Disclaimer: Still don't own it, wish I did. Then Judgment Day would have been very different and there would be more Jibbs in every episode.
A/N: OK, this has got to be the most random way of coming up with a fanfic - I was in the middle of my free period, listening to my iPod and this song came up. The bug took me and, yes I know it's another song fic and a bit of pointless fluff and, yes, I need to get out of the habit. But it's something I needed to get outta my system. I took out the humming from the lyrics of the song, didn't think it needed to be there, but I do hope you listen to the song as you read. It helps add to the atmosphere. Hope you don't mind it's not that long, hope you enjoy it and please please please review! I need all the help I can get at the moment!
Summary: A moment in Europe a long time ago. They were happy once. JxJ fluff.
So This Is Love
From Disney's Cinderella
So this is love,
So this is love,
So this is what makes life divine,
Jenny Shepard was walking along a promenade by the sea in Marseille one balmy evening in the summer of 1998. It was a beautiful evening, the clouds barely scraping enough substance together to be called clouds as they skated across the purpling sky. But what made it particularly wonderful, in Jen's opinion, was the arm slung so gently yet possessively around her shoulders. This arm belonged to one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Her partner of two years and her lover for just less than that. He was looking ahead of them, a slight contented smile on his mouth that Jen was proud to say she had put there.
They had finished the operation they had been working on a day beforehand and now, they were at their leisure for the rest of the week. They had two days before returning to DC, and they had every mind to make the most of the time they had. They had only just emerged from their rented apartment after several hours wrapped up in each other, and she could still feel the residual flush in her own cheeks from their… activities. She knew that her smile was considerably larger than that of her partner's, and she knew also what it meant. There was a contented feeling deep in her heart, one she had been persistently ignoring for a while. But she had to face it eventually.
It was a simple fact for most people, one that came to be expected when people knew each other as well as her and Jethro knew each other. One that most people would have welcomed and, for the moment, Jenny wanted to be one of those people. She was in love. Jenny Shepard was deeply in love with Jethro Gibbs. And she never wanted to forget how it felt to be welcomed in return. They had avoided the word, the sentiment altogether, and she had never asked him for any kind of promise. She recognised, unlike the other women in his life, that Jethro would never accept someone who asked that of him, and there were far too many skeletons in their combined closet for a normal relationship to exist. Nevertheless, she knew she loved him.
I'm all aglow,
And now I know,
The key to all heaven is mine,
Jenny Shepard had places to go in her future and a ladder she needed to climb to achieve the goals she had set herself many years ago. Falling in love had never been one of those goals, and she'd never expected it to be a feature of her life. In fact, she'd avoided any attachment that had the potential to become serious. But he had demanded so much trust from her, their operations had required it, and she'd been unable to avoid with her usual success. And now she'd fallen so hard for the man holding her close. The question was what she was going to do about it. She smiled even more when she realised that just then, she didn't have to do anything. They had two days to themselves and she wasn't going to waste it thinking.
She turned her head towards her lover and pressed a kiss to his cheek even though her smile was growing, loving the feel of his slightly rough skin under her lips. He closed his eyes a little as her lips brushed his jaw and she wondered if he was as sensitive to her touch as she always seemed to be to his. Drawing back, she gave him a dazzling smile and then turned away, afraid for a second that he might guess what she had been thinking about. He was much too good at that. She settled for directing her gaze along the path they'd taken and wondering which restaurant they should eat dinner in. He obviously decided to let her little gesture go without questioning it, because he didn't say anything, merely tucked her a little more firmly into his side.
She felt as if she was glowing, she was so happy. She wanted to sing, or shout or something, let the world know how amazingly beautiful what she was seeing seemed now she was with him. It was cliché and sappy, yes, but it was true. She sighed a little, and her eyes alighted on a quaint little evening café just ahead of them with red and white chequered tablecloths, and breadbaskets set out everywhere. It wasn't pretentious but it was sweet, and Jen pointed it out with a nod of her head. Jethro eyed it for a moment then nodded, and aimed them in the right direction. She took this as a sign of approval and was grateful she knew him that well. Most did not get that most incredible glimpse.
My heart has wings,
And I can fly,
I'll touch ev'ry star in the sky,
They settled at a table near the door, out of habit of always needing to leave hurriedly, and ordered a bottle of wine (Jethro conceded that perhaps the bourbon was better left for later) as well as a starter to share and two main courses. Jen wasn't really paying attention to what food they ordered, she didn't have much taste for food, but she did notice the way his eyes were shining as he looked across at her and his hand sneaking over to take hers once the waiter was gone. She wanted to say something, to complete the moment and let him know how wonderful she felt but for once, words failed her. How could she say what she wanted without revealing everything she felt? He didn't seem to have that problem however.
"Jen, I'm glad we're here together." He said quietly, glancing up into her eyes and she felt such a swell of pride and love when she heard those words. She didn't think there had been a woman in his life that she'd known about that he'd ever looked like that at, or said anything like that to. And she needed to hear that, to know he felt at least a part of what she did. She wouldn't be able to hold onto him or her feelings forever, but tonight was just about them. She would always have this moment. God, she loved him. She nodded in reply, barely able to open her mouth enough to whisper with a heart-felt honesty,
"Ditto." He smiled at her little reply and brought her hand up to his lips, pressing a sweet kiss to her knuckles in a gentlemanly gesture that couldn't help but make her beam at him. She tilted her head down a little as her cheeks flushed but kept her eyes on his dark, but open blue pools. The way he was looking at her just then, the passion she could see simmering just below the surface took her breath away and she felt a surge of feeling, love predominately but gratefulness as well. She acknowledged in some part of her mind that one reason she had run from love all her life was she had always been so afraid of being hurt by someone who did not and would not love her back. But Jethro did love her, he made that clear without having to say anything. It was part of the connection they shared.
So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of,
So this is love.