Title: Fanfiction
Rating: T
Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Gibbs/Kate
Summary: Tim’s secret is on the shelves of bookshops all over the country. A secret hiding in plain sight.
Notes: 851 words. Part 3 of Secrets series. McGee definitely would’ve been a kibbs shipper.
Tim’s secret is on the shelves of bookshops all over the country. A secret hiding in plain sight.
It’s a decent read, if you like that sort of thing, Gibbs isn’t really into novels, even less so ones about former marine snipers come federal agents.
Gibbs’ has known from the beginning that he was McGee’s inspiration, so he’s not surprised to see himself in so many facets of the main character. Though he thinks the young man has been a little overkind in places. L.J Tibbs is definitely nicer.
But then, L.J Tibbs gets the girl, so he has reason to be less of a bastard Gibbs supposes. He is a little surprised by the romantic aspects of the book, the relationships McGee has imagined between members of his team.
No more so than that between Tibbs and Kath Tomm.
He sees the sparks between Tony and Ziva, knows McGee and Abby have some casual relationship that he doesn’t get involved in but he was sure he’d managed to keep his interest in Kate purely to himself.
Well, himself and Ducky but that’s another issue.
He’s been careful to keep his eyes on her face when other people are around (and when he’s looking at him). He’s been careful not to spend too much time contemplating her as a woman outside of his basement. He’s careful not to let anyone know he feels anything for her. At all.
Either Tim has a great imagination or he’s not been as careful as he would like.
He can’t decide if he hopes Kate has noticed or not.
When she finds out both he and McGee are in a lot of trouble.
It’s McGee’s sister that lets the secret slip. Well, less slip and more out thrown at them. He doesn’t comment, doesn’t mention it because he already knows and already has opinions and they’re in the middle of a case after all.
He does watch for Kate’s reaction.
Or as it turns out, her non-reaction. She grimaces when it’s mentioned and he can see a faint blush on her cheeks when Tony starts reading paragraphs allowed. And as one case opens closes and another opens he and Ziva start reading the book in earnest. Much to McGee’s dismay and continued protests that it’s fiction.
Kate still doesn’t react much, doesn’t seem to be reading her own copy during every spare minute like the other two. She mostly ignores Ziva as she analyses the relationship between Lisa and Tommy, between Tibbs and Kath (though, she blushes prettily the entire time) and gives as good as she gets when Tony teases her about certain things McGee has written about her (and no, it’s not a heart she has tattooed on her ass either but he doesn’t think now is the time to point it out).
He manages to get through the case without bringing it up, but not without rereading McGee’s book and mostly skipping to the scenes between him and Kate. Either she’s not read it or not offended and while he remembers in startling clarity, it doesn’t hurt his imagination to have a little reminder.
He doesn’t even bother lying to himself about the why, as he sits in his basement and re-reads their first kiss, he knows it’s all he’s ever going to have of her. This is as close to Kate he’s going to get.
He can’t decide if he’s disappointed or relieved there’s no sex scene. He doesn’t know if he could handle the idea of McGee imagining his Kate naked. Or see it on paper but at the same time…
Still, Kate’s lack of reaction bugs him and when he’s done willing his body to behave after his reread he picks up the phone and dials her number.
“Where?” she mumbles and he realises it’s gone two am and they only wrapped up the last case a few hours beforehand.
“No, there’s no case,” he says quickly.
“Oh,”
“You weren’t surprised about McGee’s book,” he says quickly and that wakes her up and she chuckles, low and rough.
“I already knew. Read it months ago.”
“Yeah?” For some reason, he’s still surprised, even though that was the obvious answer to this.
“You’ve had the copy on your shelf since it came out Gibbs,” she says, voice still a little rough and gorgeous, “I’m surprised the others didn’t notice.”
“They’re not stupid enough to go through my stuff.”
“I prefer brave but their loss.”
Gibbs doesn’t disagree and he can hear the smile and the shrug as she speaks, imagines her sitting up in her bed, blankets around her waist. He resists the urge to ask her what she’s wearing.
“What did you think?”
“It’s okay, I prefer murder mysteries to thrillers, you know, Kathy Reichs, Tess Gerritsen.”
The names are vaguely familiar from seeing Kate read now and then over the past few years.
“I mean about Katherine Tomm,”
“It’s not a heart either,” she tells him and he laughs out loud.
“I know,” he says, his face hurting from smiling so wide. “Goodnight Kate.”
“Night Gibbs.”