MAKING LOVE
By
Ashleigh Anpilova
The fifth part of the Testing Friendship series.
Ducky has made his decision.
A first time story.
Written: April 2012. Word count: 2,920.
Jethro awoke to the smell of coffee and the feel of the bed dipping as someone sat down on it. He opened his eyes and looked straight into Ducky's steady gaze. "Hey, Duck."
"Good morning, Jethro my dear," Ducky said cheerfully, as he held out a mug towards Jethro. "And a beautiful day it is too."
"Thanks," Jethro said, taking the mug and inhaling the scent before taking a cautious sip of the dark, bitter, strong liquid. "Hey, this is great." He took another swallow.
"There's no need to sound quite so surprised," Ducky chided gently, his eyes were twinkling and they told Jethro Ducky was gently teasing him.
Jethro grinned at him. "You been up long?" he asked, as he pulled his pillow up behind him and leaned back against it.
"Not really," Ducky said. "Just long enough to see it really was a beautiful day, to enjoy the freshness of the air and to make coffee." Ducky sipped from his own mug. "Mmm," he said, taking another small sip. "It is quite pleasant; not as good as tea of course, but nonetheless, very nice."
"Been meaning to get some teabags," Jethro said.
Ducky looked at him and put his head on one side. "I'm sure you have," he said, his tone dry.
Jethro laughed. "Well, I'm sure I'd have meant to if I'd -"
"Thought about it?" Ducky smiled.
Jethro laughed again. "Yeah. You been outside?" he asked, idly noticing that Ducky was wearing his robe.
"Just into the back garden, it seemed a shame not to take advantage of the dry weather and the sun. Do not worry; I'm sure your neighbors didn't see me."
The thought hadn't even occurred to Jethro. "Wouldn't matter if they had," he said, taking another long swallow and wondering if he could wheedle Ducky's mug from him.
Ducky stared at him; his look was speculative. "Would it not?" he said, his tone low.
Jethro shook his head. "No." He drank some more coffee. "You sleep well?"
Ducky nodded. "I did, thank you. Very well indeed; incredibly well. In fact, I honestly cannot remember the last time I slept quite so well. I feel like a new man this morning."
Jethro raised an eyebrow and studied Ducky carefully, wondering if the choice of words had been deliberately intended to invite a comment from him. Ducky's eyes were bright; he appeared to have lost the extra years Jethro had noticed from the previous evening; he seemed content, relaxed, at peace with himself. And he appeared to be waiting for something. Mentally crossing his fingers, Jethro said, "Oh, yeah, any new man in particular, Duck?" He took another swallow of coffee which emptied his mug and he put it down on the nightstand. The next moment he found Ducky's mug pushed into his hands. He grinned his thanks as he took a sip, looking at Ducky over the rim of the mug.
Ducky swallowed and brushed his hand over the sleeve of the robe he wore, looking down at it. "As a matter of fact, yes," he looked back up at Jethro and held his gaze.
Jethro swallowed at the sight of lust, passion, desire, love, affection, want and need that were being shown clearly in Ducky's steady blue stare. "You sure, Duck?" he spoke quietly, as he reached for one of Ducky's hands. "I mean it's not been that long since . . . Want you to be really certain."
Ducky let his hand be taken and held. "I am quite certain, Jethro. I have never more so. The refreshing, deep sleep, waking up by your side, feeling you next to me, hearing your breathing, knowing you were there, knowing I could have everything I have always wanted; knowing that life is far too short to spend days, weeks, months, evaluating something to which there is only one possible answer. However, I do have one condition." He linked his fingers with Jethro's and held his stare.
Jethro put the mug down on his nightstand and sat forward a little. "Name it."
For a moment, Ducky was silent and he glanced away from Jethro, once more staring down at the sleeve of the borrowed robe. After a moment or two, he looked back at Jethro. "There will be no one else," he said, his tone firm and steady. "I will not enter into a relationship beyond that of friendship with you, Jethro, only for it to last a few weeks or months. I think we have known one another long enough and intimately enough, albeit not in the sexual way, for there to be few surprises, although I would hope that . . ."
He trailed off and raised his eyebrows in what was clearly meant to be a teasing way, before continuing to speak. "It's all or nothing, Jethro. I'm not asking you to pack your bags and move into Reston House today or tomorrow or even next month. However, I would hope it wouldn't be too long before we would share a home, be it mine, yours or a new house we buy together. Nor am I asking you to put a ring on my finger. Your word to me is more than enough. If I loved you any less, if I wanted you any less, then I would quite happily just begin a relationship and see what happens. But I cannot do that; I have loved and wanted you for far too long. That is my condition. Now I understand fully if you wish time to think about it, to really consider what I am asking from you. You once told me not to compare our relationship to a marriage, however -"
"It's what marriage should be." Jethro spoke softly. Ducky frowned slightly. "You and me. What we've had over the years. What we've shared. What we've been through together. It hasn't all been plain sailing, has it?"
Ducky shook his head. "Not all, no. But -"
"But we got through. We're still together. We're here today. Duck, my relationship with you has lasted longer than any of my marriages. What we've had over the years, what we have now, is what marriage should be."
"Well, if you put it like that, then . . ." Ducky seemed surprised by Jethro's words. In all honesty Jethro was a bit surprised himself by how easily the words had come - words were not his thing; they were Ducky's, but not his.
"Would you want me to?" he asked, picking his coffee back up.
Ducky frowned. "Would I want you to what?"
Jethro nodded at Ducky's left hand. "Put a ring on your finger?"
Ducky blinked, his surprise was clear as he stared, slightly open-mouthed at Jethro. "I . . . That is . . . I . . . Jethro, I . . ."
"Simple yes or no will do, Duck."
Ducky continued to stare at Jethro. "I . . . That is I -"
"Yes or no, Duck. It's that simple. Just one word. Yes or no." Jethro spoke gently and again put his mug down to capture Ducky's hand between both of his. Ducky opened his mouth. "One word, that's all," Jethro said firmly.
"Well, yes, or course. But -"
"Aa, aa, aa."
"But," Ducky said forcefully. "You haven't thought about what I said. You did hear me, did you not, Jethro?"
"Sure. All or nothing. No one else. House together soon. That's it, isn't it?"
"Um, well, yes, I suppose that does cover it. But are you sure, Jethro? I mean are you really certain? You haven't had time to think about what I was asking, nay demanding. I am asking you to give up women, to see no one else and to commit yourself to me and to our relationship. You did understand that, did you not?"
Jethro smiled. "Duck, I might not have half a dozen degrees or speak fifteen different languages or know what was the best year for a particular wine or how many whatists Mozart composed or any of the other million things you're an expert on, but I am capable of understanding plain English."
Ducky flushed a little. "I apologize, I was being . . . Oh, dear, condescending does almost come to mind, does it not?"
"You think?"
Ducky chuckled softly. "Actually, I do, yes. But -"
"Duck. Don't you want me to agree to your condition?"
Ducky's eyes widened. "Of course I do. I just do not want you to feel rushed into something that you may regret. I would far rather wait a while, for you to be sure.
Jethro shook his head. "No need. I'm sure, Duck. Truth is, I'd never have said anything if I hadn't been. Always knew that's what you'd want, what you'd insist on."
"You did?"
"Mmm. So that's settled then. Isn't it?"
"It does appear to be so, yes."
"Good. Oh, I have a condition too."
"You do?"
"Mmm. Whatever we end up doing, selling this place or your place or both - we don't use Ms. Sophie Dalgado as our Realtor. Okay?"
"Oh, I quite agree," Ducky said.
"Good. That's settled then. So, you going to come back to bed or you want to test the hot water out first?" Jethro put his mug back down, already anticipating Ducky's answer.
"Oh, the hot water, please," Ducky said quickly.
Jethro smiled, before leaning forward and kissing Ducky lightly on his cheek. "Sounds good to me," he said.
After relieving himself, brushing his teeth and shaving quickly - apparently Ducky had done all those things before making coffee - Jethro turned the shower on and waved Ducky inside. For several minutes they simply enjoyed the hot water and passed the soap back and forth between them.
Despite the intimate nature of their friendship, how they'd shared bathrooms and beds, Jethro found he was still a little surprised at quite how easy, how natural it felt to be sharing a shower with Ducky. He watched the water pour over Ducky's body and found himself really looking at Ducky, staring at him in a way he'd never done before. He'd seen Ducky unclothed before, but he'd never really seen him, not in the way he was now. Being naked around other men was something he'd gotten used to early on, he wouldn't have lasted in the Marines otherwise. So he was used to seeing them, but you didn't really see them, they were just there. He'd gotten so used to being around unclothed men that in truth he stopped noticing they were naked.
But Ducky was different, he wanted to look at Ducky; he wanted to study him, to really see him and to notice the differences between them. Ducky had far less body hair than he had and he wasn't cut; that surprised Jethro, he didn't know why it surprised him, he guessed he'd just gotten used to men who were. He wondered if it made a difference, sensitivity wise.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Ducky asked softly, his tone one of polite amusement.
"Huh?" Jethro dragged his gaze away from Ducky's groin, away from watching Ducky touch himself as he cleansed himself, and stared into Ducky's eyes which contained the same amusement as his tone. "Very much, thanks," he said, staring directly at Ducky.
To his amusement, Ducky flushed slightly before saying softly, "Good."
They stood staring at one another, the water still pouring over them. Jethro found he didn’t quite know how to make the next move; quite how to go from what was essentially just part of a normal morning routine to kissing Ducky and touching him. Did they politely just get dried and go back to bed? Or . . . "Sorry?" he said, aware that Ducky had said something.
Ducky's eyes twinkled. "I asked you if you'd be so kind as to pass the shampoo, please."
"Oh, right. Yeah. Course." Jethro grabbed it and was about to pass it to Ducky, when he had an idea. Instead of handing it over, he tipped some into his hands, moved nearer to Ducky and began to massage the shampoo through Ducky's heavy, now very dark hair. He rubbed Ducky's scalp with his fingers, enjoying the sensation, but enjoying even more the small noises Ducky was making. "Like that, do you, Duck?" he murmured.
"I believe I do, yes. Very much in fact."
"Good. Feels good for me too." Jethro turned Ducky slightly until his back was towards the tumbling water and gently pushed Ducky's head back until the water cascaded off Ducky's scalp, washing away the shampoo. As the water poured down, Jethro lowered his head slightly and put his mouth on Ducky's.
The instant their lips met, Jethro felt his already mild arousal race up several levels and unconcerned as to whether Ducky's hair was completely free from shampoo or not, he gathered Ducky into his arms, tugging him nearer and nearer until wet, naked skin touched wet, naked skin. Against his thigh he could feel Ducky's arousal; it told him Ducky was as turned on as he was.
Ducky tasted of mint toothpaste, a tinge of coffee, shampoo and to Jethro's amazement the very faintest hint of Formaldehyde; it was a combination he knew he'd never tire off. Ducky's lips parted for him and he slipped his tongue inside and began to learn Ducky's mouth.
Ducky was stroking his back using just his fingertips, running them up and down Jethro's spine, before flirting across the rest of his back and down to his buttocks. Jethro pushed even nearer to Ducky as he felt his own erection swell even more.
He still had one hand in Ducky's hair and he began to massage Ducky's scalp again, remembering Ducky's little moans of pleasure as he'd washed his hair. As he did, he felt Ducky push himself even closer and also move his hips, swaying slightly from side to side.
As intoxicating as kissing Ducky was, Jethro knew he had to break away before he passed out from the lack of oxygen; besides kissing Ducky's lips wasn't the only place he wanted to kiss. He pulled away, took a breath and then kissed Ducky's nose, his cheeks, his forehead, his eyebrows and his chin before bending a little more and beginning to kiss and then suck Ducky's neck.
Ducky gasped and put his head back even further, "Jethro," he moaned, as he gave Jethro open access to his vulnerable throat. Jethro kissed his way down it, then moved to one side and licked Ducky's shoulder blade, before returning to the soft, wet, sweet tasting skin to the right of Ducky's throat. He began to suck and nibble with more intensity, knowing full well he planned on marking Ducky and somehow knowing from the way Ducky offered him even more of his neck and throat that Ducky wasn't going to object.
Finally, he lifted his head and gently touched the redness. "You're mine, Duck," he murmured, lightly kissing the area.
"Oh, yes, I am. I really am," Ducky managed. "Just as you are mine."
"Sure am."
"Oh, good." And Ducky slid his hand from around Jethro's back and took Jethro's erection in his hand.
"Duck!" Jethro gasped, as knowledgeable fingers gripped him in a way no one, other than he himself, had ever held him. Ducky began to move his hand and Jethro groaned and felt himself move closer to the edge of completion. "You sure you want to do it here," he managed. "We could go back to bed and -"
Ducky's mouth on his silenced him and he began to move his hand more quickly, tightening his grip just a little. It wasn't quite as firm or quite as tight as Jethro really liked it; but that didn't matter. What mattered was who was touching him, who was kissing him, who was in his arms. He staggered slightly, moving back until he felt the cold tiles and braced himself against the wall of the shower.
The coldness, after the heat of the water and the heat Ducky was building in him, calmed him down a small amount. But seconds later fingers that clearly knew a male body intimately vanished that small amount of calm and he knew he was getting closer and closer to the edge.
Ducky was still kissing him as he stroked him and brought him to completion. Jethro knew that no one had anyone loved him quite as much as Ducky loved him; he had never been as important to anyone as he was to Ducky.
"Bed," he gasped, grabbing Ducky's hand and pulling him out of the shower which, at the last second, he remembered to turn off. He cursory rubbed a towel over Ducky, even more cursorily rubbed it over himself before taking Ducky's hand again and leading him back to the bedroom. Once there he tumbled Ducky down onto the bed where he joined him, put his mouth back on Ducky's and let his hand find and close around Ducky's erection and with a few strokes had Ducky crying his name as he climaxed.
As he held Ducky close to him he sighed with pleasure. This was right; this was how it should be; this was what his future would be: Ducky and him. He had Ducky and Ducky had him; and that was how it would be until the day death parted them - and if there was any justice in the unjust world well beyond that.
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