Title: Cry
Word Count: 372
Eight-year-old Anthony DiNozzo sat alone in his bedroom. His tie hung loosely around his neck. He could hear people talking but paid them no mind. He didn't know them and he was certain they didn't care one iota about him.
Only the harsh words of his father ran through his mind. DiNozzos don't cry.
All he wanted was to do for the past three days was cry. What did that say about him? Did that mean he wasn't a DiNozzo for feeling that way?
Tony understood death in the way that he knew that his mother was never coming back. A few of his relatives had died. They didn't come back... not that he really noticed their absence.
None of them made him want to cry. But this was his mom. Didn't she deserve his tears in spite of the fact he was a DiNozzo.
But he was a DiNozzo. Tony couldn't change that. So he didn't cry.
Thirty-two-year-old Tony DiNozzo sat alone in his apartment. His tie hung loosely around his neck. He could hear the sounds of his television playing in the background but paid it no mind. He only had it on so that he didn't feel so lonely.
But the harsh words of his father ran through his mind. DiNozzos don't cry.
All he wanted was to do for the past three days was cry. What did that say about him? Did that mean he wasn't a DiNozzo for feeling that way?
Tony understood death in a way that would give most people nightmares. He had seen it up close and personal even to point that he had his best friend's blood splattered across his face. Kate was dead and her absence was the only thing those at NCIS headquarters in DC was thinking about.
Other agents had died but none of them made him want to cry. But this was Kate. Someone he considered as a sister. Didn't she deserve his tears in spite of the fact he was a DiNozzo.
He heard someone enter his apartment. His breathing hitched as they put their hand on his back.
"Let it out, Tony," soothed Gibbs.
He was a DiNozzo. Tony couldn't change that. But still he cried.
