A/N: This was a tumblr prompt that asked for ofc kissing Jai, who didn't seem into it-she plays it cool, and then he finds her later to clear some things up. You can find me over on tumblr under the username paradigmflaws. There's a direct link on my profile here! I'd love for you to drop by and say hello.

After an afternoon of baking in the sun, the stone of the patio was radiating heat. Even though the early summer night was cool, it was still comfortable enough to sit outside and drink. It was a beautiful evening and it hadn't gone overlooked. She leaned back in her chair as an index finger traced swirls into the condensation on her copper mug. Evening light cast everything in red.

"Hope you enjoyed playing hookey," she ventured at last. Even as she spoke she didn't take her eyes off the horizon. "I can't imagine a nicer day for it."

The roof-top bar left a beautiful view of sunlight gleaming on Lake Michigan. Chicago spanned in both directions to either side of them, and behind as well but in front of them it seemed like it faded right into the lakeshore.

The man beside her laughed as he raised his beer - still in the bottle. She clinked her mug against it as they both drank. "Bit of a bite to it," Jai continued as he put his glass down, miming a shiver.

She rolled her eyes, shoulder shoving into his. Their chairs were close enough that his thigh bumped against her knee. Neither of them had been willing to sacrifice the view.

"You," she accused as she snickered, "are entirely too cold-blooded. It was beautiful!"

Both drinks had been finished. What seemed to be an inevitable conclusion to the evening was creeping ever nearer. Not even sipping the last dregs from a bottle of beer could delay it.

He heaved himself to his feet. "Australian, sweetheart," Jai retorted.

She laughed. "I thought they were supposed to be hardy. You must be spending too much time in LA."

As she pulled herself to her feet, it seemed a mutual thing that they meandered towards the elevator together. A light shove to her shoulder sent her skipping forward, but she retaliated by catching a foot behind his ankle as he caught up. Neither of them fell, but neither of them could refrain from laughing at their own antics.

"Oi!" He was faux-indignant. "I worked hard for that visa, I'll have you know!"

Her hand rested on his forearm. If it had been sincere, it might have been soothing. In this context, though, it was only an extension of the play between them.

Jai seemed aware of it as well. "Having a go at me all evening," he said, the heavy resignation a poor attempt when even he couldn't keep himself from grinning.

She shrugged, sliding into the elevator first. He pushed the button for his floor. She selected the lobby.

"If you're going to be so boring, I might as well amuse myself somehow."
The horseplay continued even as the elevator opened. It was only Jai's hand at her waist that kept her from tripping headlong into it as the doors opened and they entered. Ribbing between the two of them seemed incessant, although the good spirit that it was taken in was clear.

In the confined space of the elevator, though, things seemed to calm down. He didn't remove his hand, even as his palm burned hotly through the thin material of her summer shirt. She seemed comfortable enough leaning into him, the conversation on a quieter bend now - although to call it serious would be false.

She snickered. "At least they don't put fake lip piercings on you."

Jai's eyebrow raised. "They already glue enough crap to my face. What'd be one more?"

Her eyes rolled again as she straightened. "Not gonna go Mara Rooney, hm? That was dedication. Talk about going full-tilt into character, getting pierced."

His hand rubbed against his jaw. The rasp of a day's worth of stubble was soft but tangible in the quiet of the elevator. They were nearing his floor. "I'm sure that'd go over well. Nothing like a lip piercing to make 'em lose their minds."
Neither of them could contain their laughter.

"I don't know," she replied, straightening and turning to consider him thoughtfully. "It might work against your appeal. Whatever it is."

It was the tease that finally prompted him to movement. He reached out, drawing her close. Her indignant exclamation didn't stay his movement, even as her hands rested on his chest. He had lifted her up, keeping her suspended in his arms.

"Whatever it is?" His repetition was incredulous, although teasingly so.

She looked down at him. "Yeah," she repeated, leaning down. "Whatever that is."

Maybe it was insanity, she thought. A temporary lapse in good judgement. Or it was the mule that decided to finally pack a kick, thoroughly stamping out any objection as to why she shouldn't do this.

Whatever the reason (and she would never be able to identify it other than need,) her lips pressed lightly against his. It was, all things considered, a relatively chaste kiss. His arms were tight around her, keeping her close, as she leaned closer, coaxingly.

…But he didn't respond.

A jolt of embarrassment threaded through her as she straightened and he let her go. Thank god, she thought, that his floor was next.

She laughed, a hand waving in the air. "Like I said," she repeated as the doors dinged open. A hip prompted him into movement. "Whatever it is. I'm sure you have it. Somewhere."

He was quiet as the doors shut, and a rock sank in her stomach. At least he had smiled, the stirrings of a laugh on his lips.

"Fuck."

She sagged against the elevator for the rest of the long descent to the ground floor. Thank god her stay had been booked in a different hotel. The idea of having to get off on the same floor with him was excruciating. At least she had played it off decently, she thought, even as she stepped out into the Chicago evening.

At the lower level, the sunlight didn't penetrate and the wind had picked up.
She shivered, drawing her arms close to her. It was just the cold, she told herself - as she ignored the hard lump of anxiety that gathered tightly in her breast.

It was a condition that she would have been more than happy to nurse for eternity, had she been given the chance. She would be working with the extras for a series of big shots. The calendar had marked the next three days for it, with the potential to run over. The fact that she could - without guile - say that she really was busy doing other things, not just avoiding him - was a comfortable balm to her soul.

Or her mortification.

Both worked.

The first day had passed without incident. She had only seen Jai in passing and had managed her characteristic grin in his direction. He had been ushered off in another direction and she breathed a sigh of relief.

It was a pattern that repeated on the second day, and then the third. Her good natured temperament remained a lauded mask to hide behind and her easygoing acknowledgement of his presence, even though she hadn't had the opportunity to speak with him, belied the agonizing embarrassment that swelled in her breast at the thought of their last encounter.

She was more than content to stay in her room. The bottled water in her hand crunched as she gripped it too tightly. Looking down at the plastic, she blinked and placed it back on the table.

Sleep. It was a safe decision, one that came with no awkward ramifications. The sky outside her window was dark, more than enough justification for the option to be a viable one.

Shaking her hair out of the braid that it had been woven into after her shower, she drew the blinds shut. Changing into the long shirt that proved serviceable (if inelegant) sleepwear, only the light at her bedside was left on as she sat on the edge of the mattress. The book on the side-table would provide sufficient distraction until her mind was lulled into quietude.

How much time had passed, she couldn't say.

It was as dark as it had been when she had tucked herself in. The light blazed, bright in the dimness of the room but not bright enough to sting her eyes. She blinked again, rubbing them. The book fell from her chest, where it had rested after she dozed off.

A knock on the door sounded again.

The bedside clock flashed 11:17 P.M. and her mind, sluggish to wake, wondered if something had happened. Lurching to her feet, she staggered towards the door. Shivering at the coolness of the artificial climate, she leaned against her door, trying to wake up enough to find her brain. Or her coordination. Both would be preferable.

"Who is it?" Her hand stopped on the locks, waiting to throw them open.

His voice was quiet through the door. No name was necessary, the tone was heart-rendingly familiar.

Even as she tried to buy time for herself, it seemed like the chain was taken off the door in a nanosecond. The deadbolt was next, and then the lock flipped.

Turning the knob, she stepped back as she opened the door, looking up at him.

Well, she tried. The hallway lighting was bright to eyes that were acclimatized to a darker interior.

"Jai?" No. Wrong - it shouldn't have come out as a question. She knew it was him. "What's up?" Still not right.

"Is something wrong?"

Her voice was low, thick and raspy from sleep and silence, and it was more than enough to draw his attention to it. The time, her voice, the way her eyes squinted in the light - she had been sleeping and guilt was a tangible thing on his expression.

"Fuck," he exhaled, his voice quieter than normal. "Sorry. I didn't mean to, that is I-" and he paused himself, as he seemed to struggle with the phrasing in much the same way she did. "D'you mind if I come in? I didn't mean to wake you but I don't know if we'll really have the time later."

Time? She blinked. "The only time I'm able to think about right now is the fact that it's bedtime," she groused, although she stepped back again, opening the door wider.

It was a silent invitation and more than enough for Jai. He entered the room and took the door from her, shutting it quietly behind him. More lights clicked on in the room as she flipped a switch. By the time he turned around, her hip was propped against the desk in the room, arms folded against her abdomen as she shivered again.

"What's going on, Jai?" Her voice was clearer now, sleep-muddled haziness fading from her eyes.

He rested a shoulder against the wall, leaning back in a facsimile of comfort. His hands were shoved into his pockets, an awkward position that she didn't think she recalled him adopting often.

"We need to talk." It was an uncharacteristic seriousness that he had adopted and she reacted to it, tensing. "I wanted to talk to you about the other day."

Her hand waved through the air in a sharp motion. It was a physical indication, a gesture meant to cut him off as her own mind kicked into hyper-drive.

A light laugh preceded her words. "It's nothing, Jai," she began, her voice steady and composed. "Fun between friends, right?"

It wasn't enough to dissuade him. He knew her well enough to recognize this - and he felt like an ass for not having seen it sooner. She was defensive, protecting herself against a rejection that she had braced to anticipate.

Preempting it was the best way she knew to head it off and if it hadn't been directed at him, he would have applauded the attempt.

"No."

She jolted as if she had been hit with a static shock. "Excuse me?"

Jai straightened, his hands coming out of his pockets. "No. It's not fun between friends. I'm an ass for not letting you know, but I thought that it was all you wanted. That kiss?" He grinned, an echo of boyish charm lingering on his features and her hard edges fought to soften. "Surprised the hell out of me, sweetheart. I didn't ever let myself think that you would. I thought I was imagining it."

He took a step forward and the stride was enough to bring him within arm's reach of her. His palm settled around her elbow, gently drawing her nearer.

He saw the gooseflesh dotting her arms, and wrapped his around her, pulling her into his chest. A broad hand settled at her back, rubbing up and down gently.

"That wasn't rejection. I was just too damn surprised to breathe, let alone react."

Her eyes lifted cautiously to his. He knew that look, the reserve, the assessment, as if she could peer into his soul to test the veracity of his statement. Jai's smile was soft, a measure of sincerity that took the hard edges and intimidation away from the man.

And then she laughed, and he felt like he could breathe. Her head fell forward to rest against his chest. "God, I was mortified," she groaned, her hands cautiously coming to rest on his waist.

He squeezed her lightly. "Picked up on that. And then you were avoiding me and fuck - don't do that again, because you're impossible to find when you don't want to be. I've been running around like an idiot trying to catch two seconds with you for the last three days."

"I was busy!" Her protest was an indignant one.

One of his forearms settled at the small of her back. His other hand swept up her spine to cradle the back of her head lightly. Gently, he coaxed her into looking up at him and when she finally did, he grinned.

"I know. You're very good at finding ways to be busy very, very far away from someone."

Heat colored her cheeks. Even in the darkness and the artificial lighting he could see the blush, knew it stained her cheeks and trailed down her neck. Did it go any further?

In one motion he drew her up against him as he leaned down around her. She felt as if he surrounded her but instead of being daunting, she just felt warm.

The anxiety from the past few days was unknotting, unraveling and dissipating into nothingness. Every touch, every word did a little more to assuage it.

When Jai spoke next, his voice was quiet and rough. "Let's have another go at it. I promise not to fuck it up this time."

And so they did. And he didn't.