A/N: Wow, it has been quite a while since I updated this, but as I said, writing in the NCIS fandom has become hard. But I thought I'd try to give you all at least a small Christmas present *smiles*

I really hope you like the new chapter and are still interested in the story *sheepish smile*

Comments are, of course, most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

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Thank you to all of you, who left me kind words for the next chapter *hugs you all* That really means a lot to me *smiles* And of course: Merry Christmas!

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Warnings: Just to clear it up for this story: I guess this can be considered AU, because in this world, men can get pregnant and it's common knowledge, even though pregnant men aren't that many, but the possibility is there...

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Disclaimer: None of the NCIS characters belong to me. I just borrowed them for a little while… this is not for money but for entertainment only…

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Chapter 10

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"Wow, nice house."

Tony stared at the apartment complex he and Fornell had just pulled up to. It was the first official day of Tony's undercover mission and his boyfriend for the next weeks had picked him up from the airport since DiNozzo was supposed to come back from overseas.

Fornell only chuckled at Tony's words. He knew that they were ably to talk honestly in the car, because it had been checked for bugs and none had been found.

"Well, they needed to think that I had influence and the money to back it up, so that they were lead to believe that I was an asset to their team."

Tony nodded, because he had of course read the files and learned them by heart. But still, he hadn't really expected that beautiful house and maybe this assignment would have some advantages too.

"I can see that you have a lot of money, honey," he said, hesitating a little before saying the word "honey", but he knew that he needed to get used to calling Fornell pet names, because that was expected of him.

Fornell had also told him that the whole house, except bathroom and bedroom, was bugged, so he needed to be careful what he said and did.

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Tobias chuckled again and without warning he leaned over and kissed him, full on the mouth. For a full second Tony wanted to pull away and slap the other man, but then Tobias already broke the kiss and instead whispered into his ear: "The van on the other side of the road."

Tony immediately realized what that meant. They were being watched and needed to be convincing. So DiNozzo tried to completely assume the undercover persona. He lightly put a hand on the back of Tobias's head and pulled him a little closer, kissing him again.

"Let's go inside," he whispered, because his back hurt and he was hungry. Tobias had promised him dinner and the NCIS agent knew that Tobias was a good, no scratch that, a marvelous cook.

"Of course, baby. You must be tired and hungry after the long flight," Tobias joked and Tony's lips twisted into a small smile. The "long flight" had been Gibbs driving him from his house to the airport, taking some detours to make sure that they wouldn't be seen by anybody who should better not see them. And then he and Jethro had spent 30 minutes making out to convince each other that things would be okay and that this undercover operation wouldn't change anything between them.

"Yeah, the flight was quite eventful and I'm really hungry," Tony answered, glad that things between him and Fornell didn't feel too awkward right now.

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The two men finally exited the car and Tony wasn't even that surprised and so didn't flinch, when Tobias took his hand. What did surprise him, however, was that it didn't feel half as awkward as it should have felt and as DiNozzo had feared. After a short elevator ride, Fornell unlocked the door and the two entered the apartment. Tony took a long look around. It was nice and cozy and Tony suddenly remembered that he had been here before, during that night he had spent with Tobias. Of course he hadn't paid too much attention to his surroundings back then. And it actually made sense, because Fornell had already been undercover back then.

Suddenly Tony realized with horror, that, if there were cameras and bugs in the house that there was a good possibility that they had a video of him and Tobias having sex, or at least the part that had happened before they had made it to the bedroom. He turned beet red and looked at Tobias, before making a decision. He grabbed the other man's arm and pulled him into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

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"Don't tell me that those guys you're investigating have seen me half naked making out with you on that couch," he accused, because that suddenly made even more sense why Fornell needed him for the undercover mission than that they had just found a picture of Tony between his pretend-lover's things, even though Tony was still a little confused why Fornell had a picture of him in the first place.

Fornell even had the the decency to look a little guilty, scratching the back of his head for a moment.

"Unfortunately they did," he confirmed, knowing that he needed to be truthful, if he wanted DiNozzo's full cooperation.

"I found out about the bugs and the cameras this way," he added, still remembering that he had met the boss shortly after and the first question had been why he hadn't brought his gorgeous lover. And that was when Fornell had come up with that bullshit lie. He had been under pressure.

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Tony ran a hand through his hair and plopped down on the bed, looking up at Tobias, a hint of anger on his face.

"That's why you couldn't get anyone else but me, right?" he questioned, just to make sure that he had things straight. Fornell nodded and sat down beside Tony, so that the other man didn't have to look up again.

"For what it's worth, I'm really sorry that I dragged you into this," he said honestly and Tony raised an eyebrow at him.

"So this wasn't an elaborate ploy to steal me away from Jethro?" he questioned, only half joking. Tobias shrugged. He knew that Tony probably wouldn't really like his next words, but again, he needed to be honest, because the two of them needed to have each others backs during this operation. So DiNozzo deserved the truth.

"That might have been a factor too, but I would have preferred it if it hadn't happened under those circumstances," he admitted.

Tony only gaped at him. He really hadn't expected those words from Fornell and he sure as hell didn't have a comeback for this, or a joke to lighten up the suddenly serious mood a little. So he just sat there, one hand instinctively going to his stomach. Hopefully Tobias wouldn't notice the unconscious motion.

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"Thanks for the honesty," he finally said, wondering if he was in over his head with this mission, well, maybe even more than he had thought before. Fornell shrugged again.

"Since we're in this together, we need to be honest. But I'd appreciate if that talk didn't reach Gibbs. Because I need to be alive until this mission is finished," the FBI agent joked and Tony chuckled a little.

"Okay, I'll keep quiet about it, but after this whole thing, I can't make any guarantees," he gave back and this time Fornell snorted. He was about to reply when Tony continued: "But just for your information, not that I don't feel flattered by your interest, but I love Jethro and I have no intention of leaving him."

Tobias sighed and scratched the back of his head again.

"Thanks for the honesty," he echoed the other man's earlier words and then silence reigned between them for a moment, both men not sure where to go from here.

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A knock on the door stopped them both from having to worry about that. Tony turned to Fornell.

"Are you expecting someone?" he questioned and Tobias shook his head, reaching for the first drawer of the nightstand beside the bed, pulling out a small gun.

"No, I don't expect anyone," he murmured and Tony got up from the bed, watching as Fornell hid the gun under his shirt and then he opened the bedroom door.

"You stay here, Tony," he told the other man and DiNozzo raised an eyebrow.

"I can take care of myself," he snapped, crossing his arms in front of his chest and Fornell's face softened a little.

"YOU can, but Tony DiNardo can't do it as good as you can," he whispered, making sure that his face was away from the hidden camera in the living room and Tony sighed. He really needed to get used to this again.

"Okay," he pouted a little, but he remained sitting on the bed and watched Fornell walk towards the door of the apartment and punching the button of the video intercom the apartment was outfitted with. Even from his position DiNozzo could see that Tobias' shoulders tensed. And so the NCIS agent immediately knew that whoever was out the door meant trouble for them, so he took a deep breath and slipped into his undercover persona Anthony DiNardo in case it was needed.

He kicked the door to the bedroom partially closed so that he could see what was going on in the living room, but wouldn't be seen immediately.

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Tobias noticed that with satisfaction and then turned his full attention to the man who stood in front of his apartment and he just was glad that Maximilian Cultoni, the crime lord he was investigating, hadn't just used the key, Tobias knew he had. The man had come with his two personal bodyguards, so whatever he had to talk to Tobias about, was serious. And the timing was more than a little suspicious. Whatever the case may be, Tobias was prepared for it and so was the FBI team that was watching them, aided by Gibbs's team.

So for now Tobias wasn't worried, when he unlocked and opened the apartment door, plastering a fake smile on his face.

"Maximilian, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he questioned, stepping aside to let the three men into his apartment. Maximilian Cultoni, a man in his late forties, dark black hair, tall and well-built, gave a winning, but nonetheless fake smile and stepped past Fornell and sat down on the couch as if he owned the place. Fornell rolled his eyes, before he closed the door and turned to look at his, or better Tobias Francis's "employer", his face neutral.

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Cultoni kept his eyes on Fornell, his smile still in place and Fornell didn't like that one bit.

"I just was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by and see how you are," the man said, his voice deep, but with a hard edge to it. Tobias sat down on the armchair opposite to the couch, shooting a short glance towards the bedroom door. He knew that it was a small test and that it wasn't a coincidence that Maximilian decided to visit them so soon after Tony had set foot into the apartment. So Tobias forced dreamy smile on his face.

"I'm very good actually," he said, adding a little happy undertone to it. Maximilian leaned back and crossed his arms in front of his chest again.

"And why would that be, my friend?"

Yes, this was definitely a test, even though not a very good or hard one. Tobias was about to answer him, when the door to the bedroom opened and DiNozzo appeared and Fornell was impressed by the change in the NCIS agent.

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Tony had changed from his jeans into a comfortable pair of sweatpants, riding low on his hips, shirt a little open, hair disheveled, rubbing his eyes a little. And he looked just like he had tried to sleep but had woken up for some reason. And he looked damn sexy doing it, without even trying to hard. And he obviously wasn't the only one who thought so. Cultoni's eyes were glued to DiNozzo and he licked his lips a little.

Tony stopped and smiled at Tobias, pretending that he didn't see Cultoni and his two bodyguards.

"I thought you were coming to take a little nap with me, love," he said and even though the sentence was totally innocent, the way Tony looked and said those words, it could also mean something entirely different.

He continued walking towards Fornell, who smiled at him.

"Sorry, love, but my new boss dropped by," he said and Tony turned his head, looking at Cultoni as if he had just seen him for the first time.

"Oh, I see," he said and gave Maximilian a blinding smile, while he sat down on the arm of the chair Tobias sat in and Fornell almost automatically put an arm around the other man, marveling at how good DiNozzo really was at undercover work.

"It's nice to meet you," Tony then greeted, before looking self-conscious all of sudden, even blushing a little.

"If I'd known you'd come over, then I would have dressed appropriately. I'll go and change quickly," he told them, as if he didn't want to embarrass his lover in front of his new boss. But Cultoni quickly shook his head.

"Oh, don't feel the need to change. I was the one who came by unannounced. By the way, I'm Max," he said and stood up, walked over to DiNozzo and extended his hand. Tony hesitated for a second, but then he shook the other man's hand.

"Tony," he introduced himself.

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/Figures, I've needed three month to get on first name basis with Cultoni and DiNozzo flashes him one smile and gets to call him "Max"/ Fornell thought, a little amused, but also a little relieved. If Tony could gain the other man's trust this easily, then his life had really gotten a lot easier.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tony. Tobias has told me a lot about you," Cultoni meanwhile said and Tony raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on it. And Fornell saw that Maximilian was still holding Tony's hand and was practically undressing him with his eyes and Tobias really didn't like that. So he coughed a little.

"I'm sure your visit here is not only of a private nature, is it, Maximilian?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow in question. Maximilian finally let go of Tony's hand and sat back down.

"Unfortunately not, Tobias. A new case has come out of nowhere and I need you to handle it," Cultoni told him and Fornell wasn't sure that he liked the sound of that. He had no real idea how to respond to that, but then he took a deep breath and answered: "Actually, I have theater tickets tonight, Tony's favorite play and dinner reservations and I was hoping we could go and celebrate his return. Can I take care of the new case tomorrow?"

It was only half a lie. They really had tickets and dinner reservations, because that was when they would meet up with Gibbs and his FBI handlers for the first updates and of course Gibbs wanted to check on DiNozzo as often as possible.

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Cultoni scratched his chin and he actually looked regretful.

"I'm afraid not, Tobias. It needs to be dealt with immediately," he said and Tobias heard the dangerous undertone in the other man's voice, telling him that he'd better obey or their cooperation would end.

"It's okay, love. We can go to dinner tomorrow. Your job is important," Tony interjected, because he too had heard the threat in Cultoni's voice. Fornell sighed and looked at DiNozzo.

"Of course we can do it another day, Tony."

Then he turned to Cultoni again.

What do I need to do, Maximilian?" he asked and Cultoni smiled, but he barely looked at him, his eyes focused on Tony.

"And it would be a shame to let your reservations go to waste, Tobias. I'm sure we can think of something," he said, still not looking at Fornell and that gave the FBI agent an uneasy feeling.

But what Cultoni added next, made Fornell's blood run cold and he feared that he had made a grave mistake by dragging Tony into that undercover mission.

"I'd be delighted to keep Tony company tonight."

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to be continued...