Brick by Brick 2/?
Title: Brick by Brick 2/?
Fandom: NCIS
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1689
Warnings: major angst
Authors Note: Part two of this little venture. Hope you guys like it. =D Let me know!
Part 1
Jimmy Palmer hadn't ever considered Ducky a sneaky person, he just seemed too genuine and caring to be considered devious. So when the ME pulled Jim aside one day and told him that he should “make an effort to talk to Tony more” because Tony “might need him these days” it had been confusing at first. But as soon as Jim had seen Tony himself, he'd understood what Ducky had been saying.
Tony was a mess, and Tony was also far too proud to tell anyone that he felt responsible for. Which left Jim watching his friend worriedly and knowing he had to do something. Which lead to him pulling Tony aside and asking for advice about a girl.
Which was how Jimmy Palmer ended up spending a few of his evenings a week with Tony from then on, and the mornings after reassuring Ducky. He was fairly surprised to find that he enjoyed spending his time with Tony, it turned out even a slightly drunk Tony was good company. Even if the “advice” on girls was a bit retarded and Jimmy wasn't actually expecting anything to happen with Hannah.
No one had ever accused Jim of being particularly violent; he'd been described as loyal, or intelligent, and even on a few occasions adorable. But the evening that Tony finally was comfortable enough with him, and probably drunk enough, to actually answer truthfully when Jimmy asked his customary “What's wrong Tony?” he had to resist the urge to punch a wall. Not much made Jimmy angry, but watching the normally confident Tony explain in a small voice that Gibbs hadn't ever loved him had been just wrong in so many different ways and a horrible shock.
He'd known there was something between Tony and Gibbs, but he hadn't thought it'd been that serious or that Gibbs would turn out to be such a complete bastard after all. So he'd kept hanging out with Tony in the evenings, and he stopped talking to Ducky about their evenings. It didn't seem fair to Tony, not now that Jim understood the entirety of the situation.
So the Friday Gibbs came knocking on Tony's door, Jim was there. They were halfway through the latest big budget action flick, expecting Thai to be delivered, and Tony was already through his 5th beer which Jim slightly envied since he was fairly sure he'd need alcohol to get through the rest of the movie.
Hearing the door Jim fairly jumped at the chance to get away for a moment, “Don't worry I'll get it! My treat tonight anyway...” He ignored Tony's “Want me to pause it?” knowing his friend probably wouldn't even if he said yes. Opening the door to see Gibbs standing there, obviously shocked to see him, was at first a shock, and then Jimmy got angry. How dare Gibbs just randomly show up at Tony's door over a month after leaving the poor guy heartbroken? Jimmy frowned and stepped into the hall closing the door behind him softly. “No.”
~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~~~
Seeing Jimmy Palmer open Tony's door was slightly shocking, in fact it felt rather surreal which was only intensified when the young man stepped into the hall, shut the door, crossed his arms and said “No.”
And it was even more shocking when before Gibbs could even respond Palmer was shaking his head, “Seriously no. Go away.”
Which was about the time Gibbs realized what was going on and frowned, “What? No. I came to talk to Tony not you.”
Palmer sneered at him, which would have made Gibbs blink but that wouldn't help his case at the moment, “Yeah, I figured that. Too bad. Tony isn't going to talk to you. And you should just come back another time.”
“And who said you could decide who Tony can and can't talk to?” Gibbs knew his voice sounded dangerous.
“You did, when you left him like that. Tony's been angsting over this, alone for a while and now you think you can just show up and he'll forgive you and everything will be ok? I bet you even figured he'd be drunk too. Well too bad Gibbs, you can just fuck off. If you're serious about this you'll have to come back another time because I'm not going to let him talk to you tonight. And we're expecting Thai, so please don't hang around and confuse the delivery boy.”
And before the shocked Gibbs could respond Palmer was closing the door in his face and he could hear the lock slide into place. For a moment he considered banging to hell on the door, but he knew that Palmer had a good point. And for all Gibbs couldn't be more serious about trying to make this up to Tony, showing up at his door on a Friday night when Tony was probably drunk wasn't the way to prove that.
Gibbs sighed and trudged away, fully realizing for the first time just how badly he'd fucked things up.
~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~~~
Tony loved Palmer, in a very platonic “I wanna give you a noogie for going after a girl” kind of way, but they'd never really “hung out” outside of work until after The Kiss. And then suddenly Palmer was showing up at his house 3 times a week and Ducky seemed to calm down about sending him worried looks. Tony wasn't stupid, he picked up on it.
But Palmer, who was rapidly becoming Jimmy in his mind, was good company and Tony was lonely. Jimmy also never actually lectured him about drinking too much, he'd just hand him a diet coke with a pointed look. Tony could take that a lot better than lecturing, and he knew Jimmy was right either way, so he put up with it for Ducky's sake.
It wasn't until after a particularly hard case, and a particularly well aimed snap from Gibbs, that Tony actually told him. After that Ducky started sending him worried glances again, but Jimmy still showed up at his door; which Tony wasn't sure what to do with but he accepted it.
He'd never had a lot of guy friends like Jimmy, at least not ones that knew he was bisexual but the young man didn't seem to care in the least bit. He seemed to understand that Tony wasn't attracted to him at all, which Tony was thankful for.
Weeks spent watching movies and talking about random shit, then watching the animal channel and talking about random shit, meant that Jimmy was fast becoming the closest thing Tony'd had to a best guy friend in a long time.
And one very good thing about Jimmy was he was a horrible liar. So when he came back from the door and gave a falsely casual, “Wrong door. Poor guy barely spoke English, but it was Chinese not Thai.” even though Tony was half drunk he could tell it was a lie.
He gave a half snort, “Psh, yeah right. Seriously man, who was it?”
Jimmy was quiet for a moment before giving a slight jump as the lady's head got shot off screen and sighing, “It was Gibbs.”
“Gibbs?” Tony stared at him uncomprehendingly before practically bolting to his feet, “Gibbs is here?”
“No, but he was.” Jimmy pulled him back down almost gently, “But I sent him away. So he shouldn't be back tonight...”
There was another knock at the door and Tony was on his feet and halfway to the door in half a moment, Jimmy walked up behind him. “Hey boss, I...”
He trailed off seeing the bored looking teen holding their food, before sighing and letting Jim pay for the food. He watched his friend close the door and lock it again before saying, “You sent Gibbs away. You have 30 seconds to explain before I kill you and have Abby make it look like an accident.”
Jimmy gave a soft huff of laughter before practically skipping to the kitchen and digging his curry out of the bag, “You'll understand in the morning, when Sam isn't doing half the talking for you.”
“Hey, I'm not drunk!” Tony felt himself pout, which he logically knew wouldn't help his case but he did anyway.
Jimmy smiled at him almost indulgently, “Naw, but you are buzzed. Eat something Tony. You'll understand tomorrow.”
Tony sighed and nodded, before grabbing his own food and moving back to the couch to finish his movie. It was a while later and they'd just watched the bad guy get blown up by his own bomb when it finally hit Tony. He turned to Jimmy. “You didn't want me to let him sucker me into something.”
Jimmy raised an eyebrow but nodded, “Yeah Tony, when he comes crawling back it's only fair you have a fighting chance. And you definitely don't when you're buzzed.”
Tony sighed, “I might not anyway.”
“Yeah you do, you're smart. You've been hurt. Can you honestly tell me that if I'd let him in tonight and you'd let him talk you around you'd be any better off? Can you tell me that you trust him and be 100% sure about it? Can you really just forgive him that easily?” The disbelief in Jimmy's voice was obvious, and Tony sighed.
“No. No you're right. I just...” Tony swallowed and shook his head, “I really miss...”
Jimmy gave him a pat on the shoulder, “I know. Really. Now what movie are you going to inflict on me next?”
Tony grimaced, “That one was fairly terrible huh? Bah, classics it is then. Ever seen any Hitchcock my friend?” Jimmy laughed and shook his head, Tony stood and slid a new movie into the DVD player before making his way back to the couch. He didn't look at his friend. “Hey Jimbo? Thanks.”
“Any time Tony.” The response was soft, but Tony appreciated it. It was nice to know someone had his back.
Fandom: NCIS
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1689
Warnings: major angst
Authors Note: Part two of this little venture. Hope you guys like it. =D Let me know!
Part 1
Jimmy Palmer hadn't ever considered Ducky a sneaky person, he just seemed too genuine and caring to be considered devious. So when the ME pulled Jim aside one day and told him that he should “make an effort to talk to Tony more” because Tony “might need him these days” it had been confusing at first. But as soon as Jim had seen Tony himself, he'd understood what Ducky had been saying.
Tony was a mess, and Tony was also far too proud to tell anyone that he felt responsible for. Which left Jim watching his friend worriedly and knowing he had to do something. Which lead to him pulling Tony aside and asking for advice about a girl.
Which was how Jimmy Palmer ended up spending a few of his evenings a week with Tony from then on, and the mornings after reassuring Ducky. He was fairly surprised to find that he enjoyed spending his time with Tony, it turned out even a slightly drunk Tony was good company. Even if the “advice” on girls was a bit retarded and Jimmy wasn't actually expecting anything to happen with Hannah.
No one had ever accused Jim of being particularly violent; he'd been described as loyal, or intelligent, and even on a few occasions adorable. But the evening that Tony finally was comfortable enough with him, and probably drunk enough, to actually answer truthfully when Jimmy asked his customary “What's wrong Tony?” he had to resist the urge to punch a wall. Not much made Jimmy angry, but watching the normally confident Tony explain in a small voice that Gibbs hadn't ever loved him had been just wrong in so many different ways and a horrible shock.
He'd known there was something between Tony and Gibbs, but he hadn't thought it'd been that serious or that Gibbs would turn out to be such a complete bastard after all. So he'd kept hanging out with Tony in the evenings, and he stopped talking to Ducky about their evenings. It didn't seem fair to Tony, not now that Jim understood the entirety of the situation.
So the Friday Gibbs came knocking on Tony's door, Jim was there. They were halfway through the latest big budget action flick, expecting Thai to be delivered, and Tony was already through his 5th beer which Jim slightly envied since he was fairly sure he'd need alcohol to get through the rest of the movie.
Hearing the door Jim fairly jumped at the chance to get away for a moment, “Don't worry I'll get it! My treat tonight anyway...” He ignored Tony's “Want me to pause it?” knowing his friend probably wouldn't even if he said yes. Opening the door to see Gibbs standing there, obviously shocked to see him, was at first a shock, and then Jimmy got angry. How dare Gibbs just randomly show up at Tony's door over a month after leaving the poor guy heartbroken? Jimmy frowned and stepped into the hall closing the door behind him softly. “No.”
~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~~~
Seeing Jimmy Palmer open Tony's door was slightly shocking, in fact it felt rather surreal which was only intensified when the young man stepped into the hall, shut the door, crossed his arms and said “No.”
And it was even more shocking when before Gibbs could even respond Palmer was shaking his head, “Seriously no. Go away.”
Which was about the time Gibbs realized what was going on and frowned, “What? No. I came to talk to Tony not you.”
Palmer sneered at him, which would have made Gibbs blink but that wouldn't help his case at the moment, “Yeah, I figured that. Too bad. Tony isn't going to talk to you. And you should just come back another time.”
“And who said you could decide who Tony can and can't talk to?” Gibbs knew his voice sounded dangerous.
“You did, when you left him like that. Tony's been angsting over this, alone for a while and now you think you can just show up and he'll forgive you and everything will be ok? I bet you even figured he'd be drunk too. Well too bad Gibbs, you can just fuck off. If you're serious about this you'll have to come back another time because I'm not going to let him talk to you tonight. And we're expecting Thai, so please don't hang around and confuse the delivery boy.”
And before the shocked Gibbs could respond Palmer was closing the door in his face and he could hear the lock slide into place. For a moment he considered banging to hell on the door, but he knew that Palmer had a good point. And for all Gibbs couldn't be more serious about trying to make this up to Tony, showing up at his door on a Friday night when Tony was probably drunk wasn't the way to prove that.
Gibbs sighed and trudged away, fully realizing for the first time just how badly he'd fucked things up.
~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~~~
Tony loved Palmer, in a very platonic “I wanna give you a noogie for going after a girl” kind of way, but they'd never really “hung out” outside of work until after The Kiss. And then suddenly Palmer was showing up at his house 3 times a week and Ducky seemed to calm down about sending him worried looks. Tony wasn't stupid, he picked up on it.
But Palmer, who was rapidly becoming Jimmy in his mind, was good company and Tony was lonely. Jimmy also never actually lectured him about drinking too much, he'd just hand him a diet coke with a pointed look. Tony could take that a lot better than lecturing, and he knew Jimmy was right either way, so he put up with it for Ducky's sake.
It wasn't until after a particularly hard case, and a particularly well aimed snap from Gibbs, that Tony actually told him. After that Ducky started sending him worried glances again, but Jimmy still showed up at his door; which Tony wasn't sure what to do with but he accepted it.
He'd never had a lot of guy friends like Jimmy, at least not ones that knew he was bisexual but the young man didn't seem to care in the least bit. He seemed to understand that Tony wasn't attracted to him at all, which Tony was thankful for.
Weeks spent watching movies and talking about random shit, then watching the animal channel and talking about random shit, meant that Jimmy was fast becoming the closest thing Tony'd had to a best guy friend in a long time.
And one very good thing about Jimmy was he was a horrible liar. So when he came back from the door and gave a falsely casual, “Wrong door. Poor guy barely spoke English, but it was Chinese not Thai.” even though Tony was half drunk he could tell it was a lie.
He gave a half snort, “Psh, yeah right. Seriously man, who was it?”
Jimmy was quiet for a moment before giving a slight jump as the lady's head got shot off screen and sighing, “It was Gibbs.”
“Gibbs?” Tony stared at him uncomprehendingly before practically bolting to his feet, “Gibbs is here?”
“No, but he was.” Jimmy pulled him back down almost gently, “But I sent him away. So he shouldn't be back tonight...”
There was another knock at the door and Tony was on his feet and halfway to the door in half a moment, Jimmy walked up behind him. “Hey boss, I...”
He trailed off seeing the bored looking teen holding their food, before sighing and letting Jim pay for the food. He watched his friend close the door and lock it again before saying, “You sent Gibbs away. You have 30 seconds to explain before I kill you and have Abby make it look like an accident.”
Jimmy gave a soft huff of laughter before practically skipping to the kitchen and digging his curry out of the bag, “You'll understand in the morning, when Sam isn't doing half the talking for you.”
“Hey, I'm not drunk!” Tony felt himself pout, which he logically knew wouldn't help his case but he did anyway.
Jimmy smiled at him almost indulgently, “Naw, but you are buzzed. Eat something Tony. You'll understand tomorrow.”
Tony sighed and nodded, before grabbing his own food and moving back to the couch to finish his movie. It was a while later and they'd just watched the bad guy get blown up by his own bomb when it finally hit Tony. He turned to Jimmy. “You didn't want me to let him sucker me into something.”
Jimmy raised an eyebrow but nodded, “Yeah Tony, when he comes crawling back it's only fair you have a fighting chance. And you definitely don't when you're buzzed.”
Tony sighed, “I might not anyway.”
“Yeah you do, you're smart. You've been hurt. Can you honestly tell me that if I'd let him in tonight and you'd let him talk you around you'd be any better off? Can you tell me that you trust him and be 100% sure about it? Can you really just forgive him that easily?” The disbelief in Jimmy's voice was obvious, and Tony sighed.
“No. No you're right. I just...” Tony swallowed and shook his head, “I really miss...”
Jimmy gave him a pat on the shoulder, “I know. Really. Now what movie are you going to inflict on me next?”
Tony grimaced, “That one was fairly terrible huh? Bah, classics it is then. Ever seen any Hitchcock my friend?” Jimmy laughed and shook his head, Tony stood and slid a new movie into the DVD player before making his way back to the couch. He didn't look at his friend. “Hey Jimbo? Thanks.”
“Any time Tony.” The response was soft, but Tony appreciated it. It was nice to know someone had his back.