Title: Living in the Moment
Author: welshie
Rating: PG
Summary: - Vaughn has a surprise in store for Sydney. S/V fluff. (Finished).
Disclaimer: I don't own the show or any of the characters!
A/N: Set about a year or so after SD-6 is destroyed. Please feel free to tell me what you think of the story. Any feedback on style and content will be appreciated-Thanks!
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Vaughn finished reading the Sports section of the Sunday newspaper and casually threw it down on the coffee table next to him. He stood up from the couch and stretched his arms up above his head. He had been awake for a couple of hours and was enjoying the opportunity to have a lazy Sunday morning. He walked over to the kitchen and poured himself a fresh cup of coffee. He was about to head back to the couch, but stopped as he noticed Sydney with a look of deep concentration on her face, sitting cross-legged on the couch. He also saw how the sunlight streaming into the window behind her made it look as if her long chestnut brown hair was glowing.
Sydney had the book review section in one hand and a large cup of coffee in the other. She was trying to read the newspaper and drink her coffee at the same time without spilling any. Sydney eventually put down the cup on a nearby table, her eyes only leaving the paper for a second.
Vaughn glanced over to the clock on the wall on the kitchen, which read 10:47am. He slowly circled his kitchen table once more as he finished drinking his coffee and then placed the empty cup in the sink. He walked back towards Sydney and gently tapped her on her left hand.
"Sydney..." He said softly trying not to startle her.
"Hmm?" She absently replied while still reading the paper.
"Come on. Get up."
"What? Why?" She said looking up at Vaughn's figure towering above her.
"We're going somewhere. I promise it won't take too long, but I don't want to say where just yet." Vaughn answered cryptically.
"Hey, I haven't finished reading the paper. I don't have the time to actually read the books so the reviews are the next best thing!" She protested.
"You can read it during the drive." Vaughn negotiated.
"Okay, but I don't like surprises." Sydney joked as she quickly folded the newspaper.
"It's not really a surprise. You'll see." Vaughn said not explaining further.
"Are we going out for an early lunch? I'm not really dressed appropriately." Sydney asked looking down at the pale blue fitted T-shirt and the navy a-line skirt that she was wearing.
"You always looks beautiful to me regardless of what you wear." Vaughn said sincerely. He then took Sydney by the hand and pulled her off the couch before she landed on the floor with a graceful bounce.
"Well wherever we're going can't be that fancy, if you're wearing those shorts and white T-shirt!" Sydney deduced as she playfully tugged at the baggy, khaki shorts Vaughn was wearing.
"I told you, it's no big deal." Vaughn said, shrugging his shoulders.
"So you're not going to tell me where were going?" Sydney asked as she studied the expression on his face.
"Nope!" Vaughn said brightly, hoping he wasn't making Sydney worry unnecessarily.
Vaughn kept a hold of her hand as he led her out of the apartment, stopping to grab his wallet and car keys. He also waited a moment for Sydney to get her jacket.
Vaughn and Sydney made the car journey in comfortable silence. Sydney gave up trying to pry any more information from Vaughn even though she was still curious as to where they were going. So instead Sydney dropped the newspaper at her feet and closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm spring breeze floating around her.
"We're here." Vaughn finally announced breaking the silence between them.
Sydney opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times as her eyes focussed in the bright sunshine. She recognised where they were as soon as Vaughn stopped the car. She realised they were in the parking lot in front of the warehouse where they used to have their counter-mission meetings. It seemed to her as if it all had happened in a different lifetime, not just over a year ago. This was the last place she expected to be and it took her a moment to recover from the shock.
They both stepped out of the car and Vaughn led the way to the back of the warehouse where there was a door hidden away from the main entrance. Vaughn looked at each of the keys on his key ring, pushing away the keys to his apartment and his gun-locker at work.
"This is the one." He said after he found the correct key to open the door.
"Why do you still have a key?" She asked as they walked into the warehouse.
"I forgot to return it and I guess nobody at work remembered to ask me for it either." He explained.
"So does the CIA still own the building?" Sydney asked.
"I'm not sure, but it still looks the same." Vaughn replied as he took a look around at the familiar surroundings.
Sydney and Vaughn walked through the warehouse to the spot where they used to have their meetings. Sydney twirled around as she looked up towards the roof at the dim overhead lights.
"It's weird being back here" Sydney looked across at Vaughn. "discomforting." She added after finding the word she had been searching for.
"I should have told you were we going. I'm sorry." Vaughn said apologising to her.
"It's okay. But why did you bring me here?" She asked.
Vaughn paced around Sydney, staring down at his running shoes as he created footprints in the dust that had settled on the floor. She could see that Vaughn was worried about how she would react to his explanation.
"You can tell me anything you want." Sydney coaxed as she patiently waited for his answer.
Vaughn took a few seconds to sort out his thoughts and then stood still to face her as he began.
"Do you remember the other dayit was Friday, I told you I was going to go grocery shopping after work?"
"Yes." Sydney said unsure where that fact was leading.
"Well for whatever reason and I'm still not exactly sure why, I ended up here instead. I didn't think about where I was driving, it wasn't a conscious decision. When I got here, I remembered I still had the key. You know when I walked in, the first thing that hit me again was the smell." Vaughn said half talking to himself.
"The dust?" Sydney asked.
"Yeah. All the meetings we had here came flooding back to me. For the last year or so I had intentionally blocked them out. No, that's not right. Perhaps not the memories, but all the feelings I had back then." Vaughn answered.
"I know what you mean." Sydney nodded her head in agreement. "I didn't want to re-live the time when we were still trying to destroy SD-6 either. I was unhappy and there are too many painful memories. That's why I wondered why you brought us here after all this time."
"I'm trying, but not succeeding in getting to the point. I'm not being very eloquent." He said.
"No, don't worry. Go on." She said softly.
"I've spent this last year only concentrating on the present. I had pushed aside all that we had to go through to be together. But being here on Friday made me remember how lucky I now feel just to simply hold your hand whenever I want or to see you smile." Vaughn kept his gaze fixed on Sydney as he took a step closer to her and reached out for her hand.
"I wanted to prove that to you." Vaughn continued. "I want you to know that I don't take youus for granted, not even for a second."
"I know you don't. You don't have to prove anything to me, Vaughn."
"I know we don't talk about the future much" Vaughn said quietly.
"That's my fault." Sydney said interrupting him. "The truth is that we sacrificed so much to have a normal lifethis life and I didn't want to jeopardise that. I know it sounds silly, I mean it's not as if just mentioning the future could drastically change everything." Sydney smiled warmly at Vaughn, giving him the encouragement he wanted to proceed.
"There's something I should have said long ago." Vaughn took a deep breath before he continued. "I love you, Sydney." Vaughn slowly exhaled with relief. He had not necessarily expected the same response from her, but he had finally needed to hear himself say it to her.
"I love you too." Sydney eventually said. The look of relief and happiness across Sydney's face was mirrored on Vaughn's.
"I know it isn't the most romantic setting to say it for the first time." He chuckled. Sydney moved closer to Vaughn and wrapped her arms around him before she kissed him.
"We should get out of here. It might be difficult to explain why we're here if we get caught!" Vaughn said after they broke apart.
"We can go for lunch, the Italian place you like, if you want." Sydney suggested as they started to walk out of the warehouse.
"That would be great, but do you mind if we go to the Observatory first?" Vaughn asked.
"Sure." Sydney replied as she wondered why he had made the unexpected request.
"Good." Vaughn simply replied. He then put his hands in his pockets and retrieved his car keys. But at the same time he also secretly checked to see if the aqua-blue box that held a diamond ring was still there in his pocket.
"So, why are we going to the Observatory?" Sydney asked, her curiosity increasing by the second. Sydney carefully studied the expression on Vaughn's face as he locked the door to the warehouse. "And why are you smiling like that?" Vaughn quickly did his best to hide the grin that had been gradually forming across his face. "Don't say it's a surprise." She added as they walked the few steps back to his car.
"It's such a nice day and I wanted to sit in the sunshine for a while that's all." Vaughn answered as he opened the car door.
"What kind of answer is that?!" Sydney exclaimed as she sat in the passenger seat and waited for Vaughn to start the car.
"So I'm not allowed to be a 'man of mystery'?" Vaughn asked.
"But that's the problem Vaughn. I know you. You can't hide anything from me!" Sydney teased.
"Really?!" He said with mock incredulity. "Hey, you didn't finish reading the book review section." Vaughn added, quickly changing the subject. Sydney fell for the bait and opened up the newspaper that had been lying on the floor, near her feet. As she picked up where she left off, he switched on the car radio and began to quietly hum along with the song that was playing. Vaughn smiled once again pleased that he was still able to surprise her, even after all this time.
~~~
The End.