Chapter 5

When she entered the office, everything was empty. Conference room, she thought, as she heard the echo of his voice. It felt extremely weird to walk between those walls again, to see all these little details that made this office unique. Pam's drawing hanging over the copier, Dwight's bobbleheads, Jim's minesweeper on his monitor. She walked slowly, following his voice, letting the whole situation sink in her.

The door was open and she could see Michael talking animatedly about Toby. Poor guy, she knew Michael had never given him any slack.

One after the other, every employee turned their head toward her, except for Michael, still deep in his speech.

She saw Kelly grinning at her, waving frantically. It gave her the last piece of courage she needed.

She took one last deep breath, ready for her ever after.

'You're wrong.' she declared. She saw him turn around faster than she thought possible, his eyes widening in a fraction of a second. He stared at her for a moment before being able to even utter a word.

'Wha? Uh, I... What?' was the only thing he managed to get out.

'You're wrong, it's the other way around. Water multiply them, you're thinking of food after midnight.' she continued, finding confidence in his surprise. She smiled.

'Huh? No, I... No, I'm right.' he stuttered, still obviously very much in awe. His eyebrows were frowned, he had one hand on the wall behind him, needing some support.

'No, you're not. It's obvious, really.' she assured. It was great to see him again, to see his eyes travelling from her to the floor, trying to figure it out.

'Wait, no it's not. I mean, yeah, it is, but you're wrong. Believe me, I know my way in mogwaiology.'

He was gaining confidence, she saw, finding ease with the familiarity of the situation, just talking with her, having a fake argument about some silly subject. She was impressed he actually knew how the suffix -ology worked. She laughed and answered.

'Oh yeah, I don't doubt your expertise. Your comparison between gremlins and HR reps is quite compelling, really, but that doesn't make you less wrong.'

For the first time, she saw his smile today. She couldn't help shivering. She knew everything would be okay.

'Well, there's always a Gizmo in the story. And I'm so right you wouldn't believe it.'

She rolled her eyes, but felt her own smile grow wider.

'I don't believe you, that's actually correct.'

'I'm right.' he responded quickly, taking a step toward her. His eyes were twinkling, he was relaxing and she remembered exactly why she was here. To see his eyes on her again, to watch him smile just for her.

'Nope.'

'Yeppers.'

'No.'

She whispered, eyeing at the camera for a second. It was familiar, it was what she had missed during a year.

'Yeassh.'

He answered, imitating her.

'Prove it.'

'What? How? Do you happen to have a mogwai on you? Because that would be pretty awesome. What are doing here anyway, did you come all the way to argue about 80s movies?'

He tilted his head, waiting for her to answer.

'No, that just seems to be a bonus.'

'Why are you here then, missed me?' he teased, now grinning.

'Yeah, as a matter of fact.' His grin froze and a frown reappeared on his forehead.

'Oh.'

'Can we go talk in your office?' Both of them were serious again.

'Hu, yeah. Of course.' His voice had lowered to a whisper and he seemed unable to detach his stare from her. She, on the other hand, was intensely studying the floor.

She turned around, walking towards his office and he stepped up to walk by her side. His eyes never left her. His smile was unbelievable. He opened the door of his office for her and she came in. It smelled of coffee and apple. He closed the door behind her and the silence settled in between them. She had forgotten what to say.

He finally broke the silence with a concerned voice.

'You look tired.' he stated, worried.

'Well, I am.'

She honestly couldn't say anything else.

'When did you leave?'

'4.'

'AM?' he asked before whispering 'AM...' to himself when he realized the inanity of his question.

'I wanted to see you.' she finally said, trying to explain her current state.

'And I'm really happy you're here, but driving through the night seems dangerous.' Concern was still present in the tremolo of his voice. She didn't mind.

'Yeah, well, I didn't really think about that. Because, well, I was tired, you know.' She shrugged.

'So you missed me?' he asked, eyebrows raised.

'Yeah.' she admitted.

'Since yesterday?'

'Since I left Scranton.'

'Oh. Good. I mean, no, but yeah, kinda.'

He was still smiling and everything seemed right. She had nothing else to say. The adrenaline and stress had finally left her, leaving only exhaustion. So she did the only thing she could think of. She stepped in and locked her arms around his neck as she buried her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes, letting his odor and the heat of his body surround her. She felt him relax after a second and one of his hands found her back. He wrapped her in an embrace, holding tight, and she remembered the day he first asked her out. She matched her respiration with his and felt his breath on her ear.

'You're falling asleep, aren't you?' he whispered. She felt his smile on her temple, his other hand in her hair.

'Oh, yeah, sorry, I'm just...' she raised her head, but he didn't let go of her.

'Hey, I don't mind, I just wanted to be sure.' their forehead met and, her eyes still closed, one of her hands followed the back of his neck to the start of his hair.

'I missed you too.' she heard him whisper. She opened her eyes, found his and saw the Michael she had been wanting so much while they were apart.

'So, no more tall initialed boyfriend?' he asked.

'No.'

'No more Nashua?'

'I think I like Scranton better.'

'You know, you could've asked me that months ago, of course Scranton is better.'

'I needed to be sure.'

'And you're sure now?'

'Yes.'

'Good.'

'Good.'

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The End

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Done. Finally. Hope you liked it.

Comments/criticisms are always welcomed.