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Title: Watching the Sunset
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Jimmy Palmer/Tim McGee
Fandom: NCIS
Rating: PG-13
Table: 20 in 20 Challenge, tv_universe
Prompt: 6, Orange
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Jimmy Palmer or Tim McGee, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Jimmy leaned against the frame of the sliding door that led out to the patio, silently watching the sunset. Behind him, he could hear Tim in the kitchen, making dinner. He'd offered to help his boyfriend, but Tim had told him to sit down and relax.

The days had passed excruciatingly slowly while he was recuperating at home, and he'd finally managed to talk both Tim and Ducky into admitting that he should probably come back to work before he went stir crazy. One more weekend, and he'd be back.

It would feel good to be in the swing of things again, Jimmy told himself, taking a deep breath. It was past time he'd started to pick up the threads of his normal life.

But would life ever be normal for him again?

He wanted it to be; he didn't want to let one thing that had happened to him color the rest of his life, even fi that one thing had been horrifying and traumatic. But he was stronger than that; he wasn't going to let one incident ruin his future.

His future lay with Tim, and he wouldn't let the two of them be torn apart by hatred and anger. His love for Tim was what had gotten him through the ordeal.

This wouldn't destroy him; Jimmy knew that he was stronger than some people gave him credit for. But he worried about what this might do to Tim, and to their relationship. His boyfriend was blaming himself for what had happened, and Jimmy couldn't let that continue.

None of this was Tim's fault. He couldn't keep thinking that.

Jimmy gasped as he felt Tim's arms slide around him from behind; he closed his eyes, leaning back into his boyfriend's embrace. "Hey," he said softly, turning his head to press a kiss to Tim's cheek. "Is dinner ready? That was quicker than I thought it'd be."

Tim shook his head, a soft smile on his lips. "No, it'll be about another half hour," he murmured. "I just wanted to hold you."

"I'm glad you did," Jimmy murmured, returning Tim's smile. His gaze moved back to the sight in front of him; the orange hue of the setting sun seemed to make the trees in the park across the street glow, giving the scene a calm, almost pastoral beauty.

Sharing little things like this with Tim made him happy.

The beauty of a sunset, a quiet meal where they could smile at each other and hold hands across the table, the feeling of waking up in the morning with Tim's arms around him. All of those were small things, but they all added up to so much.

What would he do without Tim in his life? Jimmy knew that he would have still survived, but his life would feel very empty and lonely without his lover here beside him.

Without Tim, he would be a shell of his former self. He hadn't put all of the pieces back together yet, and he knew that it would take him a while before he felt normal again. But thanks to having Tim in his life, that process was more rapid than he'd thought it would be.

Behind him, Tim nuzzled his cheek, resting his chin on Jimmy's shoulder.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Tim murmured, tightening his arms around Jimmy's waist. "Just like you. Well, I don't think anything in the world is as beautiful as you, but it's close." He laughed softly, shaking his head. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do." Jimmy smiled, sighing contentedly as the orange hue began to slowly turn pink, the sun sinking lower towards the horizon. "Exactly."

"It wasn't your fault, Tim," Jimmy murmured, knowing that it might not be the best time to bring the subject up, but needing to say the words. "I wish you'd stop blaming yourself. There's no one to blame except the person who actually did it."

Tim's voice was very soft when he answered. "I know, baby. I know."

Silently, they watched as the orange hue turned pink, then purple, then indigo. When Jimmy finally turned away from the window, he realized that Tim hadn't been watching the sunset; his boyfriend was watching him instead, a soft smile of love on his lips.

He could see all the love in the world in those dark eyes -- love that was meant for him, and only him. And he returned that love with all of his heart and soul. He leaned against his lover, resting his head against Tim's shoulder, letting the warmth of that love surround and heal him.

***