Author's Note-Okay, goodness knows why my muse decided that we should write a New Year's story in August, but hey, just go with it. Okay, just a couple of things; one, I know, I know, I keep putting Ziva in bad situations, I don't know why either alright? Two, Jimmy is not married, engaged or with Breena at this point. Three, Ziva's dress is second from the left and her shoes are the far left (link on my profile) Also; this story is a little inspired by Weakness by Faye444. Go read it. It's good. Okay, sorted, enjoy. NYLF xx
Tony knocked on the door of the studio apartment which was almost immediately opened by a nameless stranger he'd probably never see again let alone speak to. He was used to it by now, Abby's New Year's Eve parties were always the same; the handful of people they had in common and then everybody else she knew, most of which Tony was sure he had met before but was far too drunk last year to remember, and the year before that. He thanked the guy before shutting the door behind him and heading straight to the lounge where something was blaring through Abby's extensive surround system that he was sure she'd hit him for calling an offence to all things decent in the world. He shuddered at the assault to his ear drums before locating the hostess and making a beeline for her.
"Hey Abs!" He yelled over the sound. She turned to face him and practically jumped on him with an enthusiastic smile.
"Tony! You made it!" He chuckled as he juggled her and the crate of beer in his other hand.
"Course I did Abs, wouldn't miss it! Where are the others?" She shrugged before leaning into him so he could hear her better.
"Gibbs came and went! Timmy's around somewhere. I think Palmer's hooked up!" They exchanged raised eyebrows and amused knowing smiles. "Ziva disappeared about an hour ago, she hasn't left yet though, I think." He nodded and hugged her again.
"You look amazing Abs!" Abby smiled widely, twirling on the spot in her fishnets, knee-high florescent red platforms and bright red rockabilly dress decorated with a variety of musical notes.
"Thanks!" He kissed her cheek before practically shouting in her ear to make himself heard.
"I'm gonna go put this in the kitchen! See you in a bit!" She nodded before turning back to her other guests as Tony made his way down the hall to the rather large kitchen.
He quickly noticed that with the door closed, the music was much more of a tolerable level. Leaning against it, he closed his eyes and released a sigh of relief. His eyes snapped open again when a familiar husky chuckle filled his ears.
"I did exactly the same thing." Ziva laughed from her place, sat on the kitchen side, beer in hand. He smiled before making his way over to her and, after raising an eyebrow at her and shifting her at least six inch stilettos out of the way, placing the crate he was holding beside her.
"No one else sought refuge in here yet?" He asked incredulously, earning him another chuckle.
"Everyone else here enjoys this music, Tony." She admonished playfully, with just enough flirtation to make him think she was already several ahead of him. He laughed and shook his head.
"Apparently so. McGee's around somewhere apparently." She nodded as she swallowed her mouthful of beer.
"I saw him; he was following Abby around like a lost kitten until he made a swift exit stage left. I saw him drive away about twenty minutes ago. He got propositioned, by a wonderful, very tattooed, very male person." Tony laughed out loud.
"Okay firstly, wow, he is never gonna live that down, secondly, puppy, not kitten." She waved him off as she finished her drink.
"Pa-tay-toe, pa-tah-toe." He rolled his eyes. She helped herself to one of the beers he brought and hiccupped as she positioned it against the counter she was sat on and slammed her hand down onto it. The lid popped off and she caught it before tossing it into the sink just across from her. He took a moment to appreciate the strapless, sweetheart neck-lined, mid-thigh length, blue sequinned and second-skin-tight dress she was wearing before returning his eye line to meet hers. She smiled slightly tipsily. "Jimmy has curled up with one of Abby's friends." Tony shook his head with a smile.
"I think you mean hooked, but with Autopsy Gremlin I guess you never know." She scowled at him askew.
"You are (hiccup) correcting my (hiccup) English a lot tonight." She held her breath for a moment in an attempt to keep the hiccups at bay, it seemed to work.
"You're making a lot of mistakes." He laughed. "How many of those have you had Zi?" She looked down at the beer in her hand to which he was referring before looking back at him.
"This is my second." He looked at her sceptically. "No, really."
"Ziva, even Probie doesn't get this loaded on two beers." She held up a finger at him to accentuate a point he wasn't aware he had made.
"You asked how many of these I have had, not how much I have had to drink." She smiled before sipping at her beer. Tony sighed; so she was in one of those moods.
"Okay. Ziva." He started in the most patronizing tone he could muster. "How much have you had to drink?" She giggled before rolling her head up to face the ceiling.
"Umm, two beers, a very large glass of the red you left last time you came to dinner and, umm, maybe close to half a bottle of tequila." He looked at her agape. "What?"
"Please, please, tell me you didn't drive here." He urged her. She shook her head.
"Do not be silly. I caught an elevator with McGee." Tony sighed.
"Lift." She tipped her bottle at him.
"Ah yes, lift." He watched her carefully. She seemed to have let go of whatever was bothering her in the office earlier, but he couldn't fully vouch that it wasn't alcohol induced happiness rather than true happiness. He had a feeling it was the former, but now wasn't the time to find out. He instead took a beer for himself and started looking around for a conventional bottle opener. "I could not find one, hence the…" She motioned at the side beside her. "You want me to open yours?" He smirked.
"Sure, you seem to enjoy it so much." She smiled and swapped bottles with him before opening his and swapping back. "Grazie."
"Al Lo Devar." She smiled. "So, do you know anyone this year?" Tony chuckled; it was their running private joke.
"Nope, you?" She shook her head.
"I think I recognised the guy who propositioned McGee." They both laughed. "But I could not name him if his life depended on it."
"Your life." She tilted her head at him.
"Why would my life depend on being able to name him?" Tony opened his mouth before promptly shutting it again and actually thinking about it.
"Come to think about it; I have absolutely no idea." She shook her head with a chuckle.
"And there is the reason I do not understand this language." He chuckled. She turned to face him with a quiet, peaceful smile.
"What?" She shook her head before putting down her bottle and handing him a glass from the cupboard behind her.
"Could you fill this with water please, I am not sure I can stand anymore." He chuckled before filling her glass and passing it back to her. "Toda."
"Prego." He nodded; glad she had made the decision by herself. He always hated to be the bad guy and make any of his team switch to soft drinks on a night out, especially a New Year's Eve type night out, but he would do it if it became a question of their health and happiness. If he had to be the adult, he would.
"Was Abby having fun when you saw her? I feel a little guilty hiding in here but I just cannot handle that level of noise any longer." He smiled.
"She looked like she was having an absolute ball. I doubt she'll have noticed to be fair Zi, she was pretty far gone herself." Ziva regarded him seriously.
"How can you tell?" He laughed and kissed her forehead.
"You do make me laugh Ziva." She smiled.
"Naturally, I am the comic relief in our partnership." She laughed at the sheer disbelief on his face.
"Yeah, course, whatever you say." They laughed for a moment longer than strictly necessary before both sighing. "So, you have every right to tell me to get lost…"
"It worries me when you start a conversation like that Tony." He shot her a shy smile.
"When did you start drinking Zi?" She looked at him in slight confusion.
"Tonight or…" He shook his head.
"Tonight." She nodded before looking slightly shy.
"The moment I got home." He turned to her, but the shock she expected to see in his eyes wasn't there. Instead he gave her a look of understanding and quiet support.
"You wanna talk about that?" She shook her head as she sipped her water quietly. "You sure? I'm a pretty good listener." She sighed, leaning her head back into the cupboard behind her. Tony displayed impressive self-control when his eyes only stopped at the now delicious curve of her neck momentarily. "Zi…?" She chuckled humourlessly before rolling her head to face him. There was something in her eyes, lurking behind the drunken giddiness, that made his heart stutter and his arms itch to hold her.
"I left him." Her voice is a lot quieter than either of them expected. Tony took a step closer to her and took her hand in his, grounding her. "This morning, I packed my bags and left." She sighed and settled her eyes somewhere in the vicinity of his shirt as her spare hand comes up to play with the buttons. "He, he has not been good to me." Both of their breathing hitched. Tony knew there had been a reason he didn't like him other than the fact she was dating him. She suddenly shook her head and retracted her hands from him. "Now is neither the time nor the place…" Tony cupped her face in both hands and gently stroked her cheek bones. She gasped.
"Ziva, I'm not gonna judge you. I'll not say a word. I only want to help. It's okay, you're safe." She looked down at him with scared eyes as her breathing sped up.
"Please, let go of me." She was barely able to press out. Tony removed his hands like she was on fire and watched concernedly as she gulped in air while her hands slid into the luscious curls she'd left her hair in.
"Ziva…?" She didn't hear his kind, gentle concern. She was trapped in her mind, flashes of his sneer as he looked down at her, of herself screaming, begging him to stop. She tried to shake her head, clear the visions from behind her eyes but all she could see was his face before his fist made contact with the side of her head. Suddenly, she was back in the room, staring at Tony with wild, frantic eyes while he stared back. "Ziva? What happened?" She shook her head but he wouldn't let it go. He slowly laid both his hands on her knees. "Ziva, tell me." His loving but authoritative tone seemed to break through to her. She still refused to meet his eye but slid her hands over his.
"He hit me." She gulped and shook her head again. "He, forced, me." He couldn't bear to hear it any more than she could say it. He'd raped her. The bastard had actually gone and raped her. Tony felt sick. Silence enveloped them for several minutes, neither sure of what to say. "Tony?" She asked quietly. He shook his head as if to clear it from the murderous thoughts towards the bastard who hurt his friend/partner/ longtermsignificantothertype person, before he reached beside her and took her beer bottle in hand. He tipped it towards her with a small smile. She laughed, the first one of the night that isn't intoxication induced.
"And now you understand." She smiled and took the bottle, but returned it to its place beside her rather than drinking from it. "I have had enough." He gently watched her as she turned back to face him. "What?" She asked slowly.
"Nothing, just." He paused and slowly stroked this thumbs across her thighs under her hands. "You deserve better than him Ziva. So much better." She smiled shyly.
"Thank you." She murmurs. He looks her in the eye seriously.
"I mean it Zi. You deserve a guy who will give you the world. Someone to whom you are the single most important thing. Someone who will make time for you, who will spoil you rotten, who will actually love and cherish you for the rest of your life. Someone..." He took a deep breath and jumped into the deep end. "Like me." A small smile graced her face.
"Someone like you, Tony?" She giggled. He shrugged.
"Why not?" In the other room, the countdown had started. Just before they reached zero, Tony leaned in until he was mere millimetres from her face. "Happy New Year Ziva."
Their lips meet as the clock strikes midnight and the room beside them bursts with cheers, singing and party poppers. But Tony and Ziva don't hear any of it. As chaos erupts in the street below, Ziva slowly wraps her arms around his neck while Tony's slip around her waist and they both deepen the kiss and hold each other tight.
She deserves someone who would give her the world. In Tony's opinion, that isn't nearly enough.