Well, that was a surprise.
And I don't just mean seeing the boss kissing Ducky, although that was too. I'd never have thought it. Never.
Ducky, yeah.
The boss? No way.
Or that's what I'd have thought. What I'd have bet.
And that doesn't, no matter what Kate would have tried to say, make me homophobic. It's just that I wasn't expecting it.
Well, the boss has been married four times. And put a redhead in front of him and . . . Plus I swear he and Jenny were more than just partners. And McGeek reckons that he and Mann got together. I still don't; she's not a redhead. Gibbs only goes for redheads - at least as far as women go. Which is all I thought he went for.
But it seems . . .
And that's another things that surprised me.
It wasn't a new thing. Gibbs and Ducky. It wasn't something that had been going on for a week or so. It wasn't just a friend thing because Ducky's mom had just died. It's been going on for years. Decades.
Gibbs doesn't do long term. Three divorces show that.
But it appears he does.
I thought I knew the boss. Or at least I thought I knew him better than I clearly do.
I don't know if I'm bothered by it. Don't think I am. In fact I'm sure I'm not.
Just because I'm surprised doesn't make me bothered. Does it?
If I'm honest me not being bothered surprises me. Not that I've got anything against gay men; really I haven’t. Gibbs wouldn't allow it. He's against all discrimination; I know that. But I never thought I'd want to see two men kissing. And I don't particularly want to; but seeing it didn't bother me.
And that surprises me. Because one of them was Gibbs. The boss. My boss.
Guess it explains a lot though. How defensive Gibbs is of Ducky. Why he puts up with his ramblings. Why he doesn’t mind being called 'my dear Jethro'. Why he can criticize Ducky, but we can't. Why . . .
Why they behaved like they did when Gibbs quit and then came back again.
I should have known then.
Gibbs is right. We should all have noticed. Me most of all. I'm his senior agent. His right hand man. His deputy. I'm a good agent. I notice things. I should have noticed that.
It surprises me that I didn't.
But then again, no it doesn’t.
Not really.
Author's Chapter Notes:
The fifth part of the Discovering Series. DiNozzo reports on how he felt about what they'd seen.