30 Rock, General Series. #087. Life
Title: Striking Twice
Fandom: 30 Rock
Pairings: Jack/Liz, mentioned Jack/Avery & Liz/Carol
Prompt: drabbles100 #087. Life
Word Count: 489
Rating: R
Author's Notes: Table is here.
Summary: She assumed that Jack wouldn't want to hold up his end of the deal. (Follows ' Stay With Me.')
Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue.
*
She assumed that Jack wouldn't want to hold up his end of the deal. But there he is at her office door, saying, "I hoped you'd go home first. Make yourself... presentable."
"You're saying you *don't* want to go to a restaurant with a lady in a slanket?" She pauses. "I don't think we should go to dinner. I think--"
"I'm *certain* avoiding each other the way you've attempted to avoid me today isn't going to accomplish anything."
"Yeah," she says, awkwardly trying to seem nonchalant. She wonders if she's grimacing. "It's just sex, right? Sex is... it's not a thing that's important. I didn't even see you naked. And I was squinting when your thing was out there... Instead of in your pants or... Oh God. Why am I spelling this out? You know what I mean."
"Only you could describe a sexual experience in a way that doesn't sound vaguely erotic."
"Really, you should be impressed that the sex was erotic, considering who I am. Was it? Don't answer."
He hesitates. "Change. And meet me downstairs."
So.
She doesn't have to.
But.
She borrows a dress from wardrobe and goes out to dinner with him. And it's not effortless, the conversation, because they're dancing around things. He's not talking about Avery and she's not talking about Carol, and it was such a bad idea. Having sex with Jack was such a bad idea.
When she says this, he replies:
"You've already said that."
"I'm sober now," she says. "So now I know it."
He studies her; takes a sip of his drink.
Later, when she's still sober, when they're in the back of his car, he kisses her. She wonders how much of this is him wanting to not be alone -- but not wanting to pick up a stranger... wait, doesn't he have a bunch of women he can call up for casual sex? He must want to be with someone he cares about, that has to be part of it -- and how much is trying to prove her wrong. (A mini-relationship war? He can handle oneupmanship in small doses, with opponents he's sure he can take down?) His hand slides under her skirt, fingers pulling her panties to the side, and she thinks, well, I'm not taking this back to wardrobe.
Yeah. This is a bad idea. But making the same mistake twice isn't going to screw things up any worse. They'll get better. They'll move on, and years from now they won't even think about what happened between them because it doesn't matter. It's just... life. Sometimes you think fate's done you a solid, then you can't fall in love with someone who's perfect for you or you can't make it work with the mother of your child. It's life, and it sucks a lot.
Jack's mouth travels to her neck and his thumb brushes over her clit, derailing her thoughts the same way he did last night.
Maybe this isn't a bad idea.
END
Fandom: 30 Rock
Pairings: Jack/Liz, mentioned Jack/Avery & Liz/Carol
Prompt: drabbles100 #087. Life
Word Count: 489
Rating: R
Author's Notes: Table is here.
Summary: She assumed that Jack wouldn't want to hold up his end of the deal. (Follows ' Stay With Me.')
Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue.
*
She assumed that Jack wouldn't want to hold up his end of the deal. But there he is at her office door, saying, "I hoped you'd go home first. Make yourself... presentable."
"You're saying you *don't* want to go to a restaurant with a lady in a slanket?" She pauses. "I don't think we should go to dinner. I think--"
"I'm *certain* avoiding each other the way you've attempted to avoid me today isn't going to accomplish anything."
"Yeah," she says, awkwardly trying to seem nonchalant. She wonders if she's grimacing. "It's just sex, right? Sex is... it's not a thing that's important. I didn't even see you naked. And I was squinting when your thing was out there... Instead of in your pants or... Oh God. Why am I spelling this out? You know what I mean."
"Only you could describe a sexual experience in a way that doesn't sound vaguely erotic."
"Really, you should be impressed that the sex was erotic, considering who I am. Was it? Don't answer."
He hesitates. "Change. And meet me downstairs."
So.
She doesn't have to.
But.
She borrows a dress from wardrobe and goes out to dinner with him. And it's not effortless, the conversation, because they're dancing around things. He's not talking about Avery and she's not talking about Carol, and it was such a bad idea. Having sex with Jack was such a bad idea.
When she says this, he replies:
"You've already said that."
"I'm sober now," she says. "So now I know it."
He studies her; takes a sip of his drink.
Later, when she's still sober, when they're in the back of his car, he kisses her. She wonders how much of this is him wanting to not be alone -- but not wanting to pick up a stranger... wait, doesn't he have a bunch of women he can call up for casual sex? He must want to be with someone he cares about, that has to be part of it -- and how much is trying to prove her wrong. (A mini-relationship war? He can handle oneupmanship in small doses, with opponents he's sure he can take down?) His hand slides under her skirt, fingers pulling her panties to the side, and she thinks, well, I'm not taking this back to wardrobe.
Yeah. This is a bad idea. But making the same mistake twice isn't going to screw things up any worse. They'll get better. They'll move on, and years from now they won't even think about what happened between them because it doesn't matter. It's just... life. Sometimes you think fate's done you a solid, then you can't fall in love with someone who's perfect for you or you can't make it work with the mother of your child. It's life, and it sucks a lot.
Jack's mouth travels to her neck and his thumb brushes over her clit, derailing her thoughts the same way he did last night.
Maybe this isn't a bad idea.
END