After the Fight

Notes: Spoilers for Red Cell.

After the fight
by Stacy L.A. Stronach

Gibbs sat on one of the tables in Ducky's morgue, wincing as Tony cleaned up the cuts and abrasions on his face. By the time Gibbs had actually allowed that his "very minor" injuries might require
attention, Ducky had gone home for the day.

Tony gently applied the antiseptic cream to one of the deeper cuts, mentally shaking his head at his boss' pigheaded ways. He couldn't come down when they first brought Gunnery Sargeant Leeka back, noooo, of course not. They had to get everything but the report paperwork done up before Gibbs would even consider getting fixed up. Then he'd almost refused when he realised Ducky wasn't there.

Gibbs pulled back from Tony, wincing at the discomfort. Tony frowned. "Lift your shirt."

Gibbs frowned. "What?" he growled, putting more venom in that one word than most people could put into an entire sentence.

Tony reached for the top button. "I want to see how badly bruised you are."

"No, DiNozzo," he replied swatting Tony's hands away before jumping down off the table, again wincing at the jarring motion. "You've played nursemaid enough for tonight. Go home. I'll see you tomorrow." Gibbs walked out of the morgue, leaving an open mouthed Tony staring
after him.

"I hate it when you do that, Jethro," Tony muttered, cleaning up before he, too, left the morgue. As he slammed stuff back into the first aid kit, Tony wondered, not for the first time, how the hell
he'd ended up in a relationship...and a romantic one, at that, with one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Second "b" for bastard, even.

An hour later, Tony pulled up outside Jethro's house, glad to see the older man's car was there. He knew Jethro had told him to go home, but, well, Tony wasn't great at following orders. Climbing out of the car, he went into the house, to door unlocked as was usual. Pausing inside the door, Tony saw light coming from the basement.

He found Jethro sitting on one of the saw horses, sipping at his bourbon. Unsure if Jethro really wanted him here, Tony paused at the bottom of the stairs. When Jethro motioned him over, Tony walked over, stopping near Gibbs' knees.

Tony reached out, gently cupping Jethro's face, making sure his fingers didn't graze any bruises or cuts. "Man, he really worked you over. Although...you did a pretty good job on him...for an old guy,"
Tony said, grinning. He yelped a split second later as Gibbs reached around and swatted him on the ass.

"I'll show you pretty good for an old guy," Jethro replied, his voice hard but he was fighting a grin as he said it. "I'm getting to fucking old for this shit," he whispered, wrapping his arms around Tony,
pulling him close before pressing the less sore side of his face against Tony's abdomen. "And I'm sorry about earlier, Tony, I--"

Shrugghing, Tony leaned down to kiss the top of Gibbs' head, one hand cupping the back of his head, fingers threading through the short silver and dark strands, while he let his other hand travel over Gibbs shoulder and down his back. "Don't worry about it, I understand. Hey, why don't you come upstairs and take a bath, use the Jacuzzi. It'll help you feel less sore tomorrow. And don't deny it, you're going to ache like a son of a bitch tomorrow," Tony said.

"I suppose you're going to help me, are you?" Jethro asked, grinning. He released Tony and stood up.

"Hey, I'll wash your back for you...and if you're _really_ lucky, I'll give you a nice massage after your bath," Tony replied, smiling. Jethro moved to head upstairs, but Tony pulled him close, sliding arms
around his waist. He leaned in, capturing Jethro's mouth in a slow, gentle kiss; one that was reassurance for both of them, more than it was passionate. When they broke the kiss, Tony stared at Jethro for a long moment, then whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied, letting a smile break across his face. He turned and headed toward, the stairs, Tony following. "That bath sounds like a good idea. Of course, you only offered to help because you want to see my bruises," Jethro joked.

Tony laughed. "Nah, I just want to see you naked!"

//**the end**\\