Tony was surprised, but happy, that Gibbs so kept the promise of help. Whenever Tony went to the store to be blankets, clothes, furniture, safety features, Gibbs was there. He was offering suggestions, striking down unnecessary things recommended by overeager sales people, and reminding him of the little items that are easy to overlook. "How do you know so much about this all?" Tony asked him once, but received no reply. He though he saw Gibbs' mouth go a little hard, but dismissed it as unimportant when distracted by the baby hat for his favorite football team.
One day, he was looking through racks and racks of baby clothes, picking up a cute blanket here or there. Gibbs was hovering over his shoulder, always right there but looking at something else. A saleswoman, plump and matronly with hair piled high on her head, came over, smiling at them. "A new addition to the family coming along?" she asked Tony.
"My first," he said, adding 'and hopefully only' in his head.
"Congratulations," she enthused. "And you are his father?" she asked Gibbs, who had turned to hear the conversation.
Normally Tony would laugh it up, call Gibbs 'Papa' or something to that extent, but something was off today. "No," he snapped forcefully, turning away from the woman as her smile faded. She looked at Gibbs, bewildered.
"Coworkers," he clarified. "And don't mind Tony, he's just got a lot on his plate." He waited, to let Tony compose himself, but he wondered what exactly happened. Some misplaced anxieties about his actual father, perhaps? Yet he had never seen Tony act like that about the topic of fathers- like a skittish young colt. Gibbs had ridden horses before, he knew how to calm the horse down and bring it back in control. When he saw Tony's back a few rows over, he walked over, resting hand on his shoulder and then withdrawing it as the startled man spun around. "What happened there, Dinozzo?" Tony kept his eyes down, pretending to resume perusing the clothes choices. After his efforts to turn Gibbs away proved futile, he steeled himself and met the blue gaze.
Tony knew he would never be able to explain it. He had seen Gibbs turn that gaze onto others, right before they folded. It was too intense to hold; Tony felt as if his soul was being pierced by the sheer force. And yet he could almost see latent emotions there: confusion, worry… and hope? No, that one was dismissed immediately. He also dismissed the notion that something in those blue eyes excited him.
Striving for a nonchalant tone, he shrugged. "I dunno, Boss, sorry about that. Tired of fussy, prying sales people maybe. At least I'm not the pregnant woman having her stomach touched all the time." Gibbs let the topic drop, although he knew something else was wrong.
He let it wait the short time they remained in the store and as they left empty handed. He waited the car ride to Tony's apartment and as they ate a quiet meal of chicken parmesan. However, he followed Tony into the kitchen when he went to go clean up. The smaller man almost fell back against the counter when he turned from the sink to find Leroy Jethro Gibbs in his face.
"What happened at the store, Tony?" Tony blinked. Had Gibbs really just said his actual name? It was a nice shock, not hearing the impersonal 'Dinozzo' from his boss.
"I really don't know," Tony said with much less conviction. Their faces were so close, he could almost—
His lips, almost touching Gibbs' before, now made contact, pressing softly against the dry lips opposite. 'Oh God, what am I doing?' he wondered, but the touch was too sensational to back away from. In the end, it wasn't he who backed away. Gibbs stepped back physically. He, the suave agent always with something to say, simply whispered "I'm sorry" and left.
Tony slid his back down the cabinet he had been up against. He just screwed up a good relationship with his boss for what? A simple moment of delusion. Gibbs had been so close and he had fallen forward a little and… and he had to stop making excuses. Since he had started noticing Gibbs he wondered what it would be like to kiss a Marine. And he just did. Said Marine had been a lot more timid than expected, but perhaps he had been caught off guard. Or maybe, Tony thought bitterly, he just hadn't wanted to kiss a guy. If a man was gay, he wouldn't get married three times. He moaned and put his head in his hands.