This story is set a few weeks after Fornell has moved out of Gibbs' house in season 14.
"TOBIAS!"
The suited agent on the couch is startled out of his seeming slumber on his friend's couch.
"Huh?" He sits up and rubs his eyes.
Gibbs crosses the room , removes his gun from his holster and puts it in the box on the shelf before turning back to Fornell. "I'm not running a hotel." He glares in a manner that would have other men reduced to a quivering puddle of fear on the floor. "Why are you here?"
"I miss this couch." Toby smiles as he strokes it. "Sooo soft. Soo comfortable."
"Great to sleep on." Gibbs responds with another glare.
"Right." Tobias nods knowing there is no way he will ever confess the truth to his friend. Sure the couch had been great to sleep on the first few nights but in reality it was too soft. He had found it gave him kinks in his spine. Luckily with Gibbs spending a lot of nights falling asleep in the basement or simply retiring quite late all he'd had to do was sneak upstairs into one of the guest rooms. In fact one night he suspects he may even have drifted off in Gibbs' own bedroom; the one with the new, rigid mattress. Must try to retrieve my Sensitive Men's Survival Guide before I leave he thinks. It was a gift from Emily and he was reading it because of that even though he didn't really understand a word.
"Tobias?" Gibbs's tone is uncharacteristically gentle.
"Sorry. I'm a little more tired than I thought. My mind is wandering."
"How was your first week back?" Gibbs walks into the kitchen, looks around without commenting then takes two beers from the fridge. He walks back in and hands a beer to Fornell.
"Good, good. Em's gone camping this weekend with Jack and the house is too qu..."
"Not your therapist nor your entertainment Fornell. Stay if you want but I am working in the basement." He starts to walk away.
"Wait." Gibbs turns back. "I made a thank you dinner for you."
"Not using the cupon from the Punjabi Express I hope." Gibbs glares with a hint of a smile.
"Italian. Several dishes using my Nonna's recipes. Just a little something I whipped up after work." He grins hoping Gibbs will never guess the effort that has gone into preparing this meal but suspecting that he might. "You've been really supportive these past few months and I don't know what I would have done without..."
With the level of emotion in the room raised to a point that both men are thinking they'd rather face an armed bad guy than continue Gibbs decides it's time get back to the way things normally are.
"We gonna hug now?" He queries sarcastically.
"God no." Fornell laughs. "It'll be ready in about forty five minutes."
"I'll go shower and Tobias.."
"Yeah?"
"You might want to wipe the flour off your nose." Smiling Gibbs heads upstairs and Fornell to the kitchen both men happily anticiapting another meal together at Camp Gibbs.