Infinite thanks to cherithcutestory2 who beta-ed me so wonderfully. That cannot be said enough! This is, well, sort of A/U, since it never happened on the show. I dislike going against canon, but this idea just wouldn't leave me. It's a two-parter. Usual disclaimers apply and of course R&Rs are much appreciated.
As Annie walked through the doors of that bar, her heart began pounding. Every systole felt like a drum beat that was getting louder and louder. She paced gracefully, like a seasoned fashion model on the catwalk, wearing her newest treasure: a pair of nude stilettos that made her feel invincible. Feminine. A monad. She needed to feel invincible; she needed every little crutch to help her feel that way to be able to survive the evening. She knitted her eyebrows, looking down, hips swaying, a hand tucking a rebel strand of hair. She was an actress trying to get in character for the next scene. Ironically, she had chosen a yellow dress for the occasion. Yellow. The color of jealousy.
As Annie walked through the doors of that bar, she knew for a fact that she was never going to be able to sit across him again at a table here and not think about this moment. Their sanctuary was forever compromised.
As Annie walked through the doors of that bar, she straightened up, readjusted her ponytail and put on her best smile. Deception techniques would come in handy this evening, as she understood that this was merely the second step of a series of events that would change her life. He was getting married, but not to her.
She spotted him at a table way in the back, gently holding a small hand in his, fingers intertwined. Protective and loving. He would never hold her hand like that. As she strode towards them, she took in the whole scene, her eyes shifting from him to her. Long wavy hair, young, innocent. Not tainted by the daily routines of a job too dangerous. As the distance between her and them grew smaller and smaller, the distance between her and him grew bigger.
"Hi," she offered, stopping abruptly right next to the table, waiting for Auggie's next move. His face lit up as he looked in her general direction. Making sense of the darkness had become a thing and she loved watching his features change as he put a name to a voice.
He stood up and opened his arms for an embrace. Annie had fooled herself once or twice into thinking that him greeting her like that meant more than friendship. That thought would never occur to her again.
"Annie Walker, you finally made it. I had almost given up on you," he greeted, standing.
It's OK. I've given up on you. We would've been even then.
Auggie took a deep breath. This was it. "Annie, this-" he started, his right hand moving across the table, locating Parker's soft fingers, using the techniques he never thought he'd memorize during his first week in rehab, "-is Parker."
He presented his conquest so proudly.
Parker stood up as well, smiling coyly, probably intimidated by the fact that Annie was the first person in Auggie's life she had gotten to meet.
"Very glad to meet you," the younger woman said as she stretched her right hand, silently wondering whether Auggie and Annie's paychecks were signed by the same employer.
Annie mentally congratulated herself again on her decision to wear such high heels, allowing her to look the much-taller Parker in the eye.
"I'm Annie." She shook Parker's hand, oozing confidence. "Sorry I'm late, I had a thing."
"Yeah, yeah," Auggie waved his hand dismissively. "I'm just glad you're here because Parker-" he said, as he turned to face his girlfriend "-thought you only existed in my head"
Parker rolled her eyes, smiling. "I did not. It's just that Auggie doesn't talk much about his friends. So when he started telling me about you and insisting that we meet…I was just a little taken by surprise."
Parker had been even more surprised when she had found out just a few days before the big event that the "friend" he kept insisting she meet wasn't a man.
"Well yeah, but you've been in Eritrea with the Peace Corps for a while," Annie interrupted her, waving for the waitress.
Annie felt Parker's eyes on her and recognized on the brunette's face a questioning look. Parker was definitely suspecting something; she was becoming restless.
"Wow. You seem to know so much about me, while I don't even know your last name."
After Parker's last remark, Annie looked at Auggie for a second, trying to figure out whether he'd read in his fiancée yet. She decided to go with the safe scenario and assume he hadn't.
"It's Walker," Auggie interrupted, very matter-of-factly, softly squeezing Parker's left hand. It was his way of saying that he was going to be open with her from now on, that he was going to share what tidbits he could.
Parker was attractive, Annie couldn't deny that. And she had an aura of sorts that obviously awakened in Auggie all those overprotective feelings he longed to bring to the surface. As Annie and Parker sat face to face, the stark contrast between them became palpable. Annie's elegant and sure moves, her confidence, her smile and expensive clothing: they were a mask under which she hid what was left of her heart. And while she was broken, Parker had all the reasons in the world to be the most powerful opposite the blonde spy had ever sat across from. Yet, her voice and gestures betrayed her utter lack of confidence. How could she be so unsure when she was holding such a strong man's heart?
Their topics of conversation pinballed through all the safe routes. The Peace Corps, what made Parker join, Annie's fabulous shoes and where did she get those nails done? Until the young and innocent one had to take a bathroom break.
As soon as Parker was out of the picture, Annie's Venetian mask fell to the ground, allowing her face to wear the heartbreak. She took a deep breath to steady her voice enough to be able to answer Auggie's question: "So, what do you think?"
Annie thought for a moment about cracking some jokes about a huge birthmark, bulging eyes or terrifying nostrils, but as she looked at him, she saw on his face a longing for normalcy, for a real life. So she told him the truth.
"She's perfect!"
Auggie let out a deep breath.
"You know," he said, taking another sip of his beer, "I expected better material out of you."
"What do you mean?" she almost whispered, smiling so broadly she was sure he could hear it in her voice. She should stop flirting; he was going to be a married man.
"I mean you caved at the first question. She's perfect," he mimicked her.
"Well, blind jokes are really starting to get old, you know. You should think about changing your repertoire."
"Oh, har. Maybe I should just get newer friends."
They both leaned over the table as Auggie started answering her questions – mostly silly and asked as a joke – about Somali pirates and jumping off rooftops. Annie felt her whole body pulling closer to his, an outer force she didn't seem to be able to control. She finally had to pull back a bit, straighten up in her chair. She felt like Zeno had thought of her when he penned the dichotomy paradox: she could never fully conquer the distance between them, always an infinite number of halves keeping them apart.
Parker emerged from the bathroom, as pensive as she always seemed to be in the weeks since getting back from Eritrea, playing unconsciously with her pearl ring and taking mental inventories. And as she watched Annie and Auggie, all lost in their conversation, she found another item she had to add to her "Why Not to Marry Auggie" list. She would never be able to look at him like that.
Parker found her way back next to Auggie and firmly took his hand in a gesture of possessiveness, all the while never breaking eye contact with Annie. Parker didn't know what she had just witnessed—she still had a myriad of questions about Auggie's life-but until that list was complete, she didn't want to let go of his hand.
"Oh no, you have to go?" Parker feigned regret as Annie's phone rang, someone asking for her assistance.
What a bad, bad spy she'd be.
"I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to do this again" Auggie stated, believing wholeheartedly in his words.
As soon as Annie walked out that door, Parker felt entitled to ask the question that had been on the tip of her tongue ever since she'd found out about this evening.
"So do you two work together?"
Parker watched as he navigated the table, finding her hand, then using it to guide him to her lips. He kissed her softly, then placed another kiss on her forehead.
"I'm not saying we do, but you can't ask me this question about everyone I have in my life," he whispered in her ear.
After he'd paid, they both stood up and Parker took the sighted guide position, as he'd taught her. And as she helped him navigate the tables and chairs, she caught their reflection in a big mirror near the door. This was going to be her life now: leading a blind husband through a life that was as dark for her as it literally was for him.