First Friday of the Month - NCIS fic
Title First Friday of the Month
Word Count: about 2,000
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Gibbs/DiNozzo (unrequited), DiNozzo/McGee(unrequited), DiNozzo/Kate (friendship)
Summary - Tony visits McGee for some drinks. It’s the first Friday of the month and he doesn’t have Kate to spend it with.
Spoilers if you didn’t see the end of Season 2
Disclaimer: I do not in any way shape or form one NCIS or make a profit from this story. It'd be nice if I did but I don't. ::major sad face::
This is a prequel to Fight and both stories can be found on my journal or at AO3
all errors are mine
“Hey, Probie,” Tony called through the door. “Let me in.” Tim heard a soft thud and when he looked through the peephole he saw DiNozzo using a pizza box as a doorknocker. “I brought beer,” Tony said, a singsong quality to his voice. “Let me in,” he repeated. Tim felt it hard to resist the order. So, opening the door, he moved to let Tony inside.
DiNozzo, with six-pack in hand, moved easily through Tim’s apartment. He headed straight for the tight kitchen where he put the pizza down and searched for some plates. Moving to help, Tim got the to correct cabinet first and pulled out two.
“Thanks Probie,” Tony said as he opened the box and pulled a slice out. Tim wasn’t surprised to see it was DiNozzo’s favorite, pepperoni, sausage, and extra cheese. “Mmm,” Tony moaned with his first bite and Tim’s heart clenched at the sound. He wished it were something he’d done that made Tony sound like that and not some pizza. “This is perfection dude, you gotta have some.”
“Well I would if I didn’t think you’d inhale it all before I got a chance.”
Tony stuck out his tongue and slid a slice onto Tim’s plate. “There you go. It’s safe for the moment. But I call dibs on your crust should you choose not to eat it.”
Tim rolled his eyes at the banter. It was familiar and safe and it made it ok for Tim to lean against his kitchen counter, close enough to Tony that their shoulders brushed. “So what prompted this visit?” Tim asked after he finished his first slice and had passed his crust onto the older man’s plate.
“Can’t a guy just visit his Probie? His McGeek? His McGoo?”
“Tony,” Tim cut in. He got enough of the nicknames at work; he didn’t need to hear them in his own home. He opened the pizza box and pulled a second slice out. Pepperoni or sausage weren’t his preferred toppings but the extra cheese made up for them.
Tony popped Tim’s crust into his mouth, put his plate down, and grabbed a beer out of the pack. He got the cap off and took a drink. When he put the bottle down a second later, it was empty.
“Thirsty?” Tim asked. He’d seen DiNozzo drink before, but never quite that fast.
Tony didn’t answer right away. Instead he grabbed a second beer and took a long draw from it, drinking half in a couple of gulps. Tony sighed and looked down at the drink in his hand. “You know… as much as we bickered, Kate and I did spend time together outside of work. Unless we had a case, we almost always spent the first Friday of the month, drinking together.”
Tim didn’t know what to say. Even when he’d heard others joke about Tony and Kate’s relationship, he knew it was more ‘brother/sister’ than ‘ust’. A second later he realized it was the first Friday of the month and Tony had chosen to spend it with him. “And you’d go out?” Tim asked. He wasn’t jealous that he’d never been invited to join them. He was the newest member of the team, and there had been plenty of nights where the three of them along with Abby, Palmer, and sometimes Ducky, went out. It was nice to know that Kate and Tony had had a night that was just theirs.
“Yeah, Kate usually picked. You know, she wanted someplace that served her fruity cocktails.” Tim rolled his eyes at the jibe; they both knew Kate could take her beer like the best of them. “Sometimes she picked a place where we could dance…” Tony finished his drink and started on a third. He didn’t offer one to Tim and Tim didn’t try to steal one away. “But usually we just hung out, swapped stories, and sometimes tried to see who could get more numbers.”
Tim was a little surprised by that side of Kate. As much as he loved her, sometimes he thought she was a little prudish. The idea of her chatting up guys at a bar didn’t quite fit with what was in his head.
“God…” Tony whispered, “She almost always won. But I would keep extra numbers in my jacket so that I could win sometimes. Loser had to buy the next round of drinks…”
“She probably knew you cheated.” Kate was smart like that.
“Yeah, you’re probably right Probie.” Tony put his three bottles in a row and stared at them for a moment. “Don’t know why she ever let me get away with it,” he murmured more to his drinks than to Tim.
“Well, you were friends,” Tim said and bumped his shoulder into Tony’s. Tony just nodded, a frown on his face growing by the second. “If you hadn’t been, I’m sure she would have castrated you for going through her purse… her phone, messages… her desk…”
Tony let out a strangled laugh and reached for another beer. “Don’t make me laugh Probie,” he said after most of his drink was gone. “It doesn’t feel right to laugh without her, not tonight.”
Tim silently agreed. The fourth beer was replaced with a fifth before Tim said, “Why don’t we go sit down. Grab the pizza and we can sit in the other room.” He took the last beer out of the pack and carried it, with his pizza, into his living room. The apartment was tiny, especially with computer hardware he had about, but Tim had a couch that could fit the two of them comfortably, and that’s what mattered. Tim sat and tried to relax. He passed the beer over to Tony; he hadn’t grabbed it for himself. Considering how quickly he was drinking, Tony was well on his way to getting sloshed so Tim figured he needed to keep his head clear. He needed to be the responsible one.
They ate their pizza and sat together in comfortable silence. But after Tony had finished the six-pack he’d brought, he looked to Tim for more. Knowing he had more beer in his fridge, Tim just gestured back to his kitchen. Tony didn’t hesitate to get up and if he swayed a tiny bit, neither man mentioned it. Tony returned to the couch, a beer in each hand. He popped one open and said, “She was really brave.”
“Yes,” Tim echoed, “She really was.”
“No, I don’t mean with the job… we, we all know the risks.” Tony gulped and Tim stared transfixed on the bobbing Adam’s apple. “But when she stayed with me… in the hospital.” Tony turned to look Tim in the eye. “She stayed with me, Tim. I was dying and she stayed with me.”
“Well, you were friends,” Tim repeated. “If I hadn’t been helping Gibbs, I would have been there.” Tim had wanted to be there, had wanted to be with Tony. He’d dreamt several nights of being in Kate’s place, of being the one to comfort DiNozzo when each breath became a war he wasn’t sure he’d win. Tim had dreamt of blue lights and cracked, dry lips. He’d woken up to the sound of wheezing. Even though death had come and claimed a member of his team, he was grateful every day it wasn’t Tony.
“Gibbs…” Tony muttered, staring at the two, now empty, bottles in his hands.
Tim couldn’t believe he’d drank them so quickly. “Maybe you should slow down Tony,” he said, even though the caution was a bit late.
“Yeah maybe…” Tony put the bottles on the floor near the pizza box and leaned back on the couch. He closed his eyes. For a long moment he was quiet and Tim thought maybe he’d fallen asleep. Tim started to move to get a spare blanket when he heard Tony say, “I don’t think I would have made it without Bossman. Kate was great, being there with me,” Tim turned in time to see a tear leak out of Tony’s eye. “But Gibbs ordered me not to die and I had to listen to him.”
As happy as he was that Tony was fine, scarring be damned, Tim rolled his eyes at the mention of their boss. Of course Tony would do anything Gibbs told him to do. “I’m glad you’re ok; I’m glad you’re here,” Tim whispered but Tony made no acknowledgment of hearing him.
“Do you think if I’d died, Kate would still be alive? Do you think maybe Ari would have figured Gibbs had been hurt enough? Do you think Gibbs would have hurt at all if I’d died?”
“Hey!” Tim reached out and grabbed Tony’s shoulder roughly. “You do not get to talk like that. You do not get to dishonor Kate with a pity party. If you’d died at Bethesda, we all, Abby, Ducky, Palmer, Kate, Gibbs… me, we would have all been devastated. I don’t know if Ari still would have killed her, if he ever would have gotten the chance to, but we… you just can’t talk like that Tony. You can’t…”
“I know, I know, Tim,” Tony jostled his shoulder free of Tim’s grip. “Seriously, I’ve had plenty of time to think about this. If we’re not worked up on a case all I can think about is Kate on the roof. I can still feel her blood on my face…” Tony absently wiped at his face. “I thought things would be different now…”
“Different how?”
“Well…” Tony paused to lick his lips and Tim stared at the pick tip that darted out. “I almost died and then Kate did… There are so many things I wish I’d gotten to say to her; I’ll never get the chance to now. And with-“ Tony cut off sharply to not say the name Tim already knew but didn’t acknowledge. “I thought maybe he’d embrace life… realize how quickly it could be snuffed out. I thought maybe he’d finally make a move. But he’s never going to… things aren’t going to change. I lived for him and I don’t even think he cares.”
Tim hesitated for a moment but then reached out to touch Tony’s shoulder again. “He does,” he said softly. “I’m sure of it; he cares about you.” He wasn’t sure what to say. He wasn’t supposed to know that Tony practically worshiped the ground Gibbs walked on. Tim wasn’t sure if anyone else knew the of senior field agent’s feelings and until Tony actually said Gibbs’ name, he wasn’t going to say it either.
“Yeah…” Tony voice was sluggish, sleepy. “Thanks for letting me come over tonight Probie.”
“You’re welcome here anytime Tony.” Tim stood up and stretched. Then he moved to get some bedding. When he made it back to the couch, Tony was fast asleep, a small bit of drool leaking out of the corner of his mouth. Tim made a mental note so that he could tease Tony of that later. He really liked pulling DiNozzo’s pigtails but didn’t get to often; the older man was much better at teasing and comebacks. Once he was certain that Tony was set for the night, Tim went about cleaning up the empty beer bottles and put the left over pizza in the fridge. There were only a couple slices left, ready for a delicious but unhealthy breakfast. Tim filled up a glass with water and shut off the kitchen light. He took a few sips of the cool liquid as he made sure the apartment was locked. Then he put the glass down next to the couch for Tony and headed into his bedroom. It wasn’t fair to have Tony so close and not be able to touch him, sleep next to him, wake up to his smile and morning breath. Tim wasn’t sure he’d ever get the chance. But he hoped he would as he changed stripped down to his boxers and a t-shirt. Though it wasn’t that late, he got into bed, knowing a good night’s sleep would help him take care of Tony in the morning. Thinking of the ingredients he would need for a ‘DiNozzo Hangover Cure,’ Tim fell asleep.