Title: Four times Gibbs knew Tony was an angel...and one time he didn't.
Author: Skellig8
Rating: PG-13, I guess. Not really bad, I think.
Pairings: gen, Gibbs/DiNozzo if you squint
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Bellisario owns it all...damn it.
Summary: Tony is an angel. Nothing new there, eh?
A/N: I caved and wrote a five things... I conformed goddammit. *le sigh* Oh well. Hope you enjoy.
1. When Gibbs returned to conciousness on the dock with Maddie's hand wrapped around his own. By all rights he should've been dead. He looked over to find intense green eyes he had never seen before on his senior agent. The area around him seemed to be buzzing with energy. He was never much of a religious man, but there seemed to be a prescence around him that was calming and belonged to someone more than himself. This was as close to divinity as he would get. Tony reached out to touch him and he gasped as the touch went straight to his soul.
"You okay?"
He looked into his eyes a long time, a feeling of rest soothing his weary soul. "Yeah. I'm fine."
2. Tony stepped into the interrogation room, fully feeling the presence he knew came into the building earlier in the day. This was a true Fallen, possessing the body of a petty officer, who was most likely already dead. He was greatful for his own human exterior that masked his own nature, and would fool the Fallen with the facade. They must really need something with this petty officer if they allowed him to be captured.
"Petty Officer Thomas," he began setting the file on the table and sat down languidly. "You've strayed from the flock."
PO Thomas looked into his eyes, letting the inky black flood his eyes, a tactic to scare him with the supernatural. Tony stared straight back, unafraid.
The demon growled in the evil language, "[Who are you?]"
There came a sudden pounding on the two way glass, probably when they couldn't understand the demon and when their ears burned from when the demon spoke.
"[Answer me!]"
Tony looked at the frustration of the Fallen before answering in High Angelic. "[Tread cautiously, demon.]"
The PO snarled at him and gave a few choice phrases that burned the throat of the body he was in. The door to interrogation swung open, and there was Gibbs, ready with his firearm. With a screech, the demon launched at him with a display of inhuman strength and agility. Tony was ready when it made its move and met the demon's speed, pulling it out of the air and sending it to the floor snarling.
Tony reached down and placed a hand on the forehead of the PO, angelic nature coming to the forefront. "[Demon! I banish you to the depths whence you came! Free this soul you torment! By the Creator's power, be gone!]"
Gold light filtered through his fingers and the demon shrieked beneath his hand. A sound not able to be produced by human vocal chords. Gibbs had covered his ears for the pain, but Tony continued on unaffected. With a final shriek, the demon left the man's body, leaving behind the shell of the real PO Thomas, who had been in a coma and would remain so.
Tony lifted his hand from the man's forehead and stood up slowly to look at Gibbs. Tony knew how he must look, a little glowy around the edges. His boss looked on silently for a moment, taking him in.
"Tony?"
Tony's voice had gained a bit of an echo when he chuckled softly and then he spoke, "Yeah, Gibbs. Still me."
"What?... What just happened?"
"PO Thomas was possessed when he went into a coma after head trauma. He's still in one, but stable. He'll be all right."
"What are you?"
Tony gave him a small smile, "I think you know."
Gibbs reached his hand forward out to touch him.
3. Gibbs had seen this man before. Several time in the course of his life. When he was a kid going to the doctor for a broken arm when he was six. The doctor made him laugh and the pain seemed to float away. Brown hair, green eyes, and an easy smile was what he remembered.
He saw him again when he was older, his marriage to Shannon. It was their duty to speak to all the guests. He was out in the middle of the dance floor when he let his eyes travel over his guests. That's when he saw him. The hair was different, but it was the same doctor, who hadn't aged a day. As if noticing his scrutiny, the man turned slightly and raised his glass in a quick toast with a smile. He didn't see him again that night.
He was overseas fighting and a few of their unit managed to get stuck in a hole. They were caught in a hard place against a shallow wall. Moving was not an option, they were surrounded on three sides and their way of retreat put their backs to open fire. It went silent for a moment before an explosion rocked the ground. There came a battle cry as the sound of pounding footsteps on the packed ground, like a man running at full tilt. With a whoop, the man passed him and their hiding spot, gun chattering and the response fire nearly deafening. It was soon over and the berserker took off his helmet and Gibbs couldn't help but stare at his rescuer. He turned to Gibbs on his perch of a dilapitated wall, he gave a victory V with his fingers and a shit-eating grin. When asked later, no one knew his name or unit. There was no record of him.
He was called home for the funeral, submerged in his grief. He was accepting people's sympathies with half a mind, not really noticing them. He was broken from his thoughts by the presence of a man in a dark suit standing in front of his wife and daughter's headstones. The man reached out to each headstone individually, kissing his fingertips and pressing them to the cool stone. He began walking away, into the broken sunbeams. It must've been a trick of the light. But his wife and child joined him in walking. Kelly skipping up to him and placing her hand in his. Shannon coming up on his other side to take his arm. They felt his gaze and turned around. Kelly and Shannon smiled, waving to him. The man inclined his head, bowing in his direction, silently asking his permission. Gibbs looked long, but nodded his head. The man smiled. All right then. He could escort them to Heaven. They dissolved into the sunbeams.
It was awhile before he saw the man again, this time in Baltimore. The captain called out his office for "DiNozzo!" He paid attention to the lone figure approaching. He did a double take to the man's face, instantly recognizing this man and his silent, graceful approach. They were introduced and Gibbs couldn't help but to stare. The captain went on a rant and DiNozzo held his gaze with a playful mischief. Soon, he knew he was staring into the eyes of an ancient, powerful being; the same he had known his whole life. Gibbs mouth took a quick upturn. The man's response was the same, familiar one after all these years. DiNozzo smiled.
4. Life was passing by in a whirlwind of color and noise. He couldn't make sense of left or right, or even where he was. He knew he had to fight to get out of this, this place was not natural, like playing a scary movie on repeat. He flitted to the surface once and awhile hearing voices but not knowing what they meant. They were soft voices, sometimes he thought he heard someone crying. There was a bright spot that hovered at the edge of his vision, and the rest of the noise seemed to move to the background, a bright beacon against the darkness in his mind. It was calling his name, he didn't remember what it was, but it was his name. The light came closer, a few feet away from him and he knew he was safe. There was a gentle hand and he was being pulled to the surface again. He looked at the hand that was pulling him up, glowing softly gold against the blackness. He looked up into the face of an angel who smiled at him.
"Jethro," the angel spoke to him. "It will take a long while to heal, but you will. This time you must heal yourself before you heal others. Do not despair, for you are loved."
And he believed every word. He opened his eyes to a man in a suit with brown hair, green eyes, and a soft smile. "I give my blessing unto you." And the man leaned forward and kissed him gently on the forehead, he felt it against his skin, though he knew when he reached up later that his head was thickly bandaged. The man still held his hand and reached his other hand forward to cup his face, stroking it with his thumb. The angel still smiled, but his eyes were sad and it looked that he might weep for him. A movement distracted him, a nurse walking through the door he turned his head to look. But when he looked back for the angel, he was gone. He didn't remember the exact details of being in a coma, nor the exact look of the man's face. But all he could feel now was pain.
DiNozzo took him out for lunch when he got back from Mexico, after his team had forgiven him, eating outside on a bench, enjoying the reprive of a sunny day outside rather than the office. They didn't speak much, just Tony rambling for a minute before taking the cue to be silent. Gibbs liked the silence, it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. They finished their lunches and Tony took their trash to a nearby can before offering Gibbs a hand to help him off the bench. Tony's head blocked the sun and was giving him an almost halo. Before he knew what he was doing he was taking Tony's hand for assistance. Tony's soft smile looked back at him and with a jolt of familiarity he recognized the hand beneath his own. Looking down to Tony's hand, he held onto it and Tony made no protest. The sun was shining directly onto Tony, making him glow. Gibbs looked Tony in the eye and found the fond gaze he recognized when he was hurting so bad. Tony's smile grew larger as if sensing his thoughts.
"It's you."
"It's me."
5. And the one time he didn't.
Gibbs followed Tony into his apartment ready to put his tired agent into bed. Tony was exhausted, having been awake for three days after this tough case. It had taken its toll on Tony more than anyone. In this case Gibbs thought he had given up his soul to the devil, making a bet with one of the most notorious crime bosses that had connections deep into the Navy. A drug smuggling ring that had taken one too many lives and they had caught only one of the major bad guys this time. There was going to be a big follow up investigation. In Tony's bedroom after putting the young man beneath his covers he walked past the dresser, putting Tony's watch on it. He noticed some white things by his feet. Bending down he picked a few things up. They were soft underneath his hand, and large. He walked over to Tony's window to see what they were under the pale moonlight. He was impressed to see that they were feathers. Long ones. Bigger than any he had ever seen. It must be a wingfeather, it was almost as long as his arm.
"Tony?"
"Hm, Boss?"
So Tony was awake then.
"What are these?" he waved them in Tony's direction. Tony shifted in the bed to see what was being presented to him.
"Feathers."
"I can see that DiNozzo. Why do you have feathers?"
"You gave up your soul on this one. Had to give up my wings."
It made no sense, and he guessed that Tony was sleep drunk and more tired than he had let on. He stroked the feathers in his hands a few more times. He had two in his hands, they were the softest things he had ever touched, and seemed to glow in the moonlight that shown on them. He walked out of Tony's room, gently closing the door with the two feathers gently in hand.