Chapter Four
Tony awoke first and sighed happily, his body twinging. He’d missed this closeness; hadn’t realized it was gone before last night. Tony wasn’t sure he’d worked it all out. Things had happened so damned quickly, with Gibbs showing up and the Claire thing and then McGee sharing their bed. But the sex thing. It felt right, the three of them together like that. It had been intense, incredible. Tony hadn’t felt like he was losing Gibbs at all. It felt like they were gaining something that they hadn’t expected, that they didn’t realize they needed.
He was snuggled tight against Gibbs, head resting on his chest and Gibbs’ arm securely around him. Tim was lying on his side, an arm flung over Gibbs’ torso, fingers brushing Tony’s shoulder. Gibbs had a smile on his face and Tim looked completely innocent and little boy in sleep. Tony wasn’t sure if they could keep this but he sure as hell wanted to.
“You stare any louder and you’ll wake the dead.” One deep blue eye opened and Gibbs regarded Tony, warmth and affection brimming over. “You sore?”
“Only in good ways,” Tony assured in a whisper. He rarely snuggled in this tightly, but if Gibbs wasn’t pushing him away, there was no way he was moving.
“Good,” Gibbs said, tugging Tony even more securely against him. This wasn’t them usually. They cuddled in sleep, but when they woke up, they weren’t ever this close. Tony figured Gibbs had always felt it was too girly. It wasn’t anything they’d ever discussed, but there was no way Tony was going to ruin the moment by commenting on it.
“It was incredible,” Tony asserted, wanting Gibbs to know how amazing he had found the night.
“Yeah. Was,” Gibbs agreed.
“What now?” Tony asked after a lengthy silence.
Gibbs sighed, his hand moving into Tony’s hair. “Now? We figure out what we want, all of us. You have nowhere to be this weekend, do ya? Betting McGee doesn’t either.”
“Nope,” Tim said drowsily. “Figuring this out…good.”
When Gibbs turned to look at McGee, Tony had expected to feel jealousy. They’d fought for Gibbs’ “good jobs” and attention for so damned long. But what he felt instead was something completely foreign to Tony; protective and warm and…girly, even thought he’d never admit it.
“Sleep okay?” Gibbs asked.
“Yeah.”
“Like you were meant to be here?” Gibbs pressed. There was an intensity in his voice Tony hadn’t expected and McGee clearly realized it as well, blinking and sitting up. McGee wasn’t the kind of guy who would answer that without serious consideration and thought and he could read Gibbs well enough to know that he was serious. The conversation had taken a turn and the ball was in McGee’s court now.
“Like I want more,” Tim said in a hushed voice, looking first at Gibbs and then at Tony. “Like…I’m home,” he finished, blinking rapidly.
“Think maybe we all found a home,” Gibbs said, his voice strangely vulnerable. It wasn’t an emotion he wore easily and Tony realized just what this meant to him.
“DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked quietly and Tony nodding, gulping down emotion. He looked up at Gibbs. “What d’ya think, Tony?”
“I…want it,” Tony replied, his voice halting and just as vulnerable as Gibbs’. “I mean…if you guys want…I do.”
“We want,” Gibbs said firmly. He stood, crossing the room and getting the coffee pot set up. Tony knew him well enough to know that the emotions had gotten to Gibbs and he let Gibbs putter around. It wasn’t as if Gibbs had a basement or a boat here and he liked to work things out in his own way.
McGee came around to the other side of the bed and Tony stood, stretching. “Is he okay?” McGee asked in a whisper.
“He’s good. Emotions and Gibbs…” Tony shrugged, knowing Tim could figure out the rest of the statement.
“Catch!” Tony looked up to find the room service menu coming at him. He snatched it out of the air with ease and began staring at the selections, his stomach growling and making its presence known loud and clear.
“I couldn’t eat before…” Tony trailed off, remembering just why he’d come down here.
“Doesn’t matter,” Gibbs asserted, crossing the room and taking Tony’s face in his hands. “Full disclosure, we’re not starting this out with lies.”
“Boss? Everything okay?”
“Will be, McGee,” Gibbs said in that same firm voice. “Sit down, Tim. You too, Tony.” Gibbs stood in front of the couch and Tony sank down, fidgeting. “I can’t do this for ya, DiNozzo, but I’m here.”
It was more than Tony expected from a man who expected personal responsibility to be met. Gibbs sat on the arm of the sofa, his hand gentle on Tony’s shoulder.
McGee sat down as well, staring into Tony’s eyes. “Before you say a word, let me talk,” Tim said and Tony nodded, eager for any reprieve. “I know why you came down here, Tony. What I don’t understand is why, especially now with what I know…”
“You know?” Tony asked quietly. “You know about Claire?” He felt numb with McGee’s announcement, could only blink a few times.
“I knew for months,” McGee replied, shaking his head at Tony’s surprise. “You didn’t think I traced everything and had Claire checked out?”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Tony asked, finally finding his voice.
“Because,” McGee began. “I had to discover why, Tony. You give me a hard time, but long term humiliation isn’t your thing. I figured out really quickly that something was wrong and I wanted to get more information, so I kept talking with you. And along the way…”
“Along the way what?” Gibbs asked gently. Tony realized Gibbs had pulled him against his body, the warmth of his abdomen against Tony’s shoulders.
“I started…” McGee trailed off. “I could see Tony inside, and I started…falling for him. I came down here hoping to fix things. I hoped you’d fallen for me, Tony. I just never realized Gibbs was involved as well.”
“He wasn’t,” Tony said quickly. “McGee, this was all me. Gibbs had no idea what I was doing.”
“I know,” Tim assured, giving both Tony and Gibbs a wry smile. “An online cyber identity isn’t Gibbs’ style.”
“So what now,” Gibbs put in, hand moving through Tony’s hair. “Can you forgive Tony and try this with us, McGee?”
“I did weeks ago. I knew there was some reason he was doing this. He even warned me against going on a date. It wasn’t humiliation.”
“It never was, Tim. It was…Hell, I don’t know what it was,” Tony admitted, torn by frustration and relief. “Gibbs wasn’t the same any more and I just…I don’t know.”
“Don’t think it matters,” Gibbs said, his voice a comforting rumble. “All that matters is that we’re here now. McGee knows and he’s okay with it. Eat. Then later you boys take some time alone together and figure it out. Important thing is that we’re all okay here.” He turned Tony’s head, forcing Tony to look in his eyes. “You hear me? We’re okay, DiNozzo.”
“Loud and clear, Boss,” Tony said, blinking back emotion. He knew just how damned lucky he was to have come out of this intact.
“Good. Now order a lot of food. You wore me out last night.”
“On it, Boss!”
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