A/N: Here's my second NCIS fic! Again, this is for round #1 of Memories that Remain at the LJ comm madame_director. I hope that you all enjoy the read and find that it fills a gap that we never really get to see play out in canon. As always, R&R is muchly appreciated. Happy reading!
The August heat envelops every inch of your body, drowning you in an unbearable sensation that makes your head pound in rhythm with the beat of your heart. It is inescapable in the attic that you came to be in with no air conditioning or sufficient ventilation. Your skin is damp from perspiration. Even in your white tank top and khaki shorts, you still wish that you were wearing a little less to keep you a little cooler.
You'd been in Marseilles for a day and a half yet you already hope that your mission would soon end. Everything about this stakeout is dreadful. You didn't like stakeouts to begin with, but having to sit in an oven, peeping through a slat in the wall with a camera all day makes it a hundred times worse. The only thing that makes it slightly tolerable was the company of Jethro. His sarcastic comments dispersed throughout the day makes it seem a little shorter, and that damn smirk of his—you couldn't even begin to admit or describe how it makes the day better for you.
Lifting your eyes from the viewfinder, you pat away the sweat that formed along your jaw with the back of your hand and steal a glance at him. He's sitting on the bed clad in an outfit very similar to your own with some of the developed photographs spread over the mattress. It isn't often that you got to see him in shorts or a sleeveless shirt and you got to admire his toned arms—no doubt from all of that work that he did with his boat.
Jethro turns his head to look at you, obviously having felt your gaze upon him. "What is it, Jen?" he asks, getting up off of the bed and walking over to you, "You got something?"
For a split second, you are grateful for the heat; it'd made you looked so flushed that he wouldn't be able to notice that you were slightly blushing. You shook your head and answered, "No."
"Then what is it?" he inquires once more with an aggravated, bossy tone. Although the two of you had officially become partners and were on a first name basis, Jethro never hesitated to pull the seniority card to make you feel like you were still a probie.
"It's nothing…The heat; it's getting to me," you explain.
If you didn't know any better, you'd say that the room got hotter with his eyes burning into you as he stood his ground. You swallow just as a smirk forms on his lips and he takes the camera from you.
With a wave of his hand, he urges you away from your position by the wall and says, "Take a break, Jen. I'll take it for a while."
Glad for the reprieve, you turn and walk toward the bed, shaking your head slightly to snap yourself out of it. The thought of pressing your lips against his and wiping that smirk off his face had crossed your mind. You tell yourself you need to stop thinking such things. He was your boss. He is your partner. The thoughts coursing through your mind are inappropriate and wrong. You need to clear your head and force away all of those ridiculous urges and feelings. With the heat and small space, it is a difficult task especially when he is looking the way he is, drenched in sweat and blue eyes even more piercing.
I know we don't belong
Everyone says it's wrong
We come from different ways
So I tried to erase everything that I felt
The night finally arrived what felt like years later, bringing a cooler serenity around you. The two of you are finally off duty, and Jethro had gone out and brought back some sandwiches accompanied by a bottle of bourbon for dinner. The two of you were just eating and conversing about what would be the first thing you'd do when you got back to the States.
"I would…" you begin before pausing to contemplate the best answer, "Curl up on a couch in the den and indulge myself with a good novel." You smile mischievously and add, "I know what you would do."
"Really?" he wonders with a raised brow, "I don't think you do."
"Of course, I know you all too well, Jethro. The first thing you would do once you got home is go down into your basement and work on that boat of yours."
Jethro stares at you for a moment before letting out a small chuckle and grins, shaking his head and looking away from you. You know that he'd conceded to you being right, and you smile confidently.
"I told you that I know you," you state as you take a drink of the bourbon and wrap up the leftover sandwich to save it for later.
He shakes his head, "You don't really know me."
"Maybe you should let me get to know you," you counter without even thinking about it.
The conversation had turned serious within seconds, leaving the two of you staring at one another in a standstill. Your eyes stay with his for several moments before traveling down his face to fall upon his lips. Before you knew it, the distance between the two of you disappears, and your breath is mingling with his. His gaze meets yours once again, affirming that this was what the both of you want in that moment. He presses his lips to yours and you melt into the kiss, your eyes fluttering close as you concentrate on this moment.
You know that the two of you are slightly inebriated, but neither of you are drunk nor even tipsy enough to not know exactly what you are doing and whether it was right or wrong. Nothing matters in this moment; it doesn't matter that he is your partner, doesn't matter that the two of you are here on an assignment. All that you can focus on is the feeling of his lips and the taste of bourbon dancing upon your tongues.
But then you kissed me and suddenly I don't care anymore
Something in me tells me you're the one I'm looking for
But then you kissed me and suddenly I don't care anymore
Something in me tells me you're the one I'm looking for
His hands go up to settle in your hair, fingers tangling in your long red locks as you feel him pull you closer and deepen the kiss. You part your lips slightly in an invitation that he immediately takes, pushing his tongue past your lips. It roves within your mouth, slowly exploring every curve and dueling gently with your own.
You inhale a sharp intake of breath when one of his hands slide down your neck and caress your breast through the fabric of your thin tank top and bra. Your arms move up to wrap around him, hands caressing his upper back and the top of his spine. Breaking your kiss for a moment, you try and catch your breath, resting your forehead against his.
It's surreal to think about the fact that the two of you are pressed up against each other with your lips swollen slightly from the intensity of your kiss. All thoughts are lost, though, when Jethro captures your lips again and pushes you back onto the bed. It just feels right even in the confusion of the new situation and what to do next. You somehow know that you won't ever find anything else like this because it's just too incredible to be invoked by another person.
Your motions are slow and he takes his time in exploring your body. Clothing is discarded one by one to end up scattered around the bed to reveal your bodies to one another. His hands run down your body, caressing every inch of your skin. Lips touch, kisses are pressed against skin, and fingers lace together. Your bodies fit together the way they were made to, the way they are supposed to, and you enter a state of euphoric bliss together some time after.
Palm to palm
Let lips do what hands do
They pray
Is it a sin
To do what we want to?
Don't care where we've been
Give me my sin again
You roll off of Jethro and settle against his side, draping your arm over his front and lay your head on his chest. Staring at the wall, you let the thoughts slowly come back to you and you realize just how wrong this is. This should have never happened because you were once his subordinate and now you are his partner. It's wrong on so many levels and shouldn't ever happen again.
He strokes your hair and brings his fingers to your chin, lifting your head up to look at him. With the look in his eyes, you know that he's figured you out. Jethro's lips meet yours again, and you just don't care anymore because being with someone never felt more right.
But then you kissed me and suddenly I don't care anymore
Something in me tells me you're the one I'm looking for