Chapter 7 – Cooling Down
Tony never saw the hand-sized snowball that came hurtling towards him, hitting him in the back of the head, exploding into smaller fragments and flying off in random directions.
He jumped then clutched his hand to his head, turning to see Abby waving, a radiant grin on her face and a smug looking Gibbs standing beside her.
"Oh it's on now my mistress of the dark," DiNozzo joked, bending down to gather some snow and forming a ball. "You been teaching her how to aim for the back of my head boss?"
Abby ran off to hide behind the nearest tree, collecting snow as she moved, ignoring the chuckle from Gibbs as he sat down on the steps at the front of the cabin.
DiNozzo and Abby fired shots away at each other, the majority of Tony's shots finding their target and hitting Abby's body. She squealed and laughed each time despite the fact that she was getting an increasing amount of snow seeping through her clothes. Her aim wasn't quite as good as Tony's but she managed to hit him several times, daring to move closer so she wouldn't have to throw as far.
McGee watched from a distance, letting Jethro get in on the fun when Tony and Abby ran up to one another and started to wrestle in an attempt to knock the snow out of each other's hand, falling to the ground in the process. Through a tangle of arms and legs they managed to get to their feet and run off in separate directions when Jethro starting licking their faces, Abby staggering as she tried to keep her balance while laughing so hard.
From out of nowhere, and completely unexpected by everyone, McGee threw a huge snowball at DiNozzo, hitting him square in the stomach. Tony bent forward, a loud "oof" escaping him as he tried to keep his lunch down.
Abby snorted at the appearance of the widest grin she'd ever seen on Tim's face, his eyes lighting up at catching his team mate unaware.
"Unfair, McCheater..." Tony gasped, faking his stomach lurching as he gagged.
"You just don't like getting beat Tony, that's all."
"One good shot doesn't mean you win...oh god, I think I'm gonna be sick," he gurgled, dropping to his knees.
"I didn't throw it that hard Tony, maybe you shouldn't eat so much."
So caught up in the triumph of his direct shot, McGee didn't see the snowball headed his way until Abby started cheering it on as it sailed through the air towards his face. He tried to duck his head out of the way, but he was too slow, snow ricocheting off his cheek.
"Abby! I was on your side," he whinged at her, rubbing his hand over his stinging skin.
"There are no sides in snowball warfare Timmy, everyone is fair game."
Both of them bent over to pick up more snow, the sound of Tony's laughter ringing out in between his groans as he collapsed onto his back, Jethro seeing this as the perfect opportunity to jump all over him.
Abby giggled at the sight of Tony's arms and legs flailing in all directions, snow being kicked up as Jethro tried to keep the agent pinned under him and lick his face. She threw snowballs at McGee at the same time, hearing the soft chuckle from Gibbs behind her at the madness that had broken out.
Deciding it was time to bring him in on the action she turned towards him, keeping her back against a tree so Tim's view of her was obstructed.
"Don't think you're getting away with sitting out of this Gibbs," Abby told him, lobbing a snowball at him so it landed on his lap.
Gibbs was on his feet in a second, the speed with which he reached Abby making her squeal. She could already feel the melted snow seeping through her clothes to her skin, but the coldness of it was forgotten when he wrapped his arms around her waist as she tried to run away.
She laughed as they tripped over each other's feet, Gibbs holding onto her tightly and stopping her from hitting the ground underneath him when they fell. Turning in his arms, Abby pushed him over on his back, her hands holding his wrists against the ground as she sat on his stomach.
Gibbs didn't even try and overpower her, his upper body slackened, his breathing deep as he grinned up at her, puffs of steam escaping from between his lips with each exhale.
Looking down on him, Abby took in his slightly reddened cheeks, the blueness of his eyes and his silver hair intensified by the white blanket of snow underneath him. She couldn't remember a time when she'd felt so cold, and knew that Gibbs would be chilly too, but she once again found herself hypnotized by him and unable to move.
"Can feel you shivering, Abbs..."
She leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead, softly whispering. "It's not just the cold doing that."
She sat upright on Gibbs, letting go of his wrists so he could sit up too, his hands settling on her waist.
"I'm going to get changed and have a bit of lay down," Tony groaned, getting to his feet, "my stomach could rebel any second and it's not gonna be pretty."
"It appears we've missed all the fun Ziva." Ducky's voice carried from the front door of the cabin, and Abby twisted her head at the same time Gibbs looked around her to see the M.E. and his agent standing there watching.
"What happened to you both having a nap? I know we were noisy but we weren't that loud...well, maybe Tony was," Abby said, poking her tongue out at DiNozzo, who was pointing between himself and Abby, indicating that their battle was far from over.
"A short nap is all I needed or else I won't sleep tonight," Ducky answered, he'd been resting for at least an hour before they'd all headed outside.
"And I couldn't get comfortable...I am not used to sleeping this time of day," Ziva rolled her eyes, annoyed that she'd tossed and turned for ten minutes before deciding it was useless.
"Ziva and I decided we'd go for a short walk if anyone would care to join us, though I think a change of clothes and some time in front of the fire would be best for you two," Ducky suggested looking down at Gibbs and Abby before taking hold of Ziva's arm and threading it over his elbow, walking slowly down the steps.
Abby got up off Gibbs and tried to dust some of the snow off herself, noticing how his clothes were now as wet as hers when he stood up beside her. "You read my mind Duck-man."
She took Gibbs' hand and led him towards the cabin, watching McGee, Tony and Jethro head in the direction of their cabin while Ducky and Ziva strolled off.
"I think I need more than a change of clothes Gibbs...I'm freezing," Abby shivered, huddling close into his side once she'd closed the door behind them.
Gibbs put am arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple, walking them towards the stairs. "Go get the water running in the hot tub and get undressed, I'll get us some clothes."
Abby grinned at him. "We're gonna be in there together...like both of us at the same time?"
"You got a problem with that?" Gibbs smirked and gently rubbed the top of her arm to try and generate some warmth.
"God no, no problem at all."
"Only you, me and Ziva use that bathroom and Ziva's out with Ducky. You need warming up, best way to do that is with body heat."
Abby wasn't going to argue with him, she would've been happy to have the chance to watch him undress and try and tempt him to take her to bed again, but the opportunity to bath with him was one that she wasn't going to pass up.
When they got to the top of the stairs she headed off to the bathroom and turned the taps on into the hot tub, taking off her wet clothes while she waited for Gibbs to join her. When he did, he closed and locked the bathroom door behind him, looking for a spot on the basin to put their clean clothes.
"Lucky I travel light." He cocked an eyebrow, trying to push some of Abby's and Ziva's things aside to make room. "You two really need all this stuff?"
"We have to make ourselves beautiful," Abby answered, standing next to the hot tub with only a towel thrown over her shoulders.
Gibbs dumped the clothes on top of everything and walked over to her, his fingers searching underneath the towel to caress the bare skin of her back.
"Don't need make-up to make you look beautiful Abbs, already are."
She turned to face him, reaching out for his wet black hoodie and lifting it over his head. The action caused the towel to fall from her and Gibbs took a hold of her hips, drawing her closer.
"Is that pine trees I can smell?" Gibbs asked sniffing the air, his attention temporarily wavering from her soft curves to the water flowing into the hot tub.
"Yep, I put a Christmassy bath bomb in there...figured since you don't have your basement here I need to make up for the sawdust smell on you in other ways, though I think it seeps from your skin and clothes now anyway," Abby teased, leaning forward to gently bite the base of his neck.
"You smell pretty good yourself...so sweet," Gibbs groaned, his lips pressing feather light kisses across her shoulder. "Just wanna breath you in."
"That why you were smelling the t-shirt I'd been wearing the other morning?"
Gibbs paused, his lips hovering over her collarbone. "You saw that huh?"
He'd been quick to react when she'd found him inhaling the t-shirt she'd slept in the night before they'd left to come to the cabins, but Gibbs had suspected Abby had seen him.
"I did..." She lifted his chin up so she could see his face, seeing right through his shy grin. "You don't have to be embarrassed Gibbs, it was a sign that I needed, and anyway I smell your clothes all the time."
His smile relaxed in response to the casualness of her words and Abby couldn't help but kiss him, lowering her hands to sneak under his t-shirt and feel the cool skin of his stomach.
Gibbs slid his big rough hands down to cover her ass. "Feels like an eternity since last night."
"I know," Abby sighed, stripping off his t-shirt. "Can't stop thinking about it...us, together."
Gibbs released his hold on her to unbuckle his belt, his mouth seeking out hers as he undid his jeans and pushed them to the floor. Abby moaned against his lips, their kisses becoming hungrier the more Gibbs circled his hips into her.
Abby could feel him hardening, his boxers slightly clingy after some of the moisture from the snowball fight had permeated through his jeans. Despite the fact that they'd just been out in the snow, his body's reaction to her had been almost instantaneous. Their skin was cold but that didn't lessen the heat simmering underneath.
Ending the kiss Gibbs looked down at the almost full hot tub, he rubbed up and down Abby's back feeling the coldness emanating from her.
"Hop in Abbs, need to warm you up."
TBC...
A/N: Merry Christmas to all! :)