Gibbs/DiNozzo (NCIS) (original) (raw)

Title: Irritation and Adoration
Characters: Jethro Gibbs/Tony DiNozzo (NCIS)
Author: Susan217
Spoilers: All of season 1. Not much of season 2. It’s only been on for a season and a half after all.
Notes: I’m not trying to be eloquent. This is a ship I love and I’m just here to pimp it. Also, I'm an idiot and had the comm listed as a friend and spent all day wondering why I didn't have access to the commnunity. So, I'm a day late. Delete if this is unwelcome.

HUGE thanks to merlins_sister and samgirl for betas and thoughts.

Tony:... You don't care? Okay, I need to hear that you say that you care. Gibbs: Tony, as far as I'm concerned you are...irreplaceable.

NCIS. Naval Criminal Investigative Service. It’s like CSI for the military. They investigate Navy-related crime.

Gibbs

Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) is a respected and sometimes feared team leader at NCIS. He’s a former Marine who hasn’t quite left his jarhead mentality behind. He’s passionate about his cases and doesn’t object to pissing people off to get to the bottom of a case. Gibbs is never concerned with making friends. At all. In fact many people see him as a real bastard.

Kate: You know, Gibbs, sometimes you can be a real... Gibbs : Bastard?

Tony: Gibbs'll get in. He's got clearance that'll let him see the dead aliens at Area 51. Kate: Because he probably killed them.

Gibbs: Sit there and shut up before I shoot you.

He’s mildly obsessive. And by mildly I mean very. He has a boat that he is building from scratch in his basement. Currently it’s only made of the frame and he spends the nights he isn’t at work sleeping inside it. His coffee intake is abnormal and I’m surprised he doesn’t spend most episodes bouncing off walls.

Gibbs has been married three times. The marriages did not end on friendly terms. Gibbs mentions that one wife clubbed him over the head with a nine iron while another calls repeatedly on their anniversary, drunk, to talk about their marriage. This has prompted Gibbs into losing more than one cell phone.

I know what you’re thinking. What exactly is appealing about this character?

Gibbs loves his job, and loves his country. He’s incredibly kind to children when they are involved in a case and adores every member of his team. In his own way. He would lay down his life for any of them in a heart beat. He just isn’t always the best at showing his emotions. This is OK, though, because there is a certain someone around who inspires passions of many kinds in Gibbs.

Tony DiNozzo

Tony (Michael Weatherly) is remarkably similar to a puppy. Adorable at first, irritating at his worst, but overall you adore him. He’s incredibly cute and really enjoys using that to his advantage. He was gifted with a beautiful smile and flashes it whenever he wants his way.

Kate: How did you get into NCIS? Tony: I smiled?

He’s had numerous job changes, each of them lasting two years, until he came to NCIS, giving the impression that Tony is a bit of a commitment phobe. He was a cop with the Baltimore Vice before coming to NCIS. Tony has amazing vision, an uncanny sense of smell, and hearing that a dog would envy. This makes him a force to reckon with if you are a criminal.

Evidence?

These guys have chemistry. Call it shippy, call it friendship, but you can’t deny that it exists. Tony is one of the only people I’ve ever seen consistently inspire emotion in Gibbs, while Gibbs is the only person that can make Tony shut his trap.

Tony enjoys pushing Gibbs buttons. Gibbs enjoys hitting Tony upside the head. A friend once pointed out that Gibbs hitting Tony reminded her of a child pulling the pig tails of the little girl he liked in grade school.

Tony has stayed at Gibbs’ place on more than one occasion. This is surprising since so little is really know about Gibbs’ past. It’s fairly clear that not many people get to see that side of him.

[Tony needs a place to stay for the night] Tony : You remember when I stayed with you that time, when it didn't really go so well? Gibbs : Yeah. I remember, Dinozzo. Tony : Well, listen. I was younger then. Immature, a little unfocused... Gibbs : It was six months ago, Tony.

At the end of the episode Tony starts to leave the crime scene. Gibbs calls out to him that “the door is unlocked”. Tony simply responds with an “I know” without a backward glance. This in itself reeks of familiarity and closeness.

One minor problem in their relationship is that Tony can hold Gibbs up as infallible at times.

Kate: Hm. Well, I hate to break it to you, Tony, but Gibbs can be wrong sometimes. Tony: Name one. Kate: The man's been married, like, four times. Tony: There is that.

This can lead to a lot of angst on Tony’s part. He’s dying for his boss’ love and approval but doesn’t necessarily know how to get it.

Gibbs: Good job Tony: Did you say something, boss? Kate, did he say something?

Gibbs: I want someone I know there. Tony: That's the same as saying someone you trust. Gibbs: (his back to Tony, smiles) Tony: Someone you depend on...your best man?(following Gibbs to elevator) Gibbs: (smiles again as elevator door closes)

As I pointed out before, Gibbs is not so forthcoming with any emotions, let alone love and approval. Gibbs will usually follow any display of it with biting sarcasm, or just a cold shoulder.

Tony: That's kinda touching, Gibbs, remembering the day you hired me. Gibbs: Yeah, well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Admittedly, Gibbs enjoys torturing Tony. But in rare cases you catch the caring that Gibbs has toward him, the affection. Such as in the episode Missing. Gibbs walks into the office to find Tony asleep at his desk. For just a moment, he pauses, smiles, and watches him sleep. It’s just a tiny glance into his complicated feelings where Tony is concerned.

Their mutual chemistry is noticed by a landlord outside an apartment they want to rent in the episode Dean Man Talking. When they approach the man on the sidewalk, Gibbs begins to question him about renting the apartment. Tony notices some lint on Gibbs jacket and begins to brush it off. Gibbs doesn’t really pay attention, but the landlord notices and asks, “Are you guys…together?” They both chuckle and say the apartment is for a stakeout. But it was still a moment that would catch any slasher’s eye.

Besides direct quotes and specific scenes there are their more subtle interactions. They touch, they stand too close, and they lean in when they talk. Sometimes you can catch Tony just gazing at Gibbs.

The producers are smart and give them a ton of screen time together. There has never been an ep that didn’t contain enough shippage to whet any slasher’s appetite.

Why do I ship?
The thing that drew me into NCIS was the humor, and Tony and Gibbs offer it wrapped up in pretty packages. We’re talking about an easy going, fun loving street cop, with a grumpy, unsmiling, former marine. I know it sounds like a cheesy set up for a sitcom, but when you see how these two play off each other, you’ll fall in love.

Their relationship is great to watch. Tony dying for Gibbs approval, and Gibbs refusing to accept anything less than the best from Tony results in some interesting conversations. Tony is the only person whose ever have the guts to tease Gibbs, and Gibbs enjoys sparring with Tony.

They argue, they laugh, they tease. The ship just rocks.

Fandom Recs

Really good NCIS slash is hard to come by, so my recs for it are limited. If anyone else has any favorites, please feel free to rec in the comments. My taste doesn’t always run with the main stream.

Lilah Blue--Hands down the best author in NCIS, slash or not, in my opinion. Just read anything she writes.

What it is, what it isn’t by by stexgirl2000 --Unfortunately, Stexgirl has only written this NCIS fic. But it ROCKS so go read it. I plan on nagging and/or whining for more in the future.

The best of all of our fic from season 1 can be found http://ncisawards.shannonsstories.com NCIS awards. ;)

A lot of NCIS slash can be found here: http://ncis.fictionresource.com/.

If you’re curious about the show in general visit the CBS site. Make sure to read the character profiles. They’ll give you a real sense of what the show is about.

Give NCIS a shot. Tuesdays at 8 on CBS. :D