Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review and give comments - I
appreciate them! Please email me if you have a direction you would like to
see the story go - I have ideas in my head - but far to many for one story
so I am open. Thanks again, I hope you enjoy!
P.S. Action is still to come, I am finding other things to say until then.
******
Sydney had gotten home the previous night and immediately started planting seeds in Francie's head about the possibility of there being something more than friendship between herself and Will. To her surprise, Francie was already on the bandwagon. Sydney mentioned something about getting an email from Will that day and how sweet it was of him to think of her and then said what a great boyfriend he would make because he was so thoughtful and Francie had given her a pointed stare and then rolled her eyes in a look- who-came-late-to-the-party sort of way and laugher her way down the hall to her room.
That morning she had gotten up and went into the kitchen to sit on the counter and chat with Francie as she made breakfast - one of her delicious egg-white, ricotta and tomato omelets - a perfectly orchestrated move as it was something she used to do when they were undergrads and she wanted to talk girl-talk after a night out with some guy or the other.
"So, what would you think of Will and I dating," Sydney asked, hoping she captured the right tone of curiosity and sheepishness that she had been practicing in front of her bedroom mirror the night before. "Just curious." She quickly added.
"Oh please, Syd," Francie shook her head and laughed, "Don't tell me you are just thinking of this now?"
"No, I mean I guess not," Sydney paused, not as a part of the act but out of guilt at having to tell another lie to her friend and knowing that this one carried equal if not greater weight than all the others she had told before. "It's just that. Will is going to kill me for saying anything because I promised him I would wait for him, but."
"But what," Francie had turned her attention away from her eggs, "Is something going on between the two of you?"
Sydney dropped her gaze to the floor, suddenly very interested in the pattern on the linoleum. 'Shit, or get off the pot,' said the voice in her head. "I guess you could say that."
"What!? For how long!?"
"Just a few weeks," Sydney said, recalling the story she had made up the night before, " Before Will went to New York we were alone one night and started talking about the possibility and suddenly we were kissing and I don't know, I guess I finally just 'saw the light.' We didn't want to say anything because we weren't sure what was going to happen and didn't want anyone else getting hurt if it didn't work out. Please don't be mad."
"Wow," Francie narrowed her eyes at Sydney, "A few weeks, huh? You and Will - I never thought I would see the day. He has been head over heels for you ever since I can remember, I wondered if you would ever see what was standing right in front of you. I'm not mad though, relieved that maybe some of the sexual tension will be gone around here."
It was Sydney's turn to shake her head, if only she knew that this was just the beginning, if anything, things were bound to get stranger, that was inevitable. It was also hard hearing her friend so excited about a relationship that wasn't even real - so sure that things would be great between them.
"Hey, Syd," Francie interrupted her thoughts, "Does this mean that I can have Mr. Brit Lit?"
This was not going to be easy.
******
Sydney managed to get out of her house without too much of an explanation of her relationship with Will by saying she had a paper to work on and needed to do some research at the library.
As it was, she did end up at the library but only after she had been to every other place she normally went to clear her mind. Thought of the previous night invaded her mind, making all other topics unimportant. All she wanted was to be in Vaughn's arms again, finishing what they had only started the night before. She half dreaded going to the warehouse tonight, knowing that Will would be their focus and that she wouldn't be able to ignore the proverbial white elephant in the room.
"Focus, Sydney," she found herself saying aloud in the midst of the early- American authors section causing a few inquisitive glances to be thrown her way. She smiled, tucked her hair behind her ears and apologized in grad student-speak, "Sorry, paper due tomorrow, no time, stupid advisor."
As long as she wasn't acting like a double agent she might as well fit the bill of a sleep-deprived-student.
After lunch she decided to go into Credit Dauphine and check in with her father and make some more headway with Dixon. After she got back from Taipei, Dixon told her that he wasn't going to turn her in but that he also wasn't going to forget what had happened. Sydney was pretty certain that he wasn't ever planning on turning her in but then again Sloane hadn't been in the office since she had left. Dixon not trusting her, even though she knew she had been doing the right thing, hurt her more than she would let on and she was trying to figure out a way to get back on good terms with her partner.
She spent the afternoon researching Rimbaldi, looking for more intel about "The Man" and laughing in the tech room with Marshall who was working on a surprisingly funny impression of Leonardo DiCaprio from Titanic. She did manage to get two minutes alone with her dad, thanks to the handy signal- blocking pen, and he confirmed that he did know about the plan for she and Will to appear to be together and that he approved of the decision. In the back of his mind he knew that having the two of them together meant more protection for his daughter. She may have been a good agent but he still felt better knowing other people were watching her back.
At seven she called Francie to tell her that she would be staying late at work to meet with a client and not to wait up as she didn't know how late it would go since they were coming in from Australia and would be wide awake after sleeping on the flight over. Just another hour until she was officially someone's girlfriend again, and she could only think of the other man who would be in the room.
*******
Vaughn had had an easier day in terms of focusing; a five-hour meeting with the ops team for Sydney and Will's relationship didn't leave a whole lot of room for wandering thoughts.
Lunch was spent avoiding being hit by Weiss' yo-yo flying past his head as they discussed baseball and anything else that Vaughn could think of to keep his mind away from the ever-present memory of Sydney licking his lip.
Will was at the office for the afternoon, reviewing his story and going through photos of his trip to the Big Apple, courtesy of a few agents from the Newark office who had been asked to pose as tourists around town and send their film back to L.A. where Will's face had been superimposed over one of the 6-foot tall guys' heads. He'd seen all the sights; it had been quite a trip. He would be "coming back" the next day and had to make sure he knew his stuff. Vaughn supervised the session and prayed that everything would go smoothly in the next few days, those would be the most important as they didn't know who was out there watching and what might happen when Will was back on the scene. Having Sydney close to him was a great idea (though Vaughn wouldn't admit that out loud) but Will's presence put her in even greater danger than she was normally.
Before he knew it, it was time for them to head out the warehouse to meet Sydney. Stopping in his office before picking up Will from the conference room down the hall, Vaughn finally allowed himself a few thoughts of Sydney. Will was going to be one lucky guy, real or not, he would get to go out in public with the woman Vaughn loved and hold her hand in front of everyone without worrying who was watching or what the consequences were going to be. Vaughn couldn't help but be jealous, even though he knew that this wasn't exactly how Will had wanted things to happen and that his life was no longer his own for who knew how long.
"Fuck," Vaughn whispered to the empty room.
******
Vaughn's car was waiting outside the warehouse when Sydney pulled in - he always beat her there.
Walking inside this night was even more nerve-racking than the previous night. Maybe because of what had happened or what was going to happen, or both, she wasn't sure. But given another option, she would have taken it so long as Will was safe and she didn't have to start this new charade. But she was doing it for Will, even for she and Vaughn, because if something happened to Will because of her she knew she wouldn't be able to let another person into her life and would push those who were there away.
Will was the first to speak after the door shut behind her, saving Sydney and Vaughn from figuring out where to begin.
"Hey, Syd," he said walking towards her to give her a hug, "Thank you for doing this."
Sydney returned his embrace, glad to see his bruises were healed and that he didn't look like he had been tortured a few weeks before. She had only seen him twice since they had gotten back from Taipei, once the next morning at the hospital where he had told her that he was just glad to be back and alive and that he didn't blame her for what had happened to him and the second time was only two days later when he had been moved from the hospital to a safe house; he had asked for her to be there.
"Of course, Will," Sydney's voiced cracked slightly, as tears formed in her eyes, "I love you."
"Hey," Will stood back from her, "Don't cry, everything is all right, we're in this together now, you're not alone anymore."
Oh course he would see it that way, this was just a normal adventure, like the day trips they used to take in college, driving until they were tired of the direction they were going and turning to go in another, eventually finding their way back home.
As if he was reading her thoughts, Will continued, "I mean, I know things aren't the same and the stakes are a whole lot higher now, but hey, at least we are both alive and we've got Mike to help us figure out the rest."
Sydney looked at Will, "Mike who?"
"Mike, me," Vaughn spoke up from behind Will, "Why don't the two of you come over here and I can lay out the plan as we have it figured. You guys will need to personalize everything, of course, but we have a pretty good start."
Sydney locked eyes with Vaughn, offering an apology for not recognizing his "other" name. Vaughn smiled and shrugged, a gesture that only made him more attractive - a bit of boyish charm showing through.
"Hey, Sydney."
"Vaughn," Sydney smiled, "What have you got for us?"
Vaughn laid out the plan, an actual timeline of events for their relationship. He and Sydney talked over the details of the grand romance while Will sat back and observed, occasionally interjecting his own thoughts. After an hour they had worked out the story, using the information that Sydney had already disclosed to Francie and were looking ahead at the coming weeks. Will was to start staying over at Sydney's by the end of the week, on the couch at first and eventually moving into the bedroom. Sydney would stay at Will's once the surveillance team had wired his house and gotten their watch post set up in a small house directly across the street from Will's place. Will had been staying on their couch on and off since Sydney moved in anyways so that wouldn't be anything new.
Vaughn stopped for a minute, searching for the floor plans to both Will and Sydney's houses and remembered they were out in his car, thrown into the backseat since they were oversized.
"Sorry guys," Vaughn apologized, "I'll be right back."
Will didn't look up as Vaughn brushed past him, but watched Sydney as her gaze followed him out the door, the look in her eye akin to the one she always had for Danny, but still a bit different, deeper perhaps. The door closed and Sydney turned to look at Will, if she was surprised to find him staring at her, she didn't show it, instead she grinned widely at him.
"So, what do you think?"
"It all sounds good to me," Will said, "Is it all right with you? I mean, I know that you've got a few other things on your plate, I wouldn't want to mess anything up."
"It's true, I've got other things going on, most of them things I can't tell you about, but you are important to me and keeping you alive and safe is now a part of what I do," Sydney rubbed her hands across her face, "Besides, I've already told Francie, we can't turn back now."
"True. But, Syd, you're in love with him."
"Who," Syd said, her head snapping up to look at Will.
"Mike, Vaughn," Will sputtered, "The man outside getting blueprints of our houses to outline survival coverage and surveillance measures."
Sydney let out a deep breath and put a hand to her mouth, unsure of how to respond.
"You don't have to lie to me to protect me, Sydney. It's better now if you tell me the truth. Are you in love with him?"
"Yes."
"Does he know?"
"Yes."
"Does he love you?"
"Yes," Vaughn answered from the doorway. He had left the door propped open on his way out, making for a noiseless entry on the way back in. "He loves her."
Sydney closed her eyes, waiting for Will's reaction, not knowing what else to say. Vaughn walked back over to his chair next to Sydney and sat down, placing the blueprints on table in front of him.
"Okay then," Will spoke first again, "Now everything is on the table. Where were we?"
Sydney looked up, grateful to Will for his understanding. "Floor plans and escape routes, the stuff dreams are made of."
Vaughn continued on, explaining every angle of the next few weeks, as far as they could plan them without knowing SD-6's plans for Sydney. Occasionally he would look up and see Will staring at him intently, Will would simple nod and ask a question; his agent attitude was already formed.
At the end of their meeting, Sydney and Will were working out where they would meet up the next day and decided on Will coming to her apartment - might as well get the Francie encounter out of the way from the start, convincing her would be the challenge they had to pass before going out into the world.
Will gathered up the few things he needed, and walked slowly towards the door, "I'm going to catch a bit of fresh air before I have to go back to the safe house tonight, I'll see you guys outside."
Vaughn looked at Sydney and smiled, things could not have gone better.
"It looks like the only jealous guy you're going to have to deal with is me," he said.
"Don't be fooled by Mr. Tippin's manly behavior, something tells me that the ugly, green monster might rear its head sometime in the future. I've known Will long enough to know when he is making a retreat to build up his resources," Sydney explained, "But at least he is being a good friend for tonight. Who knows, maybe he'll surprise us both."
Vaughn laughed and grabbed Sydney's hand as she tapped a handful of papers against the table, attempting to get them all in line. Her effort was futile as Vaughn tugged a little harder and pulled her towards him, the papers slid onto the table, ignored.
"Just one kiss," Vaughn breathed against her mouth, "Just one."
Instead of bothering to answer, Sydney obliged to his request and kissed him first, devouring his mouth, his tongue with her own. Knowing this was all she could have of him made her intent on not letting a bit of him go to waste. Vaughn certainly shared her desire, his hands busy stroking her hair, her back, her butt.
And as quickly as they came together, they were apart. They knew that they had been given a bit of grace and didn't want to take advantage of it. Vaughn grabbed all the papers and photographs and piled them into his briefcase. Sydney reached out and combed his hair back into place with her fingers, letting them run down the side of his face and over his lips.
"Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Vaughn rolled his eyes and motioned for Sydney to go in front of him, "I like the view from back here."
"Agent Vaughn, that isn't really an appropriate comment for a handler to make."
"I disagree, Agent Bristow, I believe it's quite appropriate for a ihandler/i to make that comment - they knew where of they speak."
Sydney raised an eyebrow at Vaughn's comment but kept walking forward, she'd let that one slide considering sometime soon he was going to have to see her kiss Will.
Outside, Will was waiting next to Vaughn's car. Sydney gave him a hug goodbye and a kiss on the cheek. "See you tomorrow, sweetie."
"Bye, muffin," Will replied in a syrupy-sweet voice, "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."
Vaughn unlocked his car and stowed his things away inside. Sydney waved in his direction and winked just slightly. Will was getting into the passenger side of the car, giving Vaughn the chance to mouth 'I love you' to Sydney.
'Me, too.' She replied.
Vaughn grinned and got in the car, not quite looking forward to the ride back to the safe house.
"Hey, Mike," Will started, "I know that this is going to sound so cliché and that you are going to laugh about it later and no doubt so will I, but I am still going to say it. You hurt her, and I will kill you."
"I respect you for saying that," Vaughn stared out the windshield, "And I would like to return the sentiment. Don't think I am the only one in this car that has the power to break her heart, she would die for you and she almost did. I would do anything to keep her safe and to keep her from feeling anymore pain than she has already experienced and I hope you would do the same."
"I would," was all Will said.
The spent the rest of the ride to the safe house in silence.
P.S. Action is still to come, I am finding other things to say until then.
******
Sydney had gotten home the previous night and immediately started planting seeds in Francie's head about the possibility of there being something more than friendship between herself and Will. To her surprise, Francie was already on the bandwagon. Sydney mentioned something about getting an email from Will that day and how sweet it was of him to think of her and then said what a great boyfriend he would make because he was so thoughtful and Francie had given her a pointed stare and then rolled her eyes in a look- who-came-late-to-the-party sort of way and laugher her way down the hall to her room.
That morning she had gotten up and went into the kitchen to sit on the counter and chat with Francie as she made breakfast - one of her delicious egg-white, ricotta and tomato omelets - a perfectly orchestrated move as it was something she used to do when they were undergrads and she wanted to talk girl-talk after a night out with some guy or the other.
"So, what would you think of Will and I dating," Sydney asked, hoping she captured the right tone of curiosity and sheepishness that she had been practicing in front of her bedroom mirror the night before. "Just curious." She quickly added.
"Oh please, Syd," Francie shook her head and laughed, "Don't tell me you are just thinking of this now?"
"No, I mean I guess not," Sydney paused, not as a part of the act but out of guilt at having to tell another lie to her friend and knowing that this one carried equal if not greater weight than all the others she had told before. "It's just that. Will is going to kill me for saying anything because I promised him I would wait for him, but."
"But what," Francie had turned her attention away from her eggs, "Is something going on between the two of you?"
Sydney dropped her gaze to the floor, suddenly very interested in the pattern on the linoleum. 'Shit, or get off the pot,' said the voice in her head. "I guess you could say that."
"What!? For how long!?"
"Just a few weeks," Sydney said, recalling the story she had made up the night before, " Before Will went to New York we were alone one night and started talking about the possibility and suddenly we were kissing and I don't know, I guess I finally just 'saw the light.' We didn't want to say anything because we weren't sure what was going to happen and didn't want anyone else getting hurt if it didn't work out. Please don't be mad."
"Wow," Francie narrowed her eyes at Sydney, "A few weeks, huh? You and Will - I never thought I would see the day. He has been head over heels for you ever since I can remember, I wondered if you would ever see what was standing right in front of you. I'm not mad though, relieved that maybe some of the sexual tension will be gone around here."
It was Sydney's turn to shake her head, if only she knew that this was just the beginning, if anything, things were bound to get stranger, that was inevitable. It was also hard hearing her friend so excited about a relationship that wasn't even real - so sure that things would be great between them.
"Hey, Syd," Francie interrupted her thoughts, "Does this mean that I can have Mr. Brit Lit?"
This was not going to be easy.
******
Sydney managed to get out of her house without too much of an explanation of her relationship with Will by saying she had a paper to work on and needed to do some research at the library.
As it was, she did end up at the library but only after she had been to every other place she normally went to clear her mind. Thought of the previous night invaded her mind, making all other topics unimportant. All she wanted was to be in Vaughn's arms again, finishing what they had only started the night before. She half dreaded going to the warehouse tonight, knowing that Will would be their focus and that she wouldn't be able to ignore the proverbial white elephant in the room.
"Focus, Sydney," she found herself saying aloud in the midst of the early- American authors section causing a few inquisitive glances to be thrown her way. She smiled, tucked her hair behind her ears and apologized in grad student-speak, "Sorry, paper due tomorrow, no time, stupid advisor."
As long as she wasn't acting like a double agent she might as well fit the bill of a sleep-deprived-student.
After lunch she decided to go into Credit Dauphine and check in with her father and make some more headway with Dixon. After she got back from Taipei, Dixon told her that he wasn't going to turn her in but that he also wasn't going to forget what had happened. Sydney was pretty certain that he wasn't ever planning on turning her in but then again Sloane hadn't been in the office since she had left. Dixon not trusting her, even though she knew she had been doing the right thing, hurt her more than she would let on and she was trying to figure out a way to get back on good terms with her partner.
She spent the afternoon researching Rimbaldi, looking for more intel about "The Man" and laughing in the tech room with Marshall who was working on a surprisingly funny impression of Leonardo DiCaprio from Titanic. She did manage to get two minutes alone with her dad, thanks to the handy signal- blocking pen, and he confirmed that he did know about the plan for she and Will to appear to be together and that he approved of the decision. In the back of his mind he knew that having the two of them together meant more protection for his daughter. She may have been a good agent but he still felt better knowing other people were watching her back.
At seven she called Francie to tell her that she would be staying late at work to meet with a client and not to wait up as she didn't know how late it would go since they were coming in from Australia and would be wide awake after sleeping on the flight over. Just another hour until she was officially someone's girlfriend again, and she could only think of the other man who would be in the room.
*******
Vaughn had had an easier day in terms of focusing; a five-hour meeting with the ops team for Sydney and Will's relationship didn't leave a whole lot of room for wandering thoughts.
Lunch was spent avoiding being hit by Weiss' yo-yo flying past his head as they discussed baseball and anything else that Vaughn could think of to keep his mind away from the ever-present memory of Sydney licking his lip.
Will was at the office for the afternoon, reviewing his story and going through photos of his trip to the Big Apple, courtesy of a few agents from the Newark office who had been asked to pose as tourists around town and send their film back to L.A. where Will's face had been superimposed over one of the 6-foot tall guys' heads. He'd seen all the sights; it had been quite a trip. He would be "coming back" the next day and had to make sure he knew his stuff. Vaughn supervised the session and prayed that everything would go smoothly in the next few days, those would be the most important as they didn't know who was out there watching and what might happen when Will was back on the scene. Having Sydney close to him was a great idea (though Vaughn wouldn't admit that out loud) but Will's presence put her in even greater danger than she was normally.
Before he knew it, it was time for them to head out the warehouse to meet Sydney. Stopping in his office before picking up Will from the conference room down the hall, Vaughn finally allowed himself a few thoughts of Sydney. Will was going to be one lucky guy, real or not, he would get to go out in public with the woman Vaughn loved and hold her hand in front of everyone without worrying who was watching or what the consequences were going to be. Vaughn couldn't help but be jealous, even though he knew that this wasn't exactly how Will had wanted things to happen and that his life was no longer his own for who knew how long.
"Fuck," Vaughn whispered to the empty room.
******
Vaughn's car was waiting outside the warehouse when Sydney pulled in - he always beat her there.
Walking inside this night was even more nerve-racking than the previous night. Maybe because of what had happened or what was going to happen, or both, she wasn't sure. But given another option, she would have taken it so long as Will was safe and she didn't have to start this new charade. But she was doing it for Will, even for she and Vaughn, because if something happened to Will because of her she knew she wouldn't be able to let another person into her life and would push those who were there away.
Will was the first to speak after the door shut behind her, saving Sydney and Vaughn from figuring out where to begin.
"Hey, Syd," he said walking towards her to give her a hug, "Thank you for doing this."
Sydney returned his embrace, glad to see his bruises were healed and that he didn't look like he had been tortured a few weeks before. She had only seen him twice since they had gotten back from Taipei, once the next morning at the hospital where he had told her that he was just glad to be back and alive and that he didn't blame her for what had happened to him and the second time was only two days later when he had been moved from the hospital to a safe house; he had asked for her to be there.
"Of course, Will," Sydney's voiced cracked slightly, as tears formed in her eyes, "I love you."
"Hey," Will stood back from her, "Don't cry, everything is all right, we're in this together now, you're not alone anymore."
Oh course he would see it that way, this was just a normal adventure, like the day trips they used to take in college, driving until they were tired of the direction they were going and turning to go in another, eventually finding their way back home.
As if he was reading her thoughts, Will continued, "I mean, I know things aren't the same and the stakes are a whole lot higher now, but hey, at least we are both alive and we've got Mike to help us figure out the rest."
Sydney looked at Will, "Mike who?"
"Mike, me," Vaughn spoke up from behind Will, "Why don't the two of you come over here and I can lay out the plan as we have it figured. You guys will need to personalize everything, of course, but we have a pretty good start."
Sydney locked eyes with Vaughn, offering an apology for not recognizing his "other" name. Vaughn smiled and shrugged, a gesture that only made him more attractive - a bit of boyish charm showing through.
"Hey, Sydney."
"Vaughn," Sydney smiled, "What have you got for us?"
Vaughn laid out the plan, an actual timeline of events for their relationship. He and Sydney talked over the details of the grand romance while Will sat back and observed, occasionally interjecting his own thoughts. After an hour they had worked out the story, using the information that Sydney had already disclosed to Francie and were looking ahead at the coming weeks. Will was to start staying over at Sydney's by the end of the week, on the couch at first and eventually moving into the bedroom. Sydney would stay at Will's once the surveillance team had wired his house and gotten their watch post set up in a small house directly across the street from Will's place. Will had been staying on their couch on and off since Sydney moved in anyways so that wouldn't be anything new.
Vaughn stopped for a minute, searching for the floor plans to both Will and Sydney's houses and remembered they were out in his car, thrown into the backseat since they were oversized.
"Sorry guys," Vaughn apologized, "I'll be right back."
Will didn't look up as Vaughn brushed past him, but watched Sydney as her gaze followed him out the door, the look in her eye akin to the one she always had for Danny, but still a bit different, deeper perhaps. The door closed and Sydney turned to look at Will, if she was surprised to find him staring at her, she didn't show it, instead she grinned widely at him.
"So, what do you think?"
"It all sounds good to me," Will said, "Is it all right with you? I mean, I know that you've got a few other things on your plate, I wouldn't want to mess anything up."
"It's true, I've got other things going on, most of them things I can't tell you about, but you are important to me and keeping you alive and safe is now a part of what I do," Sydney rubbed her hands across her face, "Besides, I've already told Francie, we can't turn back now."
"True. But, Syd, you're in love with him."
"Who," Syd said, her head snapping up to look at Will.
"Mike, Vaughn," Will sputtered, "The man outside getting blueprints of our houses to outline survival coverage and surveillance measures."
Sydney let out a deep breath and put a hand to her mouth, unsure of how to respond.
"You don't have to lie to me to protect me, Sydney. It's better now if you tell me the truth. Are you in love with him?"
"Yes."
"Does he know?"
"Yes."
"Does he love you?"
"Yes," Vaughn answered from the doorway. He had left the door propped open on his way out, making for a noiseless entry on the way back in. "He loves her."
Sydney closed her eyes, waiting for Will's reaction, not knowing what else to say. Vaughn walked back over to his chair next to Sydney and sat down, placing the blueprints on table in front of him.
"Okay then," Will spoke first again, "Now everything is on the table. Where were we?"
Sydney looked up, grateful to Will for his understanding. "Floor plans and escape routes, the stuff dreams are made of."
Vaughn continued on, explaining every angle of the next few weeks, as far as they could plan them without knowing SD-6's plans for Sydney. Occasionally he would look up and see Will staring at him intently, Will would simple nod and ask a question; his agent attitude was already formed.
At the end of their meeting, Sydney and Will were working out where they would meet up the next day and decided on Will coming to her apartment - might as well get the Francie encounter out of the way from the start, convincing her would be the challenge they had to pass before going out into the world.
Will gathered up the few things he needed, and walked slowly towards the door, "I'm going to catch a bit of fresh air before I have to go back to the safe house tonight, I'll see you guys outside."
Vaughn looked at Sydney and smiled, things could not have gone better.
"It looks like the only jealous guy you're going to have to deal with is me," he said.
"Don't be fooled by Mr. Tippin's manly behavior, something tells me that the ugly, green monster might rear its head sometime in the future. I've known Will long enough to know when he is making a retreat to build up his resources," Sydney explained, "But at least he is being a good friend for tonight. Who knows, maybe he'll surprise us both."
Vaughn laughed and grabbed Sydney's hand as she tapped a handful of papers against the table, attempting to get them all in line. Her effort was futile as Vaughn tugged a little harder and pulled her towards him, the papers slid onto the table, ignored.
"Just one kiss," Vaughn breathed against her mouth, "Just one."
Instead of bothering to answer, Sydney obliged to his request and kissed him first, devouring his mouth, his tongue with her own. Knowing this was all she could have of him made her intent on not letting a bit of him go to waste. Vaughn certainly shared her desire, his hands busy stroking her hair, her back, her butt.
And as quickly as they came together, they were apart. They knew that they had been given a bit of grace and didn't want to take advantage of it. Vaughn grabbed all the papers and photographs and piled them into his briefcase. Sydney reached out and combed his hair back into place with her fingers, letting them run down the side of his face and over his lips.
"Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Vaughn rolled his eyes and motioned for Sydney to go in front of him, "I like the view from back here."
"Agent Vaughn, that isn't really an appropriate comment for a handler to make."
"I disagree, Agent Bristow, I believe it's quite appropriate for a ihandler/i to make that comment - they knew where of they speak."
Sydney raised an eyebrow at Vaughn's comment but kept walking forward, she'd let that one slide considering sometime soon he was going to have to see her kiss Will.
Outside, Will was waiting next to Vaughn's car. Sydney gave him a hug goodbye and a kiss on the cheek. "See you tomorrow, sweetie."
"Bye, muffin," Will replied in a syrupy-sweet voice, "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."
Vaughn unlocked his car and stowed his things away inside. Sydney waved in his direction and winked just slightly. Will was getting into the passenger side of the car, giving Vaughn the chance to mouth 'I love you' to Sydney.
'Me, too.' She replied.
Vaughn grinned and got in the car, not quite looking forward to the ride back to the safe house.
"Hey, Mike," Will started, "I know that this is going to sound so cliché and that you are going to laugh about it later and no doubt so will I, but I am still going to say it. You hurt her, and I will kill you."
"I respect you for saying that," Vaughn stared out the windshield, "And I would like to return the sentiment. Don't think I am the only one in this car that has the power to break her heart, she would die for you and she almost did. I would do anything to keep her safe and to keep her from feeling anymore pain than she has already experienced and I hope you would do the same."
"I would," was all Will said.
The spent the rest of the ride to the safe house in silence.
