Title: Angeles
Author: rekkidbraka
Rating: T
Pairings: EJ Barrett/Mike Renko
Category: Romance
Disclaimer: No infringement intended.
Spoilers: None
Summary: E.J. and Mike suffer through a long, hot night.
11:45 p.m.
They'd called about the air conditioning three or four times that day to no avail. The landlord had only said he was "working on it." But the A/C remained out of commission. And E.J. and Mike were suffering the consequences.
"God, I have NEVER been this hot," E.J. moaned. "Not even in Spain."
"I don't buy that, Barrett," Mike said drowsily. "I bet you've always been hot."
E.J. barely had the energy to reach across the bed and jokingly smack Mike on his chest. But she made the effort. Mike grunted, smiling.
"Shut up, Renko, you know what I mean," she sighed.
"Maybe you are hotter now," Mike agreed, "because you're with me."
"Have I gotta smack you again?" E.J. threatened.
"Mmmmhhh..." Mike groaned. Sweat dripped from every pore of his body, it seemed. This was miserable.
"Yeah," E.J. sighed, knowing she couldn't manage it. "Not happening." She said a silent prayer for the air conditioning to come on.
It didn't.
1:30 a.m.
E.J. and Mike had now stripped down to the most bare essentials to combat the heat. He wore only his boxer briefs; she, her panties and bra.
Mike, barely awake yet unable to sleep due to the stifling heat, glanced over at E.J.
"If this was a normal night, we'd be doing it right now," he muttered.
E.J. didn't bother to open her eyes. She didn't have the energy.
"If this was a normal night," she murmured back, "we'd have air conditioning."
2:17 a.m.
"What the hell are you doing, Renko?" E.J. wanted to know. She yawned, stumbling into the kitchen. Maybe a glass of water would help. Sort of. A little. She hoped.
The light from inside the refrigerator illuminated Mike, who sat on the floor cross-legged. He was resting his head awkwardly against one of the lower trays.
"Cooling off, Barrett," Mike sighed. He'd almost fallen asleep. E.J. had awakened him.
Now she stood over him, staring down at Mike with his head in the refrigerator. This was pitiful. It was pathetic. It was quite possibly the silliest thing she'd ever seen him do and that was saying something.
"Move over," E.J. told him, getting down onto the floor.
3:03 a.m.
"We couldn't sleep in the fridge all night," E.J. reasoned.
"We could, too," Mike whined. He was starting to sweat again.
"The beer was getting hot," E.J. reminded him.
"We drank it all," Mike reminded her.
"What about the eggs?" E.J. said.
"Screw the eggs," Mike snarled.
"I wouldn't be able to make you an omelet for breakfast," E.J. replied.
"You've never done that," Mike said.
"We couldn't sleep in the fridge all night," E.J. reasoned.
"I'm taking off my shorts," Mike told her.
"Stay on your side of the bed," E.J. said, yawning.
"I will. It's closer to the fridge," Mike answered, yanking off his underwear and giving it a fierce toss across the room. Then he rolled onto his stomach and was soon sound asleep.
4:28 a.m.
"Baby?" Mike said hoarsely. He'd dozed off, only to now awaken with a start. He lay on his stomach, sweating into the mattress. He hadn't moved an inch and he felt groggy and heavy from the heat. No A/C yet. Damn.
"Mmmm?" E.J. groaned, still mostly asleep.
"Where'd your clothes go?"
Mike studied E.J. in the moonlight. She was now completely naked.
"Mmmm..." E.J. groaned again. Then she fell back into a deep slumber.
Mike buried his face in his pillow, frowning. Something was causing his stomach to itch. He rolled over onto his side for a quick scratch and plucked E.J.'s bra and panties from where he'd been sprawled on the mattress.
How the hell did she do that? he wondered. Shrugging, he chalked it up to her usual ingenuity, tossed her lingerie off the bed and went back to sleep.
5:36 a.m.
The shivering woke her up. She was freezing.
"Mike?"
E.J. rolled over to where Mike lay dead to the world. His skin, like hers, was covered in goosebumps. But he was too out of it to notice.
The air conditioning was back on. With a vengeance.
E.J. yanked up the sheets and quilts from the floor, where she and Mike had unceremoniously tossed them the night before, and hurriedly replaced them on the bed. She burrowed into Mike's body for warmth. It wasn't enough. She got back up and put on an old NCIS sweatshirt and some socks. That helped. Then she snuggled against Mike again. Better. Much better.
All the activity stirred Mike, who sat up, finding himself buried under sheets, quilts and the newly-bundled up E.J.
"What the hell? It's freezing in here," he groused.
"The A/C's back," E.J. said, curling up into an even tighter little ball. She was starting to get comfortably warm now.
"Well, now it's too cold. I'm turning it off," Mike muttered.
"You do and you'll sleep in the fridge from now on," E.J. told him.
"It's cold in this bed, too," Mike said pointedly.
"Then put on some damn pants," E.J. snapped, yawning. Within minutes she was asleep.
