A/N: I'm an idiot. I continuously promise to write more and here I am, back from yet another stupid writers block... so, let's start something new. Give me words, just words I need to write stories for. I'll probably use this story as a place to collect all these one-word-prompts. One per chapter or so. Maybe, if the stories are shorter, I'll put more than one per chapter. We'll see, but you know, I kinda need a bit of inspiration^^
Autopilot.
Eat.
Work.
Sleep.
Repeat.
Yes, this is Leroy Jethro Gibbs' life now. It has been for years, but more recently, it has become more obvious and therefore more excruciating. Ever since Ziva left the team, Jethro has been feeling numb. Every day seemed like just another chore to get through. It was as if the young woman flipped a switch in him, putting him on autopilot as if leaving a permanent mark – a scar, if you will. Nothing about his day was exciting him anymore and even his basement had become unappealing. How one woman, one he hadn't even had the closest relationship with, could change his life so drastically was a mystery to him. Well, not having the closest relationship with someone does not technically mean that he didn't want there to be more. He just hadn't gotten around to that.
It had been inappropriate for a while, with her brother just having died at her own hand and her joining his team so soon after. Then they had developed some kind of awkward little friendship, that was often mistaken for a father/daughter like dynamic by people who met them. Of course that wasn't helpful. Then she had been in a few sticky situations and so had he, which brought them closer while somehow pushing them further apart.
Then, obviously, there was that whole Dinozzo thing. He should have sent him to Mars or somewhere – Tony and Ziva's dynamic was way too much to handle sometimes. Jethro promised himself he would never interfere with her relationships though – it wasn't his place. Though, if that boy ever hurt his Ziver, he would get what he deserved. Seriously. Gibbs' boots have never been so firmly launched up someone's ass, but there is a first time for everything and Tony's not-good-enough-for-Ziva ass was just the right place to send a pair of boots. Okay, that might be bit of a tortured metaphor, but he's never been that good with words. In his mind, that plan seemed rather lovely – not for Tony, but that was the idea, right?
And of course we can't forget that Ziva, too, mentioned that she thought of him as a father, which made it extra creepy to even entertain a thought of her as more than a member of his team, or a friend. It also scared him off of ever telling her how he felt. Can't run the risk of destroying a good friendship over something that is destined to go wrong anyway. She seemed to have chosen Dinozzo, that damn little boy.
When had he started to feel about Tony this way? Around the time when the flirting between his two agents become too much to handle – about a year or so after Ziva joined the team. It all started with just a little 'stupid Tony!' in a dream Jethro'd had, where they were all children and Ziva was a toy Dinozzo had stolen from him. Very mature, really, Gibbs.
Franks had only laughed when he found out about the whole thing. Apparently, being made out of mostly caffeine makes you talk in your sleep, which can get very embarrassing when you're sharing a tiny beach shack with your former boss and tend to have borderline pornographic dreams about young Israeli women under your supervision. 'Don't ever share a room with her, Probie.', he used to laugh, 'She'll know in a heartbeat...' Good advice from a good friend.
Of course, it never really came to that. Suddenly, years later but still, she was gone. She had officially left the team, kissing Tony goodbye and leaving Jethro with yet another scar. Not a physical one, of course, but it did seem like she had drained him of a whole lot of life force. Sure, barely anyone had noticed the change since he had always been rather distant and emotionally cold, but to him it felt like the whole world had changed.
What was he to do? Just keep on living. Don't let it affect him. Hire someone new. Learn to accept that she's gone. Learn to like Tony again. Just keep on living. Breathe.
Eat.
Work.
Sleep.
Repeat.
A/N: So, this was the first one. Remember to put some suggestions in the reviews and maybe, if you feel like it, tell me how you liked this one. Hope you all have a great day^^