Of course, as others have already pointed out, you have captured the Jim/Pam awkward "dance" so well. But in addition, this sentence made me laugh way too long: "He could hear Ryan just around the corner in the living room, so drunk that he was talking politics with Dwight" Now that's drunk. Beautifully written.

10

That was incredibly exquisite. Just, all of it. Every single word of it. This is every synonym of the word fabulous.

"That was kind of the plan," Jim said, glancing quickly to see how many layers she was peeling away from that little assertion.

Such an apt metaphor for their entire gestalt at that point. As usual, I love your wording, how you suggest so many 'layers' in such a simple moment - I could cherry-pick a dozen examples in this brief story alone, but the point is how they coalesce into something so vivid and palpable that your reader recognizes it immediately - without laborious explanations of what the characters are 'feeling.' '

My favorite part of this is the almost, but not quite ending - how just gleaning that Pam felt 'it' too, if only for that fleeting moment, was enough for Jim. Picking up on the religious imagery - it almost seems like a moment of grace, that he realizes he'd destroy by attempting to capture or push it further. (He'll make that mistake soon enough, poor boy.) Hooray for letting the implicit remain veiled and revealing just enough about this overwhelming, complicated, often awful thing (love the word 'awful' there) via subtle metaphor and cues - so appropriate for their dynamic in those days.

Okay, have written a chapter here....oops. Will finish by saying, bravo and thanks for this. (Btw, I too only emerged from fic-hibernation this season to take a dip in the S2 sea of unrequited lurve...what does that say about us? Confuzzling, because I genuinely like that they're together on the show - really, still pining for each other after 6 seasons would be kind of cartoonish. And yet...scratching that S2-3 fic itch is still oddly satisfying. Thanks for doing it with rare finesse, sister.)

You sneaky thing. I'm so glad you're writing again, even if I didn't get to hear anything about it until it suddenly appeared out of thin air (so to speak). And as everyone else here is saying, I really hope you chase that S2 feeling.

Taking the title into consideration, this is even more interesting. What kept coming to my mind was that line "enough room for the holy spirit," which then leads to all the fantastic things you do with space -- physical space, emotional space and the things that fill up those spaces (they're not all holy, no matter how "brotherly" Jim tries to be). Such delicious tension. It's devastating.

Oh, and drunk Jim is always FTW.

10

I want to keep you here forever, Talk. I want to settle in for the night and say "tell me a story." When you say you're on a season 2 kick, I do hope that means you're going to surprise us more often.

I've been re-reading your stuff again lately and I've been yearning to read more angst of your caliber.

So, my favorite parts (cause I always have to add that in my review, right?)
"I don't think anyone saw us come out here," she observed.
"That was kind of the plan," Jim said, glancing quickly to see how many layers she was peeling away from that little assertion."
and
"You'd have to try harder than that to crush me. I'm a lot bigger than you," it felt dangerous to say it, to place their bodies in the same sentence.

She gave him a small, sideways glance, as if she heard it just the way he did, as if she was contemplating proximity in just the same way."
and... just everything. Like always.

Miss Talkative, what a tasty little morsel you have given us today! Oh Season Two sexual tension, don’t you just love it? You mentioned that you are in a sorta of Season Two vibe right now, well I think I speak for all of your fans when I say embrace that feeling!

Some of my favorite parts:
His arm rushed to circle her shoulders and he caught himself, trying to force brotherly, friendly thoughts down to his very fingers. She sighed and let her right arm fall across his legs.

Pam, you adorable, conflicted woman, stop torturing the poor boy.

It seemed that he had decided that he was going to kiss her. Really, seriously decided it. Not like all of those other times, when he had toyed with the idea, knowing there was no way he could find the nerve to do it

He laughed at her, at the very idea that he was within minutes of ending all of this nonsense, and replied, "You'd have to try harder than that to crush me. I'm a lot bigger than you," it felt dangerous to say it, to place their bodies in the same sentence.

He sat up straighter. He was going to do it. "Pam," he heard himself say quietly. He wanted her to turn her head. He wanted to pin her with a look.

::thud:: Even though we have had years of Jim and Pam as a contented couple, it is always nice to return to the years of longing, anticipation, and not knowing what could happen next. Bravo my dear. Please don’t keep us waiting so long for your next story.

ARGH!  That painful and delicious split-second when you look at the other person's lips and wonder if they're going to meet you halfway or not.  I am impaled on it.  Ouch.

In other words, "well done. Callisto".