Part Four: No, You Can't Disguise
Tell me lies
Tell me sweet little lies
(Tell me lies)
(Tell me, tell me lies)
Oh, no no
You can't disguise
(You can't disguise)
(No you can't disguise)
Tell me lies
Tell me sweet little lies
Syd gazed into Vaughn's eyes, amused in the back of her mind that the contacts changed his eyes from their usual beautiful green, to a rather startling blue-green.
However, in her foremost thoughts, she felt pleased that he understood completely what she was trying to say, even though she used so few words.
How long ago was it? Just over three years, Syd thought, since that night. That beautiful night when they were willing to throw away rules, conventions, and uncertainties to be together. Even if it was for just one night.
She remembered how he so carefully, so tentatively offered his apology to her then, for not being upfront with her about what was going on with her father, for not considering her able to fully handle what was happening. In the same breath, he invited her to dinner. She recalled how his eyes lit up and danced with excitement when she accepted.
Then the humble restaurant, with the wonderful food, and the even more wonderful proprietor. The jovial Frenchman seemed to possess an uncanny understanding of what was occurring between the handsome young man and the lovely young woman visiting his restaurant, even if they themselves didn't.
However, they began to understand a little more when the proprietor gave them a room upstairs, free of charge.
At that point in time, Syd felt strongly the burden of her double life weighing upon her. It was endless lies, deceptions, and betrayals. No matter how hard she worked, she never knew when it would end.
They were in that place again, even if the roles were switched. They didn't know how long Vaughn would have to keep up his charade with Lauren. And even when she was gone, they still couldn't immediately come together like they had after the fall of SD-6. Too much had happened, and things would have to proceed with agonizing slowness.
But tonight, in thanks for another apology, she would offer to ease his burden, as he wished to ease hers that night in Nice. It would be a no-strings-attached night in which they could both relive what they had missed for so long. Then tomorrow they would board a plane, and go home to broken lives. Still, they would have a new memory to cherish, and to bolster them for the struggles ahead.
As she began to lose herself in those eyes that were Vaughn's, and somewhat not Vaughn's, she saw the raw, naked need and desire rise in them. It was all the warning she received before he reached out, cupped her face, and pulled her in for a fierce kiss.
Syd placed her hands, with long, red, acrylic nails, on his shoulders, over the shirt he was wearing. It was a shiny blue, and made of some smooth material she couldn't identify. It wasn't something Vaughn would normally wear.
The intensity of their kiss brought both of them to the floor, Syd to her knees, sitting on her feet, and Vaughn also to his knees, but straddling Syd; around and above her. With one hand, he reached for her blonde and red wig, meaning to remove it, but she stopped him.
She realized that she wanted it like this, wanted this one-night-stand to be between their aliases, not themselves. It felt too painful to be themselves.
He pulled away for a moment to look at her, and she pleaded with him, using only her eyes. He nodded, he understood, and he kissed her again. She ran one of her hands through his hair, and idly remembered that for his disguise, he washed it with something that tinted it heavily with red until he washed it again.
These thoughts, and all others were swept away as Sydney's desires and needs were fully roused by Vaughn's kiss. She brought her hands to the front of his shirt, and savagely pulled it open, thankful that it was fastened by snaps. Vaughn released her momentarily, allowing Syd to push the shirt down his shoulders, arms, and off his hands. As he kissed her again, she immediately took advantage of the newly bared flesh by running her hands up his muscled stomach, chest, and resting again on his shoulders. The incredibly beautiful feeling of his skin gliding beneath her fingers forced small cries to escape both of them, from their locked-together lips.
Goaded even further by the strength of their feelings, Vaughn scooped Syd up in his arms, and stood up. He climbed on the bed, and placed her in the center.
With a rough, but not unappreciated hand, he rolled her to her right side, and unzipped the back of her dress. He placed her on her back again, and she gazed up at him, her altered eyes filled with the dark knowledge of unadorned lust.
His eyes mirroring hers, he began to peel the dress off her body, revealing matching crimson bra and panties. She kicked her shoes off before he moved the dress over her feet, and onto the floor. Then he straddled her again, this time her entire body. He stooped for another kiss, and filled his hands with her.
He sought to know with his fingers those places he had once known better than anything else; the contours of her shape, the smoothness of her skin, the little spots where he could linger, and cause her desire for him to rocket even higher.
At the same time, her hands made similar work of his body. She rubbed his torso again, and then moved her hands along his sides and back. Taking advantage of a feature she chose not to have naturally, she raked her nails down his back, eliciting a pleased hiss from him.
They moved their mouths as well, taking moistened lips to rediscover ears, necks and shoulders. At the same time she grasped the front of his pants, he discovered the front clasp of her bra. A few manipulations and wriggles later, she was clad in nothing but red lace, and he in nothing but desire.
There's a power a woman has when the man before her is naked, and she maintains clothing, no matter how little it is. A significant measure of control over the situation. An advantage she gains in what is to come next. Sydney felt not at all averse to exercising this power. She scuttled away from Vaughn before she could be relieved of her panties, and came to rest at the foot of the bed, in a crouch.
Reacting somewhat instinctually to her actions, Vaughn pulled himself to the head, sitting on the pillows. They stayed that way, staring intently at each other across the expanse of the bed, which suddenly seemed as large as a football field. Their bodies screamed at them that very close wasn't close enough. But there are things to be appreciated when all you have is one night.
Taking hold of her power, Syd smiled wickedly, and rose up on her knees, proudly displaying her magnificent body. She felt Vaughn's gaze burn across her bare skin, and she knew how much more he burned for her. It could be seen in his very obvious arousal, yes. But also in his ragged breaths, in the sweat shining on his brow before he even exerted himself, in the way his normally steady hands trembled.
And she was going to make it worse. She was going to twist his desire until he became nearly mindless in it.
Nearly.
She placed her hands on herself, in the middle of her taut stomach, and began to caress herself. One hand sliding down, the other up. Her hands constantly moved, stopping only to give a strategic pause, or a teasing squeeze. Her movements hypnotized him, and he yearned for nothing more than to seize her and touch her himself. But he remained perfectly still except for his eyes, which followed her hands faithfully.
Elegantly, she stepped off the bed, and stood in front it. Her hands never stopped roaming her body, though for a second, they both rested at her hips. In a blink, the scrap of red lace resting there disappeared. Syd struck a pose, and again she and Vaughn just stared at each other.
For the first time in almost three years, Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn were completely nude before each other. Although their faces tried to tell the lie that these two were really someone else, the make-up, false eye color, and fake hair couldn't disguise the emotions running between them.
Time sighed, and the stares broke. They rushed for each other and met in the middle of the bed, once again a small space made for two. They became a whirl of flesh and limbs. Far from chaotic, they conducted their sensuous dance with a grace made only possible by the knowledge and intimacy between two minds, hearts, and souls.
Then, in that vital moment, when two bodies become one passionate whole, Sydney stopped Vaughn before he could complete them. She pulled his ear to her lips and whispered very gently.
"Tell me that everything's going to be alright."
It would be a lie, of course. Even if everything turned out for the better, in this complex situation they were trapped, it would be impossible for i everything /i to be alright. He understood though. He understood the need to be comforted, even if that comfort was a lie. He had been trapped by such a lie.
Vaughn turned his head, looked at Syd through those strangely colored contact lenses for a moment, and then kissed her tenderly. Moving his lips from hers to her ear, he replied.
"Everything's going to be alright." As soon as the last syllable passed his lips, he felt her slight relaxation, and in that moment, he joined them.