Tony banged around the break room, putting together a pot of coffee with enough force to get out some more frustration. The shower had helped, clearing the filth and smell from his body, and the hot water had soaked away some of the aggravation, but not all of it, no, not even half of it. Which was why he was stomping around in the break room, muttering to himself about the injustice of the entire situation.

After all the crap he’d gone through, being drugged, getting kidnapped, rescuing himself and the Gunny, facing down that woman and disarming her all by himself…

“Gaaah!” he exclaimed, bringing down the coffeepot hard enough to dent it a little.

Okay, not completely by himself, but at least 80 percent or so.

After all of that, he finally gets Gibbs to admit to feeling something for him and feeling the too-brief grip of the other man’s hands on his face and neck, only to find out that it was a joke? He was as up for a joke as the next guy, probably more so than most really, but it just wasn’t fair to have that snatched away from him like it had been.

Coming back to find McGee working at his desk and Gibbs smooth remark, “Forget about it, McGee, he’s still alive,” had done more to hurt him than anything had in a long time. Of course it would be Gibbs to do it, he was the only one who really could. The only one that Tony let close enough to hurt him. It was pathetic, really, how for a few crumbs of affection and praise now and again, he let Gibbs just walk all over him. With anyone else, Tony was a force to be reckoned with but with Gibbs…

Tony sighed and pulled out a bag of grounds, then started hunting for the filters. He was cool with the fact that Gibbs was a ‘show, don’t tell’ kind of man, that was no problem. And really, he knew that he was respected and liked by Gibbs because if he wasn’t, then he wouldn’t be on the team. But just for once, just once, he’d really like to have Gibbs admit, sans joking or sarcasm, how he really felt about Tony.

Just for the record. Just so in the future when Gibbs cut him down, Tony could remember that the older man really did like him and wanted him around.

Opening and closing the drawers, looking for the filters that were never there when he wanted them, he muttered angrily, “Oh no. Can’t have that. Mr. Almighty Gibbs can’t just once admit that he likes you, or cares for you without turning it into something snide, can he? Why the hell did you even bother? It’s obvious that he has no use for you outside of work. Because you’re a fucking idiot, that’s why. You’re a needy moron who can’t do anything right. Because if you did do something right, you incompetent jerk, you never would’ve been kidnapped in the first God damned place! And where the hell are the filters!!?”

“I think they’re in the cabinet above you, to the right.”

Tony froze in place at Gibbs’ voice, his heart stopping in panic as he frantically wondered how long Gibbs had been standing there. Taking a breath, he turned around to find Gibbs lounging against the doorframe, watching him intently. Offering a weak smile, he greeted, “Uh, hi Boss.”

“DiNozzo,” Gibbs replied, nodding briefly.

Great. No help whatsoever. Biting the bullet, he asked, “Just, how much of that did you hear?”

Lips pursed, Gibbs answered, “I kind of like the ring of ‘Mr. Almighty Gibbs.’ Think they’d make me up some business cards like that?”

Tony’s head dropped forward and he groaned. “I think I’ll just go kill myself now. You don’t mind, right?”

“Tony, what’s taking so…oh, hey Gibbs.”

Beautiful. All he’d need next is for Ducky and Abby to show up with popcorn and lawn chairs. Looking over at Kate, he explained, “I couldn’t find the filters.”

Kate was looking between the two of them as if sensing that something was going on, but Gibbs cut her off at the pass with, “Would you give us a minute, Kate? I need to clear something up with DiNozzo.”

“Oh, sure. I’ll just, go do something else.”

After she left, Gibbs entered the break room completely and shut the door behind him, putting the door stopper in place from the wrong side so that the door couldn’t be opened from outside.

Tony checked for the agent’s weapon, and found that fortunately, it wasn’t clipped onto his hip where it usually resided.

Closing the distance, Gibbs stopped only inches from Tony and stared into his eyes as he said, “I wasn’t joking about you being irreplaceable, Tony, and I’m sorry you thought I was. The McGee crack, well, that was out of line, so I’m sorry about that, too.”

Tony squinted at him suspiciously, tempted to ask where the pod was, but kept his mouth shut.

With a faint sigh, Gibbs added, “And yeah, okay, you can be needy, but I like to take care of you, too, so that works out good for both of us. You are not, however, a moron, or incompetent, or any other derogatory remark that might pop up in that head of yours. Am I understood?”

Swallowing nervously at the dangerous glint in the older man’s eyes, Tony nodded.

“Good. Now, as for me having no use for you outside of work, well, that’s also incorrect,” Gibbs continued, matter-of-factly, bringing up a hand to clasp the back of Tony’s neck. “I have a great many uses for you outside of work, Tony, but I didn’t figure you for limiting your options to a dyed-in-the-wool, ex-marine so I didn’t say anything.”

“Limit me, Boss, please limit me.”

The soft, pleading words could be taken in so many different ways and really, Tony wasn’t entirely sure how he meant them, or why they’d slipped out, but he did mean every one of them.

Gibbs nodded slowly and pulled him closer, kissing him like Tony had been positive the other man was going to do earlier, right in the middle of the office. It was a slow, possessive kiss and he gasped into it, a shudder of desire running through him. Strong fingers laced tightly through his hair, holding him in place as Gibbs’ tongue explored his mouth at leisure. A moan escaped him and Tony tried to get even closer, but Gibbs’ other hand rested on his abs, holding him back.

When the kiss ended, Tony was both breathing hard, and just plain hard, his body aching for more contact. A lot more contact.

“This doesn’t happen again when we’re on the clock,” Gibbs announced quietly. “Here at work, everything remains the same. Understood?”

Nodding, Tony agreed, “Understood.”

Gibbs continued to look at him, his hands still in place, then also nodded and pulled away completely, his hands dropping from Tony’s body. “All right then. Get that coffee made and finish those reports. I want them done, and done correctly Tony, no shortcuts, in an hour. After that, I expect you at my house where we can finish this conversation properly.”

“Oh. Is that what they called it in your day? Conversation?” Tony snarked, unable to help himself from provoking the other man.

“Tony, so help me…We are going to work on that attitude of yours later. For now, get back to work.”

Tony yelped in surprise when Gibbs slapped him sharply on the ass before leaving. It had been a hard enough smack to set his butt to throbbing and a slow grin surfaced. He happily started humming to himself as he finished making the coffee. It was only a few minutes later that he brought three mugs back to their work area, walking slow and careful so as not to slosh any over the sides.

He stopped at Gibbs’ desk first, setting one down with a soft, “Here you go, Boss.”

“Thanks, DiNozzo,” Gibbs answered absently, picking it up to drink, thoroughly engrossed in his computer screen.

Tony grinned, catching the quick once-over that Gibbs sent his way and, from there, went to Kate’s desk and set one down for her, too. He was sure that he could feel Gibbs staring at his ass the whole walk over.

She grinned up at him. “Thanks, Tony.”

“No problem,” he replied, grinning back.

“So Tony, wait, I’ve got a question for you.”

Uh oh. Tony definitely didn’t like the look in her eyes. It was a lot like the look she’d had before asking her question about ‘tonguing a guy,’ after the Amanda Reeds/Voss case. It was Kate at both her most devious and most ruthless and being on the wrong end of that stare was a Very Bad Thing. Cautiously, he asked, “What?”

Leaning forward, she whispered, “Abby and I have been wondering something.”

Abby too? D’oh. This really couldn’t be good. He looked around to make sure no one was nearby before asking, also in a whisper, “What?”

“Just how good a kisser is Gibbs?”

Tony floundered, completely not knowing what to say as Kate smirked back at him. Denial! Denial was definitely a good place to start but his tongue just wasn’t cooperating.

“DiNozzo! Get to work! I want those reports within the hour, remember!?”

Oh thank God! Tony thought in blatant relief. He grabbed his mug of coffee from Kate’s desk and swiftly retreated to the safety of his desk, ignoring the knowing grin that Kate sent his way as he started working.

The sooner he was done, the sooner he and Gibbs got to finish that conversation, after all.