Continuation of the Assistant AU!

Note- This one is slightly smutty. Nothing too risqué but just a heads up!

I appreciate all the reviews so far, please keep them coming so I know how I'm doing! :)

Cindy was going through Neutron's planner, meticulously highlighting dates and taking notes. Uninterrupted lab time from 6am to 1pm. Meeting with Astrophysics Council at 2. Meeting with the Mayor at 3:25. More lab time.

"Neutron?"

Jimmy looked up. "Yes, Vortex?"

"Who's Alicia? You're supposed to see her tomorrow night at eight. You never have appointments after six." Cindy looked at him earnestly, biting her lip in concentration.

"Just a colleague who's taking me out to dinner." He shrugged it off and continued turning his wrench around a greasy socket. His sweaty brown hair fell against his forehead, shaggily brushing the tips of his brilliant blue eyes as he intently screwed away. Cindy's heart raced as she fixed her gaze on him. Of course he had a life beyond the lab…it was ludicrous of her to think that even Neutron could be entirely devoid of social interaction.

"A colleague, huh?" She tapped the highlighter against the table somewhat nervously. He finally drew himself up to full height and faced her, letting out a sigh.

"Alicia works with Jones to procure my equipment. So we see each other frequently when I'm first starting a new project or when I need to apply for a grant. She asked me to go with her to dinner tomorrow, so I accepted." The look on his face was ambiguous.

Cindy needed a moment to digest the information. She'd asked, he'd accepted. So he was going on…a date. It took a few seconds for it to hit her completely. Neutron was going on a date. She was shell-shocked. It wasn't the fact that he was utterly tactless, or even the fact that he had better plans for a Friday night than she did, but that she didn't feel entirely happy about the idea of him going on…dates. Of course her opinion on the matter didn't carry any weight—she was only his assistant, after all. But she was finding that the boundaries between personal and professional were becoming more and more difficult to maneuver.

She looked down at the planner in front of her. The red eight she had highlighted stared up at her as if to taunt her. She glanced back at Neutron, who had returned to his nuts, bolts, and screws.

What would it be like if it wasn't Alicia on that date, but her? Cindy Vortex?

She and Neutron would probably kill each other before they even decided on appetizers. Although, come to think of it, they had shared dinner a few times in the lab on days when Neutron had to rush a deadline. Just a few nights ago, they'd ordered in Chinese, and last week, Neutron had ordered in a pizza for them to split while they waited for their experiments to synchronize. They'd sat on the couch and watched a documentary on the butterfly effect. Of course, they'd ended the night arguing about the scientists' opposing views regarding Lorenz's methods of postulation.

"Cindy?" He called her name. She'd been looking off into the distance pensively for a solid minute now.

Cindy turned around, arrested by the sight of Neutron's sparkling eyes and the beads of sweat suspended on his tanned neck. She stepped closer to him until there remained no space between their bodies. Her lab coat rustled against his, black cotton against white nylon. "Cindy?" his voice came out very soft.

Cindy could barely bring herself to meet his gaze as she fingered the hem of his shirt beneath his coat. Shyly, she leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on his parted lips.

He immediately raised a hand to his lips after she kissed him, as if he'd burned her and not kissed her. Her face was bright red and she still hadn't quite mustered the courage to meet his slightly perplexed look. He set his hands behind himself defensively, placing them on the table to steady himself. A shaky buzz permeated through his head as he focused on Cindy's erratic breathing pattern.

Her eyes were averted in shame, and her cheeks were still a harsh shade of scarlet. A strand of hair had escaped her tight ponytail. He reached forward as if in a trance, to tuck it away, letting his mouth linger below the crook of her ear. Gently, he placed his lips to her neck, sucking on the smooth skin there. Cindy brought her hands up his shirt, feeling his tense muscles loosen as she rested his hand above his jeans. He shifted his mouth to her jaw, and languorously drew his lips over hers. She followed his cue and pressed against him until he could feel every curve in her body crush against his chest. As their lips collided in a burst of passion, Jimmy reminded himself that Cindy was his assistant and pulled away abruptly.

Somehow, this thought sobered his desire to kiss her. This whole incident was thoroughly inappropriate on his part. And hers too, seeing as she'd instigated it.

He looked up at her. She was trying her best to mask her obvious disappointment. He shuffled uncomfortably past her.

"Right, umm…if you're done with my schedule…I think you can take off early for the night." He mumbled.

"Okay. See you tomorrow I guess." She offered in a soft, vulnerable tone.

She scrambled her things into her bag and made off before he could even say goodbye.

He stared at the spot where they'd stood just moments ago and sighed. Things had been so simple…so simple…

Cindy berated herself as she waited for the uptown train. What had she been thinking?

One moment, she'd been stewing in jealousy over Alicia, the next, she'd been...making out with Neutron.

Neutron.

He was condescending, arrogant, irritating, insufferable. (Among a host of other things) But he was also...Neutron.

Which meant he was charming (in an offhand way), passionate, quirky, and smart as hell.

But that didn't give her free reign to kiss him! She'd crossed a line in their professional relationship. She wasn't even worried about being fired for her conduct, or losing her primary source of income. She was worried about not seeing him again...and not working with him. Although she grumbled about the job to her friends all the time, she did love it in all honesty. She loved teasing Neutron about how messy his reduction formulas were, she loved charting the progress of reactions, she loved getting her hands dirty wiring and screwing and hammering. It was the sole source of stimulation in her mundane college life. And to have the opportunity taken away from her because of one mistake...

Tears misted at the edges of her eyes. She hated herself.

The next morning, she awaited a call or email or text signaling the end of their partnership. But it never came. So she courageously trudged herself down the street to the subway and boarded the train.

How would she even face him?

Play it cool. Act like it didn't happen. Go about your business.

Cindy let herself into the lab, throwing her stuff down on the couch. She glanced at the planner on the counter to confirm Neutron's first appointment.

Meeting with Astrophysics Council at 2.

And then, involuntarily, Cindy's eyes travelled to the next page.

Dinner with Alicia at 8pm was crossed out in sharpie.