Wilmington, North Carolina
The trip to North Carolina only took the men a day and twelve hours, the sun was slowly setting over them once again, and the orange and purple colors reflecting off the ocean and deck of the boat were mesmerizing.
Tony sighed contentedly as he leaned against the side rail of the boat, watching as the waves crashed against the boat as Gibbs slowly steered through the channel towards the docks "This place is rather remarkable." Tony said as he looked over his shoulder at Gibbs.
Gibbs nodded and grinned slightly "Wait until we're actually in the city." Gibbs said as he looked over at Tony.
"You ever been here?" Tony asked as he walked over to Gibbs, resting his head against his husband's back, arms encircling Gibbs' waist.
Gibbs shook his head "Not really, drove through it once or twice. Wasn't a stop and smell the rose's type of drive though, so I never got to explore." Gibbs said, settling his hand over top of Tony's, while keeping the other on the wheel.
"Well, we're going to be doing a hell of a lot of exploring in the time we're here – I've got everything on our trip down to a science now…" Tony said, grinning into Gibbs' bare back – They'd put on shorts once they entered the channel, but were still shirtless.
"Oh yeah, and how do you see us spending our time wisely?" Gibbs asked curiously, looking over his shoulder at the younger man.
Tony sighed and closed his eyes lightly "We'll spend three days here in Wilmington, two days of activities, and then one day spent shopping and eating – Both of which I know you hate doing, but I need to bring things back, from each port." Tony stated firmly, looking up at Gibbs, "Then, it's a fifteen hour trip to Charleston, and we'll spend four days there. Ten hours to Savannah, another four days. Then it's fifteen hours to Jacksonville, which, we'll spend another four days…" Tony stated, taking a breath as he looked out at the water again.
Gibbs laughed, shaking his head slightly "And what about Miami?" Gibbs asked as he slowed the engine of the boat even further as the neared the docks.
"Well it takes a day and nine hours to get to Miami, so once we get there, we'll spend five days… There is so much to do in Miami… Clubs, shopping, all types of things you won't feel comfortable at all with." Tony said, grinning widely as he looked back up at Gibbs.
Gibbs shook his head and sighed "I guess I'll just have to learn how to get comfortable doing certain things then. Clubbing can't be that bad, can it?" Gibbs asked curiously as he began pulling into their rented slip.
Tony shrugged as he released Gibbs and sat down "Depends really. You're not the clubbing type, but sometimes it can be fun – We'll even hit a couple of Karaoke bars!" Tony exclaimed, grinning broadly up at Gibbs.
"Okay, I accept the challenge. Five days in Miami… What else ya got?" Gibbs asked as he slowly shut the engine down, the boat slowly cascading into the slip and coming to a stop just next to the pier.
"Ah! Well, from Miami back to Norfolk, it takes three days and roughly four hours… Which leaves us with three more days until our vacation is over. So, I was thinking we'd just stay home and recuperate afterwards. Simple enough, right?" Tony asked as he stood up, stretching his arms out widely and moaning as his spine popped as he turned his body.
"Seems pretty simple, barring any weather we come across while out on the ocean." Gibbs said with a shrug as he walked over to the side of the boat, and leaped over onto the dock, "Hand me that rope so I can tie us down." Gibbs said, pointing to the rope that was tied to the railing.
Tony laughed as he walked over to the rope and undid it, tossing it into Gibbs' opened arms, "Maybe we should cut a day off each trip… That way if we do run into weather, we still have time to get back to DC…" Tony mused out loud as he walked to the other end of the boat, and grabbed the other rope, tossing it to Gibbs for him to tie that one down as well.
Gibbs nodded as he hopped back onto the boat and grabbed Tony by the waist and pulled him in close, "Good thinking. I'd like at least one week of coverage, the further down south we go, the more unpredictable weather can get, especially on the open waters." Gibbs said as he gently kissed the back of Tony's neck.
Tony sighed as he leaned backwards against Gibbs' chest, "I still think we should have stayed home." Tony said quietly as he turned around in Gibbs' arms, looking directly into the man's eyes.
Gibbs frowned slightly "You don't like the idea of sailing the coast? You were excited about it when Ducky and Senior pitched the idea a month ago. What happened?" Gibbs asked as he led Tony backwards towards the cabin.
Tony shrugged as he followed Gibbs, "I don't know… I mean, I am excited about seeing all of the cities, it's just… Boats and I don't really get along… Add in the idea of terrible storms that thrash the boat around… It all just feels a little hinky to me." Tony stated as he dropped off the bottom step and stood in front of Gibbs.
Gibbs sighed as he cupped Tony's cheek, kissing his lips softly "You and the boat will be just fine, and if there is a storm – I can handle it Tony, all you have to do is stay on the boat, as in… Don't leave the cabin when a storm hits, because if you go overboard, I'll kill you myself." Gibbs said sternly, staring directly into Tony's eyes.
Tony nodded as he laid his head against Gibbs' chest "I'll stay in the cabin, believe me… I'll probably need too… Should have stolen McGee's stash of Dramamine while we were still at NCIS…" Tony whispered as he released Gibbs and headed over to their duffels as he grabbed two button up shirts, "So, I thought we'd do the pub-ghost crawl thing tonight…" Tony said as he tossed Gibbs his shirt, Gibbs nodded as he pulled the shirt on and buttoned it up, Tony doing the same thing.
Gibbs and Tony stood outside of the first bar on their six-bar tour, "One beer, that's it Tony – I am not under any circumstances dragging you back to the boat if you drink more than one beer at each of these bars tonight." Gibbs said sternly, looking over at his younger counterpart.
Tony frowned, letting out a heavy sigh "I probably won't even drink! I'm… Well, you know! I don't like ghosts." Tony stated, crossing his arms over his chest like a petulant five year old.
Gibbs laughed as he opened the door to the bar, gently pushing Tony inside, "There is no such thing as ghosts, I've tried telling you this a hundred times already!" Gibbs stated as they made their way towards the tour-gathering.
"Welcome to the Old Wilmington Ghost Tour and Pub Crawl, ya'll. My name is Mandy Cramer and I'll be your tour guide for the evening – Along with me are Steven Hozier, and Alexa Travis, they are experts on everything Wilmington and will be giving you all great information as we walk down Market Street." Mandy said, then continued into the tale of their first bar for the night.
Tony sighed, wrapping his arms around his chest as he shuffled towards the bar behind Gibbs "How you doing, honey?" Gibbs asked, looking over his shoulder at Tony.
Tony shook his head, goosebumps raised on his skin as he stared at the ground "Not good… I know you don't believe in ghosts Jethro, but I swear to god this place is giving me the creeps the longer we stand here." Tony said quietly, leaning his head against Gibbs' back.
Gibbs sighed, "Maybe you should start off with a glass of scotch, settle your nerves a little." Gibbs suggested as he turned around, holding Tony in a warm embrace. Tony nodded as he looked up at Gibbs, "Okay then, we'll start heavy and end the night in beer… It's going to be okay though, I'm right here, not gonna let nothing happen to you." Gibbs said as he kissed Tony's temple then turned back to the bartender to order their beverages.
Tony's eyes continued to scan the bar, listening to their tour-guide with half an ear, and listening to the sounds around him with the other. A low howling echoed in Tony's ear and he nearly jumped out of his skin, grasping tightly at Gibbs' arm next to him. Gibbs looked over at Tony with a raised eyebrow, "You… You didn't hear that?" Tony asked, his bottom lip trembling slightly.
Gibbs shook his head as he sipped his bourbon "Hear what? All I can hear is a bunch of drunk college frat boys trying to pick up the same chick." Gibbs stated, nodding towards the five men who were sitting at a table nearby, wolf-whistling and chatting up one chick.
Tony sighed raggedly, his hand trembling slightly "I think… I'm going to go outside and call Abby… She… she needs to know we're here." Tony stated, setting his glass down on the table and quickly making a retreat to the street while pulling his cellphone out of his pocket and dialing Abby's number.
"Tony! Oh my gosh! I was just thinking about you! How are you? Is everything okay? Are you lost yet? Do we need to call the Coast Guard to come and rescue you?! Did Gibbs run the boat into a beach?!" Abby rattled on, and Tony sighed, sinking against the wall as he listened to Abby.
Once Abby finally stopped asking questions, Tony took a breath "I'm fine Abby – So is Gibbs. Everything is fine so far… And we're not lost, although right now, kind of wish we were… No need to call the coast guard and no, Gibbs hasn't ran the boat into a beach." Tony answered each of her questions wearily, staring up at the inky purplish blue sky.
"Oh… Okay. So, then why are you calling? I figured you guys would be off adventuring and not have time to call at least until the morning." Abby questioned.
"We're doing a haunted bar crawl Abs…" Tony said by way of explanation.
Abby gasped into the phone "Oh my god! I cannot believe that jerk would take you to a ghost tour! Oh Toneeee!" Abby whined sympathetically into the phone.
"Tony! We're headed to the next bar, come on!" Gibbs said as he and the rest of the tour group walked out of the bar.
"Gotta go Abs, if I need your strength later, I'll call you… This bar thing is just not fun." Tony said, whispering the last bit as he hung up the call and joined Gibbs in walking down the street, the tour guides rattling off random bits of information as they passed historical buildings.
A scream from the group of eight had Tony practically jumping into Gibbs' arms, while everyone else turned to see one of the group's women tangling in a spider web, shouting 'Get it off!' Gibbs sighed as he held onto Tony's trembling body, "Maybe we should just skip the tour and head back to the boat?" Gibbs suggested as he looked down at the top of Tony's head.
Tony shook his head and grabbed Gibbs' arm, pulling him away from the walking group "No… I… I just, let's walk around… I'm not ready to go back yet… but I can't do this tour group thing… Whose idea was that anyway?" Tony asked as he and Gibbs started walking in the other direction.
Gibbs shrugged his shoulders "I think it was a mixture of Ellie and Palmer… No more ghost tours… That Haunted Jail House that Dorneget wanted us to go see in Charleston is definitely not happening either." Gibbs said firmly as he walked across the street with Tony tucked underneath his arm and against his side.
"Hey look! A comedy club!" Tony said, pointing in the direction of the neon lips with 'Ha-Ha-Ha' floating near it, "We should totally go there." Tony added, grinning up at Gibbs.
Gibbs chuckled as he kissed Tony softly then nodded "Alright, just as long as it's not open mic night, I refuse to get on stage with you… Or for you in a comedy club." Gibbs stated as they headed towards Nicky's Comedy Corner.
As Tony and Gibbs walked through the crowd at the comedy club, Tony laughed at the man on the stage, "Jethro! That guy up there, he looks like he could be your twin!" Tony said, still laughing as he pointed at the silver-haired man wearing a worn pair of jeans and a T-shirt that said 'Yeah, so what?' in multiple colors.
Gibbs shook his head as they snagged a table in the center of the action "Believe me, if I had a twin out there… I'd know about it Tony. That guy looks nothing like me." Gibbs stated as he leaned back in the chair, looking at the older gentlemen on the stage, scrutinizing him from afar.
"So, I said to the woman… 'Look lady, all I came in here for was a pack of gum, now you have me leaving here with three hundred dollars' worth of stuff, that I don't even know how to use!' and she turned to me and said 'Well honey, if you just read the manuals…' and I had to cut her off… 'I don't read manuals, if it don't come pre-programmed and I can't get my seventeen year old to do it, there ain't a point in buying it!' and she looked at me like I'd grown a third head! As if I were the crazy person who put all this stuff on the conveyor belt!" the gentleman said, a roaring laughter following and a pre-recorded 'ba-dum-tss' following.
Tony raised an eyebrow as he looked between the guy on stage and Gibbs, "Yeah… Totally not you." Tony said sarcastically as he grabbed the glass that the waitress set on the table, taking a slow sip of his beer.
"I don't have a seventeen year old! I have a forty year old who acts like a seventeen year old! Big – big – difference!" Gibbs protested as he sipped at his own drink slowly.
Tony giggled as he set his drink down, crooking his finger in Gibbs' direction, Gibbs sighed as he set his drink down and leaned over the table closer to Tony. Tony leaned in, lips against Gibbs' cheek, "You like that about me though, because I have all that stamina in the bedroom." Tony whispered huskily, grinning as he kissed the corner of Gibbs' mouth.
Gibbs gaped at Tony for a few seconds, then nodded mutely as he dropped the rest of his drink down his throat and grabbed Tony by the wrist, pulling the younger man up to his feet and out of the club without a backwards glance as he hailed a cab to take them back to the boating docks.
The next morning, Gibbs and Tony woke up early and hit the streets of Wilmington, while Tony shopped to his heart's content, Gibbs walked around and learned the history of the city from several locals as well as the podiums that were in front of old homes, parks and statutes that seemed to be on every street that they walked down. At noon they decided to grab lunch at a hole-in-the-wall eatery that a local mentioned, not many tourists knew about it, so it was fairly empty. Their next stop would be to the Battle House for their laser-tag adventure.
"So, you sure we can handle this?" Tony asked, grinning widely as he pulled on the faux Kevlar vest that was adorn with sensors on the front and back.
Gibbs shook his head as he adjusted Tony's vest and strapped it into place "I know we can handle this, it'll be just like at work. As long as you cover my six, and I cover yours, we'll win, for sure." Gibbs said confidently as he turned Tony around a bit and made sure that his vest was on properly, then smirked as he playfully swatted Tony on the ass.
Tony squeaked and spun around, pointing his plastic M4A1 at Gibbs' chest, "Watch my six, not grab my six. We'll lose if that's how you plan on playing the game." Tony stated, pulling the trigger on the laser-gun, a short burst of 'pew-pew-pew' escaping from the devices speaker.
Gibbs laughed, holding his hands up in surrender "Alright, alright. No grab-ass, just straight forward, kick ass, take names and leave no prisoners behind. Shoot first, don't bother about the questions later." Gibbs said, grinning widely as he strapped his own plastic weapon to the clip on his chest and held it as if he were getting ready to raid a building.
"Too bad they didn't have snipers, we could have just put you up on one of the platforms and won that way." Tony said as he lined up at the door with Gibbs and their other two teammates, each with a hand on the other man's shoulder, as they've already discussed strategy, every man knew what they were doing.
"If they had snipers, it'd be an unfair advantage to the other team. Not to stroke my own ego or anything, but I am pretty good with a sniper." Gibbs said with a grin as they started moving through the door as a team, then splitting into two directions – The two men in one, Tony and Gibbs in another.
Tony turned around and pressed his back against Gibbs' as they walked as a unit down the narrow halls of the arena, "Make sure you keep your eyes up as well, they have rafters and such that people can climb across." Tony whispered as he held his finger close to the trigger, gun aimed slightly in front of him.
Gibbs chuckled quietly as he kicked Tony lightly in the back of the leg "You act like I've never cleared a warehouse or something before Tone, I'm a trained federal agent and retired marine… I think I know what I'm doing here." Gibbs said, his eyes travelling the length of his surroundings and above him, his finger trained on the trigger.
'beep-beep-beep' echoed in the halls as Gibbs and Tony both shot their weapons and downed two of the 'enemy team' "Nice shot babe." Tony said with a grin as he and Gibbs continued on their journey.
Gibbs grinned and grabbed Tony by the wrist, dragging him into an unmonitored section of the arena that was completely pitch-black, "You too." Gibbs whispered as he leaned in and kissed Tony deeply and passionately, tongues dueling for dominancy but giving no ground for a winner.
Tony grasped Gibbs' biceps, turning their bodies rather quickly as a 'beep-beep-beep' resounded between them, Gibbs looked down at the flashing red lights on Tony's vest, then up at the man who'd 'shot' Tony, training his weapon on the man as he tried escaping, Gibbs pulled the trigger, and another beeping noise echoed as the guy froze in his place.
Gibbs sighed as he looked at Tony "You protected me." Gibbs said, grinning and laughing as he rested his forehead against Tony's.
Tony nodded as he kissed Gibbs gently on the lips "Had your six though, to bad I had to die in the process!" Tony quipped as he ran nimble fingers up Gibbs' side and underneath his button up shirt.
Gibbs chuckled as he kept his weapon over Tony's shoulder, eyes trained forward as Tony continued caressing him, "Keep this up and we'll start breaking all sorts of rules in here." Gibbs whispered quietly as he kept his eyes on his surroundings. Tony stuck his tongue out at Gibbs and turned around, crouching down into the shadows as he moved along the wall with Gibbs following him.
At the end of the event, the Red team – Gibbs and Tony's team – had won by an astronomical amount, mostly due to the fact that their team consisted of a retired SEAL, a current Army Ranger and two federal agents. Tony grinned widely as he high-fived his other team mates and kissed Gibbs on the cheek "That was the best time I think I've ever had in a laser-tag arena!" Tony exclaimed happily as he danced around the room.
"If you thought that was fun, you should try Battle Houses paintball game… Hurts like hell at the end of the day, but it's much more exhilarating than this." The Army Ranger – Garrett Malloy – said as he sidled up next to the SEAL and grinned affectionately up at the older man.
The SEAL – Austin Scott – nodded his head as he slid his arm around Garrett's waist, "I'd have to agree with Garrett, Paintball is definitely more my speed, but he wanted to desperately try the laser tag because I kept pounding his ass yesterday when we played paintball." Austin said with a grin as he kissed Garrett softly on the forehead.
Tony giggled as he divested himself of his vest and stood next to Gibbs "So, how long have you two been together?" Tony asked as the group began walking out of the darkened room and towards the exit, Gibbs and Tony's hands instinctively coming together, fingers interlocking.
"Ah, we've known each other since High School but only just recently got together two years ago? We just got married a month ago, but then I had to head off on a mission… so we're doing our honeymoon now while I have a few weeks." Garrett said as he also interlocked his hand with Austin's hand.
Gibbs chuckled as he looked over at the other couple "We only got married two days ago! Our vacation was a gift from our boss, he kind of gets tired of seeing us all the time." Gibbs said with a grin as the two couples headed for the restaurant they agreed on eating at after the game.
"You guys seem so comfortable and confident in your relationship. How long have you known each other?" Austin asked as he opened the door for the group.
"We've known each other twelve years, going on thirteen in September." Tony said as they were seen to a table, the men sat on both sides of the booths with their partners next to them.
The two couples decided that they would hang out for the rest of the day, foregoing planned activities that they already had, "We were supposed to do two more things while we were here in Wilmington, but both of them insult our intelligence as Federal Agents." Tony explained as he set out four plates of grilled salmon on the table top in the boat.
"I don't know, the escape room sounded like fun… But I think Tobias went a little too far with the whole 'You're a terrible agent' thing…" Gibbs said as he set down the salad and slid into the booth.
Garrett chuckled as he shook his head "I've only known you both for a few hours and I can see that terrible does not even begin to describe you both, professionally or personally." Garrett said as he placed a bit of the salad onto both his and Austin's plate.
Austin grimaced at the leafy greens and shook his head "They're good for you!" Garrett admonished, staring at his lover with a note-worthy death glare. Austin rolled his eyes and held his hands up to placate his irritated husband, then dug into the salad.
Gibbs chuckled as he cut into the tender salmon with his fork, "Reminds me of Ducky… He's always telling the team that we need to eat more salads and such…" Gibbs said, shaking his head as Tony placed some salad on both their plates, then set the salad bowl aside on the counter.
"And I've been following the good doctor's orders every day! I've lost ten pounds on the diet he has me on!" Tony stated, lifting up his tank top to expose the washboard abs he was sporting.
Garrett and Austin both grinned wickedly as they reached over, tapping at the hardened muscles "Wish I could get back into shape like that." Austin commented as he turned back to his meal.
After dinner, the four men sat sprawled out on the top deck, basking in the setting sun above them, "God, I wish we could stay like this forever." Tony said, his head propped in Gibbs' lap.
"Like what?" Garrett asked, looking over at Tony from Austin's lap on the other side of the U-Shaped bench at the back of the boat.
"Relaxed, content… Stress-free… Hanging out with you guys day after day…" Tony said, waving his hand helplessly in the air as a jaw-cracking yawn escaped him.
Garrett sighed as he looked up at Austin, "Well, we don't have to end our friendship here… Austin and I go to DC at least twice a year, he has family in the area… I'm sure his mother would love seeing him more often, especially now since I'm retiring at the end of the year." Garrett said, grinning as he looked over at the other couple.
Tony nodded as another yawn escaped his lips, "Sounds good… Big guy will give you our number…" Tony said tiredly as he rolled off the bench and dropped to his hands and knees, "I've got to crawl my ass into bed before I fall asleep here…" Tony said, slowly standing up in front of Gibbs.
Gibbs grinned as he pulled Tony down by the back of the neck, kissing him lovingly then releasing him "I'll be down in a few minutes, try not to hog the entire bed." Gibbs said, playfully slapping Tony on the ass and sending him on his way.
When Gibbs came down to the cabin after giving Austin and Garrett their home number and seeing them off the boat, he found Tony curled up on his side of the bed, breathing evenly and snoring. Gibbs shook his head as he slipped off his clothes and joined Tony in the bed, pulling the sheet over their bodies and spooning in behind his partner, "Night Tony." Gibbs said against the back of Tony's neck.
"Night Jeth." Tony mumbled half-asleep, snuggling into the warm body behind him, their fingers interlocking on Tony's stomach as the two men drifted back into a peaceful sleep.
