The Turtleneck

It was his fault she was in this predicament anyway, the least he could do was let her borrow his shirt.

"Nick!" A scream let out across the apartment startled him, making him spill the coffee he was pouring into their cups. Ellie came marching out of their bedroom at that moment stopping right in front of him. He couldn't help but take an appreciative look at her standing there shirtless but was taken aback by her finger in his face.

"Ellie what –" he was cut off by her pointing to her neck.

"Look at this! This is all your fault!" He looked at what she was pointing at and smiled. Apparently he had gotten a little carried away when they got home from the bar last night because there were two hickeys left on her neck (that was always his favorite place to start and he knew it was her weak spot.)

"Well, yeah. I take full responsibility for those." Nick stepped closer, putting his hands on her waist and leaning down to kiss her neck. She stepped out of his embrace, putting a hand on his chest.

"Oh no you don't Torres." His right hand came up to his chest, an offended look on his face. The only time she calls him Torres in private now is when she's mad and that's never a good thing. "Do you know how hard these are to hide?! I can't use makeup cause it'll just sweat off and it's too warm for a scarf. And there's no way in hell I'm going into the office sporting hickeys on my neck, I don't need the looks and questions from anyone, especially Gibbs!"

They had been dating since after his accident and had so far been able to keep it a secret from the rest of team. The two spots now adorning her neck though may be the thing that finally exposes them if she can't find a solution.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry." He apologized, holding up his hands and keeping his eyes on her face.

"Yeah, you better be sorry. Now, how do you suppose I cover this up?" A look crossed Nick's face that told her he was actually thinking of a solution. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand, pulling her towards their bedroom. "Nick! If you think you're getting out of this with sex-" he cut her off with a finger to her lips as he started shuffling through the closet.

"As much as I would love that Ellie," he looked at her with a smirk before turning back to the closet, "I'm looking for a solution." She started at him in confusion for a moment before he realized what he was doing.

"If you're looking for my turtleneck you won't find one." At his perplexed look she explained. "I got rid of it after your accident, too many bad memories. I hardly ever wore it anyways." A soft look fell over his face as a pang filled his heart. That was a bad day for both of them and neither liked talking about it. His head fell into his hands as he realized what her getting rid of her only turtleneck meant.

"I'm guessing that's why you didn't already think of that."

"Oh trust me, that was my first thought until I remembered. I'm still kicking myself." Nick nodded, glancing down at his watch. If they didn't leave in the next five minutes they were going to be late and arriving late together would surely raise suspicions.

Finally, a lightbulb went off and he turned, moving to his side of the closet and looking among the racks. "Ah-ha!" He pulled it off the hanger, holding it out to her. "Here you go. And it's black so it'll look like your old one." She grabbed the turtleneck, thanking him as she pulled it on.

Nick pulled at his collar, throat suddenly tight at the sight of her wearing his shirt and he could do nothing but stare.

"Oh my gosh this is perfect! I've never been happier that your shirts are impossibly tight." Her voice broke him out of the daydream that suddenly occupied his mind and he shook his head. He needed to clear those thoughts before something else became tight.

They made it to the office with a minute to spare, Ellie going up first with Nick following closely behind. Ellie was nervous all day, waiting for someone to notice that she was wearing Nick's shirt and not her own. The closest she came to being made was when she was down in Kasie's lab and the forensic scientist commented on how baggy her turtleneck was today but she was saved from commenting by the ding of the computer.

While Ellie was trying to keep from being noticed, Nick spent the entire day trying not to stare at her. McGee had been giving him strange looks throughout the day, making him worried he had somehow slipped up, but the Senior Agent never said anything. Thankfully Gibbs' mind had been elsewhere today and since they hadn't gotten a case were actually able to go home at a reasonable hour.

Nick followed her into the apartment, setting the to-go containers on the counter while she went to change. She came back minutes later in a t-shirt and yoga pants, hair pulled up into a messy bun, and curled up next to him on the couch. He took a moment to appreciate last night's evidence before handing over her food.

"So, everything seemed to go okay today. Looks like the turtleneck worked." Ellie scoffed between bites and glared at him.

"It would've worked better had you not been staring at me all day!"

"Hey, I wasn't-" She cut him off with her hand in his face.

"Plus, Kasie commented on how baggy the shirt was on me. The computer dinged before I had to think of an answer thankfully."

"Well, I still say it worked well."

"Yeah, for you maybe. You're not the one who had to cover up two hickeys all day!" She sat her food down on the coffee table and turned, staring at him. "I swear Nick Torres if you ever do that again I'm withholding sex for at least a week!"

"You wouldn't!" He exclaimed, hand thrown over his heart in shock.

"Oh ho, yes I would! And I will!" Nick pouted, giving her his best puppy dog eyes. "Just promise me, no more visible hickeys?" She tilted her head, turning the puppy dog eyes on him. They sat there in a stalemate until her words sank in and a smile slowly crossed his face.

"No more visible ones huh?" Ellie shook her head, a shy smile appearing. "Well then, I guess I can promise that." A laugh broke out from her as he placed his food next to hers and he attacked her lips, laying her back on the couch and hovering over her.

Making good on his promise, the hickeys he left on her tonight were in places only he could see.