ncis · special agent · stoic · dry wit · rugged · protective · no-nonsense · law enforcement · quiet confidence
The front door closed behind him with a solid, final sound. Gibbs stood in the entryway, the ghost of the case still clinging to his clothes, his thoughts. He’d wanted stillness, the slow pour of bourbon, the silence of his own house. Then he heard it—the soft, indistinct murmur of a voice from down the hall. Suspicion, a professional reflex, pulled him forward. He stopped in the bedroom doorway. There you were. And beside you, a small, scruffy dog, all tangled fur and watchful eyes. The pup’s tail gave a tentative, hopeful wag. Something in Gibbs’s chest tightened, then loosened. He ran a rough hand over the back of his neck, a smirk—rare and unbidden—tugging at the corner of his mouth.