Work Text:
Tony only saw it from the corner of his eyes, the glitter of metal that should not be there in the man's hands. His instincts took over and with a soft cry, he threw himself at Gibbs, tackling the man down to the ground. Not a second too early. The gunshot rang in his ears and the next thing he knew, his arm was burning, a hot and painful throbbing. Tony covered Gibbs' body with his own and tried to breathe.
Kate reacted promptly- they were a team after all. Tony didn't know whether she'd seen the gun as well or whether she'd just heard the shot and saw him get hit, but either way, she took over control of the situation immediately. He could hear her voice shouting into her mouthpiece, “Man down, all units--” The rest of her sentence was drowned out by the shouts and screams of the officials and the guests as they realised what had happened.
He knew that within seconds agents would be swarming the room, taking down the man who had shot, clearing the area of civilians and taking care of Gibbs. That knowledge was enough to relax him a little and with that came darkness as he lost consciousness.
Tony regained consciousness a couple of times on the way to the private clinic reserved for the president and those around him, another secret agent in the ambulance with him and a paramedic bowed down over him, asking questions that Tony could not quite make out through the haze in his head.
When his eyes fluttered open after the anaesthesia from surgery had worn off, he couldn't remember any of those times. His brain felt fuzzy and his skin too tight, his mouth dry. He blinked, taking in the sterile white of the room, the IV in his arms and Gibbs sitting next to his bed. He blinked again.
That was not according to protocol, was his first thought. His second was to open his mouth, croak a “hi” and smile lopsidedly at the man he'd sworn to protect, the man he loved. Then he noticed that Gibbs was holding his hand and his third thought was a panicked one. What if someone saw? What if someone found out about them? There was only Kate in the room, though, and she smiled down at him and rolled her eyes. “I should've known that your hard head wouldn't take any damage. You're like a cockroach, Tony, aren't you? Impossible to kill.”
Tony didn't shrug, mostly because he didn't think he could without any pain, but he stuck his tongue out at her. “You missed me, admit it.” It was good to know that things with Kate were the same as always. His fingers tightened around Gibbs' and he looked away from Kate.
“Can't believe you're here,” he muttered.
Gibbs raised an eyebrow. “Of course I am, Tony.” He brushed a strand of Tony's hair back and Tony was immensely glad that they had decided to tell Kate about their relationship a good while ago.
“'s against protocol.”
Gibbs rolled his eyes and gave Tony a light tap on the head. “You are an idiot,” he said, voice sounding more fond than it had any right to sound when Gibbs called someone an idiot. “Like I care about protocol when you just took a bullet.”
Kate cleared her throat. There was a knock on the door and Gibbs leaned back and let go of Tony's hand. Tony told himself that it didn't hurt at all. After all, he was the one who had talked Gibbs out of coming out to the whole of the USA, the entire world.
Gibbs' PA stood in the door. “Mr President, you have a meeting for three o'clock and a press conference for three thirty. You need to leave.”
“Of course, Charlene,” Gibbs said, regret colouring his voice. He stood up, brushing his fingers over Tony's hand one last time, the touch shielded from Charlene's eyes by Gibbs' body.
“Thank you.” Gibbs smiled at Tony, nodded and then turned to leave.
Kate followed him, telling Tony over her shoulder that Gibbs had ordered there be a secret agent standing guard outside his door at all times. Tony gave her a weak nod and sank deeper into the pillows, watching the door close behind them.
“You're welcome,” he whispered into the empty room.
Lying in a hospital bed gave Tony plenty of time to think- something he usually avoided, especially when it came to the kind of brooding introspective the hospital seemed to invite.
He was scared of the future. Gibbs was a very, very busy man (of course; he was the president of the United States) and even when Tony had been around him all day long, protecting him, they had not gotten a lot of privacy and quality time together. Now though, Tony would be out of commission for at least six months and there was no guarantee that afterwards, he would be able to qualify for the job again. He might not guard Gibbs ever again. The doctors had said that he'd need physical therapy to would regain full use of his right arm, but they could make no promises when it came to his aim. Tony had always prided himself in that he was one of the best shots in the secret service. It was part of the reason he had been assigned to Gibbs in the first place.
And now that had been taken away from him.
His worries ran deeper than that, though. His job was important to him, that was certainly true, but it paled in comparison to Gibbs' importance in his life. He might not be able to say it to Gibbs' face, but Tony knew that he'd fallen head over heels for the man and he knew that Gibbs was aware of it, too. Would Gibbs want to continue their relationship now that Tony wouldn't be able to be around him very much?
And even if Gibbs wanted to, Tony wasn't sure it was possible. Gibbs had a duty to his country and Tony couldn't – wouldn't – come between Gibbs and America. It wouldn't be fair and Tony felt he just wasn't that important.
He didn't regret pushing Gibbs out of the way and taking the bullet in his stead, but part of him wished that there'd been someone else who had protected him from the bullet.
“I want you to come live with me,” Gibbs said without further preamble. Tony coughed out a choked “what?” and was glad that this time, Kate was waiting outside.
“I want you to move in with me,” Gibbs repeated, his eyes crinkling even though he wasn't actually smiling, his voice warm and amused.
Tony shook his head. “We-- you-- I can't!”
Now, Gibbs did smile. “Oh yes,” he said, absolute certainty and determination in his voice. “You can.” And with that, he left.
“Gibbs,” Tony called after him, “Gibbs, goddamnit, don't do anything stupid.”
There was no answer.
Tony turned the TV in his room on to CNN. Gibbs was scheduled to hold a press conference in a few minutes and Tony had a bad feeling about it.
Gibbs looked good in his conservative suit. Once the flashes of reporters trying to take a picture of Gibbs all at the same time had died down a little, Gibbs started to speak. He talked about the attack to his person, that they had been unable to catch the person responsible (Tony hadn't known that and the knowledge made his jaw clench) and that the secret service would do everything in their power to find the man.
“My safety is, no doubt, due to the secret service and one man in particular – Anthony DiNozzo, the agent who got injured taking the bullet intended for me. He risked his life protecting me and for that, I wish to thank him. He certainly is a hero.”
Tony couldn't help but blush at those words, but the queasy feeling didn't leave his stomach. The press conference wasn't over yet. Sure enough, Gibbs leaned forward, blue eyes seemingly looking directly into the camera.
“He is much more than that, however. My fellow Americans, you have elected me because I promised change to our country, to do what I believe is best for this country. To this day, I don't think I have disappointed your faith in me and I hope that this will not change. I hope that all of you understand that my private life will never change my love for this country and it will never change who I am – the man you elected.”
“It is with this hope that I tell you now that Anthony DiNozzo is more than just the man who saved my life. He is my partner and the man I love.”
Chaos broke out after those words. Tony turned off the TV and buried his face in his hands, shaking his head. He was smiling, though.