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Title: We'll Be Together
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Jimmy Palmer/Tim McGee
Fandom: NCIS
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5, 12_stories
Prompt: 8, Together
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.***
Tim frowned as he looked at his watch, wondering what was taking Jimmy so long. He and Ducky must be busy in the morgue; it wasn't like his boyfriend to be late, especially on a Friday. Either that, or he'd run into someone who wanted to talk to him.
Just as Tim was starting to wonder if he should head down to the morgue, the elevator doors opened and Jimmy appeared, looking anxious as he hurried up to Tim. He gave Tim a nervous smile, looking as though he couldn't wait to get out of here and go home.
"Did you run into somebody?" Tim questioned, raising a brow in question. "Or was Ducky just keeping you busy?" He wanted to reach out and take Jimmy's hand, but he didn't dare, not here in the parking garage at work. It would be too easy for them to be spotted.
It was getting on his nerves that they couldn't be open about their relationship -- after all, it wasn't as if they had anything to be ashamed of. There were openly gay men who worked here, and they didn't have to keep who they were under wraps all the time.
Of course, they also weren't dating someone they worked with, Tim thought with an inward sigh. Or maybe they were, and no one knew. that was part of the problem with working here. So many people kept secrets that you couldn't be sure about what anyone was really like.
Except Jimmy, he thought affectionately, glancing over at his boyfriend as they walked to Tim's car in silence. He was an open book, and always had been. He wasn't the kind of person who wanted to stay hidden behind any kind of screen.
"Ducky was asking all kinds of questions," Jimmy told him, sounding breathless. "I can't help wondering if he knows about us, Tim. He was probing into my personal life, asking me why my engagement broke up, and why I was looking so happy lately."
Tim scowled, pulling out his keys and opening the car doors for the two of them. "Ducky probably doesn't think that a guy can be happy without some woman in his life," he ground out, annoyed by the idea that he couldn't make Jimmy happy. "He wouldn't understand us."
"I wish we didn't have to hide the fact that we're together," Jimmy said as he got into the passenger side, sounding wistful. "It'd be nice to be open about our personal lives with people at work. I hate having to sneak around and be all secretive."
"So do I," Tim admitted, reluctant to tell Jimmy that it rankled him more than he could put into words. He hated feeling that he was skulking around in the shadows any time someone happened to ask him a casual question about his love life.
But it wasn't like he could say anything along the lines of "Yeah, I'm dating Jimmy Palmer. You know, the guy who works in autopsy with Ducky?" and not receive anything but horrified looks. As well as a good talking-to from Gibbs when his boss found out.
Gibbs wouldn't absolutely lay down the law and refuse to let him stay on the team and date Jimmy. After all, Tony was apparently screwing Barrett, and as far as he knew, Gibbs hadn't said anything to them. But he wouldn't be pleased, and he would let that annoyance show.
"It's not like we have to make a big announcement about being together," Jimmy murmured, sighing as he glanced over at Tim. "I just don't like feeling that I'm keeping secrets from the people I work with. It feels .... I don't know, wrong, somehow."
"I think the rule that Gibbs has about not dating your co-workers is stupid, anyway," Tim grumbled as he swung the car out into traffic and headed for his apartment complex. "We're as close as a family in some ways. It's not like we don't already care a lot about each other."
"But it's different if you're dating someone," Jimmy said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. "I just wish there was some way for us to come out openly and not have to deal with any repercussions. But I guess that's impossible."
Tim nodded, glancing over at his boyfriend with a worried frown. Jimmy looked pale and tired; he couldn't help wondering if Ducky's third degree had gotten to him more than Tim could have guessed. Slowing down for a red light, he reached over and took Jimmy's hand, squeezing it gently.
"Hey, it doesn't matter if we can't let everybody around us know that we're together," he said softly, his eyes meeting the other man's as Jimmy turned his head to look at Tim. "As long as I'm with you, that's all I care about. I don't need the whole world to know about it."
"I'd like to think that the people closest to us can share in the fact that we're together and that we're happy about it," Jimmy said with another sigh, returning the squeeze. "I plan to be with you for the rest of my life, Tim. It's not like we can hide forever."
"I hope we won't have to," Tim told him, pressing the gas pedal when the light turned green. For the next several moments, he was preoccupied with getting through the Friday night traffic, his thoughts on that until Jimmy spoke again, his voice quiet.
"I'm not going to hold back for much longer," he said, his voice soft, but firm and decisive. "Gibbs is just going to have to deal with the fact that two people on his team are gay men, and that they're involved. If he doesn't like it, then he can try to fire me if he wants to."
"He wouldn't do that," Tim assured him, though he wasn't so sure of that himself. "And if he did, then I'd leave, too. I wouldn't let you be the one to suffer for being with me. If one of us goes, then we both go. That's a promise, Jimmy."
"I couldn't work there without you." Jimmy's gaze was on him; Tim wanted to take his boyfriend's hand again, but he was busy with negotiating the traffic. "It'd be hard enough to deal with all those silent stares from people who don't approve of my sexual preferences."
"You won't have to," Tim said, finally pulling into the parking lot near his apartment and into a parking space. He switched off the engine, turning to face Jimmy and reaching out a hand to cup the other man's cheek. "We'll be together, Jimmy. At work and in our personal lives."
"I hope so." Was it his imagination, or was Jimmy's voice trembling slightly? He almost sounded as if he was on the verge of tears; that was one thing that Tim didn't know if he could deal with. He'd never felt that he was very good at dispensing comfort.
"I know so," Tim said, his tone quiet and soothing. "Jimmy, there's no reason for you to worry on that score. I'm not going anywhere. If it came down to having to choose between NCIS and you, I'd choose you. Every time. There's no question about that."
"I'd choose you, too," Jimmy whispered, raising a hand to wipe away a few tears that had streaked down his face. "I wouldn't give you up for anything, Tim. I know we haven't been together physically yet, but I know that's going to bring us even closer."
"I think it will, too," Tim murmured, his heart beating faster at the prospect. "It's only been a week, Jimmy. Let's take things slow, okay? I don't want to just jump into bed with you because it's what most people would do. We're not most people. We're us."
"I didn't mean that!" Jimmy sounded dismayed, his expression mirroring the tone of his voice. "I don't want to just jump into the physical side of our relationship, either. But I ...." He looked down, his voice lowering to a mere whisper. "I want to be with you. In every way."
"We will be," Tim said, his heart thumping in his chest. Would this weekend be the first time they made love? Or would they decide to hold back and wait? He was already tired of waiting. He wanted to throw caution to the winds and jump in head first. "I want to be with you, too."
"Maybe we should think about it," Jimmy said quietly, his gaze intent on Tim's face. "We're not gaining anything by forcing ourselves to wait, Tim. Not if it's what we both really want. And if we're going to take the risk of people at work knowing, then we might as well enjoy this to the fullest."
"I couldn't agree more," Tim told him, deciding to say what he felt. "I want us to be together, Jimmy. All the way. And I want us to let people at work know that we're together. Life's too short to hold back just because everybody might not approve."
Jimmy's smile told Tim everything he needed to know; he leaned forward to brush his lips against the other man's, feeling his pulse leap before it settled back into a somewhat normal beat. Somehow, he had the feeling that this weekend would be one he remembered for the rest of his life.***