A/N: This is about the halfway point of this story. It's still kind of strange that Graceland's been gone about a year. Thanks to everyone reading. Enjoy and let me know what you think.
It wasn't his fault.
But that still didn't take the sting out of feeling rejected. Under ordinary circumstances, Mike never would've rejected her. Especially when she was barely dressed and they were alone. Mike was a lot of things and sometimes he was an idiot, but he wasn't that stupid.
They prioritized their jobs and that was fine. It was why she broke up with him. She couldn't get mad at him for doing the exact same thing. Besides it wasn't like they were even dating.
But they could be, a nagging voice said in her head.
Paige tightly smiled at a FBI Agent as she stepped off the elevator. Since her night was pretty much a bust, she figured she should stop at Headquarters and work on the paperwork she had been putting off for the past few days. And if Mike happened to call her while she was still here, they still technically had the room. But if not, there would be other nights.
Paige slipped her badge on as she walked through the office. She noticed Johnny and his team hanging out in a conference room. "Why aren't you with Mike?" It was just a regular meeting at the restaurant, but Mike should have a team with him.
"He told us to hang back," Johnny explained.
"He doesn't get to make that call." Paige unplugged the headphones of the agent listening in on Mike. Everything was silent for a few seconds and then she heard Assif's voice. His voice was muffled, but she was able to make out the word marina.
"They're talking about a shipment. It got held up at customs," the agent explained.
Johnny nodded, "Knowing Mike, he'll come up with a way to get it unstuck."
"Definitely." She plugged the headphones back in and handed them to the agent that had been listening earlier. "If he leaves there - "
"I'm following him," Johnny said.
She trusted that Mike would be safe with Assif. But she couldn't vouch for any of the other men he worked with. Mike didn't need her to send a TAC team on his behalf. But Mike also had a tendency to want to solve the case at any cost, even if it put himself in danger. Not that she really had room to talk.
"Okay," Paige said. "I'm going to stake out a conference room and work on some paperwork before heading home. Let me know if you leave first." Johnny wasn't the most reliable person when it came to doing chores, but he took his job seriously. There was no one she trusted more on TAC than Johnny.
The sun was just starting to come up when Mike and Johnny finally made their way home to Graceland.
Mike wasn't sure if Paige was expecting him or not. If he should text her or go to her room or something. Or if he should've texted her earlier. What should've been a quick meeting turned into him accompanying some of Assif's men to the marina and he finally saw a shipment. It was definitely the break he was waiting for and if things worked out the way he wanted, he would be closing this case soon. But as excited as he was about his case, it was Paige that preoccupied his thoughts.
Mike looked up as he heard a pair of footsteps descending the staircase. He discreetly ran his eyes over Paige's slender frame and glanced at Jakes. "You two are up early."
"Paige is helping me out with a case. I just have to buy her breakfast."
Mike smiled knowingly, everyone knew that Paige would agree to help out with just about anything if bribed with breakfast.
"Are you just getting home?" Paige asked.
He wasn't sure what she was asking. If she was wondering why he didn't text her or come looking for her or if she was simply asking if he was just getting home. Instead of giving her some vague answer that answered a bunch of questions she might not be asking he nodded, "Yeah, I saw a shipment."
From the moment Mike saw a shipment, the case completely took over his life. Things moved quickly and within weeks, he learned the details of a shipment before it landed. He put together a team and Assif was behind bars awaiting trial and life moved on.
He was currently searching for a new case. But until then, he was helping out his roommates with theirs.
Mike tiredly rubbed his eyes. He should probably go running, but he spent far too long the night before doing surveillance for Charlie.
"Mikey, are you seeing anyone right now?" Johnny casually asked one morning over breakfast.
"I - well, no," Mike awkwardly said, trying not to look across the table at Paige who was suddenly very interested in her yogurt.
He definitely wasn't dating anyone. As for what was going on with Paige, they were back to being friends.
Without benefits.
Nothing happened between him and Paige since the night he left her in their hotel room. As things picked up with his case, he wanted to find time to connect with Paige and not just to steal away a few hours to be together, but he had been too busy. The case she helped Jakes out with, turned out to be a big case for the both of them. Both he and Paige were consumed by work and barely saw each other until Assif got arrested.
The house went out to celebrate that night and he wondered if something would happen. Or if they would finally have that long overdue talk. But he never got the opportunity to talk to her alone and she didn't seem interested in talking or sneaking away with him, so he didn't push.
They slowly drifted back into being just friends, even though that wasn't what he wanted. But as usual, he had no idea what Paige wanted.
Jakes slowly looked around the table and glanced at Paige, "You almost ready?"
She nodded, shoving a few more spoonfuls of yogurt into her mouth.
"I'll go get the keys from Charlie." Jakes stood up from the table and headed upstairs.
"Good, the girl I'm seeing, her cousin just moved to the area, if you're interested," Johnny explained.
Mike took a big bite of his bagel and snuck a peek at Paige, looking for some sort of clue as to what he should say. If she said that was a bad idea, he wouldn't do it. If there was even a chance that maybe the two of them could work things out, he wanted to try, but he couldn't do it alone. Paige had to want it too. She had to tell him it was what she wanted.
"You should go," Paige said. It wasn't up to her who Mike dated or who he didn't date. Whatever had been going on between them during his case with Assif was over and the sooner they both moved on, the better off they would both be.
"Okay," Mike slowly said and kept his eyes on Paige for any indication that he should say no.
Johnny pumped his fist in the air, "I'll set it all up. Are you free tonight?" Johnny asked as he got up from the table.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the table as they watched Johnny rush out of the kitchen. Paige wasn't sure if Johnny was completely oblivious to how awkward things got just now or if he was secretly trying to push them back together by making them deal with the possibility of one of them dating. Just about the only thing she knew was Mike hadn't asked Johnny to say that, because he seemed just as surprised as she was.
"Have fun tonight," Paige said. She grabbed her things and stood up, only to be stopped by Mike's hand on her arm.
"Paige..."
"Mike, don't, okay? You don't have to clear your personal life through me, okay?" This was the first time that she was aware of either of them going on a date with anyone since they broke up. They broke up over a year ago. It was bound to happen eventually.
"I'm not interested in anyone, but - " Mike paused.
You. Anyone but you.
Mike's unspoken words hung in the air. For the first time in months, she was certain of how he felt, but she wasn't ready to deal with it. As usual, Mike was afraid to push her to talk, so he didn't. Even though she loved that about him, sometimes it infuriated her because he deferred to her when she just wished he'd speak up for himself. If he was truly interested in starting things up, he wouldn't give up on her without a fight.
"This will be good for us," Paige said, trying to convince Mike as much as she was trying to convince herself. "We should have some distance, move on." Last month, she had been willing to talk about things. She had everything all worked out in her head. They would spend a few hours lost in each other, like they always did. Then she was going to test the waters with him. Ask him to go on a walk on the beach when they got home so they could talk.
Except Mike got called away and didn't make it home that night. She was mad they weren't together that night, but she wasn't mad at him. The case took priority. It would always take priority and that was fine. They were both wired that way. But, it gave her time to think and she started second guessing herself. Maybe him getting that call was a sign that they needed to put the brakes on everything.
"Is that what you want?"
"I don't want you to put your life on hold for me," Paige quietly said. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that.
"If you need time, I can give you that."
Paige reached her hand across the table and gently squeezed his hand. "I can't ask you to do that. I won't." Paige pulled her hand away and sadly smiled at him, "It's okay, really it is. I'm not just saying that. Go out with Johnny's girl's cousin and have fun."
"PAIGE!" Jakes yelled. "We gotta go!"
"I'll catch up with you later," Paige said. She grabbed her travel coffee mug from the counter and quickly filled it, before hurrying out of the kitchen.
Mike ran his hand over his face, trying to figure out how he got to this place. His ex was his roommate. And his other roommate was trying to hook him up with his girlfriend's cousin. He wasn't sure he wanted to meet anyone, but Paige seemed to think they needed to move on. He wasn't sure she was ready, which was insane because they broke up a year ago.
"Why are you still down here?" Johnny asked as he wandered back in the kitchen. "I thought you had a meeting."
"That's not until later."
"So you and Paige - "
"We're friends," Mike automatically said.
Johnny looked at him closely for a few moments, clearly unsure if he should believe him or not. "Okay, tonight. 7pm, we're meeting for drinks. Be ready."
Ready? Sure, he could be ready. Whatever the hell that meant.
