Story Notes:
This is set pre-Fun Run, but involves explaining how some things in the episode came about, so we'll call it spoilery.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Their laughter seems to fill the room, and she’s got him pinned down against the sheets with one hand. He’s making no motion to fight anymore, and instead stares up at her expectantly, a smile threatening to spread on his face.
“You win,” he concedes, and the smile on her face widens considerably, a twinge of triumph mixed in. He laughs at that, too, and only stops when she leans down and gently takes his face in her hands and presses her lips to his.
“Of course I did,” she replies, and even in the darkness he still sees the tiny smirk on her face. He laughs, lifting up to tickle her sides (he learned she’s ticklish only there and the back of her knee after a bit of unnecessary but amusing research), and she immediately squirms out of her grip and slides off him to sit on the bed. He sits up on his elbows, looking smug. She smirks and rolls her eyes at him. “That’s cheating, Halpert.”
“What? I don’t remember tickling being off limits,” he points out, innocently. “In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s the tactic you just used on me oh, two minutes ago. Remember?”
She settles herself against him, one arm wrapping around him, her cheek resting against his bare chest. The embrace is warm and comforting, and he exhales slowly, feeling a wash of contentment flood over him. He lifts his chin a little when she buries her face into the crook of his neck, and his hand settles on her arm, slowly tracing a line up and down her forearm.
“So this is date seven,” he says, conversationally.
“And a half,” she corrects, her voice slightly muffled because she doesn’t pull away to speak.
“That night was not even a half date,” he says with a laugh. “That was me getting sick off of the food Michael brought in and didn’t refrigerate and you coming over to watch the contents of my stomach come out all night.”
He swears he can feel her smile against his skin before pressing a kiss against his neck. “I don’t know. If you squinted enough, the ginger ale we both were drinking sort of looked like champagne. I am so glad you stole most of the stuff off my plate that day, by the way.”
“My bottomless stomach saves the day again,” he jokes. “I probably should have listened to you when you said it didn’t taste right.”
“You’re learning already,” she teases, pulling away just enough to kiss him on the cheek.
“Anyway,” he replies, getting back to the point at hand. “Like I said. This is date seven.”
“And a –“
“And a half. Seven and a half,” he corrects himself, and he smirks at her pleased look. “I’m pretty sure that puts us past just dating and makes us, you know.”
“Poor?” she prompts, even though Jim knows she knows exactly what he’s actually trying to say. She pauses, seems to reconsider her response. “Well, you’re poor, because you keep insisting on paying –“
“And you’re complaining about that?”
“Yes! I really have no problem paying half the bill. You only needed to impress me on the first date,” she explains, as if that ought to be obvious.
“Wow. Does that mean I can take you to seedy bars and fast food places from now on, then?” he asks. “You know, my biker friends have wanted to meet you.”
“As long as you let me wear your leather jacket.”
“Deal,” he smiles. He shifts a little until he’s more comfortable, and Pam, in turn, moves along with him, settling against him again. He can feel her fingers drawing small circles against his skin. “But, um, seriously. We’ve been dating for a while, and I was wondering…where we stood? I guess.”
She pulls back a little, so she could look into his eyes. She slowly smiles, cupping his cheek with her palm. He quietly wishes he had shaved a little earlier today.
“Are you asking me if I think of you as my boyfriend?” she asks. “I think the answer’s pretty obvious.”
“Maybe,” he admits, suddenly looking embarrassed. “But, I don’t know. I feel like I should properly…ask you. Which is stupid, I know.”
This is different from every other relationship he’s ever been in. He wasn’t sure of himself with Pam sometimes, and he just wants things to be perfect. The fact this is the shot he’d been waiting for for years does not help ease his nerves much. He feels her watching him, and he eventually offers a sheepish smile.
“So, ask me,” she finally says, and he wonders if her cheeks suddenly looking a bit flushed is a trick of the low lighting in the room or not.
He hesitates, and he knows he’s turning a little red. When he asks, his voice is quiet: “Do you want to be my girlfriend?”
She takes extra long to answer, and he bites back a laugh when he sees her exaggerate thinking. Her face softens quickly, though, and she leans down and kisses him gently. When she pulls back, the smile that forms lights up her face.
“So is that a yes? Or a maybe?” he asks after a pause, his smile mirroring hers.
“It’s a yes,” she confirms, ducking her head a little. “Well, as long as you promise not to laugh when I’m awful at dating. It’s been a while.”
“I think I can deal with that,” he nods, solemnly. She smiles and kisses him again, and he wraps his arms around her, holding her close to him. She rests her forehead against his for a long moment before returning to where she had been before, with her cheek resting on his chest.
“What are we going to do about work?” she asks. It’s the question he’s thinking about as well, and Jim glances over to the side until he can see the outline of the microphone equipment they wore to work every day resting on the tiny night stand next to her bed. “They’re going to follow us everywhere…”
“Not if they don’t know,” he points out slowly. He’s not sure if it’s possible to keep something like this from them. “We’ll just…act like normal. We’re not obligated to tell anyone.”
Jim knew that wasn’t true, but at the same time, he knew Toby wouldn’t really be annoyed at either of them for not signing the agreement. It wasn’t like they were going to let it get in the way of their work. He’d understand.
“You think that’ll work?” she asks, and he can see her chewing on her bottom lip worriedly.
“Sure,” he nods, and then adds, with a grin, “Unless you can’t keep your hands off me.”
She snorts, tilting her head up to look at him. “I think I can contain myself if you can. I just…don’t like the idea we have to sneak around. I mean, I know why we do, because Michael alone would…well, he’d be Michael, but…”
He kisses her forehead gently, reaching up to push the hair from her brow. “We’ll just have to make up for the lost time after work. Which reminds me…”
He glances at the glowing numbers on her night stand. It was way past midnight, and they still had work in the morning. Jim didn’t exactly go into the date thinking they’d end up like this, so there was no extra set of clothes to change into.
“Stay,” she requests, quietly. Her voice makes him turn to look down at her again. “Please?”
He stops untangling himself from her and the sheets, his gaze falling on her face. There was no saying ‘no’ to the kind of look that she was giving him. Besides, he barely wants to leave himself in the first place.
“If you want me to,” he replies, and when she nods he carefully lies next to her again. She wastes no time curling up against him, and he reaches down and pulls the blanket up a little higher on their bodies and then wraps it around her.
Really, it won’t be too hard to get a new set of clothes, he figures. He’ll just wake up early and run over to his apartment. Simple as that.
---
“Isn’t Jim in the same clothes he was in yesterday?”
Kevin squints at Jim as he meanders over to the kitchen, likely intent on getting coffee. Both Pam and he were late this morning, but he is the one that’s looking worse for wear. Oscar makes a sort of ‘mmhmm’ noise, not bothering to look up as he thumbed through the stack of papers he has in front of him.
“Oscar!”
He sighs, finally looking up. “What, Kevin?”
“Didn’t Jim wear that same outfit yesterday?” he repeats, and a grin quickly forms on his face as he thinks about why Jim would be in the same clothes. “I think someone got –“
“It’s none of our business,” Oscar interrupts, immediately. Kevin can see from his look, though, that he’s noticing it too, and can’t help but feel smug. “Maybe he just didn’t have anything else that was clean.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true,” Angela pipes in as she sits down, fixing a glare toward the taller man’s direction. “He’s been awfully unkempt since that Connecticut girl left. I don’t know what she saw in him.”
As the words slip out of her mouth he exits the kitchen, coffee in hand. He passes by the three, and stops mid-step when he realizes they’re all staring at him. He offers an awkward half-smile.
“Uh, morning, guys.”
“Morning,” Oscar and Kevin reply, while Angela makes a noncommittal sound as she turns to do her work.
Jim lingers by them a few moments longer, and eventually clears his throat when no one says anything. “Wow. Alright then.”
Kevin watches him head over to his desk, though first takes a detour and stops at Pam’s desk. When he leaves, he can see her smiling wider than he’s seen her smile in months, and when Jim sits down, he’s got a similar look on his face.
It takes a few seconds for him to put two and two together. It connects, though, and when it does, his eyes widen.
“Oh, my god.”
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