Work Text:
Author's note: I do not own NCIS:LA or its characters
Fatima closed her eyes as she slid her laptop into her bag. She was exhausted, and she wanted nothing more than a pint of ice cream and a couple new episodes of her favorite cooking shows. She heard Rountree coming in behind her and smiled softly.
"You excited for your date with Jasmine tonight?" she asked, zipping her bag up.
"I, um, I canceled it," he said truthfully as he packed up his backpack.
"You did? Tree, why? You liked her, I could tell!" Fatima protested, smacking his arm.
"Um, ow, meanie. I canceled because I looked her up. She has a bunch of posts bragging about how she, quote, 'beat up any bitch her man talked to'. I don't want that. I want a relationship where it's not to much to ask for a little trust," he said, zipping his bag up. Fatima went over to the table and lifted herself onto it.
"Tree, that sucks. But, I promise you, one day you will find a special girl. One that loves you and trusts you as much as you love and trust her, okay?" she said gently. Devin closed his eyes.
"Well, I think I already found her. But I don't know if she feels the same way, and we have a really good friendship. I can't ruin that," he said softly. Fatima bit her lip. A best friend that she didn't already know about? It's fine. She didn't care. She wanted him to be happy.
"Oh yeah? Well, are you ever gonna tell her? You'll never know unless you try," she reminded him.
"I don't know how. She's a little intimidating sometimes," he admitted. Fatima bit her lip.
"Tell me about her. Maybe I can help," she said. Devin smiled softly.
"Okay. Well, she's gorgeous. Like, she could be a model. She's smart and funny, and we have a lot in common. We have these games that we play together, and she's mean but in the cutest way possible," he said. Fatima forced a smile. She had to be happy for him. It was obvious that he was head over heels in love with this girl. Cry about it later, she told herself.
"She sounds perfect for you," she managed to say.
"You are," Devin blurted out. Fatima was stunned.
"M-me?" she asked. Devin nodded a tiny bit. He was terrified. She wasn't smiling. Why wasn't she smiling? Damn it, Tree, you ruined everything, he thought. But then, Fatima stood up and ran over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him sweetly. "I love you too, Tree," she whispered, wiping a stray tear that had forced itself out.
"Wait, so, is that a yes?" he asked stupidly. Fatima laughed and rested her head on his chest.
"That's absolutely a yes, Tree," she whispered. She cupped his face and kissed him softly. Devin grunted in surprise, but kissed her back passionately. He gently sucked on her lower lip and let his tongue wander her mouth. Devin wrapped his arms around her and scooped her up, lifting her back onto the table. The fact that he was the reason that her knees were watery was enough to fill him with pride. Their lips parted and they stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. Then, Devin leaned in and kissed her again. This time, when they both knew what was coming, the kiss was a million times better, although until it happened Fatima didn't think it was possible. She let out a tiny whimper when they parted. "I wanna do that forever," she whispered.
"Me too," he whispered. Just then, a familiar set of shoes stomped into the room.
"You two have a good night," Kilbride said gruffly. Fatima beamed.
"You too, sir," she said sweetly. She let out a tiny squeal once the admiral was gone. "Hey, Tree, um, why didn't you tell me before?" she asked. Devin shrugged.
"You and Jordan are all I have. If you'd reacted bad, I would've lost you. I wasn't willing to risk the best friendship I've ever had," he said softly. Fatima leaned in and kissed him sweetly. "Do you, um, maybe want to get dinner?" he asked shyly. Fatima thought about it. She did more than anything, but she was also incredibly tired.
"How about we get takeout and go to my place?" she asked.
"Our first date is takeout and movies? I knew I loved you for a reason," he teased gently. Fatima smiled and hugged him.
"Is ramen okay?" she asked.
"Of course," he replied sweetly.
"Okay. We aren't sharing this time, I'm hungry," she said as he opened the door for her.
"Deal," he said as they walked to her car. He opened the door for her, then closed it behind her and walked around. Fatima placed their order as Devin drove, and their noodles were ready almost as soon as they pulled into the curbside pickup lane. Devin took the bag and passed it to Fatima, then put their drinks in the cup holders. As they were driving home, they passed a small patch of beach, as they usually did.
"Hey, do you, um, want to stop?" Fatima asked shyly. Devin smiled and pulled the car into the parking lot. It was empty except for a group of teenagers around a bonfire. Fatima sat down at a picnic table, and Devin sat next to her.
"Hey," he whispered. When Fatima looked up at him, he gently used his thumb to lift her head. He leaned in and kissed her lips. Fatima smiled shyly and immediately kissed him back. "I'm really glad I canceled that date," he whispered.
"Me too," Fatima whispered. "For both of us." They shared several more kisses before Devin gently pulled away, then gently picked up her chopsticks and twirled a few noodles around them. He lifted it to Fatima's mouth and smiled. Fatima happily ate her noodles, then leaned against Devin's shoulder as they ate in silence. Once they were done and had disposed of their trash, Devin reached over and took Fatima's hand in his.
"Would you like to take a little walk?" he asked shyly. Fatima looked up at him and smiled.
"Sounds perfect," she whispered. They tangled their fingers together and walked towards the water, hand in hand.
"You want to take out shoes off and leave them in the car?" Devin asked. Fatima smiled a little and they walked back to the car. "Ooh, I have a better idea. You want to ditch all our clothes and go skinny dipping?" he asked teasingly. He noticed immediately that Fatima had frozen up. She managed to shake her head a tiny bit. "Hey, it was a joke. I'm sorry, Fatima. I didn't mean it and I don't expect you to, okay? I'm sorry," he whispered. Fatima nodded a little.
"It's okay," she said softly. "That's not really something I'm comfortable joking about though, Devin," she said gently.
"I understand, sweetheart. I'm sorry," he said. He reached out slowly and put his hand on her forearm. She smiled and nodded as she untied her boots and left them in the front seat.
"I forgive you," she said as he kicked his boots off and tossed them into the car next to hers. They tangled their fingers together as they walked back towards the sea.
"There's a snow cone place down that way. My treat, if you're interested," Rountree offered. Fatima smiled and nodded.
"Sounds perfect," she whispered as they walked to the water. Fatima rolled up her pants a little, so they wouldn't get wet when the water sloshed over her feet. As they approached the small shop, Fatima leaned against Devin's arm and rested her head on his shoulder.
"What can I get for you kids?" an older man asked them as they walked up to the counter. Rountree stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist .
"What looks good, baby girl?" he murmured.
"How about a small strawberry cone for me?" she asked softly. Them man nodded and punched it into the machine, then looked at Devin.
"A small strawberry, and for you sir?" he asked. Devin thought about it.
"How about a small orange cone?" he asked. He pulled out his wallet as the man punched in the second order.
"Ten even," the man said. Devin pulled out a ten dollar bill, then another two dollars. He handed the ten to the man, then dropped the other two in a small tip jar. "Thank you. They will be right out," he said. Devin nodded and took Fatima's hand in his and led her to another small picnic table. About five minutes later, the man came over with the two cones.
"Thank you," Fatima and Rountree said in unison. They ate quietly until Fatima shivered. Devin pulled his flannel off and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"You want to wear it or keep it like this?" he asked softly.
"Wear it," she decided. She slipped it on, then leaned against him. They sampled each other's snow cones, then shared a sweet kiss.
"I'm really happy I decided to confess," he whispered.
"Me too," she whispered back. They tangled their fingers together and snuggled close to each other, barely noticing as the man running the snow cone shop walked over.
"You two, you remind me of me and my wife," he said quietly. Rountree looked up, then over at Fatima. Neither were sure of what to do. "She died of cancer ten years ago. I made the mistake of taking our time together for granted. Do not do that. Make the most of your time together," he said softly.
"Wow. I'm really sorry, man. That's tough. Don't worry about us, though. I'm not letting this one go if I have a say in it," Rountree said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Fatima leaned into him and smiled.
"Good," the man said simply, before standing up and walking back to the small shack. Devin gently cupped Fatima's face and kissed her lips. Fatima giggled and pulled away.
"Your face is cold!" she protested. Devin smiled.
"So is yours, cutie," he teased. He let her initiate the next kiss, which she eagerly did. He slid his tongue into her mouth and grinned. She smiled and slowly started nibbling on his lower lip. He wrapped his arms around her and gently rested his hands on her hips. "My place or yours?" he asked softly. Fatima thought about it.
"How about no? I just, as much as I'm enjoying this, I don't want to go too fast, you know? And we have work tomorrow, and, and, and-" she asked softly.
"Hey, it's fine. I'll drop you off, alright? And you never have to explain yourself to me," he whispered softly. Fatima nodded.
"Thanks," she whispered. Rountree leaned in and kissed her cheek.
"Of course," he whispered. After they finished their snow cones, they walked back to the car and got in. They used half-empty water bottles to rinse the sand off their feet, then dried them using towels from the trunk, then put their shoes back on. By the time Rountree had pulled onto Fatima's street, she was half-asleep in the passenger seat. He gave her a soft smile and gently rubbed her leg. He pulled into the parking lot, then found a spot against the fence. He turned the car off, then got out and grabbed Fatima's backpack. "Hey, sleepyhead, we're here," he whispered. Fatima sat up a little and got out of the car. She grabbed her keys from the small pocket, then went to grab her bag from him. "I got it, cutie. I'm walking you to the door," he said gently.
"Okay, fine. But don't come in," she said. Devin smiled.
"Deal. I just don't want you walking in the dark by yourself," he said gently. Fatima nodded and tangled their fingers together as they walked, As they reached the door, she pushed him against the door and kissed him passionately. He didn't hesitate to kiss her back. Just then, a loud squeal came from a few yards away.
"Ooh, get it, Fatima!" a young blonde girl yelled. Fatima's eyes widened and she laughed, then covered her mouth so as to not show the girl that she laughed. Devin kissed her cheek.
"That's, um, that's Tiffany. She's, um, well, crazy would be a good word," Fatima said softly. Devin laughed.
"Drunk seems to apply well too," he said. Fatima laughed and kissed him again. They shared several kisses before Devin pulled apart. "Okay. It's almost eleven, you should go to bed. I'll pick you up at seven thirty tomorrow, if that's okay," he said gently.
"That's perfect. You want to pick up some donuts on the way in?" she asked. Devin grinned and traced her cheek with his knuckle.
"How about I throw in a coffee and a trip to Hawaii?" he murmured. Fatima grinned and kissed him again.
"I love you," she whispered.
"Love you too, cutie," Devin said, passing Fatima her bag. She took it and set it on the ground, then smiled.
"See you in the morning," she whispered, kissing him softly.
"See you," he said, closing the door. As soon as she was sure that he couldn't see her anymore, Fatima turned around and grinned. She let out a giggle and a squeal, then ran to her room. She looked through her closet, hoping she could find something nice to wear. She found a dark blue pair of skinny jeans and a black belt with a large silver buckle, and set them on her desk. She giggled a little as she pulled out a black turtleneck sweater. She sighed as she looked through her hijabs. She finally decided on a black one with silver threads at the edges, and set them on top of the jeans and belt. She picked out a pair of high-heeled black boots and set them next to the desk, then practically skipped to the bathroom for her shower.
Meanwhile, Devin got in the Range Rover and grinned, just trying to process the day. They'd taken down a major terrorist operation, arrested several Marines involved, and not to mention the best date of his life. There was no pressure to impress each other, and no pressure to be perfect. It was just them, spending quality time together.
"I want to marry that girl," he said as he started the car. He felt a cold blast from the AC, and immediately thought to grab his flannel. He realized that Fatima had taken it, either intentionally or unintentionally. He laughed and decided to let her keep it overnight. She really was the most perfect girl he knew.