A/N: Thanks for your feedback! :) There's probably two or three more chapters to come in this 'verse... Hope you've liked it so far! :)

Chapter Fifteen: Three

Tony put Jethro's bag down next to the front door the next day. The hospital had released the older man on the grounds of him giving himself some rest. Knowing Jethro, he wouldn't rest for more than an hour, but who was he to talk? He hated hospitals just as much as Gibbs did. They hadn't talked much about anything in particular, just enjoying the few minutes they were alone. There would be time to have the serious talks later on and it seemed like both of them wanted to push them away for the time being.

"So, bed or couch?" Tony asked as he turned around to look at Gibbs who was leaning against the frame of his front door with his uninjured shoulder, looking tired beyond belief, but he still somehow managed to smirk at him.

"What?" Tony continued as there was no answer coming.

"Didn't know you had it so bad," Gibbs finally said and Tony felt his cheeks grow suddenly hot as he realized what he had just said.

"I… uh… didn't mean it like that," he all but stuttered, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "I meant where you wanted to lie down."

"Relax," Jethro laughed out loud and Tony felt his heart leap again as the unabashed joy coming from the other man that he hadn't really ever seen before. "Just messing with you. Couch will be fine."

Tony just shook his head, wondering why in the world he was suddenly feeling shy. He had known Gibbs for years, had seen the good and the ugly and yet he was suddenly unsure of how to act around him. It had been just fine at the hospital but now that they were there, really there and alone, he was suddenly self-conscious. Gibbs, apparently sensing his sudden discomfort, quickly made the few steps towards him, bringing a hand towards his face, lightly touching his cheek.

"Really, Tony," he said in an unusual soft tone of voice. "Relax. It's still just us. You and me. Just… closer than before, okay? Nothing between us."

Tony couldn't help but stare into the blue eyes that were closer than ever before and before he could say something stupid to give away his insecurity, he just closed the gap between them and kissed the older man. Just like the day before, he suddenly realized that it was really all what was important. Those lips, that tongue that was now begging for entrance, those hands, that man was really all that counted. Thinking of Gibbs being a man made him suddenly stop dead in his tracks. He stepped back from the kiss, still staring at the older man who was now frowning at him, still breathing heavily from the kiss they had just shared.

"You okay?" he asked as he made the short trip towards the couch and let himself sink into it.

Tony did the same, sitting down right next to him so that their knees were touching, just to make sure Gibbs wouldn't misinterpret what he was about to say. He really wanted this.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… how slow… or fast… do we take this?"

Jethro looked at him for a moment or two, his head tilted to his left side ever so slightly as he considered the question.

"Just as fast as we're comfortable with. We can probably skip the awkward get-to-know-you-phase because I'm pretty sure we do know each other already."

Tony snorted, shaking his head. "I don't know about you, but I keep noticing things about you I haven't seen before. These last few weeks have been… intense."

"Yeah," Gibbs said, but didn't continue, his thoughts suddenly seeming far away.

Tony watched him for a minute or two, but Gibbs didn't offer anything, instead just shook himself ever so slightly and returned his attention to Tony again.

"So… what is it that keeps you on your toes?" There was a slight smirk appearing on the older man's face now, though Tony was still able to see the hidden seriousness behind it, too.

"It's… stupid, I guess," Tony finally started awkwardly, but it needed to be done. "Have you ever… you know… uh… been with a man before?"

Gibbs let out a laugh and snorted. "No," he answered solemnly, though Tony couldn't detect any insecurity on the other man. "Have you?"

"Yeah," Tony nodded. "Back when I was still playing the field. Never anything serious, though."

"Okay, good."

"Good?"

"Yeah, I mean," and now Gibbs actually was starting to blush ever so slightly which in turn made Tony all giddy inside. "It won't be… awkward then?"

This time it was Tony who let out a laugh at the sheer uncertainty that seemed to radiate from Gibbs now. He laid a hand on Jethro's thigh now, hoping to reassure him.

"It will be awkward… a bit… but trust me, it'll be worth it."

"Oh yeah?" Gibbs replied waggling his eyebrows. "You're awfully sure of that."

"Oh, I am," Tony answered, laughing, suddenly feeling much better. "Sex with me will blow your mind."

"We'll see about that," Gibbs teased now, losing all the tension in his shoulders that Tony hadn't even noticed before it went away.

"Yeah, you will."

They delved into silence after that, but it was a rather comfortable one with both of them hanging in their own thoughts. Tony thought about how often they had already been sitting there, how often they had shared a cowboy steak or how often he had pestered Gibbs to watch a movie with him right there. Looking back at it, it all seemed like so much wasted time and potential. He had always loved spending time with Gibbs outside of work whenever he had needed a sounding board or just a comfy evening without much to think about. It had never seemed weird or forced - as if they had just belonged. Tony wondered why he hadn't realized all of that so much earlier. But it seemed like he hadn't been the only one. Jethro had said he hadn't known or even suspected either and even Abby, as astute as she usually was hadn't noticed anything. Maybe they all hadn't bothered looking beyond the surface because of the clocks. They had clearly shown that they weren't meant to be together. It had surely stopped Tony from thinking about it too much.

"We should probably talk," Jethro interrupted his train of thought.

"Yeah, about so many things," Tony replied, grinning ever so slightly because he knew how much Gibbs hated talking.

"With what do you want to start?"

"I don't know really," he said, sighing and leaning against the backrest of the couch. "You start."

Jethro just snorted, gently rubbing his injured shoulder before he shrugged with the other. "I know we're just starting out and all, but have you thought about moving in with me here?"

"I haven't actually," Tony answered truthfully, feeling something in his stomach start to flutter. "I mean my lease is up next month and all… so… I guess it's a good time for… you know… Are you sure you want me here all the time?"

Gibbs turned ever so slightly to look at him a little more closely and Tony felt himself blush furiously under the scrutiny.

"I want you," Gibbs finally said, barely above a whisper. "Here and everywhere. Make up for lost time."

"Do I need to decide right now?" Tony answered, trying to redirect his thoughts to the topic of the conversation and not keep thinking about just how close Jethro was and how the heat was radiating off of him in waves.

"No. It was just a proposal, think about it."

"Okay, thanks."

Jethro had sat back again, his eyes having left Tony for the moment and the younger man couldn't help but feel cold all of a sudden. Trying to get himself to warm up again, he reached out for Jethro's hand and took it into his own. It was warm and it squeezed his back and it was enough for the moment to know that Gibbs had meant what he had said. He didn't need to decide on the moving in thing right now. Tony supposed that he did want to move in eventually, but Gibbs had been right, it was awfully fast all of a sudden. So fast in fact, that Tony actually hadn't thought about it at all until this very second. But it wasn't something he couldn't see himself doing soon. He knew he wanted to spend as much time together with Gibbs as possible, but he also knew that he would want to have his other questions answered first to simply and truly relax.

"You do know that we'll probably never find out, right? About the clocks," Jethro said as if he had just been reading his mind.

"Yeah," replied Tony, suddenly feeling annoyed that Gibbs of all people didn't seem to care as much as he did. "But I still want to know, you know? Or have an explanation that makes enough sense to seem plausible."

"Yeah, I know," Jethro sighed. "I want that, too. It's just…" he trailed off now, letting go of Tony's hand to run it through his own hair.

"What?" Tony checked back as Jethro didn't say anything.

"It's… Do you doubt this?"

Tony stared at the older man for a moment or two, trying to decide what that strange expression on his face was before he realized that Gibbs was actually insecure about this as if he thought Tony would just turn around and walk away from him.

"No!" Tony replied vehemently. "Not even for a second. I've wanted this and I'm not walking away."

"What if… what if the clocks are wrong?"

"Why should they be?" Tony replied quietly, slightly taken aback by Gibbs' defeated tone of voice.

"Well, they were before, right? Wrong, I mean."

"Jethro," Tony said, finally realizing what the other man was going on about. "I don't think they're wrong now. Look, they're in synch… probably for the first time in over thirteen years or ever. And even if they are for some reason… this is it for me. You and no other. You got that?"

"Okay," Jethro gave him an unexpected broad smile. "Okay."

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against the older man's, reassuring him that he wouldn't go anywhere. He had never thought that he would need to reassure the other man about anything, but it was nice to see that the other man cared just as much after all.

"So, what do you reckon happened that made them so wrong?" Tony asked when they broke apart, both of them grinning rather goofily at each other.

"I've spent hours thinking about it and I don't know. I mean I'm pretty sure mine stopped when I actually met you. I just didn't pay attention. Like I said… there never were fireworks or something. What I don't get is why yours changed so drastically even before we actually met."

"Yeah." Tony ran a hand through his hair, thinking hard. "Did you ever suspect it was me? I mean after we've met and all?"

"No," Gibbs shook his head thoughtfully. "I never really paid attention. Yours was still running after all. Though… should we have seen it?"

"Before, you mean?" At Jethro's nod, Tony continued. "I don't know. I always knew I liked you and wanted to stay on your team and all, but it never occurred to me. At the beginning I often wondered why your clock was at zero and when I finally knew about your girls," Tony stopped for a moment, but seeing no objection from Jethro, he continued. "It was clear to me that there never would be another one, you know? Let alone it being me. Abby and I talked about it last night and she said that it now seems kind of obvious because we fit pretty well, but she didn't connect the dots earlier either."

"Yeah," Gibbs just replied, rubbing a hand over his face. He suddenly looked very tired. "Do you think anyone did?"

"No," Tony shook his head before the strangely familiar premonition settled within him. "I mean… maybe."

"Wendy?" Gibbs asked so silently that Tony felt his insides freeze at the mere prospect that Gibbs had already given her some moments of thought.

"Yeah," Tony nodded, taking Jethro's hand again. "I really don't want to talk to her, but somehow I think I don't have any choice if I really want to know. I mean, I know she doesn't know anything, but… I always thought there was more to it than just my work and all."

"Yeah. You want me to come with you when you go talk to her?"

"You'd do that?" Tony asked incredulously, remembering Jethro's latent dislike for the woman years earlier.

"Of course, we're a team now… always have been, too. I'll go with you."

"Okay."