The Bitter End

Title: Bitter End 02
Author: Daedalus / Tak / Whatever, as long as the clock keeps ticking
Fandom: NCIS
Category: Slash
Pairing: Gibbs/DiNozzo – Allusions to Tony/Jeanne and Gibbs/Mann
Rating: PG for now (will be NC-17 later on)
Genre: Angst (a lot of it) – Action – Character study – First Time
Summary: What could have been a tragedy forces Gibbs and DiNozzo to realize they can’t deny what they long for any longer. But a ghost rises from the past and beats them to the game.
Spoilers: Every season from season 1. Starts at 5x07.
Warnings: Homophobia
Disclaimer: Don’t own, don’t sue.
Thanks to Joey for betaing this fic.

Four days later, he was nursing a beer in the dark. He had taken a week off. The accident had shaken him more than he realized. He hoped McGee would not joke about his passing out when he got back from his little impromptu vacation. He was pretty sure Ducky had told them all about it – after all, they had had to call back an ambulance. He was glad the ‘Probie’ was feeling more and more confident, but while he liked to tease, McGee had a tendency to aim his jibes just below the belt. Normally, he could cope with it easily, but he was feeling particularly vulnerable and he still had to try and keep those feelings in check if he did not want to have to hand out his resignation to the Director. The less he saw of her, the better he felt. Especially since the ‘Benoît Incident’ as *she* liked to call it.

Tony had not shaven in three days. And he probably smelt like sweat and alcohol. He just sat there, against the wall, in the dark, unable to eat, unable to sleep, unable to feel alive.


Tony had visited Gibbs at the hospital, as soon as the doctor allowed Gibbs’ visitors inside the ward, but he had stayed behind a door, stealing a glance to see if the man he loved really was okay before turning back without Gibbs even knowing he was there and tossing the flowers he had brought in the nearest bin. He knew the man wouldn’t like them anyway.

He did not have the courage to face him just now. He was afraid he would break down again. Boys did not cry. And he was a grown man. A DiNozzo. He had survived Y. Pestis, for God’s sake. He had survived multiple explosions and shots directed at him. Yet he could not face the fact that the man – the man! – whom he unrequitedly loved had nearly been killed. Once again.

Most of all, he was afraid he would blame Maddie for it.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons why he had clung to Jeanne. That he had tried to love her instead of Gibbs. Because he knew exactly how dangerous their job at NCIS was, and that if he lost himself in his love for Gibbs, and then lost him in action, he would lose not only his smile but his soul… Being with Jeanne was easier in every respect. She was a woman. Not a co-worker. She loved him already. Or at least, she said so. All he had had to do was smile at her, use the charm he had used countless times on random girls, in various places, and she had fallen into his opened arms. He believed that in time, he would have found some measure of happiness – even though it was all just a lie…

And yet when she asked him to choose, he had chosen Gibbs. He hadn’t hesitated. Because Gibbs would never know what he was to him. He had chosen Gibbs over a woman whom he loved somehow and who loved him in return, he had chosen his job over her because he could not bear the thought of not seeing his boss anymore. Even if he had to be there the day he died, he would seize each day he spent by his side. If he had to be present when he died, he would take his hand and take the coward’s way to tell him how much he loved him and had loved him and would mourn every day he would spend without him. He had hurt so much when they had lost Kate. But Gibbs…

Oh God, Gibbs…

And here he was, sitting alone in the dark, trying to get pissed on beer, just because he could have died. Just because…

He remembered that day at the hospital. Kate had stayed by his side all night long. Yet he had felt so lonely…
Gibbs… Gibbs had told him to live and he had… but afterwards?

He knew his boss had other things to do. More important things. Yet he would have liked for him to come over once more, just to check up on him, make sure he was okay, during his recovery. Not just show up when he was cleared to go home and order him to come with him to his place.

He shook his head. He was delusional. He did not know which was worse. That his boss did not even bother, or that Tony never really tried to make him care.

He knew Gibbs would resent him for his weakness if he saw him like this. That is why he had taken his little vacation. In order to take the time necessary to tune back into his old Tony self. The one who dates girls and acts silly and smiles all the time. Acts silly and says silly things to help people put things into perspective. That, he thought, had cost him Gibbs’ regard, too, since even if his gut had told him Kate would be okay when she was kidnapped by Ari, he had pushed too far and completely disregarded Gibbs’ fear to lose their team mate, as well as underestimated the terrorist’s skills and goals – and how much of a psychopath he really was.

One of the heaviest weights on his heart.


Smiling was not hard to do around Gibbs – even his trademark whacks tended to wrench a smile from him. Though of course he protested. That would be the only sensible thing to do. Still, secretly, he knew those were the only tokens of affection he would ever get from Gibbs, so he cherished every single one of them. And when he received none for too long, he grew anxious.


‘Oh God…’ he groaned, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes, willing himself very, very far away. He loved life. He loved his life. But each time one of them was close to dying… When Gibbs… Hell, even jail had not been as depressing a prospect as ‘this’. He had the hots for his boss. He had the hots for a man who had been married four times, divorced three, who had a thing for redheads – female redheads –, who, as far as he knew, was (more or less) dating a woman right now, who had given no indication whatsoever that he had ever been remotely interested in men, and who was not over his first wife’s death yet, whom he obviously considered the love of his life.

His boss, for Christ’s sake.


‘God…’ he said louder.
‘Sorry to disappoint you, it’s only me…’ said someone in his doorway.


He froze, looked up, and shivered.


‘G… Gibbs…’ he squeaked.


Leave it to the man to find the moment when you are at your most vulnerable (while you really, really, really do not want him to see any weakness in you) to trespass. His voice seemed thin and high-pitched, even to his ears.


‘Y-you scared me… Wh-What are you doing here??’
‘What the hell are you doing sitting here in the dark, DiNozzo?’
‘Err… Drinking beer?’


Oooh, he did not like it. Not one bit. It was hard enough to concentrate so his heart would not jump out of his ribcage… And now his boss was here, watching him sit in the dark next to his bed, with no intention or strength enough to get up, more stubble than he had had after the Jeffrey White case, and…

So…


Had he not been deprived of Gibbs before that day, he would have handled this just fine. Three little days to recover from the shock… It was as if he was getting a fix of heroin half-way through the process of withdrawal.
But now, Gibbs was there, standing in the threshold of his bedroom, a dark figure against the corridor full of light, and Tony could not make out his expression in the dark.

And even so, he could not tear his eyes away from the man. The man he had very nearly lost. The man he had thought he would not be able to save.

What was Gibbs doing here, staring at him in the dark? Sure he would see more of Tony than his Senior Field Agent saw of him, but why look at him at all?

What was he waiting for? For him to fall apart?

Once more, Tony was terrified.


‘So he didn’t exaggerate…’


Tony blinked at Jethro’s sigh.


‘Who?’
‘Ducky. Told me you were in shock.’
‘I’m not in shock.’
‘Ya think? Look at you!’


There was irritation in his tone, and anger, but his voice was also clipped with worry, and even in his state, Tony could hear it. That did not prevent him from flinching.

And what was he doing there anyway? Wasn’t he supposed to be at home, sanding his boat or in Mann’s arms? Wait – technically, she was in Hawaii. But she could always return. As far as he knew, she could still come from time to time. Not to mention the fact that Gibbs had nearly drowned not so long ago. His boss really should be someplace else. Like at home, recovering? Why come to Tony’s while the agent moped liked a spoiled child…
Everything Tony could wish for, he had. Well, he was a bit lonely, but that was okay. But the one thing he wanted from the bottom of his heart…


‘Boss… I… ah…’


Tony faltered to give any explanation for the state Gibbs had found him in and smiled bitterly, looking down at the floor while he rubbed his palm on the nape of his neck. He heard Gibbs come closer and kneel down next to him. His breath caught. He did not dare to look at him. He decided he had to play dumb. For now. Anthony DiNozzo was not very bright anyway, was he?

Falling in love with his boss… you bet he was not bright…


‘Mind if I sit here?’
‘… Make yourself at home.’


When he felt Gibbs’ hand on his forehead, he thought his heart had finally managed to climb out of his throat and decided to go and see how the world looked like. He shuddered, froze. Gibbs’ hand against his heated skin felt good. Very good. So very good. So very right. And he could feel his breath on his cheek. Good too. Especially given the fact that only days ago, he had spent so much time trying so hard to coax said breath from a dying man.

Gibbs grunted and dropped his hand, only for it to return a second later on Tony’s hair, petting gently.


‘You know’, he said with a somewhat amused, but still worried voice, ‘I’d have liked it if my ‘best’ Senior Field Agent had checked up on me, just to see if I really was alive…’
‘The girl… Is she… Is she okay?’
‘Maddie’s fine, Tony. But don’t you drop the subject.’
‘Ducky came over. And I phoned Abby.’
‘Yeah. And you scared the living crap out of her…’


Gibbs’ voice was uncharacteristically neutral. Tony did not dare answer a word. He didn’t look up. He was afraid of the disappointment that he could imagine painted all over his boss’s face. He did not know he had scared Abby. He remembered he did not feel well at the time. That was it, probably. He did not feel well, so Abby had overreacted. She sometimes got like that. They all knew it. No big deal.


‘You sure you’re okay?’


Tony snorted.


‘I’m not the one who nearly drowned in a car like three days ago…’
‘Yeah… Well you could have caught a bug in that water and developed pneumonia again. What were you thinking, DiNozzo?’
‘Well, that’s precious, coming from you. What were you doing out there, without back up?’
‘Yeah… Well…’ Gibbs answered grudgingly.
‘… What are you doing here, boss…’ the young man sighed.


Tony knew he sounded exhausted. He willed his hands away from his head and tilted it backwards, chasing Gibbs’ hand until it returned to stroke the hair on his temple. As weak as his reaction was, Tony did not, could not break the contact entirely. He would enjoy the touch for as long as it would last. Relish in every second. It took all his willpower not to lean into the touch and groan in frustration when it went away. Still, he did not open his eyes. It helped him concentrate on the wafts of Gibbs’ scent that he received whenever the man moved a little.

He knew his boss was watching him closely. But right now, he was damn too depressed to care.


‘Told you. Checking on one of my team mates. When I came back to work today, I was told by Jenny you’d gone on a vacation. Not even a word on my desk from you. I understand you’ve been under a lot of pressure these past few months… hell… Years… But I thought…’


Tony opened his eyes and looked at Gibbs tiredly.


‘No offense, boss, but I haven’t had a break since Methuselah. And yeah, like you said, needed it…’


He sighed.


‘I know I should have just called or something. Made sure you were okay… directly… But you’re at work, right? So I figured, if I get away from work, it’s best not to piss off Boss over the phone with my silly babblings. ‘Sides, he needs the rest, and so do I…’


Liar…


He knew Gibbs was looking at him closely, and he swallowed, gazing absent-mindedly at the floor once more.


‘Hell, you’re scaring me too, right now, DiNozzo…’
‘Sorry, boss… Don’t mean to… I know it’s weak of me… just… Just so tired…’
‘Yeah. Don’t apologize. That is a weakness. You know the drill. Have you had a look at yourself in a mirror lately, Tony?’
‘Mmh nah. Not in the mood. Think I don’t look so hot.’
‘Tony…’
‘Sorry boss.’
‘Have you been eating?’
‘… Of course I have been eating… What? You think I’d…’
‘Exactly.’


Yes. He had forgotten. Shit happens. Three days in a row, it was not quite as often. Still… He had not felt like eating anyway. Beer seemed appealing enough. But food… Nah. It wouldn’t have stayed with him.


‘Tony…’ Gibbs sighed. ‘What am I going to do with you…’


Tony looked up sharply.


‘Hey don’t joke around, boss. I’ll be ready when I come back to work, I swear… I just need a little…’
‘Tony…’


Gibbs had laid a hand on Tony’s cheek, stroking it gently despite the stubble that was surely grazing it. God he loved those hands. How they cool felt against his heated skin.


‘You’re feverish. You’re shivering. As far as I know, you’ve been staying alone in the dark, living on beer for the last three days, after you completed your report and asked for some days off. You shy away even from Ducky when he tries to help you, and you scare Abby with your ‘dead voice’. You know Abby is not scared by morbidity. Just… Yes. But there you are. She said it was not you she heard, Tony. She said it was as if you were trying to sound nice and dandy, but hell… I thought she was overreacting but she was right. She was right and you know it. You’ve seen too much. You’ve lived through too much.’


Gibbs was getting visibly angrier by the second. That was a Gibbs that Tony knew how to deal with. That nearly earned his boss a smile.


‘And here you are, moping in the dark, as I said, and just look at you! Where is Tony DiNozzo, for fuck’s sake! I mean, you’ve been shaken a lot of times. But in the end it was alright. Always. Fuck, you even had balls enough to flip the bird at Death when that Lowell woman sent us her little get together present! Hell, Tony! What the fuck is going on?’


Tony looked down, smiling bitterly once more.


‘You’re mistaken, boss. You did all the work. You scared Death out of me that day…’


Even though he could not see him, Tony knew his boss’s face had softened. He heard him scoff.


‘Well, if you can joke around, it’s not as bad as it looks...’
‘See? Told you…’
‘Come on, now, Tony. I’ve brought some food and something to drink. How about you go get a shower and we have a little chat?’


It was obvious Gibbs had something to tell DiNozzo he would never tell him in the office. Now they were at home and since he saw Tony looking so ‘down’, he could not just act like his second ‘b’ for bastard self would usually do. Still, it was more because his boy was visibly falling apart that he could not bring himself to crush him even more under his heel. Hell, if he could be considerate for the victims and in the front of children, he could refrain from snapping once every five years… Truth to be told, Tony was scaring the shit out of him, and even the younger man knew this.


‘Sounds fine to me. Make yourself at home. I’ll be with you in a few…’


Gibbs nodded once.


‘Good.’


His boss stood up and turned away, already heading for the kitchen. Leave it to Gibbs not to help him up. Tony snorted, shaking his head, smiling fondly. He got up and disappeared in the bathroom, peeling off his clothes one by one before stepping into the shower and resting his forehead against the cool tiles as scalding water rained on his shoulders.

Oh he could use a massage right now…

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


After the shower, Tony felt a bit better. At least he felt neat and wore fresh clothes; he had shaven. Human once more. The Tony who had been looking back at him for the last three days resembled too much the Tony who had just killed White, for his liking. The events of those two days still haunted him some nights.

Sometimes, he wondered. He would not have given his life for a criminal – no. But what if he had? What if he had not been able to fire? Kate had failed to knife Ari, after all. Well, his throat would have been slit open. What would have happened, then? Would it have been Gibbs instead of Caitlyn? Would have someone else taken his place by Gibbs’ side? Would McGee have dived to save his life and Maddie’s?

He shook his head. No gloom. He had till Monday to recover – only till then – and he had Gibbs under his roof. Good way to practice.


As he reached the kitchen, he was surprised to see Gibbs cooking. Not at actually seeing him cook. Rather at seeing him cook for him.


‘Wow, boss’, he joked, ‘didn’t know you could do that…’
‘No wife at home to help me out, DiNozzo. Can’t afford to buy carryout food twice a day. Doesn’t sit well with my fucking salary, next to what I spend in coffee. And I’d rather cook a bit at home than give up on coffee.’


Tony chuckled.


‘Bet you would.’


He hesitated, watching silently as Gibbs cooked two king-sized meatloaves in the pan. Of course he knew his boss could cook. He just had not figured he would cook for him one day. He smiled gently, leaning against the furniture. But that question…


‘Doesn’t Mann cook for you when you’re home?’


Gibbs looked up sharply, frowning.


‘Treading on dangerous waters, DiNozzo, and you know better than that. That is none of your business…’


Tony laughed nervously.


‘My bad. Sorry to piss you off, boss… I was just… wondering… That’s all.’


Well done, Tony. Now Gibbs will think you’re still a nosy brat who just wants to spread more rumours about his sex life at work. Well. That too. That was called revenge, after all. Though Gibbs had no idea why Tony would like revenge on Miss ‘Man’. Hell, if he was bi, couldn’t he be all the way? Bastard.

He chuckled. If Gibbs could read his mind, he would bite his head off, but he didn’t care. It was not like he could help his train of thoughts anyway, was it?


Gibbs’ eyes had softened a bit when Tony dared to look at him again.


‘You look better, already, DiNozzo. But you still look like shit.’
‘Why, thanks for the praise, boss.’


Gibbs smiled at him, one of those rare real smiles that gave Tony a visual orgasm whenever they were directed at him.


‘Sit.’


He did, and Gibbs shoved the meat on his plate, along with some vegetables, before doing the same in another plate.


‘Dig in.’
‘Sir, yes sir.’
‘Come on, now…’
‘Thanks boss.’
‘… You’re welcome.’


It was surprisingly good. Tony went at it slowly, in silence. He did not think swallowing it whole was the best thing to do, given what he ‘eaten’ in the last days. He could not finish his plate, so Gibbs put it away at the end of the meal and put it in the fridge. Tony was sure there had not been so many ‘things’ in his fridge when he had fetched his last drink.

Gibbs had observed him the whole time, with a frown on his face, when he thought Tony did not see him, a frown that spoke volumes of his concern. Perhaps that was all he would ever get from Gibbs. Smacks on the head, a few words of concern – often spoken in anger – and even fewer words of praise.
Well, it was enough for him. As long as the older man was safe, it was alright. As long as he did not see the woman all over Gibbs, Tony could cope.

Wait.

That was not exactly enough, but he could bear it. And it would still be worth it. He could not envision life without Gibbs. He wondered… Somehow… If Gibbs went away again…

Would Tony leave NCIS?

Gibbs had always been the one that made him want to stay. Even before he had been physically and emotionally attracted to the man. When they had remarked that Tony had been there for two years, already, he had been surprised. Time had flown so fast that he had not even noticed. And yet, he had gotten even better at his job. Gotten confident enough in his own incredible instincts that a lifetime with his father – or twelve years of it – and in the company of colleagues who felt so superior to him because of their experience and the fact that he played the part of the fool all the time, had nearly crushed – and would have succeeded in doing just so, had Gibbs not been there to catch him… Save him. When there had still been time.

Yet he knew he would not leave NCIS. He loved his job. Well. He loved it most of the time. Just not when Madame Director used him for her personal crusade, not when he faced death – though that gave him quite the thrill – and certainly NOT when Gibbs faced death himself. But he loved his job. Mainly because of his boss, true, but if it had only been that, perhaps he would not have stayed that long. The dead deserved justice; he was there to deliver it. And even though the murders they witnessed every day caused him to doubt human nature seriously, he knew he would give everything in his power to keep his job and put the bad guys behind bars. With Gibbs.


Gibbs, who had been studying silently for a while, spoke up again.


‘She broke you, didn’t she?’
‘Wh-‘
‘Jenny. When she… made you go out with Jeanne. And you fell in love with Jeanne. And Jeanne left you. She broke you? Abby told me some… things you said. She broke you and she made her dress like a doll. She forced Ziva on us. Not that I’m complaining – for the last part. But I’m so gonna kill her…’


Tony did something unexpected: he laughed.


‘Wait, boss… No, she did not break me.’
‘She never should have used you like this.’
‘I was doing my job, boss. And if I had loved Jeanne that much, you’d have my badge and gun by now…’


Gibbs, who had managed to look somewhat compassionate, anxious, and irate at the same time was now frowning, clearly confused.


After Voss, things had started to change. Gibbs had said nothing on the way home. It was worse than if he had. Even though Tony could understand his ire somehow. ‘Amanda Reed’ had killed a friend, and a co-worker. A member of the extended family.

And she could have killed Tony. Like Wilkerson could have killed Gibbs in his basement.

Tony had been attracted to Amanda. If he had had the chance to vent his sexual frustration on her, he would
have. He had wanted her, wanted to have sex with her, and all the while, he had had this feeling that hitting on her would help the case.

Well, it certainly had.

But after the Voss case, if Gibbs’ silence had not been punishment enough, Kate had driven the nail back home by alluding none too subtly to his ‘tonguing a guy’… That had upset Tony, but not for the reasons Kate thought. Tonguing a guy was not a problem – not that he would ever confess it. Tonguing a transsexual who was not ‘fully functional’ yet was a lot more disturbing. Fucking trannies was not high on his to do list, because it was not one of his kinks, though he could sympathize with them. What had upset him the most was that the guy had been a murderer. That he had brutally slain and gutted a co-worker. And what if he had followed ‘her’? Perhaps the team would have found him dead somewhere – in pieces – in her trashcan? So when the next week, he had flirted with another murderess and, despite a very stressful day, Kate repeated her little pun…

Hell. He had felt so sick that he had wanted out. So sick that Kate would use so low a pun to get at him, twice, when they had all had such a bad day. In his clouded mind, he was not so sure, but he would have sworn he crashed into Gibbs on his way out.


By then, his boss had been – mysteriously – so obsessed with Ari that he had taken to snapping at everybody, especially at him, and especially – he knew it retrospectively – when Tony had risked being taken away by yet another madwoman, or by the terrorist himself. Just like Kate had. And Tony had noticed how worn out Gibbs had been looking for a long, long time… But calling on him while sing-songing something like ‘hey boss, you look like crap, something wrong?’ sounded way too suicidal even for him to even think of trying at the time…
The future showed that Gibbs had been paranoid for a reason. And though Tony had felt the impeding threat, his tendency to act as if nothing was or felt wrong by continuing his jibes, admittedly partly to cool off himself, had grated on everyone’s nerves.

Just thinking back to that blood on his face, to the three of them on that roof made him sick and he put down his fork by the plate.


‘Thanks, boss. That was good.’


Gibbs was still studying him in silence. He glanced at his plate.


‘So why don’t you eat it all?’
‘Can’t. I’m full.’


Gibbs raised his eyebrows.


‘Yeah. You really are sick. Sure you don’t want to stop by the hospital?’


Tony chuckled, gazing fondly at the silver-haired man.


‘Oh, come on, boss. You know they’re not good for me.’
‘No. The bullets and bugs that make you end up in there are bad for you.’


Tony smiled.


‘I’m sure you didn’t even check in after you were cleared.’


Gibbs did not answer. That made Tony laugh.


‘See? I knew it! Do what I say, not what I do, is that it?’
‘Don’t push it, DiNozzo’, said Gibbs, even though he was smiling.


That did not last long. Tony’s smile faltered, and he looked down at the glass on the table, his fingers playing distractedly with the tip of his knife as he heaved a deep sigh. He did not say anything for a moment, but swallowed when he felt Gibbs’ hand over his, his thumb snaking underneath his fingers to stroke his palm lazily. Show him he– he cared. Tony smiled tightly, curling his fingers around Gibbs’ in response.


‘I… I thought this time you were dead… I thought you wouldn’t make it this time…’
‘Oh ye of little faith…’


Gibbs’ voice was dripping sarcasm, but the fondness was evident in his grey blue eyes as he looked at Tony.


‘You think a little water in my lungs can stop me, DiNozzo?’
‘That was not exactly a ‘little’ water. You know that.’
‘Yeah. Well, I had felt better. But I’m alright, now, Tony. So stop worrying. I’m more worried because of your lungs right now. What you did was- well. Selfless. Courageous. Heroic. But so very stupid.’


Tony gave him an insolent smile.


‘Like driving into the water?’


Gibbs rolled his eyes and Tony just looked at him, a long, long time. His hand felt so good. Why couldn’t time stop, so that they stayed like that forever?

He reluctantly removed his hand from Gibbs’.


‘You know, boss… I really like you… I couldn’t bear it if you died… Kate was… Kate was hard enough to lose… But I simply can’t afford to lose you…’


Tony felt his face burning up. He knew how Gibbs would interpret his declaration. And that was all the better. If he went down on his knees in front of his boss with a red rose between his teeth while a baritone sung ‘Deh, vieni alla finestra’ in the background, accompanied by a mandolin, Gibbs would have him locked up in a psychiatric ward before he could say ‘Bastard’. ‘Like’ was like ‘care’, and he was not lying when he said that.
When he looked up, Gibbs was smirking at him, a strange expression plastered on his face. He sighed, raising both his eyebrows as if Tony was driving him into despair.


‘Promise me to come by tomorrow. Just to say hello to Abby.’
‘I’m on vacation.’
‘If you don’t come by so I can see you’ve not spent your whole day locked up in your room, sulking and drinking beer, I’ll unleash her and have her babysit you. Understood?’


Tony rolled his eyes, but smiled.


‘Yes sir.’
‘Good.’


Gibbs stood up and Tony did too. It was the moment when Gibbs would bid him good night and Tony would see him to his car and everything would come back to normal.


‘Thanks for coming by, boss. That was nice of you.’
‘I don’t do nice’, Gibbs said, shouldering his coat as Tony watched him, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, a mischievous smile plastered on his face. He knew his eyes smiled too.
‘Yeah. Right. It was kind of you.’


Gibbs reached out to whack him over the head but he ducked in time, eliciting a bark of laughter from his boss.


‘Very good, DiNozzo.’
‘Well, you can’t beat me at that game every damn time.’
‘Come on. We both know we love it.’
‘Tell that to my brain when my skull cracks open.’
‘I’ll try to keep that in mind.’


They looked at each other for a while, smiling, before Gibbs sighed, opening the door.


‘Put something on your shoulders if you want to walk me to my car, silly boy.’
‘On it boss.’


They walked silently down the stairs, across the street and to Gibbs’ car. His boss stopped a moment, before turning to face him, a devious smirk on his face.


‘By the way… Thank you for the flowers, DiNozzo.’


Tony froze and flushed a deep shade of red.


‘How did you…’
‘A bin just outside my door. The video surveillance confirmed it, and there were your prints all over the paper…’
‘Ah… Well… Err…’
‘Well, stop rubbing your hair like that, you’ll go bald.’


He sat down behind, chuckling at Tony’s obvious embarrassment. He looked up at him, really did, and said softly:


‘And Tony. Thank you for saving me.’


He shut the door before Tony could say anything, started up, and drove off into the night, leaving a confused Italian standing in the middle of the street, gazing after his car long after it disappeared around the corner.