I can hear them coming around the corner, most times, like today they don’t think that I pay attention to their bickering. But today, today is one of those days when I am feeling particularly, well for lack of a better word, happy. So I pay a bit of extra attention and can’t help but smile at the subject matter, that and the fact that I already know the answer to his question.
They’re still walking, but now Kate is not paying any attention on where she is going. That would be my cue. I stand up grasping my coffee cup firmly against the coming collision.
“That depends on who I’m sleeping with.” Her tone is teasing, but that changes drastically once she runs into me. I see her eyes widen as she realizes that I have probably heard most of, if not all of their conversation. Now she is nervous, I can almost see the wheels in her head turning as she tries to come up with a good way out of this situation. A way that doesn’t acknowledge the fact that I can personally attest to the fact that she does in fact sleep with a gun under her pillow.
She’s babbling, and I can’t get over how cute she can be when she babbles, or at least when she isn’t babbling about the facts of a case that she doesn’t really know. Today, today babbling is definitely cute; one might ever go so far as to say adorable. But I don’t, I don’t say anything.
I should help her; somewhere in the back of my mind I know that I should help her. Though somehow I can’t seem to wipe the grin off my face, can’t seem to move out of her personal space, can’t seem to stop staring into the big brown eyes that are looking up at me almost helplessly. Trapped at least for the time being, between DiNozzo and myself. Finding that I won’t help, she turns to him.
Once again he seems to underestimate my hearing capabilities, but unlike normal seems like he is actually going to be nice about something, though there is of course the fact that he could see the whole thing as a way to tease and humiliate her. “She sleeps with a gun, Boss.” Yup teasing it is, you would think that after working with me for almost three years he would catch on to the fact that I might not find this an undesirable quality. You would think.
“That true?” I ask proud that I am able to keep the laughter out of my tone. I almost have what Abby calls ‘my interrogation voice’, almost. She isn’t helpless anymore; I can tell that she can see her way out of the situation. Maybe something in my eyes gave away the fact that I am having fun, a lot of fun. I have to remember that eyes can’t lie, or at least that my eyes can’t lie to her.
Her babbling starts once again, but then stops with a firm and strong. “Yes.” Now would be the time for me to pull out the full smirk. “Good girl.” She smiles, not a full smile but after putting her through my little bit of fun, I will take what I can get. The fact that Tony smiles as well which makes me wonder if there is more going on in his head then I realize. But no, he couldn’t have kept such a secret to himself, the whole office would know by now. Seeing the threat of payback in Kate’s eyes I let myself smirk once more before turning full attention back to the case. Last night definitely put me in way too good of a mood.
-**-
He thinks that I don’t know what he is up too. Thinks that I don’t know that he probably heard the start of our conversation and planned our little collision. Down to the second. A plan that he came up with on the spur of the moment and yet nonetheless was genius and went off without a hitch. Some days, that would be just another thing that I love about him but today is not one of those days. Today is the day that I am tired and a little grouchy due to sleep deprivation; sleep deprivation that he had a hand in. Yeah today is a day for payback; I just have to wait for my chance.
As it turns out I didn’t have to wait all that long. Our current case, an escapee from Leavenworth, who might be heading after his son currently living with his grandparents in Virginia. And I was lucky enough to be the one who Gibbs picked to go with him. Well at least it was lucky for me, and perfect for the plan that I came up with.
Driving down the road, he seemed to have lost the fun side that he had only an hour ago. Though there was still a twinkle in his eyes that had nothing to do with the case, and I would be lying if I didn’t admit that part of me wanted that twinkle to have something to do with me. I just wasn’t going to let him know that. It was time for a little acting. Ever since I had gotten into the car I had been playing the part of the ticked off woman, now it was time to turn it up a notch.
“What were you thinking?” At his surprised look I continued letting even more anger slip into my voice. “That little stunt you pulled this morning?” He was starting to look a little nervous I could see the little cogs of his brain turning, trying to find a way to handle this that didn’t end with yelling and screaming, or at the extreme end of things, with shots being fired. Apparently he decided that the best way to keep his head was to grip the steering wheel tighter and keep his eyes on the road.
“I was only having a little fun.” He said, trying to pacify me.
“A little fun?” I asked turning in my seat so that I faced him. “You think that it’s fun to humiliate me in front of Tony?” Raising my hands I began to gesture. “Or maybe, maybe the fun part was the risk of admitting that you are intimately aware of the fact that I do sleep with a gun under my pillow. That the only time I don’t, is when yours is taking its’ place.”
Gibbs is actually signaling before he changes lanes. I must have really hit a cord. It was times like this that I seriously wonder if I could have made it in Hollywood. As he pulls off to the side of the road, I also begin to seriously wonder about my sanity. This was not part of the plan; the plan had been for him to promise to make it up to me, with maybe a little making out in a company car to fix the situation, for the short term. Sure it wasn’t right, wasn’t ethical or professional, but today seemed to be one of those days where my brain didn’t seem to be working at full professional capacity. And when deep blue eyes turned to meet mine I knew that I wouldn’t be thinking professionally for the very near future.
When he spoke his voice was surprisingly filled with mirth, with decidedly husky undertones. “Do you remember what I told you about eyes?”
I swallowed before answering, trying, unsuccessfully to keep up the ruse of anger. “You said that eyes can lie.”
He was moving closer to me his hand sliding up my arm, and I can’t help but shudder. It is this moment that lets me know that I have been played. That he is probably a far better actor then I am an actress. He is less then a foot away from me now, close enough that I can vaguely feel his breath against my face. I move my eyes up to look in his once more, and it occurs to me that I don’t remember when I let them drop. Not that it matters.
“Well, that may be true.” His hand was now cupping my neck while his thumb lightly rubbed against my jaw line. “But yours can’t lie to me.”
I couldn’t help but relish his touch, but I wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily. He did humiliate me in front of Tony. “Is there a point to this story?”
“Yup.” His smug look overshadowing me as he moved in closer.
“Would you care to tell me what it is?” My slight annoyance wasn’t acting.
“Yup.” Though apparently I wasn’t going to find out what that was at the moment, for at this moment his lips were currently occupied with massaging mine. Slowly, languidly, teasing my lips apart gently. My hands came up to cup his face as I pulled my mouth away, away only for a second to pull air into my lungs before I plunged back in, sliding my tongue into his mouth. He responded, eagerly deepening the kiss. My last thought before all others left my mind was that even if it didn’t quite go the way that I planned, I was making out with my boss in the company car.
After what could have been hours but glancing at the clock I noticed that it was only ten minutes he pulled away. Returning fully into his seat behind the wheel, his eyes so blue that I could drown in them, a content smile on his face. He brought us both back to the present by starting the car. Signaling he rejoined the traffic that was whizzing by.
“You asked me what my point was?” He asked causally, but he didn’t give me time to answer more then a mmhum. “Ever since you got into this car your eyes have been asking me to kiss you. Next time, don’t bother with the act; just ask.” Yup; now today appeared to be a good mood day for both of us, though an hour later when I was busy babysitting a ten year old my mood was open for reevaluation.
Author's Chapter Notes:
What were Kate and Gibbs thinking at the beginning of Unsealed?