Work Text:
Kate's Warning
by Keyla Sheppard
"How was your weekend, Tony?"
If Tony's head had not been pounding he would have said something to the all-but-laughing probie. Tony grabbed his head again, finally giving up and downing a couple pills he had stashed away in his desk.
"DiNozzo!"
Tony groaned at the yell. His boss came around the corner and looked at Tony. If people didn't know better, they would have thought he was sorry.
"Get your reports done."
Jethro had lowered his voice and Tony smiled slightly at it. A few minutes later Kate walked out of the elevator, a man at her hip. She turned around and kissed him, then watched him walk away, but not before he handed her a tape. She sat at her desk, looked over at Tony, and smiled.
"Good weekend, Tony?"
Tony groaned again and walked off toward the bathroom, looking more like a two-year-old than a grown man. After a few minutes there was still no sign of Tony, and Jethro was getting worried.
Jethro got up and walked the same path Tony had with Kate watching his every step. He had seen her watching: there was something up with her, but he had something more important on his mind.
He stepped into the bathroom and looked around. There was no one else there, except the one man.
"Tony!"
"Crap... don't."
With that, Jethro pushed open the stall door and almost whacked Tony on the butt with it. Tony was leaning over the toilet, his breakfast floating in it. Jethro reached over, flushed the toilet, then helped Tony to his feet.
"You feel better?"
Tony nodded slightly and let the man guide him to the sink.
"I told you not to drink so much."
While Jethro went out and grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste, he tried to straighten his hair.
****
It was noon; no one was in the little cluster of desks except Kate and Tony, who had too much work to do to go out for lunch. Kate looked up at Tony, smiled, and then walked up to him.
"You had fun Friday, didn't you?"
Now that was way too specific... no she couldn't know, she *couldn't* know for sure.
"Did you?"
With that, Kate's smile disappeared, if only for a second.
"I had fun. Watched a video."
Tony shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He was obviously thinking about something and Kate could certainly read him much better than Jethro.
"I'm going for lunch, see you later, Kate."
"Tony! Wait!"
He stopped, turned around, and saw Kate holding a video in her hand.
"Come to dinner with Mark and I tonight. Bring your 'weekend buddy' and I'll give this to you."
Tony hopped onto the elevator, but instead of heading for his car, he headed to the security room. Once inside, he scanned the TV screens carefully and swore to himself.
"Where's the tape from Friday night?"
The security officer there pushed his chair around, stopped near a stack of videos, and rifled through them.
"A Special Agent Todd took it last night."
"Do you know what time?"
The man shook his head before answering.
"Mark came back and signed it out, he did all the paper work."
Tony's soft curses weren't so much quiet as silent the second time. He thanked the man then headed to his car to meet Jethro at their usual spot.
****
The day went by slowly; the two men came back from lunch more tense than when they had left. Kate had sent a message to Tony when he had gotten back; the time and place were set. Now to get Jethro to agree to Kate's 'blackmail,' or rather, a little fun at their expense.
"Gibbs."
Jethro looked up at Tony. The end of the day was growing closer and the time of the 'dinner' was too. The smile on Jethro's face, however, almost made Tony forget the reason he had called Jethro's name. He finally shook himself out of his thoughts and focused on his intent.
"I need to talk to you... privately."
"Okay."
Jethro walked past Tony, leading him mentally toward the only room he knew that no one could come barging in while they were 'talking'.
Once inside the bathroom, Jethro did his usual check of the stalls then locked the door. He walked over to Tony, smiling sexily, and leaned in and kissed Tony. Tony allowed it until he remembered the important thing he had to tell his lover.
"Ah... Jethro."
Jethro stopped kissing his lover and backed up a little so he could look the younger man in the eyes.
"What's up?"
"Ah... remember the conversation we had at lunch?"
Jethro just nodded, never losing contact with Tony's eyes.
"Kate has the tape."
Jethro froze. The calm, ready-for-action demeanor he had when he entered the bathroom disappeared.
"She'll give it to us, though."
"So... why don't you have it?"
"We have to go to dinner with them."
"Them?"
"Kate and Mark."
Jethro pulled his eyes away from Tony's and tugged him in for a reassuring hug. He kissed the nape of Tony's neck and smiled against his skin.
"If that's what it's going to take, then I guess we're having dinner with Kate."
Tony relaxed in Jethro's arms and pulled back to kiss him again. Five minutes later they both walked out of the bathroom, only stopping at their desks to grab their stuff before heading for their cars.
****
The dinner had gone well... Kate had picked a nice, secluded restaurant and it was fairly inexpensive. During the dinner, Jethro and Tony had kept their cool, had acted like they were at the office, but it was starting to grate on them.
Finally, during dessert, Jethro couldn't stand it any longer and cautiously laced his hand on Tony's thigh. Tony went rigid for a second and then relaxed again. Kate smiled.
"Gibbs."
Jethro looked up at Kate from his dessert.
"Under one condition, and one condition only, will I give you this tape."
Jethro was getting nervous; his hand on Tony's thigh tensed slightly, not enough for anything to be reviled. Tony laid his own hand on Jethro's, if only to make sure the man didn't move it.
Just then the waitress came around and Mark paid for the dinner... all of it. Kate's statement hung in the air until they left the restaurant and were standing next to their cars. Kate was standing right next to Jethro, the two sandwiched between their cars. She leaned in to whisper in his ear, placing the hand with the tape behind her back.
"You have to promise me never to hurt him. Not once. You better be good to him and love him as much as he has always deserved to be loved."
This statement, coming from Kate, shocked Jethro into speechlessness. He couldn't say anything as Kate waved the offending tape in front of his face, far enough away that he couldn't reach out and grab it. Shocked as he was, he still didn't let his shock paralyze him. Instead, he whispered into Kate's ear in much the same manner she had earlier.
"I would never hurt Tony. I love him more than I've loved anyone before. There is nothing anyone can do to make me stop loving him."
Kate shuddered and took a step back to get Jethro's breath off her neck. She smiled and placed the tape into Jethro's outstretched hand but still didn't let go.
"You have to tell him."
Gibbs took a step closer, pulling Kate closer too, and whispered one last thing.
"I already have."
With that, Kate let go of the tape and ducked into her car, a smile on her face. Jethro stood there for a moment as he watched them drive off, finally sitting in his own car. He looked over to find Tony already sitting next to him, looking at him expectantly.
"Let's go home."
Tony nodded his approval and put his seatbelt on. When he turned around, Jethro was in his face. Jethro placed his lips on Tony's and waited for Tony to open for him. When he did, he traced every part of the man's mouth before letting up.
"I love you, Tony. More than anything."
"I know... I love you too, Jethro."
With that, Jethro put his own seatbelt on and drove them both home so they could show each other just how much in love they are.
The End