Gibbs gets a late night phone call and begins to wonder where everything went wrong.
Warnings: Based on song, 'Lips of an Angel' by Hinder. Angst.
Pairing: Past Tony/Gibbs, Gibbs/Hollis, Tony/Ziva
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS
Lips of an Angel
"Jethro...remember the plumber will be here tomorrow." A feminine voice floated to Jethro's ears and he sighed knowing what was going to happen next.
"Which we wouldn't have needed to spend extra money on if you hadn't fucked it up." He groaned. 'There it was.' The snide remark was made in false whispering and Jethro mimicked her mockingly, flipping her off.
He didn't know when things had changed between Hollis and him, at first everything was going smoothly. He could almost pretend that it was a normal relationship. There was laughter, playful bickering, hell even love. It was nice finally being with a non-Shannon clone, but still there was something missing. Maybe he didn't love her enough and she had found out. Maybe he didn't talk to her about the important things. He knew that was a big problem, especially for someone who he was practically living with. She turned from a loving woman to an always snarling she-beast. No matter what he did, it was always his fault. Jethro threw his sander down with a huff. He shouldn't work on his boat in this state, he couldn't concentrate. He had to leave, to go take a walk. It being 2am and freezing cold be damned.
The silence of the basement was disrupted by the tones of his cellphone. He dusted off the wood shavings as he stood up and reached into his pockets finding the offending object.
Jethro sighed when he saw who was calling and sat down of the wooden saw horse, stalling.
"Hey Tony." He shouldn't have answered. Calls after midnight were never a good sign, but he promised that he would never be unreachable. It had been a long time since he thought about breaking one of his rules, and look where that had gotten him. He had rules in place for a reason!
The other end was silent for so long that he almost hung up, thinking maybe Tony had just accidently called him. Just as he went to end the call, he heard a sharp intake of breath and what sounded like muffled sniffles.
"Hey, Tony, why are you crying? Is everything okay?" Jethro grew worried as the sniffles became louder interrupted by deep breaths.
He listened as the soft crying continued and then a quietly rasped, "God. I miss you so much."
Jethro didn't know what to do with that confession, his heart started pounding, and his mind flew back to the time when they were together, sharing their lives and bed. Damn, he missed it too. Tony was one of the best things that happened to him in his life. It just got too real, happening so fast, that he panicked and started to pull away, afraid. He ended it a couple months later. He couldn't lose him and being in a relationship, he knew he would. At least he would still be able to see him at work. Jethro knew he was never any good at relationships, his ex-wives could attest to that. Now they were both in separate relationships, had other commitments. He couldn't do that to Hollis and he knew Tony couldn't do that to Ziva. They were both good women, but he couldn't stop his mouth when he clutched the phone hard in his hand.
"I miss you so much too Tone." Jethro smiled as he heard the shaky laughing at the pet name.
"Jethro..." Tony's voice was so sweet, he was never able to resist him, even now it was impossible. How his voice would deepen with a sultry tone when he flirted, how his voice would turn playfully light when he was teasing poor McGee or how he moaned and gasped as they made love. His voice alone would send shivers down his spine. He had the lips of an angel and the mind of a devil. He could sweet talk his way out of anything and the other person was none the wiser until it was too late. He knew he learned that the hard way, when he was busy working on his boat and the next he had Tony held against the frame, a huge smirk playing innocently on his face.
Jethro knew what this phone call meant, but he needed time. He felt bad when his mind brought up that they could always cheat, it's not like they haven't been cheated on before. Sometimes, when it was just Hollis and him, he would catch himself thinking of Tony. It wasn't hard, it was easy thinking back and enjoying what was. He wished Tony was with him in the basement, as his eyes fell on the boat frame. He sighed.
"I guess we both never really moved on, huh?" Jethro's voice was tight, words raw in his throat. He wanted this so bad, he knew that. Now it was only a matter of what Tony wanted, he would follow his lead. He owed him that much and more.
"Yeah. I want-" Tony's voice was just as rough, strained from whispering and holding back the tears. A long pause and he could hear Tony swallowing hard. "I want us to be together again Jethro." Jethro took a deep breath in and was about to reply with, 'that's what he wanted too', when Ziva's tired voice came through the phone, clear as a bell.
"Who are you talking to this late, Tony? Do we have to be at work?" Ziva's soft tones, accent thickened from sleep, brought him back to the present. He couldn't do this. He couldn't break up their relationship, and he couldn't do this to Hollis.
A quiet "No. Everything's fine, go back to bed Zi." filled his ears and he was back to being on the fence. He wanted Tony, missed him. Loved him. God this was so hard!
"Only if you come back to bed with me Tony..." Ziva purred trying to lure Tony back to the warm blankets.
Jethro's throat seemed to close up. Swallowing refused to help and he had to force the words out low, rough and quick.
"Go back to bed Tony, this is a mistake." Jethro heard the intake of breath and knew he had to get off the phone. Much longer and he'd be right there with him in tears, as it was, he was already eyeing his bourbon on the shelf. He was going to need it tonight.
Another harsh breath and then a pained sigh.
"Goodnight Jethro." A click and he knew Tony had hung up. This was for the best, he had to keep telling himself that. His brain knew that it was the right thing to do, but his heart didn't care. He snatched the bourbon and forgone the cup, drinking straight from the bottle. He was about to take another large mouthful when he heard his name being called.
"Jethro! Come to bed! It's 2:30! Your boat can wait." It wasn't the sweet voice he wanted to hear, it was Hollis'. Jethro sighed, running a hand through his hair. At least it seemed that she wasn't as mad as before.
He didn't know what he had till he threw it all away and it really was all his stupid fault. Damn it!
He made his way up the first few basement steps and looked back in, a picture of Tony and him, linked arms and wide smiles aimed at the camera, was nailed to the beam by his boat stopping him in his tracks. His smile turned into a grimace as he turned around.
"Sometimes I wish it was you." Jethro turned out the light and continued up the stairs, pushing thoughts of Tony out of his mind. Hollis was expecting him.