The Infallible Uncle Auggie
By Cortexikid
Chapter 3: Buddy Dynamite
Disclaimer: I own neither Covert Affairs nor Napoleon Dynamite. I'm just doing whatever I feel like doing - GOSH! =]
A/N: SORRY, SORRY, SORRY for the late update. My computer crashed and I lost some data so I had to start over so forgive me if this chapter isn't up to par. Hope you enjoy regardless!
"Just Katia and Chloe?"
Crap, crap, crap! Say something, anything!
"Heh- someone's cocky tonight, huh?" she replied, laughing nervously, her voice an octave higher than normal.
There was another beat of silence and Annie took that moment to carefully gage his reaction. A small, wry smile had spread across his handsome face as his gaze landed on a spot behind her head.
"That's how I roll, Walker," he smirked, placing down his now empty bowl on the counter beside him.
She frowned at his tone, it sounded a little…different then his usual teasing one. There was something…off about it, almost like he was trying hard to mask something. She tried not to think about what that something might be.
Before either of them could say anything further, they heard a little shuffling of feet before a small voice called out, "Aunt Annie is our ice-cream ready yet?"
Annie whirled around and was met by her youngest niece standing in the doorway, looking bashful.
"Oh, yeah, sweetie, just give me a minute," she murmured distractedly, grabbing one of the bowls and handing it to the little girl before picking up the other whilst attentively latching onto Auggie's arm.
"C'mon Narcissus, let's go into the living room," she half-whispered against his shoulder before leading him out of the room.
"Harsh, Echo, just harsh," he laughed as she stared at him quizzically before the nickname dawned on her.
He is comparing me to a nymph who got her heart broken? Ha. It is weirdly fitting…
Once they had all settled in the living room, (the girls seated on the floor in front of the TV as the adults sat side by side on the couch) Annie cringed when she realized that Danielle had left out a very particular book on their coffee table. She groaned almost inaudibly, fighting the urge to bury her face in Auggie's shoulder in embarrassment.
"What's up, Annie? Not impressed with your new nickname?" he smirked smugly, poking her gently.
She swatted his hand, a little too hard to be just playful.
"As a matter of fact, no, I'm not. I've gotta say, I never did like the end of that version, except for vanity kicking Narcissus' ass of course," she replied, trying to sound light-hearted but the more she thought about the old myth the more the nickname bothered her.
"You know I was just kidding, right? You're nothing like Echo," he murmured quietly as to not to disturb the girls, sounding a little worried at the possibility that he may have inadvertently offended her.
"I know…" she mumbled, more for his sake than her own, "besides, that's not what's wrong," she finished, realizing it was pointless to try and lie to him.
"Oh? Well, that's good; I was worried you might be pissed enough at me to take me down," he smiled, angling his body towards her.
"Ha, like I ever could," she snorted, reaching forward and retrieving the book off the table, before leaning back against the couch, her shoulder brushing his.
"Hey, hey, hey, no selling yourself short. You'd do just fine against me," he responded, trying not to think of the implications of what he just said.
"I'm sure I would do great things against you Karate Kid," she replied softly, a smirk glinting across her face for a fraction of a second, "but I'd still get my ass handed to me. Hey, what were you like in High School?" she asked suddenly, turning her body towards him.
"Whoa, where did that come from?" he asked, his eyebrows knitting in confusion as he was rather enjoying where the first part of her sentence was going.
Annie traced her fingers over the book on her lap before reaching out and clasping Auggie's hand in hers. Silently, she guided his hand over the cover – the raised lettering easy to read.
"Family photo album? Ahh…now I understand Sensei, I take it there are some embarrassing high school pictures in here that causes you anguish?"
She laughed at his wording, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.
"Oh, you can say that again. So, quit stalling, what were you like as a teenager?"
He shifted a little, clearing his throat. Annie watched him intently.
Is the famously self-assured August Anderson nervous?
"In High School, compared to my brothers I was definitely more brains then brawn. Still am," he told her, his hand still rested in hers.
"Oh well, I don't know, boy wonder, I've sparred with you, remember? You definitely got some brawn…" the words fell out of her mouth before she knew what was happening.
Okay, this is just ridiculous. Are my mouth and brain fighting or something?
"Wow. You really are laying it on thick tonight huh Walker?"
"That's how I roll, Anderson," she retorted, throwing his own words back at him.
And there it was the familiar, the comfortable, the safe banter. All was right with the world.
"So what were you like, Walker? No wait, let me guess…you were that girl that was likeable to just about everyone no matter what 'clique' they were in. You were smart and successful but not to the point of being annoying. You were athletic but definitely not the cheerleader type – more sporty, you were feisty and opinionated and most of your teachers loved and respected you…" he trailed off, rubbing his chin with his free hand in thought.
Her mouth dropped open at his nearly completely accurate account of her high school life.
"Yeah, you're right," she grumbled as he grinned smugly, "I wasn't over-achieving or anything but I did well enough. I was constantly the new girl so I never really got to know people well but yeah, I never had any problems with anyone. In a couple of high schools I ran track – Danielle was the cheerleader, not me, and yeah, I guess I never really had any trouble with any of my teachers…unless I corrected their grammar," she laughed jokingly, as she replied a particular peeved French teacher of hers came to mind.
"I like the image of a fifteen year old you correcting an ancient Spanish teacher," he laughed, "very you."
She chuckled quietly, "actually, it was the French teacher, I had a crush on my Spanish teacher," she admitted softly, her shoulders shaking silently.
"Oh…really? Now that's interesting…tell me all about this Spanish teacher." She fought not to roll her eyes at his very interested tone.
"He was the typical tall, dark and handsome type. Nothing special really, just hot," she grinned, opening up the photo album and leafing through it quickly.
"Oh, I see, so your attraction was purely on looks then?" he asked, his eyebrows rising suggestively.
"Yep. Men aren't the only ones allowed to be shallow sometimes," she laughed, poking him in the side.
"Well, that's only fair, I guess…" he smiled, trailing off as he felt her flick over another page of the photo album.
"So, what are the photos like?" he asked, looking down in the general direction of the book.
It was at times like these when Annie truly tended to forget her friend's blindness. It was stupid of her really, but did happen every now and again. Not because she was careless but more because he was so efficient and confident and she never saw him falter. It was something she greatly admired about him, among may other things.
She flipped open the offending photo album, almost afraid to look down.
"Go on, I'm sure it's not that bad," he cooed, nudging her shoulder with his.
Shaking her head with a little smirk on her face, she looked down at pictures of her teenage self.
"Oh god," she groaned as she witnessed a particularly bad hair day combined with a dreadful knitted Christmas sweater on her thirteen year old self.
After explaining this to Auggie – horror lacing her tone, he laughed heartily.
"Man, that does sound bad. But it got better as you got older though, right? You were someone's high school sweetheart?"
Annie threw him a sideways glance as she heard his question. She wasn't quite sure how to respond.
"Uh…no, not really. I-I didn't really date that much in High School 'cause I moved around so much, I…couldn't get close to anyone, you know?"
They both ignored how quiet her voice had gotten, how almost…sad it sounded. The conversation was definitely taking a turn, and not a good one.
"Hey, I must show you my Senior yearbook sometime. You think bad hair and a Christmas sweater is bad? Just wait till you see a seventeen year old Auggie Anderson," he smiled, trying to ease the little awkwardness that had formed.
She snorted. His grin grew wider. Mission accomplished.
"Wow. A seventeen year old Auggie? I can't even begin to imagine…"
"Alright, I'll give you some help. Think…Buddy Holly meets Napoleon Dynamite."
Annie was glad she hadn't been just taking a drink as he said this for she soon burst out laughing, her shoulders violently shaking as she fought to control her breathing.
"Oh…my…you-you can't be-"
"-Oh I am serious, Walker. And thanks for the sensitivity, by the way," he finished, sarcasm dripping his tone, yet a small knowing grin still on his face.
Annie was still struggling for breath through her frantic near-giggles which caught the attention from both of her nieces.
"What's so funny, Aunt Annie?" asked Chloe turning to face them from her position on the floor in front of the TV.
Annie clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle the noise, trying desperately to stop but to no avail. The image of a geek chic August Anderson clad in Doc Martens, milk-bottle black rimmed glasses and a "Vote for Pedro" t-shirt was firmly burned into her brain for the rest of eternity.
"Your Aunt is just being mean to me, Chloe," Auggie replied, mock-sadness in his voice.
"Hey, hey Aug…" she mumbled, still chuckling, "did you keep tater tots in your pockets too?"
She didn't wait for a response before erupting into giggles again.
"Hilarious, Walker. Just hilarious," he responded dryly, poking her in the ribs.
"Oh! Did you have nun chucks? Or dance to Jamiroquai? Or hunt wolverines in Alaska?"
"Wow, you're just the queen of wisecracks tonight, huh? We should have never had cult-classic movie night last week…" he grumbled, shaking his head.
"Aww…Auggie…embrace who you are. Oh! I've totally got a new nickname for you…" she was practically bouncing with excitement, curling even closer to him, bringing her bare feet up on the couch and leaning her shoulder against his.
"I'm almost afraid to ask," he muttered, turning his head in her direction.
"Buddy Dynamite!" she exclaimed and he could hear the utterly proud grin in her voice.
He snorted.
"Good one, sounds like a really bad super hero."
"Hey, don't sell yourself short, you've got skills," she chortled, giving him the perfect lead in.
"Nunchaku skills... bowhunting skills... computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills!" he lamented in his best Napoleon Dynamite impression, remembering the quote word for word.
This pleased Annie greatly. He totally nailed it and it made her laugh harder than ever before.
Wow. Annie Walker has a geeky side, Auggie thought happily to himself.
"From Narcissus to Buddy, quite the climb huh?"
"Yeah, but I don't know which is worse," she sniggered, as he let out a pseudo-offended "HEY!"
Slowly, Chloe made their way over to them.
"Aunt Annie, are you still making fun of Auggie?" she asked cautiously, folding her arms across her chest.
Annie looked towards her niece and witnessed her serious stance. Oops.
"Yes, Chloe, she is still teasing me," Auggie's wounded voice wafted quietly.
She rolled her eyes at his tone. She could never win against him.
"But why are you making fun of Auggie? I thought you liked him?" her niece asked innocently, her young mind not registering the embarrassed blushes that crept up both her aunt's neck and their guest's.
"I-I do like Auggie, sweetie, I'm just kidding around…" she assured her niece, biting her bottom lip.
Auggie had stilled beside her, listening intently.
"Oh, okay. 'Cause, we like him too…he's better than any boy Mom's ever invited to Thursday dinner," she informed the shocked adults before skipping back over and sitting back down beside her sister.
"Yeah," called Katia over her shoulder, "you're awesome, Uncle Auggie."
Annie stole a glance at her best friend as the two remained silent, utterly surprised at her two nieces. The blush continued spreading up his neck and over his cheeks as he uttered a soft "thanks girls" before taking a sip of his beer.
"See? They're your biggest fans," she cooed quietly, poking his shoulder.
"And I'm theirs," he responded before continuing nonchalantly, "and yours too."
Warmth spread throughout her entire body at his words. Her heart thumped frantically, so much so she was sure his bionic hearing would pick up on it at any moment. Just listen to your heart, that's what I do... the movie quote taunted her. She really had to stop letting Auggie choose the movies.
"And I'm yours…Buddy. Or would you prefer Mr. Dynamite?"
A/N: I know I promised more plot development (and probably haven't delivered) but I assure you there is some to come. I decided to split one HUGE chapter into two so here's the first instalment. The next should be up A LOT sooner than my last update.
NEXT CHAPTER SNEAK PEEK:
The girls go to bed – Annie/Auggie alone time.
Dirty drinking games
Discussion of…blush-worthy things…
So, yeah, the rating will probably go up a little.
Hope you enjoyed my almost pure-banter filled chapter that I had to rewrite twice!
A review would be lovely.
~Cortexikid