Ficlet: "The Heart and the Feather"
Title: "The Heart and the Feather"
Author: yahtzee63
Pairing/Characters: Annie Walker/Auggie Anderson
Rating/Warnings: G
Summary: How come they're always going to the coffee shop instead of the bar these days?
Spoilers: None specific.
Disclaimer: Covert Affairs does not belong to me.
Author's note: Written for the schmoop_bingo prompt "Coffee Shop."
"The Heart and the Feather"
“They made a design in your latte foam,” Annie says. “A - feather, maybe?”
Auggie frowns. “That kind of stuff was lost on me even before. Who wouldn’t rather just get their coffee faster?”
“No one.” She looks down at her own cup, where the foam has been swirled into the shape of a heart. That alone means nothing - the heart and the feather are about all most baristas can pull off. But the barista gave her a wink as she pushed the cup toward her - and glanced toward Auggie.
So. The staff at “Cup-a-cino” have decided that she and Auggie are an item. If it were true, that would be cute. If it were false, it would be hilarious. As it is, though, they’re in a mysterious in-between that makes the heart look more like a question mark.
Well, that and the fact that she already sipped away the left side of the heart.
It’s telling, in a way, that the staffers see them enough to form these kind of theories. Back when Annie first arrived, she and Auggie usually hung out at the bar, often with another couple of friends in tow - and almost always with an eye toward helping Auggie hook up with the hottest girls who walked in the door. Not that he needed much help. But now she and Auggie are more likely to come here, just the two of them. Instead of blowing off steam, they huddle together in the comfy chairs in the corner - creating a different kind of heat.
They still go to the bar. Working at the CIA means that sometimes, you’re gonna need the bar. Auggie never seems to pick up girls anymore, though. Is that because he’s thinking about her? Or does he think that maybe he would hurt her feelings if he did? Annie doesn’t know what about that second scenario she finds more disturbing - the idea that Auggie might be assuming she has a crush she’s not sure she has, or the idea that he’s still picking up girls on the sly.
“Do you ever feel like we’re falling behind on our drinking?” Annie says, earning a surprised laugh from him.
“We’ll go out this weekend. Make up for lost time.” Auggie’s grin only widens. “I tell you what. Let me buy your drinks.”
Is that his way of making it a date? Or does he owe her some cash she forgot about? Doesn’t matter, she decides: Either way, they’re going to have fun. “You’re on.”
“Great.”
Okay, maybe it matters a little. She ventures, “Should I ask a few of the guys along? Jai, maybe?”
“Why would I ever want you to invite Jai?”
“I thought you liked him better these days.”
“I do, in the sense that I no longer spend my time wishing he would spontaneously combust. Not in the sense that I want to hang out with him on weekends.”
“All right. No Jai.” Annie wishes her two favorite fellas at the CIA got along better - but give it time. Lots of things can happen, given time. “Some of the guys minus Jai?”
Auggie pauses before saying, “Let’s make it just us.”
“Okay.” Annie smiles down at the foam in her cup, which kind of looks like a heart again.
**
Author: yahtzee63
Pairing/Characters: Annie Walker/Auggie Anderson
Rating/Warnings: G
Summary: How come they're always going to the coffee shop instead of the bar these days?
Spoilers: None specific.
Disclaimer: Covert Affairs does not belong to me.
Author's note: Written for the schmoop_bingo prompt "Coffee Shop."
"The Heart and the Feather"
“They made a design in your latte foam,” Annie says. “A - feather, maybe?”
Auggie frowns. “That kind of stuff was lost on me even before. Who wouldn’t rather just get their coffee faster?”
“No one.” She looks down at her own cup, where the foam has been swirled into the shape of a heart. That alone means nothing - the heart and the feather are about all most baristas can pull off. But the barista gave her a wink as she pushed the cup toward her - and glanced toward Auggie.
So. The staff at “Cup-a-cino” have decided that she and Auggie are an item. If it were true, that would be cute. If it were false, it would be hilarious. As it is, though, they’re in a mysterious in-between that makes the heart look more like a question mark.
Well, that and the fact that she already sipped away the left side of the heart.
It’s telling, in a way, that the staffers see them enough to form these kind of theories. Back when Annie first arrived, she and Auggie usually hung out at the bar, often with another couple of friends in tow - and almost always with an eye toward helping Auggie hook up with the hottest girls who walked in the door. Not that he needed much help. But now she and Auggie are more likely to come here, just the two of them. Instead of blowing off steam, they huddle together in the comfy chairs in the corner - creating a different kind of heat.
They still go to the bar. Working at the CIA means that sometimes, you’re gonna need the bar. Auggie never seems to pick up girls anymore, though. Is that because he’s thinking about her? Or does he think that maybe he would hurt her feelings if he did? Annie doesn’t know what about that second scenario she finds more disturbing - the idea that Auggie might be assuming she has a crush she’s not sure she has, or the idea that he’s still picking up girls on the sly.
“Do you ever feel like we’re falling behind on our drinking?” Annie says, earning a surprised laugh from him.
“We’ll go out this weekend. Make up for lost time.” Auggie’s grin only widens. “I tell you what. Let me buy your drinks.”
Is that his way of making it a date? Or does he owe her some cash she forgot about? Doesn’t matter, she decides: Either way, they’re going to have fun. “You’re on.”
“Great.”
Okay, maybe it matters a little. She ventures, “Should I ask a few of the guys along? Jai, maybe?”
“Why would I ever want you to invite Jai?”
“I thought you liked him better these days.”
“I do, in the sense that I no longer spend my time wishing he would spontaneously combust. Not in the sense that I want to hang out with him on weekends.”
“All right. No Jai.” Annie wishes her two favorite fellas at the CIA got along better - but give it time. Lots of things can happen, given time. “Some of the guys minus Jai?”
Auggie pauses before saying, “Let’s make it just us.”
“Okay.” Annie smiles down at the foam in her cup, which kind of looks like a heart again.
**