AN: I have mixed feelings about this piece. I love the idea behind, it, but I'm not a fan of my execution of that idea. This is actually my second attempt, and it did turn out better than the first, but I still don't really like it all that much. It just seems so abrupt. But, I thought I'd share it with you anyway. Hopefully you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: *snort* Yeah, right. No, I do not own Covert Affairs. And I only wish I owned Auggie. Jai can be his own owner.
Somehow, Annie doesn't realize that Jai and I are locked in a subtle battle.
At work, she misses the fact that he waits until I am around to tell her about the field work he is about to embark upon while I'm stuck here at headquarters. She doesn't notice the smirk on my lips when Joan stops to get my opinion on a topic, and completely ignores the fact that he is standing right there.
When the subject of family comes up, she listens to me wax eloquent about my brothers, and how even though the competition between us is fierce, at the end of the day we are still family, and still love each other. She is ignorant of the longing I know Jai feels for that kind of close relationship. When Jai speaks up about the Wilcox legacy at the CIA, and all the advantages he has gained from having Henry as a father, she doesn't see my frustration over the fact that I will never see another promotion.
But our biggest guns come out when we are fighting over Annie herself. She doesn't realize that he puts extra effort into his flirting when I am there to hear, and takes extra delight when she flirts back. She doesn't know that sometimes I create personal jokes between us just so that I can bring them up when he is around. She doesn't get that while I love the friendship that we have, what I really want is the romantic interest she shows towards him. She doesn't notice that Jai wants her trust, her friendship, not just the attraction and spark between them.
And so the battle rages, right under her nose. She doesn't suspect a thing.