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Gibbs shook his head as he watched Tony make dinner. He couldn’t believe that DiNozzo had invited Fornell over. He wanted Tony to himself, damn it.
He knew Fornell wasn’t stupid and had figured out that something strange was going on. Possibly even that the Toga Warriors were from another country, but he hadn’t asked and Gibbs hadn’t wanted to tell.
Gibbs had locked the door when they got home not wanting Fornell or anyone else to intrude unexpectedly. Of course, whatever Tony was prepping took a while so he hadn’t been able to lure Tony away for some alone time, but he would take what he could get. He heard the clarion noise from the bell around Tony’s neck and wondered if he should get a doorbell for the door since he would be keeping it locked more frequently now that Tony was his mate.
After all, he didn’t want anyone accidentally stumbling upon them having sex. Keeping the door unlocked was all well and good until you had a reason not to. He heard the banging against the front door and sighed.
Fornell must already be here. Gibbs really wasn’t looking forward to this. He hated all this mumbo jumbo and the fact that he was already involved didn’t make it sit any better with him.
He was glad it would be Tony’s job to explain to Fornell because he wouldn’t even know where to start. He liked Fornell. The guy, despite being a Feeb, was a good guy and loyal.
Gibbs opened the door and let Fornell inside. He decided to leave the door unlocked after Fornell entered as there would be no chance for privacy until after he left anyway.
Gibbs wasn’t sure if Tony had invited anyone else or not, but he saw no point in keeping out anyone who wanted to join them. After all, maybe Fornell already knew something about the prophecy. He wouldn’t put it past the guy to have some knowledge that they didn’t expect.
It was a good thing that he decided to leave the door unlocked as first Abby followed by McGee appeared. Ducky and Jimmy had also decided to join them. It was turning into quite the crowded house.
He’d never imagined having so many people over at his house at once. Tony was definitely changing his life. He wasn’t sure if it was for the good or for the bad, but he knew he wouldn’t trade Tony for anything.
He felt Tony send his love back across the bond and couldn’t help the smile that flitted across his lips, which turned into a full blown smirk when Fornell got a really disturbed look on his face because of the smile. The tinkling of the bell could be heard from the kitchen relatively easily, which made everyone except Gibbs frown. After all, Tony usually had his bell hidden during the day.
Gibbs was grateful that whatever magic allowed Tony to hide his bell also hid the one that now hung around Gibbs’ neck. Gibbs couldn’t help the amusement as he watched everyone glance towards the kitchen with confused looks on their faces and then back at Gibbs. He could tell they wanted to check it out for themselves, but he wasn’t going to make this any easier for them.
“Does DiNozzo have a bell on?” Fornell made the mistake of asking.
Gibbs grinned. “Yep. I do too,” he announced, releasing the magic that normally kept the bell hidden.
McGee wasn’t surprised. He’d seen it during the whole fiasco where Jenny interrupted them, but pretty much everyone else looked at it in shock. Gibbs shook his head, especially at Fornell who should know better than to allow himself to be so shocked. That kind of thing could get you killed on the street.
“What’s with the bells?” Fornell demanded.
Gibbs waved his hand dismissively. “Tony will explain everything after dinner.”
“Which is served, right now,” Tony announced. Tony had laid the food out on the table with paper plates so that cleanup would be easy. “Help yourself.”
“Wow, Tony. Everything looks good,” Ducky complimented.
“Thanks, Ducky.” Tony flashed him a grin.
Once everyone else had their food served up and had returned to the living room, Tony finally served himself a plate. The conversation turned to more trivial things as everyone ate, but there was a tension in the air that made it obvious that such lightheartedness wouldn’t last for long. Fornell grew impatient, wanting to know what was going on, but Tony kept putting him off until the leftovers had been put away.
Finally, Tony had no more excuses to put off the conversation and he returned to the living room settling next to Gibbs for the comfort as he tried to figure out how to start. ”Most of you know this already, but for those who don’t,” Tony trailed off not sure how best to break the news.
Gibbs just grunted and blurted, “Tony and I are mates.”
Tony sighed, “Yeah, that. The bells are a symbol that essentially proves that we’re meant to be.”
“Like fate and destiny kind of shit?” Fornell butted in.
“Well, not really. I mean the other stuff we have to explain kind of is, but the bells are just a symbol of true love.”
“How is that not fate and destiny?” Fornell asked.
“It simply means that the love is returned. Nothing more than that.”
Gibbs looked over at Tony, he felt like there was more to it than that, but he would save his questions for another time.
Fornell frowned, but nodded, gesturing for Tony to continue.
“As you may already know, I have the unfortunate habit of turning into a cat or at least it’s been a problem recently.”
“What? A cat?”
“Yes. It’s a long story, but basically I’m not originally from here.”
Fornell raised an eyebrow at that. “Where are you from then?”
“Another dimension that is usually called the Cat Kingdom.”
“What?” Fornell’s mouth dropped open. He’d known that something weird was going on, but this wasn’t what he’d expected in the slightest.