AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Title: XBoxitis
Rating: K +
Story Premise: After their last ops and all the stress Sam and G experienced, G steps off the deep end and buys himself a HD television and an Xbox.
Category: Humor/Friendship Short Story
WARNINGS: None
DISCLAIMER: NCIS: Los Angeles and its characters are owned by CBS and the producers of it. I do not own anything, but if I did I would torture G Callen more and make him cry and suffer and have plenty of angst. I am grateful to CBS and the producers of NCIS: LA for their contribution to the world of entertainment.
My stories are a work of my imagination and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. This is a work intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by CBS and the producers of NCIS:LA. I gain no profit from the creation and publication of this story. I love to play in the sandbox with the characters and their lives. I especially love to torture G Callen. It is fun!
Reviews appreciated and welcomed.
Xboxitis
G and Sam stashed Eric's Xbox 360 + Kinect console and accessories into the trunk of the Challenger.
"Interested in a pizza night?" G asked, sitting down in the passenger's seat.
"Got something in mind?"
"Yeah, making use of the Xbox."
"How?"
"Renting a big screen HDTV for a night and living it up."
"You live it up?" Sam chuckled.
"Come on, man, let's splurge," G said. "You and I both just had a tough case. We need some man time."
"You are a funny guy, man time," he said. "What size television?"
"Let's go see."
Sam drove toward the electronics store. "Popcorn?"
"Sounds good."
"Pizza?"
G pulled a sucker out of the glove compartment and settled back in the passenger's seat. "Whatever you want, man, I chose last time."
Sam parked at the store and glanced sideways at his partner. "You sure about this?"
"One hundred percent." G climbed out of the Challenger and strode toward the door. Once inside his eyes zeroed in on the HDTV he wanted. He stepped up to the first available salesman. "How much is this one?" He pointed to the Sony Bravia HDTV.
"To rent?" The salesman asked.
"No, buy."
"You're buying it, G?"
"Yeah, I think it's about time and this is a good excuse."
Sam glanced at him sideways. "Do you even have an internet connection?"
"Yeah, got it last week."
"Come on, man, you're serious?"
"Yeah," G said, facing the salesman again, "how much?"
"I can give you a deal if you buy the Xbox Limited Edition Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Console with it."
"What kind of deal?" he asked. G saw his partner's eyes widen.
"The whole package with the 60 inch HDTV, an even two grand."
"I'll take it."
"Have you lost your mind?"
"Yeah, sort of, maybe, or maybe not." G handed the salesman his credit card. "Can it be delivered tonight?"
"You bet you it can," he said, taking the card and processing the sale.
Sam pulled his partner aside. "All this so you can play a game with an Xbox?"
"Yeah."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"You are getting spooky, man."
"Well, I'm a spook so it comes with the territory." He turned back to the salesman and arranged for a delivery time.
Sam and G strode to the Challenger, walking close to each other.
"You can afford that?" Sam asked.
"My rainy day fund."
Sam shook his head.
G climbed into the passenger's seat. "Better get our dinner and meet the delivery man back at the house," he said to his partner as the man sat in the driver's seat.
"You are spooking me out, man."
He removed another sucker from the glove compartment. "Gonna make me anything with the wrappers?" G handed his partner the second wrapper from the sucker.
"Yeah, an Xbox and an HDTV, at least you can afford those." Sam sniggered.
G cracked a wry smile at his partner.
They drove to the drive up window at a Panda Express and ordered two of each pot stickers, orange chicken, chow mein, and mixed veggies.
G had eaten more than his share of the extra orders of fortune cookies. He opened another fortune cookie and read the fortune out loud. 'What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy.'
"Are you trying to give me a subtle hint?" Sam pulled up to the curb outside G's house.
"No, it's what the fortune says," G said, showing it to his partner.
"I thought you were rubbing it in."
"No, want me to read the other ones to you?"
"Not so sure if I do." The corners of his mouth turned downward.
"How about this one?" G said. "'You are not old. You are chronologically gifted.'" He smirked.
"That's enough!" Sam climbed out of the Challenger, slammed the door, came around to the passenger side, and reached into the car, grabbing the bags of food.
"I know you are upset about getting older."
"I'm not upset, I'm pissed, and you are not helping with those… fortunes."
G climbed out of the Challenger and followed his partner into the house. "I found an even better one."
Sam flipped on his heels and stepped to within inches of his partner. "And I don't want to hear it." His voice lowered to what sounded as if it were a growl.
"Party pooper." He closed the door behind him.
"Let's eat in the living room and wait for that huge HDTV you bought." He set the bags on floor. "Maybe you should've bought furniture first." Sam snickered.
"Rub it in." G sat cross-legged next to his partner on the floor. He opened another bag with the fortune cookies and pulled out another fortune. 'Please chew thoroughly. This is not a pill.'
"You are asking for it, man." Sam stuck his hand into the same bag and pulled out a fortune cookie. He cracked it open and pulled out the fortune. 'Count your life by smiles, not tears. Count your age by friends, not years.' "That one isn't half bad."
G removed another one and read it. 'Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional!'
"I ought to pin you to the floor for that one." He made a face at his partner.
"I thought it was a good one considering playing games on an Xbox is like being a child again."
"Maybe for you." Sam snickered.
"You are taking this too seriously."
"Yeah, I'm gonna seriously pin you to the floor if you read one more of those fortunes." Sam grinned wide.
"I hope you are joking," G climbed to his feet and grabbed two forks and several napkins. "Paper or china?"
"Paper, since when did you buy yourself china?"
"Last week."
"Okay, mind telling me what happened last week that you changed your whole life?"
G brought the tableware back to their setup on the floor. "Nothing, just decided it was time to start living in my house instead of staying in it." After sitting down again, he reached into the fortune cookie bag. 'The grass may look greener on the other side, but it still needs to be mowed.'
"One more like that and I'll tackle you."
"You serious?"
"Yeah, you are pissing me off." Sam made a face.
G stuck his hand into the bag one more time. He pulled out the last fortune cookie and broke it in half, drawing out the fortune and setting the cookie down on a napkin. "I like this one."
"Don't read it, you're asking for it."
He slid backward on his butt away from the food and his partner. "It's the best one and fits you perfectly."
"G, I'm warning you."
He created more distance between them. "Sam, stop being a party pooper, it's just for fun."
"At my expense."
"Aw, poor big guy, can't resist this one any longer."
Sam scooted over to his partner, grabbed the paper from his hands, and wrestled him face down on the hardwood floor.
"Uncle!" G chuckled.
"You think this is funny?" He straddled his partner's back and read the fortune out loud. 'Happy Birthday, Sam, hope you enjoy your evening of fun and games.' Sam slid off his partner and sat next to him on the floor. "You arranged all of this for me?" Tears welled up in his dark chocolate eyes.
G rolled to his side. "Yeah, I did."
"I don't know what to say," he said. "I think after what I just did I need to apologize."
"No way you are doing that."
"You arranged for the special messages in the fortune cookies too?"
"Yep."
"Damn, you are good." Sam sighed.
"You could use some cheering up."
"Yeah, I've been a jerk, even my wife and daughter told me I needed to get a life," he said. "Wait a minute. You talked to them."
G opened one container of orange chicken and took a bite. "Yep, they called me up and said you needed help." He took several more bites. "I told them to expect you home late tonight or even early tomorrow morning."
Sam opened the other container and started eating. "Thanks, G."
"That's what partners do, you're welcome."
A rap on the door interrupted their meal.
G answered the door. He opened it wide to allow the delivery men inside. "Right this way." G showed them where he wanted the television set up.
Sam and G watched the men set up the television and the Xbox.
"Need any help?" One of the men asked.
"Nope," Sam said. This time he got up and escorted the delivery men to the door. "Thanks again." When he came back to the living room, he found his partner already engrossed in a game. "Didn't take you long."
"I love this game." G played between bites of chow mein, veggies, and the chicken. "And the Chinese was a good idea for a change."
Another rap on the door caught their attention.
"Want me to get it?" Sam asked.
"Would be nice since you are still standing."
He strode to the door and opened it.
"Surprise!" Hetty, Eric, Nell, Kensi, and Deeks yelled together. "Happy Birthday!"
Sam stepped aside and welcomed everyone into the house. He felt the heat rise to his face.
"Mr. Hanna, that color becomes you," Hetty said. "In a better mood now?"
"Yeah, sorry I've been grouchy all week."
"No need to apologize."
Kensi entered the house carrying a birthday cake.
Deeks carried a duffle bag stuffed with so many presents he could not zip it up.
"You guys didn't need to—"
"Yeah they did, I asked everyone to come over and celebrate your birthday however they wanted," G said, standing and greeting his team. "Eric, your stuff is in the Challenger's trunk."
"I won't need that right now," Eric said, eyeing Callen's new setup. "This is sweet."
Hetty set two bottles of Cold Duck on the kitchen countertop. Kensi displayed the cake next to it. Nell came into the kitchen to help get the cake ready.
G entered the kitchen and took down his new set of fluted champagne glasses. He opened the Cold Duck and poured it into the glasses and set them on a tray. Afterward he brought the champagne into the living room. "Take a glass and let's toast our favorite agent."
Sam chuckled. "I haven't been your favorite agent this last week."
"There's always room for improvement, partner," he winked at him and took the last glass. "To many more and remember life begins after forty."
They all came to the center of the living room and clinked their glasses together.
"Happy Birthday, partner, love you, man."
The End
Thanks for reading my short story.