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 glanced at him, then shook her head. "You see things. Things I don't." Like deer. And angles and odds she could never figure out the way he could. She also thought he could probably read people nearly as well as she did.

[posterboymarine]

He shrugged. "That's all training." Of course, it wasn't, but he was humble, on occasion, in regards to his skill. Besides, he'd already done his bragging for the day.

[neverwrongagent]

She shook her head again, but didn't press him. "We make a great team." She laughed. "We'll take over the world, run it the way we want." She thought about it for a minute. "I have no idea how I'd want to run it."

[posterboymarine]

"Then we probably shouldn't take anything over until you know." He flashed her a grin, then glanced up at the bandstand. The band was taking a break and Brody excused himself.

Leaving her at the table, he went and exchanged a few words with the singers. There was laughter and a pat on the shoulder, then the band moved to the bar for drinks. With a glance over his shoulder, Brody sat down at the piano that was pushed against the wall.

He looked at it for a moment, thinking, then he started to play. It was definitely not jazz. It was blues, in a minor key, from easily 20 years ago.

[neverwrongagent]

When she saw him go to the stage, she thought he might be requesting something for after the break, which would be incredibly sweet. What he did instead left her staring at him. Nowhere, at all, did it say that he could do anything like that. If she'd known the night they met, she never would have let him walk away. As it was, she doubted she'd ever be able to now.

She got up from the table and went to stand beside the piano. People all over the bar were watching them, but she only saw him.

[posterboymarine]

When she arrived at his side, he looked up at her and smiled. He used the song as a warm up, working out the kinks from having not played in a while.

Then he started into some Elvis, because he could.

[neverwrongagent]

She wasn't the only one who was clapping along, though, not by the time he was midway through the song. People who had looked up at first because of the gentle song or because of the inherent romance of the moment, were now caught up in the good nature of his performance. He was solidly talented with surprising showmanship.

And now she was done in. Completely.

[posterboymarine]

Once his song Elvis song was done, he scooted over and patted the seat next to him for her to sit. Then he started playing some soft classical as he glanced over at her. "You're blushing."

[neverwrongagent]

Her cheeks darkened even more. "I'm not blushing. I'm flush with excitement at finding out something absolutely fascinating about you." She shifted close and put her head on her shoulder. "How did I not know this about you?"

[posterboymarine]

He kissed the top of her head as he continued to play. "There's not really any place to play a piano in the Marines. So it never made it into my file would be my guess."

[neverwrongagent]

If she thought she was happy before, she had had a clue. Saul would be furious, telling her it was some kind of manipulation. He could be completely right and she wouldn't care. "That's too easy, but okay." She closed her eyes so she could listen.

When he finished the piece, she moved quickly so she could kiss him firmly. Half the room applauded. Now she blushed.

[posterboymarine]

He chuckled at the applause, then kissed her again. He managed to not blush as much as she did, but he was turning colors all the same. He stood and steered her back toward the table and their now warm beer.

"Or maybe I just don't play for anyone and I don't talk about it."

[neverwrongagent]

Given that he'd been with the same woman since he was a kid, that said something. He had to have played for her. Still, it put her in pretty rare company. She touched his cheek. "I love it. Thank you."

[posterboymarine]

"You're welcome." He ran his hand over her hair, then sat back to watch her. "Do you have any secret talents, babe?"

[neverwrongagent]

She swallowed hard as she leaned into the touch. She hated not telling him anything else, but even if she was going to, she wasn't going to do it there. At least not in any detail. "I've got nothing as good as yours." She shrugged. "I'm so immersed in work, I don't do anything else."

[posterboymarine]

"I'm sure you have something, undiscovered, in there." He kissed her again. The band was starting up again and he took her hand. "Dance?"

[neverwrongagent]

She followed him more than willingly onto the dance floor. Once there, she wrapped her arms around his neck so she could cling to him. She needed to get lost again, to stay lost in him.

[posterboymarine]

His arms slipped around her waist and he held her against him as they moved. They had a bit of an audience, after his little musical interlude, but he really didn't care. He rested his cheek against her hair as they moved, his eyes closed.

[neverwrongagent]

With very few exceptions, they had always had an audience. At least this group seemed to think well of them. They weren't automatically suspicious. Carrie hummed along with the music and went back to playing with his hair. She was hoping to get him to shiver.

[posterboymarine]

She got her shiver, along with him pressing a little harder against her. His hands moved over her back, holding her right against him as they moved.

[neverwrongagent]

She was hyper-conscious of his body. She knew where all his scars were, where he liked to be touched. He might have been able to play the piano, but she could play his body, eliciting noises she would never forget. "We need to dance a lot more."

[posterboymarine]

"Yes, we do," he growled against her ear. "Love the way you feel against me."

[neverwrongagent]

Her laugh was rough with sudden need. "Must be why you keep rubbing up against me in the kitchen. And the car. And when we walk." And why she couldn't keep her hands off him.

[posterboymarine]

His growl deepened. "Must be." The hand closest to her ass gave her a firm squeeze. "Step outside with me?"

[neverwrongagent]

She pulled back to look at him, surprised by his request. Not that she was against it by any measure. "Outside? Into the darkness. Where anything might happen?" She pretended to think about it. "Yes."