Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: New Orleans as I'm sure you all know.

A/N: So I wrote this after last week's episode (1x15), but wasn't going to post it. As usual, BonesBird said I should and after putting it off for almost a week I've finally decided to just go ahead and post it. It's just a oneshot and is definitely Pride/Brody. Thanks for reading!

Meredith Brody had decided it'd been a good choice to ease her way into her first New Orleans Mardi Gras. Apparently she hadn't eased in carefully enough though. The black eye she would soon have was evidence enough of that. At the moment it was a slowly darkening discoloration encircling her right eye, the swelling making it puffy and painful.

'So much for easing your way in,' LaSalle had teased as they'd all made their off the busy streets after the celebration.

They'd all headed their separate ways for the night, or rather early morning, even though the party still seemed to be in full swing all through the city. Pride had insisted she go with him back to the office though so he could take a look at her eye in better light. Loretta had volunteered to go as well, but she'd insisted she was fine. Loretta had made her promise to put some ice on it, but didn't push, Pride on the other hand had still insisted. She was a little too buzzed to put up much of an argument, so instead of enjoying a nice warm shower at her place she was sitting at the kitchen table at the office while Pride searched the freezer for the ice pack.

"Still can't believe you got a black eye during your first Mardi Gras," Pride said. There was a not-so-subtle hint of amusement in his voice, but he still managed to do a better job at hiding it than LaSalle had. And at least he wasn't giving her injury statistics, in Wookiee, like Sebastian had.

"What can I say, when I go, I go all out," she replied, rolling her eyes as he came over with the ice pack in hand.

He chuckled while wrapping the pack in a towel. "You certainly do." He knelt down in front of her chair with a warm smile and carefully placed the ice pack on her injured eye while giving it a closer look. "How'd you manage to do this again?"

She brought a hand up to hold the ice pack in place so he could let go, but he didn't. Instead he kept his hand partially under hers and was apparently not interested in moving. "It was an accident," she answered. "Before you arrived there was this couple standing next to us and the father had this little girl on his shoulders so she could see the parade." She paused for a moment when she noticed a flash of something cross Pride's face. It was a sad, almost bittersweet look, but was gone after a few seconds. "The girl dropped a strand of beads, so I bent down to pick them up, and got a knee to my eye for the trouble," she added with a half-smile.

Pride chuckled, not at all surprised by her misfortune. "Yeah, those knees can do a lot of damage. It gets hectic out there during Mardi Gras."

"I noticed," she said with a scoff.

Pride smirked as she lifted the ice pack off her eye for a moment, just long enough to take a look at the swelling, before gently putting it back in place. "It doesn't look too bad," he said. "But it'll be sore for a few days."

"I noticed that too," she replied with a chuckle that she was almost certain was brought on mostly by the alcohol induced buzz she still had. She took the ice pack from him and then held it to her eye on her own. "Thanks, by the way. I'll be fine though."

"Aren't you always." He didn't move from his knelt position, choosing to let his hand fall and rest on her knee instead. "I'd be more surprised if you weren't fine. I probably wouldn't know what to do."

She laughed again, but soon realized he didn't look all that amused. In fact he seemed a thousand miles away and it didn't seem to be a nice place to be for him. "Hey." She dropped her hand holding the ice pack to her lap and placed her other on top of the hand he still had resting on her knee. "You okay?"

His eyes cleared of the haze and he looked away for a moment. She squeezed his hand, getting him to meet her eyes again, and he turned his hand over to hold hers in return. "I'm good. Just been a long day."

"Sure?"

She caught him glancing at her black eye before meeting her eyes again. He seemed to hesitate, as if debating whether to say what he was thinking.

"Come on," she encouraged. "What is it?"

"I really wouldn't." His voice was so low she almost missed it, but she still caught the way it cracked a little. He paused, looking down at their joined hands, and she remained silent to give him the time to collect his thoughts. He rubbed slow circles in her hand with his thumb and she tried to ignore the way her stomach flipped.

It was ridiculous. He was just holding her hand, she didn't date for several very good reasons, and to top it all off he was her boss. She brushed the odd feelings aside and gave his hand another squeeze in encouragement.

"I really wouldn't know what to do," he confessed softly, his gaze still locked in their entwined hands as if fascinated by them. "If you weren't fine."

"Pride..." She frowned in confusion, shaking her head lightly to clear her thoughts. She didn't think either of them had drank that much. Not enough to warrant this level of confusion.

"I visited my father today," he said, a little louder and with the more confident side of him returning. "The great Cassius Pride," he added ruefully with a rather bitter laugh. "It was for Laurel. She wanted to see him and I figured if she was going to see him I'd rather be there than for her to go behind my back. I realized while I was there though...I realized I really can be as protective as Laurel says I am. But there's a reason for that. I need to keep people I care about safe."

She nodded as she watched him and even though she couldn't see much of his face, she could still imagine the sadness in his eyes. "I can understand that," she said softly.

"When I first saw you this evening, and the light from that float passed over enough for me to get a look at your face, I felt that protectiveness again. It wasn't the average though...it was the kind I feel whenever Laurel or Linda is involved."

She smiled at that. It wasn't very often someone insinuated that she was so much a part of their family. She'd felt a bit of it since she'd come to New Orleans. The team here really was like a family, but his confession had made her heart warm in a way it hadn't in a long time. She opened her mouth to reply, but he continued before she could say anything.

"It's the kind I feel for someone I care a lot for...someone I love deeply," he added.

She stiffened out of reflex, but when he finally looked up and met her eyes again she found she couldn't pull her hand away or put the distance between them that she knew she probably should. "Pride," she whispered. It had been an even longer time since anyone had used the word 'love' in connection with her and truly meant it. And she was certain he meant it. She didn't know what to say to that.

"Do you know the moment when I realized I'd moved on from Linda?"

She shook her head, still not quite able to formulate a verbal reply.

"When I saw you with that black eye this evening. The things I felt..." He trailed off for a moment to gather his thoughts again. "The fear of not knowing if you were alright, of the prospect that you may have been hurt and we...I...could have lost you. And then all these others emotions all coming at once. Let's just say it wasn't something I generally feel for colleagues, no matter how much I love them like family."

She had no idea what she could possibly say to that. She was trained to have a response for everything during an interrogation, to always be prepared, and never let her surprise show unless it would benefit the outcome of the interrogation somehow. No words seemed to want to come now though. "I don't know what to say to that," she finally admitted.

"You don't have to say anything," he assured her with a slightly sad half-smile. He took the icepack from her and placed it over her eye again even though it was beginning to melt. She reached up to hold it in place instinctively and he let go before standing up. "I really shouldn't have said anything. I guess seeing my father so much lately has just gone to my head. Don't worry about it, Merri."

He started to turn and she, without much thought, stood up and tossed the icepack onto the table. "Don't worry about it? Really, Pride?"

He faced her again, straightening a little and looking even more like his usual self. "We're all family here," he said. "Just consider this another reason not to run."

She knew he was trying to make it a joke, but it wasn't working. If that was how he wanted to play it though, who was she to change his mind. He was, after all, her boss. No good could come from this conversation going any further. "Right," she said with a stiff nod. "Fine. I'll see you in the morning than, King. Have a good night."

She picked up the ice pack and tossed it to him before grabbing her bag and heading towards the main office. She made a point not to stop or look back, but also tried not to look like she was in too much of a hurry to get out.

She'd made it outside the office and more than half-way down the sidewalk before she felt a hand on her elbow from behind. She snatched her arm away and spun around, ready to strike whoever might have been attacking, but stopped before actually punching anyone when she realized it was Pride. "What's wrong?" she asked, shifting the backpack strap on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out, sounding a little out of breath. "I figured you wouldn't want to hear anymore. I forgot how fast you could walk when you're mad though."

She felt the corner of her lips tilt upwards and when he noticed he smiled in return. "I'm not mad."

"I hope not," he said. "I hope, with every survival instinct I have, that what I do next won't make you even madder."

"What are you about to..."

She didn't get to finish the sentence. She felt his lips touch hers in a gentle, almost hesitant, touch. Seconds later she felt his hand cupping her cheek while his arm slid around her waist. She was so completely lost in the kiss that she wasn't even entirely sure when her arms wrapped around his neck or her hand pressed against the back of his head to keep him close.

Somewhere in the distance there was cheering and whistles, whether it was for them or for some party goer stripping across the street she didn't know. In that moment all she really cared about was the feel of him pressed so close. It felt right and good and as if it were the most natural thing that could have happened.

It wasn't until a stumbling man with a neon feathered headband bumped into them that they finally came up for air. She stared at Pride and their eyes locked as matching smiles spread over both of their faces. "That was a much better ending to today," she commented.

"My thoughts exactly." He leaned down to press a light kiss to her lips again before pulling away. "How about I drive you home?"

"Being over-protective again?"

"Always," he answered, flashing her his most charming smile. He wrapped an arm around her waist as they began walking back towards his car.

"LaSalle will have a few comments about it in the morning," she pointed out with a smirk.

"I'm just following doctor's orders," he said. "Someone's gotta make sure you take care of that eye."

"Ah, of course. I'm sure Loretta will approve."

"Oh," he began with a chuckle. "I have a feeling she will."