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Tony had heard good things about Nicholas Torres, mostly from Gibbs. It had been a few years since Tony had transferred to Rota, Spain, as the team lead. And one of his guys, Eduardo, had recently retired. Vance chose to send Torres out to provide some temporary assistance. It helped that he was fluent in Spanish.
They were a bit more low-tech in Spain. While all the agents had NCIS creds and IDs, there was no scanner at the doors. They all carried keys and alarm codes. When Torres arrived from the airport, he knocked on the outer door and waited. At least there was a camera and an intercom.
“Please identify yourself,” said Tony.
“Nick Torres, NCIS.”
“Oh, I’ll be right down.”
Racing down the stairs, Tony opened the door with a smile and invited Nick inside. “Come on in. I appreciate the help.”
Removing his sunglasses, Nick scanned the area. There was a conference table off to one side, and stairs leading up. “Ouch, who picked the olive green paint? It’s almost worse than the orange back at the Navy Yard.”
“I know! Can you imagine them both in the same office?”
“No, I can’t. If anyone did that, I might have to shoot the decorator. I mean, what are they? Color blind, and deaf to feedback?”
“In DC, we always figured they just found the cheapest paint they could buy that would cover the space they needed to paint.” Pointing down the hallway, Tony said, “Conference room is to your left, down the hall is the kitchen, and the bathrooms. In the back are our interrogation rooms. The bullpen is this way, upstairs.”
Nick followed Tony upstairs and found a large space with six desks spread out. There was also a bathroom upstairs, as well as a secure room with a sign that read Mini-MTAC. The walls were the same drab olive green as the first level.
“Take any open desk you want,” Tony offered. “I’m there,” he pointed. “And Roger is over there.”
“Just the two of you?”
“Since Eduardo retired. We use the extra desks for projects or guests. Make yourself at home.”
“Speaking of home, are you sure it’s okay if I stay with you?”
“Yeah, I have a huge place. It’s fantastic. There’s a nice gym on the first floor that I can use. I’m on the third floor, and have three bedrooms. It’s big, but not that expensive, and the location is perfect. I have a guest room all set up, so you might as well use it. Honestly, it will be nice to have some company that speaks English.”
“Maybe I can do something nice for you in return,” Nick offered.
Tony smiled. “Just what might you have to offer?”
Walking around the space, Nick eyed the green walls. “I was thinking that I could paint the walls a different color for you. Do you think Vance would pop for the paint?”
“While I’d love to get rid of the green, Vance would have a cow if we got paint all over the desks and the files.”
Setting down his luggage, Nick looked the space over. “I can paint. I spent a lot of time undercover, and one of my aliases was a professional painter. I can get it done quickly, efficiently, and with no paint splattered on desks, files, or any of the equipment. All you have to do is get Vance to spring for the paint, some drop clothes, rollers, and a couple of other things. And choose a color.”
“Hmmm… Maybe a medium sky blue?”
Nick glared at him. “You’re in Spain. These walls are Spanish. They need to be some sort of terra cotta, maybe with some yellow-gold accents, sort of a sandy color for the trim. You have to think sunshine. Yeah, I can make this place pop!”
Choosing colors was not really Tony’s forte, so it was probably better for him to trust Nick’s judgement. “Okay, I’ll tell you what. You get to stay with me for free, and I’ll buy the paint and whatever other stuff you need. I’ll help you paint. And you cover our meals. That means, you cook at the apartment, or take us out for dinner. Nothing fancy.”
Nick thought about it. Buying food wasn’t that expensive, and certainly cheaper than renting a room. “You pay for entertainment once a week. A play, a concert, whatever. I need some time to relax.”
“Deal,” said Tony.
~~~***~~~
It all seemed to work out. Nick got the office painted surprisingly fast. They worked on the project most weekends until it was done. Nick painted, and Tony moved furniture, taped walls and trim, and adjusted the tarps. On Sunday evenings, they cleaned everything up and had the office ready to function on Monday mornings.
During the week, they’d jog together or go to the gym a couple of floors down from Tony’s apartment. Nick appreciated the large apartment with plenty of windows. There was also a long balcony in the back that could be accessed from Tony’s bedroom or the living room. Of the two smaller bedrooms that faced the kitchen and dining room, the one at the front of the building was the guest room Nick used, and the other Tony had set up as an office where he could go over files at night if he wanted to.
Nick was originally supposed to be there for three months. He’d sublet his apartment in DC for that time. Vance eventually advised that he wanted Nick to remain there for another month while they broke in a new agent, Sandra Kane.
As Tony had also put in a request to transfer back to DC, and an opening had recently become available there, Vance was also sending out a new team leader, a man named Dennis Levi.
Both Tony and Nick were thrilled when they got the call to return to the States in time for Christmas. The guy who had sublet Nick’s apartment had found a new place to rent, so at least he knew he had a place to stay. Since Nick was staying with Tony in Spain, he offered Tony a place to stay in DC, just until he found his own place.
“Same deal,” Nick offered. “I’ll pay the rent and utilities, you cover the food.”
“Fair enough.”
Before they left, the team was chasing down a group of suspects and got into a bit of a street fight with them. Nick walked away with a black eye and a bloody lip. Tony and the rest of the team had some minor scrapes and bruises, but it was clear that Nick suffered the worst of it.
“At least we’ll be home for Christmas,” said Tony.
Since Tony’s apartment was a good deal in a prime location, Dennis, the new team lead, agreed to take over the lease and keep all the furniture.
Tony and Nick were happy to pack their things, say their goodbyes, and head to the airport in late December.
~~~***~~~
Nick called the manager of his apartment building and asked him to verify that the apartment was left in good shape and hadn’t been broken into. The manager reported the sublet tenant had cleaned it up and left it locked.
Tim McGee picked the pair up at the airport. Tony requested that he please stop off at the first BBQ place he saw.
“Not that I don’t love Spanish food, but they haven’t yet mastered American barbecue. Not even close,” Tony said. He bought enough for all three of them as a thank you to Tim for picking them up. “I got a family dinner pack, so ribs, pulled pork, and pulled chicken with baked beans, cole slaw, and garlic bread for sides. It smells so incredibly good!”
Tony slept on the couch the first night and the second night. On the third night, Nick asked him to go with him to the basement storage cage and bring up the Christmas tree, ornaments, and decorations.
Tony was doing double duty as he was baking cookies as well as helping to decorate the tree and the apartment. They’d decided to invite the team over for Christmas Eve, since Vance had allowed both Nick and Tony to use vacation time until the end of the year, while everyone else was stuck working.
The two of them were having fun in the apartment while decorating. Tony occasionally wrapped Nick up in silver or gold garlands, and once, while Tony was in the kitchen, Nick ran up behind him and began dropping tinsel all over him.
“Watch out,” Tony warned with a smile. “You’ll get it in the cookies.”
Nick tried to get a bit of cookie dough on his finger, but Tony grabbed Nick's hand and guided the finger with the dough into his own mouth, sucking the sweet treat for himself. “No freebies!” he declared.
Nick sidled up close to him. “You mean, I have to pay for it?” he asked suggestively.
“Uh, no. That’s not what I meant. The dough has raw eggs; I wouldn’t want you to get sick.”
“But it’s okay for you to eat it?” Nick asked, pressing closer and placing his hands on the counter, trapping Tony between his arms.
“I’m the baker. I’ve already been exposed to whatever may be in this cookie dough. I’m just trying to keep you safe.”
“Oh, are you now?” Nick asked as he leaned forward and kissed Tony.
“Still trying to get a taste?”
“Something like that.” The timer went off and Nick baked away so Tony could take the fresh cookies out of the oven to cool. “I think that’s enough baking for one day,” he said as he turned off the oven, then took Tony’s hand, and led him back to the living room.
“Wow!” Tony explained. “This room has really come together. Everyone is going to be so impressed tomorrow when they come over.”
“What about you?”
Nodding, Tony looked Nick up and down and admitted, “I was impressed the day you walked into my office in Spain.”
Giving Tony's hand a squeeze, Nick nodded to the bedroom. “My bed’s big enough for two, if you want a real place to sleep, I'm willing to share.”
“How would I get any sleep in there with you in the same bed?” asked Tony. Reaching out, he settled his hand on Nick’s hip.
“I might wear you out, and you’d sleep like a baby.”
“How would we ever explain it to the rest of NCIS?”
Nick nodded to the tree topper, which was a pair of turtle doves. “We can tell them their names are Anthony and Nicholas, and let them figure it out.”
And that was the first night they slept together. Every year after, they made sure to use the turtle dove tree topper as a symbol of their love.
~The End~
12/12/2025
© 2025 by Jacie