Why Can't I? (Part II) –

Auggie woke up and reached for Annie, but she wasn't in their bed. He didn't hear any movement around the house, and the street was silent too. He ran his fingers on his watch to find out it was still 5am. He laid quiet for a few more minutes, but he didn't hear his wife around the house, so he got up and went to the living room, hoping to find her there.

As he got closer to the couch, he heard her breathing.

"Annie?" He whispered, afraid that he'd wake her up.

"Yes?" She answered and took his hand, guiding him to sit on the couch next to her.

"Why are you up so early?" He asked while cuddling with her, feeling her hair on his face.

"Not 'early', late. I couldn't sleep for a minute." She sighed.

"Is it about that Zarya thing?"

"Hmm… Partially."

"You know we don't have to decide it now, right?"

She nodded. "It's not that…" She hesitated for a while. "Zarya is growing up."

"I know." He ran his hand through her hair.

"I just feel I can't protect her anymore, I fell kinda powerless. I really, really don't want her to join the CIA, but if she wants to, what can I do? What can we do?"

He just sighed and put his head on her shoulder, feeling her warmth.

"I knew sooner or later it'd happen; this conversation. I just wasn't expecting it now… She's still my little baby... And Langley is… well, Langley." She shrugged.

"Annie, do you like to be part of the Agency?"

"I wish I'd say 'no', but I do."

"Then, what if Z likes it too? As much as we both do? We can't deny her the opportunity of doing what she likes for a living."

"I know…" She sighed. "It's just that, since she was a little kid, I promised myself to never let her do it. And now, I want to tell her 'no', but I can't, because I know she'd be a hell of an operative, and she'd like it. I guess I just didn't want to imagine my little girl getting in ugly fights, hazy situations… But, unfortunately, I feel that's where she belongs."

"Well, Annie. I just think we should tell her that we won't oppose. Let her decide for herself, she still has time to do think about it." He pulled his wife closer. "Come on, let's get back to bed." He kissed the spot behind her ear and it tickled her.

…

They were laying on their bed, Annie had her head on Auggie's chest, while she ran her fingers gently through his abs. He had his arms wrapped around her, playing with her hair.

Auggie heard Zarya's door being opened and asked Annie what time it was.

"Seven thirty."

"Wanna get up and tell her the news?"

"Sure." She got up, put on her camisole and her robe. Auggie felt for his pants on the floor, put them on, and grabbed Annie's elbow.

They went to the kitchen to find Zarya preparing some coffee.

"Morning, mom. Dad."

"Morning, Z." Auggie kissed his daughter's forehead.

"Did you talk to mom?" She whispered in his ear as Annie unfolded the newspaper.

"Well, actually, I did, Z. And we wanted to talk to you."

Both Annie and Auggie had concerned looks on their faces, so Zarya wasn't sure what to expect.

"Hmm… Is there something good coming from that?" She asked, suspiciously.

"Sit down."

She sat. Auggie took her hand.

"Z, we talked and we decided to let you figure it out on your own."

She grinned.

"But –" Annie started and was immediately interrupted by her daughter.

"Oh, no no no no! No 'but'!" He grin turned into melancholy and desperation.

Annie cleaned her throat. "But you already know our worries, so we'd like you to think about it with caution, ok? If you really think that's what you want for your life, then we'll support you 100%. If you find out that's not what you want, then we'll support you 100% too. We just want you to think about it."

"Thank you, mom. Thank you, dad." She stood up to give each one of her parents a hug and a kiss. "I love you."

"We love you too, honey." Annie held her tight.

"Alright, you won't regret it. I'll be the best operative that Agency has ever seen." She smirked.

"Hey! Don't forget that I work for that agency. It'll be hard to beat that, Z." Auggie teased.

"Come on, dad. You know I'm way better." She punched him in the arm, replying to his joke.

"We'll see, we'll see." He laughed.

Annie cleaned her throat to call for attention. "Are you forgetting I work there too, you clowns?" She smiled.

"Sorry, Annie, you truly are the best agent there." He said that then turned to Zarya, whispering, but loud enough for Annie to listen. "Not really." They laughed and Auggie was punched again, this time by his wife.

AN: Guys, please review! I wanna know what you think ;)

p.s. Can you answer me something? Would you mind if stuff got a little more 'adult'? Not too much, really, nothing too explicit; I'm just working on a new chapter and it's going to be pretty funny, but I have to be able to write down a sex scene (again, not going to be descriptive, just a little more than 'mentioning'.) So, it's up to you. I'm going to rate this fic T, for safety. But, please, let me know what you think ;)