Scandal 12
Gibbs woke up with a start. The sound of footsteps coming into the living room startled him. Immediately, he was on his feet, he stood in a defensive stance, his gun drawn from the holster on his left hip and his mouth gaping open in surprise.
"Whoa!" Mark said softly, eyeing Gibbs, holding his hands up in self-defense. Mark had been trying not to startle Tim awake, knowing how little and how rarely he usually slept, especially when Nate was away from him. He had overheard Nathan chastise him enough times and he had been asked by Nathan enough times, when Nathan voiced his worries about Tim's sleep. "It's just me. I was coming up to let you know that Senator Taylor is on his way here, right now."
"He's coming here?" Gibbs asked, surprised. He hadn't expected Nathan Taylor to join them here; especially since it had seemed that Nathan and Tim had been communicating through the Secret Service agents, as the Senator had been put on a communications lockdown by his father, until they could source the leak. "Now?"
Gibbs and Mark simultaneously looked at the clock on the wall. It was 12:30am, and both men looked at one another. "What do you know?" Mark quipped conspiratorially, with a cheeky look. "Individually, both men are raging insomniacs, but together, they can easily achieve twelve hours of solid, restful sleep."
Gibbs mused out loud with a small, sad sigh. "Now I know who to call when we've been running this case for seventy-two hours straight and I can't get Tim to rest his eyes. That stubborn streak he has, gets wider every year."
"The Senator does miss Tim when cases run long like that." Mark mused out loud, and by an unspoken agreement, both agents head to the kitchen for some coffee, to await Nathan's arrival. "We know about the stubborn streak, too. You know, it's been remarkable, off the record, of course, to watch them and their relationship blossom, to grow and change, over the years. Phil and I have been assigned to Nathan, since he was a fourteen-year-old, little shithead. I can bet you that Phil and I know more about Nathan than his own parents, at this point. We've watched him grow and change so much. Phil and I have had a front row seat to their relationship since the beginning.
In a way, we know more about Tim than his own family, too. Not to overstep my bounds here Gibbs, but Tim has always had it much tougher than Nathan ever had, or ever would. His family seem to be truly remiss in their feelings and considerations for him. I am surprised by the kind of man that Tim is, based on how his family treats him. He is pure goodness, that one. His grandmother, Penny. She is the only one who had displayed a modicum of concern for him. His sister Sarah and the Admiral are both nasty and homophobic.
I was on duty, the day the Admiral came to the apartment, unannounced and first found out about Nathan. Prior to that, the Admiral had been on a first name basis with Nathan. He had always been friendly with Nathan, until then. He wasn't bothered with Nathan, just muttered how his father would sort him out. Admiral McGee was all consumingly focused on Tim. Tim took the brunt of that incident. Not that he dared try anything in our presence. The President would have said something to his son, if Admiral McGee had of actually mentioned anything to him. We've figured his silence has more to do with his own image, than protecting the First Son. Or his own son, for that matter."
"Tim has worked with me for a while now, almost eight years at the agency. Seven years, on my team and I haven't had the opportunity to meet any of his family members, except for Sarah and her attitude leaves a lot to be desired." Gibbs stated categorically. "I have met DiNozzo's and Ziva's. Abby's and Jimmy's, Ducky's too. But never anyone from McGee's family. Not that I am surprised, if by the select few things that Tim has said about them, is anything to go by."
The sound of a car on gravel instantly had both agents alert, Mark's phone pinged, then the sequence of headlights flashing had Mark grinning. "It's them." He whispered, before both men headed downstairs, to both double check and greet the tired Secret Service agent and the First Son of The United States.
"Where's Tim?" Nathan asked hurriedly, not stopping to shed his boots and jacket in the utility room, like he usually did. The look of worry that he wore on his face was evident, as if there was a tightness in his chest that he couldn't quite describe. It was all too similar to the night of the terrorist attack on Pax River base, where Kate had been killed, but at the same time, it was all too different.
Gibbs led the way, back up into the main living area of the house and pointed to the armchair where Tim was asleep. Right where Gibbs had left him, cuddled up with the afghan that Gibbs had covered him with. The Secret Service agents had made themselves scarce and Gibbs wondered if he should do the same. "Baby," Nathan whispered softly. It was so softly that a normal person's hearing wouldn't have picked it up, but Gibbs' supersonic hearing did. "I'm here. Come on Baby, let me get you into bed."
He watched as Tim's body stretched out in his sleep, immediately moving toward Nathan, who coaxed his lover out of his deep sleep and guided him down the hall to their bed. Tim never really woke up.
"Want my advice?" Phil asked from the doorway that led to the downstairs area where the Secret Service sleeping areas were located. "If you want to be able to look either of them in the eye in the morning, as well as for your own sanity, take the sofa bed in the comms room and not the guest room on the main floor." He smirked at Gibbs, and he nodded, retrieving his SAR bag and following Phil back downstairs.
"Good call, Gibbs." Mark said as he smirked at him. They entered the comms room to find that Mark had already pulled out the sofa bed for Gibbs. "Night."
Once he was alone in the room, Gibbs gave a small chuckle to himself. He couldn't believe the insinuation that the boys were noisy. He couldn't imagine Tim being noisy. He was so quiet in the office, such a silent soul.
Daylight dawned, and Gibbs felt restless. He had slept soundly enough, but it was still very early, and he pondered whether he could safely venture upstairs and help himself to the coffee machine, without disturbing the young couple. He didn't want to intrude; after all, it was his subordinate's private home.
Deciding to venture out, he could smell the coffee wafting down the stairs, as he made his way up. He stopped in the doorway and couldn't help but smile at the sight he was greeted with. Tim was perched on the countertop, legs spread wide open, cradling Nate's body between them, as they shared steaming hot cup of coffee between them. "Mornin', Gibbs," Tim greeted him, without looking toward the doorway.
Gibbs grinned at the couple in reply, as Nate pulled back from Tim slightly. Both men were dressed in soft, jersey cotton pyjama bottoms and plain coloured tees. Tim in a heather grey and Nate in a black tee. Tim pointed to the cupboard where they kept their clean coffee mugs wordlessly, and the two men continued sharing the mug of coffee between them but keeping a much more respectable distance between them.
When Gibbs had finished pouring his coffee, he turned to look at the couple, scrutinizing them carefully. The shared moment between the lovers seemed intimate and Gibbs was determined to give them some privacy. "Don't let me intrude." He said to them softly, smiling as he took his mug and headed into the living room to pick up a copy of the emails and his reading glasses. He had left them there last night and he had intended to return to the Comms room.
"Stay here, please," Nathan said to Gibbs, his tone friendly and perky. "I have to go shower and get ready to start my day. There's a conscious vote in Congress this morning; I have to be there."
"Oh." Gibbs was surprised that Nathan had travelled this far away from DC in the middle of the night, just to sleep beside Tim. He blissfully remembered back to a time when he would have done the same thing as Nathan, just to sleep beside Shannon, too.
"Yeah." He murmured to Gibbs, before his eyes locked on to Tim's. "Are you going to be ok here? Because I am sure, if you wanted to go back to DC, you and Gibbs could hang out in the Residence. You'd be safe there and closer to the Navy Yard, just in case you get called in."
"Gibbs and I have to continue to go through those emails and I am sure at some point, I am going to have to face the Director and possibly SecNav, too." Tim replied, taking the mug from Nate's hands and finishing the last of the coffee, ignoring the dirty look his lover just sent him.
"Dad will have finished reading them by now and I will have to sit down with him at some point today, too." Nathan muttered, as he slid Tim down off the bench and pinned him to the island benchtop with his hips and kissed him softly. "We shouldn't do this here." He murmured between him and Tim, keeping his voice low so that Gibbs didn't hear him.
"Doesn't matter how low you whisper; Gibbs will hear you. The man has supersonic hearing." Tim grinned against his boyfriend's lips. "Isn't that right, Gibbs?" Tim asked, amused.
"If you're going to do that in the public area of your home, at least give me some warning so I can make myself scarce." Gibbs replied, ignoring Tim's question. "Always happy to head back downstairs." He smirked their way.
Both men chuckled and Nathan kissed Tim's forehead. "On that note, I am going to be late if I don't get into that shower. Think about my offer, Babe."
Tim flopped down into the armchair he'd claimed yesterday, holding a refilled mug of steaming coffee, as Nate headed off to shower and begin his day. Normally, the two men would shower together, but after this morning and seeing Gibbs in their domain, Tim felt shy about joining Nate in the shower.
Instead of reading the emails, or discussing them, Tim started scrolling through his phone, paying particular attention to the news feed and the news notifications he had received. It had seemed that his boyfriend was all over the mainstream media that particular morning. Gibbs had been studying Tim. He was fairly certain that he knew Tim well enough to be able to decipher how he was going. Despite his outwards appearances, he was still worried for Tim, and he could see the worry in his eyes too.
Nathan came back out of the bedroom he shared with Tim, dressed in a charcoal, single breasted suit with a crisp white shirt and a watermelon coloured tie. He had styled the unruly curls into a loose mess, a top his head. On the left lapel of his charcoal-colored blazer was his gold pin depicting the US flag, and below that was a pride flag pin.
Tim beamed at him, as he spotted Nate return to the living room, showered and dressed to return to DC, as if he never drove forty-five minutes last night to sleep by his boyfriend's side. Nate exchanged a small grin with Tim and pointed to the pride flag on his lapel. "Thank you for packing it, yesterday." He grinned at Tim, positively beaming.
"I was fairly certain that you would end up out here, you have always said you knew how to sneak out of the Residence. You've never put it to the test before, but you were certain." Tim returned his boyfriend's scheming smile. "Let me walk you out." Tim offered, before Gibbs interrupted him, muttering about going downstairs to grab a shower.
Nathan pulled Tim out of the armchair he was sitting in and into his arms, holding him close to his body. "Please consider coming back to DC, let us put you up in the Residence. You can even keep Gibbs with you, as your guard until they determine who shot up the front of Gibbs' house up. I know you and Gibbs have to return to DC tomorrow for work. But please, I need you to sleep beside me, so we both actually get some sleep. Especially you." Nathan kissed Tim. The kiss was just the right combination of passion, want, lust and comfort to make Tim feel both loved, cherished and wanted. "I love you." Nate told his boyfriend, as he prepared to leave.
"I love you more." Tim beamed back at him and kissed Nate goodbye. As he pulled back from the kiss, he saw Mark waiting for Nathan in the doorway. Ready to leave for DC.
"I think that's up for debate. I'll have Mark, call Phil when I am done, and we'll make some plans." Nate promised, he left, nodding to Gibbs, as they passed one another on the way out the door.
Tim and Gibbs reconvened in the living room shortly after Nate left, just long enough for both men to have a shower and dress. Both men opting for a more casual dress of sweatpants and a tee. The brisk morning breeze wafting through one of the open bi-fold doors was cool enough, it had Tim scrambling to find a hoodie to keep him warm. Gibbs gave him a rogue grin when he read the words emblazed on the front of the hoodie. "Taylor for President - Better together" What had made Gibbs smile further was that the hoodie seemed to swim on Tim, clearly not belonging to him.
"Ready to get back into it?" Tim asked in a small, frustrated half sigh, half scoff. He was still on the bitter and angry side of the divide, knowing that their words were there for the whole world to see, read and contextualize, for themselves now. But it was still a raw spot, knowing that the people he held in the highest esteem, people like Gibbs, and Vance, as well as possibly his team, would read them and most definitely think different of him now. That he would be judged, both intentionally and unintentionally by the words he and Nate shared, and whatever the written words conjured up in the reader's mind.
Gibbs handed Tim the thick bundle of pages, open to where he left off last. Tim noted that Gibbs had skimmed over some of the lust filled ones that they had exchanged during that crazy time of their life. Tim startled slightly with the realisation that giving Tim the copy of the emails to begin their examination, Gibbs was trying to help Tim regain control over his feelings. Letting him start the investigation on his own terms. Allowing Tim mentally to prepare himself.
" ... 'There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.' - John Lennon.
I know you cannot tell me where you are, or what you are doing, but please know that even though I understand, it doesn't allay my fears. My deepest fear is that someday, something truly horrific may happen to you. You may be hurt, injured or even killed in the line of duty. No one would know to notify me. To tell me what had happened to you. Would I be allowed to grieve openly for you? To the world, it would be seen as grieving a classmate, a friend. Yet, privately, we mean so much more to one another.
We love one another. So wholly and fiercely, with such an intensity, that I have been quite often, afraid of by the heat of it all. I have been intimidated by both my love for you and the love I feel you have for me. We love one another deeply and intimately, physically, emotionally, spiritually. We connect on so many levels and sometimes, when I am not afraid of it, I am in awe of us.
That something so unique and wonderful can exist between us. But there is something else too, a primal, animalistic lust. We have always been open to the multi-facets of our relationship. Passion, excitement, love, lust, fear. But there's also acceptance. We accept one another for who we are, our morals, our ethics, our values ... our choices. We accept our love for each other, on our own terms, and no one else's.
Look, I am always going to worry and fear, but I am also always going to love and accept you, and that includes your job and all it entails. See, growing and changing, we're all capable of it. It's evolution, Baby! God, I love you, be safe.
Your Nate"