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]

She nodded against his cheek. "Yeah. Not really fair, is it." She pulled back slowly and met his eyes. "Awake now and it's gorgeous out there. Wanna get some coffee and sit by the water with me?" Being outside, in nature, might help him feel more settled.

[posterboymarine]

He thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. Let's do that." Being outside sounded like the best idea in the world.

[neverwrongagent]

She kissed him quickly, then sent him out onto the porch while she got them coffee. They held hands while they walked to the dock and she sat with her head against his shoulder. "I love this view. It's barely changed since I was a kid."

[posterboymarine]

He drug himself outside and groaned softly. Such highs and lows were enough to break a man and he was having to fight to keep it together until he was awake.

Then she was holding his hand and just being close, exactly what he needed. By the time they were sitting down, her head on his shoulder, he was a bit more settled and able to actually respond like a human being. "It's nice. Calming. Peaceful."

[neverwrongagent]

She nodded. "Peaceful." That was the best word for it. Just being with him helped that. The surroundings helped more. She looked more at their hands than at the environment. He was still shaky, but she could feel that changing. She exhaled slowly. "How do you deal with it at home?"

[posterboymarine]

Glancing at their hands, he shrugged. "Mostly, I don't asleep. When I do, it's alone, during the day, when no one is around to freak out."

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back. "I have a corner all picked out and I wait it out there."

[neverwrongagent]

Just because she wasn't surprised didn't mean that her heart didn't break for him. That edge of anger at his wife that tended to hover at moments like this got stronger. As much as she wanted to be with him, that rankled. She sighed softly. "When this is over, when we figure out what the fuck is going on, I--" She licked her lips. "I want to take you away somewhere so you can sleep safely. Just us."

[posterboymarine]

That sounded like heaven and he nodded. "I'd like that." Not that he thought it could happen, but it sounded good enough that he would live in the fantasy for a while.

[neverwrongagent]

She'd move heaven and earth to make it happen. He was giving his all for her, pretty much only because she'd asked as there was no current proof that he was involved in anything at all beyond an association with Walker. She took over the hand kissing. "What should we do today?"

[posterboymarine]

He watched her with a faint smile. "We should go wandering. Show me around."

[neverwrongagent]

That got a firm nod. It was a wonderful idea and there was plenty out there for them to see. Nature and stuff. Places where no one but them would have been for ages. Safe places. "We'll pack a little bag with water. Make an adventure of it."

[posterboymarine]

He leaned against her and nodded, then fell quiet as he sipped his coffee. Sometimes, he just needed the quiet and the open. She knew that already.

[neverwrongagent]

The only times she could easily tolerate that quiet, really, were with him. Any other time and the constant nagging of her own obsessions would make her jumpy. She sat with him until her coffee was done, then left him to sit for a little longer while she started putting together their supplies and laying out walking clothes for both of them.

She hummed softly as she worked.

[posterboymarine]

He was fine for a little while alone, then he starred getting twitchy. So back inside he went, watching get for a moment before clearing his throat to get her attention.

[neverwrongagent]

She turned to him, a half made sandwich in her hands, and raised an eyebrow. "You don't like turkey?"

[posterboymarine]

He smirked. "Turkey's fine. Just missed you."

[neverwrongagent]

She finished making the sandwich, then reached for him. "So come over here and help me from right up close." She patted her hip. "I'm a little chilly, so very, very close." She'd just make him reach for things.

[posterboymarine]

He pressed himself against her back and kissed the top of her head. After a moment, he snaked an arm around her waist and sighed softly.

[neverwrongagent]

She leaned into him, pleased with the heat and bulk of him, and went back to working. More turkey and then a couple cheese sandwiches, as well as fruit and bottles of water. The moment was as mundane and domestic as it possibly could be the way so many of their moments managed to be even in the midst of utter chaos. "You really should know I'm not this easy to live with. I make messes everywhere. Keep crazy hours."

[posterboymarine]

"Ever lived with someone before?" It seemed the valid question, if she was going to make those statements.

[neverwrongagent]

She nodded. "Boyfriend in college. For about six months." It might have been a little longer, but not much. Not long after, she'd had her first big breakdown and she hadn't lived with anyone but family since. "I travel, have to be able to either talk about work or be with someone who actually understands not being able to. That's hard."

[posterboymarine]

He nodded. "Lived with someone since high school. It's never as hard as you think. Until it is."

[neverwrongagent]

She blinked hard, forcing away the idea that they were discussing his wife, and nodded. "I've thought about it, but then work got in the way." Or her own need to be moving so fast that no one else could keep up. "This is the longest I've been home in a while." She winced a little. "You, too, I guess."

[posterboymarine]

He nodded, trying not to pull away some. "I'm not real sure where home is anymore."

[neverwrongagent]

She turned slowly in his arms, wrapping her own around his middle as she put her head on his chest. For a while she just held him, trying to figure out how to say what she was thinking. Finally she sighed softly. "I have an apartment, I like it. I love this place." She shrugged slightly. "But I've been as comfortable in a back room surrounded by men who want nothing to do with me and or...or in a room around a patio with a fountain, hoping no one is looking in the windows. Home's a little weird for me."