Author's note: No one's reading this, but I don't care because I'm having fun anyway… So why post this, you (non-existent reader) ask? Because maybe at some point someone like me will come along, read all of the dozen or so Nadia/Doyle fics and still have some hankering for more… You're very welcome, Theoretical Reader. ;-)

Sighing contentedly, Nadia leaned back against a solid shoulder. Her stomach was full of a delicious meal Milo had prepared. She was warm and comfortable, curled up on the sofa watching some mindless television with her boyfriend. A good end to a stressful day.

Except, Milo seemed less attentive than usual, more reserved. Something was on his mind. And Nadia was fairly certain what it was. But she really, really did not want to get into it right then. She just wanted some calm.

No such luck.

Milo fidgeted, disrupting her cozy spot. They settled back in. A few minutes later, he fidgeted again. And then again.

Nadia sighed, and this time it was not a sigh of contentment. She sat up straight, and turned to face the current cause of her stress.

"What is it, Milo?"

"Nothing."

She fought to keep from rolling her eyes. Granted, he thought he was being kind to her by shrugging off what was bothering him. But this passive-aggressive behaviour was far more annoying than open tension.

"Is this about my friendship with Mike Doyle?" she asked, trying to make her tone as even and impassive as possible. Truth was that she was sick of this topic. She should be more lenient. Milo put up with her obsessive-compulsive practices, her tendency to be late for every single date, her gossiping school friends, and the fact that she'd still managed to avoid sleeping with him. On the other hand, the man seemed to have so few faults and annoying tendencies of his own. Unfortunately, jealously seemed to be the major one. And its suspicions had fixated on one man, who just happened to be their coworker and friend.

"I obviously walked in on something this morning," he said, his words clipped as if he were barely restraining his own frustration. "And it looked like a lot more than 'friendship', Nadia."

"Mike saw that I had a headache and he was trying to help me."

Milo scoffed at her. "By holding your hand?"

"Pressure point something or other," she said, trying to shake off the memory of the pleasant, calming sensation that engulfed her under Mike Doyle's ministrations. "It actually worked, too."

There was a silent moment in which Milo appeared to be wrestling with the green-eyed monster. The hard crease in his forehead eventually softened. He looked at Nadia with rich, dark eyes. She smiled. He was trying not to annoy her...

"I'm being ridiculously jealous again?" It was more a combination observations and apology than a question.

"Why is it you keep thinking there's something going on between Mike and me?"

"Maybe it's nothing more than friendship on your side," he said. "But he..."

"What? He's nice to me?"

"Well, yes." Milo chewed his lip in thought for a moment. "Nadia, Doyle's not nice to anyone."

"You're friends, too, aren't you?" She was certain of that in their own way, the two men had developed something beyond just tolerance for the other. "Does that mean he'd harboring secret romantic feelings for you?

Mile laughed. "Not that I know of…"

"I know he's impossible most of the time," Nadia said. "But he's a good guy. You know he is."

Milo nodded.

"So is it so strange that I'd befriend him?"

"No. It's not." Milo smiled and pulled her close once more.

There. Conflict resolved. All was well with the world.

Then why did Nadia still feel uneasy in the pit of her stomach? It felt sort of like guilt and shame.

A/N: Some real drama up next. Needed this segue/build up, though…