Chapter Text
Kai Holman was as beautiful as he was stupid, but neither of those things were going to help him against the cool blonde sitting across the table.
“Jeez, Kai, relax,” Kate said, taking a sip of her coffee. “You don’t even know what I’m asking yet.”
“That’s the part that scares me,” Kai replied, pulling a face as he set his own cup back down on the table. His dad always slipped a little extra sugar in his coffee. It was a real pain in the ass.
Kate arched an eyebrow, a teasing smile on her lips. “C’mon, Holman. You’re no chicken.”
“No,” he shrugged, throwing his hands in the air. “But I know better than to get entangled in shenanigans with you, Whistler.”
“Shenanigans?” Her smile spread into a full grin. “There will be no shenanigans.”
“With you there’s always shenanigans.”
Kate laughed, her finger running around the rim of her coffee cup. She looked out the window to the street outside, and said quietly, “I want to ask Lucy to marry me.”
“What?” Kai blinked, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Dude! That’s amazing! Congratulations!”
“She hasn’t said yes yet,” Kate’s sharp gaze locked onto him. She looked… scared. Which was unlike Agent Whistler.
But Kai wasn’t looking at Agent Whistler right now, he was looking at Kate. Kate, who clearly wanted to ask him something.
“What do you need from me?”
“Help?” Kate bit her lip. “I have no idea how to do this. I want to knock her socks off, Kai. I want to wow her. I want to woo her. I want her to look at that ring and know she’s chosen the right woman.”
Well, that was romantic.
“And you want me to help?”
“Fake girlfriend in Canada notwithstanding-”
“She’s real!”
Kate laughed. “I know. I looked her up.”
Kai shook his head, smiling. Of course she did.
“Fake girlfriend notwithstanding, you’re one of the most romantic people I know.”
That was news to Kai. Most people thought that if he spent less time thinking with his dick he’d be better off. In fact, his father had said words to that effect to him two nights ago.
Speak of the devil.
“You kids having a good breakfast?” Wally Holman appeared at their table, wiping his hands on a tea towel. He threw it over his shoulder and grabbed a chair, straddling it and looking at them expectantly.
“It’s delicious, Mr Holman. Mahalo.” Kate beamed at him, and he smiled right back. Kai rolled his eyes. Lucy and Kate both had his dad wrapped around their little fingers.
“It’s great, Pops,” Kai added, taking another sip of his coffee. “We were just in the middle of a conversation, though, so-”
“What you talking about?” Wally’s attention remained on Kate.
“Well,” Kate said, her cheeks flushing pink, “I was just asking Kai for some romance tips.”
“Romance? Ha!” Wally reached over and mussed Kai’s hair. “If he thought less with his dick he’d be better off.”
“Pops!”
Kate covered her mouth with one hand, trying – and failing – to hide the fact she was laughing. Kai bit the inside of his cheek to hide his own laughter. The last thing he needed was his father thinking he was funny.
“I always thought that you and Hina-”
Kai shuddered. “No. We are not going there.”
Wally held his hands up in defeat. “I better let you kids get back to it, eh? I got customers waiting.”
“Where is Hina, anyway?” Kate looked up, raising her eyebrows. “I haven’t seen her around in a while.”
“Ah, you know…” Kai waved a hand dismissively. “She’s around. Still a pain in my ass.”
Kate sipped at her coffee, a knowing smile on her face. Wally wasn’t the only one who thought Kai and Hina would make a good pairing. She and Lucy had discussed the matter at length over beers just a few nights ago.
Alas, Kai was not budging on it.
“So,” Kai exhaled. “Romance, huh?”
“Romance,” Kate smirked. “Are you up for the challenge?”
“Oh, always,” Kai grinned.
Their phones, which had been sitting on the table, lit up simultaneously. Kate’s gave a trill, while Kai’s buzzed a few times. Sharing a look, they each grabbed their own device and answered.
“Agent Kate Whistler.”
“Holman.”
“Uh huh…I’m on my way.”
“You got it, boss.”
They both got to their feet, Kate frantically trying to gulp down the last of her coffee as Kai shrugged on his jacket. Few words were exchanged as Kai paid and Kate tried to slip him a few bills to cover her share. He knocked her hand away, as he always did, and headed for his car.
“You want a ride?” He called back over his shoulder.
She bit her lip, checking the time on her watch. She’d caught the bus to Wally’s diner this morning, thinking she’d have a leisurely couple of hours to have breakfast, head back to her place, and get properly ready for the day. As it was, she was glad she had a change of clothes stuffed in one of the desk drawers in her office. She wasn’t showing up to a meeting at Pearl in yoga pants.
“Whistler,” Kai tried again.
“Sorry, sorry. Coming!”
She jogged over and jumped into the passenger side, buckling her seatbelt and knocking down the visor to give her reflection a quick look. Her hair was lank – it needed a wash – and her eyes had sleep in the corners. With a huff, she set about braiding her blonde hair, grateful for the hair tie that never left her wrist when she was off duty.
“Did you, ah, get much out of Tennant?” Kate asked, pulling a couple of strands out the front to give her a messy-yet-polished look.
“Kidnapping,” Kai grunted. “Some navy scientist’s kid or something. I’m sure there’ll be more information when we get to Pearl.”
Kate nodded, watching the Hawaiian scenery go by. They passed by the beach, and she longed to be in the waves, to feel the sun on her skin and the surf beneath her, the spray of the water in her hair. Maybe she could convince Lucy they were in need of another beach date sometime soon.
Maybe the beach would be a good proposal location?
“What about the beach,” she said, angling herself so she could gauge Kai’s reaction. “For the proposal? Beaches are romantic, right?”
“Yeah, if you’re not afraid of open bodies of water,” Kai snorted. He had a point. She hadn’t really considered that, more her own love of the waves. He reached over and patted her hand. “We’ll come up with something, Kate. I promise.”
Kate settled into the passenger seat and turned her gaze out the window, deep in thought as they pulled up at Pearl. Once they were parked, she bid Kai farewell and all but sprinted to her office to get ready for the day. She checked the time on her watch – still another ten minutes until she had to be upstairs for debriefing – and buttoned her shirt one-handed, using the other to swap out her sneakers for her most comfortable boots, because kidnappings meant interviews and interviews meant a lot of footwork.
She didn’t mind that part of her job, truthfully. It was like getting presented with a new puzzle, and Kate loved puzzles. She threw on her blazer and squared her shoulders, taking a deep breath.
Showtime.
The NCIS field office was abuzz with action when she made it upstairs. She accepted a manila folder off a junior agent and a coffee off Kai, before joining the rest of the team in the war room. Kidnappings were serious business, especially when they involved the children of navy personnel. She flicked through the file while she waited for Tennant to arrive.
“Hey,” two hands touched her waist, and she smiled, turning around to see Lucy.
“Hey yourself,” she said. She held out her coffee. “Want some?”
“God yes, I’m dying for a caffeine hit,” Lucy took the drink and sipped at it, taking her place at Kate’s side. Kai came to stand on her other side, checking his phone.
Tennant could be heard before she could be seen. The click, click, click of her heels against the concrete floor heralded her arrival long before they could see her. She marched into the war room with her head held high, turning to face them with her hands on her hips.
“Jesse, what have we got?”
Kate lived her life in total and utter admiration of Jane Tennant. The woman was a force of nature.
As Jesse started with the details of the case – a fifteen-year-old girl, kidnapped by an unknown assailant while his partner brutally assaulted her mother, a scientist working in the US Naval sub program – Kate reached down and linked her pinkie with Lucy’s. She felt the other woman’s thumb caress the back of her hand and she suppressed a smile. Giving Lucy’s hand a squeeze, she let go, and focused her attention on Tennant.
“Kate, I want you and Kai to canvass the area around the café. Lucy, Jesse, focus on interviewing any witnesses. HPD locked everything down pretty tight, so it’s just on us to get the ball rolling.”
“Yes, boss,” Kai said. He nodded his head to Kate. “C’mon. I’ll drive.”
“Like hell,” she replied.
They piled into Kai’s SUV, Kai having commandeered the keys first. As Kate buckled herself in, she waved at Lucy, who was climbing into the driver’s seat of her own SUV, a mollified Jesse sitting morose in the passenger seat.
Lucy blew her a kiss, and she grinned, her gaze dropping down to her hands.
“God, the two of you are sickening,” Kai rolled his eyes, but there was humour in his tone.
“Sickening?”
“Always making googly eyes at each other, blowing kisses, holding hands in team meetings,” he huffed a laugh. “Man, wish I was in love like that.”
“It’s pretty nice,” Kate agreed.
“I was going to ask if you were sure, but I think I know the answer.”
“Sure of what?”
“Asking Lucy to marry you,” Kai shook his head, flicking the indicator upwards as they headed into the heart of Honolulu. “Marriage is a huge deal. It’s a lifetime commitment. And things happen that can make all that fall apart.”
“Those things could happen anyway, regardless of if we’re married or not,” Kate pointed out. “But yeah. I’m sure. Lucy’s the one for me.”
A smile spread across Kai’s face. “Okay then. Let’s get you a wife.”
She punched him on the arm, laughing. Kai had become a good friend over the past few months. He, Kate, and Lucy spent hours together outside of work, hitting up food trucks and hanging out at Wally’s Diner. In many ways, he had become something of a confidante to Kate, the two of them trading secrets like friendship bracelets under the bracing Hawaiian sun. She was grateful to have him in her life, and even more grateful for how much he supported Lucy.
Kate flicked through the folder still in her hands, looking at the photo of the girl. She was fifteen, a slight thing, so slender you could snap an arm like a twig. Her dark hair was a mess of curls, her eyes wide and trusting. Kate swallowed, pulling the photo out of the folder and holding it in her hand.
“We’ll show that to the shopkeepers around the café, see if they saw anything,” Kai said.
Kate nodded, tracing the outline of the girl’s slim figure with her finger. She felt her brain shift into work mode, ready to face whatever the day could throw at her. Kidnappings were some of the worst cases to work as an FBI agent, particularly when they involved children. She could only hope they found this girl quickly.
As they pulled up at the crime scene, Kai looked over at her, reaching over and squeezing her shoulder.
“You ready?” He asked.
“Let’s do this.”