A/N- Thanks for the read guys! And thanks to cortexikid for the first review! Hope you enjoy Auggie's side of the story.

It's her bubbly little laugh that get's him in the long run, not that he would ever tell her that. It would take away all the fun he had trying to make her laugh. She would find out that the main reason for his flirty and sarcastic banter was just to hear the sound of her laugh, and suddenly all the expectations would weigh down on their conversations. Where was the fun in that?

So he kept his little secret and made it a goal to be charmingly funny each time she ran into him, or, the much more common incidents of him running into her. At some point, when they were going out (Because he was going to date Annie Walker eventually. Period.) he would tell her that all those times they happened to be going in the same direction weren't so accidental after all. For now though, she only needed to think of them as coincidental meetings. Lots, and lots of coincidental meetings.

He paused in his thoughts and considered the idea that he had been 'running into her' too much, and that she could be getting suspicious.

But he ignored the thought and went back to pondering her laugh. Ah, her laugh. The sound shifted from a bright echoing chime to a hearty guffaw, and everything in between. He loved the entire range, but his favorite had to be her muffled snort when she tried not to laugh at an insult he'd thrown towards someone. He'd pissed off some people in the office because of that one, but it was worth it.

He was starting to think he'd do just about anything to get her to laugh.

Like the time he'd talked about Jai, knowing full well he was there: "Don't worry Annie, Jai's just uptight because the CIA keeps all their secrets up his a-" That comment had ended prematurely due to Jai's opposition.

And then there was the incident at the bar (Yes, he was a smidge bit drunk.) when he knocked all the peanuts off the counter. The bar tender was notoriously mean, so Annie decided to do him a favor and drag him out of the bar before he noticed and grew belligerent. She stifled a laugh the whole way out until they got to the sidewalk, where she promptly lost it. The incident itself wasn't that funny, but they were feeling scandalous, and the drink had warmed them up a bit.

Auggie didn't even bother to laugh himself anymore. He just smiled brightly, the effort creasing his eyes at the corners, and appreciated the sound of her giggling, or cracking up, or whatever it happened to be that time.

And it was one of those times, when he was just appreciating the sound of her mirth, that he decided he wanted to be much more than friends with his dear Annie. He forgot what it was he had said now, but the sound of her laughing freely with one hand clasped over his forearm gave birth to a feeling that was absolutely impossible to shake.

For the first time since the last time he saw Natasha, Auggie Anderson felt like he was home.

He had been frozen for a moment at the realization, but he quickly placed a good natured smiled on his face and acted as though nothing had changed. Later, so much later that it was impossible for Annie sneak around and watch his expressions flit across his face, he mulled over what had happened with her that day, and reached a decision. He was going to date Annie Walker. Period. And unlike the time with Tash, it was going to last. He was going to open himself up for the first time for a long time, and allow himself to fully trust a women.

Because Annie Walker felt so much like home that he ached when she was away.

Naturally, he was completely surprised when she stormed up to him two weeks later, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled his lips down over hers. It wasn't entirely sensible, but he wasn't going to complain when he was drowning in Joe Malone Grapefruit and her soft, pliable lips were molding so perfectly against his.

He had found home but, even though she later admitted his hand had won her over in the end, he never told her about the day her laugh helped him find it.

Perhaps that was best kept secret.