STORY TITLE: Broken Patriot and American Playboy
CHAPTER TITLE: Remembrance of a certain kind of joy
WORD COUNT: 1,367
DISCLAIMER: I do not own NCIS I only own my made up agents, made up murders within this story, girlfriends of Tony's, and the story itself. Everything else belongs to the ever-lovely NCIS universe.
RATING: M = MATURE CONTENT EVENTUALLY (A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GIBBS AND TONY—DON'T LIKE THEN DON'T READ)
CHAPTER ONE:
"Tony listen to me,…you listening?" Jethro looked unsure of himself for a second, seeing the pain glance over Tony's pale features."Yeah I'm listening boss.""You will not die, you got that?" Gibbs leaned in closer, his eyes roving the sickly form of his senior field agent and lightly head slaps Tony. With a low, ghostly whisper, so quiet even the speakers on the outside of the quarantine couldn't pick up his words; he said it again, this time with all the conviction he could muster, "I said you will not die.""Okay, I gottcha boss." Tony wanted to laugh as his boss made a crack about women calling his phone asking for spanky, but the idea of possibly coughing anymore and detach a lung or two dulled his mirth. He took the phone, and clutched it to his chest, unwilling to give up the one moment that would get him through the night.
Tony mouths the words to himself, 'I said you will not die' such simple words in retrospect, not a hint of emotion if spoken by anyone else, but that's just it, they weren't spoken by just anyone.
Those words had passed through the lips of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and it made them sweeter than anything Tony had ever been written in all the Valentine's Day love letters.
Even months since the event, Tony can still feel the slight strumming in his chest incited by the remembrance of the exact way Gibbs' lips moved to form those words.
Anthony DiNozzo chastises himself, upset once again, to find himself fantasizing in tales of an impossible romance. The romance to end all romances. Tony DiNozzo, ever the movie lover and hopeless romantic, not that he would ever tell anyone the latter.
Tony liked to dream that one day his life would play out like one of his movies, land him with a fine girl who can string pretty sentences together and make him laugh. One who is okay with his movie quirks and demanding job. He dreamed she wouldn't be jealous when he talked to other women, but proved she was the one and only one for him when they were alone. He dreamed of having a home just for them, a place of sanctity and happiness. Most of all he dreamed of belonging, being the missing puzzle piece to someone else's jigsaw game.
However, Anthony DiNozzo Junior always knew he was different. Yes, the typical sentence, but Tony knew he wasn't like a lot of his jock friends in high school. He wanted to run hands over sinewy muscle, and tough skin, over slightly hairy chests and nuzzle the beginnings of a beard. DiNozzo had acquired a name for himself completely by accident, for try as he might, he was simply too good at fooling people. Through high school and college, he had attracted the girls without any effort, they simply fell for his charm, and then he loved them and left them. Before he knew it, he became a womanizer, and it wasn't until one very drunk night when he accepted the advances of another man, that he realized where his true desires lay.
Sure, sex with women was fine, but sex with men was the most amazing thing Tony had ever felt.
And from then on he knew, he'd be the best undercover agent ever.
His phone rings sharply, shocking him out of any and all reveries, "DiNozzo." Tony's voice is slightly off pitch, a little too high, almost betraying his sudden surprise. His previous thoughts scatter inside his mind, all the memories replacing themselves in the back of his brain.
"Anthony…DiNozzo—Lisa Marney, have you seen her recently?" The voice chills Tony's core, his right hand griping onto the phone with a completely new intensity. It's cold and rough, computer synthesized and scratchy. A voice one would find in a horror movie, not in real life. After a few seconds of silence, the line disconnects, but still Tony grasps the phone feverishly. Images rush through his brain and he tries to pin point everything about the Lisa. The last time he had seen her was when he had broken up with her. She hadn't taken it very well, her eyes brimming over with tears as she yelled at him to explain why she wasn't good enough. Even though Tony told the truth and said it wasn't her, he couldn't commit to the relationship like she could. Sure, they were equal part blame, Tony because he had let the relationship drag out for too long and her because she said in the beginning she wasn't in it for anything serious, but that had obviously been a lie later.
He also recalls the good times, staying up late to watch movies, lying in bed for hours on a Saturday, and going on walks in the park. Honestly, Tony had liked her, but that same nagging steely voice inside his head always reminded him of where his true loyalties lie. Even if he couldn't have the person he desires so much, he wasn't going to trap Lisa into a hopeless relationship.
"DiNozzo? You look like you've seen a ghost." Gibbs states, capturing the attention of all his surrounding teammates. Ziva and McGee look up worriedly, their eyebrows drawing together in concern.
"The cases must be getting to me," DiNozzo smoothly lies, swiftly getting up from his desk and walking to the bathroom. He leans back against the door after it shuts behind him, tension building up again as he sheds his calm façade. To calm his nerves, Tony splashes his face with water and repeats the same words over and over again.
"It's probably not a big deal," Tony bends at the middle, his arms wrapping to cover his stomach as he bites his bottom lip.
The door opens, and instantly Tony's façade is back up, his calm and radiant smile fooling the distant coworker of his. He marches back out of the room, visibly calmer, but still quaking inside. Gibbs looks ready to say something, but Tony knows he won't bother in the open, he'll just have to avoid all places where he could get cornered by Gibbs. However, Ziva does say something, and McGee looks ready to follow.
"Tony, is something wrong?" Ziva questions, her eyes peeking overtop the computer on her desk. McGee quits typing on his computer, swiveling his chair to face Tony.
"Whatever would make you think that Ziva?" Tony chimes, flipping open another file folder, and reading through the initial investigation. Cold cases had sort of become his thing when he had worked on them during his time of home rest after the plague.
"What's that saying…uh, you look sick as a goat."
"I think you mean dog Ziva." McGee corrects automatically.
"What does it matter, they are both animals?" She argues, still struggling to understand the weird phrases in English.
"Oh you know,…" Tony tries to think of a reason for the animal having to be a dog, but his mind can't find anything. "Never mind," Tony concedes, shooting her a brilliant grin, and getting back to work. It wouldn't do to have Gibbs head slapping him so early in the day.
/
Anthony DiNozzo barely makes it through the day; the looks shot his way by unbelieving teammates and quieter worry displayed by an angry Gibbs.
The minute Jethro tells them to head home, Tony's packing up his things and telling everyone to have a good weekend. He makes a side comment about going to see Abby, before exiting the bullpen without so much as a backward glance. Tony counts his lucky stars that he makes it in the elevator without anyone catching him, and wanders into Abby's lab.
"Hey Abs!" Tony greets, giving her a brief hug, "have a great weekend."
"Are we still on for Saturday, I thought we were going clubbing?" Her eyes shine at him as she turns away from her work for a second.
"Yeah, I'll call you tomorrow, see yah Abs." Tony dismisses, waving over his shoulder as he walks back to the elevator.
The doors close with an almost imperceptible sigh, as if they know what Tony has to do.
Thanks for reading the first chapter, I love seeing a possessive Gibbs, so writing this story was to satisfy my want for a serious and possessive Gibbs.
I hope you liked the beginning. ;) looks like tony's got a stalker!
-Alex
