I was thinking about the joke I made when I wrote Verbal Sparring about having a oneshot per episode. After seeing the most recent episode (South Bound Suarez) I was pretty sure I wasn't going to have anything interesting to write for it.

…Yeeeah, that lasted about 15 hours. XD

So, because I still have a few weeks left before classes start up again, I figure I can try to have one oneshot based specifically on a given episode per week. My muse is a fickle bitch, so eventually I will probably crap out on you guys, but I'm trying to get out as much as possible while I still can.

$4$

I want a moment to be real
Wanna touch things I don't feel
Wanna hold on and feel I belong
How can the world want me to change?
They're the ones that stay the same
They can't see me
'Cuz I'm still here

- "I'm Still Here," by Johnny Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls)

Throwing herself on the wooden bench, Annie glanced at the man sitting next to her out of the corner of her eye. "I feel like Joan would frown upon this if she knew," she murmured, brushing a few flyaways out her face and stripping out of her yellow peony.

"Why?" Auggie asked, a knowing smirk twisting his lips as he stared unseeingly out at the rapidly emptying field. "I happen to be listening to a friend play what I assume to be a rousing game of intramural soccer on a beautiful Sunday afternoon."

She snorted a little at that, slumping so she could rest the back of her head on the bench. "Despite the fact that I'm totally calling bullshit on that," she said slowly, feeling her breath even as she balled up her peony, "I guess it's okay because the mission's been over for a week and technically this doesn't count as field work."

He smiled a little wider but didn't say anything, so she added with a tiny smirk, "But this does still count as stalking."

"Stalking?" he repeated, letting out a low chuckle. "Now that definitely doesn't sound right."

"Dunno, this has been, what, like the 6th weekend in a row that you've shown up?" Annie said, running her fingers through her tousled hair in an attempt to slick back some of the loose strands. "That sounds like very stalker-ish behavior to me."

Auggie let out a small laugh, inclining his head toward her. "I'm pretty sure it can't qualify as stalking if you know I'm here and talk to me," he pointed out, fingertips drumming against the folded up cane on his thigh. "Plus, I have a feeling it's not easy to stalk someone when you're blind."

His grin had turned wry and more than a little bitter, so she pressed her hand over top his, squeezing gently. "This is going to sound messed up," she warned, sitting up straight and squeezing his hand again. "But despite how much I'd love to see you kicking ass at field work, I gotta say that I'm really happy I got to meet Auggie the tech nerd."

He was still smiling, but it seemed even more faded than before. "That's because you never got to meet Auggie the field operative."

Annie felt her heart twist with a pang at his matter-of-fact tone, but she resolved to not let it show through in her voice. "If Auggie the field operative was still around, I probably never would have met him," she said, a wistful smile crossing her face. "You would be off, helping people all around the world while I would be still at the Farm, or working behind a desk as one of Joan's secretaries."

"I'm happy I got to meet any Auggie at all."

Heavy silence passed between the two of them, but it was comfortable like always. She jumped a bit when he finally moved, his hand turning so his fingers were laced with hers. He squeezed her hand back, his usual grin slowly returning. "I'm happy I got to meet any Annie at all, too," he said quietly.

Grinning back, she rested her head on his shoulder. Screw pension and benefits, screw vacationing all across the world, what really made life in the CIA bearable was commiserating with a good friend.

$4$

Despite the lack of my typical smut-lite (as I've taken to calling it ;D) I really liked writing this 'cuz it was just funny and sweet and fluffy. I don't know what it is about CA that turns me into an even bigger sap than usual, but I gotta say I like it.

This was easily the shortest of all my oneshots, but I think this is one of my bests so far (The Other Woman is probably a close second). Hope you like it!