Disclaimer: Michael Vaughn, Sydney Bristow, and any other related Alias characers and ideas belong to me only in my happy little dreamworld. But my dreamworld is not reality. Sadly. In reality... I'm not married to Michael Vaughn... and Alias isn't real. Which is why I choose my dreamworld.
Summary: Just a little fluffy piece with some Syd/Vaughn romance going on a bit later. Won't be a long story.
A/N: Hello everyone. It's been awhile since I put anything up here. This is a new fic, and it obviously takes place pre-Phase One... back to the good old Unrequited Sexual Tension (although I can't say that I mind the Requited Sexual Tension much at all--haha). Anyways. Please review... I love to know what you all think!
The Way it Has to Be
Chapter 1
What was I supposed to do? Pretend he didn't exist? Smile politely every time he walked by, try to draw my eyes away from his impossibly wrinkle-free suit and ignore the flutter in my chest when he flashed me a lopsided grin?
Impossible.
It would be completely impossible to ignore him, to convince myself that he didn't matter, to trick my mind into believing that I didn't care about him as more than a colleague.
More than a handler.
More than a friend.
Just impossible.
I sighed heavily, tapping my fingers restlessly against my keyboard. These thoughts had been plaguing me relentlessly. Thoughts that I shouldn't—couldn't be having about Michael Vaughn.
I glanced away from my computer screen, discreetly sending a sidelong glace towards Vaughn's desk, and finding myself simultaneously disappointed and relieved when I saw that it was deserted.
I sighed again, resting my chin on the palm of my hand. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to think about him for a precious moment—about his face, his hands, his kindness, his heart…
A hand landed on my shoulder, and I jumped, my mind jerking unhappily back to reality.
"Hey… you ok, Syd?" It was him.
I couldn't help the involuntary flutter in my chest as my eyes fell on him. And I couldn't prevent the blush of embarrassment that soon followed. But, like the well-trained intelligence officer I was, I shook it off, returning my mind to business.
"Fine," I replied, perhaps a little too quickly. I took a breath, calming down my overactive heart. "Just thinking."
Vaughn nodded, catching on quickly that I didn't want to go into it any further. God knows I had plenty to think about.
My mother.
My father.
Sloane.
And yet, at my most vulnerable—at my most desperate, all I could think about was Vaughn.
I shook the thought away.
"What's up?" I asked, reconstructing that wall around myself that seemed to crumble every time I talked to him. "How was the meeting with Devlin?"
Vaughn chuckled. "Boring as Hell." He cracked another smile, glancing down at his feet before returning his eyes to mine.
I returned his smile, thinking of what could have been between us, if not for SD-6. Or the CIA. Or the fact that my mother killed his father.
But I had forced myself to realize months ago that, even if I wanted it to, nothing could ever happen between us. Because there would always be something in the way. Something more important.
Well…not more important.
More immediate, maybe.
More dangerous.
But nothing, I realized, could be more important to me than Michael Vaughn.
"Syd," I heard him say, the concern returning to his voice. "Are you sure that everything's ok?" I chastised myself, realizing I had again drifted away from the conversation.
I glanced up at him, plastering a reassuring smile on my face.
"Yeah," I replied, knowing that my answer was a lie. "Everything's fine."
"Ok," he said, his eyes still concerned. "Well," he continued, after a moment's pause. "I'd better get back to work."
I chuckled, gesturing to my own pile of endless paperwork. "Me too."
I watched him walk back to his desk, repeating the phrase that had become my mantra.
It's how it has to be.
It's how it has to be.
It's how it has to be.
Summary: Just a little fluffy piece with some Syd/Vaughn romance going on a bit later. Won't be a long story.
A/N: Hello everyone. It's been awhile since I put anything up here. This is a new fic, and it obviously takes place pre-Phase One... back to the good old Unrequited Sexual Tension (although I can't say that I mind the Requited Sexual Tension much at all--haha). Anyways. Please review... I love to know what you all think!
The Way it Has to Be
Chapter 1
What was I supposed to do? Pretend he didn't exist? Smile politely every time he walked by, try to draw my eyes away from his impossibly wrinkle-free suit and ignore the flutter in my chest when he flashed me a lopsided grin?
Impossible.
It would be completely impossible to ignore him, to convince myself that he didn't matter, to trick my mind into believing that I didn't care about him as more than a colleague.
More than a handler.
More than a friend.
Just impossible.
I sighed heavily, tapping my fingers restlessly against my keyboard. These thoughts had been plaguing me relentlessly. Thoughts that I shouldn't—couldn't be having about Michael Vaughn.
I glanced away from my computer screen, discreetly sending a sidelong glace towards Vaughn's desk, and finding myself simultaneously disappointed and relieved when I saw that it was deserted.
I sighed again, resting my chin on the palm of my hand. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to think about him for a precious moment—about his face, his hands, his kindness, his heart…
A hand landed on my shoulder, and I jumped, my mind jerking unhappily back to reality.
"Hey… you ok, Syd?" It was him.
I couldn't help the involuntary flutter in my chest as my eyes fell on him. And I couldn't prevent the blush of embarrassment that soon followed. But, like the well-trained intelligence officer I was, I shook it off, returning my mind to business.
"Fine," I replied, perhaps a little too quickly. I took a breath, calming down my overactive heart. "Just thinking."
Vaughn nodded, catching on quickly that I didn't want to go into it any further. God knows I had plenty to think about.
My mother.
My father.
Sloane.
And yet, at my most vulnerable—at my most desperate, all I could think about was Vaughn.
I shook the thought away.
"What's up?" I asked, reconstructing that wall around myself that seemed to crumble every time I talked to him. "How was the meeting with Devlin?"
Vaughn chuckled. "Boring as Hell." He cracked another smile, glancing down at his feet before returning his eyes to mine.
I returned his smile, thinking of what could have been between us, if not for SD-6. Or the CIA. Or the fact that my mother killed his father.
But I had forced myself to realize months ago that, even if I wanted it to, nothing could ever happen between us. Because there would always be something in the way. Something more important.
Well…not more important.
More immediate, maybe.
More dangerous.
But nothing, I realized, could be more important to me than Michael Vaughn.
"Syd," I heard him say, the concern returning to his voice. "Are you sure that everything's ok?" I chastised myself, realizing I had again drifted away from the conversation.
I glanced up at him, plastering a reassuring smile on my face.
"Yeah," I replied, knowing that my answer was a lie. "Everything's fine."
"Ok," he said, his eyes still concerned. "Well," he continued, after a moment's pause. "I'd better get back to work."
I chuckled, gesturing to my own pile of endless paperwork. "Me too."
I watched him walk back to his desk, repeating the phrase that had become my mantra.
It's how it has to be.
It's how it has to be.
It's how it has to be.