Rosa was nowhere to be found when they entered the kitchen, so Tony set to work on making them lunch while Abby and Gibbs sat in silence. Gibbs for his part had no idea what to say; he'd never been one for small talk. Abby seemed too shy to start a conversation herself. After a few moments of listening to the silence behind him, Tony turned around and caught Gibbs' attention.
"My dad's throwing a party this weekend. It's probably going to be the most boring thing you've ever done in your life, but we have to go."
"I hate those parties," Abby spoke up. "All the snooty people, trying to outdo each other with who has the newest car; the biggest house; the prettiest slave girl. It makes me want to scream."
"You've been to a lot of them?" Gibbs asked. Abby shook her head.
"I used to have to, when I was younger. My orphanage held fundraisers, and they always wanted the kids to be there. I guess they wanted to show how sad we were so they'd get more money. As soon as I was old enough to sneak out, I avoided them."
"Sneak out?" Gibbs prompted with laughter in his voice. Tony smiled to himself at how Gibbs had completely ignored Abby's mention of an orphanage. Most people who heard that started giving her sympathetic looks or cooing over how well she'd done given her circumstances. Tony always wanted to hit people who spoke to Abby that way.
"That's how we met," Tony answered, and Abby turned her head to smile at him. "We were sneaking out of the same boring party. What where we; ten?" Tony sought confirmation from Abby, which she provided with a nod. "Abby was trying to climb a fence but her skirt got stuck. I ran over to help her, and got yelled at for my troubles."
"I thought he was trying to take me back," Abby admitted.
"Once we straightened that out, I shared the appetisers I'd swiped with her, and we stayed out until my mom came looking for us."
Gibbs noticed the sadness that took over Tony's expression at the mention of his mother. Without a word, Gibbs got up and nudged Tony towards Abby. When they were stood together, arms wrapped around each other, Gibbs continued the lunch preparations. Silence fell once more for a few moments, only to be broken by the sound of the back door opening. All three looked up to see Rosa in a very bad mood.
"Rosa?" Tony asked, stepping away from Abby. The older woman was muttering in Italian, and Tony was only catching the odd word. When he had enough to put the story together, he couldn't help laughing. Rosa glared at him for this, and he sheepishly stepped away. "Sorry," he offered. Rosa's expression softened and she looked around the room, taking in the confused expressions. Tony saved her from having to explain by looking at Abby and saying "She found out about Maria and Raul."
Abby made a happy noise and ran over to hug Rosa, who relaxed a little at the feel and mumbled Abby's name. Tony made his way over to Gibbs as the women embraced. Abby pulled back to look at Rosa with wide, honest eyes. "He loves her," she said, and Rosa nodded.
"Maria is Rosa's granddaughter," Tony explained to Gibbs quietly. "Raul is our gardener. He's a good guy, but…"
"But Rosa wanted better for her," Gibbs replied, to which Tony nodded. "Understandable." Tony observed Gibbs for a moment, noting the sadness in his eyes. There was something Gibbs wasn't saying here, but Tony wasn't going to ask. It was none of his business, even if he would like to know as much as possible about the man standing beside him. The moment was broken by Rosa and Abby stepping over to them.
"You are making lunch," Rosa said with a sigh. "I should be doing that. Go sit down in the den and I will bring it to you." Tony looked as if he wanted to protest, but the expression Rosa was wearing spoke of a need for privacy, so Tony simply placed a kiss on her cheek and led the others out of the kitchen.
(~*~)
The den was warm and quiet when they entered. Tony sat down on the sofa, and Abby immediately threw herself down next to him; her legs coming to rest on his lap and her head cushioned against the arm. Gibbs stood for a moment, taking in his surroundings. The room wasn't very big compared to the rest of the house. There was a TV in the corner, and the walls were lined with bookshelves. The only other furniture was an armchair and one small coffee table. Gibbs turned his gaze to Tony, who was looking up at him with patient eyes. Abby was still relaxing beside him with her eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the two of them. Gibbs held Tony's look for a moment longer before offering a small smile and moving to sit in the armchair. Tony's eyes followed his movement. Neither man said anything, and it was only Abby's shuffling that made Tony look away.
"I want lemonade," Abby mumbled, sounding so much like a child that it clenched at Gibbs' heart. He made a move to get up and grant her request, but was stopped by the sight of Tony pulling playfully at one of her pigtails.
"So go get some then," Tony teased, and Abby looked up at him with mock-sad eyes.
"You do it," Abby almost whined, nudging Tony with her foot.
"You're not the boss of me," Tony shot back, pushing both Abby's legs off him and making her squeak as half her body went with them off the sofa. She stood up with a huff and pointed at Tony.
"When I rule the world, I won't forget this day, Anthony DiNozzo."
Tony's response was to poke his tongue out at her; a gesture she returned before stalking out of the room in search of lemonade. When she was gone, Tony looked around to see Gibbs trying to suppress his amusement. It made Tony grin, and he had to fight the urge to go to Gibbs. His desire to touch the older man had been growing since they were at the tailor's, and knowing it was a terrible idea didn't seem to be tamping the feelings at all. Gibbs broke the silence with a question.
"So what's with this party?"
"Dad throws them any time he comes home from a long trip," Tony replied with a tired sigh. "Basically just an excuse to show off to his friends. It'll be filled with irritating people and tedious conversation. The only upsides are the food is great, and I can usually slip out after about an hour without anyone noticing. I'm sure dad only makes me show my face because he knows how much I hate to be there."
Gibbs' expression was fond when Tony looked at him, and the confusion in Tony's own expression made Gibbs smile. "I meant," Gibbs sat forward on the chair as he spoke. "What do we have to do? Are there… rules?"
Realisation dawned on Tony's face, and the blush it caused made Gibbs laugh. After a moment of discomfort, Tony looked at Gibbs again. "From what I can remember, there isn't really much for… for you to do." The way Tony avoided calling Gibbs a slave made his heart swell just a little. "Mostly just hang back and look nice. Maybe fetch a drink every now and again. I'm actually a little jealous that you'll get to just stand there and not have to talk to these people." Gibbs laughed again at this, and gave in to the urge to move. He sat next to Tony on the sofa; not touching, but leaving very little space between them. His mere presence seemed enough to relax Tony, who let his head fall back and closed his eyes before speaking again. "Obviously if someone does speak to you, you'll have to answer," he continued quietly. "With any luck we can find a corner to hide in and not have to deal with anyone besides my dad."
"Is he here a lot?" Gibbs asked next. So far they hadn't had much time to discuss how day-to-day life would run with Gibbs there. The question made Tony tilt his head towards Gibbs and open his eyes.
"About one week a month," Tony answered. "It's been that way since I was eleven. If he's not off landing a new business client, he's on a tropical island with one of his girls."
"And he doesn't take you?" Gibbs pressed.
"He did once," Tony replied, a sad humour in his voice. "He forgot about me in the hotel. I ran up such a huge room service bill that he vowed never to take my anywhere again."
"How old were you?"
"Twelve? Maybe thirteen. I'm not sure." Tony could see the disapproval in Gibbs' eyes, and he couldn't help smiling. "Now you know why Abby doesn't like to be here when he's around." Gibbs' expression sought an explanation, and Tony continued. "She can't hide her emotions, and she really doesn't like him. It's easier for her to just stay away when he's here."
"But you don't get that luxury," Gibbs prompted, and Tony suddenly looked afraid. Gibbs had seen through him so effortlessly. Taking a breath, Tony smiled weakly.
"I've had a lot of experience saying what someone needs to hear," was his reply. "When my own father can't tell the difference between a real smile and a fake one, I figure I've had enough practice."
"He doesn't see you," Gibbs whispered, his hand coming to rest on Tony's knee. "That's his loss." Tony suddenly found it hard to breathe, and only the return of Abby – prompting Gibbs to take his hand away – managed to kick start his senses again.
"Am I interrupting?" Abby asked, her eyes falling to Tony who looked at a complete loss.
"We were just discussing the party," Gibbs saved Tony from speaking, and moved back to the chair as he did so that Abby could sit down. "Seems I'm in for a boring night."
Abby had placed her lemonade on the table as Gibbs spoke, before taking her seat next to Tony again and looking into her friend's eyes. Tony attempted to smile, and Abby pulled him into a hug. "You don't have to pretend with me," she said softly. "I know this whole mess is hard for you," looking up, she caught Gibbs' eye. "Both of you."
"Thanks Abs," Tony almost whispered, burrowing into her embrace a little more. He wasn't about to correct her on exactly why this was proving so difficult, and if Gibbs had any idea what Tony was feeling he didn't mention it either.
They remained in silence until Rosa brought in their lunch, which they ate without speaking. When the food was finished, Abby turned to Tony again.
"Do you need me to leave?" She asked. "You can't have had time to decompress, what with your father showing up and then me. If you need some time alone, I'll understand."
"It's ok," Tony replied, although he still seemed subdued. "Things aren't going to get any less complicated any time soon. We'll figure it out as we go."
Abby looked over to Gibbs for confirmation, and he tilted his head in silent agreement. This was enough to convince Abby it was ok, and she settled back into Tony's side to cuddle him some more. Tony obviously needed it, and a short glance to Gibbs showed he was happy someone was able to give Tony this comfort.