A bit of a short chapter here, transitioning to the Stillwater weekend... haven't had much time to write, but wanted to post to stay in the weekly groove!
12: To Stillwater
Car Ride
Tony shifted a bit in the passenger seat, tapping his fingers rhythmically on his leg and glancing repeatedly at Jethro. It had been a long and relatively slow day, and Tony had gotten progressively more and more keyed up about this trip.
"Funny thing, a klepto baggy bunny, huh, Jethro?"
Jethro grunted, never taking his eyes off the road. Tony sighed quietly, and decided to be persistent.
"I mean, we could've been looking for some sort of big conspiracy, or another mole, but it just turned out to be someone who liked shiny things and had itchy fingers."
Jethro glanced at Tony. "Yeah."
Tony rolled his eyes. "You know, if you weren't comfortable with the idea of letting Jack know about your latest fling, we could have found somewhere else to go."
Jethro's head whipped around, and he stared at Tony. "What are you talking about?"
"C'mon, Jeth. It's pretty obvious you're getting all worked up about telling him."
Jethro shook his head. "Tony, you can be pretty clueless for such a talented senior field agent." Tony started to speak, but Jethro raised his hand, reached over, and gave him a light smack on the head. "One," he said, shooting a mild glare Tony's way, "this is not a fling. Call it that again, and I'll put you on cold cases for a month."
Tony grinned. "Nice backhanded compliment, Jeth! And you can't put me on cold cases, I'm your equal now, remember?"
Jethro huffed a small laugh. "Yeah, I remember. Gonna forget again, too."
Tony reached over and punched Jethro lightly on the upper arm. "I know… I'm pretty sure I will too. And I know it's not just a fling... I just wanted to get you talking."
Jethro smiled and shook his head. Tony narrowed his eyes. "What's two?"
"What?"
"You said 'one, this is not a fling.' Saying 'one' strongly implies there's a two."
Jethro grunted again. "Two, I'm perfectly comfortable telling Jack about us."
"Then why are you so quiet?"
Jethro shrugged, not really wanting to get into Vance's comments about needing to let go and allow Tony to build his confidence on the job.
Tony was quiet for a few miles, then spoke up again. "So, how do you want to do this? Do we need a plan? I think we need a plan."
Jethro glanced at him. "Nah, no plan."
Tony nodded. "So you want to ease into it. Play the part of just coworkers and friends, lull him into a false sense of security, then lower the boom."
Jethro laughed softly. "Already told him I'm bringing someone special, Tony. Didn't say who, just asked him to keep an open mind."
Tony stopped tapping his fingers and gaped at Jethro, who had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at his horrified expression. "So as soon as he sees us together, he'll know! What if he can't handle it, and has a heart attack or something?"
Jethro snorted. "That man is as healthy as a horse. He'll probably live forever."
Tony turned his head back and forth, trying to ease the tension that had suddenly appeared in his neck. "I was hoping to sort of ease into this gradually. Very, very gradually."
Jethro reached out and took hold of Tony's shoulder, squeezing gently. "It'll be fine, Tony."
Tony made a noncommittal noise and looked out the window for a few miles. "Think he already suspects something?"
Jethro shook his head. "Nope. He asked her name."
"Whose name?"
"The name of my special someone. Why'd you think he suspects something?"
"He gave me a sweater."
Jethro smiled. "Always wondered why he did that. Think he thinks of you like a grandson or something?"
Tony wrinkled his nose. "That just makes it all even more hinky."
Jethro grinned. "So he can start thinking of you as a son."
Tony grimaced. "That's not much better. Son-in-law, maybe."
"Not you too," Jethro groaned.
"What? Oh, you mean Abby? No worries, Jethro. Like I said, not looking to be the fourth ex-Mrs. Gibbs."
"Trust me, Tony, you'll never be Mrs. anything."
Hotel
Tony gave a low whistle as he followed Jethro into the hotel suite. "This is awe-some!"
Jethro looked over his shoulder and smiled at Tony. "Not bad, huh?"
Tony dropped his bag on the floor and moved into the center of the living area, looking at the large leather couch facing the huge flat screen tv. From there he stepped quickly through the door to the spacious bedroom, with its king size bed. He moved the comforter aside and ran his fingers over the sheets. "Nice!" Next he crossed the room and looked into the bathroom. "There's a Jacuzzi! Aw, man!" He came back into the living room and stood in front of the tv, looking into Jethro's amused face.
"Jethro, I take back everything I ever said that might have implied you were a cheapskate."
Jethro laughed as he walked into the bedroom, carrying both of their bags. "Don't look at me. I just asked Abby to make reservations. She chose the room."
Tony grinned as he looked at the fancy vases decorating the side tables next to the couch. "I love Abby."
Jethro came up behind him. "That's good, as long as it's a platonic love." He slid his arms around Tony and rested his chin on his shoulder. "You're mine, remember?"
Tony squirmed around and dropped a light kiss on Jethro's lips. "I remember. So, what do you want to do for dinner?"
Jethro laughed. "Hotel restaurant or room service?"
Tony's eyes lit up. "Room service and a movie!"
Jethro dropped his arms and walked back toward the door, picking up the menu that stood on the small table next to it. He tossed the menu to Tony, who caught it deftly and started to page through it. "Order something. I'm gonna hit the head."
About fifteen minutes later, Jethro walked back into the living room, having changed into a t-shirt and sweats. Tony was sitting back on the couch, sinking into the cushions, flipping through the movie guide. He looked over at his partner and grinned like a little kid. Jethro shook his head and smiled, sitting down next to him and pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.
"Gonna call Jack."
Tony's smile faded a bit and he cleared his throat, sitting up. "You telling him now?"
Gibbs tilted his head. "Only if I have to. Not lying to him, though."
Tony nodded and tossed the remote onto the coffee table, watching as Jethro flipped his cell open, hit a few buttons, then sat forward, laying the phone on the table. Tony heard the ring, then the click as Jack picked up on his end.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Dad."
"Leroy! Good to hear from you again so soon. You made it to the hotel all right?"
"Yeah, we're all set."
"Good! That's good, son. So, do I get to say hello to your new lady friend?"
Jethro glanced at Tony, who grimaced and shrugged. Jethro raised his eyebrows and smirked a bit, then spoke again. "Well, Dad, that's going to be a bit difficult… no lady friend. Tony's here with me."
"Tony?"
Tony leaned toward the phone. "Hey, Jack! Long time no see."
"Likewise, Tony." There was a pause, then Jack spoke again. "I'm sorry, son."
Jethro's brow furrowed and he frowned a bit at the phone. "Sorry… for what?"
"Well, for your friend standing you up, Leroy. Shame these girls don't know a good thing when they have it. Good of Tony to keep you company, though. You're a good friend to my boy, Tony."
"Uh… thanks, Jack." Tony looked at Jethro, his eyes wide.
"Glad you still came to visit, Leroy. You coming for breakfast?"
"More like lunch, Dad. I want to show Tony around a bit tomorrow morning."
"That's fine, son, fine. I'll have a good lunch ready for you when you want it."
"Thanks, Dad. We'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye, Leroy, Tony."
Jethro hung up, then looked at Tony. He quirked an eyebrow. "Well?"
Tony stared at Jethro, then looked at the phone, then back at Jethro. His mouth dropped open, then closed back up. He gave a Jethro a slightly sick smile. "I don't know if it's good or bad that it didn't occur to him that your lady friend is really your guy friend."
Jethro scooted a little closer to Tony and reached out to tug a bit on his hair. "I let him make his assumptions, never indicated otherwise. No reason for him not to think you just came along as a friend." He looked closely at Tony. "You wanted me to do it differently?"
Tony shook his head. "No, not really. Just… maybe it would have been easier if he'd jumped to the right conclusion instead of the wrong one."
Jethro started to say something, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. He went to answer it, and stayed quiet while room service was delivered and set up on the coffee table. A few minutes later, he was back on the couch next to Tony, and they were both digging into dinner.
They ate in silence for a while, then Jethro glanced at Tony. "You do know nothing my father says is going to change anything between us, right?"
Tony looked back and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know. Just don't want to cause trouble, that's all."
Jethro put his fork down and reached up to lay the back of his hand against Tony's forehead. "You feeling okay?"
"Ha, ha. I'm serious."
Jethro smirked at him a bit. "You've got nothing to worry about, Tony."
Tony sighed, and waved his fork at Jethro's plate. "Eat."
After picking up his own fork and getting a mouthful of steak, Jethro waved toward the tv. "We watchin' a movie?"
Tony grabbed the remote and flicked through the options on the menu. "Oh, hey, check it out! Cary Grant in North by Northwest! Gotta watch that one."
Tony got the movie started; they finished eating while they watched, and Jethro gathered up the plates and silverware to leave outside the door. Tony leaned against him when he sat back down, so he shifted over until Tony could stretch out on the couch and lie with his head on Jethro's lap. Jethro idly ran his fingers through Tony's hair while they watched the movie. When it was over, he waited for Tony to start commenting on the film and to turn off the tv, but the only thing that Tony did was to snore softly.
Jethro stared down at him in surprise, then smiled ruefully. All that nervous energy wore him out. So here we are in this fancy hotel room and all we're going to do is sleep. Laughing softly, Jethro managed to lean forward far enough to grab the remote. It only took him a few minutes to figure out how to shut off the tv, and then several more to get Tony awake enough to stumble into the bedroom and then into bed, helping him undress. Tony was sound asleep again by the time Jethro joined him under the covers. We'll make up for it later.
