught."

[dale-cooper-fbi.livejournal.com]

"Where I come from, everything's got a baseball metaphor," said Dale with a laugh. "Especially sex."