Pam and Jim

Christmas Decorating

"Hand me the star."

"What's that?"

"Hand me the star!"

"Sorry- you're a bit hard to hear all the way up there." Jim looked seriously up at Pam, who was on the ladder getting their Christmas tree ready for the star.

"Shut up and give me the star!"

Jim tossed the gold star from one hand to another and stretched out to hand it to her. He took a good look. Pam had insisted on doing the star herself, since Jim apparently didn't "have the good eye to get it on straight." Instead, she had decided, it was better for Jim to stay on the ground and just tell her if it was too crooked from a distance. Jim, on the other hand, was perfectly content on the ground. There was a great view up the ladder.

"Got it." Pam put her feet back down flat on the ladder.

"No you don't." Jim smiled.

She tilted her head. "Yeah I guess I can get it more straight." She got back on her tiptoes and tilted it slightly.

"Not quite."

Pam turned to see Jim with his hands on his hips, looking seriously at the top of the tree. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and moved it back a bit. "Good?"

"You're almost there Beesly." Jim tried to control an urge to laugh.

Pam got on her tiptoes one last time, and Jim moved a bit closer to the ladder.

"Pam, I think-"

"It's straight okay!" Pam snapped and turn around in time to see Jim look not-so-casually away. He gave a sly smile and Pam rolled her eyes.

"Jim Halpert."

"Pam Beesly?"

"PLEASE don't tell me you kept me on that ladder just to look up my skirt." She started climbing down, tugging and flattening her skirt along the way.

Jim put his hands up defensively with a grin. "Look at Beesly's butt? No way. That's never happening."

Pam smirked at him and wandered into the kitchen to the stereo. "Christmas music?"

Jim scoffed as he started putting up the string lights. "Is that even a question?"

She pressed play on some 'Slow Christmas Hits' playlist, then joined Jim by the tree.

Plastic boxes of Pam's ornaments and cardboard boxes of Jim's crowded the base of the tree, and she had to step carefully around them to get to the tree.

"Remember this?" He said as Pam brought an ornament to the tree.

She spun around to see Jim holding up a Dunder Mifflin ornament. Michael had made one for each of the staff members a few years ago.

Pam lifted the ornament she had already been holding so that Jim could see. She had her own version of the Dunder Mifflin ornament. He smiled and she made a weird face, wiggling her fingers and moved her hand back and forth from her forehead like she was mind controlling him.

Jim laughed. "So THAT'S how you got me to fall in love with you. Mind control..."

Pam laughed too, turning to get another ornament. It was a cheap frame ornament with a picture of she and Jim before they had started dating. The frame read, "Best Friends" with a picture Michael had taken of the two of them laughing at reception together. Pam had quietly asked Michael to print her a copy, and had put it in the frame herself. Roy was never a big fan of this ornament, but Pam insisted that friends were equally important during the holidays. She teared up and moved over to Jim to show him. The music was still playing.

"Hey, Pam."

"What?" She was looking down to make sure she didn't trip.

"Check this out."

She glanced up to see shiny-eyed Jim holding up an ornament of his own. It was another frame ornament, this one with the same picture. Jim had also asked Michael for a print of the picture, but he had put his into a small frame with hearts all around it. He had the same cheesy grin now as he showed it too her as he did in that picture.

Pam finished moving closer and held up her own with a little smile.

Jim took a quick breath and took it from her to compare it to his own. She walked around and lay her head on his shoulder, arms crossed.

Pam pointed at his. "Aww, look at those hearts."

Jim laughed. "What can I say? You know how long I've liked you."

Pam crossed her arms again. "You know, I would've probably put hearts around mine too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but you know Roy."

They stared at the pictures some more.

"Man," said Jim looking at the pictures in his hands. "Look how far we've come." He chuckled and Pam looked up at him. His eyes were all shiny and he smiled at the pictures.

It was true. They had clicked almost instantly, and had spent years as friends. Soon the friends had to become 'just friends' when Roy got too suspicious. Then Casino Night had postponed any talking after their first kiss for almost a year, and then Karen came back and held them off even longer. It was ridiculous that through all this they had never really lost feelings for each other.

Jim lay the ornaments on the nearby couch arm and turned to Pam. He held her waist and brought her closer, swaying slowly to the Christmas music coming from the kitchen.

Pam wrapped her arms around his neck, a high schooler at the prom all over again. Except this time, she knew she was with the right man.

Jim leaned forward a bit, resting his forehead against hers.

"I am the luckiest man alive," he whispered.

Pam looked back at him. "Jim..."

"Shhh..." He closed his eyes and kept swaying. Pam's hips relaxed in his grip and he relaxed in hers.

"Jim?" She looked up, meeting his now open eyes. "I love you."

Pam could feel Jim's heart accelerate against her chest. "I love you too," he responded, staring right into her eyes.

She pulled her arms closer, along with Jim's neck, and slowly kissed him. He returned the favour. It was a gentle, soft kiss, enough to make both hearts melt at the touch of the others' lips.

Pam slowly pulled away and moved her hands down in between them, resting her palms on his chest and then resting her head onto them. Jim lowered his chin onto the top of her head. There was no pressure, just protection.

They stayed like this for a long time. Just the warmth of the other one's torso was satisfying enough. They swayed back and forth around the living room to the slow Christmas songs, and there was no place they'd rather be.