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. Also, the poem, while mine, was inspired by the fanfic "The Train to Nowhere" by Pain au Chocolat. Which is awesome.
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: Here's the second chapter. It's almost 6000 words long so this should keep many people happy for a while. Hopefully. Thanks to everyone who enjoyed it and reviewed –considering how nervous I was, the feedback really helped. Please keep it up. ^^
In this life, we walk roads blind
ever sure where they might lead
But my road is steady, strong and sure
With nothing to impede
For I have a certainty with me
I have a guiding light
I have someone to catch me
Someone to push and shove and fight
I have a guardian angel
To check my path for rocks
And should I stumble on my way
I won't end in the stocks
For while nothing in life is certain
My faith, I know, is true
And couldn't be anything less than that
When it's put, my friend, in you.
Chapter Two: Always Faithful
The hidden passageway went for miles.
Considering it was built in a straight line, this was curious indeed. Tony knew the castle grounds and they had past its boundary some twenty minutes before.
He was also achingly aware of the fact he didn't know the time. What if, come midday, they were still in this passageway? Tony couldn't afford going through the transformation so painfully so soon –he needed all his energy right now.
Without doubt his absence would have been noticed by now.
"I think I see a light," Tim exclaimed hopefully, pointing ahead.
The both of them picked up their pace, eyes bright with anticipation –which was rewarded as they reached the end of the tunnel, where daylight was pouring through a hole above them. Tony was also positive he could hear the sound of running water.
"I'm going to have to carry you," Tim noted, eying the steal rungs that had been expertly hammered into the rock, "I don't think you'll be able to fly up there."
The idea that he might be able to fly at all was one Tony hadn't considered –but in any case, Tim was right. Looking at the size of the hole, the smallness of the tunnel... flying would be impossible.
"Don't bite me," Tim warned, approaching Tony carefully and, with much fumbling, lifting him to his chest, "Gosh, you're heavier than you look."
Tony was sure there was an insult there somewhere and resisted the impulse to wiggle, perhaps brushing his feathers all over Tim's face in the process. Now wasn't the time for such things.
He'd get him back later.
Tim began to climb, managing the task haphazardly with only one available hand. There had been a moment when he'd stumbled that had likely been the most disconcerting moment of Tony's life –Tim's instinctive reaction causing him to clutch Tony too tightly and his whole body to veer sharply to the left. But apart from that too-close call, they made it to the top unhindered.
The exit was covered liberally with foliage and it took a few careful moments to clear it enough for the both of them to pass through. When Tim finally managed it, however, they climbed out into a brilliantly lit wood.
The water that Tony had heard also revealed itself, as the hole was placed directly beside a bubbling river.
Tony angled his head upwards, trying to evaluate how far off noon was. Judging by the height of the sun, it wouldn't be too long a wait. Becoming impatient, Tony squirmed within Tim's grasp, waiting until the younger man lowered him before making his way to the river.
It wasn't a particularly deep or swift river, and that suited Tony's purposes fine as he waded into it.
The first thing he noticed was that the water didn't feel the least bit cold, despite the fact that Tony knew it should be. He was also rather taken aback by just how easily he floated, the action taking very little effort. In fact, it was much easier to swim than it was to walk. Considering he was a swan, perhaps that could be expected.
Tim, apparently content to watch him, settled himself by the water's edge and leant backwards, leaning on his palms and tilting his head towards the sun.
Knowing Tim, he was currently running through what had happened and analysing every nanosecond. Probably while he planned out what they should do next and how they would survive.
Tony was trying not to worry about it. He was sure he'd freak out properly later, once his situation had time to sink in, but until then he'd concern himself with keeping Tim distracted.
A little gleefully, Tony swam towards the bank of the river and, ensuring he was properly soaked first, shook himself off. The water came off easily, his feathers resistant to it, and Tim let out a satisfyingly girlish cry as splashes of water hit him.
Letting out what had to be the equivalent of a swan laugh, Tony hurried back to centre of the lake, ignoring Tim's indignant yelling.
Noon came without any warning at all.
Tony gave a cry as it struck and the change began. If the first change had been comparable to being lit aflame, this change was akin to having all his bones broken and reset incorrectly. It hurt.
A lot.
Though the pain was a mere shadow of the one he had experienced before, Tony was still left panting from the strain as he found himself back in his human form.
And standing in the middle of a river.
Which, it turned out, was freezing.
Grimacing, Tony waded towards the shore and climbed out, shaking his head and pattering Tim with water again as he did so.
"Are you alright?" Tim asked, at his side at once, "You're pale as a ghost."
"Exhausted," Tony admitted, luxuriating in the ability to speak, "But intact."
"Can you walk?" Tim inquired worriedly, "Only... we probably shouldn't stay here. We're too close to the castle."
"Yeah," Tony replied, willing it to be true, "I'll be fine."
He shucked his shirt to squeeze it out but froze when Tim gasped. Not sure what to expect, Tony looked down and found himself covered with marks.
It mostly consisted of red patches (like his skin had been rubbed raw) and bruises but considering Tony had been completely unmarked some twelve hours before, it was rather disarming.
"This is crazy," Tim breathed, reaching out to brush one of the bruises gently. It felt slightly tender but nothing more, "The change actually left a physical mark. This... this is really powerful magic, Tony. Way beyond anything I've ever seen."
"Why wouldn't it leave a mark?" Tony wondered, having no understanding of magic whatsoever.
"Majority of spells don't," Tim explained, "I think it's because you're being changed against your will. Your body instinctively fights it and so your skin stretches and you're blood vessels rupture slightly –hence the bruises. I'm beginning to think you should have married him."
"Wouldn't be any safer," Tony pointed out, knowing Tim was joking but having to say it anyway, "He'd have killed me within a year. Would likely have given me just enough time to bear him a child before slitting my throat as I slept."
"Probably," Tim agreed, eyes filled with sorrow for his friend.
"And there were guards at the door," Tony remembered, darkly, "We have traitors in our midst."
Tim nodded. Clearly, this had occurred to him as well. Tony wondered who they were. He knew all the guards by name and the knowledge that some of them could have betrayed him for the chance for more power was a massive blow.
"Can we risk going back?" Tim asked, the question forced from him, "Try to get to your father and have Ari arrested?"
Tony considered it carefully.
"Ari will be looking for us," he replied at last, "If I were him, I'd have men at the gates and spells weaved through every hallway of the castle that would alert me the second he set foot in one. Is that possible with magic?"
"Very," Tim admitted, "In fact, since you're under his curse he wouldn't need most of the elements that would usually be required. You now exist as a part of his magic and he'll be able to sense you as a matter of course."
"Tracking?"
Tim hesitated, frowning before holding up his hands in defeat.
"I have no idea," he admitted, "I don't know enough about magic or how powerful Ari is. He could be utterly clueless, he could be able to gauge a rough direction or he could be able to pinpoint you with a moment's thought."
"We can be pretty sure the latter isn't possible," Tony mused, "Or he would have known we were in the tunnel. Even if he hadn't known where it was, if the bond was that strong he should have been able to find it."
"Probably," Tim agreed, relieved at the thought, "But... if we can't risk going home, what can we do?"
"Can't send my father a letter," Tony said thoughtfully, running through his options, "Any messenger will be traced back to our location. Not an easy manner to casually ask someone to give one to the king, either."
"We can send one to my mother," Tim suggested, "Nothing strange about a servant getting mail from her son. We can send her one from the nearest village and move on straight away."
"And hide out until Ari has been executed," Tony finished, "If he manages to get caught, that is. He's already escaped once."
"We shouldn't kill him!" Tim protested, "We should force him to cancel the curse!"
"Don't think Ari is a man that responds to threats," Tony put in dryly, "Besides, he said that the only way the curse would end would be if I swore myself to him in marriage. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I believe that."
"So what, you'll just be cursed forever?" Tim demanded, "What sort of life would that be? What sort of king could you be? This curse, Tony... it makes you vulnerable. Your ability to fight back has been all that has saved you, at times. If this became known..."
Tim had a point. The assassination attempts had been few over the years (the majority being crushed before they had chance to take root) but there had been a few that had filtered through. Tony had even been kidnapped once, when he'd been twelve years old. Only the fact that he'd been fighting since he was five and sneaking out since he was eight had saved him.
"Looks like Tobias will be king then," Tony rebutted, trying for lightness and failing, "I'll act as his advisor. Surely, with my help, he couldn't be too terrible..."
Tim looked understandably doubtful.
"If you've got any better ideas, be my guest," Tony snapped, a little annoyed now.
Tim lowered his chin and remained silent.
"No?" Tony prompted further, cuttingly, "Good. Let's go then."
"Ah... where are we going exactly?"
Tony didn't even pause, continuing determinedly ahead.
"Wherever the river takes us."
Since it was common sense to follow the river, for Tony's benefit if nothing else, Tim didn't complain and concentrated instead on keeping up.
Tony, keeping himself carefully in front of the younger man, kept his eyes fixed firmly ahead and fought furiously against the tears that so badly wanted to rise as he left the only home he had ever known behind him.
They walked for days.
The river weaved through dense forest and in many places it was impossible to follow the river directly. This lost them time as they were forced to circle around whatever the obstacle was before trying to find the water once more. Sometimes it would take them hours (as it had when the river had flowed over a small waterfall) and they also had to factor in the time of day against how long they thought it would take to walk their way back to the water.
Their trip was further complicated by Tony's shifting. It forced them to keep odd hours in order to avoid him transforming while he slept. It was also easier for him, in his swan form, to swim as Tim walked but it wasn't always possible. In some stretches the water was too rough to allow for it. Tony had suggested he fly ahead but Tim thought they were better off staying together and pointed out that while Tony's flying skills were getting better (he was no longer crashing into random trees or falling into the water constantly) they weren't yet good enough to allow for it.
Luckily for the both of them, the river they were following was fresh water and filled with fish that, for Tony, was easily caught. This, along with Tim's knowledge of edible plants and knowhow about nature, ensured that they passed the days fairly comfortably. They were also fortunate enough to experience pleasant weather. Tony had been expecting a good old summer storm any day now, but hopefully they'd reach shelter before then.
In the meantime, Tony became more and more accustomed to his swan form and was secretly very glad they were far away from Ari. Though being a swan came with some advantages (like the ability to fly and his newfound skill in fishing) the pain experienced during the transformations was such that, had Tony not escaped, he honestly feared he would have yielded to Ari's demands that they marry.
Being nowhere near the man made him much easier to fight.
It was on the thirteenth day of travelling that they got some indication of where the river was leading. It was Tim that noticed it, sniffing carefully at the air and gazing thoughtfully into the distance.
"I think I smell salt."
Tony sniffed experimentally and, concentrating, was indeed able to pick up the faint smell of salt in the air.
"We must be nearing the sea," Tony guessed, "There's bound to be a village there."
"I've never seen the sea," Tim mused, "I mean, I knew the castle wasn't far from it but we never had enough money to go."
"I haven't been for years," Tony returned, wistfully, "Not since my mother died."
He looked down at his clothes, and sudden concern overtook him. He needn't have worried, however –what had once been the elegant robes befitting the crown prince had been rendered to resemble tattered peasant clothes' by the thirteen day hike. Filthy, covered in dirt and bruised to the nines, it was doubtful in the extreme that anyone would recognise him.
Not that his image had been widely publicised since his birth at any rate –the lack of a decent picture helped to minimise assassination attempts and, thus, few would have recognised him by looks alone. They could only guess at who he was by his clothes and the way others deferred to him.
"Do we have a cover story?" Tim wondered, "I imagine we'll need one."
"We're brothers looking for work?" Tony suggested tiredly, still feeling tender. Midday had only been an hour ago and the transformation was always draining, water or no.
"Brothers?" Tim echoed, a touch incredulously, "Us? We look nothing alike!"
"Half brothers then," Tony compromised, "We have to be related somehow. Otherwise, everyone will assume we're together."
Tim made a face. Since they'd grown up together, the thought of maintaining a charade that involved them being a couple was icky, to say the least.
"Half brothers," Tim agreed, "Same father, different mothers. We going to keep my surname or make one up?"
"Maybe change it just to be safe," Tony recommended, "I doubt they'll be looking for us publically –my father won't want to create a panic –but it might be wise. Anyone who knows you will immediately connect your name to mine."
"Alright then," Tim approved easily, "How about Swan?"
"You're a riot," Tony drawled, "Really. I'm in hysterics."
Tim grinned, utterly unrepentant.
"Its apt," he couldn't resist pointing out, a touch gleefully. It felt nice –almost normal –to be teasing Tony again. "You got any better names?"
"Smith?" Tony hazarded, "Kennedy? Longbottom?"
The last one earned him a strange glance and Tony pouted.
"What?" he defended, "I'm sure that's a name!"
"Swan it is," Tim decided firmly, "And, from this moment on, I hereby forbid you from naming anything, ever."
"Tim and Tony Swan," Tony tried aloud, and groaned, "Our parents hated us, didn't they?"
"You, probably," Tim teased, "Since I know firsthand exactly how much of a handful you were as a child."
Considering the amount of times Tony had pulled Tim into trouble numbered too many to count, Tony could hardly dispute that. Besides, he was rather proud of his mischief making –even the ones that had gone disastrously wrong.
"What sort of work are we looking for, anyway?" Tony asked, "I mean, you at least have some experience. I don't. I've never worked a day in my life."
"Which is why no one would expect it," Tim pointed out, "Besides, you're really good with animals and... er... well..."
"Exactly," Tony agreed pointedly, "Father wasn't about to let me get dirty, after all. Maybe we shouldn't stop at all –you know, just keep moving. Surely that will make us harder to find?"
"They'll expect that. Besides, the more land we cover the greater the chance that you'll be recognised. We should definitely stop –no one would ever imagine the crown prince making an honest living in some backwater town near the sea." Tim protested, "That is, assuming we can find you a job with which to make an honest living. You'd make a fantastic ruler, but doubtless the village already has one. I'll suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Tony didn't find that at all encouraging.
It took another three days to reach the place where the river met the sea.
This was mostly due to Tony's bothersome transformations. The only positive thing that could be said about them was that they'd both become very skilled at judging how close midday was by the height of the sun. Even so, the very first thing Tony planned on buying when he reached the town was a watch.
When they finally reached the ocean and left dense woodland behind for gentle earth and sand it was dawn and, as such, Tony was in his swan form swimming as Tim stumbled along, too preoccupied by the awe-inspiring endless expanse of water to bother with coordination.
The river was very wide right near the ocean, but not altogether very deep. The expected town wasn't far; it could actually be seen from the banks. It was on slightly higher ground, where the soil was firmer and not consisting only of sand. It didn't look very large at all from a distance. The docks they'd built were filled with boats and it was clear from a glance that the majority of the town's wealth came from the sea.
"We should wait here until you turn back," Tim suggested, taking a seat and staying carefully out of sight, "Look at how close the town is to the ocean! Shouldn't be too hard to sneak down twice a day, huh?"
Tony, of course, said nothing and instead occupied himself with playing in the shallows as he waited for midday. When the sun was nearly at its highest, he paddled towards the shore and climbed carefully out, staying in water only shallow enough to cover his webbed feet.
Midday came and with it the familiar agony only experienced by having every bone in one's body broken and set crooked.
Tim was ready to lend support as the change completed itself and Tony allowed himself to lean against him for a moment while he caught his breath.
Then they began their journey once again. They decided that, since reaching the town from the direction of the forest was too noticeable, they'd circle the town in a large loop and enter by the road –a voyage that took up most of their day. By the time they reached the gravel road leading into town, the sun was setting.
After spending so long trekking through wilderness, it was a nice change of pace to have a level road to walk, and Tony found himself feeling optimistically cheerful.
They came up to the town quickly, pausing just beside an intricate sign that had clearly been placed there some time ago.
'Welcome to Semper.'
"Never heard of it," Tony proclaimed grandly, "When I was young, we always went to Long Island or Fork. We're pretty close to the western boarder of Fidelis, I think. Usually my mother took us east, where it's warmer."
Tim shrugged, knowing less about geography than Tony. Together, they made their way into the town.
Their presence was noticed almost immediately.
This was in no small part due to the fact that there was some sort of celebration taking place. What was possibly the entire village was gathered in the streets, circling around a woman no older than Tony who was pink-faced and beaming.
"Hi!" a woman greeted them exuberantly, spotting them and bouncing over, "I'm Abby!"
Tony and Tim stared at her blankly.
The both of them, very accustomed to the posh conformist standards of palace life, had never met anyone like her. Tony, who considered himself something of a rebel at times, knew that he'd never measure up to Abby's standards. Not only was she decked out almost entirely in black, her shoes were the strangest things Tony had ever seen. There was also, Tony noted, a tattoo of a spider web on her neck.
"I'm Tony Swan," Tony introduced himself at last, recovering well before Tim, "And this is my brother Tim."
"Nice to meet ya!" Abby chirped, "You chose a good day to come by –Kate's youngest brother just had his first kid so she's going to go see him. This is our goodbye party!"
"All this for a farewell?" Tim wondered incredulously.
"He lives in West," she explained, and Tony nodded.
"The most western point on the continent, Tim," he explained, for Tim looked puzzled, "All the way over in the tiny Kingdom of Aus. That's a long way to travel."
"Hence the party," Abby agreed, "It'll take her ages just to get there."
"Hope she doesn't have to walk it," Tony put in, wincing at the thought.
"Train," Abby assured, "Lots of walking involved in-between though. We don't expect her back for a whole year!"
"What did she do here?" Tim asked and, seeing Abby's curious look, explained, "My brother and I are travelling around looking for work."
"She helped my parents and I keep up the local hotel," Abby replied, "We get a lot of tourists coming for the fish, the docks and the sea. One of you could help there, actually. Kate's leaving me short-staffed."
"Tim could do that," Tony pipped in at once, "He has experience working in a hotel."
"Great!" Abby cried, genuinely thrilled, "The pay's –"
"I'll work for food and board," Tim cut in.
"Oh, of course," Abby realized, "You wouldn't have anywhere to stay just yet. I could only give you a single room, though. That's all your pay would cover, anyway."
"We don't mind sharing," Tim insisted, seeing Abby's guilty expression, "We shared a room plenty of times as kids."
That was more or less true, and Abby looked tremendously reassured.
"So, where are you from anyway?"
"Long Island," Tony answered at once. He'd been there, after all, and it was far enough away that most of the people in this town wouldn't have heard of it, let alone known where it was.
"Where?"
"It's off the eastern shore." Tony supplied, "Probably a month's journey from here, if you had transport."
"Far then," Abby temporised, "You're a long way from home."
"When our father died we had to move on," Tim told her, reciting the story they'd planned in advance, "Too little money and too many memories to stay, you know? We've been moving around for over a year, trying to find a place to call home."
"Semper is it," Abby put in confidently, "No better place in all the world. Just wait, you'll see. You won't ever want to leave."
"It does look lovely," Tim admitted, gazing again at the ocean with stars in his eyes, "We'll have to see, I guess."
"What do you plan to do, Tony?" Abby wondered, changing the subject, "I'm afraid I don't have need for both of you at Semper Inn."
"He's good with animals," Tim put in, when Tony remained silent, "And math."
Over thirty years of studying under the best teachers the kingdom had to offer and that's what his qualifications came down to: animal taming and arithmetic.
"Can he sail?" Abby tried and they both answered negatively, "Build? Woodwork? Fish?"
"Not terrible at fishing," Tony admitted, shamefaced, "I'd also make a good soldier."
"Not much use for soldiers or police around here," Abby disputed, frowning thoughtfully, "Can you read and write?"
"Of course," Tony agreed, a little indignant. He wasn't a complete idiot.
"No 'of course' about it," Abby returned, "A lot of people here can't. Well, Joseph might need some help. He works the docks and keeps the records. Been complaining recently that he's getting too old to do it alone."
Record keeping sounded duller than doornails, but at least he'd be working near the ocean. Tim, clearly following a similar track, nodded encouragingly.
"Sounds like fun," Tony told Abby, forcing cheer in his tone.
"Great!" Abby exclaimed, all but jumping up and down on the spot, "Come on, I'll introduce you!"
Before Tony could put a word in edgewise, he found himself being dragged away, with a bemused Tim following at his heels.
"Joe! Hey Joseph!"
A red-haired man turned, cocking an eyebrow at Abby and her bemused companion.
"This here is Tony Swan," Abby put forth, all but shoving Tony forwards, "He wants to help you out at the dock!"
"That so?" Joseph mused rhetorically, eyeing Tony shrewdly, "Know anything about boats?"
"They float?" Tony tried.
Joseph barked a laugh, taken by surprise by the cavalier response.
"Oh, I like you," he boomed, "You start tomorrow at six."
"Ah...excuse me? Sir?" Tim pipped up tentatively, "My brother suffers from anaemia as well as various other medical conditions. He can only work the hours between midday and midnight."
"Anaemia, huh?" Joseph echoed, "That explains the bruises, I suppose?"
"Yes sir," Tim agreed.
"You start midday then," Joseph compromised, "You'll be keeping longer hours if you want a full days wage, however."
"That's fine," Tony assured and Joseph nodded, turning away. Tony confronted Tim at once.
"I have bruises that are visible?"
"Your cheek," Tim replied, pointing to his own as a mirror, "From the base of your left eye to your jaw."
"I was worried you'd been mugged," Abby put in, somehow managing to sound both sympathetic as well as cheerful, "The roads aren't always safe."
"We didn't have any trouble," Tony promised, "But now everyone will be looking at me strangely."
"And that would be different how...?"
Tony socked Tim's shoulder for the quip, but the man had a point. Being the crown prince was a position that came with its fair share of idiotic people gaping. Usually, Tony didn't mind. There had been times when he'd even revelled in the attention.
This, however, wasn't one such situation.
"Don't worry about them," Abby advised, and perhaps she was best suited to know, "Just be yourself!"
It sounded like some preschool catchphrase, but it was sound enough advice.
"I'll introduce you around. Kate first –you should meet her before she has to leave."
Kate was a pretty brown haired girl who was grinning so widely it looked physically painful. She eyed them curiously when Abby dragged them over.
"Tony Swan, at your service." Tony greeted, grinning.
Apparently, that was the wrong way to go about it. Five minutes later, Kate and Tony were bickering fiercely. Usually, Tony didn't unleash his rapier wit around the fairer sex but there was just something about Kate that needled at him.
"You've never sailed before?"
"I never got around to it," Tony defended himself. Kate looked incredulous.
"With what?" she demanded, "How'd you live on Long Island and not go sailing?"
"I went on boats," Tony argued, "I was just... never the one steering them."
"You do look like the type to let everyone else do all the work."
"As opposed to those who use their gender to excuse their limitations?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kate asked threateningly, "I could beat you senseless if I was blindfolded."
"I'd never hit a defenceless girl," Tony disputed.
"Obviously whoever hit you had no such compunctions," Kate retorted.
"Hey," Tim protested, having remained mostly wide-eyed and silent until then, "He can't help that!"
"You don't need to defend me, Tim," Tony told him, cutting him a puzzled look.
"She shouldn't make fun of you for something you can't help!" Tim argued heatedly, "It's not your fault you have a –er, anaemia."
Tony blinked and, without looking at a slightly blushing Kate, led Tim a little away and raised an eyebrow.
"Care to explain?" he prompted.
"She shouldn't be making fun of you," Tim insisted, "It isn't funny. You're probably going to be like this the rest of your life, Tony. And there's nothing anyone can do about it –nothing I can do about it."
"It's not your fault, Tim," Tony told him gently, sussing out the real issue in record time, "There's nothing that you could have done. You're doing all you can do right now –just by being here, just by sticking with me like always. You could have left the moment we were free –it certainly would have been safer –but you didn't."
"Of course not," Tim agreed, and it was obvious the thought had never crossed his mind, "We're brothers."
Tony grinned. Tim drove him crazy sometimes, but there was no one he'd rather have at his back.
"Good," he asserted, clapping his shoulder firmly, "Try to keep that frame of mind when you're sneaking out of the hotel at odd hours, yeah?"
Tim groaned imagining it and Tony laughed, leading them back to a repentant Kate.
"That was over the line," she said by way of an apology.
"Don't worry about it," Tony dismissed, "Tim's always been rather sensitive about my condition."
Kate winced, not feeling at all better by the subtle reminder of her blunder.
"Tell you what," Tony suggested, having an idea, "Tim wants to send a letter to his mother letting her know where he is. When you get to West, would you mind mailing it for us?"
"There's a post office in town," Kate pointed out, frowning, "Wouldn't it be easier to just mail it from there?"
It would, but this way if the letter was intercepted it would lead Ari as far away from Semper as it was possible to get.
"But then you wouldn't be making it up to me," Tony observed smoothly, "You refusing?"
"I didn't say that," Kate protested at once, "Give me the letter."
"Tim has to write it first," Tony admitted, "Hop to, Timmy. Go write your dear mother that letter."
"Isn't she your mother as well?" Kate wondered as Tim scurried off.
"We're half brothers," Tony explained, "Same father, different mothers."
"I did notice you didn't look much alike," Kate admitted, "But there are odder combinations. I don't look anything at all like my brothers."
A smart aleck comment lay on the tip of Tony's tongue, but he wisely held it back and they managed to chat somewhat amicably until Tim got back.
"Here," he said, handing the letter over, "Please mail it the second you arrive in West."
"I will," she swore.
Tony nodded and Kate found her attention snagged by another well wisher, giving Tony the chance to duck away. He and Tim mingled lightly, wanting to make a good impression whilst not wishing to do anything too noticeable. Abby found them repeatedly and each time she did she would drag them around to introduce them to someone else.
They met dozens of people, but a few stood out quite clearly in Tony's mind.
Abby's parents were both mute and communicated with their daughter with intricate movements of their palms. The speed with which they went back and forth amazed Tony; he didn't even try to comprehend what they were saying.
Then there was Ducky. With an accent Tony spent most of the party struggling to place, Ducky was apparently incapable of remaining silent for more than five minutes at a time. Tony was taken aback to learn that this man with a light demeanour commonly found in grandfathers was the local undertaker. He also insisted on addressing Tony as 'my boy'.
His apprentice, Jimmy, was just as interesting a character and spent most his time fumbling nervously with things, or eyeing Tony and blushing. Something that Tim had great fun with.
Tony got him back with Abby. Every time the girl was anywhere near them, Tim couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Don't work too hard on that crush there, Timmy," Tony ribbed lightly.
Tim spat, spluttered, and ruined his protestations by blushing madly and eyeing Abby longingly.
Tony was too busy laughing to tease him further.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
To Be Continued...
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Authors Note: Thanks again to wintermute for being my beta. I shall shower you with eternal praise and chocolate for a thousand years. ^^
To everyone else, please review!