"I plan to be safely married by then, Danny"
2001
He took a large gulp of beer, emptying the bottle he warily glanced at it – what was that, bottle number 6? 7?
He didn't care, he couldn't care anymore.
Because being dumped hurt, it hurt like hell and he finally understood why all those people wrote those ridiculous songs about it – he wanted to scream it out.
But he didn't.
No, because that's not how a Dinozzo does it they bottle it all up – this time literally with bottles he thinks.
He'd been so happy when she had said yes, so happy he could barely contain it – he had been a bit surprised when it took his partner awhile to figure out.
But then again he guessed Danny always was a bit of a slow learner, Danny…
Lately it felt like shit was hitting the fan a lot, first he finally connected the dots – Goddammit he was so stupid – that Danny was a dirty cop.
Then Gibbs – the devious bastard – dragged his ass to NCIS and subtlety hinted at him to get a job, perhaps Gibbs had been the only good thing in the past few months.
Gibbs had known about Wendy, how he didn't know but he guessed that being the team leader of NCIS' 'top team' you had to have some sort of investigative skills.
He thoughtlessly opened another bottle and took another gulp, Wendy had left him.
Truthfully he had known it was too good to be true, Wendy had asked him out and they had hit it off from the start partly because of their past but truth to be told Wendy just was a great woman.
But apparently she had decided that it was wrong to date someone she used to learn things in high school, he didn't get it he was only seven years younger than her.
He threw another bottle away, it loudly crashed against the wall- he knew he shouldn't drink with his concussion and Gibbs had warned him to not do so but he couldn't help it…
He needed a pain relief even if it would be tenfold worse in the morning, he right now needed it – needed to stop his bleeding heart.
He finally felt some sort of regret for all the girls he had dumped, for all he knew he had broken their hearts just like his was broken now.
Gibbs probably had thought he had a bad day – if the constantly raised eyebrow was something to go on – and that had been the reason he had been so reckless today.
Normally he didn't drink this much and he really didn't drink to drown his sorrows, that was something he left to his father, but he was willing to become his father for one night.
He then heard someone unlock his front door, he vaguely thought about reaching for his gun but he figured that he couldn't care less if someone tried to murder him tonight – he might just welcome it.
He heard steady, hasty footsteps walk his way and then Gibbs was in front of him – looking worried.
Worried? He had never seen his boss look worried, never. Not when Pacci did something stupid and nearly got himself shot, no Gibbs only expressed the emotion anger then.
He tried to put together a few words to ask what the hell his boss was doing here when he found that he couldn't, Gibbs gently removed the unopened bottle of beer from his hand and swept aside the crunched glass.
He knew his eyes were red from the angry tears that had spilled over his cheeks and that his knuckles were raw from hitting the wall – the hole in the wall was a dead giveaway – but he couldn't care.
Gibbs pried his arm under his shoulders and hoisted him up, he leaned heavily against the elder men and still managed to give Gibbs his 'What the hell' glare.
Gibbs didn't seemed bothered by it, Gibbs shifted a bit then dragged him to his bedroom – several kinky comments fleeted through his head but he was too tired to say anything – then dumped him on the bed.
"G'bbs?" he slurred because right now he really didn't get his new boss, the man was all grumpy and harsh in the office and sometimes – really almost never – showed any other emotion but he was pretty sure he had never encountered this Gibbs before.
The man undressed him – he was still too shell-shocked to object – then he had, somewhere, gotten his oversized hoodie and trainings pants and in a flash he was wearing clothes again.
He tried to grasp the fact that apparently Gibbs cared enough to come check on him, he felt the older man's hand pop up his chin – forcing him to look at Gibbs.
"Get some sleep, I'll wake you in a couple hours" then Gibbs' hand wandered trhough his hair in a paternal gesture and gently forced him down, he left the room and switched off the lights.
Guess I have to dress better now Tony thought fruitlessly before he let the darkness swallow him.
A/N after watching this fantastic episode a lot of thoughts kept floating around my head so I decided to do a little story about it.
More to come.