"Five Years On"

Chapter 1:

Tony DiNozzo-Gibbs leaned against the railing and looked out over the bay as the setting sun cast a pink and golden glow over the calm water. Tony turned to watch as his husband of two years, a gruff, tough as nails, bastard, ex-Marine sniper by the name of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, skillfully pulled various ropes through their cleats as he carefully lowered the main sail of the "Caitlin". It was Friday evening and they were preparing to anchor for the night in a tucked away little cove they had recently discovered. The team was off rotation for the weekend, and they had planned to make the most of their time alone before heading back to work on Monday. Gibbs and Tony had already loaded the car with extra clothes, food and provisions so they headed straight to the marina from the Navy Yard.

The 25-foot sailboat was named the "Caitlin" in honor of their fallen colleague, Special Agent Caitlin "Kate" Todd. Even though they lost her seven years ago to a terrorist's bullet, Tony and Gibbs firmly held onto many fond memories of her. Despite her tendency to be snarky and judgmental, both men adored her. Gibbs admired her tenacity and toughness while Tony teased her relentlessly like he would a sister. Even though Kate, a devout practicing Catholic, probably wouldn't have approved of their relationship, they liked to think that she would at least be happy for them. Tony continued to watch with admiration as Gibbs moved gracefully around the deck while he leaned against the railing and reflected on how their relationship had changed over the years from boss and subordinate to friends to lovers, and eventually to marriage.

Gibbs began working on the boat almost ten years ago after his third and hopefully last divorce was finalized, but had abandoned it several times over the years for various reasons. He lost all interest in it after Kate was assassinated by Ari, focusing solely on hunting Ari down and exacting his own personal brand of justice. It sat there and collected dust for four months when Gibbs "retired" temporarily to Mexico where he mourned the loss of his family for the second time and tried to regain memories lost due to the explosion on the ship that left him in a coma for days. Every year around the end of July the boat got pushed aside so that he had plenty of room to build toys for the annual NCIS toy drive each December, and there was always a chair or door or something around the house in need of repair.

Gibbs had gotten used to Tony showing one or two evenings a week, usually during or after a difficult case or after a bad breakup. Tony would sit on the steps and talk while Gibbs listened attentively as he worked. Sometimes Tony brought beer and pizza, which they would eat right out of the box over the workbench, or Gibbs would call and order Chinese. Gibbs was surprised when Tony started showing up more frequently and instead of talking about a case that was bothering him or asking for advice he would pepper Gibbs with questions about woodworking and what each type of tool was used for. Instead of simply explaining it to him, Gibbs would wave a reluctant Tony over and demonstrate for him before letting Tony have a go at it. Despite Tony's repeated protests that he would screw something up and didn't want Gibbs to kill him, Gibbs remained calm as he patiently taught a novice Tony how to properly use the wide array of hand tools that hung from various pegs and hooks on the back of his workbench. Tony was really nervous at first each time Gibbs would slap a plane or sander into his hand in a silent command to get to work, but over time and with a lot of practice and encouragement from Gibbs he got pretty adept at using them.

Tony found himself craving the feelings of peace and contentment that settled over him as he worked side by side with Gibbs. Sometimes they talked, but more often than not they worked in companionable silence. The tremendous sense of pride he felt whenever Gibbs praised him for a job well done meant as much to Tony in the basement as it did everyday on the job; praise from Gibbs was manna from Heaven. Everyone teased Gibbs and made jokes about the boat, but now Tony understood that to Gibbs the basement wasn't about shutting himself off from everyone, but instead represented a safe haven where he could find a bit of solace. The wood didn't argue, get mad, get jealous or demand anything; it just waited patiently and was always there for him when he needed it.

Gibbs realized how much he enjoyed Tony's company away from the office and that he actually missed him on the weekends when he didn't come over. He knew that Tony was a serial dater; Friday and Saturday nights were for bedding hot women, not for spending countless hours in a dusty basement building a boat with your boss. A small part of Gibbs hoped that Tony would find someone to settle down and build a life with, but the bigger more selfish part didn't want that because that would mean that Tony didn't need him anymore. It meant a lot to him that Tony seemed genuinely interested in helping with the boat and he loved being able to teach someone and share his passion with them.

What Gibbs didn't know was that Tony spent most of his free weekends holed up in his apartment watching classic movies or reading books about art and history. He didn't date nearly as much as everyone thought, but he did his best to keep up the pretense of being the ultimate ladies man. He missed not being with Gibbs on the weekends, but he knew that being there on the weekends would lead to a lot of questions that he simply didn't have the nerve to answer. Besides for all Tony knew, like any red-blooded guy Gibbs probably dated on the weekends, not that he would ever share that information with the team if he was; his personal life was strictly off limits and only a complete idiot would dare to ask him about it.

Over the course of several months as the boat really began to take shape Tony and Gibbs unexpectedly fell in love. It happened so gradually that neither of them realized what was happening. Gibbs had noticed a change in Tony when he started showing up on Friday nights and had stopped bragging about his "hot dates" at work every Monday morning. Tony seemed more settled, and Gibbs wondered if maybe he had finally found someone special, but he didn't want to question him about it. He was just glad to have Tony there no matter the reason, but he didn't dare dream that it meant Tony wanted him in any way other than as a mentor and friend, or God forbid as a stand-in for his absentee father.

Tony had noticed that Gibbs smiled a lot more and actually laughed at a few of his jokes. Gibbs' laugh was like a drug that Tony was hopelessly addicted to, and he wanted more. When he stopped to think about it, what he really wanted was Gibbs in any way he could have him; preferably in his life as well as in his bed. He refused to entertain any notion that Gibbs would ever want him as anything other than a colleague and maybe as a friend. Hell, for all he knew, Gibbs thought of him as the son he never had; a thought which Tony found totally depressing.

Gibbs' heart sank when Tony showed up right after work one Friday evening looking like he was dressed for a date. He typically showed up in ripped, faded jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt to work on the boat, but this night found him dressed in a pair of skin tight black jeans, a white button down dress shirt and a black leather jacket. Gone were the beat up Converse sneakers he usually wore in favor of black Italian leather boots. Gibbs had to wonder why Tony would go home, change for a date, and then show up at his house.

Gibbs feared that Tony was there to tell him he had someone new in his life so he would't be coming over anymore. "Gotta hot date tonight, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he turned away, trying not to let the disappointment show on his face or in his voice.

Tony nervously rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled, "Well, uh, I, uh, guess that depends on if you consider me taking you out for dinner a date."

Gibbs dropped the planer he had been holding onto the workbench and slowly turned to face Tony. Blue eyes locked on green as he leaned back against the workbench and folded his arms across his chest. He huffed out a laugh as Tony fidgeted where he stood, then Gibbs grinned and shook his head. "Well … if it is, I guess I better go change. Give me ten minutes." He smiled warmly and patted Tony's cheek affectionately before running up the stairs leaving a confused Tony in his wake.

When Gibbs got to his bedroom he shut the door and leaned back against it. He took some deep breaths to calm himself and ran a hand down his face. "Could this be a date?" he wondered as he pulled his Marine Corp sweatshirt over his head. He hadn't gotten started on the boat yet so he didn't need to shower off any sawdust. If this was a date, he wanted to look nice so he went to the closet and pulled out a pair of his best grey slacks and a dark blue button down shirt. He dressed quickly and headed down the stairs while buckling his belt to find a pensive Tony sitting on the couch. Tony looked up and smiled brightly at the vision of Gibbs in dress slacks and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. "God, can he be any sexier?" Tony thought.

"Wow, you clean up nice, Boss!" Tony said with an appreciative nod, still smiling at Gibbs. "I, uh, made reservations at Orlando's, I hope you don't mind."

Gibbs smiled back and said, "Of course I don't mind. They make great steaks. Let's go."

"Hey Lanie," a smiling Tony said nonchalantly to the hostess, who smiled back and batted her eyelashes at him. "I have a reservation for two at 7:00." Tony didn't notice the disappointed look on the young woman's face, but then again he hadn't paid any attention to her coquettish flirting either.

"Um, sure Tony," Lanie said quietly before grabbing a couple of menus and silently leading Gibbs and Tony to the quiet, cozy table Tony had reserved back in the corner of the dining room.

Gibbs pulled out his chair as Lanie dropped the menus on the table and walked away looking like she was about to cry. Gibbs chuckled as he watched her walk away. Tony cocked his head to the side and looked at him curiously from across the table before asking, "What's so damn funny?"

"Your friend. Lanie was it? She's not too happy that you are here … with a date." Gibbs said nervously as he unfolded his napkin and placed it neatly across his lap. He was waiting for Tony to laugh at him for the date comment, but when he looked back up Gibbs instead found Tony staring at him in wonder, a shy smile on his lips and his green eyes twinkling.

Tony sighed and shrugged as he looked down at his hands. "Ancient history, Boss. It was nothing. We went on a blind date a year or so ago. She is the younger sister of my frat brother Andy's girlfriend, and it was a double-date thing. She gave me her phone number but I never called her. Andy told me she wanted to date me, but I'm just not interested."

Gibbs reached across the table and tapped Tony under the chin forcing him to look up. "Tony, you don't have to explain anything to me," Gibbs said softly. Tony was about to say something in response, but settled for a brief nod when their waiter arrived to take their orders. They both ordered the prime top sirloin with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables, and Tony ordered a bottle of wine.

The question of whether or not they were on a date remained unanswered through dinner and a couple of bottles of red wine. Both men were unsure of what was going on, so they kept their conversation on the safe topic of their latest case. The steaks were grilled to near perfection, but Tony insisted that Gibbs' cowboy-style steaks were still the best. When they finished their meal, Tony handed over his credit card to pay the check and pulled several bills from his wallet for the tip. Once they stepped outside into the warm summer night, Tony began to feel the effects of the alcohol and tossed the keys to his truck to Gibbs who couldn't hide the smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Tony laughed as he climbed into the passenger seat. "Yeah, well I guess I can't quite hold my liquor like you can, Boss."

Tony may have been in no condition to drive, but he thought he could manage sandpaper well enough without any major problems, so Gibbs led Tony upstairs where he found sweat pants and a sweatshirt for him to change into. Tony kept sneaking covert glances at an unaware Gibbs as he changed back into his jeans, hoping against hope that the ubiquitous white undershirt would come off, but unfortunately it kept Gibbs' chest completely hidden from view as a long-sleeved t-shirt was pulled on over it. Tony sighed in disappointment earning a questioning look from Gibbs. Tony flushed slightly and headed for the door, not seeing Gibbs grinning and shaking his head behind him.

When they reached the basement Gibbs walked straight over to the workbench and pulled a bottle of Jack Daniels out from a cabinet underneath it. He poured a generous amount of the dark amber liquid into two small glasses he kept down there and handed one to Tony, who was perched on the sawhorse next to him. Tony downed half of the contents in one go, pulling a face before coughing and gasping as the fiery liquid burned all the way down to his toes. Tony liked the way bourbon felt as it warmed him from within, but given the choice when it came to liquor he preferred sipping on top shelf single malt scotch.

A night of sanding, talking and laughing turned into a night of too much bourbon on top of the wine they had with dinner, and true to form too much alcohol led to an uninhibited Tony not thinking before speaking. Too much booze always made him brave or stupid, Tony could never decide exactly which, and for some unfathomable reason he ended up confessing to Gibbs that he had been falling for him practically since the day he tackled him on the streets of Baltimore all those years ago. Gibbs' mirrored confession in response failed to register due to the drunken fog Tony was in until Gibbs took his lips in a gentle, loving kiss. The kiss didn't last long but it was enough to send a clear message.

"Gibbs?" Tony asked breathlessly as he searched Gibbs' eyes for some kind of sign while running shaky fingers over his own lips.

Gibbs just held Tony's gaze as if hypnotized and smiled warmly as he reached up and pulled Tony's hand down from his mouth. "Tony," he whispered, "I've wanted to do that for so long, and I really want to do it again."

Gibbs took the megawatt DiNozzo smile and an enthusiastic nod as permission, so he pulled Tony to him and kissed him deeply pouring everything he was feeling into the kiss. Tony moaned and wrapped his arms around Gibbs' neck and deepened the kiss even further. When they finally came up for air they just stared at each other grinning like a couple of fools. After a good hour spent making out like teenagers, both men ended up passed out under the boat with what had been a brand new bottle of Jack Daniels from Gibbs' seemingly endless supply lying empty between them.

Gibbs woke with a groan early the next morning, his head pounding and his back reminding him that it did not appreciate sleeping on a cold concrete floor. He looked over at Tony and took in the peaceful countenance of the young Italian who was snoring softly with his hands folded on his stomach. "God he is gorgeous," Gibbs thought to himself as Tony slowly began to stir. Tony's eyes fluttered open to see the most beautiful blue eyes in the world gazing down at him from less than a foot above him. Tony smiled and tried to sit up but instead groaned loudly and laid back down due to the pounding in his head and the spinning of the room.

A smirking Jethro leaned further over and whispered in his ear a cheerful, "Good morning, Tony." Tony smiled back and answered quietly, "Morning, Boss."

Gibbs snickered as he stood and offered a hand to Tony to help him up. "Not your boss here, Tony." When Tony was up and Gibbs was sure that he was steady on his feet he murmured, "I was kind of hoping to be something else to you."

Tony's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open as the realization hit him that the declarations they made to each other last night were not a dream. Gibbs was rewarded with a dazzling DiNozzo smile. "So, last night wasn't a dream?" Tony asked with hope dancing in his eyes.

Gibbs placed a gentle hand on Tony's cheek and replied, "Nope, not a dream Tony. At least it was real for me." He then sealed their fate as he reached up and pulled Tony to him claiming his lips in a searing kiss. Both men moaned into the kiss savoring the taste of bourbon that lingered on their lips and tongues.

They made plans to spend the weekend together so that they could actually talk and figure out if they were ready to take the risk of getting romantically involved. After coffee, Advil, Alka Seltzer and separate showers they headed to a little diner close to Gibbs' house for breakfast and to begin figuring things out.

They had managed to date in secret for six months before Abby saw them one night at a nondescript family restaurant about thirty miles from D.C. They purposefully stayed away from the more popular restaurants in D.C. where they were likely to run into people from work, and instead sought out little out of the way places. Abby, who was on a date herself, stared in shock when she first caught sight of them holding hands across the table and looking lovingly into each other's eyes in the dim light. She fought the urge to go over and talk to them figuring they weren't ready for anyone to know they were together, and instead stopped their waiter as he walked by and ordered a round of drinks to be delivered to Tony and Gibbs' table. When their drinks arrived, a puzzled Tony asked the smirking waiter who had sent them and how did they know what they were drinking. The waiter nodded his head over toward Abby, who simply saluted the two stunned men with a raised glass of wine and a knowing smirk.

Tony just gaped at her while Gibbs returned the salute with a smile. "She was gonna find out eventually, Tony," he stated with a gentle laugh.

Tony looked at Gibbs and tried to find any sign that he was uncomfortable with Abby seeing them together. Tony cleared his throat before leaning almost all the way over the table and asking quietly, "Jethro are you okay with her knowing about us? I mean, now that she knows everyone on the planet will know within the hour. Hell, she's probably already sent out a tweet to everyone!"

Gibbs blinked rapidly and looked at Tony like he'd gone crazy, "Sent out a what?"

Tony glared back at him before rolling his eyes and sighing. "Are you ever going to join the 21st century? A tweet means a Twitter post. It's … oh, never mind."

Gibbs just laughed and squeezed Tony's hand. Tony wanted to bang his head on the table in frustration, but instead laughed too. "We are so screwed, Jethro! What are we gonna do?"

"Send her one of those text message thingies and tell her not to say anything until we talk to her tomorrow," Gibbs suggested helpfully. His eyes went wide as Tony flashed a brilliant smile and immediately pulled out his phone and began typing at an incredible speed with just his thumbs. Gibbs couldn't help but laugh when Tony hit the 'Send' button and snapped his phone closed. "You should really try typing your case reports with just your thumbs. It would be a hell of a lot faster." He laughed even harder at the 'oh-you-think-you're-so-funny" glare Tony leveled at him. A few seconds later Tony's phoned pinged and he flipped it back open and smiled. He turned it around so that Gibbs could see Abby's response on the small screen, which read simply: "My lips sealed. U 2 rock!"

"Hey, you gonna just stand there or are you maybe, you know, gonna help me?" Gibbs barked out as he stood before the main sail, bringing Tony back to the present with a start.

Tony knew full well it was a two-man job taking down and securing the main sail, but that didn't stop him from grinning sheepishly as he made the few steps over to Gibbs who was standing there with his hands on his hips glaring at him. He looked at Jethro, who was trying his hardest not to laugh, as Tony responded to the glare with his sweetest and most innocent looking smile. Gibbs chuckled in amusement, but smacked Tony on the back of the head anyway, albeit not as hard as he usually did.

At the affronted look on Tony's face, Gibbs grinned and asked, "You looked deep in thought there, Tony. Everything okay?"

Tony responded by cupping Gibbs' face in his hands and kissing him sweetly. He then leaned in so that their foreheads met and nodded, "Yeah, everything's fine. I was just thinking back to building this with you. Who would have thought we'd end up building a life together at the same time?" Tony pulled back and placed a kiss on the tip of Gibbs' nose.

Gibbs pulled Tony into a warm hug. "I dunno, but thank God we did." They held each other and rocked together for several minutes before Tony started to shiver. The sun had set and it was starting to get chilly out on the open water. "Come on. Let's get below. It's getting too cold up here and I can't have you getting sick on me." Together they quickly secured the sail before making their way below deck, through the galley and to the master bedroom at the bow.

Both men finished their nightly routines in the small but fully appointed bathroom and climbed onto the v-shaped bed, which took up nearly the whole room. Before Gibbs could lie down, Tony threw his arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. He pulled back and grinned at Gibbs as he let out a contented sigh. "God, I love this boat! I wish we could just sail away and not have to deal with work on Monday. You have any idea what's going to happen? Vance give you any clues?"

Gibbs shook his head before lying down on his back and pulling Tony down on top of him. "Nope. All I know is that Vance and Sec Nav want to see me first thing Monday morning." Gibbs suddenly rolled them so that he was looking down into Tony's deep green eyes. He placed a tender kiss on his lips and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it, Tony. As long as they don't have plans to fuck with the team again I can handle whatever they want."

A series of kisses and gentle caresses lit the desire they had for each other, and soon Tony was pleading for Gibbs to make love to him. Not needing to be asked twice, Gibbs reached into a small cabinet built into the headboard and pulled out a tube of lube. Tony was impatient as ever trying to hurry things along, but Gibbs took his time stretching and relaxing the muscles to get Tony ready for his large size. He knew that Tony liked the little burn that came with Gibbs breaching his hole, so after working only two fingers in and out for a few minutes Gibbs finally lined up and entered Tony with one long thrust. Tony clamped his eyes shut and threw his head back in ecstasy, loving the initial slight twinge of pain and the way Gibbs filled him so completely.

Gibbs kept his strokes long and slow until Tony started begging again. "Harder (pant pant), faster (pant pant). Please Jethro," Tony whined in a voice too erotic for Gibbs to ignore. He picked up the pace and began thrusting into Tony's body almost savagely while purposefully targeting Tony's prostate, earning moans of pleasure and panted encouragement. "Oh God, that's it. Oh Jethro! Oh, oh, oh God!" Tony shouted out as he exploded between them without Gibbs ever touching his cock. Gibbs was right with him as Tony's muscles contracted around him pulling his own orgasm from him and milking his cock for everything he had.

When they both had their breathing under control, Gibbs slowly pulled out of Tony and rolled out of bed to get a warm washcloth to clean them up. His heart skipped a beat when he came back to the bedroom to find Tony sprawled out, sweat glistening on his skin, one arm thrown over his head, and his eyes looking at him with so much love it made Gibbs ache for the man. Tony gave him a knowing smirk and held out his arms to welcome Gibbs back to their bed.

It was Tony's turn to drive Gibbs insane as he took him slow and sweet. They looked deeply into each other's eyes as they gently rocked together murmuring endearments and exchanging kisses. Tony could feel his climax building, so he leaned down and placed a kiss close to Gibbs' ear. "Come for me Jethro," he whispered while reaching a hand between them and grasping Gibbs' swollen cock. Two strokes from Tony was all it took for Gibbs to arch his back and come in stream after stream while Tony made one last deep thrust and exploded inside him; their second orgasms rivaling the first in their intensity.

Gibbs had made love to Tony, and Tony had made love to Gibbs. That's how it was between them; equal partners in all aspects of their personal relationship. As they basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking, they held each other close as the boat gently rocked them to sleep.