An NCIS Gibbs/Tony Plot Bunny
This plot bunny wants to explore why Tony was so Not-Tony when he came back from being an agent-afloat and why Gibbs tolerated it at all.
It starts with or flashes back to the first time Gibbs had to take Tony on a submarine after he was hired. Tony had no idea he was claustrophobic until he was stuck on a submarine for several days. He only got through it because of Gibbs. He found that he had much less difficulty with ships. He can easily tolerate a week on a large ship as long as Gibbs is there too. After a week, he starts to get antsy, even with Gibbs there.
Gibbs tries really hard to prevent Tony being given the assignment but he can't tell Vance WHY Tony can't be an Agent-Afloat. Why he can't tell could be because he promised Tony, who is very embarrassed about it and refuses to tell Vance himself or allow Gibbs to, OR it could be because they are both afraid it will give Vance an excuse to fire Tony. Or some other reason YOU (the writer) come up with.
So being an agent afloat for 6 months seriously screwed with Tony's head and Gibbs understands this. He tries to help Tony get back into the swing of things and recover himself.
What I want to see:
A nice, long fic with cases for them to work while they sort things out. Following the episodes of season 6 is fine.
Gibbs/Tony slash preferred; Any slash is good, but I do really enjoy D/s with Gibbs as the Top. I tend to think of Tony as submissive ONLY to Gibbs, actually. On the other hand, Tony truly enjoys physical attention and coddling, so…
Abby and Ducky should be aware of and support Gibbs and Tony's relationship.
Gibbs/Tony/Abby is also acceptable.
Gibbs: Privately understanding, supportive and incredibly angry - at Vance for putting Tony through this, at himself for not being able to prevent it or get Tony back more quickly and, depending on your reasons for them keeping silent about the claustrophobia, at Tony for not speaking up or even refusing to go on medical grounds. Publicly, Gibbs behaves as in canon - normally for him under the circumstances.
Vance: I think Vance can be very sweet and a good director at times, but more often, he is a real jackass, so I'm okay with bashing him, but it's not required. Frankly, I don't think you have to step out of canon to make him look intolerant and self-righteous, particularly where Tony is concerned, so bashing is a matter of opinion…
McGee: I see Tim as being angry at Tony but not really understanding his own emotions or motivations. Coming to understand those could be why they work it out and resume/develop their bantering friendship. Tim doesn't understand Tony at all at this point. He doesn't see Tony driving him to be a better, stronger agent even though he seems to understand that's what Gibbs does with his harshness (probably because of his father). Maybe Tim finds out why Tony is so screwed up by his experience afloat and that helps him come to terms with things. I want Tim to end up a true and loyal friend to both Tony and Gibbs.
Ziva: When Ziva first came in, she came across as a female version of Tony, sexually speaking, so I don't see her having issues with Tony's apparently free and easy sex life. However, I do think she is not particularly happy when he doesn't want her AND when he flirts with her. She's conflicted. I don't know that her initial response to learning about Tony and Gibbs would be positive. IF, of course, she finds out at all. I do think she has a tendency towards crueler teasing and McGee has a nasty habit of going along. He did it with Kate too, actually. I think Ziva can be effectively portrayed as either completely tolerant and accepting or the exact opposite and still come across as canon Ziva.
Ducky: I think Ducky would definitely know about Tony's problem and be very supportive of him and angry with Vance, but, like Gibbs, unable to divulge Tony's problem.
Abby: Canon Abby is already perfect, don't you think?
Bonus Line: "You got a death wish or something? Withholding Caf-Pow from Miss Abigail Scuito is like messing with a Marine's coffee!" It doesn't matter who says it. It could even be Abby.
Bonus Gibbs Rule: My fan addition to Gibbs' Rules: #33 (Shannon's Rule) "If two or more rules conflict, follow the one that will yield the most benefit or satisfaction with the least negative effects." This rule will allow Gibbs to completely disregard Rule 12 in favor of Rule 5. (I chose 33 because it wasn't taken and I like the number… )
When I came up with this idea, I had not found any similar stories. Since then I did find a ficlet with a very similar concept, but it only related to submarines.
I originally planned to write this myself and I might incorporate it into something I'm writing, but, sadly, I'm not very good at actually finishing fics. I decided several years ago not to post anything else unfinished, so…
- Vigdis