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Moving his neck from side to side, Gibbs tried to work out the kinks from falling asleep in the living room chair. Fornell had passed out on the couch and he'd been too lazy to go upstairs to bed. As much as he hated meetings, like those he sat through most of the day yesterday, he hated paperwork just as much. He was only doing paperwork because he was trying to avoid running into Tony. A private controlled environment was what Gibbs wanted for their exchange today. After what he'd overheard this morning, he had even more questions. Seemed Tony had been having a lot of conversations with men throughout NCIS. Men that people knew were interested in Tony or had been at one time. Then he finds out Tony left with Dorneget last night, headed to a bar. And everyone, even Gibbs, knew Dorneget had a major crush on Tony.

What the hell was Tony up to? Maybe Tony had decided to drop the skirt chasing playboy facad at work. If that was the case, fine, but what the hell kinda game was Tony playing with him? He'd never given anyone, including Tony, any hint that he had feelings for his Senior Field Agent. Well, at least he didn't think he had. He ran his hands down his face. No, there was no way he'd given Tony any reason to think there was more than friendship between them. Even when they were alone in the basement, he kept his distance, never an odd glance or slight touch. He was too cautious for that. Plus he was a master of hiding his feelings, he'd had countless years of practice. There was something else behind Tony's sudden interest in him. Maybe it was a bet, or maybe he was right and Tony was just looking for a one night stand. Tony wasn't exactly the relationship kinda guy, but then neither was he. Still, he didn't want to be one of Tony's conquests.

Pushing the chair away from the desk, he got up and headed out the door.

Pamela looked up as Gibbs walked out.

"Coffee." He said heading towards the elevator.

Standing at the coffee stand, Gibbs waited behind the two people in front of him and glanced at his watch, when he felt the body press against him from behind, the hand touch his hip. He was about to physically remove the offending appendage when he heard the words whispered against his ear.

"You spoiled my plan."

"And what plan was that?" Gibbs asked trying to ignore the closeness of the man.

"Sneaking past Pamela to barge in and bring you a coffee." Tony stepped back removing his hand from Gibbs' hip.

Gibbs turned around and was met by Tony's smiling face.

"I could still buy you a coffee." Tony said tipping his head towards the coffee stand.

Turning back around, the two people ahead of Gibbs were gone. Stepping up, Gibbs ordered two coffees, one black, the other with hazelnut. He paid for the coffees, picked up his own and stepped aside.

"Thanks." Tony picked up the other coffee and took a sip, stepping aside with Gibbs.

Starting back towards the NCIS building, Gibbs didn't even look back to see if Tony was following. He knew Tony would.

"We still on for lunch?"

"Yeah." Gibbs said taking a sip of coffee. "If you want."

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Thought you might have changed your mind."

Tony stopped in mid step. Why would Gibbs think he had changed his mind? Gibbs had made the lunch offer late last night, what could have changed from then till this morning?

Sensing that Tony had stopped, Gibbs paused and looked back at Tony. The younger man had a look of confusion and contemplation on his face.

"Okay what did I do between last night when you left and now to make you think I would change my mind?" Tony furrowed his brow. "I haven't even seen you since last night."

Gibbs took a sip of coffee.

Tony's eyes suddenly went wide and his mouth dropped, then he laughed. "You heard I left here with Dorneget last night!" It wasn't a question, it was the only thing that could have possible made Gibbs think he would rethink lunch. "Are you jealous?"

Rolling his eyes, Gibbs turned back around and started towards the building again.

"Oh come on." Tony hurried to catch up to Gibbs. "Since when did you start listening to office gossip?"

Gibbs didn't respond.

"We went and had a drink, some appetizers, that was all." Was Gibbs really jealous of Dorneget? "I drove him home afterwards because his car is in the shop. Dropped him off, never even got out of the car."

"None of my business."

"It evidently bothers you, if you think I would cancel lunch." Tony chuckled. "Please, me and Dorneget!"

Reaching the door to NCIS, Gibbs walked in Tony on his heels.

"We're friends, that's all." Tony said as Gibbs reached the elevator and hit the button.

"Again, none of my business."

The elevator opened and they both stepped inside.

Tony grabbed Gibbs' upper arm as the door closed.

Glaring at the hand on his arm for a moment, Gibbs then looked up into the green eyes.

"Dorneget is a friend, that's all." Tony stressed.

Gibbs nodded.

"I'm not interested in Dorneget." Releasing Gibbs' arm, Tony stepped back as the elevator opened. "I like older men." He said as he stepped off the elevator and headed into the bullpen.

Taking a deep breath, Gibbs stepped off a moment later and made his way up the stairs to his office.

She punched him for the third time in ten minutes.

"Stop!" Tony hissed, rubbing his left arm.

"Then stop looking at your watch." Abby smirked. "Staring at it isn't going to make the time go any faster. It's like a watched pot never boils."

Tony blew out a long breath flapping his lips. "The waiting is killing me."

"I've never seen you so anxious and nervous over a lunch date."

"It's not a date."

"Whatever it is." Abby turned around from her computer and stared at Tony. "Why are you so nervous?"

"I left here last night with Dorneget."

"Really?" Abby smirked.

He punched her arm. "Not like that. We went and had a drink."

"So what's the big deal?" She said rubbing her arm.

"Gibbs found out, asked me about it."

"Oohhh was he all jealous?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Kinda, I mean it seemed like he was, but I don't know." Tony wasn't sure if it was jealousy, concern or annoyance. "I've never really seen Gibbs jealous, especially not when it comes to me."

"What about when you were dating EJ? Maybe he was jealous more than mad about you breaking rule twelve."

"No, he was definitely pissed, believe me." Tony shook his head. "Although, he was definitely right about EJ."

"Still, part of the anger could have been jealousy." She grinned. "Someone moving in on my man."

"Come on, Gibbs has never even shown a hint of jealousy over all the women I've dated."

Abby held up her hands. "Oh, maybe it's because Ned's a guy!"

"Gibbs knows I've dated guys, not like he thinks he's the first."

"But you've been flirting with him, so maybe he's taking you going out with another man as some kind of betrayal."

Tony groaned dropping his head back. "Maybe I should just cancel."

"NO!" She snapped grabbing Tony by both arms.

He looked up at her.

"You go in there and make sure he knows he's the one you want!"

"Lunch in the Director's office, alone, I might totally lose it."

"Really?" Abby smirked. "There are a lot of flat surfaces in there to have a good time on."

"That's not what I meant!" The girl had no filter from her brain to her mouth.

"Oh, so you didn't think about him taking you on that long hard table?" Abby's eyebrows went up.

"STOP!" Tony ripped at his hair. "You are not helping."

"Well offering yourself on the table would definitely prove he's the one you want." Abby smirked.

He rolled his eyes.

"Now go." She spun him around. "It's time." She shoved him towards the door.

He smelled the nostril searing curry sauce long before he reached Pamela's desk.

"Pamela." Tony smiled at the Director's Assistant.

"Tony." She smiled back. "Go right in."

"Thanks." Taking a deep breath he opened the door and stepped inside. Gibbs was sitting in the middle of the couch pulling containers out of a paper bag from the familiar restaurant."Bua Thai."

"Yeah." Gibbs said as he glanced up. "Don't worry I got you Pad Pak."

"Thank God." Tony chuckled closing the door. He didn't mind hot, but Gibbs like his food nuclear.

"Also got some Kao Pad."

"Great." Tony tossed the files he was holding on the table and rubbed his hands together.

Gibbs waited for Tony to sit down. The first test, where would Tony chose to sit? He had purposely sat in the middle of the couch to see if Tony would sit beside him. Without any thought, Tony sat down in the chair at the end of the coffee table. Interesting. Gibbs thought, that wasn't what he expected. Maybe their conversation earlier had made Tony decide to back off.

"Having a little better day today?" Tony asked before shoving a bit of food in his mouth.

Gibbs shrugged. "Paperwork." He mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"You second favorite thing." Tony chuckled.

"Looks like you were doing the same." Gibbs glanced over at the files on the table.

"Sorta." Tony picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. "Had a couple questions on the mileage reimbursement."

"Okay."

"Do you remember the first time we ordered from Bua Thai." Tony smirked. "I ordered that curry dish."

"Panang Gai."

"Yeah." Tony laughed. "I thought my head was gonna explode."

"Your whole head was cherry red." Gibbs laughed. "Even your ears were sweating."

Tony dropped his fork on the table and fell back in the chair clutching his stomach. "I thought someone cooked me from the inside out."

"You looked like it." Still laughing, Gibbs took another bite. "You told me you could take the heat, that's why I ordered it for you."

"I can take the heat, not nuclear radiation." Tony smiled as Gibbs laughed again. "You should laugh more."

The laughter faded into a soft smile. "Yeah, I probably should." Not a lot of people could make Gibbs laugh and no one made him laugh like Tony.

"My eyes are burning just from the smell of the curry from your food." Tony's laughter started to calm and he leaned forward picking up his fork again.

Gibbs grinned and stuck his fork in a piece of beef from his container. "Here." He held it out to Tony. "This will make me laugh."

Tony's eyebrows went up.

"It's not that bad."

"Right. That's why your forehead is sweating." Tony laughed again.

"Fine." Gibbs went to take the bite, when Tony grabbed his wrist. He willed his pulse not to quicken as Tony pulled his hand towards his mouth and took the bite. Tony let go of Gibbs' wrist as he chewed. He smirked, waiting for a reaction as Tony chewed the piece of meat then swallowed.

"You're right, it's not that ba-" Tony's mouth fell open and he stuck his tongue out. Grabbing the glass of water on the coffee table, he gulped down a mouthful. Coughing, he shook his head.

"How do you eat that without even blinking?"

"Used to it." Gibbs grinned.

Clearing his throat, Tony shook his head. "The things I will do to entertain you."

Gibbs right eyebrow went up. Okay, Tony was definitely not backing off. This was going to be a verbal assault, he could handle that, probably better than Tony making a physical assault.

With a grin, Tony took another forkful of food.

"The heat's good for you, helps with the metabolism."

"Is that your polite way of saying I need help with my metabolism?" Tony asked.

Gibbs' looked at his food pushing it around with his fork. "No." He gazed up staring into the green eyes before him. "Definitely not."

Tony felt as if he'd taken another bite of the spicy meat, his body flushed with the fiery heat of Gibbs' gaze. "Is that your secret to how you stay so fit?"

"Not as fit as I used to be."

"Please." Tony scoffed. "You haven't aged since I started here. You look even better than when I started actually."

"That so?"

Gibbs' eyes searched Tony's and he was immediately captivated by the stare.

"Absolutely." Tony said, refusing to look away, wanting nothing more than to get lost in those eyes forever.

It was Gibbs who that finally looked away. "Well, we keep having lunch like this, that might change."

"You'll just have to find some rigorous physical activity that you enjoy to work off the extra calories." Tony smirked, Gibbs intense gaze having given him added confidence. "Anything come to mind?"

Clearing his throat, Gibbs shifted on the couch. "A few things."

Tony pushed his fork around in his food. "Anything I might be able to help you with?" There was a long pause as Tony just smile. "A sparring partner, jogging partner, something like that. Or maybe grappling"

"I'll let you know." The words came out softer than Gibbs had intended as his mind raced with possibilities. Maybe a physical attack would have been better, at least then he could have moved to avoid Tony's touch. There was no way to avoid the sexual innuendos Tony was blatantly offering.

"Ready to look over the mileage reimbursement?" Tony asked, that soft reply telling him there was definitely more than platonic thoughts racing through Gibbs' mind.

Gibbs took a deep breath. "Sure." He pushed his almost empty container to the middle of the table, he knew exactly where this was leading. Tony had decided it was time for the physical assault. Question was, how was he going to handle Tony's actions. Part of him wanted to end it before it began, but the larger part of him wanted to know how far Tony was going to push.

Jumping up, Tony grabbed the files from the table, then sat down on the couch to the left of Gibbs. Dropping the folder to the table, he opened the top one. "This here." He pointed to a line on the report. "Is that reimbursable?"

Reading the explanation, Gibbs shrugged. "Yeah. If they have a problem with it they will-" He paused when he felt Tony's knee touched his. "They'll verify it if they need to."

"Okay." Hiding his smile, Tony's eyes followed his fingertip down the page until he stopped at another entry. "This one?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No, if she wants reimbursement for that, it's gonna have to be reworded."

"Alright, I'll talk to her about it."

Gibbs body tensed as Tony's hand landed on his thigh when the younger man reached across for his glass of water. Inhaling deeply, he took in the citrusy, spicy scent of Tony's cologne. After all these years he still didn't know what the scent was, but he knew it as Tony and could always tell when Tony was close.

Taking a sip of the water, Tony's hand left Gibbs' thigh, then he put the glass down and closed the file flipping to the next. "Overtime report."

Gibbs glanced at the report, then signed it. "It will be higher next week with me still playing director."

"Yeah, I know." Tony let his hand fall to Gibbs' thigh again, this time further away from his knee. Gibbs' body didn't tense, in fact Tony could have sworn Gibbs slid forward slightly. He tossed the file aside and opened the next one. "The Walton case, everything's finished up and the evidence was transferred to the FBI this morning."

"Good." Gibbs tried to ignore the hand that still lingered on his thigh as he signed off again.

Turning to the next file, Tony's hand slid down to Gibbs' knee, then left Gibbs all together. "Incident report."

Skimming down the report, Gibbs signed off.

"I think that's it for now." Tony closed the file and gathered them all together again.

"Ziva and McGee?" Gibbs asked, tossing the pen down on the coffee table.

"McGee's working with Abby on Salent's case, a cyber crime. Ziva's at the gun range." Tony looked at his watch. "She should be back in about an hour."

"Thanks for handling all this." Gibbs eyes gazed into sparkling green.

"It's my job." Tony smiled. It was his job as Senior Field Agent to handle things when Gibbs played director. "I always have your six. Anything else you need...anything at all?"

Oh there were so many things that ran through Gibbs' head, but none of it having to do with the job. He shook his head. "No."

Tony shrugged a look of disappointment on his face. "Okay, just let me know if you change your mind." Standing up, he held out the files. "Should I just leave these on your desk?"

Gibbs nodded.

Walking to the front of the desk, Tony stood there a moment, a familiar fantasy flashing across his mind. He plopped the files down on the desk and turned around leaning back against the desk. "I guess I should get back to down to the bullpen."

Another nod.

"Thanks for lunch." Tony smiled making his way to the door, his fingers had just touched the door handle when he felt the hand grasp his upper arm. Turning around, Tony was greeted by the intense steely blue gaze.

"There is something I need from you."

"What?" Tony whispered.

"Tell me what the hell is going on?" Gibbs' grip on Tony's arm tightened.

"With what?" Tony asked trying to act innocent and confused as to what Gibbs could possible mean.

Gibbs' eyes narrowed into that famous glare. "You know what! The innuendos, the not so subtle touches, the coy looks and smiles."

"Do you really have to ask?" Tony's eyes glanced at Gibbs' lips then back up to his eyes.

"Don't do this." Gibbs growled through clenched teeth, jerking Tony's arm.

The color drained from Tony's face as the panic settled in his chest making it hard to breath. Gibbs didn't want this. Oh God, it had all been a mistake, a horrible mistake that he was about to pay for. If he was lucky he'd keep his job, but he'd probably lose their friendship.

Resting his forehead against Tony's, Gibbs sighed. "Don't do this to me...unless there are real feelings behind it." He paused. "Because I can't do some casual fling with you."

Tony took a sharp breath, the air rushing back into his starving lungs.

"You need to think about this, make sure this is what you want." Gibbs closed his eyes. Even though he wanted nothing more than to give in right now, take Tony right against the door, he needed to know where Tony's head was with this. He pressed a kiss to Tony's forehead, then opened his eyes.

Tony was about to speak and Gibbs shook his head.

"Really think about it and the consequences."

Slowly, Tony nodded.

Letting go of Tony's arm, Gibbs stepped back, and took a deep breath. "Now get the hell out of here before I change my mind and take you against the damn door." He walked away, sitting down behind the desk, needing some physical barrier between them. Grabbing a folder from the stack he had been working on earlier, Gibbs started reading a report. A second later he heard the door open and close. Leaning back in the chair, he blew out a long breath as he ran his hands down his face. "Son of a bitch."

Gibbs did everything possible to finish up on time, but it was after five-thirty when he finally walked out of the office to head home. He actually expected Tony to be sitting in the bullpen as if waiting for him, but the bullpen was empty. It was Friday night, everyone always rushed out right at five. It was probably better this way, he really did want Tony to consider everything, especially the consequences of them crossing this line. They both would have to admit a lot of things they had hidden from their friends and family, and although he was more than willing to do that, he wasn't sure Tony was. Hell, he still didn't know if Tony wanted more than sex. Home, that's what he needed right now. Change, grab a beer, and work on the project he'd started a few days ago. At least it would keep his mind occupied and his hands busy. Then maybe order a pizza or Chinese as a late dinner.