Partnership 4/4 Cravings
*****
"Tony?" The voice interrupted his brooding thoughts. Tony turned away from the elevator and saw Paula Cassidy standing close behind him. "Listen. I'm sorry about the other day. I was an idiot. I didn't think that a partnership with Gibbs could work out for you. But everyone round here has been pointing out to me how stupid I've been. And it's obvious how much you care for each other. I can't deny the evidence of my own eyes. I don't understand it, but I honestly wish you well." She stuck a hand out in apology.
Tony grinned back at her, his spirits restored. "That means a lot, Paula. Apology accepted." He gripped her hand.
"Let me buy you a coffee," she said. "And you can tell me all the latest gossip round here." The young agent smirked - his favourite subject! He was feeling better. In fact, he felt quite hungry.
"Only if you tell me about your friend the lawyer..."
Tony only remembered the conversation later because of the weird thing that had happened in the cafe. Paula had bought a sandwich for lunch and brought it back to their table, where Tony was picking listlessly at a pastry. He noticed immediately that something smelled utterly divine.
"What is that?" He reached out to pick at her plate and had his hand smacked for trying to sample it. He sniffed again. "Is that pickle?" He managed to snag a bit and stuffed it in his mouth. Within a minute, Paula was staring at him in outrage and every single pickle had been devoured, in combination with his cinnamon pastry.
"Mmmm. Got to get some of these..."
"I just knew there was a reason I thought you were disgusting!" she snapped. "Pickles with sugar! What the hell does Gibbs feed you? That's just so wrong!"
Tony burped loudly.
"And you can pay for my lunch! You ate most of it, you pig!"
*****
Gibbs and the team came back to the bullpen from Quantico, hours later, looking tired but satisfied at their day's work. Gibbs in particular wore the pleased expression Tony had come to associate with his catching a criminal. Mixed in with anticipation, of course. Like a cat stalking a mouse, Gibbs would play games with a suspect in interrogation, seeking to trap him in a web of his own lies. Interrogation was an art form to Gibbs.
As Gibbs and McGee walked the suspect marine into one of the interrogation rooms, Tony approached his partner hesitantly.
"We need to talk, Jethro."
Gibbs followed him into the alcove to the side of the stairs, where they could have momentary privacy.
"Tony..." He waited, forcing himself to be patient, trying to project reassurance towards his young partner. Tony stared at him uncertainly for a moment, then suddenly decisive, moved closer.
"I love you," he said softly. "I miss you..." There was such need in his eyes.
"I'm sorry."Gibbs said, just as hesitantly. "I shouldn't have said those stupid things..."
Gibbs reached out towards Tony again, suddenly conscious of how insecure the younger man was, and how shaky their relationship still was. And how much he wanted it to succeed. For a moment, he thought that Tony was going to pull away from him, to reject his clumsy attempts to put things right. But after a slight hesitation, the younger man allowed himself to be kissed. It felt so good. For a moment, Gibbs just held his partner, feeling his warmth.
"We need to work things out, Jethro," Tony said quietly. "You know we do. We can't go on like this..."
The older man gave a short nod. "Let me wrap this case up. It shouldn't take more than an hour..." He glanced speculatively towards the interrogation room. "Two at most! Then we can call it a day and go home early for once." Tony could see the question in his eyes - why had Tony gone into work so early this morning. Were they on good terms or not? But Jethro wasn't going to talk about their personal life in public. Not after that one infamous argument when they had laid bare their relationship for everyone in the office to see.
He tilted his head, studying Tony speculatively and the young agent could see that he was worried. "Your eyes are really dark, you know."
"Maybe I need you." Tony allowed a hint of desire to creep into his voice. Something hungry flashed in Jethro's eyes. Tony guessed that the interview was going to be a lot shorter than two hours, if that look was anything to go by. He grinned, surprised by how much he wanted to be physically close to his partner right now. Instead of heading back to his desk, he turned in at the door to the viewing area so he could watch how the interview went.
******
Later...
The interview wasn't going well. Not for the marine sergeant, and not for Gibbs. The phrase "irresistible force meets immovable object," came to Tony's mind. The perp, a big, tough as nails Gunny sergeant wasn't giving Gibbs an inch. He was however getting more and more annoyed with Gibbs, which was just the way Gibbs liked his suspects. Angry enough to get careless, in other words. Tony could only admire the way his partner edged up the tension in the interrogation room, with the occasional help of McGee, who Gibbs had just sent for coffee.
Tony turned away from the interview momentarily, to check something in the case file, so he didn't really hear what Gibbs said to the suspect. But his head whipped round as a wordless howl sounded from the neighbouring room. The big marine howled again and launched himself across the table at Gibbs. Even with years of unarmed combat training, Tony knew his partner was in trouble. He faced a trained opponent who was a head taller than he was, outweighing him by at least a hundred pounds. Then the perp was on Gibbs, his hands round the older man's throat and...
Tony heard himself scream Gibbs' name as his partner went down, the prisoner on top of him. Gibbs was trying every trick he knew to get free; trying to pull his wrists away, yanking at the marine's hair, then trying to jam his thumbs in his opponent's eye sockets. Uselessly. Rage gave the marine enhanced strength.
It was as if time slowed. Something was in his hands - a standard tubular steel framed chair of the sort used throughout the NCIS building. Tony raised it over his head and brought it down with all his strength on the one-way glass that separated the observation booth from the interview room. The glass shattered.
He would never remember how he got through the broken window without cutting himself. Maybe he jumped and trusted to luck. Whatever. He was just there, behind the marine, a passenger in his own body as adrenaline flooded through him in response to the threat to Jethro.
Time vanished.
And then there was no longer a chair in his hands and the marine was lying across the room in a growing pool of blood - so much blood - and Gibbs was held in his arms, shuddering as he tried to draw breath.
Alive!
Alive...
The world went away for a while.
*******
"Wow," Abby said as she stared through the ruins of the interrogation room window. "I really didn't think Tony was strong enough to do that!"
McGee shrugged.
"There are many incidents in recorded history, Abby, of people tapping into inner reserves of strength in extremis. The mother who lifts the car off her trapped child. The ninety pound wife who carries her injured husband to safety despite the fact that he's double her weight... It's a rare phenomenon, but not impossible." McGee had turned geek.
Both of them stared at the remains of the big marine. The tubular metal leg of the chair had been shoved completely through his chest from back to front, despite the fact that there was a blunt plastic fitting on the end of the leg.
Impaled through the heart! It reminded Abby of those apocryphal stories of tornados pushing a piece of straw through a telegraph pole - impossible to believe until you saw it with your own eyes.
Abby shook her head in disbelief.
"Yeah. But Tony..!"
The young agent was still holding on to Gibbs with a death-grip, kneeling, his knuckles white from the force of his grasp, face buried in the folds of Gibbs' jacket as the older agent sat propped up against the wall, holding him close. He wasn't aware of the worry in his friends' eyes as they watched him. Gibbs was though. His blue eyes lifted briefly to stare at them, and Abby realised that he was just as concerned as they were. Tony whimpered softly, and the ex-marine continued to hold his partner tightly, stroking his back, whispering quiet reassurance against the softness of Tony's hair. Gibbs sported ugly purplish bruises across his throat, but other than that, he was okay. Tony though, was an emotional mess.
"Wasn't it in Spiderman that the hero tapped into his hysterical strength reserves?" Abby asked innocently. McGee was quickest to catch on.
"No, it was Superman 2. The one with General Zod."
"You're both wrong." Ducky stood from his examination of the body and shook his head, a twinkle in his eye as he too realised what they were doing.. "It was one of the Rambo films!"
A snort of contempt came from the vicinity of Gibbs' shoulder.
"The Incredible Hulk. A classic! Who doesn't know that!" Tony lifted his head and glared at them. The effect was slightly spoiled by the visible tremor of his hands and the suspicious wetness streaking his cheeks, but the Tony they knew was back.
******
It took Gibbs an hour to sort out the mess in the interrogation room and get himself checked out by Ducky. Meanwhile he sent Tony home with McGee. He had been lucky, this time. He had a few spectacular bruises but that was all. Nw, all he could think of was getting home to be with his partner. His driving was even crazier than usual, heading home. He could feel himself getting more and more tense as the need to be with his partner consumed him. It was with a sense of relief that he made it home and hurried into his house.
Tony was just as anxious for Gibbs to get home. He had it all planned out. He had meant to talk about his discoveries. About Shannon and Kelly. But in those first few moments standing in front of his partner, something else happened. It had been over a week since they had slept together, and he had forgotten that the virus in his system made its own demands on him. What had been a simple need for contact last night, blossomed into something altogether more needy and aggressive now. And after Jethro's near-death experience, Tony's need was especially great. Just being close to Jethro made desire uncoil somewhere deep inside him.
Jethro had barely had time to flick on the light when Tony pounced on him. He took his partner by surprise and shoved him against the wall, hard. Then his mouth was on Jethro's and his brain went into total meltdown.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs had received some interesting propositions in his time, but few of them compared to Tony's determined assault on his mouth. The younger man was acting as if he was possessed, and in the few moments when the young agent pulled back to catch his breath, Gibbs realised why. His eyes were virtually all pupil; dark as night and filled with partner-lust. The earlier darkness in his eyes had just been a precursor of this. Acting completely on instinct.
Been there, done that.
He had known intellectually that partners weren't able to go for long without "reconnecting" as it were, but he hadn't really thought through the implications. At least he would know in the future - have sex at least once a week or else... Face the consequences. And today's little incident hadn't helped...
Yeah. Take a ride in your own body, with the virus in control. He knew the problems that could cause. Right now, there was nothing remotely sane in DiNozzo's eyes. Gibbs was still in control enough to stop Tony if he'd wanted to - a knee or elbow in the right place would have brought the younger man out of it, at least for the moment.
The thing was, he wanted sex too. He could feel the seductive tug on his senses as his partner began to lick his neck determinedly. He moaned. He had missed this so much - the enthusiastic attentions of a younger lover. He wanted to taste Tony, feel sweat-slick skin sliding against his as their bodies came together, the feel of DiNozzo wrapped around him, yielding beneath him... And yet...
The man he loved and trusted completely had wanted something else too. To be the one on top! Jethro Gibbs considered himself to be a considerate, generous lover. He tried to find out what would please his partners. He wanted a lover to feel good, and he had long since realised, in shame, that Tony's lament had some truth to it. Through arrogance or fear, he had never tried to find out what Tony wanted. Some part of him knew the answer already.
Jethro Gibbs remembered all too well the weight of another man on top of him, sliding into him on that day when their lives had turned upside down. Something that Gibbs had tried to push to the back of his mind, telling himself that he neither wanted nor needed it. Liar! He still remembered what it had been like - that hot, sweet fire that had burned through him when they had first come together, Tony on top of him - and a small, whimpering, wanton part of him wanted to feel it again.
Curious really. Even in that strange, virus induced madness, he knew Tony wouldn't hurt him. Tony could have forced him - but he wouldn't, because nothing on Earth could make Tony harm his partner. Jethro knew it with utter certainty. Tony wouldn't force Gibbs into something he didn't like.
Damn that stupid argument. With a faint, rueful grin at the irony of it all, he tugged his clothes off and dropped to his knees, offering himself. Even as he let the rising tide of passion take him, he heard Tony give a growl of pleasure and position himself behind the older man. Some part of Tony DiNozzo still retained sense enough to prepare him. Gibbs gasped at the sensation of fingers probing inside him, not gentle.
The long, slow glide of Tony entering him from behind was just as satisfying as he remembered, each thrust sending a white hot burst of pleasure through him. Traitorous pleasure that he had tried to deny for far too long. Then his body seemed to catch fire and he was pushing back against Tony, his body knowing by instinct what he needed. The pleasure carried him away.
******
Tony woke up shivering, the front of his body warm whilst his back was cold. He realised immediately that he was in his bed, completely naked and that the warm, comfortable surface he was lying on was in fact Jethro Gibbs. Tony's head was resting on his back - after their lovemaking had concluded, apparently Tony had just fallen asleep, still on top of his lover.
Confused, he shook his head, trying to remember. Fuzzily, he could recall Gibbs arriving, his eyes dark with worry, and then Tony had...
Oh!
He could feel the stickiness on his skin - evidence, as if he needed any, of the night's debauchery. Tony shivered. He had been so far out of control last night! He slowly began to ease his body away from Jethro's, trying to move carefully so that he wouldn't wake the sleeping man. He really didn't want to face Gibbs after he had screwed him - more than once! Jethro was going to be so mad...
Yeah, right. He should have known better.
"You don't need to move..." His lover's sleepy voice surprised him.
Tony quailed, finding himself at a loss for words. Jethro took in his silence and shifted position, rolling onto his side, then Tony found himself impaled by those incredibly blue eyes. Astonishingly, Jethro smiled. The ex-marine's big hand came up to caress Tony's cheek.
"Don't look so worried. Do I look pissed?" Tony shook his head, still unable to speak.
"Believe me Tony, you have nothing to feel guilty about. If I'd wanted to stop you, I could have." He sighed. "I've been trying to tell you for a week, that you were right. I wasn't being fair with you..."
"You don't talk to me. Not about things that matter." Tony couldn't stop the hint of desolation that crept into his voice. Gibbs sighed.
"Give me time, Tony. There are some things in my past that... Oh god, this is hard... Things that hurt so much I don't know if I'll ever be able to talk about them..." A pause.
"I trusted you long before we became partners, you idiot. There's no-one I'd rather have watching my back when we're out in the field. No-one on Earth I'd rather have in my bed..." He gripped the younger man's shoulders tightly. "Damn it Tony, don't you know I trust you more than anyone else in the world! You think I'd let any other man into my life? You think I'd go down on my knees for anyone else? Suck them off? Let them fuck me?" He sighed. "Tony, if I'd woken up after the virus was released with any other man... I wouldn't have been answerable for my actions! But with you, I could admit to myself that I actually liked what we did!" He hesitated. "Everything we did..." His voice had dropped to a whisper; he could barely speak about the darkest of his desires, even now.
"I love you," Tony said. "Don't shut me out, Jethro." He hesitated. "I know about Shannon and Kelly..."
Gibbs went still. In his blue eyes, Tony saw a flash of something desolate; a pain long endured. Tony didn't know what to say to his lover, so he let his feelings show in the only way he knew how. Without thinking about it, he reached out to his partner and pulled him close. There was a momentary resistance, then Gibbs let himself be hugged, his arms tightening around Tony as he accepted the comfort the young man offered.
They stayed like that for a long time. Finally Gibbs drew back from Tony and gently kissed his forehead. Perhaps predictably, he didn't speak, but Tony knew they understood one another. Message received and understood. If Jethro Gibbs needed him, Tony was there, ready to give as much comfort as Gibbs would accept.
It was enough for now. They were finding a new balance in their relationship - a deeper understanding of each other. Gibbs was trying not to shut Tony out, whilst the younger man tried to put aside his insecurities, knowing that Jethro wasn't deliberately uncommunicative - he had suffered loss and pain that would have broken lesser men.
Tony rested his head on Gibbs' shoulder and his arms came up to clutch at his partner. He relaxed, contentedly leaning into the familiar warmth of Jethro Gibbs' body. Just a few minutes more...
*****
Later...
Tony felt really hungry this morning, for once. He had the oddest of cravings. Hell, he had been on a roller coaster ride of emotions this week so who knows what was going on with his biology. Or maybe it was the effect of damned good sex on his appetite. Whatever. Whistling to himself as he sat in the diner, he heaped the pickles on top of his waffles and covered them with maple syrup. He grinned at his partner, justifying his odd choice of food as something amusing that would shock Jethro a little.
Gibbs stared wide-eyed at the waffles for a moment, his mouth starting to open, but then he closed it with an audible snap, apparently deciding not to press the issue. Choosing prudence for once, over curiosity, though there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. A wise man knows when to keep his mouth shut - which was just as well, because Tony didn't really know why he was eating that particular combination of foods. It just seemed like a good - and delicious - idea at the time.
He didn't feel sick any more, and it was really, really tasty.
*****
Gibbs decided that he definitely wasn't going to kiss DiNozzo this morning. Pickle mouth! What the hell kind of breakfast was that? And hadn't he just seen a big new jar of pickles in his fridge? He gave a long suffering sigh, irresistibly reminded of Fornell's comment that Tony was low maintenance. Yeah, right! Was the man really that naive?
His thoughts drifted to earlier that morning, when he had been shamelessly staring at Tony, admiring his half naked body. When the young agent was walking into the shower, Gibbs had briefly caught sight of his profile from the side. It was obvious that, despite the frequent vomiting, he was putting on weight round his middle...
For some reason,Gibbs' mind had flashed to a memory of his first wife, Shannon, when she was expecting their child. Something about the way Tony carried himself - something in his posture - brought the memory rushing to the fore. A crazy idea had blossomed in Jethro Gibbs' mind. And no matter how much he tried to ignore it, the thought kept coming back.
Tony was sick every morning. He had an expanding waistline. There was a glow of contentment about him at times that had made more than one person comment on it in Jethro's hearing. And the pickles! Oh no, he wasn't going to forget the pickles.
What if..?
Nah!
******
End of Partners 2; Partnerhip 4/4
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.