freshoffthefarm | [AU] ... from the 'meet at a different time' meme

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[AU] ... from the 'meet at a different time' meme

After two years at the Agency, Annie's job hadn't gotten any better (or worse). Sure, it had it's downsides - namely, being shot at (or being shot), but the biggest one had to be the Agency parking lot.

She could never, ever find a parking spot.

Of course, the morning that she'd gotten up early and proceeded to spill coffee on her first outfit, had to jump start her car and then fill a tire with air? She managed to get behind the chatty son-of-a-bitch in the compensation car at the guard shack. She sat there, plotting the ways to key his car without actually getting caught and then he'd moved on.

Smiling at the guys in the shack, she showed her ID, waited until they'd looked under her cars with mirrors, and then picked up the pace on the way to the agent parking lot.

It just wasn't her morning.

The short cut she took through the visitor lot took her right past the spots in front for all the diplomats and the Agency hotshots. She didn't see Mr. Compensation trying to adjust his parking until she'd plowed into his rear bumper.

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"And did you?" She was curious to know if he found out, obviously, not what he found out. Not just because he probably couldn't tell her, but because it was obviously very personal to his family.

"Not yet, no. I'm not high up enough."

There were only two position levels that stood between him and being Director, so it stood to reason he was going to stay around until he made it to the top.

Annie nodded and took another bite of her food before she asked her next question, though she really didn't look at him as she asked it.

"Does it bother your mother?" It probably seemed a little weird for her to ask after a woman she didn't know at all, but she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be in that position.

"I think it does and it doesn't. She knew about the risks, she was in the same line of work. At the same time, he was her husband. I've never asked."

"It would bother me, risk awareness or not," Annie told him. "Your mother sounds like she has a very stiff upper lip."

She went back to her food, a bit quieter than she had been. "Sorry for bringing the conversation down. Does that mean you're going to be Director someday?"

That she said with a smile.

Clay nodded again, "She does a lot of the time." Like everyone else Porter had her emotional moments.

"I hope I'm Director someday. I'd have to beat out Arthur though." He didn't acknowledge the apology, mostly because her initial question was asked innocently. She had no idea about his father.

"I'm sure you'll have no problem beating Arthur to the top," she assured him without even thinking about what she was saying, poking at her food some more as she took another bite.

Then she gave him another smile as she lifted her glass.

Arthur was a friend of Webb's maybe one of his oldest friends at the Agency and he wasn't sure that he'd beat him to the top considering Arthur outranked him now.

"Here's hoping." He tilted his glass in Annie's direction in lieu of a toast. Any little bit of luck would help.

Ready to change the direction of the conversation, though it seemed like everything led back to work, Annie said, "So, what's your favorite thing to do on the weekends? You know, to relax."

Then she added, "Besides riding with your mother."

"I usually spend most of the morning with the paper and my music collection. My Sundays are very quiet."

He realized when his life was boiled down to what he did every day, it revolved around work more than anything else. 90% of his life was something he couldn't talk about.

"A quiet Sunday is one I count as a very good Sunday." She couldn't help but add, "At least the ones where I'm in town."

The truth of the matter was, she spent more time out of town than in, and though she figured that on the surface he knew that, it wouldn't hurt to mention it in passing again. At least so that they could talk about it if it was going to be a problem.

"I know how that is," he paused as he finished his meal, "it's why I try not to miss a Sunday with my mother. I've missed too many."

It wasn't going to be a problem. That was one of the advantages to dating someone in the Agency. No explanation.

Annie finished a minute later and then polished off her drink as well. Setting her fork down, she settled back in her seat and nodded.

"That makes sense. As much as I love traveling, it's hard to be away from my sister and my nieces as much as I am." It was unsaid, but she wasn't looking forward to being away from him while they tried to get this... whatever it was off the ground.

"I'm sure it will all work out."

Clay could tell, someday Annie would get that promotion, and be able to be home. She was a good agent and the CIA would be stupid to let her go. As for the two of them, it would be more difficult to get to know each other but he didn't plan on giving up easily.

"I have no doubt."

Taking a deep breath, she folded her napkin and put her best smile on her face, an indication that she wasn't going to think about being away again. She, too, wasn't one to give up easily, and she had a feeling he knew that much about her. After all, she'd been the one on the successful six month mission.

"Did you, um... want to stay tonight?"

"If it's okay with you." He didn't want to pressure Annie in one direction or the other, not that he thought Annie would let him get her involved in something she didn't want to do.

In any case, he signaled the waitress for their check.

Waiting until the waitress had dropped off the check and he'd taken care of it, Annie stood and set her napkin next to her plate before she gave him a sly smile. She didn't even intend for it to come across as nearly as flirtatious as it did.

"I was hoping I wasn't going to have to ask."

Clay stood and took Annie's arm before heading back to his car, "Then I guess it's a good thing that I have an extra suit. His tone was more flirtatious than his expression.

"You have an extra suit with you?" She paused at the door and pulled him close, her hands resting on his waist, fingertips curling a little into his slacks.

"I like to be prepared."

He led the way back to his car and spent a few minutes wondering when they'll wind up at his condo.

On the drive back to her apartment, Annie sat there thinking about her options and all the ways in which it was a Very Bad Thing to continue their relationship. He was too old for her, he was too higher ranking for her, he was too... rich for her.

There was another part of her, deep down, that wanted nothing more than to let herself just love him. And when that thought hit her, she felt butterflies in her stomach start up again.

When he parked, she turned to him, leaned across the console and kissed him.

For the third time that evening, Clay was caught by surprise, and returned Annie's kiss. She was good at that.

There were so many things wrong with all of this, she was twenty years younger, a relatively new agent, someone he didn't know all that well at all.

It didn't change the fact that he popped the trunk and smiled at her. "You seem to like to surprise me."

"I'm not doing it on purpose," she confessed as she leaned against the back panel of his car to watch him remove his overnight bags. "But I'm not going to complain if you aren't."

That made it even better in his book.

"You won't hear a single complaint from me." In fact, he found it captivating. Annie was the first woman to ever do that.

Clay took his bag out of the trunk and headed up to Annie's apartment with her.

His saying that he wasn't going to complain made her smile all the way to the front door. Inside, she set her purse down and stepped out of her shoes so that she was a little more comfortable.

"You can hang that in my closet if you want." On her way to the kitchen, she said, "Can I get you something to drink?"

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