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Title: Things To Do During A Storm
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Jimmy Palmer/Tim McGee
Fandom: NCIS
Rating: PG-13
Table: narrative_x_10
Prompt: Story 01
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.

***

"I love storms," Jimmy said softly as he stood by the picture window of the apartment he now shared with Tim, looking out into the darkness of the night. "I love the rain on the windows and the fresh smell in the air. I even love the lightning. As long as I'm not outside in it."

"The only thing I don't like is when I'm playing a game and I have to get offline and unplug everything," Tim said with a laugh, joining his boyfriend at the window to look out at the raging storm outside. "I don't have to, but I don't want to take the risk of having anything fried."

Jimmy nodded, not turning to look at Tim, but leaning back into his boyfriend's embrace when Tim slid his arms around his waist. "In a way, storms are kind of romantic," he murmured, his gaze on the view from their balcony. "Especially when the lights go out."

"So you like being rustic and having to use candles to see anything?" Tim said with a laugh. "But I can see your point. Yeah, I guess that is kind of romantic," he said softly, nuzzling Jimmy's neck. "Having candles all around the bedroom while we're --"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Jimmy said with a laugh, turning slightly to look at Tim. "I meant that it's romantic to be able to snuggle up in the dark, with just one candle for light. We could sit on the couch and cuddle, or just talk, or .... well, there's a lot of things we could do if the power goes out."

"I wouldn't mind cuddling on the couch," Tim said, frowning as a sudden thought crossed his mind. "Hey, who have you cuddled on the couch during a power outage with? Name, rank, and serial number, soldier. I might have to track them down and tell them that you're taken."

Jimmy laughed, leaning forward to brush his lips against Tim's cheek. "That was a while ago, before we were together. Believe me, you have nothing to worry about. They weren't nearly as good a cuddler as you are -- and I don't want to cuddle with anybody else but you."

Tim's own laughter echoed Jimmy's. "That's good to know," he said softly, focusing on the storm outside again as a streak of lightning illuminated the world for a few seconds. "Wow, it's getting pretty fierce out there. I hope the power doesn't go out for too long."

"It might not go out at all," Jimmy pointed out. "There's no telling, is there? I've seen storms way less fierce than this one knock the power out, and I've seen storms worse than this where the power never even flickered. I guess it's pretty much a toss-up."

"I used to hate storms when I was a kid," Tim confided, his voice hushed as lightning streaked across the sky again. "They scared the hell out of me. I'd hide under the covers and try to convince myself that it would end soon. And I never looked out of the window."

"Did the storms end quickly?" Jimmy asked, his brow furrowing slightly as he asked the question. "Or did they seem to go on and on forever? That's how they always seemed to me when I was little. Storms always felt like they lasted for days instead of minutes."

Tim nodded, agreeing with his boyfriend. "Yeah, that's how they seemed to me, too," he said quietly. "But I don't think I ever got to the end of any of them. I'd always fall asleep first, and then I'd wake up in the morning burrowed way down under the covers."

"I used to do that, too!" Jimmy said with another soft laugh. "But with me, it was usually because I was stuck in a book, and it was easier to read under the covers with a flashlight. I can't count the number of times I fell asleep under the covers with the flashlight on during a storm."

"I could never read during storms," Tim told him. "I was always too nervous about the power going out. I hated when that happened. I wasn't afraid of the dark, but I didn't like the idea of stumbling around not knowing what I could bump into. That was the scary thing for me."

"Are you more used to storms now that you're older?" Jimmy asked, his voice soft. "You're not shaking or anything like that, so I know you're not scared of them." He leaned back into Tim's embrace, his gaze still on the darkness outside the glass.

"Yeah, I'm not nearly so tense during a storm as I used to be." Tim's voice was equally soft when he answered Jimmy's question. "But I still don't like it when the power goes out. Even though I do think that the cuddling on the couch idea during a blackout is a good one."

"If this storm causes a blackout, I promise we'll light a few candles and cuddle on the couch," Jimmy told him, a smile curving his lips. "But for now, let's just watch the storm. There's a kind of majesty about it, don't you think? There's something so primal about storms."

Even as Jimmy spoke, the lights flickered -- once, twice, three times. Then the apartment was plunged into darkness, as were the street lights outside. Tim sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Good thing we've got lots of candles. I figured something like this would happen at some point."

"I don't know about you, but I don't mind it at all," Jimmy said with a cheerful grin as Tim moved away from him to reach for a flashlight. It only took him a few seconds to turn it on, and within a short while, the two men had lit half a dozen candles and placed them around the living room.

"There," Tim said, looking around at the softly lighted room with a satisfied expression. "That'll give us more than enough light for the time being." He moved to the couch, sitting down and holding a hand out to Jimmy. "I believe you said something about cuddling, Mr. Palmer?"

Jimmy joined Tim on the couch, settling into his boyfriend's embrace with a soft, contented sigh. "This is romantic, isn't it?" he said after they sat there in silence for a few moments. "Cuddling with the lights out and candles all around us. I'm glad the power went out."

"Y'know, I think I am, too," Tim said with a laugh. "I never thought I'd live to see the day when I thought the lights going out would be a good thing, but I do. There's something about candlelight that makes being caught in a storm with no power even more romantic."

"We should do this even when the power doesn't go out," Jimmy said softly, leaning his head back against Tim's shoulder to look up at his boyfriend. "There's nothing that says we can't be romantic even when there's not a storm going on outside, is there?"

"I don't think so," Tim replied, unable to suppress a smile. Jimmy was such a romantic at heart, and Tim loved him all the more for it. Ever since he'd been with Jimmy, he was sure that his romantic side was coming out a lot more -- and he didn't mind that at all.

"Then I say we use this time that it's storming to get as close as possible," Jimmy said, his actions mirroring his words as he snuggled more closely into Tim's arms. "This is nice, isn't it?" he murmured, satisfaction evident in his tone. "We should do this every night, storm or not."

"I think this should be on our nightly agenda from here on out," Tim agreed, unable to stop smiling as Jimmy curled into his arms. "This is a lot nicer than hiding by myself under the covers during a storm," he added, his tone soft and loving. "And a lot more comfortable."

"Definitely a lot nicer than reading by myself with a flashlight," Jimmy said, looking up at Tim with a soft smile on his lips. "Of all the things we could do during a storm, I think we've found the best one. We should pretend there's a storm every night."

"I don't have a problem with that," Tim whispered just before their lips met. His last coherent thought was that if this was how he and Jimmy would end up every time there was a storm, he wouldn't mind if the power went out every single night for the rest of their lives.

***