This - up to and including Chapter 22 was written/posted on NFA Community - back in Feb, 2012 - "The Boys & Plot Challenge" - Honorable Mention

It is a McGibbs - And as much as I hate to give that away - I want it clear from the get go
- if you don't like that pairing - please don't read just to flame.

Thank you Shelbylou - for encouraging me to go ahead and post this here.

May 2010

His heart is up in his throat; his breathing rapidly becoming shallow and panicked. Not only is it pitch dark, but he has lost all sense of bearing. Where is he and how did he get here? What the hell is going on?

Suddenly, he realizes, there's nothing threatening about wherever it is 'this' is. Nothing's holding him against his will, there's nothing covering his eyes and all of his limbs are untethered. It's merely pitch black all around him. So the questions remain; where the hell is he and what the hell's going on?

"This can't be real. This stuff only happens in one of Tony's stupid movies." He mutters half under his breath in between harsh breaths of air.

"And dreams." The unexpected quietly spoken words reach his ears on a soft breeze, that gently ruffles his hair.

"Right. And dreams." He mutters with disbelief. Had he really just heard those words or was his mind playing tricks on him?

Suddenly he feels a fissure of fear. Has he done something wrong to land him here? What's gonna happen to him now? Why was he in this place; unknown to him and shrouded in darkness?

Swallowing hard, he blinks and opens his eyes once more, this time realizing he's no longer alone. As his heart jumps, his mind screams for him to run but his feet are glued to the floor. His breath quickens in fear once more and his heart races so wildly, he fears a full blown panic attack is only as far away as his next barely managed breath. Suddenly, more unexpected softly spoken words reach him on yet another soft breeze.

"Ssssh..Relax, you're safe here."

Without hesitation, he accepts what he hears as the truth, immediately causing his body to let go of the fear. As his heart and breathing begin to calm, his eyes now eagerly, almost desperately search his surroundings, trying to process who is there with him, where he is and how he's gotten here.

He notices, for the first time, that the darkness is no longer; the room he is in is shrouded in shadows now with only one soft glowing lamp in the corner of the room to dispel the inky depths of the all-encompassing black canopy that sits just beyond the lamp's glowing reach.

A heavy silence looms almost as eerily as the darkness and while his heart is no longer pounding, his breathing is still ragged as he continues to fight to get it under control, his nerves feeling stretched too far. What the hell is this room? Is his mind playing tricks on him? Why the hell would he be in a place like this?

Blinking to take away the mirage, Tim opens his eyes yet again to an even bigger shock as he finds the silhouette of someone cast in long shadows, the lamp somehow even dimmer than it had been a moment ago, almost as if to hide whoever this was from him. Even though tendrils of fear are racing up and down his spine and his heart struggles to stop pounding, he can't help but fasten his eyes on whoever this is here with him. Try as he might, he is unable to recognize who it might be, yet his gut is telling him that it is someone he knows and trusts not to hurt him.

Almost without realizing it, the figure cloaked in the near darkness has moved and continues to approach him, slowly and deliberately, yet Tim does not feel threatened any longer, rather he feels the adrenaline already coursing through his veins spiking and transforming into anticipation at this extremely science-fiction like experience. A part himself is hoping that he's dreaming and that he'll wake up and everything will be alright and normal again.

Then again, the other part of himself, the one long held in silent yet agonizing suppression, is nearly shouting for joy at the mere thought of where this feels like it might be heading. God, this can't be right, can it? How can it be that he's never felt this way before? What is it that's so different about this?

Stopping directly in front of Tim, the mysterious figure remains silent, staring at him as if trying to read his soul through his eyes, exuding tenderness and want even in the silence. Tim can't even look away now; so mesmerized by these captivating eyes that seem to have hypnotized him. That mouth seems to have also caught his attention as well, with its strong lines and lips that just seem to demand to be kissed. Tim is shocked to feel his boxers beginning to become tented as proof his libido is working just fine, now that its finally being shaken awake from an incredibly long slumber. What he'd had with Melissa never felt like this!

In fact, he couldn't remember the last time anyone had brought this yearning, almost desperate fissure of anticipation and aching want out in him.

Almost before he can think on things any longer, the beautiful blue orbs looking back at him change hue, darkening with desire, causing Tim to go weak in the knees and reach for the chair once more as those eyes infuse him with so much sensuous want and need, it leaves him floating in a sea of surreal waters.

God, he hoped he never had to leave this place!

It's unclear how this happened but he refuses to close his eyes, not wanting to miss a moment. Suddenly the gap between them is closed, that beautiful mouth descending on his and becoming the most gentle, provocative kiss he's ever experienced in his life.

Before he can even process this new experience, he's pulled even closer into an embrace so secure and without reservation, it takes his breath away and brings tears to his eyes. NO ONE has EVER held him like this before! Ever.

Suddenly, his brain freezes. These are man's arms! This is a man's mouth! Whoever this is, holding him; kissing him; this wonderous new experience is at hands of a man!

No! his brain screams. I am not gay! What the hell is going on here? Where the hell had this come from?

Almost instantly, he's gently released from the kiss as the mouth that has so sensuously awakened his own, now smiles at him tenderly. The eyes hold his own steadily and without flickering as the arms holding him begin gently soothing him with calming strokes of gentle sweeps on his back and arms, traveling further out with each stroke, the upward strokes reaching toward his neck and caressingly down his face as the downward strokes come back to his back and arms.

Once again, gentle words whispered on a breeze reach his ears. "Let yourself go. Close your eyes and just feel."

As those soft, comforting words reach his brain and fill his heart with a full dose of trust, he can't help but melt into the kiss; the embrace, finally allowing his eyes to close, no longer entrapped by the shock that this person who wants him happens to be a man. His heart knows what feels right, at least in this moment and it shouts out for joy.

Hearing his heart's cry and feeling the wave of emotion from within it, he gives up control; the desire to take whatever he is given, already surging well beyond his own personal boundries of caution and restraint; his head is no longer in the game.

This man, whoever he is, has embraced and kissed him. Whoever this is has made him feel more wanted and safe than he's ever felt before in his life. With a jolt to his heart, Tim realizes he wants more.

Once again, he prays that he never has to leave this place.

**BEEP** *BEEP**BEEP** **BEEP** *BEEP****BEEP** *BEEP**