Vowel Sounds
- Yesterday -

Yesterday changed everything. It shook the very foundations of what I held to be true. I hadn't quite worked out if it was a change for the better or a change for the worse. I had been here before, with him, but time changes everything and I now have to work out if I should hold on to this, hold on tight with both hands, or let it sift through my hands like sand.

I had thought that I knew how I felt about him; I thought I knew how he felt about me. But I was completely unprepared for what happened yesterday. I can't even blame it on alcohol, because I hadn't had a drop, although, I am not sure that I would blame alcohol even if I was drunk. It was bound to happen; it was just a question of when.

---

Like most of their arguments, she has no idea how this one started, or what the hell they were arguing about. All she knew is that they were both tired, strung out from too many consecutive hours working in too short a space of time. So when he snapped at her, his voice raw with exhaustion, she shouted back before she could stop herself. Neither of them had ever been good at backing down from a challenge, from a fight or from each other and its one thing they haven't grown out of.

They were in each other's personal space, voices raised and she hoped that Noemi had gone home because she knew whatever she was saying wasn't pretty, and definitely wasn't ladylike. They know each other too well; know the secret raw places, the right buttons to push, the best way to hurt, and the old wounds that have never really healed. She knew she had finally gone too far when her back hit the wall and several stone of angry Gibbs pushed her roughly against it, pressing her between the cold plaster and his hot, furious body

"Jen..."

He left the warning statement hanging, his anger rolling off him in waves. She was frozen to the spot, the anger in his voice chaining her to the wall but as usual, she had a biting retort.

"You may scare DiNozzo and McGee...but you don't scare me Jethro."

Fortunately, he silenced her, before she could cause him anymore trouble, by gripping her chin and bringing his mouth down hard over hers. Anger and frustration from the argument still hummed through his veins, fueling his lust as his hands ripped open her blouse. Neither of them had any regard for their clothes as they tore at each other, years of pent up sexual tension releasing itself in a flurry of emotions.

The edge of the step dug into her back as he all but threw her down on the stairs and covered her once again with his body. She ran her hands through his hair and angled his head to gain better access, access to his mouth which she had missed so much, the taste of coffee and bourbon lingered in the recesses and she pulled him closer still, the groan that reverberated through his chest only serving to encourage her.

His hands fumbled with her pants and for a second, she bit back a bubble of hysterical laughter which threatened to surface, he was always so in control and the one time he wasn't, was when he is pinning her to her stairs, his breath hot on her neck, his obvious desire hard against her thigh. When his hand found its way to its target, she gasped, his fingers were cold against the sensitive skin of her thighs, and she arched against him as he slipped them into her, her nails digging into his shoulders.

She groaned as his hands left her, but smirked as she saw he was undoing his pants and pushing them down his hips. She wrapped her legs round his waist, trusting him to keep her on the stairs and let out a moan as he lowered himself onto her.

He tried to keep his eyes open, wanted to watch the way their bodies moved together, wanting to see if it was as good as he remembered, but he couldn't and instead he concentrated on the harsh sound of their breathing, the feel of her skin under his hands and his lips, the feel of her body clenching around him and the breathy sound of his name on her lips.

As he followed her into release then comfortable numbness she remembered that it hadn't been this way between them for years, but it's the most honest they've been with each other for a long time, and she can't help but thank whatever god is listening that they are both so argumentative and stubborn.

---

I wake up and my head is pounding, and I have no idea how we made it into bed. I sense his presence behind me and for a second I am confused by it, then I remember, I remember yesterday, I remember the shouting, Gibbs pushing me against the wall then the stairs, his hands on me, his mouth covering mine. I silently turn over and l study his sleeping form. His brow is slightly furrowed, because he never truly relaxes, even in sleep. I run my finger over his forehead gently, hoping to smooth it out and am pleased when it relaxes for a second and the slight frown is replaced by a very small smile. He stirs and I close my eyes, pretending to be asleep, putting off the inevitable for a little longer, coming to the conclusion that this is something that I need to hold onto, that I can't let this go, but I have no idea what to say. His hand touches my face lightly, brushing my hair from my eyes and I hear him sigh. He turns over, away from me and my hand reaches his wrist just as he is trying to silently disentangle himself from my sheets.

"Don't leave." I whisper, my voice hoarse from sleep and heavy breathing, hoping with everything that I am that he will stay. He looks down at me, and I will him to see that I want him to stay, forever.

"Ok." He replies simply, slipping back into bed next to me and pulling me to him. Yesterday may have been the best day of my life so far, but we have got tomorrow, and the next day, and the next to prove that theory wrong.

FIN