AN: I know, I'm sorry! I swear, I have been working on this thing that whole time, but this damned chapter was a bitch to get out... It really really didn't want to leave my head. But hey, you get a little treat at the end!
And FYI, in my experience, the kitchen is a very sensual place for Italians, because...you know...food.
Chapter 10
They made it back to Gibbs' place safely, and in record time, Evan felt the need to point out proudly.
Gibbs had already called Ducky over and they were tag-teamed the moment they stepped through the door. Ducky took Evan off to the side, with a look that promised Tony he was next, and Gibbs rounded on him. Gibbs' eyes had all but turned to ice and were demanding a damned good situational report. Tony knew how Gibbs got when a member of his team was targeted, but that didn't even hold a candle to what Tony saw on his boss's face now. Whoever had shot at Leroy Jethro Gibbs' nephew probably wouldn't survive the week.
"Single shooter, but he kept the shadows, so no ID. Sorry, Boss." Tony winced at the look Gibbs aimed his way. "And...uh," Tony hesitated. Always a mistake with Gibbs.
"Spit it out, DiNozzo," Gibbs growled.
"Well, I was thinking about it on the drive over, mostly to keep my life from flashing before my eyes— Oh, and I'm like 99.9 percent certain that nobody followed us. Evan's evasive driving skills are on par with Ziva's, really, and whoever shot at us must have wanted to, you know, live. You really taught him well, Boss. I felt like I was practically in a car with Vin Diesel. The Fast and The Furious, xXx, A Man Apart—an action film can never go wrong with Diesel." Tony chuckled nervously and ignored Evan glaring at him from the couch.
Gibbs took two steps towards him and stared.
Tony lowered his voice to keep the other two men from hearing. "I think Evan was the target." A tick developed in Gibbs' jaw, but he kept silent. Tony took that as his cue to explain. "We took cover behind a Chevy while the guy was shooting. I gave Evan the keys to the car so he could run ahead while I covered him. After he was far enough away, I followed."
"And?"
"The shooter fired at him practically the second Evan started running. When I went to follow, though..." Tony shrugged, grim faced. "No more bullets, Boss."
Gibbs took a few deep, and hopefully calming, breaths, but didn't dispute Tony's theory.
"Not a bump or a bruise, Jethro," Ducky exclaimed brightly.
Evan raised a challenging eyebrow at Gibbs.
Gibbs seemed to just barely be holding back a sigh. "Yeah, I know DiNozzo said you were fine, but it wouldn't be the first time you kept quiet about an injury."
The young man huffed, but didn't comment. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at Gibbs questioningly.
Gibbs nodded at him. "It looks like your were probably the target."
Tony looked at his boss in surprise.
Evan didn't seem too concerned, though. He simply rolled his eyes upward in exasperation, before signing, Figured.
"You figured?" Tony asked incredulously.
"This would be a good time to take an assignment, Evan," Gibbs said, overriding Tony's question.
Evan stared at his uncle as if he'd suggested he join the FBI. I am not leaving, he signed forcefully.
"Tony."
He turned his attention from the stare down the other two men were engaged in, to see Ducky nodding his head towards the kitchen. Reluctantly, he followed the doctor. Once inside, Ducky motioned for him to take a seat, while pulling out his stethoscope and telling Tony to unbutton his shirt.
"Ducky, come on. I told you that we were both fine," he protested, but obliged the doctor's order.
"Yes, I remember. But with your history, it is never remiss to take precautions. Now be quiet."
Cowed, Tony kept silent and instead listened for the argument going on in the next room.
"Yeah, you've fought before, but this has nothing to do with that," Gibbs' slightly raised voice came from the living room.
There was silence, where Evan was obviously speaking, before Gibbs snorted derisively. "Trust me, guns are a lot faster than what they used."
More silence, then Gibbs' indignant, "I know your trained, I'm the one who damn well helped train you. This is different."
Tony waited, but there were no more noises coming. He leaned back in his chair, ignoring Ducky's annoyed muttering, trying to see through the doorway and catch a glimpse of the other two men. Given the tempers both men possessed, it was entirely possible one was strangling the other.
"They're still fighting," Ducky assured him. "Just silently."
Tony raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Arguing with Evan always gives Jethro a headache and yelling certainly doesn't help it," Ducky explained, before finally declaring him healthy.
Tony nodded in understanding as he buttoned his shirt. "So, who do you think will win?"
"Evan," Ducky said without a second of hesitation. He looked at Tony and chuckled. "You should probably get used to Evan winning arguments, as well."
Before Tony could comment, a smug Evan and an annoyed Gibbs came into the kitchen. "DiNozzo!" Tony jumped up from his seat and Gibbs jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Evan. "You stick to his side like your glued to him, got it?"
"Got it, Boss," Tony said, then waggled his eyebrows at Evan suggestively when Gibbs turned away from him.
The answering flush was well worth the risk.
"This is your spare," Gibbs said, indicating the gun that had already been stuck in a plastic bag for Abby. It wasn't really a question, but Tony nodded anyway. Gibbs went to the rather out of place cookie jar on the kitchen counter and reached inside, withdrawing a gun and handing it to Tony. "Take this until you get to your apartment. Once you have your piece, give mine to Evan."
"Uh," Tony glanced at Evan uncertainly.
I can shoot, he assured Tony.
Gibbs' face didn't allow much room for discussion, so Tony just nodded.
Ducky packed up his medical kit and bid them all farewell, while Gibbs called Ziva and McGee, who had been ordered to the Navy Yard to get the crime scene equipment. Gibbs relayed the directions to the parking garage that Tony gave, before heading off himself. Tony sat in the kitchen, waiting while Evan went upstairs to pack an overnight bag and contact his boss, wondering how the hell their romantic dinner had turned into this.
Soon enough, he was carefully leading Evan outside and to the car, deftly plucking his keys from Evan's hand.
"You are never getting behind the wheel of my car again."
The Creeper grabbed the last adult, yanking him upwards forcefully and taking him who the hell knew where, leaving the bus full of terrified teenagers. Thumping was heard as the monstrous beast moved about on the school bus's metal roof and the kids cowered in fear. They attempted to protect themselves with the bus's flimsy windows, locking them closed, before crouching to the floor in a failed attempt to hide from the Creeper's searching eyes. The girls shrieked when the demon was spotted, hanging upside-down outside the bus's emergency exit door, staring hungrily at them.
Tony felt Evan tapping his arm and looked over at him.
Hat stays on, Evan signed looking confused. How, he questioned.
Tony furrowed his brow, his eyes flicking back and forth between the movie playing on his television and Evan. "How does his hat stay on?"
Evan nodded seriously.
Tony resisted the urge to groan. "Evan, this is Jeepers Creepers 2, what is sure to be an American horror classic in another decade or two and you're asking about his—" He stopped and watched as the Creeper tilted his head backwards to lick the window, leaving a trail of slime, still upside-down and hat still firmly in place. "Huh. I've never thought about that. How does it stay on? Especially with all that flying around he does."
Evan waved at the television in a 'You see?' fashion and continued to look at him curiously.
Tony shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's one of his demonic powers?" He adopted a deep, faux menacing voice. "Behold my ominous wide brim hat. It never leaves my head."
He reveled in the hissing laugh he got out of the silent young man.
McGee and Ziva looked haggard from working the crime scene all night and sleeping at the office. It almost made Tony feel bad about being able to spend a quiet night watching movies with Evan, while they tried to figure out who had tried to kill them. Almost.
The day was alternately spent working on the miniscule leads they had and trying to keep an ever curious Evan away from their very expensive electronic equipment. Well, that and keeping their boss from blowing a gasket from their lack of progress, a task which ultimately fell upon the only person he was least likely to kill at this point.
Not their fault, Evan signed calmly. I have no enemies.
Gibbs looked at his nephew incredulously. "The hell you don't."
Evan rolled his eyes. Not here, he clarified.
"I need more coffee," GIbbs growled, stalking off to the elevators.
Evan heaved an exasperated sigh, but followed his uncle.
Once they heard the comforting ding of the elevator, Tony, McGee, and Ziva collectively released a breath of relief.
"Will someone please tell me how we're supposed to look for the enemies of a man we know nothing about?" McGee hissed, as if Gibbs was going to come around the corner any second.
The other two both turned and looked at him expectantly.
"What?"
"You are his boyfriend, are you not?" Ziva raised an eyebrow at him.
Tony did his best to ignore the fluttering in his belly at the B word. "Yeah, but we try to avoid talking shop. I don't mention cases and he doesn't mention his assignments."
"Well, his job didn't have to be the reason someone wanted to kill him, right? What about any problems he's had locally?" McGee asked desperately.
"McGee, he comes here for vacation. He doesn't really do anything but hang out with Gibbs and Ducky for a couple of weeks."
"That's his idea of a vacation?"
Tony shrugged. "Apparently he gets enough excitement without having to go look for it." He stared at the case file on his computer labeled with Evan's name. "I'm starting to see what Ducky meant."
"Is this not supposed to be a case for local law enforcement?" Ziva asked with a sigh. "Evan is an American citizen, yes?"
"Gibbs convinced the director to fight for jurisdiction because I was present and there's no actual proof that I wasn't the target," Tony said.
Ziva hummed thoughtfully. "Are we certain this was not an attack on you? Perhaps they were simply a bad shot?"
Tony rubbed the back of his neck in a unsuccessful attempt to relieve some of his tension. Honestly, he was more comfortable with the thought of being a target himself, rather than Evan. "Yeah, maybe. Hey Probie, you've still got my old suspect list, right?"
McGee moaned and his head hit his desk with a painful sounding thump.
Tony came up behind Evan and leaned over his shoulder to take an appreciative sniff of the orecchiette carbonara. He was glad he'd let Evan convince him to stop for groceries.
"Mmm. Where did you learn to cook?"
Evan switched hands to stir with his left and sign with his right. All over.
He reached around the other man to snatch a hot mushroom straight from the pan and pop it in his mouth. His yelp of pain quickly turned into a moan as the taste seeped into his slightly scorched tongue. Evan slapped his hand away when he went in for seconds. "Gibbs gets to eat like this all the time? Boss man's been holding out," Tony complained.
Evan huffed a laugh. Like cooking. Want to thank you, he signed after covering the dish and setting the stove to low.
"Thank me?"
Evan leaned against the counter and shrugged. You let me stay while uncle works. You protect me.
Tony laughed. "From what I've seen, you can protect yourself, Evan. I should be thanking you. You had me behind that car before I even knew there was a shooter."
He took a step towards Evan, coming in close, and pushing him against the counter. Tony leaned in and pressed his lips to Evan's closed mouth. He licked at the seam of Evan's lips, humming in a pleased manner when they parted for him, and surged on with his tongue, eagerly exploring the younger man's mouth.
One of Evan's hands moved up to cup his jaw, tracing the bone upwards to tease the sensitive skin behind his ear, while the other stroked his side. Tony wrapped his arms around Evan's waist, his hands resting at the small dip of his back. His fingers fluttered at the hem of Evan's shirt, before pushing under and tentatively stroking the soft skin. All the while, he carefully moved his tongue against Evan's, tracing each tooth and the roof of his mouth and any other place he could find.
Tony pulled back just a bit after a minute, taking a few deep breaths to replenish his air, before whispering, "Thank you."
Evan smiled against his lips.
And Tony's phone chose that moment to ring.
He stepped back with an annoyed groan and pulled out his cell phone, glancing at the display, before answering. "McGee," he hissed into the phone.
There was silence, before McGee's very uncertain voice came through. "Tony? Uh, we kind of need you guys to come back."
"This better be damned good McDead, or I swear I will shove every one of your collectable light sabers right up your—"
"Did we interrupt something important, DiNozzo?"
He was going to give McGee hell for this. "Uh, no. No, nothing important, Boss." Tony caught the narrow eyed stare he was getting from Evan and winced. "I mean, yes, it was important. But, nothing is more important than Evan's safety..." He finished hesitantly.
"Good boy," Gibbs said the same time Evan reached up and patted him on the head.
He knew Abby claimed Gibbs was psychic, but this was pushing it.