AN: Let the hiatus commence! I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the season finale and is living their best Kacy shipper life right now. We've been in plenty of droughts before and while this one will be longer, there are so many amazing fanfic writers in this fandom. There will be plenty of content to keep us occupied. I've been thinking about writing this sequel since I finished All Comes Crashing, so I am very excited to finally get to it. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1
The past month had been hectic for Kate, Lucy, and both of their teams since Kate decided to stay in Hawai'i instead of go back to New York. While she was surprised that her team chose to relocate with her, it was a pleasant surprise and the NCIS team was very welcoming and supportive. They helped Maya, Zeinab, and Carlos find places to live, move, and get settled. Planning three separate and very different moving days was challenging enough, Zeinab and Maya each chose apartments close to one another and had very minimal things to bring with them, but Carlos found a place closer to Ernie and brought his entire collection of all things geek and fandom, but on top of that, Kate officially moved in with Lucy. The couple had become inseparable, except on the occasion when their friends would guilt them into detaching at the hips long enough to have an outing on the weekends. Kate and Lucy were in line at one of the local movie theaters with the rest of their friends as they waited to see the new superhero film Ernie and Carlos assured them they had to all see together. Ever since moving to the islands, Carlos had become best friends with Ernie and the two were in rare form as they all waited to buy their tickets.
"I told you we should've just gotten in line early instead of waiting for everyone, Carlos," said Ernie and Carlos nodded in agreement.
"No, you two should've just bought the tickets online like we wanted to," said Lucy.
"There are some things you should have the ticket stub for as a memento," argued Ernie.
"A memento," asked Jane and Kate groaned as Ernie and Carlos both turned to the rest of them.
"You just had to ask a question, didn't you," asked Kate. Jane smiled sheepishly as Ernie started his rant.
"Are we all about tech? Yes. Do we appreciate the latest devices, the latest trend, the latest way to make our lives easier and more convenient," asked Ernie. He paused for dramatic effect, looked at Carlos, and both nodded.
"Yes," they said in unison as Jesse rolled his eyes.
"What are they, twins now," asked Jesse and Maya pinched the bridge of her nose.
"That's too much to unpack even for me," she mumbled and he playfully nudged her.
"Says a member of the hive mind over here, you three practically finish each other's sentences when you're working a case," teased Jesse.
"Doesn't that make Kate the Queen Bee," asked Kai with a sly smile. He chuckled and dodged Kate's slap of his shoulder.
"Don't answer that," interrupted Kate before Maya could say a word.
"They're still ranting about ticket stubs as mementos," whispered Lucy as Zeinab inched away.
"Maybe if we leave, they'll forget we were even here. I didn't want to come in the first place," Zeinab whispered back and Lucy nodded in agreement. Zeinab giggled when Maya pulled her back into the line. Lucy and Kate noticed that their hands stayed intertwined as Maya's thumb ran across the top of Zeinab's hand. While the two had not officially announced anything to the others yet, or gone out on what they would consider an official date, it was clear to everyone else that the two were a couple. Lucy and Kate shared a look, remembering that stage of their relationship, but Jane, Jesse, and Kai were too busy watching Ernie and Carlos somehow transition to ranting about how no one goes to the movies anymore.
"I love a good stream as much as the next person, but it'll never, ever, replace the moviegoer experience," rambled Ernie as Carlos nodded like it was gospel. Jane slowly nodded as well.
"So, ticket stub good," she asked.
"Yes," exclaimed Ernie and Carlos.
"That's all I need to know," said Jane.
"Well, then you can have mine too because I don't see the big deal," said Kai, which started a fresh round of arguments from Carlos and Ernie. Kate groaned and nudged Kai with her shoulder.
"Why, why did you do that," she whined and Kai tried not to laugh as he shrugged.
"Bears, stick, poke," he said as he pointed at Ernie and Carlos. Kate shook with mirth and patted Kai on the back. By the time the tickets were bought, Carlos and Ernie were buzzing with anticipation.
"Hurry up, we need to get good seats," said Carlos and Zeinab rolled her eyes.
"If we would've gone to the theater I suggested, we would've been able to choose our seats," she reminded and Carlos scoffed.
"Amateur move," said Carlos.
"Total amateur, you need the classic movie experience for a movie like this," agreed Ernie and Zeinab arched an eyebrow at them.
"You know, I've been called a lot of things in my life, amateur is not one of them," she assured. Maya grinned mischievously.
"I'm sure it isn't," she whispered in her ear, causing Zeinab to blush.
"A rare Zeinab Kader blush, well played," teased Jesse as he nodded appreciatively at Maya.
"You two can flirt once we have our seats. We need to get in there," said Carlos.
"I need candy and popcorn if I'm going to sit through yet another superhero film," said Maya.
"But Maya, we're going to miss it! Come on," he practically whined as he pointed down the hall where their theater was located. Jane shook her head in amusement.
"Okay, Ernie, Carlos, go get our seats. Those who want snacks, head to the concession stands with me," announced Jane. Ernie and Carlos were running toward the theater before she could even finish. Jesse and Kai chuckled.
"We'll keep an eye on them and make sure they don't terrorize the other guests," said Jesse.
"I think you mean moviegoers looking for the classic movie experience," teased Kai.
"Yeah, what he said," agreed Jesse. Kai smiled sweetly at Kate and she rolled her eyes, knowing exactly why he was smiling at her like that.
"You want candy too, don't you," she asked and Kai nodded.
"Junior Mints please," he called with a wave as he followed Jesse toward the theater. Lucy giggled as Kate grumbled about always having to get him Junior Mints when they watched a movie together.
"I swear they act like children," said Kate and Jane winked at her.
"As someone with two at home, I can confirm that," agreed Jane.
"Yeah, they're so immature sometimes. It's just a movie and…Lucy, they have Sour Patch Kids," exclaimed Maya and Lucy pumped her fist.
"Get me two. Kate always says she doesn't like them and then she eats all of mine," called Lucy as Maya practically dragged Zeinab over to the concession line.
"Hey," exclaimed Kate and Lucy kissed her cheek with a giggle.
"I'll get the popcorn," added Lucy as she headed to another line that had just opened up. Jane and Kate shook their heads in amusement.
"I guess I should get Kai his Junior Mints," said Kate.
"Have Maya and Zeinab grab the candy. You and I have to get all the drinks. You remember what happened last time," said Jane.
"I still don't understand why they didn't just grab drink carriers. Jesse talked about his poor shirt getting soaked for days after that," said Kate with a laugh.
"I texted the boys before we met up to bring extra shirts just in case."
"Children, we are wrangling children…don't tell them I said that," said Kate as Jane nodded in agreement.
"Heard it. Telling everyone," called Maya and Kate pinched the bridge of her nose. Jane patted her shoulder.
"Come on, let's wrangle the kids and get in there before Carlos and Ernie make us go to another showing because we missed part of it," suggested Jane. By the time they grabbed drinks, candy, and several bags of popcorn for everyone, their hands were full of snacks. They hurried into the theater and Lucy let out a laugh when the previews had yet to start. Jane and Kate glanced at each other in confusion, Maya tried to hide her amusement, but like Jesse and Kai, Zeinab looked annoyed.
"I thought it started at seven," asked Zeinab as they headed to their seats. Even though the movie hadn't started, the theater was quite full and they sat in the seats Ernie and Carlos managed to grab in the row behind them. Jesse turned to look at them with a smirk.
"I told you we shouldn't have let them buy all the tickets," said Jesse and Kai nodded in agreement.
"They got us tickets for the next showing instead because they didn't want us to miss the previews," informed Kai.
"It's part of the moviegoer experience," Carlos and Ernie said in unison and Kate pinched the bridge of her nose again.
"If they say moviegoer experience one more time," grumbled Kate as Lucy snickered. Jane glanced down at her watch.
"To be fair, we only have ten minutes before it starts," she informed and Kate rolled her eyes at her friend.
"You and your need for fairness," she said before turning her attention to her girlfriend. Kate arched an eyebrow at Lucy when she recognized the mischievous smile on her face. Lucy glanced down at the popcorn she was holding and Kate followed her glance from the popcorn to Jesse. Kate suddenly smiled as well and grabbed a kernel from the bag. She tossed a piece of popcorn in Jesse's direction and had to bury her face in Lucy's hair to stop from laughing. Jane shook her head at the antics as Jesse continued talking to Kai. Lucy handed her another piece and Maya and Zeinab shook with mirth as Kate hit Jesse in the ear with the popcorn. He jumped and spun around to look at all of them.
"Which one of you," he asked as Kate and Lucy suddenly became very interested in talking about the movie they were about to see and Jane scrolled through her phone.
"Maya, don't start," warned Jesse and Maya scoffed.
"Why do you automatically assume it was me," asked Maya.
"Because you would do it as some kind of social experiment to see how I'll respond and what that says about me," he accused.
"He's right. You would," said Kate as Lucy, Jane, and Zeinab all nodded in agreement. Maya guffawed.
"Well, it wasn't me," she assured. Jesse rolled his eyes at her before turning around. Lucy handed Kate another piece of popcorn. As soon as it hit Jesse in the neck, he spun around and pointed at Kate.
"It was you. I saw you," he exclaimed as everyone laughed. Suddenly, the lights went low and Carlos and Ernie shushed all of them as the previews started.
"I'm watching you, Whistler," whispered Jesse and she tossed a piece of popcorn at him for good measure. He grabbed it and popped it into his mouth with a chuckle.
"Kate….Kate…" Kai whispered loudly.
"What," whispered Kate.
"Junior Mints," he whispered back.
"Maya has them."
"Maya, can you give me my…" Ernie cut him off.
"Give him the Junior Mints and focus, people," he yelled and Kate, Jane, and Lucy had to hide their faces as they laughed at the people around them shushing Ernie. Maya handed Kai the candy and Kai mouthed a "thank you" before turning his attention back to the screen. Much to Ernie and Carlos's relief, everyone was on their best behavior after that and watched the movie.
After the movie, which Lucy and Kate spent most of stealing kisses, they all headed into the parking lot. Jane glanced down at her watch and shook her head.
"Why didn't anyone say it was a three hour movie? Do you know how much I can get done in three hours," asked Jane and Ernie waved her off.
"It was a great movie," he reminded and Jane shrugged.
"It was a good movie, but good enough for three hours? Jury is still out," said Jane.
"Jury's in, not worth it," said Zeinab, but she smiled when Maya playfully nudged her.
"Okay, maybe a little worth it," amended Zeinab with a wink and Maya nodded. Carlos huffed.
"You people don't understand cinematic greatness," he argued. Kate's phone rang as the others started listing films they thought qualified as great and arguing over the criteria. She frowned when she saw who was calling her and immediately picked up.
"Scott," she questioned and the name made Maya, Zeinab, and Carlos freeze. Carlos walked over to Maya and Zeinab and gave them a look as Kate glanced over at them. Jane, Kai, Jesse, and Ernie looked at Lucy in confusion and she shrugged. She hadn't heard the name before either.
"Everything okay," asked Kate into the phone.
"Yeah, just working on a case that's been a bit of a rabbit hole."
"How can I help?"
"You can't. Um, we've got it under control here."
"Then what's going on, Scott?"
"You know what, I shouldn't have called. Sorry."
"Scott," asked Kate, but he hung up. She sighed as Lucy walked over to her and soothingly rubbed her back.
"Hey, you okay," asked Lucy.
"Yeah, that was Scott Samuels. He was on the team for our first case, but then he went back to work for the FBI in New York. He hasn't called me since, but I always told him he could if he needed anything."
"Maybe you should call him back," suggested Lucy, but Kate glanced over at Maya, Zeinab, and Carlos, who all looked concerned. She stuffed her phone into her pocket.
"I'm sure it's fine. He knows he can call back if he needs something. How about dinner? I'm starving," suggested Kate and Jesse smirked as he passed by them.
"Should've eaten your popcorn instead of throwing it at me," said Jesse and Lucy giggled.
"You throw a couple of pieces of popcorn at a guy and he gets all riled up," she called and laughed when Jesse rolled his eyes at her.
"Pizza at my place," announced Jane and everyone nodded in agreement. Lucy headed toward her car as Maya, Zeinab, and Carlos approached Kate.
"Everything okay, boss," asked Zeinab and Kate nodded.
"I'm sure it's nothing," said Kate.
"Since when does Scott call you," asked Maya.
"And since when would that be nothing," added Carlos.
"He obviously knows my number if he needs something, so let's just focus on the present. Come on, let's go eat pizza," she suggested before heading over to Lucy's car. Zeinab and Carlos glanced at Maya. She shrugged, but nodded. She hadn't heard the name in months and didn't have the fondest of memories attached to it.
AN: So, what did you think of their movie night out? I wanted to start off with more fun and laughter this time since the first chapter last time was so angsty. I hope you enjoyed. More soon ;)
