Rick's eyes cracked open slowly, a low groan escaping his lips as his right hand explored his face for damage - not that he was expecting any but it didn't hurt to check anyway. His mouth was dry, his head pounded and he ached like hell!
He forced himself to remain calm even though every fibre of his being was screaming at him that this was all wrong! Where in hell was he? Why in blue blazes had he suddenly woken up from what he already knew was a drug induced slumber - the after effects still thumping around his system - leaving him heavy headed and unable to even put one coherent thought in front of the other. One minute he'd been - he frowned, resting both hands over his face as he tried to recall where he'd been - and as his hands fell away to rest on his stomach - he paled, swallowing audibly as it all came rushing back.
He'd been - kissing Tony - he thudded a fist into the mattress beneath him, cursing under his breath as his eyes slammed shut as the extent of how his - curiosity - had gotten the better of him - and placed an innocent person in serious danger. So lost had he been - they had both been - in those first precious moments as they tentatively explored each other's mouths. He recalled flashing a little of the scene to Alex - and then - nothing! He'd promised himself he would never do it - he never had - although in the past temptation had been there - but for that one split second - the second he knew he had to know what it really would be like to taste Tony - he'd let his guard down - immersing himself in Tony's unique scent, the feel of their bodies pressed so close together, burgeoning lengths twitching in tenting pants - the warmth of Tony's hands at the back of his head, the side of his neck. He remembered breaking the kiss - leaving Tony bereft and - oh so wanting - that tiny sound the young agent made - a mewled plea for more - and Rick - being Rick - had to go back for seconds didn't he - yeah - didn't he!
Almost without realising it, the fingers of his left hand were ghosting over the skin of his throat. He was aware of a mild stinging sensation - not a bee sting - not even an insect bite - and he soon found a tiny raised area and his fears were confirmed. He'd been darted! He closed his eyes again - berating himself at being so - being so - fucking dumb!
He was staring at a stark white ceiling, daylight flooding the room from a small window high above his head in the wall to his right - immediately above him as he lay on the bunk shoved tight against the whitewashed brickwork. His abs crunched as he lifted his upper body from the bunk to sit completely still as the dizziness slowly dissipated, leaving him somewhat breathless as his heart thudded in his chest, the pain in his head now settling right behind his eyes.
It was only now he realised something else was wrong - very wrong and cold tendrils of apprehension began to blossoming from the centre of his gut, causing him to catch his breath against a panic threatening to overwhelm him. Something very familiar was missing - something so integral to his being, he barely noticed it a lot of the time - like a piece of the jigsaw was missing.
Centering himself quickly - pushing away all other emotions and sensations still washing over him - he reached out - with his mind. Sending thoughts away into the ether - breathing in through his nose and out through pouting lips - he traversed that which only he - and his brothers - could. All dimensions - yet only one dimension - a myriad dimensions of time and space - all at the same time - he sought out only a connection with Alex and Nicky. A connection so familiar to him he could do it blindfold - a gesture so second nature to all three - so automatic and yet - now - as he
negotiated the all too familiar paths towards his goal - it dawned on him what he was missing.
Rick had joked about it with Alex one day - comparing their ties a little simply - but it did provide an adequate description. He knew his brothers were around even if he couldn't see them or hear them - he could feel them. It was like a tickle at the base of his skull - inside the skull not an annoyance - more a reassurance, a comforting reminder to all three of them of their ancestry - of their uniqueness - of their togetherness.
And now - even that was gone!
"Fuck! You are one stupid son of a bitch!" he hissed to himself as further memories slammed into his mind, leaving him reeling. "It's not just about you - you were with - oh shit! If I screw this up - " Not daring to even utter Tony's name - he turned quickly to scan the room and a wave of relief shuddered through him when he spied the younger man lying prone on a similar bunk against the back wall. "Don't be dead - don't be fucking dead, Tony! Don't you dare do this to me!"
He eased himself to his feet, trying desperately to ignore the renewed dizziness that sent him to his knees and forward onto his hands, his head lowered as the throb behind his eyes doubled - leaving him gasping in agony.
Once he'd regained some semblance of control, he lifted his head once more and began to crawl - hand over hand - towards Tony not knowing what might have happened to him - praying to whoever or whatever might be listening that he would be all right. Sweat beaded his brow, glistening on his upper lip as his tongue swiped around his dry lips - moistening them briefly before another stab of pain left him trembling in the middle of the room. "Don't fail him, Rick!" he growled. "You got him into this - you have to get him out!" His vision began to blur, black and white merging into a greying vista but he continued crawling. "Have to - don't - " Those last words left his lips in a soft whisper as blackness slipped inward, spiralling Rick downward - and he collapsed - the fingers of his left hand twitching for a second as though trying to will his still body to continue trying to reach Tony and then - as his eyelids fluttered closed - even they stilled.
****
As his right arm fell off the edge of the bunk Tony jerked to full wakefulness and wished he hadn't. Pain blossomed behind his eyelids as the fire in his side redoubled its effort to kill him as he pulled himself onto his side - a cry of agony told him that was the wrong side and he slumped back onto the mattress - his chest heaving for air - even if all he could manage were short sharp pants right now.
Somehow - he had no idea how he did it - but he was now on his knees - bent double with both arms wrapped around his torso, head forward over his knees nearly touching the floor as his ribs protested with renewed vigour. He lifted his head slowly, staring at the collapsed Uber Dom in front of him.
"Rick?" Tony hissed sharply, wincing against the agony in his side. "Rick - for fuck's sake!" He was at Rick's side, deciding against even attempting to lift the larger man or even turn him onto his side, settling instead to shuffle round and just sit beside him, a hand carding the fallen man's hair from his face. "What happened to us?" he whispered, not that he could forget - he'd been conscious until that last blow to his head but he just needed to hear a voice - any voice right now - even if it was his own, occasionally interspersed with incoherent mutterings from Rick. "I don't understand what the hell is going on Rick, but I do know I need you awake!" Tony pleaded softly of the room in general. He reached out, pressing two fingers to Rick's carotid in his neck - a sigh of relief escaping him briefly, the simple movement leaving him grimacing until his ribs settled again. "And while we're at it," he smiled down at the prone figure. "When you finally decided to open your eyes - I don't want you blaming yourself because I'm here - what happened, happened. We're in this together and we are going to have to depend on each other to get out of this - somehow - and I can't do this alone Rick," he reached out a hand and wrapped it around the back of Rick's neck to knead the flesh gently - in the vain hope it might just rouse him.
Despite his air of general confusion, and deliberately keeping his back to the single camera he had spied high on the wall just to the left of the door - Tony was listening - keenly - for any sound. He judged the room to be at least fifteen foot square - and maybe just as high. Painted a stark white with little detail except two army issue bunks, the window to his right was too high even for him to get a peek outside - not that he could have if he'd tried. The main door was an unsympathetic metallic grey affair with a single lock and a flap at the centre of the bottom ten inches - possibly to admit food and water.
"What did they hit you with?" he mused as he wrapped both arms around his torso again and struggling to sit upright in such away that put less strain on his aching side. "How did they know how to take you out, Rick? Why would they want to take you out? If it is Taylor behind all this - " But even as he was whispering out loud - in his head - one image kept recurring - Gibbs - and that stare - but this time - not accusing, not angry - just so disappointed!
Shit! Gibbs! Tony's stomach knotted almost painfully. What the fuck was he going to tell Gibbs? How in hell do you tell someone you got snatched because you were caught kissing the fucking target right outside the very club he'd been so eager to introduce you to in the first place?
He swiped a hand across his forehead - surprised to find he was sweating despite the cool of the air in their white prison - he wiped the hand dry on the leg of his jeans and sighed heavily, a hand scuffing Rick's hair. And it was then that Tony knew Rick was slowly coming to.
His breathing changed - just a little - slightly faster and the fingers of his left hand twitched as it balled into a fist.
"Hey," Tony pressed a hand to his back, preventing the bigger man from moving too quickly. "Don't rush it, Rick. You took quite a battering."
"Don't you think I know that?" Rick replied, managing to raise his torso onto his elbows. "You okay?" He hung his head, groaning quietly until the room stopped spinning.
"I'll live - a couple of cracked ribs - I think."
"I'm sorry I got you into this," Rick was on his knees now, both hands at the back of his neck as he rolled his head in one direction, then the other, squinting at Tony as he did so. "You look like shit."
"So you've not looked in a mirror recently, then." Tony retorted as he clumsily got to his feet, a hand stretched out to the man kneeling before him. The grip was firm as Rick rose - a little unsteadily - but grateful for the shoulder as Tony guided him over to the bunk he'd only recently vacated.
"Did you see anything?" Rick said as he shuffled back on the mattress until his back was against the wall.
"All I remember is you going down - then something hit me on the back of the head - I saw stars." Tony spread his hands and shrugged. "And a huge pair of sunglasses."
"Navigators?"
"Bigger - they looked ridiculous!"
Rick snorted, nodding to himself. "So you've met Taylor then - "
"Only for a couple of seconds - it all went black."
"Count yourself lucky." Rick mused. "It all goes downhill from here and Gibbs is going to be so pissed off with me too - all in all a good day."
Tony twisted his head around. "Gibbs? Yeah - " He held a hand up at chest level, palm down and waggled it. "Like a comet leaves a crater - but I'm as much to blame."
"No," Rick shook his head. "I should've known better than to - unspoken rule Tony - never mess with another Dom's sub - no matter how much you want to."
"What about if the sub was just as curious - and kind of initiated - what happened anyway." Tony lifted a brow in question. "What if I wanted it to happen?"
Rick stared at him for a second. "You wanted it to happen?" he echoed carefully. "Tony, Gibbs told me he'd instilled all the rules and sub rules before you began this exploration of your - other side - last night - weeks ago, like his marine rules - he had you counting them off on your fingers." Rick sat up straighter, arms folded across his chest. "The fact that you didn't stop yourself is tantamount to - "
"Tantamount to nothing Rick," Tony licked his lips as he considered carefully what he wanted to say next. A cursory glance at the man beside him more than made up his mind. "Look," he ventured. "I'll just come right out and say this - and then it's said - you can hit me - shout - thump me - whatever - but I need you to hear this." Rick blinked back at him slowly, a smile creasing the corners of his lips. "Okay?"
"Okay," Rick shrugged.
"When I saw you last night - in the bar - that first time - do you know the effect you were having on me?" Tony fixed him with a stare a la Gibbs.
"I might, but I'll let you tell me." Rick affirmed.
"I really don't think I have ever seen such a - such a dominating, arousing, beautiful man - the way you just swaggered into the room - but what really did it for me - you were at the bar - and the way you looked at me, Rick - I felt like I was drowning."
Rick said nothing, only the smile broadened.
"And then - something really strange happened." Tony paused, wondering if it was really all right to continue - but he needed to say this - to try and understand what the hell had been going on. "You made me feel like a school kid - I lost the power of speech - thought - I was like some - "
"Like a guy on his first outing as a sub - and what didn't help was Gibbs introducing me to you as the Uber Dom - you've known Gibbs as your Dom all this time - but believe me - I am no better than Jethro - I am not some Greek God tempting all and sundry - the whole setting, the club - it's all there to add to the experience for the patrons - except it's run by three guys who happen to be brothers - who are all into - kink - per se - and the Dom role kinda fell to me. I learned from the best, Tony. I don't pretend I am the best - I enjoy what I do and I am learning all the time - it's a little science, psychology - that kind of thing - but please - take me off that pedestal you've got me on - we're equals."
"But - "
"Tony - ssh," Rick silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Although - once we're outta here - I'm going to have to see if Jethro is willing to part with you - for a night - at least."
Tony bit down an immediate response as his stomach knotted at that last statement and smiled. "Jethro told me - he trusts you with his life," he said. "And I think I would too."
"Jethro's a good man - in many, many ways Tony. You - are a very lucky man to have him as a lover and friend." Rick reached out and squeezed Tony's shoulder lightly. "And don't worry - we will get out of this - I promise you."
"I know, Rick. I know."
TBC…..
Author's Chapter Notes:
the boys have a heart to heart - ah - but which boys??