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Title: All For You
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Jimmy Palmer/Tim McGee
Fandom: NCIS
Rating: PG-13
Table: 2, stories_a_z
Prompt: A
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 looked around him at the living room of his apartment, hoping that he hadn't forgotten anything. Today was the six-month anniversary of his first date with Jimmy, and he'd wanted to do something special for his boyfriend, no matter how small that something might be.
Maybe a nice dinner and flowers wouldn't seem so special to most people, but given that they'd kept their relationship a secret from everyone at work thus far, little things meant a lot to both of them. They didn't feel ready to be open about their feelings yet -- at least not publicly.
But with each other, they could be extravagant, showing each other exactly how they felt. This seemed like the perfect way to let Jimmy know that he felt completely comfortable with the two of them being together, and that there were no doubts in his mind that they belonged together.
His boyfriend might already know that, Tim thought with a soft sigh. But he wanted to confirm it, to show Jimmy that this day meant something special to him. Six months .... he'd never dated anyone for that long before. And he expected them to be together for much, much longer.
He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jimmy Palmer. He wanted this man by his side for the rest of their lives -- even through eternity. Jimmy was the love of his life, the other half of his soul. He couldn't imagine any kind of life without the man he loved.
Jimmy felt the same way about him; he had no doubts on that score. But since they didn't feel entirely comfortable with showing their feelings publicly, or letting anyone they worked with know just how close they were, this seemed like the best way to express his feelings.
He hoped that Jimmy would feel the same; and that his boyfriend wouldn't think that spending a quiet night at home would be an unsatisfactory way of spending their six-month anniversary. Tim shook his head, a smile curving his lips as he thought of the other man.
Jimmy wasn't the sort of man who judged others by what they could give him -- and he also wasn't the type of guy who needed to go out and party. He would be happier with a quiet evening spent together, just the two of them, than he would be with a night on the town.
The living room looked lovely, he had to admit that. He'd gone out of his way to get flowers that he knew were Jimmy's favorites -- even though he might have gone a little overboard and gotten more than a few. He hadn't realized just how many flowers half a dozen bouquets comprised.
But he'd wanted lots of flowers, and a really nice dinner. He'd ordered out, because he hadn't wanted to spend his time cooking -- but he'd gotten the food from their favorite Italian restaurant, and the place wasn't cheap. Tim was sure that they'd both enjoy the meal.
He'd spent a couple of hours getting the place ready, and he hoped that Jimmy would like what he'd done. He had rearranged some furniture in a pattern that Jimmy had remarked just a few days ago might give them more room, and his boyfriend had been right about that.
Since Jimmy would be moving in with him soon, he wanted the place to feel comfortable to his boyfriend. It still felt a little strange to think that someone would be sharing his home, as it had been his own personal space for so long. But he didn't mind that.
Moving in with Jimmy was what he wanted. He'd thought long and hard about it, and he knew that he wasn't going to be completely unless Jimmy was a part of his life in every way -- and that included living together. And much to his delight, Jimmy seemed to feel the same.
They'd already started the moving process, and it was proving to be less arduous than Tim had thought it would be. They already felt comfortable with sharing their personal space, and he was sure that it would only get easier to do that as time went on.
He wanted to show Jimmy just how easy it was going to be for them to slip into each other's lives on a permanent basis, even though neither of them had ever lived with anyone they'd been involved with. This was a new experience for both of them -- and Tim wanted to make that experience perfect.
Of course it couldn't be perfect, he told himself with an inward shrug. Nothing was ever perfect -- and as Jimmy always said, if an experience was too good, with no little bumps in the road here and there, then it wouldn't be worth having. Getting there was half the fun, after all.
Tim almost jumped when the doorbell rang; that would be Jimmy, getting here just a few minutes early, as he usually did. He didn't need to glance at the clock as he went to the door; he'd been looking at it every few minutes for the past half an hour.
As he opened the door, he couldn't help but smile when he saw Jimmy standing outside -- holding the biggest bouquet of flowers he'd ever seen. The scent of them was just as heady as the scent that wafted from the apartment, Tim thought as he stepped back to let Jimmy enter.
"What ...." Jimmy's voice trailed off as he took in the flowers that proliferated in the apartment; he turned around in a full circle as Tim closed the door, finally stopping to face his boyfriend with a smile that Tim could have sworn was brighter than the sun. "Are all these for me?"
"You bet they are," Tim said softly, taking the flowers in Jimmy's arms and leaning forward to brush his lips against the other man's. "All for you. And I bet these are for me. They're beautiful, Jimmy." He buried his nose in the flowers, inhaling long and appreciatively.
"You didn't have to do anything special for me," Jimmy said softly, his gaze not leaving Tim's face as his lover looked over at him. "I know it's our six-month anniversary, but I didn't expect you to make a big deal out of it, Tim. I'm happy just being with you. I don't need a celebration."
"I know you don't, but I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion anyway," Tim said with a soft smile. "I wanted to show you how much it means to me to have you in my life. I don't feel like I did all that much, really. I could never do enough for you, Jimmy."
He could swear that he saw the soft sheen of tears in his boyfriend's eyes before Jimmy was blinking them away and giving him another brilliant smile, one that showed his dimples. Tim was sure that he could feel his heart turning over in his chest at the sight.
Nothing would ever be as beautiful to him as Jimmy's smile. It made everything that he'd done, and all of the worrying about whether Jimmy would like it or not, worth every second of the time he'd spent. He only wished he could do more. He would give Jimmy the world, if he could.
"You don't need to do anything special for me, Tim," Jimmy told him again, his voice sounding slightly shaky. "Just being with you is special. Knowing that you want me here -- and feeling like I belong here, with you. I don't need anything more than that to make me happy."
Those words brought a lump to Tim's throat; for a few moments, he couldn't speak around it. It still amazed him that Jimmy could love him so much, that this man could want to be with him. He didn't know how he'd gotten so lucky, but he knew that he'd always be thankful to have Jimmy in his life.
"I like doing things for you," Tim countered, managing a smile. "Everything I do is all for you, Jimmy. You're the most important person in my life, and I love making you happy. Before I had you in my life, I was a pretty boring person. And I was so lonely. You've saved me from that."
"I was the same way -- even when I was engaged," Jimmy said softly, his gaze not leaving Tim's face. "If I'd never have the courage to tell you how I felt, I think we'd both be a lot less happy than we are now. And you know something? I'm the same way. Everything I do in my life is for you."
The unbidden tears were rising in Tim's eyes, the lump in his throat making it almost impossible for him to speak. He knew that Jimmy loved him; he had no doubts whatsoever about that. But hearing his boyfriend say anything to that effect always made him emotional.
"You're going to make me cry," he said softly, blinking back the tears and swallowing a few times before he felt in control of his voice again. "And that's not something I want to do tonight, not even if they're happy tears. Let's make this night a celebration, okay?"
"This is a celebration," Jimmy said firmly, sliding his arms around Tim and pulling him close. "It's a celebration of you and me, the time that we've already been together, and all the years and decades that we'll be together after tonight. It's a celebration of who we are."
Tim nodded, firmly pushing away the overly emotions side of himself that seemed determined to come out tonight. He wasn't going to spoil this evening with tears or a maudlin attitude; this was going to a fun night for both of them, a night that they would enjoy and treasure for years to come.
It might even be a night when their pleasure in each other's company might lead to more than just kissing and cuddling, he thought, his heart thumping in his chest. This might be the night when they finally let their inhibitions go and decided that they were ready to become even closer.
All of this was for Jimmy -- and for himself, too, he thought as he pulled away from the embrace, taking his boyfriend's hand and leading him towards the kitchen, where dinner waited for them. And this was only the beginning of what he hoped would be a long, satisfying weekend.***