Hello! I posted an A/N to wish you a happy new year, but apparently it didn't get saved correctly. It's not much and not as long as the others (I had to make it shorter, in order for it to fit well with the following chapter), but here's my "present" for you. Enjoy & let me know your thoughts about it, hope you like it!

- xo Mel

Paige was sitting on the bed, blue sheets loosely wrapped around herself, a bowl of fresh fruit -that Mike had gentlemanly retrieved for her from the kitchen in the early morning- sat between her legs.

"Seriously, you need to calm down before you give yourself a heart attack."

Mike rushed through the door and stood in front of her, two ties thrown over his left shoulder, as he buttoned his shirt up.

"I am calm."

Paige raised her eyebrows and pointed at his hands; he either was nervous or needed to practice in dressing himself up, whereas the two edges of his shirt didn't fit at all.

He rolled his eyes and proceeded to start his task all over again, sneering sarcastically at her.

"Okay, I may be slightly anxious, but only because this interview might decide the rest of my entire career. Which, by the way, was on a tightrope until last night and technically still is."

"Mike…"

He left the last few buttons undone and looked around himself, patting his pockets, frowning.

"So I'm sorry if I care about making an impression, since I don't want to end on the streets after not even two years of service - damn, have you seen my watch? I'm sure I had it on last night…"

"Mike!" Paige raised her voice, throwing a grape at him, abruptly catching him on the forehead.

He jumped, rubbing the spot where she had just hit him.

"What did you do that for?"

"You're freaking out. Just take a breath and come sit down." She told him, holding her hand out.

Mike wiped the stress out of his eyes, grunting.

"Right, right. I'm sorry." He grabbed the tip of her fingers and squeezed them lightly, flopping down next to her. She stretched her legs onto his thighs and his hands came up to massage her calves absentmindedly.

"It's just - it's not official yet, they could still change their mind. And what if I mess up today and they do change their mind?"

"Don't be stupid. You don't need to take so long with the primping. Jessica will be there and Clarke knows you, he knows how good you are at your job and his opinion won't change if you wear a black tie, instead of a blue one!" She said, motioning exasperatedly at the shimmering strips of fabric.

"So the black one, uh?" He interposed, only to look down after she glared at him.

Paige sighed, setting the bowl on the nightstand and sitting up, lunging forwards to gain his attention; she pulled his chin up.

"Stop worrying, Mike. I'm serious: you only need to go there and be yourself. It's the best thing to do." She pressed a soft kiss to his lips; he gave her ankle a squeeze.

"Thank you."

She released his face, pecking his lips one more time, and took the fruit bowl back into her hands. He slowly got up, sliding his jacket on and fixing himself in the mirror.

"You're free today, aren't you?" He asked, casually.

"Yeeeep." She popped the word out. "I got a tip about one of my leads, but you know how flaky these CIs are: all spin and no delivery. - You sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"No, it's fine. I need to do this on my own. - So, how do I look? Confident enough?"

Mike turned around in a swift motion and held his chest out, flattening his collar.

Paige checked him out, her eyes lingering way too long on his torso; the see-through fabric of his shirt giving her a nice view of his chest as she chewed on a strawberry.

"I can see your nipples." She pointed out. His jaw fell slightly and he waved her off.

"Oh, c'mon. Can't you be serious just this once?"

She let out a crystalline laugh, struck by his almost pleading cerulean eyes. She leant back onto the pillows, bending one leg. The bedding slid down her thigh and pooled on her groin, its path closely followed by Mike's eyes.

"Let's put it this way: if I didn't know this was so important to you, I'd be more than happy to take you down and have my way with you. Does that make it for you?"

He didn't reply, but kept staring at her and pocketed his phone. Swallowing, he rammed his eyes up her body until they bore into hers: she bent her other knee and grinned, as she popped a blueberry in her mouth.

"You just…" Mike took a step forward but soon caught himself, shaking his head and turning around towards the door. "I'm late!" He blurted out, hustling out of the room and fleeing down the stairs so not to let the image of her barely covered self stop him.

Paige's laugh echoed in his ears as he slammed the door behind himself.

X

Jessica gripped her bag's handle a little tighter than she had when they had entered the room, watching Mike shake hands with Clarke in a very professional way.

She was happy for him, she really was. Personal issues aside, Mike Warren was a really good agent and when he'd eventually let his hotheaded side cool down a bit and sharpen his edges, she was sure he'd make it big in the FBI.

However, she couldn't help but feel humiliated by the way he had proudly showed those two, red love bites on his neck, peeking through the opened collar of his shirt.

At a certain point, she had sworn the two men's conversation had shifted exactly to that, cracking inside jokes about it. She probably had imagined it, though, since she had diverted her attention from their talk as soon as she had seen the marks branded on his skin.

They walked side by side towards the exit, in complete silence.

Jessica knew she was being selfish: she had been the one who had told him they were just having fun, but she hadn't imagined that he'd find someone else so soon and throw her away like that. He could have showed her some respect at the very least. Especially after all the things she had done for him - including fighting with the Bureau when they had first suspended him.

She had been stupid to do that. Not even his friends would have done that. What the hell had gotten into her?

As they reached the parking lot, Mike opened his arms and threw his head back, breathing deeply; a fresh, bright smile on his face.

"God, it feels so amazing. I'm free."

Jessica shook her head and clicked the button to open her car; she tore the door open and threw her bag on the passenger seat. "It's not like you were in jail, Mike."

He looked at her and shrugged off. "Same thing." His stupid, cocky smile still showing.

Jessica rolled her eyes, hitching her skirt up to get in: she couldn't wait to get back to her hotel room and have a nice, long warm bath. She needed to relax and forget about all this: Mike Warren was just a young, self-absorbed kid who was so caught up in his own ego that he couldn't even take care of his career - or himself for the matter. If he had known what was good for him, he wouldn't be in LA, he would be in DC. He wouldn't be wasting his time trying to please Clarke, he would be trying to please the deputy. And yes, he wouldn't be sleeping with that blonde bimbo, he would be sleeping with her. She was the better choice, if he wanted to be successful.

Before she could sit down, she felt his hands sneak around her forearms, turning her around. He lazily ran his fingers over her skin, smiling sweetly.

If he thought she'd fall for that boyish grin again, he was totally wrong. The touch was nice, though. And so were his blue orbs staring down at her.

"Look… Thank you. I know you had to pull many strings to get me back on this case."

She furrowed her eyebrows, holding onto her car door.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, yeah… Had it not been for you, God knows if they'd even take me back in the FBI. So thank you." He shrugged, leaning closer to her. He was about to brush his lips against her cheek, when she pushed him back by his chest.

Jessica had dignity and pride; she wouldn't get another woman's leftovers, nor her merits.

"Mike… I don't know what you've got, but you've completely misunderstood. I did fight so that you could come back, but once they had told me no, I gave up."

His caresses on her arm slowly came to a stop, as he looked at her puzzled. She sighed.

"Look, I care about you, but not to the point of endangering my career and being the point man more than I should. I did push for it this time, but it wasn't my idea."

She could see Mike's mind working. She couldn't believe he had no idea of what had been going on with his blonde lover: how could it be possible that he hadn't noticed her slipping out of his bed that night, when she had come to her hotel room?

Considering their obvious intimacy, she had expected her to tell him straight away about her plans. But obviously, she hadn't.

"Wait… so… this - it wasn't you?"

Jessica smiled, finally prying his hands from her arms and looking up at him with a mischievous look.

"You got the wrong girl this time, Agent Warren."