Sam and Dom, Sunday morning

[x-cannonball.livejournal.com]

Sam wakes up to find that Dom has already vacated the bed. So naturally he goes looking for her to figure out what the night before meant. Sam over-romanticizes things a bit, Dom doesn't. They eventually come to the conclusion that they had a good time, and that confession actually _is_ good for the soul.



Sam stretched sleepily as he struggled toward wakefulness. Normally, he probably would have been up with the dawn, but the late night and alcohol had combined to leave him sleeping in a bit more than usual. He sighed contentedly and pondered for a moment before opening his eyes. He imagined Domino wasn't anything like a morning person, and thus would still be sound asleep. Maybe he'd go bring her coffee. He assessed his slight headache and added aspirin to the list, in case Dom was a bit more hung over than him. Rolling over lightly, he got out of bed quietly and stood, looking down to find...nobody else in the bed. He frowned, confused. There was a definite dent in the second pillow, and when he leaned closer he could smell the mysterious scent of her, so it obviously hadn't been a dream...

Down the hall, back in the guest room where she really should have spent the night in the first place, Domino was just getting dressed, after having stepped out of the shower only a few minutes before. She had something of a headache, but no real hangover. Probably would be able to fake pleasantries at the breakfast table with Nate and Moira at this rate, too.

Sam stepped to the pile of clothes he and Domino had left the previous night, in Dom's search to find him something suitable to wear. His flannel, the one she'd slept in the previous night, lay draped negligently over the top, and Sam's frown deepened. Why had she gone and snuck off like that? Pulling on the flannel and a pair of jeans, Sam came to the conclusion that the best way to answer that question would be to find Domino.

Domino paused in front of the mirror, tucking her hair back behind her ears. Needed to get it cut - why hadn't she done that yet? The face that stared back at her was, on the whole, considerably less haggard-looking that it had been a couple of weeks ago. Not doing so good at gaining that weight back, though, are you? Ah, well. Given what was planned, she'd have Mina nagging at her on a regular basis about proper nutrition so it wouldn't take long.

It was a weekend morning, so the halls were rather empty and quiet, and Sam padded along on bare feet towards the guest rooms, figuring that was the most likely place Domino had gotten to. Reaching the room she was staying in, he rapped softly on the door.

Domino glanced at the door. "Come in," she said, carefully putting on a certain bracelet. She'd said rather woefully to Nathan about not wanting to relegate it to some drawer somewhere to dry up and finally crumble, and had been a little startled when it had disappeared for a few days. Only to return with a 'friend' - a laser-etched, obviously TK-molded duplicate in crystal.

Opening the door, Sam stepped in quietly, watching the way Domino bustled about the room, constantly in motion. "Hi," he said quietly, when she finally looked his way.

"Hey, Sam," she said casually.

Sam kept himself from wincing only by force of will. He had something of a premontion that this wasn't going to end well, that the vulnerable, almost girlish person he'd seen in Domino the night before was gone, hidden behind the walls that had come down oh-so-briefly to give him a tantalizing glimpse. "Packing?" he asked just as casually, indicating the open suitcase on her bed.

"Mm-hmm. Figured I'd head back into New York after breakfast, make myself useful. We'll be leaving at the beginning of the week for Africa, after all."

He'd rather suspected. Not that he'd thought she'd stick around for him in any way, but he'd hoped that the tentative connection of the night before might have meant something to Domino. He opened his mouth to continue the casual conversation, and abruptly found that he had no idea what to say. He couldn't maintain the facade of normalcy, but neither could he bring himself to ask Domino the hard questions he'd come to the room to ask.

Domino finished puttering around, then gave him a brief smile and moved past him in the direction of the door.

"So that's it?" Sam asked quietly, his back to Domino as she passed him. He looked out the window for a long moment, then turned to face Domino, his hands in his pockets.

Domino paused, looking back over her shoulder and raising an eyebrow. "What more were you expecting?" she asked, a note of wry humor in her voice. "'Thanks for the almost-fuck, I'll send you a Christmas card'?"

"Ah don't know what Ah was expectin'," Sam replied, unable to cover the wince this time, or keep a bitter note of disappointment out of his voice. "Ah met someone Ah was interested in gettin' ta know better last night," he continued, "but Ah ain't exactly sure where she went between last night an' this mornin'." He folded his arms across his chest, slightly defensively.

"Sam," Domino said very slowly, a dry edge to her voice, but peversely, a certain amount of kindness as well, "if we'd actually slept together, we might have something to talk about." Yeah, she would have been due a nice gut-wrenching conversation if she'd actually deflowered the innocent farmboy.

Sam supposed this was what being 'let down gently' felt like. In an odd sort of way, Domino's kindness made it hurt a little more. "Ah suppose you're right," he said, arms still wrapped around himself. "Ah suppose Ah was just over-romanticizin' whatever connection we had last night."

"Look," she said, turning to face him and playing idly with her bracelet. "We had a good time last night," she said candidly. "You got a chance to confess some things that I suspect you've been keeping inside for a little too long. I... got to relax a little and forget that ninety-eight percent of the time I have to be the ball-breaking bitch or I can't do my job. Setting everything else aside, wasn't that a good thing for both of us?"

The biggest problem _was_ setting everything else aside, though. Sam took a deep breath and paused for a moment, trying to relax. "Ah think so," he said, not quite sure. "Doesn't make any of this," he made a helpless small gesture with one hand, "any easier, though."

"Sam, I am not going to be your rebound not-really-a-relationship," Domino said with a sigh. "Setting aside the fact that I'm leaving for Africa in a day or two, I'm in love with someone else."

"You told me last night," Sam replied. "Guess Ah know how ta pick 'em, don't Ah?" he asked with a weak attempt at a smile.

Domino blinked. "Oh, don't tell me you fell in love with your object of pining when she was already in love with someone else?" she asked gently. "... yeah, Guthrie, I guess you can pick them, then."

"Well, no. Actually, Ah was dumb enough to screw up a good thing when Ah had it. _Now_ she's in love with someone else," he said levelly. "Kinda worse, all things considered."

"Regrets suck," Domino said, not quite lightly. "Unfortunately we all have to live with them."

"They really do," Sam said. "An' Ah ain't been doin' the best job at livin' with mine, myself. Been too busy pinin' away after Alison to be livin' my own life," he continued, not even really aware that he'd mentioned who exactly it was he'd been pining after.

Domino didn't so much as blink. "Well," she said simply, reaching up and patting his cheek. "Stop. You've got entirely too much life to live to waste it regretting the past."

Sam chuckled a bit. "Yes'm," he said quietly. "It don't help that she's taken up with the person in the mansion Ah get on with least, though," he said with a shrug. "But anyways, you're right. Need ta stop regrettin' the past." As hard as it was to change the subject and stay casual with Domino, he did his best to smile more naturally. "So, ya need any help packin'?" he asked.

Domino tossed off a sunny smile. "I travel light," she said.