Would Ziva actually make this suggestion? *shrugs* initially I didn't think so, despite obviously coming up with the idea, but after watching season 3 again, I'm leaning towards 'possibly'.

This is my first, and most likely last, smut fic. I've reread and rewritten this so many times, I'm now at a complete loss as to whether the story itself is any good, let alone the smut . Any and all mistakes are my own because I was too embarrassed to send it to a beta reader (so obviously, according to my brain, the next best thing is to publish it online where dozens or hundreds of people can read it…I really hate my brain sometimes).

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. And if you don't, I'm sorry and probably won't do it again.


"David! Get in here!"

Ziva rushed into the cramped bathroom, gun at the ready, only to be greeted by steam wafting from the shower stall and a white cast, with wiggling fingers, dangling in the air outside of the stall.

"I could use a hand in here," Tony said as he heard the door open. He had been desperate to wash away the dirt and blood and relax his muscles after getting pushed out of a second floor window 7 hours earlier. It wasn't until he had stepped under the spray of steaming hot water that he'd realized his error; broken right wrist and dislocated left shoulder. The painkillers had started to wear off on the drive to the hotel, but apparently not enough to clear his head.

Not getting an immediate response he took a step from behind the matted glass door to see what the holdup was. He was about to ask Ziva if she could help him wash his hair, when the steam had cleared enough for him to take in the scene before him; Ziva with a confused look on her face, hair loose and already starting to frizz from the humidity, clad in black lace trimmed bra and panties, gun drawn.

Tony wanted to question her on her choice of underwear for the week-long surveillance they had been on, when he finally realized that, not only was he buck naked, he was in no condition to turn this scene—which could've come right out of one of his fantasies—into something more interesting.

Ziva's confusion dissipated quickly at finding her partner safe and alone. And very naked. Seeing him look her up and down with a somewhat dazed expression broke the bad mood she had been in ever since Tony had tried to flirt with the female paramedic on the way to the hospital. Emphasis on tried. If adrenaline hadn't been coursing through her body from thinking her partner—the man she was…considered her best friend—had plummeted to his death, she would've laughed at his feeble attempts.

Eyes wandering all over her body, he licked his lips and she couldn't resist messing with his drug addled brain. Just a little bit.

"Where exactly would you like that hand?" She asked sweetly.

"I…uh…will you put that gun away? It'll make things a lot easier," he asked, blinking rapidly and shaking his head a little, trying to clear his mind.

"Am I making things hard on you, Tony?" She drawled out his name and let her eyes drift down his body slowly as she placed the gun on the sink beside her.

Tony swallowed hard, then narrowed his eyes at her, "You know, for someone who doesn't speak English, you sure know how to throw around sexual innuendos."

"I thought you called me in here because you had a…job…for me. Not to criticize my language skills."

He took in the mischievous glint in her eye and huffed. As much as he'd missed their flirtatious banter the last couple of years, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up with her. Not with the remnant side effects of the painkillers and the increasing pain clouding his mind.

"I need help washing my hair," he said with a serious, slightly embarrassed look on his face.

Her brow furrowed slightly. "And you could not think of that before you got into the shower," she deadpanned.

She could hear him grumble under his breath that 'this was a bad idea' and softened her expression, while stepping closer. As she reached behind her to unclasp her bra, his eyes went wide and he turned his back to her.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a confused voice.

"Getting in the shower with you. To wash your hair," she replied as if discussing the weather.

His head involuntarily whipped around briefly, but long enough to see she was in the process of removing her panties.

"Such a bad idea," he mumbled. "You don't have to be naked to wash my hair, you know," he said, heart rate increasing, trying to get the image of her naked, lithe body out of his mind before all of his blood rushed south.

"This is the last clean underwear I have -"

"I was wondering about your choice of underwear to go on assignment," he interrupted, trying to glance over his shoulder.

"I didn't have time to do laundry before Gibbs sent us here and I am not getting your blood all over my underwear," she said matter of factly.

Worst/best idea ever, Tony thought as Ziva bumped into him getting into the small shower stall behind him. He could feel himself get hard as she reached past him to grab the bottle of shampoo, her arm brushing against his stomach, nipples barely touching his back.

"This is ridiculous," Tony mumbled to himself. I thought painkillers were supposed to lower your libido.

"It is ridiculous, it will be a lot easier if I am in front of you and you can lower your head towards me," Ziva said.

He tried to look at her while keeping his back towards her. "I dunno. That would be kind of uncomfortable…" he said sheepishly. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm naked…in the shower…and you're, um, just as naked and, well, there's not a lot of room in here to avoid, um,…contact."

She rolled her eyes. "Seriously? You choose to become self-conscious right now? Our nakedness did not seem to bother you when we were undercover with a bunch of federal agents watching."

He tried to shrug and instantly regretted it when his left shoulder protested.

"If I recall correctly, you had no problems with making contact at all back then," she taunted.

"You're really not helping," he said through clenched teeth.

"Fine," she huffed, "but you do not have anything I have not seen before."

He looked over his shoulder as best as he could given his injuries, trying to look her in the eye. "I just don't want you to think I'm some kind of pervert-"

Her laughter cut him off.

"Everybody already thinks that," she teased and instantly regretted it at the flicker of hurt in his eyes.

"But, they do not know you like I do," she quickly added in a soft and serious tone.

The corners of his mouth turned upwards briefly. Facing forward again, he said, "If you tell McGee about this I'll have to kill you."

She harrumphed. "I would like to see you try."

Ziva squirted a dollop of shampoo in her left hand and looked up just in time to see Tony slowly twist his head left to right, the way he did when he was getting a headache. The painkiller must be wearing off, she thought, reaching around him to put the shampoo back, this time careful to brush against him as little as possible.

As Ziva started lathering up his hair, she warned Tony to keep his eyes closed. His only reply was a short grunt. She saw the muscles in his shoulders and neck twitch and asked, "Has the painkiller worn off?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"Why didn't you take another one when we got back to the hotel?" Ziva admonished.

He sighed slowly, enjoying the way Ziva had started massing his scalp and neck. "You know how I get on painkillers."

"If you're worried I will record any of your embarrassing behaviors and show them to McGee and Abby, I promise I won't," she said solemnly.

"I'm more worried about annoying you. We've had a rough week, and you still have to drive us home in the morning. Your driving is bad enough when you've had a good night sleep, I don't want to find out what it'll be like after I irritated you all night."

He had turned his face slightly towards her delivering the last line with a small grin on his face. She narrowed her eyes at him and twisted his head forwards again. Not too gently, she was making a point, but not too rough either, the man had fallen out of window, after all.

She continued massaging his scalp and the base of his skull for several minutes in silence. Even though some of the tension was visibly leaving his body, she knew he was still suffering. And she also knew he most likely wasn't joking when he implied he wasn't going to take any painkillers.

"I read an orgasm can relieve pain," she said suddenly, sounding like she had just found the clue that would solve one of their cases.

Tony looked back at her, incredulous look on his face. "Where did you read that?"

"The same magazine you read. Only, I don't get distracted by the pretty pictures," she replied coyly.

Noticing his furrowed brow she shrugged and in a clinical voice said, "Might be worth a try."

His jaw went slack.

"Unless you would rather check facts with Ducky first." Ziva raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

"In case you haven't noticed, my dexterity isn't the best at the moment," Tony replied, baffled they were having a conversation like this…in the shower…with him getting more aroused by the second.

"You did ask for me to give you a hand," she replied.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes," she said with conviction. "You're in pain. You're my partner and best friend and I might be able to help you. Why wouldn't I be serious," she continued calmly.

Tony considered his options; take painkillers and hope they also took care of his hard-on but risk the wrath of Ziva if he acted too crazy all night; spend the night in bed next to her, in pain, with a hard-on and images of his naked partner shampooing his hair in the shower running through his head.

He had to admit the alternatives didn't look too appealing. Ziva's solution on the other hand sounded extremely appealing. He just wasn't sure things wouldn't get awkward afterwards.

As if reading his mind, she said, "It's just a hand job, Tony. We are both adults, and you," she raised an eyebrow at him, then continued, "certainly have plenty of experience separating physical acts from feelings."

He bit his lower lip, mulling over her proposal. She had a point, of course. Especially about his past dalliances. Except, he didn't exactly feel about those flings the way he felt about her.

"It will not get awkward if we don't let it," she said with confidence.

The sincerity in her eyes clinched the deal for him. If she could handle this, so could he. "Okay," was all he said, before turning his attention to the tiled wall in front of him.

Tony could feel his right arm starting to get numb from holding it outside of the shower cabin in an unnatural way, but his focus quickly shifted to other parts of his body as soon as Ziva placed her hands on either side of his hips.

"If you want me to stop, at any time, just say so. Okay?"

Her voice sounded calm and relaxed, which reassured him that they could indeed do this without ruining their friendship and partnership. He gave a nod of acknowledgment, then swallowed hard and tensed up as he felt her left hand move to slowly, but firmly caress his lower abs. When the fingers of her right hand trailed down his hipbone to his inner thigh, barely missing his balls, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding in a short puff.

Relaxing into the sensations of Ziva running her hands over his body, he closed his eyes, inhaling deeply through his nose. Ziva's unique scent and proximity hit him hard and his arousal increased even more. Her left hand had slid closer to, but not quite where he wanted it. And he could barely hold back a sound of protest when her right hand suddenly left his skin altogether.

His eyes flew open, mere seconds later, when she placed her right hand, now slick with saliva on his dick. His breath hitched, and his brain had trouble processing whether it was actually Ziva wrapping her hand around his erection, or whether he was simply imagining it was her, like he'd done before with several one-night stands. He suddenly regretted not being able to see her. All of her.

As she began to slowly stroke up and down his shaft, his eyes fluttered shut again. He could feel the heat of her body radiate all over his back. Or maybe it was a combination of wishful thinking and the warm water falling down on him, on them, from the shower head above.

As she started speeding up and slowing down her movements, tightening, then lightly releasing her grip, he dropped his head forward. And when her left hand joined in and started following the pulsing rhythm of her right hand, all coherent thought left his brain as the heat inside him intensified.

He lowered his arm from where he had been cradling it against his chest, intent on pulling her closer to him, to feel more of her skin against his. He hissed as pain shot through his shoulder. Despite the increased pain, he was acutely aware of Ziva standing up straighter behind him, probably trying to gauge what had happened. Her hands kept squeezing and stroking him, though. Somewhere in the back of his mind he admired her ability to multitask.

Tony looked down, hoping the sight of her soft hands working his cock would take his mind of the pain. The precision and speed with which she could assemble a gun with those skillful hands, had always been a bit of a turn-on. He knew she could kill with her hands, and on more than one occasion had she used them to inflict pain on him (always deserved, he had to admit). Regardless, he'd often fantasized about what they would feel like in a more intimate situation.

The feeling of loss when Ziva suddenly removed her left hand brought Tony back to the present. Her breasts now pressed against his back made up for it, though. And when she laced her fingers with his and pressed his arm against his chest again, holding it firmly in place, he felt a whole new warmth spread through his body.

Tony glanced back, trying to look her in the eye. He needed to see her. See what she was thinking. She was standing so close now, though, that he only got a glimpse of her wet curls covering her shoulders. He longed to run his hands through those tresses and all over her body. He let out a groan when she replaced the pumping motion of her right fist with gently running the pads of her fingers across the underside of his dick, only to swirl over the ridge once she reached the head.

As she continued the slow tease, torture, he could feel his muscles grow weaker by the second. Maybe doing this standing up after the day they'd had wasn't the best idea. He accidentally banged the cast on his right arm against the glass of the shower door, making him jerk and slightly lose his balance backwards.

Ziva secured her grip around his chest, leaning into him. The tip of her nose touched him right between his shoulder blades, and as he felt her breathe on his skin, it felt as if Ziva was all around him. One hand on his dick, the other holding his arm tight, essentially anchoring him to her, as her small, perky breasts pressed into his back and her firm lower belly against his ass.

He let out a nervous huff and licked his lips, relishing in the new sensation of having Ziva's soft, slick skin molded against his back. He didn't think this was what she'd had in mind when she suggested helping him out. And he briefly wondered whether she'd be okay with this much contact. That was, until he felt her lips against his wet, heated skin and a hesitation in the previous smooth rhythm of her right hand.

Did her breath just hitch, he thought, cursing the suddenly overwhelming sound of the falling water.

The thought that she might actually be enjoying this, perhaps even be a little aroused, made his head spin. Feeling her hand firmly grip his shaft again made him lose control. He couldn't help but thrust into her hand as his balls tensed up.

Ziva rested her forehead against his back and goosebumps formed where her breath caressed his skin. It became abundantly clear that his breathing wasn't the only one that had quickened.

The sensation of thrusting into her slick, wet palm and feeling his ass bump against her belly, made a familiar heat spread deep within him. His thighs and ass tightened and he let out her name on a groan. She tilted her head upwards, dragging her tongue and bottom lip across his back ever so briefly, before resting her chin where her forehead had been. As if she were waiting for him to repeat her name. Who was he to deny her that.

Somewhere in his muddled mind he knew that that most likely wasn't the reason, but her name slipped past his lips a second time, anyway. The fingers that were entwined with his, on his chest, flexed and held on tighter.

Ziva's right hand sped up in a twisting motion. His head lolled backwards at the intense sensation, then forwards, needing some kind of proof that this was really happening. That this wasn't just his imagination running wild. The now cold drops of water falling on his head weren't enough of a confirmation that he was wide awake.

He could feel the telltale warmth spread throughout his body, but part of him didn't want this to end. Who knew if this would ever happen again. As much as he wanted to hold out longer, his exhausted, injured body was getting the best of him.

So, when he heard Ziva say, "Just relax, Tony," in a voice thick with arousal, all he could do was give in. He closed his eyes and groaned, climaxing into his partner's fist. His best friend. His…hopefully something more someday, because fuck, this can't be the only time he'll ever be this close to her.

As his knees buckled a little, Ziva tightened her right arm around his stomach.

"I've got you," she said reassuringly, in a low voice.

"You have no idea," Tony replied, trying to steady his legs. His heart seemed to be beating a million miles an hour and he wasn't entirely sure whether that was merely caused by his orgasm, or by the woman who gave him the orgasm.

The fatigue that suddenly came over him was overwhelming. All he wanted to do right now, was sleep for 24 hours. Preferably with Ziva molded to his side.

Ziva turned off the water and managed to maneuver both of them out of the shower without any accidents. He stood in front of a mostly fogged up mirror, eyelids drooping. When he noticed movement in the mirror, he did his best to focus his attention on Ziva's back. She put on the hotel robe, started towel drying her hair with one hand while handing him a towel with the other.

When he didn't make an effort to take the towel, she turned towards him with a quizzical look. Tony was certain that the goofy expression he undoubtedly had on his face, was only rivaled by his dopey painkiller-induced look. That's when he slowly realized the pain had indeed decreased.

"You were right, Miss David" he almost slurred. Her brow furrowed the slightest, and he clarified, "the pain's almost completely gone."

He took in the darkness of her eyes, the small smile now gracing her lips, completely unaware of the fact that he was still soaking wet. In fact, beads of water were now rolling down his right arm onto his cast. Ziva put a quick end to that, drying his arm with the towel she had tried to give him a minute ago.

She brought the towel up to dry his hair, stepping in closer. Tony was surprised at how relaxing it felt to have Ziva gently dry his hair. How intimate it felt.

He tilted his head forward to give her better access to the back of his head, consequently bringing his face inches from hers. Her eyes, swimming with emotions, drifted from his hair to his eyes, then flicked to his mouth for a split second. His right hand moved to her hip on its own volition, fingers lightly scratching at the softness of her robe.

"Thank you," he said, voice low. "That was very…helpful. Perhaps I should start listening to you more often."

She huffed, a playful smile appearing on her lips, and said, "I have been telling you that for years."

The bathroom started to feel entirely too hot as she moved the towel down his body. Slowly. Meticulously. As if to make sure she wouldn't skip a drop. It felt like bitter sweet torture, staring into her eyes now, their skin no longer touching but her still touching him…differently.

As he touched his forehead to hers, he saw her eyes flutter shut for a second. And for that second, he felt a different tingling sensation build within him. This was it. Finally, he thought. They were finally going to cross that invisible line they had been toeing for years. One second seemed to stretch for eternity. Until she opened her eyes and all he could see was regret and guilt.

She took a step back, and asked, "Do you need help getting dressed?" Eyes evading his as his heart plummeted.

His no was laced with disappointment, and it made her look him in the eye again.

Ziva bit her bottom lip, inhaled deeply, and said, "I am sorry, Tony. I behaved…unprofessionally…after you lost your balance."

Tony shook his head. "Unprofessionally?" he questioned incredulously.

"Yes," she said with determination, clenching her jaw briefly. "I…should not have kissed your back. And I apologize if that made things awkward."

"Ziva…" But he really didn't know what to say. So he just looked at her. Fingers laced in front of her, back rigid, eyes staring to a spot right above his shoulder. The way he assumed she would stand in front of her father when he had called her into his office, back in her Mossad days. Completely closed off.

He took a step closer and the way she clenched her jaw again, the way her eyes darted everywhere but at him, made his heart ache.

Tony let out a sigh, closing his eyes to gather his thoughts. He didn't have the energy for this now, flashed through his mind. But he knew he had to fix this, if he didn't want his earlier fears of ruining their friendship come true.

"Ziva, look at me," he said quietly. When she finally did after what felt like an eternity, he gave her a relieved smile. The smile quickly faded when he heard a voice coming from the other room.

Ziva shook her head lightly, and said, "I had set up the laptop to call Gibbs right before you called me in here."

Tony's mouth formed an O and then he frowned. "You were planning on skyping Gibbs in your lingerie?"

Ziva gently slapped the back of her hand against his stomach, a sly smile forming on her lips. "No. But I'm certain he would've appreciated that more than seeing you naked.

Tony was relieved the mood had lifted somewhat and struggled a bit to get into his boxers.

When they walked in front of the laptop and sat down at the foot of the bed, McGee blurted out, "Did you guys shower together?", while Gibbs gave them his patented stare of disapproval.

Before Tony had a chance to deny, Ziva simply answered, "Tony needed help washing his hair."

Gibbs' glare turned into a murderous look while McGee next to him turned beet red. Ziva rolled her eyes at them and added, "I would have helped any of you if you had been in Tony's shoes."

Tony's head whipped to the side so fast he briefly saw spots. Ziva ignored him, though, keeping her eyes on the screen, a composed look on her face. He made the mistake of letting his eyes glide down her body on his way back to the laptop screen. He lost interest in the conversation seeing the slight swell of her breast where the robe gaped open. And as his eyes slid lower, landing on her hands in her lap, fidgeting with the belt of the robe, he couldn't help but remember what those hands had felt like on his dick. The fact that her right leg was completely exposed didn't help either.

Ziva kicked his leg, to snap him out of his reverie, but the action had made the lower half of her robe shift and expose even more skin. By now, Tony was acutely aware of the dopey look on his face. And as he finally looked up to find Ziva staring at him, wordlessly begging him to act normal, all he could do was let out a snicker, turn towards Gibbs with a ridiculous grin and say, "You won't believe the day I've had."

"Looks like the painkiller's working," Gibbs grumbled.

Tony blinked a few times, then smiled a little as he turned to Ziva. "Oh yeah…I love it," he said without thinking, still staring at Ziva. He could see Ziva's shoulders tense ever so slightly, as soon as the words had left his mouth.

He turned back towards the laptop, worried Gibbs might have noticed, but in true Gibbs fashion, he had already ended the call without so much as a goodbye. They both sat staring at the black laptop screen in silence. Not for the first time when it came to his partner, he wished he could read minds so he'd know exactly how she had interpreted his words. Hell, he wasn't even sure how he should interpret his words.

Ziva glanced over at Tony, then stared at her hands, trying to figure out where it had all gone wrong. I shouldn't have kissed him, she thought, I've been able to resist so many times, why crack now? Because you thought he'd died. Again, said an annoying voice in her head.

She stood up and closed the laptop, they needed to talk this out, preferably without interruptions.

Tony followed her movement and got up to stand right next to her. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, only clad in boxers, which did nothing to quench the heat inside of her from their little get together in the shower. And of course her brain had to choose that exact moment to remember, not only that she was very naked and wet underneath her bathrobe, but also how he had felt in her hands, the small sounds he had tried not to let slip from his lips, her name on a groan he couldn't contain. Her eyes flicked in his direction as she licked her lips. Which is when she realized she was the one making things awkward. He had been fine until she had started to apologize for something he apparently hadn't minded.

"Hey," he said softly. "Thanks again…for… earlier."

She turned to fully look at him. "Anytime," she replied, screwing her eyes shut and shaking her head as soon as she saw him raise his eyebrows and grin widely.

"I mean…my pleasu…" She gave up trying to come up with something more appropriate when she heard him chuckle.

"Your English sucks, David," he said and winked hoping to ease some of the tension out of her.

He was doing his best to catch her eye again and said in serious tone of voice, "So… am I to assume that if Gibbs had sent McGee on this operation that you would've helped him…wash his hair?"

The doubt and hopefulness were written all over his face and made her heart ache.

"I would have given him my dry shampoo," she deadpanned.

When he smiled at her, the doubt disappeared from his eyes and she could feel a completely different tingle go through her body, the same way it always did when he looked at her like that.

"You know, Miss David, as soon as I'm back to my old athletic self, I will repay you for your help. With interest."

Even though the room was dimly lit by one bedside lamp, she could clearly see his pupils dilate. Her eyes flitted to his lips and back to his eyes on their own volition.

"You don't really need to be in pristine health to do that you know..." She glanced down pointedly and raised an eyebrow.

"Ah but you see, I've waited far too long, and you deserve far better, than a half-assed attempt."

She tilted her head to the side a little, not trusting she'd understood him correctly. One of these days they really needed to start having an actual conversation about what they meant instead of talking around it.

"Well then, I look forward to it," she said with a soft smile.