Set after Left for Dead in S1. It's been a long minute since I did this so cut me some slack pls. The TIVA spinoff announcement unlocked a memory for me, and I am just getting some things out of my head and onto 'paper'.
"My door's unlocked" Gibbs called out to Tony.
"I know" He smiled as he walked away.
After packing and unpacking his duffle bag twice, and then spending what felt like an eternity wandering around the liquor store picking up cases of beer and putting them back down, Tony sighed and accepted that out of all his limited options, Gibbs house was still the most appealing.
He'd be subjected to his boss's rules, but he would also be warm and probably fed so all in all worth the risk. At least until his apartment was inhabitable again.
Moments later, Gibbs heard Tony's car pull up front and smiled, shaking his head. Tony walked in and plunked a case of beer on the table just as Gibbs was putting steak and mashed potatoes onto two plates in the kitchen.
"Good timing" Gibbs cocked his head to the side.
Tony chuckled lightly, "Am I that obvious, boss?"
"You know where the extra bedroom is, and the bed is made. Feel free to stick your stuff in there" Gibbs pulled two beers out of the box Tony had just unloaded. "And hurry back down, this is a good steak, I don't want it to go cold."
Tony hauled his duffle bag over his shoulder and headed upstairs, passing the familiar closed door of Kelly's bedroom and pushing open the door at the end of the hall. It used to be the spare room, just some old cardboard boxes and a bare bed frame and mattress, but since Tony had first come over it had slowly evolved into his space. It had started by accident; he had left a load of laundry in the dryer and the next time he came over it was all folded up in a new dresser that had suddenly appeared. A spare toothbrush was in a cup on the bedside table. A stack of half watched DVDs piled by the small TV.
After tossing the things he had brought into a drawer, Tony thundered downstairs. Gibbs was a great cook and Tony wasn't about to miss out on a steak dinner.
Over dinner they fell into routine talk about work and their recent cases. Gibbs didn't miss the way Tony's jaw tightened when he brought up Colonel Jaeger's case, an abusive alcoholic accused of murdering his wife and son before committing suicide. They had wrapped the case up the week before.
After cleaning up, Gibbs headed to the basement and Tony settled into the couch, watching the end of the basketball game.
Gibbs sanded the ribs of the boat, thinking back on his SFA's reaction to the case. Tony had been jumpy all week, a little more serious than his usual self and staying at the office until late in the night. Even Kate had commented to Gibbs on his out of sorts behaviour.
Tony had tried not to share much about his background, but between Gibbs' extensive background checks and Tony's little slips, he had pieced together that his childhood was not the best. He hadn't missed the way Tony fell back into calling him Sir when he was feeling anxious or unsure. Or how Tony's eyes would follow his hands when he was drinking in the basement or getting a little too angry at his team. Or the nightmares when he fell asleep at his desk or in the car. Once in a while, caught off guard, he would even flinch at Gibbs unexpected touch or sudden movement. That always gave Gibbs a twisted feeling deep in his gut.
Gritting his teeth, Gibbs sanded a little harder. He kept his eyes down as he heard Tony pad down the stairs, hesitating just outside the entrance. He waited a beat and then barked out "You gonna stand there all night or you gonna come down?"
Tony paused on the last step. "Hey, boss..." He trailed off, looking like he was too restless to settle into his usual spot on the stairs.
Gibbs looked up, taking in Tony's tousled hair and how young he looked in his worn, college sweatshirt. "I could use a hand, if you're up for it DiNozzo" he cocked an eyebrow and grabbed an extra sanding block from the workbench.
"Oh, boss, I don't wanna ruin your boat. I don't know anything about woodworking." Tony shook his head, raising his hands in protest.
"You'll do fine Tony" Gibbs thrust the sander into Tony's right hand and guided him over to the back of the boat. "Just go slow, try to keep the strokes long and even."
He took in Tony's unsure expression and squeezed his shoulder, turning away to crack open a couple beers. They sanded in silence, taking the occasional sip of cold, fizzy beer to cut through the wood dust filling the air.
Tony felt his muscles relax as he focused into the rhythm of the sanding. He could see why Gibbs spent his time down here. It was relaxing. Meditative almost. If he were the type of person who meditated that is.
Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. And down.
This was nice. Especially after the case this week. Tony knew he had been a little on edge, but he was grateful no one had tried to get him to spill his deepest and darkest feelings. Yet, anyway. He knew Kate had been keeping an eye on him, and his boss, well... Tony slid his eyes over to Gibbs, innocently sanding his own side of the boat.
If Tony was honest, the Colonel Jaeger case had hit a little too close to home. The hospital records and photos of the boy – bruises and broken bones, all explained away with roughhousing and sports injuries. The drunk father, looking for an outlet, any outlet to his rage. And the dead mother. Ducky hadn't been able to tell which had been shot first, and Tony had found himself wondering whether it would have been a relief to die first. At least they had wrapped it up quickly, deemed a murder suicide, there was not much to do but log evidence and do paperwork. Tony let out a heavy sigh.
Up. Down. Up. Down.
Gibbs snuck a glance at the other end of the boat. Tony had really settled into the rhythm of sanding and looked like he had sunk deep into thought. Most days Gibbs would have been eternally grateful to have a moment of peace from his SFA, but this week Tony had been entirely too quiet. Gibbs downed the last of his beer and reached toward Tony, it was starting to get late, and it had been a long week.
Tony was still buried deep in thought when he felt a hand touch his upper arm. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the green flash of a beer bottle. He felt a sudden wave of heat rush through his body up to his head, making his vision blur. He dropped the sanding block and flinched, jerking himself back violently, and finding himself propped up against the back wall of the basement. He tipped his head back and swallowed hard, taking a moment before he had to open his eyes and face his boss.
Gibbs cursed to himself under his breath, he should have said something before he had touched Tony. He put the beer down and reached out again. "Tony." One word, but he kept the tone soft and gently bumped his arm.
Tony cracked his eyes open and grimaced. "Oh, hey boss." He cracked a small smile and tried to muster up some kind of joke to diffuse the tension, but Gibbs just put his hand on his shoulder and guided him towards the stairs.
"I think we should get to bed, it's getting late." Gibbs knew Tony expected him to try to get him to talk, to share whatever memories keep coming back to haunt him, but they would have all weekend for that. Gibbs had already decided Tony wasn't leaving his sight.
"Bed. Yes, sir." Tony grimaced, "I mean, boss." Shit. He hated slipping up like that, and he knew Gibbs always noticed. The expression on his boss's face confirmed that suspicion as Tony was marched upstairs toward the spare room.
"Night, DiNozzo." Gibbs said gruffly when they got to the upper floor. "Be up for 0700 in the morning, I have something I'm going to need your help with."
With a nod, Tony turned away and headed towards his room. A mystery task – could be fun or could also be not fun, knowing Gibbs. One time Tony had helped him clean out his rain gutters. And the elderly neighbour's gutters as well. And the neighbour across the street.
Well, he just had to get through the night without waking Gibbs up with a nightmare. With one last glance at the end of the hall where his boss was no doubt still up reading case files, Tony headed to bed.
~Looking forward a cozy weekend adventure with Tony and papa Gibbs :)