McGee stood in Tony’s living room feeling annoyed. They were supposed to go to a movie but if Tony didn’t hurry up they were going to be late. He looked around the disheveled apartment fighting the urge to clean. They had been seeing each other for four months now but they still had their own living spaces so he didn’t think Tony would appreciate his efforts. The one thing that had changed was that Tony had more food on hand.
McGee was at his apartment with enough frequency that he made sure they had something to eat. It was bad enough McGee had to eat take out all the time at work he didn’t like to continue the habit when he was off. He looked at his watch again a scowl crossing his features at the time. “Tony if you don’t hurry up we’re going to miss the movie!” He heard more noises from the bathroom as Tony continued to get ready.
“I won’t be much longer. Grab a beer or something.” McGee didn’t respond knowing that ‘much longer’ more often than not translated into an hour. He started to pace wondering if he should go online to see if there were any later show times. ‘No Tim, give Tony the benefit of the doubt.’ He let out a breath as he stopped pacing. As he looked around the pig sty that was Tony’s apartment he had to wonder what he was doing.
When they had started their arrangement he’d been okay with not knowing where he stood with Tony but now he wasn’t so sure. It had been four months and McGee was starting to wonder if he was wasting time he could be using to find someone who did want him. He didn’t like to think that way but he wasn’t exactly getting any younger. He wasn’t sure about a family but he did want to settle down with someone. Live with someone he cared about maybe buy a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence.
Have a life with someone who could understand that his job would take away a lot of his time. He closed his eyes trying to push his thoughts to the side but they wouldn’t leave him alone. Opening his eyes again he accepted defeat. He would have to end this soon it just wasn’t enough anymore. The thought pained him so he tried to distract himself by searching for a book out of Tony’s limited collection. Most of the titles didn’t look even remotely interesting but finally he was able to find something.
He picked up the very heavy, ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ getting an amused look on his face. ‘Of course Tony would own this book.’ He looked over to the shelf that contained all of Tony’s films. It was the only spot in the apartment that was well maintained. He gave an amused huff before flipping through the book. The hardcover book ended up being very informative with articles about certain films to give the reader more in depth information.
He grabbed several of the pages to fan through them. It was when he was doing this that something plastic wedged in-between the pages caught his eye. He flipped back to where the unknown item was wedged in the book. The item in question ended up being a maple leaf sealed in a plastic square. There were some unusual spots on the leaf that McGee wasn’t able to identify.
Suddenly his mind flashed back onto the first day of his attempts to seduce Tony. He could see all of them in the van Tony looking at him before leaning forward to pluck a leaf out of his hair. He looked back at the leaf realizing the spots on the leaf where caused from the dried mud. His mind went back into the past again the image of Tony twirling the leaf between his thumb and index finger as clear as if it happened yesterday. He came back to the present again his gaze only able to see the preserved leaf. A shaky smile pulled at his lips as he gently stroked over the leaf.
“Okay I’m ready! Let’s get this show on the road.” McGee looked back toward the bathroom a soft look on his face before he looked back toward the book. He quickly closed the book replacing it on Tony’s shelf. Another second later Tony came into the room looking like a million bucks. McGee walked over to him placing one hand on his shoulder and letting the other rest on his upper arm as he kissed him softly.
When he pulled back Tony blinked at him in shock. “What was that for? If anything I expected a head slap for making you wait so long.” McGee grinned, his hand gently rubbing Tony’s shoulder. “I kissed you because I wanted to.” Tony still looked as though he wanted to get to the bottom of McGee’s actions so he looked at his watch to emphasize the time. “We need to get going or we’re going to be late.” They started to head to the door as Tony grabbed his keys.
“I don’t know why you’re in such a hurry. I’m sure you’ve already checked to see when the next show is.” McGee gave him a scowl. “I didn’t check although I should have. You know I wouldn’t need to do that if you didn’t take so long to get ready. I swear my sister doesn’t take as long as you do.” Tony flashed him a dazzling smile. “Perfection takes more than five minutes. Although I guess that’s not entirely true since I really don’t need to do anything to look perfect.”
McGee rolled his eyes. “Are you going to stand here spouting hot air all night or are you going to open the door so we can leave.” Tony’s smile didn’t fade as he opened the door. Their playful arguing continued well after they reached the car. McGee kept a sour look on his face for the most part but let the amusement shine from his eyes. He looked at the time as they headed toward the theater and knew they would make it before show time. They fell into an easy conversation after their arguing died down.
Although he paid attention to what was being said, as they talked he really looked at Tony. He took in his eyes, his smile, the wrinkles that would stand out when he made a certain expression, the way his cologne would waft toward him at any small movement, the way his hair looked gelled up, and the way he looked at McGee when he thought he wasn’t paying attention. Then he thought of the leaf nestled away in Tony’s film book. The way it was lovingly preserved and suddenly he knew. They were going to be okay.
The End
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