AN- Just a little background on this. It started life as four things said in conversation between BonesBird and myself. Well them four little things then grew into what was supposed to be a one shot. The problem was the little thing then grew and became longer and longer. I decided to split it up in to two chapters as I wanted to break up the cute bit from well…..the smut. There is two things in this chapter and the other is in chapter 2. Also I have her to thank for the piano song choice. Minor tags for 1 x 06. As always enjoy and please read and review.
It had been a long day and he had been watching her on and off through most of it. The more he watched the more distracting she became. It was nearly home time and there case was wrapped up with only the last few bits of paper work to do. He got the feeling she was watching him now after he had finally pulled his eyes away from her after the millionth time of looking at her when she came up to him.
"Have I grew an extra head today or something as you seem to have spent way too much time looking at me" Brody said as she stepped up to Pride's desk.
"Sorry but in my defence you shouldn't have spend the day doing things that make you look even sexier than you already are" he then realised his mistake and his face went a flaming shade of red.
"Oh shit sorry I shouldn't have said that. I must be really tired" he apologised quickly which only made her laugh more.
"I can't believe you just said that" as she stood there smiling, waiting to see if he would continue with the train of thought.
"That makes two of us, I can't believe I actual said that out loud" as he gave her one of his sheepish little boy looks that made him look way more cuter than should be aloud.
As they stood there the sexual tension that had been building between them jumped up another level.
"So you fancy explaining how I looked sexier than normal when I have done nothing different other than my job" as she came to stand beside him instead of in front of the desk.
"I will explain on one condition, have dinner with me" as he gave her that wicked smile that he knew she would not say no to.
"How can I say no to an offer like that" as she watched him stand from his desk and offer her his hand.
Taking his hand they must have both felt the electric jolt that shot through them as their hands linked as they both went from looking at each other's faces to where there hands now joined.
When there eyes meet again they both had a huge smile on their face.
"Come on since I did promise dinner" as he lead her through to the kitchen.
"Hang on, where's LaSalle gone? He not joining us?" As they passed his desk and she saw it was empty.
"Really? You want LaSalle to join us after the thing that went down when I took your hand" as he again looked at there hands and gave hers a gently squeeze as he ran his thumb over her knuckles.
"Putting it like that maybe not" as she felt the warmth spread through her from the simple gesture of him stroking her knuckles.
"Take a seat and I will make a start. Any requests or just a surprise?" he asked as she looking through what was in to cook with.
"Whatever you cook will be amazing as always. You sure you don't want me to help?"as she stood opposite him looking at all the ingredients he had out.
"You can make coffee, food and cooking are so not your strong point" as she leveled him with a glare before laughing and going to make coffee.
After setting the coffee machine off she came and stood at the bench and watched as Pride set about washing and cleaning the vegetables before he set about chopping and then adding them to the pans he had on the stove.
"I have to say you're a strange man Pride. You're a tough ass NCIS agent who has used them hands to kill people yet they can do so much more. I have watched you cook numerous times now and it's definitely an art when you do it. I have only heard you play the piano a couple of times now but it's something you have a passion for that runs deep in you. You are truly gifted in more ways than one" as she watched him stir the pans on the stove and places lids on them.
"Let's sit and talk while that cooks after you finish making that coffee" as he took a seat at the table.
He watched as she stood and made coffee before returning to the table with the cups. Sitting next to him she placed the cups down and rested one hand on the table and the other round her cup. Pride looked at the hand resting on the table and slowly reached across and rested his on top. He again felt the jolt of energy that passed through him. He knew that it was rare to find a person that could cause such an emotion in you when you touch them. So far he had only ever found one other person that could do that it him but after 23 years it was over. Linda had moved on, his job had seen to that.
As she felt his hand rest on hers she turned it over so there hands joined Palm to Palm and there fingers interlocked. They both just sat there looking at their joined hands with identical dopey grins on their faces.
"So" as Pride looked from their joined hands to her face.
"So" she replied as she wasn't sure what to say.
"We need to talk I suppose. We have avoided this" as he listed there hands a little from the table "for a while now" as he rested their hands back down again.
"Can we do serious talk later please, let's just enjoy dinner and some us time" as she smiled a little hoping he would understand.
"Sure, how about I do a deal then. Dinner, piano and then we talk, sound good?" As he finally moved there hands from the table and brought them to his lip to place a kiss to the back of her hand.
"Works for me. How long till dinner, lunch was...what was lunch? I can't even remember if I had lunch. No wonder I am hunger" as if on cue her stomach gave a low rumble.
They both laughed as Pride stood from the table and went and checked on dinner.
"Five minutes, if you set the table and get some glasses out it will be ready" as he stirred the pans.
Getting up from the table Brody grabbed cutlery and some glasses out the cupboard before setting them down on the table. She turned around and was greeted with a wine bottle being passed to her and a cork screw.
"Very nice, where you been hiding this?" As she looked the bottle over.
"Away from Christopher, he's not a wine person and won't appreciated it" as he turned the stove off and started to dish up dinner.
"LaSalle is more a hurricanes and beer type of guy" Brody responded knowing he was right.
"Well you would know. How many times you drank him under the table now?" Pride asked seeing the shocked look on Brody's face.
"You heard about that then" as she thought back to the last couple of times LaSalle and her and had one of their drinks sessions.
"I have heard of them and seen first hand the next morning what they do, how either of you can still function is beyond me. Going on what I have heard you drink enough to sink a small battleship and that's each" as he placed the plates on the table and picked the corkscrew and bottle up.
"Don't forget I was at Christopher's birthday party last week and saw first hand what you are both like" as he turned back to the stove.
Brody sat and watched as he undid the wine bottle before pouring them both a glass and resting the bottle in the middle of the table. He sat down and picked his glass up as Brody did the same
"Cheers" as he raised his glass.
"Cheers" as Brody clinked her glass with Pride's.
They both took a sip of the wine and smiled, it made a change to have wine instead of their usual alcoholic poison. They both put the glasses down and made a start on the rice and beans.
"So you know my drink of preference what's yours?" As she looked across to see Pride smile.
"That's easy. I love wine as you can tell" as he nodded to the bottle on the table but I am more a liquor person, preferably whiskey. Ducky, Doctor Mallard introduced me to it and I have been hooked so to speak ever since" as he smiled at the memory of the many drinking sessions he had had with Gibbs and Ducky.
"This is amazing as always, you really do have talented hands" as Brody ate another fork full of her meal.
"You have no idea" Pride said as he felt Brody's head snap round at his words then burst out laughing.
"I swear my mouth is working against me today. I normally don't actually say what I think" as he hung his head and had to laugh.
"You can show me how amazing your hands are later" Brody said just as Pride took a drink of his wine and proceeded to choke on it.
After a few thumps on the back Pride finally stopped coughing and looked at Brody.
"Well you started it. Anyway let's get back to the conversation of how I looked sexier than I normally do. Not that I look sexy at work so you're going to have to explain that one" as she turned her chair so she was facing him.
"That's not part of the deal, we have only just finished dinner so now" as he stood from the table and offered her his hand " it's piano time" as she finished her glass of wine and he filled both glasses before he lead them both out to the courtyard and up to his room.
Entering his room Pride flicked a couple of lamps on and stepped aside to lead Brody past him. Brody looked round at the boxes and filing cabinets which mixed in well with the shelves holding pictures of Laurel and the team. There was a picture of the three of them and also a picture of her and LaSalle. She was surprised to see a photo that she remembered being took but had never actually seen. It was a picture of Pride and her that was taken the week before at LaSalle's birthday drinking session. It couldn't be classed as a party as Pride made a cake then after that they all went and got completely and utterly blinding drunk, well LaSalle and her had.
The picture showed Pride and her looking at each other. They were both laughing and sitting a little closer than they would normally. She could see Pride's arm round her shoulder and could vaguely remember that she ended up a lot close after that picture was taken. She could remember her head resting on Pride's shoulder as she tucked her face in to his neck.
"You coming in or spending the night there trying to remember how much you drank that night" as they both started to laugh as she made her way to stand next to the piano.
"Since you're the guest you pick what we play" as he slid along the seat so she could sit next to him.
Brody sat down and looked at the keys then back at Pride. It was then it dawned on her.
"How did you know I could play?" As she looked between the keys and Pride.
"I Could tell when we talked about the piano in the car and I saw the way you looked at it when you saw it. So pick something we can play" as he nudged her shoulder.
"You're going to let me lose on this when I haven't played properly in years?" Looking again at keys.
"Quit stalling and play" as he stared at her.
"Fine, but it's been years since I played properly so don't blame me" as she took a few deep breaths and placed her fingers on the keys.
It took a few seconds for her fingers to become familiar with the keys again but she soon got back in the rhythm of playing and she watched out the corner of her eye as Pride smiled at her song choice before joining in. As they played they kept glancing of the others fingers as they moved across the keys. It had been a long time since Brody had shared playing a piano with anyone. She was pleased that it was Pride she now shared it with, it made it easier to play. As they both played the last few notes she left her fingers on the keys when she had finished and just stared at her hands.
"Well that surprised me, you don't seem like a "My Heart Will Go On" type of girl" as he turned a little and slid his arm round her waist.
"It's something I played a while back with someone special and it holds a special place in my heart as it was the last thing we played together" as she lay her head on his shoulder deep in thought.
He watched as a mix of emotions played across Brody's face as she talked of the song they had just played and the last time she played it. He didn't push her as it was obviously a subject she wasn't ready to talked about.
"So do I get to hear you play on your own with those very talented hand of yours or you finally going to tell me how I look sexy today?" As she turned her head slightly so she she could see his face but not move her head to much from his shoulder.
"Let's sit somewhere more comfortable and I will tell you" as he stood up from the seat and took her hand.
It was only when he stood up he realized the biggest chair was an armchair which would not work. Sitting with her on his knee could lead to some awkward moments. She watched as he looked around and then she caught on to the problem. They both looked at the bed since it was the biggest thing there that looked comfortable enough to sit on. He hesitated as he didn't want her to think he had planned this. Seeing her smile as she tugged his hand as she walked over to the bed.
"You got anymore Pillows or cushions anywhere?" as she let go of his hand and watched him look around before disappearing out of site.
She climbed on the bed and moved the two pillows that were there and caught the three he chucked at her as he came round the side of the book case.
"There, that's works for me" as she bent forward and kicked her boots off before resting back in to the nest of mismatched pillows and cushions that now sat at the head of her boss's bed. Wait one minute, she was now sat all cosy on her boss's bed with her shoes of waiting for him to sit beside her. Well this was definitely past the boss stage as she watched Pride take his shoes off and climb on beside her settling back against the pillows. He kept a safe distance between them as he sat back but he was close enough to take her hand which he did.
"Now we're comfortable spill the beans since you have had me in suspense since before dinner and that was hours ago" as she turned a little to face him she tucked one of her legs underneath her.
"Before I start I feel the need to point out that I have not just noticed how sexy you are but today, well all I got is wow. You have had me on a sexy overload for some reason doing things I have seen you do before. We have both noticed tonight that there seems to be a connection with each other" and to prove his point he ran his thumb over her knuckles and watched as the goosebumps appeared on her arms and his when he looked close.
"See, today I watched you chase down a suspect with your weapon raise and my god you looked amazing. Like I have said I have noticed before but that was just the start of it. Not even five minutes later you had a sledgehammer and were in the process of beating seven shades of crap out a wall. You have no idea how fucking sexy that was to me, the way the muscled played across you arms, neck and back and the way you stood. Them tight fitting jeans and the way they out lined your ass. Your were killing me, I may need to build a wall just to watch her knock it down. Then when we were in interrogation and I had to push to break through to the suspect and the next thing I knew I was up against the wall. You were there and had him pinned on the table and chuffed in seconds. You have no idea how it feels to watch you be so damn sexy and not be able to tell you or touch you" as he shuffled across the bed and closed the smell gap between them as he pulled her to his side.
"Well that's the first time me waving a weapon around has been called sexy. Most people shit themselves and run the other way. As for the wall, you did pay a lot of attention to me didn't you. In interrogation if the roles and been reversed you would done the same for me. I will take your word for how sexy I looked today" as she cuddled deeper to his side and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I won't let a suspect get near you again. I am still reeling from the last encounter you had with a suspect in a throat type lock. That was not fun and will not happen again as long as I live. Anyways now I have told you that we can go back and sit together and play on the piano or we can sit here and talk" as he looked down a little to find Brody was fast asleep at his side.
Well that answered that question. He was amazed at how she had fallen asleep so quickly. He reached over and ran a finger gently down her cheek as she stirred a little but never woke up. Looking at her and the way she had fallen asleep he did think of moving her but they were both comfortable so he moved a little so he could cuddle her to his chest a little more and put both arms round her. He rested his head against hers as he felt himself grow sleepy. Closing his eyes he held the woman he was more than happy to fall asleep with.