Slow Burn

A/N: Spoilers for Extreme Prejudice and Damned if you Do. A short diversion into cabin land. Anyone who reads my Gabby Seasons tags will know I'm obsessed with it! I am also using the same back story for the cabin that I used in Seasons, and have Bamacrush to thank for thinking of it in the first place. As always, huge tackle hugs to Kesterpan and Gibbsredhoodie… without whom, this fic would be half the length it is and we'd all have gone home by now! *grin*

Chapter 16 – Campfire

A cabin!

There was no end to the surprises Gibbs had pulled lately, and Tony was loving every minute of it.

First a new truck that was actually new and now this.

Tony chuckled to himself as he headed back up the path to the lake, after collecting their lunch from the truck. He emerged from the trees to find Gibbs sitting on the dock, legs dangling over the side, fishing rod in hand, the small rowing boat they'd decided not to take out this time moored at the end.

The sun glinted off his silver hair and Gibbs looked relaxed, turning to give Tony a warm smile as he approached. Tony couldn't resist an answering smile as he took in the way those blue eyes crinkled at the corners and the mouth crooked in a boyish grin.

Not usually a fan of plaid shirts – was there anything Sears didn't sell? – Tony thought he could experience a rapid conversion if the results looked like this; the sleeves rolled up and drawing attention to the strong tanned forearms and large hands.

The man looked good enough to eat, never mind the lunch Tony was carrying.

"You hungry?"

Gibbs glanced up at him. "I could eat."

"Good coz I'm starving. I'm not sure we've brought enough to last the day and I'm no good to anyone if my blood sugar drops, you know that… and I don't know if you noticed, Jethro, but we're in the middle of nowhere here and I can hardly run out to a 7-Eleven and stock up."

Tony dumped the bag containing their lunch beside Gibbs before dropping down to sit on the dock next to the Marine, who eyed him before announcing dryly, "You'll live."

"Y'know, as I was walking back through the trees there, it crossed my mind that you might have done a disappearing act on me." Tony handed over a sandwich, grinning as Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Not that I'm trying to give you any ideas, but I'm still not convinced you haven't brought me all the way out here so you can abandon me in the woods and expect me to find my way home like McBoyScout."

"What makes you think I haven't?" asked Gibbs around a mouthful of food.

Tony stared at him, squinting as he saw the gleam of amusement in the blue eyes, not entirely convinced Gibbs wouldn't pull… something like that. "Then I'm just gonna have to keep you under my nose the entire time."

Tony waved his sandwich. "Or maybe I should've disabled the truck so you can't drive off and leave me." That got him a look and he grinned. "Or maybe just frisk you for the key and only give it back when we leave."

Gibbs chuckled. "Good luck with that."

Tony raised an eyebrow as he let his eyes run down Gibbs' body. "It'd be fun trying though." That got him another look, this one with a lot more intensity behind it and Tony smiled happily as he tucked into his food.

They hadn't managed to spend much time together in the week. The caseload had been too heavy and most nights all both men had managed to do was go to their separate homes, eat and sleep, so this day was the first one they'd had a chance to relax together. They were planning to spend the day here but go back to D.C. later as it was a school night.

Enjoying both the quiet of the place and the man beside him, Tony was content to take in his surroundings but found himself more and more drawn to watch Gibbs' profile, savouring a rare opportunity to look at him without having to worry about schooling his face so as to not give away what he was thinking and feeling to anyone else.

It was equally rare they were somewhere so private that it was unlikely they were overlooked, but Gibbs had reassured him there were no immediate neighbours.

Conscious of Tony's gaze, Gibbs turned his head before raising his eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing… just admiring the view."

Gibbs rolled his eyes and faced front again but Tony could see the brief quirk of his mouth which gave away his amusement.

"And… admiring all this." Tony gestured with his hand at the lake and surrounding woodland.

The lake wasn't that large and was completely surrounded by woodland, with no other visible properties along the water's edge and judging by the lack of noise, the nearest roads were some way off.

It was the kind of place that had Gibbs written all over it.

"And a cabin?! I mean it's you building a cabin."

Gibbs gave him a look that clearly said 'so?' and Tony grinned.

"Okay, I know it's wood and therefore, a no brainer where you're concerned and I shouldn't be surprised because you built a boat… several boats, in fact." A thought struck Tony. "Hey, you're not planning on burning the cabin when it's built, are you, like you did with the boat before last… or make that the two boats before The Kelly?"

Gibbs shook his head, lips twitching. "Not planning to."

"Good, coz I gotta say there's something awesome about the idea of you going all Grizzly Adams on us."

Gibbs snorted. "Not gonna move here, Tony. Just using it… getting away."

He was pleased about Tony's enthusiasm and had been looking forward to sharing his plans for the cabin with the younger man… he had a feeling Tony would understand the place and what it meant to him more than anyone.

"I get it, Jethro." Tony cocked his head as he considered. "It's a basement in the woods."

Gibbs nodded, something in his blue gaze that Tony couldn't put a label on but which he liked to see as it softened his whole face. "Yeah, somethin' like that."

"Complete with…" Tony waved his hands, "critters, large and small… and that's not the critters from the 1986 movie, which were small furry aliens lunching on the locals in a farming town. Although if they are critters that bite and sting and growl, they probably would eat me, given half a chance."

Gibbs looked Tony over. "Not their fault if there's tempting meat around."

Tony laughed, enjoying that flash of heat in Gibbs' gaze he was seeing more and more. "Thank you… I think."

"And they were here first." Gibbs pointed out.

"Yeah… I know, and they may get annoyed with you for moving into their territory and staking a claim."

Gibbs shook his head. "Not planning on bothering 'em, city boy."

"Hey, Marine, I've watched Bonanza. I can fit in."

Tony nudged Gibbs, who could no longer contain his smile. Tony basked in the boyish grin and twinkling blue eyes, amazed all over again that he could make Gibbs look like that… that he seemed to make him happy.

The more time they spent together outside of work, the more everything seemed so at ease and comfortable.

Tony reached for his hand, enjoying the way Gibbs not only let him but entwined their fingers firmly and rested both their hands on his leg. "Seriously, Jethro. It means a lot that you've brought me here… to share this whole place and watch you build it."

"Help me build it." Gibbs corrected him.

"You mean you trust me with woodwork?" Tony teased with a grin, pretending shock. "Oh boy… Now that's what I call responsibility."

Gibbs chuckled. "Some things I can't do by myself, Skippy. Got a Marine buddy who can help with some of it or he can do stuff while we're not here, but it'll be good to have some help." He held Tony's gaze for a moment. "Wanna share it with you."

Tony blinked, absorbing that for a second, wondering if he could take it as another indication of the long term nature of what Gibbs was maybe trying to tell him.

Mentally admonishing himself not to overthink it too much, Tony grinned and leaned in to plant a light kiss on Gibbs' mouth. "And I wanna share it. I love that I'm here, Jethro… that I can watch all this take shape. You'll have to show me how, y'know. I mean on the plans too, I wanna see what you intend doing, even if I won't understand half of it. It's quite an undertaking, right?"

Gibbs wrapped a hand around the side of Tony's neck and pulled him in for a longer kiss which Tony returned eagerly, his arm looping around Gibbs' waist.

Gibbs eyed him when he pulled back. "Gotta build it right. Build it strong."

Tony got the feeling Gibbs wasn't only referring to the cabin and he cleared his throat before he could find his voice. "Copy that… and that takes two, right?"

Gibbs nodded, squeezing Tony's neck, his hand warm, the gesture somehow more intimate than the kiss. "Yeah… yeah, it does, Tony."

Tony grinned, his face lighting up. "Good thing I'm here then."

Gibbs tilted his head, his eyes warm. "Yeah, it is."

Tony's eyes roamed over his face, feeling a strong surge of emotion and he couldn't help but lean in again, taking Gibbs' mouth in a kiss that intensified rapidly.

When it ended, Tony felt a surge of satisfaction that Gibbs' breathing was as ragged as his own, his blue eyes dazed.

"Wow…" Tony grinned, reaching up to stroke his thumb gently over Gibbs' cheek, all too aware his other hand was gripping a strong thigh and Gibbs' hand had slipped around his back to anchor him in place.

Gibbs grinned back. "Yeah… wow."

Tony laughed as he pulled back, untwisting from the awkward angle and feeling the need to dial down the heat lest he leap on the guy right here and now. "Okay, moving on and calming down." He rummaged in the lunch bag to see if there was any food left. "Hey, I forgot to tell ya… My parrot finally wilted." Tony paused and looked up. "And I gotta say that's a weird sentence more worthy of Abby than me, but anyway… it wilted, shedding petals into Kate's bowl. I don't think she was too pleased."

"It lasted."

"It did…" Tony hesitated, stopping his fidgeting and looking at Gibbs. "Never thanked you for it… you know what that flower meant, right? The meaning, I mean…" he trailed off lamely, suddenly nervous he was pushing Gibbs to admit something he was uncomfortable with.

Gibbs held his gaze steadily. "Yeah, I know, Tony."

"Right," Tony stared back, feeling warmth rolling through him as he absorbed that. He reached for Gibbs' hand, waiting a few moments before he could find his voice again and move onto safer ground. "Will you show me the rest of the place later? You said there was more that's yours on the other side of the clearing."

Gibbs had shown him around the immediate area surrounding where he was planning to build the cabin and had briefly pointed out the boundaries of the property where it ran down to the lake further along the shoreline.

"Sure, we can take a walk around before we drive back."

"So, do you come here often?" Tony asked, before huffing a laugh. "And that sounds like a very bad pick-up line worthy of McRomeo."

Gibbs quirked a half smile. "Try to… not had much chance these past few months but been working on the plans for the cabin anyway and also got the road in cleared."

His relationship with Ryan and the hunt for Dearing had taken up a lot of time, and he'd never mentioned the place to Ryan. He had a feeling she wouldn't have liked it out here much anyway and wouldn't really get why he loved it here… and he really hadn't been in the mood for one of her long winded psycho-babble guesses about what needing this cabin really meant to him.

Tony's question brought him out of his thoughts. "But it was Mike's to start with, right?"

Gibbs nodded. "Yup. He bought the land and used to come out here, fishing… get his head right."

Tony looked around. "I can imagine that. We all need ways of doing that, of unwinding and burying what we see. With me it's movies, my apartment and my music, with a little sex thrown in." At Gibbs' look, Tony rolled his eyes. "Okay, a lot of sex thrown in. With you it's wood… and women… and bourbon," Tony added with a cheeky grin. "And I can see how it'd be fishing with Mike… and women… and tequila."

Gibbs smirked. "Method's the same. Location's different."

"Result's the same too, I guess. I'm surprised he never wanted a cabin here too." Tony saw Gibbs' expression and he smiled. "Oh, he did, huh? And I bet he wanted you to build it for him too." When Gibbs grinned, Tony burst out laughing. "I knew it! Yeah, that sounds like Mike… But he kept hold of the land when he retired."

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah… not sure why he didn't get rid of it."

Gibbs was pretty sure Mike had shared this place just with him through the years they'd known one another, maybe because his mentor figured his probie would understand it and appreciate what this hideaway meant to him.

"Maybe he knew you'd still wanna use it? Maybe that's why he gave it to you now?" suggested Tony.

"Maybe." Gibbs shrugged. "Or he coulda figured the land'd be worth something some day."

"And Leyla didn't want it you said?"

Gibbs shook his head. "But she'll get it eventually, from me, and she can sell the land if she wants. Should be worth a bit." He figured that Mike knew he'd leave it to Leyla as well, trusted Gibbs to look after his girls.

It was another one of those unspoken rules that never needed articulating between them.

"Has Leyla seen it? Have they been up here?"

"Yeah. Brought the girls here a couple of times. Amira loves it. She swims like a fish." Gibbs smiled at the memory.

Tony grinned in return. "I'd like to see that some day. Not quite Baja but peaceful enough I guess."

Tony was quiet for a while before an inevitable question flashed through his head and he started to blurt it out before he could stop himself. "Did you… I mean, have you…" Tony trailed off, biting off his words and shifting his gaze to the water.

Gibbs rested a hand on the back of Tony's neck, massaging the muscle gently as he answered. "Not brought anyone else here, Tony."

Tony leaned into his touch and turned his head to meet Gibbs' eyes. "You haven't?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No one."

That meant no Ryan, no Hollis, no ex-wives.

Tony stared at Gibbs for a moment. "Then that means a heck of a lot that you've brought me here, Jethro."

A final squeeze of his neck and Gibbs released him. "We can come back when ya like, Tony. We've gotta lot to do."

Gibbs noticed the smile that lit up Tony's face and the soft chuckle he gave and nudged him. "What?"

Tony eyed him. "You keep saying we… does that mean you're okay with us? That you think we're okay as a… we? As a something?" He couldn't help his lingering insecurity.

Gibbs saw the vulnerability hovering under the surface in Tony's green eyes and wanted nothing more than to make it go away.

"Yeah, I do. I'm more than okay with it, Tony."

Gibbs was surprised with how 'okay' he was, how comfortable he was feeling with it all so far.

He still wasn't sure if part of it was the contrast with how uncomfortable his relationship with Ryan became towards the end, and he didn't want to be unfair to Tony by using him as some kind of… comfort blanket because everything was instantly so easy and familiar with him, and Gibbs didn't want to be alone.

"That's good coz I think it's going great," Tony told him softly, "and I don't know if you need to hear me say this but I'm gonna say it anyway, that I really wanna make this work, wanna work at being what you need. Not really had that before… not like this and it feels good."

Gibbs nodded, not sure he could trust his voice to reply but from the patient smile Tony was giving him, he figured the younger man understood what he was unable to articulate, as he always did.

Tony looked down at their entwined fingers before going on quietly. "I said I'd give you as much time as you needed and I meant it. You take as much time as you need but you know me, I gotta have regular sit reps." He glanced over at Gibbs. "As long as I know you want this… want us to continue."

"Do want this… want more too." Gibbs gestured between them. "Feels good."

Another surprise, and a welcome one, was how good it had felt physically between them and Gibbs definitely wanted to explore that more.

Tony relinquished his hand and turned sideways to face Gibbs, sitting cross-legged. "So we… us… this doesn't freak you out… physically, I mean?"

"You couldn't tell?" Gibbs quirked a grin. "Must be doing somethin' wrong."

Tony laughed. "Oh, you're not doing anything wrong, trust me. I'm just checking in."

Gibbs suddenly pushed him and startled, Tony tumbled backwards onto the dock and before he could recover his balance, Gibbs was crawling over him. He came to a halt with his arms framing Tony's head, gazing down at the younger man seriously. Tony lay there, his hands gripping the front of Gibbs' shirt, wanting so much to pull him down on top of him but willing himself to let Gibbs set the pace.

With a brief smile, Gibbs lowered his head and kissed Tony gently, lips lingering, tugging and sliding and Tony opened his mouth to welcome him in, teasing Gibbs with his tongue. With a soft groan, Gibbs deepened the kiss and their tongues tangled as both men took turns dominating the kiss.

Gibbs settled his body against Tony's and the younger man couldn't help a moan into Gibbs' mouth at the feeling of the Marine stretched full length on top of him. Tony let his hands roam over his back, learning the feel of the solid muscles as Gibbs seemed intent on kissing him into the dock.

When Gibbs broke the kiss, he nuzzled his way across Tony's face to his neck, finding Tony's pulse point with his mouth and causing the younger man to shiver. He raised his head eventually, grinning at the hazy look he got from green eyes.

Tony's hands were anchored around his back, holding him in place and Gibbs let the jolt of need wash through him as he felt Tony's reaction pressed against him.

His voice was hoarse to his own ears. "That any better?"

Tony cleared his throat, a slow smile spreading across his face as his hands came up to slide into Gibbs' hair, leaning up to kiss him softly. "Well, I might need regular replays, you know how slow on the uptake I can be."

Gibbs snorted and rolled off Tony to rest on his back next to him on the dock. "I can do that."

Tony turned on his side, head propped on one hand and stared down at Gibbs. "I'm glad you're okay with us though… was worried you were being polite." Gibbs shot him a look. "Yeah, I know… it's you we're talking about, you don't do polite. But I… I care about you and I didn't want all this to turn you off."

Tony stumbled over his words, stopping himself in time from telling Gibbs he loved him. That might definitely qualify as way too much, way too soon.

"Turns me on, Tony. Kinda surprised by that," Gibbs admitted quietly.

Tony ducked his head. "Good or bad surprise?"

"Definitely good." Gibbs reached up to card his fingers through Tony's hair.

"We can go as slow as you want… don't wanna do anything that makes you uncomfortable."

"Sounds good." Gibbs felt nervous too, which was less welcome but he figured years of instinct would take over when they really were in bed. It was the one part of a relationship he usually got right. He was just crap at the rest of it. "But then I figure it's just you, Tony, not… not men in general. That make any sense?"

"Yeah, it does… and I'm glad it's just me too, coz I don't wanna share you either and it's gonna be bad enough beating 'em off with a stick. And I gotta tell you, trying to keep my hands to myself sometimes has been really hard these past few weeks… Pun intended." Tony looked down the line of Gibbs' body. "Wouldn't take much for me to take it further right now… however much I don't like exposing my ass to critters that sting."

Gibbs grinned. "My bones are too old for fooling around out here." He stroked the side of Tony's face. "Wanna go further but in bed."

Tony grinned and leaned down to snatch another kiss. "Sounds good and I definitely wanna see you stretched out in bed so I can show you how much I want you. Besides if we tried anything here, we might roll right off the dock into the water."

"Better be my bed too."

"Not your couch?" Tony teased.

"We'd fall off there too. And there's no room for both of us in your small bed."

Tony rested a hand on Gibbs' chest, picking at the shirt buttons. "I've been thinking about that and I'm gonna get a bigger bed."

Gibbs stared at him for a moment. "Thought that was your bed just to sleep in."

He knew Tony's whole apartment was his refuge and that he didn't bring dates home. He'd long ago gotten over being startled to find a single bed in Tony's room, understanding his reasons.

"Think it's time to share it," Tony admitted softly.

Gibbs nodded slowly, covering Tony's hand on his chest, knowing what it meant to Tony to let anyone into his sanctuary.

"Anyway, if we're going to spend time there… together, then we might as well be comfortable." A thought struck him. "Hey… you're gonna build a bed for the cabin, aren't you?"

Gibbs laughed. "Wondered when that would cross your mind. Yeah, there'll be a bed."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "A bed big enough I mean… not some narrow cot against the wall."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Was gonna be but guess I'd better build a bigger one… or you'll hog all the space."

Tony grinned, flopping down on his back. "That's the idea. I'll make it worth your while."

"Oh, count on that." Gibbs reached down for Tony's hand, turning his head to eye him seriously for a moment. "We okay? You're not still worried, are you? Coz I wanna make it right, make the effort but you know I'm crap at… talking about all this stuff."

"No kidding."

"You've been patient, Tony… it's more than I deserve."

In a lot of ways, Tony had taken control over the past weeks, taking the big steps when the time felt right, but letting things move forward at Gibbs' pace. It was a role reversal in many ways, but there wasn't anyone else Gibbs would trust to take charge like this, especially in a relationship.

"It's okay, Jethro… I get it." Tony squeezed his hand. "You're showing me by everything you're doing. Bringing me here, that chair you got me… and not forgetting my parrot," Tony grinned before sobering, "But most of all, letting me be with you when you visited your girls."

Tony wasn't blind to how huge it was for Gibbs to share or do any one of those things, let alone all of them; it was stuff he perhaps hadn't shared with Ryan or any woman before.

"Something triggered this worry though."

Tony gave him a rueful smile. "You know me too well. Yeah, I was just a bit worried this week… you were distracted and I was anxious it was because you were having second thoughts."

"Not about us, Tony." Gibbs paused for a moment, not surprised Tony had picked up on his distraction but not wanting to explain it yet. "Got something on my mind… to do with work."

"Care to share?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Not yet. Let me work it through. Got a few things lined up to figure it out and then you'll know."

Tony studied him seriously for a long moment, sensing there was more but deciding not to push for now. "Okay… I'll hold you to that."

TBC…