It was a Monday when she realized that she had fallen in love with him.

And.

It was a Monday when she agreed to go out with him.

Two separate Mondays, of course, about six months and 17 days apart.

Almost two years since that cold December night, Jack had crawled under Merida's skin deep enough for her to regard him as her best friend. She didn't know it was possible, but soon enough, he had become such a constant thing in her life that she could no longer remember a time when he was not in it. She had grown accustomed to his snarky comments, the perpetual smirk on his face, and his ridiculous yet highly amusing antics.

It was only until a seemingly typical day at the office that everything changed.

Merida wasn't sure how it happened, and for some time, she wasn't even aware of what indeed happened. All she was certain of was that she knew something had shifted between her and Jack.

And she positively hated it.

Or at least, she was terrified of it.

It started when she came to the office. A small growl escaped her lips when she caught sight of Jack's empty desk. His tardiness often did not sit well with her. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that though he was her best friend, she was still also his boss.

"Good morning, Merida. What's got you in such a sour mood?" Merida's secretary asked, her smile almost as bright as her long yellow hair.

"He's late again, isn't he, Punzie?" the redhead replied.

"Actually…" Rapunzel began but was cut off when another voice entered.

"Actually, I came in early today, princess." Merida heard the familiar cocky tune but felt an unusual chill run down her spine. She turned around and sure enough, Jack was standing there, two cups of coffee in his hands. It had been his routine to give her coffee to make up for his unpunctuality. He knew just the way she liked it—strong and black but with a hint of sugar. She never complained.

Merida glared at him but took the offered coffee anyway. Their fingers grazed for a moment and another electrifying jolt passed through her body. She retracted her hand in an instant, managed a smile that looked more like a grimace then went directly to her private office without so much as a word and a glance at Jack's confused face.

"What's up with her?" Jack asked Rapunzel who shrugged.

"It's your mess. You two fix it," she said knowingly before returning to typing on her computer.

For the rest of the day—as well as for the next two weeks—Merida tried to avoid Jack in the office as much as possible. It was utterly pointless, however, because at every possible moment, Jack was there—handing back files she requested or telling her of the information he found that could prove helpful in the case they were working on together. She was rather comforted by the idea that Jack had not noticed her odd behavior, but she still could not shake the slimy feeling of change that had occurred. She tried to wonder what had happened to Jack that made him suddenly so different. It was another stupid decision she made, as she merely ended up staring at him whenever they would see each other. Several thoughts would rush into her mind whenever she would look at him—how there was always a sparkle in his brown eyes when he was happy, how it must feel to run her hands through his hair, how his lips would taste. Merida would later realize, with great terror and bewilderment, that it was not Jack at all who had changed.

It was she who did.

Unknown to Merida, Jack was quite aware of the differences in her. For one thing, she always seemed so interested in what he was going to say but wasn't quite there. Her eyes were glazed in a way he had never seen before. But one day, when he attempted to catch her in the act by asking her to repeat what he had said, she perfectly parroted the entire half of his speech about the great irony of his uncle Aster who owns a candy shop getting married to a woman named Ana who was a dentist. She even did a rather flawless impression of him before ending with a "Do you actually think I wasn't listening, Frosty?"

To Jack's credit, he knew right away what was wrong with his friend. He would be stupid if he didn't, especially since he had been in the same position only a few months before. But he handled it far better than Merida, perhaps because he knew that it was only a matter of time before it happened. Of course, it didn't necessarily mean that he was not at all scared of the thought.

Jack did not act right away, as much as it tempted him. He gave Merida ample time for her to be sure of her feelings. He was always sure of his, and if he wanted to make a move, he wanted it to be at the right time.

He waited for six months. Then, as they were eating lunch on a Monday, Jack decided to commence his plan.

"Merida, can I ask you something?" Merida looked up from the burger she was eating. "Do you want to go to Central Park with me sometime? I've never been there for some reason, and I remember you telling me that you've only been there once."

The moment the words leapt out of Jack's mouth, Merida thought that she was going to panic. But when he looked at her, expecting an answer, her nerves calmed. "Sure. I guess there's no harm in taking a quick vacation from work. Saturday, then?"

"It's a date," Jack said in finality. He smiled softly and when he glanced up at Merida's face, her lips echoed the same.

The coming of Saturday was greeted by jittery nerves from both Jack and Merida. Jack had no idea that Merida would agree so easily while she was still baffled that he had asked so soon. Actually, she was more surprised that he asked at all. But the weather was lovely, the sky a beautiful shade of blue with patches of thick fluffy clouds. The wind was cool and refreshing. It could not have been a more perfect day.

Just before it ended, the couple found themselves walking aimlessly between the trees. The green grass was sprinkled with fallen orange leaves that crackled beneath their feet. Jack turned to Merida who was finishing the last bite of her corn dog. She seemed to be glowing as the rays of the dying sun fell upon her, the light illuminating the sparkles of gold in her hair that he had never noticed before. He thought her a goddess of the autumn forest, even when she chortled and a drop of mustard dripped at the corner of her mouth.

Jack stopped. Merida continued walking a few paces before she noticed him gone from her side. She looked at him curiously. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing." He walked closer to her, took out his hand and wiped the mustard off with his thumb. "Thank you for today."

Merida smiled before she got up on her toes and planted a soft kiss on Jack's lips. It took only a moment before he responded and then, he was kissing her tenderly as his arms found their way around her waist.

"I can't believe you beat me to it," Jack said when they broke apart. Merida laughed as she rested her forehead against his.

"Does this mean we're officially together now?" she asked after a while, worry etched on her features.

Jack shrugged. "It depends. Do you want us to be together?"

Merida looked down at her feet. She wanted this. She wanted him. But she was afraid.

"What if we break up?" The words escaped Merida and tumbled to Jack.

He paused to think. Then, he answered, "Breaking up doesn't always have to be a bad thing, you know? If ever that we do break up, at least we know that we gave it our best shot. But maybe we're not meant for that kind of relationship. And anyway, we could return to being what we're good at."

Merida's brow rose, asking the unspoken question for her.

"We'd get back together as best friends," Jack finished.

"Do you want to be with me, then?" Merida asked.

"More than you can ever imagine."

"And you're not in the least bit scared of what might happen?"

"No. Besides, today is all that matters. 'Worry about tomorrow when it comes,' I always say." The answer came easily to Jack because he found that his love for Merida made everything seem possible.

Jack put his hands on either side of Merida's face. "You're worth the risk." And with that, Merida kissed him again; this time, more passionately. His optimism was infectious and it was one of the things that she would grow to love most about him.

They never broke up, of course. And they never stopped being the best of friends either.

It was just the way of the universe.