freshoffthefarm | [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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Annie just kept surprising him, even as she went as far as finding out where he lived. "You're on my front porch?"

With that he got up, phone still in hand and went to his front door. Sure enough there was Annie. Clay hung up and wrapped her in a hug.

Still hanging on tightly to her phone, Annie held onto him just as tightly, maybe even more so. Closing her eyes, she buried her face in his neck and breathed deep. It was probably the overwhelming happiness at being home, but she couldn't help but feeling that she was home.

"I did miss you," she whispered without moving.

"I missed you too." More than most things, so he realized.

"Stay here tonight?"

Annie noddedn though she realized that she wasn't quite able to speak right away.

Finally, she pulled back just a little. "My bag's in the carn but I don't really have anything to sleep in," she said apologetically.

"The bedroom is through there," Clay said as he pointed toward the back of his condo. "I'll get your bag, and t-shirts are in my top dresser drawer."

He wasn't expecting anything beyond actual sleeping tonight. Annie had to be exhausted.

At four in the morning, Annie was beyond exhausted, but that didn't mean that she was stupid, either. Once she'd found a shirt at the top of his pile in his dresser, she stepped into his bathroom and undressed. Folding her clothes, she changed into the shirt and then took a deep breath.

She dropped her clothes on his chair as she came out of the bedroom and gave him a smile, which turned into a yawn. "I hope you don't mind," she said, motioning to the 'Harvard' now written across her chest. "It was the first one I saw."

"I've had that shirt a long time." Maybe even as long as she'd been alive, "I don't mind at all."

Clay couldn't help himself and hugged her again, "Let's go back to bed. You have to be exhausted."

"Mmm." It was a soft groan as he hugged her again and she nodded against his shoulder. "I am, but that just makes being here even more amazing."

She waited until he'd gotten into bed, then crawled up onto the bed next to him. Sliding her feet under the covers, she curled up next to him. Not really willing to start anything without a shower to begin with, she simply tucked her head against his shoulder and smiled.

"I can hear your heart," she whispered.

"I don't think anyone has ever pointed that out." He said it like he was surprised Annie noticed more than anything else. "Still ticking along in there?"

She hummed a laugh. "Yes." Her hand traveled over his stomach to his side and she hugged him close. "I could fall asleep to that sound."

In other words, she was falling asleep to that sound.

"Goodnight Annie. I'm glad you're home," Clay said quietly. He was going to get his first good night's sleep in nine days and suspected Annie was too.

"Night, Clay."

And with that, she was asleep, completely curled into his body, one of her legs tucked into his. Any closer and she would have been laying on top of him, really, and she couldn't remember having slept so good in her life.

When his alarm went off a couple hours later, she sat up and looked a little blearily at his clock, then at her surroundings before dropping her head back onto his chest. "So early."

"I think I can be late for once in my life."

Clay reached over and set the alarm later, he had nothing to do this morning. He also felt that there was one thing in his life more important that work and she was right next to him.

"You don't have to be late for me." Her statement was accented by the fact that she not only didn't move, she actually hugged him tighter and burrowed further into his embrace. "But I'm not going to object."

Then she yawned and sighed as her breathing evened out again.

Clay was just amused and got comfortable again to sleep for another hour. When his alarm went off again, he leaned over and kissed Annie's forehead.

"Hey, I have to go to work. Stay as long as you want."

Opening her eyes slowly, she watched as he got out of bed and leaned more onto his pillow as he started to get dressed. And though her plan was to stay awake and possibly even ogle a little, she ended up dozing back off almost immediately.

Clay got dressed quietly so Annie could get a little more sleep in. When he was done, and before he headed to the kitchen to be sure Annie had coffee, he leaned over and rested his hand on her shoulder. When he was confident she woke up enough to hear him he just smiled and said, "I'll see you tonight? Just lock the door when you go."

If she went. He did say she could stay as long as she wanted.

Annie didn't wake up nearly enough, in fact she didn't even open her eyes, but she did nod her acquiescence as she murmured, "Love you."

She wouldn't even remember it later.

Clay responded just as quietly, "Love you too." And he would remember it. Then he drove to Langley wondering just how all of this happened.

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

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