Title: Something Permanent
Fandom: NCIS
Author: Alidiabin
Words: 536
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Warnings/Spoilers/Rating: none | 9x13 | PG
Parings: Tony/Ziva
Summary: Ziva finds something while spring cleaning, causing a change in her and Tony's relationship. Happy birthday, Soph!
Something Permanent
Tony was not sure how they agreed to live together, they could not even order take-out without bickering but after years of hopping between each other's apartments they had decided to lease a slightly bigger one together.
Which meant cleaning out. Tony's apartment was the target of the spring cleaning as he had lived in the same one for ten years, he also tended to hoard.
"Can't I do this myself," he asked as Ziva looked through his collection of GSM magazines before deciding they were better off in the rubbish. Ziva did not reply, instead she kept going through his stuff. "Ziva," he begged, "At least let me go through it."
"It is just stuff, Tony," Ziva replied as she held up a t-shirt for Palm Springs obviously from his college days.
"Stuff that has meaning," Tony responded as he plucked the t-shirt from her hands, he didn't even know he had it.
"If it meant something it would be in your desk," Ziva uttered. Tony did not argue with her, she was right, their desks both housed stuff they could not bear to part with; Tony's Mighty Mouse stapler and Ziva's photographs.
"Fine," Tony said, throwing the undersized shirt in the rubbish bag. He dove under his bed looking for more stuff.
Ziva dug deeper into his closet, she pulled out a pair of underwear, which she hoped were clean, and a velvet box. Curiosity claimed her and she opened the velvet box expecting to find Tony's class ring or a pair of cufflinks.
Instead she found an engagement ring. A simple one with a gold band and a round diamond.
"Ziva," Tony uttered as he turned back to look at her.
"Is this the one you got Wendy?" she asked, telling herself it was the only logical explanation for him having it.
"No," Tony replied, "It was my Grandmothers, Wendy didn't like vintage. I brought her a new one."
"The one Ray got me was new," Ziva replied as fiddled with the ring. "I would have preferred one with a history."
"You should have it," Tony replied. Ziva's mouth dropped.
"Why?" she asked, "It's yours. Unless you propose."
"What if I am?" he replied coyly.
He had thought about proposing to Ziva a few times; imaging a beautiful setting like a beach and the smile that would cross her face as she accepted, he had not imagined an awkward proposal amongst open boxes and whilst wearing sweatpants.
"What if I accept?" she responded equally coy. The last time she had been proposed to it had been out of desperation and in a public place. She had felt awkward and forced into it. Now it felt completely safe.
"Then we get engaged, I guess," Tony said, they last time he'd done this, he'd been a lot more scared. He looked up at Ziva. She took the ring from the box and slid it up her finger.
"I guess, we are engaged then," she replied. A broad smile crossed her face. The smile he had always imagined seeing. The fact that he proposed over cardboard boxes didn't matter. He leaned into kiss her. She pushed him back onto the boxes, the spring cleaning could wait.