Chapter 12

DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.

WARNING: Slash story - you have been informed!

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Tony and Jethro awoke in the evening after sleeping a good eight hours straight. They shared another shower but did not get past some serious kissing when their stomachs announced their hunger loud and clear. They were attached at the mouth at the time and both men started laughing into the kiss when their bellies rumbled.

Jethro pulled back and looked into Tony's smiling face and remarked, "Okay, message received - chow time!"

"Do you want grilled cheese and soup?" Tony asked him as he finished up washing.

"Sounds good. I'll grill the cheese, you nuke the soup." Jethro replied with a smile.

"Gee, I don't know. Do you think I can handle it? All those fancy buttons and the can opener, I don't know…Eeep!" Tony squeaked as Jethro grabbed him as he was getting out of the shower stall and pinched his ass before bestowing a kiss on his nose and saying, "Yeah, I think you can handle it smartass, you learned which of my buttons to push!" He finished with a smug grin.

"Well that's not too hard!" Tony scoffed. "Keep you caffeinated. Make sure you have a good supply of wood and make sure you're serviced at least once every few days and you're good to go!" Tony smiled with his hands resting on Jethro's chest.

"Every few days!" Jethro cried indignantly. "More like every few hours if you want me to run at top form!" He growled while leaning in to nibble at Tony's jaw.

"Oh, okay." Tony sighed. "If I must!" He playfully said.

Jethro snorted out a laugh and smacked Tony's ass before letting him go to continue drying off. "Brat!" He said with a fond smile.

"Yeah, but you still love me." Tony teased him while finishing up drying himself.

"I do." Jethro replied seriously.

"Hmmm, that sounds like the answer to a different question!" Tony joked as he was leaning over drying his leg that he had perched on the toilet seat.

"Same answer for both questions." Jethro replied as he again smacked Tony's ass and exited the bathroom.

"What!?" Tony stood straight up and watched Jethro go through the door. He heard Jethro as he was going down the hall say, "Shake a leg DiNozzo, I'm hungry!"

Tony stood stock still looking at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Did Jethro just say he would marry me? He thought. He took a deep breath to calm himself and then reasoned, Nah, he was just kidding, wasn't he? Tony noted that his reflection didn't look so certain about that. He huffed out a breath and frustratingly said to the mirror, "You're a big help!"

He exited the bathroom to slowly dress in a t-shirt and sweatpants, his mind whirling with thoughts of a ceremony, Gibbs looking hot in a tux, wearing a wedding ring and calling Jethro his husband. He sighed deeply as he banished those thoughts to the back of his mind before walking out to help Jethro fix something to eat.

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Holy shit! What was I thinking! Jethro berated himself as he walked into the kitchen. While every part of him would marry Tony today if he said yes, he didn't want to scare him off. He knew Tony had been left at the alter once by Wendy and Tony had asked a boyfriend before that, he thought his name was Kyle, who had laughed at the thought and dumped him. Jethro's anger burned as he thought of those two. He remembered the hurt in Tony's face when he had told him about Kyle and he had been there first-hand when Wendy, the selfish bitch, had embarrassed him by leaving him waiting at the alter.

He sighed deeply as he prepared the sandwiches to be grilled. The Wendy fiasco, as he called it, took Tony almost a year to get over. He remembered sitting with a drunk Tony who just kept asking him what was wrong with him that nobody wanted to stay with him. Although he felt bad for all the pain Tony was going through, and he wanted to hunt down Wendy and tell her exactly what he thought of her, he was secretly relieved. He had been attracted to Tony from the first moment Tony had tackled him in that ally in Baltimore. He had sensed it was a mutual attraction (something Tony later admitted to when they got together) and had flirted openly with Tony.

Even though he was going through his divorce to Stephanie, he couldn't deny the electricity that sparked between him and Tony at the time. He had been shocked when Tony had told him, about five months after he started working for Gibbs, that he was engaged and would be getting married in a month and would he be his best man? After clamping down his jealousy of Wendy at this news, he had accepted. Ducky and Abby had also been invited and were witness to Tony's humiliation when Wendy's father, with a smirk on his face, announced to Tony loudly, so everyone could hear, that Wendy had come to her senses and was not coming, the wedding was off.

Ducky had quickly walked up and placed a restraining hand on Jethro's arm, he could see the rage in his friend's eyes and didn't want it to escalate. Jethro smiled at the memory of Ducky turning to Wendy's father and telling him it was in the best interests of his health to leave immediately and that he should hurry off to comfort his discourteous daughter. The dumbass had no idea what Ducky had said and only understood 'comfort' and 'daughter' so he left without another word. Jethro wondered if someone explained it to him later on. Abby and Ducky took over the task of herding all the guests out while Jethro had taken Tony's arm and steered him back to the dressing room for privacy.

Tony seemed to be in a daze and Jethro was worried about the clammy feel to Tony's skin. Recognizing the signs of shock, Jethro had knelt in front of Tony, after grabbing a bottle of water, and clapped his hands loudly right in front of Tony's face. Startled out of whatever thoughts he was trapped in, Tony jerked back in the chair and focused on Jethro's face. He was shaking a little and Jethro forced him to drink some water. His breathing had sped up and Jethro was worried he would hyperventilate into a panic attack so he did the only thing he knew would focus Tony quickly, he gave him a firm head-slap.

It did work. Tony calmed down, but Jethro saw the hurt now crowding in. Tony had finished off the bottle of water and Jethro asked if he could stand. When he got a nod yes, he hauled Tony up and walked him out the back of the church and straight to his car. Tony crumpled into the passenger seat and Jethro broke land speed records getting them back to DC and back to Jethro's house. Tony had not spoken once and did not protest being at Gibbs' house, so Gibbs got Tony out of the car and into his guest room where he stayed for the next two weeks.

Jethro had shored up Tony's battered ego and assured him it was not his fault, it was all on Wendy. SHE was the one who left. SHE was the one who didn't even have the decency to tell him in person. He didn't think Tony really believed him, but he could tell he was grateful for the support. Hell, even his worthless father hadn't bothered to show up for the wedding, but looking back that may have been a good thing.

Tony had healed over the next year and Jethro had found it harder and harder to hide his feelings. Every time he decided to tell Tony how he felt, he would change his mind. Either he would catch Tony flirting with someone else or he would overhear him telling Abby or Ducky about a date he had been on. Each time he would berate himself for ever thinking that Tony would be interested in him, and then he would catch Tony looking at him or flirting with him and his hopes were renewed.

This back and forth lasted for another year before their case with Sgt. Atlas. He remembered being absolutely unreasonable with Tony throughout the entire case. He had yelled at him in front of witnesses and embarrassed him in front of Kate. His reason was simple pure jealousy. He saw red when Tony had flirted with that waitress right in front of him and she had seemed very interested. It didn't matter that he was just doing that to get information and she later turned out to be their killer, at the time it was just jealousy. All that went out the window when Tony had been kidnapped. He moved heaven and earth to find him and vowed to finally let him know how he really felt when he got him back. He was beside himself with pride when he got the whole story from Atlas on how Tony had gotten them both out and had never let him give up. Not to mention subduing the killer and telling Atlas over and over again that Gibbs would find them, he knew Gibbs would not let him down.

He remembered taking Tony home and pushing him upstairs for a shower while he paced his kitchen downstairs. Just the thought of a naked Tony only a floor above him nearly drove him crazy. He was just about to run up the stairs and pin him to the bed when Tony walked down only wearing a pair of sweatpants hanging low on his hips, barefoot and bare-chested toweling his hair dry and asking him to take a sniff to see if the sewer smell was gone.

Jethro had backed him up against the wall and taken a deep sniff. He had been worried he had read it wrong, but Tony's erection pressing into his own had chased all those worries away. They had spent the next two days in bed getting to know each others bodies and falling in love. In all fairness, Jethro thought they had both already been in love with the other, they just had not admitted it until then. They never spent a night apart after that if they could help it. Barring any nights they had to be in the hospital or Tony's undercover time with Jeffrey White, they were nearly inseparable. A shadow passed over Jethro's face as he thought again of Jeffrey White.

That had been too close.

If Tony had not been the outstanding agent he was, they would have been burying him along with all of White's other victims. Like every other time Jethro thought of the White case and how close he had come to losing Tony forever, his throat constricted and an overwhelming desire to hold Tony overcame him. He set aside the plate of grilled sandwiches he had completed and whirled around, intent on finding Tony and listening to his heartbeat. He was startled to find Tony seated at the breakfast bar in the kitchen next to two places he had set for them. There were also two bowls of soup at each place setting.

He couldn't believe he had zoned out in his memories so much that he had not even been aware of Tony making the soup or setting the table. Tony was watching him intently with an unreadable expression on his face. Jethro was so relieved to see him though, he rushed forward and wrapped Tony up in a tight embrace, kissing his cheek and nuzzling his neck to breathe in his scent. He was thrilled to feel his very much alive body pressed against his own and decided to throw caution to the wind.

"I don't care if I scare you or not, I want you to know how much you mean to me." He pulled back and looked at Tony before asking, "Tony, will you marry me?"

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Tony made his way out to the kitchen to find Jethro assembling the cheese sandwiches. He didn't seem to notice Tony coming into the room, he seemed very deep in thought. It was not like Jethro to be so unaware of his surroundings. Tony set the table as he watched a myriad of emotions pass over Jethro's face. He wondered what he was reliving, because it didn't look like he was contemplating their future as he thought he might be after their encounter in the bathroom.

Tony finished setting two places at the breakfast bar and put the soup into the microwave to heat it up as he kept an eye on Jethro. Jethro was methodically going about his task making the grilled cheese without any conscience thought. Tony wasn't surprised Jethro was able to set his body in motion on a task while his mind worked out something completely different.

Tony noted that it looked like Jethro was nearly finished with the grilled cheese sandwiches as he poured the soup he had heated into two bowls and placed them at the two place settings on the counter. Tony got two bottles of water and placed them on the counter before sitting down to see if Jethro would snap out of his trance or whether Tony would be eating a solitary meal sitting right next to Jethro.

He was surprised to see Jethro snap himself out of whatever he had been thinking of and spin around to see Tony sitting at the counter waiting for him. Tony had been right when he thought that Jethro hadn't even registered that he had been in the room when he saw the surprise on Jethro's face at his presence. Tony kept a neutral expression as he waited to see what Jethro would do or say. He was relieved when Jethro hurried over and wrapped him in a tight embrace. A part of him was afraid that Jethro regretted even hinting that he might want to marry Tony and his deep thought was him trying to find a way to backtrack. His genuine relief at finding Tony so close by told him the memories were likely one of the many times Tony had been injured or in danger.

Jethro held him this tight and close right after the Jeffrey White undercover assignment. He had been out of contact with Gibbs for nearly a whole 24 hours, during which time White had killed his partner in crime. Tony had been very upset when he had learned that after he was safe back at the Navy Yard. That op had rattled Jethro too. Evidenced when Jethro had not let him out of his sight for the entire three days afterward they had been given off.

Jethro had made love to him over and over again for those three days, he couldn't get enough of Tony and he couldn't seem to get close enough. The op had taken place in mid-December and it had started to snow just before they had gotten home. Jethro had lead him up to the bathroom and taken a long, hot shower with him. He had gently washed Tony's hair and run the washcloth over every inch of Tony's body, trying to relax his tense muscles.

After the shower Jethro had dressed Tony in warm sweats and had lead him back downstairs to the couch, where he wrapped him in his Ohio State Buckeye blanket while he started a fire. Jethro kept coming back over to him and kissing him or running his hand through Tony's hair while he tended the fire and heated some soup for their dinner.

The entire time Jethro was in the kitchen, he kept looking over to reassure himself that Tony was actually there, alive and sitting on the couch watching the fire. He had hurried back out with their food and after eating had pulled Tony against him as Tony snuggled into the comfort of Jethro's arms. They just sat there reveling in each others presence as they watched the fire and the snow coming down outside the window.

He was pulled back out of his memories by Jethro saying he didn't care if he scared him or not and he wanted Tony to know how much Tony meant to him and then he said words Tony never thought he would hear from Jethro: "Tony, will you marry me?"

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Tony blinked a few times as he processed what Jethro had said, what he had asked. While Tony was silent, Jethro's nerves kicked up a notch and he berated himself internally: Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What were you thinking, you've only been back a few days! He's not ready for this. He's going to run. He's going to…

"Yes."

It was Jethro's turn to blink and he was pretty sure his mouth had dropped open. He was finally able to get his mouth in gear and he managed to stutter out, "A-are you sure?"

Tony smiled a brilliant smile and replied, "Yup."

Tony's smile morphed into a fond look as he reached forward and pulled a stunned Jethro back to him, hugging him just as tightly as Jethro had been hugging Tony. He kissed Jethro's temple and whispered, "I never dared hope I would ever hear that question from you, but I've been ready with that yes for quite a while - no second thoughts."

Jethro felt tears stinging his eyes as he held Tony tightly. He had the same feeling he had when he had asked Shannon to marry him, this was right. No one had made him as happy since Shannon, and he was going to savor this good fortune. He felt an answering wetness on his shoulder where Tony had snuggled his face and his heart swelled with the love he felt for this man.

Their romantic moment was interrupted by both of their stomachs growling in hunger at the same time. Both men dissolved into laughter and they pulled back to wipe happy tears from their eyes as they continued to chuckle.

"Well, I guess we should eat, before anything else." Tony said smiling.

"Yeah, I guess so. Let's eat and then we can head back to bed." Jethro replied with a pointed look.

Both men ate quickly and cleaned up before heading back to the bedroom to celebrate their newly engaged status.

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Jethro moaned as Tony thrust deeply into him. Jethro was flat on his back with his legs wrapped around Tony. Tony was leaning down over Jethro with his body flattened against Jethro's, licking and nipping at Jethro's jaw. He moved his hips back and forth again, thrusting deeper inside. Jethro moaned, not only because of Tony's cock brushing his prostate, but because of the wonderful sensations Tony's mouth was making on his jaw and the friction against his own hard erection that was trapped between their bodies.

Tony leaned back so he could see Jethro's face when this new position allowed for an even deeper angle to his thrusts. He was rewarded with a look of absolute bliss from Jethro as he drove them both to the edge of madness with his body. Tony had his own legs spread wide, to give himself leverage to thrust harder into Jethro. Jethro was squeezing his legs tightly around Tony's waist as he worked to thrust back when Tony drove himself deep.

Jethro squirmed underneath him and worked to impale himself even more on Tony's thrusting cock. Tony's heart nearly burst out of his chest with love for this man. He took great delight in the moans and gasps of pleasure that he was able to pull from him. He looked down between them and watched his cock disappearing over and over again into Jethro's willing body and the sight nearly drove him wild.

His heat, his tightness, his moans and the way Jethro's body begged him for more, more of everything, set him on fire. Tony pushed all the way inside and moved his hips in a circular motion, causing Jethro's head to thrash from side to side as he gasped and tightened his grip on Tony's biceps. Tony pulled out and then slammed back in to repeat the motion causing an anguished "Ahhhh, Tonyyyy!" to be torn from Jethro's lips.

A satisfied smile broke out on Tony's face when he was able to get that reaction from Jethro, so he did it a third time.

This time Jethro let go of his arms and braced them above him on the headboard, so he had his own leverage to push, and push he did. Jethro pushed back to drive Tony even deeper and wriggled his hips in counterpoint to Tony's, causing both men to cry out in ecstasy at the sensations it evoked.

This action broke the truce Tony had with his desire. He leaned further back and with a growl he clamped both of his hands on Jethro's hips and started thrusting his cock in and out of Jethro, driving them both quickly to the edge. Jethro reached it first and threw himself over with a loud "TONY!" as he spurted out over his stomach and chest. The orgasm was so intense, a few strands of his come landed on his face and he unconsciously stuck his tongue out to lick off what had landed on his lips. This sight, and Jethro's internal muscles milking him, sent Tony over the edge and he came with a roar.

The sensation of Tony filling him and rubbing against his prostate, sent Jethro even deeper into his orgasm and he vibrated with its intensity. Tony continued thrusting into him while he emptied himself as his own intense orgasm rippled through his body.

When the fireworks and roaring in his ears cleared, Tony found himself on his knees, still imbedded to the hilt inside Jethro. He was breathing heavily and shuddered as Jethro's internal muscles continued to milk him. As he tried to control his breathing, he took in the sight before him. Jethro still had a death grip on the headboard and his body was painted with his own come. His eyes were tightly shut as he continued to ride on the waves of his orgasm and his mouth was open in a silent "O" as the pleasure consumed him. Tony realized Jethro had come without either of them touching his cock, quite a testament to their passion. Tony noted the handprints he had left on Jethro's hips in the form of bruising and knew he would have similar marks on his arms from Jethro's grip. He might even have some around his waist from Jethro's legs squeezing him. He smiled widely at the thought. As Jethro's convulsions subsided, Tony became aware of his rapidly deflating cock, Jethro had indeed milked him dry.

Tony's cock slid out of Jethro along with a copious amount of lube and Tony's own semen. Tony was glad he had the foresight to place two large bath towels underneath them before their lovemaking, at least he wouldn't have to strip the bed. He placed Jethro's legs on the bed, still spread wide, and sat back for a moment to savor the sight of a well-fucked Jethro. Jethro's grip on the headboard had subsided and his arms were now laying on the pillow above his head. He had a supremely sated look on his gorgeous face and his head was tilted a little to the side. He appeared to be in a deep, contented sleep. There was a light sheen of sweat covering his entire body and his breath was coming in a slow, steady rhythm. Tony ran his eyes over Jethro's now quiescent cock, nestled against his stomach. His gaze moved lower to take in Jethro's hole that was still emitting little bursts of come and lube on the towel beneath them as its spasms ejected the evidence of their intense coupling. His opening was still stretched wide and Tony's cock twitched with interest as he intently watched Jethro's body evacuating his issue.

He chuckled quietly to himself and internally told his cock to stand down. His muscles were sore and he was sure Jethro's ass was sore. He looked at the clock and was surprised to find nearly two hours had passed since they had first come back into the bedroom to play. Since they had gotten down to business right away, he estimated he had been pounding Jethro's ass for over an hour. They had started slow, but the intensity had built into a fiery climax that consumed them both.

As tired as he was, his cock just could not take no for an answer and was rapidly hardening again. Tony wrapped his hand around his traitorous cock and started pumping it rapidly. He quickly brought himself off watching Jethro's body expel his come and rewinding their intense lovemaking in his head. He came with his head thrown back with visions of Jethro in the throes of his orgasm egging him on. His breath was harsh in his lungs as he again came down from another explosive orgasm that threatened to wring the last drop of strength from his body. He placed his hands on Jethro's thighs to steady himself and saw his little extra-curricular activity had not disturbed Jethro. He was still sleeping peacefully in his post-coital slumber.

Tony sat for another few minutes, gathering his strength, before he hoisted himself off of the bed and headed for the bathroom. He cleaned himself up and then wet a washcloth to take care of Jethro. He started with his face and wiped clean every trace of Jethro's own come from his body and then tenderly cleaned his opening and whatever had dribbled below. Jethro never moved during this entire operation, sleeping soundly through his sponge bath. Tony was able to maneuver Jethro onto his side and remove the towels underneath him. He was happy to see their lovemaking had not soaked through the towels and the bed underneath was dry.

Tony threw both the bundled up towels and the washcloth over the side of the bed as he pulled the bedspread up over them both. He spooned behind Jethro, pulling him close to his body as he settled them both. Jethro sighed deeply and pushed his bottom back into Tony's lap. Tony huffed out a laugh and splayed his hand over Jethro's hard stomach, pulling him even closer. This action seemed to satisfy Jethro's unconscious mind and he settled back against Tony with another sigh. Tony leaned forward and placed a kiss to the back of Jethro's head as sleep quickly overtook him. Tony's dreams of them in tuxes before an alter, saying "I Do." before an audience of their friends and family mirrored Jethro's own and both men wore contented, happy smiles as they lay snuggled together in slumber.

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TBC…..