Chapter Nine - Stay, and the Night Would be Enough

If I could stay, then the night would give you up.
Stay, and the day would keep its trust.
Stay, and the night would be enough.

-U2 "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)"



"You hungry?" Syd asked as she opened up the fridge.

"Uh...yeah..." Michael responded, completely fascinated by Syd's apartment.

This is so her. He thought to himself as he looked around. Sydney glaced up at Michael and smiled.

"I love your place," he said walking up to the kitchen counter and leaning up against it.

"Thank you," Sydney said beaming. She pulled out a carton of ice cream from the freezer and chocolate sauce and whip cream from the fridge. Michael couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm up for sundaes," he joked as she handed him the ice cream, then went to get two spoons.

"So am I," Syd responded with a glint in her eye. She turned the lights off then started to walk back to her room, motioning for Michael to follow her.

"Why can't we just hang out here?" Michael asked, now standing in the dark.

"I just thought it was a little conspicuous to have all my lights on at one AM. Don't you think? And you can practically see through those curtains, so I figured we could just play it safe."

"Did you ever think of replacing the curtains?" Michael asked as they entered Syd's room and she closed the door. "To something less sheer, perhaps?"

"Trust me, I've tried. But Francie loves them. I have no clue why. So I figured I might as well let her have them. It's not so bad most of the time." Syd finished as she put the stuff down on her dresser and pulled out a large towel. She carefully spread the towel out across her bed, then returned to the dresser to not only pick up the chocolate sauce and whip cream, but also her gift. She placed them carefully on the bed, then sat cross-legged at the base of it. Michael couldn't keep the grin off his face as he put the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream down and sat across from her.

"So, ice cream first or presents?" Syd asked eagerly.

"Well, the ice cream seems to be rock solid, so I'd say presents." Michael replied after investigating the state of the ice cream.

"Then presents it is." Sydney said reaching over and handing Michael her wrapped box. "You open first."

Michael took the present and put it up to his ear shaking it slightly.

"Lemme guess...A book?"

Sydney slapped his arm playfully and rolled her eyes.

"Just open it, smart-ass."

"No need to whip out the harsh language, I'm opening, I'm opening." Michael replied as he began to unwrap what knew was a book.

"A First Edition of Catcher in the Rye?! How'd you get this, Syd? And how'd you know that this was my favorite book when I was younger?"

"Well, I remembered this one time after I came back from...Lima, I think. You mentioned something about Holden Caulfield. I knew that would be the perfect gift. So I looked around, and eventually I stubled upon this one. I'm glad you like it." Syd explained, waiting for Michael's reaction.

"Syd, I love it..." he responded, leafing through the pages. Suddenly, two tickets fell out. "Wha...?"

Sydney's smile grew wider as Michael picked up the tickets and examined them closely.

"Two tickets to the Kings Flyers game? Next Thursday?" Michael asked, slightly dazed. "These are practically on the ice, Syd. You really didn't have to do this..."

"No, I wanted to. And judging by the look on your face, you're pretty glad."

"Glad? That's an understatement, Syd. Your gifts so blow my gift out of the water." Michael said with a hint of sadness in his voice, as he reached into his pocket.

"Well, I'll be the judge of that. And if it fits into your pocket, that means one of two things. It's either, a) really nice, or b) really crappy. You've got a 50-50 chance."

Michael pulled out a small, skinny box out of his pocket and handed it to Sydney.

"I don't know if you'll like it..." Michael said, trailing off as he handed her the gift.

"I'll love it, Michael, I know I will," She responded smiling sweetly, "now let me open it!" she said playfully snatching the gift from his hand.

Sydney slowly opened it, making sure that she didn't tear the wrapping paper. She was always anal about that, and all of her friends made fun of her for it, but Michael didn't say a word. It seemed to fit her personality, or so he thought. She then folded the wrapping paper and put it on the side. She opened the box and was blown away by what was inside. She carefully picked up the handblown Venetian glass pen that sat inside and stared at it in wonder. The colors swirled around so beatifully, it really was mesmirizing. She quickly looked up to Michael, still in awe.

"It's beautiful, Michael," She said touching his face softly and leaning in for a kiss. Michael quickly cut the kiss off and motioned to the ice cream.

"Yeah, this is probably gonna melt soon so we better get to it..." He said, picking up a spoon. Sydney laughed as she turned back to the ice cream and opened it up.

"So Agent Vaughn, what's your favorite flavor ice cream?" Syd asked, grinning devilishly as she sprayed some whip cream directly into the container, followed by the chocolate sauce.

"Hmm...I'd definately have to say Rocky Road. You've got the chocolate, the nuts, the marshmellows...what more could you ask for?" Michael replied as he dug into the ice cream.

"Really?" Syd asked somewhat shocked, "you don't look like a Rocky Road kind of guy."

"Then what kind of guy do I look like?" He asked, clearly amused.

"Well, I'd say straight up vanilla," Sydney responded matter of factly.

"Hey!" Michael retorted, genuinely insulted. "Do I really come off as that big of a prick?"

"Of course not! You don't come off as a prick...just very, by the book. You know what I mean?"

"No, I don't know what you mean," Michael responded with attitude. Sydney laughed and pointed her spoon with whip cream on it at Michael.

"But after all those stories I heard today, I guess you do kind of seem like a Rocky Road kind of guy," Syd said jokingly, as she smeared some whip cream on his nose.

"Now, that was just uncalled for," Michael responded as he swiped his finger across the whip cream in the ice cream container, then smeared it across Sydney's cheek. Sydney laughed as both her and Michael wiped the whipped cream off their faces, and they just stared at each other for a moment. Sydney was about to speak up, when Michael cut her off.

"So, what's your favorite flavor?" Sydney smiled, and turned back to the ice cream.

"I've always been a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough kind of girl."

"Really? You don't look it," Michael responded, mocking Syd. She laughed and played along.

"Then what do I really look like?"

"Well, definately water."

"What?!" Syd asked bursting out into a fit of laughter. "They don't make water flavored ice cream. I actually don't think it's possible to make. And if they did, no one would ever get it because it would taste like...water!"

"My point exactly. Now you know how I felt." Michael said, trying to pout.

"You're not pouting, you are so not pouting," Sydney said as she inched closer to him.

"I never was good at that," he joked as he put his spoon on the nightstand. Sydney picked up the ice cream and held it in her hands as she moved forward until her knees were touching Michael's. She dug in and took a bite of the ice cream then grinned wildly.

"You've seriously got to taste this...It's like heaven on Earth," she said preparing another scoop and putting it up to Michael's mouth. He raised his eyebrows, then opened his mouth to eat the ice cream.

"Yeah, that's pretty good," he said, with his mouth full. Suddenly Syd started laughing hysterically.

"What? What so funny?" Michael asked in between laughs.

"It's nothing," Syd said, collecting herself once more.

"Okay, it's definately not nothing. Now you have to tell me."

"It's just...that thing you do with your eyebrow. I think you're the only guy I have ever met that has mastered that raising one eyebrow thing. It's shocking!" Syd responded, breaking out into another fit of giggles.

"What?!" Michael asked confused smiling at this new side of Sydney he was seeing. Sydney took a deep breath then tried to talk again.

"This thing," she said, placing both hands on his face. Michael flinched, and Syd immediately pulled her hands back.

"I'm sorry, my hands must be freezing," She said, smiling.

"Yeah, just a little," Michael responded, placing her hands in the crook of his neck. "But I think I can rough it out."

Syd's giddiness quickly died down, as she was overcome with desire. She let her hands wrap around his neck. She rested her forehead on his and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. Michael kept his eyes fixed on Sydney's face, waiting for her to speak.

"This is crazy, Michael."

Michael was immediately disappointed by her choice of words, and she could tell. She quickly spoke once again, to clear up any misunderstandings.

"No, I love this. I mean...it's just that...How are we going to get this to work? We can't go back to the way things were. After today...everything's different."

Michael breathed deeply and rested his hand on the side of her face.

"We'll find a way. But not now, because I think the ice cream is spilling..."

Sydney immediately looked down and jumped off the bed.

"Sh-t!" She exclaimed as she picked up the ice cream carton that was leaking all over the towel she placed over her bed. Michael got off the bed and picked up the chocolate sauce and whipped cream, and placed it on Sydney's dresser.

"You know, I would have gotten something less sticky and more like regular food, but to tell you the truth, we don't have anything else." Syd explained as she whipped the towel off and threw it into her hamper, then picked up the ice cream and headed towards the kitchen.

"It's alright," Michael said, catching her by the waist as she turned around after throwing out the ice cream. "I'm not that hungry anyway..." he trailed off as he leaned in to kiss Syd. Before they both knew it, Michael was lifting Syd up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist without even breaking the kiss. They stumbled around the hallway for a moment, then Syd broke the kiss and laughed as she ran her hands through Michael's hair. Michael looked up in amazement at her.

"Let's take this one step at a time," Syd said, unable to hold back the giggles. She turned around quickly to figure out where she was. "Okay, turn around..."

Michael loved seeing Sydney like this. It was like the rest of the world ceased to exist and it was just them. Sydney and Michael. In desperate need to get to the bedroom. Michael turned around slowly, waiting for Syd's next direction.

"Stop!" She said quickly, then turned back to his face, "now it's straight ahead," she said smiling as she leaned down to kiss him once again. Sydney could feel him smiling through the kiss and realized this was the best decision she had ever made in her life. Regardless of what happened afterwards, she'd always remember this moment. She felt like she was in college again, before she entered the world of espionage. When life was carefree and fun, and all she had to worry about was making sure her roommate didn't walk in on her and her boyfriend.

Michael kept one hand on Syd's waist, as he used the other hand to guide him through her bed room door. He kept feeling around until he reached the bed. He slowly ended their kiss and placed Syd on the bed. She smiled up at him brightly and motioned for him to follow.

"You do realize how beautiful you are, right?" He asked as he stood and marvelled at the forbidden fruit that he was about to take a bite of.

Sydney blushed shyly and sat up so she could reach Michael's sweatshirt. She sat on her knees as she pulled the sweatshirt over his head. She smiled devilishly as she reached for his T-shirt underneath. She slowly lifted it up, and began to kiss the area around his navel. She stopped suddenly, and looked up at him as she lifted the t-shirt completely over his head. She was now standing on her knees, on the bed, as she let her hands run over the front of Michael's chest. Michael swiftly pulled her tanktop over her head and threw it on the floor beside the bed.

As their lips met once again and Sydney pulled Michael down onto the bed, something inside Michael told him to stop. He quickly pulled away.

"Syd, are you sure you really want to do this?" He asked laying on his back beside her. Syd leaned on her shoulder and put her hand on the side of his face, turning it towards her.

"Yes," she said adamantly, and she leaned in for another kiss. Not before long, Michael pulled away again. As if she suddenly had a realization, Sydney's eyes started to well up. She covered her mouth with her hand and sat up, reaching for her shirt. "Oh, I undestand..."

Michael sat up and grabbed her hand as she reached for her shirt on the floor.

"No, Syd, it's not that I don't want to. God knows I want this more than anything in the world. But...I don't know. I just don't want it like this. I want our first time to be something special. Not that this wouldn't be special...I just have something different in mind. You understand, don't you?"

Sydney sat in silence for a moment, with Michael eagerly awaiting her response. Syd reached down for her shirt and pulled it over her head, seriously. She then reached down again for Michael's shirt and threw it at him.

"Syd?"

Sydney turned to face Michael with a huge smile on her face.

"You are seriously one of a kind, Michael Vaughn, one of a kind." She said rolling her eyes as she layed on her back. "What guy turns down that kind of offer?"

"I'm crazy, I know," Michael said as he layed down beside her.

"No," Syd said, turning on her side, "You're sweet."

Michael rolled his eyes as he sat up. "Yeah, sure."

"Well, I guess I should get out of here before it gets too late..." Michael said, starting to stand up. Sydney quickly grabbed his arm, not wanting him to leave.

"No, just stay. We can talk. How often do we get to just talk about completely unimportant things?"

Michael smiled and sat back down on bed.

"What kind of completely unimportant things?" He asked, curious as to what Sydney had in mind.

"I don't know. That doesn't matter." Syd said, reaching for the remote on the side of the bed. She sat next to Michael and leaned against the headboard as she flipped the tv on. Michael placed his arm around her shoulders, as she rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"Sounds good to me."

Sydney flipped the TV to NBC where Leno was just starting.

"You up for a lame repeat of Leno?" She asked, looking up at Michael.

"You know what? I've actually never been one much for Leno. I don't see how anyone can find him funny. I guess I'm kind of bitter since I was practically born and bred on Letterman."

"Really?" Syd asked, suprised, but happy. "I've always preferred Dave too."

"Yeah, nothing beats Pat and Kenny reading Oprah transcripts," Michael said, laughing at the thought.

"What about Biff? And 'Is This Anything'?" Syd added in.

"Not to mention The Top Ten. Yeah, they may be pretty lame now, but they'll always have a soft spot in my heart," Michael said, dramatically placing a hand on his heart.

"Geez, no need to get emotional," Syd said jokingly.

"Ha ha. Real funny. I guess we'll just have to settle with Leno then, huh?"

"Yup. I think he's having Hugh Grant and Jennifer Lopez. It'll actually be pretty good." Syd said, actually pretty impressed with the guests Leno had.

"Don't tell me you're a J Lo fan. Please, God, no."

"First of all, no, I'm not much of a fan. And second of all, what would be the problem if I did?" Syd asked. "I thought all guys found J Lo to be the hottest of the hot."

"Let's just say I haven't been fooled by the rocks that she's got, but she's not, she's not Jenny from the block." Michael said, shaking his head in disdain. Syd started laughing hysterically.

"Have you practiced that?" She asked, in between laughs.

"Maybe a little..." Michael joked, rolling his eyes. "No, it's just that she acts like she's so down to earth and she's the same girl from Brooklyn that she was ten years ago, when we all know that she pays thousands of dollars for people to control every aspect of her life. She has a freakin' empire for godssake."

"Someone watched 'The Fabulous Life of Jennifer Lopez' on VH1..." Sydney joked, jabbing Michael in the stomache.

"Actually, I didn't but Jules told me all about it. I don't have anything against her...She's a very talented woman. I just personally don't see what her appeal is. Although she does put the A in T'n'A." Sydney covered her mouth once again.

"Yeah, you definately practiced that one..."

"No, I'm just that down with it..."

"Please, for the love of God, STOP!" Sydney said inbetween laughs. Michael broke out into a fit of laughter. "Yeah, I've defniately been scarred by seeing you like that."

~~~

"Favorite TV show?" Sydney asked as she watched Jay interview people during his 'Jay Walking' segment.

"Definately gotta say Everybody Loves Raymond. Without a doubt."

"Yeah, that show is hysterical...Seriously, every person on it is funny." Syd said, smiling as she thought of the show.

"I know! Robert might just be my favorite character. Either him or the father. They are both hysterical."

"And Marie! You gotta love Marie."

"I don't know, I always found her to be a little annoying. But the whole cast really compliments each other, so I guess she's alright." Michael added. "What about you? What's your favorite show? And don't say Friends because that's a given."

"But it is!" Syd responded, laughing. "One word: Ross."

"I definately agree with you there, but seriously, everyone loves Friends. You gotta come up with something better than that." Michael said, turning to face Sydney.

"Well, then I'd have to say..." Syd trailed off, thinking of what her favorite show was. "It's a tie. Ed and Scrubs."

"Ed is hysterical. Phil Stubbs is seriously the man. And Ed seriously looks exactly like that guy on Scrubs. They could seriously be brothers."

"Yeah! That episode of Scrubs where Tom Cavanaugh played JD's brother was hysterical." Syd added.

"I don't know about Scrubs though. JD definately gets on my nerves." Michael responded.

"How can JD possibly get on your nerves?!" Syd asked incredulously. "JD is hilarious! Not to mention adorable and the sweetest guy ever." Michael rolled his eyes.

"He looks a tad freakish to me...But to each his own." Michael replied, shrugging.

"What about first date?" Syd asked, out of the blue.

"What??" Michael responded, thrown off by Syd's random question.

"Tell me about your first date!"

"Well, umm..." Michael started, embarassed.

"Aw, don't be shy...I'll tell you all about mine..."

"Okay, fine." Michael said, finally giving in.

"Alright...Well, you know how I moved here when I was sixteen?" Sydney nodded, recalling their conversation at the restaurant a few days before. "Well, when I was back in France, I had this crazy fascination with American girls. I refused to go on a date with anyone until I came to America. So, when I moved here I immediately tried to get some girls to go out with me. So, one day, I decided that I'd just go up to Mandy Friedman and ask her to go out with me. I thought, what the hell, if she says no, she says no. Lucky for me, she agreed. So we went to see some movie -- I forget what. But we go there and have a really great time...I come out, holding her hand, ecstatic that this American girl really liked me. We come out of the theater and guess who's waiting outside for us?"

"It wasn't her boyfriend, was it?" Syd asked shocked.

"How did you know?!" Michael responded blown away that Syd would be able to figure that out.

"I don't know...It just seemed obvious." Syd said, smiling.

"Well, yeah. It was her boyfriend. Apparently she'd been going out with this guy for the past few months, but I had no clue since I just moved there. So he comes up to me, and punches me right in the face. I had a black eye for like a week."

"Are you kidding?!" Syd exclaimed, laughing. "What did you do?"

"Fought back, of course." Michael responded matter of factly. "I may have been skinny but I was one tough kid. At that time, I was going into my seventh year playing hockey, but this guy didn't know that. I kicked that guys ass. Seriously, it was great. And I don't mean to endorse violence here, but man, that was so worth it."

"How so?" Syd asked, clearly amused.

"Well my reputation as the scrawny little French boy who even the chess team could beat up was officially gone. Not to mention the fact that practically every girl in the school wanted to go out with me after that."

Sydney laughed at Michael's typical guy response.

"It always comes down to the ladies, doesn't it?" Sydney asked, shaking her head.

"Of course," Michael replied, smiling broadly. "What about you? What was your first date like?"

"Well, it wasn't half as exciting as your's was. It was just your typical first date. I went out with Tommy Sanders, who I thought was the cutest guy on the face of the Earth, but looking back, was just a pretty sad Billy Idol imitation."

"Billy Idol?! You were into Billy Idol?!"

Sydney scratched her head, embarassed.

"I don't know what was with me...I was a strange child. I latched on to all the latest 'trends' before I really got really into the college and indie rock scene. Like U2 and REM and The Smiths..."

"Thank God, I was beginning to get a little worried there..." Michael said, jokingly.

"The eighties were a scary time. As much as I love them, and still kinda do, I wouldn't relive them for my life."

"Gotta agree with you on that one." Michael said, laughing.

"Did you play sports in high school?" Sydney asked, changing the subject.

"Do you mean for like school teams?"

"Yeah...I don't know why, but I see you as a Varsity Baseball kinda guy." Syd said, smiling as she pictured a young Michael in the tight pants and high socks.

"Seriously, that spy sense of yours is starting to really freak me out." Michael said, genuinely suprised. "I actually did play baseball. I pitched and played first. And I really was pretty good...I was working to get some sort of scholarship to college but that just didn't pan out. I didn't play any other sports, because I also had hockey taking up my time outside of school."

"Wow, I haven't been on the ice in the longest time..." Syd said, nostalgically.

"Really? I'm always down at the rink on the edge of town...By St. Pauls Street. That place is great. We should really go down there sometime." The smile quickly faded from Sydney's face and she turned to Michael, shaking her head sadly.

"I don't think so," Sydney said, making eye contact with Michael. He squeezed her softly, to show that it would be alright.

"Hey, we're here right now, aren't we?" He asked, rhetorically. "Anything's possible."

Sydney nodded her head in agreement, and silently placed it back in the crook of Michael's neck.

~~~

"Favorite Christmas Memory?" Syd asked after she yawned.

"I'd say this one ranks pretty high up there." Michael said, letting his head rest on top of hers.

"Yeah, I definately agree," Syd responded tiredly, as she reached for the remote and turned the TV off.

"Wow, is it really 3:15?"

"Yeah," Syd said, yawning once again.

"Where did the time go?"

"I really don't know..." Syd answered, looping her arms in Michael's and burying her face in his shoulder.

"I think it's time for you to go to bed..." He said, freeing his arm from her grip, and sliding her down onto the bed.

"Mmphmm..." Syd gave out a muffled agreement as Michael pulled her covers up around her. He turned around to turn off the light, then turned back to Sydney to kiss her goodnight before he was going to leave.

"Goodnight, Syd," he whispered, kissing her hair. He was almost completely sure she was asleep as he moved toward the edge of the bed, but suddenly her hand came out and grabbed his elbow.

"Don't go..." She said, almost completely asleep.

"Syd..."

"Please," she responded, opening her eyes slightly, then patting on the bed beside her. "Just for tonight." Michael looked at her, unsure as to what he should do.

You know you want to stay... He told himself, over and over again.

He looked down at his shoes, then back up at Sydney's tired but pleading eyes.

"Alright," he said, as he pulled the covers up and slid beneath them. Syd smiled as she closed her eyes and snuggled toward Michael.

"Goodnight, Michael," She said, leaning against his shoulder.

"'Night Syd," Michael said, breathing in the scent of Sydney's shampoo.

Three o'clock in the morning
It's quiet, there's no one around,
Just the bang and the clatter
As an angel hits the ground.


END CHAPTER NINE