sorry babe, the tswift username stays even after a rebrand. ncis:hawai’i is the current obsession | kacy and tenstler can coexist | main: @becka-blue | ao3: lowkeyintojolene
rewatching 1x12 and the scene in the bullpen where jane lays into kate just hits so hard. kate’s genuinely taken aback by it, you can tell jane hurt her feelings. it’s obvious lucy was hurt for kate. everyone was caught off guard by it. part of me thinks jane decided to open her circle to include kate in 1x13 as an apology. kate was doing all should could and still got yelled at, and jane wanted to prove to kate she didn’t mean what she said. that she trusts her and believes in kate’s abilities
anyway, here’s a little drabble that’s been rattling around in my head based on this
“yes?”
kate sounds so tired answering the phone. it’s late. they should both be asleep. but jane knows how similar they are. and if she’s having trouble falling asleep, kate is too. there’s something else in her voice too. resigned and slightly annoyed, maybe even a little upset.
like she saw jane’s name appear on her screen and it took everything in her to not let it ring out. it took jane almost two hours to decide whether or not to call kate. and now that she’s actually answered jane’s prepared monologue no longer seems appropriate.
“tennant.”
jane took too long to respond and now kate sounds impatient. she can just picture her, phone pressed to her ear with one hand, the other reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. jaw clenched and grinding her teeth.
“i’m here,” jane responds.
kate’s silent on the other end before letting out a sigh. “and?”
“whistler,” jane starts. she shakes her head and corrects herself. “kate. i need to apologize for how i spoke to you.”
“it’s fine, nothing i haven’t heard before.”
she brushes it off so casually in a way that makes jane bite her own lip to keep from snapping that it’s not okay. that kate deserves better and shouldn’t allow someone to walk all over her like that. jane takes a moment to think over her next words, not wanting to spook kate.
“it’s not fine. you’re doing everything you can to help and then some.” kate doesn’t respond, so jane keeps talking. “i have a great deal of respect for you. and i’m embarrassed at how i treated you.”
she can hear kate swallow hard on the other end of the phone.
“today’s certainly not the first time we’ve yelled at each other,” kate reminds her. she’s forced an air of amusement into her tone, but it falls flat with the way her voice warbles. “what makes this time any different that the others?”
jane doesn’t have a good answer to her question. all she knows is the stricken look that overcame kate’s face while she sneered at her, jabbing her finger in the air didn’t make her feel better. it made jane feel even more sick than she already did. truthfully, she already had a gut feeling about maggie’s connection to bao. but it was easier to lash out at kate than verbalize her hunch.
“it just is.”
kate sighs again. “you’re not making much sense, jane.”
“i’m sorry,” jane apologizes again. “i just wanted to say i’m sorry. and to ask you something.”
kate lets out an empty chuckle. “there it is. the real reason for the call.”
it’s not. jane has a hundred things she wants to say to kate, but another million things are running through her mind. and it’s getting hard to keep track of what’s what. she doesn’t know how to make kate understand what she’s trying to say. but it’s probably useless trying to do so tonight.
“i want you to join my team. for an investigation.”
“don’t i kind of already do that?”
“not like this,” jane tells her. “this is off the books.” she hesitates before revealing, “this is looking into bao and maggie.”
another benefit to them being similar is that jane doesn’t have to elaborate. the catch in her voice is enough for things to click into place for kate.
“oh.”
“yeah.”
kate takes a beat before responding. “okay. okay, i’m in.”
“good.” jane takes a breath. “i’m not apologizing to get your help,” she clarifies. “i really am sorry.”
“i believe you.” kate’s voice has gone soft in a way that makes jane’s chest feel funny.
jane nods even though kate can’t see her. “i’ll send you the details. thank you.”
“you’re welcome. goodnight, tennant.”
back to tennant, then. jane should’ve expected that. she looks at her untouched glass of tequila. suddenly jane doesn’t feel like drinking anymore.
Unfriendly reminder that if you're displeased with a piece of fanfiction your courses of action are:
Read something else
Bitch PRIVATELY to friends
Write your own take on the premise (strongly recommend!)
All of the above
Under no circumstances should you try to "politely" critique the author who put the story up as a hobby. For free. Especially if the story in question is multiple years old. Ao3 is not Goodreads
NOTICE: As more and more fanfic writers are using generative AI for their works (you uncreative dweebs), I hereby swear on everything I hold dear that I have not and will NEVER use generative AI in ANY of my written work. Everything I post will be organically and creatively my own.
i really need to be better about posting on this account 😅 so here’s a tenstler drabble that’s been spinning around in my head.
i’m imagining a brokenhearted jane staying late at a dive bar after the maggie debacle. she decides she needs some air and slips out onto the back patio. it’s sparsely lit with dim string lights hung from the low, exposed support beams of the roof.
in the relative dark jane spots a figure at the far end of the patio, leaning against the railing with smoke occasionally escaping in breaths. jane thinks to herself that the figure looks familiar. the slump of the shoulders, the long legs, the blonde hair.
she moves closer and is almost surprised when she confirms her own suspicion. it’s kate tucked away in the corner, a lit cigarette glowing between her fingers. jane wouldn’t have pegged her as a smoker, but maybe her perception is off. maggie being a perfect example.
jane purposely makes her footsteps heavy on the creaking wooden floor, announcing without words that someone is there. kate looks over her shoulder and narrows her eyes in an attempt to place who’s appearing out of the dark. her expression becomes even again once she’s recognized jane, but kate doesn’t give away any feelings of surprise or annoyance at her presence.
kate turns her head to continue staring up at the night sky, and jane decides to take her silence as an invitation rather than a dismissal. she closes the distance between them and settles into the space next to kate. she stays silent, not entirely sure what to say. wondering if she should even say anything at all.
jane crosses her arms over the railing and eyes the cigarette in kate’s hands. “didn’t take you for a smoker,” she comments.
kate snickers and shakes her head. “i know, it’s a filthy habit. one i just can’t seem to break.”
impulsively, jane reaches out and takes the cigarette from kate, ignoring the flutter in her stomach when their fingers brush together.
“me neither.”
jane tries to tamp down her smug smile when kate fixes her eyes on her. her gaze tracking jane bringing the cigarette to her lips. they remain like that for a while. side by side, shoulders pressed together, passing the cigarette back and forth until all that’s left is the butt. jane watches kate flick it on the ground and use the toe of her boot to stomp it out.
she’s feeling braver than she has any right to. without much thought the question, “do you want to come over?” comes tumbling out of jane’s mouth.
kate cocks a brow. “for?”
jane shrugs. “a drink, to talk, another cigarette,” she offers. she tips her face up until it’s dangerously close to kate’s. “or whatever else we’re feeling.”
kate hums in thought and jane doesn’t think she even been looked at so intensely.
“okay.”
____________________________________________
kate pulls into the driveway just behind jane, already out the door and walking up to her suv before jane can even unbuckle. she’s quickly joining kate on the doorstep, snickering to herself when kate rolls her eyes over the front door not being locked.
this time kate doesn’t have to be scolded into taking her shoes off. she toes out of them by the hall bench after following jane inside. going so far as to take both pair of shoes and set them neatly in the cubbies. it’s a simple act, yet it still sparks something in jane.
she doesn’t give any instructions, and kate doesn’t ask for them. she follows jane through the house and into the kitchen. just close enough to stay in her space without being in the way. it’s a courtesy, a very kind one. a message that kate’s still following her lead, looking to jane for what the next move is and what she wants.
but jane isn’t in the mood to play things safe. she wants to press her luck. to press kate until she either gives jane what she really wants or decides this is all a step too far.
jane finds one of her better bottles of tequila towards the back of her liquor shelf. she just manages to get it down, but doesn’t have the same luck with the pack of cigarettes that’s kept on the same shelf. jane continues to feel around, but it must be just beyond her reach.
kate must realize that’s what she’s searching for, because suddenly the cheeky amount of space between them is gone. a hand anchors at the small of jane’s back and kate leans over her, reaching up to feel around for the cigarettes. kate hums and lets up, allowing jane to twist around and find a smug look on kate’s face.
kate shakes the pack and teases, “maybe these need to go on a lower shelf.”
jane rolls her eyes and plucks the pack out of kate’s hand while she quietly laughs. jane refocuses on pouring them both two fingers of tequila. she hands a glass off to kate and picks her own up. wordlessly walking to the back sliding door and pushing it open. kate’s right behind her, close enough for jane to feel the warmth radiating off of her.
they both sit down on the lanai couch, much closer than necessary. jane raises her glass and kate responds in kind, clinking their glasses together before taking a generous sip. jane sets her glass on the low table in front of them to pull two cigarettes out of the pack.
she takes one of them between her lips. turns to kate and mumbles around it, “got a light?”
kate huffs in amusement and produces a lighter from her pocket. “i do. lucky you.”
but kate doesn’t hand the lighter off to jane. instead she motions for her to lean closer. she does and kate flicks the lighter, illuminating their faces in the soft glimmer of the flame. kate holds the flame to end of jane’s cigarette. keeping it there until jane’s dragging in smoke and there’s a bright, consistent glow at the end of the cigarette.
kate takes the one jane holds out for her, allowing their fingers to brush more than necessary. jane expects kate to use the lighter again, but instead kate’s biting her lip, narrowing her eyes in thought. kate seems to come to a decision and takes the cigarette between her lips. she keeps her fingers on it to hold it steady as she leans in. jane holds still, heart pounding in her chest at kate’s face inching closer. she watches as kate presses the tip of her unlit cigarette to the cherry of her own, using jane’s lit one to light hers.
kate holds there for a beat, ensuring she can take a drag and that her cigarette is properly lit. even after it still takes a bit for her to pull back, waiting until she needs to exhale and twists away from jane to do so. it leaves jane’s head spinning and causes the heat that’s been pooling low in her belly to slip down further.
she traces the line of kate’s neck with her eyes as she as she sips on tequila. kate’s painfully pretty. and the ability for jane to keep her hands to herself is slowly waning.
jane doesn’t think she’s ever felt like this. like she’s vibrating out of her skin with want. the only thing saving her from feeling like a fool is the sharp, heated look in kate’s eyes that betrays she’s feeling the same way.
“so,” kate breaks the silence. “we’re having a drink, we’re having a cigarette. wasn’t there something else you mentioned?”
despite how eager she actually is, jane decides to play coy and pretend to think. she finally answers, “whatever else we’re feeling.”
kate leans forwards and taps the ash from her cigarette into the tray on the table. “and what are you feeling, jane?”
jane shrugs and turns the question around on kate. “what’re you feeling?”
“i’m feeling like you want me to touch you.”
it’s the green light that jane’s desperately been waiting for. “i want you to more than touch me,” jane immediately replies.
kate grins. “care to share?”
jane smirks and shifts to hook her foot around kate’s ankle. “let’s finish up out here and i’ll tell you all about it.”
marriage is hard. so is growing a family. an emergency room visit brings months of tension to a head, resulting in a revelation that lucy and kate decided was no longer possible
