Hello everyone... I'm back! It's taken me longer than I expected - I've been dealing with a medical issue, but am now recovering and have an excellent outlook. There's much in my life I need to catch up on, so I can't promise regular updates, but I will try to stay on top of this story. For those of you waiting for the next FIOverse story, is IS in the works, I promise.
This story takes place a few months after the end of Silver Fox Fallout. If you haven't read Silver Fox and Silver Fox Fallout, much of this will likely seem very, very strange. Please note that the central relationship in this story is Gibbs/Tony slash, although it will remain at a T rating. Many thanks to Angstqueen for the bunny that led me to write this!
1: Fox Time
The early afternoon sunlight gleamed down on the pond's surface from a bright blue sky as the silver fox emerged from the surrounding woods, trotting toward the water. He bent his head to drink, black-tipped ears flicking back and forth, alert for any sound from behind.
The fox raised his head and turned to face the trees, eyes and ears scanning the area. He shook himself, huffed out a breath, and moved back the way he'd come, disappearing into the new spring greenery.
A dragonfly zipped around the pond's edge. A few birds flew by, but didn't disturb the relative silence.
There was a sharp bark from somewhere within the trees; moments later the silver fox exploded out of the bushes, running flat out, followed closely by a slightly larger red fox sporting a huge canine grin.
The foxes tore around the pond. They were nearly halfway around when the silver fox feinted to the left, drawing the red one off course before he turned to his right and circled back around. The red fox yipped as sharp white teeth just grazed his leg, then tucked his tail and took off back the way they'd come. Silver chased red until the lead fox suddenly whirled around, meeting the other's charge. There was a spinning, furry tangle of legs and tails, along with a rising crescendo of growls, barks, and rumbling snarls.
It took several minutes for the foxes to quiet down. They rested on the scuffed ground, both panting heavily. The red fox leaned forward to sniff and lick the silver's face, and received a gentle head butt in return.
Human voices sounded from across the pond, coming from somewhere within the trees. Both foxes' heads shot up, their necks stretching and ears pointed to the sky as they sought the source of the noise. They rose as one, staying low to the ground and moving in the opposite direction, melting into the bushes before the hikers made their way out of the trees and settled near the pond.
The foxes moved carefully through the underbrush, paying close attention to their surroundings, pausing often to be sure they weren't followed. They eventually reached a small clearing with a tent pitched in the middle. They looked at each other, then split off, moving in opposite directions around the clearing, checking for any sign of human presence.
It wasn't long before both foxes came out of the woods and moved quickly into the tent. The red fox playfully bumped the silver one with his hip once they were both inside; the silver fox responded by poking the red fox with his nose. Both foxes stretched and shook, then moved a little away from each other. Twin shimmers of light appeared in the tent, and the foxes were replaced by two men.
Tony grinned at Gibbs as he reached for his clothes. "Nice moves out there, Jethro!"
Gibbs returned the smile. "Not too bad yourself."
"I almost had you there, after you left the pond… shoulda zigged instead of zagged."
"Yup." Gibbs zipped his jeans and tugged his t-shirt over his head. "You hungry?"
"Guess."
Gibbs shook his head, laughing. "I'll get a fire started."
A short time later he was grilling burgers over the campfire. Tony joined him, dropping a kiss on Gibbs' head as he sat on the ground. "I'm thinking you were a cowboy in a previous life."
"Could be."
Tony leaned back on his elbows, stretching his legs out in front. He looked over at Gibbs, sending his thoughts out rather than speaking. "Too bad we have to be at work tomorrow. Good idea you had, coming out here. I'm starting to like the outdoor life."
Gibbs glanced over at him, smiling slightly. "Glad to hear it." He tested one of the burgers, then removed it from the grill, handing the paper plate to Tony, then getting his own ready.
After they ate, Tony stretched out on the ground in the sun and fell asleep as Gibbs put out the fire. Gibbs watched him for a while, then got up and set off along one of the trails. It was a beautiful day, a little warmer than usual for the first week of April. Gibbs walked along the path, turning north when it split off, continuing until he came to a small ridge that looked out over the Blue Ridge mountains.
He leaned back against one of the trees near the edge and stayed there for several minutes, admiring the view. Wish we didn't have to head back so soon… nice out here, being able to switch from fox to human. He smiled slightly, remembering how traumatic it had been, the first time he'd woken up as a fox. Funny how things change… I enjoy it now. Though I guess if Tony weren't here with me, I might not bother.
He heard voices coming up the trail, possibly the same hikers from the pond. He moved quickly, fading back into the trees, using the same skills he'd perfected as a Marine sniper and continued to practice in the squad room and in Abby's lab. The hikers, a group of five people, stopped to admire the view; Gibbs sighed mentally as they dropped their packs to the ground and sat, clearly not intending to move for a while. The former sniper settled in for a wait, thinking back over the past couple of months with Tony while the hikers talked amongst themselves.
"Jethro?"
"Hey, Tony."
"Where'd ya go?"
"Came back up the north trail to pick up our reserve stash. Bunch of hikers showed up."
"You're hiding from them, aren't you?"
"Uh huh."
"Why? Not like you're a fox right now."
Gibbs shrugged even though Tony couldn't see him. "This is ours. Don't want to deal with outsiders."
"Aw, Jethro, I'm touched."
"I'm serious, Tony. Wouldn't likely bother with the whole fox thing without you as a part of it."
That thought was met by silence for a moment.
"I know, Jethro. Once we were back from the mountains, that first time, I missed the closeness we had when you were a fox."
"Me too."
"You gotta admit it's an awful lot of fun, though."
"Sure."
"And I still say we should give some thought to finding a use for it on cases."
"Too dangerous, Tony, you know that."
"There could come a time when our foxy skills would come in handy, you know that."
"You wanna try explaining it all to the rest of the team?"
"Well…"
"Exactly."
"So, how long do you plan to hide from the big bad hikers? I was hoping to get a little private time in before we head back."
"I'll work on getting them out of here."
"You do that. Over and out."
Gibbs smiled at that; Tony had started saying it so he'd know when they were actually done with a mental conversation.
Focusing on the hikers, Gibbs picked the most restless one of the group and stared, imagining the young man as a target for his rifle. It didn't take long before the guy was glancing around, peering into the woods, gradually becoming more agitated.
One of the girls there finally spoke up in exasperation. "Mike, what is wrong with you? You're making me jumpy."
Mike shook his head. "I just feel like I'm being watched. This place is giving me the creeps."
Another man looked at his watch. "We should get going anyway, if we're going to make the full loop before dark."
Just for fun, Gibbs shifted his attention to the girl who had spoken to Mike. She started looking over her shoulder as she adjusted the straps of her pack; the others were already moving away. She frowned, staring into the bushes not far from where Gibbs was hiding, then jogged off to catch up to them.
Gibbs waited about ten more minutes, then rose from his spot and went back to the trail, following the hikers for a short distance before leaving it again. He made his way through the brush to a dense thicket, then dug at the freshly disturbed ground until he unearthed a plastic bag filled with clothes for each of them - their backups in case something happened and they couldn't get back to the tent.
He headed back the way he'd come, carrying the bag under one arm, walking quickly as he anticipated what Tony wanted to do with their 'private time.' That's one thing I can thank the spirit for, he thought. If I hadn't become a fox, we might never have gotten together. Gibbs had valued their friendship, but this new relationship they had went a long way to bringing real happiness back into his life again. Gibbs smiled, deciding to use their few remaining hours in the woods to show Tony exactly how much he meant to him.
There was no sign of his partner when Gibbs made it back to the clearing, so he went directly into the tent. Tony was lying on his back on the sleeping bag, eyes closed, still wearing his t-shirt and jeans, although his feet were bare. Gibbs tossed the bag of clothes on the ground, then turned and zipped the tent door shut. He took off his hiking boots and socks, turning back around to see Tony watching him.
"I could have gone with you," the younger man said.
"You were sleeping." Gibbs stepped over to where Tony lay, then lowered himself so he was lying next to him, his head propped up on one hand.
Tony rolled onto his side, mimicking Gibbs. "You could have woken me up."
"Nah. You needed your rest."
"Oh yeah?" Tony's gaze drifted down to Gibbs' mouth.
"Yeah," Gibbs said quietly, leaning in to kiss Tony's lips.
Tony's arms went around his lover and he shifted onto his back, pulling Gibbs on top of him. "Good," he sent to his partner, and then there were no words spoken for a long time.
It wasn't until much later than they originally planned that they took down the tent and hiked back to Gibbs' car, getting back to civilization in time to catch a few hours sleep before heading to the Navy Yard the next morning.