"You want us to what?!" Tony shrieked, staring at Director Leon Vance of NCIS with widened eyes, a slight tremble in his hand as the director stared between Tony and Gibbs, who was mindfully silent as the director had explained the new undercover mission that the two men would be going on.

Vance sighed through his nose as he leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers together as he looked directly at Tony, "You and Gibbs are needed in San Diego at the marine base to go undercover as a newly married couple." Vance repeated, blinking a couple of times as he watched Tony squirm restlessly in the leather chair across from his desk.

"We'll do it." Gibbs said flatly as he stood up, then looked down at Tony and inclined his head towards the door subtly, turning and leaving without another word. Tony wordlessly followed his boss until the two men were standing in the elevator, Gibbs slapped the red button and the elevator came to an abrupt stop "Are you afraid of ruining your image or something?!" Gibbs growled, glaring at Tony.

Tony gaped wordlessly at Gibbs, he hadn't even thought about the image he'd created for himself for the past twenty years of his life – That of a man who was an all-around playboy with every woman who walked by – the truth of the matter was, he wasn't at all like that, he'd been gay and knew he was gay for the past thirty years of his life, but he never let anyone know about it, and now… With this case looming over his head, all of his secrets might just come out with it.

Gibbs was still staring at Tony, waiting for an answer from the younger agent "No… NO! I'm not afraid of ruining my image…" Tony finally managed to get out of his throat which felt like it was honestly closing up on him.

Gibbs nodded and hit the emergency switch again "Good. Get your head in the game, DiNozzo." Gibbs said brusquely, slapping the younger agent's identity folder against his chest as he walked off the elevator and headed to his desk to collect his belongings. In all actuality, Gibbs too was as nervous as Tony had displayed, he'd had unexplainable feelings for the younger man for as long as he could honestly remember, and knew better than most people at NCIS that Tony was faking his attraction to a majority of the women who had crossed paths with the younger man, he also understood Tony's apprehension, although no one spoke of it anymore, Tony disliked going on undercover missions that entailed a relationship, the Jeanne Benoit case still lingering in the backs of their minds.

Tony walked stiffly to his desk, sitting down almost just as stiffly as he began perusing the file Gibbs had put in his hands a few seconds ago. Tony shook his head as he read about his new persona – Steven Gray, now Gray-Walker after marrying long-time best friend Daniel Walker. Tony scoffed slightly, thinking this all sounded more like a terrible joke rather than a case, as he continued reading, he found out that he was a stay-at-home writer who had yet to be published yet but was working towards publishing his first story. Tony shook his head, anybody who knew Tony, knew that he sucked at writing, the only thing he had accomplished writing decently was reports for the cases he worked on.

As Tony started reading in on Gibbs' persona – Daniel Walker, he found that the persona was much like Gibbs himself, but instead of the Gunnery Sergeant that Gibbs used to be, he would now be a Lieutenant Colonel, and one of two leaders of the 1st Marine Division Recon Unit at Camp Pendleton. Tony whistled quietly, glancing over at Gibbs who was also reading through the files, his eyebrow was practically hidden behind a curl of his hair as he read, and Tony had to bite back the laughter that wanted to bubble up, thinking that Gibbs had just read his career. The only thing Tony was relatively happy about was that these were completely made-up characters, and they could build their relationship however they felt like, and weren't forced to be someone who had already lived their life.

Gibbs stood up from his desk and sighed "Let's go DiNozzo, we've got to go get outfitted." Gibbs said, heading towards the elevator that would lead them down to the lab and autopsy. Tony quickly got up, grabbing his belongings and following Gibbs who was already standing in the elevator, Tony quickly slid between the closing doors and huffed out a breath. Gibbs slapped the emergency stop button again and looked over at Tony. "You okay with this?" Gibbs asked, holding up the folder slightly.

Tony nodded, grinning slightly "Yes Colonel, I'm satisfied with it." Tony said softly, his tongue darting out slowly as he wet his lips; he'd always been attracted to Gibbs, and though he'd never publically voice his thoughts, he could swear the older man seemed attracted to him as well, often times he'd catch Gibbs checking him out, but never said anything for fear that he'd not only embarrass Gibbs, but also did not want to endure loss of life by the older man if his assumptions weren't completely correct.

Gibbs nodded as he tapped the button, letting the elevator shaft continue its downward journey where they would collect not only their wardrobes, but their new identifications and credentials that would allow the two men access to Camp Pendleton when they got to California – which Tony was a little excited about, he always loved going to Cali and now they would be going back and since it was the middle of August, it was the perfect time to go and enjoy the autumn air that would be warm almost the entire day.

Abby was waiting for the men as they entered the lab, her music already shut off and two duffle bags at her feet "I'm going to miss you guys while you're gone!" Abby squealed as she enveloped both men in a warm embrace, kissing both of their cheeks softly.

Gibbs snorted as he extracted himself from Abby's embrace and collected both duffle bags – he could at least start to be the gentlemanly husband that he was and carry Tony's bag – "We'll miss you too Abby. We'll use our alter-ego email accounts to keep in touch, you did make them, right?" Tony asked with a hint of hope in his tone.

Abby nodded as she released Tony "Of course I did! It's in the notebook in your bag – As well as already set-up on the laptop that you'll be taking." Abby said as she turned around, grabbing the laptop and a sealed envelope that contained their passports, licenses and Pendleton access cards.

Tony smiled sadly as he collected both of the offered items, then sighed as he looked around the lab briefly "I think I should get the implanted GPS device." Tony said quietly, glancing over at Gibbs briefly. Gibbs nodded his approval and turned to Abby, giving her the nod of approval as well as he headed out of the lab, mumbling that he'd be waiting in the parking garage for the younger man.

Ducky came into the lab a few minutes later with a sheathed scalpel in his hand and an alcohol pad "What made you decide that this would be the way to go?" Ducky asked as he collected Tony's arm and swiped the alcohol pad across his forearm, then made the smallest incision possible all without Tony flinching away from the action.

Tony shrugged as Abby came over to him with a small flash-drive like device and carefully pushed it into Tony's opened wound, placing a bandage over the bleeding scratch "If anything happens to me – I want Gibbs to know where I am at all times… It's safest this way." Tony said as he grabbed the laptop, their documents and the GPS locator that Abby was holding out to him now.

Tony shifted uncomfortably in his seat of the airplane – They'd been in the air for only an hour now, and thankfully they were flying commercially to LA, where they would head to the NCIS LA office to collect their vehicle, their housing instruments (plates, furniture, etcetera) and the base house information to where they would be staying for however long this operation would take place.

Gibbs lifted his head from his book and sighed as he looked over at the younger agent "Are you going to fidget the entire flight?" Gibbs asked curiously, almost angrily as Tony shifted yet again, their elbows pressing together as the younger man tried finding a suitable position to sit in.

Tony shrugged as he brought one of his legs up onto the edge of the seat and looked out the window as fluffy white marshmallow-like clouds rolled by the window "I don't know… I don't exactly fit in these seats with such a lengthy body." Tony whispered miserably as he tried stretching the cramp out in his knee – The one that had been messed up since his college days.

Gibbs furrowed his brows slightly, a slight frown creasing his lips as he set his hand on Tony's knee and gently rubbed his thumb and forefinger into the cramped muscle. Tony stiffened and looked at Gibbs who had a seemingly concentrated look on his face "Wha… What are you… doing?" Tony stammered out, his bottom lip trembling slightly in fear.

"I'm helping my husband release his aching muscles." Gibbs said flatly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the entire world as he pressed both of his hands against Tony's knee now, continuing to knead tight muscles.

Tony sighed in relief as he laid his head back against the seat "Oh… Okay… That… that feels nice." Tony admitted quietly as the spasm in his knee finally subsided, feeling relief for the first time since they'd taken off from Dulles a little over an hour ago.

Gibbs nodded as he slowly released Tony's knee, crossing one leg over the other and cupping his hands in his lap as he tried hiding the burgeoning erection that had grown almost painfully from even just the minimal contact he'd had with Tony's body, even if his skin was covered by thick denim.

Tony smiled contentedly as he closed his eyes, shifting to the most comfortable position he could find in the hard leathered aircraft seat, his hand blindly pulling down the window-cover to block out the blinding sunlight. Gibbs smirked slightly as he hailed a passing flight attendant, nodding towards Tony silently – The flight attendant seemed to understand the subtle request and smiled warmly as she headed to the flight supplies, coming back a few seconds with a neatly folded blanket. Gibbs nodded his thanks and undid the blanket, carefully lying it over Tony's body and tucking the edges around the younger agent, Tony mumbled incoherently and snuggled into the warmth of the blanket, the thought of Gibbs playing the doting husband was funny, but he wouldn't voice those opinions because it was actually quite nice seeing a side to Gibbs that only a few privileged people have ever seen of the man.

Gibbs sighed quietly as he glanced down the aisle briefly, then turned back to the book he'd set aside in the seat holder in front of him – He grabbed the paperback and flipped open to the page, and although he looked as if he were reading the book, he really wasn't. This case had been on his mind since they left NCIS two hours ago. It wasn't so much the fact that he would have to pose as Tony – Steven's – husband for however long the case would play out, no… It was the fact that Tony was ultimately the target, seeing that he was the non-military partner of the duo. Gibbs thought back to the casefile; over the past year, since "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" had been repealed married or dating homosexual couples had started coming out, and then the partners of the service women and men started disappearing and were found dead days later, at first the connection hadn't been made between the victims, but once the last victim – a Gunnery Sergeants husband, Scott Warner – was found with his husband's service number tattooed on his shoulder, the pieces of all the victims fell into place and that was when NCIS was contacted.

Each victim had been held for an estimated four days, where they were kept without food or water, tortured and raped before ultimately they were killed and dumped just a quarter mile away from Camp Pendleton, left there naked and exposed for whomever drove past to see them. Gibbs shook his head as he put the book back in the holder and curled up in the small seat, lying his head against Tony's arm that was perched on the armrest between them, he really didn't think it all that weird, seeing as they were meant to be a married couple. If he could get at least a few hours of shut-eye before they landed in LA, then he would be good to go and wouldn't have to consciously think about the case until they were submerged into it in approximately seven hours.

Tony stretched out his stiffened knee as he stared at what looked like an abandoned building, the sign on the wooden door out front reading 'Condemned' "Are you sure this is the right place?" Tony asked skeptically as he shook his knee out and then straightened, glancing over at Gibbs who was eyeing the door with that look that could practically melt gold with its intensity.

Gibbs grunted and nodded his head as he walked over to the door and pushed it open abruptly, Tony had no choice but to follow his boss inside of the building, he wouldn't leave the older man alone to brave a condemned building. Tony went wide-eyed as he stared at the vastly open space with tropical plants and bright cheerful colors that mixed and mingled with delicately polished wooden pillars "Wow…" Tony breathed out as he looked around the NCIS LA Office "Why can't we have this?!" Tony questioned, blowing out a frustrated breath as he quickly caught up to Gibbs who was standing in front of a woman who couldn't have been more than five feet tall, if not shorter.

"Agent DiNozzo, Agent Gibbs, it is nice to see you once again." Henrietta Lange said, grinning impishly as she looked up at both men, holding out a set of keys to Gibbs. "Those are the keys for both the car, moving van and the base house that has been assigned to you. There are two sets of the car key and house key for you and agent DiNozzo." Hetty added, dropping the keys into Gibbs' extended hand.

Gibbs nodded as he closed his hand around the keys and shoved them into his pocket "Are the secured lines already set up and ready to go?" Gibbs asked, glancing over his shoulder at Tony who was still looking around the building with an awed expression on his face.

Hetty nodded her head "Yes." She said simply as she pulled two cellphones out of her pocket, one a basic flip phone and the other a smart phone "The secured number is already pre-programmed in both phones, under the guise of your DAT number." Hetty said as she handed both phones to Gibbs as well.

Gibbs nodded as he thrusted the smart phone into Tony's chest gently "Good." He replied, even though he had no idea what a DAT was, nor did he care as he pocketed the ancient device into his pocket, withdrawing his everyday phone from his pocket and setting it on Hetty's desk "DiNozzo, phone and gun on the desk. We have to get going." Gibbs barked as he turned on his heel and headed for the door that they had come in only ten minutes ago.

Tony balked slightly at the order, but he knew that a lowly home-husband who was just a writer had no need for a weapon, so with much reluctance he withdrew his service weapon and it's holster, setting both on the desk, then followed by his cellphone which he had an easier time setting down than the gun. With one last glance at his beloved weapon, he quickly turned on his heel, waving goodbye to Hetty as he ran out to catch up with Gibbs who was already sitting in the moving van – the positive thing about moving onto the base was that they already had pre-purchased furniture except for bedding, so that was what had been packed in the van, alongside several creature comforts that Tony and Gibbs both requested before even leaving DC.

Gibbs handed Tony the key to the vehicle that was parked behind the van "Be careful with it, and try not to lose me… I'm not entirely sure where the hell we're going…" Gibbs warned as he fisted the key in Tony's hand, holding both the younger man's hand and eyes for several seconds.

Tony nodded as he pulled his hand away and quickly moved to the Dodge Durango, even as the blush creeped up his neck and cheeks while he inserted the address to their new home in the GPS system that was sitting on the dashboard. He had no idea why Gibbs had been acting so strange since they'd left DC, but it was both flattering and unnerving at the same time. Tony pulled out of the building driveway slowly, checking his rearview mirror to make sure Gibbs was right behind him as he began driving towards the marked route that would lead them to Camp Pendleton.

Two hours later Tony pulled up to a two-story home that looked exactly like the past several homes that they had passed, there was at least a good distance between each of their neighbors so that they could be themselves when they were inside the home – Tony only hoped that the inside of the house had more character than the outside of the tan colored home.

Gibbs pulled backwards into the driveway and cut the engine off on the van, Tony quickly got out and joined Gibbs in the driveway "So… This is home, huh?" Tony asked quietly, looking around the neighborhood that was littered with kids playing and watchful parents sitting on their porches.

Gibbs nodded as he slid his arm around Tony's waist and grinned down at the younger man, Tony had a panicked look on his face but only for a brief moment before he settled into the touch, remembering that they were meant to be a married couple he returned the gesture, lying his head on Gibbs' shoulder. Thankfully the awkward moment only lasted for a few seconds when Gibbs pulled away "Alright, let's get everything inside…" Gibbs grumbled as he went to the back of the van and pulled the doors open.

Tony quickly went back to the Durango, grabbing the two packed duffle bags they'd brought with them from DC, and then two more duffle bags that had been given to them at the LA Office, they didn't know what was in the two other duffle bags, but they weren't heavy, so Tony assumed it had to probably be more clothes. Tony then grabbed the laptop that Abby had gave to him, hoping that once they got unpacked he could email the lab technician and tell her all that has happened since getting on the airplane seven hours ago, since she was the only person who knew about Tony's attraction to Gibbs, and would have advice regarding his hesitations about being in the same house with the older man.

When Tony glanced over at the van, Gibbs was gone and the front door to the house was already open, so Tony high-tailed it inside and gasped when he saw the wide open layout of their new home, even as it was split by the staircase that led to the second story. On the left side of the house was opened to a den that could easily be used as Tony's 'home office' and opened up straight to the dining room that could easily seat twelve people around the large oblong table. The right side of the house opened up to a tastefully decorated living room, which surrounded the focal point of the large marble fireplace and the huge flat screen TV that Tony estimated to be at least sixty inches, and beyond that was a large gourmet kitchen that made Tony's mouth water – he hadn't been able to truly use his cooking skills since starting work at NCIS twelve years ago and now he had a chance and was extremely excited about the prospect that he could showcase his skills in the kitchen for Gibbs.

Gibbs shook his head as he walked over to Tony, lightly cuffing the younger man's neck and smiling "Honey, if you keep staring like this, we will never get the unpacking done." Gibbs said in an uncharacteristically sweet tone as he winked at the younger man and walked back out to the van.

Tony blinked a few times and then shook himself mentally as he bounded upstairs to the second floor, where again he was shocked to find the place relatively open, even for a three bedroom home – Two bedrooms to the right, and the master bedroom to the left – there was also a large sitting room in between the separation of the two sides of the house and another large television mounted on the wall "STEVEN! You have time to explore later, come on!" Gibbs shouted from downstairs, noticing that Tony had yet again stalled in his movements to stare in awe at the house.

Tony shook his head and quickly deposited the four duffle bags on the couch – He could sort through them later, after he helped Gibbs get everything inside the house. Tony quickly bounded down the stairs and out to the van where Gibbs was waiting so they could move the bed into the home.

A little over an hour later, the van was finally unpacked, and the house was settled with all their belongings. Gibbs and Tony both collapsed tiredly against the couch, their sweat slicked knees pressing together as they spread out "A cold beer sounds so good right now." Tony murmured as he swiped his sleeve on his sweaty forehead, huffing out a breath of air.

Gibbs chuckled and nodded his head "To bad we don't have any… In fact, we don't have any groceries…" Gibbs said, turning his head towards the large expanse of the kitchen and frowning slightly "And I could really do with some good food right now." Gibbs said, rubbing his stomach, even as it growled to emphasis his statement.

Tony nodded and smiled shyly "Food does sound good – Can we afford to go out to eat?" Tony asked, turning to look over at Gibbs, his smile broadening slightly.

Gibbs grinned, "Well why not check that bank account information out? There should be an allowance in there already…" Gibbs said as he sat up slightly, grabbing the envelope that contained the rest of their falsified information.

Tony quickly deposited the information on his lap, rifling through the pages until he came across the bank account information, he then collected his newly acquired cellphone, downloading the bank app and inputting the information "Wow… there's like ten grand in there, how did we manage to accumulate so much?" Tony asked, looking wide-eyed at Gibbs and the cellphone.

Gibbs shrugged "Base pay for over twenty-five years of service for an O-3 Captain is over six grand a month, and I guess we're very conscious about spending money…" Gibbs said as he pushed himself up from the couch, then hoisted Tony up to his feet "Let's go get showered and changed, then we'll see what's around here to eat." Gibbs said resolutely as he headed upstairs with Tony only a few steps behind him as they separated to use the bathrooms and get ready.

I'd like to know what everyone thinks about the story, so leave a review for me! Thanks in advance!