What was supposed to be a quick ficlet inspired by a piece of art by HinkyHippo turned into 7500 words of smutty feels. I won't lie and say it's the best thing I've ever written but this fic just wanted to be written so badly, I had to do it.

Happy 2016!

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of the characters contained in this piece of fiction. I seek to make no gains, monetary or otherwise from posting this work.

Tony let the heavy, imprinted cardstock slip through his fingers into Gibbs' waiting ones, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets to impede the immediate instinct to grab it back.

"What's this?" Gibbs flipped the card around, read the gold embossed lettering, and looked up at Tony quizzically across the width of his desk.

"Extra ticket to the New Year's Eve fundraiser at the Adam's House tonight." He shrugged, hoping the gesture seemed as nonchalant as he intended it to appear. "Senior actually gave them to me before he headed out of town chasing his latest business venture yesterday. Said he didn't realize he'd be gone when he bought them, but I think he's secretly hoping I'll find someone to spend the evening with. Parents…" he said sheepishly, by way of lame explanation.

Tony cleared his throat. "Listen, I know you've probably got a wild and crazy evening of boat building planned, but I thought maybe…I thought maybe this once you'd wanna ring in the New Year with some style. You know, free hooch, prime rib…" Me. Tony desperately wanted that last unspoken part to be the part that mattered, but he was too chicken shit to try. Not here anyway. Not yet.

Gibbs' eyebrows drew together and Tony watched as he seemed to hold back his immediate response, instead studying Tony quietly for what felt like an extraordinarily excruciating interval. "Wouldn't rather take a date, DiNozzo?" he asked carefully.

Tony willed his body to stay still, to not shift under the subtle interrogation that was now taking place. "Come on, Gibbs. You should know you don't ask someone on a New Year's Eve date on New Year's Eve. Besides, until yesterday I thought we'd still be working this case. Didn't count on our perp being quite so careless. Or so monumentally stupid. " He smiled winningly, hoping for just a little bit of distraction.

"So you thought of me?" There was a heaviness about the question that said the answer was more important than the surface of it suggested.

Shoulders back, Tony refused to flinch or flee from that penetrating gaze. "Thought maybe you'd want a change. Thought …New Year's Eve…maybe it's time, Boss."

"For a change." Gibbs said slowly.

"For a change," Tony affirmed, perhaps a little more breathily than he'd intended. The sounds of the bullpen, already mostly deserted in anticipation of the holiday tomorrow, faded away, and for a moment he and Gibbs were the only people in the room. He tried to pretend that what happened next, what was already happening, wasn't one of the most important crossroads of his life.

Gibbs' thumb stroked the invitation in silent contemplation. "Okay." Tony's face brightened visibly. "I'll think about it."

Tony nodded mutely, not trusting his voice. Gibbs had given him everything and nothing in the space of one sentence

Bastard.

"Just gonna check in with Abby, get what I need to finish up these reports." He backed away, glad that McGee and Ziva were wrapping up interviews on their recently completed case and not there to witness this moment of ultimate humiliation. He'd never have had the courage with an audience. "Starts at 1900 if you want to come. I'll be there either way, but it will be a lot better night if you decide to show, Gibbs," Tony said, just before he turned and walked directly to the stairs, unwilling to linger in his mortification for the few seconds it would take for the elevator to reach him.

"Did you ask him?" Abby pounced on him the moment he walked into the lab.

Tony nodded, sinking onto a stool next to a row of computers and test tubes. "I gave him the ticket. Asked him to come." He hung his head and then looked up at her woefully. "Oh my God, Abbs. I gave him the ticket." He groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face and through his hair.

"Well, don't leave me hanging here! What did he say when you gave it to him?" She pressed her hands together and bounced on the balls of her feet, appearing almost as nervous as he felt.

"He said he'd think about it. Fuck, what the hell was I thinking?" He looked down and considered how the cold steel of the countertop would feel hitting his forehead, because right now banging his head on something hard sounded like a pretty damn good idea.

Abby grabbed his shoulders, fingertips digging hard into tight muscle. "You were thinking that you're utterly, hopelessly, crazy in love with your boss, Anthony DiNozzo. You were thinking that maybe, just maybe, there's a chance he might finally be willing to stop being a stubborn old bastard and admit that he feels the same. Besides, what's the worst that can happen?"

"He doesn't show up and I get to spend the entire night drinking weak martinis and fighting off the pushy advances of cougars on the prowl by telling them my non-existent date is in the men's room?" Tony ventured.

"So he doesn't show up. His loss. It's not like you guys haven't gone on this way for years. At least you'll know you tried." Her tone and eyes were sympathetic. "But what if he does show up, Tony?" Abby smiled softly, making sure he met her eyes, and unable to contain the little edge of excitement in her voice.

"I'm not really sure which one of those possibilities scares me more," Tony admitted. "What if he didn't know what the invitation meant? No one does denial like Jethro Gibbs."

"He knows what it means, Tony. Trust me." Abby's eyes sparkled with barely contained glee and a knowing glint. "Gibbs may be in denial sometimes, but he's not completely clueless."

Tony knew she was right. Gibbs knew exactly what that invite meant, he'd seen it in his eyes himself. The deed was done, the wheels were in motion, and there was nothing left to do to but wait and see how the scene played out.

"Guess I'd better get what I pretended I came down here for and go back to work if I wanna get out of the office with enough time to drink myself into oblivion before midnight." He unfolded himself from the stool and clutched the folder of forensic data Abby pressed to his chest.

"I expect details tomorrow. Lots of details." Abby held up a finger in warning before throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to the light stubble on Tony's jaw. "And if he doesn't show, give me a call. I'll happily come over and make out with you at midnight." She shoved him away playfully with a wink.

"Thanks, Abbs. Happy New Year." Tony leaned in and kissed her cheek affectionately before heading back to face the music and the weight of Jethro's eyes until he could get the hell out work for the day.

8:30 PM

Jethro wiped the sweat from his brow and paused to take a quick pull from his beer. The wood was cold beneath his fingers tonight, not speaking to him, not soothing him as it usually did. As he tilted his head back down, the golden glint from Tony's invitation caught his eye where it was tucked under the edge of a 2x4. There was something accusatory in the way it kept drawing his attention to its pristine whiteness.

He glanced at the clock and then back to the ticket, tossed the chisel he was gripping far too tightly halfway across the room with a curse, and began pacing. His eyes lit randomly on the empty stool beside his workbench, the one which had been occupied by Tony with increasing frequency over the last year. Next, his gaze lifted to the row of antique hammers the younger man had left casually next to his boat one night, saying he'd stumbled on them at an auction for movie memorabilia and gotten them dirt cheap. Jethro hadn't believed either half of the story but he'd allowed Tony the lie anyway just because he enjoyed the smile that came with it.

Jethro's quiet and solitary life now held so many traces of Tony that he didn't know how to separate himself from them any longer. Even the silence on the stairs tonight, the quiet which should have been filled with Tony's footfalls, his laughter, was substantive, inhabited instead with the abundant evidence of the younger man's absence.

"God damn it. " Jethro slammed his beer down a little too hard, sending foam spilling over the rim and onto his fingers, dripping down onto the gilded piece of paper below his fist. "Shit." He ripped the invitation from beneath the board and tried to salvage it, shaking the golden droplets onto the sawdust-covered floor.

The ticket wasn't ruined but it was certainly far from perfect any longer. Jethro blotted it gently with a clean towel and realized his hands were shaking.

Thought maybe you'd want a change…Thought maybe it was time, Boss.

The words had been dancing around his head for hours, titillating, tempting, terrifying. He didn't do change well to begin with. Jethro knew this about himself. Change like this? The kind of change he knew Tony's invitation held? It was nearly unfathomable within the confines of his world, but still…

Jethro picked up his beer and drained it, let the partially ruined ticket fall to the floor, and headed for the stairs.

10:30 PM

Tony set his drink heavily on the bar and scanned the crowd for the thousandth time. After three hours he'd now catalogued most of the faces in the room, decided who the unpleasant drunks were likely to be later on, and which of the women were single and on the hunt for someone to make them feel a little less lonely at the start of the new year, even if it was just for a few hours.

Movement near the door caught his eye and his heart suddenly swelled, nearly hammering out of his chest as a familiar silver head pivoted smoothly, looking calmly for one recognizable face among the masses. Tony stayed still, waited for the moment that blue eyes found his across the room and locked on.

The room moved around where Jethro stood, like a rock in a flowing stream, arms at his sides, shoulders back, head turned. For the space of several heartbeats the two men were the soul motionless objects in an ocean of activity.

And then Gibbs started toward him.

Tony stayed where he was, still watching in disbelief as the man approached, smiling at the heads that swiveled to watch his passing. There was no doubt that Jethro Gibbs knew how to cut a path through a crowd without even trying, and a little shiver chased up Tony's spine at the realization that Gibbs' eyes didn't stray from his even once.

"Glad you made it." Tony fisted his hands to keep them from reaching out. Instead he signaled the bartender for a refill and an extra.

"Didn't tell me I should wear a monkey suit." Gibbs fingered the bow tie at Tony's throat.

"It wasn't…you look fine, Gibbs. You look good." Tony stammered out, trying to hold still as Jethro's fingers lightly grazed the skin of his throat and then ghosted over the finely cut lapel of his dark tuxedo jacket. And he wasn't lying. Gibbs might not be in a tux, but his light grey suit set off his eyes and Tony recognized the white button down beneath it as an Armani he had anonymously slipped under the other man's Christmas tree a few years back. "Wasn't sure you were going to show. Getting late."

The bartender set their drinks next to them and Tony reached into his wallet and threw down a few bills. There were free drinks but he was drinking top shelf tonight.

"Wasn't sure I was gonna show either." Jethro grabbed his drink without looking and brought it to his lips, eyes still watching Tony over the rim.

"What made you come?" Tony was a few drinks ahead and the warmth of the Bourbon had loosened his inhibitions and his tongue just a little. Gibbs was here and that meant something. Now it was time to find out what.

Jethro smiled and it was the rare kind of smile that somehow managed to lighten his entire face and make him look ten years younger all at the same time. The warmth of that smile shone in his eyes as he glanced down and then back up at Tony. "You said there was free booze and prime rib." He raised an eyebrow.

Tony laughed and took his cues from Gibbs, sipping at his own drink before making a show of paying attention to where he set it on the bar, twisting the heavy crystal between his fingers. "Why did you really come?" He got the question out first before turning back to Gibbs.

"I came because you asked, Tony." Jethro didn't hesitate in his answer. "I came because I think…because I know you're right."

"About a change," Tony clarified.

"About a change," Gibbs agreed, eyes heavy, searching.

The room spun a little bit as the words sank in and Tony realized that the press of people at the bar had forced them closer together, so close that he could feel the heat of Gibbs' thigh where it nearly touched his own. His breathing quickened and his dick pulsed at the honeyed thickness in Jethro's voice.

Tony cleared his throat. "Maybe we should get some of that prime rib before they run out." His eyes fled to his drink again, but Gibbs' fingers were suddenly closing around his own, calloused thumb caressing the thin skin at the inside of his wrist.

"Not hungry, Tony." Jethro stepped in just a little.

"You know, there's a silent auction table. Thought about putting a bid in on this sailboat that's…" He swallowed, trying to unstick his heart from his throat, unable to finish.

"Got a boat." His grip on Tony's hand loosened but did not release.

All around the bar, couples were huddled together, enjoying the romance of the evening. Gibbs' nearness to him didn't seem out of place and, Jesus, it felt good, too good. Tony's body responded even to his casual touches and something about doing this in public felt a little dangerous, made him even edgier, more sensitive. Before he had a chance to fully process what was happening, Jethro's mouth was on his, soft and more delicately tentative that Tony would have thought possible from a man with so many jagged edges. The kiss was slow and all too brief, but Tony's fingers dropped down to clutch at the edges of Gibbs' suitcoat and brush needily at the warmth of his skin through the soft fabric of his shirt.

"Usually tradition to wait until midnight for the kissing, Gibbs," Tony managed a half-coherent thought through his buzzing head as he spoke his words against Jethro's lips. He didn't relinquish his hold on the cloth between his fingers. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Tired of waiting. Don't wanna do it anymore." Jethro's fingers came up to play at the collar of Tony's shirt, to slip over the fine stubble covering his jaw.

It was Tony who leaned in this time, swiveling his body and pressing Gibbs back against the bar, mouth parting against deliciously full lips. The taste of Bourbon was fresh on Jethro's tongue as it dipped hesitantly into his mouth, and Tony swallowed the small, pleased grunt that accompanied his gentle explorations. When they finally broke apart they were both breathing hard, creating space between them in a belated attempt at restraint.

"Excuse me gentleman." The bartender cleared his throat politely to get their attention. "Feel free to stay as long as you like, but in case you're interested, the hotel does have some rooms left available for the evening." His eyes shone with amusement.

Tony felt heat rise to his cheeks. Jethro's face gave nothing away and it was impossible to tell whether the redness on his cheeks was due to embarrassment, arousal, or a mixture of both. "Already got one, thanks." He reached in his pocket and flashed the keycard to the room he'd checked into earlier. Tony'd told himself that booking the room had been the responsible thing to do-no drinking and driving and all that-but he had to admit he'd had just the tiniest hope that he wouldn't be returning to it alone.

Gibbs followed the keycard as it disappeared back into Tony's pocket, seemed to consider something for a moment and then reached for his drink and tossed it back before setting the empty glass back on the bar.

The corner of Tony's mouth quirked in a smile. It was good to know that Jethro was as rattled by the kiss as he was despite his calm exterior. "You want another drink?"

"No," Jethro said simply, crowding into Tony's space again, pushing him back this time. He made no further move but Tony could feel his heartbeat where their bodies met.

"What do you want, Gibbs?" Tony asked, his voice steady if slightly breathless.

"Want you to call me Jethro, for starters. We're definitely not at work tonight." Jethro gestured to the bartender who made his way over fairly quickly. Tony was a generous tipper and it paid to keep someone like him happy especially on a night where most patrons thought free booze meant free service as well.

"Bottle of champagne. To go," Jethro said steadily. He reached into his back pocket and extracted his wallet, passing a large bill across the bar. One hand returned the wallet while the other reached into the front of Tony's jacket and extracted the small plastic keycard. He held it up in between them with his index and middle fingers. "Think you can handle that?" The heat and weight of his body pressed against Tony, holding him in place.

"Try me, Jethro." Tony turned and grabbed the chilled bottle of champagne that had been placed on the bar behind him, snatched the keycard from between Gibbs' fingers, and pressed his hips forward, letting the other man feel the evidence of his arousal before leveraging himself away from the bar.

They didn't say a word as they slipped through the throngs of people in the ballroom and lobby. Luckily, given the hour, most of the hotel's patrons were occupied, and the elevators were virtually abandoned. As soon as the shining steel doors slid open, they moved inside, Jethro crowding Tony back against the far wall as soon as he'd pushed the button to take them up to their floor.

"You really don't do anything half way, do you, Jethro?" Tony purred his name as Jethro's eager mouth trailed kisses across his jaw and around the collar of his shirt.

"Nope." He gathered Tony's scent in a deep lungful of air, the sharp spice of expensive cologne, trace of herbal shampoo, hint of salt and musk from his skin. He'd wanted to get this close for so long, he wasn't about to stop for something as asinine as second thoughts or good sense.

Tony's nimble fingers played at the buttons on Gibbs' shirt, had the top three open with minimal effort before the elevator dinged to signal their arrival at the appointed floor. When they made it to the room, Tony hesitated, fumbling awkwardly with the keycard. "Jethro?"

"Hmm?" Jethro nuzzled busily into the back of Tony's neck, nipping gently at his earlobes.

"You're not going to suddenly come to your senses once we get into the room and tell me to stop when we're in the middle of doing…well, what I'm pretty damn sure we're gonna be doing, are you?" He turned to face Gibbs, back pressed up against the door.

Jethro pulled back and studied Tony with hungry eyes. He could see the hope and fear written plainly beneath the desire on the younger man's face. "No Tony, I'm not going to tell you to stop," he took Tony's hand and placed it between his thighs, letting him feel just how hard his cock was under the loose cloth, "not unless you want me to."

Tony licked his lips at the feel of Jethro's stiff erection beneath his fingertips and he curled them around to squeeze gently, releasing a bit when Gibbs dropped his head into the crook of his shoulder with a needy little sign. "Don't wanna stop, Jethro."

"Then you better open that damn door before this happens right here in the hallway." His voice was tight, arousal ratcheting higher beneath Tony's intimate touch. To his relief and disappointment, the other man released him and a few moments later they were safely inside the opulently furnished room.

Tony set the key and the bottle of champagne on the table beside the plush looking bed before turning to face Jethro somewhat awkwardly.

"Nice place." Jethro didn't bother looking around too much. He felt like he'd finally broken free of his self-tied restraints and the only things that interested him in the room right now were the taste of Tony's skin and the feeling of the other man's body wrapped hot and tight around him. He quickly toed off his shoes and socks and set them near the door, each small movement controlled and purposeful.

"Senior." Tony nodded his head. "He always did have the best taste in hotels. Might have to thank him after this."

"Pretty sure we can leave him out of tonight." Jethro moved in close, one hand going to Tony's bowtie and tugging it gently undone while the other reached behind him for the champagne.

"Didn't get any champagne glasses. Can get a couple tumblers from the bathroom if you want." Tony watched as Jethro deftly popped the top on the bottle neatly into his palm. His fingers were itchy for the warmth of Jethro's skin and he rubbed his palms against his thighs.

"Don't need glasses." Gibbs waited for the initial burst of effervescence to die down and then brought the bottle to his lips, taking a small swallow. He immediately reached a hand behind Tony's neck and pulled his mouth close, pressing their lips together and feeding him the bubbly off his tongue. The chilled liquid mixed with the heat of Tony's mouth and Jethro chased the softness of his tongue, teased the fullness of his lips with his teeth. It took only a few moments to learn how Tony liked to be kissed. The other man was a quick study, adaptable, malleable, but as Jethro drew Tony's lower lip between his own and pulled, the hard roll of hips against his cock said he'd found his mark.

For Tony, there was a point in a kiss like this one where exploration met purpose, met need. He wanted hours, weeks, maybe years, to spend learning Jethro's every taste, mapping his lips, the curling velvet of his tongue, but right now his body was surging forward with unrepentant intent. His hands pushed impatiently at Jethro's coat even as he thrilled at the press of the other man's thumb tracing rough circles against his jaw, and felt a little surge of triumph as the coat fell to the floor and his fingers tugged the fabric of Jethro's button-down, finally slipping against the warm, naked flesh of his back.

With enormous restraint and an eye on the ultimate goal, Jethro pulled away a little, created enough space between them for him to efficiently divest Tony of his tuxedo jacket and lay it carefully over a chair. Tony's breath came short and sharp in the silence as Jethro let his fingers drop to the closure of his pants. The tip of one flat nail snuck into the tiny space between the buttons of his shirt, scraped against warm skin as he pulled the hook and eye apart, slid the zipper down tooth by agonizing tooth. Tony's cock, covered by the thin cotton of expensive boxers, pressed into the heat Jethro's waiting palm.

"DiNozzo's rule number 11," Tony mouthed against the skin of Jethro's throat. "Never go commando in a wool suit." He nipped at Gibbs' pulse, marking the flesh lightly with his teeth. Tony gasped as long fingers reached through the opening in his boxers and slid over the head of his cock. His entire body shuddered at the heat of that touch.

Jethro's fingers came away wet as he slowly withdrew his hand and brought his fingertips to his lips, opening his mouth to take them inside and suck them clean while Tony watched from lust darkened eyes. The intimate taste covered his tongue, set his belly on fire, and made his dick that much harder. He leaned in to feed the flavor to Tony. "Taste so good," Jethro muttered hotly against the younger man's mouth. "Wanna taste all of you tonight."

"Yes. Please-yes, Jethro." Tony's hips pressed forward as the heat of Gibbs' hand covered him again. He was so hard he'd be lucky to hold it back until he could get the other man inside of him, and fuck, he wanted Jethro inside of him. Needed it like breathing right now. "Too many clothes," he grumbled, nipping at Jethro's lips petulantly as his fingers tangled in the other man's shirt tails.

It only took a few more fumbling moments to shed the rest of their clothes and Jethro's senses were immediately at war over Tony's body. His eyes got first dibs, tracing the long lines of him, curve of his throat, cut of his hips, dark line of hair that ran from his navel to his cock. His gaze lingered on Tony's cock, didn't miss the half smile that bloomed on the younger man's face at his perusal, at the involuntary wetting of his lips as he took in the thick length and broad, glistening head.

Tony shivered beneath the naked lust in Jethro's eyes, reached out a hand to rake the backs of his knuckles across Gibbs' jaw. "All yours. Only yours if you want it, Jethro."

Jethro moved in, pressed their bodies together hard, one hand on Tony's ass, the other twisting in the hair at his nape. "All mine," he growled into Tony's open mouth. "Always mine." His tongue delved inside, possessing this time, claiming what was being so freely offered to him, what he'd wanted for longer than he was willing to admit to either of them.

The intensity of the moment was interrupted by the buzz of Tony's cell phone from the table behind them. He was entirely prepared to ignore it until Gibbs pulled away and grabbed it, holding it up for him.

"Never be unreachable." Jethro moved back in and began mapping the tendons of Tony's neck with his mouth. "But you'd better make it quick."

Tony looked at the number. "Shit, it's Abby. She's…she's just checking in to make sure I'm okay. She'll just keep calling until I pick up."

"Then answer it." He flicked his tongue against Tony's earlobe and dragged the tender piece of flesh between his teeth.

Sliding a trembling finger across the screen, Tony worked very hard to even out his breathing. "Hey Abbs."

"Tony! So? Spill. Did Gibbs show up?"

Wherever she was, it was loud and she was virtually screaming into the phone. There was no way Gibbs wasn't hearing every word given his current proximity.

"Yup, all good. Listen, I can't really talk right now, Abbs." He bit his lip as Jethro's tongue rimmed his ear.

"He's there right now isn't he? I knew it." She squealed into his ear and Tony held the phone away a little.

"You got it. Abbs, I…" Tony gasped as cold champagne hit his shoulder and ran in bubbling rivulets down his body, followed quickly by the chasing heat of Jethro's mouth.

"You okay? "

"Yeah, just uh…spilled some champagne." His jaw twitched as Jethro's lips closed over his left nipple and a wet, rough tongue rasped against the little patch of erectile tissue.

"Listen, if he's an asshole to you tonight, Tony, you tell him he has to answer to me!"

Jethro's fingers closed around Tony's and he pulled the phone down toward where he'd knelt between the other man's thighs. "He'll be just fine, Abbs, but he's gonna have to call you back. Happy New Year." He pressed the button to end the call and tossed it somewhere across the room. "I changed my mind. Gonna be unreachable for a while." He leaned forward, fingertips digging into Tony's hips as his tongue flicked into the cavern of his belly button.

Head dropping back, fingers curling around the curve of Jethro's shoulders, Tony tried to stop his muscles from twitching as eager lips roamed his belly, breathed warmth over the rivers of moisture that had trickled down his chest.

The scent of Tony's skin, the intoxicating flavor of him that filled his mouth, had Jethro's dick weeping against his thigh. He nosed into the tight, dark curls around Tony's cock, licked into the crease of his thigh with the flat of his tongue as he shifted his weight on already sore knees, and wrapped his fingers around the other man's thick erection.

Tony's head popped up and his hips bucked as Jethro's palm closed around his cock. He found darkened blue eyes looking up at him, desire written raw and blatant across his swollen, parted lips. Fuck, but the man was beautiful on his knees. "Jethro." He couldn't keep the plea and the need from his voice, couldn't stop the sweep of his thumb over the other man's mouth, the hint of pressure from his fingertips against the soft velvet at the back of Gibbs' head.

Fingers hard on Tony's hips, Jethro allowed the hand at his nape to guide him forward. Tony wasn't forcing him, was merely asking in the simplest way he knew how at the moment. Eyes still turned upward, he licked a stripe up the length of Tony's cock with the flat of his tongue, relishing the gasp and sigh from the man above him, the sharp intake of breath and the fingernails furrowing his flesh as he closed his lips around the thick, smooth head.

"Oh my…fuck, Gibbs…Jethro…" A string of broken curses spilled from his lips as Jethro's warm mouth caressed the sensitive flesh of his cock, dragged teeth lightly under the blunt ridge of his head, used his tongue in ways Tony hadn't even dared to fantasize about. The tight heat gathering around his hips pulled at him, made him want to thrust himself between those eager lips. He wouldn't last long like this and his toes curled against the plush carpet, holding tight to anything he could against the heavy heat coursing through his body.

Jethro could feel the tightening in Tony's muscles, could feel the restraint that made him tremble with each pass of his lips down his shaft. The taste of him was intoxicating. His noises, the hard planes of his body beneath Jethro's fingers, stoked the fire of his own desire. One day soon he'd finish him off just like this, let him come hot and hard over his tongue, but tonight he wanted more. Pulling back with a last lap, Jethro waited for Tony to open his eyes before he wiped his mouth across the back of his hand and pushed himself to his feet, ribs brushing ribs as he rose. He didn't hesitate in claiming Tony's mouth again, parting his lips to let him taste himself.

"You got what we need?" Jethro rumbled against his jaw, nipping a little harder than intended when the younger man's fingers reached between them and began to caress his dick.

"Drawer behind me." Tony dipped his free hand into the top of the side table and drew out a small tube and a condom, pressed them both into Jethro's palm. Like the room itself, this little preparation had been a bare hope. Most of him had never believed things would go so far so fast.

"Little cocky, don't you think?" Jethro pivoted and crowded Tony back against the mattress now, leaned in and crawled up the younger man's body as Tony used long legs to push himself toward the center of the bed. His lips took liberties along the way, catching on Tony's hip bone, ghosting over his ribs, latching onto his clavicle and chasing it to the hollow of his throat.

"Someone taught me it's always better to be prepared for every scenario, no matter how unlikely." Tony writhed beneath the heat of Jethro's mouth, whole body flushed with need and hypersensitive. He drew his knees up, made room for the other man between his thighs.

"Good to know you listen." Rising up onto his knees, Jethro moved forward a few inches, top of his thighs nestling up to the backs of Tony's. He hesitated a moment and held the condom up between them. "Anything I need to know that wasn't in the physical you had three months ago?"

Tony swallowed, shook his head. "I'm careful. Always."

Jethro nodded, about to toss the condom to the side when Tony's fingers caught his wrist.

"Anything I need to know, Jethro?" Tony held the other man's eyes steadily, forced himself to think through the fog of lust clouding his judgement.

The question caught him a little off guard but he smiled gently. "No, Tony."

"Okay." Tony slid the condom from between Jethro's fingers and set it beside them. One hand behind his head, he reached out and slid his fingers into the thick hair of Jethro's chest, catching a flat nipple with the edge of his thumbnail, thrilling at the twitch of the other man's jaw, the hitch of his breathing. "Wanna feel you."

Fingers fumbling more than he was proud of, Jethro flipped open the cap on the tube in his hand and squeezed some of the contents onto his fingers. He dipped them hurriedly beneath Tony's balls, rubbed impatient circles, and pressed one long finger past tight muscle. Tony arced into his touch, twisted a hand almost painfully into his chest, forced him deeper and deeper into wet heat. Jethro moved in and out slowly, studying Tony's responses as he varied pressure, speed, twisted and curled where it made the other man gasp and shudder gloriously.

"Fuck, Jethro…so good. Just a little more…need you." Tony licked his lips, gripped the sheets as Gibbs' fingers fucked him open expertly.

Jethro leaned forward, kept his hand busy where it was and added the tug of his teeth to Tony's right nipple, worrying and twisting the flesh of it until the man beneath him was panting with need, lifting his shoulder off the mattress to feed Jethro his skin.

"Please," Tony moaned breathlessly, head lost in the delicious assault Jethro was waging on his body.

Mouth moving to Tony's other nipple, Jethro opened the tube beside him again, slicked his cock quickly, wiping his hand on his thigh. In a single move he withdrew his fingers from Tony's warmth and caught the younger man's knees in his elbows, pressing back as his mouth slid up to mark Tony's throat.

Tony pushed himself up on an elbow, sought the heat of Jethro's mouth as the other man's cock slowly spread him open.

Jethro wanted his entry into Tony's body to be slow, to relish every second of snug warmth embracing his cock. A few short thrusts to work his head inside, however, and Tony was rocking his hips, forcing him deeper, taking charge. "Easy," Jethro growled against his mouth, urging patience.

The connection was almost too much, too intense. Tony loved this achy feeling of fullness, the stretch and the burn, loved it more because it was Gibbs filling him, moving inside him. This sort of intimacy was something he'd allowed few people in his life, was something he was all too eager to give now. "Want all of you...don't hold back," he urged.

Mouth roaming restlessly over Tony's neck and shoulders, Jethro began to move, long fluid strokes that sapped his control and coaxed a shallow grunt of pleasure to end each breath. His world was Tony's body, was the impossibly firm warmth around his cock, the bite of fingernails into his sides, the press of Tony's thighs around his hips, the scent of sex and sweat and something comfortingly familiar. "Good, Tony…so good," Jethro murmured, laving the throbbing heat of his pulse. He began to thrust faster, deeper, sweat-dampened flesh slapping flatly against Tony's with each stroke.

"God…Jethro…fuck me, just…shit, don't stop…more," Tony panted breathlessly, lifting his knees higher to bring Gibbs that much deeper. It was too fast, to close, too everything, but he couldn't stop now, didn't want to. The fervor of Jethro's lovemaking told him there'd be plenty of chances for slow in the future. He buried his nose and fingers in Jethro's hair, taking in his scent with each broken breath, twining soft, silver tendrils around his fingertips.

"Tony…God, Tony…" His thrusts were quick and hard now, rhythm slipping as the pressure in his hips, his belly, pulled at him relentlessly. He could feel Tony's cock, leaking messily between their stomachs, could feel the twitch and bunching flutter of the other man's muscles.

"Close, Jethro…so close." The heat was already chasing up Tony's spine, almost out of control.

"Wanna come inside you…God, I need it..." Jethro dragged his mouth away from Tony's throat with a scrape of teeth, pushed up on one arm, still connected but needing like hell to watch the other man come apart beneath him.

Tony looked up into heavy-lidded blue eyes, nodded, watched Jethro's shoulders heave and shudder with the bare shreds of restraint. The words wrapped around his spine and squeezed while the plea in the other man's voice curled his toes and brought him right up to the edge as the restless friction continued to build between them. His fingernails raked over Jethro's hips and down his thighs, scoring the flesh in tight rows and suddenly there was no more holding it back. "Fuck, Gibbs…need…gotta come now…God now...oh fuck!" Tony stuttered, slipped a hand between their bodies and tugged at his cock, getting off a couple clean strokes before he arched up into Gibbs' broken thrusts, tossing his head atop the covers as his orgasm took him hard, sent cum shooting onto his chest and belly, dripping through his fingers in hot bursts.

The ecstasy that stole over Tony's face stole Jethro's breath and the tight, hot contractions around his cock had him coming with a broken groan, body stiffening and then thrusting fitfully to ride out the penetrating pleasure that coursed through every limb in waves, the high of it dissolving to gentle shudders and heaviness until he finally came down for Tony's lips.

Jethro's kisses were hot and soft, fluttering fleetingly over his mouth, his cheeks, his eyelids, his jaw, as his body gradually relaxed, flooded with profoundly sanguine bliss. The mumbled endearments against his skin made his breath catch and sigh in his throat, his chest ache in a way that he wasn't entirely comfortable with, and he didn't, for one moment, begrudge the unfamiliar weight of the man atop him. Without the comforting anchor of Jethro's body, Tony felt he might float right off the mattress.

Raw and overheated, Gibbs eventually rolled to his side, pulling reluctantly from the divine warmth of Tony's body with a tight grunt. Despite the heat still pooling between and around them, Jethro refused to wholly disengage. He brought his thigh up to rest on Tony's, pressing him to the mattress as he curled to rim the edge of the younger man's ear with the tip of his nose and slip his fingers into the soft, damp hair of Tony's chest.

It could never have been any less than this between them. Jethro'd known it…deep down he'd known it, and now his world was this new and fragile thing, ready to shatter at his next breath if he didn't hang on with everything he had.

Tony wasn't sure how long they lay in silence together but eventually his brain-recently emptied of all rational thought-began to fill and crowd with words and questions. "Gibbs?"

"Jethro."

"Jethro," Tony corrected, hesitating a few breaths before continuing. "Why?" The word was nearly a whisper.

Jethro sighed warm breath against his cheek. "Because it was time, Tony."

"That's it?"

"You want more?"

He thought about this a moment. "Think I do. Think I need it." It was almost an apology.

Propping himself up on an elbow and letting his fingertips idly trace Tony's collar bone, Jethro looked down into curiously uncertain green eyes. "You know, a year and a half ago when you first started making your way to my basement four or five nights a week…"

"I don't think it was that often." Tony tried to remember all of the excuses he'd used those first few months and realized Gibbs was probably right.

"Sometimes six." He leaned down and kissed the edge of the younger man's jaw.

Jethro waited for further argument from Tony before continuing. "In the beginning I missed the silence. Missed being alone with just the sound of sandpaper and…"

"Ghosts?" Tony interrupted again, mentally slapping himself the moment the word was out.

"Sometimes," he admitted. "Took me awhile to realize I actually missed the sound of your yammering when you weren't there." Jethro smiled gently. "Took me until tonight to decide you were right and it was past time to do something about it."

Tony focused on the steel-silver hairs on the back of Jethro's arm, sketched their patterns with one long finger. "Could you say that one part again?" He looked up with a half-grin.

"Which part?" His thumb stroked Tony's kiss-swollen bottom lip.

"The part about me being right?"

Jethro bent and caught the younger man's lips in a slow, thorough kiss. "You were right," he murmured hungrily against Tony's mouth.

"So you missed me?" Tony tried to make it sound teasing but there was more weight to the question than he intended.

"Sometimes. Enough for me to start thinking about why." Jethro rested the back of his head on the palm of one hand for a moment and looked up at the high ceiling. The line of questioning was gradually taking them places he wasn't sure he was ready to go just yet.

"And this?" Tony's fingers trailed lightly over Jethro's hip and just to the side of his cock. "You think about this, Jethro? When I wasn't there?" His touch danced closer and Gibbs' breathing caught and held. "I think you did. Think maybe you thought about it even when I was there." The revelation made butterflies dance in his stomach.

Jethro's finger's suddenly circled Tony's wrist and moved his hand forcibly away from his too-sensitive cock.

"How much, Jethro? Tell me." Tony refused to be wholly rebuked. There was no triumph in it, just a desperate need to know how deep they were really in this now.

"Too much." Even this admission was slightly tight, drawn from a deep well he wasn't ready to tap yet.

"How long?" Tony pressed.

"Too long, Tony. Too long." The words were a sigh of mingled regrets.

Tony let it lie. He knew what he needed to know for now and there would be time for all of the rest.

Jethro moved closer to Tony's side now that his body had cooled and relaxed and the sins which had rested far too heavily on his shoulders had been partially purged. His fingers began to trace long lines from rib to thigh, memorizing each swell of bone and twitch of muscle.

"Aren't we breaking about ten different rules here, Jethro?" Tony asked softly, breath whispering against the pulse in the hollow of Gibbs' throat as they began to slowly explore each other now that the heat of passion had been momentarily dampened.

Jethro's fingers paused. "I don't have rules for what this is, Tony."

His head swam and his heart thrilled to the ache in Jethro's voice, the breathy quality of his name across the other man's lips. "What is this, Jethro?" he asked gently, lifting his gaze to the dizzying depths of beloved blue eyes.

Jethro smiled and there was something almost small and shy about it. "Don't you already know?"

Somewhere is a far corner of the room, Tony's cell phone began to buzz insistently, but the sound didn't register with either man. The world had stopped for this moment. The clock beside the bed showed that a new year had begun, but a change far more important and significant was taking place in the space between time.

"Happy New Year, Jethro."

There would be time later for all of the other words.

"Happy New Year, Tony."

As much time as the world would give them.