A/N: Okay, so I was listening to Too Much by All Time Low, and this little ficlet just hit me. This doesn't even really fit the lyrics to that song, but inspiration struck me anyway. I hope you guys like it! This is post-Aliyah, in fact, Ziva's making her return to the agency.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS! I just wish I did.
Anthony DiNozzo was on the verge of a serious panic attack. Today was the day, the day she came back. Not being able to sleep, he had come in to work several hours earlier than usual.
I reality, he came in several hours sooner than any other employee. The security guards at the front gate couldn't believe someone was walking in at four in the morning, let alone Special Agent DiNozzo.
And it was Monday.
He had to be there though, because there wasn't a moment to be missed. It had been a month or so since he had flown back to the States without his partner, his best friend. If he had thought their first four month separation was bad, this time it was worse, even though it was many weeks shorter.
Worry had overtaken him, something he didn't quite grasp.
Not that it was unusual for him to worry about her.
But this time, it was different. He had just realized what she truly meant to him.
Tony never knew if he would ever get to see his partner again.
He might not have ever gotten the chance to toss paper balls at her, annoy her with his incessant movie references, or torture the Elf Lord with her by his side ever again.
He missed everything about her.
The long, dark hair, that little smirk, the cargo pants, the determination, the incorrect idioms.
He missed his ninja.
So here he was, sitting at his desk. He couldn't stop moving, it had suddenly become necessary for him to occupy his time.
Tony had finished all of his paperwork. And all of the reports she missed.
He had tidied up his desk more than a few times, and had made sure her seat was spotless.
He had gone through the file cabinet at least seven times. Every time, he stopped on the old case reports she had finished.
Finding nothing more to do, DiNozzo finally sat still for a few minutes. His fingers started rapping on his desk in a steady rhythm, speeding up the tempo as second ticked pass. The beating of fingers melded into hands slapping the cool metal surface. The pounding was oddly relaxing.
He stopped.
He smiled in spite of himself.
Glancing at the clock, he realized that the bull pen would soon be filling up, slowly but surely.
He was ready.
Standing up from his chair, Tony smoothed out his suit and fixed his tie.
Doing a near perfect Gibbs impression, he called out to the empty space.
"Going for coffee."
For once, he would have the break room to himself.
-----
McGee walked in to a curious scene. Gibbs wasn't present, but that was to be expected and Ziva's chair was empty, which figured, it wasn't likely for her to be in early.
Nor was it usual for DiNozzo to be in early. In fact, most of NCIS wasn't at work yet, it was still relatively early, and the lights were still a little dim.
"Uh, Tony... You okay?" McGee asked on the way to his own seat.
No answer. Tony just sat silently, hands folded on his desk, staring at the workstation across from him.
Tim hadn't seen him in this early since Jeanne. Remembering that, he barely stopped himself from reaching down and touching his keyboard.
He lowered his face down closer to scrutinize the keys. Sure enough, there was a thin, clear gel smeared on the home row keys.
"You put super glue on my keyboard. Again!"
McGee swore that a grin flashed across the senior field agent's face for a split second. When that was the other man's only response, McGee straightened up.
"How long have you been here?"
"Well Probie, I've been here at NCIS for quite a few years now." Tony's eyes still hadn't moved from his partner's desk.
McGee rolled his eyes. "You had to have been here hours earlier than usual to have finished all of your paperwork, and all of Ziva's." He gestured to the neat piles on each of their desks for effect.
Tony finally spared the younger agent a glance. "None of your business McPry."
"You're right," Tim snorted, "it would have taken you months to catch up on all of your paperwork."
Tony pretended not to hear, and McGee scooped up his keyboard, leaving to clean the sticky substance off of it.
Tony was left alone once again, listening to only a few fingers tapping on keyboards. His thoughts drifted to Ziva once more.
Too much time had passed and had been wasted.
Too much had been left unsaid between them.
Too much had happened, and neither one of them wanted to be the first to change it.
So much, maybe too much needed to be done to repair them.
It was amazing how only a month could make him crazier than any of the years they had spent together.
Even a simple four weeks was just too much for Tony.
A soft ding captured his attention.
Looking up, he saw her there, standing completely still.
She would still come in early.
The ninja chick didn't look immediately over towards her seat, but took in the rest of the bull pen first, letting a genuine grin of content cross her face. After a long look, she turned to continue her course towards her desk.
She stopped abruptly.
He had already been staring at her, so Ziva couldn't hide the fact that her eyes widened just a little as she took his appearance in. Hiding her momentary shock, she managed a small smile at him.
Tony rewarded her with a smile even better than his signature DiNozzo grin. It was a softer expression, and somehow meant more than ever.
And as Tony watched her smile grow to match his, a warm realization hit him.
There was never too much of a good thing.
A/N: So, what'd you think? Please review!
And if anyone's wondering, I will be updating the City of Light soon! I'm sorry it's been awhile, I'm just suffering from severe writer's block. This little story is helping me get over it though, so any readers shouldn't have to wait too much longer!