Work Text:
Moving Day 2: Bed, bath and...beyond
by Fanficwriter101
`Tony!!'
Tony looked up from the newspaper and groaned inwardly. What now??!!
`Yeah?'
Gibbs' footsteps on the staircase were quickly followed by his appearance in the kitchen doorway. `Come with me.'
Tony followed Gibbs upstairs, confused when they headed for the bathroom.
`What did you do in here? Re-enact the final push to Baghdad?' Gibbs asked, gesturing at the chaos with his hand. `Clean it up.'
Tony rolled his eyes. `It's just a towel and...'
Gibbs counted off the things he considered out of place. `Towel...no toilet paper on the roll...your underwear on the floor...your socks on the toilet lid...you didn't rinse out the bath...you pushed the shower curtain back while it's still wet...and as if that weren't bad enough, you left the window closed so the whole second floor is now *damp*. And make the bed. You get up late, you make the bed.'
Tony sighed. `I'm sorry.'
Gibbs smiled, sighed and reached around Tony from behind. `I'm not nagging you every time you don't put the toilet seat down...I'm just asking for a little thought, okay?'
Tony smiled. `I'll start making notes.'
Gibbs released Tony and snapped his hand around the back of Tony's head. Tony whirled round, rubbing the back of his head. `Oww!! You're not supposed to do that...here.'
`Why not?' Gibbs asked, clearly at a loss.
`Because...you're not...the boss...you're...'
Gibbs waited. `I'm...?'
Tony looked everywhere but at Gibbs. `Uh...well...it's different. Don't hit me.'
Remembering Tony's occasional comments about his past, Gibbs relented, pulling Tony close for a quick hug. `How come you're so tidy at work and so messy here?'
Tony shrugged. `Cos I live here.'
Gibbs chuckled. `Yes you do. Now get this place cleaned up.'
Tony walked into the bathroom and looked around. It was kinda...untidy.
`And don't forget the bed!'
Tony groaned and bent to pick up the towel.
***********************
Tony settled into his familiar place. Head on Gibbs' lap, laying on his side, occasionally turning to look up at Gibbs. After only two days, it was as if he had been living with Gibbs forever.
He knew the evening `routine' - dinner, loading the dishwasher, tidying the kitchen, snagging a beer each, settling onto the couch to watch TV and, if he needed to, talk about the day.
During the commercials, because Gibbs disliked them with an intensity Tony found unsettling, they talked about everything from the new chairs they had been given which didn't fit under their desks to the weather.
Gibbs' hand wandered down to rest on Tony's chest, feeling his heartbeat. `We need to tell Kate. She's gonna find out by accident, and I don't want that.' He felt the thudding under his fingertips begin to race. `I'll take her out to lunch...' Gibbs offered.
`Invite her for dinner.' Tony smiled. `Your cooking will distract her.'
`No.' Gibbs said, shaking his head decisively.
`Why not?' Tony frowned, sitting up.
`I said no!' Gibbs snapped.
Tony leaned his head on Gibbs' chest. `Tell me.'
`It's too soon.' Gibbs said tightly.
`You just said we had to...'
`Forget it. It can wait.' Tony's eyes were full of worry and Gibbs felt a little guilty for that, but he was *not* going to invite Kate for dinner.
`You said yesterday we'd both make mistakes. If you don't wanna tell me something, you don't have to. But if you're not comfortable with her knowing about us, why do you wanna tell her?'
Gibbs took a deep breath and folded his arms around Tony. `Knowing and seeing are two different things. Kate's a profiler, she's observant by nature. She won't miss *anything*. You comfortable with that kind of scrutiny?'
Tony nodded. `Yeah. I don't have anything to hide. Not any more anyway.' He looked up at Gibbs. `You make me tidy everything away.'
Gibbs laughed, but his face betrayed his anxiety at being too demanding with Tony. `Am I that bad?'
`Not when you're asleep.' Tony grinned, reassuring Gibbs that he wasn't.
Continued in Part Three...