Note: I'M SORRY THIS IS LATE. IT'S EXAM TIME. THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY FOR MYSELF –headdesk-
Warnings: watch out for SLASH (of the Gibbs/Tony variety). YOU ARE WARNED. The next thing is that it's probably not all that well written; I haven't had the time or motivation to REALLY clean it up. Don't get me wrong, it's readable. But it's definitely not the best writing out there. There will be bad writing, bad grammar, OOC, and a bunch of other things about it that make me cry.
In Other News: Thanks for the reviews, peeps! That honestly about ten more than I expected xD but I'm grateful for every single one. A HUGE THANK YOU TO: keembur, ladynarutochan, lizrat66, FantasyFlinger, DS2010, Natalie, LIGHTNSHADOWS, jazzy14, combatcrazy, WorldAblaze, angelscatie, MalB, karlii, My Alternate Reality, OrnateDragon!
Also, thank you for the many, many alerts and faves!
More Warnings: Ok, so, there's OOC and liberties; I'm not quite sure what there's more of, but there you go. Liberties with vampire lore and now, with Gibbs' blood type. YAY. :D
That being said, here you go! New chapter! PLEASE R AND R. It makes me feel like people actually like my stuff. That, in turn, makes me happy :D But don't flame; it makes me very upset.
Gibbs doesn't know how long he sits there, feeling detached from the world; but he does know that his brain processed a million possibilities in that time span. Every possible idea passed through his mind at light speed, from staking Tony (hey, he's a marine; he can't help if he's been trained to annihilate threats) to screwing Tony (which is a regular enough thought process, but damned if there aren't even more problems now).
But the end result is still the same; he still doesn't know what to make of any of this.
Then there are those burning questions, questions that he should feel guilty for (mentally) asking even though he knows that it's not his fault he's thinking that way. There are questions like: Is Tony still Tony? Is that even his real name? Is all of this, the past ten years and everything entailed, a lie?
Can Gibbs still trust his SFA?
He can't help but grimace; no one had known what Tony was, the other man had hidden such a huge part of himself and that sort of thing tends to put a damper on the whole trust thing.
But then again, Tony had never done anything to hurt anyone, criminals and feebs notwithstanding.
Ugh.
Gibbs can't help but let out an internal sigh, even as his face remains stony. Again, his damned instincts are fighting each other, with one part wanting to still cling to his long standing friendship with the other man (with an eventual hope for more) and the other part clamoring to end the threat before the the threat ends him. He doesn't know what which part to listen to, and worse still, he can't answer the question, a question that he's never had a problem with answering before.
What the hell is he going to do now?
All things aside, it takes him about ten minutes before he can even make himself speak, and even then it's a weak sounding, "Uh..."
He isn't sure what the hell to do. On one hand, aren't vampires supposed to be dangerous? But looking at Tony, who is now doing a mean imitation of a panicky little girl, it doesn't seem as though the man would hurt a fly much less anything bigger or more sentient.
Hell, Gibbs has to stop himself from smiling despite everything, because Tony is all sorts of adorable already and that mental image, where Tony is looking all big-eyed and innocent, isn't helping at all.
But he digresses.
All things aside, the man is possibly one of the best undercover operatives that NCIS has ever had, hell even possibly one of the best the FBI and CIA have ever seen if the continual job offers are anything to go by. Tony could probably hide just about anything from them and not even break a sweat.
Case in point, there's the whole mess with Jeanne.
There's also…hiding being a vampire for the many years that Gibbs has known him…without ever dropping the ball.
And it hurts; it makes Gibbs think things that scare him a little. He's thinking about things like killing Tony before Tony kills him; hell, he's thinking of maybe just killing Tony out of spite because the man is making feel completely off kilter.
The insistent reel of images in his head does not help matters.
He sees Tony sucking life blood out of some poor soul, killing people left and right, breaking some poor innocent's neck; and he wants to stop that whole thought process because a huge part of him is totally adamant that Tony would never do that. He knows his SFA better than that.
But does he? Really?
Despite himself, he's thinking of Tony in all the worst ways, with every single bad scenario he's ever heard of or seen in campfire folklore and movies. He's stereotyping Tony even though he doesn't really want to. Hell, he doesn't even have a point of comparison since, damn, Tony's the first ever goddamned vampire that he's ever seen. But still, his brain won't stop with the pictures and the battling and the commentary.
It's human nature, he figures in the end, to expect the worst of other people.
There's still a tiny part of his brain that's hissing at him in disappointment though. 'Even if you know and care for them more than anyone else,' it keeps asking, 'even if you're all they've got?' And that's got him feeling all sorts of low, like he's scum of the earth for even going there.
He then proceeds to make things even worse for his conscience; he looks up at Tony, his SFA, his something really fucking important, and his mind-set sort of does a 180. The hissing whisper is suddenly a whole helluva lot louder and there's a lot more (self) loathing thrown into the mix.
And in a snap, all of that (and everything else) doesn't even matter to Gibbs anymore though because instead of staking Tony, he wants to just hold the younger man and make everything ok.
That's just how heart-wrenching the look on Tony's face is.
His second-in-command looks like an innocent man about to be burned at the stake which, now that Gibbs thinks about it, is probably exactly what's going through the other man's mind right now. It's the sort of look that hasn't been on his face since just after Gibbs met him in Baltimore, a hunted look, as though he's expecting to be killed or worse, fobbed off to someone else like so much worthless trash.
It's the sort of look the ex-marine never wants to see on Tony's face again.
Then, suddenly, it doesn't matter what kind of person Tony is expected to be according to paranormal nut-balls; suddenly, he's just Tony again, overly loyal, kind, adorable Tony. And he's looking a lot like he's in front of a firing squad, a look that Gibbs never expected to pass over Tony's face in regards to him.
It makes Gibbs sad and determined at the same time, and he makes his decision, for better or for worse.
"So," he manages to choke out after a thirty second pause which he spent questioning his own sanity and trying to grow his balls back; but his voice comes out steady despite everything, "a vampire, huh?"
His teeth are grit and he feels like a complete weenie and total jackass in turns.
But his efforts are rewarded as what has to be the most brilliant smile in the universe crosses Tony's face, albeit one that still has a nervous edge to it.
Thankfully, Gibbs is too happy about that smile to freak out when Tony's fangs are high-lighted in the process.
It takes further time still, an hour to be exact, before Gibbs manages to get his ass off the concrete floor of his basement, usher Tony back upstairs, get some coffee for them both (but mostly himself), and get them settled on a couch in the living room.
By the end of that hour, his glare is back firmly on his face (for which he is glad), and coffee has resuscitated his iron-clad self.
As for Tony, well, he looks like he's about to be hung at the gallows, or maybe like he wants to dig a hole, jump in, and never come out, but Gibbs ignores that in favor prying answers out.
Besides, it actually makes Gibbs feel even more smug than usual because now it isn't just Tony being cowed by him; it's a vampire Tony, who seems to still be the same guy but possibly more powerful than the average human since he isn't one.
Gibbs isn't going to lie; it boosts his ego more than he can say to have that sort of power over someone supernatural.
But now is not the time for that, although, the older man vows to milk this later on; however, now is the time for answers, and for the air to clear.
So, the ex-marine makes a show of making himself comfortable, levels a mildly irritated glare on his SFA, and says one word.
"Talk."
Tony just stares for a minute, looking lost as to how to approach this. Then he says, "I don't suppose there's any way out of this?"
To that, Gibbs merely raises an eyebrow, as though to say, 'What do you think? Or are you really that stupid?'
Tony merely winces before finally sighing, a resigned look in his eyes. Gibbs can't help but watch in fascination as the man then proceeds to tuck his legs under himself, grab one the throw pillows that one of Gibb's exes had insisted upon, and hug it to himself as though it were the only thing between him and the nasty, horrible universe.
His SFA looks remarkably young and vulnerable, and if it weren't for the fact that Gibbs wants into his pants (he knows he wants that much, atleast), the sight would have made all sorts of long-dead parental instincts rear their heads. As it is, it just makes Gibbs want to do whatever is necessary to make said other man feel better.
So he does, sort of.
With a sigh, the ex-Gunny gets up, makes his way over to the couch Tony has sequestered himself in, gives him a very light head-slap and sits next to him with a grunt. He wants to make the younger man feel better, wants to make him more comfortable with this situation; he just doesn't know how to go about it without letting Tony off the hook completely.
His instincts are split in two. There's a part of him that wants to let Tony be for the night, atleast; and then there's the part that's pretty much telling him, in no uncertain terms, to get some goddamned answers, or else.
And it's becoming more and more clear if the day's events are anything to go by, inner battles have never been Leroy Jethro Gibbs' forte. Especially not where his person of interest, so to speak, is concerned. So while he wants to find a middle ground somewhere and set up the proverbial camp, he can't.
Thankfully though, it turns out that he doesn't have to do much of anything; Tony is suddenly taking things into his own hands curling into the ex-marine's side, relaxing almost imperceptibly once some physical contact is made. Under any other circumstances, Gibbs would have moved away slightly, and then he would have proceeded to mock Tony for wanting to cuddle.
But at this point, it seems almost cruel to do something like that, especially when he's forcing Tony to bare his soul and spill secrets that the other man is obviously not comfortable with spilling. He knows that he normally wouldn't have had any problems with being a jerk, but he figures that the second B in his name is just going to have to temporarily take a hike.
For now atleast, and only for a very short amount of time.
Just to be absolutely clear.
Besides, he sort of likes being this close to Tony; it's nice. He won't admit that to anyone else though, not even under the worst kinds of torture.
Not even if all the coffee in the world were at stake.
The older man allows himself a couple of minutes to savor the closeness and to allow Tony to gather his own thoughts; then he's back to prodding.
"So," he starts off, his voice coming out gruff yet uncharacteristically gentle, "You were saying?"
Tony just gives him a dazed look.
"I wasn't saying anything," he says bleakly, "Boss, I don't even know where to start."
And Gibbs just gives him a grin because he knows exactly what to say to that, atleast. "How bout you start at the beginning then?" and at Tony's supremely unamused look, he proceeds to start the conversation himself, "So, you're a vampire."
He can't even begin to describe how fucked up it is to have to say that and mean it.
Tony, for his part simply nods, a haggard air to him. He sort of looks elated, as though he'd rather be doing anything else than doing this but is still relieved to be getting the secret off his chest. To be fair though, that last bit could just be wishful thinking on Gibbs' part.
Bah, before the he can really get into thinking about that sort of thing, he continues to prod his SFA, "And how did that happen?"
He's confused when Tony looks confused and asks, "What do you mean?"
Gibbs blinks before asking a little more impatiently, "Aren't you supposed to be bitten to be turned into a vampire? So when did that happen?"
And it's like a light goes off in Tony's head because he stiffens a little against Gibbs before a smile spreads across his face, quickly followed by a snicker.
It doesn't take much for Gibbs to figure out that he's being laughed at for the second time in the same day. But this time, when he delivers his head-slap, he almost smiles because Tony seems to be back to his overdramatic self.
"Boss! We've been over this! If I get a brain injury, I may not wake up from the next head-slap!"
Normally, Gibbs would have rolled his eyes and, perhaps, delivered one more. But this time, he's just curious about this whole thing. He gives Tony an appraising look and asks, "Can that happen? Can a human hurt a vampire?"
Tony, for his part, just gives him a look, "Just because we don't die from it doesn't mean that pain doesn't hurt, boss."
Gibbs levels the Tony with a look of his own, "And I'm supposed to know that, how?"
The older man I gratified when not only does Tony look sheepish, he also looks vaguely guilty. So the he finds it in himself to forgive Tony and move on.
"So tell me, DiNozzo. You're a vampire. How did that happen?"
His SFA merely shrugs at him, "I was born this way." And before his boss can get a word in edgewise, he continues on with, "Look. Whatever it is that you think you know about vampires? Ignore pretty much all of it. There are some things that are accurate-ish, but other than that, it's all myth."
"Like, the first myth is that vampires are 'made.' We're born like everyone else. When a mommy vampire and a daddy vampire love each other very much, they give each other a special hu—OW! Boss! What the hell!"
Gibbs just smirks as he moves his hand away from Tony's head, where he's just delivered yet another head-slap; at this rate, he's pretty sure that DiNozzo will end up brain dead, after all. But hey, he'll never tell. Instead he rolls his eyes, suppresses his smirk from turning into a grin, and growls out, "I get it, DiNozzo. Move on. I already know how the birds and the bees work."
Tony, well, he gives his boss the stink-eye, rubbing at his head; but it's not long before he's going back to leaning on Gibbs and continuing, "As I was saying, we're born like everyone else, through an exchange of bodily fluids."
The silver haired can't help looking curious as he asks his next question, "So what happens when a vampire bites a human being?"
At that, the younger man looks a little saddened, as though expecting rejection for his answer, "Well, it depends. Vampire bites don't do anything in a normal situation; it's sort of like if you were to bite someone cept vampire have sharper teeth and we actually, you know, suck blood out instinctively. But then again, the only reasons a vampire would bite someone is if it's in self-defense or to attack, or they need to feed. If it's an attack or a defense, then yeah, the recipient of the bite can die; fangs are used as a weapon then and we release a poison into the person we're biting that either paralyzes or kills depending on how threatened we feel."
By this point, Gibbs is completely roped in, "So what's the other scenario? The feeding one?"
Tony doesn't look at his boss when he answers, "That's one of the myths about vampires that's true, unfortunately. We need the blood of another being to survive." He shrugs, "It's untrue that we need to drain our donor to feel full though."
The older man blinks again, this time in consternation, "Donor?"
And Tony proceeds to look bitter, "Yeah, boss. Donor. As in someone who willingly bears their neck for a vampire in need. There are laws about drinking people when they don't wanna be drunk. And nowadays, people don't even matter; most vampires just go to blood banks anyway. They have all the blood we need."
Gibbs can't help but raise an eyebrow at the other man's, vampire's, defensiveness even as he quips.
"People did have to donate that blood ya know, DiNozzo. Blood doesn't magically appear."
Gibbs is trying to make the atmosphere a little lighter. It's mostly a failed attempt because dammit, this is not his job; it's Tony's. But the younger man cracks a small smile and belts out, "You know what I mean!" so Gibbs considers it a win.
He waits a few moments before continuing on, "You said something about laws?"
He almost wishes he hadn't asked when Tony gives him another bitter look.
"Yes, boss. Laws, made by a committee of vampires who've lived longer than most, who know what's going on with the world and pass laws accordingly." He scowls, "We're not heathens you know."
Gibbs knows that Tony thinks he's being condescending, and really, he has no way of knowing if Tony is thinking that way from past experiences or what. But still, he feels as though the tone isn't deserved because dammit, he's trying his best here. As much as it pisses him off to admit it, he does not know better, and Tony's just going to have to make some allowances for that.
He says as much to Tony, without using the actual words, and glares at him until the other man sighs and goes back to leaning on Gibbs' side.
"Sorry, sorry," he says, and once again, "I keep forgetting that you're only human. I keep forgetting that you can't know about these things because dammit, you're human."
Gibbs just shakes his head, fluffs up Tony's hair, ignores his squawk of resentment, and continues on. He still wants to know what the hell Tony means by that, by the whole 'forgetting that he's human' thing. I am totally human, he wants to say, what else would I be? But he has more pressing questions to ask first.
"So what are the physical differences between vampires and humans, then?"
Tony grins, even as he fixes his hair.
"Well, to begin with, we're a helluva lot stronger than the average human," he says, and there's a glint in his eyes that tells Gibbs that this is a fact Tony enjoys immensely, "We're also a good bit faster and can take way more of a beating. We've also got better senses, better eyesight and hearing than humans."
Gibbs can't help but blink. Wait, he thinks, that doesn't even make sense…
How the hell is that supposed to be true? Unless….
So when Gibbs asks the next logical question, he looks and feels just a tiny bit pissed because his brain has supplied the only possible answer, "So why the hell are you the one with the highest record for getting hurt in the entire damned agency?"
His SFA looks gratifyingly embarrassed, "Because all those things only work when we're in good condition. We're just like humans in that aspect; we're only in good condition when we eat and exercise right."
Ok, so that's not the answer the silver-haired man is expecting; Tony doesn't say that it's to hide his identity like Gibbs expects him to.
But really, Gibbs just feels angrier when he hears the actual answer, his glare is just a little more lethal; he hates it when his agents (mostly Tony) refuse to take care of themselves.
Just as the former-Gunny is about to explode all over Tony, the younger man hastily offers his excuse, instinctively trying his damndest to mollify his pissed off boss, "Now Boss, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking how much more useful I could be if I were in peak vampire fitness. But here's the thing, I wouldn't be able to show any of that off even if I were able to do it, anyway! Vampire laws, you know! They make sure that we can't show off our vampirey skills even if we wanted to!"
Gibbs has to force himself to breathe through the nose just to stop himself from tackling the other man to the ground and beating him up, himself. He has to keep telling himself that it's not Tony's fault that he has so little self-worth. Just saying anything about it won't make Tony realize that though; the man is just too pig headed.
Another method is required, which Gibbs is more than capable of using.
"So, can vampires get sick?" he asks, as casual as though he were asking about the weather. He feels anything but casual though; he's like a cobra coiled to strike, a tiger ready to pounce. All Tony needs to do is take the bait and then it's a done deal.
Tony does, take the bait that is.
Hook, line, and sinker, right into the bottom-less pit of Gibbs' rage.
"Hmm…" he responds, speaking just as casually as Gibbs had and meaning it, "Well, yeah. I mean, I had the plague remember? We're fully capable of being sick. Although, to be fair, we usually only get the real sicknesses. Like, we don't come down with a common cold. Only the most extremes of all diseases'll hit us. Like really bad flu, typhoid, malaria," and with a pointed look, "plague, anthrax…."
And then Tony brightens up before quickly deflating, "We're pretty much like humans in one aspect though! Diseases target our immune systems when we're run down and when we don't…take..care…of…our…oh…."
Just for a second, Gibbs feels hope that maybe, just maybe, Tony does get it.
Then Tony opens his mouth, actually daring to look annoyed and says, "Seriously, Boss. I get it. But I already told you, even if I was in peak condition, I can't do anything in public. I can't run faster than a human with above average athletic skills, even if it is to catch a crook. And I most certainly can't do anything else vampire-ish unless there's no one else around. Which is a rare enough occurrence, no one being around I mean. I'm not even allowed to show McGeek or Ziva."
Gibbs tries one more time to breathe through his nose and remind himself that Tony is the victim here, because he's the one who's had his self-worth ripped out of him by his own father.
But this time, that doesn't work. He just explodes.
"Goddammit, DiNozzo! Ya ever wonder if maybe, just maybe, someone is being concerned because they don't want you to die? Or what, you think that I'm sitting here, getting you to spill your guts about what's going on, because I feel like you're a liability to the team? Fucking Christ, Tony! I caught you throwing up blood, twice now! I'm not doing this because it's fun."
He's so out of character, and so loud, that Tony actually looks freaked.
When Tony opens his mouth to speak again, it's with a whole lot of uncertainty in his voice.
"Boss, it's really not my fault this time," he says, looking miserable, "Like, for real this time."
He looks up at Gibbs, pleading for understanding in his eyes….
…and once again, Gibbs is taken in by his vulnerable look and merely grunts at him to continue (as opposed to beating the snot out of him and forcing foo—blood bank bags—down his throat). When Tony goes to pull away, he wraps an arm around the younger man and gives him a look.
"DiNozzo, I've had firsthand experience with watching you be self-destructive. It's not fun for me or you, and I'm going to be mean about it because I like seeing you conscious and out of ditches. Now suck it up and tell me what's going on."
Through his speech, Gibbs can feel Tony slowly relaxing back into him, and he's grateful; it might even be worth it that he actually had to speak so much.
Come to think of it, he's spoken more tonight than he has in a long time. At this rate, his status as a functioning mute will be taken away and he'll be forced to converse... with people.
Damn, he needs to swear Tony to secrecy or something when all this is done and over with…
He doesn't snap out of his inner grumbling until Tony sort of nuzzles in which, while nice, is completely out of character. As far as Gibbs is concerned, the nuzzling thing is ok as long as it never leaves the house; but the fact that Tony seems to think it's ok is a little bit concerning. Tony's always been very careful of keeping Gibbs happy; and as far as the universe is concerned, Gibbs is not happy when in close physical proximity with people who aren't Abby. As a result, Tony's always kept some space between him and his boss, even when Gibbs just wants to shake him a little for being so stupid; even when all he wants to do is throw his SFA down and fuck him until…well, actually Gibbs never wants to stop.
He wants to keep on fucking the other man forever.
That's it.
Well, he wants to do other things too, he's pretty sure, but he hasn't figured any of that out yet.
Bah.
Digressions aside though, this change in behavior, in addition to the fact that Tony is ill, is making Gibbs tetchy; he wants to get to the bottom of this and ASAP.
The older man doesn't even bother to be subtle when he says, "So tell me, what's going on? Why isn't it your fault that you aren't taking care of yourself?"
He waits with bated breath for an answer, feels the seconds ticking by as Tony sighs.
"A part of it is a quirk of vampire biology, and the other part is a quirk of my biology."
Gibbs simply raises an eyebrow, nodding at the younger man to continue, which Tony does with a melodramatic sigh.
"As a rule, a vampire's body can only accept one type of blood, like A-, B+, that sort of thing. That is, unless the vampire gets mated to a human; then their type becomes whatever blood type their mate is. It's really actually fucked up if you think about it but the human gets perks out of it too, so it's all good. For a little bit of blood, they get to stay whatever age they happen to be as long as they're mated to the vampire! It's almost unfair, I'd say, except I guess that mated vampires are happy to keep their mates for as long as they're alive."
Gibbs puts a stop to his babbling with a light swat.
"Right," Tony says in response, "Anyway, yours truly happens to be compatible with AB- blood only, a rare compatibility; unfortunately, the blood type itself is rare too because only two percent of the population has that blood type or something. It's a little hard for me to feed, so as you can see, it's not my fault."
The ex- Gunny simply raises an eyebrow in response, sounding a little sarcastic as he speaks, "And what happened to that whole blood bank idea? Not fancy enough for you or what? Because I'm pretty sure they have a supply of that."
Tony actually looks embarrassed as he responds, "And that would be my biological quirk." And as he turns away, "It turns out that I'm allergic to blood that's out of the human body. I don't drink blood bank blood that often because I can't. I only do it when I'm desperate, like really desperate, and even then, my body rejects it. I…"
And suddenly Gibbs gets it. "Throw up. You throw it right back up," he says, a look of enlightenment in his eyes.
Tony, looking surprised even though he shouldn't after the incident in the basement, nods, "Yeah. Or it makes me really ill. Usually both."
But the ex-marine is too busy making connections to really pay attention to that last bit.
"But, you just said you avoid blood bank bags," he starts slowly as he chews it through, "But that's twice today that you threw up today alone, and that's not counting god knows how many times before today. You tried blood from the bank twice today?" His eyes are piercing into Tony's by this point, suspicion and a small amount of anger leaking through, "Why would you do that?"
The fact that the younger man looks away before answering sets warning bells off in Gibbs' head.
"Because I became desperate a few weeks ago, Gibbs," the laugh that Tony lets out sounds a little hysterical, "Actually, I've been desperate all my life; I just happened to pass desperate a few weeks ago."
He sounds equal parts resigned and furious as he hisses through his teeth, "I can't keep going like this. My body is going to break down at the worst possible time and I'm going to get someone killed. And…and…why the hell are you smiling?"
And Gibbs is, smiling that is. To be frank, he knows something that the other man doesn't know, something that could fix all of this and then some.
And he really can't help but grin even further at the indignant tone that's leaked into his SFA's voice because damn, it's cute. The situation is definitely serious, and if what Tony is saying, the younger man might actually be dying.
He really shouldn't be acting so relaxed, and he most certainly shouldn't be grinning from ear to ear.
Except…
Well...he has all the answers to Tony's problem(s?).
He waits a few more seconds, letting the other man squirm a little as his grin grow even wider despite himself, before finally breaking the news.
"Well, guess what vampire-boy?" he says, a twinkle in his eye, "You're in luck."
And just as Tony's face goes slack with an odd mix of shock and confusion, he delivers the punch-line.
"Guess who just so happens to be AB-?"
The look on Tony's face as he says it is hysterical to say the least, albeit a bit heart-breaking. It's one part stark raving fear, one part as though he's just found the Holy Grail, and one part as though he were a starving man thinking of stealing the last bit of food from little children, hungry and guilty for it. It should be freaky and, for all intents and purposes, Gibbs should be getting the fuck away.
But, well, let it never be said that he doesn't have balls of steel.
Tony merely stares for a bit before tentatively speaking out, "Are…are you serious?"
And even though his instincts are screaming at him to kill the vampire (with fire and guns) and leave, Gibbs just nods and simply says, "Yup." This is his Tony dammit; his instincts can collectively go and jump off a cliff.
But Tony just doesn't seem to get it because he keeps going, "You mean that you're…."
"Mmhmm, " Gibb answers, patiently enough.
"And…." Tony asks again, still look as though he's about to expire from the shock.
And now Gibbs is starting to get a little annoyed but he understands that Tony needs to wrap his head around this. So, he answers with a simple, "Yes."
He kindly leaves out the, 'Idiot.' But it's pretty much implied though.
He's willing to put up with Tony the way he's always been willing to put up with Tony, grudgingly but unerringly, but that doesn't mean that he'll put up with it nicely.
Things continue on that vein. Gibbs is being tolerant, and he would've continued for a little while longer, but then Tony opens his mouth and says something utterly stupid. At that, all bets are off. "Still though boss, I'm allergic to blood that's been out of the body. Assuming that you're offering to essentially feed me for a very long time, I won't be able to do it anyway."
Gibbs is pissed as hell. Here he is, being totally out of character and kind to Tony even though the man is obviously no longer a child, and Tony still doesn't get it.
It fucking figures.
But still, the silver haired man doesn't allow himself to explode; he figures that he should've expected a response like that out of his emotionally stunted whatever, anyway.
So, he simply sighs, allowing the anger to slide out, before head-slapping Tony for what has to be the umpteenth time and clarifying, "That, DiNozzo, is why you feed directly off of me. I'm willing to do it," and he has to grit his teeth for the last bit, "for however long it takes for you to find your mate."
This time he can't help adding on a growled out, "Moron."
Tony, instead of replying, just stares. Hell, he doesn't even respond to the moron bit.
And Gibbs, well, he finds himself a tad disappointed because he'd expected exclamations of joy and jumping around and all those other Tonyish things that he normally has to put up with over the smallest bit of good news. But it's like the other man is in shock or something. Hell, he can't be positive but Gibbs is pretty sure that Tony isn't actually breathing anymore.
So, he tries his best to cut through the awkward moment with what even he can admit is a lame attempt at a joke, even though he's actually being sort of serious, "It won't make me pass out, right?"
Actually, fact of the matter is that he means every word, not that he'll retract his offer of offering himself as breakfast, lunch, and dinner to his suddenly vampiric…whatever you call someone you lust after and occasionally stalk...even if it means that he'll end up fainting like a wuss. He just wants to be prepared, like a good marine, for all eventualities and be in a position where he can fob it off as manfully passing out at the very least, if it comes down to it.
Apparently though, Tony's too dazed to answer.
But, when he finally does, it only pisses Gibbs off and makes him eat his words.
Again.
The ex-marine could swear that the younger just said no. But Tony couldn't possibly be that stupid, right? He couldn't possibly be stupid enough to say no having his life saved, right? He couldn't possibly be refusing what amounts to life's blood, literally, right?
Just in case, he once again dons his best marine gunny glare and razes Tony with it, "Come again?"
End Chapter A/N: I HOPE YOU LIKED! And remember, R and R! Who knows, give me enough incentive *nudge nudge* and I might post sooner!