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“Are you sure about this?” Tony worried his lower lip between his teeth as he stared at Kort in concern.
“Better to meet in neutral territory where they’re less likely to pull a gun on me, after all.”
Tony hummed, rocking back and forth on his feet, still unsure.
“Besides it’s too late to back out. You already promised them you’d be there and that you’d bring ‘the person monopolizing your time lately’.”
Tony huffed.
“Which do you think they’ll be more shocked by that you’re dating a man or that you’re dating me?” Kort mused as he led the way to the car.
“Well Gibbs will definitely be pissed that it’s you. Tim’s probably going to be shocked I’m dating a guy. Abby’s just going to be pissed that I didn’t tell her I was serious about anyone. And Bishop will probably just be happy I’m happy and not be surprised by either.”
Kort chuckled, as he put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot.
“Did you bring the fruitcake?”
“Of course not, I’m not giving Gibbs a weapon.”
“Are you saying you can’t dodge a flying fruitcake, Mr. CIA Agent?” Tony smirked, his eyes twinkling mischievously.
“I’m saying I’m not taking any chances with your boss.”
“Is the big bad CIA Agent scared of my boss?”
“Just because I could take him out if I had to, doesn’t mean I’m unaware of his lethality. Nor does that make me scared of him. I just see no point in tempting fate. Aside from you, it hasn’t really gone in my favor much of my life.”
Tony hummed, but didn’t respond. He’d heard more of Kort’s tragic backstory than he would wish upon anyone at Christmas and didn’t want to bring up bad memories, especially since the team was unlikely to welcome him with open arms. Tony patted Kort’s thigh instead as they pulled into Gibbs’ driveway.
Kort reached down and grabbed Tony’s hand bringing it up to his face for a kiss before letting go and stepping out of the car. Tony followed Kort to Gibbs’ door, pushing the door open when Kort paused on the porch. “Gibbs never locks his door.”
“I know.” Kort winked.
“What’s he doing here?” Gibbs growled as Tony and Kort entered the living room where everyone else was.
“He’s my plus one,” Tony smiled lovingly at Trent.
Abby screeched and ran over to Trent to give him a hug. He just kind of stood in shock and let her do so, giving Tony a look of what is going on? Tony chuckled and hugged Abs while she hugged Trent.
“Wait. You’re dating Kort?” McGee gasped. “You’re dating a man?”
“Yep,” Tony popped the p, smiling brightly at Tim, not at all ashamed of his choice of partner.
Abby lightly hit Tony on the arm with her hand. “You should have told me, Mr.”
“Sorry, Abbs. It’s still new.”
Abby hummed before smiling and returning to the celebration. Bishop, Jimmy, and Ducky all offered their own simple congratulations. Tony watched Gibbs pull Kort away and figured that Kort was about to get a shovel talk. Tony just hoped that they wouldn’t come to blows.
Before he could decide whether he should follow them, despite knowing Kort was more than capable of taking care of himself, McGee pulled Tony to the side. “What the hell, man? Since when do you date guys?”
“Why? Jealous?”
“No,” Tim spluttered, shaking his head.
“No?” Tony tilted his head, “So you didn’t want to date me?”
“Of course not!”
Tony chuckled. “Then what’s the problem? My love life has nothing to do with you. Why does it matter if I date guys?”
Tim grumbled, “It doesn’t.”
“Then why are you bothered about this?”
“I just never expected you were gay. Am I ever going to get as good at reading people as you are?” Tim asked plaintively.
Tony patted Tim on the back. “I purposefully throw people at work off the scent. Even though being gay is more normal now, it’s still not really accepted especially in our line of work. So I make everyone think I’m a skirt chaser. You were only seeing what I wanted you to see. Don’t worry, Tim, I’m more of an exception than the rule. There’s no way you would have known.”
“Now, I better go find Trent before Gibbs shoots him or something.”
“I don’t think it will go that far,” McGee murmured.
“Still I don’t want to take any chances.” Fortunately when Tony found them, they were having a calm conversation and bloodshed seemed averted.
Tony smiled. He really hoped that at team gatherings, at least, that the two of them could tone down the animosity. “We should return to the party. There are still all the desserts and snacks and of course presents to open.”
“Oh right, I forgot to grab our tribute. I’ll be right back.” Kort dropped a kiss on Tony’s lips as he left.
Gibbs grunted. “He cares about you.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “Of course, he does. I outgrew being with people who don’t care about me, years ago, Gibbs.”
Gibbs nodded in satisfaction as they both returned upstairs to the party. Kort brought in the gingerbread rolls that he had made as well as the candied popcorn stars that Tony had made. Kort baked and Tony cooked. It worked for them.
With the introductions or well the team’s initial reactions out of the way, everyone settled into the swing of things laughing and enjoying themselves. They exchanged a round of white elephant gifts and enjoyed the various holiday sweets and snacks that everyone had brought. Tony was amused when the team kept attributing Kort’s gingerbread rolls to Tony and he had to keep correcting them that no Trent had made those.
Tony still wasn’t sure what would happen the next time that the team and Kort’s paths crossed for a case, but he was happy to see that everyone was willing to get along for the holidays. Not that he would have dumped Trent if the team hadn’t approved, but well not having to choose between Trent and the team was nice. The best holiday gift any of them could have given Tony, really.