This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic, just something that came to me after watching the Season 2 finale the other day. I hope it's not too OOC. I'm working on more chapters. Chapter 2 will probably be up tomorrow, after that I'll try to update at least once a week. I also have a couple of other stories in the works, but they're not in a state I'm happy with just yet.
Also, I'm Norwegian, English is not my 1st language and I don't have a beta reader, so I apologize for grammatical mistakes, bad spelling and other errors that might occur, although I have done my best to avoid it, using spell- and grammar check in Word and reading through it several times before publishing.
PLEASE REVIEW! Constructive criticism is always welcomed :)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Covert Affairs. It belongs to the USA Network and Auggie and Annie belong to the awsome Christopher Gorham and Piper Perabo.
-Chapter 1: Auggie's plan-
After the baseball game was over Auggie and Annie was walking arm in arm towards her car. Auggie knew there was something wrong and that she was upset. She'd finally read her sister in and that it hadn't gone well. Danielle wanted her to move out of her guesthouse. Joan had pulled him aside the other day and asked him to be there for Annie, like he needed for Joan to tell him to support Annie. He just wished Annie would open up and let him be there, but for the time being she was just quiet and he could feel how tense she was. He stopped and turned to face her.
"Annie, what's wrong? Is it Danielle?" he asked softly.
"Nothing…" Her voice trembled slightly.
"Liar," he replied, firmly. "Really, what's bothering you? I'm blind, not deaf and I know you pretty well by now."
Annie sighed and took a deep breath and tried to gather her thoughts for a second before she responded. At the moment Auggie was the one person she could trust and go to for advice, and she kind of felt bad about dumping all of her personal issues at him. She missed sisterly advice from Danielle.
"Danielle is serious about kicking me out. She has already packed up most of my stuff and she wants me out as soon as possible. I hate being there now, everything is so tense and I don't know what to do."
"Well, apartment hunting might an idea," Auggie said teasingly, trying to lighten her mood. "Have you started to look for a place?"
"Not really, I checked out a few online, but I haven't really tried yet, I really didn't expect it to come to this. I figured Danielle would be upset, but I didn't think she'd kick me out. And after she did I kind of expected her to change her mind and to come home one day and find my stuff unpacked again. I guess that's not happening. The whole apartment-hunting thing is a bit daunting; I don't know where to start. Sheesh, I don't even know where I want to live." Annie's voice rose at the end of the sentence.
Auggie let go of her elbow and put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her reassuringly. "We'll figure it out Annie, don't worry. I'm here for you."
They started walking again and shortly after they reached Annies car and after they'd both setteled in their seats Annie started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. She'd gone quiet again.
A few minutes into the drive Auggie was the one who broke the silence.
"Hey, why don't we go to my place? We can call for a pizza and I've got beer in the fridge, a bottle or three of Patron in the cupboard and we can use my laptop to search for potential apartments for you. I'm a great apartment hunter! What do you think?" What Annie didn't know was that Auggie already had a place in mind for her.
"Thanks Aug. That sounds really nice, I really don't wanna go back to the guesthouse. It's so depressing with all the boxes and stuff, and I feel like Danielle is always in the kitchen, watching me like a hawk. You're the best Auggie!"
Auggie flashed his signature smirk at her and simply responded, "I know!"
They rode the rest of the way to Auggie's place in silence.
An hour later Annie was sitting comfortably on Auggie's couch, they'd finished the pizza and a couple of beers each. Auggie was thinking about how to make his next move. Ever since his landlord had mentioned that the large two-bedroom apartment with a private backyard on the ground floor was available an idea had formed in his head and he thought it would be perfect; he and Annie could share the place. The rent was too much for either of them to pay on their own, but what could be better than being roommates with your best friend? His brain was spinning, he'd put a lot of thought into this over the last few days and he'd arranged for them to see the place that same afternoon. Auggie discretely checked the time. He had just over half an hour to convince Annie to come with him downstairs to check out the place.
"Hey Annie, I want to talk to you about something," Auggie started, still not really sure how to approach explaining his idea to Annie. "I met my landlord in he hallway the other day and there's an apartment for rent here. It's a large two-bedroom on the ground floor with a small, private backyard."
"Really, here? In your building?" Annie sounded kind of excited, this encouraged Auggie. "You want to be neighbors?"
"The thing is that if I could afford it I'd move down there on the spot. It might sound weird, but having grown up in a suburb with a huge yard, I kind of miss having a private outside space, parks are just not the same as snoozing in your own hammock ya' know."
Annie chuckled; she couldn't really imagine Auggie snoozing in a hammock. She was also confused, if Auggie couldn't afford the place there was no way she could. Where was he going with this?
"Well, if you can't afford it I'm sure I can't afford it either then, after all, you're Head of Tech Ops and you've been at the Agency way longer than me, so you've gotta be a quite a few pay grades above me." Annie cut in.
"Well, I was thinking we could be roomies," Auggie heard the words tumbling out of his mouth. "We already spend a lot of time together anyway, sometimes I think you spend more of your time here than at your own place. You come here every morning to take me to work, and I usually catch a ride home with you as well, unless you're on a mission. If you lived here you'd save both time and gas." Auggie started feeling like a complete idiot from babbling away. Like that would win Annie over. "Damnit Anderson!" he thought to himself. "Where did your usual confidence go?" She didn't immediately respond, she was just silent. This was one of the few times he cursed his blindness, he would really like to see her face now. The silence was killing him and she didn't give him any clues to what her reaction was.
Annie didn't know what to say. Auggie turned his head in her direction, with a questioning look in his eyes. She was totally taken aback; his approach was so not like Auggie's usual act. He seemed nervous and not nearly as confident as he normally was. It did seem like something he'd put a lot of thought into, but the insecurity in his approach surprised her. Part of her wanted to scream "YES!" and start moving that second, but she had her reservations as well. Auggie was the closest friend she'd ever had, but lately she'd started hoping their relationship would eventually go beyond friendship. She didn't know how to tell Auggie, and she was scared that if he didn't share her feelings their friendship would be ruined. Now he wanted to be her roommate? She wasn't sure what to say. She needed to think this through.
Annie finally turned towards Auggie and grabbed his left hand.
"Augs, I didn't expect this at all. You wanting be my roomie? At first glance it seems like a great idea, but what if we're the worst roomies ever? What if we're sick of each other within the first week? You're the best friend I've ever had and I don't wanna lose you as a friend. We know each other really well by now and we enjoy each other's company, but living together is a whole different scenario. Also, I'm nowhere near as tidy as you, you'd go crazy from tripping over my shoes and not finding stuff because I've put it in the wrong place within a week."
Auggie wasn't really surprised that Annie had her reservations, he actually had some himself, but he was convinced that it would be great and that they'd be the best roommates ever. Just as Annie he had started having feelings beyond friendship, and he was also worried about ruining the best friendship he'd ever had if he tried to make a move. He was also fully aware that Annie didn't share his tidiness. Auggie had always been something of a neat freak, even before he lost his sight and being neat became a necessity. He liked that everything had its place; Annie on the other hand had a more relaxed approach to organizing her place. Whenever Auggie was over she'd always run in ahead of him, moving her shoes into a corner and clearing various pieces of clothing from the window seat. She usually had to search through at least a couple of handbags for her keys and her TV and DVD remotes were never in the same place. Somehow she managed to be more organized at work though.
"Since you're leaving for a mission abroad tomorrow I've taken the liberty to arrange for a viewing of the apartment this afternoon. We're supposed to meet Mr. White downstairs in" Auggie checked the time, "15 minutes. Please, will you at least take a look at the place before rejecting the idea?"
"Auggie, how long have you planned this? I don't really know if I should be pissed or happy right now. But, since you've set up this viewing I'll go with you."
A grin spread across Auggies face, his confidence seemed to be growing back.
"What is it Auggie? I haven't agreed to be your roomie yet; I want to see the place before deciding on anything. By the way, you never commented on my statement my lack of tidiness, I kind of expected one of your signature snarky comments," Annie nudged him playfully with her elbow. Auggie chuckled.
"Well Walker, I have been at your place several times without falling over your shoes or tripping over stuff you've left out, I don't think you're as bad as you think you are. Although your car is a pigsty; do you ever clean the inside?"
"How do you know that my car is a pigsty Augs? It's not like you've seen it." Annie tried to sound like she was shocked and insulted that he'd even suggest that her car wasn't tidy and she was glad that Auggie couldn't see her blushing.
"Well, I've noticed that you tend to just toss straw papers, napkins and stuff onto the floor behind the passenger seat. I've heard the rattle of empty Starbucks cups and soda cans as well. As I told you earlier this afternoon; I'm blind, not deaf and to clarify; that means that my ears works just fine, probably better than yours, but my eyes don't work." Auggie tilted his head and smirked.
"Auggie, you're incorrigible," Annie huffed and punched him lightly on the upper arm with her fist. "I bet your car was always spit shine, inside and out?"
"Spit shine might be taking it a bit to far, but I kept it clean, yes. Didn't think it deserved to be used as an oversized trash can," he replied with a grin.
10 minutes later they were making their way downstairs where they found Auggie's landlord standing in the hallway, waiting for them. Auggie introduced Annie as his friend, co-worker and roommate to be. Annie couldn't help smiling at Auggie's confidence. Mr. White unlocked the door, flipped on the light and stepped to the side, allowing Annie and Auggie to enter. "You take your time and look around. I'll be back in about half an hour," he said and left.
When he heard Mr. White close the door behind him Auggie turned to Annie.
"So, what do you think?" he said, clearly nervous about her reaction.
"Sheesh Auggie, give me a minute, ok? We just walked in here two seconds ago."
Annie looked around the large, open plan living room with a kitchen similar to the one in Auggies place upstairs in one end. The room was amazing. High ceilings and of windows that let in plenty of daylight; it was really nice.
"Annie, I would appreciate a little bit of a description here, it's my first time here too and it's not like I can see it for myself." Auggie said while unfolding his cane, looking a bit lost.
"Sorry Aug, just taking it all in. It's really nice."
Annie and Auggie spent the next half an hour walking through the apartment, Annie did her best to describe everything to Auggie, and then he walked around, using his cane to get a feel for the spaces. Annie was falling in love with the place. The bedrooms were the same size, reasonably spacious and both had a private bathroom and a walk-in closet. There was also a small laundry room, complete with a washer and dryer and a half bath. Annie's favorite thing was the backyard. It wasn't big, but it had a small deck and lawn. She could imagine spending lazy summer evenings out there with Auggie.
When they returned to the living room Auggie turned to face Annie, half leaning on his cane.
"So, what do you think? Wanna live here? Mr. White will be back soon and he'll want to know our decision. I'm all for saying yes."
"Sheesh Auggie, I have to decide right here and now? I thought I'd have a couple of days to think about this?"
"Sorry, I've already held the place for a few days. I planned on bringing it up sooner, but we have been kind of busy lately." Auggie replied, his confidence seemed to be back. "And I don't want you to compromise the mission you're leaving for tomorrow by being distracted. It's decision time."
Annie let out a heavy sigh. She wasn't sure at all, but in her current situation living with her best friend in an amazing apartment seemed like a good idea.
"Auggie. I'm willing to give this a chance, but I do have my reservations, understood? We need to make some house rules and stuff like that."
Auggie's response was to grin like a 10 year old that had just been told that his wildest dream was about to come true. Annie smiled; she'd never seen Auggie so happy. She couldn't deny it; she was happy too.
"Hey, don't get too excited now Soldier Boy!" Annie grabbed Auggie's free hand and squeezed it but quickly let go when Mr. White entered the apartment.
Half an hour later the lease was signed, Auggie had cancelled the lease on his loft and they had the keys for the apartment. They'd sort out the deposit when Annie got back from her mission. Annie's head was spinning. Four hours ago she thought she was homeless and all of a sudden she was Auggie's roommate. Things were going a bit too fast for her liking, but she couldn't help feeling a bit exited. She had a place to live and she was sharing it with Auggie - her best friend.