Fortune Faded
Abby sat on the top step of the stairs leading to the basement. She stared down into the darkness where silhouetted by the light spilling through the archway behind her, the shell of Gibbs' boat sat. She liked looking at the pale struts of the frame work, imagining the finished product, wondering what colour it would be painted, and what name it would be given. It was a fascination for her, the fact that the thin wood had the potential to become something great.
As a shadow fell over her she shifted to the left a bit, never breaking her gaze from the craft. Gibbs settled himself on the step next to her, leaning back against the wall his body half turned towards her.
She still didn't turn and he didn't speak, she just looked at the boat and he looked at her and they waited for nothing in particular.
--
After a while he stood and left her. She still stared at the bare wood frame and waited. He came back, minutes later with a coffee for himself and a hot chocolate for her.
He handed it to her wordlessly.
She took it from him wordlessly.
The silence was easy, without tension just a gentle undercurrent of expectation.
--
"You would really sit here all night to prove a point?" he asked finally. His voice strange in the silence of the basement.
Abby doesn't turn.
"You know this is childish right? You can't make me do anything?"
Abby does turn.
"I don't want to make you do anything. I just want you to admit that you want to do something." she says pointedly.
"Abby." Somehow he manages to say everything and nothing, just by breathing her name.
Reaching forward he cups her face in his palm.
"I'm too old and you're too young."
"I'll keep you young." she smiles. "I already do."
He leans forwards and presses his lips to hers.
Parting, he stands, and pulls her up beside him.
"I'm not going to marry you, you know." she says looking up at him, totally serious for a moment.
He nods, his face neutral not betraying the hurt he feels at hearing her say this. It's not as if he's about to ask her, he's only just agreed to be in a relationship with her, but still the blunt statement causes a sharp pain in his chest. "Because, I wouldn't divorce you." she qualifies.
He nods again, but this time he smiles and the pain disappears.
With a look of bliss and contentment on her face that he can't see, she pulls him through the archway into the light.
A/N: This is a bit of a different style for me, so please R&R and let me know what you think.
Take Care
xx