"She's coming, Probie. Hit it!" Tony rumbles, his voice barely above a whisper, yet filled with excitement. Then calmness overrides his thrill as he takes a seat, eyes straight to the computer screen – which by the way, rarely happens, only when he's working. By the time the first jazz notes smooth down McGee's anxiety, Kate and Gibbs are by her desk, a little perplexed and very suspicious of their surroundings.
Jazz music aside, Tony is oddly still and McGee, McGee is not; he seems to be more invested in their reactions than his work. See, strange.
Gibbs is torn; cue for an eye squint. He swallows the 'DiNozzo!' trickling down his vocal box and settles for a sigh. A sigh, before heading straight to his own desk and sitting down in front of a pile of reports. Kate can't do much but follow suit.
To her growing surprise, there is a 6x3'' lime green box, set on her desk. For a moment, it doesn't even occur to her to ask Tony, add to that the satisfaction of having him guess who's left her such a gift. Yet, more and more questions demand her notice, until she finally gives in,
"Hey, Tony, do you know who left this?"
He looks up – and oh, that look of innocence – pencil between his index fingers as he waits a while before answering, testing her patience.
"Nope." Another moment's pause. "Perhaps you should open it, Kate."
For once DiNozzo speaks her mind, and she carefully untangles the purple ribbon, wrapped around the box. Inside, 6 macaroons – 3 lemon, 3 raspberry – elicit her smile, because she loves it. These are her favorite, in fact.
The question still stands, though. Even Gibbs seems interested, his probing glance, giving him away.
"McGee?" Kate questions once more, all in vain after seeing him shake his head.
Lovely. A room full of special agents, and no one knows who dunn it. Wait –
As she is about to close the box and tuck it away next to Abby's gift, she notices the black scribbling on the inside of the lid.
Happy birthday, Kate!
Sorry I stole your mix tape,
Tony
Her mix tape? Now that explains the music. It's her turn to look at Tony through squinted eyes, but she can't keep it up for long, a smile returning to her lips.
"Thank you, Tony. That's really sweet."
She would give him a hug, except he is already up and standing next to her, his cheek turned her way. Oh.
"In your dreams, DiNozzo. Also, next time you steal something from me –"
"Got it, Kate. And you're welcome," Tony is quick to reply with a grin. Because they might bicker, call each other names, and basically, act like 10-year olds, but he is pretty sure she appreciates his gesture.