Author's Note: Need I say again that I love reviews? Cos I do. Anyway, on with the story…
Francie leaned back in the seat, watching out the window. They'd only been on the road for a few minutes and already she was bored. She looked down at her lap and sighed heavily. Weiss glanced over at her.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice concerned. Francie nodded.
"Yeah, just bored," Francie replied honestly. Weiss snorted.
"So, what do you want to do?" he asked. Francie thought for a minute, then grinned deviously.
"Tell me about yourself," she said. Weiss looked at her, shocked.
"What? Why?"
"I'm curious," Francie shrugged. Weiss thought for a minute.
"Okay then. My name's Eric Weiss but you can call me Eric, my best friend is Michael, and I like hockey and good cooking and I own fish. Your turn," he said.
"Okay, my name's Cassandra Francine Vasquez, but you can call me Francie. My best friends are Syd and Will, I like cooking and the colour red and I don't own any fish," she said, laughing. Weiss glanced over at her and laughed too.
"What's your favourite…colour?" Francie asked. Weiss smiled knowingly.
"This sounds like a first date…okay, it's blue. You already said yours is red, so…what's your favourite movie?"
"Ummm…ooh, that's a tough one…okay, I think it's pretty much anything that can make me laugh. What's yours?"
"Umm…yeah, this is a tough one…okay, I've got it. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," Weiss said.
"Really?!" Francie asked incredulously.
"Yeah! Haven't you seen it? It's a classic!" Weiss said.
"Well, I'll have to watch it now then, wont I?" she said.
"Next question," demanded Weiss, who was beginning to enjoy himself.
"If you could be anything you want, what would you be?" asked Francie. Weiss thought hard.
"I think I would be…a millionaire," he said decisively. "What about you?"
"I would say a millionaire, it does sound nice but…I kind of want to run a restaurant," Francie admitted. Weiss looked thoughtful.
"Well, I suppose it's my turn to ask you a question. If aliens landed on earth right now and told you and only you that they were going to blow up the world in 2 days, what would you do?" he asked. Francie stared at him, unsure whether or not to laugh.
"Is that the question?" she asked. Weiss nodded. "Okay then, give me a minute, it's not really something you think about everyday…I've got it. I would tell my close friends and family, and then max out my credit cards and spend the last 2 days of my life in bliss," she answered finally. "I wouldn't tell the rest of the world because…well, I don't really think we'd handle it that well. Like how they never told anyone what was going on in Men in Black." Weiss glanced over at her again.
"I love that movie!" he announced. Francie smiled over at him.
"Really? Me too," she said. They shared a smile, before Weiss turned back to the road.
"Your turn to answer," she said. Weiss frowned, and then remembered the question. He psyched himself up for the answer.
"I would ask the beautiful young woman next to me if she'd like to spend our last days together," he said. Francie stared at him, shocked, then smiled shyly.
"Do you really mean it?" she asked, almost not wanting to hear the answer. Weiss took a deep breath.
"Yeah. But why wait until that happens?" he answered. Francie listened, not daring to believe.
"Would you like…to go to dinner together?" he asked nervously, looking at her through the corners of his eyes. Francie grinned widely.
"I'd love to!" she declared. Weiss faced her and grinned broadly.
"It's a date," he said.
*
Vaughn waited until the car had completely disappeared before looking down at Sydney. She hadn't noticed his scrutiny, her beautiful face sad. She seemed so vulnerable in his arms, and he drew her away. She looked up at him and smiled. He led Sydney back inside the cabin and sat down on the couch, trying to think of something to lighten her mood, to bring that sparkle back in her eyes. After a minute it dawned on him, and he grinned evilly.
"Weiss likes your friend, you know," he murmured, his green eyes laughing. Sydney looked over at him and smiled.
"She likes him too. Do you think they'll get anywhere?" she asked, deep in thought. Vaughn watched her, sensing her urge to play matchmaker. He grinned.
"I don't know. That depends on whether one of them realises how the other one feels," he said. "Isn't it strange how you can spend so much time looking for someone, only to find out they've been staring you in the face all along?" Sydney nodded thoughtfully, then shifted around in her seat so she could see him properly.
"You know what else is strange? You know nearly every detail of my life, and I still know next to nothing about you. I think it's high time you shared," she said righteously. Vaughn looked taken aback, then nodded to himself.
"I whole-heartedly agree. Where to start…my name's Michael Vaughn,' he said. Sydney slapped him playfully.
"I know that. Tell me something I don't know," she said. Vaughn thought for a minute, then looked at his cast.
"This isn't the first time I've broken this arm," he said, gesturing down at his cast. Sydney nodded for him to continue. "I was about five or six I think. I'd just watched Superman or something like that, and was utterly convinced that I could fly, but only if I practiced enough. Well, my parents tried to convince me that wasn't the case, but did I listen? Of course not, as if parents know anything. So I climbed to the roof of the house, and it was a long way up, with a towel tied around my neck. Then, still suffering from my unfortunate delusion, I leaped into the unknown. It seemed I was mistaken, and learnt the hard way. One broken arm and six weeks in a cast in the middle of summer ended that one," he said. Sydney listened to him talk, smiling at him when he'd finished.
"Ah, the troubles of childhood," she said, still smiling. Vaughn looked over at her and smiled back.
"So what's your story of childhood," he asked. Sydney thought for a moment, and then shot him an embarrassed grin.
"You better not laugh at me," she threatened. Vaughn nodded seriously.
"Tell," he demanded.
"Okay. I was about 4 years old, and I didn't know how to swim properly. So anyway, it had been raining really hard for a few days and the ground was filled with puddles. Like any little kid, I thought puddles were great. So I ran outside in my little gumboots and began jumping around in them. It was great, and I was really enjoying myself. My parents were laughing their heads off at me. Anyway, I slipped over in the mud and fell down face-first in this puddle and began screaming. I was utterly convinced that I was going to drown, and my Dad had to come and pick me up. As it turned out, the water was about an inch deep, and my parents didn't let me live it down for months afterwards," Sydney said.
Vaughn tried to keep his face under control but couldn't help himself. He snickered; trying to ignore the death glare that Sydney was sending him.
"So Super Agent Bristow has a weakness after all," he said. Sydney glared at him.
"I was 4! You can hardly expect-" she started to protest, but Vaughn leaned over and took her face in his hands.
"Shhh," he said, then kissed her. She shut up immediately.
Author's Note: Am I evil for leaving it there? Should I write some more? In case you cant tell, this is Aenea hinting at feedback. Please give.