Title: A Kiss; That's All It Was?
Genre: NCIS – Romance
Pairing: Abby and Gibbs
Rating: T.
Timeline: None, current, whenever… It's one of those.
Spoilers: Vaguely, but nothing that would spoil anything.
Summery: He has done it countless times, it was routine, until that last time.
Disclaimer: It's nice borrowing someone else's toys – I'll put them back, unharmed, I promise.
A/N: Missy had a crazy moment… humour her please - coz she's on a go-slow. Even bribing her with biltong, drywors and pretzels hasn't encouraged her to play, and she's off chocolates and nuts…
Written: Late August 2012
Word Count: 1,832

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It all started with a kiss, one simple, harmless kiss.

It was a day like any other: a dead marine, a crime scene, evidence to be collected, information to be gathered, autopsies to attend, nothing had been out of sorts. Tony and Ziva did their usual word tango, McGee spoke geek, Ducky told stories and Vance demanded results, all and all nothing out of the ordinary. That was until he entered Abby's lab, armed with a Caff-Pow and wanting results.

She was her usual bouncy self – as always happy to see him. After he had handed her her Caff-Pow, she ran through the evidence. But It was when he moved to kiss her cheek, that it happened. He still has no idea what made her turn to look at him, or if there had been something else she had wanted to say to him. All he knows; is that instead of her cheek, his kiss ended up meeting her lips. With only three things registering: the softness of those lips, the slight gasp that lead to her parting her lips just before they broke, and the regret that filled him as he moved back. Oh no, not regret that he had kissed her – regret for the fact that it was over. He had stalled long enough to see her lift her fingers to her lips, before he recovered from his own shock, her face held a stunned expression, before he had given her the usual thanks and left her lab.

And that event is what led him to here; sitting in his basement with a glass of bourbon, reliving the moment over and over, again. He has suffered post-traumatic stress before, but even that was nothing compared to this. He could remember her scent, the softness of her lips, the slight gasp… how easy it could have been to just hold it for a few moments longer, to lift his hand to capture her head, to hold her to him as he deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue past those soft lips to taste her. A frustrated groan managed to pass his lips. It had been so long since he'd been truly captivated by a woman, so long since he's been really tempted. And it's not as though he's never recognized her as a woman, she was just someone he could be affectionate to, where it didn't come with demands and expectations. He had no need to restrict his desire to touch her, to be affectionate. She had never recoiled, never lashed out at him. He could be however protective of her, and she would never play the jealousy card. He has felt twinges of that, whenever she discussed her time away from the office with someone and he could hear them. But his concern has always been more for her safety, at first with Ari, and later with that lab assistant.

He still recalls the effort it had taken to contain his laugher, when she had made the one intern wear bells around his neck – he also remembers wanting to bust the guy's face when she mentioned he was her new number one – that was his place; no one else had a right to be there. It had been thoughts like those, which had plagued his mind the entire evening – Ha! More like most the day, ever since he'd kissed her. Even DiNozzo had realized he was more distracted after returning from the lab. He'd actually been happy when at the end of the day, when he could send them home to get some sleep, the case could hold overnight.

He heard the door to his basement open, already knowing whom it was. He expected the heavy clonking from her boots to sound as she came down the stairs. No matter what anyone thought of Abby, she had the tenacity of a bulldog when it came to things that mattered to her. He was surprised when the sound hadn't come. Thinking he might be wrong, he looked towards the stairs, and the sight that met his gaze caused a smile to tug at his lips. Standing mid-flight was Abby, dressed in her slippers, scull emblazoned flannel pants a leather jacket over the top. She stood looking at him, her hands fidgeting, fingers entwining, her eyes looking about.

'Come on down Abs, I don't bite,' he invited, calmly waiting for her to join him.

He watched her glance back at the door for a moment then look back at him. 'I should go, it's late.' Abby returned faltering slightly.

Gibbs looked at his watch, 'it's only two in the morning.' He deadpanned hoping his voice didn't betray the sudden attack of nerves that consumed him. He didn't want her to go. He wanted her to come down and join him, like she has so many times before. He felt his heart speed up even more when she once again looked towards the door. He waited for her to make her decision. He knew that they should talk about what had happened earlier, but he didn't want to, it had already made things awkward between them. He watched as she took a deep breath and reluctantly made her way further down the stairs. She came to a halt not to far from him visibly swallowing as her eyes flittered about, seemingly unwilling to meet his.

'Couldn't sleep ha?' he asked indicating for her to take a seat, to which she only shook her head. He wasn't certain if her response was an answer his question or the offer to sit down, because she remained standing, her fingers lacing and unlacing.

He placed his glass on the workbench, then reached out and placed a hand over hers, taking hold of them, doing what came natural to him when she as upset – he pulled her closer for a hug. Her moment's hesitation caused him concern. He did not want their relationship to come into jeopardy, not over a simple kiss, and accidental kiss, yet one he could not forget, did not want to forget. One his heart yearned to repeat. He pulled her into his arms. Rising from his seat as he wrapped his arms around her.

'Is this about earlier?' he gently asked.

He felt her move her head, nodding against his neck. He couldn't help the protective hold his hands took, keeping her close to him, allowing for him to breathe in her scent, to bask in the sensation of holding her close for more than a few moments.

He drew in a deep breath before speaking, words he did not mean, 'It's nothing to worry about Abs, it was an accident. It doesn't change anything.'

He felt her dig her head deeper into the crook of his shudder, felt her shoulders lift slightly from the deep breath she took. His own eyes drifted shut and he seemed incapable of releasing her from his hold.

Abby finally pulled back slightly, lifting her head to allow her eyes to meet his. The longing he saw there, the hurt he could almost feel caused his breath to catch. Without thought for action or consequence, his hand reached to cup her face pulling her closer. 'This isn't though' he said before taking her lips, taking full advantage of her gasp when it came, deepening their kiss. His knees almost buckled at the taste of her, His heart pounded insistently redirecting the flow of his blood from his brain, awakening his loins and his long neglected desires. He felt her lean into him, her hands clutching his shirt as he continued to kiss her, holding her to him, his lips tugging at hers before backing from her leaving her gasping. 'Gibbs-'

He placed his finger on her lips to quieten her. 'Stay with me tonight,' he husked.

She made to talk, but stopped when he shook his head slightly, 'to sleep Abbs,' he continued, moving his finger from her lips in order to cup the side of her face, 'I want to hold you.'

'Gibbs,' she once again started, with longing, a slightly pleading tone to her voice.

'What Abbs?' he asked when she started to pull away from him.

'I.. I can't.' she finally said.

Gibbs steered himself against the sudden jolt of anguish he felt at her words. Before lowering his voice, hoping to disguise his own pain, 'It's okay Abbs, I understand.'

'No it's not, Gibbs,' She suddenly returned, 'I want to, I really do, but I won't be able to just walk away in the morning.' Her voice almost faltering towards the end.

'Abby it's morning already.' Gibbs reasoned.

'You know what I mean,' she anxiously insisted, looking at him.

'Abbs,' Gibbs softly, calmly returned, not wanting her to work herself up.

'No Gibbs, I can't do this anymore.' She started, her words causing his heart to drop to his feet. She then moved from him and started pacing. 'The kisses, the touches they're confusing. They make me hope for something. Something I know I would never have, could never have. I don't want to go back, I don't want for it to mean nothing. I want for it to mean everything, to have it all, not just the fleeting moments. I love you and I know you love me, just not in that way I really want you to.'

Gibbs stepped up to her, gripping her shoulders to stop her pacing. 'Abbs you're tired, lets go to bed.'

'You're not listening, Gibbs.' She returned in frustration.

He closed the distance between them, once again placing his lips on hers, causing her to once again gasp, then resist him slightly. he deepened the kiss until she surrendered before pulling back, resting his forehead against hers. 'I am listening Abbs, now let's go to bed. We'll figure out where to go from there.'

Abby just looked at him for a while, before finally nodding her head.

Reaching down, he took hold of her hand and lead her up the stairs, turning off the lights as they made their ay to his bedroom. He waited for her to settle in his bed, before joining her and wrapping his arms around her, burying his nose in her hair. He felt her snuggle back against him, 'No going back Gibbs,' she whispered.

'No going back Abbs, night,' he whispered in return before kissing her shoulder

'Night Gibbs,' she whispered back, he could hear the smile in her voice, felt his own heart soar at that. He has always only wanted her to be happy.

It was the first night he had any decent sleep in years, possibly the whole of his adult life.

He woke the following morning with her familiar scent and warmth next to him, still in his embrace. A content smile crept across his face as he tightened his embrace for a moment. It would work, he'd make sure of it. Gently he moved the loose dark strands from her face. She's mine now.

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