Trixie stood silently facing the wall with her hands in the pockets of her jeans, not wanting to show her anger in front of her ex-boyfriend. She tilted her head up, closed her eyes, and took deep breaths, struggling to control it. She wanted to show him that she had grown up and that she was no longer the naïve, uncontrollable teenager she had once been. That teenager had believed it would be best for them to have a long-distance relationship while they were in different colleges states apart, not realizing how difficult that would have been. Jim, on the other hand, had known better and regretfully let her go.
She pulled herself out of her memories and focused on the man who had unexpectedly shown up here earlier this week, demanding to talk to her (and of course they had never gotten a chance to truly talk since then). She wasn't positive about how he'd known where she'd been sent on assignment, but she suspected her best friend of leaking the information. However he had found out, she had been hardly pleased to see him. She was even less pleased now that he had interfered with her assignment.
She couldn't believe that he had rushed into the fray like that. What was wrong with him? She'd told him and told him that she was a trained FBI agent and perfectly capable of dealing with the criminals that she had already faced on multiple occasions, but he still had insisted on following her. What made it worse is that he had promised – he had promised her that he would stay back where it was safe. Granted, considering that they had both been incredibly stubborn and not willing to give an inch, it had been a ridiculously reluctant promise, but still. He had given her his word. Jim wasn't supposed to break his word.
Jim eyed the curly-headed blonde from his spot standing across the room from her. He wasn't sure exactly what she would be feeling, but he had a nagging feeling that it wouldn't be anything positive toward him.
Seriously, what was he supposed to do when she had suddenly been surrounded by four criminals, all with guns in their hands? Was he just supposed to stand from his safe viewpoint and watch as the woman he loved got shot to pieces? That was ridiculous and far too much to ask of him.
Finally, when Trixie thought that she had regained most of her composure, she slowly turned to face him. Her blue eyes opened and alighted on him leaning against the wall, silently observing her.
His supposed nonchalance didn't fool her. She was able to tell that he was slightly nervous about what was to come, but at the same time she could tell that he wouldn't be one to back down from her.
"Jim," she ground out between gritted teeth. Maybe she wasn't as calm as she thought she was.
"Trixie," he replied evenly. Was that amusement that she saw sparkling in his emerald green eyes?
About six seconds passed before she lost what little control she'd had, cursing inwardly at herself for doing so. "What the heck were you thinking, Jim?! I can't believe that you did that, especially after telling me you'd stay put! You could have been killed out there!"
"But I wasn't," he pointed out calmly. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Yes, I know I wasn't supposed to go out there, but, Trix, I wasn't hurt. You weren't hurt, either. Can we drop it?"
"Drop it?! You want me to drop it?" Trixie repeated in a hiss. She threw her hands in the air. "How can I possibly drop it? You could have been killed! Yes, you weren't this time, but you might not be so lucky next time! What were you thinking?!"
Jim pursed his lips as he pondered about if he should give her the answer that he really wanted to give her or if he should say something else — something that wouldn't mean as much to her. "Well, Trix..." he hesitated before continuing, "I was thinking that I couldn't stand to see you hurt."
"So you thought that you'd get yourself hurt instead?" Trixie spat at him. Trying furiously to rein in her temper, she clenched her jaw and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "How would that be better than me getting hurt? At least I'm trained! I know that I've dedicated myself to my country, and I have the knowledge that I may someday need to die for my country! You would have died for...for..."
"For you, Trix," Jim snapped, his eyes flashing at her with something in them that she couldn't decipher. He took a step forward. "Don't you dare say that I would have died for nothing. I would have sacrificed myself for you, and that's all that I would have cared about. You would have still been alive, and that's all that matters to me."
Trixie was taken aback by the fierceness in his voice, the passion that was shown. "But Jim..."
"But Jim nothing," he interrupted her. Taking yet another step closer to her, he added, "Trixie, can't you see that I will always put you before me? If I have to choose between your life and mine, I will always choose yours."
"But why?" Trixie could have smacked herself as soon as the words came out. Why? They were friends, and considering how honorable Jim was, of course he would see her life as more important than his. Of course, apparently honorable Jim had disappeared for a bit when he decided to break his promise, but otherwise...
"Why, Trix?" His voice dropped to a whisper, and his eyes shimmered with an intensity that he couldn't hide. "Why? I should think that would be very obvious after all of the time that we've spent together this week."
"Yeah, yeah, that was a stupid question," she muttered, waving her hand in the air. "We're friends. And you're honorable. Of course you'll put your friend before yourself."
"No." His eyes narrowed as he spoke the word in a firm tone of voice. "I mean, yes, I'll put my friends before myself, but that is not why I was so determined to keep you from getting hurt. Trixie, can't you see?"
"Can't I see what?" Now Trixie was truly puzzled. Somehow in the midst of this most of her anger had disappeared, and now all that was left was just hurt that he'd broken his promise.
"Trixie..." He ran a hand through his red hair in frustration. "I didn't want to say it like this." His almost pleading eyes met hers.
Trixie looked at him with wariness in her eyes. "What, Jim? Tell me."
"I still love you." The words, spoken quietly, had as much impact on her as if he'd shouted them in her face. Trixie recoiled in shock, unable to believe what her brain was telling her.
"What?" she whispered. She shook her head. "I don't think I heard you right."
"Yes, you did." Jim stepped forward and took her hands in his. "Trixie, I have never stopped loving you. And that's why I put myself out there today. I couldn't bear to see you hurt when I've only just found you again."
Trixie simply stared at him in shock for several moments before she was able to make her mouth work again. "Jim...but..." She swallowed. "You still shouldn't have done that."
"I think you should stop saying that, Trix," he told her softly, squeezing her hands. "Honestly, if I had to do it again, I would. I would not be able to stay back and watch you in the middle of that, even if I knew that you wouldn't be hurt."
"Jim..." She lowered her gaze and studied the floor. The truth was, even though she'd been upset that he'd put himself out there, she understood why he'd done it. She wouldn't have done any different, had their positions been switched. No, the real reason that she was upset was...
"I understand that," she murmured. The next words out of mouth came out without her permission. "But why did you have to break your promise? You promised that you would stay behind."
And here Jim was able to see the root of the matter. True, she was upset that he'd put himself in the face of danger for her, but she was more hurt and upset because he had given her his promise that he would stay out of the line of fire and yet still ended up in the middle of it. "Aw, Trix, that's what's bugging you?"
For some reason, that statement made all of her recently dissolved anger come rushing back to her. Yanking her hands out of his, she placed them on her hips and took a step back. With her blue eyes once again flashing fire at him, she told him in a very controlled tone of voice, "Don't act like it's just a little something, as if I shouldn't be concerned about it, Jim. All your life you have been known as the honorable one, the one that people could always trust to keep his word. You have valued honesty. And now you went and broke a promise – don't act as if it's nothing!"
"I'm not. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to act as if it's nothing," Jim hastened to reassure her. Shoving his hands back into the pockets of his jeans, he continued, "I know I did. And that's why I resisted so strongly to making it in the first place – because I had the sneaking suspicion that I probably wouldn't have ended up keeping it." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "But I am sorry that I had to break my word to you, Trix. You're right. I do value honesty just as much as you think I do. And you have to understand that had it been under any other circumstances, I would have kept my promise to you. But when your life is on the line, well..." He shrugged and lowered his head. "There's a very good chance that any time I have to break a promise to keep you safe that I would break it. Of course, I would always resist making it to begin with."
Trixie had to admit that he had fought her hard and long on making the promise. Really, in a way, he'd been forced into making it. She had basically told him that if he didn't make the promise, she would get some of her fellow agents to restrain him. Not that there weren't already agents constantly surrounding him, but she'd threatened him with being physically restrained. He hadn't really had a choice but to make the promise.
Sighing, she conceded, "Okay, you have a point. You were extremely reluctant to make the promise in the first place. It's just, well..." Now she was the one shrugging her shoulders. "When I've known you for practically all of my life and have never seen you break your word, well, to suddenly have you break it when you made it to me is startling, to say the least."
"I know." Jim ventured a step closer to her, and to his relief she didn't back away. "And I'm sorry that my getting into the middle of it required me to break my promise."
"But you're not sorry for trying to save me," Trixie guessed with a hint of a smile.
With a rueful grin, Jim shook his head. "Nope. I'll never be sorry for keeping you safe."
"Same goes for me," Trixie said after a bit of silence. Lifting her head to look him in the eye, she admitted freely, "I'll never be sorry for keeping you safe, either."
Looking deep into her eyes, Jim saw a flicker of something in them. Could that be...no, surely not. On the other hand, she hadn't actually exactly acknowledged his declaration before, so maybe it was possible.
Their gazes met and held for a long time. Trixie's heart started to pound out a slow, almost painful rhythm in her chest as she watched him slowly move closer to her. She didn't protest as his hands settled on her waist as he came to a stop only a couple of inches away from her. Almost of their own accord, her arms slid up his chest and went around his neck as she tilted her face up to him.
Jim paused a moment to let his eyes sweep over her face and take her in, and then he finally leaned down until his lips met hers. Trixie's eyes drifted shut and she pressed herself against him as her hands played with the hair at the nape of his neck. She felt his arms tighten around her as his tongue swept across her lips and silently asked permission to enter. She gave it to him.
Slowly, gradually the dance that their tongues were performing came to a stop, and soon they pulled back from each other. Trixie held on to Jim as she looked up at him with glazed eyes, afraid that if she let go of him her legs wouldn't be able to support her. Jim looked equally affected.
"Trixie..." he whispered, his voice husky. His eyes smoldered.
"Jim...I love you," popped out before she could think about what she was saying. Her eyes widened slightly, afraid of his reaction.
Jim's lips curved into a smile. "I know," he answered simply. He laid his head on top of her curls. "I saw it in your eyes...and felt it in the kiss."
Trixie allowed herself to sink into him and take refuge in his arms for a bit. Eventually she forced herself to pull back as she remembered that even if her assignment was technically completed, she still had to go communicate with the rest of her team and find out the plans for getting back home.
Jim felt her withdraw and didn't make a move to stop her, as much as he wanted to. He knew that there were other people that she had to go talk with now; there would be more time for them later.
Without a word Trixie left his arms completely and turned away from him as she walked slowly from the room, as if she was reluctant to do so. For a moment, Jim was slightly surprised that she was just going to leave him without saying anything else, but then he reflected that there wasn't really that much to say right now. He was going to just let her go, when his traitorous mouth decided otherwise.
"Trixie."
Trixie immediately stopped and turned around, looking like she wouldn't mind being detained for a few more moments. "Yes?"
"Ah..." Darn, now what was he supposed to say? But apparently his mouth now had a mind of its own, for out of it came, "Can you forgive me for breaking my word?"
Trixie instantly nodded her head, sending her curls flying. "You were forgiven already." Softly, she added, "Things are good between us now, Jim. Things are good. You don't have to be worried."
Stuffing his hands back into his pockets so he wouldn't give in to the urge to grab her and pull her back to him, he replied in an equally soft tone of voice, "I'm glad."
Trixie was about to leave when something occurred to her. "Hey, by the way, how did you manage to get away from two FBI agents?"
Jim ducked his head and smiled sheepishly. "When fighting against them didn't work, I waited until they were distracted and snuck away from them."
"Distracted?" Trixie repeated, raising a brow.
"Uh, yeah. They were on their radios and apparently didn't think I was much of a threat."
Trixie rolled her eyes and muttered something about having a talk with somebody later, which caused Jim to hide a grin.
Then they just stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before Trixie smiled a little and broke the silence. "I'll see you later, Jim."
He nodded, with something akin to regret in his eyes. "Yes, Trix. I'll see you later."
Trixie turned as if to finally leave the room, but then she turned back around suddenly and strode over to him briskly. Reaching up to grab the lapels of his jacket, she pulled his face down to her and placed a hard kiss on his mouth. Then without another word she whirled around and went out the doorway, leaving Jim to stare after her with a slight grin on his face and desire in his eyes.
Author's Notes
Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own the characters!
This was partially inspired by a scene in a Star Wars fanfiction story that I read a while ago where Anakin and Padmé had something of a fight. For some reason my mind then put Trixie and Jim in similar positions, and this was born during JixeWriMo 2013. No, I don't plan on continuing it at all.
The FBI is the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States, and I don't really know much about it. That would be why I tried not to get too detailed about anything concerning it. I do know that it enforces the law...*grin*
Thanks so much to the J-Team (Jenny, Joycey, and Jo) for their editing skills! Mistakes are mine.
Thank you so much for reading!