December 25th: Light - 300 words - Happy Hanukkah! Light up the night tonight.
Fandom: NCIS
Warnings: Slight episode tag to Season 1, Episode 9 'Marine Down'
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS
A Light in the Darkness
The apartment was quiet, soft candlelight illuminating the darkness. It had been awhile since he had to forego paying a bill to the point it had been disconnected.
He remembered just getting out of college, living in some old rat-infested building in New York. It was funny how life went in circles. He was technically dead then too.
Tony huddled near the candles, cursing that his fireplace was gas. His paperwork still wasn't cleared, even though clearly, he was still alive. Damn HR for filling the wrong claims and damn that other agent for dying around the same time he had to put in for leave.
Tony tightened his hold. No. That wasn't right. It wasn't the agent's fault for getting killed. It was just the unfairness getting to him. After the accident and his paperwork got mixed up, his life had been forced on pause. His clearance was revoked, his pay stopped, his banks frozen.
Hell, he was still lucky he was allowed in his own apartment. He swung his head around at the creak of his door. It was eerie hearing the silence underneath all the day to day living. No humming of a heater, no clanking of a fridge, no percolating sound of coffee brewing.
It was odd seeing his apartment bathed in the soft glow. The candlelight brought shadows he never noticed and his door creaked again, forcing him to stand.
"Hey! DiNozzo, open up! Hands are full!" Gibbs's raised voice calmed him. The sound of Gibbs boot kicking the door forcing him to move.
Gibbs thrust the box he was holding into his arms, surprising him. Inside were battery operated lamps and candles.
"I thought you'd want some company while you haunt your apartment." Gibbs smirked, flicking on a lamp, flooding his apartment with light.