Midnight Magic

Jibbs

Rated PG

Takes place on New Years Eve, Jenny and Gibbs look forward to what the New Year will hold for them, as both friends and lovers.

Author's notes: This is a fluffy Jibbs fic, written for my dear Jess, in an attempt to cheer her up a little.

Jess, I love you, and I hope to get you to smile with the little Jibbs moment I created for you.

Jenny straightened out her dress and took one last glance in the hallway mirror before she would open the door. She knew who was outside, and she put on a wide smile onto her face as she placed her hand on the door handle to let him in.

"Jethro, what a pleasure," she greeted him and stepped aside to let him in. He glanced at her midnight blue cocktail dress and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I see you're all…decked out. I though it was just gonna be you and me," he said while taking off his overcoat.

"Oh, it is just us. What? I can't dress up for you?" she shut the door, a huge grin upon her face and her back turned toward him. He took advantage of the situation and secretly checked her out from behind, the dress ended slightly above her knees, his gaze traveled upwards. When she spun around to face him, he skillfully pretended to have been looking out the window. Now it was her turn to check him out.

"Well, you didn't do too bad yourself," she took in the sight of his white shirt, the first button open in a slightly relaxed style, the shirt tucked into his suit pants and a suit jacket on top of everything.

"You think?"

"Definitely, now let's proceed into the living room, shall we?" she suggested and gestured for him to follow her. The living room was lit up by tens of candles, and in the fireplace a fire burned calmly. On the living room table she had put out a bottle of wine and two glasses. There were also a bowl of popcorn and two different kinds of nuts.

"Hey, I brought you something," he said from behind her, causing her to stop and turn around. She smiled.

"Really?" she only just noticed the gift bag he was holding, the golden paper glistened in the candle light. He held it out toward her.

"Yeah, really. You sound surprised, Jen," he said in a small laugh as she peeked down into the bag and took up a bottle of Bourbon.

"Oh, Jethro, just how much did you think we were going to drink tonight?" she laughed too, but gave him a light kiss of thank you on the cheek before putting the bottle down on the table next to the wine.

"It's going to be a long night, Jen. You think you'll be able to stay awake till twelve? So we can ring in the new year together?" he teased her. She threw a popcorn at him, which he skillfully catched in his hand and put it in his mouth.

"Very funny, Jethro," she replied and poured them two glasses of wine. One she handed to Gibbs, with the words, "Or, are you just hoping to get me drunk?" in reference to his gift.

"Well, by the looks of it, it's you who are trying to get me drunk," he shot back, taking a sip of the wine, locking eyes with her over the brim of his glass.

"Okay, you got me," she smiled and offered him to take a seat on the couch. She sank down next to him; silence began to grow between them. In the background they heard the jazz music she had put on.

"I appreciate you coming tonight, Jethro. It's nice to spend New Years Eve at home sometimes," she broke the silence. When he turned to look at her, her gaze was lowered, staring into the wine glass resting in her lap.

"Weren't you supposed to be at some fancy party tonight?" he asked, causing her to turn her attention back to him. Their eyes met.

"I was," she nodded, a small smile slipped across her lips.

"Why didn't you go?"

"Because, I didn't want you to be alone of New Years Eve, Jethro, that's why," when she said it like that, he felt the corner of his own lips curl up into a smile.

"I could have gone with you," he replied. To that, she let out a laugh.

"Sure you would have," the sarcasm in her voice was easy to pick up on.

"If only you'd told me it was important to you, I would have gone," Jenny was touched by the sincerity in his voice, and the look in his eyes had her quite surprised as well.

"Well, it's too late to change that now. But it feels good to know that, Jethro. Then I know who to ask to be my escort to the Valentine's ball in February," she added, and laughed upon the sight of his horrified look.

"You're kidding, right?" he replied, though he couldn't really hide the hint of amusement in his voice.

"Nope, I'm not," she said, pretending to sound serious, "Well, in that case, I guess I'll just have to find someone else to go with…"

"No way," his reply caused her to look up at him, with sincere surprise. He smiled at her, "You're going with me, or you are not going at all," he added, suddenly reaching out his hand to brush it against her arm.

"Okay, it's settled then," she managed to get out, she was still unsure that she'd heard him correctly. She felt a light tingle where his hand had touched her skin. He withdrew himself from her and decided to check his watch instead.

"It's only 19:14, Jen. What do you suggest we do until midnight?" he asked, taking another sip from his glass.

"Well, we could, drink and talk. Or we could dance," she suggested.

"I don't dance," he replied automatically. She laughed at that.

"How predictable, Jethro. Then this would be the prefect time for you to learn," she stated, put the glass back onto the table and rose to her feet. She held out her hand to him, waiting for him to take it. But he just stared up at her.

"I didn't say I can't dance, I said I don't dance, I don't like it," he stated stubbornly and remained seated.

"Then, if you refuse to dance with me, why are you offering to go to the ball with me? Besides, we've never dance together before, you might like it" she said with a mischievous smile. He stayed silent for a while, and then he rose to his feet, pulling her up with him.

"You're right, it's you we're talking about," he teased, she was happy to see him smiling again. He slipped his hand around her waist, pulling her closer to himself. Jenny placed her hand on his shoulder, the other she slipped into his. He hesitantly started to take a few steps, sweeping her around in the small space in the living room. But he soon realized, moving around too much and they would either knock down a bottle off the table, or a candle off the mantelpiece. He released her hand and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, slowing down their dance. Jenny had her hands around him neck, her chin resting on his shoulder. They moved around in small circles, slowly dancing together.

Gibbs felt her curves pressed against his body, he felt her scent, her warmth and her heartbeats. He began to wish he'd taken off his jacket before dancing; he was starting to get warm. The candles and the fire and the woman pressed against him caused a few pearls of perspiration to appear on his forehead. But he didn't want to let her go, not just yet.

Jenny enjoyed the feeling of his strong arms around her; even though his hand had begun to slip down to almost graze her butt. She smiled into his neck when she felt him moving his hands upwards. He must have realized where they were going at the same time as she had. Freaky coincidence.

"Jen," he breathed into her ear, making her skin tingle again.

"Yes?" she replied as he pulled away. She saw his wet forehead and suddenly became aware of just how warm it was in here. She giggled.

"Aw, Jethro," she laughed, "It's pretty hot in here, isn't it?"

"Yeah, in more than one way," he replied and groaned as she playfully hit him in the chest. But she was still smiling.

"Thirsty?" she filled up their wine glasses and handed him his.

"Thank you,"

"So?" she asked, staring intensely at him over the brim of her glass. He sipped his wine; put the glass down as looked at her.

"What?"

"What did you think? Did you enjoy dancing with me?"

"Yeah, it was nice," he replied casually, then turned away from her and went over to the window and looked out across the street.

"Nice? That all it was? It was nice?" she snuck up behind him, though she knew he was just teasing her, she wanted to hear his true opinion.

"Yeah, you're a good dancer. It was nice," he kept up their little game, knowing she'd do anything to hear him say just how much he'd enjoyed it.

"I'd have thought you'd found it a little more than 'nice' when your hand almost grazed my ass," he jumped a little in surprise as she slipped her hands around his waist from behind.

"Oh, right. That part,"

"Yes, that part, Jethro,"

"Well, that was a little more than nice," he admitted, smiling to himself. He glanced out the window, on the windowsill she had a few candles lit. They reflected in the glass. He could also see a faint reflection of himself in the room lit only by the candles and the fire. And the woman moving up beside him. He checked his watch. It was almost nine. He was surprised, they must have danced for longer then he thought. He'd gotten so wrapped up in the moment that time had just flown by. He glanced down to his side and was met by her smile.

"Wanna take a walk?" he suggested, it was a little chilly outside, but he preferred that to the uncomfortable heat in here.

"If you help me blow out these candles. Where are we going?"

"I don't know. Just walk around," he shrugged. He didn't really have a location in mind; he just needed to get some air.

"If we wait about hour, we could go down to the park; I heard they are going to have fireworks around midnight. We could go down and watch them, it's not too far from here," she suggested.

"In an hour, I have melted to death already," he told her.

"You know, we're not at NCIS. My windows do open," she laughed reaching past him and opened the window in front of them. A chilly breeze immediately slipped into the room, making the candles flicker. Gibbs sighed in relief and turned toward her, slipping his arms around her waist.

"That's better. And, by the way, I'm all for your suggestion. We take a walk later," he said in a low rumble, grazing his lips against her temple as he pulled her closer.

"That sounds good," she agreed and rested comfortably in his embrace. "What are we gonna do now?"

Gibbs smiled while resting his head on top of hers. "We drink, we talk, we get cozy on the couch…"

"Jethro," she burst out, laughing. He put his arm behind her neck, placed a soft kiss on her forehead and laughed too.

"What?" he inquired.

"Nothing," she began to drag him toward the couch, "Let's just not get too cozy," she added, her eyes glittering in the candlelight. He obeyed to her pull and followed her to the couch, where they sank down, side by side. Jenny poured them more wine, they clinked their glasses together before sipping the dark liquid. They sat in silence, the jazz music filled up the room. She slipped out of her high heeled shoes and pulled up her legs onto the couch, curling up next to Gibbs' side. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her. His fingers grazed the silky fabric of her dress.

"You look really good in this dress, Jen," he complimented; she tilted her head to meet his gaze.

"Thank you," she placed a soft kiss at his cheek before resting her head against his chest again.

"You know," she continued a little while later, "The way you spend New Years Eve is the way you're gonna spend the rest of the year,"

"Well, in that case, I think we're up for a good year," he mumbled, his hand moving up to caress her hair.

"Yeah, me too," she replied softly, enjoying the gentle touch. "It will be good for us, get a fresh start, I mean,"

"Yeah, I'd like that," Jenny smiled at his answer, especially because she knew it was true. She sat herself up again.

"More wine?" she offered, reaching for the bottle.

"You know, I could swear you're trying to get me drunk," he laughed, but gave her a nod in agreement and she filled up his glass again.

"Of course I am," she replied with a mischievous grin. He wore an equal expression on his face.

Little after 10 pm, they decided it was time to go. Gibbs helped her blow out the candles, causing her to giggle when he snuck up behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder and together blowing at the same flame. It took them almost fifteen minutes to take out all candles, mainly because Gibbs soon tired of their task and instead began to leave butterfly kisses in her neck, or blowing puffs of air into her ear. So she definitely had some troubles to concentrate on the flame she was supposed to blow out.

"Jethro!" she called out when he had begun to nibble at her earlobe. "Sometimes you can be a real…"

"Bastard?" he grinned, finishing the sentence for her.

"Yes," she continued to blow out the candles, still with Gibbs arms wrapped tightly around her waist, feeling his front press against her back. "Jethro, do you want us to get away on time?"

"Yeah, why?" he teased, but nevertheless took out one of the remaining flames.

"It'll go faster if you actually help, instead of annoying me!"

"Do I really annoy you, Jen? I don't think so," he replied, placing another kiss on her skin.

"Okay, we're done here. Let's go, Romeo," she laughed and dragged him into the foyer. He smirked at that.

"Whatever you say, Madam,"

"Shut up, Jethro, or I certainly won't kiss you at midnight," she threatened, handing him his jacket.

"Aw, now you don't mean that. You couldn't resist me, Jen," he said in feign hurt, helping her put on her own coat.

"You sure about that, Jethro?"

"Actually, I am,"

"Well, be nice, and I'll kiss you," she finished as she locked the door behind them.

"I'm still not worried," he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they began walking down the street in the chilly December night. The last day of the year.

Jenny slipped her hand around his waist, cuddling closer to him. The dark sky was could-free, and the moon and the stars looked down at the happy couple walking toward the New Year that they knew would be their best year so far. Because he was hers, and she was his. And their love was stronger than ever.

Ten minutes to twelve they reached the park. Gibbs guided her to a bridge over a small, now frozen, river; from there they would have a great view over the fireworks that would begin at twelve sharp. Jenny began to stamp her feet in the cold, she had started to freeze as they had come to a halt. Gibbs noticed her feeble attempts at keeping warm; he smiled and pulled her against himself, offering up some of his own body heat to keep her warm. Jenny tilted her head upwards to look at him. Her cheeks reddened, if it was because of the cold or the loving gaze with which he looked at her, that knew neither her nor him.

"Eight minutes left," he informed her, his breath hot against her face.

"I'm looking forward to the New Year, with you," she told him, the still smile never leaving her face. She glanced around at the people surrounding them. She spotted whole families with kids no older than seven, teenage couples already making out in the open, snow-covered area, and of course other couples like them, standing with arms wrapped around each other, waiting patiently for the clock to strike twelve. She saw a man in his early twenties, closing up on a beautiful woman his age, who looked rather surprised at his approach, and Jenny figured it must have been love at first sight that had made him walk up to her and introduce himself. It was New Years Eve, the ideal night for new beginnings.

With that last thought in her mind, she turned back to her man. He gave her a curious look. She shook her head; they didn't need to talk right now.

"Three minutes," he whispered. Jenny began to feel all tingly inside, she wanted this New Year to come, wanted to start over with him. She glanced around again, more people had began to pair up, lovers, married, families, everybody wished this year would bring the best for them and their loved ones.

"One minute!" she heard Gibbs' voice say. She put up her hands behind his neck, her fingers playing with his hair, just waiting…

"Ten, nine, eight…" the people around them began to count down in unison. Gibbs smiled as he looked down at Jenny.

"Seven, six, five…" Jenny joined in the countdown to midnight, staring into Gibbs' eyes, they were sparkling.

"Four, three, two, one…Happy New Year!" the people around them shouted. At the number 'one' Gibbs' hands, which had rested lightly on the small of her back the entire time, suddenly pulled her closer to himself. He lowered his lips onto hers, kissing her tenderly, but with burning passion. Her response was equally passionate. Jenny tightened her grip around his neck, her lips pressed hard against his. He parted his lips slightly, allowing her to deepen their kiss. They kissed with fiery love, his lips burning against hers. They could hear the fireworks going off around them. Jenny pulled away, tilted her head to the side to glance up at the sky, illuminated by a cascade of fireworks in red, blue, green and gold. Everywhere around them she saw people still engaged in kissing, people cheering and clapping their hands, people wishing each other a Happy New Year. She laughed, turning her head back to Gibbs.

"Happy New Year," he told her, a huge grin upon his face. She leaned in for another kiss. The passion between them was enough to light the world on fire.

"Happy New Year, Jethro," she said as soon as she pulled away again. They changed position, his arm was around her shoulders and she hugged both her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder while watching the fireworks.

It was a magical night. The fireworks, the cheerful excitement, everyone's hopes for the New Year filled up the night. But no one who laid their eyes on the couple on the bridge could fail to see the roaring passion and fiery love between them. Hope for their future was surrounding them, inspiring other toward the same hope.

Jenny tilted her head to look up at Gibbs; he brushed his lips against hers.

"I love you, I always have," she told him, the fireworks reflecting in her eyes. His gaze swept across her face, a gaze filled with affection.

"And I love you Jen, and I always will," he responded, placing his hand on her cheek as she was laughing. His lips found hers, stroking them gently before she caught them between hers. He felt her fire, and her passion. This year would be theirs, and he knew he would enjoy every second they spent together, as would she.

It was their midnight, their magical moment.

The End