Title: Seasons Greetings

Author: Beth Pryor

Rating: K+

Summary: A little Saturday afternoon fluff as Annie stumbles upon Auggie ringing in the changing season. Absolutely no plot. Total Walkerson. And Twins. Just kidding. No twins. Season 4-ish, but no Calder Michaels angst.

Disclaimer: Covert Affairs and its characters belong to the USA Network.

A/N: I started to write this last week at the actual start of the College Football Season but didn't get around to it until now. I'm from West Virginia, graduated from WVU, and I love football (especially our sometimes frustrating Mountaineers), and I make a kick-ass pepperoni roll.

Seasons Greetings

They hadn't made plans for Saturday, but most days included a run, a trip to Eastern Market, brunch somewhere fun, or something if they were both in the city and could spend time together. She'd stayed at the guest house the night before. They were still in the process of looking for a place together. Neither one of them was winning the house vs apartment argument, partly because they kept switching sides.

She knocked on the door and pushed it open, half expecting to find him in bed. He'd been at Langley late the night before. Still so much remained to be done to clean up their latest mess involving Henry Wilcox. She sensed he was tiring of it. She pushed open the door and was surprised to find the TV on in the corner, ESPN College Game Day blaring throughout the apartment through the stereo speakers.

"Auggie?"

He emerged from the bathroom in a bright red shirt emblazoned with a bulldog and the letter G with jeans that cut him in all the right places. He was whistling, but the TV was so loud she wasn't sure he'd heard her.

"Auggie!" she almost yelled.

He stopped on the steps and cocked his head in her direction.

"Hey, Baby," he exclaimed, a playful smile on his face as he skipped jauntily down the steps and headed for the kitchen.

She reached for the remote and turned down the volume.

The oven beeped and he reached for a cookie sheet on top of the stove and popped it in. He set the timer as he started whistling again. It took her a moment to realize his chosen tune was "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year."

She nuzzled up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You're in a good mood," she noted. "But I hate to break it to you that Christmas is about four months away."

He laughed as he turned to face her, kissing her properly. "College football season starts today."

Annie frowned as she tugged on his shirt. "I didn't know Georgetown had a team. Or that their colors were red. Or that you liked football."

Auggie kissed her again. "Georgetown does have a team, and they're blue and grey, but this is Georgia. They have a big game tonight against Clemson. And I do actually like football. College anyway. You've just never dated me during football season. Not long enough for me to let you see how it really is."

"Oh, God. That sounds serious."

"Have you ever heard of Fever Pitch?"

She had. "Oh, God. That is serious."

"Well, it's not that bad. I know some guys who follow their teams around the country every week. They spend every Saturday tailgating in some parking lot. I don't do that." He tried to make it sound a lot more awful than it actually was.

"Right. Because how would you go to Georgia every weekend?"

"Well, only half the games are at home."

"Right."

"I'm not as bad as Troy. Or my dad, even."

"Oh, yeah?" Annie was a little interested in hearing how fanatical Auggie wasn't based on how fanatical his father and brothers were.

"My dad went to Michigan, so we were all Michigan fans growing up. Dad hoped he'd get at least one lifelong Wolverine out of the five of us – took us to The Big House at least once a year to try to seal the deal, but it never happened. He and my mom still go to a couple of games a year.

"Rhett went to Northwestern and he and Ruth have season tickets. Troy went to Notre Dame and still makes about half of their games. He and some buddies go to the USC game every year, and he's going with Dad to their game at Michigan game next week. Max went to The Citadel but he usually cheers for Clemson. My mom grew up in Pittsburgh, so her folks were all Pitt fans. Brendan and Dana lived in Champaign when Dana was in school, so he's remained loyal to U of I. And I felt like we needed some SEC representation, so I follow Georgia."

"That seems like a random choice," mused Annie.

"I was stationed at Fort Benning for a while in 2001, and picking Alabama or Auburn seemed a little cliché." He shrugged.

She settled comfortably in his arms. "And you wouldn't want to be a cliché."

"Not at all," he grinned.

She nudged him toward the oven. "What are you baking?"

He grinned and raised his eyebrows. "The most amazing thing you'll ever eat."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They'll be done in like 15 minutes."

Annie raised her own eyebrows and trailed her fingers lightly down the bare skin of his arm. "I can think of things we can do in 15 minutes or less."

The oven timer pulled them back into reality. Auggie hopped up, pulling on boxers only as her jogged down to the kitchen. Annie pulled her t-shirt dress back on and followed him just in time to see him pull golden brown rolls out of the oven. As the full aroma hit her, her empty stomach grumbled as she realized they were missing brunch.

Auggie carefully transferred each roll to a cooling rack, and Annie could see webs of baked cheese seeping out the bottom of some of them. She reached for one, but he smacked her hand away.

"You'll burn your mouth. Wait a couple of minutes. There's another tray in the fridge. Can you pop them in the oven and set it for 17 minutes?"

She grabbed the cookie sheet and placed it in the oven. When she turned around, he was standing with a roll in each hand, holding one out to her. She took the savory bread and bit into it, the multiple flavors of the almost too hot pocket exploding in her mouth.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Auggie. That is amazing. What is it?"

Auggie grinned. "It's a pepperoni roll." He'd finished his, so he grabbed another.

"It's like a pizza in a dinner roll. Genius!"

"Yeah, the coal miners in West Virginia used to take them for lunch because they didn't need to be refrigerated. It's like a cult craze over there. The New York Times did an article about the origins and popularity within the state. They're so good, but most people haven't ever heard of them unless they have some connection to West Virginia or Western PA."

"Do they sell them?" Because if they didn't, someone needed to.

"Just about in every grocery and convenience store."

"Oh."

"You guys never settled around there in your youthful travels?"

Annie shook her head. "No. Northern Ohio for a year when I was in middle school, but we never had these."

"Well, it's worth a trip west to get them in their natural habitat."

"Is this your mom's recipe?"

"Nah. She actually didn't make them when we were growing up. I dated a girl during the 2011 season who had gone to West Virginia University. She let me in on their secret and this recipe. She also got very excited when they scored, and they won the Orange Bowl 70-33 that year. It was definitely a win-win situation for me." He smiled mischievously.

Annie rolled her eyes and swatted his hand away as he tried to pull her close. "Nice."

"I would have slept with her just so we could have these, though." He added somberly.

"How chivalrous of you," Annie chuckled.

"I'm trying."

"Oh, you're trying, all right." She jabbed at his ribs where she knew he was most ticklish.

Auggie shoved her playfully. "Listen," he nodded toward the TV, "I'm not in the mood to listen to these guys talk all day. My game isn't until late. Want to see what we can get into until then?"

"Yes," she decided as he headed back to the bedroom to get dressed. "As long as it isn't too much trouble."

He called out from above her, "Given my track record on all fronts, I really can't promise that. But you're the one who came looking for me, if you'll recall."

Annie laughed, realizing he was absolutely right. "I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment," she called back to him as she grabbed a second helping. "And pepperoni rolls. We gotta get out of here before I eat the whole batch!"

FIN