Title: True Lies
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13
Please Read and Review
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat
A/N: Okay, updating one or two a day, maybe three or all four if I end up with a lot of time, but the chapters are long, so don't complain. If you haven't gone and read my other three, Wish List, No Gifts, No Santa Clause, No Mistletoe (which started as a chrissie fic but isn't really and just got really good) and Escape, go and do so. Reviews people, they are what keep me breathing air. Oh and I found out who that one flamer was, the one person who made me feel horrible. It was my mother, isn't she wonderful and she meant it. Oh well, any review is good so please oh please oh please leave me one! Or else!
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.
Chapter Ten
At the pool, situated, somewhat stupidly, on the fourteenth level of the hotel building, Vaughn was led, somewhat embarrassed, from the lift that had brought the pair down. Looking about, Sydney found that there were two separate pools, one cold and one somewhat warmer. No one else was about, most having returned to their rooms by now or still waiting for darkness to come out for a swim. Grinning at Vaughn she cocked her head, reading his flushed face as a sign of fear.
She shook her head slightly, before realizing she wasn't really too eager to strip down, yet again, in front of the man of her dreams. They must have stood there staring at each other for at least ten minutes and it was only when a plane flew over, casting a shadow over the entire hotel that they realized. Grinning, Sydney summed up her courage and wandered, very slowly, over to one of the pool side benches. She dumped her bag, containing a towel, brush and the book she was reading, and turned back around.
Raising his eyebrows, Vaughn followed her and placed his own things beside hers. Again they stood staring at each other, Vaughn's eyes lowering either because he truly was scared out of his mind or because he was imagining what Sydney was wearing underneath. Sydney eventually gave an exasperated sigh and pulled her shirt over her head, refusing to make eye contact, she wriggled out of the denim skirt she had changed into and kicked off her sandals. Feeling Vaughn's eyes on her, she quickly dived, into the shallow end of the colder pool; entering perfectly and surfacing down the other end, completely soaked and looking delightfully delicious top Vaughn.
Vaughn watching her perfect movements, her body obscured under the water, the simple but incredible her red bikini, working the wonders he had expected on her usually suit covered body. She moved quickly, her head popping up at the other end and her body moving around to face him. She looked at him as if to say, 'Get in now, or I'll make you.' Vaughn just watched her carefully as she bobbed up and down in the water, an eyebrow raised as she waited.
Taking a deep breath, he was inclined to turn away, but, pulling himself together, he chose not to and pulled the white loose shirt over his head, dropping it onto the bench. He could have sworn he heard a hushed 'damn' from the end of the pool, but chose not to ask about it. Kicking his jeans off, he walked to the edge of the pool, arms crossed over his chest in a weak attempt to hide. He put a foot in and pulled it out fast saying, "It's freezing."
Sydney grinned and began to swim, with smooth and lazy glides, towards him. "It's fine once you get in." He shook his head and bent over, all the time keeping a close eye on Sydney. Sticking a hand in he found the water just as cold and standing up he flexed his back and shivered.
"No way," he told her as she stood neck above the water just below him. "I think I'll just sit on the edge and watch you catch pneumonia."
He turned around, as if to head back to their chosen chair, his eyes leaving Sydney's he felt a pair of hands around his bare calf and immediately regretted his lapse in concentration. His mouth opened to yell, but the pair of hands, pulled him, somewhat dangerously, into the water, Sydney's hands managing to get him in without causing a scratch, bruise or graze.
His head disappeared under the water, Sydney letting go and turning to swim away, giggles escaping her lips as she heard him resurface with a loud splash and a warning, but playful, "That wasn't very fair."
The fact that they were flirting was amazing, never before had they had this chance, and now, they were taking it. Both of them expected, not only by the CIA, but also by their parents, to act as though they were happily married without a care in the world, they were given the perfect opportunity to forget everything that had ever happened outside of this week's vacation and just enjoy themselves.
Of course, every now and then, Sydney would realize that when they returned to LA, it was unlikely that anything could be different; Vaughn probably still determined not to do anything and her acting as though that was what she wanted. Vaughn, on the other hand, kept recalling Sydney's parents' words, telling him that it might, in fact, be a good thing. At least, to let her know how he felt. Still, thinking wasn't needed for the moment, their task at hand was simple enough for the time being and neither was going to complain.
He eventually got tired of trying to catch her, after hours of coaxing, of sitting at opposite ends of the pool, talking about the weather, the countries they had been to, of Sydney's mother. Sydney did notice that Vaughn was particularly careful around the subject of the woman upstairs, but didn't comment, instead moving on to asking him if he had given up on chasing her around the pool. He just grinned, comfortable with her now, her body still gaining many quick glimpses, but Vaughn no longer blushed red, and he was growing in confidence and certainty that her mother had been right.
Looking at her, a deep mock frown appearing real until his face creased into a warm smile, he shook his head slowly and turned in the pool. Putting his hands up on the ledge he hoisted himself up and out. The image of him, water running down his incredibly well sculpted and tanned back, hair sticking up as he shook the water out and board shorts clinging to his well muscled rear and legs, had Sydney's eyebrow raised high and her moth hanging open for a few seconds. Turning around as he grabbed his towel he saw the look and mistook it for shock at him giving up. "What? You think I was going to just stay in there with you until one of us drowned?"
Closing her mouth, Sydney simply nodded, regaining her composure and swimming over to the ledge where he now had a royal red hotel towel draped around his neck and was preparing to sit down. "Can you pass me my book?" she asked, choosing to sit and read on the pool steps for a while before getting out, the cold night air already biting at her arms as she waited for him to oblige.
Smirking slightly, he picked the bag up and pulled the book out, 'Chocolat', and stood back up, letting the towel fall back on the bench, crossing to the pool edge. He grinned as she watched him, suspicion in her eyes, but a hand outstretched for the book none the less.
Grinning, Vaughn dropped the book at the last minute and grabbed her hand. "Got you," he explained and grinned, altogether too broadly for Sydney's liking.
Not impressed, Sydney looked at him a moment before deciding she could probably get away with it. She shook her head and grasped his hand slightly harder, pulling hard and fast, and watching as he fell into the pool, head first in front of her; tricked for the second time that day.
Spluttering he resurfaced and grabbed her around the waist to stop her from swimming off again, laughing at his own stupidity. She just laughed back at his deep and exotic chuckle. While both of them enjoyed the humour of the situation, they were, at the same time, acutely aware of the presence of Vaughn's hands, gently resting on the small of Sydney's back, one vaguely higher up, closer to where her ribs began. Grinning, Sydney was soon out of reach as his hands slipped away and splashing water at him furiously, all the while telling herself that she was only acting like this because she was a rich American wife.
Irina watched with a mixture of delight and a feeling of sickness in the pit of her stomach as her daughter and her temporary husband flirted viciously in the pool below. She wished she could sum up the courage to call Jack over, just so he could see how happy love could make people, but as Jack was sitting on the bed, cleaning his sniper rifle yet again, she wasn't too keen on disrupting him.
The room already smelt like them. She hadn't been in a room that smelt like the pair of them since she'd left, her cell smelling like her, the train too much like old crates full of tea among other things. But in this room, there was a smell of them. Together. Nothing precise, not a perfume or an after shave, but just like Jack and Irina, together. It was faint and like nothing that can be described properly. Just the two of them.
Irina sniffed at the air again and smiled at the memories it brought out. Looking back down she watched yet another scene of splashing and a playful exchange of words, Sydney screaming in a way she wouldn't do in any situation that actually called for a scream. Their words were normally muffled, but the scream came up shrill and high pitched, one that would have upset other families had it been any later in the day.
Jack moved quickly at the squeal, rushing over to Irina's side, gun with him and his face with a shred of terror running across it like a banner. "What happened?" His words were quick but didn't carry the normal revolt and venom that he pulled into them whenever he spoke to Irina. Irina was slow in answering; still watching the pair with curiosity and conscious that saying something stupid would only give Jack more reason to think about shooting her. "What happened, Irina?"
She looked up at him, seeing the terror for his daughter and felt a small pang of regret at forcing him to wait so long. "Nothing she's fine." Irina motioned for him to look down to the pool where Vaughn and Sydney were still blissfully unaware of the on goings of upstairs. "Look."
Looking down, Jack registered what was going on and licked his lips as though he had just bitten into something bitter. Looking back up he spoke with disdain, "You shouldn't have tricked me into telling Vaughn he could go after her." He looked down at Irina, his eyes on her, but everything else about him absent. She simply shook her head as if to say that she hadn't tricked him into anything. "Relationships and attachments have no place in this business."
Irina let a peal of cruel laughter run off her tongue as she turned to face him, her eyes a little distant, not locking with his, but turning to look at his feet. "We've been over this." Jack frowned in defeat, the issue already discussed, and went to sit back on the bed. "Jack, be happy for them," only a whisper, not a game any more, not a trick, at least not in Irina's eyes, but a plea of sorts. "Just for the week, let them be happy."
Jack shook his head. "That's what people said to me when I got married." He spoke of it as though it weren't related to either of them and again an annoying jerk in Irina's stomach pulled at her. "They never thought I'd tell, never thought it would matter even if I did." His breath was quicker than it should have been, the words of his superiors as they told him that someone should have seen it coming ringing in his ears. "But it did."
Irina turned to look back down at them. "They're not like that." She knew she should have said 'us' but was too scared of what would happen.
"No?" Jack's voice was cold and empty again. His question mattering but not to him, not at that moment.
"No, not like us. They're in love." Irina let the words out, forgetting her own fear, purposely taking her time, wanting not only to see his reaction, but to see her own, both to the unspoken announcement and to Jack's reaction.
I'm going to make you all work very hard for more!!! Seriously, if you read this and want to see more, you have got to leave a review. Gives all people a glare.
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13
Please Read and Review
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat
A/N: Okay, updating one or two a day, maybe three or all four if I end up with a lot of time, but the chapters are long, so don't complain. If you haven't gone and read my other three, Wish List, No Gifts, No Santa Clause, No Mistletoe (which started as a chrissie fic but isn't really and just got really good) and Escape, go and do so. Reviews people, they are what keep me breathing air. Oh and I found out who that one flamer was, the one person who made me feel horrible. It was my mother, isn't she wonderful and she meant it. Oh well, any review is good so please oh please oh please leave me one! Or else!
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.
Chapter Ten
At the pool, situated, somewhat stupidly, on the fourteenth level of the hotel building, Vaughn was led, somewhat embarrassed, from the lift that had brought the pair down. Looking about, Sydney found that there were two separate pools, one cold and one somewhat warmer. No one else was about, most having returned to their rooms by now or still waiting for darkness to come out for a swim. Grinning at Vaughn she cocked her head, reading his flushed face as a sign of fear.
She shook her head slightly, before realizing she wasn't really too eager to strip down, yet again, in front of the man of her dreams. They must have stood there staring at each other for at least ten minutes and it was only when a plane flew over, casting a shadow over the entire hotel that they realized. Grinning, Sydney summed up her courage and wandered, very slowly, over to one of the pool side benches. She dumped her bag, containing a towel, brush and the book she was reading, and turned back around.
Raising his eyebrows, Vaughn followed her and placed his own things beside hers. Again they stood staring at each other, Vaughn's eyes lowering either because he truly was scared out of his mind or because he was imagining what Sydney was wearing underneath. Sydney eventually gave an exasperated sigh and pulled her shirt over her head, refusing to make eye contact, she wriggled out of the denim skirt she had changed into and kicked off her sandals. Feeling Vaughn's eyes on her, she quickly dived, into the shallow end of the colder pool; entering perfectly and surfacing down the other end, completely soaked and looking delightfully delicious top Vaughn.
Vaughn watching her perfect movements, her body obscured under the water, the simple but incredible her red bikini, working the wonders he had expected on her usually suit covered body. She moved quickly, her head popping up at the other end and her body moving around to face him. She looked at him as if to say, 'Get in now, or I'll make you.' Vaughn just watched her carefully as she bobbed up and down in the water, an eyebrow raised as she waited.
Taking a deep breath, he was inclined to turn away, but, pulling himself together, he chose not to and pulled the white loose shirt over his head, dropping it onto the bench. He could have sworn he heard a hushed 'damn' from the end of the pool, but chose not to ask about it. Kicking his jeans off, he walked to the edge of the pool, arms crossed over his chest in a weak attempt to hide. He put a foot in and pulled it out fast saying, "It's freezing."
Sydney grinned and began to swim, with smooth and lazy glides, towards him. "It's fine once you get in." He shook his head and bent over, all the time keeping a close eye on Sydney. Sticking a hand in he found the water just as cold and standing up he flexed his back and shivered.
"No way," he told her as she stood neck above the water just below him. "I think I'll just sit on the edge and watch you catch pneumonia."
He turned around, as if to head back to their chosen chair, his eyes leaving Sydney's he felt a pair of hands around his bare calf and immediately regretted his lapse in concentration. His mouth opened to yell, but the pair of hands, pulled him, somewhat dangerously, into the water, Sydney's hands managing to get him in without causing a scratch, bruise or graze.
His head disappeared under the water, Sydney letting go and turning to swim away, giggles escaping her lips as she heard him resurface with a loud splash and a warning, but playful, "That wasn't very fair."
The fact that they were flirting was amazing, never before had they had this chance, and now, they were taking it. Both of them expected, not only by the CIA, but also by their parents, to act as though they were happily married without a care in the world, they were given the perfect opportunity to forget everything that had ever happened outside of this week's vacation and just enjoy themselves.
Of course, every now and then, Sydney would realize that when they returned to LA, it was unlikely that anything could be different; Vaughn probably still determined not to do anything and her acting as though that was what she wanted. Vaughn, on the other hand, kept recalling Sydney's parents' words, telling him that it might, in fact, be a good thing. At least, to let her know how he felt. Still, thinking wasn't needed for the moment, their task at hand was simple enough for the time being and neither was going to complain.
He eventually got tired of trying to catch her, after hours of coaxing, of sitting at opposite ends of the pool, talking about the weather, the countries they had been to, of Sydney's mother. Sydney did notice that Vaughn was particularly careful around the subject of the woman upstairs, but didn't comment, instead moving on to asking him if he had given up on chasing her around the pool. He just grinned, comfortable with her now, her body still gaining many quick glimpses, but Vaughn no longer blushed red, and he was growing in confidence and certainty that her mother had been right.
Looking at her, a deep mock frown appearing real until his face creased into a warm smile, he shook his head slowly and turned in the pool. Putting his hands up on the ledge he hoisted himself up and out. The image of him, water running down his incredibly well sculpted and tanned back, hair sticking up as he shook the water out and board shorts clinging to his well muscled rear and legs, had Sydney's eyebrow raised high and her moth hanging open for a few seconds. Turning around as he grabbed his towel he saw the look and mistook it for shock at him giving up. "What? You think I was going to just stay in there with you until one of us drowned?"
Closing her mouth, Sydney simply nodded, regaining her composure and swimming over to the ledge where he now had a royal red hotel towel draped around his neck and was preparing to sit down. "Can you pass me my book?" she asked, choosing to sit and read on the pool steps for a while before getting out, the cold night air already biting at her arms as she waited for him to oblige.
Smirking slightly, he picked the bag up and pulled the book out, 'Chocolat', and stood back up, letting the towel fall back on the bench, crossing to the pool edge. He grinned as she watched him, suspicion in her eyes, but a hand outstretched for the book none the less.
Grinning, Vaughn dropped the book at the last minute and grabbed her hand. "Got you," he explained and grinned, altogether too broadly for Sydney's liking.
Not impressed, Sydney looked at him a moment before deciding she could probably get away with it. She shook her head and grasped his hand slightly harder, pulling hard and fast, and watching as he fell into the pool, head first in front of her; tricked for the second time that day.
Spluttering he resurfaced and grabbed her around the waist to stop her from swimming off again, laughing at his own stupidity. She just laughed back at his deep and exotic chuckle. While both of them enjoyed the humour of the situation, they were, at the same time, acutely aware of the presence of Vaughn's hands, gently resting on the small of Sydney's back, one vaguely higher up, closer to where her ribs began. Grinning, Sydney was soon out of reach as his hands slipped away and splashing water at him furiously, all the while telling herself that she was only acting like this because she was a rich American wife.
Irina watched with a mixture of delight and a feeling of sickness in the pit of her stomach as her daughter and her temporary husband flirted viciously in the pool below. She wished she could sum up the courage to call Jack over, just so he could see how happy love could make people, but as Jack was sitting on the bed, cleaning his sniper rifle yet again, she wasn't too keen on disrupting him.
The room already smelt like them. She hadn't been in a room that smelt like the pair of them since she'd left, her cell smelling like her, the train too much like old crates full of tea among other things. But in this room, there was a smell of them. Together. Nothing precise, not a perfume or an after shave, but just like Jack and Irina, together. It was faint and like nothing that can be described properly. Just the two of them.
Irina sniffed at the air again and smiled at the memories it brought out. Looking back down she watched yet another scene of splashing and a playful exchange of words, Sydney screaming in a way she wouldn't do in any situation that actually called for a scream. Their words were normally muffled, but the scream came up shrill and high pitched, one that would have upset other families had it been any later in the day.
Jack moved quickly at the squeal, rushing over to Irina's side, gun with him and his face with a shred of terror running across it like a banner. "What happened?" His words were quick but didn't carry the normal revolt and venom that he pulled into them whenever he spoke to Irina. Irina was slow in answering; still watching the pair with curiosity and conscious that saying something stupid would only give Jack more reason to think about shooting her. "What happened, Irina?"
She looked up at him, seeing the terror for his daughter and felt a small pang of regret at forcing him to wait so long. "Nothing she's fine." Irina motioned for him to look down to the pool where Vaughn and Sydney were still blissfully unaware of the on goings of upstairs. "Look."
Looking down, Jack registered what was going on and licked his lips as though he had just bitten into something bitter. Looking back up he spoke with disdain, "You shouldn't have tricked me into telling Vaughn he could go after her." He looked down at Irina, his eyes on her, but everything else about him absent. She simply shook her head as if to say that she hadn't tricked him into anything. "Relationships and attachments have no place in this business."
Irina let a peal of cruel laughter run off her tongue as she turned to face him, her eyes a little distant, not locking with his, but turning to look at his feet. "We've been over this." Jack frowned in defeat, the issue already discussed, and went to sit back on the bed. "Jack, be happy for them," only a whisper, not a game any more, not a trick, at least not in Irina's eyes, but a plea of sorts. "Just for the week, let them be happy."
Jack shook his head. "That's what people said to me when I got married." He spoke of it as though it weren't related to either of them and again an annoying jerk in Irina's stomach pulled at her. "They never thought I'd tell, never thought it would matter even if I did." His breath was quicker than it should have been, the words of his superiors as they told him that someone should have seen it coming ringing in his ears. "But it did."
Irina turned to look back down at them. "They're not like that." She knew she should have said 'us' but was too scared of what would happen.
"No?" Jack's voice was cold and empty again. His question mattering but not to him, not at that moment.
"No, not like us. They're in love." Irina let the words out, forgetting her own fear, purposely taking her time, wanting not only to see his reaction, but to see her own, both to the unspoken announcement and to Jack's reaction.
I'm going to make you all work very hard for more!!! Seriously, if you read this and want to see more, you have got to leave a review. Gives all people a glare.