a/n: this is my fave

Day 7: Roleplaying

Timeline: Married

He was stretched out on the couch doing a crossword puzzle and watching the news when his wife sat down next to him and placed her hand on his thigh in a manner that could only be interpreted as salacious.

He paused, lowered his pencil, and lifted his eyes, looking at her expectantly.

"Want to do something fun?" she asked slyly.

He thought about the question, wondering if it was a trick.

"I'm havin' fun," he grunted. He didn't want her to think she had too much power, after all - she'd gotten home from work about an hour ago, but she'd been in the bathroom getting comfortable for a while: showering, taking make-up off, putting hair off, etc.

She snorted derisively.

"Yeah - evening news, New York Times, reading glasses - I'm suddenly consumed with horror that you may have in fact turned seventy-two while I was at work - so, let me ask again: want to have some fun?"

He glared at her, and folded up the paper. He chucked it aside and went to put his hands behind his head, gesturing to the television as he did so.

"Senate elections are kind of important," he growled, pretending he knew what he was talking about.

"Will you be voting for Burr or Mason in this round?" Jenny asked seriously.

"Burr," Gibbs blustered.

"Cool, he died two hundred years ago," Jenny answered breezily. She leaned forward and squeezed his thigh. "Fun?"

"Do I have to get up?"

"You got to get somethin' up."

He arched his brows.

"'M listenin'."

"It's a game that involved alter egos - "

"Ah, Jen," he whined. "Roleplaying?"

"Alter egos," she said sternly, glaring.

"I don't wanna pretend I'm a felon again," he groaned.

She tilted her head back, laughing, and shook her head.

"No, no, not cops and robbers - you're not playing with Levi," she admonished - Levi always made Gibbs pretend to be the bad guy. "We can do something you choose," she suggested.

He stared at her warily for a minute and then shrugged.

"You just get naked and get on top of me."

"That's so original that I think I need to call the Guiness Book of World Records," she deadpanned. "Suggest something with earnest or I will sleep with DiNozzo," she threatened bluntly. She lowered her voice. "He likes ropes."

Gibbs shoved his foot into her thigh and scratched her lightly with his toenails, giving her an aggressive look. He grit his teeth, annoyed, and tried to force himself to think - but his entire life for the past twenty years had either been about raising one kid or raising a grandkid, and the only thing he could think of was silly movies or ... children's books ... -

"Batman and Robin," he grunted.

Then he immediately realized the issue with that.

She stared at him silently for a full minute, without blinking, without moving.

"I don't understand," she said carefully. "Do you want to be Batman, or do you want to be Robin?"

He sat up and rubbed his jaw, his face flushing - he didn't want to be either, but he realized the sort of insinuation -

"Or are you trying to subtly insinuate, since there's homoerotic intimation in the Batman-Robin duo, that I should be Robin and you should get to ... Batman me."

He looked at her, slightly confused.

"Batman you?"

"Is this a ..." He was slightly impressed he'd mad his loquacious Jenny speechless. She leaned away warily. "Is this a butt thing?"

He covered his face and groaned. He shook his head quickly. He looked up, raising his eyes to the ceiling.

"You pick," he grunted, in the manliest tone he could muster.

She considered him a moment, and then she gave him a wicked grin.

"No take-backsies, we're sticking with Batman and Robin."

He glared at her. How the hell were they supposed to -

She stood up and gave him a prim pat on the head.

"You know, that unfulfilled, unconsummated, clearly present but unresolved sexual tension," she cooed - and left him sitting alone on the couch, right where he'd started, but no longer where he wanted to be.

-alexandra