Home for Christmas

Jack came back from Afghanistan just about 4 months ago and during this time she's been living in Gibbs' house, she missed the place so much and when Ducky offered her to stay there she couldn't have said no. It was a Saturday December night, it was dark outside and the snow started falling slowly, Jack spend the evening talking with Grace about the last 4 months being back and how much she missed a certain Marine, Grace left only a few minutes ago and now she heard the door open. Jack gets up from the couch "Grace did you forget anything?" she said and went to see who was at the door, when she arrived in front of it she stopped in her track like a deer in front of headlights, the person smiled slightly and looked at her "Is that my hoodie?" he asked pointing at the red USMC hoodie she was wearing "Uh...yeah" she answered smiling slightly while trying not to blush "What are you doing here, Jack?" she closed the door trying to compose herself and said "I live here now" at her answer he smiled at just the thought of her living in his house "what are you doing here, Gibbs?" she asked after a few minutes "Do I have to remind you that this is my house?" he got closer to her and looked at her in the eyes "no, but you didn't seem in any hurry to come back here" she answered still looking in those icy blue eyes that could still melt her heart even after 8 months apart. They looked at each other for a little until the tension became unbearable and he closed the gap between them. The kiss said all there was to be said, it was as if they never separated. After a little Jack pulled apart just slightly to get some air as his hands moved to her waist, the way he looked at her told her that even if time had passed his feelings haven't changed but she needed to hear them, just to be sure that she hadn’t spent months holding onto something that wasn't real "you look amazing" he said and she tried so hard no to blush but despite her efforts her cheeks colored a little and she chuckled slightly "Thank you, Cowboy" she replied, only he could think that she looked amazing in a pair of sweatpants (his) and a USMC hoodie (also his) she looked up at him and caressed his cheek "how about you go take a warm shower and put on something more comfortable while I get you something to eat?" her question only made him smile slightly "Ok, but keep the fire going for when I'm back" he meant it to come out nonchalantly but instead it sounded much deeper, showing exactly what it could have meant, keep the fire in the fireplace going? Sure, that was the literal meaning of the statement but it could also mean keep the fire between them going and well for that he didn't need to worry because that fire was sure still burning and the flame getting bigger and bigger, a fire that not even 8 months apart could kill, a fire that kept burning and was only waiting for the opportunity to burn everything down.
He went upstairs to take a shower and get changed while she went in the kitchen to prepare something for him after putting a log in the fire, everything still  felt so surreal to her, she spent months in the afghan desert wishing to be back in his arms and now all her wishes came true even though she didn’t know when this was going to end because eventually he'd have to go. About 20 minutes later Gibbs came back downstairs wearing a similar outfit to the one she was wearing, Jack smiled at the sight of him and without thinking she held out her arms to invite him in a hug, and invitation he was more than happy to accept, he hugged her tight and kissed her on the cheek "I missed you so much" he whispered in her hair still not able to let her go. Jack smiled and wanted to retort with a tease about the fact that he's been away only 20 minutes but she knew the meaning was much deeper, knew he meant that he missed her during those 8 months apart so she accepted it as it was "I missed you too, Jethro" the sound of his first name coming out of her mouth made him smile and he hugged her tighter, now that he could act on his feelings he wasn't able to stop and she wasn't one to complain, after all she always hoped for a moment like this to happen. After a while they sat on the couch under a blanket, his plate was empty and now laying on the coffee table, Jack was all snuggled up at his side and she was so happy to have him back so she wouldn't have to get up every now and then to put more logs into the fire and Gibbs was just as happy to do that for her. Jack looked up at him and caressed his cheek to get his attention "so...what actually made you come back?" He kissed her on the forehead before answering her question "Jimmy invited me for Christmas dinner at his place on the 24th, he said the team is gonna be there and the kids wanted to see me so I accepted, ya plan on going too?" He asked because he thought the team knew about her being back to DC so he wasn't quite ready for the answer that came after it "actually I wasn't invited...I haven’t told anyone I'm back yet...after I came back from Afghanistan I needed a place to stay and Ducky offered me your place, said it'd help him since he wouldn't have to take care if it anymore, saw Grace a few times to talk but I haven't told anyone else yet" he nodded his understanding but his question surprised her "can I call Jimmy one of these days and ask if I can have a plus one at the dinner table? I really want you to be there and I really want to spend the holidays with you, Jack" She smiled slightly and kissed him softly "Sure, but why are you here this early? I mean the 24th is in almost 3 weeks" her question was genuine, if she had to live with him for three weeks she sure as hell wanted to make the best out of it "wanted to see how the house was and if there was something that needed to be fixed or something like that, then I told Tobias I'll see him before he leaves for holidays, sure wasn't prepared for this beautiful surprise" the fact that his reply made her smile slightly made him smile too, he moved a strand of hair from her face and kissed her softly. They talked for a while more about why he left and then about why she left and also about their feelings ending up to the conclusion that both of them wanted to give them a chance and after a bit the conversation fell into comfortable silence just before they fell asleep in each other's arms on the couch.
The next morning he woke up and snuggled closer to her smiling at the feeling of waking up with her in his arms, she looked so peaceful and comfortable and he didn't want to disturb her so he just cuddled her and made sure she was warm enough.  After some time he felt her moving a little "I can feel you smiling" she said and it only made him smile more "Good morning to you too, Jack" he opened his eyes to look at her, her hair a little messy framed her beautiful sleepy face and he adored her just for that "how did you sleep?" She asked as she turned around to face him "I slept well, how about you?" He asked while moving a strand of hair from her face "very well" he kissed her softly and then stood up "Hey! Where are you going?" she reached out to grab his hand as he bent down to look at her in the eyes "kitchen, wanna make us some breakfast, you relax a little more" she smiled slightly and reluctantly let go of his hand, he kissed her on the forehead and disappeared in the kitchen. Her relaxation on the couch lasted all 3 minutes because then she was standing in the kitchen hugging Gibbs from behind, apparently he wasn't the only one enjoying the freedom of acting on their feelings. After the food was ready Gibbs put some in two plates and then grabbed two cups, he poured a generous amount of coffee in both of them and in one of them he also put some sugar. Jack smiled as she saw him pour the sugar in one of the cups and was happy to see that it was perfectly sweetened "you remembered" she said in the cutest voice "kinda hard to forget, honey" he replied and smirked at her as he took a sip of his coffee.
They enjoyed their morning cuddling and talking and Jack couldn't still believe how right things felt and how easy it seemed to be with him, as if they've been together for ages but were also so new at the same time. Gibbs came down the stairs and went to the couch where Jack was "Ok Imma go to Fornell's I'll be back in 2 hours tops" he said as he reached the couch "Ok, be safe, call me if you need anything and tell Fornell I said hi" she said with a smile he gave her a quick kiss on the lips and said "Ok, I'll see you later, I love you" oh well...shoot...that was not supposed to come out  he thought, he wasn't the type of man to let those three words slip out so easily but yet she made everything seem so easy, realization of what he said hit them both at the same time but she decided to let him off the hook, she put her cup on the coffee table and pulled him gently closer to her, she kissed him and once they parter she whispered "I love you too, Jethro" against his lips, he kissed her again and deepened the kiss, at a certain point things got a little heated up and she reluctantly pulled back, she stopped him with a gentle hand on his chest when his lips followed hers "You're gotta go now or you'll be late, sweetie" She said as she tried to recompense herself "but I don't wanna go, you're more important" he said hoping to go back to kissing her soon "go meet up with Fornell, we'll continue this later" he groaned but stood up anyway "promise?" She smiled slightly "promise" and just like that he kissed her one last time and then left her in the living room chuckling slightly at how sweet he could be sometimes.