Work Text
“Mornin,” Kate whispered as she nuzzled into the small of her girlfriend’s neck. She caught the time out of the corner of her eye
6:58 a.m.
Jane had asked the team to work a half day, meaning Lucy would need to get up in the next 15 minutes to make it in on time. “Mmmm,” the brunette moaned as Kate’s hands caressed her breasts. “What time is it?” she mumbled, rolling over to kiss the blonde. Kate started kissing down Lucy’s neck, “six fifty-eight,” she uttered. “What?!?” the Texan exclaimed, bolting out of bed.
Kate waited until Lucy was out of earshot to scream into her pillow. Seven months ago, she’d gotten down on one knee and asked the tiny Texan to be her wife. It was the greatest day of her life. But ever since the brunette said ‘yes,’ she became preoccupied with planning the wedding, or rather, the social event of the season. And with the Tara-Whistler nuptials just a week away, Lucy was particularly on edge, meaning Kate was on eggshells each time the phone rang or a package arrived.
“You can’t be serious!” Kate heard her fiance scream from the living room. “Please, god, don’t let anything else go wrong,” the blonde mumbled as she rolled out of bed and threw on her sweats.
“Good morning, my love,” the blonde announced as she entered the room. Her cheerfulness was met with deadly daggers.
“I don’t know how you can be so chipper! We’re a week away, and NOTHING is right!” The Texan leaned over a large box and started pulling out packages of napkins. “Here!” She chucked a pack of napkins at Kate with surprising force.
Damn, you Delivery Express, the blonde thought.
“Nate and Lucy!” A part of Kate died as she read the text aloud.
Why, god? Why?
“Lucy, it’s fine. They’re just napkins.” Again, she was met with daggers. The FBI agent hated seeing her love like this. The typical, happy-go-lucky woman she fell in love with was turning into a tiny Bridezilla. Correction. She was a Bridezilla.
“Come here,” she pulled the shorter woman toward her. “Take a moment and breathe. We will get through this,” the blonde held the Texan a little tighter than usual in an effort to calm her down.
I think it’s working.
She released her grip and held her love at arm’s length. “Repeat after me. Everything will be fine.”
Lucy’s eyes screamed defiance.
Like hell everything will be fine.
“Humor me, Luce… Everything will be fine.”
The Texan didn’t budge. She looked down at her watch. She had just enough time to grab a shower before she needed to head out for work. Kate could see she wasn’t going to win, so she switched tactics.
“You go to work. I’ll take care of everything.” The blonde wasn’t sure how, but how hard could last-minute wedding planning be?
“Really?” Lucy was surprised by the offer. Kate had taken a “happy wife, happy life” approach to the wedding and let Lucy plan most of the ceremony and reception. The Texan didn’t complain. She’d been planning her dream wedding since she was 12 and was up for the challenge. Or at least she thought she was.
“Yes,” Kate leaned in to kiss her. “You’ve been so stressed with everything. I’ll make a few phone calls and get things back on track.”
“Remember the cake toppers.” Lucy mentally screamed as she mentioned the tiny figures.
“I don’t think they’re
that
bad.” Kate retorted.
“Seriously?” The Texan scurried across the room and retrieved them. “You see nothing wrong with these?” She turned to Kate, holding up the two figures. One was a very tall blonde bride. The other was a brunette bride…a fraction the size of the blonde.
Kate could see what her fiance meant but decided to have a little fun. “I am six inches taller than you.”
“You ass. I’m not eye level with your crotch!” She thrust the figurines in Kate’s face.
“But you like being eye-level with my crotch.” Whistler couldn’t help but add the innuendo. Since Lucy achieved her Bridezilla status, sexy time had come to a screeching halt. She looked down to see her girlfriend’s gaze had changed from daggers to laserbeams. “Luce, I’m sorry. I was just having a little fun.” She took the figurines before the Texan impaled her with them. “I will find us new ones.”
“Good,” the Texan quipped as she walked to the kitchen to find a notepad and pencil. “I’ll make you a list.”
“A list?” Kate asked. She’d never seen Lucy make a list in all their time together. Whistler was impressed and a little turned on. If Lucy wasn’t in such a mood, she might make a move. “Since when did you become a fan of lists?”
“Since the universe started conspiring against me and the wedding.” The NCIS agent turned her attention back to the list. “Here,” she ripped off a piece of paper and slapped the list on the counter. “I’m off to shower.”
Kate walked over and reviewed the list. “Cake toppers. Caterer. Napkins. Mother.” The blonde already had a plan in place for the cake toppers and napkins. Caterer shouldn’t be too hard. She planned on having lunch at Wally’s today after her run, so she’d run some ideas past Wally and Hina. But what did ‘mother’ mean?
The blonde knew she likely wouldn’t want to know, but she needed to ask. “Hey, Luce…” she wandered into the bathroom, “What’s this about ‘mother’?”
“My mom called yesterday while you were out. She wants to change the venue so she and my dad can invite 50 of their friends.”
“You told her ‘no,’ right?” The blonde sat down on the toilet and scolded herself. It was a dumb question. If it had gone well, ‘mother’ wouldn’t be on the list.
Lucy was thankful this conversation was taking place with a curtain between them. It saved her from throttling the love of her life. It also allowed her to roll her eyes with Kate being none the wiser. “Of course I did,” she replied, trying not to sound annoyed. “But you know that didn’t go over well. She’s already put down a deposit on the new venue.”
“Lucy! We’re getting married in a week. We can’t switch venues! Plus, we don’t even know these extra people.”
The Texan chuckled to herself. She had had a lifetime to get used to the manipulative force known as Matilda Tara, whereas Kate only had a few months. “Welcome to my world, my love.”
The half-day turned out to be a three-quarters day. It likely would have been a full day, but Tennant insisted she head home. The NCIS SAC would never admit it, but Bridezilla Lucy was really dampening the team dynamic.
Jane Tennant:
Please tell me you took care of everything!
Kate Whistler:
All done.
Jane Tennant:
Good. I’m sending her home.
Kate Whistler:
Was she that bad?
Jane Tennant:
Between me and you…yes.
Kate Whistler:
I’m sorry. She just wants everything to be perfect.
Jane Tennant:
I know. Keep her home tomorrow.
“Hello?” Lucy announced as she hung up her coat and kicked off her boots. The apartment smelled delicious, but Kate wasn’t to be found. “Kate?” Lucy called from the kitchen. The oven timer had 20 minutes remaining. The brunette took a quick peek at tonight’s dinner.
Ooh, enchiladas.
There was still no sign of Kate, so the Texan helped herself to a beer and headed into the bedroom to change. “There you are!”
“Ahh, Lucy! You scared me. I was just getting out of the shower. Didn’t hear you come in.” She quickly threw her hair up in a towel and grabbed her robe. “How was work?”
Normally, Lucy would take the opportunity to pounce on her naked girlfriend, but she was preoccupied with the wedding list. “Didn’t you shower this morning?” The question was met with a brief silence. “Don’t tell me you spent the day surfing and didn’t get anything done.”
Fuck me. My girlfriend is more interested in cake toppers than having sex.
“If you must know,” Kate quickly put on a pair of undies and her robe, “I went for a run after I got
everything
done. I put dinner in the oven, and since I was all grimy, I showered. Is that ok with you, detective?”
“Prove it.” Nothing was going to come between Lucy Tara and her dream wedding. Not even her horny fiance in a silk robe.
“You know, as much as I love you, I’ll be glad when the wedding’s over and you return to normal. This,” Kate motioned up and down, “is not a good look on you.”
The Texan stood with her mouth agape. Was she really that bad? “Follow me,” Kate said as she led them to the living room. “Sit. Prepare to be amazed.”
The FBI agent returned from the spare bedroom with a small box and the list. “First,” she sat adjacent to her fiance and pulled out two packs of napkins. “We are no longer ‘Nate and Lucy.’ We’re now using napkins in our colors.” She handed the napkins to the brunette. “And before you say anything…the only reason you had them customized is because your mother complained. This is OUR wedding, and we’re going with these.”
Lucy went to object, but Kate interrupted. “I should mention that I got a full refund, AND I got these for free.” The brunette looked down at the napkins. They were the perfect match. And Kate was right. She didn’t care about having their names on the napkins. “How?” she managed to ask.
“I may have mentioned that it would be a shame if the media got wind of a local business that discriminated against a lesbian couple and did nothing to rectify an error.”
“Really?” The brunette found this side of her fiance extremely attractive.
“Oh, I did. And that’s how we got the new napkins for free.” The blonde grinned. While she didn’t miss her days as a contract lawyer, she did love a good negotiation.
Lucy stood up and straddled Kate’s lap. “You, Ms Whistler, are amazing,” she said as she slowly peppered kisses down the blonde’s neck. “Hey!” she yelled when Kate pushed her aside.
“I’m not done with the list!” She could see the disappointment on Lucy’s face. “This is all your doing. You can’t give me a list and expect me not to complete it. Plus, with all the cold showers I’ve had to take lately, you’re gonna have to keep it in your pants a bit longer.”
“Fiiiine! What else do you have?” The Texan sulked on her way back to the couch.
The blonde jumped off the chair with enough enthusiasm for both of them. “Only the world’s most adorable cake toppers!” She pulled out two tiny figurines from the box and presented them to Lucy. “You like?”
“Kate!” The brunette started to tear up.
“Shit! You hate them.”
“The exact opposite,” she dried her tears on her sleeve. “I love them. How did you-”
“Ernie. He’s got a 3D printer. I gave him some pictures of us, and he worked his magic.”
“Again, Katherine, you are amazing.” She couldn’t love this woman more if she tried. “I assume you handled the food.”
“Yup. Was fairly easy. Our original caterer actually knows Wally, so they’re working together to complete the menu.”
“Great…and do I dare ask about my mother?” Kate was indeed an amazing woman, but Matilda Tara was a shrewd businesswoman who specialized in condescension and manipulation. Very few could say they made the woman change her mind and lived to tell the tale.
“That one was a challenge. But I made a plan and executed it perfectly. Our wedding will remain at Jane’s, and there will not be 50 strangers in attendance.”
Lucy’s mind was blown. “I’ve never gotten my mother to change her mind. Ever. What did you say?”
“I simply told her that if she pursued the new venue and additional guests, that a very public donation would be made to PETA in the Tara family name.”
Lucy’s eyes widened with pure astonishment. “You didn’t??”
The blonde grinned from ear to ear. She sealed two deals in one day, the latter being a personal point of pride. “I think you’ve forgotten you’re marrying a master negotiator.”
“What did the matriarch of the largest cattle ranching family in Texas have to say?” The brunette was eager to hear all the details. It wasn’t every day that Mrs Tara was bested.
Kate laughed as she recalled the awkward silence on the other end of the line. “Her exact words were, ‘I see why my daughter likes you.’”
Oh, she doesn’t know the half of it…