A Coffeeshop AU.
Pamela Beesly, recently unbetrothed graphic designer, stumbles into The Comedy Roasters, a new coffeeshop with a manic owner and an intriguingly attractive barista.
They kissed!! Several times! This was such an incredibly sweet chapter, and I love Jim's list (WTF Michael and it's not even the purse thing, lol), plus the inclusion of Katy! Which is also an ingenious way to give Jim and Pam some alone time. (Also please let them be happy, this was too adorable not to 😁)
Author's Response: Kisses will continue (not necessarily in all chapters) because this will be a happy fluffy fic and not a sad one. Thank you!
Haha, this was some truly excellent Dwight and Jim/Pam interaction. I love Dwight’s outrage, Jim and Pam secretly cracking each other up and just going along with each other’s bullshit - and then the NUTBAG at the end, which is just genius. Also, this line:
“Despite that, it was clearly a march, and Pam would have bet it was to Deutschland Uber Alles as well.”
I actually lol’d. Amazing.
Author's Response: Hah. I'm glad you liked it. I always worry I've made Dwight too broad a humor, but then I realize that the show always does me one more (like the Mussolini speech) and I am relieved again.
Katy/Pam bonding! I love it. I was always a bit disappointed that Pam seemed like she was on the brink of having an ally in Hot Girl, and then it got ruined by the guys - so I really like that you’ve actually given them a chance to maybe be friends here, it’s such a nice twist. (Also, Kelly accusing Katy of selling knock-offs - lol).
Author's Response: Thank you! The guys ruin everything, don't they ;) why do we even have them ;)?
Ah, I really like the little hint here of Katy actually being a pretty savvy saleswoman (also something that doesn't really get explored on the show, but: she does get Dwight to walk away a purse!) Speaking of, their little prank on Dwight is excellent (as is Jim squeezing her hand under the counter), and Dwight's reaction and the 'make room you idiots' is hilarious. This is such a joy to read!
Author's Response: Thank you! I think she's pretty skilled, yeah--even if she is intended to be a Pam foil in canon.
It’s a date!! I really enjoyed Pam actually continuing the conversation (after the rap on the counter 😍), and their inception chat was just lovely and dorky and very them. As was Jim saying she’s lovelier than a handbag. It’s so nice reading a happy Jam that can just enjoy having a crush on each other and starting to date, the giddiness here is very cute. I can’t wait for their first date!
Author's Response: Thank you! I'm really glad you liked that! They get to have a nice date too!
Ahh, this was so adorable. I really enjoyed the deep dive into Jim’s love for Cugino’s, and their entire conversation about the painting (and Jim enjoying how into it she gets) is just lovely. And the Marxist joke and the end and Jim giggling like a schoolgirl! I love the way you write their chemistry with each other. Also, this line:
‘God, he was a total goner for this woman. But then again, he’d been one since she’d first walked into the shop and opened her mouth.’
This is basically everything you’d want from an actual (angst-free) Jam first date 😍 I continue to be very sad that I've used up all my jellybeans.
Author's Response: Thank you very much! No angst for this story: just fluff and silliness (and bad nerdy jokes).
Awww. I greatly enjoyed the insight into Pam’s dating life with Roy (and the picture in her locker: ouch but also lol, that is very Roy). And then the Andy date, AND the even worse Facebook stalker date - which is hilarious, and something I’ve both experienced and is also my biggest fear when I do my own Facebook stalking. I love it. But Jim being totally fine about her mom calling, and her blurted ‘literally anytime’ is just adorable. And the kiss!! This was lovely.
Author's Response: Yeah...Pam's dating life is something I'm not going to fully flesh out because it's not the focus but I do think it's fun to come up with ways Pam would date outside of canon...
I really like Pam realising she’s found someone who likes the authentic version of her here, and the contrast with how she was with Roy. The false consciousness idea (thanks to her communist-inclined new boyfriend, lol) is such a neat way to bring this out - and I like her acknowledgement that it might have been slightly self-perpetuating. Which feels like it could have been true in canon too. Her spilling paint in her eye in the middle of all this excellent introspection is very funny.
And then the flirty texting with Jim was just great, as was Pam enjoying his typos in his speed to reply to her 😍 I’m greatly looking forward to him seeing her big walls….
Author's Response: I am glad you like that :) It'll be a bit until he actually gets there, but mostly because it's taking me longer than I thought to get chapters up...
Hee, this was another treat to read. I love the idea that Jim has clearly been showing off her art to Michael after she shared it with him, and I can’t wait to see how this commission turns out with Michael. Especially with the reveal about the Eddie Murphy wall-hanging. My money would 100% be on a long-suffering Jim putting it back up every night. I really like Pam trying to get the Roy comparisons out of her head for her own benefit - but also that it gave us this amazing line: ‘After all, Jim was inevitably going to win those comparisons, or if he didn’t she was going to run screaming into the Lackawanna River and let it pull her into the Susequehanna.’ And I’m continuing to enjoy her attempts to work out how she texts Jim with the miss you/I miss you - it’s a great touch. Also: Kelly! And Riley/Riker/Ryan, lol. Great chapter!
Author's Response: Thank you! Jim definitely, 100% puts that hanging up every night. And probably fantasizes about burning it, but he's too soft on Michael's foibles to actually ever complain out loud instead of by making faces.
Hurray for Katy and Pam! I’m so glad you brought her back, and now have her as an actual friend to Pam: this is what we missed out on on the show. I also love this look into shrewd business Katy, and the idea that Pam can actually learn from her. (And this line just feels very Katy: “Cheer camp.” Katy winked. “The only thing more important than church on Sundays was football on Fridays”). Michael misinterpreting Pam and doubling his offer before she even asks is also brilliantly Michael. And aww with the Jim text at the end. Great update!
Author's Response: Thank you! Pam deserves friends! And honestly, so does Katy...not enough friendship in the Office, I sometimes think, especially for women.
1 This is great! I like the way you've drawn out the more positive aspects of Pam and Roy's relationship, which you never really saw on the show, and gives you a better sense of why she might have stayed with him for so long: but also tempered it with the idea that she is settling/stuck, and how the introduction of Jim is making he realise that (particularly with the final line here about Jim always understanding). Also, as a huge Arctic Monkeys fan...I *love* the second chapter title :D
1 I'm loving all of these! I think you've got such a great read on Pam and her thought processes, and these are some really insightful looks into moments from the show. I love the way you've written the moment where Jim picks her up in The Fight, and her just wanting to turn and melt into him 😍 And then her moment of realisation after their 'date', and her telling herself it's just a crush and it will go away - really heart-breaking, and really in character.
1 I really like the way you write snippets of sweeter moments with Roy in this (which makes sense, because he can't have been as awful as he was on the show all the time for Pam to have occasionally seemed happy with him) - but with the niggling other thoughts, like the raw pancake mix and her wanting a spring wedding. And the fact that it's when she's standing in Roy's arms that she realises she wants Jim's present. It's really subtle and well written. I also love Pam quietly pining for Jim even while she tries to dismiss it and stop herself - and the way you've captured their awkwardness in Jim's apartment outside of the work environment. (Also, the aquatic cowboys/vigilante chat was brilliant haha). Great chapter!
There’s something unnerving about the sun still being out, something that makes it all seem a little more serious. Something about seeing the dust in the corner, the sources of shadows, the scuffs on the floor all illumined by the warm light streaming through the windows.
It’s less like magic.
It’s more like real life.
1 I love this! I really like the idea that they're both trying to go after their dream jobs here (even if they're not totally succeeding), and this has got me so invested in their relationship after a few lines that I've been on the edge of my seat every single time it looks like they're going to lose each other. The way you've written Jim is just dreamy, and I'm really enjoying Pam's slight awkwardness - but also the way they bounce off each other, and their genuine joy at being with each other, is so lovely. And the dancing! I've also cracked up at pretty much every Creed line in this, it's genius.
1 This was so lovely! I already loved Paper Rings, but I think you might just have made it even better with this fic. It feels pretty realistic for them to have got a bit carried away on their first date - and then to have the Karen and Roy catch up with them, but this time to have an actual conversation about how much hurt they've caused each other, which is just very cathartic to read. Also: Pam wearing Jim's shirt, and Jim making her breakfast, and telling her he's had one foot in the water since the day he met her...so good.
And when he walked me home that night
All the stars were shining bright
And then he kissed me
She left her house that night with nothing but a too tight dress and a plan to leave as soon as possible. She walked back home with the man who would become her everything. 1950’s Scranton.
1 This is so sweet from start to finish! It's actually just really lovely to read a fic where they don't have stupid obstacles or an inability to admit their feelings in their way (I say this as someone who is slightly incapable of writing them without some kind of obstacle) - it feels like it fits the song and the time period really well. I loved their first meeting, and Jim both teasing her and putting her at ease, the steaminess in the middle, her nerves about meeting his family, and then the callback to the truck. I loved all of it, basically!
1 This was so amazing, and so hilarious. 'Jim likes yoghurt and jellybeans. What more could Pam want?', and him not being able to get on to talking about her salad eyes on his sales calls, and the multiple 'byes' to everyone, and then their journey home with the keds and the Dundie...and then the punchline that this was all a dream, but it's ok because Jim is psychic. And all their dialogue. I just loved all of it 😂
Just two women watching rom-coms, drinking wine and gossiping about boys and kissing. Just two gals being pals...
1 I'm a bit sad that I missed KaPam on April's fools, but I love it. I wouldn't have said I was a KaPam shipper until I read this...? It's so great. I'm also loving the small details, like Pam deliberately not choosing any movie with a love triangle, and the way she still keeps thinking about Jim, and her knees being absolute jelly after Karen's kiss. Karen is just brilliant throughout this. I would be fully on board with a second chapter!
1 This is really heartbreaking, and a really good picture of some of the S3 angst. Including Pam questioning whether she's been the one holding him back, and the daydreams about leaving Dunder Mifflin and the thought of Jim being the one thing that stops her. Great job!
1 This was so lovely!! (I would definitely say super cute rather than depressing). I felt like that whole episode with Jim's blood pressure was quite rushed, so it's really nice reading something that gives it more context, and actually dives into why Jim might have been feeling stressed, and his insecurities about the second pregnancy. Them telling each other their fears and comforting each other was just beautiful, and I loved the little thing of him making an effort to clean the mirror for her. Also, Jim being a good dad with Cece is my favourite, and the way you've written it here is adorable. I also loved, loved Pam thinking he's going to be a good dad not just because he'll be fun, but because he'll teach him how to be as kind and loving as he is. And her not doubting his ability to do that for a second. And I really felt like I needed this line after Cathy: "There is no reason to when she gets his second-rate Zoolander jokes and I get to make up silly scenarios with my husband about our children putting us into a nursing home one day, already placing bets on who will win the wheelchair races." This was just all so great!
1 Um, I nearly cried reading this. I needed the kitten picture. And the happy ending, which I'm so glad is how it does end!
This is such a perfect - and heartbreaking - look at post Casino Night Jim. I think the bit that really got me is: "He’s thought all this before, but there’s always been a butbutbut at the end." You've just written the desperation and the yearning so well (also with the 'she said me too's later) - and it really does feel like the end of the 'but's for him after this. Although him still being worried about how she's going to get home, and not wanting to hurt her with the trash, is very bittersweet.
I was thinking - sheesh, bit cocky Pam - when I first thought she'd come back: but re-reading knowing that she's saying this once she actually knows how much he loves her, and what he went through, is so lovely.
I love the idea of Pam just wanting to make him feel better about all of this (and there are so many nice touches with the torn veil, and the congratulations on the baby, and the mobile!) Also very in character that she sort of maybe believes she might have been able to time travel, lol. I think it makes total sense that she would feel like what happened after CN needed to happen, but Jim...wouldn't (feels like S3 Pam goes through a lot of positive character development whereas Jim, for all his chat about evolving, doesn't). But then he sort of did his in S2.
And I love, love the little look into their honeymoon at the end, and that final sentence.
This was really beautiful!
Author's Response: Awwwww. Well, I'm happy I included the kitten picture now. The happy ending I take no credit for, I wasn't even one of the fans writing angry letters to NBC.
I thought it was important to include those little moments of care for her - as a writer on here I admire once noted, a lot of his distance from her in the year after this feels like it comes from a place of effort, struggling with his natural inclination to be tender towards her, and I think that would have definitely held true here. I'm glad you think I found the right balance between that and still putting him in a place of feeling like he had gambled and lost once and for all.
Oh, yeah, Casino Night era Pam would never have had the guts, and frankly would not have been welcome or helped matters imo. I also think the Pam who's lived through Season 3 can say a lot of these things and really mean them in a way that might have been a little likelier to reach Jim.
I take no credit for a lot of the details of this, which pretty much came to me fully formed. But a lot of it emerged about my thinking about the kind of commentary Jim and Pam would have about the documentary (filed under fics I will probably never actually get around to writing), and I do think that Niagara-era Pam would have mainly just wanted to give Casino Night Jim a really big hug. And yeah, the lady who saw the Man in Black? She's not NOT kidding about time traveling.
I tend to think Pam is more right than Jim here... I also think this is very much about Pam needing that year to be worth something because she was the one who chose to take it. (Similarly, my view is very much shaped by the fundamental horror at the idea that they went through all that for nothing.)
There should be more honeymoon fic. This is my final verdict.
I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for taking time to read and review!
1 This made me so happy! I honestly don’t know how you manage to write in a way that captures the feel of the show so perfectly, down to the beats and the little things like Pam realising the camera’s still on her, and Jim’s all business (I mean I’m struggling to explain it just in this review). I can 100% see Jim getting way too serious about this - the comparison to Dwight’s Mussolini impression is amazing - and then Pam making him a grilled cheese, and him putting her note in his pocket next to her heart, is just so incredibly sweet. I also loved Dwight’s intervention, hehe. And then the callback to the Italian food line at the end! I’m fully on board for one of these for every single holiday.
I think we make grilled cheeses slightly differently in the UK. We actually…grill the cheese 😏
Author's Response: It's far too many rewatches... and also, writing in script format where you all kind of just imagine how well the actual actors would've played it instead of me having to describe it for you. (#KrasinskiAndFischerAreMyCoPilots) I do really like Pam making him the sandwich though... we really deserved a role reversed Italian food moment.
You GRILL the CHEESE? For a grilled cheese sandwich??? You know what? I'm *GLAD* we had a revolution. Y'all can keep your grilling and your monarchy and all your extra u's.
1 I really hope there are many more of these random holidays, because having TWO chapters of this to read is honestly very exciting. This one is such a perfect mix of heart-breaking and very sweet. I love the subtle hint that Penny knows about the jellybeans/JIm (and that Pam might know that she knows), and all of their dialogue in this - especially Pam trash-talking Jim - is brilliant. You've just got all of their mannerisms/interactions down so well. And then, oof, all the Jim pining for Pam and not ever being sure if she knows what she's doing for him or if she's giving him an opening (which I don't think she knows herself half the time) - it's so painfully well written. But I think my absolute favourite part is him panicking that he's not going to come up with something fun for her, and the acknowledgement that actually maybe it's not fair that he has to be that person 24/7, before he...does it anyway. It's not fair, but he does also do it to himself. I also thought the ending was a really good build-up for Casino Night. I loved all of this, basically!
Author's Response: There are actually kind of a lot... I have a sneaking suspicion I will run out of ideas before I run out of holidays. *ducks* But there will definitely be a few more coming down the line.
Oh, yes, Penny definitely knows about the jelly beans... and probably understands what they mean way more than Pam does at this point in their relationship.
The Pam-Jim dialogue was a lot of fun to write - they just delight each other so much!
I don't think she knows either... Pam is so hard to pin down in the second half of Season 2... which makes it all that much harder for Jim.
And I'm REALLY glad you saw the build-up towards Casino Night here! Thanks for taking the time to read and review!
1 Hehe, I love the idea of Jim at reception so much. And slightly failing at reception. And playing solitaire (but also leaving the last card for Pam so that she can get her card sound, aww). I really liked the little hints of Jim noticing how effortlessly well she does her job, and that she could be capable of doing so much more. But not being able to say anything. And then the sketch in her desk! So beautiful. (Although also, seriously snoopy cameras). I also loved, loved Stanley actually smiling when he find the pretzels. Stanely does not get enough happy moments like that in the show - I actually just really like the whole concept of Jim and Pam going to those lengths to make it up to him. (I also lol'd at the Leo/Bob Vance aside). I'm not buying at all that this is easier to write just because it's in script format - this is just brilliant writing.
Author's Response: I think it's probably genuinely not as easy as a job as Pam makes it look, and I think he would love the experience of getting a little bit of a better sense of her. It was fun to have him in a different space and have him see Pam from that angle.
The cameras ARE snoopy. I buy that they would do this - really, not nearly as bad as hiding and filming them during their second Casino Night kiss - but you may have to take them doing it with Stanley in the room with a grain of salt. I suppose he might not have noticed with a pretzel to contend with.
There really isn't too much that makes Stanley happy, but he *does* love him some pretzels... and I do like to think of Jim and Pam as the kind of people who would *want* to make it up to the innocent victims of their pranks.
I sharply disagree. BUT I appreciate you saying so, and thanks for taking the time to review!
1 I'm surprised there aren't more 05-05-05 fics out there, but - I think this might be the only one I need! This party is amazing, and just so very Michael. I also really enjoyed the glimpse into Jim without the cameras, and the sense that he's putting it on a little bit feels very in character: he does actually care a bit about his sales and can be civil to Dwight. It's a really nice touch.
And everyone's reaction to Michael's news about the documentary - Dwight's drumroll and Oscar and Angela's concern about the glass, Stanley's little comment, Toby's expression - is just perfect.
I love pretty much all of Jim and Pam's interactions in this, and the way you've written Jim's conflict and pining and his intentions with Katy, and Pam basically needing him to get through the day - but I think my favourite parts are - the 'not good' line after he falls for Pam a bit harder with her shoulder drop, and this bit: 'Jim doesn’t know what he can say. What’s going to reveal too much. What’s fair. What he’s objective about. What’s in her best interest, and what’s he’s only convinced himself is.' It just feels so true of so many of their interactions in seasons 1 and 2.
And then I loved the contrast between Pam's 'she likes knowing what's coming...she's not ready for that stop' and Jim's 'he can't got on like this...something has to change' - which pretty much sets you up for the entirety of season 2. So great!
(Also I recently went down a wikipedia rabbithole about orcas after I watched Blackfish, so...this is just deeply satisfying).
Author's Response: I will confess, I think Jim's sudden attention to sales is mostly because he doesn't want to talk to Pam, but I have always thought of Jim as someone whose behavior is among the more impacted by the cameras, and I'm definitely glad you enjoyed this look into Jim not having to perform.
I do love a good ensemble scene, and you've got to feel for Michael here, right? I mean... he's saving the branch! With comedy!
It doesn't get explored much because Roy is so comically awful, but I do think that would be on Jim's mind a lot... he's in a pretty awkward position as Pam's go-to guy and would-be suitor.
(Blackfish is a genuinely game-changing documentary which I *definitely* wanted to work in if not for the anachronism, so I'm glad this was well timed for you.)
Glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to read and review.