A/N: Guys, I apologize profusely for letting you wait this long. Work has been crazy these last two weeks and I couldn't manage to find time to sit down and write. I hope the next chapters will be posted faster than this one. Thanks for reading and reviewing! :) You rock!

Chapter Nine: 4

Tony couldn't stop staring at his arm. He had tried to sleep, had tried to work out, had tried to drink the completely unsettling feeling in his stomach away, but nothing had helped. His eyes would just wander to his arm and the engraved numbers there. He simply couldn't help himself. It was too weird not to worry about it. There hadn't been a time jump in twelve years, so this definitely had to mean something, but he had no idea what exactly. Gibbs' words from their trip back home kept on replaying in his mind over and over again. Had his clock really stopped when he had met Tony all these years back? It seemed like some crazy kind of coincidence, but then again, both of them didn't believe in coincidences at all. But Tony wouldn't let his mind wander in that direction. It was too crazy and it didn't even make sense. His clock was still ticking after all.

##

He could feel the other's eyes on him. He had successfully tried to avoid both McGee and Bishop, had not mentioned anything about his time in Stillwater or his changing numbers. He knew that he wasn't being himself, was too quiet, hadn't told any jokes today, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was too preoccupied with himself to worry about his colleagues.

"DiNozzo, with me," Gibbs voice finally raised him from his thoughts and when Tony looked up, the older man was already on his way to the elevators.

Casting a fugitive glance at Bishop who grinned at him with a raised eyebrow, Tony followed his boss, catching the elevator just before it closed into his face.

"Where are we going?" he finally asked, but didn't get an answer for the moment as Gibbs just reached forward and stopped the lift.

"Hopefully back to work," Gibbs replied drily, subtly shaking his head. "What's up?"

"Nothing really," Tony answered, scratching the back of his head. "I'm just… distracted."

"Yeah, I noticed. What brought this up?"

"It's this goddamn clock," Tony answered reluctantly, realizing that Gibbs wouldn't stop asking until he knew what was wrong. "It's driving me crazy. I wasn't prepared for it to change just yet."

"Deal with it," Gibbs answered and despite his rather harsh tone, Tony was able to see his boss' eyes soften ever so slightly. "Can't have you distracted on the job."

"I know, Gibbs," Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I just don't want anything to change."

"It doesn't have to," Gibbs replied.

"But you said so yourself. I probably won't think so in only four days. How fucked up is this?"

"Just push it away for now. Obsessing over it won't help anything. Can you do that?"

"Guess so," Tony sighed again, but nodded nonetheless.

He knew that Gibbs was right. He needed to concentrate on the job at hand and not think about things he couldn't even change. So he nodded again, receiving a pat on his shoulder from the older man and then everything was back to normal.

##

Later that night, Tony sat in his car, staring at his boss' house. He had been there for the last half an hour or so, pondering if he really wanted to disturb Gibbs' night. They had been spending the last couple of days together in Stillwater, had talked more than ever before and yet, Tony hadn't been able to stay away from him that night. He didn't even really know why. It was like there was an invisible force that made him visit his boss. He subtly shook his head, knowing that he should just go home, drink a couple of beers and let it all rest. Gibbs' dad had just died and he wasn't one for company on good days either, so Tony had no right to be there.

He had already started the motor to actually go home, when a tap on his window startled him. When he turned, he saw Gibbs standing next to his car. He didn't seem to be too surprised to see Tony there and he just inclined his head, indicating Tony to follow him back to the house.

Once inside, Gibbs didn't walk down into his basement as Tony had expected, but went into the kitchen to get two beers and then led the way into the living room, sitting down on his couch. Tony did the same a few seconds afterwards and accepted the offered beverage.

They didn't talk for a couple of minutes as Tony just stared at the opposite wall and Gibbs nursed his beer. Tony knew that he should say something, apologize for being there, but he couldn't help but feel oddly at home all of a sudden. Like this was exactly where he was supposed to be. He finally leaned back against the backrest of the couch, turning his head ever so slightly to look at Gibbs a little more closely. He looked tired and a little worn out, but didn't seem to be angry about being disturbed.

"Sorry," he finally said, his voice sounding oddly small.

"What for?" Gibbs just replied, not even mentioning rule six.

"Don't know," Tony shrugged. "For always being here I guess. Don't know why I'm so… clingy lately."

"You're not clingy," Gibbs smirked. "Nothing in comparison to wife number three. I would have to call every hour just to check in. Drove me crazy."

"I guess you really hated rule three after that," Tony quipped, eliciting a bark of a laugh out of Gibbs.

"You bet."

They stayed silent for another few minutes, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as it had been before. Tony knew that he would have to start up the conversation eventually. He remained quiet, though, waiting for something to pop up into his mind that didn't sound like something a three year old girl would say. He knew he was acting ridiculous, was not thinking particularly straight at the moment, but Gibbs was still there after all, so he couldn't have messed up quite so badly just yet.

"What has you wound up like this?" Gibbs finally asked, staring right into Tony's eyes. "What's a couple of days?"

"I know," Tony replied, wondering not for the first time how Gibbs knew exactly what was going on with him. "It's just… the closer it gets, the less excited I'm about it. I don't want it to change, I don't want to lose what… what we have here. I don't want to lose this, Gibbs."

"You won't," the older man replied almost softly. "We'll always be us."

"Us, huh?" Tony replied without thinking, but stopped dead when he caught sight of the expression on Gibbs' face.

He was still staring straight at him, his blue eyes watching him with care and apprehension. Tony gulped, suddenly unable to avert his eyes from him. For a split of a second Tony had a fleeting memory of the two of them sitting just like that in Jackson's living room, but before he could make sense of it, Gibbs suddenly turned, so that he wasn't looking at him anymore. It only lasted a moment, though, because after a quick swallow of his beer, Gibbs' eyes were on him again, making Tony uncomfortable and giddy inside at the same time. Suddenly he felt nervous and judging from the look on Gibbs' face, the other man didn't feel much different.

"What if," Tony finally whispered, remembering a thought from earlier that day. "What if I just decide not to meet them? What if I just… walked away?"

"Why would you do that?" Gibbs replied just as quietly and Tony could have sworn that he had seen his eyes flicker for a moment.

"I don't want things to change… I want…," Tony trailed off, suddenly realizing that he did want things to change but in a totally different way.

Wait… what?

He sat up a bit straighter, feeling his heart beat erratically in his chest. He chanced a glance at Gibbs who looked even more confused than he felt. Had he really just thought about Gibbs as a… had he really thought about wanting to kiss his boss, run away from his soul mate for him? He felt his cheeks heat and his breathing speed up. He knew that he had to say something to diffuse the situation, tell a joke maybe, just do something. And yet, he was still sitting there, staring at his boss, feeling like he had just had the best and dumbest idea ever.

"Tony?" he heard Gibbs ask as if from far away and Tony felt hot all of a sudden, felt like he was on fire and there was nothing he could do about it.

"You okay?" Gibbs checked again, the former soft and confused expression replaced by one full of concern.

"Yeah," Tony finally answered, pulling himself away from these ridiculous thoughts. "I… uh… just remembered that I still have to...," he ran a hand through his hair as he all but jumped up from where he had been sitting. "Do this thing… I'll see you tomorrow, boss."

With that and a last glance at Gibbs, Tony turned around and then all but ran out of the house, knowing that he was literally running away and that Gibbs would scold him the next day for leaving the way he did, but Tony simply had to get away.

He didn't think much on his way home, just sped down the streets, hoping that he would make it home in one piece. Once he got there, he pulled out the good bourbon, not bothering with a glass as he greedily drank straight from the bottle. What in the world was wrong with him? Where did the sudden thought of him and Gibbs come from? And why was it suddenly there, only days before he would have to break their bond because of his soul mate?

He lay down on his couch, staring up at the ceiling, trying to form a coherent thought. He needed to get that thought out of his head, needed to call Gibbs to apologize, but he just… couldn't. He knew the idea was crazy, knew that he was crazy for even contemplating it. And yet, the longer he just lay there, the better he felt.

Flashes of confusion that occasionally popped up were paired with sheer hopefulness and he had no idea where that came from. It was like nothing was making sense anymore.