Hiding In Plain Sight: 6. Chapter Six pt 2

Hiding In Plain Sight: 6. Chapter Six pt 3

~*~

When Tony woke it was nearly noon, and the bed was empty. He stretched out, cataloguing all the new aches and pains in his body. He felt like a well-used sub *should* feel, the various sore spots reminding him of all the recent sexual activity. He felt good. Damn good. The last couple of days had been intense on so many levels but he thought that had maybe been inevitable; both he and Gibbs had rough edges that needed smoothing while they adjusted to each other and the roles they would play in each other’s lives from now.

He heard noises in the bathroom and got up and walked over there. He didn’t think Gibbs was the kind of person who gave a damn about having privacy in the head so he opened the door and went right in. Gibbs was standing in front of the mirror, a towel wrapped around his waist, lathering shaving foam onto his jaw. Tony grinned – he would have guessed Gibbs wasn’t an electric razor kind of guy.

“Hey.” Gibbs saw him in the mirror and flashed him a smile. Tony thought that maybe he’d never get used to seeing his top smile like this, so often and so freely. He’d spent the past few years trying to wring those grudging little grins from Gibbs, playing the fool just to get a reaction from his taciturn top. Now Gibbs smiled at him as easily as breathing – and his eyes lit up whenever he saw his sub. It was all Tony had ever wanted, and the one thing he definitely could get used to was the feeling of happiness that had settled in his gut; he hoped that would never leave.

“Hey,” Tony said softly. Gibbs reached for the cut-throat razor in his shaving kit, but Tony got there first. He stepped in close behind his top, his bare chest against Gibbs’s back, put his arms around Gibbs and batted Gibbs’s hand away. “Allow me,” he said, watching his own eyes sparkle in the mirror over Gibbs’s shoulder. He took the razor with a flourish and tested the edge – it was as sharp as he’d have expected from Gibbs – still a marine through and through.

“Trust me?” Tony said, raising it to Gibbs’s throat. Gibbs grinned at him and leaned back against him, putting his arms behind Tony and linking his hands over his sub’s naked buttocks.

“With my life,” Gibbs replied, offering up his throat.

Tony held Gibbs’s head with one hand, and with the other, with perfect, expert sweeps of his fingers, he began shaving his top. Gibbs stroked his buttocks as he worked, and he loved how his cock was nestled right between Gibbs’s towel-clad ass cheeks. It felt close, intimate, and loving.

Tony finished, and then patted Gibbs’s chin and neck with a towel.

“Voila Monsieur,” he said, putting down the towel, wrapping his arms around Gibbs’s midriff and resting his chin on Gibbs’s shoulder. They looked at themselves in the mirror, and Tony was struck by how good they looked together. They looked right, as if they belonged, a sub and top in perfect tune with each other. He pressed a kiss against Gibbs’s newly shaved cheek, inhaling the fresh scent.

“You’re full of surprises,” Gibbs commented. “Where did you learn how to do that so expertly?”

“One of the hotels we used to stay in – there was an in-house barber. I used to hang out in the hair salon when I was bored – he used to let me eat his donuts,” Tony grinned. “I’d go anywhere for donuts. I liked watching him shave people and asked him to show me how to do it properly. I always thought…” He broke off, and gazed at himself in the mirror. He usually lied, casually and without thinking, about various aspects of his childhood, but that was a habit he was going to have to try and break now that he was with Gibbs. “I always thought that one day I might be able to offer it as a service to a top,” he said quietly. “I wanted to be the perfect sub.”

“There’s no such thing,” Gibbs replied, looking at him via his reflection in the mirror.

“I know. I guess what I’m trying to say is…I wanted to find a way to express that side of myself, in everything I do. You asked me the other night who I am, and this is who I am. It’s who I’ve always been inside. It might not be the person people think I am, but it is the sub I am in my heart. I just never found anyone I could be myself with before now.”

“This sub? I like him,” Gibbs said, taking hold of Tony’s hand and kissing it.

Tony grinned, and bestowed a kiss of his own on Gibbs’s shoulder.

“I guess we’re both full of surprises, huh?” he said.

“You sure as hell were a few hours ago,” Gibbs commented.

“Did I scare you?” Tony grinned.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. “No – but I’m glad you got in my face. And Tony? You have my permission to do it again, if it’s ever necessary.”

“You can count on it, Jethro.” Tony rested both his hands on Gibbs’s shoulders and then frowned. “Uh…is this human flesh here or solid rock? Your shoulders are tight as anything, Jethro.”

“It’s been a tough few weeks,” Gibbs said, which, Tony thought, was a typical Gibbs understatement. He remembered how tense Gibbs had been watching that video footage a few hours ago and then winced as he thought what it must have been like for him going through it the first time around, when the outcome had been uncertain. No wonder the man’s shoulders were locked.

“Then allow me to introduce you to another of the weapons in my subby arsenal,” Tony told him. “Massage.”

Gibbs raised a questioning eyebrow.

“I dated a top who played pro football once,” Tony grinned. “He had muscles of iron and they knotted up like rope. I learned how to unknot them as a survival technique – if his shoulders were hurting him his swing was off, and his spankings were really uncomfortable. Of course I only dated him for about three weeks, but I never forgot how to give a good massage.”

He winked at Gibbs, and then ushered his top into the bedroom and pushed him face down on the bed. He whisked Gibbs’s towel away, ignoring Gibbs’s low growl of protest about that, knowing it was all for show. He returned to the bathroom and found some oil and then went back into the bedroom – and stopped. Gibbs was lying face down on the bed, and for the first time since he’d been collared a couple of days ago, Tony got a proper look at his lover’s naked ass.

“And a damn fine ass it is too,” he murmured, leaning against the door and just enjoying it for awhile. Gibbs’s ass was round and peachy, just as Tony had suspected, and it made for good viewing.

“Are you going to stand there staring at my ass all day?” Gibbs asked, over his shoulder. Tony grinned.

“A sub can look at his top’s ass can’t he?” he said, going over to the bed and climbing onto it, straddling Gibbs’s body so that his cock and balls rested on the ass in question. Gibbs gave one of those amused little grunts that Tony loved hearing so much.

Tony poured some oil into his hands and then placed them on Gibbs’s shoulders, and dug his fingers in deep. Gibbs made a groaning sound.

“Hurts huh?” Tony asked. “That’s because you’re a control freak with a rescue complex and an irresistible compulsion to run down the bad guys and save all the submissives-in-distress before the end of the movie. Only your movie never ends. That’s why you need a deep, hard massage.”

He dug his fingers in even harder to make the point.

“You’re calling me a control freak?” Gibbs asked, dangerously, over his shoulder.

“I am,” Tony said happily, working his fingers in as hard as he could, trying to loosen the tension in his top’s shoulders.

“Figures,” Gibbs grunted, resting his head on his hands.

“What does?” Tony frowned. He liked the way his fingers disappeared into Gibbs’s solid flesh, making little red lines as they worked.

“You always get a smart mouth on you when I haven’t spanked you in awhile,” Gibbs said. Tony’s fingers came to an abrupt halt.

“Oh come on! I was just teasing!” he said, nervously.

“I know.” Gibbs looked back over his shoulder. “I’m not,” he purred dangerously. Tony swallowed hard, and began moving his fingers again.

“You gonna start up that whole daily spanking thing again?” he asked, tentatively. He knew he didn’t have any say in whether his top spanked him or not – that was Gibbs’s decision.

“Don’t need to,” Gibbs replied. “Now I’ll be fucking your ass daily you won’t need as much spanking.”

“And will the fucking definitely be daily?” Tony asked hopefully, moving his hands up Gibbs’s back in long, sweeping strokes, ending up at Gibbs’s neck. He paused to kiss Gibbs’s cheek while he was there.

“Oh yeah,” Gibbs chuckled. “More than once a day probably.”

“I admire your stamina,” Tony commented. He stopped digging in so hard and just soothed the sore flesh instead. “So the spankings…?”

“At my discretion.” Gibbs smiled at him over his shoulder, that dangerous smile that both turned Tony on and scared him in equal measure. “But, knowing you, I think we’ll keep them pretty regular.”

Tony’s cock twitched at that. Gibbs’s spankings always hurt like hell but he loved the way they made him feel and you couldn’t have one without the other.

Tony finished the massage in silence, losing himself in serving his top in this way. He thought he’d made a good job of it too, as Gibbs seemed to zone out beneath him and by the time Tony was done his top’s shoulders were a good deal looser and more relaxed than they’d been when he started.

“Thank you, Tony,” Gibbs sighed, rotating his shoulders to test them out. He sat up, and pulled Tony in for a deep kiss. “Time to return the favour, I think.”

Gibbs was as quick and efficient as ever, taking Tony by surprise with his speed and strength, and within seconds Tony found himself face down over Gibbs’s lap, his ass right in the centre, upturned and vulnerable. He gave a squawk of alarm at being so easily out-manoeuvred – although it was something he thought he’d have to get used to. Gibbs was as silent, stealthy and deadly in the bedroom as he was in the field.

“Okay…here we go…” Tony said, stretching his body out, and trying to relax. He loved being over his top’s knees, and even knowing how hard Gibbs’s hand was he knew the best thing was just to surrender, and take the spanking his top wanted to hand out.

Much to his surprise, Gibbs didn’t start spanking him. Instead he stroked his ass cheeks with his fingers, caressing him gently. Tony glanced over his shoulder, surprised – spankings never usually started this way.

“Everything’s different now, Tony,” Gibbs murmured, in answer to his unspoken question. “Which isn’t to say that I won’t still spank your ass hard when you need it…but I just want you to know that I can do the fun stuff too.”

He tapped Tony’s ass gently, warming it, and Tony sighed, and relaxed even more. This was going to be *good*. The taps were tender, although delivered with typical Gibbsian efficiency to be sure, each one unerringly hitting the mark. Gibbs built the heat expertly in his ass, concentrating on little spots at a time, moving on just before it became unbearable, and soon Tony’s ass was a mass of sensation. It felt hot but not sore, and the sting was just enough to get the endorphins going but not enough to really hurt. It was the most deliciously expert pleasure spanking he’d ever received – and he was dimly aware, not for the first time, that he was in the presence of a master top here.

Gibbs alternated his spanks with little caresses, running his hard palm over Tony’s warm, round butt cheeks, squeezing and fondling. Then he leaned forward and blew on the sensitised flesh and Tony moaned, his legs scissoring open, his cock hardening.

“Oh shit…that’s just…”

Another little blast of air on his ass made him tingle, and he opened his legs wider, exposing his hole hopefully in Gibbs’s direction. Gibbs slid a finger obligingly inside him, teasing the opening, stimulating it, and Tony rubbed himself on Gibbs’s lap, back and forth, his cock now rock hard and desperate for release.

“Permission to come,” he gasped.

“Denied,” Gibbs told him, in a wicked tone of voice. Tony sighed, loving how implacable Gibbs sounded. A second later he found himself flat on his back, as Gibbs expertly performed another of those flips on him. Then, a second after that, he screamed as Gibbs’s warm, wet mouth swallowed his cock whole.

“Oh SHIT!” He writhed on the bed as Gibbs deep-throated him expertly, one arm across Tony’s chest, holding him down. His warm bottom was throbbing, his cock was aching with need, and Gibbs – the bastard – was just sucking and sucking. It was fantastic and totally unbearable at the same time – how could he be expected to hold on? It was past the point when any flesh and blood sub could hold it when Gibbs was doing *that* with his tongue, and if he wasn’t allowed to climax soon then he’d just die from sheer…

“You can come now if you want,” Gibbs said, drawing back and gazing down at Tony with amused and somewhat evil blue eyes.

Tony did.

Several minutes later, when he’d recovered, he sat up to see that Gibbs was now fully dressed in black pants and shirt.

“Aw – you got dressed,” he pouted. “I was thinking I could return the favour.” He nodded his head in the direction of Gibbs’s groin.

“Nope.” Gibbs shook his head. “I’ll take you later, when you’re not expecting it – I have a fetish for taking my sub by surprise that you might as well get used to now because it’s going to happen – a lot,” he grinned. “But now – now I want to eat.”

Breakfast, lunch, or whatever it was, was much like it had been the previous day – Gibbs held up the toast and Tony ate. He’d never shared a plate with anyone before – he’d never wanted to – and therefore he was surprised by how much he enjoyed it. Gibbs never withheld food or teased with it – it was just shared, companionably, without comment, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

After breakfast, Tony got up and went towards his old bedroom.

“Where’re you going?” Gibbs asked.

“To find something to wear – seeing as you’ve ruined all my favourite clothes,” Tony said. Gibbs grinned, wolfishly, at him.

“They were in the way,” he said with a shrug. Tony rolled his eyes – he already knew how determined Gibbs was at work and how he never allowed anything to get in his way there. He suspected his clothes were going to pay a hefty price for that particular personality trait – maybe he should buy two of everything from now on, just in case.

Tony opened his closet and looked at the clothes inside, deciding what to wear. A few seconds later he heard Gibbs enter the room and then his top was gazing into the closet over his shoulder.

“That outfit there.” Gibbs pointed at the tight leather pants with the lace-up crotch and the tiny mesh tee shirt Tony had worn on their first evening on Atlantis, when they’d attended the Athosian Festival of Deliverance. “They won’t be coming home with us when we leave.”

Tony grinned at his top over his shoulder. “Jealous, Jethro?” he asked.

“Yeah. Hated you wearing them the first time around – all those tops looking at your ass, and trying to grope you. I’m not going through that again. Ever. You belong to me now, boy.”

“Not even for a private viewing?” Tony asked. “Just you?”

“I prefer you naked,” Gibbs replied, slapping Tony’s bare bottom.

Tony laughed. He had a feeling he was going to be naked a lot from now on.

He took a shower, got dressed, and then went out onto the balcony, wondering what Gibbs had planned for the rest of the day. He overheard Gibbs in the kitchen, talking to someone on the radio, and rested his elbows on the balustrade, bending forward, lost in thought. It was a lovely day, and much as he enjoyed being holed up here with his top he thought it might be nice to get out there and live a little before they had to leave this beautiful planet.

He was enjoying the feel of the sun on his hair, and, as usual, didn’t hear Gibbs come up behind him. He let out a startled yelp, taken by surprise as fingers slipped around the front of his pants, undoing them; next thing he knew they had been stripped down to his ankles. His legs were kicked apart, and then he felt Gibbs’s lubed fingers press against his entrance. He pushed back, opening up so his top had better access, grinning to himself at the pleasure of the surprise attack. He’d once fantasised about being taken out here, bent over the balustrade, and it looked as if that fantasy was about to become a reality.

Gibbs stretched him briefly, and then he felt the tip of his top’s lubed cock demanding entry and he concentrated on keeping himself open, so Gibbs could take him. God this felt good! Standing bent over the balustrade, his top thrusting into him without saying a word, just using him as sub should be used, taking his pleasure in Tony.

Gibbs didn’t waste time on foreplay. He grabbed hold of Tony’s hips to keep him steady and then pistoned into him. Tony liked the weight of him, and the feel of his hands on his body, keeping him in place as he fucked him mercilessly. It felt raw and possessive, and he liked how Gibbs wasn’t asking – just taking.

He felt exposed and vulnerable, being fucked like this, the beautiful landscape of Atlantis spread out in front of them, the sun warm on his head. Gibbs kept one hand on his hip, and then grabbed Tony’s hair, pulling his head back as he continued thrusting into him. Tony gasped, loving how primal it felt to be held in position in this basic way while his top made full use of him. He’d experienced Gibbs’s lovemaking in many different ways already, and while he knew Gibbs could play his body as gently and sensitively as any maestro, this wasn’t about that. This was about Gibbs reminding him who he belonged to – and he loved being made to feel it, to really feel it, deep to his core.

He had been stroked, caressed, loved, sucked and expertly spanked over the past couple of days but during all their sexual encounters one thing remained constant – Gibbs was never anything other than sexually dominant to an extreme extent. Tony doubted it was in the man’s make up to be anything else. His dominance was hard-wired, and however slow and gentle he might go during love-making he would always be in charge in the bedroom.

He wasn’t going slow and gentle right now. His hand was tangled tight in Tony’s hair, pulling his head right back for leverage as he slid his hard cock back and forth into Tony’s ass. Tony liked feeling this helpless, unable to move as his top made good use of him, barely a participant at all save for the fact it was his body Gibbs was thrusting into so vigorously. His own cock was ramrod hard but Gibbs made no move to take it in his hand or bring him off – after that fantastic spanking and blowjob earlier Tony doubted that his own pleasure was on Gibbs’s mind at all. This was about Gibbs asserting his rights as Tony’s top, and they were rights that Tony was all too happy to have him assert.

Gibbs came with a little grunt of pleasure. He released his grasp on Tony’s hair and stroked it gently, smoothing it back into place. Still lodged deep inside Tony, he leaned forward and rested his chin on Tony’s shoulder, then deposited a kiss on his sub’s cheek.

“That was good,” he said. “God, I’d forgotten what it’s like to have a sub like you. Someone who responds so beautifully and gives it all up to me; someone I don’t have to hold back with. It’s been a long time.”

He withdrew, and Tony heard him tucking himself away. Then he pulled Tony’s pants back up and fastened them again and it was as if the whole thing hadn’t happened, save for the come he could feel dribbling out of him. He even liked that sensation – he liked that Gibbs had left something of himself behind when he’d used him.

“In future…it’ll save time if you keep yourself lubed and prepped,” Gibbs murmured in his ear. “I don’t like to be kept waiting – when I want to use you, I’ll use you.”

Tony’s cock hardened even more at the thought of that. The idea of being Gibbs’s sex toy, available for his pleasure whenever his top was in the mood, was a total turn on for him.

“And if I forget?” he asked.

“Do you like dry fucks?”

“Not really.”

“Then don’t forget,” Gibbs told him, patting his ass affectionately.

“You gonna get me off?” Tony asked, glancing down at the tenting in the front of his pants caused by his hard cock.

“Nope,” Gibbs said, patting his ass again.

“Can I get myself off?” Tony asked.

“Nope,” Gibbs repeated, with a little chuckle. “I told you, Tony – you’re mine; your cock, your ass – every part of you. I’m in charge of when you come now – and you’ll only come when I say you can.”

“No jerking off?” Tony asked, crestfallen. His hand and his cock had become intimately acquainted over the past few years and he couldn’t quite envisage life without daily masturbation.

“Not unless I’ve asked you to put on a show for me. You jerk yourself off in private and I’ll make your ass pay.”

“How will you know?” Tony asked.

“I’ll know.” Gibbs’s voice was rough and throaty, close to his ear, and Tony didn’t doubt for a moment that he would. “But don’t worry – I’ll give you more than enough sex to keep you happy, Tony. Trust me.”

It was one of the tough parts of being a sub, Tony thought to himself, but with the loss of control came so many great things that he couldn’t complain, and he had no doubt at all that Gibbs would keep him sexually satisfied. If anything, Tony would be the one running to keep up with his very dominant, highly skilled lover.

He turned his head to find Gibbs right beside him, and his top grabbed him and pulled him in for a long, deep kiss.

When he released him, Tony stared at him, feeling giddy.

“Jethro…yesterday…that place you took me to – in my head,” he whispered.

“Mmm?” Gibbs put his hand on Tony’s shoulder and stroked, never taking his eyes off his sub.

“Will you be taking me there again?” Tony asked quietly.

Gibbs smiled at him. “Did you like it?”

“Yeah. Oh hell yeah,” Tony nodded. “I’m not saying I’d like to go there all the time or even most of the time but I would like to go there again – and often.”

“Not always easy getting a sub there,” Gibbs said.

“But you can do it?”

“Sure,” Gibbs grinned, running his fingers lightly over Tony’s shoulder. “Every time. I’m just saying – you might not always like the way I get you there, but you will like it when you’re there.”

“I know.” Tony nodded. “Nobody’s ever taken me so far down before. Nobody’s even come close.”

“I know.” Gibbs shrugged. “Most tops – they play at it. They don’t feel it. And most subs – they just put on a show; they don’t see that it has to be hard – if it’s easy then you aren’t doing it right and it doesn’t mean a damn thing. Taking you there, Tony – it’s beautiful. I’d be honoured to do it again – frequently. Subs like you – they’re rare. You just gave it all up – you trusted me, and you went with me, even when you were scared of it. I’ll never forget how good that was. It’s what a top needs to feel – that sense of total surrender from his sub – and you didn’t hold back; you gave me everything.”

He squeezed Tony’s shoulder, and pulled him in close for another kiss. Tony put his arms around him and held him tight, loving the closeness.

“How come you know all this stuff?” he asked, nuzzling Gibbs’s neck. “How did you know how to get me to that place?”

“I don’t know. I just go by instinct,” Gibbs replied. “Just like you respond by instinct – never had a more instinctive sub than you in my bed.”

“Were you always this good at topping? Or did you have to learn the hard way?” Tony asked, drawing back a little so he could look at his top. Gibbs frowned, thoughtfully.

“To be honest, I never understood why some tops get it so wrong. Take Randolph Jordan for example. When a top is that screwed up it sets my teeth on edge. It’s taking something so right and making it into something so totally wrong. Tops like him just don’t have any understanding of what it means to be a top at all. With me…I just always knew how it should be, easy as breathing.”

“Since when?” Tony asked, intrigued.

“Since I was a little kid. There was never a time when I was anything other than a top – I just felt it.”

“Could you figure out what all the other little kids in the schoolyard were going to be before they knew themselves?” Tony asked him, with a grin. “I always could. Way before they hit puberty I knew – even when they didn’t know themselves.”

“Yeah.” Gibbs nodded thoughtfully. “I had them all divided into tops and subs in my head. I used to get into a hell of a lot of trouble with my dads because I’d fight all the little tops, and try and protect all the little subs. I walked Tom Sampson and Ginny Blair home from school every day because they were so beautifully subby and I wanted to take care of them. Took me over an hour to get home because they didn’t live nearby but it was worth it just to make sure they were safe.”

“Chauvinist,” Tony grinned.

“Never denied it!” Gibbs grinned back. “It’s just instinct, you know? I have a soft spot for subs who need me. Tops can take care of themselves but subs are my responsibility.”

“Not all subs – not any more,” Tony pointed out. “Just this one. Your days of saving subs left, right and centre are over, Jethro. You’re mine now – someone else will have to do the saving from now on.”

“Yeah, just this one,” Gibbs said, kissing his cheek. “I think I’ve met my match with this one,” he added, tousling Tony’s hair affectionately.

“So – who were you talking to on the radio earlier?” Tony asked.

“Abby. Apparently Teyla and Ronon have invited a bunch of people over to the mainland for a meal this afternoon and we’re welcome to join them – Abby is already there and says she can send Lorne back to ferry us over. Are you up to that?”

“Sounds like fun,” Tony nodded. “So…how about I wear those leather pants you like so much…?”

He grinned happily as Gibbs’s hand connected, resoundingly, not with the back of his head but with the back of his pants, delivering a nice, hard spank to his ass.

~*~

Tim felt nervous; it was the first time he’d gone out anywhere with his new top, save for occasional trips to the cafeteria – they’d both been too preoccupied with exploring each other to do much exploring of their surroundings. However, the time had come to face the world, and he hoped he was ready.

Ziva emerged from the bedroom wearing a pair of tight black pants and a fitted purple shirt. She looked beautiful, as always, and his throat went dry as he looked at her. He could hardly believe that he belonged to a top this amazing.

“Oh, that is good,” she purred, circling him, one hand on his shoulder, looking him up and down.

“I feel stupid,” he replied, flushing. “People will look at me.”

“I want them to look at you,” she said. “I want them to look at you and know they cannot touch you because you belong to me. You have been hiding behind your geek clothes for too long – people should know what a fine ass you have.”

He flushed even more at that, and she laughed and kissed his cheek.

“Seriously, Tim – you look very sexy. And just think – I could be one of those tops who likes to display their subs naked in public – or wearing those cutaway trousers that reveal the ass. You should count yourself lucky.”

He smiled at her, and stole a kiss. “I do,” he said fervently. “It’s all I think about, every day. I have no idea how a sub like me ends up with a top like you.”

She frowned. “Tim…you should see yourself as I see you,” she said, guiding him over to the mirror.

She stood behind him, and ran her fingers possessively over the green silk shirt he was wearing. It clung to his body and was a deep, vivid colour, matching his eyes. He was wearing a pair of tailored chocolate-coloured pants that fitted far more snugly than the pants he was used to wearing. On his feet were a pair of brown Athosian boots, just as comfortable but more sexy than the brogues he usually favoured. Ziva had bought the entire outfit for him at the Athosian market a few days earlier, and today was the first day he’d put it on. His eyes were drawn, as always, to the soft brown collar around his neck. It fit there so perfectly, and felt so light. It suited him, and looked perfect peeking out from the green silk collar of his shirt.

Tim looked at himself in the mirror and was surprised by what he saw. He looked like himself only softer, more submissive, his body no longer awkward. His limbs were relaxed, and his eyes shone with happiness. He was a well-loved, well-fucked sub – and it showed, somehow.

“You are a beautiful sub, Tim,” Ziva told him softly, brushing her fingers gently over his nipples, making him gasp and them stand to attention immediately. “People will envy me.”

He wasn’t so sure about that but he had to admit, looking in the mirror, that he wasn’t as far out of her league as he’d always supposed.

“Now – one last thing.” She turned him around, and held up a long silver chain. “Will you walk on my leash, Tim?”

“Gladly,” he whispered, his heart doing a little flip. He’d always found it comforting to walk to heel on the leash – something in his submissive heart yearned for that kind of connection with a top, to walk in tune with them, and have it demonstrated so visibly who he belonged to.

He’d always enjoyed walking on Gibbs’s leash but this was better because he would be Ziva’s only sub – and her devoted servant. He wanted to be close by to wait on her if she needed anything and protect her if she was in danger – although he doubted he’d be much use in that capacity, given that she was a trained assassin who could kill people with her bare hands – but there was something in his submissive heart that *wanted* to do that for her, if it was ever necessary.

He was slowly coming to understand the kind of sub he was, under her loving tutelage. He wanted to serve – he would kneel by her side for hours if she asked it of him. He wasn’t cheeky or naughty like Tony. He didn’t need to be spanked, although he’d endure if she wanted to spank him – which, so far, she hadn’t. She had been endlessly patient, gentle and kind with him and he had responded, opening up to her and giving her everything. It was all he’d ever wanted – a top to worship and adore.

Ziva locked the clip of the leash around the ring at the front of his collar and then took the long, silver chain in her hand.

“Now, we are ready,” she told him.

The party was in full swing when they arrived. Abby and Lorne were already there, as were a number of other recognisable faces, including Rodney, John, Ducky and Richard Woolsey. Ziva went off to find them both a drink, and Abby ran over to him, shrieking wildly, and grabbed him, gazing at him as if she’d explode.

“Tim! Oh my god! Tim? Is it really you?” She looked him up and down and instead of flushing under her shocked gaze he stood taller, enjoying it.

“Yeah, it’s me, Abs,” he told her, grinning.

“Oh…she must be *good*,” Abby laughed. “If the way you look is anything to go by!” She reached up and touched the collar around his neck. “It’s lovely,” she said softly.

His eyes went to the missing space around her neck, where Gibbs’s collar had once been, and his smile faded.

“Abby – is everything okay?” he asked.

“Everything is fine,” she replied, firmly. “Evan says he’ll collar me when we get back to Earth if it works out between us. He’s making the collar himself. I’m dying to see what it’ll be like but he keeps hiding it so I have no idea – not that I’ve been trying to sneak a peek or anything,” she winked. “I’m not worried about not having a collar right now though – because I have something else! Something I want to show you – not here though – if Evan sees he’ll kill me. He said I wasn’t to go around showing them off but I can’t resist.”

“Showing what off?” Tim asked nervously.

She pointed to her chest, surreptitiously, and this time he *did* flush, seeing the faint outline of the piercing jewels through her tee shirt.

“I’ll show you later – when Tony’s here. He’ll want to see them,” she grinned. “But nobody else – not Ziva, or Gibbs, or even Ducky. Only subs – it wouldn’t be fair on Evan otherwise.”

“Tony’s coming? Is he okay?” Tim asked. He hadn’t seen Tony since the other sub had returned from his ordeal. Everyone assured him Tony was fine but he couldn’t help wondering what Tony must have gone through that everyone was being so secretive about it.

“I think so.” Abby frowned. “He and Gibbs have been holed up alone for awhile so I guess we’ll find out if everything is fine or not when they arrive.”

“I’d kind of been hoping he wouldn’t be here,” Tim admitted. “He’s going to tease me, Abby,” he explained, flushing again. “I mean – looking like this – wearing Ziva’s collar? He’s going to go into tease overdrive. I’ll be the butt of his annoying jokes for weeks.”

“I’d like to say that’s not going to happen but we both know it will,” Abby said cheerfully. “Or…maybe not,” she murmured, gazing over his shoulder. “Oh shit. Oh my god.”

“What is it? Is Ziva okay?” Tim asked, turning anxiously.

“Oh yeah…it’s just – look who just showed up,” Abby said, pointing. Tim squinted through the crowd in the direction she was pointing, and then whistled out loud.

“Oh my god,” he repeated, echoing her.

“Yeah – so if he teases you, I think you can tease him right back.”

Tim grinned – she had a point. Tony was walking through the little gathering of people wearing a bright, shiny new metallic collar. Next to him, Gibbs was holding Tony’s leash in one hand, and had his other hand firmly attached to one of Tony’s butt cheeks. They were walking the way John and Rodney always walked – completely in tune with each other, both stopping and starting at the same time, their bodies moving as one. Tim knew that this was a top and sub whose bodies knew each other intimately, and who fitted together perfectly. They had also, quite clearly, had sex recently. Lots of it, he surmised, judging by the relaxed set of Gibbs’s shoulders, which were usually so tense, and the wild grin on Tony’s face.

He watched as Gibbs took the plate of food Teyla offered to him. She gave him a ceremonial bow, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Tony, and then back at Gibbs.

“I take it only one plate is required,” he overheard her say.

“Yeah.” Gibbs grinned at her, and then glanced at Tony – and Tim didn’t think he’d ever seen that particular expression on Gibbs’s face. It was soft and tender – and neither of those were words he would ever have associated with Gibbs before. There was something else about his expression as well – protectiveness, love and a fierce kind of pride.

“Wow – Gibbs has it bad for Tony,” Abby muttered. “I knew it! About time too.”

Gibbs took a forkful of food and ate, then piled up another and held it out to Tony. Tony was busy talking but he paused to take a bite of the food, and then Gibbs replied to him, eyes glowing fondly as he gazed at his sub.

“They’re sharing a plate already,” Tim observed. “Wow – that’s fast.” Even he and Ziva hadn’t gone that far yet, despite her collaring him. There was no hard and fast rule that said when a top and sub would start sharing a plate – but he knew, instinctively, that Ziva was going slowly with him, taking care not to spook him, so he wasn’t surprised she hadn’t suggested it yet.

“They look as if they’ve been sharing a plate for *years*,” Abby commented. “Look at them!”

She was right – often when couples started sharing a plate they were self-conscious about it, and their body language made it clear how big a deal it was for them, but Tony and Gibbs looked totally natural and relaxed, as if this wasn’t a new thing for them at all.

“When did all this happen?” Tim asked Abby. “I mean – last thing I knew, Gibbs was having to spank Tony every five minutes for that screw-up over Rodney Sheppard…how did they get from that to this?”

“I have no idea,” Abby said, shaking her head. “Although…I think, maybe, in their heads this is the way it’s always been for them, for a very long time. Maybe that explains it.”

“Tony and Gibbs?” Tim asked, a little surprised. “I mean…I thought maybe I saw something between them, but…you really think this has been going on for a long time?”

“Oh not the sex,” Abby said confidently. “I just think, in their hearts, that they were top and sub in this way for years – they just never admitted it to each other. Now – they clearly have!”

“Gibbs looks…well, happy,” Tim said, staring at his boss who was laughing, his eyes glowing. “I’ve never seen him like this before.”

“I knew Tony would be good for him!” Abby grinned. “Thank god they finally got it on together because that has to be the longest foreplay in the history of the universe.”

“What the hell happened to Tony when he was abducted?” Tim asked her. “You know, don’t you, Abby?” Abby’s face changed, and she chewed on her lip thoughtfully.

“Yes I do, but I can’t tell you, Tim. I do know it was bad but it’s up to Tony to tell you what it was. I think nearly losing Tony is what made Gibbs admit to his feelings for him. Finally!” She rolled her eyes.

“I always knew Tony wanted Gibbs’s attention but I assumed he was being, well, Tony,” Tim said. “Always flirting with the strongest top in the room – and, let’s face it, Gibbs is always the strongest top in the room. I had no idea it was serious.”

“Oh yeah.” Abby grinned. “It always was I think – for both of them – but being idiots they could never admit it to each other. Tony hated being vulnerable around tops so he played that stupid game of pretending he was only flirting with Gibbs the way he’d flirt with any strong top. And Gibbs was so badly burned from all his previous relationships that he just pretended he didn’t give a damn who Tony flirted with. I guess neither of them was being honest.”

“Until Jordan came along and blew their cover,” Ziva said, coming up behind them. She gave Tim a tankard of some kind of unidentifiable brew. He sniffed at it cautiously.

“Are you trying to get me drunk, Ziva?” he asked.

She laughed, and pinched his ass affectionately. “I do not have to,” she told him. “This already belongs to me,” she whispered, patting the spot where she’d just pinched. He flushed and she laughed again, and kissed him.

“You are adorable you know,” she told him.

“Hey – there’s that sweet little old lady who told Gibbs we’d all die,” Abby said, pointing at Mara who Teyla had beckoned over to speak to Gibbs. “Guess she was wrong about that.”

“That wasn’t exactly what she said, Abby,” Tim pointed out. “She told him he’d arrived with five but would leave with one…and, as none of us except Tony are wearing his collars any more, maybe she was right.”

“What about Ducky?” Ziva frowned.

“Oh, I saw him earlier – he’s not wearing a collar either,” Abby said.

“So she was right,” Tim mused softly, still gazing at Gibbs and Tony. Tony saw him, and his eyes sparkled, mischievously. He waved, interrupting Gibbs at the same time, speaking fast. “Oh god,” Tim sighed. “Here it comes.”

Gibbs unclipped Tony’s leash but not before kissing him possessively on the mouth, and then patting his ass as he ran off in their direction.

“Thank god!” Tony said as he arrived at where they were standing. “That old lady freaks me out.”

“Is she still telling Gibbs the future?” Ziva asked.

“Nope – just a lot of stuff about how a Yedahl and a Sedahl joined are a rare gift from the universe, and together they can unlock the true secrets of yada yada yada,” Tony said. “But hey, I don’t want to talk about her when the probie is standing here, all collared up and, if I’m not mistaken – and let’s face it I never am – no longer a McVirgin.”

Tim was surprised to find that he didn’t flush. Instead he just surveyed Tony’s new collar, an assessing look in his eyes.

“Is Gibbs still spanking you every day, Tony – or does the new collar mean he’s found other things to do with your ass?” he asked, one eyebrow raised. Much to his delight, Tony actually flushed – it was the first time he’d ever managed to get the better of Tony and he was elated.

“Hmm, I see that sex isn’t the only thing you’ve learned while I’ve been away, McGee,” Tony muttered. “Aw, our little probie is all grown up. It brings a tear to my eye.”

He wiped away a mock tear, and Tim rolled his eyes. Then he noticed the bruises around Tony’s wrists – they were fading, but the scars went pretty deep. Tony noticed him looking and his expression changed, his eyes darkening. He pulled his shirt sleeves down, trying to cover the marks, but they’d all noticed them. Tony glanced down at the ground for a moment, and then glanced up at them.

“I guess I missed a lot while I was refusing visitors,” he said quietly. “Ziva – congratulations; hurt Tim and I’ll break you in two. Tim – congratulations; hurt Ziva and I’ll be very, very surprised.” He gave a little grin.

“Congratulations to you too, Tony,” Ziva said, her gaze fixed on the shiny new collar around his throat. “Whatever happened to you out there, at least it made you and Gibbs figure out the important stuff – yes?”

“Yeah. I guess.” Tony shrugged. “And about that – Jordan tied me down and drained half my blood from my body. Then he whipped me pretty bad, and was going to rape me and slit my throat when Gibbs and Sheppard showed up, just in time. None of that stuff hurt as much as the fact he took my collar off me. I was ashamed about that and I didn’t want anyone knowing that I was too weak to stop him.”

“My god, Tony – that wasn’t your fault,” Tim said, shocked by what he’d heard. No wonder Tony hadn’t been up to receiving visitors. Whatever Tony said about himself, and god knows he said a lot, Tim knew that was all a smokescreen – the private stuff, the really private stuff, always remained that way. Tony hated admitting being vulnerable with anyone, but especially with a top, and he had clearly had a tough time coming to terms with being unable to prevent Jordan removing his collar.

“Rationally I know that, probie,” Tony sighed. “Emotionally – it was tough back there for awhile. Gibbs wouldn’t collar me again until I was well, and I couldn’t help thinking he blamed me for losing it to Jordan in the first place.”

Tim reached up and touched his own collar, feeling his gut tighten at the thought of someone removing it. Ziva had put it there – he was hers. If someone were to forcibly take it…it would be like a betrayal of her and what they had together. No wonder Tony had been so badly affected by it – especially if, as Abby said, he and Gibbs had been in love with each other for years.

Ziva wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned against him, sensing his distress, and he was glad of her soothing presence.

“You could have told us about it,” Ziva said. “I was angry you would not see us.”

Tony nodded. “Yeah. I deserve that. I just didn’t want the probie here going all big-eyed and sympathetic on me, and you’d have just slammed your fist into the wall and yelled a lot, Ziva.”

“That is true,” Abby told them, in an apologetic tone.

At that moment Gibbs and Ducky came over to join the group.

“Hey – this is the first time we’ve all been together since that night we were all sitting around, solving the case,” Abby pointed out.

“Well, actually, Abs, *I* solved the case,” Tony said. “I don’t like to brag or anything but it was my fine detective work sifting through all those files that cracked it.”

“Only after you nearly arrested poor Rodney,” Abby said. “I still can’t believe you did that.”

“Okay, so that wasn’t my finest hour, but I still solved the case!” Tony said. “Didn’t I, boss?” He turned to Gibbs for confirmation. Gibbs grinned at him, and rolled his eyes.

“Yeah,” he said, and then he slapped the back of Tony’s head. “But nobody likes a smartass, Tony.”

Tim found himself grinning as the old, familiar banter washed over him. It looked as if, despite all that had happened, and despite the fact that only Tony now wore Gibbs’s collar, they were still a team.

As he watched Gibbs, noting the way his former top’s gaze rarely left Tony’s face, he wondered why he’d ever been scared of tops. Sure, Gibbs could be occasionally terrifying but tops were only human, and not the frightening untouchables he’d always assumed them to be. Tony didn’t look cowed by Gibbs any more than Tim felt cowed by Ziva – in fact, Tony looked like a submissive insanely in love with his top, both of them equals.

He looked down as he felt Ziva’s hand slip into his own, and watched as she picked up the leash that was hanging free from his collar in her other hand. She wrapped it around her fingers possessively. He smiled down at her. The relationship between subs and tops, which had always been such a mystery to him, now seemed utterly and completely clear. He had no idea why he had ever been confused when it was this simple.

Gibbs and Tony, Abby and Lorne, John and Rodney, Teyla and Ronon, Carson and Steven, Ducky and Woolsey – and himself and Ziva.

It was all so very right.

~*~

“You know I hate goodbyes,” Rodney muttered, as they walked along to the control room.

“Yeah, I know.” John rested his hand on his sub’s shoulder and caressed some of the misery out of his tense muscles.

“It’s like when we left that other universe,” Rodney muttered.

“Yeah. What’s weird though is that you hate people when you first meet them, and then end up going through some crazy bonding ritual with them so that by the time you have to say goodbye you’re best buddies with them,” John pointed out.

“Why is that weird?” Rodney said, glancing at him.

“Well, you could just be nicer to people when you first meet them, on the off-chance that they might actually turn out to be okay. I mean, take you and Tony.”

It was an odd friendship, John thought to himself. The two of them shouldn’t have had anything in common and yet they seemed to have a strange rapport. Tony loved leading Rodney astray, and Rodney basked in the friendship of a sub who was so at ease with people, and so obviously not suffering from Rodney’s own social dysfunction.

Tony seemed fascinated by Rodney, and the two traded banter like old friends, insulting each other endlessly with stupid grins on their faces the entire time. Tony had even talked Rodney into a disastrous trip out on a puddle jumper when John and Gibbs had been busy looking at threat assessments a few days ago. It wasn’t that Rodney’s flying was all *that* bad, but Tony had goaded him into going faster and further than his comfort zone allowed, and two worried and angry tops had been forced to mount an impromptu rescue mission. Neither Rodney nor Tony had sat comfortably at breakfast the following day.

“And Abby – Abby’s great too,” Rodney said softly, and his shoulders hunched again. “I hate goodbyes,” he repeated.

They reached the control room, and found Woolsey waiting there. Spending time with Ducky had been good for him; he was much more relaxed these days, and a lot less obsessed with rules and regulations than he had been. As a result, he and John were getting along pretty well. In front of the gate, the personal bags of the NCIS team and their boxes of evidence were all piled up waiting, ready to go. Rodney ran up the stairs to check the status of the stargate, leaving John at the foot of the stairs, waiting to say goodbye.

There was a noise in the hallway and Lorne entered the control room, hand in hand with Abby.

“It won’t be long,” he was saying to her – she looked as if she’d been crying and he was clearly trying to comfort her. “Just a few weeks and then I’ll be with you for months, getting underfoot and bugging the hell out of you.”

She didn’t say anything – her luminous green eyes said it all. He swept her up into a big hug and held her tight.

“I really do think someone needs to write a book on the architecture of the Ancients,” a voice said, and Ducky, Ziva and McGee walked into the control room. “Of course, architecture isn’t really my thing, but who could not have an appreciation for these gleaming spires?”

“Uh, well…the existence of these gleaming spires is top secret, Ducky,” McGee pointed out. “So I don’t think you’d be able to actually publish that book, if you did write it.”

“Oh I wouldn’t write it, my dear boy,” Ducky said. “You’re the writer!”

McGee glanced at Ziva, who smiled at him. “I keep him too busy to write, Ducky,” she told the doctor.

Ducky smiled. “I have no doubt at all that that is so, my dear,” he said, chuckling to himself. He moved away to say his goodbyes to Carson and Steven, who were standing to one side, waiting to take their leave.

Ziva led Tim over to where Teyla was standing with Ronon kneeling by her side, head down, unmoving. John gave a wry smile – Ronon didn’t like goodbyes either, so Teyla had put him in deep submission to spare him from having to actually interact. It would be enough for the big man that he was here – he’d hate for anyone to see him visibly affected by the NCIS agents leaving.

Ziva and Teyla shared a long, heartfelt hug; John didn’t know what had happened between those two but it was clear something had.

Gibbs and Tony were last to enter the control room.

“I’m not saying it was the *best* movie in the franchise,” Tony was saying. “I’m just saying it was better than the first one. Although not as good as the fourth.”

“Tony – do I look like I care?” Gibbs asked, one hand wrapped in Tony’s leash, the other resting on his bottom – John had a feeling that was pretty much the way they were going to walk anywhere for the rest of their lives.

“Your problem, Jethro, is that you have no appreciation for popular culture. When we get home I’m going to tie you to the couch and make you sit through all ten movies in the franchise,” Tony told him.

“When we get home, if there’s any tying up to be done I’ll be the one doing it,” Gibbs retorted.

Tony grinned, and leaned in to claim a kiss from his top. “You say that like it’s a bad thing, Jethro,” he whispered wickedly.

John felt the familiar sensation in his stomach that he always got when Rodney was nearby – it was as if something inside him relaxed when he was in physical proximity to his sub and, sure enough, a second later he felt Rodney’s body against his, arms and thighs touching the way they always did when they were together.

Gibbs came over to speak to them, Tony by his side.

“Rodney – I take it the gate isn’t having any problem with transports between galaxies this time around?” he asked, one eyebrow raised, a teasing glint in his eye. Rodney had the grace to blush.

“It’s working just fine,” he muttered, gazing at his boots. Tony grinned at him and nudged his toe with his foot.

“Remember what I told you, Rodney – only ever tell lies you know you can get away with. First rule of Lying 101,” Tony told him.

“I’m glad you’re taking him home,” John told Gibbs. “He’s a terrible influence.”

“People say that wherever I take him,” Gibbs sighed. “And Tony, if you ever lie to me you’ll be sleeping on your front for a week.”

“Yes Jethro,” Tony grinned.

Gibbs slapped the back of his head anyway for good measure. John thought that if anyone could keep the incorrigible Tony under control it was Gibbs – and he also thought that Tony, in return, would be good for Gibbs, amusing him and keeping him on his toes in equal measure. A top like Gibbs needed that constant sense of challenge, just as Tony needed a top who would both love him fiercely and control his wilder impulses at one and the same time.

“I want to thank you for your hospitality, General Sheppard. I’m sorry that you and your people were dragged into Jordan’s sick feud with me,” Gibbs said.

“And he never apologises,” Tony butted in. “So he really means that.”

“Well, despite the circumstances, it was good meeting you guys,” John replied, meaning it too. He wondered what would have happened between him and Rodney if Gibbs and his team hadn’t shown up, and if Gibbs hadn’t had that top to top chat with him about what was going on between him and his sub. He didn’t think it would have turned out well. John was a strong, confident top but he would be the first person to concede that he’d learned something from Gibbs. He didn’t think it was all one way either – he’d noticed how much Gibbs had watched him and Rodney together, and he hoped that had had something to do with Gibbs deciding to finally face up to his feelings for Tony and put that fancy collar around his sub’s neck.

“Bye Rodney,” Tony said, patting Rodney’s arm. “And don’t ever let the tops think they’ve won,” he whispered loudly in Rodney’s ear.

Gibbs rolled his eyes, and held out his hand to John. “Been good meeting you, General,” he said.

John shook his hand firmly. “Likewise,” he replied.

Gibbs turned to Rodney. He glanced at John, who made a show of thinking about it for a couple of seconds, then grinned and nodded. Gibbs held out his hand and Rodney shook it. John didn’t feel threatened any more – Gibbs had more than enough on his plate with Tony at the end of his leash – and besides, since when had Rodney ever had eyes for anyone but John?

Then Gibbs turned, and Tony turned with him, both of them moving as one.

Out of the corner of his eye, John saw Ducky bestowing an affectionate kiss on Richard Woolsey’s lips.

“I look forward to your visits, dear boy!” he said. Woolsey looked a little subdued, and John guessed he’d miss the genial doctor. He made a mental note to try and include Woolsey in more of the base social activities.

Abby ran over and threw herself at Rodney, nearly knocking him off his feet, and they hugged for ages. Then she threw herself at John, hugging him tight too, before running back to claim one final kiss from Lorne.

The NCIS agents lined up in front of the gate, and watched as their possessions were sent through on big, wheeled crates. Finally, all that was left was the six of them.

They stood there for a moment, and John took one last look at them. Ziva was standing with her back against her sub’s body, leaning into him – Tim McGee was a big man and she clearly loved the solidity of him. He just as clearly adored his beautiful top. He had one arm loosely wrapped around her as they waited. Ducky was standing next to them, Abby’s hand tucked firmly in his arm. He was talking to her in quiet, gentle tones, and she was nodding furiously, holding back the tears.

Gibbs and Tony joined them, one of Gibbs’s hands wrapped firmly in Tony’s leash, and his other hand resting on Tony’s bottom. They paused for a moment.

John remembered when they’d first arrived, disembarking from the Daedalus, Gibbs holding all five of their leashes in his hand. Now he had only one. Yet, despite that, John thought Gibbs looked like a different man. He might have lost a fistful of subs but he’d gained the one thing he truly wanted, and as a result he looked as relaxed and happy as a man like Gibbs would ever look.

There was a flurry of waves, and then they walked toward the gate and in the next instant they were gone, and the place seemed suddenly empty without them. Rodney pressed against John, seeking his top’s reassurance. John wrapped his arm around Rodney’s waist, and held him close.

“Everything’s changed,” Rodney said quietly, his eyes downcast.

“Yeah, everything’s changed,” John said. “And everything’s remained the same.”

He put a finger under Rodney’s chin and kissed him deeply on the lips and Rodney melted against him, as compliant a sub as any top could ever wish for.

Everything had changed – a lot had happened and the past few weeks had been a rollercoaster of highs and lows – but some things never changed, and never would.

“Let’s go back to our quarters,” he whispered to Rodney. “There’s something I really want to do to you…”

The End

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