A/N: Hi, sorry for the lack of updates. What can I say...school is very busy right now :( You will find an explanation to my inspiration at the end of this piece. It's set back in the days when Jenny and Gibbs were partners/lovers. Hope you enjoy this!

February

Leroy Jethro Gibbs smirks knowingly at the sound of stiletto heels against his staircase. He slows his steady back-and-forth movements with the sander, but doesn't completely stop to a still. He doesn't even glance her way, but listens as she places something on the workbench, then the tell-tale sound of a mason jar being turned upside-down and its contents scattering. The pouring of liquid on glass.

He feels a hand slipping around his waist, a body pressing against his back. He smiles and turns his head slightly, glancing over his shoulder and meets the enchanting green eyes of Jenny Shepard.

She smiles; a dazzling, seductive smile, bringing the mason jar to her lips and he watches her throat move as she swallows the liquor. She leans closer, lips grazing his skin as she whispers in his ear: "I brought you something," then she bites playfully on his earlobe.

He turns, surprise etched on his face, but before he can look over to see what she placed on the workbench, she moves in and captures his mouth in a hard, deep kiss, her head obstructing his view.

Her hands on his hips, she guides them around so his body pins her against the side of the boat. She looks up at him, her eyes warm and mischievous.

"Jen…" he growls.

"Hmm?" she smiles, dragging her lips lazily across his jaw, drawing a low groan from deep in his throat.

"What did you bring?" he asks, suspiciously, and judging by the mischievous glimmer in her eyes, he has every right to be.

She pulls her lower lip between her teeth, her eyes playfully roaming over his face.

"Stop being so impatient, Jethro," she mumbles, adding a small giggle when he shoots her a vicious glare.

"Pot's calling the kettle black?" he teases, smirking.

Teeth once again catching her lower lip, she tilts her head, looking at him thoughtfully for a moment.

"Cover your eyes, Jethro," she says, earning an eye roll from him.

"Jen, c'mon…"

"Cover your eyes," she demands, more forcefully this time. Curving her hands around his wrists and removing his hands from her hips and bringing them up to his face, covering his eyes with them.

"Okay, okay, I get it," he mutters, drawing a smirk from her. She pecks him lightly on the cheek.

"Don't peek," she says firmly, checking to make sure his eyes are completely covered before she circles him, deliberately brushing her body against his in a way that can only be described as provocative. She smirks as he fails to stifle a groan.

He turns, still with one hand covering his eyes to please her, the other bracing against the boat as he leans against it, cracking one eye open and subtly glancing through his fingers. Her body is blocking his vision of the workbench, not that her backside is a bad vision, but the fact that she is being so secretive is making him nervous. Jenny Shepard always has a way of worrying him.

"Stop staring at my ass," drawls her voice suddenly, tinged with amusement, without as much as glancing over her shoulder.

He smirks, but replaces his hands over his eyes, effectively blocking his vision. He is positive he'll have plenty of time later to admire every aspect of her anatomy.

His curiosity peaks when he feels her closing the distance between them.

Silence settles over the basement. He can only hear her soft breathing.

The only reason he does not remove his hand right now is because, much as he might try to deny it, he enjoys her little games every once in a while. He might as well cooperate, if only to see her smile.

"Open your eyes," her voice is lowered.

He removed his hand, and she says; "Happy Valentine's Day, Jethro," and then she pulls her lip between her teeth in that cute way she usually does.

She holds out a potted plant for him to take. Uncertainty flashing briefly in her eyes.

Surprised, he takes it from her slender hands. Frowning slightly as he touches the petals of the pink flowers, feeling plastic under his fingers.

"Plastic flowers?" he asks, his expression half-way between questioning and amused. And to his great surprise, a pinkish blush creeps onto Jenny Shepard's cheeks, making her look absolutely adorable. Hiding a smirk, he knows he's screwed if he ever dare tell her she is cute.

Tilting her head a little, she catches his eyes. Leaning forward slightly, she lowers her voice in an attempt to imitate his as she says, "I don't like gifts that require attention," coaxing a smirk and a small eye-roll from him. "Thought your place could use some color," she adds, straightening her neck and gently touches the pink fake petals.

"How thoughtful of you," he says, but cannot make it sound as teasing as it usually would. He cannot deny he is touched by her action.

"If you don't want it, I'll take it back," she replies, also attempting to joke, but the tone in her voice betrays here. This means more to her than he knows.

There is something going on here. Something that he cannot quite place but it is here nonetheless. Something that shouldn't be here between him and his partner.

He meets her eyes over the pink and green plastic blur. He sets the white pot down onto one of the beams of the boat, before taking her by surprise by pulling her into a hug. She relaxes quickly in his arms, her hands carefully stroking along his spine.

"Thank you," he whispers, lips grazing her ear while his eyes are fixed on the flower behind her.

He has not received a gift like this one in a long time.

The end.

A/N: For some strange reason, flowers always seem to die way too soon in my care, so I've been seriously considering going for plastic flowers instead, they don't require attention :P And then I was watching the ep when Kate asks if Gibbs never gets flowers, and he of course says he does not like gifts that require attention, it kind of inspired me to this little February piece set around Valentine's Day.

xxx