AN: Okay so this isn't my first fic, but it is the first time I've ever even considered putting something out into the world. It's not perfect but I just felt that the LBD community needed more fic. And others agreed.

Takes place at some point in the future. Off camera.

In a dimly lit posh restaurant in Los Angeles, two people sat awkwardly in a cozy corner near the back. To the casual observer it would seem like regular first date awkwardness but either party would steadfastly claim that it was not, most definitely not, a date. (One a lot more fervently than the other.)

Lizzie Bennet was not a person who liked surprises. She was not one to freak out in joy or terror, but the unexpected had a way of rendering her speechless, which wasn't something that often happened to her. How did she get here exactly, she wondered. Sitting in a nice restaurant with Darcy of all people, having a casual conversation when nearly an hour ago she was still convinced she would never see him again. No matter what he said, she was still going to exact revenge on Fitz and Charlotte.

It began, simply enough, with her best friend since fetuses, Charlotte Lu. Charlotte was in L.A. to meet with some people at Pemberley Media, Collins & Collins' parent company, on behalf of Ricky, who was currently on vacation in Canada, and Lizzie had come along since she had wanted to see Jane. Charlotte had called her up that afternoon after her meeting saying she had big news and wanted to celebrate. She had named the place and the time and had stressed multiple times that it was going to be a Fancy Besties Girl's Night. Lizzie had put on her nicest dress, her favorite necklace and done her make up slightly more than usual. As she looked in the mirror, she wondered if she was overdressed for Charlotte, but the word celebration was cause enough to dress her best, even if it was for her best friend.

When Lizzie arrived at Le Petit Mouton, she had given Charlotte's name and was immediately escorted to an empty back table. Thinking Charlotte would only be a few minutes (Lizzie, herself, was early), she ordered a glass of wine and started to inspect the menu. Five more minutes passed, her wine arrived and that was when she started to get a bad feeling about the night. Looking around at the romantic candlelit tables and primarily coupled patrons, Lizzie hoped Charlotte had not actually been here before and had merely been misled by a coworker as to what kind of place this was. It was then that she saw a familiar figure being led in her direction and her heart sank.

"Monsieur," the maître d' showed him the only other chair at the table, handed him the menu and then left with a quick "Your waiter will be with you shortly."

And that would be the concise version of how she had ended up at a secluded table, in possibly one of the most romantic restaurants in town, sitting face to face with William Darcy.

She hadn't seen or heard from Darcy since he and Fitz had left Collins & Collins seemingly immediately after submitting their report. Her first instinct was to leave immediately, but she was there first and he should clearly be the one to leave. Besides, she was starving and had the waiter had literally just brought her a decent amount of wine. She tried to disregard his presence by pretending to be engrossed in the menu until he spoke.

"Elizabeth, try as you might, you can't ignore me for the rest of your life."

"I'm sorry, I think the maître d' has seated you at the wrong table. I'm waiting for Charlotte, he must have gotten confused in his obvious hurry."

"No, I don't think he is confused, because Fitz Williams sounds nothing like Charlotte Lu and that is the name I gave him, very clearly I might add."

Ah so she wasn't alone in this nightmare. Darcy had been set up as well. Nothing stung quite like the betrayal of not one, but two friends. Especially friends who knew how she felt about Darcy and one being her very best friend since before they were born. Lizzie harrumphed and went back to intently studying the menu in silence.

"The steak is pretty decent here, but what this place is really known for is their pots du chocolat," he offered politely

Lizzie glowered; the man could even make French sound clinical. He had no intention of leaving apparently. It looked like they were actually going to have dinner. Together. Alone. Alone together. In a very romantic restaurant. Well the viewers were certainly going to love hearing all about this interesting turn of events, she mused. Everyone seemed to love the Darcy drama. Lizzie, herself, was tired of it. He wasn't evil, she just couldn't figure him out and that, more than anything, infuriated her. He guarded himself so well and yet did such unexpected things like barge into her video and confess his love to her. Still, weeks later, she couldn't get his words out of her head. It was her third most viewed video, quickly climbing higher; the Internet would never let her forget. She looked back at him and oh, was he still talking? A voice that sounded a lot like Charlotte in the back of her mind was admonishing her behavior and telling her to be nice.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Her voice channeled Jane's overly sweet speech to a certain degree. Her sudden recovery of speech seemed to catch Darcy by surprise almost as much as her saccharine tone.

"I asked you what wine you ordered so that we could get a bottle."

"Oh. Well I kind of just pointed at the wine list and picked one. I'm not one to be picky about wine."

"I see. Would you mind if I ordered something for the both of us?"

"It's your money," she spat out more bitterly than she had meant it to sound.

Being nice hadn't lasted too long. What was it about Darcy that just got under her skin? It wasn't just his personality; it was just his entire existence. No matter what his intentions, he always seemed to find a way to rile her up. She was going to have to settle for just being civil. She could manage civility. Maybe.

"I want you to know that even though we were both lured here under false pretenses, I do intend to pay for dinner, Elizabeth."

"Thanks, I think."

The waiter came over and Darcy ordered a bottle of something that sounded expensive. Of course he would, she thought, like I didn't already feel embarrassed about just picking a wine by pointing.

"You must have memorized the menu by now, the way you keep staring at it," he joked.

There he was again, surprising her completely. She never knew Darcy to recognize a joke, let alone make one. What was happening?

"I never forget. But currently I just can't decide."

"I am well acquainted with your remarkable memory. Would you permit me to choose for you?"

The actual nerve of that man to be so presumptuous as to believe he knew her so well that he could choose her food. No one had ever ordered for her, except for her mother on occasion and that was only because the woman was usually the loudest voice in the room and could drown out anyone. At least he asked you first, said her Charlotte voice, he's giving you an option. Did she trust Darcy to pick something good, did she even trust him at all? Before she could really give an answer, the waiter had returned with the wine and Darcy had already ordered, for the both of them. She finally relinquished her handy menu and now there was no obstruction between her and Darcy. She couldn't hide from him any more. Neither of them was there completely willingly, but they had both stayed. He was buying her dinner, which was enough of a reason for the debt-ridden grad student to stay, but why was he, why did he even offer. She thought he would hate her after he had seen and heard all the various ways she had insulted him and made fun of him in her videos. Instead he was trying to make conversation, joking with her and quite literally wining and dining her.

For someone who usually had no trouble with words, Lizzie Bennet found herself with no idea of what to say, well nothing particularly nice to say. Darcy had explained himself in his letter but he had yet to apologize for his actions. As far as she knew, Jane and Bing were still apart and Jane was still miserable about it when she allowed herself time to breathe. Jane had thrown herself into her new job and had been too busy for just about anything lately. Lizzie had been in town for a few days but had yet to actually see her due to Jane's busy schedule. She had thought perhaps tonight since Charlotte had quickly mentioned something about a surprise guest on the phone earlier, but now it was obvious that this surprise was Darcy and not Jane. She wasn't going to make a scene though. No talk of unpleasant things like her sister's heartbreak or her scathing portrayal of him in her videos.

"You seem to know this place well, how did Fitz trick you into coming here?"

"Well, if you must know, he said he had found a girl that he thought would be perfect for me. I obliged since he had already made the reservation and apparently told the girl. It would have been ungentlemanly for me to let the poor girl wait in vain."

"What a joke that turned out to be. You must be ready to plot revenge."

"Revenge is not my style, Lizzie. Though Fitz and I once had a prank war that went on for months in our college days."

Darcy? Prank war? Does not compute. Lizzie didn't really know what to make of this admission. Perhaps now, she would finally be able to see who Darcy really was, behind his robotic newsie exterior. As much as she said that she hated him, the truth was that she didn't really know him and therefore every little thing he did seemed to bug her all the more for it. This was really going to mess with her resolution to hate him forever wasn't it?

"I refuse to believe that you were a prankster. Fitz, yes, maybe even Bing a little but you? Come on, that can't be entirely true."

"I don't make a habit of not telling the truth, Lizzie. You can ask Fitz about it. He may claim to have taught me everything I know, but I know for a fact that I taught him a thing or two as well."

"Fascinating," Lizzie said giving her best psychiatrist voice while sipping her wine. "I had always wondered why he was friends with you. It had been a tie between blackmail and on your payroll."

"Contrary to your popular belief, Lizzie, there are people out there who genuinely like me. Probably more than who genuinely like your dear friend Wickham," he said rather quickly, as if he hadn't meant to say it aloud.

She knew he didn't like to talk about George, with good reason, and he had never been the one to bring him into the conversation. She wondered what made him so casually mention him now, especially after he had told her the real story about him and George in his letter. Well now would be a good time to clear the air on that sore subject and put poor Darcy out of his misery if he thought she had ever pined for George.

"Friend?" she nearly choked out the word. "I haven't heard from him in months and I am more than okay with that. I would barely want to classify him as an acquaintance after what I read in your letter. The only good thing I can say about George now was that he was a pretty good dance partner, and Lydia would add something unseemly about his body."

She could see Darcy trying hard not to smile at her new distaste for George Wickham. Lizzie had no love for Wickham, not anymore, and she probably never did. She wondered what it was that made her think about George's dancing, allowing herself to briefly recall her dances with both men. She began to imagine Darcy and George taking the same dance lessons as boys. The thought of them almost made her laugh. All of a sudden, she saw Darcy's gaze drifting away from her. She followed it towards the quartet that had been playing all night and saw that a small dance floor had been created and couples were shyly going up and dancing. Oh no, was he going to ask her to dance now. Thinking back on the few dances they had shared, she had to admit they weren't entirely unpleasant, at least technically. She had allowed her distaste for her partner to cloud her mind. Perhaps now she would find out what Fitz meant when he spoke ad nauseam about Darcy's dance skills. Lizzie watched as Darcy rose from his chair, politely pushed it back in and walked over to her.

"I know we haven't had the best luck in this area before, but would you do me the honor of a dance? Allow me to prove myself a superior dancer to Wickham. I promise not to step on your toes," he put out his hand with a slight bow.

"You've never stepped- oh all right," she took his hand and he led her to the dance floor.

With hands placed in respectful locations, they began to dance. The band was playing a song she didn't really recognize but that didn't matter. She let Darcy lead her around the dance floor, though they didn't actually move much at all. It wasn't terrible at all. In fact, it was really quite nice. She let herself look up at him, boy he really was tall, and found his bright blue eyes staring at her intently. Try as she might, there was no trace of mocking or condescension in them, and there probably never had been, but no it was admiration and maybe even love. How had she never seen how beautiful and kind his eyes were before, they had always seemed so cold, distant and mocking to her. There was no trace of the agoraphobic lobster or robot newsie, well a little of the newsie, he was wearing a bowtie tonight. Lizzie let herself wonder if her rejection of him had made him re-evaluate himself like his letter had made her re-evaluate her own worldview. Her opinion, while not completely changed, had been softened once hearing him speak his mind freely on paper. Maybe her own words had stuck with him as well, and he had watched her videos. She still shuddered at the thought of him watching her insulting and mocking him for months. After he had left her that first day, she had nearly deleted her entire channel but then in the last second decided it wasn't her place anymore. This was her project, her life, and whatever happened on camera was going to be shared no matter how embarrassing in hindsight. They hadn't gotten a chance to talk about it much, but she didn't really know if she wanted to hear what he had to say other than prolific and illuminating.

"I'm, uh, glad you didn't leave when you saw me."

"Well I was here first, didn't want to waste the wine either."

"I hope my company hasn't been too offensive to you. I feel like I know you better now, but I realized that you don't seem to know much about me at all and for that I must apologize. I was blinded by my feelings for you, and desire to know you, that I never thought to offer anything in return. I haven't been around many people who don't already know everything about me even before we meet."

"Yeah, you aren't exactly an open book. But I must admit I didn't really want to get to know you either at the time."

"And you do now?" He brought her in just a little bit closer as more people came out to dance.

She was nearly pressed up against him, there were mere millimeters between them, and she could feel his breath on the top of her head. She had never been this close to him before. He smells really nice, she allowed herself to muse on this for a moment before realizing she had just smelled Darcy. An energetic giggling couple accidentally bumped her from behind and the distance between them was no more. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and she instinctively brought hers up to his neck. She leaned in and rested her head on his chest, feeling his heart beat as they moved slowly to the instrumental ballad, swaying more than dancing now, which seemed safer somehow. It was certainly a new feeling, and a surprising one at that, to feel safe in Darcy's arms. Finding that she kind of enjoyed it was the most surprising part of all.

"Well," she finally spoke. "I am more open to the idea than I once was, I have been hearing such good things at Pemberley, you know. It would certainly be interesting to see if they are true or just PR."

"You've been to Pemberley?" he sounded surprised.

"Charlotte had some big investor meeting to attend, so I thought I'd come along. I don't know if you are aware of my independent studies for this semester, but Dr. Gardiner had insisted that I set up one at Pemberley, since it dedicates a great amount of resources into web media. Thought I would just scope it out before I start shadowing in a week."

"So you'll be staying in Los Angeles then?"

"At least for a little while, yes, as long as my aunt will have both me and Jane."

"We should see more of each other, then, while you're in town. I can tell you anything you'd like to know about Pemberley. It may have been my father's company, but I like to think that I have made great improvements to it. Plus it has been quite some time since I've had a debate anywhere near as good as the ones I had with you."

She felt herself blushing. Spending time with Darcy had never exactly been at the top of her to do list, and his words made it seem like it would be just the two of them. However, she couldn't really find a reason to refuse. If this whole getting-to-know-Darcy thing didn't work out, then at least she would have a really good source for her study. Although, Lizzie had to admit that their arguments were actually a lot of fun. Provoking him had become one of her more favorite things to do at Netherfield.

"We'll see about that. I can't very well deny you a good argument. That seems to be our thing."

"So we have a thing?"

"Don't push it Darce-o," she laughed, using Fitz's stupid nickname for him.

"I like your playful side. You should laugh more. You're beautiful when you laugh."

His blunt statements stunned her. This new Darcy seemed to be done with guarding himself and no longer so calculating with his words. And why wouldn't he be? He had already bared his soul her and her thousands of viewers and now she was in his arms and clearly not trying to murder him. She guessed saying what was on his mind wasn't so hard for him after all that. That didn't make it any easier to hear him call her beautiful, after all she had said about him.

"Stop it, Darcy. Just don't."

"Don't what? Don't be honest? Lizzie you already know how I feel about you. That part hasn't changed. All I want to know is if maybe your feelings have altered somewhat since we last spoke?"

"I wanted to hate you. I wanted to hate you so much and you are making it impossible. I don't know what it is that I feel for you now."

"Have you, Lizzie Bennet, actually gone against your vow of eternal hatred and might now actually now like me, William Darcy, the agoraphobic lobster?"

"Hey I didn't call you that, Fitz did!"

"That's not a no…"

"Well maybe I could see myself liking you, is that an acceptable answer?"

"It is not unacceptable."

"You're weird."

"I'm starting to realize that, thank you."

"I don't find you unacceptable."

"Lizzie?"

"Will?"

She looked back up at him and suddenly his mouth was on hers and she found that she didn't want it to leave. Lizzie hadn't thought of Darcy to be someone who lived in the moment but she was not complaining. In truth, Lizzie had almost expected the kiss. William Darcy always seemed to do the opposite of what she thought he would, why would their first kiss be any different. First kiss? Did she want more than one? Yes, she did, she really, really did.

"FINALLY! WOOHOO!" A voice came from the crowd of dancers around them.

"Fitz, shut up," came the voice of his partner in crime Charlotte Lu.

Lizzie and Darcy broke their kiss but stayed wrapped in each other's arms.

"It would seem that our lovely conspiratorial friends have been our audience all along."

"Should we kill them now or later?'

He kissed her lightly.

"Later then," she smiled slyly.

"I was going to tell you earlier, but our food has arrived. Should we get back to the table?"

"I guess we could do that," she released her arms from around him but he kept one around her and let his hand sit comfortably in the small of her back as they walked the short distance to their secluded table.

She could see Charlotte and Fitz sneakily leaving the restaurant, which was hard because Fitz kept shouting, "I knew it! I knew it! My wingman skills cannot be denied son!" as Charlotte tried to hide her face in her hair while shaking her head. Lizzie couldn't help but laugh at her two friends. Yeah okay she was ready to admit it, to herself and anyone who asked. She had stopped hating Darcy a while ago. Tonight had been the push she needed to realize that she might actually see him as someone she could like, not just like but maybe even love. They still had a lot to discuss, but maybe the kissing could be a part of their discussions. Across the table, Darcy could not stop smiling. Lizzie gave him a shy smile in return and moved her chair a little closer to his, legs nearly touching under the tablecloth.

The awkwardness with which the night had begun had almost instantly disappeared. To anyone in Le Petit Mouton, Lizzie and Will looked like a normal couple falling in love.