Notes: Mild warning, the end of the chapter borders on rating M, if it's not your thing feel free to skip that part, you won't miss anything crucial to the story.
The Privilege Of Being Yours
Once arriving home Kate spent the majority of the afternoon unpacking, shocked at the vast amount of clothes she'd packed, but never worn. Whilst Gibbs instantly disappeared to the basement, and started quick work on his goddamn boat again. Kate knew something was wrong, but she couldn't quite pin down what it was. The drive back to his had been so quiet that she'd actually suggested he drop her off at her place instead. He simply told her no, the reason being that they only had one car and need to get to work if a case comes in, and was mute again.
She replayed the events of the previous days, wondering if she'd said something, or worse, if her mother had said something to scare him off. That's when realisation struck her. She'd told him she loved him and he'd said it back. And now he's ignoring her. The blood in Kate's veins sizzled and she sighed, throwing the now empty bag back into the closet, and then made her way to Gibbs' basement.
When light poured into the dull room he didn't look up, and his sanding was not as gentle as she'd previously watched every night for the past couple of months.
"Gibbs?" She spoke quietly, almost sheepishly, and leaned her elbows on the railing at the top of the stairs.
"Yeah?" Still, he didn't look up at her.
"Gibbs." She spoke firmer, straightening up.
"What, Kate?" He looked at her now, but the fire in her glare made him retract, and turn his attention back to the wooden beam he was working on.
She made her way down the squeaky stairs, and toward him, touching his elbow, a small gesture that urged him to look at her, and yet he flinched his arm away from her touch.
She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, placing a gentle kiss on his shoulder blade. "It's okay if you didn't mean it."
He frowned, and turned his head to look at her.
"I'm not letting you pull away. If you didn't mean what you said it's okay. You can tell me. If you don't love me, Gibbs, you can tell me. I get it."
"I don't deserve you, Katie." Any roughness in his voice was gone now, and his movements had stopped.
She pulled away from him, and walked around to look at him, getting between him and the frame of the boat.
"You listen to me Leroy Jethro - double B for bastard - Gibbs: You have made me so happy these past months. Did you mean what you said? Do you regret it?"
"No."
"No what Gibbs? You can't just say no, that doesn't make sense." Her irritation was rising again and she tucked some hair behind her ear to distract herself, and occupy her hand from giving him a well-deserved whack to the back of the head.
"No, I don't regret it." He stated.
"Then why the silent treatment? Because the whole drive home you were really evasive. I just, don't understand." She frowned.
"I've been thinking."
"About?"
"Do you want to move in with me?"
Her head snapped up, and she blinked, stunned. It was the last thing she was expecting him to say when she'd explored every direction the conversation could possibly go before she'd even started it.
"Are you serious?"
"Very," He nodded. "I wanted to ask before I left for that damn case. I was going to ask you today but since you said to Rachel you're not even thinking about it… Kinda threw all my plans off."
"Gibbs, you idiot."
He raised his eyebrows at her.
"Of course I've been thinking about it! I said that to Rachel because I thought that was the last thing on your mind." She gulped, she was a lit candle beneath him, filled with light and yet fire still burned and she managed to keep her guard up for a moment longer.
"Are you sure, Gibbs? Because If you're not, I'd rather not." She didn't avert her eyes from his, instead, she straightened and moved her face a little closer toward his. "I don't want to mess this up, Jethro."
"Never been more sure."
"Then yes, I would love to live with you." She was grinning from ear to ear now, her teeth toying with her bottom lip.
"So, you're not mad at me anymore?" Gibbs chanced, his smile mirroring hers.
"No, no I'm not." She hugged his waist and kissed him. "You're still an idiot though." She murmured against his lips, enjoying the little pat he gave her butt once she'd said it.
He rummaged through the pocket of his jeans and held up a key in front of her face. "It's yours."
Kate was laughing hysterically now, "Gibbs, your door hasn't been locked in," she thought, "ever."
He shrugged, "I suppose you're right but it's the idea of it, take it."
She giggled, "Okay, thank you." She took it from him and slid it into her back pocket.
"So…" He closed in on her. "Wanna celebrate our new house?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.
She rolled her eyes but smiled. "You really have to ask?"
Gibbs swiped the few items on his worktable onto the floor and patted it. "Hop on Katie-girl. Let's celebrate." He winked.
She was about to, her palms pressing down to support her weight, but mid-air he caught her, his arms wrapping around her waist, and he lifted her up and onto it as she shrieked in surprise, and giggled hard. He edged her knees apart with his own and stood between them.
He looked into her eyes and smiled, to see she was smiling right back at him. He hooked two fingers under her chin and tilted her head, looking into her eyes, their noses brushing and lips hovering, "I love you, Kate. I'm sure of that." he lowered lips down to kiss her tenderly.
Just as Kate's arms were snaking up and around Gibbs' neck her phone buzzed against the table. She sighed and parted her lips from his to glance down at her phone. "It's Abby." She said, more breathlessly than she'd like to admit.
"It can wait." He grumbled, his lips now working along her jaw, and dotting gentle kisses across her skin.
"She most likely wants to see if we're back yet."
"Mhm." Based on his brief reply Kate was sure he wasn't even listening, but still, she brought her phone up to her ear, using one had on his chest to keep Gibbs at a distance as she answered.
"Hi Abs. Yeah, we've been back about an hour. Slow down, Abby. No, not much Traffic. Yeah, Gibbs is okay."
Ignoring Kate's glare, Gibbs returned his lips to their rightful place on her skin, and kissed down to her neck and collarbone, nipping at the soft skin he found there.
Kate gulped down a moan, suppressing her gasps. "Mhm. Yeah, we'll be at the bar soon. Bye, Abs." She cut off and placed her phone back on the table. "Gibbs!" She exclaimed, "You are so getting punished for that."
"That a promise?" He smirked, biting harder at the base of her neck.
All annoyance left Kate as fast as his name breathlessly fell from her lips. She wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him closer and rested her arms over his shoulders. When he looked up at her she made quick work to gain control, and kissed him forcefully.
Kate's phone rang again, but she ignored it this time. Then Gibbs' rang and he growled, tearing his lips from hers and answering it. "Gibbs." He barked, angrier than usual. "We got a case? No? Then it can wait." And the call was cut off, and he tossed his phone onto the side.
"DiNozzo." He grumbled, kissing her again.
She laughed, pushing her hips against his, her hands undoing just enough buttons on his shirt to lift it up and over his head. It fell to the floor silently, as Gibbs returned the favour, complete with unclasping her bra and kissing her shoulder.
"Boss, I- AH!"
Gibbs spun round. "DiNozzo!" He yelled, luckily his torso blocked Kate from view, but she crossed her arms over her chest anyway.
"Going. Leaving." Tony turned tail and cursed himself, going back to Gibbs' living room.
Gibbs pulled on his shirt and handed Kate hers to do the same. "Maybe I should start locking the damn door." He eyed her when she started laughing, her cheeks flushed a crimson colour. "It's not funny, Kate." Although serious, there was no anger in his voice, just a mild embarrassment.
Once dressed adequately enough, the pair made their way into the living room where Tony was waiting.
"Want to tell me what the hell you're doing here DiNozzo?"
"Ducky sent me to uh, pick you up. Figured you may not have a car, um, boss, you missed a button-" The icy glare Gibbs was giving him made Tony stop talking. "You know what, it doesn't matter, looks fine like that, a new style, I like it, might try it, actually."
"We will be there DiNozzo, the car is fine. Now shoo."
"Why didn't you answer your phone? Abby told me she called you, and I tried too."
"We were busy, Tony." She narrowed her eyes at him, her arms crossed over her chest.
"I'm sure you were." He smirked, but Gibbs cleared his throat and so Tony gave himself a whack to the back of the head. "I deserved that one, boss. Sorry, I'm gonna go."
"Uh-huh." Gibbs agreed, nodding.
They watched Tony close the door behind him and Kate hugged Gibbs from behind, resting her forehead against the middle of his back with a sigh.
"Now, where were we?" Gibbs turned around in her arms, towering over her. He had that seductive glimmer in his eyes that made her melt.
"We have to get ready, Ducky is waiting. And by the sound of things, so are everyone else."
He grumbled under his breath as she kissed his cheek and made her way up the stairs to get ready.
Kate returned to the living room twenty minutes later. She was sporting a black dress which hugged all the curves he adored, paired with patent, black heels with a double strap around the ankle, and the top of her foot. Her hair was the curliest he'd ever seen it, pushed elegantly to one side, her makeup simple; a smoky eye and glossy, crimson lips.
Gibbs wore a crisp, white shirt, complete with a black suit and tie. He knew she'd entered the room when he heard the click of her heels against the wooden floor. He turned around whilst adjusting his tie, and his mouth fell open.
"Do I look okay?" She asked, doing a little swayed twirl for him.
Gibbs gulped, "You are stunning." He grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist, one hand pressed to the small of her back.
"You don't look so bad yourself." She grinned, but as he went to kiss her she drew back, with a hand on his chest.
"Lipstick, Gibbs." She warned, with raised eyebrows.
"So?"
"So… Okay, maybe just a little one." She couldn't help but give in, the way his eyes were dazzling down at her made her knees weak.
He obliged and much to her surprise too; kissing her lips very softly. "It's still hard to believe that beauty like yours could ever love an old, grumpy bastard like me."
His comment caused her to giggle sheepishly, "shut up." She told him playfully, beaming up at him.
Although she was the one who told him not to kiss her. God, she wanted him to, and she wanted to kiss him. Instead, she lowered her lips down and pressed them gently to his neck, her lipstick marking his skin, but she made sure to wipe it with her thumb when she pulled back to look at him again.
He let out a breath he had once held when her lips were on his neck, and cupped the side of her face with one hand, the other still on her waist.
"I'm serious. What the hell did I do so right, to deserve somebody like you."
"You're just you, Gibbs."
"Set in my ways? A bastard? A functional mute?" He listed, his thumb absently stroking across her bronzed cheek.
She grinned, "Exactly. And not in spite of, but because of all of that, I love you; because you're you, Gibbs. And as long as you'll want me, I'll want you."
"Even if it's for a very long time?"
"Sounds good to me." She straighten his tie for him, pulling it a little higher. "Now, come on. Let's go before you give me that look again and I'll be needing to reapply all my makeup."
"That such a bad thing?"
"There will be plenty of time for that tonight." She laughed as he kissed along her jaw, and to her ear. He could smell the violet undertones of the perfume on her neck so he took a deeper breath, memorising the scent of her.
"That a promise?" His front teeth grazed the spot beneath her ear which coaxed out a soft gasp and caused her eyes to slam shut.
"Promise." She managed to breathe out.
He pulled away from her and grabbed the car keys from the side, strolling toward the door, he opened it and then spun around to see her still standing there, stunned.
"You coming?" He wore a smirk, evidently pleased with himself.
Her senses kicked in and when she walked passed him she gave him a soft whack to the back of the head.
"Bastard." She mumbled under her breath.
As he shut the door, she used her position in front of him to her advantaged, and swayed her hips, smirking when she head him groan. At the car he interjected quickly and opened the passenger door for her to get in. Okay... Maybe he wasn't a total bastard.
Once inside, Gibbs lead Kate up to the bar where the rest of the team already stood, with half-filled drinks in hand. His hand didn't leave her lower back as he gave their orders to the barmaid, in fact, he guided her a little closer toward him, and perched against the bar.
"Ah, so glad you could make it Jethro, Caitlin." Ducky greeted.
"Glad to be here, Duck." Gibbs' usual grumble was more so relaxed than anything else, he even offered the group a small smile.
Gibbs hated these annual meetings, everyone knew he wasn't the social gathering type, and yet somehow he was making himself comfortable, removing his suit jacket, and not constantly checking his watch for an excuse to leave.
"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" Abby did her infamous waddle-run up to him and hugged him. "You came!"
"'Course I did, Abs."
"Yeah, but-" When Abby stopped hugging him, she started grinning.
"What, Abs?"
"You- It's just… You have lipstick on your collar Gibbs." Her eyes shot between Kate and Gibbs, as Gibbs glared at Kate. "Good for you, Gibbs!"
"You're lucky you didn't get the full show." Tony teased.
"Tony!" Kate shrieked.
"DiNozzo, don't make me smack you." Gibbs warned.
"Sorry boss." He winced, suddenly finding the rim of his glass incredibly interesting as he traced his with his finger.
Soon, they were sitting at a table in a reserved booth, the same one they have each year. It was beside the door and so each time someone entered the bitter breeze blew through to them. Gibbs had wrapped his suit jacket around Kate's shoulders, and his arm snaked around her waist.
Gibbs cleared his throat, gaining the team's attention, and raising his glass. "To a year of hard work. To a year of new understandings." Kate, although she'd never tell, knew he was nervous and so she gripped his free hand in hers. He turned his head to smile at her. "To new beginnings. And… To not wasting anymore time. To team- To friends, who are understanding and supportive."
Tony smiled and raised his glass. "To friends."
Gibbs gave him an appreciative nod as the rest of the team chorused, and drank from their glasses.
Abby stood, and walked round to stand in front of Kate. "Kate, come on, dance with me!"
"No, Abby. I'm not even close to having enough alcohol in me to dance."
"Come on, I love this song Kate! Loosen up."
"Abby." She protested, frowning.
Gibbs gave her a nudge, "Go. Enjoy yourself." He whispered into her ear, giving her cheek a soft kiss.
She rolled her eyes but obliged, taking Abby's outstretched hand, she let herself be dragged to the dance floor.
5 drinks down and Ducky and McGee had already left. Ducky because, well, he's not exactly a party animal, and McGee because he had a date.
Gibbs watched as Kate danced with Abby. At first, before the alcohol had kicked in and glazed over Kate's eyes, it was clear she was a little self-conscious. But as the music quickened, Kate's body flowed with it and Gibbs found yet another talent of hers to add to the never ending list. Kate was a good dancer. Now, red, blue, and green lights spun around the dance floor, cascading over Kate, Abby, and a few other tipsy dancers enjoying themselves.
"Whoa, Kate's hot."
Gibbs slowly turned his head toward him and blinked. "DiNozzo."
"Nah, I'm just messing boss, I mean, she is hot, but she's your girl now. Even I have limits. Plus, well, it's Kate."
"What's wrong with Kate?" Gibbs found himself jumping straight to her defence.
Sensing this, Tony laughed. "Nothing, boss."
"There is a lot more to Kate than the work persona, DiNozzo."
"I know that. Kate's like a sister to me. If I don't annoy her, play practical jokes, what else have I got."
"Her real brothers do that too. I've seen how she is with them, she likes you really, Tony."
Tony pulled a face, "I forgot you met her brothers, and her father. What were they like?"
Gibbs chuckled, giving Kate a little nod as she caught his eyes for the slightest moment from across the room. "It wasn't bad DiNozzo, it wasn't bad."
"You gonna marry this one?" Tony winced as soon as he said it, expecting Gibbs' hand to collide with the back of his head but instead, it was a gentle pat on the shoulder.
"All in due time." Gibbs walked passed him and to Kate. Once reaching her, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in. He swayed with her to a blaring song that no one was really paying attention to, which made Kate giggle, her nose scrunching up as he peppered her jaw with kisses.
Tony stood in shock. Not sure if it was Gibbs acting so… un-Gibbs like, or if it was that he just told him he wanted to marry Kate. Either way, a smile grew large on his face.
"Tonight was fun." Kate grinned, scooting closer toward Gibbs in the back of the cab.
"It was. Nice to see you having fun. And you didn't tell me you could dance." He cocked an eyebrow and looked at her, smirking.
"Ballet, Contemporary, you name it, I did it."
"Little ballerina KitKat." He teased.
"Stop." She laughed, pushing his shoulder playfully.
He lowered his voice. "Dance, huh?" She nodded. "So… you flexible?" He mumbled into her ear, placing a wet kiss on it.
She smirked up at him, her eyes flickering. "I could demonstrate?"
They stumbled, rather than walked, through the front door. Their lips locked, Gibbs' fingers tangled in her hair as he cupped her cheeks, and Kate flicked off her shoes and kicked the door shut behind them. When he dropped his arms, she pushed his suit jacket from his shoulders, as her back crashed into the door, and his fingers made quick work to unzip her dress. He paused, looking deeply into her eyes, before dropping his head to pepper kisses along each shoulder as he slid the straps from them, he let the dress float to the floor.
He cupped her cheek with one hand, guiding her lips to his, with his other hand inching up her thigh. He ran a single finger over the lace hem of her underwear, before he slipped his hand inside and grinned, satisfied with what he found, and a little at how sharply she gasped.
"This all for me?" His voice was caught in his throat, but his amusement was evident.
Kate couldn't muster the strength to speak, so she bit her bottom lip hard, and nodded.
His eyes darkened. He had seen her like this before, many, many times, but it never failed to drive him crazy. Seeing her so caught up in the moment with him, better yet, because of him, Gibbs didn't think it was something he'd ever become accustomed to; and yet would forever be grateful for. He twitched his finger upward, but not quite where she needed, and Kate bucked toward him, her eyes involuntarily closing as a needy whine escaped her lips.
"Please, Jet."
He tasted the wine on her lips as he kissed her, and then drew back slightly to look at her. "What do you want, Katie?" He whispered seductively against her lips.
She opened her eyes and they instantly locked on his. "You." She breathed out.
This was enough for Gibbs to kiss her again, with more force this time, and he guided her toward the bedroom; their lips locked as they left a trail of clothes behind them.
