Work Text:
Hugger-mugger
Tony’s thoughts were a complete hugger-mugger. He really hadn’t expected Gibbs to propose. They’d only been dating a few months at most. His mouth hung open as he automatically tried to speak to reassure Gibbs hearing the worry in his voice, but literally he could get nothing out as one idea would make a move towards his speech center only to be knocked back by another idea jostling for position to be the first words out of his mouth.
For once, his mouth had come to a stand still though his brain was still going a mile a minute trying to process all the possible responses, beliefs, dreams, and ideas Gibbs proposal had triggered. He wasn’t actually opposed to the idea of marrying Gibbs, but it certainly hadn’t been in his plans so soon. He was still trying to get a sense for whether they could really stand the test of time. He didn’t want to rush into marriage to Gibbs and end up just another “ex-wife”.
Finally Gibbs ever increasing note of worry in his voice, the longer Tony’s silence went on, broke through Tony’s thoughts. Shaking his head to settle his thoughts, Tony sat up. He couldn’t have this conversation with his back leaning against Gibbs chest. Looking Gibbs in the eyes, he couldn’t stop the words that came tumbling out of his mouth. “Are you serious?”
Gibbs flinched minutely at the question before rallying and staring Tony down with his glare.
“Of course, you’re serious.” Tony mumbled, half expecting a head slap. His eyes were no longer glazed over, but he was still deep in thought and made no move to say anything further.
While Gibbs was relieved that he hadn’t completely broken Tony, his heart sank at Tony’s response. That didn’t sound like the response of someone who was ready to say yes. He hoped he hadn’t ruined things between them by proposing.
Finally after about 10 minutes, which felt like forever for Gibbs as he worried, Tony started speaking again. “I’m not saying no.” His tone was calm as he spoke. While it was hard to say this, he’d made a decision and felt like it was the right choice for him and he hoped for their relationship too.
“But you’re not saying yes, either?” Gibbs questioned staring at Tony waiting for him to raise his head so that he could see what was going on in Tony’s brain.
Tony shrugged looking Gibbs in the eye. “It’s too soon, Jethro. We’ve only been dating a few months. I don’t want to be the fourth ex-spouse because we rushed into marriage before we were ready.”
Gibbs sighed in relief. It didn’t sound like Tony was going to dump him. He just wasn’t ready for marriage yet. “Ok. Tony.” He spoke softly and gently. “We can wait, but that won’t change anything. I’ll still love you.”
Tony nodded, but made no further response.
After watching him for a bit, Gibbs coaxed. “Now come back here. Let’s just enjoy the rest of our evening.” He held out his arms, so that Tony could scoot close and settle against him again.
Tony eyed Gibbs trying to gauge his sincerity. Finally, he smiled slightly and scooted closer. Turning up the volume on the TV, he tried to relax back against Gibbs though it was a lot harder to do now as his mind was still whirling from the unexpected proposal.