Chapter 11 - Shifting

Staring at him as he focused intently on the game had started as an act of defiance. Because she could. Because SD-6 wasn't watching. Because SD-6 didn't exist anymore.

But at some point her reasons changed. Because she'd been afraid to really look at him, really appreciate him, for a very long time. Because she loved the lines and angles of his face. Because her pulse quickened a little. Because it made her remember a time when she had wanted to kiss him.

Those thoughts were interrupted, however, when he suddenly leapt from his seat, screaming. "Come on! You've gotta stop him!" The Sharks had just scored to tie the game, seconds before the end of the second period.

When he sat back down, she was laughing hysterically. "That's a side of you I've never seen."

"What side?" He hadn't seen anything wrong with that action, especially since a number of other people around them were also reclaiming their seats.

"The pissed-off-sports-fan side." She'd had a general grasp of the game coming in, but he had spent most of the first two periods detailing the finer points of hockey for her. She had enjoyed it, not due to any particular interest on her part, but simply because she was able to listen to him talk about something he enjoyed.

He leaned over and whispered. "So I take it you would have liked it if during one of our meetings I jumped up and yelled, 'No way! Penalty on Sloane!'" They shared a private laugh as the people around them stood to stretch.

"Probably wouldn't have been appropriate," she responded. "But it sure as hell would have been funny." She didn't mention that his breath on her ear had made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

He surprised her again, later, by high-fiving everyone in their general vicinity, including her, when the Kings scored to go ahead for good.

"I'm glad they managed to get us a win," he said as they walked out. "After all these years, anything else would have just been wrong."

Sydney nodded, realizing she didn't want the night to end, that she wanted more time to examine the emotions that were beginning to reemerge in her. "Would you like to go for coffee or something?" She glanced at her watch. "Or is it getting too late? You've got work tomorrow."

He grinned. "After the last couple of weeks I've reached the point where four hours of sleep is a good night's rest. There's a great little coffee shop near my place."

Sydney decided she loved the place as soon as she saw it, extremely small and homey. "This place is like the anti-Starbucks." He glanced at her as they walked toward the front door, uncertain if her comment had been an insult or compliment. "I like it," she said, catching his gaze.

"You haven't had the coffee yet." His voice was full of promise.

"Motown?" she asked, catching the music as soon as they walked in. "Now I really like it."

"It's still a mom-and-pop business. They play what they like — oldies, rock and roll, R&B. It's one of the reasons why I love this place, besides the coffee. I have a low tolerance for jazz," he admitted.

"You have to come with me the next time we hit a music store," she said. "Will has this weird obsession with the '80s, and Francie's taste in music is just...out there."

"Why don't you go ahead and sit down," he said. "I'll order." He walked up to the counter and caught the attention of the young cashier, who had been reading a textbook. She was the only other person in the shop.

This is good, Sydney thought as she selected a table. Normal people have things in common besides having once been agent and handler. Things like musical tastes and a love for quaint little coffee shops with Formica tabletops and wood paneling on the walls.

Vaughn set a mug down in front of her and sat down across the table from her, an eager look on his face. She took a hesitant sip.

"Ow," she said, reaching up to rub her cheek. "Good, but hot."

He looked at her quizzically.

"Tooth," she said. "Or rather lack thereof."

"You never got it fixed?"

As an answer, she opened her mouth wide, revealing the gap. "I never had time," she said.

Vaughn cringed. "Sorry," she said, noting his unease. "I guess I'm used to it, so I don't think it's gross."

"It's not that," he said. "It's the thought of someone doing it to you."

"Oh." They sat in silence for a few moments before Sydney continued, her tone thoughtful. "You know, that was the scariest time in my life." Vaughn looked up from his coffee cup. "After they killed Danny, and I found out the truth about SD-6, it was like I was completely alone in the world. Like it was me against everyone. I didn't know if I could trust my father, and I hadn't met you yet."

She looked to him for affirmation before continuing. "When I went to Taipei, I didn't really care if I lived or died. I didn't. Life was just so horrible that it wasn't real to me anymore. When they ripped that tooth out, it made it real. The pain made it real. I don't know how else to describe it, but that's when I decided I had to fight. Fight those men. Fight SD-6."

Sydney took a sip of her now-cooled coffee. "What was the scariest time in your life, Vaughn?"

He paused, thoughtfully, and she was glad he wasn't going to give her some generic answer. "Every time you went on a mission."

She hadn't expected that one at all. "Really?"

"Yeah." Embarrassed, he averted his gaze. "Weiss used to make fun of me. I was like this total basket case. Just knowing you were out there and there was nothing I could do to help you, it made me crazy."

Without realizing it, she slid her hands across the table and grasped his. "Vaughn, you did so much for me. Just by being there when I got back. By being there at three in the morning when I needed someone to talk to."

The look on his face told her he was about to protest.

"I mean it, Vaughn. I don't think I would have made it without you." Sydney leaned slightly closer to him, and he echoed her movement. She had never been able to examine his eyes this closely before. Tiny flecks of gold, blue and black were intermingled with the bold green. Amazing, she thought.

Her heart was pounding as she tilted her head slightly and leaned even closer. Vaughn reached out, gently tracing his fingertips along her jaw, touch feather-light. His breath was gentle on her face, hers coming faster in an attempt to keep pace with her pulse.

We're going to kiss. I want to kiss.

She had been too distracted to notice the beginning of a new song. But the first line made her jerk back violently, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Why do you build me up, buttercup, baby, just to let me down..."