Chapter Text
The tree in the front yard had been split down the middle. Gibbs stands on the porch staring at it in the soggy morning light, water dripping down from the awning. It’s been several weeks since that last bad storm, since the first time he and Tony had kissed. He’s been steadily hacking away at the downed branches, often with Tony’s help, but he’ll have to buy a new chainsaw to deal with the trunk. He scratches his chin and drains his coffee cup, heading back in for a refill.
Not that he’d been working very diligently on his yard. He’d been spending most of his evenings in the basement making Abby a new coffin to sleep in – she had found a temporary apartment and everyone was helping her replace what she’d lost. The rest of the time had seen him in bed with Tony. Or on the couch. Or pressed up against the boat. There’s been a great deal of kissing which Gibbs hasn’t even tried to argue with. Tony seems intent on tasting every centimeter of his mouth, learning the pattern of his molars and memorizing the ridges of his palate.
That morning Tony had tilted his chin up and kissed him sweetly until the alarm clock had drawn them apart. He’d pulled away slowly, licking his lips and smiling softly, leaving Gibbs with a strange, half-forgotten feeling in the pit of his stomach. In the bathroom Gibbs had stood under the hot spray of the shower for ten minutes too long but otherwise felt better than he had in weeks – if he’s honest with himself, better than he’s felt in months, maybe years. Then Tony had left early while Gibbs had sat in his kitchen, drinking coffee and trying to figure out how he got to this place.
A low rumble of thunder draws his gaze towards the window and he glances at his watch.
It’s time to face another day.
He washes his cup, grabs his keys, his phone, and walks out the door just as the first drops of rain begin to fall. He gets a text from Tony at a light - an address and the words “double homicide”.
He turns towards the highway and flips on his wipers as the rain starts coming down harder.