FIC: Line of Reflection
Title: Line of Reflection
Author: rebecca
Pairing: Tony/David, Joshua/Stephen
Rating: PG
Summary: Is this how it's always going to be?
Author's notes: Bet you thought I'd forgotten about these people. Welcome back to the Geometry 'verse. Please to be caught up on current series timeline, or this won't make much sense. All stories are tagged in order starting from the bottom.
It was a gorgeous, sunny fall Sunday afternoon, and he was sitting in church, on a wooden pew that was going to make his ass fall asleep within twenty minutes. And he couldn't even wonder what he'd done to deserve it, because he'd volunteered to come. He'd even paid money.
Tony looked down at the program and sighed. At least he'd heard of Beethoven and Mozart, the two composers of today's concert.
He remembered what David had told him--this was a chamber orchestra, smaller than the symphony, put together expressly for this concert. Charity gig, David had said, for Habitat for Humanity. The tickets had certainly been expensive enough, but the church was packed, so with any luck they'd raise a good amount of money.
Next to him, Joshua shifted in the pew. "You'd think they could make these things a little more comfortable," he muttered to Tony.
"Tell me about it," Tony muttered back.
He glanced over to the side, where the musicians were lined up, and scanned them for David. It wasn't hard to pick him out, but man, he looked different. Suit and tie, no jewelry, his clarinet in one hand. (Okay, so maybe the clarinet wasn't so unusual.)
The orchestra filed on stage and found their seats. Tony applauded with the rest of the audience; the musicians bowed, nearly in unison, and sat.
Tony tried to get comfortable.
And then the music started, and he forgot about his seat.
"Wow," he said at intermission, turning to Joshua and Stephen. He stood, stretching his legs. "Just...wow."
Stephen smiled. "They're good, aren't they?" he said.
Tony grinned sheepishly. "I'll apologize to David later for all my bitching."
"I'm sure he'll appreciate that," Joshua said, stretching. "I'm personally of the opinion that they should have held this concert somewhere with slightly more comfortable seats for the audience. Are church designers secretly sadistic?"
Stephen rolled his eyes. "That's your answer to everything, isn't it?"
"Are you sitting on the same pew I am?" Joshua asked.
"You should have sat in the pews of my synagogue growing up. This is nothing compared to that. I used to be glad when the High Holy Days rolled around and we opened up the sanctuary so I could sit on a folding chair." Stephen pushed his hair back. "Maybe synagogue designers and Methodist church designers have some secret society. Uncomfortable seating, lovely architecture."
Tony laughed. "What about Catholics?"
Stephen shrugged. "I've never actually been inside one for a Mass, so i couldn't tell you what the seating's like, but some Catholic churches have amazing architectural design."
"From my years as an altar boy, I can safely say they're not much more comfortable than what we're sitting on now," Tony said wryly.
"Of course you were an altar boy," Joshua said with a laugh.
"And you were...what, do Jews have altar boys?"
"No, our rabbis can get married and therefore don't need altar boys," Joshua said deadpan. "But I was bar mitzvah like a good Jewish boy."
Stephen snorted. "There's nothing 'good' about you."
Joshua's hand curled around the nape of Stephen's neck. "Not what you said last night, babe," he murmured.
"And on that note, let's take our uncomfortable seats again," Tony said. "Looks like intermission's about over."
Beethoven had been the first half of the concert. Mozart was the second, and if anything, it was better than the first half had been. When the applause finally ended, when the crowd began to disperse, Tony stretched and turned to Joshua and Stephen. "Probably be best if we just waited here for him," he said. "He'll find us, right?" He stepped out into the aisle to stretch his legs.
"Yeah," Stephen said, following Tony into the aisle. "He'll be out in a few."
"Tony? Tony!"
The hell? Tony turned just as Abby threw herself into his arms. "Abs?" he managed when she stopped crushing his lungs. "What are you doing here?"
"I came with Ducky," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "What are you doing here?"
"I came with Joshua and Stephen," Tony said, nodding at them. "This was David's concert."
"Really? You said he was doing a charity gig, you didn't say it was this one! How cool is that?" Abby bounced. "We should all go out. David's probably starving." She hugged Stephen and Joshua. "Ducky, over here," she said, waving. "Look who I found!"
"Tony, my dear boy," Ducky said warmly. "I didn't expect to see you here!"
"Hey, Ducky," Tony said. "Ah--" He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "Joshua, Stephen, this is Dr. Mallard, the ME from work. Ducky, this is Joshua Fielding and Stephen Bond."
"Call me Ducky, please," Ducky said, holding out his hand. Joshua shook it, followed by Stephen. "So what brought you out to the concert today?" Ducky asked.
Tony kept his mouth shut. After one glance at him, Stephen picked up. "My friend David is the clarinetist," he said. "Joshua and I dragged Tony along. The four of us were going to go out afterwards to get dinner. You're welcome to join us, if you like?"
"Perfect," Abby said, grinning. "And there's David now."
He'd undone his collar button and loosened his tie, and he had his clarinet case hanging from his shoulder. "Hey!" he said cheerfully, joining the group and slinging an arm around Tony's shoulders. "What'd I miss? Is there food soon to be involved? I'm starving. I'm thinking red meat? Burgers, or steak, or something along those lines. Just food, and lots of it."
Tony stepped away casually, dislodging David's arm. "There's that pub a couple miles down the road," he said. "They've got good burgers, I think. Or there's that steakhouse over in Silver Spring?"
David glanced at Tony. "Either's fine," he said. "And hi, can someone introduce me? We seem to have picked up people when I was putting my clarinet away."
Abby grinned and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey, you," she said. "This is Ducky, our ME from work. Ducky, this is David Stein, the clarinetist and a friend of ours."
"Pleasure to meet you," Ducky said, holding out his hand. "It was wonderful to hear you today. Your performance in the Mozart was excellent, I thought."
David grinned and shook his hand. "Thank you. I didn't think it was that bad myself. And at this point I'm hungry enough to eat the placemat, so where are we going?"
"Steakhouse," Abby said decisively. "I don't want a burger."
"Abs, you know where it is?" Tony asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, it's by the Metro stop, right? Ducky drove, but I can navigate. How are you guys getting there?"
"I got a ride in with Christian, the flautist, so I figured I'd throw myself on Tony's mercy to get home," David said.
"Yeah, no problem. We'll all take my car." Tony dug out his keys. "See you there."
Despite the post-performance high, David was quiet in the car, tapping his fingers against his thigh. Tony glanced over at him. "Something on your mind?" he asked.
"So how far in the closet are you?" David asked, a little tightly.
"David, come on, I'm in law enforcement. You knew that." Tony's hands tightened on the steering wheel.
"Yeah, I know. I just didn't expect it to hit me in the face like this." David sighed and yanked at his tie. "Is this how it's always going to be?"
"I'm in federal law enforcement working for a quasi-military agency. Do you have any idea what would happen if they found out I was bi?" Tony asked. "Can we not do this now?" He glanced at the backseat, where Joshua and Stephen were studiously ignoring them.
"Yeah. Fine." David pulled his tie off and let it hang around his neck.
Abby and Joshua carried the conversation about dinner, with help from Ducky and Stephen. Tony kept quiet, and David seemed more interested in his food than anything else.
"Tony--Joshua and I'll take the Metro home," Stephen said after dinner, when they were waiting for the waitress to return with their bill. "We're just a block from the station, and it's completely out of your way for you to take us home."
Unspoken was the suggestion that it'd be a really good idea if Tony and David talked, and having two extra people around was going to make that difficult.
"Yeah, okay," Tony said. "If you're sure."
Stephen nodded. "We'll see you--Friday, right? That film festival?"
Assuming David didn't break up with him between now and then, Tony thought. "Yeah, Friday."
The bill was settled and they went their separate ways. Stephen and Joshua went to catch the Metro, Abby and Ducky got into Ducky's Morgan, and Tony and David got into the Mustang.
"So," Tony said. "Your place or mine?"
David shrugged. "Mine, if you don't mind the risk of being seen leaving it."
"David, come on," Tony said. "I work with Ducky. If he found out--"
"Abby knows," David pointed out.
"Abby's different."
"Why?" David asked. "Why is she different?"
"She just--she just is," Tony said helplessly. "I mean, look at her. She's not exactly your typical forensic scientist either. She can keep a secret."
"But Ducky can't?" David asked.
"Ducky...Ducky's friends with my boss. With Gibbs. And I'm sure he could keep a secret, but it only takes one slip of the tongue, and then Gibbs knows. Gibbs the ex-Marine who can probably kill me ten different ways with his pinky finger and make sure no one ever finds the body."
David looked out the window. "So this is what I have to look forward to?" he asked. "Pretending I'm nothing more than your friend whenever there's a chance anyone from your work might find out about us? I haven't been in the closet since high school. I don't want to go back in now. And it's not like we've exactly been all that discreet about it, Tony. Your double standard doesn't make much sense now."
"I just--I can't let Gibbs find out," Tony said. "Hell, David, this is why I had to leave Philadelphia. I was involved with a guy, and it ended badly, and he outed me to the force, and--things went badly and I had to leave. You're the first man I've been with since then." He parked half a block down from David's building and the two of them got out.
"And what makes you think Gibbs doesn't already know?" David asked as they walked into his building. "I mean, I'm guessing that reason wasn't on your record, but what makes you think that with a little digging, he didn't find out the real reason you left Philadelphia? From what you've said, he's the thorough type. He's got a file on you that's probably more detailed than your official record. He's an investigator, remember? What makes you think he doesn't already know you're bi?"
The elevator doors opened and Tony just stared at David. "I..." He blinked, stunned. "No," he said, an automatic denial. "He couldn't."
"Why not?" David pressed the button for his floor. "You keep talking about this guy like he's some omniscient being. Why wouldn't he know? It doesn't affect your job, does it? So why would he even care?"
Tony followed David into his apartment, still stunned speechless at the idea that Gibbs might know. "I still have to be careful," he said. "Okay, maybe Gibbs knows. But it's still law enforcement, David, and I have to be careful about people finding out. Abby knows, that's one thing. I just can't risk too many other people finding out."
David blew out a breath, setting his clarinet case down and taking off his suit jacket. "So am I going to get stuffed into the closet every time we're in public? Or just when we're in a situation involving people from your work?"
"I don't--" Tony dropped onto the couch. "We've been dating for over a month now, and I don't think it's fair to say I've stuffed you in the closet."
"Not until today," David said, sitting down opposite him.
"Only because Ducky was there. C'mon, David, how likely is it that we're going to see people from my job all that often, other than Abby?" Tony leaned forward. "This isn't that big a deal."
"You say that now, but where does it stop, Tony? First you step away from me, you barely look at me when we're in public with one of your co-workers. What's next, paranoia if we're somewhere a mutual acquaintance might see you? Where does it end?" David asked intently.
"It's just my co-workers, okay? I just don't want them to know." Tony raked a hand through his hair. "It's just my co-workers."
David blew out a breath. "I hope you're right," he said. "Because I can deal with that. I think. Anything more than that, and..." He trailed off, but he didn't have to say it.
"I know. I do." Tony looked down at his hands. "I'm not going to shove you in the closet," he said. "I promise. Just cut me some slack where my job's concerned."
"Okay." David nodded. "I can do that."
Tony managed a smile. "We okay?"
"We're okay," David said with an answering smile.
"Whew." Tony grinned for real. "So, I was thinking you probably want a shower after the concert and everything," he said.
"That'd be good," David agreed.
"Want company?"
David laughed and got to his feet, holding out a hand. "I'll wash your back if you wash mine."
"Deal," Tony said, taking David's hand.
As they went to the bathroom and undressed and slipped under the hot water in David's not-really-big-enough-for-two shower, Tony couldn't help but feel like he'd barely dodged a bullet.
He wondered where the next one was going to come from.
Author: rebecca
Pairing: Tony/David, Joshua/Stephen
Rating: PG
Summary: Is this how it's always going to be?
Author's notes: Bet you thought I'd forgotten about these people. Welcome back to the Geometry 'verse. Please to be caught up on current series timeline, or this won't make much sense. All stories are tagged in order starting from the bottom.
It was a gorgeous, sunny fall Sunday afternoon, and he was sitting in church, on a wooden pew that was going to make his ass fall asleep within twenty minutes. And he couldn't even wonder what he'd done to deserve it, because he'd volunteered to come. He'd even paid money.
Tony looked down at the program and sighed. At least he'd heard of Beethoven and Mozart, the two composers of today's concert.
He remembered what David had told him--this was a chamber orchestra, smaller than the symphony, put together expressly for this concert. Charity gig, David had said, for Habitat for Humanity. The tickets had certainly been expensive enough, but the church was packed, so with any luck they'd raise a good amount of money.
Next to him, Joshua shifted in the pew. "You'd think they could make these things a little more comfortable," he muttered to Tony.
"Tell me about it," Tony muttered back.
He glanced over to the side, where the musicians were lined up, and scanned them for David. It wasn't hard to pick him out, but man, he looked different. Suit and tie, no jewelry, his clarinet in one hand. (Okay, so maybe the clarinet wasn't so unusual.)
The orchestra filed on stage and found their seats. Tony applauded with the rest of the audience; the musicians bowed, nearly in unison, and sat.
Tony tried to get comfortable.
And then the music started, and he forgot about his seat.
"Wow," he said at intermission, turning to Joshua and Stephen. He stood, stretching his legs. "Just...wow."
Stephen smiled. "They're good, aren't they?" he said.
Tony grinned sheepishly. "I'll apologize to David later for all my bitching."
"I'm sure he'll appreciate that," Joshua said, stretching. "I'm personally of the opinion that they should have held this concert somewhere with slightly more comfortable seats for the audience. Are church designers secretly sadistic?"
Stephen rolled his eyes. "That's your answer to everything, isn't it?"
"Are you sitting on the same pew I am?" Joshua asked.
"You should have sat in the pews of my synagogue growing up. This is nothing compared to that. I used to be glad when the High Holy Days rolled around and we opened up the sanctuary so I could sit on a folding chair." Stephen pushed his hair back. "Maybe synagogue designers and Methodist church designers have some secret society. Uncomfortable seating, lovely architecture."
Tony laughed. "What about Catholics?"
Stephen shrugged. "I've never actually been inside one for a Mass, so i couldn't tell you what the seating's like, but some Catholic churches have amazing architectural design."
"From my years as an altar boy, I can safely say they're not much more comfortable than what we're sitting on now," Tony said wryly.
"Of course you were an altar boy," Joshua said with a laugh.
"And you were...what, do Jews have altar boys?"
"No, our rabbis can get married and therefore don't need altar boys," Joshua said deadpan. "But I was bar mitzvah like a good Jewish boy."
Stephen snorted. "There's nothing 'good' about you."
Joshua's hand curled around the nape of Stephen's neck. "Not what you said last night, babe," he murmured.
"And on that note, let's take our uncomfortable seats again," Tony said. "Looks like intermission's about over."
Beethoven had been the first half of the concert. Mozart was the second, and if anything, it was better than the first half had been. When the applause finally ended, when the crowd began to disperse, Tony stretched and turned to Joshua and Stephen. "Probably be best if we just waited here for him," he said. "He'll find us, right?" He stepped out into the aisle to stretch his legs.
"Yeah," Stephen said, following Tony into the aisle. "He'll be out in a few."
"Tony? Tony!"
The hell? Tony turned just as Abby threw herself into his arms. "Abs?" he managed when she stopped crushing his lungs. "What are you doing here?"
"I came with Ducky," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "What are you doing here?"
"I came with Joshua and Stephen," Tony said, nodding at them. "This was David's concert."
"Really? You said he was doing a charity gig, you didn't say it was this one! How cool is that?" Abby bounced. "We should all go out. David's probably starving." She hugged Stephen and Joshua. "Ducky, over here," she said, waving. "Look who I found!"
"Tony, my dear boy," Ducky said warmly. "I didn't expect to see you here!"
"Hey, Ducky," Tony said. "Ah--" He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "Joshua, Stephen, this is Dr. Mallard, the ME from work. Ducky, this is Joshua Fielding and Stephen Bond."
"Call me Ducky, please," Ducky said, holding out his hand. Joshua shook it, followed by Stephen. "So what brought you out to the concert today?" Ducky asked.
Tony kept his mouth shut. After one glance at him, Stephen picked up. "My friend David is the clarinetist," he said. "Joshua and I dragged Tony along. The four of us were going to go out afterwards to get dinner. You're welcome to join us, if you like?"
"Perfect," Abby said, grinning. "And there's David now."
He'd undone his collar button and loosened his tie, and he had his clarinet case hanging from his shoulder. "Hey!" he said cheerfully, joining the group and slinging an arm around Tony's shoulders. "What'd I miss? Is there food soon to be involved? I'm starving. I'm thinking red meat? Burgers, or steak, or something along those lines. Just food, and lots of it."
Tony stepped away casually, dislodging David's arm. "There's that pub a couple miles down the road," he said. "They've got good burgers, I think. Or there's that steakhouse over in Silver Spring?"
David glanced at Tony. "Either's fine," he said. "And hi, can someone introduce me? We seem to have picked up people when I was putting my clarinet away."
Abby grinned and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey, you," she said. "This is Ducky, our ME from work. Ducky, this is David Stein, the clarinetist and a friend of ours."
"Pleasure to meet you," Ducky said, holding out his hand. "It was wonderful to hear you today. Your performance in the Mozart was excellent, I thought."
David grinned and shook his hand. "Thank you. I didn't think it was that bad myself. And at this point I'm hungry enough to eat the placemat, so where are we going?"
"Steakhouse," Abby said decisively. "I don't want a burger."
"Abs, you know where it is?" Tony asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, it's by the Metro stop, right? Ducky drove, but I can navigate. How are you guys getting there?"
"I got a ride in with Christian, the flautist, so I figured I'd throw myself on Tony's mercy to get home," David said.
"Yeah, no problem. We'll all take my car." Tony dug out his keys. "See you there."
Despite the post-performance high, David was quiet in the car, tapping his fingers against his thigh. Tony glanced over at him. "Something on your mind?" he asked.
"So how far in the closet are you?" David asked, a little tightly.
"David, come on, I'm in law enforcement. You knew that." Tony's hands tightened on the steering wheel.
"Yeah, I know. I just didn't expect it to hit me in the face like this." David sighed and yanked at his tie. "Is this how it's always going to be?"
"I'm in federal law enforcement working for a quasi-military agency. Do you have any idea what would happen if they found out I was bi?" Tony asked. "Can we not do this now?" He glanced at the backseat, where Joshua and Stephen were studiously ignoring them.
"Yeah. Fine." David pulled his tie off and let it hang around his neck.
Abby and Joshua carried the conversation about dinner, with help from Ducky and Stephen. Tony kept quiet, and David seemed more interested in his food than anything else.
"Tony--Joshua and I'll take the Metro home," Stephen said after dinner, when they were waiting for the waitress to return with their bill. "We're just a block from the station, and it's completely out of your way for you to take us home."
Unspoken was the suggestion that it'd be a really good idea if Tony and David talked, and having two extra people around was going to make that difficult.
"Yeah, okay," Tony said. "If you're sure."
Stephen nodded. "We'll see you--Friday, right? That film festival?"
Assuming David didn't break up with him between now and then, Tony thought. "Yeah, Friday."
The bill was settled and they went their separate ways. Stephen and Joshua went to catch the Metro, Abby and Ducky got into Ducky's Morgan, and Tony and David got into the Mustang.
"So," Tony said. "Your place or mine?"
David shrugged. "Mine, if you don't mind the risk of being seen leaving it."
"David, come on," Tony said. "I work with Ducky. If he found out--"
"Abby knows," David pointed out.
"Abby's different."
"Why?" David asked. "Why is she different?"
"She just--she just is," Tony said helplessly. "I mean, look at her. She's not exactly your typical forensic scientist either. She can keep a secret."
"But Ducky can't?" David asked.
"Ducky...Ducky's friends with my boss. With Gibbs. And I'm sure he could keep a secret, but it only takes one slip of the tongue, and then Gibbs knows. Gibbs the ex-Marine who can probably kill me ten different ways with his pinky finger and make sure no one ever finds the body."
David looked out the window. "So this is what I have to look forward to?" he asked. "Pretending I'm nothing more than your friend whenever there's a chance anyone from your work might find out about us? I haven't been in the closet since high school. I don't want to go back in now. And it's not like we've exactly been all that discreet about it, Tony. Your double standard doesn't make much sense now."
"I just--I can't let Gibbs find out," Tony said. "Hell, David, this is why I had to leave Philadelphia. I was involved with a guy, and it ended badly, and he outed me to the force, and--things went badly and I had to leave. You're the first man I've been with since then." He parked half a block down from David's building and the two of them got out.
"And what makes you think Gibbs doesn't already know?" David asked as they walked into his building. "I mean, I'm guessing that reason wasn't on your record, but what makes you think that with a little digging, he didn't find out the real reason you left Philadelphia? From what you've said, he's the thorough type. He's got a file on you that's probably more detailed than your official record. He's an investigator, remember? What makes you think he doesn't already know you're bi?"
The elevator doors opened and Tony just stared at David. "I..." He blinked, stunned. "No," he said, an automatic denial. "He couldn't."
"Why not?" David pressed the button for his floor. "You keep talking about this guy like he's some omniscient being. Why wouldn't he know? It doesn't affect your job, does it? So why would he even care?"
Tony followed David into his apartment, still stunned speechless at the idea that Gibbs might know. "I still have to be careful," he said. "Okay, maybe Gibbs knows. But it's still law enforcement, David, and I have to be careful about people finding out. Abby knows, that's one thing. I just can't risk too many other people finding out."
David blew out a breath, setting his clarinet case down and taking off his suit jacket. "So am I going to get stuffed into the closet every time we're in public? Or just when we're in a situation involving people from your work?"
"I don't--" Tony dropped onto the couch. "We've been dating for over a month now, and I don't think it's fair to say I've stuffed you in the closet."
"Not until today," David said, sitting down opposite him.
"Only because Ducky was there. C'mon, David, how likely is it that we're going to see people from my job all that often, other than Abby?" Tony leaned forward. "This isn't that big a deal."
"You say that now, but where does it stop, Tony? First you step away from me, you barely look at me when we're in public with one of your co-workers. What's next, paranoia if we're somewhere a mutual acquaintance might see you? Where does it end?" David asked intently.
"It's just my co-workers, okay? I just don't want them to know." Tony raked a hand through his hair. "It's just my co-workers."
David blew out a breath. "I hope you're right," he said. "Because I can deal with that. I think. Anything more than that, and..." He trailed off, but he didn't have to say it.
"I know. I do." Tony looked down at his hands. "I'm not going to shove you in the closet," he said. "I promise. Just cut me some slack where my job's concerned."
"Okay." David nodded. "I can do that."
Tony managed a smile. "We okay?"
"We're okay," David said with an answering smile.
"Whew." Tony grinned for real. "So, I was thinking you probably want a shower after the concert and everything," he said.
"That'd be good," David agreed.
"Want company?"
David laughed and got to his feet, holding out a hand. "I'll wash your back if you wash mine."
"Deal," Tony said, taking David's hand.
As they went to the bathroom and undressed and slipped under the hot water in David's not-really-big-enough-for-two shower, Tony couldn't help but feel like he'd barely dodged a bullet.
He wondered where the next one was going to come from.