Sober Truths
Second in the Confessions Series
An NCIS fanfic
By NancyHFord
Author's Note: AU; Romance; Tibbs pre-slashy goodness. Part of the Confessions Series; One-shot follows: "Drunken Confessions". Written without the benefit of a beta reader so all mistakes are mine and mine alone. Please forgive. I don't own NCIS or any of the characters. All hail DPB! Reviews are most welcome but please, no flaming.
Post-Judgment Day 1 & 2
Tony awoke to the smell of coffee. Disoriented, he closed his eyes again to hopefully stop the room from spinning. When he regained his senses, he glanced around the room to attempt to discover whose bedroom he was in. He remembered leaving the bar, drunk, of course, but wasn't sure where or how he got to where he was. He saw the books on the nightstand. They were all Clancy, Ludlum, Brown and one of his favorites, Steve Berry. At least this girl's got taste, he thought. He spotted the eyeglasses, too. Uh, okay…these look like the bosses' glasses, he continued. Where the hell am I? Tony pushed the covers off of him and threw his legs over the edge. "Ohhh, please stop spinning", he said, holding his head in his hands. He reached for his jeans on the floor and slid into them, vaguely remembering how they got there. His shirt and jacket were no where to be found, though. Stumbling, he made it to the bedroom door and opened it. The coffee was a Columbian brew or at least that's what his nose told him. He followed the smell to the top of the stairs. Swallowing hard, he took the first step.
"'Mornin', Tony," Gibbs said, putting the pancakes on the individual plates.
"Boss," he said starting down the stairs, "Good morning."
"Coffee's ready if you want some," Gibbs said casually.
"Thanks boss," Tony said sheepishly.
"Pancakes'll be ready in a minute."
"Sounds good, boss. Thanks."
"Hangover, boss. Got anything?"
Gibbs pointed to the drink he'd had in the blender. "Give it a minute."
Tony nodded.
"Sleep okay?" Gibbs continued, pressing the 'blend' button on the blender.
"Yeah, boss. You?"
"Yeah, DiNozzo. Slept okay," he said softly.
"I had way too much to drink," he started, expecting a lecture.
"It happens," he answered, pouring the drink into a glass for Tony. "Drink," he said, handing the glass to Tony.
"Thanks, boss."
"Tony, what'd I say about calling me 'boss' when you're not on duty?"
"To not call you 'boss", boss?"
Gibbs nodded.
"Sorry boss. Old habits die hard."
"Yeah," he answered, motioning for Tony to drink the concoction he made for him. "Down the hatch, Tony."
Tony downed the green stuff, made the obligatory funny face and handed the glass back to Gibbs.
"Good boy," Gibbs smirked, pointing at the plate of pancakes he'd made, "breakfast."
"Yes, boss," he said, smirking back.
The two men sat in relative silence while they ate their breakfast. Neither saying what the other was thinking.
Gibbs spoke first, "So, Tony. Where did you go last night?"
"Sat in a bar for hours. Ought not to do that, boss. Not a good idea to drink alone."
"What were you doing?"
"Drinking. Thinking."
"Figure anything out?"
He nodded, "yeah, a couple of things."
"Anything you wanna share?"
Tony hesitated but then started, "That when I finally have someone in my life that I care about, I should tell them."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"So you find anybody like that?" he asked pushing the plate away.
"Yeah," he said coming around the counter. "I have," he admitted.
"You tell 'em how you feel?"
"I have," he said, reliving the night before for the umpteenth time since he woke up.
"What'd they say?"
"That we'd talk about it when I was sober," he admitted.
"And you're sober now?"
"Yeah, I am," he said, running his hand across Gibbs' face. "And boss, the sober truth," he said in a whisper. "I am so in love with you."
Gibbs nodded, "I know, Tony," he answered, smiling. "I know."
*~*~*~*
FIN