"He Didn't Have Time." NCIS AU Fic. Tony/OMC & Tony/Gibbs. PG
Title: He Didn’t Have Time
Author: Lil Jei
Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Tony/OMC & Tony/Gibbs
Rating: PG
Wd Ct: 1500+
A/N: This fic has been hand written and done for nearly a year *sigh* and I’ve finally gotten back into the writing game or maybe the publishing game w/ it. It was a labor of love for me. I enjoy writing and reading song fics, if they’re done right. And this is one of my best, if not the best one I’ve written in a LONG time. The setting is completely AU but at the core it still has the two men from NCIS that I love the most.
Summary: Sometimes Tony felt that life was passing him by.
Tony had never expected his life to turn out the way it had. It had been years since he’d thought about how his life had all changed w/ the meeting of one man.
He’d met Nate through one of his fraternity brothers. And in a move surprising everyone including himself Tony had gone from a womanizing playboy to a one man’s man. They were both sophomores at that point but they had fallen in love quickly and fell into bed that much quicker. Looking back at their relationship during college Tony could see how he could have fallen for Nate’s suave and supportive boyfriend routine. But now it was ten years later and now Tony couldn’t help but want to smack his younger self. They’d been together nearly fifteen years and Tony had finally woke up to the reality of their life.
And all that looking back made him unhappy and filled with a deep sense of shame and loathing. He’d given up his dreams of anything to follow Nate’s dreams of success in their hometown of New York City. Tony and Nate had married soon after graduation and with their marriage and big move back home Tony found himself and Nate changing. He’d become the male version of a rich socialite or rag doll really. And Nate had become this rich playboy husband with Tony as arm candy. In short order Tony had become his mother. As evidenced by the fact that Nate and Dinozzo Sr. got along swimmingly while Tony slowly lost his mind.
Nate had not only come into family money but he started making bank on Wall Street so much so that when he made demands of Tony, Tony usually obeyed. He’d started focusing on society things and later on he’d become a stay at home father, raising their two adopted children. He was the socialite housewife he’d always hated growing up.
*Well I used to be* Tony thought to himself. Life had sent him another curveball. Tony still had to shudder when he thought of six months ago when his well ordered life had come falling down. He’d come home from a luncheon with their decorator to the sight of his husband and the father of his children sitting on the porch steps watching as movers loaded up a U haul. Tony had been in shock, that was the only explanation he had for why he didn’t fight or scream when Nate had come up to him, shooed the kids into the house, and given him a hug and a whisper in the ear. He remembers crying as Nate said into his ear “Goodbye Tony, you’re better off without me now, I’m not what you need anymore, tell the kids I’ll always love them but it’s time for me to leave.”
He can remember only nodding as Nate told him to keep the house and that he didn’t want custody and that their lawyer had all the divorce papers. And as Nate got into the front of the U haul Tony couldn’t help but hate him. But that tiny bit of hate was all he could have afforded, and so right he’d been all those months ago. He had two small children to feed, raise, and too love enough for two people. Tony did give Nate some credit, he’d come through with all his promises as little as those were. He’d rushed the divorce papers, given full custody, the house, and lots of money to Tony. But that hadn’t been enough for Tony or the kids; they all had to face up to a whole new reality.
The three of them would never forgive Nate and so what if Tony had ended up romantically alone and financially desperate, he still had everything he needed with the kids. Even with the settlement though, the money didn’t go far. He’d set up more trust funds for the kids and paid for as much of their future as he could but the world was knocking at the door again. Thank god for that college degree and his frat connections. Tony had to get a job a few months ago, the bills came monthly and life would only get harder from here on out.
It was a blessing that the kids were younger. Tony had sold the condo and moved them all into a smaller apartment in a different city. Life with a part time sitter and school had allowed the kids to adjust better than Tony had. The kids’ future was set and it was only in the present that Tony had to work and provide for the three of them. Being an officer manager for his frat buddy Steve wasn’t where he’d seen his life going and most days he was a lowly secretary or sure felt like it and it was tough working again after fifteen plus years off of work but it was going to get easier, or so he hoped.
The nights after work were even tougher, but it was all about the kids and they were all Tony had left now. Raising a five year old and a two old had been tough with two people but all by himself, it was a never ending chore. But he wouldn’t give it up for anything, this was the true test in his life, and not even Nate coming back to them would make him change their life now, really he didn’t even have time to think like that.
Tony would fall into bed every night exhausted only to wake up the next day and do it all over again. The years passed that way and after five years Tony didn’t think much of love and marriage all he knew was single parenting and hard work. But looking into his kids eyes and seeing their love was worth being soul weary. Going to their games, recitals, and plays was worth the entire struggle he faced. But looking into the mirror made Tony want to cringe daily. He felt old before his time. He was only forty but felt ancient every day. Even Steve and his other frat buddies had noticed the gradual change in his demeanor and physical appearance. They’d jokingly asked if he wanted to be set up with some gay men that their wives knew. He knew he looked and felt old and that life was passing him by but his kids were all that mattered. Now that wasn’t to say that there weren’t nights that Tony laid in bed trying not to cry, only wanting someone else’s arms around him. Despite the feeling of unease that had settled within him most days Tony knew he also didn’t have time to wallow. Every day of every week was busy for Tony, whether it was the kids or work, there wasn’t much of a break between. And really Tony didn’t even know if he wanted another lover in his life, one man had been plenty so far.
Tony had never expected his life to turn out the way it had. It had been years since he’d thought about how his life had all changed w/ the meeting of one man… And then it happened again. Love ended up meeting him halfway.
He was leaving the grocery store one day after work and had gotten to his car only to notice that somewhere along the way his tire had started to go flat and died while he was in the store. *This was all I needed* Tony thought as he just hung his head and took a moment to breathe. It was as he was dialing triple A a moment later that he heard a voice saying “It’s not a big problem there, I can help you change it if you like.” And when Tony turned to look at the person, all he noticed was the most beautiful pair of blue eyes he’d ever seen. Then as he woke up a bit and looked at the man he could see himself falling for the silver fox in front of him.
Not even an hour later, his tire was changed and Tony found himself drinking coffee at a little café with his savior, also known as Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He found out that Jethro, as he wanted to be called was a retired marine who’d been through hell and back in many of the major wars from recent history, Desert Storm and on etc. And that he was now working at a federal agency. Tony had opened up and spoke about his job in return. Tony couldn’t help but look at the man sitting in front of him and think that he was extremely handsome and obviously strong. It was when Tony had zoned out that Jethro had asked a question of him that jolted him out of his reverie. Tony felt his heart stop as he thought of how to answer Jethro’s question of “Do you have kids?”
He wanted to lie to the handsome marine but found he couldn’t, he just didn’t have the time to lie about the most important part of his life. He found himself proudly pulling out a picture from his wallet with a smile. Tony looked at Jethro then and said, “Yes, this is Katie she’s ten and this little guy here is Timmy, he’s seven.” He was then even more surprised when Jethro lit up at that confession and say “I saw the toys. I love kids. Does she have your eyes?” At that Tony found himself becoming a little bit happier. He also realized at that very moment that he did need to make time for himself to fall in love again. And if god willing it was with Jethro then he knew he’d found a man that would also have the time to love him and help him raise the kids. Love after all happened quicker than anyone ever planned. Only an hour in and Tony knew he was hooked. He also knew he could have be afraid to fall in love again but he didn’t have time.