TaP7
Tim was running late. Something that he loathed. He had been running late all day and he hated it. Unexpectedly, after he stayed back to speak with Vance had made him later. But it wasn't until he pulled up out the front of his apartment complex. The one he's lived in since he started at the Navy Yard, that he allowed himself a moment to relax.
Pete wasn't due to come over until 2000 hours, so he had plenty of time to shower and change out of his sweaty suit from work. They originally had a dinner date out in a restuarant planned, but changed their plans to carry out or a delivery, after Pete's work schedule changed unexpectedly. A carry out or delivery dinner sounded pretty good after the day that Tim has had.
As soon as Tim was clear of the locked apartment door, he was stripping himself off for a shower, as he headed to the back of the apartment. By the time he had reached the bathroom ensuite, he was completely naked, minus his service weapon. As he switched on the mixer tap for the shower, Tim safely stowed his weapon in his lock box, before retreating to the bathroom.
Freshly showered and dressed, ready for his date, whom was due at any moment. He primped, teased and play with his hair until he thought it was just right. "Not bad." he commented out loud, appraising himself vocally.
The ringing doorbell jolted Tim to continue to get a wriggle on, as he made his way to answer it. "Whoa, look at you." Pete offered, as soon as the door was open. He openly appraised Tim's body like a prized race horse. He did everything short of physically touch the man and it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Pete was bewitched, bothered and bewildered.
Pete didn't wait for an invitation, he slipped in and closed the door behind him. He had wanted to haul Tim's body up against his own and introduce his mouth to the sexy, green eyed God standing before him. But he didn't. They had agreed to take it slow, a fact Pete was cursing right now. He and Tim had only ever shared a few chaste kisses, nothing like what he was fantasising of doing to the NCIS agent's body. Many times before he had told McGee that he looked like sex on a stick, a walking sin, but no more than right now.
A pair of black canvas loafers, denim jeans that hugged his body in all the right spots, a plain grey tee, his hair falling gently over the right side of his face, making him look impossibly young. "Hey Pete." Tim grinned at him and Pete had to cement his feet to the floor to stop his feet from floating away.
"Thought we were taking this slow and here you walk in, looking like a sex god." Pete quipped, gesturing his hand in an up and down motion, as he openly ogles the man he has recently began seeing.
Tim raised his eyebrows at the man with the sandy blonde hair's quip. "Really?" Tim couldn't help but blush at Peter's lustful words and open praise for him. He obviously liked what he saw, as he took Tim by the hand and led him to the sofa, where Tim had already sprawled out the delivery menus on the coffee table, awaiting their decision.
Tim's heart skipped a beat, as he felt Pete take his hand and their fingers entwine. It had been a long time since anyone had given him butterflies in the pit of his stomach at a mere touch and made his heart skip a beat, like that. But that was one of the things that he liked about Pete, the most. As the two men settled on the sofa, Pete took a cursory glance at the menus on the table and tapped the Chinese menu. "Moo Shu Pork with vegetables and lo mien noodles." Pete said to Tim at the expected glance from Tim that clearly asked the question, what he wanted to order.
Within two minutes, Tim had bought up the store's app on his phone and placed their order for delivery including the chicken in vegetables with honey sauce and a serve of prawn crackers for the side dish. Tim verbally offered the man a drink before Pete shook his head no. Rejoining Pete on the sofa, Pete pulled Tim in to a side hug, leaving his arm around him. At first, it had been instinctual, now Pete enjoyed the feeling of the slightly younger man resting his head on his shoulder, as they discussed the parts of their day that they were allowed to. Both had high security clearances and both of their jobs contained large parts of a need to know basis, so neither of them often discussed their work. "I resigned from NCIS today." Tim admitted in a small voice.
"Oh Tim, I know you loved working there." Pete sighed out loud, kissing the man on the forehead. He let his lips linger there, a second or longer. "Most of the people you worked with, you even liked, the work you loved. It was your dream job! What will you do now?"
"I have got a job lined up with the FBI, actually." Tim grinned at him. "A promotion, a better pay rate and a higher security clearance than you. Better hours, too."
"Does Gibbs and that know that you're leaving for a job at the FBI? 'Cause I am thinking that he ain't going to be happy." Pete grinned at the man before him. Seeing Tim's green eyes twinkle in the light of his living room, with the boxes neatly stacked in one corner. "I guess that's their comeuppance for not realising how wonderful and incredibly talented you are."
"We're a team. Team work is the key, Pete." Tim reminded Pete. "We literally rely on one another so much that our lives depend on it if we screw up. Trust is everything and I can't trust Tony not to invade my privacy. I can't trust Gibbs to rein Tony in and deal with him. I can't trust Gibbs to get Abby under control. She will run roughshod over everyone if you let her. I can't trust Ziva not to back me up if Tony starts. There is no teamwork without trust. Pete, I worry that one day, one of them will let me get injured as a form of punishment, or as a way to emotionally tear me down."
"That's no way to live, Tim." Pete said, as he carded his hair through Tim's soft, tawny brown hair. His hand fit on the back of Tim's head perfectly, as his palm gently encouraged the soon to be FBI agent's lips to his in a soft touch. "You're literally a genius. You're a wonderful agent, a wonderful man and an amazing friend. Once you're gone, they're going to realise what they have lost."
Tim blushed under Pete's praise. In a professional capacity, they had crossed paths a few times, neither obvious about their connection, but both watching the other man, carefully. Tim struggled not to blush at any praise he received, probably as a result of never having received any as a child. "Pete ..." Tim pleaded with him. Pete knew that praising him made him blush and he liked seeing Tim blush, he thought it made the emerald eyed man look even hotter.
"I am going to kiss you now." Pete warned him, as he lowered his lips to Tim's in a deliberate movement that was slow enough that Tim could have stopped him if he wanted to. Tim's lips had been as soft and inviting as they'd looked and they'd been tempting Pete. He tasted like sin, pure sin and he was one sin that Pete couldn't wait to commit. "Oh God, I love kissing your lips." Pete said, as he pulled away, their foreheads still touching, as they maintained eye contact.
Tim had been receptive, engaged in the moment and a very willing participant of the shared kiss. Up until that point, they had only shared a few chaste kisses of goodnight and a couple on their foreheads or cheeks. They were taking it slow. Well supposed to be, but Pete had just dialled the heat right up and he hadn't even used gotten the pleasure of putting his tongue in Tim's mouth yet.
The ringing of the doorbell interrupted any further physical contact as Tim retrieved their order and the TV was switched low, while they ate their meal and discussed the news program that was running in the background.
After the news program finished, an old classic spaghetti Western movie, began. By that time, they'd finished their dinner and Tim had tidied up, too. He tossed the trash and bagged up their left overs for Pete to take back to his place for dinner tomorrow night. It was twenty minutes into the movie, Tim shifted and brushed against Pete again. Pete re-positioned them, so that Tim was laying on him. It had seemed like a good idea, but Tim's hot breath could be felt through the thin cotton of his tee. Which was making Pete want Tim further.
Tim was enjoying the sensation of being with Pete. When Tim shifted again, he felt Pete take a sharp breath in. "C'mere Tim." Pete urged, as he urged Tim's lips to his own. Ever since he'd walked in to the apartment earlier in the evening, he had wanted Tim.
The two men shared a few more leisurely kisses, enjoying the connection the two of them shared, fanning the flames between them. Slowly and tentatively, Tim introduced his tongue into the mix. Gently, he caressed his tongue against Pete's. A moan of pleasure from the slightly older man reaffirmed to Tim that it had been the correct moment, as Pete then introduced his to Tim's.
The two men were careful not to take it any further than they already had. They were taking it slow. Careful not to let it turn into an all out battle, with their tongues duelling. They managed to keep it light and respectful.
Reluctantly, and as much as both parties were enjoying their new found intimacy, they broke apart. The two men had ended up sprawled out on the deep sofa with one another, in each other's arm as they hot to know each other on a more intimate level.
A simple sweet, but chaste kiss was shared by the front door as they bid one another a good night.
Tobias was having dinner with Gibbs that particular Friday night, a do-over from their regular Tuesday night dinner, as Tobias was closing a case. Tobias though, was tuning Gibbs out, as he prattled on about DiNozzo and his latest attempt at seducing an intern in the analyst department. Their conversation eventually turned to McGee and Tobias could have sworn that Gibbs was testing him. "He left for an appointment today over lunch and a friend of mine said he saw Tim at the JAG office. I think he's in trouble and won't tell me about it."
"What if he's not in trouble and you stopped thinking the worst about him all the time? What if the person that he was meeting worked in the JAG office." Tobias theorised out loud. Tobias had known that Tim was having a lawyer look over the contracts, but he was surprised to hear Gibbs mention JAG.
Personally, Tobias had only been to the JAG office three times. Twice with Gibbs as part of a sentence follow up for a prisoner and once with McGee, to apply for a search warrant. Tim had been a probie back then, so it had shocked him to see just how many of the lawyers Tim was on a first name basis with. But then again, he was the son off a well known and highly respected Admiral, even if the Admiral was an ass towards his son.
"You like McGee or somethin' Tobias? You been defending him a lot, lately." Gibbs accused the FBI agent. "Look, he's a good kid, but he's not open like DiNozzo. He's all repressed and buttoned up. He keeps to himself and has been pulling away from everyone further, lately."
"So, because he wants a life outside of NCIS, he isn't a team player?" Tobias asked, keeping his cool. Gibbs didn't know anything yet, but he had the upper hand. Tim would be finished up at NCIS, a week from today and the following Monday, he would belong to Fornell. He just prayed that Gibbs made it an easy week for Tim.
"It's not like that, Tobias." Gibbs said, frustratingly as he defended himself, once more. This had happened to Gibbs few times now. Gibbs had found that he struggled to communicate with Tobias over Tim. "I like my privacy, I respect Tim's too, but if you expect to be part of an effective team, you have to give something back."
Besides being the comic relief? Tobias mentally asked his friend, the retort reined in at the mutual, yet unspoken decision he made with Tim. Not to discuss Tim's personal business with Gibbs.
" I lost my appetite." Tobias said, throwing enough money to cover the bill and a hearty tip down and wordlessly left.
Gibbs could be so obtuse sometimes.
Monday morning, and Tim found himself the first to be in the bull pen, a fact that he was thankful for. Tim was busy cleaning out his desk. He'd been at the Navy Yard for six years, this his desk for almost seven years. In actuality, it was probably closer to eight years. He had old pens that didn't work, a used chocolate bar wrapper that claimed he had won a free bar, which sat unclaimed. A tub of random USB thumb drives that he had no idea what was stored on them. Several, almost empty sticky notepads and eight dollars and sixty-two cents in loose change.
The next drawer down found a caricature that Kate had drawn of him, surrounded by books and laptops, as he dreamt of computers in a thought bubble. He stared at it wistfully, he missed her. His heart still ached when he thought of her. He walked the twenty-five feet to the copy machine and made two copies of Kate's caricature. He would stow the original away, frame a copy and gift Ziva the other copy.
Having safely tucked those away in his personal bag, not the box he was slowly packing his belongings into. He didn't want to lose them. One of his very few physical reminders of Kate. Hearing the unmistakable footfalls of his friend, Ziva, Tim emotionally readied himself for an incoming interrogation.
When nothing but her cheerful greeting came, Tim looked up at her. "What?" he asked her, an indescribable look on her face.
"Doesn't one normally do spring cleaning in spring?" she asked, in a confused tone. Tim was relieved she hadn't yet seen the box of his belongings already half packed at his feet.
"I'm running late this year." Tim lied smoothly, which had stunned Ziva into silence as she too, settled in to her desk and began to start up her day. She knew he was lying, but didn't expect him to do so, so efficiently, effectively and so believably.
Tony came strolling in a moment or two after Ziva took her seat at her desk. He had a Lothario grin on his face and it was contorted with excitement, as he launched into a crazy story about his weekend. Which had involved a college co-ed, that he had made a point of being over the age of twenty-one years old. A clown, a pitcher of margaritas, an Elvis impersonator and a pro baseball player.
Tony threatened both of them with a pink slip if they didn't find his story entertaining, as if he had the authority to fire them, anyway.
"DiNozzo, Conference room two. Vance is waiting for you, let's go." Gibbs said strolling into the bull pen, in his usual fashion. "Ziva cold cases, McGee, you're with me."
Gibbs had been in the office since five, when he arrived he didn't know what he was going to say to McGee. But his temper had cooled, somewhat since Saturday. He had spent the whole day here yesterday too, thinking things through on Vance's request.
Vance had stopped by his basement Saturday afternoon and that was out of the ordinary. What was stranger to the MCRT team leader, was when he spoke no words. Simply handed the aging agent the letter in a sealed envelope. The envelope had contained Tim's resignation letter.
Gibbs has hastily opened the letter, as Vance had not given him a clue to the contents of the letter and he prayed it wasn't Vance's resignation. They had just worked out the finer details of sharing an harmonious working relationship and were well on the way to becoming friends.
"WHAT?!" Gibbs' voice boomed, echoing through the basement. "How dare he?! I took a chance on a green, inexperienced, probationary agent and this is the thanks I get! I risked my career and reputation. I went head to head with Morrow to get him on my team!"
"Why would he want to stay?!" Vance's own voice boomed in reply and Gibbs physically recoiled, albeit slightly. He hadn't expected Vance to start on him because McGee wanted to leave. "He has been belittled, teased, hazed, disrespected. He has been excluded from team operations based on his experience, yet his team leader or the senior field agent won't put the time in to train him. He trusted his senior field agent, time and time again, only to be double crossed, bullied or let down."
"McGee knows what Tony is like." Gibbs grumbled to their Director. "That's on him. Just like with the teasing and hazing. All he had to do was ask Tony to stop."
Leon implored Gibbs with an incredulous look. He could not believe what he was hearing. Did Gibbs really just blame McGee for Tony's actions? Victim blaming at its finest! "Gibbs -"
"As for the misunderstanding the men had, McGee blew it way out of proportion." Gibbs interrupted him.
"BREAKING INTO A COLLEAGUE'S APARTMENT AND RIFLING THROUGH THEIR PERSONAL BELONGINGS IS A CRIME, NOT A MISUNDERSTANDING!" Leon boomed in his loudest voice possible. Louder than he had ever yelled at anyone before. "I take it that you are not aware of what DiNozzo got up to in McGee's apartment?"
"Eating his food, rummaging around his stuff and drinking beer, not exactly criminal, Leon." Gibbs retorted. "When McGee approached me, I spoke with DiNozzo. He assured me that he would not do it again."
"Well, he did and he escalated his behaviour." Vance snapped at him. "I told you at the beginning of that operation, I wouldn't tolerate any harassment and I meant every word I said. It seems that McGee's latest surveillance video shows Agent DiNozzo leaving homosexual pornographic material in his apartment for him to find, as well as other items of similar nature. That is sexual harassment, Gibbs. That is an invasion of privacy. It is unacceptable. Worst of all, it's illegal. As team lead, as soon as you were aware of his actions, you should have opened a case against DiNozzo."
"It's DiNozzo. He's a good agent, probably the best agent we have ever had, Leon." Gibbs supplied to Vance and Vance was internally plotting. "Sure he'll never be Director, but most agents don't want to be the Director. Surely being the best, he deserves some leeway."
"News flash Gibbs, DiNozzo is far from an ideal agent." Vance lowered the boom. He couldn't believe his ears. "We need more agents like McGee and less like DiNozzo. He's street smart and a smart ass, I'll give him that. But he's lazy with paperwork, a homophobic bully and he lacks motivation, unless it's the pursuit to bed a woman. It's too late for DiNozzo. Monday morning, an agent from the FBI is coming to interview DiNozzo. They're going to be bringing him up on charges."
"Fornell have a hand in this?" Gibbs asked in a seething voice. "Tell me if that rat bastard broke up my team like he broke up my marriage to Diane, just to spite me."
"An Agent Tom Stewart is heading up the investigation into DiNozzo. You know him?" Vance asked, scrutinising Gibbs. "I asked McGee for a copy of the evidence against DiNozzo, he gave me the agent's name. I guess he doesn't trust me either, by association."
"Oh, he's not the leaving. That traitor!" Gibbs fumed at Vance, as he took the stairs two at a time. "How dare he?! He'd still be a green case agent in Norfolk if not for me. Or worse, he'd be unemployed. I saved his job. Jenny wanted him gone several times over his job performance with the incidents involving his sister and that cop. Only reason she kept him around was she was afraid he would sue her for unfair dismissal and unsafe work practices."
"Unsafe work practices?" Leon parroted the last sentence to Gibbs, confused.
"Yeah, umm... Well, it's like this. It wasn't so much as unsafe work practices as it was her was having my six." Gibbs said sheepishly. "FLETC had released the new lawful forced entry protocols a year beforehand and I still hadn't been able to bring myself to instill them. I sent McGee around to cover the back by himself, while the three of us took the front. He was attacked by a ninety pound German Shepard, high on cocaine. What's worse was neither of us, nor Ducky thought anything of it and had McGee drive the dog to Abby for evidence. When the case was closed, I was told off for my reluctance to adopted the new protocol. That would have normally been the end of it. But then Palmer stuck his nose into it. Apparently McGee called Palmer for a ride to hospital and Palmer blabbed to Erica, his girlfriend at the time, who's best friends with Cynthia, Jen's PA; that McGee's injuries weren't treated correctly in the field and he had to undergo emergency surgery to save his arm."
"Where did you think McGee was? While he was off? I can't see him trying to hide an injury like that from you or Ducky." Vance surmised. Surely Gibbs had to have known how injured he really was.
"He told me that he was sick." Gibbs supplied, his voice betraying the bravado he was feeling. Vance glared at him, silently demanding the truth, not his version of the events. "OK, he said he was laid up with a bad flu. I didn't reply to him and simply hung up. He knew my rules about taking sick days and I thought that it was just a ploy to get holidays because he had requested some earlier in the week and I declined them because DiNozzo had a trip to Atlantic city with his frat brothers booked. I went by his apartment and neighbour told me that he and his young friend had left already; wearing comic book tees on and overnight bags. That they must have been off to a comic book convention. It was nerdy and sounded like something that McGee would be into, so I was angry at him."
"But...?" Vance prompted him.
"Ducky wrangled the whole sordid mess out of Palmer a week later; that McGee was staying with him after his surgery while he rehabbed because Palmer didn't have stairs at his place. Jen came in and overheard Ducky reaming me out over my treatment of McGee, so we both got in trouble from her and she didn't fire him."
"Give McGee some space for the weekend. A bit of space, after some time to think. You never know, he might retract his resignation, Gibbs." Vance began, providing the MCRT a slimmer of hope. "But don't be surprised if he doesn't. If I was in his shoes, I certainly wouldn't."
Leon Vance left shortly after that, but Gibbs had chosen to heed his warning. He was still angry, livid, still frothing-at-the-mouth angry at McGee. The traitor! An impulsive decision saw Gibbs standing outside McGee's apartment, late on Saturday afternoon. He didn't see McGee's silver Boxster in the parking lot. But there were separate garages on the complex property and he knew McGee's car was his pride and joy. Gibbs was sure, McGee would store her in one of those. Before he realised what his mind had told his body to do, he found himself banging on his agent's door.
After repeatedly banging on the door and calling out, he looked around. The coast was clear. He pulled out his lock pins and put the first pin in the lock, before he realised that this would make him as bad as DiNozzo. So he snatched them back up and re-pocketed them. He looked at his cell for the time. It was possible that his agent wasn't home. "Are you looking for our Timothy?" an elderly woman asked, answering to his final round of banging.
"Yes ma'am." Gibbs said, politely. "Do you know if he is home?"
"I'm afraid you've missed him. He won't be back until tomorrow." She said with a smile. Her thick wire rimmed glasses fogging up with the tears forming in the woman's eyes. "Then it's goodbye, forever. Such a shame, he was a good kid, always polite and helpful. Handy to have around, too."
"Goodbye?" Gibbs asked, shocked. "Where is he going?"
"Just gone, he said it was better if I didn't know where he was going." She leaned in closer to Gibbs, as if they were about to conspire to do something highly illegal. "I bet it has something to do with his job. The kid's never home and when he is he always exhausted. That boss of his is a slave driver. Always leaving him to work out whatever is bothering him. Doesn't the boss know that he has no one else but his team? He's family disowned him for being smart. That team of his, his work family, that's all he has in this world and now he's had to leave them. Poor Timothy, he agonised so much over his decision. But he needed to leave."
That was an eye-opener for Gibbs. It took the heat out of his words for him and the wind out his sails. The argument he had been sporting had all but died thanked the elderly woman for her candor and waved goodbye to her.
He let himself back into his truck, with a realisation. This was all his fault.
