Author's Note: As you've seen I'm kinda struggling to keep my promise about the short chapters. I hope you can forgive me.
Chapter Three
Agent Blaine Anderson woke up bright and early. Since he'd started working for the FBI he'd learned that he was quite the early riser. He mused how this knowledge would've come in handy back when he was in school but then again, maybe he'd just changed since then because he couldn't remember ever being as quickly on his feet in the AM as he was these days.
He looked at his reflection while he shaved, taking his time to get all his rioting hairs off. He had to, though. He was one of those guys that could grow a full beard in about two weeks so he couldn't get sloppy, not in his line of work.
His job was to blend in and spectacular beard fashion would maybe take less grooming but certainly wouldn't help that.
He wore his track suit, like he had the three preceding days. Early on Monday, he'd started taking Rachel down the trail, building her stamina with running and cardio at the gym. She had protested fervently but he told her that she'd only get to train hand combat with him if she was in the proper shape to withstand the physical demands.
The prospect of throwing a couple of punches at him seemed to have worked wonders because she'd picked up the pace and manned up to the challenge in the blink of an eye.
Really, she was pretty tough. Both physically and emotionally. She could perfectly keep up with his pace on the track and was almost as guarded as he himself was off the court.
It was nothing out of the ordinary though, for a girl that been through what she had been through and taking into account which kind of shadowy life she had lived since her early teens, it made sense.
Still, underneath all that, she was a good person, he could tell when she did open up to him, which had happened more frequently lately.
Blaine knew that this was a good thing, both because he thought it would help her to have someone to confide in and because it was his explicit orders to foster a connection, a friendly relationship with her but he couldn't help but resent it a little bit.
Because really, he wasn't one she could trust. He wanted to be in an odd way, more than he'd ever wanted to be for people he had worked with, as he had to admit, but his orders and his position forbid him. There were too many things she didn't and couldn't know yet. Too many things he wasn't at liberty to tell her.
That was why it always stung him a little bit to see her less and less appalled by him, less and less antagonizing. Not to speak of her recent habit of trying to flirt with him. Still that was disconcerting for a whole other set of reasons he tried to shove from his mind. He shouldn't even be thinking into that direction. He shouldn't even be thinking of thinking these things that made it hard to hold her stare when she smiled at him or brushed his skin "accidentally".
When she opened the door for him that morning, the pang came as expected but still harder than he was prepared for because she was blazing, grinning from ear to ear as she told him to hold on before running back in to grab her canvas bag and water bottle.
"Why so chipper?", he asked her when he found his voice again.
"Because I get to punch you in the groin today", she smirked, joining him on the way out of the dorms.
"So you haven't forgotten", he chuckled despite himself.
"Nope", she said, "One more lap around the perimeters and I get to smack you"
She was eager and at certain points she even managed to outrun him. On the way to the gym, he let her beat him to the doors because he knew she'd get a kick out of it and he played up his exhaustion when he caught up with her inside.
"You're ready to kick some ass?", he asked her as she bent over the drinking fountain, arching into the movement, probably knowing just how it shaped her fit body in a way that had him forcing his eyes to the ceiling.
"I don't know about 'some' but I'm definitely ready to kick yours"
She got back up and turned around to walk ahead but not without throwing him a look over her shoulder that a girl her age really shouldn't be capable of.
Damn that girl, he thought in a heartbeat before closing his eyes for a second, regaining composure and vowing to think of Robin Williams whenever he would have to touch her during their combat training. And he would have to touch her a lot.
He had booked a room in the gym just for them and Rachel was stretching in a corner while he threw his training jacket on a wooden bench lining the far wall before starting to put blue mats on the floor.
Blaine kept his eyes focused on his surroundings, careful not to glance into her general direction.
It was enough to imagine her bowing over in those tight elastic pants and the hot pink training top she'd decided to wear that day – the one that cut off just above her ribcage – he didn't have to see it.
Get a grip, Anderson, he scolded himself.
"Are you warm now?", he asked into the room, face still turned to the mats.
"More like hot", she quipped and he was glad to be facing away from her so she couldn't see him biting his lips.
She drew sick pleasure from winding him up like that and it was time he started to build a resistance.
Oddly, this was the thought that finally spurred him on to turn around and take her in.
Her hair was tousled and messy, in a high ponytail, her olive skin glistened with sweat and her visible skin was tight over her defined shape. Her clothes hugged her ever so flatteringly and he doubted that even the most flaming homosexual wouldn't have at least appreciated the aesthetic of the sight she gave. Every straight guy would probably be spinning out just like him. But he refused to be tempted, stubbornly so.
He'd put her down on these mats today, repeatedly and he would not think more of it. He would not be seeing flickering images of her, exposed, in front of his inner eye, would think of no innuendos, would not listen closely for her breathing and panting and he definitely wouldn't let his eyes wander down to her chest when she would catch her breath. He would not be tempted.
She held his gaze and stepped up to him, at four steps distance, mirroring his posture and resolve.
"We will start with the basics today", he explained, "How to fall correctly, how to avoid punches and if we get through that okay we can start on some defense moves"
She nodded and he was relieved to see her visibly dropping her sexy act, full in work mode now, concentrated as she always was when something intrigued her.
First, he let her drop to the ground by herself and she already did pretty good, he only had to make minor adjustments of arm placement and center of gravity before he could get closer.
"I will try and tackle you now", he said, "And I want you to jump away from me, fall the way we practiced and get back on your feet before I can get to come for you again, understand?"
She gave him a curt not and dipped into her knees yet, giving the impression of a wild cat, alert and ready to react.
He moved swiftly, prompted by her confidence and because he knew she would be up to it.
With a quick step forward, he closed the distance between them and darted to her, upper body first. Rachel threw herself out of his reach like she'd never done anything else in her life and by the time he could catch his own momentum, she was back on her feet, hands resting on her hips smugly.
Blaine gave her a short approving smile before he headed towards her again, taking her by surprise but not enough to grab her. She still got past him, falling harder this time but was still swiftly back on her feet.
They did that a couple of times until Rachel started complaining that she knew how to do it now and he could as well amp up the challenge a little bit. He did her the favor.
They practiced rolls and yielding hits and Rachel kept up impressively so there was plenty of time for them to start working on defense and shielding moves. Which was the part Blaine was nervous about because it involved way more body contact.
"Let's see what you come equipped with, shall we?", he asked, helping her up from a roll when he decided that it was no use to stall moving on any more, "I will attack you and you try to defend yourself, don't initiate own attacks, just block mine, okay?"
He didn't use a specific technique on her, trying to prepare her for a mix of attacks, so he threw in some kick boxing moves, good old fashioned punches and some karate chops. She blew off every single one. Given he didn't use full force on her but for her first day at this she came with excellent reflexes and great intuition. She blocked his arms, even his legs, used what she learned the rest of the day and, to his surprise, managed got him breathless a couple of times.
Eventually, they stopped taking breathers in between attacks and blocks and the situation got more and more intense and eventually out of hand.
He did notice her breath flaring up then, as she panted in short huffs and he tried intently not to hear it, not to react to it and so he went for more attacks instead. He lost himself a bit, moving faster and harder with her.
But then she made the mistake to attack him despite their agreement – if it was because of reflex or intention he wouldn't be able to recall later but he knew that he reacted instinctively; catching her by the attacking arm and lifting her up, working her tiny body around his and putting her on the floor in a swift, automatized movement.
He only got back to his senses when he towered over her, hands on her shoulder and hip and he looked down into her widened eyes. He wanted to apologize in face of her shock, worried that he'd hurt her but then he felt his legs give out when she twisted hers up, making him loose balance and he toppled over.
Just as quickly as him, she turned their positions around, rolling up over him and quickly sitting down, straddling him, knees pushed tightly to his sides and hands getting a hold of his wrists, pushing them down next to his stunned face.
Her ponytail and star of David necklace dangled over his face as she bent over him like that, her whole weight on him and they both tried to catch their breath.
It was too much sensory input for him to hold on to his mental blockade and momentarily his brain was flooded with figments of his imagination, mingling with the sight above him; Rachel, on top, sweating and breathing in hard rhythmical huffs, her scent in the air and her hands on his skin, her legs spread just where she met his heat.
He felt something below the waist twitch, where she sat on him, a familiar mix of desire and discomfort at the lack of space and yearning for friction and his eyes were clouded a shade darker.
And then she gave him a funny look which snapped him right back into reality. And also caused him to realize that he was having an erection against the thigh of his barely legal charge.
He was on his feet in no time, lifting her up with him effortlessly, setting her on her two feet without so much as meeting her eye again.
"Good work, I'll see you tomorrow", he mumbled, already on his hasty way out. He didn't even bother to collect his jacket from the floor, he wouldn't be needing it in the icy cold shower he was headed to.
The last thing Blaine wanted was to see Rachel again before the next morning but when he heard a timid knock on his door that night his protective instincts forbid him to not open the door. She could be hurt or scared after all.
He dragged himself to the door and hoped she'd make it short or just wanted him to look for monsters under her bed but the way he knew her, she most definitely wouldn't.
She greeted him with a big smile but what made him grin in return was her pink pajama, complete with a cheesy hearts-print. If anyone had presented her like this and told him she could potentially be dangerous to national security he would have laughed aloud.
"Is something wrong?", he asked when his eyes had wandered up on her again.
"No", she said, "I just wanted some company and I found something funny in this I want to try with you"
She held up a teen magazine and his heart stopped beating for a second, expecting god knows what. There was sex-educational stuff in these magazines, wasn't there? Maybe she'd come solely to torture him about his...mishap earlier. Or worse, maybe she wanted to actually really try something sexually educating with him, because she thought he would be up to it. And he would absolutely not be up to it, not ever. Naturally.
His alarmed or rather terrified stare seemed to amuse her.
"So can I come in or are you gonna let me stand in the cold hall on my bare feet all night?"
She was indeed not wearing socks or slippers and after a moment of sincere deliberating, he reluctantly stepped aside to let her in the room.
She hopped over to his bed of all places, clutching the magazine. She was all chipper again.
Warily, he kept his distance, closing the door and then walking to the desk opposite the bed, leaning against the wooden chair he'd sat on just moments before.
"So do you want to try this thing with me?", she asked him again, sitting cross legged like pure innocence.
"What thing?", he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know.
"There's this questionnaire", she said and he sighed in relief, "and since you still owe me some trivia about yourself I thought we could play, I'm sure there are no questions in here that you'll find classified answers to"
"You're not gonna stop bugging me unless I do it, aren't you?"
"No", she grinned happily and spread the magazine open in front of her, "Come on, sit"
It was more an order than an invitation and he obeyed with a furrowed brow, sitting down at the far end of the bed.
"Blaine, I have to yell for you to hear me back there", she complained, "Scoot over, don't be shy"
He shook his head but didn't want to push her patience, something told him that she was well aware of the leverage she had on him, with him near-miss ravaging her earlier. He ended up sitting across her, still at a considerable distance but close enough to see the light reflexes in her shiny chocolate brown hair sharply. Crossing his legs, he sent up a prayer that the damned questionnaire didn't contain any sexual questions.
"Okay, here we go", she announced and then read aloud, "What is your best friends name? - Oh and I will answer too, for fairness. So my best friend's name is Tina"
"Matt", he said curtly, "I've known him since Kindergarten and he always stuck with me"
"Is he cute?", when he ignored this she went on, "What color panties or boxers are you wearing right now?"
Then she paused, holding up a finger to stop him from answering before slipping her thumb under the rim of her pajama pants, pushing the elastic band away from her, exposing a bit of her stomach in the process and he knew she wore purple panties before she said so.
"Mine are black", he gladly knew without checking.
"Boxers or briefs by the way?", she asked, "This isn't actually in there, I'm just curious"
"Then I don't have to answer it", he stated but her raised eyebrow and challenging look defeated him – this girl was currently in possession of her very own kind of truth serum, "Boxer briefs"
"I thought so", was her only reaction, "Next up; What's your favorite number? Mine's 13 because most people hate it"
"2, for no particular reason"
"What was the last thing you ate? I had a candy bar from the fridge"
"PB&J, just before you came to interrogate me"
"If you were a crayon what color would you be?", she asked and then they both mused for a second, "I think I'd be hot pink"
"Green or blue", he answered, "Something calming"
"I wouldn't have expected anything less", she smiled, "Ooh, now we're getting to the interesting stuff; The first thing you notice about the opposite sex?"
"Do I really have to?", he whined, "Let's hear yours first"
"Fine, but let me go on the record saying you're a wimp", she mocked, "Posture actually, a certain kind of integrity, when a guy knows how to handle himself that's very appealing. I figured that out with my ex..he was all limbs and all over the place, about as graceful as a bag of potatoes, it stops being cute pretty fast"
He smiled at her honesty and had to admit he was impressed with her answer, so his was actually, despite original resolve, the truth, "Lips"
She licked hers just on cue, right when his eyes fell down to them automatically. They were pretty, full and rosy and he had to force himself to look away. If she'd caught him starring she kindly didn't let it on.
"Do you have a significant other?", through her poise shone a considerable amount of real curiosity and also a bit of fear – which made him oddly proud.
"No", he answered truthfully and she couldn't keep all the traces of approval of her face before saying the same. He wondered if he was better at hiding his own approval than she was.
Not that him being happy that she was single was for...well, it wasn't for the sake of being single, it was just one less factor to worry about concerning her safe keeping, clearly.
"Siblings?", she asked, "I'm a lonely only child...my Dads always say they couldn't handle a second one like me around"
"I have an older brother, he's a lawyer in Boston"
"Can you do a headstand?", she looked up before adding, "But without leaning against a wall? Because I can"
"Actually no", he said and she snorted, boasting adorably.
Then, eying him curiously, "Hugs or Kisses?"
"Kisses", he said and held her gaze, shooting her a look to maybe possibly try running her off track a little.
She swallowed hard and her head wobbled a bit, lips opening and then closing again before finally, "Kissing"
She cleared her throat then and looked back down at the magazine, taking a second to find where she'd left off, "Chocolate or Vanilla?"
"Vanilla", he said, knowing she would say the same, she always smelled like it. He wasn't sure if it was her body lotion or Shampoo but even at this distance he could smell a sweet note of Vanilla coming from her. Not that he'd been paying attention to her scent.
"Dogs or cats?", she asked, "This is actually a test of character, I for one, have little respect for dog-people"
"Ah, that stings", he feigned hurt and clutched his heart dramatically, "Because I am one"
"Looser", was her verdict before continuing, "Favorite flower? Mine are Gerberas, all colors"
"Tulips, red and yellow", he said, "They're kind of fragile and it's best not to pick them at all but they are pretty"
"Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't supposed to do?", she read and then tapped her chin, mocking deep thought, "Let's see, what got me here, oh, I don't know..."
"Yes", he said and she tried starring him down to get him to elaborate, "Nope, that's all you'll get out of me for that one"
"Fine", she scoffed, "Who would you like to see right now? I'm going with Mom, because it doesn't say alive or dead"
"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen my Mom in almost a year", he said quickly, "So yes, Mom, I'd like to see my Mom"
"See, that wasn't too hard was it? We're already at the second to last question; Have you ever fired a gun? I haven't..but then you're a fed so I'm going with a yes for you"
He nodded and she went on to the last question, "Name the top three qualities you look for in a partner"
"That's hard", he said, "Hmm, I'd say...loyalty, a certain vibrance to her personality and wit"
"Good choices", she acknowledged, "I'm going with sincerity, kindness and a good sense of humor"
They kept talking for a while but he eventually got her to go to bed when it was past midnight. A long day awaited them and even if he hadn't known it then, it would entail a last minute change of plans – and additional training for Rachel.
Grace, the tech-wiz called him just after he'd gotten up the next morning and told him something that made him wake Rachel up even earlier than usually.
She was still in her pink pajamas when she answered the door, tiredly blinking up at him, hair striking into every possible direction and he thought she'd maybe just gotten out of bed.
"You're twenty minutes early", she said, still squishy faced, her eyes small slits that somehow managed to glimmer dangerously anyway.
"Something's come up", he said, "Grace found out a little more about the ball, it's in a New York hotel and they are using their server for their data transfer"
"What does that mean?", Rachel asked, leaning against her door frame.
"It means we have to go undercover", he answered.
"We?", her eyes were suddenly wide with shock, "You mean I'm going in too?"
"Precisely, we need your hands and eyes on that computer", he said, "You can dance, right?"
"What?", she swallowed hard, eyes even wider if that was at all possible. He was pretty sure she'd heard him alright.
"Come on, get dressed, we're gonna get you ready"
The next chapter will take us to NYC..it will still be in Blaine's POV. How do you think Rachel will deal with the big bad guys?
