Written for Mia (headslapdiva) for the NFA Secret Santa Exchange. Two-shot. This is my first attempt at writing slash, so reviews are appreciated :)
Cat: slash
Cat2: angst, romance
Rating: K+
Characters: Tony, McGee, Abby, Gibbs, Ziva, Ducky
Pairings: McGee/Tony.
Warnings: case related, implied violence and child abuse
Prompt: An adorable slightly drunken confession from DiNozzo to McGee after a rough case. Kissing/cuddling can follow.
Part One
It was the worst kind of case. A seven year old girl found locked in a cupboard, dead from a combination of untreated internal injuries and starvation. Things took a turn for the worse when Ducky found that she'd been molested for at least a few years, her x-rays indicating she'd grown up in a very violent household. The atmosphere in the squad room was somber at best; Gibbs barely spoke except to bark out gruff orders. Ziva took to pulling out a large, concealed knife and stared at the blade, counting in her head the different ways she would castrate the perpetrator, the little girl's father, given the chance. McGee immersed himself in his work, reverting back to his probie ways of giving lengthy and detailed explanations anytime he was asked a computer related question. And Tony – Tony closed up, his eyes took on a hardened look and his jaw became more set. He went hours without speaking, not a single movie reference or joke. To McGee it seemed that he wasn't even listening to the rest of the team, too caught up in trying to find a lead – at least until Ziva tried to engage him in a conversation and he snapped at her loud enough to make even Gibbs stare.
It was three days before they got a substantial lead. The little girl's father, Joe Gerty, worked in vehicle maintenance at the Navy Base in Quantico. He didn't report to work for the entire week before his daughter's body was found. The neighbours all thought she was staying with her mother in Washington and it wasn't until the next door neighbour knocked on the open door to see why the hungry cat was yowling that the body was found. By the time NCIS became involved, Gerty had been in the wind for eight days.
In her finest hour, Abby sifted through two years worth of credit card bills and receipts, finding one for the Moonshine Motor Inn on the outskirts of DC. Gerty had stayed there eighteen months ago while on leave. It was a long shot, but out of desperation she made a call to the inn. A man fitting their description had checked in one week ago. He'd paid cash but had signed the bill for a pay-per-view porn movie. The receptionist faxed across the document and Abby deciphered the signature – 'J Gerty'.
McGee and Ziva manned the fire escapes while Gibbs and Tony took the front door. Guns drawn, they burst into room 139 to find Gerty seated on the bed, watching as parents collected their children from the primary school across the road. Back at NCIS, he was booked and charged in less than an hour.
"Go home," Gibb ordered as he returned from interrogation, looking immensely weary and drawn. "That's an order."
McGee and Ziva got up quickly, glad to be free after pulling an all-nighter. As he walked with Ziva to the elevator, McGee looked back to see what had captured Gibbs' attention. Tony was still at his desk, moving slowly and looking pale. Gibbs walked up to him, looking concerned but Tony brushed him off, grabbing his bag and leaving. McGee held the elevator and Tony stepped in without a word.
"Ar- Are you okay?"
Tony's head turned until his eyes met McGee's.
"Yeah."
His tone clearly indicated the conversation was over. As soon as the elevator reached the parking garage, Tony was out, walking swiftly to his Mustang and roaring out into the night.
"Timmy!"
McGee heard jingling and the thumping of platform boots as Abby ran up to stand beside him. They watched Tony's car zoom away.
"I heard you caught him. How's Tony?"
McGee shrugged. "He looked… subdued I guess."
Abby nodded, biting down on her bottom lip. "Damn it. Son of a bitch."
McGee's head shot up, unsure if she was talking about him, Tony or Joe Gerty. "Wha-?"
"You ready to go?" Abby's hearse was in the shop (yet again), so McGee was tasked with being her personal chauffeur. McGee nodded. "Have you noticed how Tony always gets all funny when we have a case involving children? Child assault, anyway?" Abby asked once they were on the road.
McGee nodded, although he didn't know if 'funny' was the word he would've used. Distraught, distracted, distant maybe.
"He's never told me, but I think it brings back memories from his childhood. I don't think growing up was a lot of fun for Tony." Abby said quietly.
"You want to go check on him?" McGee asked. Tony's apartment wasn't too far away from their current location.
Abby shook her head. "Nah, he won't be there."
McGee stared at her, taking his eyes off the road for a moment as he wondered how she knew Tony so well. His relationship with Abby was nothing more than close friendship; they'd both learnt, decided and agreed upon that years ago. It wasn't the thought of Tony dating Abby that generated the biting feel of jealousy deep within him. It was more the thought of Abby dating Tony. If that made any sense.
"Relax," Abby laughed, her finger prodding McGee's face back to the road. "I'm not preying on your territory. Tony's like my oldest friend at NCIS, he joined a year or so after I did. I think I know him pretty well by now."
The ball of jealousy dispersed, but it was replaced by a new feeling – confusion. "Wait – what do you mean, 'preying on my territory'. What territory?"
She laughed again. "You've got it bad, Timmy-boy. I can tell, I've seen the way you look at him when you think no-one's watching." After pausing to admire McGee's deer-in-the-headlights expression, she continued, "I say go for it. I'm happy for you. Just imagining it – my two best friends… maybe you'd let me come watch?"
McGee went bright red and fought to keep the car traveling in the right lane. "Abs! Just stop, please. Tony's straight anyway, there's no point even talking about it."
Abby gave him a smug little smile. "You never know McGee. How many people know you're bi? Tony brags about his female conquests, but you don't exactly go around telling people about your sexcapades with men."
McGee cleared his throat. "So you want to get some dinner or will I just drop you home?"
"Subtle subject change there McGee. I'm hungry. Oh, and we could go see the new zombie movie!"
Tired as he was, nights out with Abby were always fun and didn't occur often enough for McGee's liking. They ate out at a little Thai restaurant, choosing the items on the menu with the funniest names. The zombie movie was truly terrible, as is usually the case with B horror movies, but they had a great time laughing at the acting, music, special effects, storyline and the reactions of everyone else in the cinema.
It was close to midnight when they emerged, still a little giddy from all the laughing. "Oh, Timmy can we stop at Tony's now? I just want to make sure my boy's okay."
McGee nodded, starting the engine. He waited in the car outside Tony's building. In the three years they'd worked together, he'd never seen the inside of Tony's home, while Tony was happily intimate with his place, dropping by sometimes after cases and fiddling with McGee's typewriter. It was pretty obvious Tony liked his privacy, so McGee wasn't too keen on the thought of barging into Tony's apartment in the middle of the night unexpected.
Abby of course had a key, so she bounded out of the car with a promise to return within a quarter of an hour. Twenty minutes later she walked back, smile faded considerably.
"He doesn't know how to look after himself," she said softly, almost to herself as she sat back in the car.
"Is Tony okay?" McGee questioned, concerned.
She raised one shoulder. "I don't know. I put him to bed, hopefully he'll stay there. Tony's not… with Tony, what you see isn't really what you get, you know?"
The conversation lingered in McGee's mind as he dropped Abby off and turned the car to drive back to his place. The cold, empty feeling was back in his stomach and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he could see for himself that Tony was okay. He parked outside the building and walked slowly towards it, nerves adding to the knot of worry inside of him. He didn't know what to expect from Tony, knocking on his door at 1am and probably waking the man up.
Pushing all mental images of Tony socking him right in the face to the back of his mind, McGee knocked on the door and waited for a reply. He was about to knock again when the door swung open. Tony was wearing long tracksuit pants and no shirt. His hair was tousled although he didn't look like he'd been asleep.
"McGee," Tony stated, looking surprised but not angry. "Nice of you to visit." He pushed the door open further, wandering back into the apartment.
"I was just… in the neighbourhood," McGee replied, wincing at the lameness of his sentence. Tony didn't seem to notice, sitting down on the couch with his knees drawn up to his chest. In his hand he nursed an almost-full glass of scotch, the bottle sitting on the coffee table.
"Want a drink?" Tony waved his hand emphatically and McGee realized that Tony was tipsy, if not slightly drunk.
"How many of those have you had?"
Tony frowned. "Why? Abby send you to check up on me?" His words were slurred and McGee upgraded his condition from 'slightly drunk' to 'definitely intoxicated'.
"No." McGee pried the glass from Tony's hand before he spilt it, setting it down on the coffee table. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You were acting a little strangely this afternoon."
Tony's face darkened. He took another sip of scotch and McGee could almost see him pushing the unpleasant thought to the back of his mind. Tony laughed. "Timmy, take this away."
McGee swiftly grabbed the proffered, sloshing drink.
"I'm just like my father, alone and drunk. I don't want to be alone. McGee, don't make me be alone."
McGee wasn't sure how to reply, but he didn't need to. Tony seemed happy to keep talking.
"Come sit with me Timmy. I'm lonely." Tony patted the couch beside him for emphasis. When McGee complied he was rewarded with a brilliant, lady-killing smile.
"I like you McGee."
"… I like you too."
"No, I'm serious," Tony slurred, giving McGee the puppy-dog look. "I really like you. You're pretty... and smart... and funny... and pretty... and smart..."
"Thanks, Tony," McGee said, wondering if he should upgrade Tony to 'completely legless'. Before he thought further, Tony wrapped an arm around McGee's shoulders.
"I like you McGee," he hissed in McGee's ear.
McGee smiled, patting him awkwardly on the back. "I like you, Tony."
"You mean it?"
"I mean it."
"Good." Tony nestled his head into McGee's neck, closing his eyes.
"Umm…" McGee stood up, supporting Tony so he wouldn't slip. "C'mon Tony, I think it's time for bed." He grabbed Tony by both wrists and pulled him to his feet, then practically dragged the man into the bedroom. The covers on the bed were drawn back, presumably from when Abby had put him to bed, so McGee pushed Tony down until he was lying flat on it.
"Goodnight Tony," McGee said with a grin.
"Timmy," Tony said absently, his eyelids closed.
It was almost two o'clock in the morning as McGee checked the house to make sure appropriate windows and doors were locked. As he did so, he pondered how much of what Tony had told him was the alcohol talking, and how much reflected his true feelings. McGee knew better than to get his hopes up; he'd never seen Tony in such a state, but at the same time he felt a little lighter in anticipation.
Too wiped to drive home and since the team wasn't on call over the weekend, McGee decided to crash on Tony's surprisingly comfortable couch.
The next morning McGee was woken early by the sunlight pouring through the windows. He felt rested despite the few hours of sleep he'd gotten so he pulled himself to his feet and set about finding some breakfast in Tony's kitchen. He wasn't sure what to expect from Tony upon finding McGee in his house and he doubted whether he would remember their conversations from the previous night at all. McGee's brain told him to dismiss the thought altogether, but his heart held on to the hope that Tony would remember. At least then he'd know either way whether Tony really was interested in him or not. If he wasn't, McGee would be disappointed to say the least, but maybe then he could move on.
Ten minutes after McGee awoke, Tony stumbled into the kitchen, wincing at the bright light.
"Headache?" McGee asked, leaning on the kitchen bench.
"DiNozzos don't get hangovers McGee," Tony informed him, not seeming at all surprised to see McGee standing there. He shook his head and winced again at the motion. McGee held out the bottle of aspirin he'd found above the sink and Tony took it with a grumble.
"About last night…" McGee began, not wanting to prolong the conversation. He'd just smile, agree that no, it never happened and leave.
"Yeah," Tony said. He rubbed the back of his head, looking down at the floor. "Sorry about all that."
McGee swallowed. He'd been expecting that. But Tony looked… almost embarrassed.
"Umm… I know I was kind of drunk, but I meant what I said Tim."
McGee looked up from his feet. Definitely hadn't been expecting that.
"Hopefully what I remember really did happen and I didn't just dream it, because that would suck," Tony continued. "But I do like you. As more than a friend."
McGee's eyes widened. "I meant it too Tony. I really like you."
A smile grew on Tony's face as his eyes met Tim's. "About the rest of the stuff, the reason why I was drinking – well I don't really want to talk about it. Not now at least. But… thanks for coming over."
McGee reached out, grabbing Tony's hand and squeezing it. This was a side of Tony he rarely saw. Sensing the taller man stiffen his stance, McGee took a risk and wrapped his arms around Tony in a hug. He felt Tony relax as he returned the embrace, then their lips met in a chaste kiss that quickly became a passionate process of exploration as they discovered each others mouths and tastes. They drew back, gasping for breath.
"Wow, Tim. Didn't know you had that in you!" Tony grinned. "I never realized – I mean I hoped, but I never believed you were actually bi."
"I thought the same about you, you're the one with the ladies-man reputation." McGee said, leaning back on the bench.
"Damn. We should have done this ages ago. I should listen to Abby more often," Tony added, speaking mostly to himself.
"Wait – you talked to Abby about us? I mean, about you and me?"
"Yeah… you know how hard it is to keep a secret with her." Tony said, running a hand through his rakish hair. "Hold on, you talked to her as well?"
McGee nodded. They stared at each other for a moment before simultaneously bursting into laughter.
"Oh, she's good."
McGee bobbed his head in agreement. "I guess we have her to thank then. Kind of."
Tony grabbed McGee by both shoulders, pulling him back into his arms. "Later. I think we've got enough to keep us busy right here."
"Definitely." McGee hissed as he tugged Tony's head down to meet his once more.
TBC