Disclaimer: The characters of Joey, Pacey, Jen, Dawson, Bessie, and Bodie are not mine.

Author's Note: Took me long enough huh? Just remember, 'Patience is a virtue'.

Please tell me I just heard what I thought I heard, Pacey said to himself. Did she just say she loved me? Pacey sat there, not sure of how to react to the words that had just left her mouth. She'd said it. Sure, he was emotional right now, but he wasn't delusional. She'd said those three little words that set his body into auto-pilot so he could think.

Pacey sat up slowly and leaned his elbows on his knees. She watched him wearily. What is he thinking? she asked herself. He's probably thinking that he wants to let her down easy so not to hurt her. It's amazing how three words could make you feel like your world was going to come crashing down around your feet. She didn't say anything else. She waited for him to say anything.

"Joey..."

Joey, hearing the tone in his voice, became weary and on the defensive. She didn't want him to see how much it would hurt if he didn't return his feelings, so she quickly cut him off. "Look, Pacey...it's okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah. I know that you don't exactly feel the same way about me that I do about you...and I understand."

"Joey..."

"No...look Pacey. It's fine."

"No it's not."

Joey took in his words. It wasn't fine with him. She knew it. Not only did he not love her, but he probably never wanted to be her friend again. Why would she ever expect anything else? Because she thought Pacey was different from Dawson. She thought he would feel something towards her. But he didn't.

"Oh..."

"No, Jo. I didn't mean it like that," he said smiling. "I meant...it's not fine that you think that I don't have...feelings for you."

Joey just watched him. Not sure of what he meant. "You do have feelings for me?"

"Yes. I do."

"Just not the same feelings that I have for you."

"I never said that..."

"Look maybe it's best if I left."

Joey stood and walked to the door. Pacey was quickly off the couch and behind her. He grabbed her wrist. She turned to look at him with tears in her eyes. He felt horrible. He brought his other hand up to her face to wipe the tears from her eyes. He caressed the smoothness of her cheek, causing her to shiver.

"Joey," he whispered. "Can I finish my sentence now?"

Joey nodded, tears still running down his face. The slight touch of his hand to her wrist was driving her insane. She wanted him. She'd never known what it was like to feel the way she was feeling then. She looked him over, realizing that he wasn't going to lie to her about what he was going to say.

"Come back and sit down okay?"

Pacey pulled Joey back to the couch and sat next to her. He turned to look at her, her eyes swollen from crying, her hands were shaking, and she was chewing on her bottom lip. Something that always made him crazy.

Pacey tried to think of what he could say to make her not jump to conclusions. There was nothing he could really say except for how he felt. He knew that she questioned how he felt about her...but so many things could happen with what he should say to her. He wanted to hold her, soothe her, and kiss all her fears away. But it wasn't that simple. There were to many things to consider.

"Pacey...why don't you just let me go home? You have too much to deal with, you don't need me here confusing you any more."

"I want you here."

"Yeah...well we can't all have what we want," she said bitterly.

"Joey..."

"Look...I know what you're going to say, okay. Spare me. I heard it once from Dawson, I don't need to hear the same thing from you."

"Joey...how many times do I have to tell you that I am not Dawson? I actually figured that you would have noticed that already, but apparently you haven't."

"Pacey...what are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is that I don't feel the same way Dawson does. I'm not an idiot. I wouldn't let the most beautiful girl in Capeside get away from me if I had any chance of controlling it."

"Is it Jen?"

"Is what Jen?"

"The girl you love?"

Pacey looked at her strangely. What in the world was she talking about? The only girl he was in love with was her. It dawned on him that he'd told Joey that he was in love with a girl. He didn't tell her who...but it seems that she thought he was talking about Jen being the most beautiful girl in Capeside.

While Jen was pretty, she was in no way as beautiful as Joey. Joey had something that Jen lacked. She had this innocence about her that radiated off her. She didn't know how beautiful she was.

"No, Joey. It's not Jen."

"It's not?"

"No! What would give you that idea?"

"You said Dawson was an idiot for letting her get away."

"I did. I know. And he is."

"Who are you...oh."

"Welcome to the world, Joey Potter."

"You think I'm beautiful. I know, we've been through all this."

"No. Not this we haven't."

"What this?"

"Why did you assume that it was Jen?"

"Because of what you said."

"So...you just thought it might be Jen. No one else ever...popped into that pretty little head of yours?"

"No."

Pacey gave her a slight smile. Seems Dawson's oblivious nature had rubbed off on Joey. It's amazing how two people could be in very different situations and never recognize the other's situation. Dawson was the unrequited love of Joey, and Joey was the unrequited love of himself. But it seems that he'd been Joey's unrequited, or requited love, after all the angst of their kiss, or kisses.

"Joey...think hard."

"Look it doesn't matter..."

"It does matter. I told you I would tell you sooner or later. Well, here's sooner and later."

"So you're going to tell me who you're in love with?"

"Yeah. I think you already know."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because, it's been fairly obvious."

"It has?"

"It has," he said moving closer to her. Their faces inches from each others. Pacey could feel her breath on his face and it was driving him insane. He wanted to taste the sweetness of her kiss one more time. He wanted to feel her arms snaked around his neck, their bodies touching, and that feeling he felt everytime their lips touched.

Pacey reached up to her face and rubbed her cheek with his thumb, feeling the smoothness of her cheek. He licked his dry lips, the anticipation was unbearable.

Suddenly the door to the apartment opened and in walked Doug and Tabby; both laughing and flirting. Pacey and Joey quickly separated, neither knowing what had almost happened, but both knowing that they wanted it to happen.

Doug looked at them oddly and called Pacey on the flushed color of his face. "Pacey, you hot or something?"

"Or something."

Tabby looked at them and knew that something had been going on there and that she and Doug had interrupted. She knew Doug had no clue that the two were either making out or were about to. She saw the affection in Pacey's eyes when he looked at Joey. It was so clearly written in them, she wondered how Joey didn't see it.

"Come on Doug. Let's go to bed," she said pulling Doug by the arm.

"Don't have to tell me twice."

"G'night Joey, G'night Pacey." Tabby said in a sing-song voice.

Tabby closed the door behind her, and Pacey stood up, and walked away from Joey, who remained on the couch. He needed a chance to think.

"Pacey?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you take me home?"

Pacey turned to look at her. He wanted her to stay the night. He needed her to sleep next to him. But he knew that if she did, he wouldn't sleep at all. He would sit up all night and watch her.

"Do you want to go?"

"Not really, but I think it's best if I did."

"Best for who?"

"You. Me. Us."

"Is there an us?"

"I hope so. Do you?"

"Yes."

"Is that why you tried to kiss me?"

"You wanted to kiss me just as much as I wanted to kiss you Josephine," he teased.

"I never said I didn't want to kiss you...I was just asking if that was why you wanted to kiss me?"

"Yes."

"Do you love me?"

Pacey just stared at her. He didn't think he had to actually tell her. He kind of hoped that she would figure it out on her own. But she'd asked.

"Yes," he whispered.

"Then why can't you say it? Don't just give me a 'yes' answer. I want to hear you say it. Tell me you love me. No one ever tells me they love me...I need to hear you say it."

"I love you. I have for a very long time."

"So I was the girl?"

"You were the girl."

"And you let me think it was someone else? You let me think it was some piece of trash at our school...or Jen? You let me think it was Jen, Pacey. Why didn't you just tell me to begin with?"

"What good would it have done, Joey? You were in love with Dawson. And up until about ten minutes ago, I thought you still were."

"I haven't been in love with Dawson since he broke my heart, Pacey. I've changed, so have you. And so has our relationship."

"Do we have a relationship, Joey? Do we really? Because most couple relationships involve people going out on dates, walking hand in hand everywhere, and kisses that you don't analyze over and over in you brain a million times until you're sure that the other person only did it because they felt sorry for you."

"Is that what you think? That I kissed you because I felt sorry for you?"

"Yeah."

"That's not true, Pacey. I wouldn't do that. No matter how bad I felt for you...I would never kiss you out of pity."

"So you kissed me because you love me? Is that right?"

"Right."

"Joey...stay."

"Huh?"

"Stay here. With me."

"Pacey...Bessie will kill..."

"Call her and tell her that I need you to stay with me tonight. Please."

Joey looked at him. He looked so much like a little boy that it amazed her. She couldn't refuse him. Not of this. Not when his eyes were pleading with her not to leave him the way he was. Not to leave him in his fragile state when he knew that she loved him and that was what he needed right now.

"Okay."

Joey called Bessie and explained that Pacey needed her to be with him tonight. He needed her support and understanding and Bessie didn't argue with her, she herself knowing what it was like to suffer a loss the way Pacey had.

"She said I could stay."

"Great." Pacey grasped her hand and brought her to the room that he was residing in for the little while he was staying with Doug. But, Doug wasn't as bad as he used to be. But some things change. He seemed to think that Tabby might have something to do with it.

Pacey opened the door to his room and pulled her inside. He flipped the light on and showed a twin bed the sheets were falling off of, clothes thrown all over the floor, a small night stand next to the bed, and a box in the corner. He pulled out the duffel bag from under the bed and pulled out a pair of his sweat pants and a white tee shirt and handed them to her.

"You can sleep in this. The pants might be a little big..."

"It's fine."

"You can change in here, I'll change in the bathroom."

"K."

Pacey picked a pair of Adidas cotton pants up off the floor and exited the room quickly. When Pacey'd asked her to stay, she didn't know what to think. Her initial reaction was 'No' because she thought that since she loved him, he would think she would sleep with him, but as she looked into his blue eyes, she knew that was not the case. He needed her there to make him feel something that he didn't when he was alone.

Joey quickly changed into the clothes he'd given her. The shirt smelled like him. That sweet smell of sweat and him. She put her clothes on a hanger she found laying on the floor and hung them up on the latch hanging on the back of the door.

Pacey knocked and Joey opened the door. He walked in slowly. She saw the fear in his eyes. What was he afraid of? She wouldn't hurt him. She wouldn't know how to hurt him.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. I...I was a little surprised that you'd agreed to stay."

"Really...why?"

"Well, I figured that you'd think the worse of my intentions."

Joey giggled a little. "Honestly, I did at first."

He smiled. "And now?"

"I trust you. Why would I ever doubt you? I know you wouldn't pressure me into doing something I didn't want to."

"You wouldn't want to?"

"Pacey, it's not that I don't want to...it's just that I'm not ready to."

He was still smiling. "So you would want to if you were ready."

She giggled again. "Maybe."

"I can deal with maybe."

"Good." She then looked at him a minute before asking her question. "Would you want to...if I was ready?"

"There wouldn't be enough power in the world to keep from you."

Joey smiled. They both looked down at the bed. "So...how is it that you usually sleep with Dawson?"

"Left to right. He's on the right."

"Okay. I guess I can swing that too." He pulled the sheets on the bed off the floor and sloppily threw them onto the middle. "You know, Dawson might not like you sleeping in another guy's bed."

"Dawson will have to get over it."

"Joey...I love the way you think."

Pacey pulled her close to him, snaking one arm around her back. "I don't suppose, Ms. Potter, that Dawson has ever asked you for a goodnight kiss?"

"No. He has not."

"Would I get hit if I did?"

"No."

"Then, Joey, can I have a kiss good night?"

"That depends...what do I get out of this deal?"

"You've kissed me once right? You know what you get."

"Nothing much..."

"Joey, do not make me have to prove anything to you."

"Like you even could."

Pacey drew her face to his, feeling her lips on his as they finally kissed. Pacey slid his hand down her back, resting on the small of her back. His other hand was tangled in her hair, pulling her closer. Pacey felt her hands slide over his shoulders and though his hair. Pacey pulled away, licking her lip, she opened her mouth and accepted his tongue as it explored the contours of her mouth.

Joey moaned as he licked the roof of her mouth. If he hadn't been holding her, she would have fallen in the floor. She felt boneless and the only thing keeping her from melting into the floor was the strength of his arms.

Pacey slowly pulled away from her. He didn't want to say anything to break the spell. He didn't want to ruin their moment. He wanted to hold her like this for the rest of his life. It was to sweet to let go.

He looked into her face, her eyes still closed. She still seemed to be drinking in the situation. She slowly opened her eyes to find Pacey smiling brightly at her. She blushed a little, not exactly sure why.

Joey looked at the bed. She slowly disengaged herself from his embrace and climbed in, pulling him with her by his hand. Pacey laid on his side gazing at her features. Her hazel eyes shining brightly at him. Pacey wrapped an arm around her stomach and pulled her closer to him. He kissed her lightly on the cheek, feeling one hand on his shoulder. Why did it feel so good for her to touch him so softly?

Joey closed her eyes, feeling less confused than she had in days, knowing that this was where she was supposed to be. She was supposed to be with him, in his room, at this moment of time. There was not a doubt in her mind after that kiss.

"Good night, Joey."

"Good night, Pacey. I love you."

"And I love you too."

She started giggling. "Something funny?"

"Yeah. That tickles."

"What does?" Pacey asked, rubbing the area under her rib cage again.

"That." She said moving his hand. "Stop."

"Well, if it tickles then why should I stop. I love hearing you laugh."

"Because I will have to hit you."

"I like an aggressive woman," he said raising an eyebrow at her suggestively.

He tickled her again. She started laughing loudly, thrashing on the bed, trying to remove his hands until he finally stopped. They laid their breathlessly, both staring at one another. Joey chewed on her bottom lip, and Pacey needed to kiss her again. She slowly moved forward, his hand still on her stomach. Joey pulled him to her, kissing him the way she wanted to. She slipped her tongue in his mouth and knew that he was what she wanted. He was what she needed to be happy for the rest of her life.

That scared her. The rest of her life? She was only seventeen, she wasn't sure about tomorrow, but she seemed to know that this was what she wanted to have until the day she died. What if they got separated? What if he fell out of love with her? She wasn't sure she could withstand loosing him. They'd just gotten together and here she was thinking about the demise of their relationship.

Pacey seemed to sense something was wrong and pulled away. He stared at her, not sure of what to say. Those eyes looked lost and confused. He wanted to help her be less confused, but he wasn't sure how. All he knew was that she looked deeply troubled.

"You okay?"

"Not really."

Pacey was weary. "What's wrong? Anything I can help you with?"

"No. Not really." She patted his hand that was still on her stomach. She gave him an assuring smile. She could tell that he didn't believe her.

"Tell me."

"Look, Pace, it's my own fears that are messing with my head. Don't worry about it."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Josephine, you confuse me."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure. You just...do."

"Well, I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted. What do you say we go to sleep?"

"I'm all for that."

Pacey reached up and turned off the light. He then snuggled up to her, his chest to her back. He soon found himself drifting off to sleep, dreaming about kissing her once again. She stirred softly, rolling over to face him. She watched him in the dimness of the room, his breathing, his face, everything about him was perfect. She just hated that he was going through such a rough time right now. She wanted nothing more than to take all his pain away. She wanted to save him from ever being hurt, from ever suffering again. She didn't think he should have to deal with things like that. She didn't think anyone should.

She softly stroked the side of his cheek with her thumb, feeling the smoothness of his skin. She loved him. And she'd told him. But the surprise was that he loved her. It had been her who he'd described as intelligent, beautiful, and arousing. He'd described her as arousing. She couldn't stop the smile that was threatening to over run her face. She snuggled up to his neck and took in his scent. It was a smell of it's own. She laid a soft kiss there and began to fall asleep; listening to the sound of his breathing was all she needed to take her into a deep slumber with fantasies of him playing over in her head.