Author's Note: A plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone. After playing Never Have I Ever with a group of friends, I realised it'd be a great way to come out . . . Maybe a bit crack!fic or OOC. Tibbs slash, as always! Rated M for sexual references and language.
"Guess I'd better get going then," Tony said, looking at his watch.
Gibbs frowned. "It's still an hour before Abby's meant to arrive."
"And since when did she miss the chance to arrive early for a party in the hope of catching you in bed with some redhead? Remember the close call at Thanksgiving?"
"True," Gibbs admitted. They'd still been in bed when Abby arrived, and Tony had had to clamber out the window and sneak through the front yard to avoid her finding him there.
"Besides, it'll be good to get some fresh air into the apartment," Tony said. "No one's been inside in almost three months."
Gibbs grinned at that. When Tony had moved in with Gibbs, about a year ago now, they'd decided to keep the apartment - partly because their relationship was still a secret, and partly so that whenever they had a fight, one of them would have somewhere to go to cool off that wasn't a bar. Given the high-stress nature of their jobs and the fact that they were always in close proximity but unable to express their emotions at work, it was inevitable that their stubborn natures would clash every so often. In the first six months it had been in semi-regular use by both of them, but they'd gotten used to living with each other and with a concerted effort their communication had improved.
Tony grabbed his keys and gave Gibbs a quick peck on the lips. "Don't forget to double check the house for anything incriminating," he warned. "We're having a whole team of investigators over and unless you want them to work it out, we can't leave anything lying around."
"Already checked last night. Found two bottles of lube in the living room and half a dozen of your shirts in the laundry."
Tony winced. "Should have thought of that. There's another bottle down the back of the beige couch."
At Gibbs' raised eyebrow, he said, "What? Always be prepared! It's a good motto. And besides, we almost needed it that time I persuaded you to watch You Only Live Twice and you got bored halfway through. If you hadn't had some in your pocket, we would have had to move upstairs."
"Yeah, well, I know that a movie night rarely stays focused on the movie, so I always come prepared," Gibbs said with a smile.
Tony loved how relaxed Gibbs was nowadays. For years he'd fought to get even a half-smile out of the grumpy bastard, but it turned out that he was an entirely different man in a relationship. He hadn't changed much at work, but around the house he smiled and laughed readily, especially when Tony was in a playful mood.
"Makes me wonder if clearing up after ourselves is worth the hassle," Tony said thoughtfully.
Gibbs looked at him. "You thinking of coming out to the team?"
"Only if you want to," Tony hastened to add. "But yeah, I think it's time. It was the right decision when we started, but I've stopped expecting you to walk out on me, and although we should still keep it from Vance I don't think it'd be too bad if he found out."
Gibbs nodded. They'd both had commitment issues that they'd had to work through, and they had been concerned that the relationship would affect them at work - after all, Rule 12 was there for a reason - but their solve rate had only increased and despite the occasional fight, neither of them had ever wanted out. "Tonight's as good a night as any."
"Really?" Tony looked excited. "Jethro, if you don't want to, don't let me convince you."
"Since when could anyone make me do something I don't want to do?" Gibbs asked.
"Since I found out that your frozen heart melts with my smile," Tony said with an exaggerated simper, then dodged the inevitable headslap with a laugh.
"Let's see what happens," Gibbs said as Tony headed to the door. "But I think you're right. It's time."
"And what a great birthday present for Abby!" Tony pointed out, before kissing him goodbye, scrambling into his car and driving off. Gibbs only had time to do one more circuit of the house, collecting the lube Tony had mentioned and dumping it in their locked bedroom, before he heard the door open and Abby call out his name.
By the time Tony got back, carrying a cake he'd picked up at the bakery down the road, the party was in full swing. "Happy birthday Abby!" he said, putting down the cake on the loaded table before she ran into him and gave him a huge hug. "Sorry I'm late."
"Don't apologise!" Abby said sternly. "Sign of weakness, remember?" They both laughed. "You're the last one here, Tony, so grab a plate and a drink and come join us!"
When he walked into the living room, he found the team sitting in a rough circle. Ziva and Abby were next to each other on the bigger couch and McGee and Palmer had the other one. Ducky had the comfortable armchair and Gibbs had taken his usual firm-backed chair. Tony dragged in one of the kitchen chairs and placed himself directly across from Gibbs so he couldn't run the risk of accidentally touching or kissing him - work was never an issue, but it was hard to stay in the work mindset in what was now his home. By the look that crossed Gibbs' face he was having the same problem.
They spent an enjoyable few hours eating the food everyone had brought and relaxing, enjoying being in the company of friends outside the formal work environment. As always happens, they had enough for three times as many people but still managed to eat half of it. Abby loved all her presents, especially the black shirt from Tony that had a fake X-ray view of the wearer's insides printed on it and the book on traditional voodoo rituals from Ziva.
Once everyone had finally finished eating and were nursing drinks and stuffed bellies, Abby caught everyone's attention. "How about we play a drinking game?"
"I think you forget that not all of us drink, Abigail," Ducky said, not unkindly.
"Oh, you don't have to drink alcohol, Ducky," she said enthusiastically. "And we can pick one that doesn't involve much moving around, because I for one am super full! But I think it'd be fun and it's my birthday, after all. And before you say anything, Gibbs, because I know you're going to make some excuse and go and hide in your basement, please just do one game for me? It'll be really fun, I promise!"
Gibbs looked at Abby's best pleading face, and then Tony's best puppy-dog eyes, and knew he was done for. "One game, Abs, that's all," he said firmly.
"I am not playing beer pong with a Marine sniper, an Israeli assassin and the king of frat boy parties," McGee said dismally. Like most of them, he was already past tipsy, the alcohol and the relaxed environment loosening his tongue.
"No, beer pong's boring anyway," Abby said. "And it's so unhygienic! I once tested the pingpong ball that we'd been using when I caught up with some of my high school friends, and I've never played it since. Did you know I found - "
"I don't think I want to know, Abby," Tony said quickly. He'd played far too many games of beer pong in his life. Then an idea struck him. "How about Never Have I Ever?"
"Ooh, yes! Good idea!" Abby said.
"What is this game?" Ziva asked.
"Basically you go round the circle taking turns, and when it's your turn you say 'never have I ever' followed by something that you haven't done. Anyone in the circle who has done that thing, has to drink," Tony explained.
"And if you deliberately target someone, you have to drink as well," Abby added. "So, if I said 'never have I ever been called Tony', then that's pretty clear targeting, so I'd drink too."
Ziva shrugged. "Seems fun. Do you just have to trust people to be honest?"
"It's no fun if people aren't honest," Tony said easily. "But it's a general rule that anything said here, stays here - if someone shares a secret, you don't then go and shout it out everywhere."
He glanced at Gibbs as he said that, who gave a slight nod. He understood where Tony was going.
"I'll start!" Abby said. "Never have I ever been shot."
Everyone except Palmer drank immediately at that one. Tony laughed. "Honestly, Abby and Palmer, call yourselves members of the team? You've never even been shot?"
"We've both been shot at," Palmer interjected. "That's got to count for something, right?"
"Just good luck, probably," McGee said.
"Gibbs, your turn!" Abby said.
Gibbs looked round at them, and then with an evil look on his face, said, "Never have I ever had to redo the same report more than five times."
Tony, McGee and Ziva had only just put down their drinks before they had to reach for them again. "Honestly, Boss, it's not my fault that I didn't know how high your standards were when I was a mere probie," McGee said.
"You'll always be a probie to me, McGeek," Tony said fondly.
"At least I don't hold the record for rewrites," McGee retorted.
"I still cannot believe Gibbs made you rewrite the same report fourteen times, Tony," Ziva said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, well, it hadn't been the best of weeks," Tony said glumly. That incident had happened shortly before Jeanne discovered who he really was, and the stress of living double lives had been destroying him. Gibbs gave him a brief smile for support, knowing exactly what was going through his mind.
McGee, also remembering what had been happening at the time, quickly interjected. "Never have I ever handed in a school assignment late."
"Unfair, Probie!" Tony protested. "I don't believe that you never handed in anything late." He wasn't the only one to drink though - Abby, Ducky, and to his surprise Gibbs had also reached for their glasses.
"Not once in my entire school life," Tim said proudly.
"There's a couple I never handed in at all," Gibbs admitted. He felt incredulous stares and gave a half-smile, daring them to question him further. Tony was both impressed and confused by this relaxed Gibbs - although he'd seen his lover's playful side many times, the others hadn't.
"Jimmy, it's your go," Abby said.
"What? Oh, um, right, the game," Palmer said with a nervous laugh. Although they all did their best to make him feel included, it was difficult sometimes, especially after he'd had a few ciders. "Uh . . . never have I ever been in a car chase?"
Pretty much everyone drank at that one. "Actually, there was that one time you rammed a fleeing suspect with a car," McGee pointed out. "I'd count that as a car chase."
"Oh, so do I have to say another one, or what?"
"If you say something that does apply to you, then just drink as well, I guess," Abby said.
It was Tony's turn, and he leaned back, thinking. Everyone had been kind of tame so far, and he figured it was time to up the ante. He caught Gibbs' eye and the older man mouthed, "Bring it on."
"Never have I ever," Tony said slowly, "had sex in the tray of a pick-up truck."
Gibbs glared at him, but without any malice. He was the only one to drink and Abby whooped. "Nice skills, Bossman! Did you at least have a mattress or was it on the cold, hard metal?"
"We had a pile of old rugs," Gibbs admitted. "I was a teenager in a small mining town but there were plenty of farming families too. We were out in the middle of a field and I'd just gotten my licence."
He was noticeably blushing by this point. He'd never had said so much if he hadn't had too many beers already, but it was worth it for the look on Tony's face. He could tell that the other man was picturing the scene already - probably in more detail than he ever needed to hear about.
Thankfully, Ducky intervened. "Never have I ever lost a scalpel inside a dead body."
Palmer turned bright red. "That was one time, Ducky! Am I never going to hear the end of this?"
"That's so targeted, Ducky," Abby said critically.
"Oh, I will happily drink too," Ducky said with a smile.
Ziva leaned forwards. "Never have I ever," she said, and then paused dramatically before continuing, "been interested - in that way - in someone in this circle."
No one was surprised when Abby and McGee reached for their glasses, but everyone noticed when Tony did too. "Come on," he said with a grin. "You know me. I'll hit on anything that moves. And for the first few months I worked here, Abby insisted on wearing these really short skirts."
"Tony!" Abby cried. "Really? Oh my god!"
Gibbs quietly took a drink from his beer. No one noticed except Ducky, who gave him a weird look but didn't say anything, probably assuming that he was just thirsty.
"I have to say though, Ziva," McGee added, "are you sure you've never been interested in Tony? The way the two of you flirt sometimes . . . and then there's that time the two of you went undercover together as married assassins."
Ziva smiled. "We flirt, yes, we have fun, but I have never meant anything serious by it, and I don't think Tony has either."
"It'd have to be someone pretty special to break rule 12," Tony said. "Someone exceptional. Someone who Gibbs would forgive me breaking the rule for."
"Could there ever be someone you'd do that for?" McGee asked Gibbs.
Gibbs pretended to mull over the question. "I made the rule because of how awkward it was working with Jenny, both once we'd got together and after we broke up. If there were two co-workers who could overcome any issues and it didn't affect their work then I guess so."
To prevent the silence that followed getting awkward, Abby spoke up. "Seeing as you've all been making this more interesting - never have I ever had *intimate relations* with someone of the same gender."
"Honestly, Abby?" Tony said, trying to distract everyone as he reached for his beer. "I totally pegged you and Kate getting it on some weekends."
"No, Kate was straight as anything," Abby said, "and don't you dare try and distract me Tony! I saw you drink!"
"Yeah, well," Tony said, deciding to step it up another level, "so did the Bossman."
You could have heard a pin drop as everyone else stared at Gibbs, who still held the bottle to his mouth. He lowered it and shrugged. "You never asked, I never told."
Still no one moved, and the corners of his mouth jerked up into a smile. "I was a Marine. We work with sailors every day. Why come out as bi if it's just going to cause trouble?"
"Good God," Palmer finally managed.
"I knew all those gay jokes you made were covering up something, Tony," McGee said. He still looked utterly flabbergasted.
"You once said you thought I must have gone through all the single women in the DC area, McGoo," Tony said. "Thing is, half of them were men. Despite what I say about women, it's actually a lot easier to get a man for a night with no strings attached. And somehow I figured you never wanted to hear about that aspect of my sex life."
"I do not think that we ever wanted to hear about any of your sex life, Tony," Ziva said. She seemed to be taking the news the best, apart from Ducky who was only surprised by Gibbs.
"Yeah, well, you definitely don't want to hear about my current sex life," Tony muttered. Gibbs snorted despite himself.
"Um, Gibbs, it's your turn in the game," Abby said. "Unless, of course, you want to give us all the hot, juicy details?" She looked hopefully at him.
"Never have I ever," Gibbs said, "bored my co-workers senseless with details of an invented sex life."
"Targeting!" Tony called, and both he and Gibbs drank.
McGee looked pensive. "How about . . . never have I ever moved in with a partner or lover."
"Need to have a lover before you can move in with them, McGeek," Tony said. Reluctantly, he went for his drink again. The bottle was nearly empty, which wasn't surprising considering that he'd drank to almost every statement. Ducky also drank, to Tony's surprise.
"You have a whole series of ex-wives and you've never moved in with a partner?" Abby asked Gibbs.
He shrugged. "They all moved in with me."
"And since when did Tony have someone last long enough to move in with them?" McGee asked curiously.
"I think we've already established that there's a lot you don't know about my personal life, McElfLord," Tony said. He leaned back, rested his head on his hands, and smiled. "As you'd know if you'd been inside my empty apartment any time in the past year."
He really should have been a comedian, he thought to himself. Perfect timing, and he loved the sense of drama. In his opinion, the shocked faces were even better this time round than they'd been at Gibbs' coming out. Other than Gibbs, only one face showed anything other than shock - Ducky, who as usual had been the first to put the pieces together, and was glancing between Tony's smug face and Gibbs' unsurprised expression with dawning realisation.
"If you don't mind, Palmer, I'm going to skip your turn and move straight on to mine," Tony said cheerfully. Palmer stammered something that Tony took as an okay, and he leaned forwards. "Never have I ever been head-over-heels in love with someone in this circle."
Gibbs leaned in too, and they clinked their bottles together before they both downed the last of their drinks.
"Holy shit," McGee breathed. He was pale. "Tony? Gibbs? You're together? You're in love?"
"Have been for over a year," Gibbs said brightly. "Felt it was the right time to tell you."
"There had to be a better way to tell us," Tim said, before fainting onto Palmer.
Tony shrugged. "Probably. But this was far more fun!"