Gibbs was waiting for him in front of Vance’s office. His posture was deceptively calm, one shoulder against the wall, the inevitable large sized coffee cup in one of his hands and his full concentration on his approaching Agent. “Where’s Sam?“
“She’s sleeping in Ducky’s office.” The intense focus on him made Tony straighten his posture. Gibbs was never hiding it when he was pissed with his agent and good at expressing it as well. One icy look, one low growl was most of the time quite enough to covey his displeasure. Both indicators were absent at the moment but the stubborn glint in intense blue eyes warned Tony that the other man had come to a decision. He steeled himself for the conversation he knew was going to take place as soon as they had enough privacy. Which meant it wasn’t going to be here at the office.
Ducky had offered his services as a babysitter. “Dear boy, I cannot take her for long or overnight, mother would be very confused and I shudder to think what she would do if I came home with a little girl, but I have no problem watching her for a few hours. Leave a letter for Sempera so she will know where you are. I will wake her up in two hours so she won’t be wide awake come bedtime,” had been Ducky's direct and very understanding words.
“Hm.” Gibbs stepped away from the wall, nodded in greeting at a passing secretary and opened the door to Vance’s sanctum for Tony. “Your little one had a stressful day.”
“And it isn’t even 1500,” Tony tried to reign in his nervousness and greeted Chynthia, Vance’s assistant. She didn't answer him, as she was listening on the phone, but she nodded in the direction of the door to the inner office and held up 5 fingers. Ok, five minutes till the director had time for him. The agents settled in one corner of the room. “I still can’t get my head around what happened.”
“She’ll bounce back, kids are resilient. Quite the spitfire, your Sam.” Gibbs wasn’t crowding Tony, but he was keeping himself at the edge of the younger man’s personal space. “Didn’t seem to care for me much.” He sounded amused.
“Normally children like you on sight.” commented Tony.
Gibbs shrugged his shoulders. “Might be that she picked up some feelings from you, eh? Kids do that a lot.”
Tony didn’t know what to answer. Everything that came immediately to his mind was inappropriate so he kept his mouth shut. He took the other man’s behavior as a good sign, he wouldn’t offer his opinion about kids if he was going to kick Tony, would he? “I don’t know much about kids.”
“Know more than you used to."
“You know me, steep learning curve if need be.” And he hadn’t finished learning by far, Tony still felt completely out of his element most of the time. “Which reminds me, I have to use the time till my appointment with the principal to clean up my apartment without Sam getting in the way.”
Gibbs cocked his head to the side questioningly.
“Never brought her there before. I’m not a slob, but there’s some stuff lying around a kid shouldn’t see.” A lot of stuff, according to the books he had read. “You know, I’ve heard about toddlers getting hurt and destroying things but it seems to be equally bad with older kids.” And wouldn’t it be typical if he managed to fuck up the most basic rules of childcare? Well, at least he wasn’t an insensitive bitch like Reynolds. Tony groaned. “I could strangle the principal.”
Gibbs didn’t show surprise about the change in topic and he seemed to agree about Reynolds, he got that steely expression which was normally reserved for criminals. “Will be interesting to hear what she has to say.”
Seems as if the offer of backup was still good. And the car ride would provide them with enough privacy to clear up other points of conflict between them, one way or the other.
“Gentlemen?” Chynthia had finished her telephone conversation and was smiling at Gibbs and Tony. “Director Vance is free to speak with you now. And Agent DiNozzo, I heard about your daughter Sam visiting, Agent Milton says she is quite the sweetheart.” She opened the door to the inner office for them.
“Ah, thank you.” Tony forced himself to return the smile, the secretary was a nice woman and he liked her. But this was one more example of office gossip at its finest. Gibbs, who hadn’t left his side, wasn’t as diplomatic, his derisive snort said it all.
Vance was waiting for them behind his big glossy desk.
.-#-.
The director had been uncharacteristically understanding about Sam showing up randomly at NCIS. Leon Vance had never been fond of DiNozzo, but as a family man himself, he understood the needs and demands of the current situation. Tony’s struggle to alter his life for Sam had accomplished what his skills as an exceptional, if a little bit unconventional, investigator could not, and bought him some goodwill. The director had demanded that they should finish the paperwork on their current case, which wasn't a problem, most of it was already finished, and then use the opportunity to take some time off. The whole team had obscene amounts of time on the books and wasn’t known to use it often. There would be some very happy Human Resources officers at the end of the month, wondering about the minor miracle.
Tony could thank his lucky star that the bad guys seemed to be taking time off too, not to mention the lack of Petty Officers dying, getting arrested, being compromised or in need of rescue, which meant that the team wasn’t swamped with active cases like usual. The secondary teams could pick up the slack. As long as there wasn’t a high profile case coming in, they had until next Monday to sort everything out.
Now Tony and Gibbs were on their way to the car compound. Gibbs was the perfect picture of a silent, scowling companion. One look at his face was enough warning for the agents they met. They decided to give both agents a wide berth rather than coming up to question DiNozzo, no matter how much they wanted do satisfy their curiosity. Gibbs and Tony left the building and fell into their accustomed walking formation, the younger man behind and to the side of the lead agent, two set of long muscular legs eating up the distance to the car.
Tony didn’t even try to claim the driver’s seat, He wanted the tactical advantage of not having to divide his attention between driving and talking. Additionally he wanted to avoid angering the former marine further and Gibbs was always more content when he felt in control. Enduring Gibbs’ driving was better than having him as a passenger. Tony threw the keys to the other man, who caught them deftly. Tony waited for the doors to unlock, folded his long frame into the cabin and kept an eye on Gibbs.
“You said it, ball’s in my court, so let’s talk.” Instead of starting the car the older agent turned his body so it was halfway facing the shot-gun seat and Tony. So much for diverting his attention.
“You really wanna to do this now?“
“Hell, yes. We’re alone, unobserved and on relatively neutral ground. I don’t like talking but I don’t want to lose you either. And you will leave NCIS if this isn’t resolved.” Gibbs never did ask a question when he could declare something instead.
Tony nodded in answer, nonetheless. This new development with Sam's school was making things more immediately difficult, but one part of him had begun months ago to write his checklist of necessary procedures required to obtain less complicated living and working conditions somewhere else. The mental tally in Ducky's office had been just one further step. A step to take flight, cowardly of him, but still viable.
Gibbs was observing him. His expression was now fairly neutral and it reminded Tony of the countless times he had seen his boss trying to get a feeling for the undercurrents of a room before starting an interrogation. His blue eyes were earnest; they caught Tony’s, commanded his full attention and refusing to let him slide away again.
“DiNozzo, you are one of the best Agents I’ve ever worked with. You’re of great value to me. As a good agent and as a friend.” The ignition key was rammed into its slot. “And you better memorize my words because you’ll never hear them again so openly. Every fucking successfully closed case, every time I had your six should have told you already. Got it?”
It felt like something thick and restricting had set up camp in Tony’s throat and he swallowed reflexively. Those were words he had longed to hear for so long but now they tasted stale. “You would find another second in command if I quit. McGee is probably salivating just thinking about it.”
“He'd develop ulcers within the first month.”
Tension crackled between them, the air in the car felt charged, and for a moment, leaving and never looking back was a very appealing option to Tony. “That means what exactly? Because, the treating me as a human being, not an agent-robot hasn’t been happening lately. Never mind interacting with me as a friend." Tony raised his chin challengingly. "We going back to the way things were before your little stint as a drunken beach bum?" Petty of him, but the incident smarted even after two years.
Gibbs shook his head and smiled sadly. "Not possible."
That was like a slap in the face. "Gibbs-" The other man shushed him
"Lemme talk. Listen. You cannot-" Gibbs sighed and rubbed his neck, trying to disperse the tension. Gibbs looked up at Tony’s suddenly very white face and his grimace deepened. “I am really not good with words....”
Tony stomped on his own irritation, the declaration that he was a good agent had been needed, but whatever Gibbs had to say now seemed to be something far more difficult to admit. Tony could see the muscles in the older man's throat working, the tension in his hands. There had been few instances where he had seen the other man this... vulnerable. They weren't connected to good memories.
"I know, probably better than most people, how fruitless it is to wish to return to how it once was." Gibb's tone was firm. "Don't think much of the new age shit that’s been spread around, can't jump in the same stream twice and all that rot but- We're not the same people anymore. Doesn't mean that we can't have a similar relationship to what we once had, though."
No, the Agent DiNozzo of two years ago hadn't had to suddenly lead a team, hadn't had to do a hinky undercover op for a vengeful director, hadn't had to hand the reins of leadership back just as suddenly. Hadn't had to face fatherhood. He wasn't that DiNozzo anymore. He couldn't and didn't want to forget these events, they had shaped who he was now, admittedly in some instances not for the better. Time hadn't stood still for Gibbs either. Tony had to close his eyes for a moment. It was childish and selfish of him to feel slighted, an adult would be pleased by the honesty Gibbs showed, especially because of how rare it was to get this much out of the other man. Tony had wanted to get the camaraderie back. It couldn't happen without honesty and trust. But he still yearned for- "But we can still try to repair what's been broken?"
Gibbs nodded and smiled gruffly, a pleased light in his eyes. "That's what I want. Don't expect that I'll let you get away with goofing off on my dime or that I'll behave completely different. Not likely, that.”
That sounded like Gibbs trying to lighten the mood, because Tony would never expect to get away with anything, that wasn’t the older agent’s style.
Gibbs sobered up and added “But yeah. End of ice age." His blue eyes were trying to convey everything he couldn’t with words.
The rift wouldn't realistically mend overnight, but this was what he had wished for, the chance for keeping the steadiest work relationship he had ever had. The big clonking sound even people in Canada should have heard? That had been the weight tumbling off his shoulders.
A giddy, warm feeling began to develop in Tony's stomach and he couldn't help himself, he had to test Gibbs. "So, boss, does that mean I'll be getting more Gibbs slap wake up calls again? I was getting kinda tired of the death glare, it just doesn't have the same charm. And you’ll listen to me again, if I have a theory to share? I mean, you know, for an old case or something lengthy. Not in front of the others boss, but-" Some of his most cherished memories involved lengthy discussions about a case away from the office, friendly banter and the younger agent nodding off with a beer can cradled to his chest. Waking up rumpled and with a crick in his neck in the morning. All these things had been absent in their routine for a long time.
An amused, and dare he say it, light-hearted, smile was playing around Gibbs' mobile mouth. "You might try not to earn my displeasure for a change, Tony." The smile transformed into a bright grin. One of those joyful ones that never ceased to provoked a certain part of Tony to sit up and take notice. "I'm not holding my breath though. And yeah, if you have something worthwhile on your mind, second step on my basement stairs is still yours to plant your butt on. Beer you have to bring yourself, I don't share my beer. There's the couch if you are too buzzed to drive home afterwards.”
That sounded great. Tony laughed. "Hey, don't tell me things I know, I am not that dumb, honestly boss. And your couch is nearly as uncomfortable as the stairs. You have to be made of wood yourself to call it comfortable. And you drink bourbon, not beer. I always brought my own beer and some clothes to change into so I would look decent the next day at the office. Ragged is not a good look on me. And my own soap. Yours might smell enticing on you but I don't think it would suit me, and- ."
The indrawn breath and intense look of the silver haired man made Tony hastily rewind the sentences in his mind and he suppressed a whimper. Being delighted about things developing into something he had missed dearly was one thing. Commenting on the body hygiene of his boss and how good he smelled? Not so much. Not at all! Tony could have slapped himself.
Before he could continue, probably digging his own grave even deeper, Gibbs' startled stare developed gradually into something else entirely. "Never thought you'd pay this kind of attention. So, tell me what do I smell like, hm?"
It wasn't the words themselves that made Tony take a leap of faith, it was the deep rumble, nearly a purr, in Gibbs' voice. It made him lick his suddenly dry lips. "Lemon. Chamomile and a hint of spice." His own voice was rather rough. "If you're fresh out of the shower. Additionally sawdust if you're called out on a case."
“Hm." Gibbs eyed him thoughtfully, then looked around the parking lot to check for other people and leaned forward. The windows of the car were lightly tinted and shielded them from the security cameras. “So tell me if I got the wrong impression just now. Nah, better show me, I'm not good with words.” He slowly stretched out his right arm, the hand half open, in the direction of Tony’s face. His eyes never left the younger Agent’s, observing every reaction. For one moment Tony thought he would just touch his neck, in a variation of his trademark head-slaps, and it started that way indeed. But then the familiarity ended, Gibbs palmed his jaw, strong callused fingertips stroked over the sensitive skin behind his ear. Gun calluses and others developed from sanding a boat sure made for interesting textures. It made his heart stutter, it was pure Gibbs.
Tony stared, transfixed by the sight of Gibbs' dilated pupils and slightly flared nostrils. This was anything but professional. The younger man didn’t react at first, he was too surprised. Though he’d had faint hopes to get some praise for his qualities as an agent as a reaction to the things he said in the conference room, some kind of incentive to stay on the team, he never would have thought that Gibbs would take it one step further and take Tony's Freudian slip seriously.
Gibbs snorted and his fingers stilled. Before he could pull back Tony leaned against the warm palm, lowered his eye lids and pressed a soft kiss against the thumb that rested near his mouth. He couldn't resist nibbling a little bit and delighted in hearing the resulting hitch of breath and chuckle from Gibbs. Tony was breathing faster as well. The gray haired man finally let go and delivered a very light version of a head slap.
Gibb’s voice was low and gravely. “Wasn’t sure about this. Suspected that it was just teasing on your part. You come across as quite the player.”
“Yeah, I am good at undercover, even in real life.” Exaggerating real aspects of your personality but never showing everything was a key factor for pretending, something he had learned to do very well. Tony grinned weakly. At the moment he was both delighted and terrified. It was getting your fantasy handed to you on a silver platter and then not really knowing what to do with it. Where to put it. If it would be snatched away again the next moment if he didn't react correctly. That way lay Florida. And Hurricanes. Both, -God, both!- had to be avoided but not at the cost of his heart.
The younger man fumbled with his seatbelt, his eyes still held captivated by those of his enticing companion. Another difference between him and the old Tony occurred to him and it was more effective than a cold shower. There were some things he had to be clear about up front. “I am a package deal now, sort of. That is, if you want more than just sex because- “Tony gulped and his stuttering came to a halt.
Gibbs was staring at him thoughtfully, one of his eyebrows raised, but he made no attempt to interrupt or comment, so Tony forced himself forward in his quest to get it out of the way. "Might be not what you want and, I mean, and… It might make you feel uncomfortable. Having to deal with Sam and me both, as a family.“
“Tony.”
But Tony was so concentrated on getting it over with, on the thoughts chasing each other in his head, that he babbled on. “Maybe you don’t want something like that again, and-“
“Tony!” the much sharper interruption made Tony shut up and look in the direction Gibbs' raised hand indicated. A marine was approaching, Tony shifted focus to the more immediate problem. He identified the guy as one of the guards and waved to show that everything was all right, but the marine knew his job and approached carefully, his headset ready to call for support, his stance defensive. Tony opened the window to tell him that they had discussed a case; everything was all right, nothing interesting to see here.
Gibbs started the car, they couldn’t stay here too long or they would attract more unwanted attention, and carefully steered it out of the yard before he picked up their conversation. “First, you might wanna try to leave the boss part out of private things.”
“I've had to think about you as my Boss, or as Gibbs... you had to be The Bossman, you know?” That might not sound sexy, but he honestly had avoided thinking about Gibbs in other terms. It had been better for his mental health.
The sardonically raised eyebrow was back and it was frightening that the man could drive a car like he was competing in a race and still have enough concentration to spare a look at his hapless passenger.
“And not in a kinky way.” Tony hastened to assure as he grabbed the oh-shit-handle and ignored the ongoing death by car crash threat. He was used to Gibbs’ driving style by now. “Well, not usually.” he couldn’t resist adding.
“Do tell.” The car stopped at a red light and Gibbs turned his head. “But do it later. Let’s go back to the original conversation. Me, you, Sam. And what we expect.” The light switched to green again and Gibbs put his foot down. “And it isn’t casually screwing around. Could get that elsewhere.”
Tony nodded, relived. “Sex without strings attached is easy to get.” And it was something he was heartily tired of. “Easy and cheap.”
“So you tell us regularly. And at great length and detail.” Gibbs glared at him and took the next corner with far too few tires on the ground. " You might have noticed, I'm sort of an all or nothing kind of guy, DiNozzo. And if you're on offer, I'll take it all."
“Then all is what you'll get.” Tony smiled tentatively. "All you had to do was, well, ask."
“Hm” The assessing look Gibbs sent him was full of promises and warnings both. Then he concentrated fully on the street, for the first time since their journey started.
Tony's was thankful that …Jethro -and didn’t that sound awkward?- wasn’t pressing further ahead, the younger man’s brain refused to take much more. Tony would think about it later and simply enjoy the moment now. Seeing strong capable hands coaxing the car into high performance made Tony’s gut clench. And not in the same way as the other poor bastards sharing the road with Gibbs experienced either. He waited for the usual frustration to join the hodgepodge of feelings but it did not come. “We’ll figure it out.”
-.#.-
DiNozzo’s apartment was situated in a remodeled brick building. It looked like it might have been a storage and office complex once. It wasn’t the best part of the town but at least there was no clutter on the streets and the apartment complex had a security guard and functioning cameras supervising the foyer and parking space. Everything was a little bit shabby but well lit. Gibbs remembered that he himself had encouraged his new agent years ago to search for lodgings in this area because he had heard from people at the Yard that it wasn’t too expensive and relatively safe.
Gibbs parked the car and waited for his companion to lead the way. There had been instances where he had picked the younger agent up, when Tony’s beloved sports car had been trashed or in the shop, but he had only once been up to the apartment itself and that had been years ago. He studied Tony carefully. He was silent, which was unusual for DiNozzo. Instead of chattering in the car there had been thoughtful and happy glances. Both looked good on Tony.
The guard at the front desk, a bald man on the wrong side of fifty with a big mustache and a friendly smile, looked up when they entered the building and greeted Tony jovially.
“Dino!” The smile broadened in reaction to Tony’s theatrical wince.
“Kevin, what have I told you? Don’t call me by that horrid nickname, it makes me think of Jurassic reptiles and I am not old enough to be mistaken for a dinosaur. It’s Di-no-zo, not Dei-no-sor!”
It was obviously not the first time they’d had that conversation, it sounded like an in-joke between them.
The guard was grinning widely, completely unimpressed by the playful reprimand. “Hell, you’re not getting younger, so it fits.”
“Bah, neither are you. Kev, may I introduce you-“
“To Agent Gibbs, am I right?” Kevin heaved his not inconsiderable weight up and offered his hand. “Nice ta meet ya. Recognized ya from the pic Dino showed us. Ya know, in case he need something from his digs and couldn’t fetch it himself. The chicks, pardon, shouldn’t call feds chicks, and the fidgety one have been here but I’ve never seen ya before.”
“Yeah, I’m his boss.” Gibbs shook the offered hand and flashed a smirk at his agent. The former marine wondered how Tony had managed to prevent this particular nickname making the rounds at the office. By use of lots of bribes and blackmail, most likely. Ziva was not the kind of agent people wanted to prattle with, too intimidating, so if she ever met Bates it was unlikely that they’d had a conversation. Abby and McGee didn’t provoke a fearful flight instinct in most people, plus Tony would know how to bully or bribe them into keeping their mouths shut.
“Kevin Bates has been manning that front desk for more years than I've been living here.”
“Haven’t seen Dino much lately, at least not in daylight.” His expression turned stern. “Looks like crap too, come to think of it, ya shouldn’t work him ta death, poor guy looks worn down. Ya gonna help him pack and move?”
“You always tell me I look like crap. I like my job, well, most of the time. And he’s just visiting.” deflected DiNozzo.
“Was sorry ta hear you’re moving out. S’ always good to have a cop in the building, makes the hooligans think twice about causing shit.” Kevin sighed and let himself fall into his chair again.
“Can’t be helped, I need something bigger.” Tony's smile was apologetic.
Bigger, probably with less concrete and more greenery and playgrounds. So, DiNozzo planned to move to a new apartment. He could guess the reasons behind the decision, but wondered when the man had intended to tell Gibbs about the move. Tony could not have hidden the presence of Sam in his life for much longer if he really planned for her to live with him.
Bates grunted. “Yeah, still a pity.”
Tony shrugged and led Gibbs towards the ancient elevator. The guard seemed genuinely fond of his agent and sad to see this tenant move out. DiNozzo had that effect on people. They either warmed up to him fast or they dismissed him as unimportant or incompetent only to find out at a later date " and to their detriment- that the seemingly tame pampered tabby was a deadly saber tooth tiger in disguise.
One elevator ride, two floors and three security locks on a door later they were standing in the middle of a two-room apartment.
“Ok, where to start-“ Tony looked around rather helplessly and then vanished into the bedroom. “I’ll just pack away the … ah, more dangerous things.”
Gibbs took the opportunity to snoop around. His profession had proven to him time and time again how much a skilled observer could learn about the inhabitant of a place by paying close attention to the things they owned. And this time he could allow himself to look at the evidence with the eyes of a future lover, not an investigator or team leader.
He had made his decision earlier and would stand by it. No more hiding, to himself or to Tony. They had hidden too much already, that was one of the reasons why he had called them on the attraction between them, to avoid further misunderstandings later on. Tony would have taken it badly, seen it as another breach of trust if he had found out later on that Gibbs had been aware that the flirting wasn't pure make-believe at all. Therefore now or never had been the two options available to Gibbs.
Like he said to Tony, if the younger man was on offer, Gibbs would take all he could get. Well, he would have to take it slowly. No reason to spook Tony, the man had enough to handle at the moment. How Sam would fit in the picture was another big question, he would have to win her over. ‘First things first Jethro, don’t forget.’ Gibbs would help as much as he could, befriend Tony's daughter and otherwise see where their paths took them. That didn’t change the fact that Anthony DiNozzo belonged to him now. And Gibbs was a man that would fight to keep what was his safe, protect it ferociously.
Today his belief that he knew Tony had been shaken up. Gibbs could only blame himself, he had broken his own rule. What did he always tell his agents? Never assume, check and double check. With DiNozzo it was never the obvious stuff that told the story, it was the details underneath the glossy surface. More personal information about Tony could only help him on his quest.
The smallish apartment looked clean, well organized if a little bit eccentric. There wasn’t much clutter. Modern but comfortable furniture shared space with utilitarian book and DVD shelves and a small kitchenette was nestled in one corner. One chair, one water glass; a cereal bowl and a coffee cup sat on a rag next to the sink to dry, no other utensils could be seen. It was the space of a solitary bachelor.
Earth and cream colors were dominant. Apart from the differences in decorations - he would never allow that hideous print of a skyline on any of his walls!- it was appealing.
Gibbs had expected the huge, meticulously organized DVD collection and the state of the art entertainment system. He squinted at the titles, his reading glasses forgotten at the office. After having to listen to Tony ramble about the different shows and movies for years it wasn’t surprising that he recognized a lot of them. Magnum; every damn episode ever aired, Gibbs would bet good money on it. Starsky and Hutch, Miami Vice, amusingly CSI; hadn’t Tony scoffed and whined about the lack of accuracy of the show whenever a hapless bystander compared their methods to reality? Old Hollywood classics, Film Noir. Pornos. Classics like Emmanuelle, some of them so old Gibbs could remember watching them as a teenager at a wealthier friend’s house Friday night. They had been sitting in front of the TV, trying to appear cool and sophisticated but guiltily keeping an ear out for returning parents, one hand always ready to change the channel, the other hand on his cock. Who the hell would re-produce them as DVDs and sell them was beyond him. Gibbs shook his head. Tony would have to lock away a good portion of his collection from inquiring childish fingers.
But nestled between rows and rows of expected material were other topics Tony never quoted at work. Documentaries. Cold war, military battles, archaeology with emphasis on ancient Greece and Rome, famous mass murderers, history of the ancient Incas. Famous stained glass windows? Biographies….
Some cases had generic jackets and were labeled in Tony’s spidery, nearly unreadable hand writing. Gibbs wanted to pull them down and look at what was inside but refrained. It would be too obviously intrusive. And he didn’t want to get caught and spoil some of the good will he had build up with the conversation in the car.
Then he found the newest additions lying on top of the player, clearly fresh out of their plastic wrappings. Parenting guides and- Gibbs picked another one up and shook his head. ASL for Dummies. Maybe now there was a chance that Tony would ask for some tutoring. He would be glad to help. Gibbs put the instruction guide back and turned his attention to the shelf on the far left of the player.
.-#-.
“Hell and damnation, there are a hundred and one things I should do and not enough time.” Tony entered the living room again, his gait fast and his hands gesturing wildly. His guest was standing beside the DVD-shelves, looking down at something in his hands.
“You have really bad taste in gay porn.”
Tony glanced at the offered DVD jacket and laughed nervously. He never brought any of his dates back home, preferring to use their beds and return to his when he was satisfied so there had been no reason to hide anything. His colleagues were never here long enough to pay close attention but of course Gibbs did. He hadn't known what to do or say after their encounter in the car and Gibbs hadn't given him clues about how to proceed either. The other man seemed to be more relaxed and some of the stress lines that had marked his face for the last months weren't as severe anymore. Tony had been tempted to touch him casually, just to make sure that he wasn't dreaming, but he knew better. Gibbs was a private man, he wouldn't have liked it in public. And now in the privacy of the apartment, other things had overwhelmed Tony. Things like what to do with, for example, the rather cheesy bit of adult entertainment in Gibbs' hand.
Two hunks, clothed in vaguely Air Force styled uniforms were posing in front of a fake, very phallic jet. Another conversational topic he never thought to have with his nothing-but-work boss. Before his brain could stop his tongue he asked,"You’d be happier with finding +Naughty Navy Men+ than +Mile High Force at Play+?
Gibbs gave him one of those looks. It translated to ‘Are you suddenly a moron?’ “Cheering for the rival team, for shame DiNozzo.”
“Thought you’d see the Navy part in, well, homoerotic Navy porn as an insult.” And how pathetic was it that he never added certain examples of the genre to his collection on that assumption alone.
The Gibbs stare of doom was back full force. “You’ve sure got a low opinion ‘bout my character. I’ve given you the impression that I’m a hypocrite?”
“Huh.” Tony blinked. Talk about mine fields.
"I’m Bi, getting high and mighty ‘bout this would be the height of double standards.” The boss gazed at him disappointedly “I don’t care who a soldier fucks as long as he does it in his free time, discreetly, with a willing partner and can otherwise follow orders and shoot whatever I want to be shot."
Well, that was good to know, very good in fact but-
“Eh- no. You’ve got the wrong end of the stick there Boss. Was more my wanking to them rutting in uniform than them doing it in uniform I thought you’d object to. Same with my daughter being named Sempera.” Tony winced. Sam and sex in one conversation, how wrong was that? “Be seen as an insult to the Corps, both.”
Gibbs was staring at him thoughtfully for a long time and Tony could do nothing but stare back tiredly. Suddenly the other man advanced and head-slapped him with his free hand, hard this time.
“You’re giving me a headache, so I thought let’s share. You’re exhausted and not thinking straight.” Gibbs told him and then he followed up the hurt with a caress. Big hand smoothing down the hair on the back of his head. A honest to God petting, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do it and then stepped back again as if nothing had happened. “For the record, I like the name. Could have been much worse. Starlight or some such nonsense.”
Tony swallowed and shrugged helplessly. He knew that he wasn’t on top of his game at all at the moment. His nerves were shot and now that the adrenaline wasn’t pumping through his system as strong as before, he was begining to feel more than a little bit frazzled at the seams.
“We're here for a reason. So put me to work.” Gibbs put the DVD back were he had found it.
Change of topic, not the worst idea but it directed his attention at another pile of crap.
Tony gestured at one of the parenting guide folders that lay on the couch table. “There’s a long list of things in there that shouldn’t be left accessible where a pre-teen can get their hands on it. Add some of my job related shit-I didn’t have time for the weapons lecture with Sam!- some adult things-and.... This apartment is a nightmare, I can't watch her 24/7, no way to make it safe within an hour. I don’t have a spare room, never mind appropriate kid furniture! I had it all planned out. I thought I had another 2 weeks, I thought… And there’s that damn Principal.” Tony’s fingers carded through his hair, it didn't matter, the style he created this morning with the help of some hair gel was shot to hell anyways. He would have to fix it before the drive to the school.
“Hey, calm down.” Gibbs commanding bellow did its charm, like usual, but the caring and affection in his expression was something rarely seen at work. Made him feel safe but that didn’t mean that Tony wanted to fall apart in front of the man.
“Sorry boss. Calming down.” He took deep breaths, closed his eyes for a moment. Get a grip DiNozzo. “My new apartment won’t be ready until the end of July. It’s nice, you'll like it. High ceilings and lots of space. So, options A and B are unsuitable and unavailable.” Tony grimaced. “But there’s the time honored bolthole called the hotel. So let’s pack my toiletries, some clothes and whatnot and I'll deal with Reynolds, collect my daughter and then make like Scarlet O’Hara, tomorrow’s another day.” He wouldn’t ask his boss to offer his home to them, it just wouldn’t work at the moment with things still so undefined and awkward between them. Plus he still wasn't sure if Gibbs would be ok with a little girl running around the place.
Gibbs tilted his head while staring at Tony. “Movie references, you must feel better. Just trying to picture you in a robe you’ve sewn using your curtains. And don’t ask why I know that movie.”
“Hey!” Tony couldn’t help but pout out of reflex. He didn’t add that Gibbs would make a striking Rhett Butler.
“Ok, we’ll pack and then I will drive us to St. Margareth’s. Plenty of time on the way for one of your power naps.”
“It’s not a nap. I don’t do naps! It’s meditation!”
“I don’t care what you call it as long as it helps.”
Tony sniggered and rushed back into his bedroom. “And as long as I don’t do it at the office.” He threw the comment back over his shoulder and caught one of Gibbs’ rare warm smiles in return. The day looked suddenly much brighter.
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