Melange

For a long time, things at NCIS might as well have been a humongous melange. On the one hand, Tony was gaining great experience and many people appreciated his talents. On the other hand, the ones closest to him weren’t part of them. They didn’t see his talents. All they saw was a frat boy womanizing jock who was only good for taking up space.

The mixture of beliefs about him wasn’t anything new to Tony and quite frankly he was used to it. People rarely looked beyond his mask. None of the police departments that he’d worked at had. Most people assumed his solve rates were luck or some kind of charisma magic. That’s why he’d jumped at the chance to work with Gibbs.

For once, someone had seen him. Someone had seen who he was and who he could be and had wanted him. Someone had made him want to do better and be the best that he could be, but it couldn’t last. Things weren’t too bad when Kate joined they had a sibling relationship and squabbled and fought, but they both cared for each other underneath. They just weren’t willing to admit it.

Even once Tim joined the team it still felt like family. He helped protect his younger brother and in return he knew he had a place where he belonged. Of course, like most dreams it came crashing down on him in the most horrible way, starting with first Kate’s death and then with Ziva joining the team who was not family.

In fact, she only seemed to want to hurt him and those he cared about. Gibbs’ memory loss only spurred things along to their frightening end. After Jenny’s death even NCIS barely wanted him around. First, he was shipped off to agent afloat away from everyone and everything he cared about.

By the time he was allowed to return, he was no longer a part of the family. He just hadn’t realized it, yet. It took him a number of years to realize that there was no longer a place for him in the family and that he couldn’t make his own family anymore. At least, not with the people he thought used to be a part of his family.

Ducky, Abby, Tim, even Gibbs, they all moved on without him. They didn’t even notice he wasn’t with them anymore. The only one who even cared a little was Jimmy. And one wasn’t enough to make a family. Not when Jimmy had a family of his own already.

Still Jimmy had been amazing. He’d supported him and made sure he stayed alive. On top of that, he’d gotten him an interview with both the FBI and the CIA. Tony could have his pick of jobs at either agency.

He had no idea how Jimmy had done it, but it had blown him away. He’d seriously considered joining the FBI, but despite his on again off again relationship with Fornell he just couldn’t do it. The FBI had too many joint investigations with NCIS and he couldn’t face seeing the people that should have been his family essentially rubbing his nose in how little he was worth.

The vast majority of CIA operations were not on American soil and thus the likelihood of running into any of his ex-family was very unlikely. He practically jumped at the chance. Even when he found out that he’d have to work with Trent Kort on a regular basis, it still sounded better than NCIS.

His memories of working with Trent from his time at NCIS were not the best. He’d like to say that Trent showed him a different side once they were playing for the same team, but the truth was Trent was still just as much of a lone ranger daredevil as he was before. Tobias and Tony tried to make it work, but with Emily and the amount of times Gibbs randomly called Fornell up Tony had finally called it off for good.

He didn’t realize it, but that was what Kort had been waiting for. Kort had wanted Tony for a long time. It was actually him who initiated the offerings the CIA gave Tony, but he’d let Tony think it was Jimmy. However, Kort had never been one who shared well.

He wasn’t about to toss his hat in the ring until the ring was completely clear and he was the only contestant. With Tony finally ending his relationship with Tobias for good, that time had finally arrived. Kort was who he was. His secrets had secrets and his favors had double edged swords.

That would never change, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t know how to treat someone. That didn’t mean he couldn’t romance someone. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t completely capable of making someone the center of his world and having them love it and never want to leave.

He started off small. Not wanting to invest too much if Tony wasn’t actually done with Fornell. They went to the movies together a few times. They had a few dinners and hung out. All things that could be passed off as just hanging out with a friend.

Plus, he knew Tony still needed time. He’d seen how badly Tony had torn himself inside out, first at NCIS and then with Fornell. Kort may seem crazy and like a few screws short of a hardware store, but his plans had plans. He always played to win.

He always played for the long game, never the short game. He was one of those people who didn’t care if he lost a few battles so long as he won the war. The same was true with his relationships.

It took the right kind of person to be able to handle Kort. He was intense and determined. Not everyone could handle that. Still he knew Tony could more than handle him. He just had to give him time to recover from his previous hurts first.

As time moved on, Tony and Kort shared more and more. Including the fact that Trent wasn’t his real first name. It was actually a cover identity that had been chosen for his interactions with NCIS.

As Kort revealed more and more to Tony, Tony couldn’t help falling for the man. No one had ever trusted him like this. Not even Gibbs in the early days. Some days Tony could hardly keep himself under control. He felt like he was tingling all over from the pure pleasure of knowing just how much Kort truly trusted him.

In return, he opened up with Kort and shared things few knew about him. He shared his music. He shared the truth of his childhood. Not the half truths and misdirections most people got, but the honest to god truth. All the sharp edges and painful memories, all the secrets, the hidden things he grew up with.

Neither of them trusted easily. Neither of them shared easily. Together, though, they found kindred spirits in each other and learned the truth behind the saying that together they truly could overcome anything.