Abby
wrapped around
him like bark on a tree, McGee to his right, smiling
like a loon, Ziva
to his
left looking smug and self-satisfied, Gibbs in front of
him looking....
He was home, back with the
people who loved
him, people he loved. The
Seahawk's
captain wanted his Agent Afloat back but he would get
someone else. Gibbs had
taken him without permission, Tony
had realised belatedly; he'd never been so happy to be
abducted his
whole life.
As
Abby talked, Gibbs
reached over, offered his hand and Tony took it. But
that handshake paused, changed, became
something else, something neither of them seemed willing
to let go of.
"I
think we're
due some sleep," Ziva interrupted Abby’s flow, "we
should get
going."
Abby
picked up on her
tone, glanced at Gibbs and Tony, and nodded her agreement,
unwrapping
herself,
patting Tony's shoulder and telling him she was so happy
he was back
and that
she would definitely see him in the morning and would
definitely bring
him up
to date with the bowling averages over a CafPow. Then
she grabbed the back of McGee's collar
and dragged him away with her, ignoring his surprise, his
protest and
question. Tony blushed
slightly, looked
away with a
smile on his face then lifted his head again and found
himself staring
straight
into big, sparkling blue eyes. He
pulled
his hand free slowly. He
needed to pull
himself together again. On
the boat he'd
been unable to tear his eyes off Gibbs, drinking him in
like a seaman
on shore
leave trying to get drunk in the short time as he had;
sure he would be
forced
once again to say goodbye and taking all he needed when he
could get it
to
steel himself for that moment. He
was
home now, he needed to get himself under control, let
things get back
to normal.
"I
missed you,
Boss."
"I
know."
"I
need to check
into a hotel," Tony pushed himself off McGee's desk and
stood up,
"they rented out my apartment for the full term, all my
stuff's in
storage...."
"Don't
be an
idiot." Gibbs' voice was
soft, low,
amused.
"What?"
"You're
staying
with me."
"I
am?" Happiness, relief
flooded him
for the third time in twenty-four hours.
He needed a drink or the sweet taste was going to
make him sick. "I am.
Cool. Thanks, Boss."
Gibbs
inclined his
head slightly. "You’re
welcome,
DiNozzo.”
#
Tony
dumped his bag
on the floor and sat on the edge of the guest room’s
double bed. He was home; all
he’d wanted, all he’d
thought about for the last four months.
Not
necessarily in Gibbs’ house but back working under the
man, being part
of his
team, having his six. Back on
dry land in
DC. And now reality was
settling
in. He needed to at least get
some
clothes out of storage. He
needed to
remember what he used to do with his evenings.
He needed to remember what being alone was like.
“Everything
okay?”
Tony
glanced up,
smiled at Gibbs standing in the doorway, both hands on the
frame
leaning
slightly inside the room. He
nodded. “Yeah.
Thanks
for this, Boss, seriously.”
“Least
I can do,
dragging you back from the Seahawk ahead of time.” There
was a glint in his eyes and it dragged a
tired grin from Tony. He
was starting to
feel the lack of sleep now that the adrenaline was
draining from his
system.
“I’m
so upset about
that, as you can see, but when duty calls….”
He trailed off, not sure what he’d been about to
say.
“Mind
if I....?”
He
shook his head and
frowning, surprised, he shifted across to make space when
Gibbs came
into the
room and sat down on the bed beside him.
He sat for a minute or two, looking around the room
like he’d
never seen
the inside of it before.
"I've
been
blind," he started suddenly, awkwardly, randomly as far
as Tony was
concerned, "too wrapped up in the past to see what's
been in front of
me."
Tony
was confused. ”Boss, you know
none of this
was your fault.”
“I’m
not talking
about the reassignment.”
“Oh. So what…?”
He turned, found himself inches from Gibbs’ face
and finally saw
there
what he’d been looking for and not seeing for six years.
“Oh.”
“I
had to bring you
back with me.” Gibbs said quietly, Tony already lost to
him. “Once I’d got you
within arms’ reach again I
couldn’t bring myself to let you out of my sight. No
way was I leaving the Seahawk and leaving
you behind.”
“Oh.” It was all he could say. He
didn’t seem to be able to find any more
appropriate words. Gibbs
smiled at him.
“I
know you’ve been
chasing me a long time. And
you know,
having someone around who worships the ground I walk
on... that’s one
hell of a
rush, Tony.” He felt the
blush creep
into his cheeks. “But...
despite the
three ex-wives, I do play for keeps.
If
we start something it isn’t going to be temporary.
And I don’t share.” Tony
opened his
mouth but no words came out,
not even an ‘oh’. He was so
used to
carrying this crush, this need, around with him, deep
inside, so used
to it being
unrequited, that he couldn’t quite believe this wasn’t
just some
jetlag-induced
fantasy. He was away with
his own
stunned shock until Gibbs said, “I’ll let you get some
sleep. I don’t need you to
make a decision now, I
just wanted you to know... the offer’s there, if you
want to take me up
on
it. Have a feeling... it
always will
be.”
Tony
snapped back
into himself as, with a small smile on his face and his
hands on his
knees,
Gibbs started to rise. The
movement
broke the fugue in Tony’s head. “Whoa.” His hand shot out, grabbed
Gibbs’ wrist. “Wait!
You can’t say something like that then just leave.”
He
chuckled. “I’m only going
into the next
room. You’re exhausted.”
“Not
that
exhausted!” Gibbs sat back
down,
patience all over his face, and Tony tried to order the
chaos in his
mind. “Are you saying... you
and I....” He swept a hand
back through his hair and
started again, more serious than he could remember being
in a long time
– more
himself. “You might think I’m
one big
joke....”
Gibbs
shook his
head. “I don’t think that.”
“People
do.”
Hands
folded in his
lap, Gibbs looked at him. “Not
me. If I couldn’t see past
that I’d have kicked
your ass back to Baltimore years ago.”
Tony
hesitated. “I have...
wanted you, one way
or another,
for a long time. If we do
this... if I
lose you,” he shook his head, “I’m gone.
I couldn’t cope knowing I’d blown the only chance
I’ll ever
have.”
Gibbs
lifted one hand
from his lap and touched the back of his fingers to Tony’s
cheek. “You won’t lose me. Can’t.
I won’t let it happen again. I
know it won’t be easy, Tony; two alpha males coming
together never is. But you
mean too much for me to just let you
walk away.”
“You
really mean
this?”
“I
really mean it.”
Gathering
his
confidence, Tony smirked. “Prove
it.”
Gibbs
surged forward,
wrapped big hands around Tony’s face, pushed long fingers
into his
hair, tongue
delving past Tony’s lips to explore his mouth.
He used his strength to take Tony back to the bed,
lying over
him, and
Tony finally plucked up the courage to do some exploring
of his own;
one hand
running up Gibbs’ tensed arm while he let the short, soft
spikes of his
greying
hair run through his fingers like sand.
He
let Gibbs kiss him, moaning slightly as he lifted his head
away but
using the
opportunity to search for some explanation of ‘why now’ in
eyes he
would
willingly, happily drown in.
Instead
of
explaining, Gibbs just asked quietly, “Sure this is
okay?”
And
he nodded. “Sure.
Definitely sure, Gibbs.”’
“Jethro.”
He
tried it. “Jethro.”
It tasted good. Gibbs
- Jethro -
felt
good, lying along the length of him, hard and solid, head
to toe as he
leaned
in again and kissed him. Good
just didn’t
come close. Perfect. Gibbs
was perfect. Everything Tony
had imagined
he’d be and
more. He could only hope they
both knew
what they were getting into.
#
“…someone
to go undercover.”
Tony
was on his feet
in a heartbeat, knowing that was his thing, his skill,
and more than
ready to do
it. He wanted to continue
to be useful
here, wanted to make sure this was where he was needed,
professionally
as well
as personally, which he apparently really was.
“No.” It was bold and clear.
His
head snapped
around to look at Gibbs. “Boss?”
“Not
you. Not this time. McGee.”
Probie
looked up,
eyes wide with surprise. “Boss?”
“Go
work up a
background with Abby.”
Gibbs
moved almost as
quickly as McGee, trotting up the stairs towards MTAC,
and at the risk
of
looking as if he was following the Boss around like a
puppy, Tony was
only a
second behind him as he stepped into the large, empty
room. He closed the gap
quickly and put his mouth
to Gibbs’ ear, voice a barely audible murmur.
“Don’t
do this. Don’t sideline me
just
because....”
Gibbs
spun one-eighty,
hand landing hard on Tony’s shoulder, fingers gripping,
and when he
spoke into
Tony’s ear, his voice was just as desperate.
“I’ve only just found you, don’t ask me to let
you go so soon.”
It
wasn’t the
response he’d been expecting. “Huh...?”
“We
both know what
this assignment might be,” Gibbs hissed.
“Don’t ask me to watch you seduce some fucking
stranger when I
haven’t
even had the chance to fuck you myself.”
Stunned,
Tony looked
at him, eyes wide. “Okay.”
“Please.”
Gibbs
needed more, he
suddenly realised, shocked to the core.
This is how it was going to be – all that intensity
focused
completely
on him. It was going to be
the best kind
of drug, the worst kind of addiction.
He
was going to drown and he wouldn’t even fight to stop it
from happening. “I’m yours,”
he murmured, soft,
meaningful. “I would die for
you. Whatever you want,
whatever you need, you
just have to take it.”
The
way Gibbs was
looking at him, Tony thought he must already know that
and was trying
to reign
himself in when all he really wanted to do was lose
control. “I need McGee to
do this.
I need to keep you with me, just for now,
just until I’m used to this.”
Tony
nodded. “I am absolutely fine
with that.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Gibbs’
face broke
into a smile Tony thought might blind him.
He couldn’t help but grin in return.
He wanted to kiss the man right there and then,
at the very
least he
wanted to touch, to lay claim to him, to just grab him
and yell ‘mine’
at the
top of his voice. But he
didn’t. He didn’t dare. Instead
he put everything into his eyes, hoped
Gibbs could see it.
The
door opened and
they broke apart smoothly, Tony could still feel the heat
of Gibbs’
hand on his
shoulder, the imprint of fingers in his flesh.
He briefly wondered if the man was more than he
could handle. Then pushed the
thought out of mind.
When
they headed out
half an hour later to set up surveillance on McGee,
Gibbs’ typical,
‘DiNozzo,
you’re with me’ took on a whole new meaning.
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