fic: On Happiness and Happiness Found
This started out as a "Tim and Tony bathtub scene" with a rather shady title *coughBabyIt'sColdOutsidecough* but a new and improved title changed the plot a bit... in a good way! Honestly, though, I was getting a bit sick of this after a week of writing, but it had to be done.
Title: On Happiness and Happiness Found
Pairing: Tony/Tim
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: extreme schmoop
Summary: Tim's got a surprise (and no, Tony, it doesn't involve handcuffs)
A/N: I figured it was about time Tim stepped up to the plate and let Tony know just how much he means to him. I have to blame thank catwalksalone for convincing me to change the title. It was originally going to be "Baby, It's Cold Outside," and then she did her Christmas Carols and poof! Not only did I need a new title, the new one took this fic to an entirely new direction.
Oh, the weather outside is frightful
but the fire is so delightful
and since we’ve no place to go
let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
Tim sang along as he busied himself, putting away empty boxes of decoration and stray needles that had fallen off as he and Palmer struggled to maneuver the seven-foot Douglas fir through the door and nicely settled in a corner of the living room. It had taken some serious negotiations and a whole lot of blatant begging to leave work early all the while dodging questions from one suspicious, nosy boyfriend.
Jimmy had gone with him to pick up the tree he’d chosen the weekend before. They’d carefully tied it to the roof of his car and carried it the three stories up to the apartment, because no matter how much they tried, it just wouldn’t fit in the elevator. Ziva came by to help, all the while giving Tim plenty of smug, knowing looks before she left with Jethro in tow.
The tree proved to be a little too tall for the ceiling, and he hoped the hand-spun crystal star he purchased for the top would be enough to cover what he trimmed. In the end, he decided his audience of one would be too distracted to even notice.
He’d just turned the lights off when the door opened, and he hurried to meet his partner at the door.
“You’re home early,” he said, blocking the entrance when Tony tried to walk past him.
Tony narrowed his eyes.
“What are you up to, McGee? You didn’t, by any chance, invite some curvaceous blonde bombshell over to have a tryst with while I was stuck at work, did you? If so, why didn’t you invite me, too?” he asked while trying to peer over his shoulder.
“W-what? What are you talking about? No! No, no, there’s no blonde. Just Palmer, who already left and who is most definitely neither curvaceous nor a bombshell.”
“The gremlin?”
Tim pushed him out into the hallway, closing the door behind them both. He gave Tony a small smile, “I have a surprise for you, but you have to do something for me first.”
“Am I going to like it?”
“It’s a safe bet to say that you’ll love it,” he answered.
Tony gave him a look,” The last time you said that, there was a broken chair involved and I was digging splinters out of my back for days.”
“That wasn’t my fault! Well, okay, I might have been a little enthusiastic that time, but you were gone for three months, Tony! Three months! Can you blame me for being happy to see you again?”
“Fine. What do you need me to do?” Tony sighed.
He took a step closer, running a hand down Tony’s chest while he took his bag from him with the other.
“I need you to stay out here for a minute or two, until I finish setting up, okay? I wasn’t expecting you home for another hour.”
Tony opened his mouth to protest but thought the better of it and instead leaned against the wall.
“You’ve got two minutes, McDevious, and then I’m coming in,” he warned, crossing his arms.
“Right, two minutes. Got it. Just… make yourself comfortable.”
Tim opened the door just enough to slip in and quickly locked the door, ignoring the loud Hey! from out in the hall. He plugged in the tree and cleared the floor, pushing the mahogany coffee table to one side to make room for the comforter he’d snatched off the bed. It would have been nice to have a roaring fire, but he supposed they’d have to make do with the thermostat, and he wasn’t one to say no to shared body heat. Grandma’s afghan was added to the pile, just in case.
He gave the tree another look before slipping the real surprise under the couch and went to collect his partner.
Tony was slumped down on the carpet when he came back out, head tilted and eyes closed, but he opened them when he felt Tim approach.
“Done?”
“There’s one last thing,” Tim said.
He took out a dark blue scarf from his pocket and dangled it in front of the other man.
“Ohoho, Timmy! Does this surprise happen to involve handcuffs as well?” Tony asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively and making Tim laugh.
Tim secured the blindfold with a smile, giving him a quick kiss before leaning in to whisper in Tony’s ear, “Only if you’re good.”
He led the way inside, Tony’s hand in his, and carefully guided him into the living room where the tree’s lights cast a muted glow along the walls. Tim took a deep breath and unknotted the blindfold, letting it fall to the floor as he held his breath in nervous excitement.
Tony was silent. He removed his hand from Tim’s grasp and took a step forward, nearly tripping over the pile of pillows Tim had carefully arranged on the blankets. There were tinsel and snowflakes, sapphire baubles and silver stars. He recognized one of them as having hung from the McGee family Christmas tree from previous years. He picked up the lone crocheted snowman ornament hanging from one of the upper branches and ran a finger on the embroidered name.
“How did you get your mom to part with this, McGee?”
Tim shrugged. He walked closer until they stood shoulder to shoulder, “I told her we’d give it a new home and she said it was about time. I know you don’t decorate during the holidays, but, well… um, surprise?”
He gave Tony a small smile, which the other didn’t return, and Tim backed away with a sigh. Maybe this was a bad idea, after all. He wondered if he could haul the sheets and pillows back on the bed before Tony noticed, when a hand wrapped around his arm.
“We’d have a twelve-foot tree in the front hall every Christmas, with wrapped presents underneath… though they were mostly empty boxes, really. My mom would put up ornaments I wasn’t allowed to touch. They were hand-carved Italian glass ornaments handed down from her great-grandmother,” he said, hand sliding down to recapture Tim’s hand in his, “Except for this small, porcelain rocking horse she got when I was born. I’d stand on a chair and hang it as far as I could reach.”
Tony finally took notice of the blankets on the floor and he gave Tim a knowing look before toeing his shoes off and pulling his partner down with him. He sat with his back against the sofa and Tim in front of him, hands still clasped together. Tim tilted his head back to get a good look at his partner, though he remained silent.
“The year she died, we still had the tree and the ornaments, but I wasn’t allowed to put mine on it anymore. My dad thought it was too childish,” he continued, keeping his eyes on the tree.
Tim knew what it meant for Tony to tell him that. He’s been privy enough to his past since even before they got together, sometimes even without wanting to be, but this was nothing like the snide remarks and disguised humor that often accompanied Tony’s tales of his parents or childhood.
He gave Tony’s hand a light squeeze before letting his other one search under the couch.
“Well, it’s not a porcelain rocking horse, but I’m hoping this’ll do. Kinda makes us a matching pair,” he said, handing the other man a small wrapped box.
The cheery red bow seemed to pull Tony out of his mood, and he took it with a grin, shaking it enthusiastically if only to watch Tim roll his eyes in fond exasperation.
“What did you get me this year, Santa? I’ve been extra naughty…” he trailed off, lifting the blue and gray ornament that could be the twin to Tim’s own green and yellow snowman with wide eyes.
Tim smiled and reached out to flip it over, showing Tony his name on the back.
“Everyone in the family has one and, well, Mom thought it was time you had your own. She sent it over last week. You can’t keep using Sarah’s hand-me-down Styrofoam mess which she claims to be Frosty, but in reality is… no one knows what it really is,” Tim explained, “She made one for Jethro, too.”
Tony turned to him with a wide smile, bringing Tim’s hand up for a quick kiss before leaning in to bestow a leisurely one on his lips.
He stood and walked up to the tree, eyes narrowed and snowman held aloft in one hand while he considered the best spot for his newly acquired ornament. Finally, a branch was chosen and Tony hung it with a proud smile. He gave it one last look before returning to Tim.
Tim arranged the pillows side by side and coaxed him to lie down. They watched the star fade in and out, its blue light changing to white and back again, while the string of lights around the tree shone steadily.
He turns to his side and asks, "So, much better than the chair and handcuffs?"
"Oh, I'd say it's the best ever, but I have an even better one," Tony laughed, pulling him closer.
Tomorrow, when Jethro comes home, he and Tony will hang his reindeer on the tree. He'll call home to tell his mom how it went until Tony steals the phone from him and he'll have lost him for a good hour or so trading football stories with his dad, while his mom fusses in the background and makes them both promise not to be late for Christmas dinner.
But that's not until tomorrow, and right now Tim is busy letting Tony demonstrate just how good his own idea could be.
END