step by step
An NCIS fic collection
by mew-tsubaki
- ^-^3
imagine: miscellany 27—cooldown (this post on the sideblog: 720511394345336832/ parknight-imagines-miscellany-27-cooldown)
tags: established!Parknight, smthg smexy for once *LOL* XP
- ^-^3
The over-the-top temps at the start of the season were a warning. Now, they're barely a month into summer and dealing with…the second? third? heatwave in the D.C. area, and air conditioners are giving up the ghost left and right.
"I think I'd give anything to live in Antarctica right now. Or the Arctic," Jess grouses as she stands in front of his open fridge and closes her eyes. Ahhh, the blast of cold feels so nice…!
"Or maybe live down in Autopsy," Alden quips, coming into the kitchen and joining her. He's close but thankfully not touching as he leans against the opposite side of the fridge.
Jess squints at him and snorts at the smidge of gallows humor. But what catches her eye more is Alden's peachy hue…he looks redder than usual, and it worries her, because everyone's sweating in this heat, but Alden— "All right, switch places with me."
He quirks one lazy eyebrow but obliges, any gripe about his power bill or the contents of his fridge spoiling dying on his tongue. Alden watches her walk backwards out of the kitchen with a secret smile for him, but then he loses track of her around the corner when she disappears down the hall.
Jess heads for the bathroom and leaves the door wide open. She eyes his tub—a clawfoot piece, because his place is a mix of modern and antique…a surprising mix just like him—and turns the spigot to the right, watching the water rush in at full blast. Jess sticks her hand under the cascade, and it's tepidly cool at first, but it chills the longer it runs. Thank goodness, she thinks.
"So this is where you wandered off to," Alden remarks behind her.
She turns to find him leaning against the doorjamb. He's still red, so Jess grabs a washcloth, dips it in the water, and beckons him inside, where she starts to dab at his brow. When he sighs against her touch, she relaxes in the slightest. "We both need to cool off, Alden. C'mon. We can make the day of it. Grab the rest of the Rocky Road you have in the freezer. Prop your tablet against the towel bar and binge a season of—anything, really."
He leans into her touch but settles her with a heavy-lidded, skeptical stare. "…spend the entire day in a cold tub?"
"The entire day with me," she reminds him, handing him the washcloth. With her hands free, Jess smiles and pulls her thin t-shirt up over her head, the shirt briefly catching on her knotted hair before her bun pops free with a bounce. Then she hooks a thumb in the waistband of her sleep shorts and undies and a finger in the waistband of his boxers.
Alden snorts. "Lounging like a pair of mermaids," he says, but he takes half a step closer to her to kiss her and another step as she walks them backwards, closer towards the tub.
"Only if lounging is the only thing you have in mind," she retorts against his lips, and she laughs as Alden shows her just how enthusiastic he is about her plans for the rest of this previously unbearable day off.
- ^-^3
Aaaand finally this drabble collection gets a T rating. XD A little random, but honestly just thinking about how hot it is rn and summer's…barely begun. Also, a mermaid comment bc y'all need to read "Ripples" by me if you haven't already. (The tub's technically also a reference to that fic, too, *LOL*.)
-mew! ;D