Work Text:
Untitled Covert Affairs Fic
by alesca_munroe
“Terrific,” Auggie says, his tone the very definition of sarcastic. “Not only does my second op in a ridiculous amount of time almost go to hell, it almost goes to hell with you.”
Jai tries very hard- and fails- not to roll his eyes. He replies shortly, “It’s not like I wanted to be stuck with you, either, but I am. Now shut up and try to act normal.”
Auggie scoffs a little, but at least looks like he’s trying to pretend Jai’s arm around him is more because he wants it to be and less because Jai hurt his shoulder getting them out of the building and Auggie’s cane is in pieces in an alley six blocks back. Auggie’s right arm brushes Jai’s side every so often, and no one can tell that his sleeve is ripped and his arm had been grazed by a bullet. Jai squeezes Auggie’s shoulder, almost not enough pressure to be noticed, just barely an apology. “Look, let’s just get to a safehouse and regroup.”
“The CIA doesn’t have a safehouse in this city. The nearest one is half a day away on a good traffic day, and these guys who are after us would expect us to go to our contacts. We’d be compromising them if we had any here.”
“Let me rephrase that- step down here, careful, the ground is wet- let’s just get to a place I very quietly keep here where we will definitely not be found.”
Auggie turns his head with an arched eyebrow. “You keep a place in the English countryside.”
Jai shrugs carefully and ushers Auggie into a cab. “I lived in this country for five years. It’s nice to have a place to go away to that didn’t involve going back to the States. Planes are nice, just not my favorite place to be trapped for the better part of a day.”
Nodding, Auggie tilts his head to rest against the window. “I get that,” he answers and probes the graze until Jai taps his hand away from the makeshift bandage covering it. Auggie smiles, small and crooked and tired. Jai knows the feeling. “Just hope you have clean sheets...”
~~
When Jai writes up his report later, he will not use the word ‘clusterfuck,’ though he dearly wants to. Instead, he will use phrases like ‘poor intel’ and ‘insufficient manpower for the operation assigned’ and ‘compromised’ and he knows Arthur and Joan will read it as ‘I understand that we’re stretched very thin right now and that even if our covers were blown at the end, we still got what we needed, but what were you thinking, sending only two agents on an op where backup is nowhere even close? Were you thinking at all?’ The nearly blown op has nothing to do with Auggie’s blindness. They needed someone with a very specific set of computer skills to work on site, and Auggie was the only choice. Jai thinks he would have preferred Auggie to go with him even if there were others with his skills, because Jai trusts Auggie to do his job and do it right under pressure. Despite Annie’s reservations, Jai and Auggie had been working well together on this.
The bathroom door creaks open and Jai looks over to make sure the watertight bandage is as good as its name. “Waist-high table on your immediate right,” Jai calls and waits for Auggie’s hand to close around the old-fashioned walking stick on the table before going on. “It doesn’t have the range of your usual cane, but it’s better than nothing.”
Auggie smiles openly as his fingers trace the designs carved into the wood. The shower seems to have done wonders for his mood. “Yeah,” he says appreciatively. “Definitely better than nothing.”
He makes his way slowly to Jai, who nudges out a chair when he gets close enough. “I called Joan when you were in the shower,” Jai tells Auggie. “Tomorrow we’ll be met in town by someone from MI6, they’ll get us to the airport.” Jai stands, stretches carefully, and nudges Auggie. “I’m going to shower. You should get some sleep.”
Hot running water does miracles for the pulled muscles in Jai’s shoulder and he thinks he’ll be back up to speed in no time. He doesn’t hear Auggie tapping around the small house over the water until Auggie is right at the open bathroom door. “You always shower with the door open?”
Jai chuckles and turns off the water as he responds, “Only when there’s a blind man fumbling around. Thought you were sleeping.”
“You’ve only got the one bed.” Auggie leans against the door frame. “You weren’t planning on sleeping on the couch with that shoulder, were you? Because I gotta say, that’s got to be the least comfortable couch in the history of ever. I’m pretty sure your bed could fit the entire DPD on it. We could share.”
“I didn’t think you slept with other guys, Auggie,” Jai teases and starts toweling off.
“Only the hot ones,” Auggie replies with a grin, straightens, and heads off. “I promise not to hog the blankets.”
“I’m more worried about being used for a pillow,” Jai calls after him and Auggie just laughs.
Later, when they’re in bed and Jai has unearthed a hot water bottle for his shoulder and ibuprofen for them both, he turns to Auggie. “The entire DPD, huh.”
“Just about.” Auggie yawns and curls around one of the pillows between them.
Jai smirks. “So how often do you think about sleeping with your coworkers?”
Auggie laughs once and shoves Jai. “Dating within the department is encouraged. I could be sleeping with you, and they’d prefer it to my sleeping with someone they’d feel the need to vet.” He pauses. “Okay, maybe the girls would have a problem with it, but that’s just hormones talking.”
“You are sleeping with me,” Jai points out, which will be true when they stop chatting like this is a slumber party and actually sleep.
Auggie laughs again, quieter. “Maybe when we get back,” he says.
Jai stares, but Auggie’s breath evens out as he goes to sleep before Jai can respond. Jai shakes his head and closes his own eyes.
end