radicalize | (no subject)

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ryan atwood

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When Lucy woke up to the sound of pouring rain, she'd sat around the treehouse, assuming that it would pass in an hour or two, tops. Only when it didn't show any signs of letting up -- around afternoon, she supposed, judging by the fact that she was starving -- did she start to worry a little, and by then, she couldn't wait any longer. She'd always known that there was some sense in keeping around the clothes she'd arrived in, though she hadn't thought she would ever wear them again; when she headed out of the treehouse, she had on her turtleneck and coat and scarf. It made her feel ridiculous, all those layers on what was usually a tropical island, but in the end, it turned out to be worth it.

It took longer than usual to get to Ryan's, and she was soaking wet when she got there, having had to cross practically the entire island to reach his hut. She'd known all those weeks ago that she ought to have gotten her own place, but no, she'd waited and wound up like this for her trouble. Brushing her wet hair back from her face, she knocked hard on his door with the other, practically praying he'd be there. There weren't many alternative places she could think of to stay, none half as comfortable as staying with Ryan, and she really did not want to be out in the rain any longer just then.

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"I would not have objected to doing that sooner," Ryan assured her seriously before giving a wry laugh, leaning forward just enough to kiss her shoulder. Now that they had, he didn't exactly have any objections. The rain continued battering down inside, but that just made him all the more comfortable where he was, lying on his side, a hand resting at her waist. He couldn't suppress a smile of his own and wouldn't have tried, lifting his head to look adoringly over at her. "And you are always, always welcome to stay. And not just for that, although I wouldn't say no."

While she'd stopped worrying about going too fast around the time he he had his hand under her shirt, it was reassuring to hear, almost vaguely bemusing, with as concerned as she'd been that she'd be pushing things. It had probably been silly to worry. Just then, she couldn't bring herself to feel anything but content, anyway. "Well, I'm clearly glad to be here either way," she replied with a smile that mirrored his. "Maybe this rain isn't such a bad thing after all." She found herself, for just a moment, hoping that it'd last a while, but pleased as she was, she was unable to think as far as what would happen when it stopped. All it would've been was a reason to leave his bed, anyway; with the way the day had gone so far, it had become more than fairly obvious that they weren't breaking up any time soon.

"I may have to change my mind about rain," he agreed. He'd never liked this kind of weather before, but this, he could get used to. "Maybe we'll just be stuck here a while." He gave a soft laugh at the idea, bringing his hand up to her cheek. In practice, it probably would have been pretty annoying, that happening, but right then, it seemed like a nice idea. He wouldn't have minded just spending a while right there with her, just them and no one else in the world. Sooner or later, he would have to move, check in on Marissa, give Summer a relief from what had to be difficult for her, but he was in no mind even to think of it then.

"I'm pretty sure I'd be okay with that," Lucy murmured, leaning in just enough that the tip of her nose could brush his. She was absolutely certain she'd be okay with that, in fact, but that was clear enough in the sound of her voice. Rain like this was a phenomenon she'd grown up with, but become unaccustomed to in her year on the island. She'd found it annoying, on her walk over. Now, she was nothing short of grateful for it. If walking miles in a storm led to them in bed like this, she'd do it any day at all, if only to feel like she did just then.

Ryan tipped his head forward to close the distance between them, fingers brushing over her cheek as he kissed her. Unlike before, there was no sense of urgency now, every move gentle, even tender. "Yeah?" He smiled, a little wry. "Just you and me, surviving in the wilderness. Probably starve to death or something, but it'd be fun for a while," he teased.

"I could always send you out hunting," she teased in return, the thought absurd enough that it was difficult not to laugh. "You could have, I don't know, a spear or something, and I could build a fire to cook over." Pausing, she crinkled her nose a little. "It'd have to be inside, because of the rain, but I think it might work." Really, she didn't know what she'd have done without the luxuries of the Compound, simple as many of them were. It was, at least in part, why she'd asked to stay with Ryan to begin with. What she'd gotten instead was definitely better.

"Yeah, and then we'd really starve," Ryan said, laughing. "That is not something we learn to do in Chino. We barely even have trees." Resting now with his head near hers, he slid his hand down to the small of her back. As often as they'd just spent time together, hanging out, there was something more intimate about this that went beyond sex. There'd been other girls before, but it had never been like this after, so relaxed, so content. It was something he could grow used to. "And I don't know, somehow I can't see you slaving away over a hot fire."

"Point," Lucy allowed, still grinning cheerfully despite keeping her voice low. "We'll just have to starve to death." Teasing or not, she really couldn't find it in her to move just yet. It wasn't exactly out of the ordinary for her -- she'd spent a summer content in Jude's bed back in New York, and another four months here -- but it felt like it was, with how long it had been. The two of them, Ryan and Jude, weren't even comparable, anyway. This was more relaxed, devoid of the underlying threat that Lucy had brought with her to Manhattan, and Ryan wasn't anything like the guy Jude had turned out to be.

His fingers traced varied circles over her skin, absentminded, and he seemed to consider the possibility of that death, nodding from one side to the other. Coming to a conclusion with a shrug, he said, "I can think of worse ways to go." Saying it, though, stirred a thought of just that - of how he hadn't -, and he kissed her again instead of letting that come to the surface. For once in his life, he felt, he deserved to be happy without interruptions, if only for a while. Someday they would move again and go out, back into the world, such as it was here, but right then, this was enough, more than enough.

Lucy could think of worse ways to go, too, but rather than letting herself dwell on that, a war in another world that it was hopeless to protest now, she just leaned into the kiss, preferring the contact to that line of thought. With as happy as she was, she didn't need to burden herself with thoughts of dead former boyfriends or the brother she wasn't speaking to. She'd never give up her fight, not really, but she had reason enough to settle herself down for a while, and that made all the difference.

"I could think of worse places to be in general," she mused, her hand lifting to run through his hair again, just for the sake of touching him more. It hardly even seemed right to let herself start thinking in that direction, though, so she leaned in to kiss him once more. What mattered was that they were there; it wasn't worth it to waste her time thinking about worse alternatives.

Shifting so he could move the arm he'd folded between them, Ryan reached up to cup her neck, slipping his hand higher up her back to draw her closer, kiss her deeper. That was all that really mattered for the moment. Everything else could come later. "Yeah," he murmured, leaning his forehead against hers, "but can you think of anywhere better?" That was the real test. At that moment, finding her lips for another kiss, he was drawing a blank.

His lips were on hers again before she had a chance to respond, but Lucy absolutely couldn't, and that was probably evident in the way returned the kiss, easily moving closer when prompted. Just then, she wouldn't have even gone home if she was able, a thought which would have startled her had she not been in Ryan's bed and kissing him. If only for a moment, there were no lives to save, no battles to fight; it was the two of them, the warmth of his skin and the rain outside, making everything else inconsequential. "Nowhere," she assured him when they broke the kiss, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth again. "Nowhere at all."

For a few moments, Ryan just looked at her, brushing hair back from her face, smiling back at her. "Yeah," he said. "Me neither." Summer had promised him a good future back in Newport, but it had been one he'd wanted to change. There was nothing about here and now that needed to be any different from what it was. He was at peace here in a way he couldn't remember being at home, not for a long time, maybe not ever.

"Good," Lucy replied, her smile widening a little as she continued looking at him, her thumb brushing over his skin when she rested her hand on his jaw. "Sounds like we're agreed, then." She didn't hesitate, then, before leaning in to kiss him again, if more briefly than the one preceding it. Probably it was in part because they'd waited so long to even kiss, and then longer still to wind up in bed together, but she wasn't backing off now. It might not have been justifiable as making up for lost time, but she could maintain the physical contact anyway.

With a hand in her hair, he drew her back toward him even as she came to him of her own accord. There couldn't possibly be an argument in the world to be made against this. They'd both waited long enough - not just for this, for each other, but for something decent to come along after so much had gone wrong for them both. Fingers pressing lightly against her skin, he leaned in to kiss her again, not yet ready to stop.

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