The title of this story is courtesy of dizzy-in-the-izzy.
I don't own NCIS, obviously.
He heard his front door open and footsteps approaching the stairs. He couldn't help but wonder who was about to descend upon him and what they had managed to get themselves into this time. When Tony walked down the stairs into the basement wearing a very nice suit, he knew it was going to be a serious conversation; and not one he would necessarily like.
"Evening, Boss," Tony said, looking around for any indication as to what Gibbs was working on, "No boat?"
"Just trying something new."
"It's good to do that every now and then," he replied.
He paced around the room before cleaning out a mason jar and pouring himself a cup of bourbon. He continued to walk around playing with his glass. Gibbs just kept sanding. He would talk when he was ready.
Twenty minutes later, however, he was getting slightly impatient with his senior field agent who was wearing a hole in his floor.
"Did you come here to talk about something, DiNozzo, or are you just gonna drink all my bourbon and leave?"
"I did. I was just thinking."
"Must be serious if you're not talking yourself through it."
"It's not really a problem, boss. It's just...something new," he said.
Gibbs nodded in response.
Tony grabbed the nearest sawhorse and sat down across from Gibbs at his worktable. Gibbs frowned slightly at his actions. If it was a sit down conversation, it was more serious than he thought.
After another few moments of silence, Tony finally said what was on his mind.
"You know, I didn't plan on having this little chat for another good while. I wasn't going to say anything until I was absolutely sure that things were actually going to go according to plan for once," he paused, "You never know if your expectations are going to line up with reality, you know? You hope they do. You dream about them and you create these great scenarios in your head where you just end up happier than you'd ever thought you could be. But life isn't usually like that. Especially my life. You don't get everything you want, and things fall apart. So when it does happen, it just blows your mind, and you have to take action a little sooner than you thought."
Gibbs simply watched Tony speak, trying to absorb everything he said. He could tell by his tone that he was genuinely shocked about whatever had transpired that night.
"I asked Ziva out on a date tonight, Gibbs. She said yes. We went out on our first date tonight and it was...perfect. It was everything I could have ever wanted it to be."
"Then what the hell are you doing here?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, why are you not still with her?"
Any other time, Tony would have probably been unnerved that Gibbs asked him why he wasn't at that moment sleeping with Ziva, but her lips had just left his and he was still on a high.
"Oh, well, we decided that rushing into things wasn't a good idea. I walked her to her door, kissed her goodnight and that was it. Then I came here." He recounted the story with a slight smile and a dreamy look on his face, and Gibbs could only watch in wonderment. He knew that this day would come, and he knew that it would be serious from the get-go. From the moment they committed to each other, they would be committed for life, but for some reason he never thought they would be so cautious in the pursuit of their relationship.
"You know, I wasn't going to tell you until we had been dating for a little while and we knew for sure it was going to work out, but it's been one date and I know this is going to work."
"You're sure about that?"
"I don't think I've ever been so sure of anything in my life."
Gibbs nodded in response, taking a sip of his bourbon.
"Rule number 8," he finally said.
"Number 8...never take anything for granted."
"Mmmhmmm."
"Is that all you're going to say?"
Gibbs looked up at him, slightly disgruntled. He wouldn't let this be easy, would be?
"No head slap? No veiled threats?"
"Nope."
"Why?"
"You're not breaking the rules."
Tony stared at him as though he'd gone insane, prompting him to continue.
"You love her, don't you?"
He looked at Gibbs very seriously and responded, "Yeah, I do," he paused for a moment, thinking. "Somewhere along the line I fell for her...I don't even know when it happened. It was like she pulled the rug out from under me the moment we met, and now...I can't imagine being with anyone else."
"You two have been through too much together to call what you're doing dating."
"So we're no breaking rule 12...because technically in your terms we're not dating?"
"That's what I said. Don't make me change my mind."
"We won't. Thank you, Boss."
He nodded once and continued to sand the chair leg he was working on.
Tony finished off his bourbon and stood, placing his glass on the workbench and moving to leave. He reached the stairs before Gibbs spoke again.
"DiNozzo," he said.
Tony turned back to face Gibbs.
"You hurt her, you answer to me," he said, a hard look on his face.
"If she doesn't kill me first," Tony responded with a smirk.
Gibbs' face broke into a smile, nodding as Tony made his way back up the stairs and out of the house.
With those two, he knew it was inevitable.