Chapter 6: Friendship is essentially a partnership (Aristotle)

Dino sent another sneaky glance at the face of the man who was driving the car, his eyes stopping at the white bandage that was covering a rather nasty cut on his lower jaw.

T honked at the car in front of them, the owner obviously busy sleeping in front of a green traffic light.

"Stop it", the engineer said, his eyes never really leaving the road. Driving in DC was somehow different from driving in California. Or maybe it was the car. It wasn't a crappy one, Tony Stark did not drive crappy cars. But it also was not his R8 proudly displaying the STARK on the plate. It was a simple, regular car that wouldn't attract too much attention.

"But…" reaching out, the agent's fingers brushed over the skin right above the injury. "It's my fault… I shouldn't have…"

"Let's just agree that spontaneous blowjobs while any of us is shaving are a bad idea", T interrupted, reaching for his (boy)friend's hand, entwining their fingers and then keeping both of their hands on Dino's upper thigh.

"I'm not mad, Dino. I don't recognize myself in the mirror because the last time I was clean shaven was… more than 20 years ago, I think. But it's just hair that will grow back in a few days anyway. And you've been fussing over me more than anyone else in my life – over a simple cut and three stitches at the hospital. I expect you to finish that blowjob, tonight, though."

Dino smiled, squeezing the other man's hand.

"I'm still sorry. Though, I have to say, the goatee-less look suits you."

It got him another smirk, followed by a wince because the freshly healing wound still hurt.

"Yeah, I guess I rock any look. You'll be done by noon?"

"Vance said so, and then it's goodbye NCIS for an entire week. How did you even convince Pepper to let you off the hook for so long?"

"There wasn't much convincing needed. She almost kicked me out of the door… well, she wanted to, but she's still in Malibu, so she did it over the phone. Said if it works out like last time she'll send me on a vacation every three months."

Pepper had indeed told him that he'd never been more productive than in the weeks after his vacation with his Dino three months ago. Heck, he was even more patient with Captain Spangles, and normally he had no patience at all for the guy.

It had really felt like switching off his brain – doing mundane things like looking for an apartment and furnishing it, daily things like going grocery shopping. Tony Stark had never done things like that – and he and Dino had had so much fun telling people that he was a Tony-Stark-impersonator still working on the moves.

He found out that furniture-shopping could be quite exhausting, and their flat was just a simple one bedroom one bathroom plus huge living room apartment. Yeah, maybe a bit bigger than average, the security measurements were high end, and Dino loved the kitchen island a bit too excessively. To Tony Stark, these things were new, though. He roughly planned mansions like the one in Malibu, and left everything else to an architect, to construction workers, to interior decorators, and to Pepper.

Dino and he had chosen furniture they both liked, furniture that was comfortable, even though it was not necessarily overly stylish. They bought a king-size bed and all the stuff you needed for a comfy bedroom, lucking out to find an apartment Dino could move in right away in Georgetown, looking right over the Potomac River, close to a park, a cinema, and some nice restaurants. J.A.R.V.I.S. was present in the form of a few microphones, cameras and speakers, or connections to light switches, kitchen utensils, interacting with his creator and his weird Uncle Tony via an intolerably slow WiFi connection as the AI had complained.

They were sharing the rent (also something that Tony Stark had never done before – J.A.R.V.I.S. was peeing his servers when trying not to laugh about the fact that his creator was renting anything), they were sharing a bed, Tony Stark was commuting between Washington DC and Manhattan, and he was loving every single second of it so far.

Not having to think about ARC reactors, cell phone batteries, the next Stark Pad, or Mr. Rogers' sensitivities, it had done wonders for his creativity. He got up in the morning together with Dino, they shared breakfast, and then he flew the suit back to New York, did his work, played with Loki and Bruce in the lab, and was back in DC for Dinner.

Had he ever had that much stability in his life?

"Will you tell me what you planned for the rest of the day?" Dino inquired, still somewhat surprised that both of them had remembered their three-month-anniversary. Yeah, J.A.R.V.I.S. might have programmed it into both of their calendars, but he was pretty sure that this early morning's sexy times resulted from both of them remembering it without any technical devices.

The… little incident in the bathroom was a result of both of them being idiots, but obviously T really wasn't mad that Dino had severely injured the trademark goatee ™.

"It won't be a surprise anymore if I tell you."

DiNozzo snorted.

"T, both of us hate surprises."

Stark laughed.

"Yeah, that's true. So I thought I'd make good use of my new secret beardless identity and buy some bread, butter and coffee, and some of the jam we like so much. Then, I will have a look at your car and the weird sound the engine makes, and, finally, I'll hang up the shelves in the kitchen and connect J.A.R.V.I.S. to the electronic lock."

"That sounds terribly domestic. Could you wait with the car? I really like Tony the mechanic", DiNozzo said with a wink.

"You like the way my ass looks in my Tony the mechanic jeans. Anyway, it's getting even better. After that, I'll fetch my boyfriend from this award ceremony that NCIS had to have on the first day of our vacation, I'll take him to lunch in our favorite little restaurant, then I was thinking about a little walk in the park, before we're heading for the afternoon show at the cinema. They're showing North by Northwest today."

Dino smiled softly.

"That sounds wonderful, I love that movie. Will you let me plan the evening?"

"Depends on what you're thinking about. Both jets are not available in the moment, so we'd have to rent one for a dinner in San Francisco."

"I was thinking more along the lines of heading for dinner in the small trattoria we like, and then heading home, where you can fiddle around on your computer a bit, before I finish what I started this morning. You can stop over there and let me out, I'll walk the rest of the way." Pointing at a bus stop that was close to the Navy Yard, Dino had T pull over, briefly leaning into his personal space before getting out of the car, brushing a kiss over the other man's lips, and ghosting another one over the bandage.

"I'm still sorry."

Stark just caught his chin, stealing another kiss.

"I know. I will survive. Now shoo, go to that award ceremony for your colleague, and I'll have fun spending some money in the supermarket. Just text me when you're done."

After a third kiss, Dino finally left the car, smiling as he watched it leave. T was like a kid in a toy store in the supermarket. He for sure would come home with things neither of them had eaten before (and most probably would never eat again), and they'd have fun trying out what to make out of the rather unique ingredients he managed to find.

To be honest, he'd rather go grocery shopping with T than sitting around with nothing to do at the award ceremony, but Vance had made it very clear that he also wanted him there. So he had donned a suit and would sit through it.


Ned Dorneget was still wearing his arm in a sling. The bullet that had hit him had almost shattered his humerus, damaging a tendon and taking a rather painful route through his triceps. He would regain full mobility, but in the moment it was simply annoying that he could not really use his right hand. He was left-handed, which was a good thing since he still managed to take out the crazed out psycho Mom who had already killed her ex-husband and then tried blowing up a kindergarten, because her child was allowed to play instead of being groomed to be the perfect little student she wanted.

The ex had been with the Marines, hence his death making finding the murderer their problem, who had dared to take their son to a fun fair when she had sent them to the museum. Some people simply should not have children. Period.

It was beyond him why he was being awarded the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award. Agent DiNozzo had said right away that it was the wife. Agent Gibbs was following the other lead of money to a loan shark, while junior agent McGee's prior concern seemed to be to make as clear as possible that a) Dorneget was the Probie here and would only be a stand-in as long as Officer David was forced to join the FLETC training, b) he, McGee, was way smarter than anyone, and c) no way agent DiNozzo was right.

The loan shark turned out to be cold lead, the Marine having paid his debts a long time ago. Tony had figured out that the weird stuff the wife had bought from hardware stores and pharmacies could easily be turned into a bomb. Since Miss Sciuto also seemed to have a problem with Tony, though, this was only confirmed when it was almost too late and they had heard from the wacko lady's psychiatrist who was afraid she would harm her own child.

So, while Tony and McGee (who actually wanted to be teamed up with "Dorney", most probably to once more emphasize his seniority) took off to the home, Gibbs and Dorneget headed off to the kindergarten, the wackjob had a gun and tried taking 34 children and their teachers hostage, and the rest was history.

Ned Dorneget did not want this award. A man was dead, his son most probably would enter the system, and he had shot someone in front of a bunch of terrified preschoolers. At least he had not killed her, glaring at agent McGee who obviously thought that getting three rounds in the woman's chest would've been better than figuring out her mental problems.

So, when director Vance called his name, he stepped up and accepted the medal without saying more than "Thank you, director", and sat down again right next to Tony, dulling out the following employees who were honored for their efforts.

He still sat there when the vultures got up to raid the buffet, clutching the box in his free hand, staring into nothing for a while until a plate was shoved under his nose, and agent DiNozzo claimed the chair right next to him.

"I have two of those, you know? Gibbs has six. He never accepted a single one of his, always hiding away somewhere. I felt shitty receiving my first. I had killed someone to save someone else. I guess that's why Gibbs never shows when he's getting one, always sending me. It still doesn't mean you don't deserve it. Yes, you hurt somebody. But you also saved 34 children and their teachers. You saved your partner who might have been hurt as well…"

One of the bullets the woman had fired had shattered the front windshield, only an inch or two from Gibbs' head…

Dorneget put the box with the medal into the pocket of his jacket before accepting the plate, balancing it on his lap as he started to pick on the treats Tony had selected for him. The SFA also started eating, having selected only a few, luscious delicacies.

"And the second medal you got?" the younger man asked at some point, licking some cream cheese off his fork. The food definitely had helped brightening his mood.

DiNozzo lifted his head, looking at the probationary agent while he was still chewing, making a "hmm?" sound.

"The second medal you got. You said you felt shitty receiving the first because you killed somebody. What about the second?"

DiNozzo's gaze briefly flickered over to where Vance and Gibbs were standing, the latter spooning some apple pie into his mouth.

"I saved two people from drowning", he answered, thinking back to how angry he had been at Gibbs for taking off alone to help Maddie Tyler. Also here he had shot somebody… but in the end he had been too busy performing CPR on two people more or less simultaneously to really think about it.

Ducky and Jimmy had insisted on treating him with oxygen and antibiotics afterwards, scolding him as if he didn't know that jumping into the dirty water for sure was not good for his already scarred lungs. Gibbs never had said a word, and director Shepard had appeared rather not amused that she had to award him with the medal because Agent Balboa and Dr. Mallard had nominated him to spite the rather incapable other members of the MCRT and their director.

Patting the younger man's uninjured shoulder, DiNozzo smiled.

"You did well, Dorney, and you deserve this award. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, especially not McJealous over there who is giving us the stink eye in the moment."

Actually, McGee was pissed that he and Tony had had to show up at the house, where none of the action was happening. After all, as the aspiring almost-SFA he was he felt entitled to be wherever the real stuff happened. It obviously didn't matter that the woman had also wired her house to blow up and take part of her neighborhood with her.

Dorneget just nodded, turning his gaze back to his plate.

He still believed that the wrong man had received the medal.


Leon Vance watched Leroy Jethro Gibbs devour his slice of apple pie with unveiled amusement, receiving an irritated glare in return.

"Dorneget approached me twice about not deserving the medal", he then said, his glance straying over to where agent DiNozzo and the probationary agent sat chatting.

"Well, he and DiNozzo did all the leg work and figured it out", Gibbs grunted. It was a fifty-fifty chance who would catch the suspect. Both senior agents did not even need to think about not sending off McGee and Dorney together.

In the end, their TAD had saved the day, so he got the medal. DiNozzo had made a big fuss over the young man being hurt. Dorneget was so eager to learn, absorbing everything the SFA was happily teaching him and actually learning a lot, while McGee was mostly bitching about the fact that the younger man got all the fun things to do.

That he always had complained about the 'Probie tasks' Tony had him do when he was still as green as grass somehow must've slipped his mind. DiNozzo did not seem to care about that, though. McGee could tag along and learn something, or face the consequences when the time came.

In fact, DiNozzo had changed a lot in his way of working. He was nothing but professional, and Gibbs would've never thought he would miss the movie references, the childish pranks… or Tony proofreading Ziva's and McGee's reports. While he still gave advice to the Probie, his other colleagues were on their own now, and also Gibbs had to do most of his own paperwork after being reamed by Vance for missing documents right in the first week after Tony came back from his assignment as Agent Afloat. And he could hardly blame Tony if it was actually his paperwork.

The younger agent was still as brilliant as always. He had sniffed out Michelle Lee as their mole in the first week he was back, coaxing the young woman into working with them, finding and rescuing her sister Amanda without anyone getting hurt when they finally caught Ted Bankston.

And with all the time he didn't put into correcting his colleagues or doing their work for them anymore, he'd made a rather big dent in their heap of cold cases, easily upping the MCRT's solve rate back to 94% in the past three months.

"If I'd known how good he is, I would've never sent him away", Vance continued, his gaze turning back to Gibbs who looked suspiciously innocent.

"Some of those cases were ridiculously easy to solve, though", Vance continued, glaring at the other man.

Gibbs only shrugged.

"Still too hard for some agents to figure out", was all he said, keeping his eyes locked on Vance's, never admitting out loud to what lengths he had been willing to go to get his second in command back.


Douglas Mallard had joined the award ceremony for Edmund Dorneget, mostly watching the proud smile Anthony was wearing as the young man accepted his medal.

The boy had changed his ways since he had returned from the USS Reagan, interacting with his co-workers as just this: co-workers, no longer as a substitute for the family he never really had. In some ways, this had been a wise decision. Timothy and Ziva treated him even worse than before his involuntary assignment to the other end of the world.

Abigail also seemed to hold some grudge against the young man, and Jethro…

Jethro had stepped up to scolding his junior agents for their obvious lacks and mistakes instead of making DiNozzo work to cover them up. McGee had complained on multiple occasions that none of his reports were accepted the first time he handed them in. Actually, Gibbs most of the time was only satisfied after he'd corrected them three or four times.

Ziva had received a rather harsh dressing down when she once more questioned the purpose of her attending FLETC training.

Abby complained about the lack of gibbsian kisses to her cheek or continuous Caf-Pow supply.

Other than that… the closeness, the friendship Anthony and Jethro had shared seemed to be… on hold? Destroyed? He did not really know what had happened that made the young agent retreat from his former friends, but did suspect that it had been gradually building over the time since Caitlin's untimely death.

Ducky mostly mourned the loss of personal contact with the younger man. He rarely interrupted his tales from former times, most of the time he was listening rather attentively, never rolling his eyes like all the other people at the NCIS. Anthony also always had some funny anecdote to tell, always trying to lighten the mood.

Mr. Palmer was still somewhat included into the agent's life, sharing a beer or a coffee, sometimes lunch. From him Ducky knew that Tony had a private life outside of NCIS and appeared to be quite happy so far. Palmer refused to spill any more details, proving that he was a good friend, respecting the other man's privacy.

The ME had had no intention of spying on Anthony when he left the Navy Yard around noon for a little walk around the block. The buffet had been rather rich and he wanted to try and walk some of it off before he developed some heartburn because of all the fat.

The younger agent was walking in front of him, speeding up just as Ducky wanted to call out and ask to maybe join him, when a classic Ford Mustang convertible pulled up on the street, coming to a halt at the bus stop, the deep purr of the motor ceasing as the engine was turned off.

"You repaired her already?!" DiNozzo exclaimed, the brunette man driving the car sending him a blinding smile that quickly faded as a hand went up to cover a bandage on his jaw. Obviously, the covered wound was still rather fresh and hurt when irritated.

"One of the ignition plugs was broken. And I pulled a dead rat out from behind the engine compartment. What is it with you and dead rats?!" The other man opened the door, moving around the classic car to join Anthony ogling it. He was shorter than the NCIS agent, but of athletic build, wearing some very well fitting jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket above it.

"I took a germicide bath afterwards", the man added, moving closer to DiNozzo, holding out the keys.

"Ya wanna take her for a ride?"

Anthony simply threw his arms around the man, hugging him close.

"You repaired her already", he repeated as the brunette moved into his embrace, his arms also closing around Anthony.

Ducky by now felt like he was witnessing something that was not meant for his eyes, trying to discretely move away.

He still heard the heartfelt whisper of a "Thank you", still saw the soft brush of lips against lips, before Anthony snatched the keys out of his companion's hand without letting go of the other man.

"Where should we go?!" he asked, sounding so excited, so young, so… unlike the professional no-nonsense persona he had become at work.

The smaller man shrugged again.

"Gas tank's full. We could head home, pack a few things and take her on a little road trip."

"And the shelves in the kitchen?" Anthony asked, sounding like he was not sure whether he should be even contemplate the suggestion, most probably thinking about how the team would cope in his absence, not wanting to be too far away.

The brunette pecked Anthony's lips again.

"Will still be there in a few hours, or tomorrow, or two days from now. Let's go somewhere, huh?

DiNozzo still seemed to still be contemplating it, and then nodded sending his friend a smile.

"Let's go somewhere!"

Ducky witnessed another kiss before Anthony and his brunette friend let go off each other and hopped back into the car, a smile splitting the agent's face when he turned the ignition and the motor started purring. The old ME still heard the roar of the engine when the car had already left, looking thoughtfully into nothing.

Apparently, Anthony had decided to turn more in his life around than just his work situation. Ducky certainly wouldn't hold it against him. He had watched the younger agent pining for Jethro long enough, and all he got out of it were some ungrateful, disrespectful co-workers and a grouchy marine breathing down his neck on every possible occasion.

He might be better off with the handsome lad who was able to repair his car.

Jethro only had himself to blame for messing this up. He had been hiding behind the job and rule 12, behind amnesia and an abrasive personality too long in order to keep the other man at arm's length.

Now it might be too late…


Tony DiNozzo eagerly was kissing back as Tony Stark hovered above him, the muscles in his upper arms flexing as the engineer shifted his weight to be able to run his hand's through Dino's hair.

They had ended up in Sag Harbor, after first taking the more scenic route to… wherever the car might take them. Somewhere along the way, T had suggested a weekend in the Hamptons just because of the direction they were heading in, almost backpedaling instantly when he thought about what they actually had planned for the day, the movie, and dinner… and the work that still needed to be done in the flat!

Dino simply had shrugged and continued driving, he had agreed to the location Stark suggested, after all, they both deserved their time off, and J.A.R.V.I.S. had taken over renting a small cottage for the two lovebirds, while T groused about figuring out when exactly his AI had become so sassy.

It had been dinner time when they arrived, so they ate in a cute little restaurant directly at the sea before checking in to their cottage. Dino very well remembered his promise from this morning, so they had ended up on the bed, only in their underwear…

T had taken the lead then, though, tightly embracing his friend as they shared another heated kiss, both of his hands never stopping to caress Dino's scalp, his neck, his shoulders… so Dino leaned back, his fingers caressing over the smooth, warm skin on T's back, enjoying the affections.

Ever since Ziva had nicknamed him hairy butt during their undercover op as a married couple of killers, he had been a bit self-conscious about his body hair, even though it was not really excessive. He was a guy and had some hair on his chest, his legs, and yeah, also his butt.

T had just frowned at him when he worried about waxing or whatnot, but for him, it was easy – his skin was as soft as a baby's. It was then that his friend had mentioned that his body hair had not changed since their first roll in the hay, and he really did not care.

As if reading his companion's mind, T changed his position, scooting lower as he peppered kisses along Dino's shoulder, down his pectoral muscles, licking a circle around Dino's right nipple while pushing his friend's hand that was trying to re-adjust himself a bit in his boxers, only to give him a squeeze right there that made the NCIS agent moan.

T just smiled, nipping at the skin below Dino's navel, his hand running over the growing bulge in the boxers again, soon followed by his lips, mouthing at his boyfriend's dick through the fabric, having Dino groan again, this time a bit more frustrated.

This got him another grin and a nip at the flesh were his right leg met his hip, fingers hooking into the waistband of his boxers, pulling them off enough to lick and nip at the skin of Dino's lower belly, just never freeing him. Dino's head hit the pillow in frustration as T once more mouthed him through the fabric, wearing a grin as he looked up.

"This is to get back at me for the beard, huh?" the agent panted. He could have easily used his larger frame, his combat training to turn things around. He didn't want to, though. He liked that T was the one who was more dominant in bed, he was the first, and so far also the only man he had bottomed for, and T really knew what he was doing.

Dino got another grin and a "maybe" as answer before T lowered his gaze again, using a bit of teeth on his friend's still covered crotch. At some point, though, the pull at the pants grew more insistent, so Dino lifted his hips, helping the inventor to get them off. T sat back on his calves, calloused fingers now not only caressing his best friends abs, but also straying to where Dino wanted them the most, the first tug on his shaft making his hands fist in the bedsheets.

T did not busy himself long with only caressing Dino. He moved lower on the bed, resting his cheek against his companion's thigh as his hands cradled his hips and his tongue flattened against his scrotum, nipping and slightly pulling at the skin right beneath under Dino's shaft. Another needy sound left the taller man's throat, his breath hitching as T swallowed him down to the hilt.

The brunette soon had him singing under his hands, maybe even begging a little as finally a lubed finger breached him, finding his prostate with deadly precision as he prepped him, altering between thoroughly sucking the agent's dick and scooting up to lewdly make out with him as he worked another two fingers into him.

And now Dino for sure was not below begging.

"C'mon, T… please…" he moaned, rocking against these talented fingers, once more being silenced by these talented lips, this skillful tongue, taunted by another smirk.

"Please what?" T panted as he gave himself a rather hard squeeze, somewhat glad that he was ambidextrous and able to multitask. Otherwise, the sight of Dino fucking himself on his fingers might have ended things right now.

Dino's "Fuck me…!" wasn't helping, either. Their eyes locked, the frantic movements slowing a bit as their lips met again, less urgent, yet more sensual. Dino's hand cradled the back of T's head, fingers moving through thick, unruly locks, damp with sweat as they kissed, his other hand coming to rest between his shoulders, feeling all the muscles move underneath smooth skin. His breath hitched as T removed his fingers, a low, throaty moan accompanying the feeling as the engineer lined up and slowly sank in, burying his head in Dino's neck as he bottomed out.

They stayed close together, undulating against each other, Dino's rock hard cock trapped between their bellies as T established a steady rhythm that soon enough faltered. The engineer moved to a more upright position again, sitting on his calves, seeking more leverage as Dino closed his legs behind T's back, his hips on his lover's lap, his head thrown back in ecstasy as he once more clawed the bedsheets while T had an iron-like grip on his hips.

Dino gave in to the need to touch himself, his right hand closing around his dick and stroking himself, his moans and keens as needy as before, mixing with T's groans as the rhythm increased even more. Dino arched off the mattress as he came, shooting white ribbons of cum all over his abs, taking T right over the edge with him. The smaller man finally collapsed on top of Dino, panting heavily, unmoving for a minute or two, tightly closing his arms around his lover.

It was the ARC reactor in his chest that made this position uncomfortable for T, so he carefully pulled out, rolling to Dino's side and cuddling up to the other man's side. Dino had thrown his other arms over his eyes, now sneaking a peak at his boyfriend.

"Wow…" was all he managed to say, before a cocky grin appeared on his face, mirrored in his bed-companions expression.

"We're really great together", T affirmed, blindly moving his free hand around until he had found one of their boxer briefs, quickly wiping it over Dino's belly.

"How come you always use my underwear to clean us up?" the agent asked with an amused smirk, watching as said undergarments were thrown to the other end of the room before T pulled the blanket up around them.

"Too lazy to get a shower now. Tired… sleep… 's okay if I leave the shirt off?"

At this, Dino turned his head to steal another lazy kiss. He knew that T was self-conscious about the reactor, about the scars around it. But, just as T did not care about Dino's body hair, Dino did not care about having a live-in night light right next to him. So he just tugged at T until they were comfortably wrapped around each other, and then kissed his engineer once more.

"Happy anniversary, T", he said, receiving a rather shy smile as answer. Both of them had been skeptical that this would work out in any shape, way or form.

In his humble opinion, they were doing pretty well, so far.