Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Nil. NCIS and its characters belong to CBS and Bellisario and writers. This is just what happens when I play with them in my mind and write it down.

PS: This is rated M for later scenes. If male/male sex and sexual activities isn't your thing then don't read.

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

Tony growled to himself as he finally accepted weakness and got out of his bed to go to the one person whom he knew he could talk to. He quickly put on a pair of sweatpants (he already had on boxers and his Buckeyes shirt) and grabbed his cell phone from his nightstand where it had been charging. Yes, Tony knew it was almost 3 in the morning. But he also knew that the person he wanted to see and talk to would most likely still be up. If not, he wouldn't mind Tony's middle-of-the-night wake-up call; he'd done it before anyway.

When he finally parked his car in the driveway, he knew he should feel bad for showing up at 3:20 a.m. But he got out of his car and made his way to the front door anyway. He turned the doorknob, knowing it wouldn't be locked, and walked in. He quietly closed the door behind him and looked toward the couch in the living room. When he saw it was unoccupied, he went towards the basement. Thankfully, a dim light was still oozing into the darkness. Tony made his way through the threshold of the doorway, cleared his throat to announce his presence, and made his way down the stairs.

"Hey Boss," Tony spoke quietly when he'd got to the bottom.

Gibbs turned around from his table to look at Tony. Tony's guilt waxed again as he saw the tiredness, confusion, and concern in his Boss' eyes.

"Hope I'm not intruding. I know it's late," Tony smiled apologetically.

Gibbs just shrugged, "Always welcome here Tony. You know that."

He then proceeded to turn back around slightly, reach for the wood horse, and place it so Tony could sit on it. He looked up at Tony and welcomingly patted it. Tony nodded and stepped forward to sit down. Gibbs leaned back to face him, knowing there was something on Tony's mind. For a few moments, they just waited silently. Tony was trying to think of where to start. Gibbs knew not to push; Tony would speak when he was ready. He reached over to unscrew another jar, dumped out its contents, and poured some bourbon into it before handing it out to Tony. Tony smiled gratefully and took it. Both he and Gibbs took a few long gulps before Tony took a deep breath, ready to explain why he'd come.

"I had that nightmare again," Tony explained.

Gibbs nodded and waited for Tony to continue. When he didn't, he asked, "Same as last time?"

Tony nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, "It's always the same. Or at least it started out the same. This one ended differently."

Tony wasn't sure he should go on. He knew his boss and friend would never judge him, would be there for him. But this was different, now that Tony had recently made a discovery. Well, it was mostly Abby who discovered it, but Tony realized she knew him better than he did sometimes.

The other night, he and Abby had gone out for their usual bar night. They'd been sitting, drinking and chatting for a while, when these two guys came over. The one who was standing more in the front, brazenly explained, "Hi. My name's Fred, and this is my friend George. We were over there when George suddenly told me he thinks this young lady here is very beautiful. Tell her George!"

George, who was clearly embarrassed, waved and smiled crookedly at Abby, "You're very pretty," he chokes out.

Abby giggles, "Well aren't you just the sweetest thing! You didn't have to be afraid of me. I don't bite!"

"Only when she marks her territory," Tony jokes, earning himself a punch in the arm and a glare from Abby, "Ow!"

"He's kidding. I definitely don't bite. The only exception is maybe in bed. Not that I'm expecting you to get in my bed or anything. I wouldn't object though. You do seem like a nice guy. But I'm not-"

"Abby!" Tony saves her from scaring the guy, who's looking somewhere between scared and amused, off and says, "Why don't you two go dance?"

Abby squeals and jumps up, "OO I love dancing! You wanna?"

The guy smiles and nods before Abby squeals again and leads him away. Tony and Fred are left, watching them leave and laughing.

"She's a firecracker ain't she?" Fred laughs, turning to Tony.

"You have no idea. Her mouth can run a light-year a second sometimes. Wanna join me?" Tony motions the now empty chair next to him.

Fred smiled wider, "Sure! Whatchya drinkin'? Looks yummy."

As Tony and Fred continued to talk and get more acquainted, they got more friendly, more flirty. Tony had known for some time that he was bisexual; he's been with a few men but usually preferred women. Soon Fred's hand was on Tony's thigh. Then Tony was leaning against Fred. Finally, Fred was leading Tony away inconspicuously towards the darkly lit corners of the room. Tony wasted no time pressing his lips to the other man's.

Tony hadn't known it, but Abby had been watching the whole time. She wasn't entirely shocked at Tony's bisexuality. She was shocked however that he had never told her. She excused herself from George only to stomp over to Tony and pull him around the corner into the woman's bathroom.

"Abby!" Tony had protested. But Abby stood in his way and glared, stopping him short, "What?"

"How come you never told me you were bi?"

Tony's mouth dropped. He should've seen this coming. After a quick moment, he recovered, "It just never really came up Abs, I'm sorry."

"Why couldn't you just mention it?" she was still mad, "You know I have no problems with it. I've hooked up with my fair share of women!"

Tony groaned inwardly. He hadn't been ready to verbally say this yet, he had hardly even mentally accepted it, but he knew he couldn't hide it from Abby anymore, "Because, I thought it would somehow get back to Gibbs."

Abby's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Why would that-" she suddenly stopped and looked at him him wide-eyed, "You like him."

It wasn't really a question but Tony shrugged, "I don't know Abs. I just noticed a few days ago that I get happy and butterflies in my stomach when he walks in the bullpen. And…"

Abby looked at him to continue.

Tony moaned and rubbed his face, "I have a crush on Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

She smirked and nodded, looking like that was an obvious fact. She giggled and asked, "Since when?"

"I don't know. Maybe since I met in Baltimore, but I only just realized it after I kissed Wendy. It had felt wrong and weird and I pictured Gibbs the entire time. You can't tell anyone Abs. Ever. You have to take it to the grave okay?"

She nodded, still smirking.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked, pouting.

She finally laughed and said, "Yah. Just don't keep any more secrets from me. I'll keep yours though, don't worry."

"Thanks Abs."

So now here Tony was, sitting with the man he liked, about to tell him that he'd been in Tony's most recent nightmare. As if that wasn't weird enough, Gibbs was just staring at him expectantly, openly, willing to listen to anything Tony had to say. Here it goes. "It started out with my father as usual. I was a kid again and he was beating on me, telling me I wasn't good enough to be his son. The next three of his wives came in. The first was yelling at me too; the second was watching me hungrily as she kept reaching out to grab me; and the third was drinking herself into a coma. And there was my mother, lying dead on the couch, her eyes watching me sadly.

"As you know, that's where I'd usually wake up. But not this time, this time… This is gonna get a lot weird Gibbs, just warning you now, but this time… you were there too. You were shooting the wives and pulling my father off me. You told him to get lost, that I was yours. When you helped me up, I realized I was me as I am now, like all grown up and such. Then the scene changed and we were at NCIS, in the bullpen. And when I walked in, like I do every morning, you just stood up and told me you were leaving. When I blinked, you were gone and everything just kind of crumbled into a million pieces, and I was left in darkness."

Tony had been looking anywhere but at Gibbs. He had told Gibbs before little tidbits of his childhood, how, after his mother died, his father would sometimes beat him when he was around, how horrible each of his father's wives were, especially the second one who liked to touch him a lot. Tony had told Gibbs before about the nightmares that still reminded him of those times. But it had been since he told Abby of liking Gibbs that his dreams and nightmares changed. Gibbs was in almost all of them. Which is the reason Tony had finally come to Gibbs' house; maybe telling Gibbs would make him stop showing up in his dreams.

Finally, Tony heard Gibbs speak, "So… I saved you? In your dream?"

Tony winced, "I know. It sounds totally weird. I probably shouldn't have even said anything."

Tony reached for the bottle and poured himself another half glass before downing it all and reaching for more. After Tony had consumed a jar and a half, Gibbs finally asked, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why was I the one to save you?"

"I don't know Boss. I guess just because I've known you for so long and I trust you and your kind of like Superman sometimes, only quieter and more stoic and Gibb-ish." It wasn't a lie; Tony really did trust the older man with his life and he did often think of Gibbs as a Superman-type. Tony just decided that leaving out his crush on Gibbs was probably a good idea.

Gibbs laughed at that, "I'm not Superman Tony. I have many more kryptonites."

Tony laughed nervously, "Touché Boss. But you know what I mean. Anyway, you don't have to say anything, I know it's really messed up."

Tony drank another few gulps and almost choked when Gibbs said gently, "Don't be ashamed Tony. I'm glad you told me."

Tony finally looked at Gibbs, "Really?"

Gibbs just shrugged, giving nothing else away, "Sure. But next time, give me a heads up before you show up at 3 a.m."

Tony let out a breath, feeling better that Gibbs wasn't completely creeped out, "Deal. I guess I should be going then."

Gibbs looked at his watch, "04:00. You're not going anywhere DiNozzo."

"But-"

Gibbs cut him off with a glare and motioned for him to follow. Tony unsteadily followed, the bourbon finally kicking in. Gibbs realized Tony was wobbling and reached out to support him. He guided Tony up the other set of stairs and into his guest bedroom. He helped Tony out of his sweats, knowing how he preferred to sleep in boxers, and under the covers. Just as he was about to walk out Tony grumbled, already half-asleep, "Thanks Gibbs."

Gibbs just grunted and turned the light off. He closed the door almost all the way before going back downstairs. He turned off the basement lights and got his couch ready to sleep on. As he lay awake for a while longer, he recalled what Tony told him. Gibbs had been in Tony's dream. His dream-self had saved Tony in a way and then told him he was leaving. He had no idea what it meant. He did know, however, that he should probably be more concerned that he had been a main character in his co-worker and friend's dream; he should feel maybe even a little creeped out, but he wasn't.

Just before Gibbs fell asleep, he realized that he was actually more than okay with being in Tony's dream, he actually kind of enjoyed it.

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

The next day had started out a little abnormal for Gibbs, and he was pretty sure it wasn't going to get any less so. Gibbs had woken up at his usual time for work, gone upstairs to wake up Tony, and gotten in the shower. The weird part came when Gibbs went back downstairs to a fully cooked breakfast. Omelets and coffee. Gibbs froze in the doorframe to the kitchen and watched as Tony set the table for two. He was humming some tune Gibbs didn't recognize and dancing a bit. Gibbs tried not to laugh. He didn't want Tony to stop or to have to stop watching him.

Finally, Tony turned around, mouth open and jolted to a stop, "Ahhh! Gibbs!"

Gibbs smiled widely, "Ahh, Tony."

Tony slowly recovered, "I was just gonna call up to you. I hope you don't mind. A full meal always helps after a night of drinking and not enough sleep."

Gibbs shook his head and went to sit at the table. Tony sat down across from him. They both ate for a few minutes in silence before Gibbs finally broke the silence, "Didn't know you could cook."

Tony nodded, pausing from stuffing his face, "When I was a kid, my father's housekeeper always would put all these gross ingredients in every breakfast, so I took it upon myself to teach myself how to cook. She got really offended but I gave her the best pouty face I could manage and told her I'd cook her breakfast for her now. She didn't think I could do it but my charm won her over. She would always tell me my omelets were the best she'd ever had. I was so proud of myself," he finished with a laugh and went back to eating.

Another tidbit into Tony's childhood. Gibbs didn't know what to say, as usual. He felt sad for the man. His own father had always been difficult to deal with but at least he'd been there along with Gibbs' mom before she died. He felt bad that Tony didn't grow up with parents that he knew loved him. But man, was he glad Tony trusted him enough with this stuff. Gibbs finished his last few bites only a few mouthfuls after Tony. Then he gulped down the coffee and leaned back a bit.

Tony was sipping his coffee and smiling at Gibbs, "Good?"

Gibbs swallowed the last of the coffee before smiling and nodding at the younger man, "You're gonna have to cook for me again sometime."

Tony's eyes lit up with the praise, "It's a deal Boss. Just so long as you keep makin' those cowboy-style steaks. You still won't tell me how you make them so good?"

Gibbs smirked and shook his head, "Not today."

Tony laughed, "You always say that."

After putting the dishes in the sink, Gibbs telling Tony he'd wash them later, they grabbed their gear and headed off to NCIS. Since they arrived, they'd been on cold cases and paperwork. The workday continued as normal until around lunch. It was Tony's turn to get it. They all agreed on Chinese and Tony set off. That's when the weirdness picked up again for Gibbs. After Tony had disappeared in the elevator, he found his mood declined by a lot. When he thought about why that would be, he realized that for some reason he missed Tony. But why? He had just gone out for lunch; he'd be back soon. It was silly. No, it was absurd. But, even Gibbs' confused psyche couldn't deny that he'd actually been happy that morning. Eating breakfast with his Senior Field Agent had made Gibbs happier than he'd been in a long time. It sated that part of him that missed having someone sharing his house with him, a part that Gibbs never paid any attention to if he could help it.

Gibbs also remembered the night before. The confession that Tony had made that Gibbs had saved him in his nightmare had made Gibbs feel pleased, special. He had no doubts that he would save Tony, die for him if he had to in real life. He knew Tony trusted him and Gibbs trusted him right back. Tony was the best agent he'd ever worked with. He meant a lot to Gibbs both in and out of work. But it was in this moment, that Gibbs realized just how much Tony meant to him.

Gibbs had been shooting glances at the elevator every time it dinged, disappointed when he saw it wasn't Tony. When Tony did finally step out and walk towards their squad, smiling at everyone as he held up the food and yelling how he'd saved them once again from the boringness of cold cases, Gibbs actually felt himself perk up and lighten. 'Ah hell. I've got a crush on Anthony DiNozzo.' And not just any old crush, like the one he'd had on Holly Snow or M. Allison Hart when he'd first met them. No, this was different and Gibbs could feel it.

"You go first Bossman," Tony dramatically handed a carton out to Gibbs, smiling that bright, charming smile, "Here's yours."

Gibbs couldn't help but smile back and say, "Thanks DiNozzo."

But as he grabbed the carton, both Gibbs and Tony jumped a bit when the fingers touched, but neither pulled away. Instead, their smiles faltered a bit as they locked eyes. A spark was radiating through both men until McGee's voice said jokingly, "Tony! It's not rescue if we have to wait forever to get it."

Gibbs looked away as a blush spread into his cheeks. Tony tried to cover his with a clear of his throat before he joked, "Sorry McAntsy. Here's yours... And here's Ziva's. I also got us some mix-and-match items. And fortune cookies!"

As they normally did, they brought all their chairs closer together, this time around Ziva's desk, so they could swap food. Completely out of character, Gibbs allowed them to break and eat for a whole hour before standing up and saying, "Alright, back to work. I'm gonna go see Ducky."

The other three agents, did as they were told and went back to their own desks.