First Love's Crush

Tony: 11

Tony sighed as he bounded down the basement stairs, his head hung low as he dropped onto the bottom step. Charlie whined pitifully as he nudged Tony's hand, then barked in Gibbs' direction to get the older man's attention.

Gibbs set the sanding block down and turned towards Tony, "What's wrong son?" Gibbs asked as he walked over the steps and sat down beside Tony, patting Charlie's head gently.

Tony shrugged as he laid his head against Gibbs' arm "Ellie is back… Do you remember Ellie?" Tony asked curiously, looking up at his father with a crooked smile on his face – something between a mixture of a smile and a frown.

Gibbs thought about it for a moment, his brows furrowing together "Eleanor Bishop… From… Kindergarten?" Gibbs questioned curiously, hoping he'd gotten this right, since it seemed so important to his son.

Tony nodded slightly "Yep, that's the one. She just moved back from Oklahoma." Tony whispered, drawing his knees up to his chest.

Gibbs raised his eyebrow "I'm sorry T… I'm not seeing the connection here… Why is this a bad thing?" Gibbs asked, looking down at the top of his son's head curiously.

Tony sighed noisily, shaking his head as he stood up and started pacing the length of the basement wall "It's not a bad thing! That's the point! She… She was my best friend when we were in kindergarten together!" Tony said, pulling at his hair slightly and grunting, "And now she's back… and… all these feelings I've never felt before… I don't know how to explain it!" Tony shrieked, staring at his father with wide, terrified eyes.

Gibbs chuckled as he stood up and clasped Tony's shoulders, "Tony, calm down son. It's clear to me about what you're feeling – You like her, is that it?" Gibbs asked, kneeling down to be eye-level with his son.

Tony nodded, blushing and smiling shyly "Yeah… Yeah, I think I do. What do I do?" Tony asked quietly.

Gibbs grinned as he ruffled Tony's hair affectionately "Well, how about do something creative to tell her? Or… You could just invite her over and hang out with her?" Gibbs suggested curiously, glancing over his shoulder at the boat, then back at Tony with a raised eyebrow.

Tony rubbed at his chin in contemplation, "Do something creative huh?" Tony asked, grinning brightly as he looked around the basement briefly, "Got any scrap wood and a sanding block?" Tony asked curiously, bouncing on the tips of his feet.

Gibbs nodded as he stood up and walked over to the ever-growing pile of scrapped wood, he extracted several different sizes and lengths of wood, smiling as he handed them over to Tony "You know where the sanding blocks are. Tell me if you need any help." Gibbs said as he returned to the boat, his smile still in place as he listened to Tony set himself up at the work bench and proceed to start his own project.

For several hours, Gibbs and Tony worked in companionable silence, except for when Tony would ask for advice or help with a specific aspect of his sanding project. Tony smiled shyly as he held up the three small heart-shaped wood pieces that were now glued and dried together "Do you think she'll like it?" Tony asked self-consciously.

Gibbs tilted his head to the side and nodded slightly "Yep. But I think it's missing something." Gibbs said as he pulled out a thin wood chisel, he gingerly took the heart carving and set it back on the work bench, carefully etching a large decorative E in the center heart, "There, what do you think?" he asked once he was finished.

Tony pulled himself up onto the workbench and smiled brightly as he nodded his head "It's perfect! I think she'll really like it now!" Tony exclaimed as he leaned over, hugging his father tightly.

Tony stood nervously at the bus stop, waiting for Ellie to get off, smiling shyly as she got off the bus "Hi Tony!" Ellie exclaimed happily.

"Hi Ellie." Tony said shyly as the two pre-teens started walking down the sidewalk together in the direction of Ellie's house.

"How was class today? I'm sorry we didn't get to eat lunch together today. So many people seemed to have missed me since I was last here…" Ellie said sadly, looking up at the slightly taller boy.

Tony shrugged as he looked over at Ellie, smiling softly "Its okay Ellie, I'm sure we'll have plenty of times to eat lunch together in the future!" Tony said reassuringly as he reached over, lightly clasping Ellie's hand, a blush coming to both children's face almost immediately at the contact.

"Thanks Tony… For… walking me home…" Ellie said nervously as she slowly extracted her hand from Tony's, her blush deepening as she looked down at her sneakers, a shy smile on her face.

Tony nodded slightly "I… I have something for you." Tony said quietly as he pulled his backpack off his shoulder, digging around briefly. Tony smiled sheepishly as he pulled out the gift-wrapped carving and handed it to Ellie.

Ellie's smile brightened up as she took the gift and carefully unwrapped it, gasping as she held the handmade hearts "Oh Tony! It's so pretty!" Ellie said softly as she traced her finger over the carved E slowly.

"Do… Do you like it?" Tony asked hesitantly, shifting his backpack back onto his shoulder as he looked at Ellie, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

Ellie nodded enthusiastically as she looked up at Tony with glistening brown eyes, "I… I love it, Tony. Thank you." Ellie whispered as she leaned forward, pecking Tony gently on the cheek, even as her own cheeks turned a brighter crimson color.

Tony spluttered slightly, his mouth flapping wordlessly as he stared wide-eyed at Ellie "I… I like you!" Tony blurted out, then quickly cupped his mouth, his eyes falling to the ground at his less than stellar move.

Ellie giggled as she reached over with a gentle hand and brushed Tony's cheek with her hand "I like you too, Tony." She said softly, lifting Tony's head up to look the pre-teen in the eyes.

Tony gaped, once again, as he looked at Ellie, his eyes growing even wider "You… You do?!" Tony squeaked out.

Ellie nodded, smiling softly as she kissed Tony's cheek again "Of course I do! You're my best friend, and… I think I've always liked you… Even back in kindergarten." Ellie admitted, smiling fondly up at Tony.

Tony smiled slightly, having to bite back the squeal of excitement he felt bubbling in his stomach as he wrapped Ellie in a gentle embrace "I've liked you since then too… I'm so glad you came back to Virginia!" Tony exclaimed as he continued hugging Ellie.

Ellie giggled as she returned the embrace and snuggled against Tony "I'm glad I came back too! I've missed you so much Tony." Ellie whispered as she looked up at Tony with tear-filled brown eyes.

Tony nodded against Ellie's head, sniffling slightly as he tightened his hold on his best friend, "I missed you too, El." Tony whispered, smiling against Ellie's head and sighing contentedly. If this is what liking your best friend feels like, I could definitely get used to it… Tony thought to himself as he and Ellie finally separated and said their goodbyes.

Tony bounded into the house with the brightest smile on his face as he flung himself into his father's arms happily "So, I take it that the gift was well received?" Gibbs asked as he held onto his son, chuckling softly at his son's over excitement.

Tony nodded enthusiastically as he dropped from his father's arms and looked up at him "So well! She actually likes it, and ME! Can you believe it?!" Tony shrieked excitedly, bouncing happily on the balls of his feet.

Gibbs laughed as he sat down on the couch, dragging Tony down with him and hugging his son "Oh, I can believe it… Who wouldn't like you? You're such an awesome kid." Gibbs said as he ruffled Tony's hair, grinning brightly.

Tony groaned as he straightened out his hair, "Dadddd! Come on, seriously! Do you know how long it took me to get my hair like this?!" Tony complained, staring up at his father with a slight scowl on his face.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow curiously "All your life? It doesn't look any different from the day you were born… At least to me." Gibbs said teasingly, continuing to mess Tony's hair up, both of them laughing as they continued their shenanigans.

Tony sighed contentedly as he collapsed against his father's side, "Thanks dad. I would have never had the courage to do that if it weren't for you." Tony said sincerely as he hugged his father around the waist "Now, I have homework to do!" Tony said as he pushed off the couch and bounded up the stairs.

I've been tossing the idea back and forth for a while now - and I'm still sitting on the fence about this one... I've contemplated having Tony going the bisexual/gay route, but I'm unsure of how this will be received with everyone (at least for this story).

Let me know what you all think about it in the comments, thanks!