Tmesis

“Are you ok, Tony?” McGee asked as Tony dropped his backpack on the floor with enough force to shake his desk.

“Of course.” Tony replied deadpan.

“Are you sure? It’s just that you seem upset.” McGee bit his lip knowing he was in dangerous territory.

“Abso-positively-lutely. I’m just peachy.” Tony replied full-on sarcasm leaking through the rough edges of his voice.

“What’s the matter, Tony? Did your fant-ass-y not work out last night?” Kate asked with a smirk.

“Ha ha, Kate.” Tony glared. “Not funny.”

“Seriously Tony, what’s wrong?” McGee asked again hoping for a straight answer this time.

Tony put on his happy face. “Nothing’s wrong. Just a minor kerfuffle. I’ll get it fixed later.” He wasn’t about to tell either of his co-workers what had really happened. It started with the hot water heater going out as he was getting ready to take his shower, so he had to take a cold shower instead of his nice warm one that he had planned and only got worse from there. No. There was no way he was repeating this story ever. Not even if Gibbs asked.

“You’re not being paid to lolligag, people. Get back to work.” Gibbs commanded as he set his coffee down on his desk.

“Yes, boss.” All three replied immediately returning to their computers.

Gibbs logged on to his computer to send a short email. “What’s with the tmesis?”

Tony read the email and shook his head slightly. “Just making a point.” He typed back.

Gibbs nodded and typed his own response. “And yes I know what a tmesis is, Tony. Just because I don’t like technology, doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”

Tony’s smile curved upwards a bit more. “Never said it did, boss.” Tony replied to the email.

“No, but you were wondering.” Gibbs answered and then shut down his email.