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 didn't turn to look for the deer; she had complete faith in his hunter's instincts. It was why she'd wanted him with her when they met. He read one kind of signs, she read another. Together, they would be unstoppable. "You and your tea. We'll get Maggie to airdrop it periodically."

[posterboymarine]

He laughed at that, startling the deer, who took off past them toward the lake. "I thought you said she wouldn't approve of this."

[neverwrongagent]

She watched until the deer was well out of sight before answering with a chuckle. "She won't. But she won't blame you for it. So you'll get tea and I'll get--" She knew what she'd really get was air lifted drugs, but that's not what she went with. "Passive aggressive notes? The cereal I hate?"

She shrugged. "She'd mix it up."

[posterboymarine]

That got another laugh. "In that case..."

[neverwrongagent]

She tickled him, laughing. "Oh, so you'll happily throw me on the mercy of the big sister so long as you get your tea? Nice priorities." She shifted up so she could kiss him quickly. "Worst part, she'd like you."

[posterboymarine]

"You mean she'd like me if you weren't a factor?" Brody was not a fool. He knew how siblings went, even if he didn't have any.

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie folded her hands on his chest and rested her chin there. "Sure she would. You're a good guy." And after a bit, Maggie would understand the married part. She would worry, but she wasn't the kind of prude would write him off forever because of that.

[posterboymarine]

He blushed slightly. "Thanks, babe." He kissed her nose, then winked at her.

[neverwrongagent]

Her nose wrinkled at the tickle of being kissed. She rubbed at it with her thumb, more like she was rubbing the kiss in than that she was erasing it. After a moment, she looked at him oddly. "Do you think your kids would like me? If the situation were something else."

[posterboymarine]

He shrugged. "They are eight and four. So probably."

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie wasn't so sure it was that easy. Just because she got along with her own nieces, who were younger, was no promise of anything. God knew, if somehow they ended up together, his wife would hate her. She sighed softly. "Yeah, let's stay here."

[posterboymarine]

He nodded. "Okay." He was remarkably fine with the idea.

[neverwrongagent]

She decided to give up thinking for a while. They could stay there as long as they wanted, so there was no good reason not to rest in his arms. Then she'd take him down to the water. Her eyes closed and she made a contented noise.

[posterboymarine]

He smiled, nuzzling her hair as she settled. There would be plenty of time to think. Later. Now he just wanted to let his mind wander some.

After a little while, he started talking about how'd he'd ended up in the Marines, even though she had the information already. All the pages in a file couldn't convey how much he'd actually liked what he was doing. He rambled on about basic, then about SOI, and being selected for SSBC. Once he started to talk about SSBC, he sounded sane and truly happy with his work for the first time since he'd been rescued.

[neverwrongagent]

Words on a page were never the same as hearing it from the source. It might not have looked like she was listening that closely, but she drank in every word like it was the cleanest oxygen. A lot of men in his position wouldn't have still wanted anything to do with that work that had gotten him captured. He really was like her in that way.

In the end, she lifted her head and kissed him with great tenderness. "You know something?" She kissed him again. "I love you."

[posterboymarine]

He pressed into the kiss, then grinned. "Well, you are kinda weird. Maybe even crazy." His fingers moved along her spine before he spoke again. "I always wanted to go back, you know. Do Team Leader or Urban school. I was even pushing to go train with Israelis right before I met you."

[neverwrongagent]

She pushed down the flash of guilt that came with keeping her secret in favor of rolling her eyes slightly. "You have no idea." But then he confirmed the growing idea she had and she nodded. "You've put in too much to walk away from it. And you're good." She smiled faintly. "I knew it when I met you, could tell, but then I looked you up."

[posterboymarine]

"You looked me up? Well, I guess I did make an impression then." He rubbed her back some more. "I was waiting for your promised reassignment when we were finally sent out. I was kind of looking forward to watching over a spy."

[neverwrongagent]

She had to look away from him for a moment. That was a guilt she couldn't hide. Her voice was tight when she answered. "I was all set to. Got called out, was working on the pitch, lining it up for when I got back--" She shook her head. "I wasn't fast enough. I can't tell you how sorry I am."

[posterboymarine]

He turned her head back toward him and kissed her. "Baby, I'm not faulting you at all. You don't need to apologize. You don't even know if it would have worked."

[neverwrongagent]

"It would have worked. I could have done it." She shrugged weakly. "I'm ridiculously stubborn, if you haven't noticed that." She licked her lips and shrugged again. "I wanted to. Really did. We could have taken that place by storm, you and me." She smiled. "Guess we'll have to do it now?"

[posterboymarine]

"Guess we will." It was so much wishful thinking, but he didn't care. It was more hope than he'd had in a long time. It made it seem worth it, what they were doing regarding Walker, if it meant he could lead a normal life.

[neverwrongagent]

She let herself think about it for a minute, about what they could be, but then that assumed she stayed stable for a good long time. Of course, she didn't drink as much around him and she slept like the dead, both of which were outstanding for keeping her on the straight and true. "It's a deal."

[posterboymarine]

He laughed softly. "I'm glad we're agreed, then." He pulled her into another kiss, then settled under her and closed his eyes. He started talking again, telling stories. It felt a little like confession and like bragging, all at the same time.

[neverwrongagent]

This time she responded as he talked, asking questions and throwing in her own little stories. They'd never dated, after all, so this kind of casual getting to know each other just hadn't happened. She gave him grief for some of the bragging, at the same time encouraging him to do more. She kept waiting for it to feel forced, but it didn't. "And then he repeated it in Arabic. Because, of course, that makes all the difference."