Gibbs smiled nervously as the piano movers settled the barely used baby grand piano in the corner of the room; it was a crisp white color that played well in the deep tan of the study/den and was a great instrument that filled the sparsely decorated den up until this point – Gibbs knew that Tony would be thrilled to have the piano, since he was denied being able to get a job outside of 'writing his story'.
It had only taken Gibbs a week to find the piano, and after several back-and-forth negotiations with the owner, he'd managed to get the price down to an even thousand bucks, something he'd easily make back with his pay allowances. Tony was due home any minute from the clinic that he managed to find a non-paid volunteer position at, that was their secret since it technically wasn't a paid job they wouldn't inform Vance or even Hetty about it and Tony had promised to not even mention the work to Abby.
The piano movers had left, leaving the shining white baby grand piano to sit perfectly in between two large windows, the sunlight beaming off the polished surface perfectly as Gibbs waited impatiently for Tony to show up – when the sound of an engine pulled into the cavernous garage and the squeaking of the garage door started its downward descend, Gibbs moved quickly to the door that led into the space between the dining room and den, pulling the pocket doors shut behind him.
Tony came into the hallway and smiled warmly at Gibbs who had a decidedly guilty smile on his face "You look like the Cheshire cat who ate the canary, all at the same time – What did you do?" Tony asked immediately, he'd been quite used to the gifts that Gibbs had been bestowing upon him every couple of days now, and each new thing always made his heart sore dramatically.
Gibbs shrugged forcefully "Nothing – Now close your eyes." Gibbs said demandingly as he collected Tony's backpack and set it on the hook next to the garage door, waiting patiently as the younger man screwed his eyes shut. Gibbs took both of Tony's hands into one of his own "Keep them shut." Gibbs instructed as he pushed the pocket doors opened again and carefully guided Tony into the study.
Tony fumbled with Gibbs until the younger man was settled on a smooth and hard surface, the feel beneath his bottom was a familiar one and when his fingers were set upon the ivory keys, his eyes flew open as he stared at the piano, his fingers trembling and bottom lip quivering "How… How?" Tony asked softly, looking up at the older man who was just left of his shoulder.
"I bought it for you – I figured you probably missed the one at home… So I started scouring the for sale ads on base, and found someone who was selling…" Gibbs explained, setting a firm and warm hand against Tony's shoulder, he could even feel the trembling from the younger man's fingers all the way up to his shoulder "Do… Do you like it?" Gibbs asked hesitantly, he'd never been so nervous before in his life, and had really hoped that this one act would send the domino's cascading towards the one goal he had in mind since getting onto that airplane two weeks ago.
Tony nodded mutely, afraid that if he spoke the dam of emotions inside of him would break and he'd become a blubbering fool – Only an occasional time had anyone seen Tony in actual tears, and even though he loved Gibbs, he was still leery about displaying the more emotional side of himself. Tony stood up and unexpectedly wrapped his arms around Gibbs' waist, nuzzling his head underneath the older man's chin, "I… I love it…" Tony whispered quietly, his voice raw and thick with emotion as he tightened his hold on Gibbs' body.
Gibbs smiled, sighing in relief as he wrapped his arms around Tony's shoulders and held him impossibly close to his body – finally he'd had enough of waiting Tony out and in the heat of the moment "I love you…" Gibbs blurted out quietly, freezing in fear as soon as the words left his lips.
Tony also froze as the words left Gibbs' lips and caressed the shell of his ear, he'd waited so long to hear those words, fantasized and dreamed of hearing the husky voice of his boss and best friend muttering those words to him – of course in most of those dreams it always happened after mind-blowing sex, not standing in front of a brand new piano as they played make-believe with a case that was going nowhere. "I… I…" the words seemed to clog in Tony's throat, he lifted his head and the glint from the setting evening sun set fire to the tears that clung to the bottom of his eyelids, letting them fall slowly down his cheeks "Love you too." He finally managed with more confidence than he actually felt in this particular moment.
Gibbs slid his hand around the back of Tony's neck, drawing the younger man impossibly close to his face, the warmth of Tony's breath leaving a slight condensation on his upper lip as the scent of something spicy that was all Tony invaded his senses and threatened to overwhelm "Been waiting a long time to hear you say that." Gibbs whispered against Tony's lips, boldly moving in and capturing the younger man's lips in a kiss that set both men's bodies on fire from the tips of their toes to the end strands of their hair.
Tony clutched onto the small of Gibbs' back, panting slightly as the kiss went from slow and sensual to sloppy and heated in a matter of seconds, velvety tongues caressing and sliding against one another. Tony gasped when the small of his back was pressed into the smooth curve of the piano and the hard erection from Gibbs pressed urgently into his hip bone "Jethro…" Tony managed to whisper hoarsely when they finally pulled apart for much needed oxygen.
Gibbs rested his forehead against Tony's cheek, his fingers twisted in the thin fabric of the sea-green scrub top that Tony was wearing – All personnel, volunteer and otherwise had to wear scrubs when at the clinic – "Yeah Tony?" Gibbs questioned softly, his voice was also rough and hoarse; when he finally opened his eyes all he saw was the purity of green that had love written into them, as if written in stone.
"Thank you…" Tony whispered, lying his forehead in the center of Gibbs' chest "For all of this… I…" Tony shook his head and buried his head into Gibbs' chest, the tears he had tried so hard to keep from falling now silently tracking down his cheeks and soaking into the fabric of Gibbs' USMC t-shirt, leaving small pools of moisture behind.
Gibbs held onto Tony just a bit tighter, carefully massaging into the younger man's shoulders; he'd expected a bit of an emotional response to the gift, but to have Tony nearly sobbing in his arms was truly unexpected. "Hey… Are you okay?" Gibbs asked softly, carefully extracting Tony from his arms, looking down at the younger man with concern etched on his face.
Tony nodded, swiping the shoulder of his scrub top across the errant tears sticking to his eyelashes and cheeks "Yes… Yes, I'm fine. I'm just a little overwhelmed is all… Nobody… Nobody has ever done anything so… thoughtful like this, for me." Tony said, turning and setting his hands against the piano, reveling in the firm feeling of the solid wood, "Thank you Jethro, this means… so much to me." Tony whispered as he looked over his shoulder at the older man.
Gibbs smiled warmly and reached out to Tony, turning the younger man around to face him. Gibbs set a gentle hand against Tony's cheek, brushing his thumb carefully over Tony's cheekbone as their eyes locked in yet another silent conversation "You've got nothing to thank me for, Tony. I want you to be just as comfortable being here, as I am…" Gibbs said sincerely, leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss on Tony's forehead before he turned and headed towards the kitchen "I'm cooking dinner tonight too, so enjoy yourself while you can!" Gibbs called over his shoulder.
Gibbs woke up with a start, his chest feeling surprisingly light, he glanced down at his chest, noticing that Tony wasn't lying across his body like he'd had for the past week since being invited upstairs to sleep in the bed, Gibbs looked over at the clock and noticed that it was 2:30 in the morning; Panic near set in when a painfully beautiful sound echoed from downstairs. Gibbs quietly got up and padded down the stairs, looking into the study and seeing the silhouette of Tony's body sitting at the piano, his fingers easily gliding over the keys.
Gibbs smiled as he leaned against the doorjamb, listening as Tony seemed to lose himself in the music that he was creating – Gibbs may not be at all knowledgeable when it came to anything musical, but from the sound of it, this had to be an original that Tony was playing, because he'd never heard anything so painful or lovely at the same time.
Whatever caused Tony so much pain to have written this though, made Gibbs' heart both break and swell as he thought about how Tony had accepted his feelings for the truth of what they were – Having been able to separate the case from their real life feelings was surprisingly easy, since they had both fallen in love with each other unconsciously before they were even assigned this case. Tony suddenly stopped playing and a small smile crossed the younger man's face "You know, eavesdropping isn't very polite Jethro." Tony said quietly, turning around on the piano's bench seat, his eyes locked on the wall where Gibbs was hiding around the corner.
Gibbs came around the corner, smiling sheepishly as he walked over to the piano, leaning on the top as he looked down at Tony, linking his hands together "Why aren't you sleeping? It's nearly three in the morning." Gibbs asked in concern, raising his eyebrow slightly as he looked at Tony, noticing the younger man's eyes were heavy with exhaustion.
Tony sighed as he closed the lid over the keys of the piano, crossing his arms over the top and lying his forehead on his arms "I can't seem to sleep… I meant to say something earlier, but with the excitement surrounding the piano… It just… It kind of slipped my mind…" Tony said quietly so that even Gibbs had to strain to hear what the younger man was saying "While I was at the clinic today – I kept getting the sense that someone was watching me, but whenever I turned around, there wasn't anyone even remotely close to me." Tony said, looking up at Gibbs with a mixture of worry and concern on his face.
Gibbs quickly moved to straddle the piano bench, setting his hand on the side of Tony's neck "Hey, if that's the case then maybe you're finally getting recognized by our suspect… I'll carry the GPS tracker with me from now on." Gibbs said confidently and firmly, even though he didn't feel the confidence he should in this moment, in all honesty he was more worried than he should have been, because now that he and Tony had confessed their attractions, Gibbs was afraid that what he'd found in Tony would be lost before they could even begin.
Tony nodded and laid his head against Gibbs shoulders, setting both his hands on the older man's thighs "We really need to talk about this thing between us." Tony said quietly, gently kneading into Gibbs' thighs as he looked into his eyes. Tony had been worried about bringing this up, but with imminent danger possibly looming ahead, he wanted to clear the air between him and Gibbs now before it was perhaps too late.
Gibbs nodded as he leaned forward just slightly, pressing his lips tenderly against Tony's and kissing him chastely "We should, you're right – But could we go upstairs and do it? This bench isn't exactly comfortable." Gibbs said, smiling slightly as he nuzzled his nose against the side of Tony's nose. Tony nodded as he stood up, wrapping his fingers around Gibbs' hand as he and the older man headed for the stairs "I'll be up in a minute… You go on up and get comfortable." Gibbs said, smiling as he pecked Tony one last time on the lips before releasing the younger man's hand and watching as he disappeared up the steps.
Gibbs came into the bedroom a few minutes later and held up the GPS locator "We should probably check and make sure these things work properly too." Gibbs said as he got into the bed and propped himself up against the headboard, quickly turning on the locator and watching the screen as it booted up.
Once the GPS locator was booted up and flashing 'Target unavailable' Tony carefully palpated his forearm until he found the small GPS chip in his arm, gently pressing down onto the activator. A few seconds later the locator beeped a few times and then transmitted Tony's location "Guess it works." Tony said quietly as he curled up on the bed, lying his head against Gibbs' outer thigh as the older man shut the locator off and set it down on the nightstand.
Gibbs gently carded his fingers through Tony's hair, massaging into the younger man's scalp as he laid his head back, staring up at the ceiling "So, what's bothering ya?" Gibbs asked quietly, looking down at the top of Tony's head.
Tony shook his head slightly "Nothing's really bothering me… I'm just – What happens afterwards? Once this case is solved?" Tony asked, tilting his head back slightly to look up at Gibbs, a clearly nervous look in his eyes.
Gibbs shrugged, "Don't know Tony, this is something we have to decide together… I want to have more than just this case between us… I want to be able to go back home and have you lying in my arms every night, just like we are now… What I do know is – Now that our feelings are out there – I'm not taking them back, and I won't back away from you, not unless you tell me too." Gibbs said sincerely, holding Tony's gaze with the truth of his affections towards the younger man.
Tony nodded as he shifted up on the bed, capturing Gibbs' lips in a slow kiss "I can't say I'm good at making relationships work, or last long… But I'm willing to give it a try with you Jethro… Only with you." Tony whispered against the older man's lips, setting his hand against the firm muscle of the older man's chest, right against his beating heart.
Gibbs smiled against Tony's lips, cupping the side of the younger man's neck as he pressed feather light kisses along his lips, cheeks, nose and forehead "I ain't so good with relationships either, but I'll get better at it if I get to keep doing this with you for the rest of my life." Gibbs whispered as he delved into Tony's mouth once more, the tip of his tongue slowly caressing Tony's bottom lip until the younger man's mouth opened up eagerly, tongues twisting and gliding easily against one another.
Tony clutched tightly at Gibbs' white Hanes shirt, moving slowly into the older man's lap as the kiss grew more sensual. A small moan emitted from Tony's mouth as Gibbs clutched at his hips and held their bodies impossibly close "We can't… Not yet…" Gibbs murmured as he pulled back just slightly, still placing feathery kisses against Tony's lips as their panted breathes mixed and mingled between them
Tony nodded as he laid his forehead in the curve of Gibbs' nose, huffing out a breath "You have something against sleeping with someone you're not married to Jethro?" Tony asked teasingly, looking into the older man's eyes with mirth dancing in his own.
Gibbs chuckled and shook his head, pulling Tony's bottom lip in between his teeth briefly before letting it go and resting his hands on Tony's firm ass, "No, it's not that – I just want to take things slow and do this right – Don't want our first time to be twisted up in this case from hell." Gibbs said as he slowly shifted his and Tony's body down the mattress, lying his head down on the pillow, never once taking his eyes off Tony.
Tony smiled as he shifted onto the mattress, curling his body around Gibbs' body as he'd done every night for the past week "Slow and I don't exactly mesh well either Jethro… But, for the sake of making the right decisions towards us… I'll respect your choices and try my very hardest to not want to jump your bones every time you come home in that sexy as hell uniform." Tony said, grinning lavishly up at the older man and then snuggling into the warm and firm muscles of Gibbs' body.
The next morning, Gibbs had to drop Tony off at the veterinarian clinic, and that's where they were now – Gibbs sitting on the hood of the SUV and Tony in between his legs, their lips touching in sweet and gentle kisses. Tony sighed as he laid his head against Gibbs' shoulder "You feel that?" Tony asked quietly, glancing out of the corner of his eye up at Gibbs.
Gibbs nodded as he massaged into Tony's hips gently "Yeah, I do." Gibbs whispered, surreptitiously glancing around their surroundings; he'd definitely felt a shift in the air and felt a pair of eyes watching him, but like Tony had said, when he looked around, there was no one in the immediate area looking at them, and those who were nearby weren't looking in their direction.
"Make sure when you get in the car that you turn the locator on again… If today is the day he or she chooses to strike, I need you to know where I am." Tony whispered as he turned his head into the crook of Gibbs neck, clutching onto the back of Gibbs' BDU jacket and sighing.
Gibbs nodded as he kissed the side of Tony's temple lightly "I will. You should get in there though… And, Tony please be safe, don't try and be the hero if things get crazy." Gibbs whispered as he cupped Tony's cheek and kissed the younger man tenderly on the lips.
Tony nodded as he stood up straighter "I'll try, but we don't even know how any of the victims were kidnapped… Just keep the locator handy." Tony said quietly as he kissed Gibbs one last time before heading into the clinic.
Tony dropped his backpack in his assigned locker and sighed as he glanced around the open space, the sense still lingering and sending chills up his spine. "Hey Stevie! How are you this morning?" One of the vet technicians asked as she came into the room, setting her bag in her own locker.
Tony smiled politely and nodded his head "I'm fine, thanks Lexi. Just a bit tired." Tony said quietly, and it was an honest truth, after having been able fall asleep until probably around four AM and turning around and waking up at eight AM was not doing him any good, it was almost like still being in DC and only getting a few hours of sleep before having to go back to work.
Lexi nodded her head slowly "I get that – I saw your husband while you two were standing outside together… and wow." Lexi said, fanning herself dramatically and grinning over at Tony, "For an older guy, he is super-hot!" Lexi added as she and Tony headed down the hall towards the kennels together.
Tony felt the heat rising in his cheeks, feeling yet again like the perpetual teenage girl who couldn't control the blush he always felt when talking or even just thinking about Gibbs "Yeah… He is pretty hot." Tony agreed easily, collecting a large bag of dog food as he started depositing a scoop of food to each dog while Lexi fed the cats.
After feeding the animals that were in the back, Tony found a spot up front where he could greet incoming patients and their owners. And throughout the day Tony constantly felt someone watching him, his entire body felt like it was on overdrive with pent-up adrenaline that he just couldn't shake. Tony honestly felt like his skin was crawling from all the odd vibes he'd been getting all day, he'd noticed that no one in particular was truthfully giving him the vibe when he was nearby, and thought that perhaps it was just his imagination playing tricks on him instead of their suspect actually spying on him, which gave him a bit of a reprieve but he knew not to drop his defenses because often times that was when suspects chose to strike, when vigilance was no longer an issue and their target was unsuspecting of what was coming next.
I'd like to know what everyone thinks about the story, so leave a review for me! Thanks in advance!