I'm so sorry that I haven't updated or actually written anything for a very long time. I've been very down about my writing and just about gave up. But there was a prompt and suddenly I just kept coming up with all this. I thought I might as well publish. I hope you like it.
Will You Be My Superman?
There are so many monsters. There is always another monster.
When you're a kid, there are the monsters under the bed. You think to yourself that maybe, just maybe, those are the only monsters that you'll ever have to face.
Then you grow up. You finally realise that when you get rid of one, a new one pops up. You acknowledge that there are some monsters that can't run away from. Monsters that are inside yourself.
Some people settle for leaving them there, not paying much attention to them, because monsters aren't supposed to be real, right?
Some people decide that the only way to eliminate the monsters is to eliminate themselves.
Some people choose to fight other people's monsters because maybe they'll become peaceful with their's too.
That's what Tony DiNozzo was prepared to do for Ziva David. Fight her monsters for her. It was a new experience for him, but he'd always been prepared for it. Ziva stood in front of him, hair falling from her normally flawless bun. He'd never seen her so broken, defeated. This monstrous sense of fear hit him fleetingly, then left again. He suspected a lifetime of tragedy and burden had all become a tangible ball of mess and her body had taken the full force of it.
Normally, he'd make a joke to mask his discomfort at this unfamiliar situation, but Ziva's words from last Christmas wouldn't escape his head.
You need to be who you are.
He broke his hand from his pocket and touched her forearm gently, ready to catch her when she inevitably fell. She stepped forward and rested her head on his chest. In that brief moment, he came to the conclusion that he needed this just as much as she did. Maybe even more. What if, in defeating her monster, he'd defeated his own in the process?
This realisation sent a burst of courage through him and he grabbed her arm and pushed her back enough so that she could look at him. It took a few seconds to gain his composure and get the words out because he became aware that she could see him. Like, really see him. Suddenly he was shit scared because this beautiful, fragile woman was staring at him with this expectant gaze and he didn't have all the answers.
"We're gonna get...'kay?"
The tiniest hint of a smile graced her lips and the urge to touch her face was too much so he gave in.
Some people choose to fight other people's monsters because that's what you do for people that you love.