Soaring
An NCIS oneshot
by mew-tsubaki
Note: The NCIS characters belong to Donald P. Bellasario, not to me. A necessary fic bc Parknight fanart wouldn't stay fanart in my head, GAH. X'D Read, review, and enjoy!
- ^-^3
"So I really don't get to know where we're going?" Parker asks this fine Saturday afternoon, his eyes sidling over to Knight, who's been driving the last several minutes with this scheming smile on her face.
"Nope," she replies, and he believes her. Knight's a stubborn one. She's happy to change her mind about certain things, but that usually occurs in the office where one needs to be flexible. Outside the office? She's plenty happy to wear her stubborn streak loud and proud.
Not that Parker minds. It's that stubborn streak that eventually led them to this point, that led to them, and he wouldn't change that. What he would change… He surreptitiously glances down at his seat belt across his chest.
It's been a while, too long, since his last date, and he felt that pressure badly this morning, getting dressed for today. He even risked calling Billy, of all people, for advice. Billy laughed for a good five minutes before telling him to wear a "damn band shirt" and put a jacket over it, because "women love that sleek rocker look these days and, Park, you'd wear it well."
Parker wonders if he does. He's gotten so used to wearing suits for work, except when going undercover calls for something different. It doesn't feel quite right to be comfy and casual in jeans and a tee. His eyes wander back to Knight.
Knight always seems comfortable these days, around him, no matter what she wears, no matter their setting. Although she has part of her hair plaited in front, a little something extra, something special, for today's occasion. The style's charming and brings a smile to his lips.
A little less nervous and happily enjoying the view, Parker concedes that Knight won't tell him where they're going for their date. He grins when she seizes an opportunity during slow traffic to turn the radio station to one they both enjoy (ah, so she likes the shirt…or the band…after all). After that, Parker keeps an eye out for signs to give him any possible clue as to their destination, especially as Knight drives them further into Virginia and a bit off the beaten path.
They've been on the road for the better part of an hour when Knight starts checking signs, too. She hunches over the steering wheel, squinting until she spies the exit she wants. Parker assumes that's the case because, the next thing he knows, Knight turns to him with a big grin and says, "All right! We're close, so cover your eyes."
He stares at her, eyes narrowed. "…really?"
"Parker! C'mon. Don't be a spoilsport."
Of all the things he thought he'd do today… Wear jeans (and not for work). Go on a first, proper date (and not just dinner or a walk or back to one of their places between cases). So, he covers his eyes, because Jess Knight is not one to disappoint (and he can't imagine how she ever might).
The road underneath the tires changes from smooth asphalt to less even terrain. It's not exactly rugged, per se, just bumpier, like loose gravel and packed earth, and it makes it hard for Parker to keep a hand over his face. "No peeking!" Knight scolds.
He sighs. He's not sincerely going to be able to keep this up if the road gets any worse, but he obliges because she insists.
Their ride evens out, signaling the return to smoother ground. Knight slows the car down and steers them to the right, small, mechanical groans sighing underneath them once she puts it in park and unbuckles her belt. "We're here," she announces.
"Yes, but you didn't say I could take a look yet," Parker quips, feeling a tad cheeky.
Knight huffs in exasperation and yanks his hand away. She kisses him briefly and pulls away, that scheming smile back on her lips. "You can look now," she declares.
He snickers. Parker follows her out of the car and catches up to her side, but his curiosity gets the better of him, surrounded by the sparse foliage and embraced by the earthy scents. Of all the possible places he imagined them coming to today…any kind of ranch definitely did not make the list. He quirks an eyebrow at her, but Knight's focused on what's straight ahead.
She leads him past a sink and a drinking fountain to a window counter at the far end of the primary structure's wooden porch. "Knight, two for two," she supplies the receptionist.
The curly-haired man checks a clipboard behind his counter. "Ah, have you right here. The two o'clock." He clicks his ballpoint pen and scratches a checkmark on the clipped paper. "You're all set, Miss Knight. Head around back."
"Thanks so much." Knight scrunches her nose at Parker, her smile impossibly broadening as she takes him by the hand and tugs him along.
Parker remains mystified, with only animalistic screeching behind the main building as his clue. Then they round the back and the sky is clear, and he sees the winged silhouettes. Falcons and hawks.
Their date is a private falconry lesson, for the pair of them.
Parker's stunned, his eyes following the raptors as Knight leads him towards their instructor.
She chuckles as Parker's steps slow in amazement. "Surprised?"
"Absolutely. How'd you come up with this idea?"
"Well, ornithology covers a lot of ground," Knight points out, "but I bet in all your birdwatching you've yet to partner up with any of these feathered beauties." She throws a look at him over her shoulder.
"No, I haven't. I'm—" Parker blinks and wills his gaping mouth to close. He nods his thanks, but that's nowhere near enough. "…thank you."
Knight beams at him.
Their instructor, an older African–American man with a wide-brimmed park ranger's hat, has his attention directed at the birds high above them and doesn't let his eyes stray once Knight and Parker are within earshot. But they near and he cracks a smile. "My two o'clock?" he prompts.
"Yes. I'm Jess Knight, and this is my partner, Alden Parker." Knight doesn't hesitate for a second with her words. Granted, they've had a few months getting comfortable with each other, and "partner" means something entirely else when on the clock, but Parker can't help himself, ducking his eyes briefly and keeping a small smile for himself at the gesture.
The instructor sticks his gloved left hand out and doesn't even whistle. One of the birds shifts its body and zeroes in on the familiar perch, coming in at a deadly speed if that hand were prey. But then it lands and squawks, and the instructor faces them, tipping his hat to the couple. "Welcome, Miss Knight, Mr. Parker. I'm Warden Mac Singleton, retired." Singleton strokes the feathers on the bird's neck. "And it's my job to keep and train raptors, as well as to educate those willing and interested. Would you like to touch Rachid here?"
Knight exchanges a wide-eyed look with Parker. "We can just—jump right in?!"
Singleton laughs. "Well, approach with caution, but yes. Rachid's a trained tiercel northern goshawk. He's accustomed to people by now."
"I have no idea what some of those words mean, but sure thing," Knight points out, snorting at herself.
"He's a male raptor," Parker elucidates, letting Knight pet Rachid first. Delighted that the bird shows no indication of nipping their fingers, Parker strokes the same spot next.
"Correct!" Singleton praises. He quirks a graying eyebrow. "A fellow austringer, Mr. Parker?"
"In another lifetime, maybe. Being a federal agent eats up a lot of your day and quite a few nights, too." He kicks himself, bringing up work, but he catches the little empathetic smile Knight shoots his way. Ah, well. Work takes a lot from them, but it's given them plenty, too.
Singleton sagely nods and feeds Rachid something from a satchel attached to his belt. "That, I understand. Being a game warden meant being an officer of the law." He shakes his head and watches Rachid eat. "But my time as a conservation officer introduced me to my calling, in the end, so I consider my time spent working for the state worth it. So! Let's have a beginner's lesson in falconry!"
Parker knows some words that Knight doesn't, sure, but Singleton essentially gives them a crash course in the necessary terminology—and there's a lot to absorb. There are nearly a dozen terms referring to raptors themselves alone, at different stages of life ("A brancher basically has his feathers but can't really fly yet," Singleton says, before explaining eyases versus haggards) as well as by type (accipiters and buteos and more). Before he gets into discussing how to do little more than pet them, Singleton calls the other bird to their gathering with a shrill whistle out of the side of his mouth.
The remaining bird stops circling and swoops down, landing gracefully on a thin, metal perch behind the warden which Parker and Knight hadn't noticed before. The bird trills in the back of its throat, a huffy sort of sound, as if it weren't ready to be called from the sky yet.
"This one's Asuka," the warden says of the obviously larger raptor. "She's a prairie falcon younger than Rachid, but you can see she has a certain advantage to flying around in what would normally be his territory."
Knight grins. "So he doesn't mind sharing the sky?"
"No, not since I've brought her up alongside him, so he's had time to get used to her. You could say she wore him down," Singleton says fondly, attaching a tether to Asuka's right leg from the perch and placing a tiny hood on her head.
Knight turns her face, hiding it by Parker's nearer shoulder, her amusement lost on the confused warden. But Knight tames her case of the giggles and straightens up a moment later, only to fight another smile when Parker settles her with a dry look, because, yeah, the warden's words aren't lost on him either.
"Notice I've got Asuka on a lighter, thinner cord than Rachid," Singleton continues, unperturbed. "It's called a 'creance,' and it's for training, especially for newer birds. Although notice how calm Asuka is—she's almost ready to be off that now." He steps back, his arm with Rachid swinging wide the whole time, and he points to his glove where Rachid's talons are tucked in. "As for Rachid, these smaller, leather tethers are called 'jesses.'" He smiles, knowing there's a chuckle to be had here.
Parker snickers, too, at the light flush that dusts the apples of Knight's cheeks. "But if Rachid's trained," he prompts since Knight's a little wordless at the moment, "then what's the purpose of tethering him at all?"
Singleton nods, as if he appreciates the shrewd question. "Well, a jess is the kind of tether meant for more than training. You can use them as I do here, while I have him on my glove, or to secure him to a perch. This is all for when the raptors are outside the aviary, that is." Singleton strokes his dark chin with his bare hand, thinking best how to explain it. "I mean, we all get a little lost sometimes, right? So it's great to have a tether to keep you grounded," he quips, and he looses a hearty laugh, quite proud of himself.
This time, however, Knight's not the only one at a loss for words. Parker catches her eye when the warden turns his back to them to toss the impatient falcon a treat, and Knight holds his stare for a beat.
A jess, to keep one grounded.
Suddenly Warden Singleton's words cover so much more than training and hunting with birds of prey.
Caught unawares by the moment, Parker and Knight both focus on Singleton's lesson in earnest after that. Neither of them is too fond of fresh quarry caught by either raptor, but feeding them from Singleton's satchel is a pleasant experience, and then flying either bird—
It's quite the experience, Parker thinks, feeling the weight of Asuka on his arm before he gives his arm a slight wiggle, a sign to the falcon to take flight. In an instant, all of Asuka's weight launches from his arm, a bullet of energy that vanishes into the sky with a gust. She's a rusty streak against the bright blue, cloudless backdrop of the day.
Knight's good at this, too, though she's rather fond of stroking Rachid's neck before takeoff. Being on the smaller side, the goshawk doesn't create the same disturbance in the air as his younger counterpart. But it doesn't make his flight anything less to behold.
Singleton demonstrates how he calls them back and the various ways he tethers them, as well as leaves them be to do their own business. "They may be birds of prey and enjoy the hunt, but preening's just as important. Here, let me show you to the mews while they're cleaning themselves."
The tour of the raptors' housing is short, because Singleton and his colleagues keep other birds in here, as well, not to mention Knight didn't sign them up for anything more than an introductory course. "I definitely don't think my landlord would let me take in a falcon or a hawk. It'd make for a cool mascot, but I think NCIS would object, too," Knight says with a sigh, her eyes following the barn owl's head as it turns to watch them exit the structure.
"Well, it never hurts to learn," Singleton says, and there's a salesman's glint in his eye. Can't blame him for being good at business.
Rachid and Asuka are ready and waiting when the trio returns, and Singleton checks the hour. There's ten minutes of their allotted lesson time left, but that's plenty for another flight. Since they've befriended the birds, Singleton nods his silent consent, that they try going through the motions on their own. It's time to put into practice what they've learned, without assistance, and Singleton takes a couple steps back—close enough to intervene if needed, far back enough so Knight and Parker can appreciate the private part of what Knight paid for, as if they'd come here on their own, just for the raptors and the open sky and nobody else.
Parker's reluctant to set either bird skyward once more, and he finds the same reluctance in Knight's small smile. "Lesson's gone by fast," he remarks to her.
Knight nods and chuckles. "I could easily spend the whole day out here with these two."
"See? Hard to knock this call of nature. And, to think, all this time Torres has been calling me 'Bird Man' when he thinks I'm not present." Parker quirks an eyebrow, not bothering to tack on that he's heard the moniker out of McGee's mouth, too, and a few times out of hers. He never takes offense, of course, because he rather likes the title.
Still, a touch of color brushes her cheeks again. "Well, I definitely don't blame you for enjoying this hobby. Besides"—her fingers drift over Rachid's head, down his neck, and stop above his shoulders, where his wings are folded, and Rachid affectionately butts her hand for more attention—"this one's got salt-and-pepper feathers…just like you." Her grin is wide, her eyes crinkle, when she looks to Parker for his reaction. She can't hold her laugh in for long, though, although the birds are trained well and don't fly off at the burst of nearby noise.
Parker snorts at the comparison. He considers the draw of their aesthetic. The goshawk and the falcon are regal creatures, indeed, to behold. But…truth be told, he's fonder of Asuka's large, amber-speckled copper eyes. They hold a quiet intelligence and remind Parker of a pair he gets to stare into a hell of a lot more these days.
Said eyes flicker to his, as if Knight can guess where his mind's gone. Her smile's more wry this time.
Asuka does a full-body shiver, ruffling her feathers, itching to fly, so Parker and Knight work together to prep her and Knight sets her in motion. Rachid, calmer and curious about the newcomers, makes none of the same indications he's interested in another go, but Parker tries getting him airborne. The goshawk takes to the sky, catching a low current and circling back to his perch just as Singleton joins the couple and the lesson ends. The falcon maintains pitch high above the group.
"A job well done," Singleton appraises, passing Knight and Parker more food from his satchel to feed Rachid. "I wouldn't've guessed this is your first time. You're naturals, Mi—ah, Agents Knight and Parker," he adds, correcting himself after recalling details from the day.
Parker and Knight both shake their heads, though. "It's only thanks to having a great teacher and good company," Parker insists, though "company" definitely refers to more than just the raptors, and Knight knows this, raising her eyebrows at him.
"Well, please come back for another lesson anytime," the warden says as they wave to him and turn to go. "Whether you want to pursue falconry or to learn more about conservation, especially as fellow law enforcement agents!"
They pause briefly on the porch once more, since now it makes sense, the presence of a handwashing station as well as a water fountain on the other side of the reception window. They give the receptionist a parting nod, as well, and then it's a short walk back to their car, the tiniest of strolls, but one of leisure, a spot of time to themselves, enjoyed in quiet contentment.
Back in the car, though, the quiet is broken when Knight's stomach grumbles. She glances at Parker while she turns the engine over. "Is it bad that, despite the awesome afternoon here…all I can think about is eating chicken for a late lunch?"
Parker bursts out laughing with her as they back out of the ranch's lot. But he shakes his head. "No, I get that. That sounds good, actually. So if you have a place in mind…" He pauses briefly. "Though I've met my quota of surprises for the day, Knight."
Knight smirks and she shrugs, playful, as though she hasn't made up her mind yet about whether he'll need to cover his eyes once more.
…frankly, though, Parker knows he will if she asks, and he doesn't mind it, really. Honestly? Today's been better than he could've imagined, he realizes as they get back on the main road and head home. Parker's glad he took Billy's advice, much as he's glad he and Knight stopped tiptoeing around each other.
He's glad he and Knight have these moments, that he has her, and she has him.
Parker's mind strays for a minute, today stirring up old feelings and memories. Today…today reminds him of his youth, of a different time. It feels a little like his first love all over again, back when he was a teen, long before he met the woman who'd become his ex-wife, even before he and Billy got into too much trouble… Granted, one can only experience a first love once, but the rush of positive emotions feels the same, and this time?
This time, these feelings aren't going anywhere. This time, Parker's got the chance to enjoy this love and share it, with Knight.
- ^-^3
This is what happens when I have a steady diet of Korean r&b and indie Jpop, folks. -w- *has all the romance feels* So, fluffy gushing aside XD, I bet you never thought you'd open an NCIS fic up and expect so much birdbrained nonsense, huh? ;DDD While I've never personally taken a falconry course or a single lesson (this is yet another story that required some research, *lol*), I'm a fan of birds, same as Parker. I enjoy drawing them, hence the original idea that started as fanart and later became this oneshot, and I think owls and raptors of various sorts (esp kestrels) are neat! I've actually been to a live owl show, which had a few non-owl birds of prey, and, gosh, it is so hard not to enjoy time spent around these birds, even for an hour or so. They're so intelligent and curious and mischievous! XD I highly rec seeing some birds of prey up close, if you ever have the chance outside of a zoo. :3c Let's see, final thoughts… Hmm, I threw in a couple of tiny hcs for Parker here, but the thing about jesses being an actual item in falconry? THAT'S A REAL THING! When I learned that myself, I just KNEW I had to include a reference here… Man, it's almost as if Parknight is fated, *LOL*. OH! Also, my adorably enthusiastic warden OC, Mac Singleton? That's just Animal Planet rubbing off on me bc I watch waaay too many zoo and warden shows (fun fact: it's true that game wardens, a.k.a. conservation officers, are officers of the law! They're rather close to state cops, in a lot of functions and abilities, with the added responsibilities of looking after our wildlife and policing how people interact with our ecosystems). So yeah. Just. Had a lot of fun with this one! XD And also needed smthg far lighter after completing "Token," *lol*. But! Any Parknight, heavy or light, sad or sweet, is worth a read, so check out my others if you haven't yet and/or feel free to request or come chat with me about them bc the Parknight love just won't stop~
Thanks for reading, and please review! Check out my other NCIS fics if you liked this. And, as with my other NCIS fics, show your support via tumblr with a reblog~
-mew-tsubaki -w-
