SkyGirl5
Cadet
:hi:
i'm just gonna say this right from the start- the PMs don't work, you guys know this, so you can ask for them and i'll put you on the list but that's not a guarantee you'll receive any - sorry
Title: A Lifetime
Genre: SV AU
Summary: Both Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn have recently terminated their respective long term relationships. Neither relationship ended in a good way and both of them are hesitant to get back into the dating world, but they might just be able to change each other's minds.
Chapter 1
Sydney Bristow bit her bottom lip, analyzing her reflection in the mirror. She tilted her head to the left, then to the right, trying to see her appearance from every angle. Finally, she groaned and shook her head, unsatisfied with her appearance. She yanked the clips out of her head and threw them down onto the counter where they bounced off and clattered to the floor.
“Ugh, what is wrong with me?” she grumbled. She had been trying to get her hair to look perfect for twenty minutes without success, so she was giving up. She raked her hair flat with her finger tips and then tucked it behind her ears. “What do you think, Brutus?” she asked while turning around to look at the black lab on the floor. He looked up at her and beat his tail against the ground.
“Okay, I’m officially crazy. I’m asking a dog for hair advice...,” she sighed as she walked out of the bathroom and back towards her bedroom. “It’s just... this is like a date, right? I haven’t been on a date for three years! Well, a first date. I’m crazy, aren’t I? Of course I am because I’m having a conversation with myself!” she groaned. Brutus walked over to her and nudged his forehead against her hand.
“Yeah, yeah,” she sighed as she scratched one his ears for a moment. “Okay, I have to go... kitchen Brutus, kitchen!” she commanded. Brutus slowly walked towards the kitchen and once he was inside, she pulled a gate across the entry way, penning him in. “I shouldn’t be too late... I doubt I’ll last the whole time. Be good,” she told him before grabbing her purse and keys and heading out the door.
It was Friday night and instead of hanging out with one of the two friends she had, she was going out to ‘speed date’. How her sister Nadia (one of her two closest friends) talked her into doing this, she’d never be sure, but she was going. One of the main reasons she had decided to go was more of a way to force herself into ‘moving on’ and to prove to everyone else in her life that she could move on. After all, it had been over nine months. Moving on was necessary and a good thing. Besides, it’s not like she was going to marry a man that night, she just needed to put herself out there, open up her mind to the idea of dating someone new.
Still, as much as she wanted to be ‘open to the idea’ she wasn’t sure that this was the way to do it. After all, ‘speed dating’, how weird was that? She wasn’t even sure how it worked and was very afraid that the men there would be less than desirable, which was exactly why she had her fool proof ‘bail at the first opportunity’ plan.
When she arrived at the coffee shop where the speed dating was to occur, she hung in the back, away from everyone else, sticking close to the wall like she usually did in unfamiliar situations, cursing her sister the whole time. If this was Nadia’s idea then Nadia should have come along instead of abandoning her to hang out with her boyfriend. So what if she already had a boyfriend? Supporting your sister was much more important, especially when it was her idea in the first place.
From her spot in the corner, Sydney casually observed the people who filtered in through the door. Most of the men were at least somewhat normal looking, except for a few that were definitely questionable.
“Okay ladies and gentlemen, listen up! If you’re here for tonight’s speed dating please follow me to the back!” a man called above the dull murmuring of the crowd. A group of twenty people followed him to the back and stood along the edges of a room full of tables to wait for further instructions. “Now ladies, have a seat at the tables and you will not be moving tonight. It’s the men that will be moving around. Once a man and lady are partnered, I’ll set the timer for three minutes and the lady will talk about herself, then once it goes off, I’ll reset it and it will be the man’s turn. Once it dings the second time, we switch partners. Got it? Simple enough, right? Okay ladies, take your seats!”
Three minutes? Sydney thought. How could you possibly say anything about yourself in three minutes? That was ridiculous. As she sat down at one of the tables, she was having serious second thoughts about coming that evening, as well of thinking up ways of retaliation against Nadia. But, when the first man sat down in front of her, her trepidation lessened slightly. He was well dressed and had a nice smile. Maybe this could be alright after all. “Hi, I’m Bob,” he extended his hand to her.
“Sydney,” she smiled as she shook his hand. Then, the timer began so she started to talk, though she wasn’t sure what exactly to say. “Well... I’m 28... I was engaged but it didn’t work out. I’m the manager of a bank... I love dogs... sorry,” she laughed. “I’m not sure what else to say, this is harder than I thought.”
“First time here?” Bob asked. She nodded, slightly embarrassed. “Ah don’t worry, I’ve done this... I think this is my twelfth time.”
“Wow,” she laughed wondering what exactly was wrong with this man that he had done it twelve times with no success.
“Yeah well... I don’t know what it is...,” he sighed as he brought his left arm, which had been resting in his lap, up to the table. When he did, Sydney’s eyes widened in horror and she realized exactly why this man had never had a date. He was missing his entire left hand.
Sydney gulped nervously. It wasn’t that she was so superficial that she would never date someone like that; it was more of just total shock. “So, um,” she gulped. “What do you do?”
“Well I’m retired actually. Living off a lawsuit settlement.”
“Really,” she croaked. “Interesting...” She was about to make up a lame excuse to run to the ladies room and thus flee the building, but the timer went off and her time with Captain Hook was over.
After two more less than normal men, Sydney was ready to bail, but someone sat down in the seat across from her before she could. “Hi, I’m Eric.”
“Sydney,” she smiled back.
“So, what do you do Sydney?” he asked.
“I’m a bank manager.”
“Wow, that sounds boring,” he laughed.
“Um... yeah it can be, I guess,” she shrugged, not really having any interest in anything but making a bee-line to her car.
“I work in advertising. It’s fun and always different. You know that billboard for the Air Walks shoes?”
“The one with the naked people?!”
“Yep,” Eric grinned. “That’s mine.”
Sydney laughed. “Wow, that must have been a fun photo-shoot for you.”
“Actually, they didn’t let me go, it really sucked.” He sighed.
Sydney laughed. “It must have.”
“Yeah... well, it was nice talking to you,” Eric said as he got up from his chair and moved to the next table. Sydney groaned as she stood as well; she was definitely done with this night.
“Hi, I... oh, were you leaving?” a man asked as he took Eric’s place at the table. With one look at him, Sydney sat right back down in her seat.
“No, no I was just... fixing my chair,” she said quickly.
“Oh,” he laughed softly. His laugh made her heart flutter like it hadn’t in years. She rested her elbow on the table and her chin in the palm of her hand as she looked at his perfectly green eyes and sandy hair. “I’m Michael.”
“Sydney,” she sighed dreamily. Then she realized that she was behaving like an idiot and quickly composed herself, clearing her throat and tucking her hair behind her ears.
“So Sydney... what brings you here?” he asked.
“Excuse me?” she laughed.
“I mean... why do you need speed dating.... I mean I would think that you’d have to hold one of these to choose between the millions of guys vying for your attention,” he smiled.
Sydney blushed deeply and giggled girlishly. “Well... actually my sister made me come.”
“Oh you’re supporting your sister, that’s nice,” he told her.
“No, no, she’s not here. She has a boyfriend. She made me come for me,” she told him. He nodded. “To be honest.... I sort of just got out of a long term relationship...well, not just got out of, but... she wanted me to prove I could move on so...,” she shrugged, not wanting to reveal her whole life’s story to this stranger, even if he did intrigue her.
“I know exactly what you mean,” Michael said. “Same with me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah... I mean, it’s been almost a year but... well, you understand.”
“Yeah,” she sighed knowingly. “So what do you do?”
“I’m a CPA... I do people’s taxes,” he told her.
“Sounds... exciting,” she said sarcastically.
He laughed. “Thrilling. How about you?”
“Bank manager.”
“Ohh speaking of thrilling...,” he grinned. She laughed.
“So why are you here?” she asked him.
“My friend Eric dragged me because he refused to come alone.” Michael smiled.
“Eric as in, that guy, Eric?” Sydney asked, pointing over her shoulder.
“Yep. Please don’t tell me you’ve fallen deeply in love with him. I’d be crushed,” he said with sincerity.
“No definitely not. No offense to him, of course. I’m sure he’s a great friend.”
“Liar.”
“No, I’m serious!” She laughed. “I-” But she was cut off by the dinging of a bell signaling partners to switch. “Oh...,” she said sadly.
He smiled at her. “You wanna get out of here?”
“Yes, please,” she sighed.
“Come on then,” he grinned.
i'm just gonna say this right from the start- the PMs don't work, you guys know this, so you can ask for them and i'll put you on the list but that's not a guarantee you'll receive any - sorry
Title: A Lifetime
Genre: SV AU
Summary: Both Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn have recently terminated their respective long term relationships. Neither relationship ended in a good way and both of them are hesitant to get back into the dating world, but they might just be able to change each other's minds.
Chapter 1
Sydney Bristow bit her bottom lip, analyzing her reflection in the mirror. She tilted her head to the left, then to the right, trying to see her appearance from every angle. Finally, she groaned and shook her head, unsatisfied with her appearance. She yanked the clips out of her head and threw them down onto the counter where they bounced off and clattered to the floor.
“Ugh, what is wrong with me?” she grumbled. She had been trying to get her hair to look perfect for twenty minutes without success, so she was giving up. She raked her hair flat with her finger tips and then tucked it behind her ears. “What do you think, Brutus?” she asked while turning around to look at the black lab on the floor. He looked up at her and beat his tail against the ground.
“Okay, I’m officially crazy. I’m asking a dog for hair advice...,” she sighed as she walked out of the bathroom and back towards her bedroom. “It’s just... this is like a date, right? I haven’t been on a date for three years! Well, a first date. I’m crazy, aren’t I? Of course I am because I’m having a conversation with myself!” she groaned. Brutus walked over to her and nudged his forehead against her hand.
“Yeah, yeah,” she sighed as she scratched one his ears for a moment. “Okay, I have to go... kitchen Brutus, kitchen!” she commanded. Brutus slowly walked towards the kitchen and once he was inside, she pulled a gate across the entry way, penning him in. “I shouldn’t be too late... I doubt I’ll last the whole time. Be good,” she told him before grabbing her purse and keys and heading out the door.
It was Friday night and instead of hanging out with one of the two friends she had, she was going out to ‘speed date’. How her sister Nadia (one of her two closest friends) talked her into doing this, she’d never be sure, but she was going. One of the main reasons she had decided to go was more of a way to force herself into ‘moving on’ and to prove to everyone else in her life that she could move on. After all, it had been over nine months. Moving on was necessary and a good thing. Besides, it’s not like she was going to marry a man that night, she just needed to put herself out there, open up her mind to the idea of dating someone new.
Still, as much as she wanted to be ‘open to the idea’ she wasn’t sure that this was the way to do it. After all, ‘speed dating’, how weird was that? She wasn’t even sure how it worked and was very afraid that the men there would be less than desirable, which was exactly why she had her fool proof ‘bail at the first opportunity’ plan.
When she arrived at the coffee shop where the speed dating was to occur, she hung in the back, away from everyone else, sticking close to the wall like she usually did in unfamiliar situations, cursing her sister the whole time. If this was Nadia’s idea then Nadia should have come along instead of abandoning her to hang out with her boyfriend. So what if she already had a boyfriend? Supporting your sister was much more important, especially when it was her idea in the first place.
From her spot in the corner, Sydney casually observed the people who filtered in through the door. Most of the men were at least somewhat normal looking, except for a few that were definitely questionable.
“Okay ladies and gentlemen, listen up! If you’re here for tonight’s speed dating please follow me to the back!” a man called above the dull murmuring of the crowd. A group of twenty people followed him to the back and stood along the edges of a room full of tables to wait for further instructions. “Now ladies, have a seat at the tables and you will not be moving tonight. It’s the men that will be moving around. Once a man and lady are partnered, I’ll set the timer for three minutes and the lady will talk about herself, then once it goes off, I’ll reset it and it will be the man’s turn. Once it dings the second time, we switch partners. Got it? Simple enough, right? Okay ladies, take your seats!”
Three minutes? Sydney thought. How could you possibly say anything about yourself in three minutes? That was ridiculous. As she sat down at one of the tables, she was having serious second thoughts about coming that evening, as well of thinking up ways of retaliation against Nadia. But, when the first man sat down in front of her, her trepidation lessened slightly. He was well dressed and had a nice smile. Maybe this could be alright after all. “Hi, I’m Bob,” he extended his hand to her.
“Sydney,” she smiled as she shook his hand. Then, the timer began so she started to talk, though she wasn’t sure what exactly to say. “Well... I’m 28... I was engaged but it didn’t work out. I’m the manager of a bank... I love dogs... sorry,” she laughed. “I’m not sure what else to say, this is harder than I thought.”
“First time here?” Bob asked. She nodded, slightly embarrassed. “Ah don’t worry, I’ve done this... I think this is my twelfth time.”
“Wow,” she laughed wondering what exactly was wrong with this man that he had done it twelve times with no success.
“Yeah well... I don’t know what it is...,” he sighed as he brought his left arm, which had been resting in his lap, up to the table. When he did, Sydney’s eyes widened in horror and she realized exactly why this man had never had a date. He was missing his entire left hand.
Sydney gulped nervously. It wasn’t that she was so superficial that she would never date someone like that; it was more of just total shock. “So, um,” she gulped. “What do you do?”
“Well I’m retired actually. Living off a lawsuit settlement.”
“Really,” she croaked. “Interesting...” She was about to make up a lame excuse to run to the ladies room and thus flee the building, but the timer went off and her time with Captain Hook was over.
After two more less than normal men, Sydney was ready to bail, but someone sat down in the seat across from her before she could. “Hi, I’m Eric.”
“Sydney,” she smiled back.
“So, what do you do Sydney?” he asked.
“I’m a bank manager.”
“Wow, that sounds boring,” he laughed.
“Um... yeah it can be, I guess,” she shrugged, not really having any interest in anything but making a bee-line to her car.
“I work in advertising. It’s fun and always different. You know that billboard for the Air Walks shoes?”
“The one with the naked people?!”
“Yep,” Eric grinned. “That’s mine.”
Sydney laughed. “Wow, that must have been a fun photo-shoot for you.”
“Actually, they didn’t let me go, it really sucked.” He sighed.
Sydney laughed. “It must have.”
“Yeah... well, it was nice talking to you,” Eric said as he got up from his chair and moved to the next table. Sydney groaned as she stood as well; she was definitely done with this night.
“Hi, I... oh, were you leaving?” a man asked as he took Eric’s place at the table. With one look at him, Sydney sat right back down in her seat.
“No, no I was just... fixing my chair,” she said quickly.
“Oh,” he laughed softly. His laugh made her heart flutter like it hadn’t in years. She rested her elbow on the table and her chin in the palm of her hand as she looked at his perfectly green eyes and sandy hair. “I’m Michael.”
“Sydney,” she sighed dreamily. Then she realized that she was behaving like an idiot and quickly composed herself, clearing her throat and tucking her hair behind her ears.
“So Sydney... what brings you here?” he asked.
“Excuse me?” she laughed.
“I mean... why do you need speed dating.... I mean I would think that you’d have to hold one of these to choose between the millions of guys vying for your attention,” he smiled.
Sydney blushed deeply and giggled girlishly. “Well... actually my sister made me come.”
“Oh you’re supporting your sister, that’s nice,” he told her.
“No, no, she’s not here. She has a boyfriend. She made me come for me,” she told him. He nodded. “To be honest.... I sort of just got out of a long term relationship...well, not just got out of, but... she wanted me to prove I could move on so...,” she shrugged, not wanting to reveal her whole life’s story to this stranger, even if he did intrigue her.
“I know exactly what you mean,” Michael said. “Same with me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah... I mean, it’s been almost a year but... well, you understand.”
“Yeah,” she sighed knowingly. “So what do you do?”
“I’m a CPA... I do people’s taxes,” he told her.
“Sounds... exciting,” she said sarcastically.
He laughed. “Thrilling. How about you?”
“Bank manager.”
“Ohh speaking of thrilling...,” he grinned. She laughed.
“So why are you here?” she asked him.
“My friend Eric dragged me because he refused to come alone.” Michael smiled.
“Eric as in, that guy, Eric?” Sydney asked, pointing over her shoulder.
“Yep. Please don’t tell me you’ve fallen deeply in love with him. I’d be crushed,” he said with sincerity.
“No definitely not. No offense to him, of course. I’m sure he’s a great friend.”
“Liar.”
“No, I’m serious!” She laughed. “I-” But she was cut off by the dinging of a bell signaling partners to switch. “Oh...,” she said sadly.
He smiled at her. “You wanna get out of here?”
“Yes, please,” she sighed.
“Come on then,” he grinned.
I loved seeing them meet. Both of their reactions were cute...
