Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

Prompt #9: Skulls - She liked them, for all they were creepy.

Words: 552

"Nice motif," said the tech as he worked on the busted Major Mass-Spec.

Twirling her black lace parasol, Abby tilted her head. "Excuse me?"

"The black and skulls and goth decor," he clarified. "It works for you."

"Oh, thanks!" she chirped. "I find it soothing."

"How so?"

Abby looked around. "This place is so dreary sometimes, so I like to spice it up."

"With skulls and black and industrial music?"

"It's different, and I like different."

The tech grinned at her. "Hey, it's a cool kind of different." He pointed to the tinsel-coated skeleton that adorned a corner of her lab. "That's really classy. Death made cheerful."

"Yuletide is cheerful no matter what," Abby announced firmly, as if stating the the sun was a ball of flaming gas.

They chatted a while longer until Major Mass-Spec was fully functional again. Abby thanked the tech and sent him on his way, folding up her parasol and putting it aside. Now, back to work, she thought, loading up Major Mass-Spec to run its tests on the latest evidence gathered by Gibbs's team.

"McGee, you're lurking again."

"I have a permit now," was his reply as he stepped into the lab. "How's it going, Abby? Anything new?"

"When I have something, you can follow Gibbs down when he gets that spidey-sense that says I have something." Abby crossed her lab and adjusted the tinsel on her skeleton. "That's not why you're down here, is it?"

McGee gave her an (she thought) adorable scowl. "You could've asked me to help fix the GCMS."

"Like you "helped" fix my computer?" she shot back.

Ready to argue, McGee seemed to change his mind. Instead he said, "Well, just know that I can help any time."

Abby smiled. "Your offer is appreciated, McGee. I'll keep it in mind."

"And," he added, "I won't fake an interest in your skull." At her confused look McGee said, "The tech? He's terrified of you."

"He didn't look it," Abby said.

"He'd a good actor," was McGee's reply. "On my way down I heard him brag to his friends how he managed to keep his cool in the death cavern."

There was a hint of anger in his tone that made Abby realize how much it annoyed him. But she didn't think much of it. It was always a fact that some people weren't as comfortable with skulls and death in general as she was.

"But me? I like the skeleton."

Abby raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why's that?"

"It reminds me of you." Before she could jump on the diet slash sexist remark, McGee added, "It's always smiling, just like you."

That was the most sappy, romantic, and fluff-filled line she'd ever heard in her life. A big toothy smile decorated Abby's face as she threw her arms around McGee and planted a big kiss on his cheek. It left a lipstick mark, but McGee didn't seem to care.

"Betcha no skeleton can do that," teased Abby.

Just a little ficlet. I thought it was cute.

Review please!