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Entry tags:	pam/karen, the office

Three Times You Let It Happen (The Office, Pam/Karen)
Title: Three Times You Let It Happen
For: femslash100's aroundtheclock
Claim: The Office, Pam Beesly
Prompt: 00:00 / beginning
Pairing: Pam/Karen
Spoilers: 'A Benihana Christmas'
Word Count: 106 + 187 + 171 = 464
Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Not mine!

*

It begins like this:

There's mistletoe above you. Karen's reaching up, about to take it down out of respect for Angela and her probable fear of random kisses, when she hesitates. "We should honor tradition, right?"

Your fingers press against your palm. "What?"

She gestures above your head. "Tradition."

"We should kiss?"

"We don't have to. I just thought--"

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I guess. Makes sense."

Karen touches your lips with her own. It's soft and closed-mouth, but you feel something shifting. Immediately, you find yourself wishing you could go back and just make everything normal again.

You've been having that thought a lot lately.

*

It begins like this:

You're at Poor Richard's, drinking with your co-workers and trying to avoid Jim and Karen's eyes without making your discomfort too obvious. You feel like you're failing, even when you're alone in the bathroom with no one to pretend to. When you come out of the stall, Karen's by the mirrors. She's applying lipstick very slowly, continues doing so as you wash your hands.

"Did I make everything weird?" Karen says. "You seem... uncomfortable around me."

"No," you reply. "Of course not. I'm just... not feeling well. I probably shouldn't drink when I'm tired. Bad combination. Real, real bad. Real bad."

Karen smiles at your reflection.

"Pam... I like you," she says, and you're expecting (hoping for) her to say that sparking this friendship was so easy that she doesn't want to risk losing it, but instead you get another kiss. It's more firm, and your mouth opens against hers for reasons that exist on the periphery of your mind.

The one that's at the forefront is, This might be one of the times where it's just simpler to go along with it.

*

It begins like this:

It's two weeks after your last kiss, and you're on her bed. The real reason Karen has for inviting you here draws patterns in the air between you, but you're both ignoring the tension. She's currently explaining why she's still living in a hotel; you're barely listening to what she's saying. Then she's telling you, "Jim and I aren't serious. He made that clear. The day after Christmas."

You wonder what role she wants you to play (supportive friend, relieved future love, passive listener), but before you can figure it out, she starts talking again.

"I know this has got to be weird, with you and Jim being friends. I understand if you want this to end right here. I'd totally understand."

Karen emphasizes totally and puts her hand on yours. She seems so sincere that it breaks something inside you; you hate when people look at you like you hold their happiness in your hands.

You're silent. But when she kisses you, you don't pull away.

END