As was usually the case, Kate was annoyed with Gibbs.
They were working on a case. Tony and McGee were picking up the pieces, and bickering the whole time. Gibbs had sent her down some information rabbit hole. The man himself was on his second coffee, and his mood was not improving. They were waiting on the call from Ducky, who seemed to be taking a long time to finish his autopsy. It was like any other day.
Except it wasn't.
It was the second of April. Yesterday had been April Fool's Day.
And Gibbs, having kept his mouth shut on the subject of love ever since he'd hired her, despite flirting with her and generally treating her differently from the rest of his team, had decided to be infuriating.
Yesterday, he'd looked her right in the eyes with those blue eyes that made her go weak at the knees, and said it.
"I love you. Always have. From the moment I saw ya."
Infuriating bastard, he'd gotten her hopes up, and she really thought he loved her, and she loved him, and then, it had all come crashing down. Whatever spark of hope that had existed had died an immediate, painful death, and the mildly inappropriate crush she had on her boss left her with an ache in her throat whenever she looked over at him.
"But Gibbs…is this a joke? It's April Fool's."
And she'd walked off before he could answer, avoiding him like the plague for the rest of the day. And now, April Fool's was over, but she was still pissed off. Talk about a cruel prank. She could not let herself believe that Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the man with an attention to detail, had forgotten what day it was. She could, however, maybe believe that he could really be in love with her. Of course, routinely when she declared love to someone, she did not plan it, and definitely did not check the calendar. But really, three ex-wives later, he should have known better. April Fools of all days!
She should've known better too, but she was so beyond the point of no return with her feelings for him, there seemed little point in getting mad at herself, and she was about to turn and snap when she heard the sound of his voice.
"DiNozzo!"
"Yeah boss?"
"You and McGee are gonna go talk to our grieving widow again, ya got that? Somethin's not adding up."
"On it boss," Tony answered, then turned, and grabbed Tim by his tie, pulling him out of the bullpen. "Let's go McProbie."
"Kate," Gibbs said, and she would have braced herself for a fight, but when it came to him, she'd lost that battle a long time ago. She relaxed slightly when she saw the look he was giving her. He looked concerned, but smiled, that stupid half-smile that changed her mind every time she felt like shooting him.
"Yes, Agent Gibbs?"
"I meant it, by the way."
She stared at him for a second, before comprehension dawned. Fighting to keep the smile from spreading across her face, she turned back to her computer, biting her lip. She said, as lightly as she could manage, "Terrible timing as usual, Gibbs."
He chuckled, and didn't say anymore. But when she looked over at him a few minutes later, he was watching her, a smile still on his lips.
XNCISX
Gibbs' phone rang, and he snatched it up, as though it was the most important call he'd ever received. Kate was watching him out of the corner of her eye, as she continued digging through records.
"Yeah, Duck. We'll be right down." He slammed the phone down, and she smiled as he stood, "You're with me, Agent Todd."
She stood up and followed him into the elevator. She had an idea, a half-formed, probably terrible idea, and an idea that might get her fired if she followed through on it. She prided herself on being in control, and not letting her crush on her boss get in the way of her work, because she knew she was a good agent, and this job was probably the best she'd ever have, but damn it, she had to do something.
Which is why she did what she did.
She grabbed Gibbs by the lapels of his jacket and she shoved- she who barely topped five foot five pushing a former Marine maybe wasn't the best plan- him against the wall, barely seeing the surprise on his face as she pulled him into a kiss.
Despite his initial surprise, he didn't just freeze up. He kissed her back, his mouth opening to hers and somehow she had known he would be good at this, but she hadn't quite seen this as the outcome. She was still kissing him desperately, still feeling anger over how he'd teased at her feelings yesterday, she was determined that if this was how her professional relationship with Leroy Jethro Gibbs ended, it would go out with a bang.
Or a ding!
She pulled away from him as the elevator doors opened, smiling sweetly before walking out. She knew he was watching her, and when she turned back, she saw she'd practically kissed him senseless. She was definitely satisfied with her work, and if she lost whatever tentative friendship she had with the man- that kiss had been worth it.
She walked into autopsy, and Ducky, who hadn't turned around, said "Oh good, Jethro, you're here," and turned around, just as Gibbs ran into autopsy, grabbed Kate's wrist, and pulled her around, clearly not caring that this little drama was playing out in front of his oldest friend. He pulled her back into his embrace, their lips meeting with the fervor of reincarnated lovers finding each other after years apart, his warm hands pressed to her back, and she melted into him. She could think of nothing else but the man in front of her who smelled like sawdust and tasted like coffee, whose hands were all over her, and running through her hair, and pressing into her back, Gibbs completely overwhelming her, and all she heard over the pounding of her own heart, was Ducky's dry voice.
"Finally."
Gibbs' kiss became more urgent, as though afraid he'd never see her again, pulling her in closer to him, and she couldn't really complain because what a kiss. And clearly what he'd said yesterday, he really had meant it.
Her heart was definitely doing cartwheels, and what broke them apart was both a need for air, and the sound of Ducky clearing his throat. They pulled apart, and the look Gibbs gave her was of someone that was absolutely smitten, and it was a look she could definitely get used to.
With Kate still in his arms, Gibbs turned with that big half-grin on his face, and smiled, "What do we got, Duck?"
"Well Jethro, a raging case of hormones apparently- oh. You mean the autopsy."
"Yeah, Duck, the autopsy. We can discuss my personal life later."
"Oh good," Ducky smiled, turning to the autopsy table, "I was starting to worry you would feel the need to continue what you'd started on one of my autopsy tables."
"Oh God," Kate said, pulling away to look at the body, "Ignore him, Ducky."
"I'm trying, my dear. Jethro?"
Gibbs had managed to regain some semblance of brain control obviously, "Yeah Duck?"
"You and Caitlin should really come round for dinner, Jethro. I would be most appreciative if you would dine with me."
Gibbs smirked. "Me and Caitlin are gonna be a bit busy tonight, Duck."
Kate punched him in the shoulder, and turned to Ducky with a grin. "How does tomorrow sound?"
Ducky nodded, about to continue, but Gibbs smirked at Kate, "Might be busy then too."
Her eyes went wide, "Gibbs!"
"Yes Caitlin?" he asked innocently.
"You are insufferable."
"Been called worse."
"Really Jethro, you should listen to Caitlin. Seems like she might be the one in charge around here, and the one giving orders, isn't that right my dear?"
Kate grinned, "Yeah Ducky, that sounds good to me."
"Not that I mind." Gibbs was really grinning now, and it took several decades off his face. He shook his head and looked down at the body, "So what do we got?"
"Blunt force trauma to the head, poor fellow. You know I remember when I was in medical school…"
Kate leaned in and kissed Ducky on the cheek, before following Gibbs out.
"Thanks Duck!" Gibbs called, as he wrapped his arm around Kate's waist.
Ducky sighed, rolling his eyes as he chuckled at the scene he'd just witnessed. He stared down at the body, "You must've had ladies in your life, hmmm? Well my dear man, I tell you, we certainly waited long enough for this!"
He stared after them again, certain that they must be headed off to find a private broom closet, or- worst case scenario- the elevator would be out of commission for a while.
"It must be spring," he said dryly, turning back to his work.