Slow Burn

A/N: Spoilers for Extreme Prejudice. And I'm sorry to laugh at all the impatience but it's just too tempting. Hope you're figuring out that the clue's in the title… and that I'm having a great deal of fun winding you all up by taking it so slowly... although you might view this chapter as a little bit of progress? Maybe?

Chapter 12 – Like a House on Fire

Gibbs stood outside Tony's apartment once again, six pack in one hand, and feeling more than a little self-conscious.

This was just another night at Tony's place, like he'd done dozens of times but after their conversation and Tony's confession a couple of weeks ago, these evenings now felt more like dates.

Maybe because they were.

And he was still getting his head around that… and still getting used to the fact that that wasn't freaking him out as much as he thought it might.

In fact, the whole thing with Tony felt pretty darn good so far.

And, Gibbs reflected, glancing down at the six pack in his hand, if he were here for dinner with Antonia instead of Anthony, would he be standing here with flowers or a bottle of wine?

He chuckled at the thought of Tony's reaction if he turned up carrying flowers. It might be worth doing that one day just to see the look on his face.

In fact, the last weeks had been a strange mixture of different and normal. They'd spent more time together as Tony suggested and it had felt just as relaxed and comfortable as it always did.

Gibbs wasn't sure what he'd expected but hadn't been quite prepared for how… easy it was.

How right it had felt.

He also knew Tony was being patient with him and seemed willing to wait while Gibbs worked it all through in his head, and for that he was grateful. A lot of the getting to know you parts of any relationship were already behind them and Gibbs was sure that was helping.

Gibbs shook himself out of his thoughts and knocked on the door and when it opened, Tony waved him inside with a smile. "For a guy who leaves his door unlocked, you could use your key and come straight on in, y'know."

"Force of habit."

"Well, remember next time, 'kay?" Tony threw the remark over his shoulder as he headed for the kitchen. "Stick those in the fridge, there's cold ones already in there. I gotta get on with this or we'll never eat."

Gibbs followed Tony, moving to dump the beer in the fridge and remove two of the chilled bottles in there. He turned back as he popped the caps, placing a bottle on the counter near Tony.

"You're cooking."

Tony paused in his chopping, looked down at what he was doing and suddenly backed away from the counter, waving the knife and looking horrified. "Argh… God, how did that happen?!"

Gibbs snorted, reaching up to deliver a light head slap which ended more in a hair ruffle. "Smart ass."

Tony grinned before moving back to the counter and resuming what he was doing. "I just felt like a change… Very Special Agents cannot exist on takeout alone, Jethro."

Gibbs turned to lean back against the counter, eyeing Tony. "No, dear."

Tony laughed, waving a knife. "I'm serious. Besides, I enjoy cooking when I'm in the mood and tonight I was in the mood… and if I didn't use this stuff up today, it was gonna grow legs and start marching out of the kitchen under its own steam."

"Hey… I'm not complaining." Gibbs leaned past Tony to snag a carrot. "I can eat anything."

Momentarily startled at the brief close up view of short silver hair and strong neck… a strong edible neck right under his nose before Gibbs pulled back, Tony cleared his throat as he forced his concentration back onto what he was doing. "Good… coz this chilli will set your socks on fire, which you may or may not view as a good thing."

By the time they sat down to eat at the counter Tony used as a table in his kitchen, Gibbs' stomach was growling from the appetising smells emanating from the oven, and he tucked in eagerly.

"S'good, Tony," Gibbs mumbled around a mouthful of chilli.

Tony grinned. "Not too hot?"

"No such thing."

Tony chuckled. "I always forget you like your food nuclear. One day I'll make it too hot even for you… although that'd probably put me in the hospital."

Gibbs tilted his head, smiling slightly. He sipped his beer. "Spoke to Ducky today."

"Yeah? How is he?"

"Impatient."

"Well, in his shoes, I'd be the same. And you would too, don't deny it." Tony pointed his fork at him. "In fact, between you and Ducky, it's pot and kettle as to who's the more impatient patient."

"Says the guy who demands the paperwork to sign himself out as he's being wheeled in the door still bleeding."

"Point." Tony grinned, unrepentant. "Any news on when Ducky can fly back?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Won't let him fly for several weeks after the op, so another week maybe before he's home."

"And in the meantime, he's stuck down there… yeah, I can see how that would piss him off. It won't please Abby too much either. I think she's already planning Operation LAD."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow and Tony grinned.

"Operation Look After Ducky," Tony explained. "Not sure of the details yet but I'm betting it's a full on care package delivered at tornado speed."

Gibbs chuckled. "Yeah… that I can imagine. Gonna have to get her to dial it back a bit. Ducky won't like being fussed over."

Tony shook his head. "Oh no, I'm not getting in her way on that one… you're gonna have to get her to dial it back a bit. She's not gonna listen to anyone else."

Gibbs rolled his eyes as he conceded Tony's point.

"You get from Vance what time Adams' funeral is tomorrow?" asked Tony.

"Yeah… four o'clock. His wife's okay with everyone coming to the funeral but not back to her house."

Tony nodded, grimacing in sympathy. "Understandable… she's got enough on her plate with kids who've just lost their dad without hosting a house full of strangers. You wanna share a car?"

Gibbs hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "Got something I wanna do after."

"Well, at least you won't have far to go home afterwards." Tony sipped his beer. "Out of all the funerals we've gone to this past week, this one's at the nearest cemetery to Casa Gibbs, isn't it?"

Gibbs glanced at him quickly before nodding. "Yeah… yeah it is."

Tony paused as he saw a strange expression flit across Gibbs' face, but it was gone so quickly that he wasn't sure what to make of it and decided to leave it alone.

They continued eating until Gibbs pushed his empty plate away, with a satisfied sigh. "You should cook more often."

Tony gave him a shy pleased smile before shrugging. "For you… any time," he said simply and Gibbs stared at him. Feeling his ears burning, Tony got to his feet before the moment became too uncomfortable and headed for the coffee maker, nodding through to the living room. "Go… relax. I'll bring coffee out."

When Tony came through carrying coffee mugs, Gibbs was sprawled on his couch, head resting against the back, and Tony took a moment to absorb how relaxed the Marine appeared, his eyes drawn down the length of that long body. Gibbs was wearing his red hoodie and jeans and looked good enough to eat.

The whole quiet, intimate domesticity of recent evenings was like a fantasy come to life for Tony. Anyone who thought they knew the extrovert playboy side of him that he presented to the world, and which was mostly a mask, would be surprised at how content Tony could be with something so simple as evenings spent at home with someone he loved.

Handing Gibbs his coffee, Tony hesitated for a moment before sitting down next to him. Gibbs was positioned more towards the middle of the couch than he usually did, so as Tony settled back, their shoulders were touching and Tony was all too conscious of his closeness and the heat radiating off the Marine.

While he thought it had been going well and Gibbs hadn't seemed even remotely freaked out by Tony being more open around him, Tony hadn't yet made an overt move on the guy.

Partly because it was Gibbs and Tony felt he still had to get over the mental hurdle that it could be a make or break move.

But also because Tony wasn't sure how he was going to stop and if he came on too strong, that might be a surefire way to alarm Gibbs. And admitting his feelings and getting them out in the open hadn't eased the tension at all for Tony.

It had only magnified just how much the Marine made his nerve endings hum whenever he was near.

So Tony was giving Gibbs ample opportunity to get used to the increased closeness slowly, keeping his touches subtle, and not pushing to get too near or too hands-on too soon, however much he wanted to.

But the fact that Gibbs hadn't taken any opportunity to back off, hadn't reacted negatively to Tony's touch, had even initiated some of his own, made Tony's stomach flip each time it happened…

… and, if Tony was honest, it had been more than he'd hoped for so soon.

Little by little, it was giving him more confidence.

Tony snagged the remote off the coffee table and grinned at Gibbs. "You in the mood for a movie?"

Gibbs smiled slightly, as if accepting the inevitable. "Which one?"

Tony's grin widened and Gibbs saw the mischief gleaming in the green eyes. "Got it all cued up… Harrison Ford, Air Force One. Thought it'd be good to watch someone shooting up the President's plane with the guy who actually did shoot up Air Force One."

Gibbs laughed. "Hey… I didn't shoot it up, that was the other guy."

Tony smiled. "Yeah, well, that's not how Kate used to tell it. Besides, it's got one of my favourite movie lines ever, right at the end when Harrison tells Gary Oldman to 'get off my plane,'" Tony lowered his voice in a passable imitation and Gibbs smothered a grin.

"I remember."

"Although given the number of times he's played the bad guy, I'm surprised anyone lets Gary Oldman on a plane anymore… You ready?" Tony looked at Gibbs expectantly.

Gibbs sipped his coffee, smirking. "Shoot."

Tony snorted and shot him a look before starting the movie. As with all movies, Tony couldn't just sit and watch, quietly. There had to be a running commentary, usually complete with impersonations and the flagging of lines before the characters on the screen even got anywhere near them.

It was alternately annoying and amusing.

After listening for a while, Gibbs came to the conclusion that Tony's Jack was more accurate than his Harrison.

As the movie progressed, Tony kept glancing at Gibbs who eventually said, "What?"

"Just realized something, Jethro… you've got a Harrison Ford smirk vibe going on there… or is it the other way round? Very similar smiles. Did he copy you, huh?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes as Tony laughed.

Interspersed with comments on the movie, Tony talked about Kate and what she'd told him about her time on Air Force One in her years with the Secret Service, and Gibbs contributed some things that had happened on that plane which didn't make the report.

While it was still occasionally bittersweet talking about their colleague and friend, enough time had passed that they could both now talk about Kate with more fondness than pain.

Gibbs relaxed back into the comfortable couch, finding himself watching Tony almost as much as he did the movie.

Tony looked… happy.

He often looked happy but there were different kinds of happy with Tony and not all of them were genuine. Over the years, he'd learned to read each version, from the goofball trying to deflect Gibbs' temper to the quietly satisfied guy at the end of a successfully concluded case, and all those in between.

Now Gibbs was confident he could see past the masks to recognize what a truly happy Tony looked like.

And it wasn't often the mask dropped completely but it had happened a lot over the past couple of weeks, and now he could recognize the obvious contentment on Tony's face and in his smile tonight.

Sometimes it felt like looking at a side of Tony he'd rarely seen before.

It still seemed unlikely that he could be the reason for that?

Did he really make Tony happy?

Since Tony had confessed how he felt about him, Gibbs had caught the younger man looking at him more than once with open longing on his face. It had been such an honest expression that Gibbs wondered how many times in the past Tony had brought his undercover skills to bear to cover that up. Gibbs felt a flash of guilt that he hadn't spotted something before now, that he'd made Tony suffer by having to hide it.

As the movie ended, Tony eventually acknowledged his scrutiny, glancing his way. "What?"

Gibbs shook his head, about to brush it off but stopped.

This was partly why things always got difficult in his private life, giving in to his first instinct to close down and shut people out.

But he knew he could trust Tony.

And maybe trying to open up a little wouldn't be so hard when he knew Tony wouldn't deliberately hurt him.

And he owed it to Tony to try. The guy deserved a little honesty from Gibbs, given how Tony had put himself and his feelings so much on the line already.

"You look happy."

"Well, that's coz I am… you make me happy, just in case you didn't get that memo," Tony teased gently.

"It's been a long time since I made anybody happy, Tony," Gibbs confessed wryly. "I'm outta practice… You really sure about this? Wanting me?"

Surprised at the question, Tony turned to face Gibbs, looking at him seriously. "Never been more sure of anything in my life."

Gibbs looked down at his hands, eventually saying softly, "You're crazy… you know that. You know I'm a bastard and I screw up every relationship I touch."

Tony spread his hands, smiling. "And yet, here I am… and I screw up everything too, Jethro. You know that better than anyone." He nudged Gibbs, waiting till he looked up. "But, hey, we've got one thing going for us… we know each other really well… and I've been thinking about this and perhaps that's what's been missing for both of us for a while."

"Maybe. Sure feels like it sometimes." Gibbs conceded quietly. "You understand me better than most, that's for sure. But it won't be easy."

Tony laughed lightly. "Oh, I got that. Nothing with you ever is…" Gibbs shot him an amused glance. "And I know it's complicated… not sure if it makes it easier or more difficult if we work together… and yeah, you don't have to tell me about Rule 12. I haven't forgotten what happened last year with EJ. It wasn't my best moment."

"Nor mine."

Tony shifted slightly, uncomfortable at the memory of how they'd butted heads last year. "Although I think you should have a special sub-clause for that rule all of your own."

Gibbs saw the teasing glint in Tony's eyes. "Go on. I'll bite."

"Really?"

Gibbs smirked. "Oh, believe it."

Tony stared, feeling a rush of heat at the image that flashed into his head. "That's… a thought."

Was Gibbs actually flirting with him?

From the boyish grin and steady gaze, it sure looked like it. Tony shook his head, seeing Gibbs' grin widen which really didn't help his concentration much.

Tony reached up to head slap himself. "Okay, focus, DiNozzo. As I was saying, you should have your own special sub-clause for Rule 12."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Spit it out."

"You should only date a co-worker."

Gibbs let out a laugh. "Tried that. Crashed and burned. Why d'ya think Rule 12 is there in the first place?"

"Jenny."

Gibbs nodded slowly. "Yeah… Jenny."

"Yeah… well, I'm not gonna give up on how I'm feeling because of something that happened to you years ago with Jenny. So suck it up, Marine. Got it?"

Tony met Gibbs' gaze steadily as he let his arm rest along the back of the couch, his hand briefly squeezing Gibbs' neck, thumb stroking the warm skin, and the older man stared at him for a moment before nodding, his lips twitching. "Got it."

"Okay, I've give you another version… How about, you should only date this co-worker?"

Gibbs laughed. "You got an answer for everything, huh?"

Tony grinned, gaining confidence from Gibbs' reaction. "Pretty much. And you said it yourself, we know each other really well already. And I think you need someone who understands what happens on the job, who gets that you need space… who knows you're a bastard but wants you anyway, and doesn't try and change you."

"You got a point there."

He didn't have to watch what he said with Tony. He knew that whatever he said wasn't going to be ripped apart and a label stuck on it.

"And I need that too, Jethro," Tony continued softly, shifting to face front again, looking down at his hands as he confessed something he'd rarely felt comfortable acknowledging to himself, never mind anyone else.

"I need someone who understands me… gets me, not the me they think they know or see or want, which isn't me at all. Someone who gets what I need… lets me have that space too but knows when I need help snapping out of it…" Tony looked over, smiling sheepishly. "And I think that's you… so I wanna try working that out with you."

Gibbs reached over and slowly grasped Tony's hand, lacing their fingers together. "Okay then."

Later as he was ready to leave, Gibbs was conscious of Tony close behind him as he made for the door. As he reached it, he turned to find the younger man staring at him intently.

Tony watched as Gibbs blue eyes widened, that rarely seen vulnerable expression coming over his face. Tony steeled himself, stepping nearer before his courage failed him.

If this were anyone other than Gibbs, he'd have had them pinned against the door by now and well on the way to bed.

Okay, Anthony, probably not the best image, given that's exactly what he wanted to do to Gibbs.

Taking a deep breath, Tony reached up to cup Gibbs' face in his hand, stroking his cheek lightly. Emboldened when the older man didn't pull away but merely held eye contact, Tony leaned in to brush his lips with a feather light touch against Gibbs' mouth.

He kissed his way slowly across Gibbs' lips, feeling the other man beginning to respond but letting Tony have control of the kiss, which had a warm, hesitant first time feel to it.

Tony tugged gently at Gibbs' bottom lip, one hand sliding slowly into the short hair on the back of Gibbs' neck as he savoured his first real taste and feel of the man. Tony registered in the back of his mind somewhere the feel of Gibbs' hands coming to rest on his waist, the strong fingers flexing into the muscles of his lower back.

As much as he wanted to deepen the kiss, Tony kept it light and tender, eventually pulling back, his heart pounding as he met Gibbs' eyes again. Steel blue was gazing at him warmly, the expression on Gibbs' face almost intrigued and Tony stood still as those eyes roamed over his face.

Gibbs reached up to lay his palm against Tony's cheek before his hand slid to Tony's neck and before Tony could react, he was pulled gently forward into another kiss… one which this time Gibbs controlled as he took possession of Tony's mouth.

Tony opened to Gibbs without hesitation, feeling a rush of heat spreading through him, swallowing a moan as he felt the first brush of Gibbs' tongue. Tony basked in the flurry of sensations as his body reacted to the kiss as Gibbs slowly, thoroughly explored his mouth…

… the hungry dominance he'd expected from Gibbs having an edge of tenderness that made Tony's heart squeeze in his chest.

Of course Gibbs tasted of coffee… he probably bled the stuff by now but there was also a hint of the beer he'd drunk tonight and something so obviously Gibbs, it was making Tony's blood hum in his veins, and not just from being on the receiving end of the intense focus Gibbs brought to everything he did.

Mouths moved leisurely, lips sliding and clinging and tongues teasing as Tony returned the kiss, trying to pour everything he felt for the man into it, until just as slowly, they backed off. Tony rested his forehead against Gibbs, their breaths still mingling, trying to calm down as he inhaled raggedly, shaken by something as simple as a kiss, his whole body aching for more.

Conscious his fingers were still stroking through Gibbs' hair, Tony slowed his caresses and raised his head, eyes searching Gibbs' face. Gibbs looked a little stunned but his eyes were warm and Tony's heartbeat ramped up again as that slow full-on grin spread across the Marine's face.

Tony returned the smile. "Wow… that was worth waiting for."

Gibbs' hand came up to cup his cheek, his thumb brushing across Tony's mouth, his voice more gravelly than usual which sent a shiver through Tony.

"It was."

Gibbs leaned in for a light kiss before releasing Tony and moving to the door. He turned, a half smile breaking out as he saw Tony standing there, still staring at him. "Night Tony."

TBC…