Green with Envy (30 Rock, Jack/Liz)
Title: Green with Envy
Pairing: Jack/Liz
Word Count: 1400
Rating: PG-13 (For a little bit of angst and a little bit of sexy time)
Summary: Prompted by the episode summary for ‘Cutback’s. Contains spoilers up until the Funcooker, as well as for upcoming episodes.
Caution: SPOILERS! I was somewhat inspired by the episode summary for Cutbacks, which apparently involves Liz attempting to seduce someone at corporate in order to save jobs and cutbacks at TGS. So I decided to have fun with Jack’s reaction. And I’m taking liberties with the characters here. Huge time.
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Tina. Except for Elliot Gerber, but I don’t really want him.
About once a year I get bitten by the writing bug. And as a result, I actually had to figure out how to use livejournal so I could post my own stuff here. This is my first ever piece of fanfiction ever written, so feel free to critique and leave comments on how I can improve.
Also, in my fantasy land, Drew and Elisa are both recently out of the picture. So there.
It was late in the evening, and the building was quiet as Jack made his way through the halls of 30 Rock down to the TGS floor. He decided to stop by Lemon’s office before leaving for the evening to try and make amends for the rather explosive argument they had the previous day.
In an attempt to raise profits across the board, GE had bought in a series of advisors to meet with Jack and discuss financial projects for each of the programs under his control. So later that day. Jack found himself in a drawn-out meeting with Lemon, Pete, and the advisor. Jack normally held no ill will to those cursed with a scrawny physique and thinning hair but the smarmy financial advisor Elliot Gerber had won his immediate disapproval due entirely to his steady, leering gaze at Lemon throughout the budget meeting. Despite his obvious interest in the show’s head, Gerber declared that the TGS budget would be slashed by up to 15%, an amount that seemed rather high, but manageable to Jack. Lemon apparently thought otherwise, which lead to an argument that quickly escalated after Gerber and Pete had left his office. Lemon had insisted on calling a private meeting with Gerber. Jack had outright forbid her to do so, surprising even himself with his forceful assertiveness over her affairs. The meeting had culminated with Lemon declaring him a stupid jerk before storming out, and she had been treating him to a mask of silence ever since.
Now as Jack rode the elevator to the TGS floor, he allowed himself to admit that perhaps his explosive reaction the previous day may have more to do with Liz than the advisor he so deplored. He allowed himself to acknowledge that the nature of their friendship had certainly changed since he returned from Washington the previous autumn. He had hoped that his relationship with Elisa would have quelled whatever was burgeoning between Lemon and himself. And it had, for a brief time. He had even managed to be somewhat pleased for Lemon, as she had clearly been delighted in the initial stages of her relationships with the doctor fellow. Yet when Elisa informed him she would not be returning from Puerto Rico, his happiness for Liz quickly turned to bitter jealousy, and he finally forced himself to admit to his developing affections for Lemon.
The TGS floor was quiet, leaving Jack to ponder why Lemon would have sent home that pack of slack-jawed imbeciles she called her writers home early for the evening. The light in Liz’s office caught his eye, as did the hushed voices coming from within. The door was slightly ajar, and Jack peeked in, the sight making his stomach churn and his blood boil.
An amorous Elliot Gerber leaned over Liz, who was perched on the side of her desk. His sweaty palm was travelling quickly up her bare leg to the hem of her skirt, as he leaned forward to kiss along her neck. Liz, on the other hand, was clearly not sharing in his affections, her fists clenched and her eyes gazing into space. She had not spotted him at the door. Gerber’s quiet moan set Jack off.
Snapping into action, Jack grabbed the man by his collar and slammed him against the nearest wall. He threw Gerber through the door, hearing him grunt as he crashed into the writers table, before scampering out the door and down the hall. He slammed the door behind him and turned to Lemon, who had remained seated upon the desk with wide eyes.
Seizing her roughly by the wrists, he pulled her to him. Her shock quickly turns to indignation, as she attempted to pull away. “What the hell do you think you are doing, Jack? You can’t just throw people around! You’re going to get hell from corporate. We’re going to get hell from corporate.”
“Nonsense Lemon, neither of us will say a word, and he is hardly going to advertise the fact he attempted to conduct an affair with a client.”
He released her wrists, and both fell silent.
Liz turned her attention to her toes, and he seized the moment take in her appearance. Beginning with her black patent pumps, his eyes roved up her seemingly endless legs to the hem of her black skirt, which cinched high, emphasizing her tiny waistline. Having shed her cardigan, she now wore only a thin black camisole, which had shifted just enough to display a glimpse of the black lace push-up bra encasing her full breasts, heaving with anger. Straightened hair feel in thick, dark ribbons along her pale shoulders and collarbone. Her smoky eyeliner was slightly smudged, and she was gently biting her berry tinted bottom lip. He sighed. She was breathtaking. The thought of her tarting herself up to seduce another man made his stomach churn.
His mind flashed back to the image that greeted him moments ago in her office, as the memory of another man’s hands on her body gripped him with jealousy and brought with it a fresh surge of anger. It was becoming increasingly difficult to disguise his jealousy as outrage. “Surely you didn’t actually intend to go through with it? How could you even consider degrading yourself in such a way? What would have happened had I not shown up?”
The colour in her cheeks deepened. She crossed her arms across her chest and continued to ignore his accusing eyes. Suddenly her head snapped up, and furious dark eyes met his, “Excuse me Jack? It really isn’t any of your business what may have happened. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, I thought we had moved past the whole mentoring stage.”
She began to pace, arms enunciating wildly.
“And don’t you dare attempt to take any sort of moral high ground here. You did the exact same thing with Kathy Geiss, and you ended up getting your job back in the end. Why is it so different if I am doing it to help my show? Ugh, you know what? No. You can’t tell me what to do. I am done with this conversation.”
Her words stung, but he accepted them as the truth. He once again seized her wrists as she turned to leave, gently this time.
“Lemon, please. Liz. Listen to me.”
Jack paused to consider exactly how to explain himself. He realised the revelation of his true feelings may scare her off, but the time for denial had expired.
“Liz, the situation is different because it is you. You are better than that. Sleeping with a stranger is not something my Lemon would ever do. It is something you should have ever even had to consider, because I should have been there for you, and should have fought for you. I didn’t sleep with Cathy. I didn’t have to because you showed up and put a stop to it. And that is the same reason I came to find you tonight. Because I care about you. I stopped you because I care about you, and did not want you to do something that quite frankly, you and I both know you would regret.”
The anger in Liz’s eyes softened into an emotion he struggled to identify. She glanced again at her toes, and sighed heavily. She glanced back up, “What do you mean, you care about me? I know you care about me as a friend, but you have explicitly stated like a hundred times that you could never have feelings for me, because I have food in my hair, and am so much like a dude, and…”
He stops her mini-diatribe by pulling her close and kissing her softly on the lips. He pulls away a few moments later, returning her soft smile as he traces her cheekbones with his thumbs.
“Ugh, why do you always have to be right?”
He chose not to respond, instead opting to wrap her tightly in a long embrace.
“It’s been a long day Lemon. Are you hungry?”
She leaned back to glare up at him, amusement dancing in her eyes.
“Of course. Lets go out and get something to eat.”
Seizing her hand, she gigged and leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked towards the elevators.
Jack smiled to himself. Who knew such good could come from a visit from a corporate advisor?
Pairing: Jack/Liz
Word Count: 1400
Rating: PG-13 (For a little bit of angst and a little bit of sexy time)
Summary: Prompted by the episode summary for ‘Cutback’s. Contains spoilers up until the Funcooker, as well as for upcoming episodes.
Caution: SPOILERS! I was somewhat inspired by the episode summary for Cutbacks, which apparently involves Liz attempting to seduce someone at corporate in order to save jobs and cutbacks at TGS. So I decided to have fun with Jack’s reaction. And I’m taking liberties with the characters here. Huge time.
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Tina. Except for Elliot Gerber, but I don’t really want him.
About once a year I get bitten by the writing bug. And as a result, I actually had to figure out how to use livejournal so I could post my own stuff here. This is my first ever piece of fanfiction ever written, so feel free to critique and leave comments on how I can improve.
Also, in my fantasy land, Drew and Elisa are both recently out of the picture. So there.
It was late in the evening, and the building was quiet as Jack made his way through the halls of 30 Rock down to the TGS floor. He decided to stop by Lemon’s office before leaving for the evening to try and make amends for the rather explosive argument they had the previous day.
In an attempt to raise profits across the board, GE had bought in a series of advisors to meet with Jack and discuss financial projects for each of the programs under his control. So later that day. Jack found himself in a drawn-out meeting with Lemon, Pete, and the advisor. Jack normally held no ill will to those cursed with a scrawny physique and thinning hair but the smarmy financial advisor Elliot Gerber had won his immediate disapproval due entirely to his steady, leering gaze at Lemon throughout the budget meeting. Despite his obvious interest in the show’s head, Gerber declared that the TGS budget would be slashed by up to 15%, an amount that seemed rather high, but manageable to Jack. Lemon apparently thought otherwise, which lead to an argument that quickly escalated after Gerber and Pete had left his office. Lemon had insisted on calling a private meeting with Gerber. Jack had outright forbid her to do so, surprising even himself with his forceful assertiveness over her affairs. The meeting had culminated with Lemon declaring him a stupid jerk before storming out, and she had been treating him to a mask of silence ever since.
Now as Jack rode the elevator to the TGS floor, he allowed himself to admit that perhaps his explosive reaction the previous day may have more to do with Liz than the advisor he so deplored. He allowed himself to acknowledge that the nature of their friendship had certainly changed since he returned from Washington the previous autumn. He had hoped that his relationship with Elisa would have quelled whatever was burgeoning between Lemon and himself. And it had, for a brief time. He had even managed to be somewhat pleased for Lemon, as she had clearly been delighted in the initial stages of her relationships with the doctor fellow. Yet when Elisa informed him she would not be returning from Puerto Rico, his happiness for Liz quickly turned to bitter jealousy, and he finally forced himself to admit to his developing affections for Lemon.
The TGS floor was quiet, leaving Jack to ponder why Lemon would have sent home that pack of slack-jawed imbeciles she called her writers home early for the evening. The light in Liz’s office caught his eye, as did the hushed voices coming from within. The door was slightly ajar, and Jack peeked in, the sight making his stomach churn and his blood boil.
An amorous Elliot Gerber leaned over Liz, who was perched on the side of her desk. His sweaty palm was travelling quickly up her bare leg to the hem of her skirt, as he leaned forward to kiss along her neck. Liz, on the other hand, was clearly not sharing in his affections, her fists clenched and her eyes gazing into space. She had not spotted him at the door. Gerber’s quiet moan set Jack off.
Snapping into action, Jack grabbed the man by his collar and slammed him against the nearest wall. He threw Gerber through the door, hearing him grunt as he crashed into the writers table, before scampering out the door and down the hall. He slammed the door behind him and turned to Lemon, who had remained seated upon the desk with wide eyes.
Seizing her roughly by the wrists, he pulled her to him. Her shock quickly turns to indignation, as she attempted to pull away. “What the hell do you think you are doing, Jack? You can’t just throw people around! You’re going to get hell from corporate. We’re going to get hell from corporate.”
“Nonsense Lemon, neither of us will say a word, and he is hardly going to advertise the fact he attempted to conduct an affair with a client.”
He released her wrists, and both fell silent.
Liz turned her attention to her toes, and he seized the moment take in her appearance. Beginning with her black patent pumps, his eyes roved up her seemingly endless legs to the hem of her black skirt, which cinched high, emphasizing her tiny waistline. Having shed her cardigan, she now wore only a thin black camisole, which had shifted just enough to display a glimpse of the black lace push-up bra encasing her full breasts, heaving with anger. Straightened hair feel in thick, dark ribbons along her pale shoulders and collarbone. Her smoky eyeliner was slightly smudged, and she was gently biting her berry tinted bottom lip. He sighed. She was breathtaking. The thought of her tarting herself up to seduce another man made his stomach churn.
His mind flashed back to the image that greeted him moments ago in her office, as the memory of another man’s hands on her body gripped him with jealousy and brought with it a fresh surge of anger. It was becoming increasingly difficult to disguise his jealousy as outrage. “Surely you didn’t actually intend to go through with it? How could you even consider degrading yourself in such a way? What would have happened had I not shown up?”
The colour in her cheeks deepened. She crossed her arms across her chest and continued to ignore his accusing eyes. Suddenly her head snapped up, and furious dark eyes met his, “Excuse me Jack? It really isn’t any of your business what may have happened. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, I thought we had moved past the whole mentoring stage.”
She began to pace, arms enunciating wildly.
“And don’t you dare attempt to take any sort of moral high ground here. You did the exact same thing with Kathy Geiss, and you ended up getting your job back in the end. Why is it so different if I am doing it to help my show? Ugh, you know what? No. You can’t tell me what to do. I am done with this conversation.”
Her words stung, but he accepted them as the truth. He once again seized her wrists as she turned to leave, gently this time.
“Lemon, please. Liz. Listen to me.”
Jack paused to consider exactly how to explain himself. He realised the revelation of his true feelings may scare her off, but the time for denial had expired.
“Liz, the situation is different because it is you. You are better than that. Sleeping with a stranger is not something my Lemon would ever do. It is something you should have ever even had to consider, because I should have been there for you, and should have fought for you. I didn’t sleep with Cathy. I didn’t have to because you showed up and put a stop to it. And that is the same reason I came to find you tonight. Because I care about you. I stopped you because I care about you, and did not want you to do something that quite frankly, you and I both know you would regret.”
The anger in Liz’s eyes softened into an emotion he struggled to identify. She glanced again at her toes, and sighed heavily. She glanced back up, “What do you mean, you care about me? I know you care about me as a friend, but you have explicitly stated like a hundred times that you could never have feelings for me, because I have food in my hair, and am so much like a dude, and…”
He stops her mini-diatribe by pulling her close and kissing her softly on the lips. He pulls away a few moments later, returning her soft smile as he traces her cheekbones with his thumbs.
“Ugh, why do you always have to be right?”
He chose not to respond, instead opting to wrap her tightly in a long embrace.
“It’s been a long day Lemon. Are you hungry?”
She leaned back to glare up at him, amusement dancing in her eyes.
“Of course. Lets go out and get something to eat.”
Seizing her hand, she gigged and leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked towards the elevators.
Jack smiled to himself. Who knew such good could come from a visit from a corporate advisor?