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Disclaimer: I own nothing related to "The Office" or NBC.

Finding the copier out of paper, and needing to make just a few more copies at the end of the day, Pam crosses to the supply shelves to find them also empty of paper.

The supply closet is tiny and dark with its burnt out bulb, and she tries to make a quick job of it as she keeps the door propped open with her foot, her leg extended behind her.

Jim startles her, as she'd thought everyone had gone home for the day. And from his reaction, he must have thought the same. In their spastic flurry of surprise and nervous giggles, the door swings closed, trapping them in together.

Pam hears herself laugh nervously, and she reaches around Jim for the door handle. She pushes down, and it doesn't budge. Her muffled "Um" sounds strange in the small room, seemingly absorbed by the black. Jim's voice booms quietly in the small space as he asks her "What?"

She tells him they're locked in, trying to look him in the eyes through the thick darkness. And despite the fact that she's felt estranged from him for a while now, she feels so relieved that he's with her in the dark.

"Since when does this door lock on the inside?" he murmurs as she hears him jiggle the handle, and then he sighs heavily, feet scuffling on the floor.

The space is small, and she finds herself leaning back against the shelves, and she thinks Jim is right in front of her now, possibly facing her. She thinks she feels him breathing.

"How do we get out?" she asks.

"I don't know... I just came in here for paperclips."

Something about that makes her giggle, and as she hunches forward in her laughter, her head collides with Jim's chest, and he reaches out and steadies her with his hand. His fingers linger on her hip, and her breath catches, and suddenly, she's not laughing anymore. She feels electric with emotions, ready to throw sparks; sparks that will hopefully light their way.

"Jim..."

His fingers squeeze her a little and she gasps.

"I miss you," she says.

His head is bowed, face close to hers; she can feel it. After a minute or two, he sighs, and she can feel her hair float around her face. "I miss you too," he admits. His voice is soft and intimate, just what she imagines it would sound like if they were nestled together in bed.

Moving closer to him and away from the shelves, she finds his forearms in the darkness, runs her hands along them. "Please tell me it's not too late," she pleads. The darkness seems to infuse her with strength, allowing her to finally, finally say things to him that she's been too afraid to in the light.

He doesn't say anything right away. But she can hear his breaths getting shaky, thinks she can hear his jaw working. So she reaches her hands up towards him and finds his face, cups it in her hands. "I love you. I was so confused and afraid before. But I'm not anymore. Not at all," She says as she continues to caress the apples of his cheeks with her thumbs. And then she feels a dampness there. His tears cause her tears to begin, and she's suddenly gathered up in his arms, listening to him murmur her name along with words like "love" and "never too late".

Their kiss is soft, sweet, but urgent, and infused with everything they have so desperately needed to say to each other in the previous nine months.

------

In the morning, they're woken up with a loud, "Oh my god, you guyyyys," a stage-whispered, "knock when you have your clothes on and I'll let you guys out. I know it locks on the inside," and the click of the door closing again.

Jim and Pam can't stop laughing softly as they fumble to get dressed in the dark, and then share a sweet kiss before knocking to let Kelly know that she can open the door for them.

Jim and Pam can't stop sharing secret smiles with each other all day.



PuffingNoise is the author of 41 other stories.
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