Tony eyed the front door thoughtfully, thinking back.
"Boss, you really should start locking that." He said, wandering back into the kitchen. "How many times have bad guys just waltzed in here and surprised you?" He questioned rhetorically. They both knew the answer to that, after all.
Everyone, even the criminal masterminds they dealt with, knew Agent Gibbs of NCIS didn't lock his front door. Ever.
Gibbs sighed. "Not really anything here worth protecting." He shrugged. All his memories and valuables from Shannon and Kelly (what the exes hadn't tossed out) were stored up in the attic, which was locked. The only things anybody could find to get money out of would be his woodworking tools or his guns, and except for his sniper rifle and issued service piece, those were locked up in the safe. His tools were... well, some were from his grandfather, and others were given to him by his father, others were part of the set Shannon got him for their anniversary one year.
They were all getting worn from all the use he put them through, so there wasn't really a lot of money out of them anymore either. Unless they took them to an antique place... maybe.
"There's one big thing here worth protecting." Tony said quietly, staring at Gibbs. He didn't care about the stuff, although he would hate for Gibbs to lose some of the things that were Shannon's or Kelly's. He cared more about Gibbs' life then the stuff.
They stared at each other for a moment before Gibbs sighed and conceded the point, which made Tony blink in shock and concern.
But even he could admit that they'd gotten too close this time. And he knew Tony worried when things like this happened, no matter how much Tony knew he could take care of himself.
"Alright, I'll keep it locked." He said, but he had doubts that the lock would even work, so he went to find the WD-40 before trying to turn it.
He returned to find that Tony had already taken it apart, eager for his boss to be that little bit safer (even if most of their enemies wouldn't be stopped by a locked door, it would at least make more noise to open then if it was wide-open, and it would be more apparent that something was wrong when he got home), and was scraping years worth of rust from disuse off the mechanisms. "You might need a new one." He muttered, examining it.
"Might. Haven't locked that in years." Gibbs sighed. The ex-wives would lock it occasionally, if they thought about it, but the neighborhood he lived in was fairly safe (except for the occasional criminals thinking they could surprise him at home, which really only started happening in the last few years), so they didn't really think about it. He hadn't bothered to lock it since he came back home for good after Shannon and Kelly died.
"Alright, let's go." Tony said, picking it all up and grabbing his keys and gun from the table.
Gibbs looked at him, surprised, but didn't protest at the look on Tony's face. He had a stubborn set to his jaw and shoulders that told Gibbs he wasn't winning the argument and he should give it up before it started.
His compliance was actually starting to freak Tony out, but he didn't say anything yet. He was just happy Gibbs wasn't being too difficult about this, he had a headache from the last case and was too tired to deal with an argument with Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Instead of the hardware store, Tony drove to a friends store, where they sold home security systems. They would install it for them, and Tony could have it set up so that a video feed from a camera pointed at the front door went to his phone or Tim's computer, that way they would know if somebody was in there that shouldn't be. He would see about getting it sent to Gibbs' work computer, but he wasn't sure if that would be allowed, not that he necessarily cared about that, but he was sure somebody would raise a stink over it. He would, however, have a monitor installed in the basement and send the feed there, too. He knew Gibbs could tell who it was by their footsteps, if he knew the person, but that wasn't always the case.
"Tony! It's been a while." He was greeted.
"Hey, Mark. Need a security system and new locks." He pointed at Gibbs, and Mark understood immediately.
"You're finally going to lock your door! I don't care how safe the neighborhood is, it's not safe to leave the doors unlocked, especially with your profession." Mark commented. Everyone knew about Gibbs' habit of leaving the doors unlocked. This wasn't fifties America, anymore, though. And DC most certainly wasn't Mayberry.
Gibbs glowered at Tony, who grinned back while Mark went to pick out something he thought would be suitable. "They specialize in securing homes, mostly catering to law enforcement or military." He explained.
"That's right. Even our protectors need protecting sometimes, especially their families." Mark nodded once and set down the system he picked out before he started to explain it.
Gibbs studied it and read through the sheet with the details on it before he nodded slowly. "Looks good." He said simply, still reading. Tony kept quiet. He may be the one finally twisting Gibbs arm into this, but in the end it was still his decision which system he liked better for his house.
Mark could tell Gibbs wasn't decided, so got a few more he thought would be good choices to show him so that he had something to compare. Then he sat back and gave the old Marine time to think it through. He'd been told enough by Tony to know that the last thing he wanted to do was rush Leroy Jethro Gibbs into making a decision. While Gibbs read and compared, Tony and Mark spent some time catching up.
"Really? How did Stephanie take that?" Tony asked, amused.
"Not very well. I spent a week on the couch before she believed me when I said I didn't want that woman's advances, did not encourage them, and tried to avoid them." Mark winced. He'd been subjected to the unwanted attention of a client who seemed to have thought that something he said during an installation meant more then it really did. His wife had not been happy when she found out about it, and sent that other woman off in a hurry. She'd been in a huff thinking that he was encouraging it. She knew he wouldn't, but sometimes she thought with her heart more then her head. And she was hurt when she saw that woman all over her husband.
"Ouch. You two are alright now, though?" Tony tried to look less amused, but failed. Mark just gave him a Look.
"Yeah, we're alright. I think we're better then ever, actually." Mark shrugged.
"Good." Tony glanced at Gibbs, who had shoved a couple of choices away from himself and was now comparing three of them. Mark noticed and quickly moved the rejects out of the way under the counter.
"What's the difference between...?" Gibbs asked suddenly when he saw the movement.
"... Alright. John will be at your house in one hour to install your new system." Mark said an hour later after Gibbs finished paying. The installation was free for members of the military or law enforcement communities, which was most of their clientele, so they didn't have to worry about that. "It should only take an hour or two." He assured, that mostly depended on how big the house was and how many doors and windows there were, though. So it might take longer, it might not. "I just need your address for him."
Gibbs nodded and wrote it down before sliding it over.
"Thank you." Mark took it and put it in an envelope with Gibbs' name on it before putting it on the job board for John when he returned from lunch, otherwise he would send John with them right now. "Be seein' ya, Tony. Agent Gibbs." He nodded as they left.
"Hey, I'll come by sometime tomorrow." Tony offered.
"Yeah, Stephanie would like to see you again." Mark agreed, smirking and pleased that he was getting some warning this time. Last time he'd just shown up while he and Stephanie were in the ah... middle of something.
Tony sighed, looking around Gibbs house in satisfaction.
"I'd like to see another person sneak in here now." He smirked at Gibbs, who rolled his eyes, but did have to admit he did feel better about having an alarm and a new lock on the door.
Tony was just happy that his boss was going to be safer in his own home.