"This is my Marine. There are many like him, but this one is mine."

Tony could barely hold the smirk back as he spoke the words. Abby was giggling softly behind him, and the laughter dancing in Gibbs' blue eyes wasn't helping. He carried on, his hands tightening reflexively around Jethro's.

"My Marine is my best friend. He is my life. I must master him as he has taught me to master my own life."

Gibbs' soft smile almost brought tears to Tony's eyes. How was he going to get through all of this?

"My Marine, without me, is useless."

That earned a few chuckles around the guests in the gazebo.

"Without my Marine, I am useless. With my Marine I must always be true. I must shoot straighter than any who want to hurt us. I must hurt them before they hurt him."

"I will."

Gibbs' voice was rough as he spoke. The words were simple but they were said with such conviction that Tony wanted to stop and kiss him right there. Taking a deep breath, he continued instead.

"My Marine and I know that what counts in this relationship is not the words we say, the fights we have, or the actions we take. We know that is it the love that counts."

"I love you."

Tony actually gasped at these words. Jethro had said them so many times before, but with everyone sitting there watching and the sun shining in the sky; the way Gibbs looked in his charcoal grey suit and such sincerity in his eyes. The whole scene took Tony's breath away.

"My Marine is human, just as I, and he is my life."

Tony's voice started to shake as he continued.

"Thus, I will learn him as my own. I will learn his weaknesses, his strength, his history, his hobbies, his body and his soul. I will keep my Marine happy and healthy, as he has kept me. We will become part of each other."

"We will."

Tony couldn't stop the bright smile at the way Gibbs stepped a little closer when he said it.

"Before God, I swear this creed. My Marine and I are the defenders of each other. We are the masters of our future. He is the saviour of my life."

The kiss was unexpected. Tony went with it easily, wrapping his arms around Gibbs and melting into the sheer adoration he felt from the way Jethro was stroking his hair and holding him close. When they parted, there was blessed silence from a captive audience.

"So be it, until death parts us." Gibbs whispered against Tony's lips, his words ringing clear in the stillness of the summer afternoon.

"By the power vested in me," the minister spoke up and the couple turned to face him. "I now pronounce you husbands, joined together by the bond of love."

It wasn't what you'd call a normal wedding. The ceremony lasted only a few minutes, and the MCRT was called out to work before the toasts even finished. It wasn't normal, but there was no denying it was uniquely them. The new Mr & Mr DiNozzo-Gibbs, as Abby had dubbed them. The couple indulged her, but they already had their labels – just a man and his Marine. That was all they needed.

The End.