Hey guys! I'm really sorry about the long wait! I was buried in exams and papers. Fortunately I have more time to write now! Next update shouldn't be long. Thank you for your patience :) Hope you like this chapter. X
When Tony walks into Gibbs' hospital room the next morning, the older man is already sitting on the edge of the bed, completely dressed in fresh clothes and discharge papers lying next to him. Tony decides not to question the mysterious ways in which Jethro works, and hands him a cup of coffee from the cafeteria. Gibbs scrunches his nose and nods in the direction of the nightstand next to the bed, where another cup is placed.
"Where'd you get that?"
"Nurse's station." The silver haired man grins, not doing any effort to act as if he didn't shamelessly manipulate the nurses into giving him some of their good coffee.
"I don't even want to know how you persuaded them." Tony's eyes narrow even further when a redheaded nurse walks into the room to collect the sheets and pillows on the bed. He's pleasantly surprised when Gibbs closes the distance between them and presses a soft kiss on his cheek.
"You didn't have to come pick me up. How's the team doing?"
Tony expertly ignores his question and gives his boss a pointed look.
"Do you really think that you can convince me to go to work and leave you here on your own, in a place where you don't want to be?"
Gibbs smiles. "It's sweet that you care."
Tony snorts. "Care? I would just feel bad for the nurses." They both laugh as the older man softly taps the back of his head and they walk out of the hospital room together.
Offering a shoulder to lean upon would implicate that his boss hasn't already healed entirely so Tony stays close, knowing full well how stubborn they're both being.
The ride home is spent in a comfortable silence. It's only been a couple of days but Gibbs' absence had left Tony with an uneasy feeling and being able to have the older man by his side again feels amazing.
Just as Tony opens Gibbs' door and walks inside the house behind his boss, they're both interrupted by a high-pitched shriek and a very enthusiastic forensic scientist coming their way.
She carefully checks Gibbs over and when she doesn't seem to find any serious injuries beside the obvious head trauma, she carefully envelops him in a warm hug. The silver haired man returns it and tries to ease Tony's nerves with a look over Abby's shoulder. The young woman seems to sense the interaction and she turns her head to look at Tony.
He had already anticipated Abby's anger, but it still makes him take a step back when she gives him her most impressive glare.
Tony laughs nervously. "Well, that's… you obviously learned that from the Bossman." He awkwardly points in the general direction of her face and then lets his arm fall beside him with a tired sigh.
"I'm gonna start dinner." Before he can walk away, Abby grabs his arm and stops him.
"Let me help you with that", she offers, although the irritation is still evident on her face.
They leave a confused Jethro behind in the living room and they have barely reached the kitchen before Abby explodes.
"WHAT is your problem?" she all but shouts at the Italian.
Tony's eyes widen and he has to swallow down the anger that boils in his stomach. "My problem? Let's see, our boss could have died? That big enough of a problem for you?"
Abby crosses her arms defensively. "We both know this has nothing to do with work."
Tony rubs a hand over his face. He can't have this conversation with her while Jethro is standing a few feet away.
"I'm his Senior Field Agent." He whispers as he opens the cupboards and starts looking for a pot.
"So, what, you decided to keep him to yourself?" Abby growls in return. "Were you hoping that the head trauma would make him gay all of a sudden?" Before she can stop herself, the words have rolled over her lips and their eyes widen. For one endless second, they're both perplexed and then Abby slaps her hand over her mouth.
"Tony, I didn't mean –"
"Yeah, you did. Just like you did all the other times." Suddenly he doesn't feel the need to explain himself anymore and he wants to get out of there. Their shoulders brush as he walks past her and he roughly shakes off her hand when she tries to stop him. Gibbs witnesses the moment and frowns at Tony. The younger man can't bring himself to explain it to him so he picks up his wallet and car keys from the coffee table and roughly stuffs them in his pockets.
"Tony, where are you going?"
"Out. I need some air. I'll come back with food." For a moment, he hesitates. He wants so badly to touch the older man, to give him some sense of comfort. He squeezes Jethro's shoulder and then heads out the door.
Gibbs turns around and tilts his head as he looks at Abby. Distraught doesn't even begin to describe the way she looks as she stands there, alone in the kitchen. Her bottom lip trembles and her eyes are glazed over. Their eyes make contact and Gibbs motions her to come sit with him on the sofa.
Her hands shake as she sits down and rearranges the hemming of her skirt. She links her fingers as if to stop them from trembling and she carefully avoids looking at the silver haired man. However, when he doesn't say anything and the silence stretches out, her curiosity gets the better of her and she peeks at him through her long lashes. He raises an eyebrow and – as usual – it works like a charm.
Flashback
The bell rings and Tony buzzes his visitor inside the building. He smiles when a minute passes and he can hear loud thumps approaching his door. As if on cue, he opens his door just when the person on the other side raises their hand to knock.
"Hey Abs." he smiles but she is obviously occupied, probably trying to guess how he sensed when she was about to knock.
She returns his smile and holds up some DVD's, her grin only broadening when he holds up the pop corn in return. Movie night is somewhat their own tradition and it gives them time to catch up after a whole week of heavy cases.
She slumps on the couch and sighs happily when Tony presses a Caf-Pow! in her hand. They're halfway into Casablanca when she notices that Tony isn't mimicking the dialogue like he usually does. She glances beside her and when he just gazes at the space in front of him, she frowns.
"Tony?"
No reaction.
"Tony!" she almost laughs at the way his head jerks up but it seems to be serious so she pauses the film and lays a hand on his shoulder.
"What's up?"
Tony shakes his head distractedly. "Nothing, just… long week. I'm just tired, that's all." He smiles broadly to reassure her but they've known each other too long for that cheap trick to work on Abby.
"Come on, you know you can tell me!" she scoots closer to him and looks at him expectantly. It takes a while to persuade him but eventually he answers his friend.
"I think I might be attracted to someone."
She laughs out loud. "Why is that so upsetting? You have a different crush every week."
Tony huffs. "I do not!"
"Let's see. Last week it was Brenda, the week before Sarah. And before her, there was… damn, her name is on the tip of my tongue… something with an M…"
Tony interrupts her with an absent wave.
"No, no. This isn't like that."
He misses the brief flash of annoyance in her eyes as he observes his finger nails. When he doesn't say anything else, she pokes him impatiently.
"Well? Who is she?"
"It's…" he takes a deep breath and releases it forcefully. "It's a he."
They both stop breathing for a moment and Tony briefly thinks that this is has been the only time he's dumbfounded Abby enough for her to cease talking.
"W-what do you mean, it's a he?" she stutters after a while, obviously trying to make sense of his odd behavior.
Her question doesn't seem to register and Tony mutters softly to no one in particular.
"I thought it was respect, the way he sometimes treats me, like we're close… equals. Oh my god. I can't believe I'm saying this out loud. I thought it was just respect but it's – fuck!" he grabs a fistful of hair and tugs at it as if the pain will wake him up from a fantasy world.
"Wow, Tony slow down. What are you talking about?"
The single word that comes out of his mouth shakes both of them to their core.
"Gibbs."
Several minutes are spent in silence as they both try to grasp what has just happened. Tony expects numerous reactions – from excited jumping up and down the couch to hysterical laughter – but he didn't anticipate what comes next.
The palm of her hand makes contact with the back of his head and he nearly falls off the couch from the impact. He reaches for the sensitive spot and rubs over it while his mouth opens in shock.
"What was that for?" he cries out indignantly.
Abby rolls her eyes. "Oh come on, this is just like all your other 'crushes'. You think you feel something but you don't." She holds up a finger when it looks like he's going to deny the fact.
"When you told me about Megan a couple of weeks ago, I got so excited! I thought, finally, he put himself out there again after the whole Jeanne-fiasco. You were all 'Abby, she's the one'", she mimics his voice. Again, she interrupts him with a single hand gesture when he wants to speak. "And then, after what, a week? You came up with some lame excuse and it was on to the next one."
Tony starts contemplating her words when another fact registers.
"Wait. Why are you focusing on Megan instead of freaking out with me?"
The raven haired girl sighs deeply and stares at her lap. It takes an uncharacteristic amount of time before she finally answers.
"I already knew. Well, at least I thought I knew and you just confirmed it so…"
Tony merely knits his eyebrows, unable to form a response.
Abby rolls her eyes and throws her hands up.
"Oh Tony. You look at him like he's a late night snack." Then, when she has the Italian's attention, "just have some quality time with little DiNozzo and this will blow over before you know it."
"Wh- Abs! That's, no, don't talk about little DiNozzo! And I… what if I don't want this to blow over? This feels different."
Abby shakes her head vigorously.
"Tony. You know I love you like crazy but let's face it, you have a precarious heart. You just think you feel something but you probably don't. like with Megan. And Sarah. And – "
"Yeah, I get your point." Tony thanks her sarcastically.
"We've all been through a lot. Don't jeopardize the team for this, not for some vague attraction you think you might have, to use your words."
Tony stays quiet a long time but eventually he nods and they both pretend to watch the movie afterwards.
"I thought that was it, but then the one night stands stopped, he hardly partied anymore, and I realized he had genuine feelings. Then every time he would say something about you, I'd change the subject until he… well, stopped coming to me altogether."
Abby is sobbing as she tells the story and Gibbs has a hard time sitting there, patiently beside her, while his thoughts are with Tony. How long has the younger man felt like this with no one to support him?
"But… you're still friends?"
"Yeah, but we're not close. Not like we used to be, anyways." She wipes the back of her hand across her tearstained cheek and glances at the older man. He looks strangely broken, not upset like he just heard that a man has a crush on him.
"Please, don't fire him." Her lip trembles again and before she starts crying again, Gibbs lays a soothing hand on her shoulder.
"I won't, Abs."
They both look up as the front door opens and Tony walks into the house. The younger man quietly takes in his two friends sitting there, obviously sad. He doesn't ask and begins to unpack the Chinese he picked up from around the corner.
Gibbs taps Abby on the shoulder and then rises from the couch and joins Tony at the table.
"I'm more into Italian but Chinese is good too." Gibbs mutters. Tony couldn't have stopped the smile that blossoms on his face if he'd tried. Their eyes meet and Jethro smiles his half smile at the younger man. He could get used to coming home to Tony.
At last, the younger man averts his eyes and grabs a spoonful of rice. Only mid-bite, he remembers that they're not alone. He jerks his head up to look at Abby, who's downright staring at the two men.
"I think she's on to us, Jethro." He mumbles and the older man looks up too. Abby's stare alters between the two of them and finally she smiles so broadly that Tony suspects the corners of her mouth must be hurting.
She jumps up from the couch and runs over to them so fast that it's a miracle she doesn't trip over her own feet. She draws Gibbs into one of her bear hugs and squeezes until he gasps for air. She reluctantly loosens her grip and lets go of him. Then she looks over at Tony and bites her bottom lip nervously. The younger man sighs and motions for her to sit on his lap. She throws her arms around his neck and nearly starts crying all over again when he returns the hug.
"All this time you needed someone to talk to and I wasn't there, I'm so sorry! I'm a sucky friend, I – "
"Abs!" with an exasperated sigh, Tony rubs his hand across her back in a soothing manner.
When she finally looks up at him, he gently tugs one of her pigtails and smiles softly.
"We're good."
TBC! Review = love!