Title: Cause and Effect
Pairing: Tony DiNozzo/Jethro Gibbs
Warnings: Slash. Major slash in fact. I was blushing writing it... but it's not in this chapter. Also, some swearing and BDSM themes. That last one plays a pretty major role so I'd leave now if that offends you.
Spoilers: None really. Just the show in general. And if you don't watch NCIS then why are you reading this?
Disclaimer: Not mine. Shoot. Poem is –and it's a haiku! Also, this isn't a 'How To' for BDSM. Remember: keep it safe, sane and consensual.
Summary: A meeting somewhere unexpected changes Tony's life in ways he never could have imagined. With a sceptical McGee in tow, will he be able to deal with the far-reaching consequences of his actions?
Authors Note: Here you are, faithful readers. The next chapter. Still no sex but how Gibbs comes into it will finally enter the equation... and Abby alongside him. Some things are realized, some confessions made along with some resolutions. But, as always, their every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
Cause and Effect: The concept that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
You sit there and judge
Stick pins into my body
And interrogate.
It's friendly and kind
This back and forth talk
Which illuminates.
But please be careful
You need to watch what you say
-You must pay the toll.
And please understand
When I answer a question
I reveal my soul.
Chapter Three: Questions and Answers
Tony woke up bound, dishevelled and deeply in subspace.
It wasn't much of a surprise. He'd spent the whole night blindfolded and tied to the head of a bed, cuffs pressed firmly against the pulse in his wrists which, for Tony, was only matched for a trigger point by the back of his neck.
Knowing he had to lay there and wait for McGee to release him only sent Tony swimming deeper. This wasn't a bad way to reach it, actually. He'd slept through the fighting and testing his boundaries stage and gotten straight to the good stuff.
The only downside was the ache in his arms but considering the constant pain was likely what had made his submission possible, Tony supposed he couldn't complain.
He gave his hands a gentle tug and a stab of pain reverberated through his shoulders, making him gasp. His cry perhaps roused McGee, for the next moment nimble fingers were setting his wrists free. Tony pulled his hands down, giving them a gentle roll. They creaked ominously.
"Ow," he complained, blinking his eyes open as McGee took off the blindfold and swimming up to the surface rapidly.
"There's food."
His stomach grumbled in interest and, slinging his feet off the bed, Tony got up in one long stretch. Handcuffs, he decided, were not made to be slept in.
"Coffee?" Tony queried hopefully.
"On the table," McGee affirmed.
"Awesome."
Tony all but bounded out to the living room, pouncing on the coffee the second it was in sight and taking a long sip. The pot on the table was already half empty (which explained how McGee was actually coherent) but none of the food had yet been touched so Tony served up two plate's worth, grateful to have an actual seat this time.
"Thanks," McGee said as he took his seat and, looking up and eyeing Tony frankly, he said it again: "Thanks."
Tony met McGee's eyes straight on before nodding gracefully, managing (just) to keep the jokes contained. Now was not the time. The simplest answer was usually the right one.
"Don't mention it."
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It didn't make any sense, but Tony felt infinitely at ease knowing it had been McGee who had caved first.
Perhaps it reassured him that he couldn't be turned down when it was his turn. Perhaps he was simply so used to competing with poor Tim that he used any excuse to do so. Or maybe he just liked having the upper hand.
Whatever the case, whatever lingering tension or awkwardness from lack of awkwardness there had been was long gone.
They still snipped at each other fiercely. Tony still joked teased McGee by calling him every name under the sun (through 'Probie' would never lose its panache) and McGee still complained about Tony's mental age and struggled to outdo him on a case.
Despite that, their interactions seemed... clearer. Tony couldn't put his finger on what exactly had changed, but all malice had vanished. Though Tony would never admit to it, there had been times when Tim's comments or his shining successes had cut slightly too close to home. But ever since McGee had caved and requested Tony's help, those cuts had disappeared. Anything McGee said, even in anger, rolled off Tony like water off a duck.
Somehow, there was an understanding between them that had remained elusive before then.
The next time they got together for a session (as Tony had taken to calling it) this unspoken bond only became stronger and though they had always been colleagues they found themselves becoming friends, which was something else all together.
It occurred to Tony, after their fourth or fifth session, that he hadn't known what he was suggesting that night in the bar. Not really.
But they were both in far too deep to back out now.
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"How many subs have you had?"
"Seven." McGee answered promptly, not even looking up from the pancakes he was busily devouring.
Trust McGee to not even have to count.
"Seven."
McGee took this for a question, and answered it.
"Jezebel, Anne, Isabel, Lauren, Nicole, Tabitha and Daisy."
"You know them all by name?"
McGee finally tore his gaze away from his plate and gave Tony a wry look.
"And how many doms have you had?" he shot back pointedly.
"Too many to count let alone list by name," Tony returned shamelessly, "I mean really, Probie. Daisy?"
"I tried to stick to ones I knew," McGee explained, "Jezebel was my most regular sub. I actually tried dating Lauren for a while but..."
He shrugged, leaving Tony to figure out the rest on his own.
"Okay," Tony said slowly, "So... what's your idea of a perfect sub?"
A couple of months ago, McGee would have replied with a comment that displayed his rapier wit. It was a mark of how far they'd come that he considered the question thoughtfully.
"Fun," he replied at last, "Someone cheerful and pure and... innocent. Someone I can spoil. That can make me laugh. My ideal sub is fiery and fierce and stubborn. Someone who I can bring down by touch alone."
McGee likely didn't realize it, but he gave away more than he meant to in that description. Tony, not as surprised as he thought he'd be, wondered just how long he'd been in love with Abby.
"What about you? The perfect Dom."
Tony tried to pinpoint exactly what attributes he would hold.
"Pretty much the opposite of your sub," he admitted at last, "Strong, capable, determined. Someone who won't give up on me or abandon me. Someone firm, unyielding and resilient."
Someone who would give him a place to belong.
"Sounds like Gibbs," McGee put in, having no problems with speaking the unspoken.
Tony was perhaps a little too silent a little too long, because McGee's expression morphed slowly from thoughtful to incredulous.
"Gibbs, Tony? Gibbs?"
"Gibbs," Tony said softly, realizing, as he said it, that it was the first time he'd ever admitted to it out loud.
And god, he'd admitted it to McGee of all people.
"But he's such a bastard!"
"I'm aware of his shortcomings," Tony rebutted with a hint of irony, "But he's also the best man I've ever known."
"Yeah, and the most complex," McGee returned, shaking his head in wonderment, "Not to mention he's been married four times. If that doesn't say 'straight' then I don't think anything does."
"Which gives me a very legitimate reason to never ever tell him," Tony agreed firmly, "One of another hundred or so I've thought up actually. Much harder for you."
"What do you mean?" Tony inquired cautiously.
"You're in love with Abby."
McGee gave Tony the credit he was due by not denying it. Then again, this was McGee –he'd probably written poems and sonnets about his unrequited passion and had become so accustomed to it that feeling this way was as common place as smiling.
"So why don't you tell her?"
McGee looked back at his half eaten pancakes, his cheeks flushing with colour.
"I don't know what to say," he admitted at last, "Besides, it goes against rule twelve."
"Rule twelve?" Tony echoed incredulously, "Seriously, that's your excuse? God, Tim, at least mine makes sense! Abby's not a team member."
"She is so!" McGee argued fiercely.
"In practice, not in theory," Tony retorted, "Technically, she works in the lab. Thus, not a team member. As for not knowing what to say –have you tried asking her out?"
"But I know I'd have to specify," McGee complained, "Otherwise, she'd just think I was asking her out as friends, which we've done a thousand times."
"So ask her out and be specific," Tony suggested reasonably.
"...but what if she says no?"
"Isn't it better to know than to suffer?" Tony pointed out, "At least if she says no you can try to move on."
"I could say the same for you," McGee observed.
"No," Tony negated, "Gibbs is a marine, clearly straight and my boss. Admitting my feelings for him could get me fired at worst and treated with pity at best. Nothing good could come of it and the likelihood of him feeling the same way is nowhere near as good as your odds with Abby. Besides, it's Abby –even if she says no, she'll do it in such a way that it won't feel like a rejection."
"It'll feel like a rejection," McGee disputed firmly.
"Probably," Tony had to concede, "But honestly? I... don't think she will. You're a good guy, McGee. She could do a lot worse."
"...thanks?"
"It was a compliment," Tony said dryly, "Not that it matters. You're not going to tell her are you?"
"Nope."
Tony huffed in annoyance.
"Your an idiot," he accused, "I've never let my fear of being turned down stop me from asking a girl out."
"You've never been in love with any of the girls you've asked out," McGee pointed out.
"It would have made my life much easier if I had been," Tony responded honestly, "Really McGee. The worst she could do is say no."
"The worst she could do is say yes," McGee argued, eyes wild, "Then it'd hurt even more when she broke up with me."
"That's the stuff of living, McGee," Tony insisted, taken aback by the thought of living his life that way, "You won't lead much of a life at all if you allowed it to be ruled by fear. Don't you deserve to be loved? Doesn't Abby deserve to be loved?"
"Of course she does," McGee returned fiercely, "She deserves everything."
"Who are you to deny her it?"
"Who am I to offer it?" McGee demanded helplessly, "She deserves much better than me. She deserves the world."
"Who says you can't give it to her?" Tony argued, "Can you imagine loving anyone else?"
"No."
"So what if she feels the same way?" Tony asked, almost gently, "You might be content to live your life half complete but are you willing to doom her to a similar existence?"
That, finally, seemed to get through to McGee.
"She doesn't feel that way about me," he negated, but it was a shaky argument.
"And you know her heart do you?" Tony wondered sharply.
McGee was forced to acknowledge that he didn't. He only knew his own. Tony, of course, took his silence as the answer it was.
"My advice is to get it over with," he suggested, returning to his pancakes and knowing he'd won, "But if you want the woman you love to continue suffering I suppose that's your choice."
Seeing McGee's expression, Tony grinned. Clearly, this was going to be an interesting day.
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TBC...
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Authors Note: Will Tim go through with it? What about Tony? Will he change his mind about Gibbs? To find out the answer to this and many more questions tune in next time for another installment of Cause and Effect! *cue thematic music*. Read? Review!
