Just a little fic I had to get out of my head.
Tony walked down the stairs to Gibbs' basement and seated himself on one of the lower steps. Silently he watched the older man work on his boat, listening to the soft sound of sandpaper on wood. It soothed him, for some reason. Maybe because he knew in his heart that this was something that never was going to change.
He closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of sawdust. For the rest of his life, he would always connect that scent with safety. Because Gibbs was safety. He knew, just as he knew that the sun would rise in the east at dawn, that Gibbs would always watch his six, just as Gibbs could be sure the he always would watch his six. They had made that promise years ago, even though they had never said it out loud, but they still kept that promise. They always would. To the end of their days.
The sudden smell of coffee and sawdust mixed together made Tony open his eyes. He found himself look straight into Gibbs' amazingly blue eyes and that special smile of his that could melt a glacier in a matter of seconds. He smiled back, lightly touching Gibbs' cheek with his finger, before leaning in to brush his lips to his.
"Why did you stop?" Tony said with a low voice.
"I wanted to know what you are thinking about", Gibbs said and softly ran his fingers through Tony's hair.
"I was thinking of you. And what the smell of sawdust means to me."
"What does it mean to you, Tony?"
"This..."
Tony put a hand behind Gibbs' neck and pressed his lips against his. Feathery light he let his tongue flicker over his love's lip and felt them part. Their tongues met in a sweet caress before he began to explore Gibbs' mouth, as he had done so many times, but never grew tired of. And as always, now slightly mixed with the taste of bourbon, he could feel the taste of coffee. The taste that was so much a part of Gibbs that he wouldn't be him without it. The taste that Tony had come to love more than anything in the world.
For Tony, coffee would now and forever more be connected with the deep love and affection he felt for the silver-haired man. Neither that would ever come to an end.
They broke the kiss and smiled sheepishly at each other, like two teenagers that had recently fallen in love. And that's what how they felt. Gibbs pulled Tony in to a tight embrace and cradled the younger man in his arms. Tony pressed his ear against his chest to listen to his heartbeats, and a few seconds later, Gibbs felt Tony tap the slow, steady rhythm with a finger on his back. Just as he always did.
Gibbs hugged Tony closer and rested his chin on his head, feeling tears slowly fall down his cheeks. His feelings for Tony was something he never had expected to feel again, not after Shannon's death. The wives that had come after had never been able to fill the tremendous hole in his heart. But Tony had.
At first, Gibbs had refused to acknowledge his feelings for the younger man, but as time went by, he'd found it harder and harder to do so. He knew that Tony had felt the same way for him for ages, he'd could see it in his eyes, but he had just been too scared to spill his guts.
Tony had had similar feelings. Almost all his adult life he had chased after skirts, but when he realized that he was in love with his boss, he didn't know what to think. A couple of times he had tried to date other men, but it just had felt wrong. So completely wrong. It was Gibbs hed wanted, and no-one else, but he hadn't known how to tell him that.
Both of them had been too scared of how the other might react.
Both of them had been too scared for the thought that they might be wrong of the other's feelings.
Both of them had been too scared of rejection. And because of that, they had almost lost each other completely.
Wanna know more about why they almost lost each other?
Review then!