Tony bounced happily into the bullpen at around noon with a shining white smile, it was October, and while he loved the fall season, October was special to him for more than one reason now. Today was 'bosses day' an unconventional holiday that Tony has embraced for thirteen years now, and in a week would be his and Gibbs' first year anniversary – which, he had all planned out, because knowing Gibbs, the man probably forgot – and then there was Halloween, any excuse for Tony to dress up and be as silly as he wanted.
McGee raised his eyebrow at Tony who was practically vibrating out of his skin with excitement, "Tony, I know you like bosses day… But, this is a bit much, don't you think?" McGee asked, looking Tony up and down slowly, then refocusing on the man's face.
Tony shook his head as he perched himself on the corner of McGee's desk, "Has nothing to do with bosses day, McGeek! Don't you know what October 21st is?!" Tony asked, happy wide-toothed grin still in place.
McGee shook his head slowly "Uh… Just another day? Hopefully spent at home instead of knee-deep in a crime scene?" McGee asked, confusion clear in his tone.
"Bite your tongue McGoo! I am not spending my first year anniversary clearing a crime scene!" Tony exclaimed as he hopped off McGee's desk "Speaking of which – Where exactly is Gibbs?" Tony asked, looking around the rather empty bullpen.
McGee shrugged as he looked around "Think he said he was heading down to either Autopsy or the lab. So, what are you planning on doing for your anniversary?" McGee asked curiously, steepling his fingers together and looking up at Tony.
Tony grinned mischievously as he turned back to McGee "Do you really want to know Tim?" Tony asked saucily as he crouched next to Tim's desk, looking up at the younger agent with amusement in his eyes.
McGee shook his head quickly "Well… no… not when you put it like that! But, seriously, you don't have anything other than that planned?" McGee asked curiously, resting his elbows on top of his desk.
Tony sighed dramatically as he bounced back up to his feet "Of course I have more than just that planned, McGee! God, what do you think I am? A sex addict or something?!" Tony asked, feigning shock.
McGee shook his head "No I… Damn it Tony! You know that's not what I meant, at all!" McGee protested, his brows furrowing together as Tony started giggling.
"Oh man! It's so easy to get you so riled up!" Tony exclaimed through more giggles, then quickly sobered up and stared seriously at McGee "I plan on taking him out to Stella Luna Ristorante." Tony said, his Italian accent thick as he said the restaurant's name.
McGee raised his eyebrow "Wow… It takes like… thirty years to get a reservation! How did you manage to get one?" McGee asked curiously.
Tony shook his head and patted McGee on the cheek annoyingly "My dear, poor Tim, it's all about having the right connections… It just so happens that the owner of Stella Luna is a long-time friend of mine, well… His wife is the owner, but still my point is… Connections McGoo, connections make the world go round." Tony stated as he bounced back towards his desk and sat down dramatically, puffing out a breath of air, "Now seriously, where the heck is Jethro? Bosses day is just… not bosses day without the boss of bosses here to celebrate!" Tony complained, a deep frown on his face.
Gibbs sighed as he entered autopsy, glancing around the semi-dark room, "Ducky?" Gibbs whispered into the darkness "Palmer? Anybody?" Gibbs called, quietly walking into the room and making his way over to an empty autopsy table.
Gibbs grinned as he laid down and shifted a roll of paper towels underneath his head and closed his eyes, clasping his hands over his stomach, "Jethro, what are you doing?" Ducky asked curiously as he came out of his inner office and flicked the lights on.
Gibbs groaned as he turned his head over and looked at Ducky "Trying to hide from Tony… It's bosses day." Gibbs stated, twisting his thumbs around in slow circles.
"Ah… Yes well, I am not going to be responsible for harboring fugitives whom are afraid of their husband's joy. Regardless of it being a silly holiday or not, so either you go upstairs and face the boy or you find somewhere else to hide." Ducky stated firmly, then smiled warmly at Gibbs "He's always enjoyed 'Bosses Day' Jethro, even before you two got married, so what's the point in fighting it? You obviously cannot hide from him forever, you live with the boy." Ducky said, chuckling softly as he looked down at Gibbs.
Gibbs frowned as he nodded his head, swinging his legs over the edge of the table "Yeah, I know… but I just don't see the point in this holiday… If it can even be called that." Gibbs said as he slipped off the table.
Ducky shook his head as he pushed Gibbs towards the door "I do believe it is rather an observance, more than a holiday. Anthony just enjoys the little holiday-like days that don't mean anything to anyone… There's Groundhog Day, National Wear Red Day – One of my favorites – Valentine's Day… St. Patrick's Day… The list goes on Jethro, and Anthony splurges in each of the intricate little details that make the rather dull day, more interesting. Live a little Jethro, and enjoy whatever the boy throws at you." Ducky said as he pushed Gibbs out of autopsy and locked the doors behind him.
Gibbs made his way up to the bullpen and stood just out of sight, listening to McGee and Tony talking, "So, what are you planning on doing for your anniversary?" he overheard McGee asking. Gibbs cursed under his breath and continued listening, "I plan on taking him out to Stella Luna Ristorante." He heard Tony say, which made Gibbs grin as he turned around and headed back downstairs and into Abby's lab.
"Afternoon Abs." Gibbs said shortly as he made his way towards the inner office, not even bothering to turn down Abby's music.
Abby raised her eyebrow as she turned the music off and followed Gibbs into the office, watching as he sat down at her computer "Afternoon boss man, what can I help you with?" Abby asked cautiously as she stepped closer to her desk.
Gibbs pointed towards Abby's computer, then looked up at her "Need to order something for Tony… Anniversary is in five days, completely forgot about it…" Gibbs stated as he tapped impatiently on Abby's desk.
Abby giggled as she stood behind Gibbs and began typing into the keyboard "Don't tell Tony that you forgot about your first Anniversary, he'd likely kill you and we'd never find you again." Abby stated as she pulled up the web browser for Gibbs "Know how to handle it from here?" Abby asked, looking down at the top of Gibbs' head.
Gibbs nodded as he pulled his glasses out of his pocket "Yeah, thanks Abs." Gibbs said distractedly as he began the process of 'hunt and peck' for the keys on the keyboard.
When Gibbs returned to the bullpen an hour later, he set a plastic take-out box down on Tony's desk and smiled brightly. Tony looked at the box, then up at Gibbs with a raised eyebrow "Thought you got lost, where have you been?" Tony asked curiously as he opened up the box of food and grabbed a fork from his desk.
"First autopsy, then I was in the lab… Then I went and got lunch… Why? Did something happen while I was gone?" Gibbs asked as he rocked on his feet slightly.
Tony shook his head as he pulled the fork out of its plastic wrap "Nope." Tony said dismissively as he dug into his grilled chicken salad.
Gibbs furrowed his brows, frowning slightly as he looked between Tony and McGee, then shrugged his shoulders as he walked over to his desk and sat down. Gibbs sighed as he tapped his fingers on his desk, glancing over at Tony occasionally who was absently eating his lunch and reading through a file.
After Tony finished his lunch and tossed the box, he stood up and stretched, then walked over to Gibbs' desk, "Want to go for a walk?" Tony asked quietly, drawing his finger in a circle on top of the desk.
Gibbs shrugged as he stood up, clipping his badge and gun to his belt. "Sure, why not. Anywhere in particular?" Gibbs asked as he slipped his hand into Tony's as they walked towards the back stairwell together.
"Not really…" Tony said, grinning slightly as he tugged Gibbs into the parking garage and towards Gibbs' challenger.
Gibbs looked at his car and then over at Tony "Okay…?" Gibbs said questioningly as he leaned against the hood of the car.
Tony sighed as he sat down on the hood "So… I got a call from Austin and Garrett earlier today." Tony said quietly, kicking his feet back and forth against the tire of the car.
"Yeah? How are they doing?" Gibbs asked as he pulled himself up onto the hood of his car, leaning back slightly on his palms.
Tony nodded slightly as he leaned back, resting his head against Gibbs' shoulder "They're good… They also said that they would be up our way… For about two weeks around Thanksgiving…" Tony said, lifting his head slightly to look up at Gibbs.
Gibbs grinned as he kissed Tony's temple softly "Sounds like fun. We should think about having them over for a pre-thanksgiving, thanksgiving dinner." Gibbs stated as he laid back on the hood, pulling Tony down against his chest and gently rubbing a hand up and down his husband's chest.
Tony nodded as he tapped his fingers against Gibbs' stomach, sighing noisily as he pulled his legs up on the hood of the car, curling into Gibbs' side "Alright, what's wrong honey?" Gibbs asked as he set his hand against the back of Tony's head, twisting the long strands around his fingers.
Tony shook his head "Just tired. Think I wasted all of my energy being excited over bosses' day, when you weren't even around…" Tony said quietly, twisting his fingers around Gibbs' shirt.
Gibbs chuckled softly as he patted Tony's head lightly "You realize I'm not your boss anymore, right Tony? We're equals, in everything." Gibbs asked softly as he looked down at the head full of brown resting on his chest.
Tony nodded as he slid his leg between Gibbs' legs, "Yeah, I know… But I still like celebrating the day… And every day in between. More specifically, I enjoy the days that you appreciate those who have taught you to be a better person in life. Like you, you've been my boss for the past twelve years, and you've taught me so much… And even though you're technically not my boss anymore, you still teach me so much, because now you're not teaching me as a subordinate, but as a boss." Tony stated as he rolled over and sat up on Gibbs' lap, looking down at his husband with a soft smile.
Gibbs laughed as he ran his hands up from Tony's knees to his hips, "Yet, you still ramble so much… In all these years I've been teaching you – Haven't you learned that rambling doesn't work on me?" Gibbs asked, a smile on his face bellying his statement.
Tony laughed as he leaned down, kissing Gibbs firmly on the lips "I think my rambling gets what I want from you, just fine." Tony said as he drew his fingertips across Gibbs' jawline slowly as he laid his forehead against Gibbs'.
Gibbs nodded slowly as he grabbed Tony's hand, interlocking their fingers and kissing across the younger man's knuckles softly, "Your rambling is what got us into this mess in the first place." Gibbs said lovingly as he kissed Tony gently on the lips.
Tony giggled as he tucked his head underneath Gibbs' chin "That's what our marriage is now, a mess? It's only been three months!" Tony exclaimed, smiling into Gibbs' neck as he placed a gentle kiss against the skin beneath his lips.
Gibbs chuckled as he kissed the top of Tony's head "Nope, our marriage is… perfect." Gibbs said softly as he carded his hand through Tony's hair, "But we have to get back to work, we've been out here for over an hour…" Gibbs said as he slid himself and Tony off the top of the challenger.
When Gibbs and Tony returned to the bullpen, they were both a little shocked to see their section of the MCRT decorated with green and blue streamers, and two cupcakes sitting on both men's desks with green and blue swirled frosting.
"What the hell is this?" Gibbs asked, staring at the cupcake on his desk "And where the hell did everyone go!" Gibbs demanded, whirling around the empty bullpen.
Tony shrugged as he picked up his cupcake, "Don't you dare!" Ellie shouted from the other side of the partition, pinning Tony with a harsh glare as she came on their side of the bullpen.
Tony frowned, the cupcake halfway to his mouth "What? Why? It's on my desk! It obviously means it belongs to me!" Tony protested, furrowing his brows as he looked down at Ellie.
Ellie sighed as she shook her head, extracting the cupcake from Tony's hand and setting it back onto the plate "Just wait a second – Everyone will be back in a few seconds." Ellie said as she sat down at her desk, linking her hands together.
A few minutes later, all of the MCRT quickly came into the bullpen and stood in the center of the room, "Sorry… We didn't think you guys would be back so soon." McGee said as he brushed his hands against his pant legs and inhaled deeply "We wanted to celebrate today, for both of you – Bosses' day is a day where we should appreciate our bosses' and show them how much we care for them and all that they have done for us." McGee said, looking between Gibbs and Tony "You, Gibbs, have been our trustworthy leader for the past twelve years, you have seen several team members come and go, and you've always been someone we could go to when we had a problem, even if you never said much, we always figured out what was going on because of you." McGee said with a smile as he turned to Tony specifically.
"You haven't been our boss for long, but you were our – at least mine and Ellie's – senior field agent for twelve years, and in those years, you have taught us how to take life by the horns and built us up from the ground to be better people. Your tactics may have been unconventional, but they worked and they made us all stronger for them. As our boss, you have become a person who we can look up to and model ourselves after… So, to the best bosses of NCIS!" McGee said, smiling as he looked between Tony and Gibbs.
"Can I please eat the cupcake now?!" Tony whined as he grabbed the cupcake and held it up, slowly peeling the wrapper off it.
McGee laughed as he nodded his head "Yeah Tony, you can eat the cupcake now… No need to thank us for the sentiment behind it!" McGee said, rolling his eyes as he moved back to his desk.
Tony grinned as he wadded up the cupcake wrapper and threw it at McGee's head "Thank you McGee… all of you guys. We appreciate the words and when Employee Appreciation Day comes around, I'll make sure Gibbs and I do something special for all of you." Tony stated as he sat down at his desk and nibbled gingerly on his cupcake.
Gibbs shook his head as he stood up, grabbing the cupcake off his desk and walking over to Tony, he set the cupcake in Tony's now outstretched hand. Gibbs swiped a finger through the frosting and sucked it off his finger as he walked back to his desk and sat back down, all without saying a word as he glared around the room – everyone quickly scampered back to their desks. Gibbs nodded his approval as he reached for the first cold case on his desk and began flipping through it idly, propping his feet up on the corner of his desk.