Gibbs headed downstairs, two steps at a time. He didn't have to ask anyone where Tony was. He knew. He would have known if he had been blindfolded and in the dark. Just like he knew where his hands were in relation to his arms; his knowledge was soul deep. He wished that he had been here earlier, but the meeting had gone on for hours. Gibbs scowled. The Director had sent him to liaise with other federal agencies at the newly formed command centre. That necessitated a trip in an armed convoy, taking up to a day and a half. And the Disaster Recovery Plan these guys had in place was the most positive thing he had seen since the Pulse.
The plan was to do a street by street clearance of dead bodies from the homes in the city, as quickly as possible, led by the military and the National Guard. Then power and water services could gradually be unrolled to the clean zones. Homes would be requisitioned for refugees. Mutants would be given a clean slate as long as they co-operated. And now this business with DiNozzo!
He was desperately tired, knowing that he had pushed himself too hard after his recent illness. He had felt the headache behind his eyes since well before noon, and now it was blossoming into something torturous. He groaned softly and pressed his fingers to his temples, vainly trying to ease the pain. Though it was nearly midnight, he headed for the rest area; maybe a cup of the muck they called coffee would help? With a hefty dose of painkillers. He could feel Tony close by, in the shadows, standing quietly.
"How were things at the Command Centre?" Tony's voice sounded softly behind Gibbs. He turned, to see his young subordinate watching him from the doorway of the shadowy room. Tony looked tired, his eyes dark with exhaustion. Gibbs realised that at least three quarters of the pain in his head came from Tony.
"Fine." Gibbs shrugged. "The usual bunch of politicians and military, arguing over everything that's unimportant, ignoring the big issues, so it took five times as long to get anything done!"
A grin ghosted over Tony's too-thin face.
"I see you've lost none of your disrespect for authority, boss." Gibbs' lips twitched. Tony moved closer, till he was standing intimately close. His hand lifted and he brushed his fingers gently across Gibbs' left temple.
"I'm sorry. I can feel your head hurting... It's my fault!"
"Just so you know, DiNozzo, I've heard all about it! The director told me you were in trouble again!" The younger man merely looked embarrassed, and shrugged. Damn whistle-blowers. Someone had ratted him out to the boss already, and Gibbs had only been back from his meeting for a few minutes. He was lucky to get back that night, because it was snowing again, and by this time the snow was starting to drift.
"I did what I had to do. That's all. No big deal."
"Don't lie to me Tony. I can feel your headache right now. You pushed yourself damned hard, and you're paying the price for it.
Tony sighed. Like he could get away with anything when Gibbs was around. He stared into Gibbs' blue eyes, filled with concern, and grinned cheekily.
"I'm okay boss. Never better. Using my mutant superpower uses up all my energy, that's all. Give me a couple of hours and a good cup of coffee with six sugars in, and I'll be my normal, cheerful self. See, I'm feeling better already!"
"Yes. You are," Gibbs acknowledged. "If that sense of humour is anything to go by." Tony sensed him relax, his grip on the younger man's shoulders easing. "You shouldn't have pushed yourself so far."
"Yeah, right." Tony said with a hint of a pout. As if he could hold back when his friends and colleagues were being attacked! Gibbs reached forward and ruffled his hair unexpectedly.
"I know. Stupid remark," Gibbs said softly, hearing the unspoken thought. He knew as well as Tony did that the young agent would give everything for the defence of his friends.
He knew he should move away from Tony but he couldn't make himself take that last step backwards. The welcome in Tony's mind was too pleasurable after the shitty day he had just had, and just the touch of his hand was soothing. And Tony needed him. Instead, Gibbs reached for Tony's other hand and their fingers tangled together, glimmering with that strange, ghost-light, even as he opened his mind to the young agent.
They *linked*
Gibbs felt his strength flood through Tony's mind, supporting him, even as the young agent relaxed into the safety of Gibbs' mind-touch. Somewhere in that joining, the pain faded into the background; bearable now because its burden was shared between them. Tony rested his head against Gibbs' shoulder and sighed deeply. And just like that, Gibbs knew that he had come home.
*****
Abby stared from the shadows as Tony reached out his hand and so gently touched Gibbs' face. The gesture was almost a caress. So intimate. She blinked in surprise. What the hell was going on? She suddenly remembered the day she had found out that Gibbs and Tony were alive, their minds able to reach out to her. The way their minds had been entangled... It had been so strange. Beautiful, but strange. At the time, she had been learning about her own new abilities, trying to cope with the sensory overload of too many psychic echoes from her surroundings, so she hadn't realised that something odd was happening between Gibbs and Tony. But now, as the two of them leaned in close to each other, she could kick herself for missing it.
The boss and Tony stood still for an age, in their own little world as if no-one else mattered. For just a moment, it seemed as though they were outlined in light, then the moment passed.
They leaned together, touching, their fingers still entwined, their interaction strangely intimate, full of a deep trust in one other that was so much greater than one would expect from co-workers. Distantly, a door closed and Abby heard the sound of clattering feet, as someone headed their way, down the stairs. As suddenly as they had come together, the two men pulled apart from each other. Gibbs grinned at Tony.
"Idiot!" Gibbs was smiling as he spoke and his voice was filled with affection.
"Yeah, probably." Tony said softly. Then the two of them turned and headed up the stairs, leaving a bemused and very curious forensic technician staring after them.
*****
The next day...
Tony had been asleep for hours, for once untroubled by dreams. He had been exhausted; drained by the use of his powers. Even with Gibbs' support, he had come dangerously close to over-extending himself. But with the older man there to watch his back, he could relax for once.
Gibbs studied the sleeping man's face. Tony looked so vulnerable, when asleep. It was all he could do not to reach out and touch him. Just to reassure himself that the dreams had not returned. He must have lain on his bunk, watching the young man sleep for hours.
He eventually felt Tony stir, deep in his mind, through their always-open link. Thoughts, he could shield, but emotions, and maybe even instincts, were always there at some level. Like the way they had felt each other's sexual acts. Tony felt better. Stronger after his uninterrupted sleep. Gibbs was pleased. Perhaps his young subordinate was recovering his equilibrium at last. Knowing that things were better, Gibbs began to get dressed. He smiled, because he had plans today to upset a lot of people and get things moving around here. Starting with the Director.
Tony woke fully at the sound of his boss moving around. He opened his eyes and lay on his side, grinning lazily at Gibbs, perhaps sensing his good mood. The older man found himself enjoying the warm hum of contentment from Tony's mind. Too much, so that he wasn't really thinking straight when he acted.
"Get up lazybones!" Without thinking, because he was so used to touching Tony these days, Gibbs reached out and smacked Tony, not on the back of his head, but on the side of his ass. The young man yelped in surprise and for a brief moment before his barriers slammed shut, a burst of arousal flooded the young agent's mind.
Gibbs found, to his consternation, that he was the one who blushed.
"Um... Yeah, well..." Tony faltered.
"Best not say anything," Gibbs snapped, trying to pretend he wasn't as embarrassed as hell. He took refuge in his rank and natural authority. "Don't dig yourself into a bigger hole..."
A flash of hurt showed in green eyes, then with a curious dignity, Tony said, "You're making the assumption that I'm ashamed of what I feel!"
He rose sinuously to his feet, dressed quickly and headed for the canteen, leaving the embarrassed Gibbs with the distinct impression that he was the one that had done something wrong.
*******
Tony decided that his life was getting more surreal by the moment. No way had Gibbs smacked his ass this morning! Except that he had, and he had been so damned embarrassed by it afterwards. Tony smirked. His annoyance had rapidly disappeared when he reviewed the incident in his mind. He didn't mind the fact that Gibbs felt comfortable enough with him to take liberties. They trusted each other absolutely. Still, it had been obvious that the older man hadn't anticipated the results of his action. Tony grinned widely. He had enjoyed Gibb' touch too much, and he had the distinct feeling that he was one up on the boss right now. After all, he had kept his dignity intact, unlike Gibbs.
His mood cheerful, he headed for the main conference room. Time to put into action his plan to create a mutant defence force. He had passed the word yesterday for any NCIS mutants to meet him in there at 08:00, and after his defence of the base yesterday, he had the kudos to persuade people to meet with him.
There were about a dozen people in the room, some of them looking nervous or uncertain.
"Fellow mutants..." he began, self-importantly. A glare from Abby made him falter. "Yes, well okay folks, we need to get organised. We need to show the powers-that-be how useful we can be to them. Since I er… came out... as a mutant, I've noticed that a lot of people are avoiding me, or giving me weird looks. Why last night in the canteen, at least three people wouldn't sit next to me!" Someone snorted. "...and it wasn't anything to do with my eating habits, Palmer."
"So you're trying to form a mutant corps within NCIS. Cool." Abby was plainly excited by the idea!
"So are you going with the Heroes model, or do you prefer the X-Men exemplar?" A typical geek question from Mikey, one of the technicians from the evidence garage who was barely out of his teenage years and comic obsessed by all accounts. He could now also boil a cup of coffee just by holding it in his hands.
"A good question, my little evidence-geek. To have a secret code name, or not to have a secret code name, that is the question?"
"You can move things with your mind. You could be the Shifter." McGee smirked.
"No. The Swirly Man!" Abby referenced his embarrassing canteen scene.
"Or the Jerker," Palmer added slyly.
"Nix on the secret code names!" Tony glared at his colleagues. "Just think about it, folks. We need to watch each others' backs, that's all. Mutants aren't very popular right now and we need to make sure people know we're on the side of law, order and justice. We'e the good guys!"
"Ya think?" Tony swung towards the newcomer. He flushed slightly as he met Gibbs' blue eyed stare. "You forgot to tell me about your meeting, DiNozzo."
"You're a mutant?" Mikey said, wide eyed.
"Yes." Gibbs said shortly. "As it happens, I think you're right, DiNozzo. Mutant prejudice is highly likely to become an issue over the next few months." His eyes met Tony's and the younger man felt his wordless apology through their mind-link. He let Gibbs feel his acceptance and his gratitude for the older man's support. "They just don't understand us," Gibbs said. "And that's a problem. My gut is telling me we need to take precautions, people."
The group broke up without any firm decisions being made, but most of them looking very thoughtful. Tony fell into step next to Gibbs. By unspoken agreement, neither of them mentioned this morning's little incident.
"Thanks, boss." Gibbs chose not to reply; trying to maintain the cold, uncaring façade, but Tony could feel how untrue that was.
"Coffee!" Gibbs snapped.
Tony could live with that.
*******
Later...
The two of them stood side by side on the roof, looking out over the snow-shrouded city. It was colder than ever.
"So you want to strengthen our defences?" Tony grinned at Gibbs.
The older man frowned and shook his head.
"Pointless, Tony. We don't have nearly enough resources to defend this place. And even if we did, should we?"
"Huh?" Tony tried to puzzle that out.
"We could spend all of our time making this place mutant proof, but that doesn't take care of the basic problem. Tell me, what was in the warehouse they attacked?"
Tony shrugged.
"About ten billion tonnes of those awful marine rations."
"Food."
"Yeah boss. Lots of food." Gibbs rested his hand on Tony's shoulder as he looked into the distance. Tony leaned against him, unconsciously trusting him, their warmth mingling.
"And your attackers included women and children." Tony nodded. "So shouldn't we be helping these people instead of trying to kill them. All they wanted was food. And by luck or judgement, they didn't kill anyone. Neither did you." He let his sense of approval leak into the other man's mind. "Despite the Director."
"I know you're right, boss. But it isn't going to be easy."
"I want at least three food drop sites established. And I want teams delivering rations there at least once a day,from today! Plus we need teams to start clearing homes nearby - we may need to move our people into them soon. If the weather continues to deteriorate, there's no way we can heat this building with the limited power supplies we have. Those big windows alone are a major source of heat loss, and if we have to burn fuel, the ventilation is inadequate. And it's going to take months to replace the power cables and relays that were burned out by the Pulse. On the other hand, there's plenty of fuel for traditional fires; we can burn wood if we have to. But we'll need to move into homes with fireplaces."
"At least until the power grid is re-established," Tony said.
"I think it's going to be well into next year!" Gibbs said. The younger man looked at him curiously. Gibbs shrugged. "Just a feeling," he said softly. Tony frowned.
Unfortunately, they both trusted his gut.
*****
It was shortly after the meeting that Abby began to notice other things about Gibbs and Tony. She was more open to possibilities after witnessing their midnight meeting. Liaison. Whatever. Like when Tony was sitting, drinking coffee in the canteen and Gibbs entered. They didn't acknowledge each other, but something about the sudden tension in Tony's shoulders made her sure he knew Gibbs was there the moment he walked through the door. As if to confirm her suspicion, without turning, Tony lifted up the second cup of coffee he had obtained, towards the boss, as if he could sense exactly where Gibbs was.
Gibbs' fingers closed over the cup and almost incidentally, he leaned against Tony's back for a moment. Abby saw Tony's eyes close briefly and colour flooded into his face, making him look momentarily less tired. Gibbs' other hand closed over Tony's shoulder and squeezed briefly. Tony's head turned and his eyes met those of Gibbs. Something nameless passed between them. Abby felt their communication at the fringes of her own psychic perception. They were communicating on a level that was deeper and more unconstrained than anything she had ever sensed from her developing psi powers.
No way in hell was that just the interaction between boss and subordinate.
After that, Abby found herself watching Tony and Gibbs obsessively. Though she would have denied it, she was, in her own way, just as curious as Tony was. She loved solving mysteries. That was one of the reasons she became a scientist - to find out why the world worked the way it did. And inevitably with the scientist mindset came the principles of good investigation. Proof was needed before a hypothesis could be accepted. Evidence needed to be gathered and assessed. The easiest way to gather evidence was observation.
So it was that Abby began to watch her two favourite men whenever they were together.
********
Gibbs thought that his day had rapidly gone to hell, after he and Tony had made up. He had been to see the Director. Jenny. He had been looking forward to it, on one level. Spending the morning with his lovely ex-partner, trying to organise this place so that things could get done. He needed Jenny on his side; the woman was a formidable organiser.
She smiled and they began to go over his plans. Hours of reports and ideas from various departments about the regeneration of Washington. Gibbs found himself enjoying their occasionally emotional debates more than he had expected. He enjoyed her company. So that when she ordered dinner, hours later, he was happy to stay with her. Dinner with wine, no less. Where she had found the bottle, he had no idea, but it was expensive and he had to admit, surprisingly good. He felt mellow and relaxed, and her delicate references to their past intimacies weren't unwelcome. The opposite, in fact. And why exactly shouldn't he enjoy her company?
She smiled at him. Half aroused, shivering with anticipation, he reached out his mind towards hers, instinctively seeking that deeper, more intimate telepathic connection, and had a huge shock. There was nothing there! Not a thing! No welcoming mind, ready to share everything, filled with light and laughter and affection, completely trusting in him. Just emptiness in the place where they met. Like trying to tune into a radio station on the wrong wavelength, maybe. His mind just couldn't connect with hers.
She had no psi. None at all. With her, he would never have that intimate connection he found that he now craved. There would be no moments of sharing and openness. He would never see into her mind and know absolute trust, let alone love.
He hadn't known how important it was to him, until he had reached for it and found it absent. Living with psi was like suddenly being able to see in colour - how could he ever go back to monochrome grey. After seeing what was possible with Tony...
"I'm sorry. This was a big mistake. It can never work. We just don't have that spark any more." He tried to let her down as gently as he could. "It's not you, it's me..."
He didn't have to be telepathic to see the hurt in her eyes. Better now than later. She must have seen something of his feelings in his face - his aversion - though he tried not to show it. There was regret, if only because what they had once had was so good. But he should have known that the past couldn't be revisited. He had new perspectives. New commitments and responsibilities. New things to anguish over.
He had the chance at something new and strange and unpredictable, but so very good. The memory rose irresistibly of a pair of green eyes, filled with trust and longing.
Oh boy was he in trouble now!
He needed to know. What it was like to kiss - really kiss - another telepath. Someone who would connect with him in that intimate place inside his head.
Yes, all right. The way he had connected with Tony on that one hugely embarrassing, unforgettable, glorious time in the cabin. Total joining. Synergy. Two hearts beating as one…That perfection was what he had instinctively reached for when he kissed Jen. Longing for it. And finding nothing there. He felt curiously desolate, as if he had lost something and had only just realised it.
He needed to know if what he remembered from the cabin was the truth, or some fever-hazed fantasy from the time he was ill. Had it really been as good as he remembered? So good that it haunted his dreams... The way the feedback from his desire had woken the younger man to arousal, and it had echoed back and forth between them until they had both come from it. And yet the mind-sex had only been part of it; there was so much more to their connection.
God, what the hell was happening to him? He closed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly at the mixture of longing and despair that washed over him. When did his life get so fucked up... It was just that... Another man... DiNozzo...
He wasn't ready to go there yet.
*****
Tony was in the bullpen when he started to sense Gibbs with the Director again. He shivered. He hated this - being in a position to feel his boss getting down with his lover. Tony blushed slightly. From the moment he had sensed that low level of arousal from Gibbs, he had made for the hills, getting away from other people. In other words, he had found some privacy, as quickly as he could. After the last time… Tony glared in Gibbs' direction, hoping that even through the walls, the boss could sense his annoyance. That particular Gibbs-induced erection had taken an hour and a cold shower to get rid of it. He had no desire to experience that again. If Gibbs decided to make him horny, he could deal with the consequences. This time Tony was going to deal with his problem in the traditional way, by jerking off and coming as quickly as he could.
After all, the session in the cabin had been… Tony smiled. Spectacular. He sighed and closed his eyes. His connection with Gibbs seemed to be particularly sensitive tonight, possibly because his boss had been sharing something alcoholic with the Director. In some way, it seemed to relax the barriers between them just a little bit; he really shouldn't be aware that Gibbs was kissing Jenny. It was a bit like having a porn video running in the back of your head, Tony thought, except that he really didn't want to see how it ended...
He felt a bit like getting drunk himself, except that alcohol was harder to get around here than almost anything else. In fact, it was easier to get his favourite shampoo than a beer. Just his luck!
Slowly, reluctantly, his hand strayed down towards his growing erection, with the intention of trying to satisfy the needs that being linked to Gibbs produced. But then...
Tony blinked in surprise. Something had changed all of a sudden; Gibbs' pleasantly aroused state was gone and what was reaching Tony through the link was unhappiness and guilt. Definitely not warm and sexy in any shape or form. In fact, Gibbs' mood was rapidly going downhill, and not in a good way, although Tony could feel that he was now moving away from the Director, heading down, maybe towards the gym?
Wow! Gibbs was really, really wound up about something; so much for the romantic evening he had been having. What he was feeling was a mixture of regret, frustration and annoyance, with a fair dollop of misery. He blinked in surprise. Where had that come from? What had the Director done to upset the usually unflappable Gibbs so much. This wasn't a side of his boss that he saw very often...
Without really thinking about it, Tony found himself moving to intercept his boss, automatically, because Gibbs in that sort of mood could do major damage to probies, federal agents and criminals, to name but a few.
Yeah. The corner of the gym that was still being used for fitness training. No surprise there. Gibbs liked to box; something left over from his days in the marines. Typical of the man to try to let out all of his frustrations on a heavy punch bag. Tony hesitantly approaches. Gibbs was already red-faced and breathing hard, as he hammered punches into the bag, as if he was hitting a brick wall over and over... Not the best technique and they both knew it, but Tony could feel the frustration boiling over inside Gibbs.
"Jethro..."
Gibbs didn't even pause, just kept hitting, every couple of seconds, so hard that a resounding thud went round the gym with every blow.
"You always used to tell me that when you hit the bag, it should make a smacking sound, otherwise I was doing it wrong..." Tony said softly. Then more hesitantly, " I can feel..."
"Keep your mind to yourself!" Gibbs snapped. Tony could hear the misery behind the words.
"I can't. Even if I wanted to," Tony helpfully pointed out, which made Gibbs glare at him.
The punching hadn't stopped, but it was beginning to slow in pace, as Gibbs exhausted himself. No way was his stamina as good as it had been; not after the major illness they had just been through.
So that was the way of it. Tony wondered why he had ever thought that he was the only one to feel negative about their situation. He stepped up behind the punch bag and braced himself against it, silently supportive, giving Gibbs extra weight to punch against. Gibbs acknowledged his presence with a grunt that might have been acceptance, and kept on punching, and on... and on... Eventually, Tony knew he'd work out his frustrations, except that Gibbs didn't seem to know that...
"Jethro! Stop!" Tony knew this had to end, and he moved well inside Gibbs' personal space and caught his wrist. He could feel the other man shaking with fatigue.
"It's all right." He opened his barriers and tried to project his acceptance and worry towards the other man, feeling their link flare into life as he did so. Gibbs gave a little gasp. Then he pressed his forehead against Tony's shoulder for a few moments and drew a shaky breath. All of his misery and frustration couldn't stand against this; their shared strength and the support Tony was freely offering him. There was no hesitation in Tony's mind; he would share the pain as readily as the good things. For once, Gibbs let him; he just leaned against Tony, breathing hard, and let himself, just once, be supported.
***
"Did you see that?"
McGee blinked in surprise. He was used to weird things lately, but this was something way outside his recent experience. Gibbs had come storming in to the gym, grabbed a pair of boxing gloves, and started punching; McGee was no stranger to that particular force of nature, so he'd kept his head down and tried to look inconspicuous. It wasn't difficult, considering the fact that he and Abby were curled up together comfortably in their favourite quiet corner; a lot of people came down here when they wanted some quiet time with the person they cared about. It wasn't too hard to guess that Gibbs was frustrated big-time about something. Tony arrived a few minutes later, which relieved McGee; Tony mostly knew how to cope with the boss. But then...
Gibbs appeared to be leaning against Tony! Now that was something he'd never seen before. His eyes wide, he watched as Tony gently loosened the gloves from Gibbs' hands, then gripped one of Gibbs' hands tightly...
"Their hands glowed..." McGee knew he hadn't imagined it. "Blue!"
"I know," Abby said softly. "It's not the first time I've noticed that. It happens sometimes when they touch."
She could feel it too; that subtle, complex connection interweaving between them that was perhaps soul-deep, though who would believe her if she started saying things like that? Still, the fact that Gibbs would openly touch Tony, out in the open where everyone could see; that was new.
"Something is definitely going on, Tim!"
"Between Tony and the boss? What sort of thing?" Tim sounded slightly panicked at the thought. Abby shrugged. She had her suspicions, and fascinating they were, too.
******
End of chapter.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Abby notices something strange...