Usually, when they walked, Auggie would put his hand in the crook of her elbow and let her lead him around. It had always felt safe and friendly to have his hand there, and there hadn't been any need to take his hand and lace their fingers together. He didn't skim his hand up her arm this time though, he kept her hand in his as she moved past him and led the way to the bathroom. It was almost more intimate than the kissing had been, just for being so different.
The bathroom echoed as Auggie pushed the door closed behind them. With a slightly trembling hand, Annie reached for the buttons of his dress shirt.
"It's all creased... shouldn't have slept in it." She mumbled.
"Really not worried about the shirt right now," he breathed as he shrugged out of it and reached for the hem of her T-shirt.
Annie bit her bottom lip, perversely glad that he couldn't see how nervous she was sure she looked. The idea hit her that Auggie had no idea what she looked like... did he even know what colour her hair was? She'd never been prudish, and Auggie had always been her safe place... so why was she trembling so hard. "Hey..." he let go of her shirt and moved forward, wrapping his arms around her shoulders instead. "It's OK... the hard part's over. Everything else can take as long as we want. There's no rush."
"It's not that," she shook her head and slipped her arms about his waist and closed her eyes. That was what his world was like... just the feel of skin, the sound of breath, the sense that someone else was there. "I just... there's no 'chute now, you know? No net... if I fall..."
"I wont let you fall, Annie. Not ever."
She squeezed her eyes closed tighter and pressed her face into his chest. He was right. He'd reached out his digital hand all the way to Russia and orchestrated her rescue from a prison that doesn't officially exist. He flew to Amsterdam to help her save her friend, even though (as was now obvious) he was afraid she'd choose Eyal... Whatever happened, Auggie never let her fall. When she lifted her face to look up at him, her expression was awed and tender and her trembling stilled.
"I know."
With hands that were now rock steady, she tugged her shirt off over her head. Auggie put his hands on her arms at the wrist before trailing his fingertips upwards. "God I wish I could see you..."
"You do see me." He felt her moving, she was obviously kicking her sweat pants off. Then she moved forward and undid his belt. "You see me more clearly than anyone, you always have." And she knew in that moment that it was true. On the Poland op, he'd known what she'd do. He knew when she'd run and when she'd fight. He knew when she could walk away, and when she simply could not give in. But it went both ways. "And I see you... the only thing I couldn't see was us, but everyone else did. Come on."
She moved to the side and turned on the water while Auggie, who now found that his hands weren't as steady as they'd once been, kicked his pants away and reached out trusting she'd guide him. Being forced to be so trusting had killed him in the beginning. For a man who'd always been independent, strong, and self sufficient, having to reach out in the dark and put his faith so completely in other people had been almost more than he could take. Even now, years later, he'd take trips to foreign countries and make his way with the senses he had left... but he always took Annie's arm he realised. Even inside Langly where he knew the terrain, where he had the resources to move confidently on his own, he always put his hand on her arm and let her guide him.
When her hand closed over his, it was the same as it had always been. She wouldn't let him fall either...