A/N: This is a tag to 10x13 'Hit and Run', so naturally spoilers for that episode. Also, the M-Rating is there for a reason if you catch my drift...
Disclaimer: NCIS doesn't belong to me. This is just for fun.
The Things You Do
"Gibbs?" Tony let his bag fall to the ground just inside the front door of the older man's house.
"Basement," came the slightly muffled voice from downstairs and Tony, after making a detour to the kitchen to retrieve two beers, walked down the stairs, watching the older man sand a gigantic piece of wood.
He sat down on the last of the stairs, studying the other man for a while, losing himself in his own thoughts. The last couple of days and weeks had been stressful and emotionally challenging, especially with Eli's death and now Abby's little breakdown. Tony wasn't quite sure if he had handled everything well enough, but Ziva seemed to have appreciated his concern and it was good to know that they could connect on more than a basic level after all.
"Abby alright?" he finally asked into the silence, absent-mindedly picking at the label of the bottle in his hand.
"Guess so," Gibbs spoke, momentarily stopping the sanding to look at Tony instead. "Talked to her. She seemed better."
"Good," Tony just said, taking a sip from his beer.
They lapsed into silence again, only interrupted by the sound the sander made on the wood. Tony wasn't entirely sure why he had opted to visit his boss that night, but there was something nagging at him in the back of his mind and he knew that he needed to talk about it.
"How do you do it?"
"Do what?" Gibbs asked.
"You know. Knowing exactly what you need to say. For example with Abby. What did you say to her? I mean, McGee pretty much gets her, you know, and he couldn't help her and then you just talk to her and she's alright again. How do you do it?"
Sighing, Gibbs put the sander aside and sat down on one of the sawhorses, rubbing a hand over his face before he looked at Tony more closely.
"I just told her that there are people who care about her. That the things she does mean something to people."
"Huh," Tony said, taking another sip. "That's very philosophical, Boss."
"Nah, it's not," Gibbs snorted. "Just the truth."
"Yeah," the younger man said thoughtfully.
"Same goes for you," Gibbs declared after he had sized him up for a moment or two, noticing the tense shoulders and set jaw.
"I hope so," Tony shrugged, looking up from his beer to stare at the older man instead. "Sometimes I'm just not so sure, you know."
"You know how much you helped Ziva these last couple of weeks, right? And how much you're helping all those families out there in order to find an answer."
"Am I? Because sometimes I think, you know, I don't make any difference at all. The line gets blurred between good and bad and lately everything just seems to be falling apart. I mean Ziva's dad, Jackie, even Abby's not the happy little Goth anymore."
Gibbs nodded ever so slightly and ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't been prepared to play therapist twice in one day, especially when Tony had seemed to be more balanced lately and happier than he had ever seen him before. Come to think of it, he couldn't help but notice that even though Tony was apparently feeling down at the moment, there was still that little spark in his green eyes that seemed to be a constant these days. It seemed like Tony had actually taken his advice to man up and try to be happy. He didn't know what exactly he had needed in order to become more mature, but he had somehow succeeded. Strange, how Gibbs hadn't realized that before.
"Look, Tony," Gibbs started over, knowing that Tony needed his assurance despite it all. "There's always going to be things that we can't stop, but what we can do is try to bring peace to the families. They need the closure and sometimes it's only us who are able to give them that."
"You're right," Tony said, looking up at him with the softest of smiles.
"Usually am," Gibbs tried to joke as he got up from the sawhorse to pour himself a glass of bourbon.
Tony let out a laugh and stood up, too, and for a moment Gibbs had the fleeting sensation of loss at the prospect that Tony would leave his house so soon, but it disappeared again as the younger man approached him, emptying another jar of nails for himself. Gibbs was just about to fill it when Tony turned away from him coughing violently. After setting down the bottle of bourbon, Gibbs patted the younger man's back, trying to help him in some way. He hadn't heard him cough like that in years and it brought back horrible memories of blue lights and blue lips and blood. Subtly shaking his head in order to get rid of the images, Gibbs looked at Tony for a couple of moments until the coughing stopped.
"Sorry," Tony rasped, shaking his head. "Guess my time in the woods wasn't as good as I thought it was."
"Mhm," Gibbs just replied, finally pouring the bourbon into the glass. "You still have problems with that?"
"With going into the woods?" Tony replied as he turned to look at him, a confused expression on his face.
"No," Gibbs answered, only just not rolling his eyes. "Your lungs, I mean."
"Oh," Tony replied, turning slightly pink in the face. "Nah. That was ages ago, Gibbs. No problem whatsoever."
"Oh yeah? That's why you have an inhaler by your bed?"
"No… I mean… how do you know that?"
Tony stared at his boss for a moment before he realized that the older man had been to his apartment only recently. But when exactly had he had the time to check out his bedroom? And since when was Gibbs so openly concerned about him?
"I'm an investigator, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied, smirking ever so slightly. "It's my job to notice the little things."
"You notice the little things in my bedroom?" Tony gave back good-naturedly, encouraged by the slightly pink cheeks that Gibbs was suddenly sporting.
He wasn't sure what exactly it was that made him tease his boss at the moment, but Gibbs somehow seemed to be more open than usual. Tony had realized quite some time ago that their relationship had changed ever so slightly in the course of the last year. He didn't know exactly what it was and he had waited patiently for any signs from Gibbs that he wasn't reading too much into their interactions lately, but maybe the older man's concern for him now was exactly that – a sign. Tony wasn't quite sure, but he was certainly willing to find out.
"Just admit it," he continued when Gibbs remained silent and only rubbed the back of his head. "You were curious, weren't you? You wanted to know what the good ol' DiNozzo's bedroom was like."
"Not like there was much to see," the older man finally snapped out of his silence. "Pretty small bed you got there."
"Says the guy who sleeps on a couch."
Gibbs snorted and then nodded before he tipped his jar against Tony's and downed his bourbon. Tony was right, of course, they both had indeed the weirdest sleeping arrangements.
"I do have a bed, though," he finally gave back, a smile on his lips.
"Uh-huh," Tony answered, sipping from his bourbon at a more moderate pace than Gibbs. "And what are you doing with it exactly?"
Gibbs raised an eyebrow at that and felt his cheeks grow hotter ever so slightly. So maybe he hadn't been so wrong about Tony's feelings towards him after all. He had sometimes wondered and sometimes hoped that he wasn't just imagining it all.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he finally said, setting the jar down at the workbench.
Tony stared at him for a moment, his eyes wide, his face red. And then suddenly, as Gibbs' heart was still beating rather erratically, the younger man straightened up as if he had come to a conclusion and then took a step towards Gibbs, his eyes locking into the older man's.
"Actually," he said, dragging out the word and searching his face. "I would."
"Good," was all that Gibbs managed to get out before Tony's lips crushed onto his own.
The part of Gibbs' brain that was still making sense, as the touch was whizzing through his nerve endings, knew that he should push the younger man away, not because he didn't want this but because they needed to talk first, but the rest of him almost fell into the touch and he simply decided not to listen.
The kiss was sloppy and yet somehow still thorough. Tony seemed to pour his entire soul into it and it caused Gibbs' eyes to close in order to just feel the younger man. Their tongues met up with each other at the same time that Gibbs' arms came around Tony to pull him closer. They continued to kiss each other for a long time and it was only when he felt Tony's fingertips brush against the skin right under the hem of his shirt that Gibbs broke the kiss. He looked into the younger man's eyes for a moment and finding what he had been looking for, he took his hand and all but dragged him upstairs into his bedroom.
Once there, Gibbs pulled his arm around Tony's waist, drawing him closer and kissing him again with such intensity that Tony gasped into their kiss. Taking the moment of surprise, Gibbs lifted Tony's shirt and smoothly pulled it over his head, his lips only leaving the younger man's long enough to remove it. He continued his exploration of Tony's mouth for a while longer before started to trail kisses down his neck, stopping shortly to nibble at his earlobe, while he let his hands roam up and down the Tony's abdomen. The younger man's mouth fell open as his head went back and soft moans escaped him. Gibbs smiled as his fingers caressed the light dusting of Tony's chest hair, edging closer and closer to the nipples without actually touching them just yet. He felt the younger man shiver under his touch as his hand clawed into Gibbs' hips. His tongue darted out and licked the sweat that had gathered where Tony's neck met his shoulder, causing him to gasp again. For a moment it seemed like the younger man wanted to push himself away, but then he swiftly grabbed the hem of Gibbs' shirt and pulled it over his head. Taking another deep breath, he leaned into the older man again, claiming another searing hot kiss that made Gibbs momentarily weak in the knees.
So this was what it was like to have DiNozzo's full attention on him and Gibbs wasn't willing to ever let him go again. He contemplated for a moment to tell him exactly that, but all coherent thought left him again as Tony grabbed him by the hips and pushed him towards the bed until they both fell over. He ended up sprawled on Gibbs and they both let out a rather surprised chuckle, but then the younger man licked his lips and buried his head in Gibbs' chest before he kissed his way down to his stomach, dipping the tongue into the navel.
The older man simply watched, propping himself up on his elbows, as Tony lazily taunted him with his lips. Gibbs didn't know how long Tony kissed him like that, but by the time he was working open his belt, Gibbs felt like he was on fire. The younger man finally managed to get rid of Gibbs' pants and boxer shorts and then quickly worked his own down his ankles before he lay down next to Gibbs, looking him into his eyes as the older man's hand roamed up and down his side. They smiled at each other and Gibbs suddenly realized that they didn't need to talk. Not now and probably not ever. They both knew that it had been inevitable, that they had danced around each other for too long now. This was just it and Gibbs knew it and he was sure that Tony knew it, too. The younger man smiled at him again, a real smile and moved in close. Gibbs' hands snaked around his back, pulling him into a full body embrace. He had wanted to touch the man like that for what felt like forever and his head dropped down to Tony's shoulder as a heavy sigh of satisfaction escaped the younger man's lips.
It felt surreal to Tony that he was finally that close to him, was finally feeling all of him, but then suddenly the embrace was broken as Gibbs pushed him down onto his back and started to kiss him again, tenderly this time. Tony felt himself shiver and let his tongue search for more as the kiss intensified. Gibbs let his hands wander over Tony's naked chest again, trailing along the other man's arms. He had him pinned to the bed and was now nipping softly at his neck, eliciting a low growl. He looked into the younger man's eyes for a moment and finding no resistance, he grasped both sides of Tony's face and leaned in again, capturing his lips. He felt the heat spread inside of him when they met up with shallow thrusts. Breaking their kiss again to somewhat gather his thoughts, Gibbs let his left hand trail down the other man's side and finally come to a stop on his hip.
He grinned ever so slightly when Tony let out a guttural noise as let his hand wander from the hip to the groin. Tony groaned again as he reached up and kissed him. Gibbs responded with enthusiasm and then grazed the other man's cock for the very first time. He felt his heart stutter for a moment when he wrapped his hand around the hard cock, eliciting another low moan from Tony. Placing a rather soft kiss on the other man's cheek, Gibbs carefully and slowly began to stroke him. He was rewarded another shudder that traveled through Tony's entire body. The younger man smiled at him almost reassuringly and Gibbs took the hint as he grasped both of their erections and started to stroke them in earnest, causing both of them to groan. Tony arched into his every touch, his hands on Gibbs' thighs, his mouth slightly open.
Gibbs tried to smile at him, somehow trying to convey that this was exactly what he had wanted for so long, but another low growl coming from Tony made him forget the line of thought as he sped up his movements, feeling the warmth spread in his groin. He knew that he was close and judging from the faint flush over his chest and the ragged breaths that came out of his mouth, Tony wasn't far behind. Mere seconds after that particular realization, the intensity of his own orgasm surprised him as he erupted all over his hand and Tony's stomach. He kept on stroking the younger man and then felt the body under him tremble and tense as his cum joined Gibbs'.
"Wow," Tony breathed out when Gibbs lay down next to him, pulling him into another tight embrace.
"Yeah," Gibbs replied, trying to calm down his breathing and gather his thoughts before he pressed a tender kiss on the younger man's temple. "Sorry it took so long."
"Not just your fault," Tony replied seriously as he pulled away from Gibbs ever so slightly to look him into the eyes again. "But I think it was for the best. We both needed time to figure this out, right?"
"Maybe," Gibbs conceded, "Hey, uh, do you remember what the lady from the bank told us yesterday?"
"Yeah," Tony answered slowly, a smile starting to light up his face. "How some people just look like they belong together?"
"Yup," Gibbs said as he leaned into him to steal a kiss again. "And you know why we do?"
"No?" Tony replied, grinning ever so slightly as he moved to lay his head on Gibbs' chest.
"Because the things you say matter. The things you do matter. And you matter to me. And don't you ever forget that."
"I won't," Tony just whispered, closing his eyes.
And he finally felt like he did matter, too. Maybe he couldn't help Abby or Ziva the way he wanted to, but somewhere along the way, he had managed to help Gibbs. And it was all that really mattered.