This is spying. Isn't it FUN?

[neverwrongagent]

Brody attending the meeting Walker had so casually mentioned turned into a three ring circus. More than one person involved was convinced the whole thing was a wild goose chase, including Carrie occasionally. If she hadn't seen Walker as up close and personal as she had when they were first rescued, she could have been convinced. Maybe sending Brody to a regular meeting for returning vets who were also Muslim was just a kind of fuck you from a man who felt he'd been betrayed by a brother soldier. Or it could be something much more sinister. The problem was, no one could really figure out what that sinister was supposed to be. Carrie continued to maintain that Brody had no idea what was going on.

The questions Brody faced right after the meeting ranged from if he knew any of the people there already to how was he planning to overthrow the US government. When the questions headed that way a majority of the time, Carrie called foul and got Brody out of there. With full understanding of the irony involved, they had decided that the cover that would work best with his family was that he was working with other vets on integrating back into the world. Carrie would have felt a lot worse about that if it was just being used to cover up them fucking around. She still felt pretty shitty about it given how much stress it was putting on him.

They took their own cars back to her place. She got there before him and immediately opened a fresh bottle of wine, leaving a full glass on the counter for him, then she went upstairs to change into something decidedly less official looking.

Comments

[neverwrongagent]

He didn't sleep in the same bed as his wife, but he mostly easily napped around her. He was better after being with her. None of which was a change, really, from right after he'd gotten back. Every time she asked, she thought she'd get a different kind of answer, but it almost sounded like it was getting worse. "But she hasn't said that, has she? Has she said anything?"

[posterboymarine]

"She told me I should go back to my unit, that it would be best for me to get back to normal." He snorted. "Back to normal, whatever the hell that is. She said she and the kids could keep staying with my mother until I find out if I'm going to be deployed again."

[neverwrongagent]

That wasn't someone who wanted to be with him. Carrie hadn't ever lived with him and she couldn't stand the idea of him going so far away. She'd had one night with him and then longed for him when he was missing. Admittedly, Carrie knew she got a little obsessive about things, but still. Accepting you lived with a Marine who could be in danger again was one thing, but practically sending him away was another.

"Normal." She snorted softly. "I lost touch with that one a long time ago."

[posterboymarine]

"Normal for her is me being gone. Normal for me... Well, I don't know what that is anymore."

[neverwrongagent]

She sighed softly. Normal for him was stress, uncertainty and doubt. None of which was good for the mind. "I'm here. That's starting to be normal, scary, huh?"

[posterboymarine]

"It is, yes. You are here." It was also weird, that this woman he'd meet in the sandbox seemed to care more for him then his own wife.

[neverwrongagent]

She tried to process that for a while and in the end she shrugged. "We can talk. What do you say to someone who wasn't there?" She knew she was more comfortable talking to a World War II vet who'd seen action than to a banker exactly the same age as her. "It's like the whole language changes."

[posterboymarine]

She had a point and he nodded. He and his wife had so little in common anymore that it was hard to find anything to talk about at all.

[neverwrongagent]

She licked her lips, not sure if she should say the next bit. "That's never going to change." She shrugged. "It's why I'm single."

She snorted. "Well, that and I'm a driven lunatic, but besides that."

[posterboymarine]

He sighed. He knew it wasn't going to improve. And maybe he was ready to stop trying. But he wasn't ready to make the decision yet. He was getting closer, though.

[neverwrongagent]

She didn't have much more to say on the matter, so she was glad enough to drop it. Except to reach over and kiss him gently, reminding him that she was there. Then she settled against him and looked out over the water. "We should go out one night." She glanced up at him. "I don't mean while we're here, necessarily, but where there's music maybe."

[posterboymarine]

He was also happy to drop it, since he needed to think. Then she was taking about going out and he grinned. "You want to take me dancing, don't you."

[neverwrongagent]

She grinned broadly. "God knows you know how to move." She loved the way he moved with her. "It would be fun. Something just about us, about being free."

[posterboymarine]

"You have noticed that I'm very white, right? " Still, the idea of going dancing had some appeal and he nodded. "We should go while we are here, where we don't have my shadows."

[neverwrongagent]

"You're pink." She leaned over and nipped at a freckled spot on his jaw. "Strawberries and cream. I like it." She was more peaches than strawberries. They were both ridiculously pale, really. "God, yeah, fuck them. They don't get to enjoy the good music."

[posterboymarine]

He laughed deeply, pulling her into his arms. "I trust you know a place nearby?"

[neverwrongagent]

She had to think about that for a minute. There were places she'd gone with Maggie when they were younger, but she thought most of those were closed by now. Then she smiled. "Oh yeah, I know a place. They even play jazz sometimes."

[posterboymarine]

He kissed her again. "Then we'll go tonight." He rubbed her back a moment, then laid back, pulling her down with him.

[neverwrongagent]

They stayed by the water for another hour or so, enjoying the setting until they decided it would be more comfortable to nap in a proper bed. Carrie called to be sure the place she had in mind was, in fact, still open. They got showers and something light to eat before heading out.

It was more an old fashioned dinner club than a bar, but the crowd was an odds mix of bikers, hipsters, and couples who had probably been coming for thirty years. The band that night played a mix of soft Rick and jazz, perfect for slow dancing. When they got there, they were playing Coltrane, which made Carrie beam.

[posterboymarine]

Brody saw the look on her face when they walked in and smile as he pressed a little closer to her. They got a table and a pitcher ordered, then he wasted no time dragging her out on what passed for a dance floor.

[neverwrongagent]

The moment she was in his arms, Carrie forgot about everything beyond the music and the way they moved. In the same way that being in bed with him always worked for her, this cleared her mind so she could focus on the smallest details. The smell of him, the way his shirt buttons rubbed on her, everything.

[posterboymarine]

He sighed contently as they danced, just letting the world slip away. When it was like this, when it was just them, everything was so much easier and more peaceful. He'd never been captured and wasn't being used when he felt this way.

And maybe he wasn't as rhythm-less as he would have had her believe.

[neverwrongagent]

She hadn't believed him on the rhythm thing between how he was in bed and his training. Her eyes closed so she could heighten her focus that much more as they moved. She brought a hand up to his hair, tickling at the base of his neck. Her fingers played in time with the music. This was as happy as she could remember being in a long time.

[posterboymarine]

He danced with her for a few songs before finally pulling her back to their table. Their beer was getting warm and they had all night to dance. Once they were seated, he finally looked around, taking in the scenery.

[neverwrongagent]

She didn't stop moving once they were in their seats. Her fingers tapped on the table and she bounced a little in place. They'd painted at some point since she was last here, now it was all dark greens and wood instead of red and gilt. It was nicer. And the waitstaff was younger. But the tables still had some distance between them so they could have some privacy.