Title: For Your Consideration
Author: Mindy35
Rating: K+, adult concepts
Disclaimer: Not mine. No money etc
Spoilers: Nope.
Pairing: Jack/Liz only.
Summary: Jack and Liz embark on their date.
-x-
Jack is looking forward to his date with Liz. He's been waiting a long time for this. And not just since Monday when she fumbled her way through the preliminary phone call.
To be perfectly honest, he'd all but given up on the idea of him and Lemon. After all, he'd waited three full years for Liz to be ready to explore a more romantic avenue with him. Sure, he'd dated other people in the meantime. But always in the corner of his eye, in the back of his mind, lurking about his lonely heartstrings, was Liz Lemon. Someone he felt sure he could fall for, someone he could really have something unique with, if only she'd give him half a chance. But in three years, she never did. He waited for that pivotal opening, he waited for the perfect moment to magically arise. He waited and waited and waited, watching for some sign from Liz that she was at last ready to take him up on what he'd been silently offering all those years.
The sign never came. The right moment never arose. He never found an opening in her heart. At least, not one large enough to risk his own heart, which from the very beginning had been rather significantly invested in Liz Lemon.
Still, as he waited, sometimes impatiently, for something to begin between them, an odd thing happened. Jack began to settle into their friendship instead, a rapport that offered him something he'd never had before, something that only increased in value the longer it continued. He began to understand why Liz might have been holding back. He began to think this was what she wanted all along, what they were meant to be. And he gave up on finding that obscure opening through which to access something deeper. He stopped thinking she would one day come around. He started getting over whatever strange power she had so unwittingly wielded over his poor heart. And inevitably, he ceased watching her so closely. Which was why he completely missed spotting when the change he'd once longed for finally occurred.
Jack had to admit to being surprised when the words finally came out of her mouth. But he hadn't had to think twice about his answer. He was a little surprised by how much he wanted this. And he did still want it. Particularly if she wanted it too. Which wasn't to say he didn't have reservations. There were several questions still hanging over his head, holding him back. The biggest of which was simply, why. Why now? Why start something now after all the time that had passed? Was she even aware of what she was potentially starting, what she could unleash here? Was it possible that Liz had wanted this as well and had concealed it from him? That she'd been considering it, waiting for it just as long as he had? And if so, then how far was she prepared to put herself out there in order to get it? Was she really, finally ready to receive all he'd concealed from her? Or was he simply about to become one more in a long and disastrous line of Liz Lemon's half-hearted attempts at romance?
These were all questions Jack had been mulling over privately for days, causing him to lose the thread of the business conversations they had to engage in throughout the week. They are questions he's hoping he'll get solid answers on tonight. On their date. Their first date. After five long years. Yes, he is definitely looking forward to this. In a completely cool, unruffled way. He is adjusting his lucky tie at his neck for the fifth time when Jonathan appears at the door. His assistant begins to announce the arrival of his date for the night but is curtailed from performing this duty by said date.
"No- don't. Don't do that-" Liz shoos Jonathan away from the door then says to Jack, "Just wait a second, this is gonna be great-" before she closes the door, with herself on the other side of it.
A moment later, a knock comes.
With a small smile on his lips, Jack walks over and answers it. Liz is there, clad in a simple but surprisingly sexy burgundy dress, showcasing a pleasing amount of cleavage and a decent expanse of leg. Her hair is loose and curly, her eyes painted a little darker than usual. She stands deliberately straight in her heels, her face composed. She tilts her head as she greets him with:
"Jack."
"Lemon," he returns in the same formal tone.
"Liz," she hisses hastily. "You need to call me Liz tonight." She lifts her chin, tries again. "Jack."
"Liz," he murmurs obediently, unable to stem his smile.
"Good evening," she says, spreading her hands at her sides. "I am here to pick you up for our date."
"And on time too." Jack steps back, waving a hand for her to enter. "Would you care for a drink before we go?"
"I would, thankyou." She nods politely as she passes by him and heads for the couch. "I made a reservation for us at Nova."
"Oh, I like that place."
"You've been there already?" She drops to the couch with a small sigh. "Nerds…"
Jack heads towards her with a glass of her preferred wine. "It's fine, Lemon, it's an excellent choice."
She looks up at him as she accepts it. "Yeah?"
"Yes. You'll enjoy it."
"Okay, good."
He heads back to pour his own drink, casting a look over his shoulder at her. "You're really taking this seriously, aren't you?"
Liz sips her wine, crossing one leg over the other. "What do you mean?"
"Well, picking me up and on time-"
"I can be a gentleman."
"Making reservations at a place that doesn't serve ham-"
"It doesn't?"
"And, ah…" He faces her, eyes skating over her.
Liz glances down at herself. "…What?"
"Who'd you borrow the dress from?" he asks, smirking.
"It's mine," she answers defensively. "I bought it." She shrugs, giving herself another cursory glance. "Okay, so Cerie helped out but…what? Too much?"
"That all depends."
"On what?" She adjusts her seat on the couch, going on before he can answer. "And give me a break here, okay? I'm trying to make an effort. I want this to go well."
"I apologize." Jack moves to the chair opposite her, taking a seat. He takes a sip of his drink then regards her for a moment. "So…what are the rules then, for this date of ours?"
"What rules? And what's with the-" She frowns at him, her fingers mimicking the quotations marks his tone implied.
"Rules, Lemon, boundaries. I assume you have some."
"Liz," she corrects. "And no. None. I'm serious about this, Jack. This is a real thing. I want you to behave as if you were on a proper date with any other woman in the city."
He gives her a languid smile. "But you are not…any other woman."
"I mean…" Liz averts her eyes, smoothing a hand over her crossed thigh. "Just pretend you don't know all the weird stuff about me. Pretend you don't know about my Slanket attachment issues and food obsession and sex phobia. Just forget all that stuff for tonight and let's start from scratch. Okay?"
Jack's brows furrow slightly. "I'm not sure I can do that. Or why I'd want to."
"Just try."
"Very well."
She sips her drink, waves the glass at him. "And I'll do the same for you. I'll make an effort to forget all of your weird stuff."
"Thankyou," he mutters dryly.
"Let's pretend this is our first date-"
"This is our first date."
"You know what I mean. Pretend like…we've never been out before, like we don't know each other inside out."
"Why?" He shifts forward in his seat, eyes intent on her face. "What's brought this on? Why do you want to do this all of a sudden?"
"Because, Jack." Her expression becomes strained as she admits, voice faltering, "I…I want you to consider this. Really consider it. I want you to consider…me. As a…you know, a-"
He nods slowly. "I see."
She meets his gaze, her eyes suddenly dark with sarcasm. "What, is that so hard to do? Am I so-"
"No, Lemon, no. I was just thinking."
"…What?" she demands after a moment more of his silence.
"Well, if that's what this is truly about," he says carefully, "then that dress is a perfect choice."
Her face relaxes a little but not totally. "Well…good," she mumbles, shifting uncomfortably in the unfamiliar fabric. "I'm glad you like it coz- nope, no." She holds up a finger, waggles her head. "I'm not going to say that, I am not going to Lemon this. I'm going to behave myself tonight."
Jack draws in a breath, eyeing the nervous bobbing of one bare leg. "And am I expected to behave myself as well?"
Her brows lift. "Meaning?"
"Well…" he says, voice deliberately lazy, "generally, when I take a beautiful woman to dinner, I might…slide a hand around her waist as we enter or caress her thigh a little in the car or even just hold her hand beneath the tablecloth. At the end of the evening, there is almost always a goodnight kiss and often - depending on the success of the date, of course - I might be invited up to-"
Liz cuts him off there, her voice rising in pitch and betraying her nerves. "Like I said, Jack, I want you to think of this as you would any other date. I want you to behave as you normally would, so if you feel…you know…inspired to do any of those things then…you should feel free to do them."
"I should feel free?" he asks.
She nods once. "Yes."
"No rules? No boundaries?"
"None. No."
He shifts to the edge of his seat. "So this is actually…a real date?"
She meets his gaze - just. "Are you okay with that?"
Jack pauses. Then nods, eyes holding hers. "I think I can handle it."
"Alright then."
"Question is, Lemon-" he rises, downs the rest of his drink. "Can you handle it?"
Liz rises also, mumbling into her glass, "Well, I guess we're about to find out."
"I guess we are," he nods, facing her across the coffee table. "So, shall we?"
"Yes." She takes a final sip of wine, gulps it down then leaves the glass next to his. "Let's."
They stare at each other one extra, awkward moment more before they simultaneously and silently head for the door.
"I've been looking forward to this," Jack tells her as they do.
"You have? Oh good, that's good. Yeah, it's gonna be perfect, it's gonna be- oh." Liz glances behind herself as she feels his hand land on her back, lower than he'd normally allow it to venture. "There's that hand…okay, so." She pauses at the door, half-facing him. "So we're doing this now."
Jack nods, gives her a smile. "Ready if you are."
Liz nods back. "I'm ready." And leads the way out the door.
Jack follows closely behind, having answered some of his more pressing questions, leaving room for a whole new bunch of questions to spring up in their wake. And they haven't even made it out of the building yet. But they seem to have finally located the opening which has so long eluded them. Now, they just need to make the most of it.
TBC…