Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are the property of their respective copyright holders. No infringement intended. The original characters and places mentioned are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to those living, dead, or undead is completely coincidental.
Chapter's notes:
I know there is long since my last update, and I'm sorry about that but RL has been hard lately. I finaly managed to finish another chapter. Please forgive me any mistakes, I reviewed several times but at somepoint I think we cannot see the erros anymore.
Thanks you for keeping following andf making this story your favorite.
NCISNCISNCISNCIS
Chapter 9
Tony was still holding the phone in the air, thinking in something cool to say, when he saw Tim get up and run toward Abb's lab, his friend speech didn't change from last night but his comment about get a girlfriend was spinning around in Tony's mind, Tim knew Tony knew Tim had a girlfriend already, so he knew Tony's comment about him get a girlfriend was a bushtit, which means it was just Tony being Tony, but he played along, and what exactly that meant? Did he do it just to turn it around to him or had Tim broken up with his girlfriend? He didn't use to talk about her and Tony from the top of his selfishness had never asked, but once they were still having movie nights he assumed… Yeah, yeah… never assume, but… well…
"Tony, are you going to talk to someone there or are you… " Ziva trailed off as she waved her hands in the air, Tony cocked his head aside narrowed his eyes at her and pressed the button to continue talking to AFIP woman as his boss requested.
By the time Gibbs was back Tony knew that Ducky didn't rob a cadaver, he actually was giving an autopsy class when he realize the body in his table was not an accidental death.
"Where is McGee?" Gibbs asked hours later after comeback from wherever he was, but before Tony opened his mouth to say something Probie walked in. "Right here boss."
"Higland pier, let's go."
During the whole trip Tony tried to fish something from Tim, anything that could give him some directions about McGee's girlfriend, but with Ziva in the truck and Probie doing… Tony, actually, didn't figure out what exactly he was doing, but something was wrong, something Tony couldn't put his fingers on. But he would find out, or his name wasn't Anthony DiNozzo, and sure enough he decided for the annoying approach… he talked stupid stuff, continued coming up with dog's breed and making joke over McGee's tech stuff, and when he lightly bumped his index finders at Tim's ears equipment and still no response from him, yup, no eyes rolled, no mimic Gibbs stare, no reprimand about the sensibility of the equipment nor the long explanation of what this was about… nothing… Tony knew he was deliberately ignoring him.
Okay, Probie was ignoring him, but why? Did Tony say something wrong? Alright, anything, despite, all the annoying things and jokes he said, what was his usually himself. So, that couldn't be what was wrong… Was he thinking this behavior would make Tony followed his advising and move on? At this point, Tony was thinking and talking to Gibbs, all at once what made him didn't realize he wasn't making any sense until…
"You work for the Navy, DiNozzo." Gibbs showed him.
All right, maybe Probie was right, surely he was right, because his obsession on him, was starting to make him be not coherent, for most of people he wasn't coherent at all, but he usually had some purpose of all his apparent incoherent words which was not the case now. So, he had to bring the old Tony back, and the old Tony would flirt with all the women in the bar, except he did not. It was not that he hadn't tried, he did but the total lack of joy and his gawky manners combined with no response from the beautiful blond waitress couldn't be a better tip of how bad it was.
Tony wasn't totally mad at his realization, not at all. Sure thing, he had lost his coolness, although there was almost a year without doing that, and he really didn't miss his womanizer life. He was fine with the quiet nights with McGee at either his or McGee's place and the peaceful and comfort of these days, without play games neither worry about some crazy woman chasing him nor have to be updated about the all new places in DC area in order to be cool, but then he missed the brunette who was completely out of the place in that bar plus looked like an idiot in front of Gibbs and… Did he mention that McGee was ignoring him? All of that completely destroyed the good mood from that morning. And, later on, when Tim was making fun of him asking of what movie he was talking about, just after he barely be back on track in the case, was enough and he couldn't help the sarcastic words.
"I don't know. Flashdance?"
Sure enough McGee simply ignored his comment and well… He couldn't continue like this, be ignored by McGee, MCGEE, his Probie… The man was anything but nice and he had never… ever… ignored him before. Okay, if Probie was trying to prove something to him? He had succeeded, Tony didn't know which exactly was his point but he got it, and he would show McGee, he would show him how much he didn't need his sympathy nor his pity, and he decides that it was Agent Kriger, and what a great opportunity Ziva gave to him.
"Hey, is not your fault." He touched her softly and smiled sympathetic even if he wasn't really in the flirtation mood, she smiled back. He hadn't lost his touch at all, Tony thought and looked at McGee with the corner of his eyes, Probie was certainly rolling his eyes and suppressing a smiled, the 'I was right' one, except he wasn't and that bother Tony more than all the crap on his excuse of life. Because no matter how terrible things in his life was going on, because hey, between his father, his lovers and his frat friends he couldn't count how many deception he had had… Okay, his frat friends had disappointed him only once, it was when he discovered that they were there to have fun nothing else, after as good learner as he was he played along and no more disappointment there.
But McGee was different, he was the safe road. No matter how hard the older man pushed him, how much stupid was his jokes or how much babbling he was being, his Probie was always there. Arguing, discussing and give him a hard time with his scientific point, which was most of the time correct what didn't really matter, because Tony would have a rhetorical for each and any of those scientific point and that would going on and on until Gibbs stop them by either agreeing with Tim or simply headslaping them both.
And now… nothing! Tim didn't even realize he was flirting, he didn't paid attention on him, and that went on the whole day, no matter what Tony did or say, Tim never replied and by the end of the day Tony was quite sure that something was very wrong with the young man. Maybe he had really broken up with his girlfriend, and that was what was upsetting him? He wasn't the talkative type, actually Tim rarely share his personal life. If Tony was honest with himself he knew just little about McGee's life, and what he knew it was because of the job, once His father was an Admiral and his sister was once accused of murder a sailor, besides that, not much.
Tony always assumed Tim was the shy Geek guy who hide himself behind the geek costumes with a boring family, whom used studies as way to don't be dragged down but after look closely, he discover a very nice and interesting man. Tim actually was anything but shy, he was fun, good listener, a little naïve, okay very naïve, but that was because his had a good heart, or maybe because he didn't see the black side of the force yet… anyway, the older man couldn't point anything Tim couldn't talk about. Well, movies wasn't his thing, but even there he could talk for an entire hour without problem, Tony actually doubt he was having problem to talk with his girlfriend about that at all, and even if he didn't already know McGee's goal back then when he asked for help, by now Tony would know. Which lead him back to his previous point has Probie with a heartbreak because he broke up with his girlfriend?
By the end of the day his advance with agent Kriger has remain at the same level it had started, which was zero, but it earned him a speech from Ziva and no change of McGee, actually he and McGee was like water and oil today. Therefore he left the building that night thinking how he could change that.
End notes:
For the ones whom don't follows CBS, NCIS page or the news at all the comment below could be a spoiler.
Oh God I'm soooo sad with the news that Michael Weatherly will leave the series :,( :,( I love both Tim and Tony and honestly I can't imagine how it will be without Tony. Thanks God Tim will continue, but for the writers who likes Tim and Tony paring I have a request, a story about them something that will justify Tony's departure but that will mean he will continue part os Tim's life. It can be anything from romance to drama I only wish a happy ending.
