I'm not profiting off this, and the characters are kind of like the tiger I wanted when I was 6…not mine and never will be, but don't think that stopped me from putting it on my Christmas list :] I know this is kinda anti-Owen, but believe me it could go either way

FYI: this leaves off right after Jackson kisses Cristina, AU after she walks out of the room

Walking out of her bedroom, Cristina Yang couldn't help but wonder when the hell her actions decided to have a mind of their own. Being alone in her bedroom with a Mercy West doctor was not a good thing, and letting said doctor, that was drunk, kiss her was a huge mistake on her part. Leaning her back against the closed door, she suddenly felt as if there wasn't enough oxygen in the apartment; she grabbed her jacket and snuck out the front door. Once she got outside, she started to really understand what happened. Pacing back and forth, Cristina finally let it all sink in; Jackson had kissed her. Avery just had me pinned against a wall and I let him stick his tongue down my throat. What. The. Hell. I told him I was involved, but that doesn't seem to be a good enough reason anymore. What Cristina failed to notice was that in the shadow of the doorway to the building was Jackson Aver y, trying to suppress his laughter at the sight of Cristina tugging on her dark curls and talking to herself.

"All I've ever wanted to do was open people up and repair their damaged cardiac muscles. Now I'm fighting for meaningless surgeries that I never wanted in the first place with amateurs in those stupid orange scrubs, and a boyfriend who doesn't……". Cristina paused mid- stride and let that instant feeling of panic set in for a second.

Oh god. Owen. How am I supposed to tell him? Or, do I tell him….

"You seem troubled Yang, anything I can do?"

Avery finally pulls himself out of the shadows and into the light of the street lamp so Cristina can acknowledge his presence. He saunters up to her, giving her just enough space to move if needed, but close enough to see the playful glint in his eyes, combined with something she couldn't quite place.

"Haven't you done enough, oh intoxicated one? Or are you back to pay me compliments using the same adjective repeatedly?" she asked with an annoyed expression on her face, waiting for him to answer her, all the while having the overwhelming urge to wipe that smug grin off his face by any means necessary.

"No need to get hostile, it's not like you didn't like it" his smug grin was a full blown smile by now as he watched her go back to pacing, trying to ignore him again, unsuccessfully.

"Did it even register in your brain that maybe I was shocked and didn't have the chance to push you away sooner?"

"Come on Yang, you grabbed me just like I grabbed you. If you didn't want it, you could have said no."

"I did. I told you that I'm involved."

She finally stood still and faced Avery, crossing her arms in front of her, appearing a lot smaller than she was. Her hair was blowing in the gentle fall wind, and made Avery physically flinch from the overwhelming urge to just grab her and kiss her again. That surge of passion towards her was a surprising, but not unwelcome feeling that he wanted to embrace. He could tell by the thoughtful expression on her face that she was deep in thought, and took that opportunity to inch himself closer to her. He wanted to get to know her on a personal level because he was attracted to that confident attitude she has. The attitude that says, "I know I'm amazing, but you can tell me anyway", yet there's an intense, almost desperate need to be taught as well.

"So, if I decided to try and kiss you again, you'd push me away just as fast, if not faster?" he asked with a poorly disguised disappointed face.

"Yes…no, I don't know! What do you want from me? Are you doing this so you can tell all your little preschooler friends that you hooked up with a doctor from this hospital, because if you are…"

"I'm not! You really are dense Dr. Yang, despite the incredibly sexy amount of knowledge you possess. I want you, all of you, not just for one night."

He stood there staring into her eyes, willing her to understand that her as a person is what intrigued him and made him want to know more. Avery slowly pulled a stray piece of hair out of her face, and ran his thumbs over the smooth skin of her jaw line, then across her cheeks, coming to rest on either side of her slender neck. He leaned in closer to her, feeling her shallow breathes on his face, watching her eyes gently fluttered closed and hesitated right before he kissed her. Cristina knew she had to take that step if she wanted to know just how deep his feelings went for her, and leaned the rest of the way in to meet his lips in a tender kiss that was tantalizingly slow, seemingly sucking all the air from her lungs.

As they slowly withdrew, Cristina said, "I have to tell him."

Still caressing her face with his hands, he said that he understood, and to take as long as she needed.

"I'll wait."

As they stood there on the sidewalk under the street lights, they didn't notice the person watching them from the window above, a person that wasn't going to stay unnoticed.