B is for Bowling
Gibbs smirked as he leaned against the bathroom door, watching his lover carefully as he got dressed after his shower. The younger man had made plans to go bowling with Abby and the nuns tonight, and he had been complaining about it ever since they had gotten home from work.
"Almost ready?" He asked, looking him over approvingly.
"Yeah..." Tony grumbled. "You sure that there's not some forgotten plans that we have?"
The older man chuckled. "Tony, why'd you tell her you would go if you didn't want to? She woulda understood."
"Sure. She woulda 'understood' her steel-toed boot right up my ass,” he snorted, running his hand through his short hair, spiking it up slightly. "You know she's a manipulator."
"You're the one that lets her. I never have that problem with her."
The Italian opened his mouth to retort when the front door opened. "Tony! Gibbs!"
"Upstairs, Abs!" The silver-haired man called, walking over to his lover before he ducked his head just slightly, pressing his lips against Tony’s. "Go and have fun. I'll see you tonight, huh?"
"But Jet..." He whined, straightening when the older man smacked him upside the head. Offering his partner a sheepish look, Tony released a loud sigh before he stomped back into the bedroom. “Fine,” he huffed.
“You guys decent?”
Turning at the sound of the voice, Gibbs rolled his eyes slightly, a smirk tugging on his lips as Abby’s heavy-soled shoes thumped loudly against the stairs. "Would I have told ya to come up if we weren't?" He called back, stepping out of the bathroom.
"Good point," she grinned as she stepped inside the room, leaning against the doorframe. "Ready to go, Tonyboy?" She asked, grinning broadly despite the sulky look on his face.
"Actually, I probably shouldn't go. Y'know, I think I hurt my wrist earlier."
She cocked an eyebrow at him, a slight smirk forming on her lips before she opened her bag, searching through the contents. "Thought we might have this problem." After a moment, she pulled out a wrist brace, tossing it to him. "I also have a knee brace, an ankle brace and two ace bandages. We should be good to go."
"Well aren't you just a good little girl scout?" Tony grumbled, pulling the stretchy fabric over his wrist. "C'mon then, let's get this over with." Walking over to Gibbs, he offered a sad look, pleading with him for a last second save.
"See you guys tonight," the older man smirked, kissing his lover quickly. "You two have fun."
The Italian glared at him until they lost eye contact as the Goth pulled him down the stairs before he could formulate another excuse for not going.
“This is going to be so much fun,” Abby grinned as they made their way outside to her awaiting hearse. “The Sisters are super excited that you agreed to come out and play tonight.”
“Super excited,” he repeated dully, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “Me too.”
“I can tell,” she responded dryly, nudging him playfully in the side. “Can you at least pretend to have a good time? For me? I know you’d much rather spend the night at home, in bed with the bossman, but just a couple of hours won’t kill you.”
“Fine,” the Italian agreed with a sigh, wrapping his arm around her thin shoulders as they made their way over to the vehicle. “I’ll try. But if they start dousing me with Holy Water, I’m outta there.”
“Deal.”
::::::
“You don’t bowl often do you, Anthony?” Sister Rosita asked, a slight smile ghosting on her face as she glanced up at the scoreboard above the lane.
“That obvious, huh?” He asked before he turned to Abby, silently pleading with her to put him out of his misery. “And please, Sister Rosita… Call me Tony. No one calls me Anthony unless I’m in trouble.”
“But it’s such a wonderful name!”
A quiet giggle escaped him as she took a sip of her soda before she stood, making her way over to the ball return to pick up her black and red bowling ball, nudging Tony playfully as she passed. “There’s only a few frames left, Tony. You’ll be back home to Gibbs in no time,” she teased, her green eyes sparkling.
He rolled his eyes as he sat back in the hard plastic chair and watched as Abby bowled another strike. “Nice!” He grinned, standing up to grab his own ball off the return. “Maybe I’ll actually be able to knock down a pin or two this time?”
Stepping onto the wood floor, he lifted the ball and glanced back at the goth.
“You can throw it granny style if you want, Tony. We won’t think any less of you,” she smirked. “Promise.”
He shook his head and made his approach, swinging the arm that was holding the ball. On its way forward, his wrist cracked and he released a strangled cry, dropping the eighteen pound ball onto his foot.
“Son of a…!” He cried, collapsing to the ground.
An unladylike snort escaped Abby as she tried to stifle her giggles at the sight of her friend squirming around the wooden floor, practically howling. “Nice try, Tony, but we’re not leaving until the game is over,” she said, nudging him gently in the side with her toe. “Get up off the floor and quit messing around. People are starting to stare.”
He slapped her foot away from him when she reached out to nudge him again, a pitiful whimper escaping him as he pushed himself into a sitting position, scooting over on his bottom to the closest chair.
“Are you alright, Anthony?” Sister Rosita asked kindly, though there was the slightest hint of a smile on her face too.
“No!” He cried stubbornly, reaching down to untie his shoe carefully, hissing in pain as he eased it off his foot. He tossed the shoe aside and carefully pulled his sock off.
“Tony!” Abby gasped, kneeling next to him to take a closer look at his foot. His big toe was swollen and red, and when she reached out to touch it, he cried out in pain.
“Don’t touch!” He snapped, closing his eyes tightly against the throbbing pain. “I think it’s broken.”
“It’s not broken,” Abby responded doubtfully, glancing up at the Sisters who’d gathered around the injured man. “We should probably get you home though. Gibbs is gonna kill me.”
“S’not your fault,” he muttered, allowing the Goth to help him to his feet before he cried out again, nearly tumbling to the floor as he put pressure his foot. “It’s broken!”
“It’s not broken!” She repeated, pulling his arm around her neck as she wrapped her arm around his waist. “C’mon. Let’s get you out to the car. Sister Rosita, I’m really so�"“
“Don’t worry about it, dear,” the nun said, offering Abby a genuine smile as she patted Tony’s shoulder comfortingly. “We’ll see you next Tuesday, Abigail. Maybe Anthony will come with you if he’s feeling better.”
“Yeah, I really don’t think so, but thanks,” Tony muttered, wincing as Abby led him to the door carefully.
“Can’t take you anywhere without you hurting yourself,” Abby said, her tone slightly exasperated as she pushed the door open, pulling her friend out into the warm evening air.
She led him carefully to the hearse before she helped him into the passenger seat, cringing when he bumped his foot against the door.
“’M sorry I ruined your night,” he muttered, dropping his gaze to his hands.
“Don’t be dumb,” she chided. “You sit tight. I’m gonna go back in and grab our things and then I’ll be back.”
He nodded, sliding down in the seat slightly, crossing his arms over his chest as she shut the door firmly, hurrying back inside.
::::::
Abby pulled up outside of Gibbs’ house a short time later, parking the hearse behind Ducky’s Morgan. “C’mon, T. Let’s get you inside,” she said as she climbed out of the car and made her way around to open his door.
She started to help him out when both Gibbs and Ducky came outside and met them at her car. Reaching inside, Gibbs hauled the younger man to his feet, a small grin crossing his face. They made their way toward the house slowly, not wanting to irritate Tony’s injured foot any more than they had to. Once inside, Gibbs helped his lover onto the couch in the living room and sat him down before he sank down beside him.
“Abs, tell DiNozzo that all he had to do was tell you he didn’t wanna go bowling,” he smirked, clapping his partner on the knee when he scowled at him. “He’s convinced that you’d try to hurt him if he turned you down.”
“Yeah, he’s probably right,” she teased, grinning at the pair. “I’m kidding, Tony. I’m sorry I made you go. If I’d known you were gonna drop a ball on your foot�"“
“Now, now,” Ducky chided as he took a seat in the dining chair he’d pulled in from the kitchen. “Let’s have a look, shall we?”
The Italian cringed when Ducky pulled his foot up onto the table, propping a pillow under it for the examination. The swelling had extended to his first toe and a little bit up the top of his foot, making the whole area sore to the touch. After a few minutes of poking and prodding the younger man’s foot, Ducky stood up and grinned cheekily.
“You’ll be fine, Anthony. Stay off it for the remainder of the night, but you should be ready to put your shoe back on in the morning. An ice pack will help with the swelling. Half an hour on�"“
“Half an hour off,” Tony interrupted. “I know the drill, Ducky. You’re sure it’s not broken? It feels broken.”
The medical examiner shook his head. “It’s perfectly fine. As I said, there is some swelling, but that is the extent of the injury.”
A slight frown tugged at Tony’s mouth as he peered down at his foot, wincing slightly as he bent his toes. It hurt, but it wasn’t nearly as painful as it would have been had he actually broken anything. “Huh.”
An amused grin ghosted over Gibbs’ face as he patted Tony’s knee before he pushed himself to his feet. “Thanks for stoppin’ by, Duck.”
“No problem at all, Jethro. You call me if the pain gets any worse.”
“Nah, he’ll be fine,” he said, turning to smirk at the younger man before he turned to Abby. “Thanks for bringin’ him home, Abs.”
Offering Gibbs a smile, Abby turned her attention to her Italian friend as she leaned over, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “I’m sorry you got hurt tonight, Tonyboy. Thanks for comin’ out to play though.”
“Yeah, yeah. Sorry you had to cut your night short,” he muttered, dropping his head back against the couch.
“No worries. I’ll see you tomorrow, huh?”
“Yep. Thanks, Abs.”
With a quick wave, Abby turned back to Gibbs, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek before she linked her arm through Ducky’s.
“Ready to go, Duckman?”
Gibbs walked the pair to the porch and closed the door behind them before turning back to his lover. “C’mon, Tony. Stand up.”
“But… Ducky said to�"“
“I heard what Ducky said. If you wanna sleep on the couch and fuck up your back, that’s your decision. But I’m goin’ upstairs to bed. Either you can have my help climbin’ up or you can suffer down here. Your choice.”
Tony frowned. “You’d really leave me?” He whined, pushing himself off the couch as best he could. “I need to get an ice pack first though,” he said, leaning heavily on the couch when he realized the older man was missing. “Gibbs?”
“Ice pack, right?” The silver-haired man asked, returning from the kitchen. “Got one right here.” He approached the brunette and pulled his arm across his shoulders, effectively hoisting him up off his injured foot. “Upstairs.”
Tony followed dutifully, collapsing on the bed when they finally made it into the master bedroom.
“Foot up,” Gibbs said, seemingly dispassionate as he stepped into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth off the towel rack. He wrapped the ice pack in the small towel and headed back into the bedroom, placing it on his lover’s foot before he climbed onto the bed next to him.
“Thanks,” Tony sighed, allowing his partner to pull him against his chest. They relaxed against each other for a few minutes, enjoying the silence that the quiet house provided before Gibbs spoke up.
“It had to be a bowling ball, huh? Only you, DiNozzo.”
“Hey!” He said, pulling his head off the older man’s chest. “Not nice, Jethro.”
Gibbs chuckled, nudging him playfully. “Even you have to admit that it was a pretty boneheaded thing for you to do.”
“It was an accident!” He growled, rolling over so his back was to his lover.
The silver-haired man frowned, also turning to his side and pressing his firm chest against Tony’s back. “Hey.”
“What? Wanna mock me some more?” He asked, clearly pouting.
He didn’t respond, instead resting his hand on the younger man’s abdomen, tucking his long fingers just under the waistband of his jeans. “How’s the toe?”
Tony glanced over his shoulder and barely held back the urge to laugh at the shit-eating grin on his boss’ face. “Time for me to take the ice off. Got a half an hour to kill… any suggestions?”
“Oh, I’m sure we can think of somethin’.”
Chapter End Notes:
A/N: Holy cow, you guys! The reviews we received for the first chapter are absolutely amazing and we're so grateful for everyone who took the time to send us a little note! Y'all are the best! Also, if anyone has any requests for what they'd like to see, please feel free to let us know! Hope you guys enjoy the latest chapter, but don't forget: Reviews help us write faster! -ShadowKitten701 & LizzieDiNozzo