A/N: This takes place after the events of These are the Steps to Rebellion. I recommend you read that first.


"You know, Gibbs, the whole point of the revolution was to change things."

Gibbs looked up from putting the finishing touches on the boat. Tony was at the top of the stairs. His arm was still wrapped in bandages from the mutt trap in the Capital, but those would be off soon enough.

The boat, the basement, the work that was always so solitary until Tony or Kate came to join him - that hadn't changed, no. Other things had.

"If things hadn't changed, you wouldn't be here now," he pointed out as Tony descended the stairs. This late at night, the Capital would have expected him to be at his officially designated house with his father.

That wasn't an issue now.

"Point," he admitted easily. Tony glanced over the work. "You know, this is a lot quieter than I remember it being."

"Finishing stages usually are," Gibbs agreed mildly. Finishing stages of a boat, of a revolution . . . One done up with a bit of paint for a name, one finished with a few quiet votes and signatures.

He was about ready for some quiet.

Not too quiet, though.

Tony perched on a stool. "So. You promised to tell me why a boat when it was all done. And it's done."

"Almost done," Gibbs corrected.

"Come on," he whined.

Gibbs hid a smile and gave in. "The woodworking was so that I'd have a good excuse to make a lot of noise."

"To confuse the bugs the Capital left?" Tony guessed. He barely waited for the confirming nod before continuing on. "Why bother, though?" He frowned. "You weren't sneaking in rebels under my nose all those years, right? I wasn't that oblivious."

"Used to," Gibbs confirmed, "but only before your time. After you came, there were other things I thought it was better if the Capital didn't hear."

Tony's frown deepened as he presumably thought back to what Gibbs could be referring to. The only people that had met down here after Tony came were Tony, Gibbs, and eventually Kate. They'd never talked about anything particularly treasonous, even down here, but down here was where they'd had most of their more charged discussions. Usually late at night when Gibbs was so exhausted he might as well have been drunk.

There was nothing wrong with anything they'd said down here. Just . . . personal things. Things that would have let the Capital know just how much they cared.

They'd figured it out anyway, but he'd tried to protect them. He'd tried so hard.

He could see the exact moment Tony got it. A broad grin spread across the young man's face. "Love you too, Gibbs," he said flippantly with just a hint of vulnerability in his eyes.

Gibbs let his mouth quirk up into a rueful half smile of confirmation before he tossed a paintbrush at him. "You gonna work or sit?"

Tony's grin broadened and he slipped of the stool. "You still haven't answered my question," he pointed out after a few minutes of companionable work. "Why a boat? There weren't exactly many opportunities to take one out here, even for a Victor."

Gibbs shrugged. "Things change."

Not just a way to hide rebellion. A symbol of it. A promise of what could come after.

The light of understanding lit up Tony's face again. "I like it. Now. Last question, I promise."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. He very much doubted this would be the last question.

Tony powered on anyway. "Once this is done - " He waved a hand at the paint drying in the outline of a dragon wrapped around the carefully stenciled letters of the Kelly. "How in Panem are you going to get this thing out of here?"

"Explosives."

Tony froze. "You're joking, right? I like the house unexploded. Kate likes the house unexploded. Gibbs? Gibbs!"

This time, Gibbs figured there was no reason to hide his smile.