Coffee Cups and Caffeine Drops Part Five for infiniteviking

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

 

Part Four

*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*

 

Tony was gaping, like a fish and he probably looked just as idiotic but he couldn’t help it. It was something out of a Stephen King novel or an episode of the Twilight Zone. He’d rubbed his eyes not once, but three times and still the image persisted.

 

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” McGee had sidled over to him and was joining in his fish out of water impression. Normally, Tony would have made some quip about McGee stating the obvious but really, he had an excuse for the brain fart moment. It wasn’t every day they saw two bitter rivals, such as Fornell and Gibbs laughing, together, as in not at each other. Well, they were chuckling, he doubted either one knew how to really laugh; something to do with being bastards and in charge.

 

“Either we’re dreaming or we’re dead and this is hell.” Except little Timmy was there, the probie was as harmless as a kitten, and he was cold.

 

“Maybe there was something in the water.” A biological attack wasn’t out of the question considering where they worked. All federal buildings were considered prime targets for terrorist cells.

 

“No, even they wouldn’t be this sinister.” Except that Gibbs was relaxed and smiling and all of that in the presence of nose-in-the-air Fornell. There was something so wrong with the universe.

 

“Maybe there’s something wrong with them?” Tony glanced at the probie, then back at Gibbs and Fornell.

 

“You know, Probie, you might actually be on to something.” And that alone proved that he was in hell.  

 

Tony hadn’t liked Fornell when they’d first met, Tony hadn’t liked the man after dealing with him on and off for the past five years, and Tony was certain the feeling was more than mutual. First meeting, Tony had stolen the body the FBI had in evidence by literally playing dead. All subsequent meetings had followed the same thread: the FBI trying to pull a case from under them, Fornell accusing him of murder, Fornell being accused and cleared by them, Fornell once again accusing him of murder; was anyone seeing a pattern here?

 

Fornell was the FBI’s version of Gibbs, except the man had the sense of humor of a cadaver and just as sunny a disposition. Putting both Gibbs and Fornell in a room was like putting an open canister of kerosene and a live grenade inside an oven.

 

Every time they had been forced to work together, World War III ignited and everyone in the vicinity ducked for cover. And that was only last week. Now they were all chummy and if Tony didn’t know better, he would be over at Gibbs’s house searching for a pod with the real Gibbs.

 

More chuckling ensued and Tony tightened his hand over his keys, a peek wouldn’t hurt, would it, just to be sure?

 

“I wonder what they’re talking about.” McGee glanced around the room but Tony had no idea what he was searching for. Maybe the people in the white suits coming to take Gibbs and Fornell away?

 

“Probably something boring that involves lots of guns and explosions.” There was no way that Gibbs and Fornell had suddenly become buddy buddy with each other, but Tony couldn’t figure out when and where things might have gone from instant dislike and pissing contests to this . . . this obscenity.

 

“Maybe it’s the coffee.”

 

Tony blinked, “What?”

 

“The coffee, Gibbs brought in two cups earlier, which was strange since he only drinks one at a time, but maybe it’s some kind of side affect.”

 

Tony stared at McGee. Then he spun his head around so fast his vertebra nearly went out of alignment.  It couldn’t be, but even as he thought the words the evidence before him was unmistakable. “That’s –” Impossible, improbably, insane but there it was. He was seeing it with his own two eyes; Fornell and Gibbs, drinking coffee and not just any coffee, but Gibbs’s special brew if the corporate logo was anything to go by.

 

The stuff that Abby and her fancy equipment hadn’t been able to declassify as anything other than severely toxic. The drink that had nearly landed him in Bethesda, that had kept an exhausted Kate up for two days, that had McGee puking his guts for hours and knocked super spy Ziva out for the count. All that and Fornell was drinking it like it wasn’t strychnine and cyanide all rolled into one deadly package.

 

“What? Tony? What is it?” McGee’s uncertain voice knocked him out of his stupor. But when he looked at McGee, there was nothing close to the astonishing revelation that Tony had just experienced. Of course McGee hadn’t known about Tony’s own encounter with the deadly beverage. Abby may be part scary and part insane, but Tony was the master at blackmail. She wouldn’t mention it to anyone unless she wanted Tony revealing certain facts she wanted kept secret. That, and Tony made it a point to bring back little gifts every time he left the country.

 

If McGee was that clueless about what was happening right under his nose, then Tony wasn’t about to enlighten him. Beside his stung pride that Fornell, of all people, would one up him this might work to Tony’s advantage. Easy money if he could manage to get Fornell to drink the stuff in front of the others. That, and the months of mocking he could get out of it.

 

With that in mind, Tony placed a friendly arm around McGee’s neck, giving him a grin that would make a shark proud. He felt McGee tense up which only made Tony’s grin widen. It now resembled something out of a National Geographic issue. “You know what I’m in the mood for, probie?” He steered McGee toward the elevators.

 

“What?” McGee kept eyeing Tony then the metallic doors like a baby calf in front of starving lions.

 

Tony relished the look and pushed McGee through the doors before he knew what was happening. Sometimes McGee really did make things too easy. Just as the doors closed, Tony made sure to bellow in his most cheerful tone. “A large cup of a Gibbs’s special.”



E/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it. And please feed meeeee!!!!!!!!! Reviews that is :-P

 

Comments

[karababe-64.livejournal.com]

Loved it! My favourite part was Part 1 with Tony trying to prove himself to Abby. I can imagine it really happening. I like how you showed the different reactions and how it became a symbol of being accepted by Team Gibbs.

I am a tad confused about what Tony has planned for Fornell but maybe I've missed something. An excuse to re-read it. :)

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

Oh sorry about, but I had just rewritten the story (I'm insane) which went from 2,000+ words to this, and I written about 4,000 words in one day . . . I was so beat I couldn't feel my hands, heh. And this part was written after that. Not the most inspired, sigh, but thank you for pointing that out.

Heh, I'm glad you liked part one. And cool, I created a theme, although I assure you it was purely accidental, :-P.

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

Thank you for taking the time to read and review.

[fredsmith518.livejournal.com]

very cleverly executed, the one idea playing out so differently

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It was really interesting writing it and using so many different aspects of caffeine withdraw. :-)

[nightshadow-t2.livejournal.com]

Very clever. And the scene with Tony and Tim staring at Gibbs and Fornell in disbelief was perfect. It reminds me of that elevator scene where they're laughing one-upmanship their teams are expressing over their bastardly-ness.

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah, that was a great scene. And Fornell just struck me as the FBI's Gibbs . . . maybe that's why they get along so well.

[nightshadow-t2.livejournal.com]

Hmm, yeah. That and the shared misery of the same ex-wife.

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

*Snort* so true

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

Eee! This was so cute! I loved how everyone got to play, and it was as much a character piece as a humor piece. Thank you so much for writing this! It was wonderful.

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

*blushes* Thank you so much, that means a lot to me, especially coming from you. It was originally a humor piece but the kiddies wanted to play and who am I to deny them, *wink*