Section 58
"Hey, you okay?" Tired of watching Tony from the doorway, Jethro came up behind Tony as he stood by the balcony railing. Putting his hands on Tony's shoulders, Jethro pulled his husband back slightly so that Tony leaned against him.
Tony laughed bitterly. "My mother deliberately tried to ruin my father's marriage. No one will tell me who he is. And now my mother is a nun. How did my life get so screwed up in not even two weeks? Hell, I was Anthony DiNozzo, US citizen, NCIS agent, scion of the DiNozzo family of New York. Now, I have a green card, I'm illegitimate, my supposed father is a criminal scumbag and oh, yeah, my mother is a NUN." As he spoke, Tony's voice got louder.
"It hasn't been all bad." Jethro whispered in his ear. "Two weeks ago, you were my very special senior agent and I was your boss. Now, we're married, you have a great father-in-law, a lovely god-daughter and don't forget Zuma." Jethro continued as Tony laughed. The laugh may have been a bit on the hysterical side, but it was a laugh. "And Zuma's amazing Auntie Abby."
"Abby is going to freak. My mom's a nun and her nun friend has been using Abby for information." With a half sob, Tony turned and pushed close to Jethro. He felt his husband's arms encircle him, holding him tightly and sharing his strength.
"She will. But you know Abby, she'll scold Sister Therese Joseph and give her those "I'm so disappointed in you" eyes." Jethro felt Tony smile. "Then she'll forgive her and take her bowling."
"I feel like such a girl." Tony sniffed.
"Because you're letting me hold you? Tony, these last two weeks have been hell for you. Stronger men would be whimpering in a corner. Not you." Jethro praised him. "I admire you for your stance on Senior and Benoit. It would have been so easy to burn that envelope and walk away but you didn't. You wouldn't let them cop a deal to make your life easier. You are one of the strongest people I know. I am so proud of you."
Tony pulled back so that he could look in Jethro's eyes; his own eyes tearing up when he saw the sincerity within the gaze. "If it weren't for you…"
"Got your six. Always." Jethro brought his hands up to Tony's shoulders. "That's what family does. That's what a husband does." Cupping his hand under Tony's chin, Jethro leaned in and kissed him. The first few kisses were tentative seeking a response from Tony.
After the third kiss, Tony moved closer and put his arms around Jethro. Pulling back again, Tony looked into his husband's eyes as if he was searching for his soul. Stepping back, Tony took the other man's hand and pulled him into their suite away from prying eyes. Hesitating at the doorway to the bedroom, Tony allowed Jethro to take control.
Jethro kicked off his shoes and Tony followed suit. Pulling him towards the bed, Jethro shrugged out of his jacket and then slipped Tony's off his shoulders while he kissed him. Tony struggled to free his arms from the jacket sleeves. Finally free, Tony caressed Jethro's back. Both men had removed their ties after leaving Tony's mom and had loosened the buttons on their collars. Jethro trailed kisses down his neck and sucked on a spot at the base of his neck.
"If you give me a hickey…" Tony protested then moaned.
Hands were busy opening whatever buttons they could reach. Shirts were tugged and pulled until the two men were free. When Jethro winced as the Steri-strips™ on his hip pulled, Tony pushed until Jethro was lying on his back. With only a slight hesitation, Tony settled his one leg between Jethro's and the two men lost themselves in the sensations. It was just hands, skin and lips. Although hands tugged at belts, they two men only succeeded in pushing their pants down past their hips. When hard flesh covered with silk rubbed against hard flesh in soft cotton, both groaned and it was not enough and it was too much.
As they lay together their breathing calming, Jethro laughed. "It's been a long time since I've done that," he said gesturing to his soaked boxers. "Wanted to make the night last."
Tony tugged at his own soaked boxers. "Was just what I needed. Just how I needed." Tony forced himself to leave Jethro's embrace. "Forgot how uncomfortable this was." He pushed the slacks and boxers down and off. When Jethro didn't move, Tony gently took a hold of Jethro's slacks and tugged.
"I want cuddle time." Jethro complained with a smirk.
"Shower first and dry boxers, then cuddle time." Tony held out his hand and helped Jethro up. Jethro shrugged out of his boxers. Naked except for their socks, the two men headed to the bathroom hand in hand.
Section 59
Unable to resist the call of the night, the two men went outside after their shower. Jethro sat down on the cushioned chaise in the conversation area. When Tony went to sit on the next chair, Jethro caught his hand and pulled an unresisting Tony down on the chaise with him. Tony was now wedged between Jethro's legs resting with his back on Jethro's chest. There was a bit of a nip in the air but Tony had snagged one of the throws from the area and the two men were snug and warm.
They could see a few stars here and there. The moon was half shrouded in clouds but it didn't ruin their view. Out on the Tyrrhenian Sea, they could see the lights of ships passing. Sailboats rocked gently off shore. As they watched, a cruise ship began to move and head out to sea.
"We could do that."
"Do what? Steal a sail boat?" Tony teased.
"Jump on the next cruise ship leaving." Jethro murmured. "Just drift around the Mediterranean seeing the sights."
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Leroy Jethro Gibbs?" Tony twisted so that he could see Jethro's face.
"Why?"
Tony began to tick his reasons off on his fingers. "One, you gave up two big cases to Fornell. Two, you are selling your house. Three, someone we didn't know pays for a house and you just go with it. Four, McGee booked us to Sicily on a first class flight. Five, Moretti hires a driver and books us a suite and you just accept it. And did I mention, our seats were first class? That's not the Gibbs I know."
"It's what you need." Jethro said. Seeing the puzzled look on Tony's face, he placed his check against Tony's and took his hand. "You needed me. If I had kept those cases, Vance would have put you on another team temporarily or assigned you to cold cases. I promised to always have your six. Can't do that if we're separated. Besides, I want to help you through all this. I want to be there if you need me." Jethro curled one of Tony's fingers down.
"The house? Well, that was Shannon's and my dream house. Since I lost her and Kelly it hasn't been a home. I've let old memories linger. With my exes, I never felt a desire to move on. Probably why the marriages didn't last. But with you? I want a home that's our own. One free of memories for both of us. True, we didn't have to build that house but I saw your face when you saw the picture. I knew you were picturing us on a swing on that front porch. I know because I was picturing it, too. That doesn't mean I enjoy having someone else pay for it. Between selling both our places, my retirement account and some investments, I think we could have qualified for a loan. Might not have been able to afford the changes and might have had to cut the land and house sizes down a bit but that is our house, our home. The fact that it has a suite for dad is just icing on the cake." Two more fingers went down.
"First class? It's one thing to splurge when we're on a personal trip. Don't get used to it, because when we're on the job, it's back to military flights."
"There's the Gibbs we all know and love." The head slap wasn't very hard and might have ended in stroking Tony's hair, but Gibbs would deny it. Jethro? He ran his fingers through Tony's hair. "The suite? My gut didn't view Moretti as a threat. If I'd had doubts about the motives, we'd have made our own arrangements. With everything that's happened you deserve a little pampering."
"Things have been moving really fast, Tony. We're good together. I want this," Jethro intertwined their fingers. "I want our marriage to work. I probably won't say it as often as I should but this is real. When Vance and Mabus dropped their little bomb, I didn't take it well I admit. I also didn't fight it that hard. There were a few other favors I could have called in but…" Jethro sighed. "Seeing Sacks drag you out in handcuffs gutted me. I couldn't imagine you not being on my team every day. Did a lot of thinking that night and realized, it wasn't just wanting you on my team. I couldn't bear the thought of not having you in my life. All those nights, you, me, pizza, beer and a game. I wanted those every day and I wanted you beside me every night. Once I sorted my thoughts out, I didn't even think about other options. I chose to marry you."
"Jethro…"
"Don't say it." Jethro hugged Tony tighter. "I don't think either of us is ready to use the "L" word but despite that, I know we will. When I finally do, I want you to listen to me because I probably won't say it as often as I should. I'm not that touchy-feely kind of man..."
"You're not?" Tony said in mock-surprise.
"Smartass." Jethro gave him a soft head slap. "Guess what I'm saying is, I'm in this for the long haul."
"Me, too. I'm not ready to say the "L" word either, but even with everything spinning out of control; I knew it would work out if I just held on to you. You've been my anchor for years. I knew everything would be okay as long as we were together." Tony paused. "I never really pictured myself married. I mean when I proposed years ago, it was kind of what was expected. Go to work, find a girl, get married, blah, blah, blah." Tony toyed with Jethro's wedding ring. "This does feel right. I know I've got a lot of emotional baggage and it probably won't be easy, but I'm in this for the long haul, too."
Jethro chuckled, "We are such girls." He grunted as Tony poked him in the ribs. Resettling his husband, Jethro pulled up the throw. By mutual consent, the two men laid there, content in each other's company as the night drifted by. There would be time tomorrow to deal with Tony's parentage and other issues, tonight was theirs.