"DiNozzo!"
Tony heard his name being called as he got off the elevator, returning from lunch.
It was Special Agent Green, the team leader of another NCIS team.
"I'm glad you're joining my team." Green said as he caught up with Tony. "I'll see you Monday at 8am sharp," he continued.
"What?" Tony asked, bewildered, just as Gibbs walked up to them.
Green looked from a confused Tony to Gibbs. "He doesn't know?" Green asked Gibbs, surprised.
"I was going to tell him just now." Gibbs replied, his gaze never leaving Tony's face.
Tony's confusion had now quite obviously turned into anger.
"Tony…I…" Gibbs said, as he took a step forward, reaching out with his hand, meaning to put it on Tony's arm. But Tony stepped back, out of his reach.
"See you Monday, Special Agent Green," Tony said, his voice trembling with anger and betrayal as he walked back into the elevator that took him to the garage.
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled, just as the elevator doors closed.
Tony didn't respond and Gibbs didn't follow him.
"I'm sorry Gibbs, I assumed he knew," Green apologized.
"It's not your fault, don't worry about it. I'll fix it," Gibbs said as he returned to sit behind his desk. He looked up to see Kate and McGee staring at him - Kate with disbelief and McGee with confusion.
"What just happened? Why are you re-assigning Tony? What did he do? Aren't you going after him?" Kate questioned after a minute of silence between the three agents.
"Tony didn't do anything," Gibbs said sadly. He didn't know what to do. He sat back and closed his eyes. He didn't want Tony to leave like this. Hell, he didn't want Tony to leave at all. 'It's not like I had much of a choice,' Gibbs thought to himself. 'Hurting Tony was the last thing I wanted to do'.
"Then you're going after him, right?" Kate's voice came from closer now.
He opened his eyes; she had gotten up from behind her desk and was now standing in front of his.
"If Tony didn't do anything wrong, then he deserves an explanation and an apology." she continued. "There is not much going on right now, we'll call if anything comes up."
Gibbs sighed. 'Right an explanation, the truth, I'm not sure if that will make the situation better or worse.' But he knew that Kate was right, not that he would say so out loud.
So he nodded to Kate, got up, got his jacket and walked to the elevator. "Good luck," he heard Kate say as he walked away.
Gibbs was relieved to see Tony's car in his usual spot when he arrived at the apartment. He had no idea where to look for him if he hadn't gone home.
Gibbs parked his car and after knocking twice, he used his key and let himself into Tony's home. He was glad that he had insisted on having a spare key from everyone on his team. The apartment was silent; Tony was nowhere inside, but with his car parked just outside, Gibbs knew he would be home soon.
~oOo~
After a 10 mile run Tony felt a bit better, still angry, confused and hurt, but a bit better. He went to unlock his door, only to find that it wasn't locked. He knew for sure that he locked it before he left, and his housekeeper always came by on Thursdays not Tuesdays. That only left one person with a key to his apartment. Gibbs.
Gibbs was sitting on his couch facing him as he walked in.
"What do you want?" Tony asked after taking his coat off, but remaining standing.
Gibbs got up from the couch. "To explain-"
"You don't want me on your team," Tony interrupted him.
"That's not-" Gibbs started again.
Tony again didn't let him finish, still angry. "You didn't even tell me. If you wanted to get rid of me so badly, why didn't you just fire me?"
"I don't want to get rid of you," Gibbs said.
"Then why?" Tony asked softly, confused.
"Look, I didn't tell you because I didn't plan this. I went to Director Morrow to talk about me transferring to another team. Morrow didn't want to hear of it, and as a solution he re-assigned you to Special Agent Green's team."
"Why… Solution to what?" Tony asked, now frustrated with not understanding Gibbs.
"Tony, I'm in love with you," Gibbs answered softly, but confidently.
Silence, that's all Gibbs got from Tony. Tony sunk down on the couch after Gibbs' confession and just sat there for what seemed like hours to Gibbs, though it was, in reality, only minutes.
Finally Tony looked up at Gibbs. "What?" Tony asked, needing to hear it again.
"I love you, that's why I wanted to transfer. You're very distracting. I've tried, but I can't concentrate 100% on my work with you around," Gibbs said honestly.
"You told Director Morrow this? But he refused to transfer you, so he re-assigned me?" Tony asked, needing to understand the situation, before he could deal with his feelings about Gibbs' confession.
"Yeah, doesn't seem fair to you now. I'll talk with Morrow again, we'll-"
"Don't." Tony interrupted. "I understand, it's fine. Agent Green is a good team leader from what I've heard. It's a good solution."
"Okay," Gibbs said, waiting for Tony to continue, but he seemed lost in his thoughts again.
Gibbs got up and started making a cup of coffee for both of them, giving Tony some time and space. He was beginning to get nervous now; he knew he couldn't work with Tony but he still wanted him in his life. He didn't expect his feelings to be returned, but had hoped that they could still be friends.
Tony looked up as Gibbs returned from the kitchen and accepted the cup of coffee Gibbs held out.
"I'm surprised to hear that you feel that way about me," Tony began, " We've worked together almost three years and I never knew."
"Not three years." Gibbs responded. "Just the last 5 or 6 months. I'm not sure when it started. I was actually sanding my boat when I realized that I love you."
"I'm bi myself, I just never looked at you like that; I didn't 'let' myself look at you like that. When I started this job… I mean… I really like working for you, you know. I wouldn't let myself feel… I didn't want risk losing my job." Gibbs opened his mouth to say something but Tony continued. "What I'm trying to say is, I don't know how I feel about you. I mean, I'm physically attracted to you, how could I not be, I've got eyes, you look great. But what I feel for you, or could feel for you? I don't know."
"Well, do you want to find out?" Gibbs asked hopefully.
"What about rule # 12?" Tony countered.
"As of Monday, you no longer work for me."
"True," Tony said with a small smile on his face. Maybe this day would turn out to be a good one after all. "Perhaps we should go out, spend some time together, outside of work."
"I'd like that," Gibbs answered, relieved and very happy things had turned out this well today. It was just a date, and only the beginning but at least he had a chance he'd never thought he would get. "Tuesday evening, my place? I'll cook."
"It's a date."
~~ The End ~~
Story Notes:
This is the first story I've ever written, so please let me know what you think of it.
Acknowledgments: Big thanks to Annie for Beta'ing this for me. She's an Angel. Any mistakes that are made are mine.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Gibbs is re-assigning DiNozzo to another team.
Chapter End Notes:
This is the first story I've ever written, so please let me know what you think of it.
Acknowledgments: Big thanks to Annie for Beta'ing this for me. She's an Angel. Any mistakes that are made are mine.
Acknowledgments: Big thanks to Annie for Beta'ing this for me. She's an Angel. Any mistakes that are made are mine.