A/N: Hi! So I've recently started The Office on Netflix. I'm at the end of season 8 and I'm not emotionally prepared to let go. Anyway, this is a combination of two of my favorite OTPs, Olitz, and Jam. This was really fun to write, so I hope everyone likes it.

Regarding my stories, they will be updated soon. I'm just really feeling the one shot spirit right now. But I will be getting back to my stories.

December 2005

Fitz shrugged off his coat and hung it up on the coatrack and rolled up his shirtsleeves. He smirked when a wolf whistle came from the reception desk then turned to look at his best friend Olivia. "I don't appreciate being sexualized in the workplace."

"I'm sorry. The sight of famer-tanned forearms is just unbearably attractive," Olivia replied with a snicker as Jake entered and took off his coat. Fitz looked at Olivia and quirked his eyebrows. She snickered again, hiding her mouth behind her hand. Jake glared at them then moved on to his desk.

"I think you should have whistled," Fitz suggested.

Olivia shook her head. "He didn't show me his forearms, or his wrists. Not even an ankle. I'm disappointed, really."

Fitz laughed. "I think your morning has potential to turn around."

Olivia's eyebrows raised. "Why? What did you do?"

Before Fitz could answer, Jake swore loudly and turned to glare at Fitz. "Where is my computer?"

Fitz flashed Olivia a smile then turned to Jake. "I have no idea. That's so weird. It was literally just there."

"Give it back."

"I don't have it. You're free to search my person." Fitz extended his arms and spread his legs. Jake scowled, looking around the office. Nothing seemed out of place. Fitz turned to smile at Olivia one last time then went to his desk. He sat down and gave Jake a serene smile. "You're pretty observant. I bet with a list of clues you could track down your computer in no time."

"Where is the list of clues?" Jake asked.

Fitz grinned proudly and produced an index card from his pocket. He held it out to Jake. "Here's a list of clues to lead you to the list of clues."

Jake took the card and glared at it then turned toward the office of their manager David. "David! Fitz stole my computer! Again!"

"I didn't steal it. I distributed it throughout the office in an attempt to give you more desk space. It was an act of love, really."

Olivia barely suppressed a giggle at her desk. Jake turned to glare at her. "Shouldn't you be making copies?"

"Shouldn't you be finding your computer so you can actually do some work?" Olivia replied with a smile.

David's bespectacled head poked out of his office. "Jake, why aren't you working?"

"I—"

"He's getting right on it," Fitz interrupted. David nodded and disappeared. Fitz looked at Jake expectantly, his smirk becoming a smile when Jake turned and stalked away, squinting at Fitz's slanted left-handed writing. Fitz went back to Olivia's desk and smiled at her. "How long do you think it'll take him?"

"Well, according to this handy little list someone left in my printer tray, his mouse could only be in the tank of the handicap toilet in the ladies' room so this could take a while," Olivia replied. "While we wait, do you wanna grab a coffee downstairs?"

"Only if you'll stand there with an expectant expression while I spend my meager salesman's pay on an overpriced latte that's mostly foam that you won't finish but refuse to downsize."

Olivia smiled as she stood, pulling on her navy cardigan. Quinn came to the reception desk and smiled at the two of them. "I didn't know it was cool to match with your work spouse."

"What?" Olivia looked over at Fitz and smiled, realizing they were both wearing navy tops and maroon bottoms. "You need to get your own style, Grant."

"Clearly, you've been stalking me," Fitz replied.

"Only for like 3 weeks. In my defense, it was mostly to see if you stole my iPod." Olivia stood and walked around the reception desk to stand before him.

"And how is the investigation going?" Fitz stepped aside to let her pass in front of him, breathing in her floral scent as she passed.

Olivia shrugged. "I'm not entirely convinced you stole it, but I'm not convinced you didn't either. Bottom line, it's missing."

Fitz chuckled as he hit the down button on the elevator. "And you decided to blame the only person who doesn't find you repellant?"

"Okay if one of us is repellant, it's definitely you. You're too tall, your hair's too messy, your tie is permanently askew; stop me when I convince you," Olivia replied with a laugh. She watched as Fitz pulled out his iPod. "Do you have new music?"

"Only because I did steal your iPod." He offered her an earbud.

"Asshole!" Olivia laughed as she took the earbud and put it in her ear.

"Well I was gonna put new music on it, but I discovered that you have abysmal taste and spent the day listening in judgment. "I've never met a legitimate Coldplay fan. Most people like a song here or there but you have entire albums. I'm ashamed to be your friend, honestly."

"Shut up! Coldplay makes really good music. Have you heard "Yellow"?"

"I'm more of a 3 Doors Down fan. Have you heard their new song "Here Without You"?"

"I haven't. My taste is abysmal, remember?"

"Oh I know. I saw your Maroon 5 collection."

Olivia laughed as she hit the button for the elevator. "That's from like three years ago. My new sound is way cooler."

The elevator's doors opened and Olivia smiled at the sight of her fiancé Edison, toting a box from the warehouse where he worked. "Hi, Eddy."

"Hey Liv," he replied as he stepped off the elevator. He stopped in front of her and kissed her cheek. "I've gotta drop this off with David but why don't we go get some coffee in a few?"

"Actually Fitz and I were headed down there now. Why don't you meet us?" Olivia replied.

Fitz shook his head. "No that's okay. I'll just hang out here and see you when you get back. I'll man the phones."

Edison nodded and walked away, headed for David's office. Olivia turned back to Fitz, and he quickly resumed his smile, not wanting her to think he was upset. She smiled back and took out her earbud. "Let's do an experiment: you take my iPod—no problem since you stole it already—and I'll take yours. One week from now, we'll pass final judgment on who has the worst taste."

Fitz smiled and took his iPod from his pocket. "I trust this will be returned in the same condition that it was given."

Olivia laughed as she took it. "Totally gonna kick it down the street."

Fitz laughed as Edison reappeared. He looked at Olivia. "Ready?"

"Yeah." She flashed Fitz a smile over her shoulder as they walked away. Fitz wanted to be ashamed of himself for watching her hips swing in her pencil skirt, her ever-present stilettos making her slender legs seem miles long. "See you in a few."

He gave a small wave then went to sit behind her desk, smiling at her little area. She always had little dishes of candy out for everyone, today's being gumdrops. Little post-its lined the wall behind her computer, some of them phone messages, others reminders of meetings and deliveries. He looked down at her large desk calendar and smiled at her loopy handwriting as he looked over her memos. He noticed she had drawn a smiley face in the box for the day's date and wondered what made the day special.

The phone rang and he picked it up. "Beene-Novak, this is Fitz."

He smiled when the person on the other line laughed. "Very professional, Grant. I almost believed you were a real receptionist."

"Well I haven't had the extensive training but I've got some meager experience with phones. Plus, I know how to talk, so there's that."

She laughed again. "I was just calling to see if you wanted some coffee. Edison had to run for some warehouse emergency so I'm on my way back up."

"Whatever you're getting is fine."

"One overpriced latte coming up."

"My sincerest thanks."

They hung up. Fitz spent a few minutes writing silly messages on post-its and sticking them in various places around her workspace, only stopping when he found her sketchbook. He pulled it out and flipped through it, smiling at her drawings. She had done a few of the office, all very detailed, and some of the objects on her desk. He stopped on a drawing of him at his desk, talking on the phone, and smiled, amazed that she'd paid him so much attention.

The elevator dinged and Olivia stood before the desk a few minutes later. She smirked at him. "Going through my things?"

"I was looking for your candy stash," he lied.

"That is hidden somewhere you'll never find it."

He went back to looking at the picture. "This is a handsome guy. I mean, look at that bone str—"

Fitz looked up in surprise as Olivia threw a handful of confetti over his head. He laughed. "To what do I owe the pleasure of my own private parade?"

She walked around the desk and pointed at the smiley face. "It's the anniversary of our first day here."

Fitz's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really?"

Olivia nodded. "Yeah. It's been exactly 5 years since I started working here. I was 22 and thought, 'Oh this'll be an okay job to scrape up art school tuition.' I had no idea how much I would learn here: cynicism, everyday sexism, the charm of bitterness, the joys of subpar overpriced coffee…"

"It's been 4 years for me. So far I've learned the merits of mild alcoholism, the tonnage price of medium weight paper, the joys of business casual attire…"

Olivia laughed. "We should write a book. No! We should tour the country talking to high school students about the career opportunities awaiting them at mid-sized paper sales' firm."

"Definitely. We can borrow my mom's Honda minivan that she's been driving since I was in high school. We'll eat cafeteria food, drink gas station coffee… It'll be the best time I've ever had."

"Oh my god, I'm putting in my two weeks' notice right now." He watched as her eyes lit up. "Oh! I forgot your anniversary present!"

Fitz laughed. "But I didn't get you anything."

She walked around the desk and picked up their coffee tray. "For such an auspicious occasion, I got us chai frappuccinos with raspberry syrup. Supposedly they taste like strawberry Starbursts."

Fitz picked up the small cup and smirked at the overzealous whipped cream. "Liquid strawberry Starbursts? This must be what kings drink!"

Olivia laughed as she picked up her own cup, holding it out to clink it with his. "To several more humdrum years of middle class life."

"Is there anything else to have?" Fitz laughed as he knocked his cup against hers.

"Booze," Mellie, one of the company's salespeople, suggested. "We're going to Hair of the Dog for happy hour. You guys in?"

"Extended time with work acquaintances for no money? And I get to drink watered down overpriced cocktails? I'm so in," Fitz replied then looked at Olivia. He regretted agreeing first, knowing he wouldn't go if she didn't. "Will you be joining us for what will be a night half-remembered?

"How could I turn down such an invitation?" Olivia took a sip of her drink. "Can I invite Eddy?"

"Sure. The more the merrier, liquor that is," Mellie joked then walked away.

Fitz was a little deflated, but he made sure to hide it.

xxxxx

Fitz gave a half-smile as he watched Olivia finish off her second margarita. "You maybe wanna slow it down, slugger?"

She vigorously shook her head. "No! Edison always cuts me off before I get loose. But guess what? He's not here because apparently it's more fun to go to Happy Hour at The Rusty Anchor without me and margaritas are half-priced."

Fitz heard the edge in her voice but decided not to ask since she was apparently determined to move past it. "If you vomit, I'm leaving you here."

"If I vomit, it's gonna be on you."

Fitz took her glass. "Maybe you shouldn't hit it so hard."

"That's what she said!" David shouted, red-faced as he leaned on their table.

Fitz smirked as Olivia collapsed in a fit of giggles, banging her fist on the table. David laughed too, clearly pleased with himself, doubling over when Olivia fell off her chair. Fitz jumped out of his chair to help her but relaxed when she hiccupped a laugh. "You are so drunk."

He lifted her onto her feet and back into her chair, shaking his head as she continued to laugh. "David you're too much for me!"

"That's what she said!" David replied.

Fitz nodded, expecting the response. "And it's time to go."

He pawned David off on Jake, and Abby got everyone else into Mellie's minivan. Fitz ended up back at his table, watching as Olivia ate pretzel-crusted chicken fingers that were apparently good enough to warrant tears. When she was finished, he gently wiped her mouth and they tumbled to the front door. Olivia squealed as she pointed at the doorway. "Look Fitz, mistletoe!"

"I see it," he replied, searching his pockets for his keys. Her lips crashing into his was a complete surprise and he had to blink a few times to bring himself back to reality. He looked down at her, smiling at the pleased grin on her face. "You are so drunk."

He half-dragged Olivia to his car, laughing as she sang to herself. "Tell me, did you sail across the sun?/ Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded/ And that heaven is overrated?/ Tell me did you fall for a shooting star?/ One without a permanent scar?/ And did you miss me/ While you were looking for yourself out there?"

"Train? You are so lame," he said as he unlocked his car.

"I'm probably the coolest person you know." She tripped on a pebble but Fitz held her steady, smirking at her drunken snickering. "If I'm so lame, why did you steal my iPod?"

"I was trying to make you less lame." They reached his car. "I'm gonna lean you right here. Do not fall down, okay?"

He leaned her against the back door on the passenger side and she hummed loudly as he opened the door. She tumbled into the seat and Fitz helped her put her seatbelt on then paused to look at her. Even drunk and humming, she was gorgeous, her curls falling out of her topknot and her red lipstick faded from her drinks. "Okay, road rules. Most important, do not throw up. I cannot stress that enough. If you have to throw up, you need to let me know immediately. Second, I have to stop for gas. You will not get out of the car. Third, and this one is specifically because you're lame, do not touch the radio."

"Can I get candy at the gas station?"

"You can't get out of the car, but I'll get you some candy."

"Wooooo!"

Fitz shook his head as he shut the door then went around to the driver's side. By the time they made it to the gas station, she was asleep on his shoulder, snoring softly. Fitz looked down at her with a smile, thinking that it would be the perfect moment to kiss her…if she were his to kiss.

XXXXX

New Year's Eve

Fitz smiled at Olivia, a 2006 crown perched on her head, as he walked into the office, knocking snow off his coat. "So these are the kind of festivities I have to look forward to today?"

"Well there's some suspiciously cheap champagne in the refrigerator, and a chocolate cupcake cake, and there's talk that there'll be pizza delivered around 10. So we've apparently got quite the party planned." She snickered and took a sip from her Kate Spade coffee cup. "Who needs to be out on at a party with their real friends when you can be at work with people you tolerate who will act like family if you decide to bail for greener pastures?"

"Is that homemade?" he asked, nodding at the cup.

Olivia nodded. "The nicest guy bought me a tea pot. Today is full leaf chai. Tomorrow is going to be jasmine and vanilla."

"Sounds like that guy did you a real favor buying you that teapot."

She looked up at him with a soft smile. "He did."

"Well this," he held up his knit mittens, connected by a long string of yarn, "is a surprisingly good present. I'm not a mitten person, but how could I resist with the string?"

"Abby is the consummate secret Santa." Olivia nodded with a silly smile. "I kind of wish I'd gotten her instead of you."

Fitz feigned a frown. "Hey, I had to go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get that teapot."

"But Abby's was handmade with love."

Fitz shook his head with a smile. "Abby's was handmade with mild tolerance and the help of what I suspect is a tabby cat judging from the fur color."

Olivia snickered. "And yet you're using them, so point Abby."

"I may or may not have yelled at a middle-aged woman to make sure you got the last yellow teapot, not to mention that I remembered yellow is your favorite color. I didn't hand make it, but the love is there."

He wouldn't tell her all the trouble he'd had convincing Jake to switch names with him. Fitz had originally gotten Harrison, but he'd charmed Quinn into switching with him for David by finally accepting her Facebook friend request, a decision he was sure he'd regret within the week. After trading with Quinn, he had all but begged Jake to switch with him, even going so far as to work with Jake on his dairy farm for a whole weekend. But Olivia's smile when she opened the box and pulled out the teapot was worth it.

"You remembered I like yellow? I guess that makes us more than work friends." She snickered and Fitz gave a wry smile.

He wouldn't tell her all the little things he remembered about her. Like that she loved snack packs of mandarin oranges, and always drank the juice off them before she ate a single orange. Or that her favorite book was The Time Traveler's Wife, and that the movie never failed to make her cry. Or that was allergic to seafood of all kinds.

"I stayed with you while you vomited up fruit snacks and margaritas in a Burger King parking lot. We're definitely more than work friends."

"In my defense, you bought me tropical fruit snacks which, as everybody knows, don't mix with tequila." She laughed. "Also, thanks to me, you now have the best U2 song ever on your iPod."

During their iPod switch, Fitz had discovered "With or Without You," his new favorite song, on Olivia's "most played" playlist. He nodded. "And thanks to me, you're now a bleeding heart John Mayer fan."

"I am not! I'm only…mildly devoted to him." She had listened to John's whole Continuum album while she had his iPod. "It's just his voice…and maybe his eyes."

"Since it's my turn to be outlandishly drunk at a work function, I will definitely sing "Dreaming with a Broken Heart" after several drinks."

"And I will mix candy with your alcohol so you'll vomit in a parking lot."

He raised his hand and Olivia high fived him. Fitz's eyebrows furrowed. "I think that might be the first time in 4 years that we actually, physically high-fived."

They had a habit of giving each other air fives across the office, usually when he was in the middle of pranking Jake. Olivia nodded and made a note on her large calendar. "This day will go down in Beene-Novak history."

"Forget the new year, I got to touch palms with the receptionist of a mid-sized paper sales firm."

Jake approached her desk and gave her a serious look. "My uncle has given me his excess fireworks for the festivities this evening."

Olivia's smile twitched. She was a member of the party planning committee, and she knew Jake was the last person who should have been handling fireworks on company property, but glancing at Fitz as he grinned, she knew it had to be done. "Cool. Set them up in that vacant lot across the street."

"Good." He nodded and left.

Fitz smirked at her, his eyebrows raised. "You are totally responsible if he loses his eyebrows."

"I will absolutely take credit for that."

xxxxx

Fitz frowned as he drank his cheap champagne from a plastic cup, watching as Olivia and Edison talked in a corner. He couldn't hear them, but judging by Olivia's stiff posture, things weren't going well. He went back to the refreshments table and refilled his cup. Jake came to his side.

"You're consuming excess alcohol," he observed.

Fitz shook his head. "I don't think it counts as excess until I'm drunk."

"You're compensating for the absence of your friend."

Fitz smirked, scoffing loudly. "She's right over there. I'm not compensating for anything."

"You have developed an ersatz marriage with the receptionist to compensate for a lack of intimacy in other relationships. But she's dragged her real relationship into your domain and the dissonance has made you uneasy."

"We've developed a what?" His mind was too foggy with champagne to fully comprehend what Jake was saying. His eyes drifted back to Olivia and Edison, watching as she yanked her arm away from him and crossed them over her chest defiantly. Edison turned his back to Fitz, blocking Olivia and their mouths from his view, then stormed away a few minutes later. Olivia left but headed in a different direction. The fog in his head cleared instantly as he wondered how long he should wait to follow.

Jake, who had been watching too, turned to him. "Your dysfunction has caused her relationship some distress as well. There can only be one cock in any henhouse."

Fitz sighed. "Don't say cock at work, in any context."

He left Jake at the table, leaving the room to find Olivia. After checking the whole office and not finding her, he stopped and thought about where she would go. Then he remembered their spot and climbed the steel ladder leading to the roof. Sure enough she was there, sitting in one of the lawn chairs. It had been uncharacteristically warm, at least enough to melt the snow, but he could see her labored breathing in little puffs of steam as he sat beside her. "Climbing the ladder in heels? Amateur move, Liv."

She glanced at him but didn't reply. Fitz frowned and placed a small plate on her lap. "You will not believe how hard it was to carry that up the ladder. Didn't even smear the frosting."

Olivia looked down at the cupcake on her lap then at Fitz and finally cracked a fleeting smile. She ate the cupcake in silence, taking the mini bottle of champagne he took out of his coat pocket. She was halfway through it before she spoke. "He won't set a date. Why won't he set a date? What's so wrong with marrying me?"

"Nothing," Fitz answered immediately. "Marrying you would be…"

Olivia turned to look at him as if she was just seeing him for the first time. Fitz felt his face go hot and his jaw slack. He hadn't meant to say as much as he did. She looked into his eyes. "What? Marrying me would be what?"

Fitz didn't reply, instead getting up to go look at the skyline. He stood with his hands in his pockets, trying to put his thoughts into some semblance of order. Olivia came to his side, looking up at him with a frown. "Answer me."

He turned to look at her and sighed. "I'm in love with you."

"What?"

"Now isn't the time to say it—it probably couldn't be a worse moment—but I just needed you to hear it at least once. Especially knowing that someone who's got an opportunity I would do anything for isn't taking it." He brushed his shaggy hair back from his face. "I'm in love with you, have been since I met you."

"What do you expect me to say to that, Fitz?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Like I said, I needed you to hear it just once or I'd always regret not telling you."

"I'm engaged," she whispered.

"I know." But already he was stepping closer, his face moving down to meet hers in a tentative kiss that felt years in the making. Olivia pulled away and looked up at him, holding his face. "I think we're drunk."

"Are you drunk?" he murmured against her lips.

Olivia shook her head. "No."

"Me either." This kiss was more deliberate, more insistent, definitely the one that had been years in the making. Fitz kissed her hungrily, sucking on her tongue, memorizing every taste and sensation because he knew it would be the only time. When they stopped to breathe, he cupped her face, caressed her cheeks. "We should get back to the party."

She nodded and he stepped aside to let her pass so she could take the ladder first.

XXXXX

February 2006

The silence that followed that night haunted Fitz in the office. He and Olivia danced around each other, never spending more than five minutes together, and never talking about anything more than work. He didn't know where they stood, or if he had a right to ask, already feeling like he'd overstepped his boundaries too much. Olivia didn't mention their rooftop conversation. She didn't mention anything to anyone that she didn't have to. Fitz found even he couldn't penetrate the walls she'd put up, so he backed off, gave her the space she needed.

It took him two weeks to notice her bare left ring finger. She was standing in front of the break room's microwave, reheating her tea, and he watched her slender fingers punch the microwave's buttons, her ring finger bereft of jewelry with only a slight tanline left behind. She took her cup out of the microwave, added her soy milk and no calorie sweetener, moving with the quiet grace that never failed to give him pause. It was the same ease and beauty of movement that had made it possible for him to have never made a single photocopy in his four years at Beene-Novak. He knew how of course, but anything that gave him the opportunity to talk to her for a few minutes, and watch her for a little longer, was definitely something of which he couldn't deprive himself.

He must have stared too hard for too long because she turned to look at him. He could see the thinly covered dark circles under her normally shining eyes. "What?"

"Uh, nothing." He quickly put his cup of noodles in the microwave. He made a point of not looking at her.

"I called off my wedding for you and you won't talk to me." At this his eyes snapped to her. She nodded. "I had a million reasons to call it off, and they were all valid, but I did it because of you. And now we're not even friends. You haven't smiled at me in weeks. What changed? Was it just because I was unavailable?"

Fitz's eyebrows furrowed. He realized that he'd completely misinterpreted things. Olivia hadn't shut him out. She was just waiting for him to take the next step. And why hadn't he? He'd taken the first one, at a moment that couldn't have been more inappropriate. "I thought…I assumed you didn't want me. I mean, why would you?"

She blinked at him. "Why would I? It's always been you. Ever since you said hi to me four years ago, it's been you. I've just been waiting because I couldn't… Because I'm so, so stupid."

Before he could reply, Quinn walked in and they instinctively jumped back from each other, like they'd been caught red-handed.

Fitz remembered the first time he'd almost kissed her, and she'd almost let him. It was a year before, at Christmas, and she'd left the party to get more eggnog. He followed, using needing more cups as an excuse, but really he just wanted to tell her that she looked beautiful in her red wool sheath dress. She had blushed and smiled softly, murmuring her thanks, and he'd stepped closer than he should have to whisper 'Merry Christmas'. She had turned to reply the same and her lips brushed his chin. He was surprised that neither of them recoiled, instead inching just a bit closer before Abby walked in to ask what was the holdup. That time they recoiled, and quickly rejoined the party.

This time was the same. They hastily moved away from each other and went back to their respective desks, not making eye contact for the rest of the day. Fitz did everything on autopilot, his eyes occasionally drifting to Olivia's desk only to find her perpetually busy on the phone, or at the copier. By the time five o'clock rolled around, they hadn't spoken since lunch. He shrugged on his coat, saying goodbye to people as they passed him, wondering where Olivia had gone. He knew she hadn't left, having watched the door carefully. His stomach flipped when she joined him at the coatrack to put on her own coat, taking her time tying the belt on her dusty pink shawl-collared coat.

She finally looked up at him after what had seemed like an eternity and smiled. "Hi."

"Hi," he replied, looking at her unsurely.

"Bye." She headed for the elevator.

"Bye?" Fitz felt like someone had punched him in the stomach as he hurried after her.

She hit the elevator button then looked back at him. "Oh, I forgot to ask. Are you free for dinner tonight?"

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Yes."

She smiled the first real grin he'd seen from her in months. "Then it's a date."

Pressing his lips to hers in the elevator, Fitz wondered how he'd survived so long without it.

A/N: Don't forget to review! XOXOXO