Scandal 21 - Epilogue Pt1

Decidedly, Tim did not spend the night in the Residence, despite Andrew and May's insistence that he was welcome to. Despite Nathan's pleading, almost to the point of begging, for him to spend the night. Reluctantly, at around eleven, Nate drove Tim back to Gibbs' place in Alexandria. Tim was not comfortable, and Nate wasn't going to force him; Nate wasn't that kind of man. Just like Nate wasn't comfortable staying with Tim at Gibbs' place.

Pulling up outside Gibbs' place, it was late so Phil turned off the engine. The privacy screen in the back of the limousine was up, and as soon as the engine was off, Tim had unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over to kiss Nate goodbye. Tim had planted a soft, chaste kiss on the corner of Nate's mouth.

"Kiss me again," Nate pleaded weakly, and Tim was on him a second later, covering his mouth with his own and Nate was drowning in it. He clutched at Tim's shoulders, his arms, his back, his hips, writhing beneath him. He sank his fingers into Tim's hair, and it was so soft, and he moaned into Tim's mouth with the recollected knowledge of him.

Tim was trying to slow him down, trying to drag Nate into longer, more lingering kisses, and Nate couldn't even function anymore. God, he wanted that man, wants Tim, so bad, but he doesn't know what to do about it.

"Nate..." Tim murmured, and the way Nate's name fell from his lips made Nate melt against the backseat.

Nate scrambled to move over onto his hands and knees, pushing Tim back against his side of the seat, straddling him. His heart racing as he pressed a kiss to Tim's throat, and then his collarbone, and then he dipped his head to drag his tongue over one nipple through his cotton shirt. Tim shifted beneath him, his nipple stiffening beneath Nate's lips, and Nate grazed his teeth over every line and swell of Tim's lean, shirt-clad muscles. He nipped at the jut of Tim's jawbone, laughing against the warm skin of his neck when Tim bit back a swear below him. Nate wants to make it his new ringtone. He moved back up north, unable to move south like he really wanted to.

Then he's there, their hips flush against one another. Nate was huddled between Tim's muscled thighs, his hard cock standing girthy and proud, long against the front of his own pants as he rutted against Nate's pants. "We, ah, need to stop." Tim panted against Nate's lips, purposely not kissing him. Just letting them share their breath against one another.

"God, you're a fucking tease, aren't you?" Nate asked Tim, his voice hot and laced with lust. He gasped at the feeling of the friction their rutting caused. It had been more than a hot minute since the last time they got off to rutting like horny teenagers on the backseat of a car. It had to be at least eight months ago.

Tim reached up and traced Nate's cheek. Nate closed his eyes at his touch and let Tim map his face with the pads of his fingers. He brushed over the shell of Nate's ear, thumbed at the cut of his jaw and the indentation of his chin dimple. Nate felt himself practically trembling, half in anticipation and half in response to the tenderness of the moment, under Tim's touch. His nose was next, then the line of his brows before Tim finally, finally traced the shape of his lips.

Nate's eyes fluttered open and he admired Tim openly. Soft green eyes and tawny gold lashes; high cheekbones and an aquiline nose; a soft hint of freckles and the small trace of a scar above the right corner of his mouth that Nate so often wants to nuzzle. The evidence of a long day wears on Tim's face but he's still the most beautiful person in the entire world to Nate, especially when he is taking Tim apart beneath him.

"I love you more than I can express with words," Tim whispered between them, still tracing Nate's mouth with his finger. "You're my everything, Nate."

The words popped into Nate's head immediately and tumbled from his lips in almost the same moment. "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more," he quoted, relishing the flush of colour it brought to Tim's face.

"You've been reading Austin again," he said approvingly, his eyes searching Nate's. "I'm impressed. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist."

Nate felt warm and giddy under Tim's watchful gaze and the ghost of his praise. He squirmed, tangling their legs closer as a slow smile spread across Tim's full, pink lips. He knows. Of course he knows. He knows Nate as well as he knows himself, inside and out. Tim's expression morphed into thoughtfulness as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"As much as I try, I don't think I'll ever be able to articulate how much I love you," Tim admitted to him, all starry-eyed and earnest. "You're my everything, Nate. Oxygen in my blood. Fire in my veins. My greatest treasure. My home," He swallowed thickly. Nate felt tears prickling in his eyes. "You're so good, my love. The kindness you hold in here-" he tapped his boyfriend's chest over his heart, "the warmth you bring to a room. Your fierceness and your bravery. The way your eyes light up with a challenge. The-"

Nate cut him off with a kiss. The kiss was long and deep, comprehensive and thorough. Tim's lips were soft, and his hands were warm on Nate's cheeks. He licked into Nathan's mouth, and he became putty in Tim's capable hands.

It felt like eons but also as if no time at all had passed, so when they drew back for a breath. Tim's pupils were blown wide, and his lips were swollen. Unbidden, Nate's finger found its way to Tim's mouth and tugged at his plush bottom lip. Tim nipped it affectionately before sucking it into the wet heat of his mouth.

"Ahh, Tim," Nate cried out softly, desperate to take things further. He needed to feel Tim against him. To have him. His skin against his own.

"Christ, Tim, I love you too," Nate managed, scrambling upwards again and lowering Tim further onto the backseat. Tim's musical laugh triggered his own and then he was sitting astride Tim again, their hands intertwined. Nate kissed one knuckle and then the other, as Tim watched him with soft, hooded eyes and flushed cheeks. Nate very deliberately held Tim's eye contact as he rolled his hips forward.

Tim's eyes closed, and his back arched. A pretty moan filled the air in the backseat. Nathan rolled his hips again for good measure, already hard in his own boxers and increasingly aware of Tim's cock, solid and hard beneath him. Nothing usually gets his boyfriend going quicker than declarations of love and a little bit of dominance.

He guided Tim's hands down and pressed them into the leather seat by his ears, watching Tim's face carefully for the nod of consent. They've done this many times in many different ways; he knows what Tim likes. But he still waits because consent is sexy as hell.

Tim nodded minutely; his arousal was evident in his half-lidded eyes. Nate slid his hips again, biting back his own sounds of pleasure as Tim let out a soft puff of air in response. It was all so absurdly dainty, so exquisitely Tim, that Nate had to tighten his grip on Tim's delicate wrists and increase his downward pressure. Just to keep himself tethered and sane to the moment.

"You might be a hot shot agent out there," he indicated the window and the outside world with a jut of his chin, "But in here you're my prince. All pretty and pliant, just for me."

Tim nodded fervently as his blush climbed onto his cheeks. "Always," he breathed out, arching up to kiss Nathan. Nathan allowed a chaste press of their lips before he leaned backwards and climbed off Tim.

His heart was beating fast, and he felt a tingle in his spine as he looked down at his fingers, toying with the elastic band of Tim's boxers, deciding whether or not to pull them down. Tim had a mere moment of forewarning before Nate's was straddling him once more and his mouth was back on him. There was a garble of a shout, and suddenly Tim's hands were scratching lightly into Nathan's scalp, fingers grabbing at his loose curls. He looked down at Tim under his lashes and saw the flush climbing down his neck and under his cotton shirt, relishing in devouring the plump bottom lip caught between white teeth.

A knock on the window from the outside of the car startled them both and Nate jumped off Tim's lap and scrambled back to his side of the car. Their chests heaving, their breaths panting hard. Both men wiped their mouths with the backs of their hands.

An amused voice came from outside the window, in the night air. "Down the hall and the first room on the right. There's a bed in there you two could be doing that in."

It was Gibbs. Without thinking about how he looked, Tim pressed the button to roll down the window. "What exactly is it you think we're doing in here?" The thing was, Tim asked Gibbs with an innocent look. However, Gibbs managed to refrain from commenting, swallowing down his wit. Tim looked thoroughly debauched. Plush pink lips, bitten and swollen. His previously perfect hair all disheveled and messed up. Nathan wasn't much better; his curls were a riot. His neck red and abraded. His lips plump and he found himself not quite meeting Gibbs' eye.

"Not a damn thing, McGee." Gibbs tried as hard as he could not to tease Tim. It was times like this he would beg every deity known to man to have DiNozzo beside him and have him run his mouth. "Just makin' an observation. You two comin' into the house anytime soon? There's a bed there and it's warmer than the car."

With that, Gibbs turned and went inside. Reluctantly, Nate pressed a chaste kiss to Tim's lips. "You better go on in and I'll see you in the morning at the meeting. Dad's going to be there too." He kissed Tim's forehead. "I've got a crew sorting out our Maryland apartment. They should be done by Monday. Weekend at the beach house?"

Tim nodded and planted a hot, wet kiss on Nate's neck. "Absolutely." Before bidding Nathan farewell.

It wasn't awkward the next morning, nor was anything else. Tim expected Gibbs to be awkward about it. Gibbs had made sure to go to bed before Tim came in. Neither man said anything about last night, especially Gibbs, who had been tempted to ask Tim why Nate hadn't stayed over.

They got into the office early, after making a quick pit stop for breakfast burritos and coffee at the diner. Gibbs and Tim made small talk, mostly it was Tim filling Gibbs in on how the dinner with the Taylor family had gone the night before. Before Gibbs could reassure Tim that he had hit it out of the park, their food order was ready.

In Gibbs' truck, on the way back to the Navy Yard, Tim couldn't help but marvel at the differences between John McGee and Jethro Gibbs. Personality-wise, they could be similar. Stern, gruff, direct. However, where his father had a cruel streak, Gibbs was unfailing kind. Whereas John McGee was a homophobe, Gibbs was open and accepting. Whereas John McGee was willing to throw his own son under the bus, Gibbs went to extraordinary lengths to protect Tim.

"Are you okay, Tim?" Gibbs asked, as they pulled up at the security gate. "You've been really quiet over there. While that isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's out of character for you; so I'm concerned."

"Yeah," said Tim absentmindedly, "just pondering my life."

Gibbs gave him a nod and a slow, steady smile. He wasn't asking for anything more, and Tim wasn't sure if Gibbs would further.

"I was actually thinking about you." Tim said, without really thinking too much about his choice. "I was mentally comparing you to John McGee."

"And?" Gibbs asked softly as they made their way slowly through the line of traffic banked up at the security gate. Both men had assumed security would be extra tight with the President coming into the office today. "What did you decide?"

"Maybe I wouldn't be so afraid to come out, if John were more like you." Tim replied, not meeting Gibbs' incredulous look. "I've spent so many years in the closet and deathly afraid of him, I don't know if I'm emotionally ready to come out."

"Don't let fear rule your life, Tim." Gibbs advised him softly. "While having a fear is good and healthy, fear can control you. As for your father, you need to live your own life. Not live the life he wants for you."

"But,-" Tim tried, but Gibbs had cut him off.

"But nothing, Tim. John has no power here." Gibbs interrupted Tim. He had always thought he was fairly certain that Gibbs could read his mind and once again, Gibbs had proved himself right. "I know we're not talking about last night, but I got to say thank you."

Tim gave him a quizzical look. "What?"

"Losing Kelly when I did, I never thought I'd ever have the chance to surprise a boy dropping my kid back after a date." Gibbs chuckled softly. "You're a grown man, Tim, and I certainly am not your father. But last night, just for a sliver of a moment in time; you made me feel like a father again. I never thought I'd even get that much."

"Ah, you're welcome." Tim smiled softly at his boss. "For what it's worth, I would have preferred a father like you over the one I have."

Tim couldn't call his morning productive, and he knew Gibbs had noticed. He hated not being productive. Gibbs had even been lenient with him, which was very un-Gibbs-like. One look from Gibbs had Tony and Ziva silent. It was a bizarre sort of morning, and everyone was being really quiet. Several times people from other departments walked past and one glance up at them told you they were wondering what was going on and why the MCRT team's bullpen was silent.

A call from the Director had Gibbs calling them all to the conference room. Tim was nervous; he could feel Gibbs silently checking in with him and he gave him a small nod. Ziva and Tony took the stairs two at a time, while Gibbs fell in beside Tim, taking them at a more sedate pace. "It's going to be okay, Tim. Breathe." Gibbs said softly under his breath. Just low enough for Tim to hear.

Coming into the conference room, Tim wasn't sure if he was relieved or surprised that Nathan and Andrew weren't there yet. The news of the arrests hadn't hit the media yet. Sarah Porter and President Taylor have a press conference scheduled on the front steps of the Navy Yard at 1 pm. Nathan, Gibbs, and Leon Vance will also be there.

The ding of the Director's cell phone had him stand up and give Gibbs a nod. When Gibbs stood up, Tim, Ziva, and Tony followed suit. The door to the conference room opened, and Sarah Porter, the secretary of the Navy, Senator Nathan Taylor, and President Andrew Taylor came in. Nathan spotted Phil in the hall before the door closed.

Pleasantries were exchanged, and the Director offered beverages. Something that had never happened before. Even Gibbs seemed perplexed, but they took it in their stride. "President, Senator, I understand that your time is precious. Let's get down to business." Sarah Porter said, as soon as everyone was settled with their drinks. "Senator, Agent McGee, there are a few questions along the way that we will have to ask. Nothing invasive and all pertinent to the investigation."

"Ask away, Ms. Porter." Nathan smiled, giving her a charming smile. It was the smile that he used in the public eye. Tim called it his 'honey' smile. It made bored housewives, stay-at-home moms, and teenage girls swoon.

"Let's start with Sam Ericson and Kyle Rigby." The Director started. "How did each of you meet these two men? Mr. Rigby said you went to MIT with him."

"We were dorm mates, the four of us." Nathan supplied and he put his hand on Tim's thigh. He knew the signs of a stressed boyfriend and his boyfriend was stressed. He could see that Tim was keeping it together for nothing but the sake of professionalism at this point. "Tim and I had the dorm on the far-right side of the hall. It was the corner room and bigger. A luxury, I suppose MIT gave to me because of who my father was. Sorry, Dad. My two secret service agents had the room across the hall from us."

"Sam and Kyle were our neighbors." Tim said. Despite the stress and worry Tim was feeling, or the knots in his stomach, Tim's voice was cool, calm, and collected. That created a whole new problem for Nathan. He knew Tim was a good agent. He had heard rumors. He had heard gossip. There were things that Tim himself would say about his team. However, when Tim went to work for Gibbs, he did take a cursory look at Gibbs' reputation. He was good. His team was good. Then he had heard Gibbs once say in a press conference that he was only the best because he worked with the best. Sure, at the time, it was a dig at the FBI and not actual praise for his team, but the truth stood as a testament to his team. "My father was in the Navy; Sam's father was too. We quickly bonded over being military brats and would often reminisce about growing up on military bases."

"Kyle likes politics, he is good at politics." Nathan added, smiling at his dad. "He has a graduate degree from Georgetown in Political Science. His family are in politics too. His father was a governor's aide, back in his home state of Indiana."

"When did they discover your friendship had changed?" Gibbs asked. Tim knew Gibbs was out of line asking the question. But he had worked with the man long enough to know that Gibbs was a man big on anticipation. Tom couldn't recall the number of times Gibbs had to remind him to anticipate when he was a rookie.

"Our relationship changed so gradually; we hadn't even noticed it changing." Tim admitted, boldly. Gibbs had expected Tim to answer, but Tim had worked for him long enough to know that Gibbs had taught him to anticipate. "Christmas before our final year, I was staying in the dorms. So was Sam. Our fathers were in the Navy, and when Sam's father discovered his son went to school with Commander McGee, well, let's just say he was thrilled. He transferred into my father's command, and Sam would tell me how happy his father was working under him. I remember thinking there must be something wrong with the man because John is such an asshole. But each to their own. That Christmas, our fathers were away at sea. My grandmother was in Paris, with Sarah, and there was no way I was going to be alone with stepmom number three while she was still living in our family house.

Sam and I were both nerds. We studied computer science and forensics at MIT. Sam was smart and liked being challenged. He-"

"Unlike you, who are literally a genius and have never met a challenge you couldn't beat." Said Tony, interrupting Tim with a wide grin.

"It's almost like you know him." Nate retorted with amusement to DiNozzo. "And for the record, Tim isn't just any run-of-the-mill genius; he was a child prodigy genius first."

"Thank you." Tim glared at both of them. He wanted to be equally mad at both of them, but he couldn't. That was just about the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him and it came from Tony DiNozzo, of all people. As for Nate, he, in a weird sort of way, was trying to prove himself worthy of Tim to Tony. Someone who seemed to have 'quite literally' taken on this big brother role, slipped into the persona of it seamlessly. "We spent the holidays gaming and challenging each other to outcode the other one. Then, ah ... he ... made a move." Nathan put his hand on Tim's back and rubbed it soothingly. "It was unwelcome and not consented to. He stopped when I said so, and we never spoke of it again."

"When he found out Tim and I ... had begun to see one another exclusively, he would get snippy and terse. Before blaming his meds and resorting back to his nerd-frat-bro attitude."

"Mr. Rigby?" Sarah asked, taking copious amounts of notes. "Your aide? How was he?"

"Kyle was Sam's best friend up until Tim's final year. Then he started hanging with me more and Sam less." Nathan told him. "You have to understand something about Tim and me; when we got together it didn't off start casually. It wasn't like we were two dormmates who couldn't get girls but had a bad case of the ... Anyway, we were serious about each other from the beginning. It was mutual. There was a lot of wanting before that. I can't speak for Tim, but I think I was instantly attracted to him. As soon as I met him. I was 22 and as much as I already knew I was gay; I knew Tim was it for me."

"Yeah, McGee doesn't do casual." Tony grinned. At everyone's shocking look towards Tony, he continued. "Just look at the man. He screams monogamy. He screams boyfriend material. Husband material maybe." He winked at Nate and Nate blushed, looking down at the hand he had put on Tim's thigh. "He is the kind of man you want your daughter, or in this case, son to bring home. Ah, sorry, Sir." Tony just realised that not only was the president in the room. That the president was Nathan's father. "But it's kinda true."

"So, I was beginning to strategize with Tim, my stats guy. Planning my run for Congress. There was an election to be held only 12 weeks after I would graduate from MIT. Tim ran the stats. He was sure I could win." Nathan smiled, moving his hand off Tim's knee and tangling their fingers together. "Kyle immediately wanted to help. He wanted to put that degree to good use from Georgetown. Tim did the numbers about being openly gay versus closeted. The numbers checked out what he thought; I'd never win if I was openly gay. So, inside the closet I went. Tim and I were serious, but hadn't launched our relationship yet, due to Tim's fear of his family's reaction. Besides the Secret Service, only two other people knew about it. Tim came to me, just before he was ready to graduate and said he would need to distance himself from my campaign so that I would have a better chance. We didn't want the media linking Tim to me, he was going to move on in his career. He didn't need the scrutiny. So, Tim did. He had no further part in it, we kept in touch via email."

"That leads us to Bob." Andrew said, speaking up. He too had been personally taking notes. But not the written kind, the mental kind. He had been watching his son and Tim, as well. Trying to get a better insight into the relationship that his son had hidden from them for ten years already. His son loved Tim with everything and although his son's boyfriend hadn't been as eloquent in his prose, he couldn't fault him for it. Andrew thought he was doing a remarkable job of maintaining the balance between personal and professional and made a note to commend him on his conduct. "Bob took over as my chief of staff from May, Nate's mom when Nate was in high school. I was the Governor, and I was preparing to launch my presidential bid. Against my better judgement, my own statistical analyst advised me I would have a better chance at success, without my wife as my chief. So, I brought in Bob. He was fresh out of Penn with a double degree in social sciences and political science.

Bob and Nate had had run ins, but nothing of too much consequence. Nathan's friends would always want to play pranks on Bob. Nathan had always forbidden it, despite the fact that Bob O'Hara had deserved them, after the way he constantly spoke down to them. Quite often Nathan and Bob would engage in verbal sparring matches when Nathan was a teen, but not since he graduated high school. When Bob had been promoted to my Chief of Staff, Nathan had congratulated him genuinely, and he had told Nathan to "go fuck yourself!" After that, Nathan always went out of his way to be extra nice to Bob, but Bob was always snarky in return. I had spoken to Bob on numerous occasions about how he treated my son, to no avail."

"Thank you, Sir." Sarah said sincerely. She took a cursory glance at Tim and Nate. "Does anyone need a moment while we wait for the FBI?"

"We do." Nathan stood, taking Tim by the hand and almost dragging him from the room in haste. "Come on, Tim."

Nathan had taken advantage of the Secretary of the Navy's offer of a break from the proceedings. He was already feeling emotionally drawn out and he needed a moment of solitude between just he and Tim. Last night after their backseat tryst of sorts had been interrupted by Gibbs and his cockblocking ways, Nate had returned to the White House, showered and crawled into bed. He'd expected his father to be awake when he returned, but he was grateful when he returned and discovered his father already gone to bed.

He had almost cried at how much he was missing Tim, after having Tim spend the evening with his parents and his sister. It felt like a slice of domestic normalcy. Something he and Tim had never shared before. Nathan knew he and Tim had spent lengthier periods apart before, and while it had been hard, it hadn't hurt like this. He knew it was because he was out and proud now.

"What's going on, Nate?" Tim asked, as soon as they had cleared the conference room doors. "Is everything ok?"

"We need to talk. Alone." Nate had hissed at him, the urgency in his tone hitting Tim in the gut. Tim led Nate over to the elevator and ushered the Senator in. As soon as the door was closed and it began moving, Tim pulled a Gibbs and flicked the emergency stop switch. "Are you even allowed to do that?"

"Not really, but it's fine." Tim smirked at him. "We do it all the time. There isn't a lot of privacy in the bullpen and the conference rooms and interrogation have recording devices in them. Let's talk."

Nate smiled widely and kissed Tim softly and chastely, before he began to tell Tim exactly why he needed Tim alone in that moment.