~*Authors Note*~
"I hope you are still enjoying this, sorry for the late update. Anyway here is the next chapter, enjoy." - TGE
21 & In Love
The pure shock of finding Abby in Alaska with Gibbs was still heavy on their minds as they continued to watch the family inside the cabin from the patio. Ziva's tear-filled eyes focused on Abby while she removed tiny shoes from her kids to get them comfortable. She thought about her own daughter, how she never knew she could love someone so much. She never considered or imagined that Abby would one day be a mother, yet, there she was taking care of her kids. Kids that she had with Gibbs, Ziva smiled at the thought.
When she first came to NCIS, she had always had a sneaking suspicion that something was going on between them. She saw the quick kisses on the cheek. The quiet lingering looks and who knew Gibbs could smile like that? A smile that seemed to appear more often when he was around Abby. Little moments of their interaction would make her wonder if there were some things that happened out of sight and away from work. Like when he came into her lab on Valentine's Day with her favorite drink that had a straw and on it was a heart that read 'I love you.' She had watched silently as a hint of a smile tugged at his lips while Abby blushed at her delivered drink. A silent moment that was quickly moved on from, but now Ziva wondered – did they always have this, or was it something they held off until recently?
They were very close and Ziva assumed that perhaps they had a connection that was far more than the one they showed, while they were at work. Over time, those moments just seemed to be the norm for them. Her suspicions of their relationship dissipated and simply accepted that they were just Gibbs & Abby. Nothing more, nothing less.
"We should go in," Tony said quietly, which brought Ziva out her thoughts.
In silence, they carefully moved into the cabin that their friends had turned into a home. Random hand-crafted bookshelves littered the wall. A small library filled them and on top of the shelves were pictures. Photos of their friends. There was one of Tony and "senior," Abby & Carol, McGee & Abby, Ducky, Jimmy & his family, and Jackson. Tony smiled as he glanced over them and stopped as he saw some photos that he had never seen before. Ziva noticed them too. Quietly they looked at the photos. A beach with a clear blue sky, white cap seas, and seagulls soaring overhead. Written on the sand was simply '2:47pm' and with letters below that read 'L J + A.'
Another photo was pinned just below it, it looked as if it was taken from a vintage camera just like the first. A photo of someone with the hood of a hoodie concealing their face but there was that very familiar smile that beamed at the opening of the hoodie, Tony noted. Gibbs half hidden by the hood and only his smile visible was in the foreground and behind him was Abby laughing while she had her arms wrapped around his neck pulling on the strings of the hood down as her jet-black hair swirled in the wind behind her. They looked younger then, Tony noticed. His suspicions were confirmed in the next photo beside it – Abby was smiling at the camera while her hair flowed freely in the strong wind as Gibbs was placing a kiss on her cheek. His hair was dark brown with hints of grey starting to show.
Tony stepped closer to the photo because he could not believe what his eyes were seeing. Gibbs & Abby didn't start their relationship after he left NCIS or after she left, according to this photo they seemed to be really close far before he himself got to NCIS, Tony realized.
"Tony..." Ziva whispered that drew his attention to a photo she was looking at.
A photo that looked as if it was taken on the same day as the rest, was the one that confirmed something for Ziva and brought about more questions for Tony. It looked to be late in the afternoon, a blustery day, the same white cap seas in the distance, and just where the water meets the sand were Gibbs & Abby... kissing. This was no innocent kiss on the cheek. It was intimate and captured on camera. Her hair in the wind seemed to wrap them up or shield them from the world. Their features were highlighted by the sun. Eyes closed and his lips on hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck, while his were wrapped protectively around her waist holding her close to him. They were younger then and without a care in the world. In this photo, only they existed. No people in the background, no annoying squawking seagulls overhead, just the world, the sea, and them. Lost in a kiss that seem it would last from that moment to forever.
Tony's eyes filled with tears. Emotional that this one photo explained why they were so close over the years. What their relationship was now, was not based on a one-night stand or drunken emotions that came to the surface after a couple of shots but it was rooted deep in the past of his friends. Hidden and never mentioned over all the years he had known them. Sniffing back his tears, Tony and Ziva slowly turned their attention to Gibbs and Abby who were now watching them with gentle smiles on their lips.
Abby interlaced her hand with his as she stood next to Gibbs.
"Baby, I think we broke them." She said quietly amused.
Gibbs only smiled down at her as she rested her head on his shoulder.
Ziva took in an audible breath. "How long have you been together?" She managed to ask.
"Are you talking about the times we spent together or how long we were together in a relationship?" Abby asked back with a smile.
"Relationship?" Tony breathed, which caused Gibbs to smile at him. Tony then nervously chuckled as he looked around at the rest of the photos he had never seen before.
Scattered throughout the living room were moments they never imagined or would have never believed if a photo of it wasn't taken. Abby walking on a beach smiling at her photographer. A younger Gibbs, shirtless and wearing his dog tags smiling while standing in the ocean with blue jeans on as waves crashed all around him. Abby getting stick figures tattooed on her back while Gibbs and she shared a kiss.
The photos change from vintage-looking ones to more recently developed photos from a disposable camera. There was Abby taking a photo of a mirror. She was smiling wearing an oversized Marine shirt with Gibbs behind her, shirtless and hugging her from behind as he kissed the spiderweb tattoo on her neck. Slow progression throughout the years that Gibbs & Abby had secret moments together were all around them. Photos of Gibbs reading, Abby sitting to a computer with books and papers scattered on the desk, Abby laying down on the ground while shooting from a rifle, a photo of Gibbs in his Marine uniform looking seriously at the camera with lipstick smeared on his lips, to photos of kisses shared out of the prying eyes of all who knew them. A small photo strip from a photo booth caught Tony's attention.
Walking over to it, he smiled. If anyone would get Gibbs in a photo booth at the mall, it would be Abby – he thought. It started with them both serious. Then Abby leaning in kissing Gibbs neck that had caused him to turn away laughing. The next was of Gibbs pulling on her pigtail while she looked at the camera with an overly dramatic shock look. The next was Abby holding up his badge at him as they seriously look at each other. The last was of their hands cuffed together held up to the camera while they shared a kiss.
Tony chuckled as he picked it up. "All this time?" He turned around to look at his friends. "All this, all this time? How?" Tony looked down at the kids that sat on the rug at their feet. "...and them!"
Abby giggled, causing Ziva to step a bit closer to her.
"Abby, Gibbs?" She stammered as she looked at her friends. "What's all this and how could you not tell us?"
"Complicated," Gibbs replied.
"No, no – you're not going to one answer your way through this gunny," Tony said as he looked over at them. "All these photos, all the times that you were together... you both have some explaining to do... especially you, Abigail Scuito. No more playing innocent." He said as he pointed at her. "You've been a very bad girl." He chuckled.
Gibbs and Abby both laughed at him.
"And you mister, what the hell?" Tony said as he stepped closer to Gibbs. "I thought you had relationships with Sloan, Ryan... Hollis, but what about Abby?"
Gibbs took in a deep breath. "As I said, complicated."
Abby let go of Gibbs's hand and stood between him and Tony. "Tony, it's not like I didn't know. I was with Mikel for a while too. Gibbs knew about Burt, even McGee -"
"Oh my god, McGee!" Tony cut her off. "Poor guy, had no chance, did he?"
Abby smiled.
"I'm surprised you didn't kill Tim," Tony said to Gibbs.
"Complicated." He simply replied.
Tony let out a loud breath. "This is crazy, you guys. The whole time I thought you were just good friends. Close friends. I never questioned it, never thought any different when Abby would stay at your place or the fact that she had your house keys, you had hers. Times when I came by early and she was there wearing your shirt, when Jimmy said he saw you both in the elevator snuggled up together... God, I was stupid." Tony looked up at Gibbs. "Why didn't you trust any of us to know about you two?"
"Wasn't about that..." Gibbs trailed off.
Ziva saw the distant look on her former boss's face. "It wasn't us; it was about who would find out and what they would do if they knew what Abby really meant to you, right?" Gibbs looked at her. "That's why you didn't tell us, selfish to think it was because of us but it was about Abby... the unspoken rule of Leroy Jethro Gibbs – keep Abby safe," Ziva said quietly.
Abby looked up at Gibbs and quietly placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'm the most classified secret he kept and he is my addiction that I cannot quit, Caf-Pow! Has nothing on my Gibbs." She smiled as he quietly looked at her.
Tony smiled. "You need to tell us everything."
Abby picked up her son and smiled at Tony. "After we feed the kids and have dinner, you can interrogate us." She smiled and took the small package that Gibbs had got from Edison.
"And you can't let Abby do all the talking," Tony warned Gibbs who had picked up his daughter.
Abby turned around at Tony. "Careful what you wish for Tony, woodchuck can be a chatterbox – sometimes I wish he would just shut up." She smiled that only caused Gibbs to glare at her. "And that" She pointed as his expression. "doesn't work around here." She giggled before walking off from them.
Gibbs smiled, watching her disappear up to the loft.
Ziva looked up as she finally was able to notice that this was no small one-room cabin. It had a loft, a kitchen, and room for books and other things they loved. "You guys built this?" She asked.
"Most of it," Gibbs said as he smiled at his sleepy daughter in his arms. "You can help yourself to coffee or whatever in the kitchen." He said as he began to take his daughter in the direction of where Abby had left.
"What's their names?" Ziva asked before he left.
Stopping, Gibbs turned around. "She's Lily and chipmunk is Lukas..." He trailed off. "We'll be back."
Ziva and Tony quietly made their way into the kitchen and waited for their friends to return.
For the next hour over dinner, they caught Gibbs & Abby up on their lives and how fast Tali was growing. Their first-time experiencing life as parents. Movies they saw and how they got married.
Tony with a mouth full of food was mid-story. "...so, I'm sitting there having a debate with Tali about who was better – John Wayne or Gary Cooper and out of nowhere Ziva walks up and says 'Tony, I'm going to marry you tomorrow. Be ready by 10.'"
Gibbs and Abby laughed.
"Just like that?" Gibbs asked.
"Just like that." Tony smiled. "We got married the next day."
Ziva laughed as she shook her head. "I didn't know why we should wait any longer, you know?" She looked at Gibbs & Abby. "Sometimes, you just can't wait anymore. So, I married the guy. What about you, Gibbs?"
Taking a drink of his bourbon he smiled. "No, couldn't have married DiNozzo, probably would have killed him made it look like an accident just so I can be a happy widow."
Abby and Ziva burst into laughter.
Tony batted his eyes at Gibbs. "So at least once, you thought about marrying me? Abby, you should be very jealous."
Gibbs laughed while taking another drink and draped his arm around Abby who was seated next to him.
Ziva finished her drink and set it down. Smiling she nudged Abby under the table. "So, when did this all start?"
Abby smiled at her. "L.J and me?"
"Yeah." Ziva nodded back. "I always assumed you met at NCIS... am I right?"
Gibbs shook his head. "Nope, we met by accident."
Blushing Abby looked up at those pretty blue eyes. "I would say it was a coincidence, but he would say-"
"I don't believe in coincidences." Tony finished in a Gibbs-like voice that got a smile from the gunny.
Abby giggled. "Yeah, anyway it was a Thursday and I was supposed to meet someone that needed tutoring. So, I was supposed to meet him at a Chinese restaurant, I was running a bit late so I tell the waitress... this young girl-"
"Lily," Gibbs added. That caused Ziva to smile brighter, realizing the meaning behind their daughter's name.
"Yeah." Abby smiled. "So, I tell her I was there to meet someone and he might be waiting for me already. Poor girl, it was her first day and she seated me with this stressed-out-anxious guy in the corner booth who was lost in a binder that he was flipping through."
Gibbs smiled. "I wasn't anxious, well... at least not until I saw you."
Abby bit her bottom lip and looked up at him. "Okay, not anxious yet. But I tossed my bag on the seat across from him and I sat down. He didn't notice me right away, not until I reached across to look at his watch... it was 2:47 pm..."
Thursday – 2:47pm
The chatter all around wasn't helping him concentrate as he scanned through lines of technical terms and other critical 'do's and don'ts' he had to learn by tomorrow. The clanking of plates and silverware were on verge of making him run from this loud place that his boss had left him at minutes ago. Taking a deep breath, he tried to focus on the words and read.
"Okay, gunny... focus." He said to himself.
Then out of nowhere a hand gripped his wrist and pulled it away from the binder he was holding. He was irritated already by the noise so someone disturbing him as he tried to read annoyed the hell out of him.
"Hey what the fuck are y-" His breath caught in his throat, suddenly the loud restaurant seemed to grow quiet as his entire focus was now on her.
"Oh God, it's 2:47 pm – sorry I'm late but I'm here." The girl with long black hair said as she let his wrist go and sat down across him.
Her dark makeup brought out the green in her eyes and he found himself lost in an emerald sea. Black chained earrings hung from her ears. A tight black rocker shirt tightly hugged her small frame and revealed the curves of her body. Her mouth moved but he heard nothing. The black lipstick on her lips drew him in as he noted how the corners of her lips were slowly tugging into a smile.
"...so that's why I'm late." He finally managed to hear as his hearing returned.
He said nothing.
"Um, so do you want to focus on decay in environmental elements or did you need help with ballistic analysis?" She asked as she pulled out a notebook from her leather studded bag.
He remained silent as he savored every movement of her body.
Smiling she looked over at the quiet guy seated across her. Normally, the guys she tutored were only in it to spend time with her or to hit on her. So, she half expected that he was one of them.
"Okay..." She breathed as she sat her notebook down. "Look if you're here to hit on me-" She watched him raise an eyebrow. "or try to get with me, don't. You're obviously very sexy and hot but Abby has other priorities right now. Instead of gorgeous guys like you... sorry, I should shut up but I'm stressing about tomorrow. Oh, and FYI I don't give out my number to people I tutor. No matter how cute they are..." She quietly admitted to him.
He only smiled back at her.
Blushing she noticed his gorgeous smile and how his eyes lit up. His chiseled jaw and his appearance dripped with self-confidence and god those lips. Silently she bit back a smile as she was certain that he knew how attractive he was and that he could just exist and women would flock to him. Hell, he didn't say a word and she found herself blushing as her girlish hormones begin to simmer inside.
Smiling she locked eyes with him. "So, Lukas... right?" She asked.
"If you want me to be..." He quietly said back to her.
Butterflies swarmed her stomach for unknown reasons, but then it hit her. "Oh God, you're not Lukas."
Still smiling he slowly shook his head at her.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." She apologized as she started to put her notebook away. "I'm supposed to meet him for tutoring... this is embarrassing." She laughed nervously as he watched her quietly.
The young waitress came to their table. "Would you like to start off with drinks?"
Abby turned to her and looked at the name on her tag. "Oh, uh- Lily... is it? Sorry, there was a mist-"
"Sure, I'll have a tea." The gorgeous guy across her interrupted.
She was already putting her bag over her shoulder when she heard him. Her eyes darted at his which made him smile. A smile that activated the swarms of butterflies that she didn't know lived in her gut. She could have sworn that she felt them drunkenly flutter into each other as her eyes got lost in the blue seas of his eyes.
"Um..." She breathed.
"She'll have the same." He finished for her.
"Right, two teas. Coming up." Lily jotted down as she left them.
Still, with a stupid girlish smile, she hesitantly set her bag back down next to her. "What makes you think I wanted tea?" She asked.
"I don't know why I ordered it too, I- I usually drink coffee." He shrugged at her, causing her to giggle.
"So, not Lukas." She smiled.
"Not Lukas." He said back to her.
"Well, this is interesting." She smiled brighter. "I normally don't do this." She admitted.
"What?" He asked.
"Find myself sitting across a..."
"Hot" He watched her blush "Sexy guy?" He smiled at her.
She now hated how her words got away from her earlier. "Yes-" She cringed and looked away from him, in hopes that the swarms in her tummy would subside.
"Well, I wasn't expecting to be sitting across a hot," She smiled at him "sexy, and I'm assuming smart girl today too." He said quietly to her.
Biting her bottom lip she continued to smile at him. "I'm..."
"Abby." he finished for her.
"Observant." She blushed. "You are?"
"Happy that Lukas didn't show." He said smoothly back to her.
He watched her burst into laughter and made a note that he loved how she laughed and how her smile radiated through the black lipstick on her lips.
"Okay, let's start over," she said through her laughter. "I'm Abigail Scuito."
"Abbs..." He quietly said.
"What?" She smiled back.
"Abbs, I'm going to call you Abbs." He said back to her.
"You can call me anything you want." She blushed back.
What she said, caused him to finally drop his gaze from her to the binder he had forgotten about. His chest tightened as a memory of the red-headed girl he once said those exact words to years prior came rushing through his mind.
"I think this is the part when you tell me your name." He heard her say, which drew him back from his thoughts.
He cleared his throat as he put the binder on the seat next to him. "Uh- Gi... Gibbs, Leroy Jethro... Gibbs." He managed to say.
"Am I allowed to call you anything I want, too?" She flirted back.
"You can call me Lukas, for all I care." He smiled.
She laughed and shook her head. "No, to me you are L.J. Gibbs or just Gibbs... so both our names will end with an 's.'"
He only smiled at her as Lily brought their drinks and they eventually decided to order. They shared fleeting glances followed by silly grins that they both found amusing. Discovered that they both knew a lot about guns and really didn't eat much of the food they ordered. Lily would come and go, giving them refills as he listened to her go on about a job, she had applied for just over a month ago.
"...anyway, I wasn't sure about it but I applied –eh, well see what happens tomorrow." She finished.
He was about to ask her where she had applied for a job when she gasped and reached across for his wrist one more time. Nervously, he drew in a quick and quiet breath that he had hoped she didn't hear when her hand touched his skin. The warm burst of electricity pulsed through his wrist and made its way to his chest, finding it harder to breathe. He watched her smile grow brighter as their eyes met. Quickly she let go of his hand and gathered her things.
"Leaving?" He asked quietly.
"I have class in like 30, I can't believe I sat here with you for hours." She laughed nervously.
Quietly he looked at their bill and placed a pocket full of money on the table. Smiling she placed another twenty on it.
"Poor girl kept us hydrated for three hours." She replied.
Smiling he watched her pull her bag over her shoulder. "Can I walk you out?"
"Sure." She breathed as she led them toward the door.
Silently they emerged in the evening from the restaurant. The crisp air filled their lungs as they both took in a deep breath. Nervously, they smiled at each other.
"Uh... can... I see you... again?" He stammered, which caused her to smile.
"I'm a scientist of sorts... so, let's comprise an experiment." She replied.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"I think you and I meeting was purely a coincidence-"
"Nope, don't believe in those." He smirked.
She giggled. "So, you're saying we met not unexpectedly, but because it was meant to happen?"
"I think some would call that fate." He smiled.
Smiling she continued. "Well, I was going to say let's see if you can determine whether or not I want to meet you again, but now that you say that... let's make it interesting – Leroy Jethro Gibbs." His name seeped like syrup from her dark lips.
"What's that?" He said quietly.
"I didn't tell you where I go to school or where I currently work. You didn't tell me about that binder or where you work now or if you do. We talked about things we like but didn't share where we could find each other..." She trailed off.
"Yeah..." He said as he stepped closer to her to see the streetlights sparkle in her now dark emerald eyes.
"...let's find out if your gut is right. That this was not a coincidence. It was meant to happen, therefore, if true... we'll meet again if we're meant to, right?" She smiled.
"What if we were only meant to meet once?" He smiled down at her.
"In that case, here." She said pulling two fortune cookies from her pocket.
Smiling he took his and opened it.
She smiled down at hers. "What does yours say?"
He cleared his throat. "When peace finds you; happiness will come."
She looked up into his dark blue eyes. "Very enlightening." She purred.
He leaned a bit closer to her, hearing her take in a slow quiet breath. "Abbs, I need to see you again." He said in a quiet low voice that made her tingly inside.
"I have class... I guess the rest, is up to fate." She smiled.
Then without warning, he leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek that caused her to take a quick breath. She smiled feeling his soft lips pressed against her skin. For a moment, he lingered there and eventually tore himself away from her. Looking down at her his million-watt smile lit up the dark.
"What was that for?" She blushed.
"Fate." He whispered.
Smiling she looked up at him. "I would have assumed that fate would have told you that you kiss a girl on her lips." She flirted.
"Wanted to... got scared." He quietly admitted.
With a smile, she backed off, took her fortune, and forcefully placed it in his hand. While his attention was on the tiny piece of paper, she reached out with both hands and cupped his face before placing a forceful kiss on his pretty lips. Tiptoeing to match his height, she allowed herself to take a chance at this, in case they would never meet again. Taken by surprise he looked down at her for a second as he allowed his eyes to shut and feel her hasty kiss turn to a slow passionate caffeine-laced expression of spontaneous feels that could no longer be held at bay.
Breathless, their lips slowly parted.
The moment before pulling away she nipped at his bottom lip and took instant satisfaction when he drew in a quick breath. Slowly she watched as his eyes flutter open to lock his gaze with hers. Pools of dark green and blue met. Hearts raced and minds went blank until smiles tugged at the corners of their lips.
"Coincidence or not, meeting you was pure fire, L.J. Gibbs." She said seductively.
Licking his lips, he looked down at hers. "I guess fate will decide if we set the world on fire or not, huh?"
She wanted to kiss him again, instead, she turned quickly and rushed off to class that she knew she was undoubtedly going to be late for, she thought as she smiled.
He watched her disappear down the sidewalk as he turned his attention to the fortune, she left his hand.
'Today's new friend is tomorrow's family.'
Alaska
Ziva had her head rested on Tony's shoulder as a smile pulled on her lips, while Abby finished her story.
"...so, that's how we met." Abby smiled up at Gibbs who was smiling at her. "That's how the kisses on the cheek started too. I made a Marine Sniper nervous and he kissed me on the cheek because he got scared." She gladly pointed out.
Shyly, Gibbs dropped his gaze to his empty glass on the table. "I was still getting use to working at NCIS, I was still learning things from Mike and I met this crazy-loud-scary-smart girl that had the guts to kiss me when I got scared when I tried to kiss her." He said quietly as he looked up at their friends who were listening intently.
"What can I say?" Abby said, as she reached out for his hand and interlaced their fingers.
Smiling she looked into those still pretty blue eyes and finished.
"I was 21 & in love..."
~*Next Chapter*~
"Origins"
"How they met was a FF I had saved from years ago, so I figure this was a nice place to use it. Wow, writing this made me realize - I legit grew up watching and shipping GABBY! *laughs* Anyway, I do hope you are enjoying this. Drop a review, to keep these Gabby bunnies hopping so, I can finish or add to this FF.
Writing this is definately making me want to revisit my YouTube Channel, so is there new Gabby Vid I will drop? Stay tuned!"
~The Gabby Effect~
