~ Straight Through The Heart ~

All My Lonely;
You Blow It All Away.
And When You Need Me,
I Will Keep You Safe.

After All the Dust Has Settled,
We Lift Each Other Off the Ground.
I Carry You A Million Miles.
I'll Never Let You Down.

There's A Lot of Strength in Weakness.
There's A Lot of Truth in Lies.

Like Stone Hearts and Hand Grenades,
You and I Are Not the Same.
Nothing I Would Change.

We're Just Two People…
Destined to Collide.

~Stone Hearts and Hand Grenades, by Leona Lewis

Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.

Tony's P.O.V.

Kate.

He liked Kate.

She was pretty – like, really pretty, with soft brown hair and shining hazel irises that noticed everything. It drove him nuts! Her softly curved chest, toned backside, and killer legs were enough to attract any red-blooded male. Add her humor and sharp wit to the mix, and Tony should have been a goner.

There were a couple of problems with liking Kate, though…

Problem #1) Tony was not straight, but bisexual.

To put it simply, Tony was an equal opportunity lover, with his hands jammed in both cookie jars. He liked MEN. He liked WOMEN. So this shouldn't have been a problem, but, well…

"Where the Hell is that bullet?" Kate had asked, completely exasperated, "It's like it just…disappeared!"

"I'm going to need to get you on your good ol' hands and knees, Kate," Tony had announced without answering her question. He squatted down by the wall to search for clues leading to their evidence, which was, well, M.I.A. "It's time to get dirty!"

"…WHAT?" Kate had snapped and shot around to look at him, her entire posture – furrowed eyebrows and squared shoulders – screaming you-pervert and Tony-I'm-going-kill-you.

"We have to sweep the floor for marks – it might have lost velocity, and dropped," Tony quickly explained, and tried not to think about the possibility of something else dropping. He roughly cleared his throat and turned back to the find the self-proclaimed A.W.M.

After all, Tony had been thinking dirty thoughts.

Just not about Kate…

Problem #2) Tony liked somebody else.

It helped – and, yeah, kinda not – that the 'somebody else' worked with him at NCIS. They'd been friends for awhile – or, at least, Tony liked to consider them friends. Then again, Tony didn't exactly have the best track record with making (and keeping) so-called friends, so…

Problem #3) Tony also hated Kate – because Tony and Kate liked the same person.

"Relax, or you're not going to get it in your mouth," Kate had dryly explained, though with her usual smile because, well, Kate liked to boss him around.

Glaring into the white box of noodles, Tony grumbled, "I'm trying, but this thing is too damn slippery!"

"Never going to impress a girl with pitiful skills like those, DiNozzo," Kate informed him with a smirk. She pointed her chopsticks at him and then dug back into her noodles, having skipped lunch earlier in favor of completing her report.

Only one person could boss Tony around, though, and it wasn't girls that DiNozzo wanted to impress. He wanted to impress –

"That had better not be my soup!" Gibbs called from the elevator, which had beeped just seconds ago and alerted Tony and Kate to the return of their Boss.

…Gibbs.

He wanted to impress Gibbs.

Stiffening, Tony could only hold the spoon in midair and stare unseeingly into the foam bowl of soup. He gritted his teeth and, out the side his mouth, hissed, "Gibbs ordered this soup?!"

Mouth open in silent laughter, Kate nodded enthusiastically at him, and Tony meanly wished that the two of them had not met – and that Gibbs had not met her, either. Because Kate was pretty, and Gibbs was straight, and Tony did not have a chance in Hell.

"Dammit," Tony muttered angrily, fisting his hands in his hair and trying to get rid of the anger gnawing at his gut. He succeeded for the moment, but only for the moment. It would be back.

Jealousy did not suit him. It suited Gibbs, who stalked about like an angry wolf with his silver hair, ice blue eyes, and rigid military posture, but it did not, under any circumstances, suit the Very Special Agent – Anthony DiNozzo Jr.

Green was not his color.

Well, Tony liked the color green well enough; it brought attention to his lovely eyes…

BUT! Tony did not like jealousy. He liked it directed at him, but being jealous himself? No, Tony was not quite fond of it. It made him angry and flustered and bitter, and when Tony became angry and flustered and bitter, it did not end well for anybody – himself included.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs barked while snapping his phone shut and slamming down his half-empty box of noodles in front of Kate, "You're coming with me!"

"What about me?" Kate stuttered out in shock, standing straight and staring into his face. She licked her lips while swallowing down another mouthful of food, hoping to catch his eye.

"Nope," Gibbs easily denied, and it might have just been his imagination, but Tony could have sworn that his dismissal had been aimed at her flirting, too. While his Boss stormed toward the elevator, Tony shoveled down several shrimp and smiled brightly at Kate, who stared blankly back at him. "…DINOZZO!"

"COMING, BOSS!" Tony called back, wiping his mouth against one arm and folding his coat atop the other. He jogged to the elevator, but not before Kate tried to toss in the last word.

"You wish," Kate mumbled to herself, and Tony could not help but bite back – "Damn straight!"

Ah, yes. Irony…

Now that suited Tony.

Early morning came and went, and with it, his hopes of making it through the day relatively unscathed. Tony could feel his heart – the traitorous organ – already beating quickly at the thought of going into the Bullpen. Of seeing Gibbs…

"Have fun last night, DiNozzo?" Kate cheerfully asked him, all the while straightening the manila folders covering her desks into three large but neat stacks.

…and, unfortunately, Kate.

Dammit.

"Yeah," Tony sarcastically returned, falling into his desk chair with a soft grunt of satisfaction, "because I love coming in at four in the morning to file evidence when I could be – I dunno, sleeping?"

"Really," Kate mused, the interest in her voice high and false and, always observant, Tony could tell that Kate would be asking him multiple questions with the next one. Goody. Staring early, huh? "Was Gibbs with you?"

"Oh, God," Tony mumbled, jumping for his desk phone to call him and play hotel clerk and give him his complimentary wake-up call. Fingers dialed the familiar, memorized number. "Thanks for reminding me!"

"You're late, Tony," Gibbs grunted at him, and at the reprimand in his voice, Tony could only sigh, knowing that nothing would change – ever. Gibbs was grumbling at him, and at Kate. Why did either of them bother?

Masochists, the both of them…

"Find the bullet, DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked while striding past him.

At his side, Kate wagged her fingers at him and teased, "Time to play fetch, Tony!"

Tony grumbled to himself. "'Find the bullet, DiNozzo.' 'Fetch, Tony.' Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

Regardless, Gibbs' Saint Bernard followed his orders faithfully and to the letter. Shoving a small metal scalpel into the wall by pushing through the wallpaper and the drywall proved fortuitous. Tony motioned to Kate, who – despite their ongoing rivalry – moved without question to start digging out the bullet. Very Special Agent DiNozzo then went to work.

Smiling brightly at the members of his team and the hot mess of agents sent by the FBI, Tony waved his hand in the air and chirped, "Got the secondary bullet hole, Boss!"

Agent Freeman immediately sensed blood and, like a shark going in for the kill, zipped straight to the poor, (supposedly) unsuspecting Very Special Agent DiNozzo. "Great, I can take it from here," The FBI Agent declared. He reached out to touch his arm and probably just shove him aside to get to the bullet, but, hey – Tony, being Tony, started to feel like the FBI Agent was getting kinda handsy, so…

"O-Oh…" Tony pretended to stutter through his response and plastered his best shy and sheepish expression on. "No, I should – uh – I should wait for the Boss." A predatory gleam flickered in his eyes, and Agent Freeman paused; Tony continued, "He's the attractive man, with all of his hair. Right there! See?"

"Tony, I'll handle this one," Gibbs calmly said, but the set of his jaw and the sudden force with which the older agent shoved between Agent Freeman and himself made Tony stare at him in surprise.

Sure, Gibbs was protective and watched out for his people – Rule #15. They were a makeshift family. Always had been, always would be. But Gibbs glaring at the Agent Freeman, and his hand, and looking ready to bite it was, er, new…

Quietly, Kate hummed in thought and continued to dig around in the wall for the remains of the bullet that had killed their Marine. To anybody else, Kate might have appeared to be humming while hard at work, but to Tony the humming signified that Kate had been thinking (shudder) and arrived at a conclusion. It had nothing to do with work, though, because Kate was wearing that small, knowing smirk that made Tony itch – and not in the fun way. Tony squinted at her.

"What?" Tony mumbled down at her, all the while keeping his eyes moving around the office, playing lookout. Kate might frustrate him, but Tony would have her six. Always.

"Never noticed Gibbs could be so…so…" Kate trailed off in thought again, searching for the right word, which Tony was more than happy to supply. Feeling vindictive, Tony suggested, "…mean?"

"Protective," Kate argued, finally removing the bullet out of the wall and dropping it in an open evidence bag. She quickly zipped it shut with her manicured nails and nodded to the front door, slipping through the crowd with Tony at her heels.

Blustering, Tony protested, "Protective of the case? Yeah! It was ours, what with him being a Marine." He laughed nervously at her deadpanned expression, which clearly told Tony that his response only confirmed her suspicions.

"You like it," Kate teased him, bumping her hip against his in a playful fashion. "You like being protected by the big, strong Marine."

"Shut up," Tony grumbled beneath his breath, readying himself to knock her down a peg or two with several creative insults, and maybe with his hip, when –

"Welcome to the Marines, Kate," Gibbs dryly said while inserting himself in between Tony and Kate, who blinked – first at each other, and then at him – in shock. They quickly stopped their good-natured bickering.

Had Gibbs really just separated them? More importantly, though…

Was Gibbs separating them in the This-is-my-man-so-you-need-to-back-off kinda way?

Or was it in the You-two-are-really-getting-on-my-nerves-and-dear-God-I-need-coffee way?

Ever the pessimist, Tony figured it had to be the second, but another surreptitious glance at Kate made him reassess and reevaluate his conclusion. She was walking ahead of him and wearing the strangest expression, caught halfway between the satisfaction of being right – and the ripe green of jealousy.

Green, Tony noted, made her seem younger.

It still, however, did not suit him.

"Kate is going with you," Tony stated, his tone of voice sounding incredulous but registering rightfully within himself – and with Kate, of course – as envious. A pleased smirk curled her lips, and Tony scowled back at her, pretending to have Heat Vision like Superman.

"That is the plan," Gibbs returned. Their Boss spoke to Tony without turning his attention from her uniform, his fingers deftly working with the buttons and Velcro. Something settled like ice in the pit of his stomach at the sight of Gibbs practically undressing Kate, and Tony busied had to try hard not to vomit. Bad shrimp didn't help matters any…

This made him nervous and antsy – like, Chihuahua that shakes all the time and has to pee every other minute kinda nervous and antsy. Because Kate had been chosen to go. Yeah, Kate used to be in the Secret Service, but Tony – Tony – had been with Gibbs longer and could watch his six better. He could…Tony could…

What? What could Tony do?

Nothing.

Jealousy rippled through his chest, and Tony clenched his fists, before burrowing into the case, a carefully cheerful smile plastered to his face and bounce to his steps. "You actually make that uniform look pretty hot, Kate," Tony admitted with a wink.

"Thanks, Tony," Kate chirped at him, happy to be appreciated, regardless of the fact that Tony was not sexually interested in her. A compliment was a compliment. Judging by the sudden faltering in his steps to the elevator, Gibbs seemed to agree. And Kate noticed.

Smiling down at Tony, Kate settled at the edge of his desk and glanced down at him through her eyelashes, which allowed her to watch the elevator, in which Gibbs was standing and watching and grinding his teeth. She flirted, "Try yours on yet, Stud?"

A ding signaled the closing of the elevator doors, but not before Tony had finally noticed Gibbs – and his expression of fury. Tony paled faintly, feeling sick again, and mumbled, "What the Hell is eating at him?"

"You," Kate said matter-of-factly, and if it weren't for the sudden flash of disappointment in her eyes and the momentary slump of her shoulders, Tony would've said that Kate sounded almost happy for him.

…Almost.

"Dammit, I feel like one of the Village People, Abs," Tony griped into his earpiece, knowing that their Forensic Scientist would hear him clearly from the other end though his words had been spoken in a near mutter.

Sure enough, Abby responded to his words with laughter and quipped, "You could always locate a cop and start dancing around down there – that would catch the sniper off guard, wouldn't it?"

Forget Forensic Scientist.

How about the Evil Scientist?

Snorting, Tony continued to fiddle with the wires from his microphone, hooking them more securely to the phone line. He dryly pointed out, "Yeah, but I was a cop, remember?"

"Oh," The Goth playfully purred into the connection, her husky voice deep with innuendo, "Are you going to handcuff somebody to the bed, Tony – like, for example, Gibbs?"

"Very funny, Abby," Tony choked, nearly dropping his tools, and then furiously prayed, "God, if you're listening, please, please, please don't let this be one of the tapes used for training recruits at NCIS."

"You are one incredibly Macho Man, Tony," Abby assured him with another bright chirp and the telltale sound of slurping which, predictably, had to be from her daily (…coughhourlycough…) supply of Caf-Pow.

"Thanks, Abs," Tony sarcastically returned and then muttered, "I really need to figure out how to stop her from getting all of those caffeinated drinks..."

Ignoring her loud exclamation of HEY, which had nearly ruptured his eardrums, Tony switched his attention to Kate. He glanced at the office from his peripheral vision and worriedly asked, "Is Gibbs still wearing his Kevlar?"

"Said it was much too visible and, predictably, took it off," Kate muttered into her piece, smiling innocently at the curious glance directed at her via one very suspicious Gunny named Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Every curse in the book popped to mind, but Tony settled for his usual dammit and growled, "If that sniper doesn't kill him, I will! Of all the stupid, idiotic…!" Words could not describe his anger.

Smile softening, Kate lowered her voice and reassured, "I'll look after him for you."

"Thanks, Kate," Tony quietly said to her.

"Guy was a good marksman," Gibbs admitted later, "but snipers usually hit their mark."

Yet again, Tony had the feeling that Gibbs was speaking about something else, hiding another meaning in his words. It was really late – and Tony could barely walk two feet unsupervised because of his exhaustion – so reading between those lines would have to be delayed for later speculation. Even Gibbs had noticed his fatigue, though, and had taken to guiding him around NCIS. Suspicions renewed, Kate and Tony exchanged looks, though Tony had to squint to do so.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs barked, nearly startling his SFA. He lowered his deep voice upon seeing him jump, which truly startled Tony. Since when did Gibbs try to be considerate of others? Had Tony fallen asleep and drifted off to Never Never Gonna Happen Land?

"Captain," Tony drawled, and although delayed, the term made Gibbs smirk.

"With me," Gibbs said to him without explanation, leading the way.

Surprised, Tony glanced at Kate, who merely shrugged her petite shoulders and returned to her desk, saluting him mockingly. Tony squinted at her, prepared to call her out for being such an ass, when – "DINOZZO!"

Immediately, Tony jumped to his feet, grabbed his belongings, and darted for the closing doors of the elevator, which Gibbs promptly stopped by pushing the big red button. Tony once again began alternating between cursing and praying to God. Shit. Oh, God. Shit, shit, shit.

"You like me," Gibbs muttered to him, observing him like another suspect seated in the Interrogation Room.

Dammit. Gibbs hadn't asked him a question, but Gibbs still wanted him to answer. Tony could tell. What to do, though? Lie?

"Can you imagine somebody lying to Gibbs, and getting away with it?"

Yeah. No. Lying was out. Tony had told Kate as much, but still, Tony had to try, had to make up some excuse or – or something. He couldn't just let all of his hard work – all his posturing and joking and essentially hiding his feelings from the object of his desires – go to waste.

No lies, then. So Tony defaulted, finding salvation in Gibbs' Rules. Thus, Rule #7: "'Always be specific when you're lying.'"

"Of course," Tony exclaimed, throwing his hands up and then folding them behind his head with practiced (and feigned) confidence. He tossed in his Winning Smile, just to be safe. "You're the Boss Man. Have to like you! Okay, not really, but I have to at least pretend to like you, right?"

"Tony," Gibbs cut him off at the knees with only his name. Not DiNozzo. But Tony.

For the life of him, Tony couldn't remember Gibbs calling him Tony. Ever.

"Yeah, Boss?" Tony swallowed nervously and tried to look him in the eye.

…God. It was much harder to do than before, though, because it seemed too close, too personal. Calling him Boss, and not Gibbs, was pretty much his last ditch effort to put distance between them – what, exactly? Isn't this what Tony wanted? Isn't this who Tony wanted?

"You like me," Gibbs stubbornly reiterated his previous statement and ducked his head down to stare in his face. Tony was supposed to be taller, but at the repetition of that phrase, Tony went down, slouching forward in defense. Gibbs could still hit pretty damn hard for his age, and Tony did not want to be sucker punched.

"Yeah," Tony finally admitted, still hunched and still staring down at his shiny leather shoes. He mentally calculated how long it would take for somebody to find his body after Gibbs murdered him and left his body to rot in the elevator shaft. Five hours?

"Like you, too," Gibbs grunted at him and then hurriedly stepped back to give the younger man some more space. Tony had moved fast enough to give himself whiplash, and to possibly hit him in the chin. Might not be too vain, but Gibbs liked having all of his teeth.

Silently, Gibbs stared at Tony, and Tony stared back at Gibbs. "If I'd known confessing to you would make it this quiet, I would have done it a year ago," Gibbs dryly informed him.

"Hey!" Tony protested, straightening his shoulders but still feeling small beneath the weight of his icy blue gaze. "I'm not that loud, Gibbs!"

"Woulda thought you were a screamer," Gibbs casually remarked while scanning him from head to toe.

At that assessment, Tony reddened (in both embarrassment and silent fury) and opened his mouth to retort, but Gibbs beat him to the punch. He crowded him against the shiny metal walls of the elevator cart and pushed his toned chest against his. Lips brushing his, Gibbs smirked at the shock – and the desire – flashing through his bright green eyes. Tony bit back his retort, barely breathing for fear of prodding him into action. So Gibbs kissed him anyway.

"Rule #1," Tony panted the protest, pulling back to clear his head and to give himself long enough to blurt out its description. "'Never screw your partner!'"

"'Never screw over your partner,'" Gibbs gently corrected him, slapping the back of his head – and his butt – with his hand, leaving his fingers at their second destination. "Smalldifference, Tony."

Stepping closer, Gibbs kissed him soundly, his lips rough and chapped against the smoothness of his own moisturized mouth. A brief fear of Gibbs making fun of him, of thinking him too girly, popped into his head. No other thoughts made it through, however, when Gibbs nipped at his lower lip and shoved his tongue into his mouth because Tony, surprised, had immediately opened it with a gasp.

"Rule #12," Tony nearly sobbed in desperation. He wanted him – oh, God, Tony wanted him. But Tony also wanted things to stay the same. Change scared him, scared him way more than failure and disappointing those that cared about him, which really said something about the situation.

"Rules #14 and Rule #51," Gibbs returned with ease and kissed down the side of his neck, before stiffening suddenly and pulling back to stare at him, eyes cold and sharp. "Trying to play me?"

Immediately, Tony protested, knowing his Rules by heart, and knowing which of them had just popped into his head – Rule #36: 'If you feel like you're being played, then you probably are.' "No, Boss!"

"Good," Gibbs grunted, leaving his hands at his side in favor of stepping back and powering the elevator back up. Very Silent Agent Tony DiNozzo Jr. gaped at the man in openmouthed amazement. Sarcastically, Gibbs asked, "Need help with your mouth?"

"N-No, Boss," Tony responded with (un)certainty. He cleared his throat and leaned back against the wall again, feeling better – and less satisfied – without those strong arms caging him. "So…"

"So," Gibbs drawled, and it said something for his (good, Tony noted dumbly) mood that the taciturn man merely repeated the word without berating him for it. Another head slap should have been in order, too. Not that Tony wanted to be slapped. Spanked, though…

Clearing his throat, Tony followed the older man out of the elevator and into the parking lot. He climbed into his car and glanced out through his window, at Gibbs, and curiously asked, "'Snipers usually hit their mark,' huh?"

A predatory smirk claimed his lips, and Gibbs assured, "Straight through the heart, Tony."

***Author's Note***

So, I have been watching episodes of NCIS via Netflix. For some reason or another, I latched onto S1 EP13 (all familiar dialogue, especially the part in italics, is copyright to owners of NCIS) and could not stop (over)analyzing everything, particularly the interactions between all of the wonderful characters. It is amazing how different something may seem to somebody simply because of perspective, which is why, I suppose, someone once said, "No two people ever read the SAME book."

Anyway! Happy Belated Fourth of July to all of the Americans! :)

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!