A/N: RACHEL, I'M SORRY THIS FIRST PART IS SO SHORT? It was originally like 800 words but I managed to make it a bit longer. I promise the second part will be a bit longer. I'll try and get it posted by your birthday. I know some of what I want to write, just not all. I have a semi-clear picture, lol. But I hope you like this and I hope it's not too ooc? This is my first time writing these two and it feels weird but good.

Anyway, sorry everyone for this random fic? I know a lot of you follow me for Owkita and Salex. I used to ship Nikita/Ryan, actually, back in S1. The truth is, I'll literally ship Nikita with anyone but Michael, but at the end of the day Nikita/Owen are my otp. However, this fic is for a friend; her birthday is coming up and I wanted her to have as much of an abundance of Nikita and Ryan as possible since they are her otp of otps on the show.

Sooo, happy early birthday, Rachel. Hope you like this (((:


The stress reached all the way up to the back of his neck, a knotted ball resting there like an unwelcome burden for an invariable amount of time. Each day the ball of stress grew and grew, stiffening his neck and his back – to the point it was getting hard for Ryan to focus. He was even becoming a bit temperamental with people. Birkhoff had not so subtly pointed that out, with his usual flare of sarcasm. The others had become wary around him, or avoiding him entirely. Except Nikita. She was the only one calling him out on his behavior. Well, her and Birkhoff – with that sarcasm.

Pacing his office, Ryan rubbed the back of his neck, cracking it from side to side. He knew it was a bad habit and was most likely only exacerbating even more neck problems by doing that, but it made his neck feel so much better. And he liked that cracking sound – he even cracked his fingers from time to time, as well as other body parts. Glancing at the paperwork on his desk, he heaved a sigh and decided to pace a few more laps around his office, procrastinate a while longer. He was starting to hate that paperwork. Maybe he should take Nikita's advice and start to use the computer and not remain stuck in the old age of pen and paper and files. But it wasn't just the paperwork - it was this place. Running it was starting to take its toll on him. It wasn't what he had imagined it would be.

He cracked his neck again, closing his eyes and sighing. He stopped, hand resting on the back of his neck as he stood in front of his desk, the edge of it digging into his thigh. He dug his fingertips into the base of his spine, massaging it in circles. "That's a bad habit, you know," said a familiar voice behind him. "Cracking your neck like that. I wouldn't recommend it."

"Oh?" Ryan asked. Dropping his hand by his side, he turned around to see Nikita watching him. She had been watching him for several minutes, worried about his level of stress these past few weeks and how little sleep he was getting. Her arms crossed over her chest, she leaned her hip against the door and studied him, the stubble along his jawline darker than it had been the last time she'd seen him. She smiled once he fully turned toward her. Smiling back at her, a wave of ease washed over him. Her smile was infectious, a sight difficult not to mimic. "What would you recommend then, to help relieve my neck pain and stress?" He held out his hands, encouraging her to share any ideas she had that would help him relax, get through all the paperwork he had.

Eyes shining at this invitation, she glanced behind her before stepping into his office. "Well, there are a lot of things you could do," she began. She strode toward him, heels clicking on the floor. "Cut bad habits, like neck cracking, for example." She slapped him on the arm, arching a brow at him. "Other remedies for neck pain include placing a hot towel around your neck or practicing neck exercises – or even getting a massage. As for stress relief, hmm," she paused, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Ryan leaned against the edge of his desk, watching her with amused curiosity, waiting to see what she'd come up with. "Meditation?" she suggested.

"You mean yoga?" Ryan asked. With raised eyebrows, Nikita watched him with an intense intrigue, awaiting his reaction to her proposal. "I don't know, I've never done it before," he said. "I don't think I'd be very good at it. My balance is terrible. And I'm not all that flexible, really."

"It's fine," Nikita replied. "I'll be your teacher." If there was anything she knew better than combat, it was yoga. It was second nature to her almost. She felt confident enough to do this. And she was willing to do anything to help Ryan relax and relieve any stress he had.

She watched him with such a fierce intensity that he found himself lost in her face, her whiskey eyes, his own eyes dropping down to watch as her lips parted and the corners curved upward into a smile. He took a deep breath and looked away, pushing himself away from his desk. "I'm not sure," he finally said, feeling himself flush as he turned away from her. Being so alone with her, he'd be too tempted. He had prided himself on being respectful all this time and he didn't want to ruin things with her.

"Oh, come on, Fletch," Nikita prodded. "It'll be fun, just the two of us. It's been so long since it's been just us." She smiled wistfully at him, rather looking forward to the idea of the two of them spending the afternoon together. If he agreed, that is.

Ryan turned back to face Nikita, hesitating as he looked at her. He glanced down, clearing his throat. When he looked up and caught sight of that wistful smile of hers, he knew he was lost. That smile of hers, it was infectious and it could bring any man to his knees. Shaking his head at her, he smiled and said, "Okay. I'll be your guinea pig for an afternoon."

Nikita chuckled, standing up and going over to Fletcher. Taking his hands in hers, she held them up between them and looked up at him, smiling. "You're going to make an excellent guinea pig, my friend," she teased.

Ryan tilted his head to the side, giving her a wry smile. "You think you're so funny," he said, and felt her squeeze his hands. He brushed his thumbs across her knuckles, still smiling wryly at her.

"I'm hilarious, hasn't anyone told you?" And with that, she reached reached up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He leaned into her touch, a tender smile lighting both their features. She let go of his hands as she pulled away, taking a few steps back as she made to leave his office. "See you tomorrow afternoon," she said, pointing a finger at him to emphasize the time and date.