tratie one shots, vol. i

[ spy au ]

this au was meant for some ocs of mine, but i tweaked it a bit to fit tratie. it's kinda lame, but it's an au of them being spies and seeing each other for the first time in ages. it's stupid and doesn't really make sense if you don't know the story, but i've considered making it a full-length tratie story. 

edit: surprise, i wrote it lol! it's called "come and find me" and i'm in the process of writing it. check it out if you're interested!

words: 1182

. . .

I swept through the crowd of millionaire playboys and suave ladies, searching for her. She didn't know I was the one delivering the message about the gods' new war, but she was expecting a guy in a black tux and blue tie. It would be interesting to see how she'd react, given that we hadn't spoken in years. 

She was dazzling in her black dress and classy diamond jewelry. Even though I knew she was using her clutch as a knife holster, she threatened me more with her looks. She held a glass of champagne as she chatted with three rich businessmen, who were admiring the way she looked in that backless gown a little too obviously. I couldn't help but reminisce when she brushed a wisp of hair away from her face as she laughed pleasantly, but I couldn't stop thinking about how she was standing really close to a man in a tux and slim red tie.

A twinge of jealousy plucked at my stomach, but instead of dwelling on it I pushed my way into the bunch.

"Ms. Quinn, fancy seeing you here."

Katie nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw me, but quickly covered it up, forming a fake – and petrifying – smile with her cherry red lips. Her honeyed voice carried the political correctness of a saint when she cooed, "Why, Mr. Watts, it's been quite too long."

One of the men she was speaking with cleared his throat, but before she could introduce me, I sent him a broad smile, going along with the name Katie dubbed me. "Trenton Watts, CEO of Watts Medical Association. I'm sure you've heard of my nationwide charities and hospitals, not to mention my overseas partnerships."

The man cautiously shook my hand and scrambled to recall my fake multibillion-dollar company. "Ah, err, of course! It's a pleasure, Watts. I admire your work."

"I know." I produced a handkerchief from my breast pocket and wiped off my hand, loving the I'm more billionaire than you are attitude.

"Mr. Watts, this is Philip Smith, commercial leader of Infotech Corps." Katie laid her hand on my arm, and it sounds cheesy, but goosebumps rose up my shoulder. "He's a very successful man, he was just telling me about his recent intel growth."

Biting my lip, I took her hand and traced a circle on it with my thumb. "Interesting."

"Indeed." Smith's face twisted up into a less than attractive expression, deciphering my dry words.

I focused on Katie. "You look... amazing."

"Trenton, it is so good to see you, but I thought you were on that business trip in London?"

Grinning, I whispered a kiss across her fingertips, playing along. "I ended up canceling when I heard about this gathering. I couldn't miss an opportunity to see your radiant face."

Her growl was less than subtle, but it flew over our company's heads. "I'm flattered, truly. But you'll have to excuse me, my partners and I were discussing important matters..."

You're not getting away from me that easily. I still have a message to deliver. "Actually, if you gentlemen don't mind, I came over to ask Ms. Quinn if she'd do me the honor of having this dance." I made sure my eyes were the epitome of desperate, because at that point I had no shame.

Smith smiled jovially at me. "Of course, it was wonderful finally meeting your acquaintance." He eyed Katie hungrily, running his tongue across his lips. "Ms. Quinn."

She must've felt me tense up, because she giggled flirtatiously almost like she was trying to irritate me. "Mr. Smith."

I led her away from the trio and to the center of the room, where couples of important people were slow-dancing. When I brought her closer to me, the smell of her floral perfume almost knocked me over. She didn't bat an eye as she snaked her arm up my chest to rest comfortably on my shoulder, and I casually maneuvered my arm around her back to hover between her shoulder blades. To say that is was tantalizing was a crazy understatement.

"So," I began smoothly, but she cut me off.

"What are you doing here?"

I chuckled gruffly. "Great to see you, too. It's pretty weird that Mr. Smith was in your personal space and you didn't knock him out."

"Maybe my personal space bubble's gotten smaller since you left."

Oof. My fingers guided her body against mine, pushing away her blame. "I don't like the way that Smith guy was checking you out."

"You don't have to."

Oh yeah. "It's been four years too long, Kates."

"Hmm."

Frank Sinatra's buttery voice flowed from the speakers, filling up the miserable silence for us. We swayed to the smooth trumpet, pretending there wasn't a wall between us or an urgency to get away from each other. I decided not to bring up that it was still so natural to have her near me, even after all these years.

Instead, I resorted to proposing my offer. "The gods are at war again."

At that, Katie stepped on my foot with the toe of her stiletto.

"Ow!"

"They what?" She hissed, but when she remembered that we were surrounded by spies and innocent mortals, she lowered her voice. "Are you serious?"

Taking a deep breath, I goaded her to keep dancing so we wouldn't raise suspicion. "Yeah. We're working on finding allies before we–"

"Who's 'we'?" Katie tilted her head to the side.

"My merry band of outlaws and me. We live in the forest, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor and shooting arrows at mean old guys."

She gave me that squinted-eye look, which I missed a lot more than I'd have liked to admit.

"Camp Half-Blood. Duh." I swallowed, but my mouth was parched. "It's pretty bad."

Katie's tempest eyes traveled over my face, and shivers raced down my back. "If you're serious, and that's a big if," she raised an eyebrow, "I'll drop everything and go with you."

"I'm the one who was supposed to pass info to you, remember? I'm in the black tux and blue tie." I motioned to my tie to prove it. 

She scoffed. "You expect me to leave with you just because you show up with vague information after years of being missing in action? How do you expect me to trust–"

Without breaking eye contact, I clasped her hand and spun her out, stretching her arms straight before drawing her back to me temptingly. I then dipped her and brought her back up centimeters from my face. That shut her up pretty easily. My nose was just brushing hers, and her pupils scored over my features. Our breaths mingled aggressively and there was a suffocating energy between our lips, but that didn't stop me from smirking. "You smell good."

Her flustered gasp didn't escape my attention. "People are watching, Trav."

"Let them be jealous."

Shaking her head, she backed away from me and gestured to the door of the balcony. "We need to talk about this... elsewhere." 

"As you wish."