Tony DiNozzo dug his hands deeper into the pockets of his slacks and slowly walked down to the pier where his family should be waiting for him. He had volunteered for the job of making sure that every "i" was dotted and every "T" crossed, not wanting to stress his partner. Jethro had been depressed enough about the waste of lives, he shouldn’t have to deal with paperwork on top of it.
Now it was in the hands of the prosecutors and lawyers. Frau Höllerweger was an Austrian citizen, even with the International Cooperation pact of 2011 and the fact that her victim had been an American, it would take a lot of time to hash out a procedure that would satisfy both nations. Maybe it was cynicism rearing its ugly head, but Tony doubted that the courts would come to a conclusion about what to do with her before she died. Sentencing a 76 year old woman to a lifetime in prison was kind of redundant.
The other half of the equation wasn’t better. This affair had the potential to create some fairly big waves at home. A lot of people in high places would do their best to sweep this under the carpet, no matter what they thought about General Grant’s actions. He had encouraged his son to disappear instead of calling for medical help for his lover when their sex game went awry. Not to mention that the General had pulled some strings to keep the whole affair quiet. Being gay wasn’t against regulations anymore, but it didn’t help with a military career either. This story would look very bad for the Navy in the papers. Some days Tony couldn’t see why he should still care.
Discordant laughter and the sound of wildly splashing water made him turn his head and peer towards the water. The sun was making the waves glitter and sparkle and it was hard to see anything specific but after a few seconds he could make out dark heads against the water surface. One silhouette in particular made him smile. Well, there was one of his reasons. Sam’s hair was up in two high pigtails, a style she had adopted from her Aunt Abby. The pigtails were wetly clinging to her shoulders and she seemed to be involved in a boisterous game of water polo with some local teens. They were chasing each other and their ball, slipping through the water like young careless seals, completely unaware of their watchful guardian perched a few yards away.
And there was Tony’s second reason for still wanting to believe in the good guys winning. Jethro was sitting on the edge of the pier, his legs dangling in the water, keeping watch. A light breeze was playing with his hair, rustling it and making it appear pure white. At home the cantankerous man would never appear in public without a shirt on. Maybe it had something to do with never showing his full hand to potential enemies? Whatever it was, Tony enjoyed that he didn't seem to mind being shirtless while they were here. And if he frequently checked out how nice Jethro's strong back looked with the sun shining down on it, hell, who would complain?
The younger man hurried along the pier, now eager to reach his partner and leave the ugliness of the case behind. Jethro didn’t turn around but Tony knew that he'd heard him coming. He shifted to relax against a conveniently near pole and freed a spot on the towel he was sitting on that was clearly for Tony.
Tony preferred to remain standing, but he reached down and gripped Jethro’s shoulder. Jethro looked up and graced Tony with one of his special smiles. One of the sort which barely raised the corners of his mouth but made his blue eyes shine warmly. Tony didn’t mind the careful scrutiny and the questioningly raised eyebrow that followed.
No, he wasn't completely all right but he would be after some time to get his head screwed on right. Two Marines had died needlessly and the people responsible for it would likely never even comprehend or acknowledge that they committed crimes. What a waste.
Tony could see his thought mirrored in his partner's face and he bent down to steal a soft kiss. He could taste berries and, of course, coffee.
Another loud squeal caught his attention and he turned his face, still bent over Jethro. Sam was triumphantly holding up the water ball she had wrestled away from one of the boys. She was dunked from behind a few seconds later and her prize taken away. She didn't seemed to mind and splashed after the laughing culprit.
Amateurs. Tony laughed. “Jethro, how about showing them how water polo is really played?”
His partner smiled up at him wickedly and that was the only warning Tony got before he felt one calloused hand on his calf and the other at the small of his back. One push, one pull and he tumbled headfirst into the cold lake. He wasn't too worried, he knew that Jethro wasn't far behind.
.-#-.
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