Title: Hockey Night in LA
Author: Pixie (pixie@pixies-bookshelf.com)
Synopsis: Vaughn and Sydney try to move on their feelings, but real life gets in the way, as usual.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, someone else does. I don't make any money from writing this, if I did I would be doing my dream job! [:)]
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sydney/Vaughn
Category: Romance/Angst
Spoilers: All over the place, so don't read if you haven't seen every ep to date.
Distribution/Archiving: If anyone wishes to pass this around, please let me know where first. Otherwise all parts, once they're done, will be found on fanfiction.net and pixies-bookshelf.com/fic/archive.asp.
Feedback: Always appreciated!
Author's Notes: I was going to wait before I posted this, but I thought maybe if I got it out there it would push me to write more. We'll see if that theory works out. ;) This part takes place during the ep "The Coup", before Sydney Sydney finds out about going to Russia. Thanks to Steph for encouraging me with her feedback for this part! :)
~*~
Vaughn looked up from what he was reading when he heard a knock at his office door. He was surprised to see Sydney standing there, pizza box and a small cooler in hand.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, moving to stand.
Sydney walked in. "Is there always something wrong whenever we see each other?" She placed the box on his desk and the cooler on the floor, looking intently at him, waiting for an answer.
"Not always, but..." he paused, sitting down again, then continued, "..you normally don't show up here unless something big is going on."
She gave him a small smile. "The only thing wrong is that we aren't going to the Kings game," she commented.
"Sydney..." he trailed off, sighing.
The young woman walked around the desk and gently pushed Vaughn's chair aside as she reached for his keyboard and mouse. The agent gave her an odd look, not quite sure what she was up to. He then looked at the screen as she began typing something into a browser.
"Why are you going to the Kings' website?"
"If we can't go out to the game, then we can bring the game to us," she replied, turning her head to face him. Sydney gave him a brilliant smile and Vaughn felt his heart skip a few beats at her closeness.
He gave her a soft smile and she returned her attention to the screen. Sydney found what she was looking for, and once everything started to load, she moved back, now in search of a chair.
Vaughn felt a certain loss as she walked to the other side of the desk, away from him. He felt like this every time they parted company.
Vaughn shook his head. [Get it under control, old man, remember that you're being watched closely,] he silently chastised himself. He took a deep breath and let it out, calming the roiling emotions within him. Last thing he needed to do was get all mushy at work.
His deep breath caught Sydney's attention, and she turned to stare at him. "Something wrong?"
He felt his face grow hot with her attention. "It's just been a long day," he told her, and she accepted it with a nod.
"Don't I know it," she said, returning to his side with the visitor's chair. She pulled the cooler toward her chair, then sat down and opened the pizza box. "I figured all-dressed would be a safe bet," she told him, pointing to the pizza. She glanced at him and saw he was grinning.
[If he finds this amusing..] she thought as she turned away and opened the cooler, pulling out two cans.
"And I figured beer wouldn't be a good idea at the office, so I went with a substitute," Sydney stated, handing him a can. He looked at the label and laughed, making her smile happily.
"Root beer, my favorite. How did you know?" he teased, his eyes twinkling with delight.
"Damn, the game's already started," she commented distractedly as the program finally loaded and started to play the game commentary. She stood up and reached across Vaughn, turning up the sound on his speakers.
Vaughn found himself closing his eyes, trying to control the feelings again that her nearness and scent evoked in him. He heard her move, then jumped a little when he felt her breath at his right ear.
"Something wrong, Agent Vaughn?" she queried, her tone flirtatious.
He opened his eyes and turned his head to face her. She was leaning one hand on the desk, one on his chair, and her expression was playfully challenging. If they were any other place, he would seriously consider giving into the desire to kiss her right now, but no such luck.
"Hey, Vaughn, I...oh, I didn't realize you had company," a voice from the doorway commented.
Sydney and Vaughn both turned to look, her expression curious, his dreading. They set their eyes on Agent Haladki, the *one* person, aside from Devlin, that Vaughn didn't want to butt in at a time like this.
"Can I help you, Haladki?" Vaughn questioned, his annoyance evident.
Sydney looked between the two men. Haladki, as Vaughn had referred to him, looked cocky and confident, like he had an ace up his sleeve, and not at all in a good way. Vaughn, on the other hand, was tense and angry, barely keeping it in check. It was obvious that these two didn't have a great history together, and she had a feeling that what he had just walked in on, although innocent enough, had not helped things in any way. She sat back in her chair, a twinge of guilt hitting her.
"Yeah, I was just going to return the Bristow file to you, since Devlin decided to put you back on the case, but maybe I should hold onto it," he stated, showing the folder and smirking all the while.
Sydney stood up and walked with purpose over to the shorter man. She held out her left hand. "No, I think you want to give that back to him." Her tone and expression were edgy, just enough to put the fear of God into Haladki.
Haladki let out a little cough and then handed the file to Sydney's waiting hand. He then quickly left the office, but not without sending a glare in Vaughn's direction first.
Sydney turned to look at Vaughn, a smile on her face. It faltered when she saw the still tense expression on his face.
"I'm sorry."
He attempted to smile, but it came out half-hearted. She walked back over, laying the folder on the desk beside the pizza.
"Maybe I should go..." she started, but he waved off any more words from her.
"No, stay. You brought pizza and root beer. Can't let those go to waste," he joked, attempting to make Sydney feel comfortable again.
She sat down as he motioned to her to do so, and neither said anything more for the next few minutes.
"So..." Sydney trailed off, breaking the silence. Despite all attempts at not being nosy, she felt she had to know what was up with Vaughn and this other agent.
Vaughn didn't look at her, he simply stared at the pizza box as he answered her unasked question. "Think of Haladki as my Anna."
Sydney made a sympathetic noise, but said nothing more.
They sat through the rest of the game mostly in silence, only the odd comment uttered from time to time. It was like the fun of the time they were trying to spend together had been sucked out by Haladki's ill-timed entrance.
Once the game was over, both Sydney and Vaughn stood up.
"I should probably go home. Francie may be wondering where I am," she said.
"Yeah."
They stood there, looking awkwardly at each other. Sydney broke the eye contact as she reached for the cooler and lifted it.
"I'll, uh, see you later," she stated, then made a quick turn and left his office before he could make any response.
Vaughn sat back down hard, groaning at the injustice of what had happened. He leaned forward, covering his eyes with his hand.
"Was that Sydney I just saw leaving?"
"Go away, Weiss," Vaughn growled out to his friend, not looking at him.
"Buddy, you do not sound good."
Vaughn removed his hand from its position, slumping down in his chair and leaning his head back. "I have the worst luck, my friend," he replied dejectedly.
"Did you do something, 'cause she seemed awfully eager to get out of here," Weiss commented, waving in the direction Sydney had gone.
Vaughn sat up and glared at the other agent. "No, I didn't do anything, I'm not *that* unprofessional." He sighed. "Haladki came in at a, how shall I call it, an inopportune moment."
"'An inopportune moment'? Vaughn, you guys weren't...?"
Vaughn waved a hand dismissively. "No, it was all innocent flirting, but with Haladki's mind, I'm sure he'll blow it up into us going at it on my desk."
Weiss tried not to smirk at Vaughn's words, but couldn't succeed. Vaughn made a face at him.
"You're going to have to find the right words to smooth this over," Weiss stated, approaching the desk.
"Yeah, I know. Devlin'll have my ass, assuming he believes Haladki."
"Oh yeah, for Devlin too," Weiss responded, grabbing a slice of pizza before leaving Vaughn to contemplate his words.
End of Part One
Author: Pixie (pixie@pixies-bookshelf.com)
Synopsis: Vaughn and Sydney try to move on their feelings, but real life gets in the way, as usual.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, someone else does. I don't make any money from writing this, if I did I would be doing my dream job! [:)]
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sydney/Vaughn
Category: Romance/Angst
Spoilers: All over the place, so don't read if you haven't seen every ep to date.
Distribution/Archiving: If anyone wishes to pass this around, please let me know where first. Otherwise all parts, once they're done, will be found on fanfiction.net and pixies-bookshelf.com/fic/archive.asp.
Feedback: Always appreciated!
Author's Notes: I was going to wait before I posted this, but I thought maybe if I got it out there it would push me to write more. We'll see if that theory works out. ;) This part takes place during the ep "The Coup", before Sydney Sydney finds out about going to Russia. Thanks to Steph for encouraging me with her feedback for this part! :)
~*~
Vaughn looked up from what he was reading when he heard a knock at his office door. He was surprised to see Sydney standing there, pizza box and a small cooler in hand.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, moving to stand.
Sydney walked in. "Is there always something wrong whenever we see each other?" She placed the box on his desk and the cooler on the floor, looking intently at him, waiting for an answer.
"Not always, but..." he paused, sitting down again, then continued, "..you normally don't show up here unless something big is going on."
She gave him a small smile. "The only thing wrong is that we aren't going to the Kings game," she commented.
"Sydney..." he trailed off, sighing.
The young woman walked around the desk and gently pushed Vaughn's chair aside as she reached for his keyboard and mouse. The agent gave her an odd look, not quite sure what she was up to. He then looked at the screen as she began typing something into a browser.
"Why are you going to the Kings' website?"
"If we can't go out to the game, then we can bring the game to us," she replied, turning her head to face him. Sydney gave him a brilliant smile and Vaughn felt his heart skip a few beats at her closeness.
He gave her a soft smile and she returned her attention to the screen. Sydney found what she was looking for, and once everything started to load, she moved back, now in search of a chair.
Vaughn felt a certain loss as she walked to the other side of the desk, away from him. He felt like this every time they parted company.
Vaughn shook his head. [Get it under control, old man, remember that you're being watched closely,] he silently chastised himself. He took a deep breath and let it out, calming the roiling emotions within him. Last thing he needed to do was get all mushy at work.
His deep breath caught Sydney's attention, and she turned to stare at him. "Something wrong?"
He felt his face grow hot with her attention. "It's just been a long day," he told her, and she accepted it with a nod.
"Don't I know it," she said, returning to his side with the visitor's chair. She pulled the cooler toward her chair, then sat down and opened the pizza box. "I figured all-dressed would be a safe bet," she told him, pointing to the pizza. She glanced at him and saw he was grinning.
[If he finds this amusing..] she thought as she turned away and opened the cooler, pulling out two cans.
"And I figured beer wouldn't be a good idea at the office, so I went with a substitute," Sydney stated, handing him a can. He looked at the label and laughed, making her smile happily.
"Root beer, my favorite. How did you know?" he teased, his eyes twinkling with delight.
"Damn, the game's already started," she commented distractedly as the program finally loaded and started to play the game commentary. She stood up and reached across Vaughn, turning up the sound on his speakers.
Vaughn found himself closing his eyes, trying to control the feelings again that her nearness and scent evoked in him. He heard her move, then jumped a little when he felt her breath at his right ear.
"Something wrong, Agent Vaughn?" she queried, her tone flirtatious.
He opened his eyes and turned his head to face her. She was leaning one hand on the desk, one on his chair, and her expression was playfully challenging. If they were any other place, he would seriously consider giving into the desire to kiss her right now, but no such luck.
"Hey, Vaughn, I...oh, I didn't realize you had company," a voice from the doorway commented.
Sydney and Vaughn both turned to look, her expression curious, his dreading. They set their eyes on Agent Haladki, the *one* person, aside from Devlin, that Vaughn didn't want to butt in at a time like this.
"Can I help you, Haladki?" Vaughn questioned, his annoyance evident.
Sydney looked between the two men. Haladki, as Vaughn had referred to him, looked cocky and confident, like he had an ace up his sleeve, and not at all in a good way. Vaughn, on the other hand, was tense and angry, barely keeping it in check. It was obvious that these two didn't have a great history together, and she had a feeling that what he had just walked in on, although innocent enough, had not helped things in any way. She sat back in her chair, a twinge of guilt hitting her.
"Yeah, I was just going to return the Bristow file to you, since Devlin decided to put you back on the case, but maybe I should hold onto it," he stated, showing the folder and smirking all the while.
Sydney stood up and walked with purpose over to the shorter man. She held out her left hand. "No, I think you want to give that back to him." Her tone and expression were edgy, just enough to put the fear of God into Haladki.
Haladki let out a little cough and then handed the file to Sydney's waiting hand. He then quickly left the office, but not without sending a glare in Vaughn's direction first.
Sydney turned to look at Vaughn, a smile on her face. It faltered when she saw the still tense expression on his face.
"I'm sorry."
He attempted to smile, but it came out half-hearted. She walked back over, laying the folder on the desk beside the pizza.
"Maybe I should go..." she started, but he waved off any more words from her.
"No, stay. You brought pizza and root beer. Can't let those go to waste," he joked, attempting to make Sydney feel comfortable again.
She sat down as he motioned to her to do so, and neither said anything more for the next few minutes.
"So..." Sydney trailed off, breaking the silence. Despite all attempts at not being nosy, she felt she had to know what was up with Vaughn and this other agent.
Vaughn didn't look at her, he simply stared at the pizza box as he answered her unasked question. "Think of Haladki as my Anna."
Sydney made a sympathetic noise, but said nothing more.
They sat through the rest of the game mostly in silence, only the odd comment uttered from time to time. It was like the fun of the time they were trying to spend together had been sucked out by Haladki's ill-timed entrance.
Once the game was over, both Sydney and Vaughn stood up.
"I should probably go home. Francie may be wondering where I am," she said.
"Yeah."
They stood there, looking awkwardly at each other. Sydney broke the eye contact as she reached for the cooler and lifted it.
"I'll, uh, see you later," she stated, then made a quick turn and left his office before he could make any response.
Vaughn sat back down hard, groaning at the injustice of what had happened. He leaned forward, covering his eyes with his hand.
"Was that Sydney I just saw leaving?"
"Go away, Weiss," Vaughn growled out to his friend, not looking at him.
"Buddy, you do not sound good."
Vaughn removed his hand from its position, slumping down in his chair and leaning his head back. "I have the worst luck, my friend," he replied dejectedly.
"Did you do something, 'cause she seemed awfully eager to get out of here," Weiss commented, waving in the direction Sydney had gone.
Vaughn sat up and glared at the other agent. "No, I didn't do anything, I'm not *that* unprofessional." He sighed. "Haladki came in at a, how shall I call it, an inopportune moment."
"'An inopportune moment'? Vaughn, you guys weren't...?"
Vaughn waved a hand dismissively. "No, it was all innocent flirting, but with Haladki's mind, I'm sure he'll blow it up into us going at it on my desk."
Weiss tried not to smirk at Vaughn's words, but couldn't succeed. Vaughn made a face at him.
"You're going to have to find the right words to smooth this over," Weiss stated, approaching the desk.
"Yeah, I know. Devlin'll have my ass, assuming he believes Haladki."
"Oh yeah, for Devlin too," Weiss responded, grabbing a slice of pizza before leaving Vaughn to contemplate his words.
End of Part One