AN: This is my first ever Office fic... I hope you like it. I thought about it this morning when I was going to school and had to wrestle with it all day until I got home to write it. I like it, but it's really kind of pointless. Just a short little Jam one-shot. So basically, if you don't like fluff and cheese... you shouldn't read this haha.
Title: Then and Now
Rating: K+
Author: MadiWillow
Summary: "Don't wake me up," Roy would tell her. But she's with Jim now.
Genre: Romance
Chapter: One-Shot
Pam quietly unlocked the apartment's front door and slipped inside, shutting it noiselessly behind her. She leaned against it and exhaled softly; it was nearly midnight, and she'd been stuck at Poor Richards all night with, surprisingly enough, Angela. The religious blonde had asked if Pam could join her for "a simple beverage" so the two could catch up, but Angela had ended up getting drunk and spilling to Pam all of her problems. She was with Andy, but she kept thinking about Dwight, but she couldn't be with Dwight because of Sprinkles...
It was all quite dramatic.
Pam sighed; she didn't even want to think about how she had to get up in seven short hours. She walked as silently as she could through the living room and into the bedroom. There was an unmoving lump on the left side of the bed, signifying that Jim was already sleeping. She didn't want to wake him, so she decided she would wait to take her shower until the morning. She dug out some pajamas and changed in the bathroom, turning the faucet on as low as she could while brushing her teeth and washing her face, to keep the noise level down.
Once the light in the bathroom was off, the bedroom was in complete darkness. Pam still wasn't used to the apartment; when she and Jim decided to move in together, she didn't want to stay in her apartment, because it was incredibly small, and neither of them wanted to stay at Jim's place with his roommate. So, they bought a new place altogether.
Because of the fact that they'd only moved in two weeks ago, Pam wasn't so familiar with the place that she could walk around it easily in the darkness. She held her hands out to keep her from running into the wall, but that didn't protect her feet. Hence, she slammed her foot into her night stand.
"Shit."
She rubbed her throbbing toes with one hand while the other held onto the bed for balance. She saw Jim stir, and she froze. Whoops.
Pam climbed into the bed slowly, hoping Jim might go back to sleep, but no such luck. He turned over so that he was facing her, and said, "Just getting in?"
"Yeah," she whispered. "Sorry I woke you."
"Why?"
"Uh..." She was dumbfounded.
"I wish you'd woken me up on purpose," he continued.
Pam furrowed her brow. "Oh. Well, it's just... Roy always said --"
Jim groaned at the sound of the other man's name. He encircled his arms around Pam's waist and pulled her up against him. "I don't care about what Roy did. I like to know when you get home. From now on, I want you to wake me if you get here after I fall asleep."
She grinned against his shirt. Jim had taught her a lot about what it was like to be in a real, loving relationship – she'd been with Roy for so long that she had never known what a real man in love does in appreciation. Jim made her breakfast in bed on Saturdays, against her protests, and refused to let her do the same. Jim helped out around the house whenever he could; anything he could possibly do to make Pam's day easier. Every day, she would ask herself how she got so lucky. And she always prayed that it wouldn't be taken away.
Pam hugged Jim around the middle too, and breathed in deeply. He even smelled differently than Roy. Most nights, Roy would come home smelling like alcohol or smoke, from all the poker games he came from. He smelled nice sometimes, but only if he took a shower before he went to bed.
"What are you doing?" asked Jim tiredly.
"Just smelling you."
"Oh, do you like the new cologne?"
Pam laughed lightly. Even when he was half-asleep, Jim could crack a joke.
"No, stupid. It's your natural smell."
"Hmm?"
"You always smell so good even without doing anything." She inhaled again. "I like it. I can't even describe it."
"Well, I'm glad you like it, Beesly," said Jim. "Because it would be pretty embarrassing if you dumped me because of how I smelled."
She giggled, and snuggled up closer to him.
Roy told her not to wake him up. Roy didn't like it when she talked to him about her thoughts. Roy didn't appreciate her.
But that didn't matter. Because she was with Jim now.