A/N: Thanks for the feedback! :) Hope you like the next chapter, too. Things will be moving a bit faster from now on :)

Chapter Seven: 12

Tony let out a laugh when Amira destroyed the sad excuse of a sandcastle they had just tried to build in one swoop. He was sitting on the edge of the sandbox that was located in Jackson's backyard. Tony didn't have a clue why it was there in the first place, but the moment Amira had laid eyes on it an hour earlier, he knew that it would not go to waste. She had practically dragged him – of all people – over there, begging him to play with her. So now he was sitting there, his brand new dress pants ruined, but he couldn't bring himself to care even one bit.

He glanced over to where Gibbs and Leyla were coming out from the house again. They had just said goodbye to Abby, Ducky and McGee, who had been at the funeral earlier today. Tony knew that it had meant a lot to Gibbs that they had all come, even though he'd never tell them of course. There had been a lot of people at the funeral and while Tony could tell that Gibbs was glad that so many people from Jackson's life had turned up, he had still been feeling a little overwhelmed by it, too. It wasn't for nothing that Gibbs hadn't visited Stillwater all that frequently after all. He and Tony would leave tomorrow after everything was settled for the time being and Leyla had decided to stay behind, too, as she wasn't too keen on driving at night. She had booked a hotel for her and Amira at the other end of town and judging from a wide yawn coming from Amira right at that moment, Tony was sure that they wouldn't stay for too long now either.

"Amira," Leyla chided playfully. "You just destroyed Tony's hard work here. It was such a beautiful castle."

"No, it wasn't," Amira giggled as Tony threw a handful of sand at her, careful of not throwing too high, so that she would get it into her eyes.

"It really wasn't," he relented smiling. "Haven't built one of those in like forty years."

"Sad excuse," Gibbs joined their conversation as he sat down next to Tony and let out a sigh.

Tony looked at him for a moment, taking in the fine lines on his forehead and the tired-looking eyes. At the same time, he seemed content, though, and Tony suddenly realized that he really was, too. Despite it being his father's funeral, he could tell that Gibbs liked having his extended family there with him.

"Come on," Leyla interrupted his line of thought, reaching out a hand to help her daughter get up. "We have to go now."

"But I want continue to play with Uncle Tony," Amira groused, looking at Tony who felt something warm settle in his stomach. "He's funny."

"You can play with him next time he comes over, okay?" Leyla said, and quickly grinned at Tony, who just nodded with a smile.

"Yes, princess. Maybe even Gibbsy here will come and play, too. I've heard he's good at Twister."

The head slap that followed that statement wasn't a surprise, the giggles from both Leyla and Amira, however, were.

"I always thought, you were joking about those," Leyla said, looking at Gibbs with a raised eyebrow.

"Nah," he just answered and was about to get up to see them to the door, when Leyla just rested a hand on his shoulder and kept him in place.

"You stay here. We'll find our way out. Call if you need us tomorrow. Amira, say goodbye to Gibbs and Tony."

"Bye, Gibbs," Amira promptly said, giving him a long hug and Tony could almost feel the love she was radiating. "Bye, Uncle Tony," she then continued, letting go of the older man just to give Tony the same heart-felt hug. "You have to cheer up Gibbsy for me, okay?" she then whispered into his ear, so that only he could hear.

"I promise," Tony whispered back just as quietly and he meant it, too.

With a satisfied look on her face, Amira drew back and then she and Leyla left them alone, sitting there, staring into space for a while.

"She sure likes you," Gibbs finally said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, god knows why," Tony joked back, earning himself a soft chuckle from Gibbs.

"You're great with her," Gibbs contradicted him almost softly. "She calls you Uncle Tony, that has got to mean something."

"I guess," Tony replied, grinning at him. "So," he then continued more seriously. "What's on the agenda for the rest of the day?"

"Drinking," Gibbs answered, his tone of voice so serious that the chuckle that had wanted to escape Tony got stuck somewhere on its way up.

"Seriously?" he checked back when Gibbs had already stood up.

"Yes."

"Alright then," Tony said, getting up, too. "On your six, boss."

##

Three hours later, Tony couldn't help but realize that he wasn't able to hold his liquor as well as he had thought he would be. He was already three sheets to the wind, while Gibbs, who had had decisively more to drink than he had, was still looking perfectly sober to him.

"Wow," he finally pressed out, taking a deep breath and leaning back against the backrest of the couch in Jackson's living room. "My college-self would be very ashamed of me right now."

"Yeah?" Gibbs replied, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You do realize that bourbon is stronger than your average beer, don't you?"

"Haha," Tony huffed, and despite his better judgment refilled his glass once more. "I'm sorry I'm such lousy company tonight."

"You're not. It's good."

Tony turned to look at the older man a bit more closely now. Gibbs was genuinely smiling at him at the moment and he felt something inside him resolve itself. He blinked once and subtly shook his head. He had no idea what it had just been that had just settled within him, but he didn't dare to question it right now. He was clearly drunk by now and he was sure that Gibbs wasn't exactly keen on hearing about his feelings tonight. It was Gibbs' night after all and Tony had sworn to himself that he would be there for the older man as long as he needed him to.

"You okay?" Gibbs asked and Tony realized that he had been staring at him this whole time.

"Yeah," the younger man replied. "Just thought that this is actually nice, despite everything, you know?"

"Yeah, it is," Gibbs surprisingly agreed and then leaned back, too, resting his head on top of the backrest before he turned it towards Tony again. "Thanks for being here."

"Nah, it's okay," he said, feeling his cheeks grow hot ever so slightly under Gibbs' scrutiny. "You'd do the same for us… me."

Gibbs nodded ever so slightly, but didn't avert his eyes from him. Tony, for a while, stared right back at him and felt an odd mixture of sadness and contentment within him. He could see that Gibbs was sad beyond belief, was missing his father and yet there was the same satisfied look in his eyes that he had also had this very afternoon when he had watched Amira playing with him. And suddenly, just as he was about to take another sip from the bourbon, Tony realized what it was. Gibbs might have lost his father, might have lost the last of his family, but he had managed to build himself a new one, too. A family that would look out for him just like a real one would. There were Leyla and Amira, old enough to be his daughter and granddaughter. There was Abby, McGee and Ducky who were Tony's family, too, much more than his own family had ever been. And as Tony stared right back at the man next to him, he realized that he didn't have the same bond as Abby and McGee had with Gibbs. It was much more than that. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was something beyond the friendship bond there for sure.

Just when Tony thought he might be able to figure it out, Gibbs' eyes had closed and his breathing evened out. Tony stared at him for a second or two before he realized that the older man had fallen asleep. Maybe he had been drunker than he had thought he was. Smiling, Tony covered him up with the blanket he had slept under these last couple of days and then quietly turned off the light and walked upstairs towards Gibbs' bedroom to sleep there.

He shed his dress shirt and pants and only realized then just how dirty they were when the sand fell from them to the floor. He shook his head, trying to shake out the rest out of his clothes, and wondered how he hadn't even noticed before. Maybe he had been around Gibbs too much after all, if he didn't care about his clothing anymore. He chuckled again as he settled down and switched off the lights. His head was already starting to hurt a bit and he hoped that the hangover wouldn't be too cruel in the morning. Maybe he'd ask Gibbs for his remedy because the man never seemed to have one and as attuned Tony was to his ways these days, it surely would help him, too. He really was turning into a younger version of his boss lately, Tony thought, even though he really didn't want to be him. Or was it that he was just…

Tony quickly sat up, his eyes wide and his heart beating erratically in his chest.

He stared into the darkness for a moment, trying to get rid of that particular thought, and then let out a bark of a laugh. He was drunker than he thought after all.