AN: Happy Friday! As always, I do not own Covert Affairs or any of the characters. Reviews and constructive criticism always welcome!
Dreaming Through Regret
Chapter 12 - His Voice Is a Familiar Sound
Eyal rolled out of bed at 2:30 the next morning, showered quickly and did one last run through of everything he needed for this trip. His phone buzzed from his bag alerting him that his taxi was out front. He pulled it out to clear the notification and saw the screen on his encrypted phone light up after his hand brushed the screen. There was a single notification on it. Knowing he had to go out for his taxi, he swapped the phone to his left hand and grabbed his pack and suitcase with his right and walked out the door.
Once he was settled in the taxi Eyal unlocked his encrypted phone and saw the short text from Annie.
'I need you, Bayit.'
Those four words strengthened his resolve. He hadn't questioned his actions prior to this, but knowing that she definitely needed him and had flat out said it, made him all the more sure that he was making the right decision. He considered texting her back, but decided against it, as it was now less than 12 hours until he'd see Annie again. Hold her again. Love her again.
His 530 flight was one of the first ones to depart Ben Gurion airport so security was quick even with having to show his documentation to bring a firearm onboard. It was one of the best perks about being Mossad, he never really had to be without HIS weapon. He approached the gate just as boarding commenced, assuring that he was able to stow his bag directly above him in his first class seat. Flying first class was a luxury he did not normally allow himself, but he needed the space to be sure that no one jostled his injured shoulder.
He dozed, not truly asleep, but desperately in need of some rest, for the full four and a half hour flight into Warsaw. He focused on Annie, how she smelled, how she sounded, how she felt, to keep the thoughts of plans and Simon Fischer from his mind. Eyal knew that without more information any planning he attempted would be worthless. After an uneventful flight, he quickly made his way through Warsaw's Chopin airport, as his layover was under two hours and he had to get through customs and across the airport.
Annie slept through her flight from DC to Amsterdam. She'd decided at the last minute to upgrade from coach to premium economy, allowing herself the comfort that came with more space and leg room, both of which allowed her 6 hours of sleep. She was not in much of a hurry to deplane, so allowed the other travelers to hurry off before she stepped out into the aisle to gather her suitcase.
After she left the plane she grabbed her phone and followed her comm protocol. A short text to Auggie later she had headed for security and passport control, thankful that she did not have to deal with customs quite yet. Once she was seated at her gate she pulled out her encrypted phone hopeful that there would be a response from Eyal. Disappointment coursed through her despite knowing there was only a slim chance that Eyal would be back from his mission in the mere 9 hours since she had last texted him.
She was seated next to a wall of windows, the gray clouds rolling in had her worried that her flight would be delayed. She breathed a sigh of relief when they announced that boarding would start in the next five minutes. She had not upgraded this leg of her flight, two and half hours was not worth it in her mind, especially when she was trying to adjust to the time difference as quickly as possible. The gray clouds had opened up in the 20 minutes she waited to board, with flashes of lightning in the sky foretelling a bumpy ride.
Eyal made it to his next gate with just enough time to get a cup of coffee to go before his flight started its boarding process. He had not been as lucky with his seat on this flight and ended up stuck in the last row of seats on the plane, though he was still able to get a window seat that placed his left shoulder out of harm's way. His flight lasted just over an hour and a half with the last forty five minutes filled with unrelenting turbulence as a storm rolled in from the north.
Relief filled him as the plane landed with no issues. The deplaning process was an exercise in patience for Eyal, he wanted to be clear of customs before Annie entered the queue. 40 minutes later saw him through customs for the second time and walking rapidly towards passport control and the exit. He wanted to be out of view when Annie walked out the doors. He was in luck as there were only two sets of doors that she would be able to leave the airport from, so he positioned himself between the two sets and started scanning the area and people around him, on the lookout for Fischer.
Annie joined in the applause that filled the plane as it landed in Tallinn. That flight had been one of the roughest she's ever experienced with turbulence rocking the flight from takeoff through landing. The pilot had done a masterful job of keeping the plane on course and in the air in the face of such a challenge. She watched as the other passengers worked their way out of the plane, all a little unsteady on their feet, but generally in a good mood, and let that good mood lift her spirits a notch or two.
Her steps were slow as she walked towards customs, tired after a long day of travel and not on any sort of timeline, she found herself not in a hurry for the first time in the last several weeks. Tallinn's airport was small enough that the line for customs was short, Annie only waited in line for 30 minutes before her strides took her out of the airport. She stopped at the edge of the sidewalk and flagged down a cab, her senses suddenly on alert. She knew it wasn't because she was in danger, her gut wasn't screaming at her, but a feeling of being watched that set her instincts on fire.
Scanning the crowd as she loaded her suitcase in the trunk of the taxi, she couldn't pick out anyone that seemed out of place, so she climbed into the back seat of the taxi and stated her destination as she shut the door.
'Hotel Telegraaf, palun.'
Eyal's breath caught in his throat as he watched Annie exit the right hand set of doors. His memory of her could not replace the reality of her in the least. He knew the exact moment she realized she was being watched, as she turned from the rear passenger door of the taxi to scan the crowd. He turned away from her, not wanting their reunion to be at the arrivals area of the Tallinn Airport. After her gaze had passed over him, he stepped quietly closer to where she was entering the taxi, and managed to catch her destination as she spoke to the taxi driver.
He watched her taxi pull away from the sidewalk and then waited about 15 more minutes, ostensibly to make sure no one followed her from the airport, but really to allow her enough time to get checked in to her hotel and up to her suite of rooms. Eyal then flagged his own taxi and announced his destination to his driver.
'Hotel Telegraaf'
Annie ducked out of the taxi and retrieved her suitcase from the trunk before walking into her hotel. The Hotel Telegraaf was in the center of Tallinn's old city, in a beautiful white building. The OSP budget had definitely resulted in an upgrade in her accommodations when she traveled abroad. She entered the lobby through the wooden double doors and strode to the check in counter.
"Sisseregistreerimine, palun. Anne Walker." Annie told the front desk clerk.
"Muidugi, proua." {Of course, ma'am} The clerk responded before typing on his computer. "Tähtajatu viibimine?" {Open ended stay?}
"See on õige." {That's right.} Annie verified.
"Olgu, tuba 412, proua." {Alright, room 412, ma'am.} The clerk said before handing Annie a key to her room.
"Aitäh." {Thank you.} Annie said as she walked out of the lobby to the elevators.
She loved these old buildings, with their unique architecture and design, especially the antique elevators most of them still employed. Annie stepped into the small space and closed the gate behind her before heading to the fourth floor. A sign on the wall across from the elevator showed that her room was at the end of the hall towards the right. Her steps were muffled on plush red carpet and the walls were painted a light gray bordered with red stripes. She came to her room and used the antique key to unlock the door before entering.
"I could get used to the OSP budget." Annie muttered under her breath as she placed her suitcase by the desk in her room. She was just turning to take off her red trench coat when she heard an unexpected knock on her door.
Eyal stood outside the lobby doors, waiting for Annie to finish checking in and the front desk clerk to turn away from the check in counter. He quickly headed up the stairs that wrapped around the elevator shaft, making sure that he was always just behind the elevator as it rose. When it halted on the fourth floor he waited a moment in the stairwell so he could see which direction Annie went, and then poked his head out of the stairwell door just in time to see her disappear into room 412.
His steps were as quiet as Annie's had been, and not a minute later he lifted his hand to knock on her door. He held his breath as the door opened, slowly revealing his lover to him for the first time in weeks. She was more beautiful than he remembered, especially as the surprise that was written all over her face faded away to love as she leapt into his arms.
"Eyal! You're here!" Annie whispered into his chest from her place in his embrace.
Annie had no idea what to expect as she opened the door to her hotel room, but the person in front of her was not who she anticipated in the least. She froze for a moment in pure disbelief before she realized she wasn't hallucinating him. In less than a moment she was in his arms, his protection surrounding her.
"Eyal! You're here!"
"Annie…" Eyal's familiar voice washed over her.
His face was buried in her hair and his arms were wrapped tightly around her, though she noticed one arm was not as strong as the other. She pulled back and her hands drifted to his face, thankful that he had come to her.
"How? When?" Annie questioned as she pulled away from him, grabbing his hand and suitcase to pull him into her room.
Eyal responded after the door was firmly shut behind him. "I wrapped my mission 4 days ago, but was only able to read your messages last night. Annie, I'm so proud of your work but absolutely terrified for you as well. I managed to call in some favors and got Mossad's file on Fischer. Between what I read and your messages, I knew I had to come to you, if only to watch your back."
"I've missed my partner, Eyal. I'm so happy to see you."
Then Eyal's lips were on Annie's. They both knew there was more conversation needed but their desire to be intimately reacquainted with each other took precedence. Eyal's pack was the first item discarded, it fell on the desk with a dull thud, and Annie's red trench coat followed in short order, finding a home on the sofa across the room. The sound of the zipper on Eyal's leather motorcycle jacket sounded through the room, though as Annie pushed the jacket off Eyal's shoulders she caught him wince.
"Eyal? What happened? Are you hurt?" Annie queried, pausing her removal of his jacket.
Eyal sighed, and after fully removing his jacket and dropping it on the floor, replied, "I'm okay Annie."
"No, you're not! What happened?!" Annie whispered strongly back at him.
Resigning himself to having to tell her, "I was shot. It seems the bad guys like my left shoulder."
"Shit, Eyal. When?"
"5 days ago, I think."
"You think?"
"I was unconscious, so I don't remember much. They said I was in the hospital 2 days before waking. They kept me another day before releasing me, then I went to King Saul to pick up the file on Fischer, before finally getting home to read it and your messages. I was on the first flight out this morning to get to you. I'm effectively on recovery leave for at least the next 2 months."
Annied had slid her hands under his black t-shirt, and once he finished explaining, she pulled it over his head, careful of his reinjured shoulder. Seeing the new set of stitches there sent her mind back to that night on the roof with the Cardinal.
"I could have lost you." Her lips brushed gently over the bullet wound as his hands found her waist again.
"You didn't Annie, I'm right here." His grip around her waist tightened, "I'm with you now."
Annie's face lifted to look at his face, locking eyes with him. Lips crashed into each other as Eyal began unbuttoning Annie's blouse, exposing the creamy expanse of her collar and upper chest. The next several moments saw articles of clothing land strewn about the room until both of them were naked and getting settled under the sheets of the bed. Blonde hair spread across the pillows as Eyal lowered Annie gently, his hand cradling her head while keeping her lips attached to his.
Breathing became essential and drove Annie to break away from their extended kiss. She pulled away and gazed at Eyal as he hovered over her, arms steady despite the recent injury. Her fingertips lightly tracked from his shoulders down his defined chest and abs, entranced in the feeling of his heated skin.
"I love you, Neshama." fell softly from Eyals lips, and Annie gloried in the sound.
"I love you, Bayit." Annie mirrored back to Eyal as her head tilted back to allow his lips to blaze a trail down her neck to her shoulder.
The feeling of her against him was utter bliss, the last five weeks had been unmitigated torture. Having her in the shelter of his arms alleviated the tension that had made a home between his shoulders. He planned to savor her in every way he could now that they were together once more.
His lips trailed down her neck, the smell of her grapefruit perfume overwhelmed him, reminding him of the last night they had been together. Annie's skin was like heated satin against the pads of his fingers, completely unblemished under his hands. The quiet moan that escaped her lips was music to his ears while also managing to drive out the last vestiges of the sound of gunfire from his mind. Annie's nimble fingers grasped at his hips as his lips caressed their way through the valley between her breasts, his hands finding purchase at the dip of her waist.
"Eyal, please, god please, I need you." Annie practically begged him inundated by the sensations he was creating in her.
Knowing they would have plenty of opportunity later for a more thorough and exhaustive coupling, he quickly slid home inside her. The sight of her arched neck and the sound of her gasp as he entered her would be forever painted in his mind's eye. A more appealing vision of her was unattainable. Annie's leg hitched itself over his hip, pulling him in further, and his hand slipped to hold her thigh against him. Her hand slid up from his hip and settled in the hair at the nape of his neck drawing his lips up to hers again. Eyal set a leisurely pace, luxuriating in the velvety heat that encased him and the tiny moans that escaped Annie's red lips. He determined then that they would never go this long apart again, not if he had anything to say about it.
Annie's world narrowed to the bed she and her lover inhabited, all of her senses inundated with him. His voice caressed her, and she drank it in like the finest wine. Cedar and citrus scents pulled her back to the bed in his house where they'd last loved each other. His hands danced like raindrops against her skin, drowning her in ecstasy. She was utterly protected from harm wrapped up here in his arms, no worries able to invade their thoughts. Annie was home in Eyal's embrace, it was a feeling she had been grasping for the last five weeks, and she exulted in it. Annie let the intensity of the moment sweep her headfirst into a sea of passion, letting the rest of the world disappear, contracting to the feel of Eyal filling her over and over again.
Eyal's hands caressed the skin of her belly and brushed gently over her breasts, his lips firmly attached to hers. It was only as Annie's steady breathing escalated to rapid gasps interspersed with low moans of his name, that he pulled them away to focus on her arched neck. Sensing her approaching climax, he rose onto his elbows over her once more and began to increase his pace. Annie's hands clutched at his shoulder blades, nails leaving crescent marks in his skin, as she fell apart underneath him. The sound of his name coming from her lips in a long gasp was his undoing, and he released into her before lowering himself to completely cover her.
As she slowly descended back to reality, Annie weaved her hands into Eyal's hair where his head rested in the crook of her neck. They took the next several minutes to relish in their reunion before Eyal rolled off Annie and onto his back, pulling her with him to effectively switch their positions. Annie draped herself over Eyal's chest, positioning her ear over his heart so she could hear the steady rhythm screaming that he was alive and with her. Eyal's hand traced a totally indiscernible pattern over Annie's back, enjoying the feel of her skin under his fingers. They both knew that eventually they'd have to break the companionable silence surrounding them, but that wasn't necessary yet. They chose instead to bask in the mutual love that filled the room while wrapped up in each other and the sheets.
