"Do you always keep your women waiting like this?" Joey snapped playfully, trying to maintain a straight face as Dawson bounced up the stairs to her apartment, one hand behind his back.

"I'm only like." he said, checking his watch.

"Like fifteen minutes late Dawson, we're going to miss the movie now," Joey said with a smile, reaching to pull him in the apartment.

"Wait, well I have good reason for being late," he said with a half smile, pulling back from her.

"Herpes acting up again film boy?" she giggled, biting on her lip.

"Ah no, I actually saw these and thought you might like them, pretty flowers for a pretty woman," he said slyly, pulling his arm out from behind his back, showing a bouquet of daisies. Joey blushed and motioned for him to come in.

"Foliage, very nice Don Juan," she said, smelling the flowers.

"We should go eat and by the way, if my 'herpes' was acting up, it would be because you gave them to me. You're the last woman I slept with," Dawson said playfully, giving her hip a playful swat, causing her to gently punch him.

"Celibate now are we?" Joey said with a laugh, grabbing her coat, which Dawson helped her put on. "Yeah I guess celibacy is pretty hot, but then again I saw Katie Couric has a new hairstyle so who knows you might be working something else overtime." Joey burst out giggling when Dawson started blushing.

"Funny, but comments like that will not help you get to first or second base this evening," Dawson said matter-of-factly, hearing a groan from Joey.

"So were are we eating Dawson because I'm dying here from starvation," Joey whined as they walked through Times Square on a busy, warm Saturday night. They walked close together, linking arms tightly to maneuver through the crowds on Broadway.

"I don't care Joey where do you want to go?" he asked with a sly smile. She was getting flustered and he knew it, but his surprise would wait a few more minutes.

"Oh no I'm not deciding," she said with a flustered tone, pulling his arm to make him stop walking. "I am not the guy in this little evening out so you choose. That's how this whole thing works, you pick me up, you take me somewhere for dinner, you take me home and you maybe and you're really reaching for this now, you might get something else."

"I don't know about you but I'm really hoping for a good night lay," Dawson joked, watching the horrified look on her face wash over, punching him again, but picking up the noticeable sexual tension. "Okay kidding, sort of, anyhow I do know where we're going for dinner and we're almost there."

"Am I dressed appropriately?" she asked nervously as they started walking again.

"Is this where you start acting like the typical nervous, fidgety girl in this situation?" Dawson asked, raising his eyebrow. "You're fine." Smiling warmly, Joey sneaked a glance at him and wrapped her arm around his tighter.

It had a been one month after their lunch at Rinnie's and things were back to normal between them. After a few uncomfortable and nervous movie nights and dinners, they just started talking again and things fell into place. For now though they didn't sleep in the same bed and the kisses on the cheek and handholding was on hold for now too. Dawson and Joey just wanted to keep things as uncomplicated as they could for now and that's what they did. For now they were just best friends again, hanging out a lot together, talking on the phone all the time again and doing friend things together. Jason hung out with them a few times, which was uncomfortable at first, but it got better after a few times too. Dawson got back on track, progressing nicely with his project, which would end up being ready for the festival in a few weeks. Dawson was still in love with Joey and she was still in love with him, but they opted to put those feelings aside for a bit and get back to being friends. Now that they were, Dawson finally worked up the nerve to ask her out on a date for that evening. Acting like a teenager though, he wrote out several scripts to figure out how to appropriately ask her, even practicing his approach with Jason at work! When he finally did though, Joey said yes and unbeknownst to Joey, the initial plan for dinner and a movie was purposely changed by Dawson in favor of something a bit more symbolic.

"Are we almost there?" Joey whined again, stomping her foot against the pavement. She was starving after skipping lunch because she knew they would go somewhere nice tonight.

"Oh someone's crabby tonight, but yes master we're here," Dawson said, motioning for her to look up.

"Oh my god we're going to the Rainbow Room?" Joey breathed, looking at him in shock. "Dawson you should have said something, I'm just in a flimsy dress and jacket!"

"Joey you look fine and I thought this would be appropriate for the evening so let's go," he said, letting go of her arm and extending his hand, which she took, lacing her fingers between his.

"This is too much Dawson, I mean it's great, but too much," Joey protested as the waiter seated them at a table overlooking the skyline.

"Joey this is a date and I wanted to do something nice for you and I thought given our previous history this would be a very symbolic place for us to go," he said, causing her to shudder as he gently traced his fingertips across her hand.

"Do you remember the last time we were here?" she asked.

"Of course I remember, you just moved here from Boston, we were exhausted from walking all over the city and had that picture taken at the top of the Empire State Building from that strange woman," Dawson laughed, remembering back to that day.

"I love that picture you know," she said softly, touching his hand gently, causing him to look up from his menu with a half smile.

"Me too," he said, watching her look down at her menu. "You look really beautiful tonight Joey, I meant to tell you that when I came to pick you up but you were too busy insulting my manhood."

"I kid because I care Dawson, imagine how I would act if I hated you," Joey said with a sly smile. They stared at each other for a minute, enjoying the moment and each other's company.

After dinner they went to dance, dancing cheek to cheek for hours. Holding Joey in his arms, smelling her soft perfume and the feel of her skin through her dress was intoxicating and Dawson thought he would go crazy after a while. They talked lightly as they danced but mostly they just got lost in each other's embrace and the music that filled the room softly. Joey closed her eyes, letting herself get lost in his arms, letting her body relax against him. Finally as the band began to wrap up for the evening, Joey pulled back slowly, still locked in Dawson's embrace.

"I'm having a really nice time Dawson, thank you," she whispered, letting her hands fall to his chest with his arms still locked around her waist.

"You're welcome Joey, this is.really nice," he said, a bit embarrassed. They stared into each other's eyes, getting lost in one another again, seeing the nerves and anticipation in each other, unsure what to do next. Leaning in slowly, their foreheads rested against one another and Joey put her arms back around his neck. The band began to leave but the restaurant piped in some music for the remaining couples. Still dancing slowly, Joey and Dawson stopped when the all too familiar song "Home" started.

"Do you remember the last time we danced to this?" she asked, pulling back a bit, wondering if he really remembered.

"Of course, the Potter's catering debut at the wedding, Jack and I convinced the bride to go through with the wedding and then your dad switched partners with my mom so we could dance," he said softly.

"Do you remember what happened when we danced?" Joey asked, feeling butterflies in her stomach.

"Of course I do Joey, do you think I could forget you telling me you loved me and then that kiss?" Dawson asked, surprised that she doubted him.

"You never know Dawson.so much has changed since then," Joey said softly, looking down at her feet.

"A lot has changed but not one thing." Dawson started, feeling a bit nervous, wondering if he should continue.

"What's that?" Joey breathed, barely getting the words out of her mouth.

"I love you.so much," he said softly, barely able to breathe. He could see the tears in her eyes and she opened her mouth, wanting to say something but almost unable to.

"I love you too," she said, tears starting to fall. Feeling a combination of joy and relief, Dawson breathed deeply, before releasing his hands from her waist and gently placing them on her face. It felt like a dream to Joey, but it wasn't. Closing her eyes, his lips gently touched hers, letting them linger on hers for a minute. He pulled away, resting his forehead against hers again, putting his arms around her again, but looking into her eyes again, he knew this was it. Without a word Joey leaned in to him again, kissing him softly but when they broke away again, he reached for her, pulling her closer, letting the kiss grow and deepen as the song continued. When they finally broke apart for air, trying not to make out like porn stars in front of the remaining people.

"Okay I'll let you get to first base," Dawson whispered, watching Joey break out laughing.

"Thanks but I'm pretty sure that I can't get to second in the middle of the Rainbow Room," she smiled, kissing his cheek softly, causing a chill to run down his spine.

"You're right.I won't be able to get my goodnight lay here either," he said as Joey started laughing, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the table to grab her coat and purse.

"Let's go," he said, pausing to pull her close again and share another tender kiss. She pulled away and nodded and they strolled hand-in-hand to the elevator before jogging out into the crystal clear New York night to catch a cab and go home.together.