A/N: Here's the last chapter. Another shorty. Somehow the short ones are so much harder than the long ones, no?
Disclaimer: Disclaimed.

Part 5: Taste

They're not used to the taste of success.

It seems that the universe has been conspiring against them from day one. At least, that's what she says. She believes in fate and que serra, serra. He believes in free will and being the captain of his soul. But still, he has to admit they've had a harder time than most.

His one-night stands, her one-night stands, bite marks and carpet burns. Womanizing frat boy and prick-teasing, terrifying ninja. Jeanne, Roy, Gibbs' rules and Jenny's death. Vance's orders and her father's lies. Tony's drinking and Michael Rivkin. Too shy, too scared, too proud, too far into denial. Missed chances, unspoken sentiments and bald-faced lying. Every reason under the sun not to, and every fiber of their being wanting to. Status quo: try not to acknowledge it and just learn to live with it.

But now…

They should have broken up a hundred times. But the thing that now keeps them together is the thing that used to keep them apart: loyalty. It used to be loyalty to Gibbs and his rules and their team. Now it is loyalty to each other above all else. Somewhere along the way they developed a shared determination to put themselves first. Because for all the action and aguish they've been through until this point, their lives are still only half lived. And he in particular cannot accept that 'half a life' is the best they can expect.

But as critical as that loyalty is, in the end their longevity might just come down to the art of knowing when to keep their mouths shut and when to surrender to the emotion. He'll never tell her he was terrified that they'd burn scorching hot for a few weeks before going though a supernova meltdown. She'll never tell him that she was terrified that their private life would end up being no different to their work life. He won't tell her how close he came to ending it in fury when she took on armed goons to give him time to escape without her. She won't tell him how close she came to ending it in fear when she realized he absolutely owned her heart.

But she will tell him that he makes her happy above all else. And he will never miss an opportunity to tell her he loves her. She will let countless arguments go by when she realizes that she loves him wholly for who he is, not who he could be. He will find an uncanny knack for compromise and patience. She will learn to trust him with every dark and hidden corner of herself, and he will come to accept that he does deserve her commitment and love. And although they'll break themselves and each other again and again, over time their wounds will heal around each other and make them tougher and stronger.

One day in the future they will reveal to each other their shared pride in their circumstances, even when underlined by an ongoing amazement that they got there at all. They both know it shouldn't have worked, and honestly there are times when it doesn't. But she knows she's where she's supposed to be, and he thinks he was right to wait around so long for her. Because there's nothing half-lived about their lives now.

They're not used to the taste of success.

But damn if it doesn't taste sweet.

Thanks for reading! Now, on to something new.