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It was still early on a Saturday morning. Too soon for anyone who worked late the night before to be awake. The NCIS team and the FBI worked together on a case that took all week and was only closed less than three hours ago. Even so, Kate was on the bedroom balcony, enjoying the view as she tried to finish a braid in her hair. It was a beautiful morning, the sun, which had risen a little less than an hour ago, was illuminating the shore occupied by a small number of people because of the time of morning. A slightly cooler breeze swept through her body and entered the room through the small opening the blonde had left open in the sliding door. She heard the bed sheets move and a small groan of frustration also reached her ears.
"Come back to bed, Whistler." Lucy spoke softly, but enough for Kate to hear.
She smiled and walked into the room, closing the sliding door behind her and pulling back the curtains to make the room dark again. She sat on the side of the bed where she was lying earlier and instantly Lucy put her head in her lap and used one of her arms to hug her. She left a kiss on top of her girlfriend's head, amidst her dark hair.
"You are so needy in the morning." Kate heard Lucy growl under the covers.
“Any normal person would be too if they dated a person who enjoys waking up before 6am on a Saturday.”
"Are you saying I'm not normal?" She laughed.
"You're definitely not normal, Kate Whistler."
Kate kissed the top of Lucy's head once more and they stayed in pleasant silence for a few minutes as she massaged the brunette's scalp.
"I think I need to ride some waves, it's a beautiful day outside."
"No, what you need is to stay here and be my big spoon." Lucy lifted her head from the blonde's lap and looked at her. "I read somewhere that for a person to surf well they need to get a good night of sleep and that doesn't include sleeping less than three hours."
"Actually," Kate tucked a strand of Lucy's hair that fell into her eyes behind her ear. “Sleeping with the woman I love gives me more energy than eight hours of sleep.”
Lucy smiled as she pulled the blonde's face to give her a quick kiss. "Say it again."
"The woman I love?" Kate laid down on the bed to pull Lucy on top of her and kissed her. It wasn't a hurried kiss, neither of them fighting for control. It was a calm kiss and full of feelings, where they showed very well all the love they felt for each other. "Go back to sleep, babe." Kate placed a small kiss on the tip of Lucy's nose and the brunette laid her head on her shoulder, with her nose right in the crook of the blonde's neck. A feeling Kate would never get tired of.
It didn't take long for Lucy to fall asleep again.
Not long after Kate left the apartment, Lucy woke up once again not feeling the warmth of her girlfriend's body beside her. She gave up on going back to sleep and got up.
“I swear I will tie this woman to the bed.”
The tiny agent went into the kitchen and started the espresso machine while she brushed her teeth. She opened the wardrobe, took one of the blonde's clothes and put it on. She went back into the kitchen and, for the third time that morning, grunted again when she saw that the mugs with their initials, which Kate had bought as a gift for Lucy along with her spare apartment key, were on the highest shelf and she had to use the little ladder to get it because Kate wasn't home.
She poured the coffee into the two mugs and left the apartment. At least on the beach she could watch her girlfriend surfing. Lucy hoped at least to find a place far away from the sea and in the shade to wait for her.
It didn't take long for Lucy to spot Kate at sea. There weren’t many people on the sand, but it did have a fair number of people who had the same idea as her and were also surfing.
The sea was not too rough and the blonde managed to ride some waves. But she also fell a few times. One of them, which irritated the brunette a lot, a man, probably thinking he was better than all the other people there, "stole" the wave that Kate was getting ready to ride, because of that both boards ended up colliding and the two falling down. It wasn't serious, as soon as the guy came back to the surface he went towards the blonde, probably to ask if she was ok and to apologize, but that didn't stop Lucy from hoping he didn't come out of the water in the direction she was because he was definitely going to see her fists.
Kate came out of the sea completely frustrated, put the surfboard on the sand and started to undo the last strands of hair that were still stuck in the braid she made before leaving the apartment. She caught her breath and was about to grab her board to head back to sea when she spotted Lucy sitting on a fallen tree trunk on the sand, in a shady spot, holding two large mugs of coffee. She wore the slightly faded dark blue Northwestern sweatshirt that was hers, but lately it was belonging more to her girlfriend than to her. Kate didn't mind that Lucy messed up her entire wardrobe when she was looking for one of her clothes to wear, in fact she loved how comfortable the brunette looked wearing clothes much larger than her.
"Hey," The blonde approached smiling and stuck the surfboard next to where Lucy was sitting. “I didn't expect to see you here... On the beach...”
"Neither did I." Lucy waned her smile and handed one of the mugs to the blonde, along with a towel. "But I developed a certain habit of not being able to stay in bed alone and that's how my girlfriend left me when she decided to go surfing at 6am."
"Oh," Kate hooked the towel around her waist, sat down next to Lucy and bumped her shoulder lightly against hers, before placing an affectionate kiss on her cheek. “Of course, seeing myself in a bikini is much more interesting than sleeping.”
"Ha, very funny." Lucy grimaced. “By the way, you were very good there, maybe the sea is your natural habitat.” She finished speaking, but it sounded like Kate was waiting for her to continue the thought. "What?"
“Nothing.” She gave a small smile and took a sip of her coffee. "I thought you were going to compare me to a mermaid."
Lucy grimaced again. "You’re feeling very funny today, Kate Whistler."
"But really," Kate continued, a small smile on her face this time. “Thanks, but I wasn't doing so well today, I missed a few waves and wiped out a few times.”
“Wiped out gracefully.” It was Kate's turn to grimace before she burst out laughing.
"That was one of the worst pick-ups I've ever heard."
“It wasn't a pick-up. I really don't know how you manage to be perfect in everything you do.” Kate just smiled at Lucy who had lowered her head. “That is indeed a pick-up line.”
The blonde put her hand on her girlfriend's face and caressed the spot making Lucy look at her. "Hey." She smiled, making Lucy smile too.
"You should join me at sea someday." Kate spoke softly, still caressing Lucy's face.
"You're joking, right?"
"No... I can try to help you lose your fear of the ocean."
“And how would you do that?”
Kate placed the mug she was holding on the tree trunk and did the same with the mug that was in Lucy's hand. With that hand that was free, while the other was still on the brunette's face, she held one of Lucy's hands. “Holding your hand.” She spoke looking into the eyes of the little agent with a small smile and intertwined her fingers. "Making you focus only on me."
"Like you're doing it now?" Lucy smiled too, feeling the distance between them shrink.
"Yes." She felt the coffee breath coming out of Kate's mouth right next to hers. “I would never let you drown. I wouldn't let anything happen to you.”
"The sea is unpredictable; you couldn't be sure."
"When it comes to you, I'm sure I'll always do everything to protect you."
This was how Kate had felt since falling in love with Lucy as she sat at that table while she waited for her order and started talking to her two years ago. When she returned to Hawaii six months later and became aware of what Lucy did for a living that feeling only increased, even though the little agent knew how to take care of herself and could handle people two or three times her size. Even better than Kate herself could do.
Lucy let go of Kate's hand and wrapped both arms around her neck, pulling her into a passionate kiss, one of those many they exchange daily.
"I love you." Lucy spoke and kissed the blonde several times all over her face.
"I love you too." Kate spoke and then asked smiling. "That means you're going to go into the sea with me."
"Absolutely not. But I might be willing to let you teach me how to swim. In a pool though.”