Happy Birthday

The world was starting to spin slowly and he had to blink to make his eyes focus. Tony looked down at the beer bottle in his hand and frowned.

"Hey, who drank my beer?"

Sensing someone standing nearby, he turned, a little unsteadily. Gibbs was watching him with an amused smile on his face.

"You did, DiNozzo. Maybe you should lay off the booze for a while; you're drunk."

Tony stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. "'M'not."

Gibbs carefully extracted the bottle from Tony's hand, steering the younger man toward the door that led out of the back of the bar. It wasn't entirely for Tony's benefit; if he was being honest, he'd had a little too much as well and could use some fresh air. They passed by Ziva and Abby dancing with Ducky, the two women laughing as they kept a tight hold of his hands in case he tried to make a quick getaway. He looked as though he was thinking about it. It was clear that he and Tony weren't the only ones who would be suffering with hangovers tomorrow morning; it was a pretty safe bet that there wasn't a sober person left in the room.

Tony sat down on the low wall outside and let the cool air banish the effects of the alcohol as he wondered again why he'd let them talk him into this. Abby and Ziva had decided that, since it was his birthday, they were going to throw a party. For a while, he actually thought they'd taken heed of his threats and warnings and given up but then he'd fallen for the old 'let-me-buy-you-a-quiet-drink-after-work' scam. He wouldn't have, except it came from Gibbs, the last person he would have suspected as being a co-conspirator. When the boss got him here, he found everyone else waiting and the two women looking delighted that their surprise party had actually been a surprise to him.

Still, he was flattered that they had gone to the effort for him- not that he would admit it to them. They'd got him a cake and everything, although Abby had been kind with the candles and just put on a few.

"'You enjoying yourself, Tony?" Gibbs asked a few moments later. He was leaned back against the door to the bar. "Only you look like you're wondering if you can get away before Ziva notices."

Tony laughed. That thought had crossed his mind at least twice since he arrived but that woman would track him like a bloodhound and bring him back. He was feeling a little more alert now, the cool night air doing the trick.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Gibbs just smiled. "Hey, you never did tell me what you wished for when you blew out your candles."

"You."

The word just popped out of his mouth before his in-head censors had time to act and he could have kicked himself. That was, if Gibbs didn't kick him first. At present, his boss was staring at him in a mixture of surprise and confusion, wondering if he'd just heard correctly. Unfortunately, Tony was too slow off the mark in laughing it off as a joke. Gibbs shifted away from the wall, taking a step closer.

"Did you just say…?"

Damn alcohol; he tended to say stupid things when he drank too much.

"Tony?" Gibbs pressed.

Tony sighed. "Yeah, I did."

Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound, as his mother used to say. He stood, reaching out to curve a hand around the back of Gibbs' neck and pull him close enough to press a kiss to his lips. If he was going to get fired for making a move on the boss, he might as well make it worthwhile.

What he didn't expect was an armful of Gibbs as the man pressed closer and kissed him back. Gibbs' arms around his waist, holding him close, felt so good.

Then, the alcohol induced haze lifted a little and he moved back.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

Tony knew he was tempting fate by pushing this but he couldn't seem to stop himself. "Why'd you kiss me back?"

"Because I've been waiting for you to make up your damn mind for ages, DiNozzo," Gibbs said.

"Boss?" Did he mean what Tony thought he meant?

Gibbs smiled. "We aren't at work now, Tony; you can stop calling me 'boss'."

Tony nodded. "Sorry." He realised that Gibbs' hands still rested on his waist. "Um, bo- Gibbs…"

"I think we're a little past that at this point, don't you?" Gibbs said softly. "How about you call me Jethro?"

As Tony tried to get his head around calling the man by that name, Gibbs pulled him back against his body and kissed him again. With Gibbs' lips on his, pressed against him, any last shred of rational thought that Tony had simply drifted away.

"Now," Gibbs said a moment later. "I think it's about time we escaped, don't you think?"

At Tony's nod, he opened the door to go back inside. He made his way across to Abby, who had now decided that Palmer wanted to dance, giving Ducky a rest.

"Abbs, I'm going to take Tony home," he said. "I think he's had a bit too much to drink."

Abby's crimson-painted lips curved up into a knowing smile. "Too much to drink, huh? Yeah, right." She looked around him to where Tony was standing near the bar, putting his jacket on then back to Gibbs. "Finally made a move, did he?"

"Abby." The warning tone in the way he said her name would have had anyone else shutting up but this was Abby.

"Never mind; I'll ask him tomorrow," she said with a laugh. When he glared, she relented. "OK, OK, I'll leave him alone! Go, have fun."

---------

Tony awoke to the sound of drums beating inside his skull and groaned. What the hell had he drunk last night? Knowing he was just putting off the inevitable, he forced his eyes open a crack and immediately regretted it. The light sliced in and made the pounding in his head.

He sighed and dragged the bedcovers over his head, frowning when he realised that he wasn't alone in the bed. And come to think of it- Tony did a quick mental check –yes, there was a distinct lack of clothes. There was an arm resting over his waist and a warm- equally naked –body curled up against his back. He closed his eyes, sifting through the slightly hazy memories of the night before.

The bar… Gibbs... He'd kissed Gibbs…Oh, man, then they'd come back here and…

"I know you're awake," an amused voice said and Tony blinked at the light as the covers he'd dragged over his head were pulled aside.

Tony reluctantly turned over to face Gibbs, trying to force himself to remain calm. He'd made a pass at his boss and ended up sleeping with him. The trouble was, now that Gibbs was sober, was he going to be quite as welcoming?

"Please don't fire me."

The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them and he had an overwhelming urge to drag the covers back over his head again and hide.

Gibbs was leaned on one elbow, watching him intently as he assured him that he had no intention of firing him. Instead, he reached out to Tony, drawing him closer and pressing a kiss to his lips.

"I never said last night," Gibbs began, smiling. "Happy Birthday, Tony."

This was turning out to be one of his best birthdays ever, Tony thought.

End

(for now…)