WARNING: Contains references to and discussion of spanking.
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine. I just borrow them.
"All right, let's call it a night," Gibbs announced to his team. It was only 7:30 and Tim and Ziva jumped at the chance to get out "early". But as he'd expected, Tony stayed put. It was obvious to Gibbs that he was pretending to work. Ziva and Tim, however, didn't seem to notice as they quickly grabbed their things and headed for the elevator calling hasty "good-nights" before their boss could change his mind.
Once they were alone, Gibbs wandered over and perched on the edge of Tony's desk. Tony quickly closed the screen he'd been pretending to type on and busied himself with gathering his belongings. But Gibbs continued to perch silently and when Tony had run out of things to pick up or put away, he sat awkwardly, trying to figure out how to get out of his seat with Gibbs sitting right next to him. When he could find no escape, he slumped slightly in his chair.
"What's on your mind?" Gibbs asked quietly. He watched as Tony wrestled with how to answer that question.
"Nothing," Tony finally said with a deep sigh that rendered his statement completely false.
To Tony's surprise though, Gibbs shrugged, said "Ok," pushed himself off his desk and walked away. Tony sat in conflicted silence for a few minutes, but when it was clear that Gibbs wasn't coming back, he slowly picked up his things, mumbled something that was probably "good night" and left.
Gibbs sat at his desk and watched Tony leave. When the elevator doors slid shut, he sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair to think. Tony had been sullen and jumpy all day. He hadn't bantered with Ziva or Tim, and even passed up a few opportunities to correct Ziva's idioms, which was very unusual. On the other hand, (and, Gibbs reflected, on a positive note) he'd been very quick to obey, which was also unusual. Gibbs sat and thought for a while. When he finally figured it out, it hit him like a Mack truck…he knew what this was all about. And he wasn't sure who he should be upset with – Tony or himself.
Sunday Evening (the previous day)
The entire team was gathered in Gibbs' kitchen – Ducky, Jimmy, Ziva, Tim, Abby, Tony, and even Jenny – chatting and getting dinner prepared. It was the first official "family" dinner since he and Tony had decided that it might be a nice thing to do, and so far, everything was going swimmingly. Of course, everyone had shown up only ten minutes earlier.
Gibbs was keeping an eye on Tony as he and Ducky cut steak into cubes for the kebabs they were planning to grill. Tony flitted from group to group chatting and laughing, but not actually doing anything helpful. Jenny, Ziva and Abby were washing and cutting up vegetables, and Tim and Jimmy were involved in a deeply scientific discussion about how, exactly, rice cooks while they engaged in the practical side of said discussion. Gibbs had planned to give everyone a specific job, but they had all simply grouped themselves together and gotten to work almost as soon as they walked in the door. Except Tony, of course. Since he didn't seem to be bothering anyone though, Gibbs didn't say anything. But, Tony being Tony, the peace didn't last long.
"Hey! You can't take the lid off – it won't cook right!" Gibbs heard Tim yell from the stove.
He didn't even have to look up to know what was happening. "Tony, go set the table," he ordered while reaching for another slab of meat.
"I just wanted to see it," Tony said defensively. At that, Gibbs did look up with a glare, and Tony quickly scampered off to do what he was told.
A few minutes later, he heard Ziva yell, "Put those down! We need those!" Gibbs looked up and saw Tony attempting – unsuccessfully – to juggle two red peppers and a yellow one.
"Tony, get drinks," Gibbs ordered, after glancing into the dining room to make sure Tony had done what he'd been told earlier.
"Hey! Stop! You're getting me all wet!" Tim yelled.
Gibbs looked up and caught Tony tossing ice cubes into cups – from across the kitchen. He put down his knife on the cutting board and walked across the kitchen to a drawer. He opened the drawer, took something out and put it firmly on the counter. "Tony," he called. Tony stopped – mid free-throw – and looked at his boss. His mouth fell open when he saw that Gibbs had removed an old wooden spoon from the drawer and put it on the counter. The sudden silence in the room told Tony that everyone else was looking at the spoon too. He blushed furiously, but he'd gotten the message.
Meekly, he started placing the ice in the cups, rather than throwing it. A few seconds later, everyone had returned to their tasks and their conversations and the incident had been forgotten. Or so Gibbs thought…