A/N: To anyone who still reads this, you have my deepest apologies for the length of time between updates. It sort of got lost in the shuffle there for a bit, although we're coming up on that lovely time of year, the air is so cold it hurts going into your lungs, and there's a faint tinge of woodsmoke on the air. It's time for me to get lost in my favorite Christmas Rom/coms... So here we are again. I hope anyone who reads this enjoys the update, I think they'll come a little more quickly now.

Lucy shuffled awkwardly, wondering just exactly what she was supposed to say to the man who had insisted on walking her home. 'See ya' seemed far too perfunctory an end to such a revealing evening, but what else could she say?

Suddenly feeling shy, she looked up at him through her eyelashes, grateful for the bracing cold, a perfect excuse for the color rushing to her cheeks. "Thank you.. uh. I had a good time."

Jack's smile was something to behold, surprise sending his eyebrows shooting up. The expression made her feel breathless. He looked like a little boy who'd been praised for his school work, the cold air seeming to have the same effect on his cheeks as hers. "Oh…" He quickly turned his immediate attention to the sidewalk in front of him, his naturally chivalrous nature giving him an out for this awkward moment. "It's slippery here."

His hand involuntarily shot out toward her, palm up in an offering of support. She grasped it, noting how his strong fingers wrapped around her gloved hand, his bare thumb brushing over her knuckles. There were probably calluses on his hands, little ones on the pads of his fingers maybe, a few at the top of his palm from working with wood on a regular basis. Her mind began to wonder, idly thinking about how callused hands felt touching pulse points. She adamantly pushed the thought from her brain, shaking her head a bit as she cleared her throat. "You gonna go see Peter tomorrow?"

She couldn't help but wince as his brother's name crossed her lips, but she felt the need to remind herself, and maybe Jack too, of the situation that she'd placed them in.

He faltered at the question, losing his balance slightly when his head jerked up to look at her. It was unfortunate timing, the heel of her shoe catching zero traction as it came down. Yelping in surprise, her legs shot out from under her.

Bracing herself for pain, Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, but it never came. She didn't bust her ass on the cold sidewalk, instead finding herself cradled, albeit awkwardly, in Jack's surprisingly strong arms. They both slipped around on the frozen surface, desperately trying to regain their footing. She spun around and found herself clinging to his arms, caught in an awkward looking waltz. She started laughing, the hilarity of their positions dawning on her as giggles began to spill from her lips. She couldn't imagine what anyone watching from inside the building must think.

Their feet began to slip again, and suddenly she heard Jack's strangled laughter mingling with her own as she struggled to pull her back up against him. It felt good to her, to release whatever stress she'd felt that day in a gale of laughter, a few tears of mirth slipping down her cheeks.

Finally he had her back up again, nose to nose, their pants mingling as the merriment died away. Not for the first time she wished she could figure out just exactly what cologne Jack wore. The smell was beginning to be something she consciously searched for when they were close, that clean yet masculine scent clinging to the edge of his collar. Tamping down the urge to sniff at him conspicuously, she made an effort to breathe normally. It didn't help that he was looking at her in a way that she couldn't define. A sadness that made the breath in her chest catch, her heart leap into her throat. He looked so damn hopeless and yet hopeful at the same time. Was that even possible?

His eyes darted down, and she swallowed at the thought of raising up on her toes to meet his own, the heat of his gaze settling in a warm tingle on her lips. She slipped closer to him, enjoying the feel of his arms flexing instinctively to brace her. His gruff voice cut through the tension. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, and could feel him wrap his fingers around her arms and push her away. So that was it then? She cursed herself. Of course that was it. What else could there possibly be? She turned to walk away, carelessly ignoring the lack of traction beneath her soles. The motion caught them both off guard and sent them flying into a heap, a distinct sound of ripping fabric filling the air.

"What was that?" She snorted, the pain in her backside a minor thing compared to the hilarity of the picture they made. She could feel the laughter bubbling up in her again, this time for the utter ridiculousness of their situation. Scrambling to her knees she gave herself a cursory once over, looking for a tear.

"Was that my pants or my muscles?" Jack's awkwardly phrased question was too much. She covered her mouth in a fruitless effort to restrain her amusement as he clutched at his backside in pain. It was suddenly the funniest thing she'd ever seen, another inelegant snort spilling out yet from between her gloved fingers.

She crawled to the edge of the ice, gasping between giggles as she turned back to pull Jack behind her, his weight negligible against the slippery ice. Finally making it to the heap of snow beside the slick sidewalk, they both scrambled to their feet, dusting snow off as they regained their breath.

Jack snuck a glance in her direction, laughter still dancing in his eyes, even as the sound receded. He would rip every single pair of jeans he owned if it would make her laugh like that, if it would make her smile at him like that. He dusted off his backside, not minding the cold draft there at all. He found himself reaching for her as she walked away, some thread dragging him along.

"You don't have to follow me." She looked back at Jack, the irrepressible grin on his face setting her stomach to flipping. A nervous little laugh escaped weakly and she turned away before he could see her face.

"You block the wind."

There it was again, a lame joke sent her gasping with laughter. It wasn't what he said. Joe Jr. could have said the same thing and she merely would have rolled her eyes and waved him off, but the manner in which Jack said it, the sweet yet self deprecating tone he used with her, it sent warm honey pooling in her stomach. The already present euphoria in her limbs as she dusted the snow off her trench coat set to work traversing the rest of her body. Her heart was still in her throat, the memory of Jack pressed impossibly close still playing like a skipping record again and again in her brain.

The giddiness pervading her didn't abate as she trudged back toward her building. She could feel his hand at the small of her back, guiding gently, somehow the heat of his touch traveling through all the layers of clothing to send a warm tingle along her spine. Stopping abruptly, she turned back to look at him, the pleasant glow fading away as she observed him. How had she failed so miserably? Jack had been here all along, trudging away in the city while she'd taken tokens from busy commuters. How had she missed him? It seemed so unfair. Eyes misty, her throat began to close up a little and she aggressively cleared it, having no room in her for useless emotion.

They were standing unnecessarily close, and she could see Jack's breaths puff out in the frigid air, the moisture freezing into a white cloud seconds after escaping his lungs. She could see the way his eyes reflected the street lamps, the brightness not entirely attributable to city's lights.

Something swelled up inside of her, a longing that hadn't washed over her in years. She could tell Jack sensed the change in her, a straightening of his posture indicating perhaps the same change in himself. She wanted so badly to cross the small gap between them and tuck herself into his arms. The ache was only worse now that she knew what it was like to be held so close, to draw in the warmth of his body while her nose picked up the notes of his scent.

Not for the first time in her life she wished she was someone else, someone Jack could lean down to and kiss gently, their cold noses bumping together as their hearts beat in sync.

But no, she was Lucy Moderatz, liar extraordinaire. She'd turned herself into the one person that would never feel Jack's soft but firm lips tugging at her own. She'd never feel the stubble of his jaw tickle against her skin as he dropped kisses here and there. Thank god they'd lost their precarious balance and fallen in a heap, because she had been so close to throwing caution to the winds, so close to reaching out and taking what she wanted. She opened her mouth to thank him, for what she wasn't sure.

He beat her to the punch, running his hands awkwardly through his hair. "Lucy?" His voice broke slightly on the second syllable, bellying a nervousness that until that very moment Lucy had been unsure of.

Taking it as an invitation she stepped forward, threading her arms through his, settling herself into a genuine hug. He reacted poorly at first, standing with his arms akimbo, her face pressed against his heart, thin flannel the only barrier keeping her from it's even thuds.

She felt the blood rush to her face, embarrassment flooding her so completely she couldn't move or speak. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her. It was too much. Just as she regained what little pride she had and began to pull away, she felt his arms tighten around her, his chin drop to rest on top of her head.

They clung to each other in the quiet, listening to the sounds of the city around them, hoping that time could just stand still for a moment. It was so much like coming home as she burrowed her face into his shirt, his hand cradling the back of her head, patting at the silken locks she'd swept into a messy bun. He dropped a feather light kiss on her crown, almost in a brotherly way, and her heart sank.

His touch was sweet, consoling even, but she couldn't read anything more in it, and cursed herself for risking so much just to be held by him. Schooling her features into a semblance of normalcy, she pulled back, ignoring how exposed she felt without the shelter of his arms. "Thanks, Jack."

He nodded, his adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. "I'll wait here till you get in side."

Her chin dropped in a curt little nod, accepting the end of their interaction and turning slowly back toward her building.