A/N: MarciaRebafan, MatteaAM and I will be posting drabbles/oneshots about variations of Murphy's Law starting today. MarciaRebafan is the next, on Thursday, and MatteaAM on Saturday. This is the first of...21, I guess. The other two should know it better xD I'm keeping it K now but it may change in the future. Comments, ideas, random suggestions, frustrated ramblings and thoughts are all welcome ;) P.S.: This first one may be a bit of a crack!fic.
If something can go wrong, it will
The more he thought about it, the more convinced Gibbs got that it was a bad idea. And he'd gone through it all many times. The thing was, it may not have been his first – or third – time but he was as nervous as if it were the first. To make things worse, his gut had been acting up ever since he made the decision. Of course he trusted his instincts but…
For once he wished he was wrong.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and decided to let go of his worries for now. Enjoying Jenny's company seemed much more appealing. He tugged at her hand, in an attempt to bring her closer, but she didn't move. Her other hand found his other shoulder and squeezed gently. Her lips came next, touching the back of his neck with a kiss. He tugged at both hands now but Jenny didn't even budge.
"Jen" Gibbs grumbled in protest.
Jenny smiled to herself and kissed his neck again "Are you working on the boat tonight?" she asked, walking around to stand in front of him.
He pulled her to him by wrapping his arms around her waist and backed her up until her back hit the surface of the boat.
"Maybe" he finally replied.
His breath tickled her face and Jenny arched an eyebrow at him lazily, finding the sound of his voice incredibly soothing after the day she'd had. Slowly, she tilted her head up and parted her lips. She smiled inwardly when his gaze followed the movement and wasn't at all surprised when he brought his mouth down to hers. It was a slow and almost entirely innocent kiss, which left a lingering burning on her lips when he pulled back.
"Maybe?" Jenny asked.
Gibbs looked at her face and remembered all about his previous thoughts. He hesitated and Jenny watched him curiously. Something had been bothering him recently, and while she was sure it wasn't a case, she couldn't read him this time. Pulling herself out his embrace, she did the only thing she could think of to get what she wanted from him.
Gibbs' eyes followed her and a smirk adorned his face when she grabbed the bottle of Bourbon and passed by him wearing an innocent smile.
"I'll go get out of these clothes and then get myself reacquainted with your bed" Jenny told him.
"I can help you with that" Gibbs prompted without hesitation.
Jenny smiled at him as she made her way upstairs, taking the bottle of Bourbon with her.
Gibbs sighed as he watched her disappear. He spared his boat a last glance and slapped himself upside the head. He shouldn't doubt himself. It was all a matter of experience and his experience was the reason why he wasn't sure.
If something can go wrong, it will.
And he, better than anyone, knew that it usually did.
That night Gibbs couldn't sleep. He tossed, turned, tugged at the sheets, and kept pulling Jenny closer. She must have been really tired because she slept through it all. At last, he sighed in frustration and finally gave up. He lay on his back and stared at the woman sleeping peacefully beside him.
Before he knew what he was doing, he reached out to touch her face. He pulled her to him for the umpteenth time that night.
"Jethro" she protested in her sleep.
Gibbs buried his face in her hair and licked his lips as he made his decision.
"Jen" he whispered in her ear.
"Hmm?" was her sleepy reply.
He hesitated for a second. Jenny's eyes blinked open slowly and he found himself staring into their green depths.
"You wanna marry me?" he asked quietly.
Jenny frowned and looked at him in confusion. She nodded feebly and closed her eyes as she put an arm around his waist.
"Mmhm"
Gibbs smirked. He wasn't sure if she was really awake but it was something. And he could always make sure in the morning.
The next day Gibbs waited not so patiently for Jenny to wake up. It seemed to take longer than usual and it was a Sunday so she didn't have to worry about work. He didn't want to wake her up but he'd already tried glaring and staring at her. Would it make him a worse bastard if he woke her up after the awful week she'd had? Maybe. But then she'd be woken up for a good reason, he reasoned.
He got up and grabbed his phone. He looked back at Jenny before dialing the familiar number and making his way back to the bed.
Soon enough a loud ringtone was annoying the hell out of him. Jenny groaned and tried her best to ignore it. But the noise didn't stop, no matter how much she tried to block it.
"Is it mine?" Jenny asked.
"Yeah" Gibbs replied.
"Damn it" Jenny mumbled to herself.
She opened her eyes and reached for the phone on the nightstand.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Jenny frowned and sat up. She tried again but nothing. Finally, she looked at the screen and looked up at Gibbs in confusion. She rubbed the sleep off of her eyes and stared at the screen.
When her gaze found his, she looked ready to kill him.
"Why did you call me?" she asked in frustration, now fully awake and glaring at him "Is the house on fire?"
"Wanted to ask you something" Gibbs said innocently.
Jenny glared at him for as long as she could. Something stopped her and she looked at him, really looked at him. She didn't think he'd got any sleep and this whole situation was too weird.
"What is it?" she asked in a softer tone.
Gibbs clenched his jaw. It was time.
"I asked you something last night" he said.
Jenny frowned and tried to remember what he was referring to. They didn't even talk much last night. They just went to bed and that was it. She did have a funny dream…
She looked at him suspiciously, narrowing her eyes "You did?"
He gave her a knowing look.
Busted, Jenny thought.
She opened her mouth to speak, twice, but the words just would not come out. She had no idea what to say. She hadn't even processed it yet!
Clearing her throat, she looked at him and tried to keep herself calm.
"Can you repeat the question? I don't think I remember it right" she said.
Gibbs stared at her. Her body language wasn't right. She looked ready to run. This could be a disaster. It could go wrong. But he still wanted to try.
That's why he asked again "You wanna marry me?"
Jenny swallowed hard and avoided meeting his gaze. She stood up, still not believing what she'd heard, and looked around blindly.
"You-" she started, then shook her head.
She walked around the room aimlessly until she spotted the same bottle of Bourbon she had brought to the bedroom last night.
She opened the bottle and looked at him "You're serious?" she asked him incredulously.
Gibbs nodded.
"I think I'll need something if we're having this conversation" Jenny tipped back the bottle and swallowed as much as she could take. She felt like she probably needed the whole bottle but she ended up chocking on the second mouthful.
"No" she said, shaking her head vehemently, almost to herself.
Gibbs watched her carefully, amused by her reaction. It took her a moment but after the initial shock she seemed calm enough. She even went back to sit beside him on the bed.
"Really?" she asked again.
He looked pointedly at her.
"I'm not sure this is a good idea" she admitted.
Gibbs nodded to himself. He knew she wouldn't agree with it but it still hurt some.
More than some if he was completely honest...
"You've married four times and you have three ex-wives. Why would you want to get married again? These things go wrong all the time" she reasoned, trying to convince both of them it was a bad idea.
"I know that" he agreed "So…is it a no?"
Jenny bit her bottom lip and stared at him. "Yes"
Gibbs stood up and, for the first time in her life, Jenny thought he looked unsure of what to do next.
"I mean…" she trailed off. This was tough. She sighed.
She walked up to him and grabbed his face between her hands, bringing it down towards hers. She kissed him and pulled back.
"What I meant is I will marry you..." she trailed off.
"One day" Jenny offered with a smile, after a moment of hesitation.
He managed to smile back in spite of it all.
"Maybe I'll even ask for your hand" she teased him.
Gibbs snorted and did something he hadn't done in years; gave her a gentle yet typical headslap using said hand. Jenny looked at him shock.
"Was it good for you?" he asked with a smirk on his face.
- The End -