At some point I need a post ep for Frame up and Under Covers, but the on that hit me yesterday was for Bait. For those of you who wanted more Tony-as-wolf, hope this satisfies.
Title: Good Insticts
Series:
HomeAuthor:
triskellionRating: PG
Word Count: 1205
Spoilers: Bait
Warnings: Slash
Disclaimer: They're not mine, pretty as I find them. Go to the producers if you want to talk money.
Summary: AU but following canon events: They survived, the kids survived, the drug dealers were taken down, but that doesn't mean everyone is completely happy with the events of the day.
Gibbs knew someone else was in the house. The creak in the floor by the door was audible from the basement. However, after the initial creak, there were no further sounds. He considered going upstairs to check it out, but before he got to that point, he was distracted by the sensation of a cold nose being pressed against his bare leg. He didn't jump, that wouldn't be dignified for a marine, but he might have emitted a bit of a squeak.
“What did you do, press your nose against a block of ice?” he groused as he dropped a hand down to scratch the wolf's head next to him. Tony must have shed his cloths upstairs and shifted. Gibbs never understood how the human could make such a racket but the wolf was always silent.
Tony chuffed in response and pressed closer to his alpha. Gibbs could feel the subtle tremors running through his mate and quickly put his tools aside to crouch down and wrap his arms around the green eyed wolf. “Ah, Tony,” he whispered into the thick fur of Tony's ruff, his hands running up and down the wolf's long spine. “You did good.” He'd seen this behavior before in shifters after a rough experience. Best thing he knew to do was be there for Tony and wait until the younger man was ready to talk.
They stayed there for a time, and slowly Tony began to stop shaking. Gibbs ran his hands all over his mate, reassuring them both that every bit was accounted for. When the worse of the shivers were past, Tony began nosing at Gibbs, checking over his arms and legs, sniffing down his torso, licking his chin.
“Enough, Tony,” Gibbs insisted after the third lick. He might love his mate, but that didn't mean he wanted to be bathed with the wolf's tongue. “I'm right here,” he added reassuringly when Tony instantly backed off, actually taking several steps back. Gibbs wasn't up to shuffling over to Tony, not given how his knees were already complaining, but extended arms seemed to coax the wolf closer until they were pressed together again. “I'm here. You did good and I'm right here.”
Once Tony seemed calm again, Gibbs ruffled the fur at the back of Tony's skull and said, “I'm going to work on the boat now. Stay as close as you need.” With that, he stood, wincing at the clicking in his knees, and turned back to the boat.
For over an hour, Tony stayed all but glued to Gibbs' side. They were in constant contact, to the point where Gibbs almost tripped over the wolf every time he moved to work on another location or grab a tool. There was one short, one sided, argument when Tony tried to lap at the mug of bourbon Gibbs was drinking. “If you want to drink, shift,” Gibbs told the shifter flatly, ignoring the very human looking eye roll that was the only reply.
Sometime in the second hour, Tony must have relaxed, or else he got tired of being tripped over, because he moved away from Gibbs and settled under the boat. With his head resting on his forepaws, Tony watched Gibbs work through half lidded eyes, seeming relaxed as long as Gibbs was in view. However, as soon as Gibbs moved more than a few feet either direction, Tony's head came up and he tracked his mate carefully until the older man returned to localized work.
Gibbs didn't catch exactly when the next change came, but he did notice when arms wrapped around him from behind. He straightened, leaning into the slightly taller body behind him, and resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment about splinters in bare feet. “Ah, Tony,” he whispered instead, wrapping his arms around the ones surrounding him.
“You could have died in there,” Tony hissed into his ear. “If I'd given the order to shoot, they might have blown the bomb.”
“But you didn't, and they didn't,” Gibbs reassured. “You figured it out. You've got good instincts.”
Tony snorted, a disgusted sound that was very reminiscent of the canine form he'd just left. “No one else thought so,” he said angrily, pulling away slightly as his spine stiffened in outrage. “The Director just went on and on about how I had to have the courage to give the kill order, and Ziva was second guessing, and ...”
Gibbs cut Tony off with a relatively gentle elbow in the ribs. “I trust your instincts, Tony,” he said firmly. “If they don't, then they aren't as good investigators as I thought.”
Tony sighed and relaxed back into Gibbs. “No one sees me like you do, boss.”
“Their loss is my gain,” Gibbs said, a smirk curling the corners of his lips.
Tony snorted, this time in amusement, and began nuzzling Gibbs' neck.
“You must be feeling better if you're getting frisky,” Gibbs said teasingly.
Tony ground his hard-on into his mate's ass and let out a soft growl.
“Upstairs,” Gibbs said firmly. “You're on your own for splinters.”
Tony took two steps towards the stairs, Gibbs following close behind, before he turned and wrapped his arms around Gibbs again. This time they were front to front, and Gibbs hissed in pleasure as Tony bumped up against him. But he suppressed that reaction to focus on the shiver running through his mate again.
“Don't do that again,” Tony begged, tucking his face in against Gibbs' neck.
“I can't promise that any more than you can promise never to get shot again,” Gibbs countered, tightening his grip.
“You just walked in there.”
“We needed the intel and the girl needed her inhaler. I was our best option,” Gibbs insisted, his hands running up and down Tony's spine as they had when he was a wolf. “I knew you had my back.”
“Thank you for trusting me, boss,” Tony said, stepping back slightly so he could look into his mate's eyes. “But if you ever leave me in a situation like that with the Director breathing down my neck again, I'm going to bite her.” His voice was a snarl, his lips pulled back showing the seriousness of his warning.
“She might like that,” Gibbs said, only partly joking. Tony snarled and shook himself at the thought. “I can't promise that either, but I'll try.”
Tony sighed. “It would help if she weren't your ex-lover,” Tony admitted. “My nose is getting more sensitive spending more time as a wolf, and she smells like arousal around you so often ...”
It was Gibbs' turn to sigh. “Not my idea of an ideal situation either,” he said in an apologetic tone. “All I can say is I'm here with you.” It wasn't a declaration of love, but Tony seemed to understand as his eyes lit up and his lips curled in a sweet smile.
“Upstairs,” Tony said, taking a step back. “I'm going to spend the rest of the night convincing myself you're mine and still in one piece.”
Gibbs followed willingly. “Sounds perfect,” he admitted. It had been a hell of a day. He wouldn't mind reassuring himself that Tony was his and still all in one piece.