Jim’s hand reached out over the papers that were littering the top of his desk. It unerringly hit the mark and brought back the chipped mug full of dark brew. He brought the mug to his lips and winced as the cold, foul tasting coffee breached his lips. “Ah hell. Can’t we get some decent coffee around here?!” He shouted angrily pushing the coffee away.

Several officers grunted in sympathy, while others ignored it. They all knew that Simon was on the warpath and Jim Ellison was catching more flack than any of them. Maybe it was because Simon was getting heat from the Mayor’s office again or then again maybe it was because Blair Sandburg had been noticeably absent from the precinct lately.

"ELLISON!" Simon barked sticking his head out of his office. Ellison grunted unhappily, cursing under his breath at the small amount of progress he’d made on the case in question.

He grabbed a fresh cup of coffee before heading into Simon’s office and sitting down cradling his cup possessively. Simon watched his best detective, noticing the rings under his eyes, his lack of attention to dress and the number of muttered curses flying. It could only mean one thing. "I don’t care if you and Sandburg are having problems, Jim. I need you to be 100 percent on this case. If not I’ll –"

"I hear ya’!" Ellison snapped holding up a hand. "You better calm down, Simon. I can hear your blood pressure rising from here."

Simon sighed and picked up a cigar, thought of Jim’s warning and instead of lighting it, just stuck it in his mouth instead. "Look this case is important. The girl that was murdered was the Mayor’s goddaughter. I can only give you one night to try to fix things with that long-haired hippie of yours. But I expect both of your butts in here first thing in the morning! Got it!?"

Jim grunted in response. He rose quickly out of the chair and made haste to get out of the office and the station house. Home sounded like paradise right now, even if things were a bit weird.

Driving home, his thoughts went back to the past weeks, trying to determine for the umpteenth time, what exactly it was that was off. Blair had been his usual busy self, putting in hours at the university, the station and tutoring some of his students on the side.

And when he was home, he was as he always was; talking Jim’s ears off. And when they were together, he was as affectionate as ever. Yet… something wasn’t clicking for Jim…

Before he knew it, he’d parked his car in his usual spot and, a bit surprised by it, he just sat there. Unconsciously, he searched for Sandburg’s heartbeat. It took only a few seconds before his ears found the familiar and comforting steady beat. Now that he’d established Blair was in the loft, his ears started to pick up other things. Such as the jungle beat that was currently playing and the sound of feet shuffling… back and forth…

Jim grinned. Sandburg must be doing one of his weird tribal dances… He quickly left his car and almost jogged to the elevator. Maybe he’d been wrong after all. God knew he could be suspicious of the strangest things….

Feeling excited now Jim started to fidget in the elevator. When it opened he practically burst into the loft but was instantly stopped short by what he was seeing. Replete with a small fire burning in a cauldron, Sandburg was dancing to the tribal music pounding through their shared living quarters. But that wasn’t what made Jim forget to breathe. It was the loincloth and body paint worn on the compact, muscular frame of his lover and partner.

He watched in envy as one lone drop of sweet sweat ran down Blair’s muscled chest, down his sculpted abs and straight to the oh-so-small loincloth. The colors were amazing, like a faceted jewel and he was lost to the visual.

A snap of fingers and a touch on his shoulder brought him back from his zone. The music was stopped and smiling, panting Blair was in front of him. "Man, you zoned on me big guy. What was it? The music or maybe the fire?"

Jim shook himself mentally and stared with meaning to the tiny piece of leather gracing Blair’s body.

Softly chuckling Blair moved into Jim’s space. "Good to know you notice me after all this time."

Jim frowned at the obvious emphasis on that last word.

"What are you talking about?" Looking down in the blue eyes of his partner, Jim took another step forward, pressing against Blair’s naked chest. "I always notice you, Sandburg."

As he looked down, he was easily distracted by the flickering of the silver hoop that was the piercing in Sandburg’s left nipple. The light played so wonderfully over the chest hair and it took so many colors and shapes…

The next thing he knew was Sandburg’s deep voice urging him back and a gentle pat on his cheek.

Jim shook his head and focused in on Sandburg’s voice, his heartbeat and his scent. "Sorry chief."

Blair grinned. "I think it’s a compliment that after all these years I can still make you zone out."

Jim’s brain mentally added the emphasis of years to time. Obviously Blair was trying to hint at something. Was it Sandburg’s birthday already? Jim frowned. No, that was several weeks away. "What’s going on? Why weren’t you at work again? We’ve got a big case and Simon’s on the war path."

Blair’s expression turned from loving to angry and hurt almost instantly. "Fine, if work is all you care about, I’ll get ready." Jim tried to grab at his arm to stop his hasty exit but Blair’s strength was something Jim often underestimated. Blair shook him off with ease and the sound of a slamming door soon followed. Jim winced.

Way to go, Ellison. Five minutes ago you could have gotten laid. Now look at the mess you’re in. Sandburg will be testy all week now. Unless I can figure out what time and years has to do with how he’s acting.

His trained eye spotted a large tome by the cauldron. He carefully walked into the circle and picked it up. According to the text Blair was doing some sort of bonding dance to celebrate long lasting love to another.

Long lasting…time…years…come on, Ellison, put it together.

His concentration was such on the book that he failed to notice Blair’s return until the book was wrenched out of his hands. "Do you mind!?" Blair was definitely mad and Jim was still struggling for a clue.

With a resigned sigh, Jim handed the book back to Blair, deliberately making his hand brush against Blair’s. Maybe Blair understood, because some of the annoyance disappeared from his face.

"Let’s go, Jim," Blair said shortly after he’d put the book down. Turning, he grabbed his jacket and backpack and was now waiting for Jim to catch up. Jim couldn’t help but think that obviously he was waiting for him to catch up with something else as well.

The afternoon at the station was one of the worst Jim had had, and that was counting the pre-Sandburg times. Blair hardly talked to him and if he did it was only if he couldn’t help it. In between, he shot Jim glares that went from annoyed to exasperated. He was as friendly as ever to the rest of the department though, and Jim overheard many a whispered conversation wondering what he’d done to get Blair that angry. Even Simon had sent them a puzzled look, had chewed on his cigar and had then retreated into his office again.

Well, he thought, I was this close to fixing things and getting them back on track when I mentioned work and blew my chances. It’s called Ellison tact, people.

Thinking desperately of a way to make it up to Blair, Jim’s eyes lit up when he thought of something. Blair loved foreign dishes and recently Jim had found a long sought after recipe for Ceviche.

"Chief– I know it’s your turn to cook tonight, but how about if I cook?" Jim asked him in a low voice, meant to be only heard by his partner.

Blair remained silent but did turn his head in Jim’s direction and slightly cocked his head in silent enquiry.

"I thought I’d drive past the market to get some shrimp and other fish and make that Ceviche recipe I found last weekend," he went on, not able to remove the hopeful tone from his voice.

After a while, Blair slowly nodded, telling Jim that he had put a small step towards redemption and quite possibly a warm, Blair filled bed that night.

As he walked into the market, his brain was working feverishly to put it all together. Obviously, Blair was doing something that had significance with time and years and was expecting him to pick up on it.

One, there had been the jungle dance he’d been doing at the loft – a bonding dance, according to the book he’d found.

Two, the way he’d been dressed – not unlike the Chopec.

Three, the very obvious hints about time and years – clearly important.

Picking out shrimp, inkfish, cod and some other fish, Jim mentally went back to when he’d entered the loft that afternoon. He went back to where he’d found the book. It had been so big, he’d automatically picked it up, but now he tried to picture what the rest of the table had looked like.

There had been oddly familiar bracelets formed out of hemp. Where had he seen them before? Like a ton of bricks it suddenly hit him. The Chopec had worn them around their biceps. Or at least some of them had. But what had they been all about? Jim began to pace trying to get his mind to engage. What else was on that table? Maybe it would give him a clue.

Rose petals, there had been a lot of those, that book, a bonding dance –

Jim smacked his head so hard he saw stars for a moment. "Our anniversary!" He yelled at himself internally. Without a thought he crossed the room to his out-of-sorts lover and put his arms around him. "I love you, Chief."

At last Blair’s smile filled his handsome face. "I love you, too, Jim. Caught on have you?"

Ellison wasn’t one to blush, but he did feel like he might. "Yeah, sorry. Can you forgive me for being so stupid? I’ll make you the best anniversary dinner ever!"

Blair smiled and nodded. "Okay, then I want to do something special after dinner?"

"Bonding special?" Jim leered. Maybe this thing would involve some hot monkey sex?

With a laugh, Blair pushed him toward the kitchen, refusing to answer. Jim rubbed his hands together and got to work on the Ceviche.

Highly motivated, Jim managed to not mess up the Ceviche and have dinner ready after 90 minutes. They didn’t speak much during dinner; both casual and deliberate touches took the place of speech. To Jim it seemed like the glow in Blair’s eyes made them an impossible to duplicate blue and he spent the latter half of dinner pleasantly half-zoned.

When Blair stood up with his plate in hand, Jim dazedly looked down and realized he finished his meal as well. With a small grin he stood up and helped to clear the table. Not much was said, just the occasional brush of arms or looks exchanged from the corners of their eyes.

Blair guided Jim over to the circle he had set up earlier. Walking over to the table, Jim’s hope soared. Did Blair really want to bond with him? This was the equivalent of a wedding in the Chopec tribe. Excitement almost caused him to zone out, especially when Blair sternly told him to stay still.

Jim was ritually cleansed by his lover. He was stripped down except for a loin cloth that Blair put on him similar to his own. The small kisses he planted on Jim as he did so, only made the big man eager to get onto the big finish. Blair’s eyes sparkled with mischief. Picking up a small wooden bowl he stuck his finger in it and began to paint Jim’s body in intricate swirls and patterns.

The tiny touches were driving Jim crazy. But he managed to make it through the exquisite torture. At long last, Blair put the bowl down and reached for the bracelets.

"I, Blair Sandburg, Guide to the Sentinel of the Chopec Tribe, mark you as my bond mate for this life and the next. I bind you to me with love, respect and trust."

Jim kissed Blair gently, blinking back the wetness that had suddenly appeared in his eyes. He turned and picked up the other bracelet, in trembling hands and then began to wrap it around Blair’s bicep.

"I, Jim Ellison, Sentinel of the Chopec Tribe, mark you as my bond mate for this life and the next. I bind you to me with love, respect and trust."

Slowly, Jim pulled Blair closer, until he could wrap his arms around him. Blair rested his head against Jim’s chest. Jim, feeling the dark curls caress his naked flesh, listened carefully and matched his breathing with his mate’s.

Finally, he lowered his head and kissed Blair. It was nothing like the kiss they’d shared during the bonding ritual. That kiss had been gentle, reassuring and calming. This kiss was the exact opposite. It was passionate, sweeping them both up into it. As tongues explored mouths and hands explored skin, their breathing sped up until they were both panting loudly.

When Jim came up for air, he found that he had Blair in his arms, with Blair’s legs wrapped around his hips. Breath ragged, Blair was clinging to Jim with his face against Jim’s neck.

"Care to make this thing official?" Jim asked, pulling back and looking amused at his arms full of Blair.

"Waiting on you, big guy," Blair panted into Jim’s neck.

"Oh….What you do to me," Jim gasped at the hot air caressing his sensitive throat as his mind whirled. The world would never be the same. Their friends might rally behind them and if not, well, they really weren’t friends. But never would he take the love he received from Blair for granted again.

"Hey, you ready or what?" Blair asked pulling back, his brow furrowing.

Jim looked down into the blue eyes that had so captured his heart and setting it into motion from the first he’d seen them. He gripped Blair’s ass firmly and pulled him closer, if that were possible, with a smile.

"Only for you. Happy Anniversary."

<i>The End</i>