Straight Lines And Curve Balls, 14/15
Title: Straight Lines and Curve Balls - Chapter 14
Fandom: NCIS
Beta: Unbetaed. But I proofread obsessively, if that helps?
Rating: R
Genre: Slash, humour, a little light angst
Pairing: Gibbs/DiNozzo
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them, more's the pity. If I did I'd share...
Description: In which Gibbs takes his cue from the storybooks.
Warnings: None
One minute, Gibbs was admiring the curve of Tony's shoulders. The next, he found himself staring at an empty step.
Beauty sleep. Like hell. DiNozzo was a night owl. No way was he yearning for bed at this hour. He was just getting himself out of the basement.
Which meant now he had proof. Tony might not have worked out the exact details, but he knew something was going on here.
Enough was enough. If this had got to a point where he'd rather be alone than in Gibbs' company, then things needed fixing.
Gibbs followed him.
***
He found Tony on the sofa, staring forlornly down at his shoe.
“Problem?”
Tony's shoulders tensed, and he knew he was on the right track. After a few seconds, they relaxed again.
“You fancy helping me get this damn thing off?”
Gibbs snorted, and knelt down. “Sure thing, Cinderella.”
“That was shoes on, not off.”
“Yup. Was also Prince Charming, and the love of his life.”
Silence. The kind made up of dozens of layers of thinking. After a moment, Gibbs found he couldn't stand it any more, pulled his nerves together and looked up. Tony was staring back at him. He found no clue as to what he was thinking.
And then the moment had lasted too long, and Gibbs knew he had to break the silence.
“Never meant to make you uncomfortable, DiNozzo.” Tony opened his mouth to speak, and Gibbs found with surprise that he didn't have what it took to hear it. Instead, he carried straight on. “I'll give McGee a call and get you set up in his spare room.”
“Boss?”
“You gonna want a transfer?”
“A what? No, no - hold up a minute. You think you could let me in on your side of this conversation?”
It took a couple of beats for the comment to sink in. A quick perusal of Tony's face confirmed that he wasn't playing dumb.
He'd hoped this kind of thing might be easier with a guy. It wasn't.
“Making you uncomfortable.”
“You didn't.”
“I did.”
“No, you didn't.”
“Can it Tony. You've been off ever since I collected you from autopsy.”
Tony grimaced. Gotcha, Gibbs thought.
“See?”
“Yeah, alright. Doesn't make it your fault though. I just got - stuff to think about.”
Gibbs could tell from the expression on Tony's face that he realised just how lame the excuse sounded. He raised an eyebrow, and was met with a slow flush creeping up DiNozzo's neck that said 'I'm lying' loud and clear.
Way to go Gunny.
“Thought I was being subtle. Should'a known better.”
“About what?”
“You gonna make me spell it out?”
“I guess so, seeing as how I really don't know what you're getting at. I mean, I know inscrutable's your thing, Boss, but you've got to at least point me in the right direction.”
“Look...” Gibbs bit off his first response, stopping for a moment.
This was not going right. What had Steph said? For someone who's proud of being a straight talking guy, you sure know how to beat around the bush when it matters.
She'd had a point.
Bite the bullet.
“I think you've been picking up on my... feelings.”
“You have feelings?”
“DiNozzo!” The bark was instinctive, and reminded him he was still himself, despite all evidence to the contrary. It was enough to kick start the rest of the confession.
“Look - this...” He stopped, with a brief shake of the head. He was hoping it might rattle some more useful words loose. “Yes. Feelings, Tony. Feelings for you. But I never meant for that to carry over. And I promise you, it's not gonna affect your job, even if I have to step back.”
“Feelings.” Tony's expression... Gibbs hadn't seen one quite like it before. If pushed, he'd probably have described it as belonging to the 'I married a serial killer' family. Only with less devastation.
So far.
As reactions went, it could have been worse.
“Yeah. So. McGee?”
Tony was staring hard at him now. “You... I mean... Of all the...You...” His mouth hung open at the end of the word, leaving him gawping silently across the room.
Gibbs couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this embarrassed.
The look on Tony's face changed to determination, and he braced himself on the arm of the sofa.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting up.”
“Be careful.”
“Be careful? You think I'm going to hurt myself, get over here and stop me.”
It was an open challenge, and he had half an idea that Tony might slug him as soon as he got within reach.
Still, he needed the help.
Sure enough, as he reached an arm out, Tony's shot out as well.
And grabbed his.
And pulled.
Chapter 15
Fandom: NCIS
Beta: Unbetaed. But I proofread obsessively, if that helps?
Rating: R
Genre: Slash, humour, a little light angst
Pairing: Gibbs/DiNozzo
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them, more's the pity. If I did I'd share...
Description: In which Gibbs takes his cue from the storybooks.
Warnings: None
One minute, Gibbs was admiring the curve of Tony's shoulders. The next, he found himself staring at an empty step.
Beauty sleep. Like hell. DiNozzo was a night owl. No way was he yearning for bed at this hour. He was just getting himself out of the basement.
Which meant now he had proof. Tony might not have worked out the exact details, but he knew something was going on here.
Enough was enough. If this had got to a point where he'd rather be alone than in Gibbs' company, then things needed fixing.
Gibbs followed him.
***
He found Tony on the sofa, staring forlornly down at his shoe.
“Problem?”
Tony's shoulders tensed, and he knew he was on the right track. After a few seconds, they relaxed again.
“You fancy helping me get this damn thing off?”
Gibbs snorted, and knelt down. “Sure thing, Cinderella.”
“That was shoes on, not off.”
“Yup. Was also Prince Charming, and the love of his life.”
Silence. The kind made up of dozens of layers of thinking. After a moment, Gibbs found he couldn't stand it any more, pulled his nerves together and looked up. Tony was staring back at him. He found no clue as to what he was thinking.
And then the moment had lasted too long, and Gibbs knew he had to break the silence.
“Never meant to make you uncomfortable, DiNozzo.” Tony opened his mouth to speak, and Gibbs found with surprise that he didn't have what it took to hear it. Instead, he carried straight on. “I'll give McGee a call and get you set up in his spare room.”
“Boss?”
“You gonna want a transfer?”
“A what? No, no - hold up a minute. You think you could let me in on your side of this conversation?”
It took a couple of beats for the comment to sink in. A quick perusal of Tony's face confirmed that he wasn't playing dumb.
He'd hoped this kind of thing might be easier with a guy. It wasn't.
“Making you uncomfortable.”
“You didn't.”
“I did.”
“No, you didn't.”
“Can it Tony. You've been off ever since I collected you from autopsy.”
Tony grimaced. Gotcha, Gibbs thought.
“See?”
“Yeah, alright. Doesn't make it your fault though. I just got - stuff to think about.”
Gibbs could tell from the expression on Tony's face that he realised just how lame the excuse sounded. He raised an eyebrow, and was met with a slow flush creeping up DiNozzo's neck that said 'I'm lying' loud and clear.
Way to go Gunny.
“Thought I was being subtle. Should'a known better.”
“About what?”
“You gonna make me spell it out?”
“I guess so, seeing as how I really don't know what you're getting at. I mean, I know inscrutable's your thing, Boss, but you've got to at least point me in the right direction.”
“Look...” Gibbs bit off his first response, stopping for a moment.
This was not going right. What had Steph said? For someone who's proud of being a straight talking guy, you sure know how to beat around the bush when it matters.
She'd had a point.
Bite the bullet.
“I think you've been picking up on my... feelings.”
“You have feelings?”
“DiNozzo!” The bark was instinctive, and reminded him he was still himself, despite all evidence to the contrary. It was enough to kick start the rest of the confession.
“Look - this...” He stopped, with a brief shake of the head. He was hoping it might rattle some more useful words loose. “Yes. Feelings, Tony. Feelings for you. But I never meant for that to carry over. And I promise you, it's not gonna affect your job, even if I have to step back.”
“Feelings.” Tony's expression... Gibbs hadn't seen one quite like it before. If pushed, he'd probably have described it as belonging to the 'I married a serial killer' family. Only with less devastation.
So far.
As reactions went, it could have been worse.
“Yeah. So. McGee?”
Tony was staring hard at him now. “You... I mean... Of all the...You...” His mouth hung open at the end of the word, leaving him gawping silently across the room.
Gibbs couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this embarrassed.
The look on Tony's face changed to determination, and he braced himself on the arm of the sofa.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting up.”
“Be careful.”
“Be careful? You think I'm going to hurt myself, get over here and stop me.”
It was an open challenge, and he had half an idea that Tony might slug him as soon as he got within reach.
Still, he needed the help.
Sure enough, as he reached an arm out, Tony's shot out as well.
And grabbed his.
And pulled.
Chapter 15