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Fornell cringed as he glanced at the time. He was late. Tony was going to kill him.
They’d probably already started the first course of the fancy dinner that Ducky supposedly had planned for the team Holiday dinner. On top of that, since Ducky was hosting the door wouldn’t be unlocked and he wouldn’t be able to walk right in like he would if Gibbs had hosted. So either he embarrassed Tony by ringing the doorbell or he figured out a way to sneak in. Neither was a great option in his book.
He pulled into the driveway of Ducky’s house with tires screeching and came to an abrupt stop. He had no idea what was going on in the house, but he could hear the revelry from out here. He decided that Tony would be less embarrassed if he came in the front door than if he snuck in, so he rang the doorbell.
He waited, but no one came to answer. With a sigh, Fornell moved around the outside of the house, looking for a way in. Sneaking in, it was.
He finally found an unlocked window and contorted himself to get inside. Tony better appreciate the lengths he was going to, in order to join him for this Holiday dinner. He’d actually been looking forward to it, as they were finally going to announce their relationship to the team, but then work went sideways and now he just hoped to be able to spend some time with his boyfriend.
He followed the sound of voices and found the MCRT, significant others, and friends all gathered around the table talking and laughing. He spotted Tony with a seat saved beside him and headed over, keeping out of Tony’s line of sight so that he could sneak up on him and surprise him with his arrival. Before he could say or do anything to Tony, however, he was interrupted.
“Just stop right there, mister,” Abby demanded, hitting him none too delicately with her finger to his chest. “If you think you’re going to stalk Tony, sneak in here, and then arrest him for murder again, you got another thing coming.”
Fornell stopped in his tracks, wrinkling his brows as he tried to figure out what Abby was talking about. She’d been loud enough to attract attention and Tony was now looking directly at him and giving him a look of apology? Why was Tony sorry?
Abby didn’t give him time to figure it out. “We will not let you hurt Tony again, Mr. FBI. You hear me?” She continued to prod him in the chest walking forward and forcing him back and away from Tony.
He sent Tony a puzzled glance, trying to ask him what he should do here, but Tony just shook his head. Pretty soon, it wasn’t just Abby. Gibbs, Ducky, even Jimmy were all surrounding him.
“Whoa, wait a minute here. I’m not here to harm Tony.”
“Then why are you here and why did you sneak in?”
“Well I tried the front door, but no one answered. I assumed it couldn’t be heard over the noise.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re here. I’m pretty sure I would have remembered sending you an invitation,” Ducky pointed out.
Fornell sent a shocked look at Tony, quickly followed by a look that screamed help me as the rest of the NCIS agents herded him to the door.
“Uh guys,” Tony interrupted with a sheepish expression. “He’s actually my plus one.”
“What?” The rest of the group shouted.
Gibbs immediately turned around and demanded of Tony, “You’re dating him?”
“Yep. Have been for over a year now.”
“What?!” Gibbs yelled, a growl ripping out of his throat. He turned around and slammed Fornell into the wall. “If you hurt him, what Diane did to you will look like mercy,” Gibbs warned.
Fornell quickly nodded his head. He knew better than to get on Gibbs’ bad side and he was not at all interested in seeing what would happen if Gibbs came after him instead of Diane.
Tony rolled his eyes and started making his way through the team to Tobi’s side. “Back off, guys. He’s not like that. Let’s just get back to dinner, ok?”
There was a lot of grumbling and griping, but at least people started to disperse and head back to their places at the table. Tony ignored them all, grabbing Fornell’s hand and leading him to the table and the seat next to where Tony had been sitting. “What took you so long? I was beginning to think that you wouldn’t be able to make it.”
“Believe me, you don’t want to know.”
“Agent Slacks again?”
“Worse.”
Tony shook his head and poured him a good amount of wine. “That bad, huh? Here. This will help some. I know you prefer the stronger stuff, but this is all I can offer, right now. I’ll get you something stronger when we go home.”
Fornell nodded. “It’s fine, Tony.”
Fornell felt Gibbs’ eyes on him and turned to face him. “Gibbs?”
Gibbs just shook his head and grunted. “I don’t see it.”
“What?”
“Whatever he sees in you.”
Tony sighed. “Maybe this was a bad idea. I’m sorry, Tobi. I didn’t expect them to react this badly.”
“Hey it’s fine. You and I both know where we stand and that’s all that matters, right?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Fornell could tell by Tony’s tone and the way he wouldn’t meet his eyes that it wasn’t fine. That he’d wanted the team to support their relationship. Fornell, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised by the response, though he was sorry that Tony found himself disappointed by those he considered family, much like had happened his entire life with his father.
The night progressed and things grew a little less pointed, but it was obvious that Tony’s smiles were faked and Fornell wished he could smack all of the other agents across the head. He spent the last hour, squeezing Tony’s hand lightly to distract him, and plotting things they could do once they got home that would make Tony feel better and maybe make up for the team’s lack of support. He would never regret the relationship with Tony. He just hoped that Tony felt the same way.