Tony looked at Gibbs as if he were a particularly rare and beautiful form of purple unicorn.

"Huh?"

Gibbs returned the incredulous stare with a steady counterpart.

"Did I stutter, Tony? I ain't trying to teach your jeans a lesson, I'm trying to teach you a lesson. We're nearly through here and you're doing really well. Drop the jeans and shorts and bend back over and let's get this finished, ok?"

A look of raw misery crossed the kid's face. His backside already sizzled like thoroughly used firewood as it was and so the thoughts of the devilish belt in Gibbs' hand striping across his bare skin was nothing short of nauseating. Panic began to rise like acidic bile inside him and his breathing became somewhat hitched and laboured. He couldn't possibly take it. He'd break down like a baby in front of the one man he was so desperately and permanently trying to impress. Just as he was about to completely melt down and his head was about to shake vigorously, Gibbs' warm hand gently gripped his right shoulder.

"Remember my promise, Tony," he said softly. "I will always know when enough is enough."

The tsunami of panic crashed at the crest, sulkily ebbing away without destroying the prey it had come so close to swallowing whole. Tony's breathing instantly calmed, returning to baseline. He couldn't explain it and the years that were before the two men wouldn't change that; his innate trust in Gibbs was instinctual not logical. Swallowing dryly, he gave a brave, jerky nod and slowly moved his hands up the waistband of his jeans.

Gibbs, feeling a strong stab of pride tinged with his own reluctance, stepped back and looked discreetly away as the kid pushed his jeans and shorts down to his knees and bent back over the arm of the sofa he had just vacated. He thought he was prepared to carry out the last part of Tony's sentence but when he turned back and saw the intensely crimson hue plastered across the boy's backside, he felt his own breath hitch. He had done that. He was responsible for the red stripes that would sting and sizzle for hours after they were done. His own tsunami of panic began to form. What if, despite what he had just told the kid, he didn't know when enough was enough? What if he had already gone too far? It was just as he was about to throw the belt down and completely fail the kid that Mike's voice reverberated around his skull.

You care about him…

This was the simple but powerful truth that allowed him to put Tony's needs above his own. Despite his distaste at what he was doing, he knew it needed to be done. He knew he hadn't gone too far and that when he was finished the last portion of the kid's punishment, he would have gone just far enough. Swallowing hard, he reached out and replaced his hand on the small of Tony's back and felt the boy relax somewhat at his touch. He would never admit it, but the restraining-come-comforting hand he had placed was as much for his own benefit as it was Tony's. Slipping seamlessly into Boss mode, he cleared his throat and spoke sternly.

"Ten more and we're done but if you move out of position, I will add extra. Is that clear?"

Tony, with his tousled head buried deep in the crook of his folded arms, answered in a muffled tone.

"Clear, Boss."

Biting his bottom lip in extreme displeasure at what he was about to do, Gibbs tightened his hold on the heavy belt in his hand and took an even tighter hold of himself. With only a nanosecond of real hesitation, he brought the belt sharply down on Tony's bared behind with Marine precision. The answering yowl was delayed by maybe two or three seconds and ripped through his heart more effectively than all the shrapnel he had dodged in his career ever could have. Closing his eyes briefly and wishing he was anywhere else, doing anything else, Gibbs swiped the belt down for the second time and the third time. By the time he applied the thick leather expertly across the kid's tender, reddened sit spots the torso under his hand was shaking with silent tears. By the time he applied the belt for the seventh and eight time, those tears had morphed from silent to open with Tony's pained sobs echoing around the living room. Hating himself more than he could ever have believed possible, Gibbs stalled the belt and bent down to whisper in the kid's ear with a quick ruffle of the sandy brown hair.

"It's ok, Tony … it's ok, you're doing really well… just two more and you're done… just hold on.."

The watery, choked ok took a minute and Gibbs nodded proudly in response. Resolving to bring the punishment to an end as quicky as possible, he straightened up and replaced his hand on the small of Tony's back before laying down two final and searing licks across the now violently crimson backside. The answering sobs were immediate and Gibbs dropped the belt to the floor as if it were a vial of poison in response. Feeling suddenly and intensely exhausted, he instinctively and silently rubbed small circles on the small of Tony's back. For what felt like an eternity the only sound to be heard was that of Tony's petering sobs. Eventually, these were replaced with intermittent sniffling and snuffling before Tony instinctively made to stand. Turning away once more to afford the kid privacy, Gibbs didn't turn back until a yelp told him that jeans had been pulled up over a very well punished behind.

What he saw when he turned back nearly made turn around again.

Tony, the usually grinning, wisecracking Tony was far removed from the kid standing in front of him. His face was flushed and tear streaked and his eyes were red and red rimmed. Swallowing, Gibbs stepped forwards and was about to extend his right hand but it wouldn't move. That's what Mike had always done with him. A gruff handshake and a muttered no hard feelings, Probie was always offered after he had tanned his ass but he couldn't communicate this to his muscles. Instead, and deriving from pure instinct, he reached out and pulled the kid into a tight hug.

Tony, completely and utterly shocked at this development, stood rigidly as a statue in the older man's grasp for more than a second before the familiar smell of Gibbs' cologne infiltrated his brain, snapping him back to the present. Also acting on instinct, he allowed his body to deflate its rigidly and returned the hug shyly, mourning its loss when Gibbs eventually released him with a gentle ruffle of his messy hair. Before he could speak, the older man had beat him to it.

"Well done, Tony," Gibbs said quietly, piercing him with his blue x-ray gaze. "That was far from an easy whooping to take and you took it like a man. Your slate is clean now, ok? It's important you understand that. It will be as if what you did today never happened. I will never speak of it or your punishment again unless you want to. Do you understand?"

Tony looked at him with wide eyes before nodding slowly.

This was alien territory to him.

He had never spoken to him like this after he was done wailing on him… he had just left him alone.

All alone.

"I understand," he said hoarsely, his throat sore from all his hollering. "But… I didn't take it like a man." His face flushed violently. "I cried. A real man wouldn't have cried from a simple spanking…"

Gibbs shook his head firmly.

"I cried nine times out of ten that my Boss decided I needed taking down a peg or two, Tony. What you just got wasn't a simple spanking, it was a very thorough spanking. Those tend to hurt. Those tend to hurt a lot. You ain't falling short of being a man, real or otherwise, by crying while you take that kind of a whooping, is that clear?"

Tony looked at him in wonderment.

"You cried? You?"

Gibbs smiled a small crooked smile.

"You think I have metal plates in my ass or something, Tony? Yes, I cried. It's normal."

The young man searched the blue eyes for any sign of deception and saw only truth. The embarrassment of his own tears evaporated. If it wasn't embarrassing for someone who resembled more machine than man to cry, then it was ok for him. Nodding, he swiped a hand across his damp eyes and cleared his throat.

"Any chance I can take tomorrow off to lay down with an ice pack on my ass all day?"

Gibbs snorted, relief at the modest resurgence of the kid's spirit flooding his gut.

"No, but I think a day sitting at your desk on those less than comfortable office chairs will serve as a very good reminder of the lesson you just learned, right?"

Tony scowled.

"Right," he agreed dubiously before a sudden sense of awkwardness filled him. It was late and Gibbs was no doubt waiting for him to take a hint and take a hike. Realising his car was back in the Agency Car Lot, he sighed and reached into his front pocket, fishing out his cell. Gibbs watched this with a raised brow.

"Got a date?"

Tony shook his head awkwardly.

"Uhh, no. No date, Boss. I just realised that my car is back at work and so I'm just gonna get a cab there and then drive home and I guess I'll… I guess I'll see you in the morning? I can wait outside if you want to hit the hay. It's late and-"

He blinked as the cell was snatched gently from his hand.

"You're racking here for the night."

Gibbs would look back many years down the line and realise that this one, innocuous statement was the foundation for a tradition that would transcend Tony. He would look back and realise this was the statement that resulted in four very special, very different, young people having their own rooms in his home. But for now, he was simply answering an instinctive need in him to keep Tony close in the aftermath of what they had both just been through.

"Racking here? Me?"

Tony blinked at him in pure confusion.

"Why?"

Gibbs shrugged awkwardly, looking at a spot over Tony's head and struggling to find the words.

"Well, it's late. You'd have to go to the Navy Yard and pick up your car and drive home just to do it all over again in a couple of hours. I got a couple of spare rooms; you can take your pick and uhh… I think one of your Sean Connery movies is on the box tonight… I wouldn't mind an expert rundown of the man I'm forced to hear about on a daily basis."

Tony felt his mouth fall open and an odd sense of warmth wash over him.

"You want me to stay?"

Gibbs nodded somewhat sheepishly.

"Sure. I got some popcorn somewhere I think for the movie, if you want?"

Tony couldn't believe that the day would have ended as it was. From thinking he was definitely going to be canned from the best job and boss he had ever had, he had somehow ended up, albeit with a blazingly sore ass, with a front row ticket to his favourite film in Gibbs' living room.

"I love popcorn. I… sure. I'll stay."

Gibbs smiled his rare smile and nodded.

"Good. That's settled then. Why don't you go ahead and find the proper channel and I'll find the popcorn?"

Tony smiled toothily.

"Deal."

Gibbs turned to go to the kitchen, feeling exhausted but happy. He and the kid had gotten through a seriously difficult situation and come out the other side. He knew instinctively he would carry some guilt for being the one to chastise Tony in the way that he had but he also knew that was a good thing. It would always ensure that Tony would be safe with him, that he'd never be the one to abuse his trust. He got about one step away when the kid's quiet voice stopped him.

"Boss?"

Turning back, Gibbs raised a brow.

"Yeah, Tony?"

Reddening somewhat, the young Agent took a deep breath and tried to find the words.

"Thank you," he said softly. "For tonight, I mean. For not firing me and uhh… finding an alternative way to keep my jacket clean. I never, ever want to be on the other side of your belt again but uhm… if I ever step out of line again, I think I wouldn't hesitate to choose that over the official NCIS channels. So, uhm, yeah… thanks, I guess."

Gibbs felt a sucker punch of pride and affection for the kid assail him.

"No," he responded quietly. "Thank you, Tony, for trusting me. For what it's worth, I think you made the right choice tonight and I think you'll keep making the right choices for as long as you're on my six which… I hope is for a long time to come because…"

He crossed the room and gently slapped the kid upside the head with an affectionate grin.

"Because you'll do. You drive me crazy but you'll do. Hell, you'll do nicely."

…

And so, Tony is complete! What did you guys think?

I think it's pretty obvious from my stories that Gibbs/Tony are my favourite pairing but I also love Gibbs/Tim which is up next so please stay tuned for that!

Inks x

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