Sweet Gestures

Chapter 7

The next day, despite being on the receiving end of ominous looks from Tony, Gibbs was back at work. If he kept moving he was okay. His leg wasn't great, but at least he could walk without grimacing. Okay, he was limping a bit, but he was mobile. He'd had worse. Only thing was he'd never had anyone quite like Tony hovering over him, trying to make everything better.

Tony and McGee brought in a couple of people to interview about the murder, the widow and son of Navy Lieutenant James Conrad, aka Mr. Freeze. Tony liked the widow, Mary Conrad, for the crime even though it was improbable that the petite middle-aged woman who was presently cooling her heels in the interrogation room could have snapped the neck of the dead lieutenant.

The other suspect was Mrs. Conrad's sixteen-year-old son, who seemed far more fragile than his mother despite his strapping size. Turned out the young man, Raymond, all gawky six-foot-seven of him, was her son from a prior marriage. On the way in, the kid kept looking at his mother for guidance, but once they were separated he seemed more like a lost kid.

Ziva and McGee handled the young man's interrogation and were able to get a confession out of him in a short amount of time. "I believe Raymond is a little bit intimidated by women," Ziva observed with a wicked smile as an agent took the handcuffed teenager away.

"Maybe you reminded him too much of his mother," suggested McGee.

Tony, meanwhile, had to pull out all the stops in order to pin down the dead lieutenant's widow. It was only by acting like an annoying teenager that he managed to piss off Mrs. Conrad, to such an extent she slammed both hands flat on the interrogation-room table and shrilled at him to behave himself or she'd get Raymond to take care of him. Tony wrangled out of her that she had browbeaten her son into killing his stepfather. It hadn't been over money, or even due to passion, but because she didn't want to go to her in-law's house for Christmas dinner that year.

"What's the matter? His mom doesn't offer you any white meat?" Tony asked Mrs. Conrad as he escorted her down to the holding tank. "So much for the Christmas spirit."

They hadn't picked up another case by the end of the day so when the paperwork was complete and Mrs. Conrad and her son had been transferred to the county jail, the NCIS agents were free to leave.

While waiting for Gibbs to come back from reporting to Vance, Tony took the opportunity to ask Ziva what kind of gifts she and Damon had exchanged.

"Damon took me dancing," she said with a private smile.

"I thought the concept revolved around no-cost gifts, Ziva. You cheating a little?"

"I don't need to cheat, Tony. I did not say he took me out. Damon moved away the furniture in his apartment and we danced in candlelight. It was very romantic."

McGee turned his computer off and picked up his bag. "Well I think it sounds lovely, Ziva." He turned to Tony and raised an eyebrow. "And what about you and Gibbs, Tony? Did you re-gift one of your collection of power sanders to him again this year?"

"Low blow, McScrooge," Tony said with a laugh. "It just happens we have been giving each other gifts of a more…private nature." McGee looked away so Tony teased him, asking, "Now, tell me, how long does a henna tattoo last, Tim?"

McGee blushed. "Abby told you?"

Ziva perked up and moved closer, wanting to know more about Tim's tattoo, but he refused to spill.

Gibbs came from the direction of the elevator, favoring his left leg, so Tony grabbed his coat and gear and said over his shoulder in parting, "Gotta go. We need to get some photos of your temporary tat for the family scrapbook, McLeatherBoy!"

"I have to stop and pick up something, Jethro," Tony said as he pulled his car into the parking lot of a specialty market. "I'll be back before you freeze," he promised.

Gibbs eyed the food store and made a derisive noise. It was one of those shops that offered overpriced prepared foods, the kind of place he wouldn't get caught dead in. "You'd better be quick or we'll end up broke."

Gibbs was about to go looking for Tony when he returned with a bag of groceries, which he put out of sight on the back seat. Gibbs looked at him sideways but knew enough not to ask any questions. They were almost home when Tony surprised him by taking hold of his hand. "You okay, Jethro? You're pretty quiet."

"Mmm."

Tony took that to mean Gibbs' leg hurt but he didn't say 'I told you so.' Instead Tony replied, "Hmm," knowing that Gibbs would understand him perfectly well.

As soon as they got home, Tony turned on the lights of the Christmas tree, still only partially decorated. He inhaled the piney scent and made an appreciative sound. Gibbs snuggled right behind Tony, arms around his waist and his hands linked across his stomach. Tony held his lover's hands in place and leaned back against his solid body.

"Smells good," Gibbs said. He kissed the side of Tony's neck. "You smell good, too."

"Our trees were always artificial," Tony said reminiscently. "They smelled like burnt plastic and any pine scent came from an aerosol can." He laughed even though it really wasn't funny. Tony turned in Gibbs' arms to face him and they kissed, slow and wet with plenty of tongue, like teenagers making out. When they came up for air Tony said, "I'd like to take it slow tonight. How about you get into something comfortable and then you can relax all evening by the fire. Do you want me to go up and get you a change of clothes?"

Gibbs shook his head but didn't release his hold on Tony, so the younger man raised his eyebrows in question. Looking serious, Gibbs said, "You did good today, Tony. Good interview."

Tony wondered where this was leading because Gibbs didn't usually hand out praise. "I couldn't decide whether to be bad cop or clown cop so I merged them into a double feature."

"Accept the compliment, DiNozzo. You earned it today. The whole team did."

"Learned from the best," Tony said and then kissed Jethro again.

"You didn't learn any of your interrogation technique from me," Gibbs protested.

"No? Then maybe I can teach you how I do it," Tony teased, grinding his hips into Jethro's. His lips brushed over Jethro's mouth to his cheek and left a trail of damp kisses along his jaw and then he reclaimed his lips. It was only when Jethro shifted his weight that Tony remembered his leg was causing him discomfort. Their mouths parted but Tony stayed within the circle of Gibbs' loving embrace. "Hey, I'm sorry…"

Gibbs shook his head. "Just a bit sore when I stand for too long. I'll go change." He held Tony's face in both of his hands and kissed him once more. "Be back soon."

Tony watched Gibbs take the stairs at a slower pace than usual, but it was apparent that his bruised leg was causing him less trouble than it had the day before. He was thankful that Gibbs healed fast, and admired him for being stoic, even if it meant the man he loved was a hardass.

They ate a pasta dinner in the kitchen and then Tony told Jethro to go and make himself comfortable in the living room. By the time Tony joined him there was a roaring fire in the hearth.

Jethro, who was reclining on the couch with his eyes closed, opened them to see that Tony had set a couple of plates of dessert and two glasses of wine out in front of them on the coffee table.

"Chocolate cake with raspberry liqueur, sir," said Tony in an affected voice. "Being served with a sparkling white wine for your pleasure." He turned all of the lights off except for one and settled next to Jethro. "I know it isn't exactly a no-cost gift, but I couldn't resist this cake. You'll love it." He watched Jethro take a cautious bite and laughed when he saw his eyes widen in appreciation. "Aha, I knew you'd like it."

"Mmm. Love it. Love you, too, Tony," Jethro said. He gave Tony a chocolate-flavored kiss and went back to eating his cake. They sat side by side and ate the decadent dessert by the light of the fire and after a while went up to bed together.

"I should have shaved," Gibbs said belatedly.

"I like you all rough."

"You'll get beard burn."

"Anywhere people will see it?" Tony asked with a chuckle.

"Let them see it and wonder." Jethro drew Tony in close for a long, deep kiss then pulled back to look at his handsome face. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, loving you like this."

Tony ducked his head and rested his cheek on Jethro's chest, but his lover touched him under the chin, encouraging him to look up and meet his eyes. "I've never felt like this before, Tony." He didn't know why it was so important for him to convince the younger man that he loved him so intensely. He did know that Tony was totally committed to him, and that it wasn't a fleeting thing. They both knew that by now. They might quarrel or grouse now and then, but it was never bad enough to fracture their relationship. And if it deteriorated that much then they'd find a way to mend it. Even though his personal history had proven that he could fail in a relationship, time and again, Jethro was determined this one would last a lifetime.

Jethro knew in his heart that he belonged to Tony, too, but there was still a small place in his brain that was not entirely convinced that he was worthy of such devotion. It was nothing short of a miracle that Tony wanted to be in this relationship as badly as he did. He could see it now in Tony's eyes, that look of trust and desire.

"Guess you don't have to worry then, because I'm not going anywhere," Tony said.

Jethro ran his hand over Tony's chest and then down his belly to caress the inside of his naked thighs, loving the way his lover parted his legs and made small needy noises in the back of his throat at the intimate touch.

"Jethro, let me take care of you this time," Tony said. "Please, for me." He urged Jethro to lie on his back and carefully straddled him. "Tell me if I hurt your leg."

"I'll be fine." Jethro was determined not to exhibit any sign of pain. If he allowed so much as a wince Tony would put a halt to their lovemaking and he didn't want to be the one to disappoint his younger lover.

A small tube appeared in Tony's hand. Gibbs squinted at the label. "That's some kind of lube?"

"Nope. Chocolate icing," Tony said with a grin. He drizzled the rich dark chocolate across Jethro's collarbone and around his nipples, then he tossed the tube aside. With a hand braced on either side of Jethro's chest he began to lick it off, making orgasmic sounds as he worked his way across his collarbone. "Oh God, you taste good, Jethro, mmmm." Tony rubbed his groin against Jethro's in a gentle rhythm, smiling when his lover's cock grew hard under him. His licking turned to sucking and once all of the chocolate was gone, and Jethro was lying there with his eyes half-closed and the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile of satisfaction, Tony took hold of one of Jethro's nipples between his teeth and pulled on it - hard.

"Ow!" Jethro grabbed Tony's arms and arched up towards him, but the teeth were latched onto his sensitive nipple and wouldn't let go. Jethro actually whimpered and pled, "Let go, let go," until Tony released the distended nub.

"You've never used nipple clamps?" Tony asked in disbelief. "Here, I'll make it all better." His hot tongue lapped around the nipple to ease the hurt he'd just caused.

Jethro touched himself to make sure his flesh was still intact. "Damn, that hurt!" Jethro grabbed Tony and bodily threw him on his back, capturing his hands on either side of his head. "You're gonna pay for that," he said heatedly.

Tony's eyes widened with anticipation and a little bit of apprehension. "Oooh, Jethro, gonna play rough now?"

"You started it. Turn over. On your belly," Jethro ordered sharply.

Tony did as he was told without any hesitation.

Jethro immediately pinned Tony down with the length of his body, making sure the younger man felt his full weight upon his back. He growled into Tony's ear, "I don't want to hear any words coming out of your mouth, boy. You can make noises but no talking. Got that?"

With a nod, Tony gasped, "Okay, yes, sure Boss-"

Jethro slapped him on the back of his head, causing Tony to squeak. "You deaf or just disobedient?"

Tony whimpered, "Disobedient? You gonna punish me, Boss?"

***end chapter 7***