Title: first flight

Disclaimer: not my characters

Warnings: shifter!AU; implied child abuse

Pairings: pre-Tony/McGee

Rating: PG

Point of view: third

Wordcount: 480

Prompt: Tony/Tim, Tony is a shifter and hasn't trusted anyone with his secret until Tim

It's not that he's ashamed, because he isn't, and it's not that he's afraid—well, maybe a little, since 'shifters are misunderstood more often than not. But Mama had made him swear to never tell anyone, and his father had beaten into him that normals would hate him, if it ever came to light.

Before tonight, he hadn't shifted in twenty years.

But Tim went missing. And Gibbs couldn't find him. Abby couldn't get a read on any of the evidence, and none of Ziva's numerous and shady contacts had a lead, either.

And even though they weren't mated yet, no matter how much Tony wished they were, he knew that if he shifted, he'd be able to locate Tim.

But just to err on the side of caution, he didn't tell anyone that's what he was doing tonight. Gibbs ordered them to go home for a few hours of rest, and instead, Tony went to Tim's last known location, made sure no one was around, and shifted. It was a relief when his wings stretched fully out, and he examined his new body, oddly familiar and yet so different from the one he's worn without fail for twenty years.

He's much bigger than he remembered, but that is the difference between a fledgling and a fully grown golden eagle.

Mama had tried to explain all the intricacies of 'shifter life, but Tony was young and she was drunk half the time, and all he needs to know right now is that 'shifters can sense their mates from up to fifty miles. Tony focuses on Tim, and there. To the south.

Tony takes to the air, awkwardly at first, but he's always learned quickly. His gun barely weighs him down, gripped tightly in his talons. Tim's being kept in some random house, and Tony lands in the backyard. He swiftly spots a yorkie in the shadows; he expects the dog to start yapping, to alert the house that something is lurking, but the dog whines and backs closer to the fence.

He wishes for a moment that birds could smirk. Most animals fear 'shifters, even in their human form. Good. The eagle in him wants to attack, to feed on the dog, but the man in him says they don't have the time.

Tim needs him. So Tony shifts back, clutches his gun tight, checking to make sure the flight hasn't damaged it, and goes to save his mate.

(Later, there will be yelling and explanations and assurances. Later, Tim will listen and ask questions and promise that Agent Tommy won't come out as a canine shifter, even if it'd make an awesome plot twist. And later, Tim will go with Tony to a protected land far from any recording devices or prying eyes, and watch in wonder as a large golden eagle spreads his wings and plunges into the sky.)