Fic: The Swan Prince -Chapter Nine
Title: The Swan Prince
Pairing: Tony DiNozzo/Jethro Gibbs
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Supernatural themes, sorcery, angst and general Tony!Whump. I don't go easy on him this story. Also? Very AU. Like, out-of-this-world AU. Though I do slip in enough references to amuse. Try to find them all. ^^
Spoilers: None whatsoever... unless you've watched 'The Swan Princess' and even then you probably won't know where this is going.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or The Swan Princess. It would be very odd if I owned them both as only I could think they could possibly work well together.
Summary: Young Tony, the crowned prince of the Kingdom of Fidelis, has everything he could ever want. Then the sorcerer Ari takes it all away. Now, on the run and suffering under the worst curse black magic has to offer, can Tony ever find his way home? And, more importantly, will he want to? Or will our prince sacrifice his kingdom, his identity and his humanity for something he's never known: love.
Authors Note: A chapter that is actually a chapter. I'm posting this seconds after the one before so there are no new notes here. I just wanted to post a note saying that. :P
Don't
Ask me questions
That I can't
Answer
Without a lie.
I really can't bare
The betrayal
In your eyes.
How do you know me
Better
Than I know
Myself?
Chapter Nine: Secrets and Lies
The wind was brisk, the ocean was freezing and Gibbs was still a bastard.
Most people likely would have been more than a little ticked off if the man they'd been swapping spit with had acted as though nothing had happened the next day, but then Tony wasn't most people.
He actually found it comforting that something between them remained the same, remained stable. Though, having said that, it wasn't entirely true that nothing whatsoever had changed. While Gibbs remained as ornery as ever, he seemed to delight in touching Tony as much as was humanly possible -even if said touch was a simple smack to the head.
It was very distracting.
Even more puzzling, however, was that the minute they climbed off the boat, Gibbs tugged Tony close and wrapped a firm arm around his waist. Tony, having assumed t t hat Gibbs would be one averse to public displays of affection, was pleasantly surprised by the gesture and leant into it easily.
"Tony," Joseph greeted, taking in Gibbs hold on him in bemusement, "Something you'd like to tell me?"
"Hey Joseph," Tony returned, smiling whimsically, "Guess what?"
Joseph snorted and rolled his eyes before turning them onto Gibbs.
"I like you Gibbs," he began, apparently at random, "You're a good man. But you hurt Tony and I'll tear you apart with a rusty blade. Clear?"
"Clear," Gibbs agreed, smiling very slightly at the threat.
"I can take care of myself," Tony felt obliged to point out.
Both men turned to him, clearly finding that statement questionable. Tony huffed slightly, crossing his arms and pouting very slightly. It was Gibbs' turn to roll his eyes this time, nodding to Joseph as he gave Tony a tug and prompted him back into a leisurely walk, casually ignoring the stares of the few sailors still littering the dock.
"This'll be all over town by morning," Tony observed, knowing by now how the gossip in Semper worked.
"That a problem?" Gibbs asked point blank, raising a brow.
"Not at all," Tony assured, "I'm just surprised. I had you pegged as someone who would want to keep this a secret. You know -you're business is no one else's business."
"Nope," Gibbs denied casually, "I want everyone to know you're mine."
Tony flushed very slightly, finding himself quite pleased by that. Gibbs was pretty much letting everyone know that Tony belonged to him and since no one wanted to fuck with Gibbs, Tony would probably find a lot less people hitting on him.
At some point, that would have bothered Tony. Not only because he liked to flirt but also because the idea of someone claiming him so fiercely was rather disconcerting. Somehow, with Gibbs, it wasn't anything like that.
"Tony!"
"Oh damn."
Tim, a whirlwind of energy and worry, practically threw himself in their path as they made to walk past the hotel. No doubt he'd been lying in wait for them, the sneaky bastard.
"Where have you been?" he demanded in a flurry, "Did you miss another midnight? Are you alright? What happened? Is -why is Gibbs holding your waist?"
"You done?" Tony interrupted, "Or would you like another minute to panic unnecessarily? You really must stop this, Timmy -it's becoming a habit."
Tim glared.
"I've been with Gibbs," Tony sighed, leaning into the man pointedly.
Really, that was the only answer that mattered. For a long moment Tim stared uncomprehendingly. Then there was the light bulb moment where realization washed over his face.
"Ohhh," he managed, blinking, "Really?"
"Really." Tony confirmed
"But he's not at all your usual type," Tim protested.
"Considering my usual type," Tony parried, "That's probably a good thing."
"Without a doubt," Tim agreed wholeheartedly, "I'm just a little caught off guard. Well, at least he knows about your 'condition'... you're willing to put up with that? You know it's something he'll have for life."
"Not if I have anything to say about it."
"What?"
"What?"
"Gibbs," Tony began, hesitantly, "I appreciate the thought but really... there's nothing to be done. Nothing I could live with doing in any case."
"You can't live like this forever either," Gibbs disputed, so calmly that it may as well been a documented fact.
"You don't think I'm strong enough?" Tony demanded, narrowing his eyes dangerously.
"Strength doesn't factor into it," Gibbs returned, not wavering, "Everyone has a breaking point, Tony. No one can fight forever. If you don't break the curse it will break you."
"But... it can't be broken," Tony protested weakly, seeing the reason in the argument despite how fiercely he wanted to ignore it.
"I don't believe that," Gibbs disputed simply, "Eventually, whatever is going to happen will happen and when it does, I'll do whatever it takes to free you."
"What's going to happen?" Tim wondered.
"Any number of things," Gibbs shrugged, "Most likely, whatever you're running from will catch up with you."
"What makes you think we're running from anything?" Tony shot back defensively.
Gibbs snorted and gave him a light head slap in rebuke.
"Right," Tony agreed sheepishly, well aware how stupid a question that really was, "Sorry."
"But maybe it'll never catch up to us," Tim tried, somewhat optimistically, "You could be waiting forever."
"He won't be," Tony had to concede, "You read fantasy books, Tim. You know as well as I do that the world plunges into chaos at the end. Things always get worse before they get better."
"That's cheerful."
"That's life," Tony shrugged pragmatically, "It sucks. What're you gonna do."
"Try not to worry about it," Gibbs advised dryly, "It'll come when it comes."
"Fair enough," Tim muttered, clearly meaning the opposite, "Can I expect you home at all, Tony?"
The question startled Tony slightly, if only because Tim had referred to the hotel as 'home'.
"I'll make sure he gets to the ocean by midnight," Gibbs promised by way of an answer.
"I'm helping Gibbs build a boat," Tony couldn't help but inform Tim, grinning at Tim's incredulous expression.
"Try to keep me somewhat in the loop," Tim said instead of voicing his disbelief, "It'd be nice if I didn't have to constantly ambush you just to see how you're doing."
"Will do," Tony agreed, somewhat sheepishly, allowing Gibbs to tug him away.
"Protective brother you have there," Gibbs commented idly.
"He can be," Tony admitted, "But I'm not always the damsel in distress, Gibbs. I do rescue him occasionally."
"I don't doubt it," Gibbs returned wryly, smiling, "But how much of that trouble did he only get into from running headlong after you?"
Wisely, Tony chose not to comment.
"How on earth did you manage to turn his hair pink?"
Tony laughed, Gibbs arm warm around his shoulder and feeling more honestly happy than he had in a long time.
"It was right about the time Tim was studying sorcery," Tony explained, "I hated it when he knew something I didn't so I learnt a few simple spells."
"All of which you used on him," Gibbs guessed wryly.
"Pretty much," Tony agreed, completely incorrigible.
Gibbs huffed a laugh and Tony grinned along with him. He and Gibbs had been officially dating for four days now but sometimes it felt more like four years. Tony had never realized how thoroughly he could fall in love. Sometimes it worried him, especially when he remembered exactly what was coming after him.
"Hey," Gibbs chided gently, taping the very top of his head, "No dark thoughts."
"Sorry," Tony sighed.
"Don't apologise," Gibbs returned, "Sign of weakness. Besides, I said we'd deal with it when it became an issue and I meant that."
"Gibbs," Tony protested, slowly, "This guy -the one that's after me -he turned me into a swan. That's crazy powerful sorcery. I don't know what you can combat that with."
"I'll think of something," Gibbs promised darkly, "What I don't understand are his motives. Did you sleep with his daughter?"
"Hey," Tony bitched sulkily, "I barely knew the guy. In fact, the whole swan thing wasn't even about me. "
"What was it about then?" Gibbs wondered, frowning.
"He wanted something from me that I couldn't give him," Tony shrugged, "He didn't take the rejection well. If I hadn't escaped, he'd have kept me locked in a room until the pain of the spell had changed my mind. Or driven me insane. Whichever came first."
Gibbs didn't look pleased by that answer.
"I can't tell you more," Tony sighed, correctly interpreting Gibbs' expression, "It's part of the curse. Besides, it's not like you don't have secrets."
"Oh yeah?" Gibbs drawled, dangerously.
"Yeah," Tony returned, bravely, "Like Kelly. Who was she? When did she die?"
"Why do you assume she's dead?" Gibbs demanded, "Maybe she left me."
"If that had been the case, then she wouldn't be so sad," Tony pointed out reasonably, "And there's love in that boat. It's what built her: love and sorrow. You don't have that sort of emotion for someone who left voluntarily."
"How on earth do you see that in a boat?" Gibbs marvelled, looking a little taken aback, "No one else ever has."
"No one else was looking," Tony parried easily, "So?"
Gibbs looked away briefly, raising a hand to run it through Tony's hair. Tony, who was beginning to regret asking, immediately felt better.
"She was my daughter."
Tony froze. He reached up to grab Gibbs' hand and caught it in his own, stilling its repetitive motion.
"Gibbs," Tony began but stopped. He didn't know what to say to that.
Gibbs didn't say anything inane like 'it's okay'. What he did do was place a soft kiss against Tony's hair. Tony snuggled deeper into Gibbs at once, placing a hand over the man's heart and letting himself to be soothed by the repetitive beat.
"How did it happen?" Tony managed eventually, the question forced out of him against his will.
"Shannon witnessed a murder," Gibbs answered, his eyes dark, "The sleaze hired a sorcerer to kill her, and Kelly got caught in the crossfire. I was away playing solider."
"You fought in Desert Storm," Tony realized, doing the math in his head, "I'd hardly call that playing."
"I wasn't here," Gibbs insisted stubbornly, "I couldn't protect them."
From the look in his eyes, Tony knew that the sorcerer was dead. Tony bit back any questions on the subject and focused instead Gibbs' guilt.
"You can't be everywhere at once Gibbs," Tony said reasonably, "But, if you need to hear it, then here it is: I don't think any less of you. There's no one I'd trust more with my life. I love you."
It was the first time either of them had actually said the words aloud. Tony worried it was too soon for such declarations but the look in Gibbs' eyes set him immediately at ease.
"I won't fail you," Gibbs promised, his eyes piercing Tony's own, "I can't go through that again. I won't survive it a second time."
Since Tony was being hunted by a madman, that didn't exactly set Tony at ease.
"I don't get it. Are you complaining?"
Tony shot Tim a look.
"No," he said mulishly, "It's just... well, I love him. And I know he loves me."
"And this is a problem?" Tim wondered.
"Not for anyone else," Tony returned, "But for me? Crown prince, remember? Assuming I ever get my throne back, I'll have to give him up."
"Why?" Tim blurted, startled.
"Can you imagine Gibbs in the palace?" Tony asked wryly, "Or my father approving?"
"Fuck your father," Tim returned bluntly, "He's been controlling your life for too long. You deserve to be happy."
"And what if Gibbs freaks out?" Tony continued, ignoring Tim completely, "I mean, I can't imagine choosing this gig voluntarily. And I have been, for all intents and purposes, lying about who I am. I wouldn't be surprised if he leaves me."
"Never happen," Tim retorted firmly, "You just said that he admitted he couldn't survive losing you. A man who says that isn't going to leave you because of something like this."
"He might consider my deceit as 'losing me'," Tony pointed out.
"You physically can't tell him," Tim argued, "You being the prince is part of the reason you're cursed. Therefore you can't divulge that information to someone who doesn't know. So even if you wanted to tell him, you couldn't."
"Shouldn't I at least want to tell him?" Tony tried plaintively.
"It would be safer if you didn't," Tim observed, "But since it isn't an issue, I wouldn't worry about it."
Tony couldn't help but scoff at that. Tim shot him a weird look and, shaking his head, Tony explained.
"I just find it funny that you're giving me advice you can't follow," Tony commented wryly and, when Tim frowned, elaborated, "Abby, Tim? You asked her out yet?"
"That's different," Tim protested at once.
"How?" Tony taunted, "At least I'm being honest about the whole situation. You, on the other hand, are so deep in denial that you're drowning."
"Oh yeah?" Tim challenged, "What did you tell Gibbs about tonight?"
"I told him I wanted to spend the night with you," Tony shrugged, "He understood and, besides, it was true. Having my days cut in half makes it very hard to juggle and Gibbs understands that."
That took the wind out of Tim's sails. He slouched moodily, and all but pouted at Tony. Tony rolled his eyes.
"I tell you what," Tony put in, "I'll follow your advice if you do. Ask Abby out."
"And if she says no?" Tim challenged.
"Then at least you'll know for sure," Tony shrugged.
"That won't provide much of a consolation," Tim grumbled.
"Likely not," Tony agreed, managing a smile, "But it's not like you don't have other problems to distract yourself with."
"There is that," Tim sighed, slumping, "Fine. I'll try, okay? But you have to give yourself a break with Gibbs. Cut yourself some slack, yeah?"
"I'll try," Tony echoed solemnly, placing a hand over his heart.
Tim responded by throwing a pillow at him. Tony, naturally, was forced to retaliate.
Thus began the most epic pillow fight ever fought.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
To Be Continued...
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Authors Note: Thanks again to wintermute for the editing job. You rock. Next chapter will be up when I... well, when I can be bothered, really. Recovering from jetlag is a bitch. Though it also needs to be edited, which should give me some time. Lol.
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