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"Have I told you how many ways I hate this idea?" Tony asked nervously.
Clint looked down over the edge of the boat, at all the fear-inducing fins slicing through the water. "Yeah, but you can say it some more." He glanced at Phil. "Seriously?" There had to be, Jesus, like a hundred sharks out there. "We're gonna need a bigger boat; I'm going to suggest a naval carrier. They could totally capsize us if they wanted to." They were near the San Juan Islands off the northern coast of Washington State.
Phil's eyes were on the water as well. "I didn't think so many would come."
Tony snorted. "And they'll all be fighting to get to me. With their teeth. To bite me. Have I mentioned how I hate this idea?"
Phil sighed. "Maybe this is a bad idea."
"It's totally a bad idea," Gibbs said, having just come up the galley stairs to stand behind Tony, an arm around his waist as if to keep him from jumping.
"Are they talking to you?" Phil asked.
"Yeah," Tony said unhappily. "I mean as much as they can without biting me first. I mostly just get a sense of it, something along the lines of: 'come on in, the water's fine,' coupled with maniacal laughter."
"The only way you are going in that water is if we can get one shark on its own," Gibbs said firmly.
"One of you feel like coming up here?" Tony asked, and then, "Holy fuck!" as a huge great white shark, just like in the fucking Jaws movie leaped out of the water to attempt a deck landing. He didn't make it through the railing but the whole side of the boat dipped under the water for a moment until the shark slid off. "Stop! Jesus, just stop!"
Clint was paralyzed, hanging onto the railing so hard his hands were cramping. That shark had been two fucking inches from his feet. He could have swallowed him whole. He'd been in a lot of danger for most of his life, but being eaten hadn't been on the list.
Phil started working on his fingers, unclenching them. "Tony, don't ask them to that again."
"Got it," Tony said. "Yeah, I totally should have set some ground rules first."
The shark leapt out of the water again but didn't land on any part of the deck this time, just smacked the side of the boat with his body. The entire boat shook.
"I think I'm having a freaking heart attack," Clint gasped. "I really, really don't want to get eaten by a shark."
The shark brushed up against the boat, his black eyes staring up at Tony. Another shark attempted to get near the boat and the larger shark snapped at him, actually getting a chunk of him before the other shark managed to thrash away from its hold.
"This is about to turn into a bloodbath," Gibbs said grimly. "That shark has made up its mind that it's going to be the one to bite you." He put both arms around Tony. "Relax. Your heart's pounding so hard I can feel it in my chest."
"Yeah, well, you're not the one that has to get into the water with that thing." He blew out a breath. "I hate Nick Fury. Just thought I'd go on record and say that."
"He can't make you do this," Phil said. "We can turn around and go back to shore."
Except Clint knew Tony wouldn't do that. There weren't lives at stake, per se, but they needed to get to the wreckage before Hydra did; there was too much dangerous equipment to have it fall into the wrong hands. He could totally get why Tony's heart was pounding in his chest, though. There was something viscerally frightening just looking at the sharks cutting through the water, let alone the thought of being in there. "Yeah, I don't think you should do it." He understood that Tony still might do it, but he wanted to go on record to say he fucking disagreed in a big way.
"Thanks, Clint," Tony said sincerely, but then he moved closer to the rail again, Gibbs still holding him tightly.
That was when the shark leaped at the boat again, landing half on the deck having smashed completely through the railing this time. Clint fell on his ass, feet heading right for the shark's open mouth. The movie theme track to Jaws was playing in 3D HD IMAX sensurround and Clint let out a terrified yell, even as Phil, Gibbs, and Tony grabbed at him in three different places to yank him out of reach.
"Get off!" Tony yelled at the shark. "I'm not fucking kidding. Get off this fucking boat right now!"
The shark slid back into the water, although he was eyeing the boat with what Clint thought of as a Macavity stink-eye, all 'I can totally sink that'. Clint's heart was beating so erratically, it was like some injured flailing animal in his chest. And even though he knew he'd be embarrassed about it later, he was very glad Phil had shoved him behind him, protecting Clint with his own body.
Tony was furious. Clint didn't think he'd ever seen Tony barely more than annoyed because he was such an affable guy, so the anger was something to watch. Gibbs thought the same thing if his dilated pupils were anything to go by. Nice to know that the lizard brain can still think something's hot even when your life is flashing before your eyes.
There was a yell from below and Sitwell clanged up the metal stairs. "There's incoming. Big sons of bitches. Whales, maybe? Who the fuck knows. They're moving fast."
"Everything out there in the water," Tony bellowed, seething, "needs to be far away from the boat before I count to ten, or I will fucking renounce you now and until the fucking end of time. How dare you put someone I care about in danger?" He stabbed his finger at the shark. "How dare you? Get the fuck out of my sight! All of you! Now!"
Astonishingly, they did as commanded, and Clint sagged against Phil. "Jesus fucking Christ. I did not sign up to get eaten by a fucking shark."
"Clint, I'm sorry. I totally fucked up," Tony said, still pissed as shit, but now aimed at himself. "You'd think I'd have learned after the scorpions. You'd think I'd have thought this out and been better prepared. I know how many come when I call. I should have thought this out and, Jesus, Clint, Jesus. Phil, I'm sorry." He was shaking his head, stepping backwards as if he was thinking they must hate him now, that they might come out swinging. Tony's body was shaking in reaction, and Gibbs pulled him in tighter.
"Nope," Phil said grimly. "This is on me, Tony, not you. This is my job, being one of your handlers, and I blew it, big time." He had as tight a hold on Clint as Gibbs did on Tony.
"So did I," Gibbs added. "This is my job, too, and I didn't even stop to think what could happen. I didn't think about the size of the boat, or making sure we were safe, or how we'd handle sharks and whales as big as this vessel. Not your fault. We're responsible for logistics. You're in charge of the animals."
"Fat lot of good I was," Tony said, body still shaking. "Jesus."
"Yeah, I'm not taking any of the blame for anything," Clint said to Tony, "but I'm willing to go with it being their fault." He didn't want to move, feeling very safe in Phil's shadow, because if it had come down to Jaws or Phil, Clint would put money on Phil every time, but he forced himself to walk over to Tony, putting a hand on his shoulder. The guy was a fucking wreck. "Tony, it's okay."
"Only because you're not fucking dead!" Tony yelled. "I think I'm gonna be sick." His hands were tightly pressing into his abdomen.
"No, you're not," Gibbs said, rubbing his hand over Tony's stomach. "Just breathe. This isn't the first close call we've had, and I'm sure it won't be the last, but we all learned a lesson today and this much of a fuck up will not happen again. My word on it, Tony."
"Mine, too," Phil said.
"Good thing Macavity wasn't here," Clint pointed out. "He'd have gone after that shark in a heartbeat." He was going for a laugh from Tony and was at least glad to see a small twitch of his lips.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Tony said, crouching down as if his legs wouldn't hold him anymore. "Using sharks to make anti-venom is looking very appealing right now if it means I can stick a lot of needles in them." He let his head drop into his hands. Gibbs crouched down with him, his chin resting on Tony's shoulder, his eyes chagrinned.
Phil let out a soft soundless laugh, although he was still looking several shades of pale.
"Something's coming!" came a yell from downstairs.
Clint looked frantically around at the water and then let out a loud bark of laughter. "How the fuck did they manage that? Tony, look." Tony was currently still hunkered down, head in his hands. "Seriously. Look." Just the sight of the ridiculousness of it was going a long way to help Clint regain his equilibrium. Although he suspected there were several shark related nightmares in his future.
There was a dolphin in the water, about five yards from the boat. In his mouth he held a stick or something, Clint squinted until he realized it was a crowbar someone must have ditched into the ocean. The crowbar was pierced through a piece of white paper, the closest approximation to a white flag the dolphin could put together in the few minutes they'd been forced to vacate the area.
Out on the horizon, Clint could see hundreds of fins cutting through the water, now recognizing shark fins, dolphin fins, even a freaking Orca fin, no three Orca fins. Oh, and a whale just breached. A fucking big whale.
"You know," Phil mused, "people would pay a lot of money to see shit like this."
Tony finally looked up and the silly dolphin waved the paper at him and let out a long chitter which made him grin and let out a breathy laugh. Clint could tell he was still mad, though. "Why isn't that goddamn shark carrying that?"
The dolphin dropped the white flag and chittered again, moving closer.
"What'd he say?" Gibbs asked.
"I won't really know unless she bites me," Tony said, his voice tight. "Like I said, most of the time all I get is the general idea until then. And if they're male or female. Weird, right?" He stared down at the dolphin, and the dolphin patiently stared back, occasionally expelling air through its blow hole.
"Fuck, fine," Tony said, and sat down on the edge of the boat, the part without a railing, and the dolphin came up to him, encouraging Tony to pet her. "He could have killed Clint," he whispered hoarsely at her. She pressed closer, whistling consolingly. Tony put out his hand slowly, and she gently closed her teeth on his hand, keeping a very close watch on him. When he even began to wince, she opened her mouth.
Clint sat down next to Tony on the side the dolphin was on. His primary purpose for sitting close was to reassure Tony that he wasn't dead. Yes, he'd had a decade of his life scared out of him, but he was still alive. He nudged Tony with his shoulder. "Still alive and kicking," he reminded his friend.
His secondary purpose was that he'd always wanted to pet a dolphin, and he sure as hell wasn't going to miss this opportunity, even if the shark from Amity Island was out there somewhere thinking of him as dinner. The dolphin happily nosed at him, and Clint ran a hand down her side. "Wow, you're like velvet."
She was clearly pleased by the compliment and chittered at him, blowing a whistle out her blow hole. Then she turned her attention back to Tony and made a large assortment of noises.
Tony shook his head. "I've got a bunch of scorpions back at home who'd argue with that. They've managed not to bite anyone I don't want them to. That shark is an asshole. Clint's like my best friend, and that shark almost ate him."
Clint felt warmed by Tony's claim on him and ducked his head to keep his pleasure to himself, and just kept petting the dolphin.
She blew whistles at Tony, sounding as annoyed as he was. Clint wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Tony to give the shark a try, or sharing her displeasure with Tony about the shark.
"What?" Gibbs asked impatiently. "What's she saying?"
Clint got that the one sided conversations were frustrating sometimes especially as the animals, or fish, or mammals, or whatever, were usually so amusing.
"He's used to getting what he wants without concern for collateral damage. I'm paraphrasing," Tony added. "In other words, the shark's an asshole." He scratched at the dolphin's long bottle-necked nose.
He had a small inch long incision from her on the top of his hand that was still bleeding. She nosed at it, letting out a bleating noise.
"It's okay," Tony reassured her. "Better than getting my leg chewed off."
She bleated at him again.
"So, hey, can you and your other dolphin pals do something for me?"
She nodded.
"Can Phil give you some instructions? Or do you need me to do it?"
She chittered up at Phil.
"That means she's all yours, Phil. I don't think we need sharks for this after all, not when we have dolphins. Friendly dolphins," he added with a narrow-eyed glare out at the other creatures keeping their distance.
"I wholeheartedly agree," Phil said and crouched down squeezing in between Clint and Tony, taking a moment to pat her himself.
While he spoke to her, Tony said, "Come on, Gibbs, get in on the action."
Gibbs sat down on Tony's other side, and the dolphin shifted until she was parallel to the boat so they all had access to her. Phil kept talking and when he was done, he asked, "Tony, can you confirm with her that she understands?"
"Sure," Tony said, saying, "You get all that?"
The dolphin let loose with a long set of noises, along with a tail flap or two which sprayed water all over Gibbs. That made Tony snicker. Clint noticed that Gibbs didn't complain at all other than an eye roll, probably as glad as Clint was that Tony was snickering.
"Sounds like she gets it," Tony confirmed to Phil.
The dolphin chittered at Tony again.
"Hey," Clint said, after she'd finished, before Tony could answer. "She needs a name. Wait, let me guess. Flipper."
Tony made a 'what else' hand movement at Clint, palms up spread apart. "You got a better name? We'll have all these movies and television shows to watch with her." He frowned. "Wait, I can't bring her home, can I? That sucks."
They all thought about that for a long moment.
"I guess we'll just have to visit," Gibbs said. "It also means that maybe you might want to choose a shark a little closer to home, like off the Jersey shore."
Tony put his head on Gibbs' shoulder, as if looking for comfort.
Gibbs put his arm around Tony's shoulder. "Tony, you're the boss of all of this. You get to pick. You don't have to impress any of these guys. We let the dolphins do the job we came for and we go home."
"I vote for that," Clint said, "although maybe you want to do an Orca? They don't have those in New Jersey." Now that he was paying attention, he could tell Tony was still shaking a little. It might have been that Tony was cold, but Clint had seen enough at this point to get that there was a real downer side to this whole gig. He knew how important it was for each species to be the first. Tony would be disappointing a shit load of representatives by walking away right now, and he took his relationship with the entire animal kingdom pretty damn seriously.
On the other hand, it made the most sense to have the primary impressee, so to speak, to be local, because they kept the smarts they got from the deal, at least the way Clint understood it. And this? Was not local.
"I think we sleep on it," Gibbs suggested. "We have to come back out tomorrow anyway, so you can think it over."
Tony patted the dolphin one more time, promised to be here tomorrow at the same time, and then Tony sent her off, saying, "Be careful." She bleated at him before diving under and he snorted. When they all looked at him for a translation he said, "Something along the lines of 'I laugh in the face of danger'." They all watched as she breached the surface again and was joined by dozens of other dolphins.
A brief conversation took place between her and a large shark, Clint assumed it was the shark, one of the orcas and a whale. Clint didn't know enough about whales to know what kind other than big. The shark lunged at her, mouth open for business but she spun around and smacked him in the face, hard, with her tail and then she and all the other dolphins sped off.
"Jesus," Gibbs said. "I guess she does laugh in the face of danger."
What remained after that was a face-off. Tony on the boat, and a few hundred yards away enough creatures both big and small to fill a football stadium if it was full of water, staring back at him, and more kept coming.
"Get your feet away from the water," Phil snapped out, and they all obeyed, ending up splayed on the deck of the boat.
"Why?" Tony asked.
"Jelly-fish," Phil pointed. "I'm not sure if they're poisonous or not. I don't think they heard your speech about staying away."
"Go away," Tony told them. "Go over there with the rest of them."
The jelly-fish seemed to deflate, even the billowing of their domes looking sad.
"I fucking hate this sometimes," Tony said.
"Only because you're a big softie," Clint said.
"I just really don't want to be poisoned again for a while."
"Thank God for that," Gibbs said.
"Let's go," Tony said. "I'm done for now." Phil sent the order to head back to shore, but the entire ride back, Tony kept looking back, his face grim.
Clint was all over the life-affirming sex as he held onto the headboard as Phil utterly and completely claimed him, as if he thought that if he climbed inside of Clint that nothing could hurt him, that Phil could always protect him. And Clint knew he could take care of himself, he knew he was lethal, and badass, but Jesus, he fucking loved it when Phil made it clear in every way possible that anyone who wanted a piece of Clint was going through him first.
Gibbs couldn't stop touching Tony. The man was still shaking, but whether it was because he was scared or angry or cold he wouldn't say, so Gibbs just held him tight as they lay in bed, surrounded by all the animals they'd brought who were clearly pissed off and wanted a piece of all the deep sea denizens off the coast of Washington.
Except the dolphins, and Gibbs could already see that playing out, Tony having to leave the dolphins behind, and as soon as he could manage to stop touching Tony he'd call Phil to brainstorm.
All the animals suddenly left the room they were in, walking or flying or scuttling, they were gone and it was just him and Tony. "Tony?"
"Fuck me, Gibbs."
That was explanation enough, and Gibbs wasn't about to say no to that. He reached over Tony to the bedside table to grab some lube.
"Make it hurt a little, okay?" Tony asked.
"Tony."
"Gibbs, I want to feel it. Phil is fucking Clint right now and I want to feel like that, I want to feel how he feels."
Gibbs still wasn't used to this communal sex thing, but he knew Tony needed something so he was willing to try anything. "What is he feeling?" Gibbs was already putting lube on his fingers and reaching down to touch Tony's entrance, pushing in faster than he usually did, watching as Tony shivered in his arms and groaned.
"Safe. Like Phil won't let anything happen to him. Like nothing can touch him."
"I don't make you feel that way?" Gibbs burst out, feeling uncomfortably put out and jealous and fiercely protective of Tony. "Tony, I'm sorry about today…"
"No, no," Tony said, pushing down on Gibbs fingers. "No, Gibbs, you do, you always do, but I want to feel it now. I want you in me and around me and have it be just you and me, just us, just you, and come on, Gibbs, come on!"
And Gibbs could do that, he could have it just be the two of them, and he pulled his fingers out, and crawled between Tony's legs and lifted them up to his shoulders, positioning himself and pushing in, all the way in, past any resistance, eyes on Tony, showing him in every way he could, speaking through Baloo and Macavity and Rutger and Justin that he loved him, that he adored Tony, that it would only and always be just them, Tony and Gibbs, and this crazy-assed family of theirs, that Tony was the center and they all loved him and would protect him, and keep him sane and happy and cherished.
And then Clint and Phil were in the mix and that brought Raksha and Natasha, and Tucker, and Tony was in the middle, being loved and protected and so dear to all of them. Tony let his legs drop so he could pull Gibbs down to kiss him as he came, Gibbs right after, clutching Tony so tightly, knowing he was leaving bruises, but Jesus, this was his everything, this was everything, and he'd never, ever let it go.
Clint let his hands go, sagging back down on the bed, staring up at Phil. All the animals that had been in their minds, sharing their love and affection, slipped away. "So that was different."
Phil started laughing, and then Clint was laughing too, and they lay in bed, holding each other, grinning like two crazy people.
"What's he doing?" Phil asked Gibbs.
"He's talking to them," Gibbs said, gesturing out at the finned and tentacled audience a safe distance from the boat.
"I guessed that much," Phil said dryly. "Do you know what he's telling them?"
"No."
None of their usual go-betweens, like Tucker or Raksha, were on the boat with them, so there was no kibbitzing going on, leaving none of them the wiser. Tony had been sitting on the deck, cross-legged, eyes closed, for at least ten minutes, his face expressionless.
The dolphins hadn't appeared yet, so they were waiting, in a larger boat this time, for them to show up. Phil had no idea if they were then going to figure out how to let Tony impress all those creatures. Whatever they did, Phil sure as hell hoped it wasn't that shark; he didn't want Clint anywhere near that thing. Phil had never been so fucking scared in his life when he saw Clint sliding right toward that mouth filled with huge jagged teeth.
There was a noise and Phil looked down to the water and saw dozens of dolphins heading their way, all dragging equipment behind them or between them. He lowered the gate that would allow someone to get down there to relieve them of their burdens. Phil went down himself, waiting for the first one to arrive, who greeted him cheerfully. "Are you Flipper?"
She nodded enthusiastically, then heaved half onto the gate, thankfully sturdy enough to hold her weight, letting go of the strap she'd been holding that was attached to a metal box.
"Thanks," Phil said.
"Hey," Tony called down, and she ecstatically chittered at him.
Phil and Gibbs had already talked, so Phil just asked, "Ask her if she wants to move to the other side of the country, and how many would come with her."
Tony's eyes lit up. "Really?" Then his eyes grew flinty and he yelled out, "Get away from the fucking boat!"
Phil spun around to find the huge shark was only about twenty yards away, and he, willing to sacrifice dignity for safety, scrambled up the gate to the deck above, accepting Clint's hand and assistance to swing him the rest of the way up.
"I don't care," Tony yelled. "I don't care. And I say no, to all of you, except the dolphins, and he's the reason. I hate this place, and I despise you," he said menacingly to the shark that rolled in the water, one black eye focused on Tony. "You blew it, buddy. I’m not renouncing sharks, but I sure as hell am renouncing you. Go away."
There were a few tense moments when Phil didn't think the shark would leave, and an even tenser moment when he sank beneath the water because he had no idea where the thing was.
"Is he leaving?" Tony asked Flipper.
She nodded.
"Tell me if he heads this way, please, and hey, what Phil said. Can you live in another ocean, closer to me? It would be a long trip, but we'd make it safe for you."
That got a fervent head nod, and Tony grinned. "Good, I'm glad. I didn't want to leave you here. How many of you want to come?"
At least fifty dolphins slapped the water with their tails. Phil blinked. Fury was going to love this call. "We can't take them now, but we'll be back."
"And I'll travel with you guys so I can make sure you're all okay, all right?" Tony asked. "And I won't leave Washington until we have it figured out."
Meanwhile, the other dolphins dropped off their loads: caches of weapons, more crates, medical supplies, and Tony and Gibbs got down to the area and started handing stuff up to Phil and Clint and the other agents.
Flipper gave a cautioning noise and Tony glared behind the boat. "You touch one dolphin and I will find you and I will kill you. You can't hide from me, not when I can get the entire ocean looking for you."
"The shark's back?" Gibbs asked nervously. "Should we get back in the boat?"
"No," Tony said, "Look."
They all looked, and all the other sea creatures, even though Tony had said no to them, were all surrounding the boat, creating a barrier to protect Tony, keeping the shark from getting any closer.
Phil felt a lump in his throat at the sight.
"Jesus," Clint said, moving next to him, "you don't see something like that every day."
"No, you do not," Phil agreed. The unloading finished quickly after that, and with one more quick conversation between Tony and Flipper, they headed back to land.
Gibbs got woken up out of a sound sleep and, for a moment, he had no idea why. He lay there listening for anything out of place, anything off, but the rooms they had on the helicarrier, currently hovering over Washington State, were quiet. Tony was lying next to him, one of his arms over Gibbs' belly, and the animals were sleeping undisturbed, although Macavity was eyeing him malevolently, letting him know non-verbally that being bothered unduly at such an unforgivable hour would be met with extreme prejudice.
And that's when it all went to hell. Tony gasped and sat straight up in bed. Macavity was hissing, and Justin was running in agitated circles around the bed, the hawks were shrieking, Baloo was bellowing loud enough to wake the dead, and Gibbs could hear Tucker and Raksha going crazy down the hall where Phil and Clint were sleeping.
"What the hell?" Gibbs said, sitting up himself and grabbing Tony's arm. "Tony, what's happening?"
Tony didn't respond, in fact, if Gibbs didn't know better, he'd think Tony was still asleep and, by the look on his face, having a nightmare.
There were steps outside his door and a quiet knock, and Gibbs slid out of bed, slipped into a pair of sweats and opened the door. Phil and Clint were outside the door, along with Tucker and Raksha, and Gibbs silently let them in. All three of them stared at Tony who was still doing a good zombie impression, completely ignoring all the animals, including Raskha who jumped on the bed and curled up around him.
"What's going on?" Clint asked.
"No idea," Gibbs admitted. He walked back over to the bed. "Tony," he said with some volume, putting a hand on his shoulder. Tony didn't even seem to notice. Then he tried the cat, "Macavity, what's going on?"
The cat stared up at him, his eyes furious, still hissing, his claws out, nervously kneading the blankets, constantly scenting Tony, rubbing his face over and over against Tony's side and back. There was no answer forthcoming.
"Is he in danger?" Gibbs snapped out, tiring of whatever the fuck this is.
"Justified," Tony whispered.
"What?"
And then Gibbs head was filled with all the animals he'd impressed, as they repeated the word, "Justified." It boomed through Gibbs' mind, deafening, and even though Gibbs knew it was inside his head, he couldn't help clapping hands over his ears as if to protect them, because the word kept getting repeated over and over again, louder and louder, piercing his brain, and he could see Clint and Phil were experiencing something similar as they, too, had their hands over their ears.
Tony's and Gibbs' phones began to ring, no doubt a call from Abby, maybe, or Ducky, or anyone else who had an animal bond, wondering what the fuck was going on.
And then it was over, and the noise was gone, leaving behind a palpable silence that seemed paradoxically almost louder than the noise it replaced. He glanced over at Tony to find that he was curled up on the bed, face in his hands, and his shoulders were shaking. It took Gibbs way too long to understand that Tony was lying in bed sobbing, and Macavity and Justin and all the rest of the animals they brought on this trip were curling around him, offering what solace they could.
"Tony," Gibbs said, really tired of not knowing what was going on, but Tony wasn't talking, so Gibbs did the only thing he could do and crawled back into bed, wrapping Tony in his arms, and pulling him close as the man shook apart in his arms, weeping as if his heart was breaking.
It should have felt weird but it didn't when Phil and Clint joined them, the animals allowing them access, Clint curled around the other side of Tony, Phil behind him, and they lay there, guarding Tony, watching over him, as he cried until he fell asleep.
Sometime later, and Gibbs had no idea how long it had been as he'd dozed off and on, and he couldn't see the alarm clock by the bed given all the bodies in the way, and his phone was out of reach, there was another knock on the door. Phil slipped out of bed and opened the door a crack. It was Agent Sitwell on the other side, and he handed through a tablet. They spoke quietly for a minute, Phil's face looking entirely too grim, and Gibbs felt his heart rate increase in response.
Tony was dead asleep, so Gibbs sat up, still staying near, but wanting Phil to share whatever it was he'd just learned. Clint sat up as well, and Gibbs had an errant thought that they'd need a bigger bed back home if this sort of stuff was going to keep happening.
Phil shut the door and came back to perch on the bed. "Local news this morning." He tapped on the tablet and the screen showed a photograph of a great white shark washed up on shore, ripped to pieces. Flayed alive, his skin in tatters; it hadn't been a pleasant death.
"That our shark?" Clint asked cautiously.
"What do you think?" Phil said.
"Holy crap," Clint said, glancing at Tony. "Was he giving permission for that? Did they ask him first if they could? Or did they do it and then wait to be judged?"
Gibbs wished he knew.
Phil patted Tucker. "Do you know?"
Gibbs caressed Macavity. "Do you know? We could help him better if we knew."
Gibbs could feel Macavity's willingness to share but mostly the cat felt confusion as to how to explain. The strongest impression Gibbs had was the cat thought it was a good thing the shark was dead.
Clint looked back and forth between Gibbs and Phil, and then with an eye roll, reached for Raksha, no doubt mentally asking her the same question.
It was Tony who answered. "They did it for me," he said, sitting up, moving like he was a hundred years old. Gibbs moved behind him, letting him rest against him. "And for themselves. The shark was angry and he was attacking the others, especially going after the dolphins. They feared for their safety, and mine, when we go back to get Flipper and the rest."
"So they killed him?" Gibbs asked softly.
Tony nodded, closing his eyes, letting his head roll back onto Gibbs' shoulder. "They wanted to send a message to everyone they could that there would be consequences for that kind of behavior."
"There are reports from all over the world about odd animal behavior just at that time, or at the time you woke us up," Phil stated, still flipping through the tablet.
"That will keep the zoologists guessing for a long time," Clint said with a small grin, but then he put his hand on Tony's knee. "Sorry, not trying to make light of this."
Tony covered Clint's hand with one of his own. "It's okay." He shuddered out a breath. "They killed him, and then they came to me, or spoke to me, asking me to judge them. Honoring me," he added with a short pained laugh. "Honored that I was alive and here, existing at all, to judge them."
"Justified," Gibbs said. "That was what you judged."
"Justified," Tony agreed. "But, Jesus," he said, his voice shaky. "I don't want to have to do that again."
"You said a message was sent out? Maybe to everyone who could understand?" Clint asked. "Maybe you won't have to do it again. Maybe something like this won't happen again."
"Maybe," Tony said. "But if that shark was still alive, he wouldn't have cared. Which means I just set a precedent, a deadly one."
"No more than any criminal justice system," Phil pointed out. "There has to be a system where people, or in this case, animals, have to function within the societal norms of this legacy of yours. Who better than you to be judge?"
Macavity meowed unhappily, shoving up against Tony until he picked the cat up and allowed it to push against his face, claiming Tony the best way he knew how. "No, buddy," Tony told him, "I wouldn't have let that happen to you."
Gibbs wondered now, if those cats sitting out on the front lawn would have actually killed Macavity, if Tony had booted him outside.
Tony closed his eyes, resting his face on the fur between Macavity's ears. "It's okay. You were nothing like that shark. I promise. Yeah, you bit me too hard, but you didn't hurt anyone else that I love. I wish you'd been on that boat with us, because you would have kicked that shark's ass."
Macavity hissed out his agreement, and Gibbs couldn't hold back a grin. Raksha let out her own howl which set Tucker off, and then the hawks were shrieking again, all of them saying they would have kicked shark ass too.
"Yeah," Clint said, "you guys are all awesome," and he scratched Raksha's ears and encouraged Michelle to land on the bed in front of him, using his other hand to soothe her ruffled feathers.
Gibbs kissed Tony on the forehead. "What do you need from us? Will it help if I tell you that I'm glad that thing is dead? That I wasn't looking forward to going back into the water knowing that thing was out there somewhere, looking to get to you, even if it was over our dead bodies?"
"Ditto," Clint said, with heartfelt emphasis.
"Me too," Phil said. "I'd rather face off against a hundred Hydra agents than deal with him." He reached out and put a hand on Clint's thigh as if to reassure himself that Clint still had all his limbs.
Tony let out a long breath. "Yeah, that does help. Thanks."
Then Baloo, deciding he couldn't stand it anymore, forced his way onto the bed so he could give Tony a hug and, with a loud crack, the bed collapsed under all of them spilling everyone out onto the floor, and after a long moment of flabbergasted silence and then cranky groans, they all started howling with laughter, which only got louder when Nick Fury burst into the room, single eye glaring, complaining about all the goddamn noise.
All the animals were very happy to have Tony back home. Gibbs walked down the stairs to find Tony and Abby cuddling on the couch, surrounded by her raccoon, Baloo, several wolves, a mountain lion who'd been waiting by the front door when they got back, who had been dubbed Louie, named after a Disney cartoon character Tony had found on-line to watch, all the birds, the bat, snuggled up to Archimedes, who was dozing off on one of the high perches Gibbs had built all around the house, Moth, Beetle, and several of the scorpions.
Gibbs was sure there were more creatures underneath the huge puppy pile that he couldn't see which was fine with Gibbs; he was just glad Tony was home safe and sound and away from the water. They'd moved all the dolphins who wanted to go to the Jersey shore and Tony and Abby had spent a good deal of yesterday swimming with them in an area cordoned off by patrol boats so they could have some privacy.
Before they'd left Washington, Tony had allowed an Orca to bond, and then he'd gone for a heart-stopping ride on the Orca that had left Gibbs both terrified and envious. There was no way to bring the Orca home, so Tony had promised to visit, and Gibbs was sure he would, and that over time he'd bond with more of the creatures who had both protected Tony and killed for him.
His eyes lit on the moth again, and Gibbs knew one of the things Ducky was studying is why some of the creatures, like the moth, like the beetle, weren't dead yet. Gibbs supposed it made as much sense that this whole thing would let the animals live longer, just like it was giving years back to the humans in the bunch.
He squinted at the screen and saw that the Jungle Book was on again, the cartoon version, and Baloo was watching his namesake sing about the Bear Necessities, humming along with little bear grunts. Grinning, Gibbs waded in to give Tony a quick kiss, before heading into the kitchen. He didn't normally sleep in, in fact, was almost always awake before Tony, but he'd been exhausted by the time they'd rolled into bed last night and had been happy to stay in bed a couple hours longer than usual.
Phil waved a cup of coffee at him when he got into the kitchen. There were several file folders sitting in front of him on the table. "Good morning."
"Good morning," Gibbs said in return. "Didn't feel like joining the puppy pile this morning?"
Phil's eyebrows rose. "Didn't feel like watching Jungle Book again." Tucker was sprawled at Phil's feet, happily gnawing on a rawhide chew.
Gibbs snickered as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Baloo and Tony could watch it every day, and sometimes did, and never seemed to get tired of it. There was a clacking noise and Gibbs saw Rock on the table clacking his black scorpion claws. "Good morning to you, too," Gibbs told him. He rummaged in the cabinets and found an Oreo cookie which he handed over. Tony had laughed himself sick at the scorpion's ecstatic reaction to the cookie when he first nibbled on one, and ever since they'd kept some in the house for him and the rest of the scorpions.
Ziva, the rat, scurried over his feet, and Gibbs next moved to the refrigerator and opened their cheese drawer. "More Gouda this morning?"
She squeaked happily, and Gibbs leant down to give her a sizeable piece of cheese, and she ran off with it back into the living room. Gibbs expected Tony to start yelling for food any moment. "What are you working on?" he asked Phil.
"It's a new initiative. Nick would like you and Tony to be involved, as well as Clint and Natasha. We're not quite ready to move with it yet, although we've got some ideas about other people we'd like to join. Sit down and I'll tell you about it."
"I'll all ears," Gibbs said, pouring himself more coffee and sitting down.
"We're calling it the Avengers Initiative."
The End