Chapter three
Tony groans loudly as the sunlight starts to creep in between the closed curtains of his bedroom.
Ever since the nightmare he had last night, he’s been wide awake. He doesn’t yet want to acknowledge the beginning of a new day, and it’s not because he’s tired. Well, of course he’s tired, but it’s the prospect of seeing Gibbs that has him on edge.
He sighs as he throws the warm covers off his shivering body and forces himself to get out. As he stands in front of his wardrobe, he smiles. No matter how shitty his day will turn out, Armani will get him through it all. He walks into the adjacent bathroom and sneaks a peak in the mirror. He groans as he takes in the dark circles under his eyes and his tousled hair. He’d better shower before going in or security at the Navy Yard would probably think he was a hobo.
He sighs as the hot water hits his back. He squirts a generous amount of shower gel in the palm of his hand and lathers his chest, slowly but deliberately moving his hand lower. As he grips the base of his hard cock, a mental image of Gibbs smiling one of his rare half-smiles has him gripping it tighter and he starts a steady pace of stroking, every so often flicking his thumb across the head of his cock like he imagines Gibbs’ tongue would feel like. The idea of having his Boss on his knees sucking his cock sends him spiraling over the edge and nearly makes him collapse against the wall, yelling Gibbs’ name.
****
He searches for the roughest towel in his cabinet and dries off his muscular body hard-handedly to get a grip on himself.
Last night he had promised himself that he would tell his Boss about his feelings. After his nightmare had awakened such a strong sense of sadness and desperation in him, Tony had figured that he didn’t have anything to lose if he told Gibbs about how he felt.
He hadn’t been the same since he had saved Gibbs from the river. He had been physically present but his carefree attitude seemed like a memory only, fleeting rapidly until he doubted every part that had made him Anthony DiNozzo.
But how do you tell someone you love them? It’s not like he could just pull Gibbs’ sleeve and blurt it out. Tony grins at the thought alone, he can easily predict how that would turn out: “Hey Gibbs, I’ve been head over heels for you for as long as I can remember, and I just thought I’d confess so you can fuck me hard over your desk.”
Although he’s mocking the situation, he feels his body reacting to the thought of Gibbs doing those things to him. His dick hardening again in his already tightfitting designer jeans, he groans and bans all thoughts on Gibbs to the back of his mind and focuses on the bowl of cereal in front of him.
But, let’s face it, he’d probably get punched back to his own desk and then sent Afloat until he reached the proper retirement-age.
****
The sun is shining outside and Tony arrives at the bullpen with a big smile plastered on his face. When he notices that Gibbs isn’t sitting at his desk, his smile falters and he glances at the stairs leading to MTAC. “Gibbs up in MTAC?” he asks McGee. “Dunno, haven’t seen him all morning. Maybe he was already in when we arrived.” The younger agent doesn’t seem to care as he focuses back on his computer screen without a second glance.
Tony can’t help but feel like something’s not right. His suspicions are proven to be correct when Vance calls them from upstairs. “where the hell is Gibbs?! He should have been here twenty minutes ago. SecNav hates waiting!” he doesn’t look like he’s expecting either one of the Agents to answer him as he starts to pace around the balustrade. Tony pities the toothpick between the Director’s teeth. He doesn’t worry about what Vance is planning to do to Gibbs, though. Only a fool would ever pity his Boss.
Suddenly, he realizes he’s sitting at his desk, staring ahead, with an affectionate smile on his lips and his eyes dreamy. He has to grab his desk to resist the urge to head slap himself on the back of his head. On second thought, he’s happy Gibbs isn’t there. He couldn’t bear Gibbs’ eyes burning two holes in the back of his head when his feelings are so clearly displayed on his face, for everyone in the world to see.
He’s always had his classical DiNozzo-smile plastered on his face but lately, there have been these little cracks in his otherwise impeccable appearance. It’s on unguarded moments like these that he catches himself showing the real Anthony. And he hates it. The thought alone of slipping up and letting his eyes accidentally roam over Gibbs’ body, terrifies him.
“McGee!” Both agents look back up to find Vance standing in front of McGee’s desk. “Y-yes, Director?” the younger agent stammers. Vance seems to notice as he leans forward until he finds himself well in McGee’s personal space. “Trace Gibbs’ cell. Now. And DiNozzo, go get him. McGee, I need you in MTAC.” He glares at the two agents before retreating to his office.
McGee shakes his head curtly as if trying to wake up from a bad dream and then rapidly punches a few keys on his keyboard, his gaze fixed on his screen. Then he frowns and glances at DiNozzo, seemingly trying to decide whether he should tell him what he came up with.
“Jeez, McGee, are you gonna tell me today? This is not one of your suspenseful novels.” Tony rolls his eyes as he gets up from his chair and walks towards his younger colleague, putting on his best brave face. He’d rather not know what caused McGee to look this insecure.
McGee doesn’t seem to hear him. “This can’t be right…” he murmurs. He finally looks up from his reveries as DiNozzo comes to stand behind him and reads the screen over McGee’s shoulder. Now Tony frowns too. “North Capitol street.. isn’t that…” “Yeah, the safehouse from the Jennings-case, I know. What would Gibbs be doing there?” McGee finishes Tony’s thoughts.
They had closed the Jennings case a few days ago. Daniel Anderson, a navy lieutenant, had witnessed the murder of a colleague by some drug dealer. It had appeared that the murdered petty officer, Sam Jennings, had been behind on his payment and gotten punished for it. They had put the lieutenant in one of NCIS’ safehouses near North Capitol street until he could testify against the drugdealer. The trial was supposed to start in two days but now it appeared there was a problem. Why else would Gibbs go there, and why would he go by himself?
Tony sighs and moves to grab his jacket. “Try not to miss me Timmie, I’ll be back before you know it!” He grins as McGee obviously tries to hold back some insult.
****
As soon as he steps into the elevator and the doors close him off from the bullpen, Tony’s smile falters. He’s obviously worrying about nothing if McGee isn’t alarmed by Gibbs’ absence. And yet, he can’t seem to ignore his gut feeling. Since when does he even have a gut feeling?
Tony flicks the emergency switch and as the elevator comes to an abrupt halt, he closes his eyes for a minute. He’d much rather rely on Gibbs’ gut. Something feels off, and he can’t put his finger on it but he instinctively knows that his Boss wouldn’t go to the safe house if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
****
Tony fidgets in his car seat and his hands feel clammy against the leather of the steering wheel. Better safe than sorry, he floors the gas pedal and grips the wheel tighter, his knuckles white from anticipation. He has no idea what he’s going to walk in on and he instinctively feels for his gun. When he feels it, safely holstered against his side, he lets out a breath he doesn’t know he’d been holding and relaxes a little.
He parks the car a few streets away and wills himself to walk at a normal pace. If he alerts anyone’s attention, Gibbs definitely won’t be happy. Tony seriously doubts whether his Boss will be happy as it is, so he’d better not screw up.
When finally the safe house is near enough for him to see it, Tony glances around. He doesn’t see anyone looking suspicious in the neighborhood so he’s good to go. He walks towards the door and is about to ring the doorbell when he sees the door is ajar. He pushes it open slightly further and is opens his mouth to announce the presence of a Federal Agent when he hears Gibbs’ voice through the open door around the corner.
“You can’t have both, Jason. If you shoot Daniel, you’re dead. And shooting a Federal Agent doesn’t get you very far either.”
Tony instantly backs up against the wall and tries to peek through the door. He feels a shiver run down his spine as he spots Gibbs, his hand on his gun and the other arm held protectively in front of Daniel Anderson, the lieutenant. They’re held at gunpoint by a guy he hasn’t seen before. He looks determined and that’s what frightens Tony the most. Gibbs is right, the guy will either shoot Daniel Anderson and then get shot by Gibbs, or he’ll shoot Gibbs but Daniel will escape. The guy looks like he’s weighing off his options and seems to decide that shooting Gibbs gives him the greatest chance of survival, as he trains the gun at Gibbs, more deliberately now than he had before.
He’s so focused on Gibbs that he doesn’t see Tony coming from around the corner. When Tony watches the guy lay his finger on the trigger, he double taps him in the chest and he’s standing beside Gibbs before the shooter’s body hits the ground.
Apparently, Tony has been staring at Gibbs the whole time and he’s only brought back to the present when the sound of the sirens registers. He watches the coroner move the body away and Daniel getting into the ambulance to get checked out. When it’s just Gibbs and him in the house, Tony is finally able to wrap is head around the events of the past half hour.
“Great timing, DiNozzo.” Gibbs smiles that faint smile of his and moves to leave the house. A raspy sound from his Agent’s throat makes him stop and look behind him. Tony’s just standing there, with a lost look on his face. His blue gaze settles on the suspiciously bright greens of his Second in Command.
“What the FUCK was that, Gibbs?” Gibbs stares at Tony for a moment when he sees how angry he is. He doesn’t answer though, which only seems to make Tony angrier, and the younger Agent approaches his Boss to prod his chest with his index finger. “You never do something like this without backup! What would have happened if I hadn’t come looking for you? You are so fucking arrogant like this, going where your gut takes you, not bothering to wear a vest and certainly not giving a shit about the consequences. This is the second time I’ve saved your sorry ass this month. I can’t sleep anymore, because I’m so afraid that every minute I can’t have your six, you’ll get yourself killed! For fuck’s sake, I love you too much for you to be so careless!”
When Tony realizes what he’s just said, he turns away from Gibbs and closes his eyes. No, no, no. this can’t be happening, he did not just declare his love for his straight-as-nails-and-Marine-too-Boss.
He hears the rustle of Gibbs’ clothes and he doesn’t dare to open his eyes or look at him.
He winces when he hears the front door of the safe house slam shut and he’s left alone in the middle of the room.
****
A/N: so, I know this isn’t what you wanted but I promise it’ll get better!
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.