She knew they were sitting too close, she knew it. The tops of their arms were pressed hard together with neither of them making any attempt to move it out the way. It was starting to happen more often. They kept their eyes firmly fixed to the TV trying to remain nonchalant about the ramping up of their physical contact, ignoring any raised eyebrows or smiles coming from the other people in the room. Inside Jess' heart was racing. The physical contact thing was tricky for them to navigate. The first month it was an impossibility, being in the same room was impossible, in the second month it happened but with both of them recoiling afterwards like the other was made of fire, in the third month they tried in platonically but it just didn't sit right, in the fourth month they has tried it with other people which ended as soon as it began.

Now, in month five, they were letting it happen, both challenging the other to see how far they would let it go, how long they would let it last. They found themselves taking advantage of situations. Nick would pass her the carton of orange extending his fingers longer than he needed to just so they would graze over hers. She had pretended he had fluff in his hair just to touch him. He knew. The highfives goodbye had turned into drawn out arm strokes and she was back to making him breakfast in the mornings, trying to undo all the junk food he had eaten in the months after they had broken up.

She didn't' know what was happening, neither of them did but it felt good, it felt right. Somewhere in the last few weeks her world had slowly started to make sense again. She had seen that look come back into his eyes that made her feel like life was perfect and she was in no hurry to let that go. The plot of the movie was a mystery to her, she wasn't watching, she wasn't' even looking at the screen, instead her eyes were fixed to Nick's now bent leg which was resting haphazardly on her thigh. The heat was burning through her jeans and she was sure he would be able to feel her pulse thudding round her body. God she had missed this, she had missed how he could make her feel. She leaned forward a little to scratch the non-existent itch in her knee, conveniently leaving her hand behind, the back of her knuckles grazing against the top of his thigh. He knew what she was doing, she saw his eyes flicker from the TV and down to her hand, she felt his arm press more firmly against hers as he faked a stretch to adjust himself a little closer to her. They were getting comfortable too comfortable.

As the movie credits rolled up the screen an hour later Nick barked out words that he didn't even know were coming.

"Hey let's watch another one!"

He didn't want anything about the situation he was in to change. He knew he sounded too eager but he didn't care. This was the closest he had been to her in five months and in felt amazing. He ignored the rolled eyes and presumptuous coughs from Schmidt and Winston.

"Ok I could go for another" Winston shrugged in agreement.

"Cool, ok your choice man"

"MY choice, you never let me choose"

"Yes I do"

"Yeah right, you just don't want to move" Winston mumbled under his breath, more than a little wise to what was going on the sofa next to him. So was Schmidt who took great pleasure in winding Nick up.

"Hey Nick go and grab some more popcorn man"

"Uh I don't really want any more popcorn"

"YOU don't want food...come on man I pulled a muscle in my leg at the gym today and it hurts too much to stand just go get some...please"

"Look ...I don't think we have any left Schmidt"

"Yeah we do, there's more in the cupboard next to the fridge" Schmidt could see Nick's jaw clenching and his eyes squinting.

"Look I'll get it" Jess offered.

As quick as that she was out of her seat and the whole of his right side went cold at the loss of contact. He glanced up at her as she walked by him to try and read her face but the room was too dark for him to make out her expression. Had she been uncomfortable? Was he pushing this too far? Maybe she didn't want this.

As the second movie started up Nick adjusted in his seat a little making himself look a little less casual, occasionally glancing back as Jess pottered around in the kitchen. He closed his eyes and let out a small sigh, mad at himself for getting his hopes up and reading too much into every little thing she did and said, seeing signs that she wanted him back, signs that weren't really there. His heart sank when she returned to the sofa, sitting further away from him now. He desperately tried to read her eyes as she turned to offer him popcorn but he couldn't see anything, nothing that gave him hope. Now he had to sit through another movie when all he wanted to do was retreat to his bedroom with a beer and try again to forget the torturous feeling of her body being pressed up against his.

Jess sat with her body now rigid, her straightened arms pressed firmly between her knees which were now pointing away from his since their change in position. She wasn't sure why she had gotten up to leave, she had been more than comfortable and now she couldn't get back to where they were. It was too awkward. Glancing to her side fleetingly, all of him was leaning away from her now, he seemed to be retreating further and further back into his corner of the sofa. She leaned back allowing her head to drop softly against the back of the cushion hoping to narrow the distance but he didn't move. Her body was twitching, she need to be touching him again but short of sitting on his lap she didn't know what to do. She made an exit for the bathroom in her frustration, dammit this was getting harder. This path of eggshells they were negotiating was becoming nothing but a scrambled mess. She was sick of trying to do what she though was best, or what they 'should' be doing. She had listened to her head last time and look what it had gotten her, nothing but heartbreak. No this time she was going with her heart, her gut.

Suddenly emboldened she flung the door open and marched back into the living room, without giving herself any time to think she dropped herself right next to him, her knees folded up to her chest and leaned in towards him. She felt him stir next to her but she didn't dare turn round in case his expression wasn't the one she wanted to see. Instead she felt his arm stretch behind her, resting along the back of the sofa cushion, he wasn't touching her, he couldn't be that forward just yet but it was enough. She bit her lip trying to stifle the smile that was quickly creeping across her face.

Winston had chosen yet another doozy of a movie that he himself was struggling to sit through. Nick was watching Jess' profile in the light of the TV screen and he could see her eyelashes drooping down every few seconds, he knew she was fighting sleep but was grateful she was still there next to him. Her head dropped back slowly several times as tiredness started to overcome her but each time she snapped her head back upright not wanting to lose out on the moment. Nick watched as her head lolled back on her shoulders and laughed quietly to himself but it soon subsided as her head dropped back one more time to rest on his shoulder, her hair tickling his mouth and nose. As he breathed in the scent of her shampoo a million and one memories came back to him. He had become so accustomed to waking up with a shock of dark hair in his face every morning and the smell of soap and vanilla filling his nose and then suddenly that was gone for the longest time and his heart had ached so much to get it back.

He was terrified to move, he stopped breathing in case the sound awoke her and she moved away from him again. He turned his head into her just as he always had and closed his eyes gently grazing the top of her head with his lips without quite kissing her. He needed it back, he need all of it back, he needed her.

Nick woke a couple of hours later squinting his eyes in the glare of the blue TV screen and immediately became aware of the hot, heavy weight on top of him as he lay, now fully reclined, on the sofa. He glanced down to see the beautiful, sleepy head that was resting comfortably on his chest, next to it was a small delicate hand clutching gently at the front of his tshirt. He craned his head a little to see that the formerly occupied chairs of Schmidt and Winston now sat vacant. He hadn't heard them leave, he wasn't even sure when they had fallen asleep. All he knew was that the pain in his chest had gone, he didn't feel angry or sad, he felt peaceful. His right arm had gone completely dead as it lay strewn around her back but it could drop off for all he cared, he wasn't about to move.

Jess opened her eyes seeing her hand in front of her face, it was rising and falling in front of her as it rested on a breathing chest, Nick's chest. She could tell by the way he was breathing that he was awake too. How had they gotten themselves into this position? She rested her palm flat on his chest pushing herself up gently when she heard Nick inhale sharply.

"Sorry did I?..."

"No, no it's ok, my arm has just gone a little dead is all."

Why did he say that? The second he said it she sat bolt upright moving away from him. Idiot.

"Sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep like this, I..."

The light, playful edge to their touching was gone, Things had suddenly become real. Very real. There eyes locked, both of them pleading with the other to explain what was happening, what it all meant.

"What's going on with us Jess?"

"I don't know"

"What do you want here?"

"I don't know."

"What do you know Jess?" There was a slight tone of desperation to his voice, he couldn't bare another lonely night going by where things were left unresolved.

"I just...I know I miss you. I miss you like crazy and sometimes I..."

"You what?" Nick pushed her tentatively.

"Sometimes I forget, I forget why we're not together anymore"

"Me too Jess."

"This friend thing, it isn't working is it?"

"No...it's not."

"So what do we do?"

The silence which followed made her words ring in the air. They sat expectantly, waiting for some divine intervention to provide them with all the answers. So when it didn't come they turned to good old fashions facts.

"I don't know Nick but I know I can't be without you,I know that I can't bare the thought of you being with someone else."

"God me either Jess" He shifted towards her grabbing both of her hands.

"But I also know that I am terrified Nick. Terrified that if anything goes wrong I will lose you. For good this time."

"Ok...what if we take it slow. Really slow this time."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that last time it wasn't even a year before we were shacked up together and talking about marriage and kids. We weren't ready for that Jess."

"I know" Jess ran her index finger quickly under her nose as she sniffed back the tears.

"So let's take the pressure off, let's keep it simple this time and start slow. You in your room, me in mine. We can do it the old fashioned way."

"So you're saying..."

Nick didn't say anything more. He pressed his palm against her tear soaked cheek and threaded his fingers into her now mussed up sleep hair. Edging slowly closer he heard a breath escape from her mouth before his lips met hers. He nipped at her lips softly then moved back to gauge her reaction. As her face softened and her hands clung tighter at his waist he kissed her again and again before the moment completely overtook them. They clung to each other like a lifeline as their lips glided together in perfect harmony as they always had. The tips of their tongues touching against each other's tentatively, testing the water before they both succumbed to their yearning. Moments later Nick pulled away leaving them both gasping for air. He rested his forehead against hers, staring at her still closed eyes, stroking her cheek to bring her back to earth. He kissed both of her eyelids and her eyes opened to meet his, giving her an almost imperceptible nod of reassurance he kissed her forehead and rose from his seat.

"Good night Jessica."

She sat fixed to her seat watching him until he disappeared behind his closed bedroom door.