Gibbs finished washing the dishes, leaving them in the rack to dry. He'd put them away in the morning. Tony had seen Abby to the door while Gibbs took care of cleaning up. He could hear their voices but had no idea what was being said. He wasn't worried. Things had gone too well at dinner for him to be concerned now.
Wiping down the counter one more time, Gibbs decided the kitchen was restored to order enough to suit him. He split what was left of the second bottle of wine they'd opened between his glass and Tony's before heading into the living room. He knew that was where Tony would have headed after seeing Abby to her car and locking up.
He offered Tony his glass, taking his usual seat at the corner of the couch. Tony smiled, accepting his glass with one hand before resting his back against Gibbs' chest, head on Gibbs' shoulder. It was their usual position and Gibbs loved the feeling of warmth, trust and closeness it engendered.
"You could have told me how important these glasses are," Gibbs said quietly, rubbing his cheek against Tony's hair.
"Didn't really think about it." Tony patted the hand Gibbs had placed on his chest. "Sully always used them for anything she considered a special occasion. I've tried to do the same since she passed them on to me." He tilted his head to look up at Gibbs. "Thought tonight qualified."
"Yeah." Gibbs smiled. "It did." Openly and deliberately sharing their relationship with someone else was definitely special.
"It went well," Gibbs observed, sipping his wine. Abby's reaction hadn't been exactly what he'd expected, but it wasn't far from it either. She was naturally supportive of her friends and loved ones. And she wasn't judgmental, living to close to the fringe to really feel the need to judge anyone by the usual standards.
"Now that is an understatement." Tony chuckled.
Gibbs stifled a snicker. Yeah, it was, he admitted to himself. But he wasn't sure how else to describe it.
"You got any thoughts on how to tell Ducky?" Tony asked.
Gibbs shook his head. "Not entirely sure he doesn't already know."
"You think so?" Tony shifted, turning so he could look more fully at Gibbs.
Gibbs lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. "He's known me for years. Knows I'm not exclusively into women."
Tony nodded slowly. "Kind of like Abby knew about me."
"Well, he never saw me clubbing."
Tony laughed. "Hell, I can't even imagine you at some of the places I've been to with Abby."
Gibbs bit back his instinctive jealous reaction in favor of satisfying his curiosity. Striving for casual, he asked, "What sort of places did you go to with her?"
"Mostly places with loud music. Dance clubs, mosh pits and leather bars." Tony shrugged. "Tried a fetish club once or twice but it wasn't really my scene."
"You miss it?"
"It?"
"Going out to clubs?" As far as Gibbs knew Tony hadn't been out like that since they got together.
"No." Tony leaned back into him with a contented sigh, settling in again. "Wouldn't mind taking you to my favorite blues bar, but the others, no I don't miss them."
"Blues bar?" Gibbs was intrigued. He liked blues and jazz. Didn't care for it all the time, but they were both definitely styles of music he could relate to.
"Yeah." Tony waved a hand. "It's got great atmosphere. Kind of place you'd expect to see Sam at the piano, and Rick Blaine tending bar."
Gibbs smiled recognizing the reference to Casablanca. "Sounds like an okay place."
"We'll have to go some time so you can see for yourself." Tony sipped his wine. "Could take Ducky. Bet he'd feel right at home there too."
"Good idea."
Tony looked up at him. "I do have them now and again."
"Yes, you do," Gibbs admitted easily. He tightened his hold on Tony hugging the younger man closer to him. He depended on Tony's good ideas, relied on him to act as his second, and trusted him to watch his back.
He felt as well as heard Tony take a deep breath. Gibbs waited wondering just what it was his lover was bracing himself for. Tony cleared his throat.
"You...ah...you said that...you and the director were together...for a case."
The statement was really more of a question. Tony's tone and hesitation made it clear he wasn't sure if he was crossing some unseen boundary. Gibbs made a conscious decision to share a piece of his past. If he wanted Tony to come clean about his at some point, he had to be willing to do the same. He loved Tony; he owed it to him to show him how much, and letting him know that it was okay to ask him anything was definitely a part of that.
"We were working in Paris." Gibbs laid his cheek against Tony's hair. He patted Tony's chest, not sure if he was reassuring the younger man or himself.
"They were expecting a couple." He didn't go into who 'they' were. That part was still classified. "So we had to play the part."
"Kind of like me and Ziva on this last case?" Tony asked softly.
"Kind of." Gibbs sipped his wine. "Only this case went on for nearly a year. And we didn't have the option of just pretending."
"Back up team for us wasn't as close to us as we were to you and Ziva." Gibbs sighed. "We didn't have the electronics equipment or twenty four hour support. The ops had been deliberately kept small so it had a better chance of sliding in under the radar and succeeding."
Gibbs shook his head. It was a fly by the seat of your pants sort of job. The kind he wouldn't even consider now. But back then...Gibbs grimaced thinking about it. He'd taken the job because Diane had already handed him divorce papers and working overseas on a high risk assignment was preferable to listening to her rant at him or try and take another swing at him. And reconciliation with her was out of the question after he found out how many others she'd been with while married to him.
"We had to make sure everything was exactly as it appeared to be." And that meant having sex with Sheppard. It wasn't a hardship at the time. She was young and beautiful and just as willing as he was to do what it took to get the job done. But in hindsight it was certainly something Gibbs regretted. Everything between him and Sheppard had changed after that, and not all for the better.
"Probably should have handled it differently, but without better information or backup all the time to cover--"
"Best bet is always to play it straight...all or nothing...in a situation like that," Tony cut in with quiet conviction, the voice of experience. "Even when they were there, I'm betting your backup wasn't as good as you are either."
"Not all that good. Came close to losing you this time." Gibbs argued, his throat suddenly tight, unsure Tony's faith in his ability to provide competent backup wasn't misplaced. The memory of losing contact and not knowing where Tony was rose up to steal his breath.
"Close doesn't count." Tony captured Gibbs' hand and entwined their fingers.
It does with hand-grenades, Gibbs thought inanely, remembering a comment made by his drill instructor at Paris Island. Not really seeing the point in arguing about it, Gibbs kept his mouth shut. Short of asking Tony to give up the job he loved and wrapping him in cotton batting there was no way he could be sure of the younger man's safety.
He couldn't ask Tony to quit. Gibbs needed him there as much as Tony needed to be there. He just had to trust that the younger man could and would take care of himself, hold his own in any situation. He wasn't sure he even still believed in God, but Gibbs sent silent prayers heavenward every morning asking for Tony's continued safety. And he sent one every night in gratitude that Tony was still in one piece.
"Does she know you only slept with her for the case?" Tony asked, drawing Gibbs attention back to their conversation.
"I don't know." Gibbs bit his lower lip. "Thought she did, but lately, I'm not so sure."
Tony nodded, his hair tickling the sensitive skin of Gibbs' face. "Kind of got the impression she was looking for more from you than just a supervisor subordinate relationship."
"Yeah." Gibbs scowled. Damn. He had hoped he'd misunderstood. It wasn't the first time he'd read the signals wrong. "Wish I knew what the hell to do about it," Gibbs muttered more to himself than Tony.
"Could always cite rule twelve."
Gibbs snickered, hugging Tony to him. "Would make me a hypocrite."
"Only if she finds out," Tony pointed out reasonably, tilting his head to give him a slanted look of amusement. "And keeping Sheppard or anyone else from finding out was kind of the whole point of telling Abby, remember?"
"True." With Abby and McGee covering their six, and eventually Ducky...they had damn good backup.
"Might have to keep an eye on Ziva too."
Gibbs blinked. "Ziva?"
"I know I wasn't firing on all cylinders in the hotel room, but I'm pretty sure we said or did something that made her look twice."
It was more likely Gibbs had done or said something, not Tony. Tony hadn't been up to much of anything at that point. Damn, Gibbs cursed silently. Some of his anger at himself must have communicated itself to Tony.
The younger man pulled away so he could look more directly at Gibbs. He brought joined hands up and kissed Gibbs' knuckles. "S'okay, Boss, think McGee covered pretty well."
"It's not okay." Gibbs almost growled. He'd made a promise to Tony that no one at the office would know if he didn't want them to, and god damn it he'd already failed twice. Once with McGee, and now possibly with Ziva.
At least with Ziva he thought he had something he could use to keep her in line. All it would take was a phone call, but blackmail had never been his style. And he hadn't covered for her killing Ari just so he'd have something to use against her?at least not at first. The thought only appeared later on when he found out she'd been assigned to his team. It was unlikely he'd go against his own honor and integrity to use the information against her. She probably knew that. But if she posed a genuine threat, unlikely didn't equal impossible. He'd sacrifice a lot more than his honor for Tony if that's what it took.
"If I knew for sure where her loyalties lay," Gibbs ground out in frustration.
Tony shrugged. "Every game's got a wild card. Sometimes more than one. Ziva and Sheppard may well be ours."
"This is not some game, DiNozzo." Gibbs glared at him.
"Sure it is," Tony countered. "It's one with real high stakes, and no do overs. A winner takes all sort of thing."
Gibbs had to admit Tony had a point. He'd known going in just what sort of risks were involved. He didn't have any regrets. Finding ways to mitigate those risks, to cover their asses was just part of the deal.
"Suggestions?" Gibbs unconsciously asked it the same way he did when he wanted input on a case, seeking theories and ideas for consideration.
"We continue as we have." Tony shrugged one shoulder. "We add Ducky into the mix just to be on the safe side. Give us one more ally. And we really need to work on a contingency plan for what to do if someone like Ziva or Sheppard figure out we're a couple."
Gibbs tried not to get sidetracked by the sudden flash of delight at Tony's reference to them as a 'couple'. Not him and me, but we, Gibbs thought with an internal smile. He fought off the emotion and focused on the issue at hand.
"Contingency plan?"
"Yeah. Was probably something we should have had awhile ago." Tony smiled ruefully. "Like before McGee saw us kissing."
"I've got enough time in," Gibbs offered tentatively. He'd made the offer before when McGee had found out about them and Tony had flatly refused to let him quit. "I could retire without much fuss."
"Thinking if you leave NCIS, I couldn't stay." Tony sighed softly, shaking his head. "Not sure I'd want to work for anyone else."
"You could head your own team." Tony had more than enough time in. He was smart, capable and could easily take Gibbs place if it came to that. Hell, he had already done it once or twice.
"I don't want my own team." Tony rolled his eyes. "I don't mind taking over in a pinch, but I've never really wanted to be the guy in charge full time."
Tony shook his head. "And I'm not sure I could trust someone else to watch out for me like you do." He grinned, bright green eyes meeting blue. "You spoiled me for anyone else."
Gibbs couldn't help feeling just a bit smug, knowing it wasn't just the job Tony was talking about. "Spoiled?"
"Rotten to the core." Tony's grin widened, unabashed. He shrugged one shoulder, grin fading a bit. "Thinking the only solution is for us to both quit."
"What would you do?" Gibbs asked. Tony had too much life and energy to sit around doing nothing, and he was nowhere near close enough to draw retirement.
"Not a clue." Tony didn't sound concerned. "But I was looking for a job when I found this one, so I'm thinking it'll work out okay."
Gibbs chuckled. He wished he knew how to be that adaptable. But then the Corps had been his life for so long, and then NCIS, he'd never need to even think about what else he'd be doing.
"We could travel." Tony's eyes lit up. "Maybe go see all those places people are always meaning to go."
"You mean treat it like a vacation?"
"Sure." Tony looked at him. "Why not? We could figure out everything else along the way."
Why not, indeed, Gibbs thought as he considered the suggestion. He hadn't had a vacation, a real vacation in years. And if it came down to where neither of them were working there was no good reason not to. He nodded. "Okay."
"Just okay?"
"You want to argue about it?" Gibbs arched an eyebrow.
"No." Tony laughed and kissed him. "I don't want to argue about it."
"So we have a plan."
"A damn good plan," Tony agreed with another quick kiss.
It wasn't much of a plan in Gibbs opinion, at least not yet, but it definitely was a start to covering all the bases. They could work on refining it later. He smiled. "You think we can maybe move on to something better then?"
Tony returned his smile with a sweet one of his own. "You got something in mind?"
Gibbs gave Tony a heated once over. His voice deepened, dropping to a rough, needy whisper when he spoke, "You bet your sweet ass, I do, Honey Buns."
Tony shivered, eyes darkening. Gibbs knew full well what that tone of voice did to the younger man. He ran his fingers through Tony's hair. "You want to come play with me?"
Tony rolled easily to his feat, placing his empty wine glass on the coffee table and then doing the same with Gibbs'. He offered his hand to the former Marine. He winked at Gibbs, waggling his eyebrows. "C'mon, sailor, let's see what you got."
Gibbs took Tony's hand, letting him pull him up. Once on his feet he drew Tony into him, kissing him deeply. He only pulled back when the need for air made him. He rested his forehead against Tony's, making eye contact and holding it.
"Showing you what I got is going to take awhile."
Tony's eyes sparkled with good humor and affection. "Rest of my life?"
Gibbs loved the hopeful, happy tenor of that question. He cupped Tony's ass with his hands, squeezing once as he pulled the other man's hips closer to his own. "A lifetime sounds just about right."
"Good." Tony smiled, and playfully shoved him toward the bedroom. "Let's go make some noise."
Gibbs led the way to the bedroom, one hand wrapped around Tony's wrist to make sure he didn't lag too far behind. "Good thing I got a lock for the door."
"Oh yeah." Tony chuckled, patting his ass with his free hand. "Don't want any interruptions. Especially not when I make you scream."
"Scream?" Gibbs looked over his shoulder. "You've never made me scream."
Tony's eyes glowed with merriment and promise. It was a wicked combination. "All that means is I just haven't done it?yet."
Gibbs shivered, already anticipating what that promise might entail. Tony was a very, very talented lover. "And if you can't?" He couldn't resist firing back a challenge.
"Well then," Tony leaned in, nibbling his earlobe, "I guess I'll just have to keep trying. Got a lifetime for me to work it out, right?"
Gibbs swallowed hard when Tony's tongue started doing whatever the hell he did to that spot below his ear that always made him weak in the knees. He really didn't think it would take Tony long to figure out how to make him scream now that he'd put his mind to it. No, not long at all.
But making him work for it was going to be a hell of a lot of fun. And turning the tables would be too. Yeah, a lifetime sounded just about right.
The end
Author's Chapter Notes:
Gibbs and Tony after Abby leaves
Chapter End Notes:
This is the first chapter of a longer story.