This is DiNozzo/Gibbs slash, first time, M/M sex and language warnings. I broke this into 3 chapters and it's complete. No spoilers. Summary: Tony is out in the cold and goes to Gibbs' home to warm up.
Someone left a message asking why I list a story as 'complete' when it's not all up. It's not a WIP, so I call it complete. Maybe I should mark it as incomplete until all the chapters are posted? I'm posting a chapter a day and it's only 3 chapters so let's live with the designation. Another comment indicated that a reader has read this story before. Quite likely as I have a LiveJournal page and also archive at WWOMB. I just started using to reach a different crowd of readers. I hope that sorts out any confusion.
The Handyman's Dream
Chapter 2 - The Proposition
His feet clad on heavy wool socks, wearing overcoat, corduroy trousers and layers of sweaters, Tony stood in the upstairs hallway. He peered into Gibbs bedroom. One bedside lamp was alight, casting a warm glow across the large bed. Sheets, blankets and an old quilt were in a jumble, a sign of Gibbs' hurried exit earlier when he'd heard Tony entering his house uninvited. Tony leaned forward but couldn't catch a glimpse of the older man. He must be in the bathroom, he thought.
The door to the smaller bedroom opposite was open and Tony meandered in, flipping on the light switch. The single bed looked cold and uninviting and, indeed, the temperature of the room was much cooler than the rest of the house. Tony removed his overcoat, glad in a way that his dick was also reacting to the cold because the last thing he wanted was for Gibbs to find out how attracted his co-worker was to him.
Tony sighed. It seemed lately that he was forever covering up his wayward dick, like a teenage McStiffie toting around a big notebook as a shield. The knapsack he carried to the crime scenes had come in handy three times in this week alone. He dropped his shoes by the door next to a couple of cardboard boxes and Gibbs' red metal toolbox.
Leaving the door to the hall open, Tony removed his overcoat and prepared for bed. He might have to keep his remaining clothes on if he couldn't set the heat a little higher. His nose was already freezing. What was Gibbs thinking of, keeping it so damned cold? At this rate the pipes would freeze. There was a thermostat on the wall but it was set at 60 so that wasn't the problem. Tony inspected the radiator and saw the valve wasn't fully open, discovered it was too stiff to open by hand. He went to the toolbox and rummaged around and found a wrench he hoped would do the trick. He'd just crouched down to adjust the valve when the door opened.
"What, are you now…my handyman?" Gibbs asked with displeasure dripping from his every word.
"Look, boss, I've been cold for hours and all I want is a little bit of warmth, all right? That's not asking for too much, am I?" Shit, that came out all wrong. "Is this broken or something?" Tony looked from the radiator over to Gibbs and found the glare being leveled at him disconcerting, as always. But there was something else there. Gibbs' eyes dropped and Tony was taken aback. Gibbs never backed down. Then he saw the man staring at the open toolbox.
"Yeah, the radiator's broken. You can't fix it so leave it alone, DiNozzo, before you make it worse."
Tony stood slowly, wrench in his hand, and tried to decipher what the hell was going on. "I've worked on the heating in my own place, you know. If I didn't I'd be an icicle by now," he said lightly. Gibbs' face now revealed nothing other than a cool look that matched the weather. Tony lifted the top tray of the toolbox and replaced the wrench in the lower compartment alongside a hammer, various screwdrivers and other tools. Gibbs reached down to close the toolbox but between them they jostled it and the shallow top tray upended its contents on the wooden floor. Gibbs quickly scooped up washers and screws, a small metal mechanism, and various unidentifiable brass and copper bits and pieces and dropped them back in the toolbox. The metal lid closed with a clank.
Tony glanced over at Gibbs' face and was surprised to see it was flushed. If he hadn't known better he would have thought the man was nervous. Then the toolbox was latched and shoved back and out of the way with Gibbs saying, "Didn't know I was going to have a guest. In here," he ordered with a sweep of his hand.
Tony shrugged and followed Gibbs into the master bedroom. It took him a moment for it to sink in that Gibbs was indicating he should get into the big bed. Tony gulped - he was being invited to sleep in Gibbs' bed. Gibbs got in first, pillows propped up high behind his shoulders, and watched his visitor undress. Tony removed a bulky hand-knit angora sweater to reveal another lighter one in a green that matched his eyes, which he left on. He slipped his cords off and kept on his long silk underwear, feeling strange that his boss was looking him over as if he was weighing him up. He left his socks on, still feeling chilled.
"Light heavyweight," Tony quipped. "Not that I box much, as you know. I've thought of fight club, though, taking out my frustrations in bare-knuckle street fights. Like Tyler Durden said, 'Fight Club was the beginning, now it's moved out of the basement, it's called Project Mayhem.' Maybe that's what I'll name my apartment. What do you think, boss?"
"I think I you don't shut up and get into bed there's gonna be mayhem right here and now, Tony."
Tony clambered over Gibbs' legs and got under the covers. He pulled the quilt up to his chest and smiled. "Ahhh, you kept it warm for me. Thanks."
Gibbs snorted and turned off his bedside lamp. He'd left a nightlight on in the connecting bathroom so after a while, when his eyes had adjusted, Tony could see quite well.
Tony felt every bounce of the mattress as the man beside him shifted his weight and settled down to sleep with his back towards him. Inhaling deeply, Tony smiled. The smell was all Gibbs, a warm, musky scent with an overlay of fresh pine wood shavings, a little sweat and a hint of his pasta dinner and some beer. After-dinner coffee, too.
Tony lay there indulging in a little fantasy that involved Gibbs wearing a big fuzzy sweater and nothing else until he was interrupted by a feeling that he was being watched. Cracking open one eye Tony was startled to find that Gibbs had rolled onto his back, head turned his way, looking intently at him. Tony wondered if he'd been making noises or something and said, "Night." He expected Gibbs to turn away but instead the older man shifted onto his hip and faced him.
Gibbs asked considerately, "You're warm now?"
"Mmm. Nice." Tony yawned.
"You were dreaming?"
His eyes opened wider at that. "I wasn't asleep."
"Day-dreaming, then."
Tony shrugged and pulled the covers up higher. "It's cold tonight."
"Going down to five below, they say."
With a shudder, Tony said, "Good time to wear big fuzzy sweaters. I'd like to see you in one." Shoot, now what made him say that?
Gibbs was quiet for a moment then he slipped out of bed and came back with Tony's discarded heavyweight angora sweater. "Like this one?" At Tony's nod, Gibbs sat on his side of the bed and stripped off his t-shirt, exposing a chest covered in gray hair and dark nipples perking up in the cold air, before pulling Tony's sweater over his head.
Tony closed his mouth and feasted his eyes on the view of his fantasy-in-the-making. God, the man was hot and he was wearing his fuzzy sweater! At that moment Tony vowed to never get that sweater cleaned, not ever again. He'd wear it and it would be like wearing Gibbs. Something touched his foot under the covers and he realized it was Gibbs' bare foot, exploring.
Gibbs pulled the covers up to his waist, leaving plenty of sweater-clad chest visible. "You've got socks on?"
His feet had finally warmed up but Tony wondered where the hell this was leading. "I can take them off now." Normally he'd figure he was about to have sex with the man he was lying next to in bed, but this was Gibbs, after all.
"No…I like the feel of them." As if to prove his point Gibbs dragged his toes along Tony's instep and up his ankle, pulling a shiver out of him.
When Gibbs' foot stroked up the back of his calf Tony made a purring sound. "My sweater looks good on you, boss."
The corner of Gibbs' mouth pulled up in a small smile and his eyes twinkled. "Is this what you were imagining earlier?"
Tony looked away and picked at the quilt. "Sort of."
"Sort of? What do I need to do to get it right?"
Gibbs was looking at him so intently that Tony couldn't meet his eyes but after a moment he mumbled, "In my dream you were wearing only the sweater."
"Ah." Gibbs nodded, then sat up and fumbled around under the covers. The mattress bounced a bit and when he withdrew his hand he was holding aloft his bunched-up pajama bottoms. "Done." He tossed them onto the floor and sat there, all warm and fuzzy from waist up and naked below the covers.
Tony's heart sped up. Gibbs was wearing his sex-kitten sweater like it was the most natural thing in the world. He knew his eyes were wide with shock and his mouth was probably hanging open but he couldn't figure out why this was happening. What on earth had made Gibbs go so…so…gay on him? He swallowed hard. "B…boss?"
"Gibbs. Or Jethro," he instructed almost sternly.
"Okaaay…Jethro," Tony said cautiously.
Gibbs leaned over Tony's reclining form, framing his body with his arms. The older man's smile faded and his brows drew together. He studied Tony intently. "Are you all flirt and no action, Tony? 'Cause if I got the wrong idea here, we can just go to sleep. It'll end here and we'll never mention it again. Do you want this or not?"
"No…I mean yes! And no, I don't want to sleep." He had a close-up view of Gibbs mouth and without meaning to he licked his own lips in anticipation. Then a thought struck him. "Wait a minute, when did I flirt?"
Gibbs' head went back as he laughed loudly. "Oh, Tony, you're one big come-on. All day long. You flirt with every woman that walks by and half the men, too. You toss out smiles and play around with everyone but I get the feeling it's been a free ride so far. Nobody's taken you seriously, made you work for it, have they?" He grew serious and moved within an inch of Tony's lips. "Well now your time's up, Tony. It's payday and I'm here to collect." Gibbs' naked thigh pressed insistently at Tony's leg under the mound of sheets and blankets.
Tony slid his hand up Gibbs' sweater-covered arm. He met those all-too-blue eyes, taking in the offer, the elusive promise of things to come. Tony's gaze slipped down to the man's mouth, his own lips opening slightly in invitation, and then he was crushed in an embrace from which he hoped he would never break free.
** end chapter 2**