by BuffyAngel68Title: Dawn to Dusk
Author: BuffyAngel68
Rating: FRAO
Summary: Large or small, life-changing or trivial, sacrifice and surrender are just what they do for each other every day...
Disclaimer: I don't own them, ya'll know that. Boy would there be some on-screen excitement if I did (and a few censors keeling over, to be sure.) This is for the pure enjoyment of whoever ordered it. Here ya go, hot and fresh from the steamy kitchen of my imagination. Hope it sticks to your ribs and don't forget to tip your waitress... lol.
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TO WAKE AT DAWN...
As he prepared to head into work, Tony tried his best to hide the smirk that kept drifting onto his lips. Finally he just buried his face in the last of his coffee until the urge subsided. Obvious, thy name was Jethro Gibbs. The man wanted it, Tony could tell. It wasn't so much what he did, it was what he *avoided* doing. He hadn't gone near the source of temptation for the last twenty minutes. He wiped down the breakfast table, he placed dishes in the sink, covering them with a small amount of hot water and soap... but he left feet of clear space between himself and his desire. Finally, Tony sighed and spoke up.
"It's yours. Just take it."
"Nope." Came the curt reply.
"Gibbs, c'mon. I've had mine. Go ahead."
At last Jethro paused and allowed his gaze to briefly touch on the object his discipline was screaming he couldn't have; not if he felt as deeply for Tony as he claimed to.
"No. They're your favorite."
This was true, and the truth made Tony's certainty waver. He now looked sideways, focusing on the item in question for only a few seconds, but with deep longing. His perpetual bottomless pit appetite and his habit of not denying himself treats and goodies whenever he wanted them left him momentarily tortured, but eventually he regained control, straightened his back and stuck to his original intention. Gathering his things, he walked out of the kitchen, pausing only to leave a lingering kiss on Gibbs' jaw and a quiet message in his ear.
"You give me everything I could ever want... have the last jelly donut, damn it."
Gibbs swiveled his head a little to watch Tony's exit from the corner of his eye. When his lover, his beloved had shut the door behind him, the older man moved to the box on the counter, lifting up the treat, wrapping it safely in a napkin and laying it aside next to his coffee. Carefully flattening the now empty container, he placed it in the trash and retrieved the donut, shaking his head and grinning.
"Love you, too Tony. Love you too..."
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MID-MORNING:
"Gibbs, don't be moody and grumpy. Not now, okay? This is a good thing and you know it."
Turning on Abby, the young woman he usually adored and indulged as if she were his lost daughter reincarnated, Jethro glared and growled out a response.
"No, I *don't*! I can't come up with a single reason why you'd wanna do this!"
"I told you, I'm sick of not being able to protect myself. Sure, I can test fire a gun, take it apart and put it back together... but I don't really know how to *shoot*. I want that, Gibbs."
"No you don't. Trust me, sweetheart... you don't."
"For God's sake, Gibbs, I practically live in my lab. On a normal day, I'm miles from any danger. The problem is I've had a couple days that weren't so normal, and I might not be here if it weren't for you and Tony. Someday... you won't get there in time. With any luck, I'll never have to use this knowledge, but I need it. I need it for someday..."
Reaching out to cradle her face with one hand, Gibbs' expression softened into a mixture of worry and deep affection.
"I don't wanna know this... don't wanna think of you having to..."
"I know. Like I said, I probably won't have to, but *if* I do, I better know how to do it right... right?"
"Yeah... right. Okay. Safety on?"
"Yup."
"Good. Face down range... bend your knees a little. Not quite so much... better. Relax your arms... nice." he told her as he slipped her ear protection on. Adjusting her arms and hands, he forced his own body to steadiness, not wanting her to know how much he truly hated watching her do this. After stretching out a hand to flick off the safety, he stepped back a bit, waited for the announcement to boom over the PA system, then touched her shoulder gently, the pre-arranged signal that it was alright for her to fire. The first shot seemed to rip through him instead of the distant paper target, but he bore up under the weight and the pain, reminding himself that what Abby learned in these precious minutes might one day save the life of the young woman his heart called child.
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TO REST AT THE NOON HOUR...
Hidden by the dimness of the garage and the strategic parking they'd done that morning, Jethro and Tony lounged in the back seat of the older man's car, lost in each other's arms and in the need they constantly had to stifle anywhere the world could possibly catch a glimpse. Due to space and time constraints, nothing very involved was going on, but neither one needed that. Once their stomachs had been appeased, the remainder of their lunch break allowed for closeness and loving words, and that was enough to temporarily assuage the strain of a morning spent playing pretend.
"God... I love this... but I hate that we can barely look at each other in public... and I hate back seats."
"My spine isn't happy about it either, Tony... but I'd rather have this... than nothing all damn day..." Gibbs countered between kisses.
"Mmmm, that is so true..."
Having developed a keen sense of how much time they had left, and knowing it wasn't much, Tony pulled back a little and simply lay in Jethro's embrace, letting his breathing and pulse slow.
"Crap... already?" Gibbs responded tersely.
"Soon."
"We could take the afternoon off."
"With two current cases waiting for us? That's Jethro talking, not Boss."
"For the next five minutes, Jethro's still the only one here."
"And I'm grateful as hell, but..."
"Yeah." Jethro responded, his voice quiet and hoarse. "I'd do it, you know. For you, I'd do it. Give up the blood and the bodies and the sick things people do to each other. If you tell me you're over it, that you've had enough... we could be gone and spend the rest of our lives somewhere warm... not caring what the world thinks or sees."
"You're only offering because you know it'll never happen. I couldn't ask that of you." Tony retorted mildly, squeezing Gibbs just a bit tighter.
"Even if I wanted you to?"
"Jethro..."
"It's too many years, Tony... the job, the military, they're not what they were when I joined. Sometimes I don't even recognize..."
"Hey, hey..." Tony protested, gently gripping Jethro's chin. "... we help people, we save people... it may not seem like a huge difference, but at least we're still trying. I'm not sure I wanna face the day when I'm ready to let that go. My hope hasn't all been eroded away yet..."
"I've been around a lot longer than you have."
"Then take some of my hope. Take my strength, okay? I'm giving it to you, right here, right now. If it'll keep you going, take it... please, Jethro, take it..."
After several minutes of staring, incredulous, at Tony, Jethro hugged him fiercely.
"How the hell do you do that... just offer up... God, Tony..."
"I love you, that's how. I love you and I won't let you give up on the work that's such an important part of your life... no matter how amazing I find the idea of you and me in a tropical climate forever."
"Vacation... Puerto Rico... really soon." Gibbs proposed. Tony laughed and kissed his earlobe lingeringly.
"Absolutely..."
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MID-AFTERNOON:
"Abby..."
"Hold still. I'm almost finished."
"Abby... God no, not mascara! You said you wanted help picking *out* make-up colors! This is not what I signed up for!"
Finally Abby paused in her ministrations and stared Tony down.
"You trust me?"
"To a point..."
"Tony."
"Yeah I trust you, Abs, you know that."
"Okay, then hold still and look up at the ceiling. I swear, you won't regret this. Almost... yeah. One last touch... there." She proclaimed, revolving the stool Tony was seated on and holding up a large hand mirror. Tony's mouth fell open and he gaped at the transformation he was seeing. Abby had vowed she was being subtle, but he hadn't believed her in the slightest until that moment. The mascara she'd chosen held just a hint of green, playing up the gold in his eye color, and had been applied with a light, deft hand. His lips were now deep red, bold but not garish, as if he were a vampire who'd recently fed but prudently cleaned the excess drips and smudges away. The eye shadow was minimal, but intense and dark with the barest indication that green was somewhere in the blend of shades. Before her subject could recover from his shock, Abby hurried to a box in the corner, returning with a narrow strip of black velvet studded with small green stones along nearly the entire length. Wrapping it around his throat, she secured it at the back of his neck with a Velcro closure. "Well?"
"Abby... I didn't... I wasn't... wow."
"I think so too. Of course we need to add boots, black jeans and that black mesh top you never wear anymore but I wish you would...oh, and this black leather duster I have. Then everybody at the club will be a total deer in the headlights, guaranteed. You are still coming, right?"
"Friday night? 6:30?" Tony replied vaguely, still entranced with his reflection.
"Uh-huh. I can't wait to see their faces when you walk in..."
"Yeah, me either."
"We better get you cleaned up. Gibbs'll be calling any minute."
"Wait. Um... I think I like it, but I'm not sure. One more minute?" he asked, a smile blossoming at last.
"Just one." Abby conceded, echoing his grin.
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TO RETURN HOME AT EVENTIDE...
Eyes half closed, Gibbs let a lazy smile drift onto his lips and reflexively tightened the grip he had on Tony's fingers, which were entwined with his own. Sharing the need and desire that had been intensifying in his younger lover for hours, Gibbs had willingly let thoughts of dinner or later plans fall by the wayside as soon as the door was shut behind them, submitting to Tony's hands and mouth with laughter and subdued groans. Only minutes after they arrived home, both men were stripped and Jethro had been gently laid back on the couch, the grateful and compliant subject of his lover's undivided attention and significant carnal skill.
"Mmmm... Tony, yeah... just like that, babe... rub harder... ohhhh... sweetness, yeah..."
"You getting close, hmmm? You gonna get me all messy, Jethro? I think you are. You're already hot and slick... so hard you can't stand it... should I make the move? You ready for that, lover?"
"N-not yet... a little longer..."
"You don't get much longer." Tony chuckled into Gibbs' ear. "I should know..."
Jethro growled affectionately and released Tony's hands, wrapping his fingers around the younger man's back and digging his nails in just the tiniest bit. His lover hissed, arched his back into the light sting and braced his hands either side of Gibbs' head.
"Oh... so it's that kind of night, is it?"
"Maybe... I need you so bad, Tony... but I want it to last all night, too..."
"It will, love, it will... I'm not going anywhere." Tony assured him, dropping his body a little lower and slowing the rock and slide of his hips that was driving Gibbs so crazy. "I'll be here in the morning... be here every morning loving your coffee breath... and be here every night to drive my body against or into yours until you scream for me... scream and shake and get me so sticky three showers can't get it all off..."
'Do it, Tony... the move, do it..."
Grinning, Tony shifted down and curled his tongue around Jethro's entrance, rimming him with easy strokes. When he sensed the other man was about to orgasm, he deep-throated him and swallowed nearly every drop. Sliding back up, he opened his legs, giving Gibbs access to his erection. As he himself found release, Tony clamped his mouth on Jethro's shoulder to stifle his cries then unconsciously bit down.
"Hell..."
"No... other direction." Gibbs countered.
"I mean hell, I think you're bleeding. Shit, I didn't... my brain wasn't..."
"Shhh, it's okay. I know. It'll heal." Gibbs said, sitting up and studying Tony's back, "Besides, I'm not the only one..."
"Like I said... one of those nights. High-flying passion followed by hydrogen peroxide."
"Thank God they don't happen too often or get any rougher. We'd never be able to explain it to the docs and nurses in the ER."
"Full agreement." Tony replied, hugging Jethro softly. "You know I really am never leaving you, don't you? Never, ever..."
"Most of the time I know. Just sometimes..."
"Yeah. Sometimes your scars do a Harry Potter. Understood..."
"I'll get the band-aids and the antibiotic cream."
"I'll start the shower running..."
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END