Chapter Text
With a groan Lucy dropped the last box onto the living room floor, she hunched over with hands on knees to get her breath back. Her grey t-shirt stuck to her with sweat, black shorts doing very little to keep her cool. Even though Lucy tied the thick black curls into a bun, she could feel the sweat dripping down her neck and face.
“Told you it was too heavy” Kai smugly said to her. Without lifting her body up, Lucy threw him a middle finger. Kai chuckled at her, tossing a water bottle. “Here”
“Thanks” Lucy gulped the drink back. “And it wasn’t heavy, I’m just exhausted”
Jesse and Jane walked through the front door, Ernie and Kate began to make their way from down the hallway. “That’s all of it” The blond cheered, moving to stand beside Lucy, arm wrapping around the smaller woman’s shoulders. “Movers are gone and everything else was brought in” If she was grossed out by the wetness of Lucy’s shirt, she didn’t say anything, probably because her own white top was sweat-stained.
“I love this place” Jane began to walk around. “You guys chose well”
Lucy nodded as she leaned into Kate’s side. “This one almost passed on it”
The house they bought was a large bungalow, spacious living room and kitchen, three beds and two baths, and the master bedroom had an en suite. The backyard was large enough to hold a good-sized party and Lucy fell in love with the garden, she couldn’t wait to grow it. The beach was a ten-minute walk away. They truly loved it.
“You almost gave up on this gem?” Jesse fixed Kate with a look of pure judgement.
Whistler rolled her eyes as a small groan left her. “I just thought we might find something better”
“Spoiler!” Ernie piped up, as he cracked open beers for the team. “They didn’t find something better for three weeks and almost lost this because-“
“Okay!” Kate held her hand up. “It was a mistake but we’re here and we can move on”
The team shared a laugh, Kai pulling out his phone. “Dad’s on his way with the food”
On cue Lucy’s stomach rumbled, she placed a hand over it. “Thank God, I’m starving. Baby, help me find some plates”
_
The sound of thunder startled Lucy out of her sleep, lightning lit the room up and for a small moment the NCIS agent was confused about her whereabouts. The fast drops of rain were hitting the roof, thunder roared again as she slowly gained her senses back. She looked to the left and reached out for her girlfriend but found cold sheets instead.
Then, over the sound of rain, her ears picked up on the soft strumming of a guitar. Curiosity won over the need for sleep and Lucy pushed herself out of bed. She wrapped her arms around herself, the cold air hitting bed-warm skin, as she crept down the hall. A soft melody grew louder the closer Lucy got. In the living room Kate was sitting on the couch, legs up on a few stacked boxes, the coffee table waiting to be built. She was dressed in a pair of soft blue shorts and a black tank top, Lucy was in a similar out but grey bottoms and a white tank. In Kate’s hands was a beautiful black, acoustic guitar with silver strings.
“I didn’t know you played” Kate jumped at the sound of Lucy’s voice; the younger woman quickly rounded the sofa. “Sorry didn’t mean to scare you”
“Yeah, haven’t for a long time” Kate moved the guitar, spread her arms and made room for Lucy between her legs. Her girlfriend sat down without hesitation, leaning her whole body into Kate’s front. “Did I wake you?” Kate placed a light kiss on brunette curls, rearranging the guitar to balance on both their thighs.
“No, the storm did” Lucy leaned her back to rest against Kate’s shoulder. “Never even knew you had a guitar, where’d you hide it in the apartment?”
The blond let out a chuckle. “I didn’t, it was in my old storage unit” Her fingers lightly ran over the new strings she had just put on. “I couldn’t sleep, so I came out to do some unpacking, found the guitar and thought I’d give it a play” The case that was placed in a large box with some other items, the case had new stings, picks, a tuner and a capo.
The storage unit was needed after moving from DC to the island. Tennant had stepped in and spent sometime with Kate going through the unit, after Lucy and Kate found the bungalow. The two friends made a day out of it and Tennant got to enjoy the tales of Kate's memories from different times in her life.
“It's beautiful” Lucy traced her the pads of her fingers over the dark wood.
Kate’s lips lifted with a small smile. “It was Noah’s, he taught me how to play” Her mind was filled with the memories of their younger years, sitting in her room or his as her brother spent hours patiently teaching Kate how to play. By the time he enlisted and she left for North Western, she was a pro-at least that’s what he told her. Noah insisted she keep the guitar to keep practicing, he wanted to come home and have her put on a whole concert for him. Kate had laughed at the absurdity of it. But Noah never came home, and Kate found it harder and harder to play.
“Can you play me something?” Lucy turned to place soft lips against Kate’s cheek.
She wanted to build new memories with the instrument, she played a bit in DC on Noah’s birthday and death anniversary. When she put it in storage, she didn’t think about it much. Maybe now she could start again, hold something special with Noah while creating a new feeling with Lucy.
“Of course,” Kate began to slowly strum, making sure the guitar was tuned as needed.
Her fingers moved effortlessly across the neck, her right hand strumming an intro of C, G, A minor, F, C G, C. Lucy knew the tune right away, she smiled and turned her face into Kate’s neck.
“Wise men say, only fools rush in. Oh, but I can’t help falling in love with you” Kate kept playing, turning her head and forcing Lucy to look up, they leaned in to share a kiss before going back to their original position. “Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can’t help falling in love with you” The taller woman smiled when she felt lips press against her chest.
She changed her fingers to play in E minor as her voice rose an octave. “Like a river flows, surely to the sea. Darling, so it goes, some things are meant to be” Kate dropped a kiss to the crown of Lucy’s head before going to the ending and her favourite part of the song. “Take my hand. Take my whole life too. For I can’t help falling in love with you” Lucy’s head rose and they locked eyes as Kate slowly took it to the finish line. “For I can’t help…falling in love…with…you”
Lucy leaned in again, this time catching her love’s mouth in a deep kiss. Kate slowly shifted the guitar until it was resting on the ground and against the couch. She wrapped both arms around Lucy as the kiss grew more passionate, Lucy moved to her feet briefly so she could straddle the taller woman’s lap. The brunette let the kiss go on for a moment more before forcing herself back, smiling when Kate chased her lips.
“I love you, so much” Lucy pressed her forehead to Kate’s. “That was beautiful”
Kate grinned, leaning to bump their noses lightly. “Beautiful song for a beautiful girl”
Lucy pulled back further, arms looping around Kate’s neck. “Oh, baby” They both burst into laughter, the seductive bubble popped. “You’re gonna need to work on your game”
“Game” Whistler scoffed, hands rubbing up and down her girl’s back. “I don’t need to work on anything, I got you, didn’t I?”
The smaller woman rolled her eyes playfully. “Yeah, yeah” She leaned in again and kissed the blond. “Lucky, I love you”
As they traded lazy kisses with the storm brewing outside their peaceful home, Lucy felt nothing but pure joy. She was in Kate’s arms, in their brand-new place, starting a new path in life together. She thought about the little velvet box that sat in the corner of her closet, inside a bag, waiting for the right moment she would ask her love to spend the rest of their lives together.
Lucy couldn’t wait.