Surreptitious

Day 6: Angels/Snow Angels

Everyone gathered around Tony trying to see what he'd gotten that evoked such an emotional response, but Tony secreted it away quickly. It was too personal to share even with the rest of the MCRT. It was a really simple gift as gifts went.

Just a piece of paper, really. However, the sentiment was worth more than words could say. In fact, unlike Gibbs normal spoken words, the note contained a nimiety of words.

"Tony,

I still love you. I always have. I can’t wait for the chance to show you. I know I haven’t done so well in that department recently, but I know you’ve chosen to give me a chance.

I will not fail you. Of course, the paper is not your gift. It would not be much of a gift if all you got were some kind words.

Please do not doubt my words. They are true. You have always been special, especially to me.

As a token of my love and I know it is a poor one, I offer you unlimited steak dinners at my place. I will also make you as much handmade furniture as you desire. In addition, I wish to make this Christmas a memorable one.

Please allow me the honor of taking you on a date, every night or day that we are free. I may have lost my way, but I never stopped loving you. You are my light. You are the one person who isn’t afraid to get in my face when I’m wrong.

I need that. I depend on that more than you realize. Whatever happens between us, I hope that you will continue to speak up and tell me when I'm wrong.

Your moral standard is above and beyond anyone else I have ever worked with. You truly are the best agent I have ever worked with. I look forward to rekindling our friendship and hopefully even more.

Jethro"

Tony and Gibbs watched as the others opened their gifts. They were mostly generic or white elephant gifts. Nothing near as personal as Tony's gift.

Well except for Jimmy's which Tony had carefully chosen. Tony knew Jimmy had been wanting a new wallet for a while. Victoria had gotten ahold of his and damaged it, but not enough to warrant replacing it on their tight budget.

Tony narrowed his eyes at Gibbs. Just how had the man gotten his name anyway? "Did you cheat?" Tony whispered to Gibbs.

Gibbs shrugged. "I made Abby do it, but don't blame her. This is all on me."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"How else was I to start showing you I meant what I said in the blizzard?"

"You could have just manned up and asked me on a date, you know?"

Gibbs grunted.

"The grand gesture is appreciated, however."

"Tonight?"

"So long as we don't get a case."

Gibbs nodded. Their moment was interrupted by the team all demanding to see what Gibbs got. Gibbs sighed and gave in, opening his gift. As per usual when someone not on the team drew his name, he got a giftcard to Starbucks.

The team knew he hated Starbucks, but that hadn’t circulated around the office since Starbucks tended to be cheaper than his preferred coffee, so he still drank it frequently. After the gifts were all opened, the team returned to their desks to finish their reports. Finally, Gibbs gave the order to go home if their reports had been turned in.

After Bishop and McGee left, Gibbs turned to Tony. "Bring a change of clothes."

Tony rolled his eyes, but grabbed his backpack and headed for his car. He'd swing by his apartment on the way to Gibbs’. Apparently, Gibbs planned for him to spend the night.

Tony wondered what else Gibbs had planned. Gibbs' words in his note were so sincere that he couldn't help believing them, but he was still cautious. The way things had ended the first time made Tony wonder if they could really make things work this time.

He was willing to give it a try, but he was still concerned. They had a lot of work ahead of them to get through even a few of their minor disagreements and problems. Not to mention their major arguments.

On top of that Tony still couldn't help wondering why now. What had made Gibbs so willing to break his silence and try to win Tony back. Was it just his jealousy over the hot chocolate incident or was something else even more troubling going on?

Tony shook his head, trying to rid himself of his worries. It was ineffective at best. Still he moved on, packing a couple changes of clothes and making sure his go bag was fully loaded.

Finally, he headed over to Gibbs’. Dumping his bag to the side of the door, Tony entered Gibbs' house. Nothing really had changed since he'd last been here.

It had been many years since he'd set foot in this house, but it still looked exactly the same as it did before Gibbs left for Mexico. This worried Tony. Was Gibbs really ready to move on?

His house certainly didn't show any signs of it. Tony walked into the living room to see Gibbs setting out the steaks to marinate in preparation for cooking later. He settled on the couch to watch.

The silence enveloped them, but it was mostly a comfortable silence. Tony still had some worries that flashed through his mind despite his attempt to not think about them, but Gibbs seemed content. Well Tony thought he was content.

As he watched Gibbs more closely, he realized that while Gibbs hands weren't shaking, he moved his body a lot more than he normally did. It was like Gibbs was restless. Maybe he was waiting for the next shoe to drop.

Before Tony could think about it anymore or say anything, Gibbs blurted, "Let's go get an angel."

"What?"

"I used to do it with Shannon and Kelly every year. It was a tradition."

"What are you talking about?"

"Every year, we'd pick out a new angel for the Christmas Tree. We often spent weeks looking for the perfect one for the year, so we always started even before we got our tree."

Gibbs paused, thinking how to explain before continuing, "It was actually something Shannon and I started for Kelly. We wanted each Christmas to be special for her, so for the first few years of her life we found or I made Christmas tree angel toppers with her age and put them on the tree."

Tony stared at Gibbs in shock. He never shared this kind of information. Not even when they were in a relationship so many years ago.

"As she got older, she decided that every year had to have it's own angel. I think she declared it, Santa's helper. We considered trying to explain Santa, but eventually decided against it."

Gibbs chuckled as he remembered Kelly when she was younger, "She was so insistent that the new angel was needed in order for Santa to find the tree. Apparently, if we re-used an old angel, Santa wouldn't find the tree because the old angel wouldn't have enough power to show Santa the way."

Gibbs sighed as harder memories were dredged up, "I admit, after I lost them I couldn't even think about getting a new angel for a long time. But now, now, you're my angel, Tony, and I would love to share this tradition with you and bring the light of Christmas back to this house."

Tony didn't know what to say. Gibbs had just shared something even more personal with him than the note that he originally gave Tony. Finally, Tony at a loss for anything else to say, simply replied, "Yes," as he hugged Gibbs close, deeply moved by everything Gibbs had shared with him.