Hi, before you begin, let me interrupt you a tiny bit. It's been a while since I've written fanfiction, but I found a new push to start again. Enjoy, guys :)

It was five years since she picked up the phone and cried, saying she made a big mistake. She came home a week later, leaving everything behind. She counted to a million but she couldn't wait.

They bought a two-story house with his and hers cabinets and towels. He did laundry on Saturday and washed the dishes. She cleaned up the apartment every week and cooked food for them every day. He kissed her every morning and on her every birthday and their anniversaries, he made her pancakes and formed a smiley face from whipped cream and strawberries. Every time she laughed and kissed his cheek. She told him she loved him, at least every other day, just in case.

"Tony! God dammit!" she yelled from downstairs.

The beautiful suburbia life was sometimes a harsh reality compared to the times in the service of NCIS. The silence was louder. There were no reports to write, just gardens to trim and cakes to bake.

"What now?" he groaned and put his magazine down.

"I told you thousand times", she walked upstairs and stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, "Laundry! Now!"

"It's Friday, Ziva!" he objected.

"Gibbs is going to visit us tomorrow! We have three piles of laundry on the living room AND in the bedroom! They need to be washed. Now!" she said and raised her eyebrow.

Tony uttered a laugh, "Come on! Gibbs doesn't care if we have laundry at the corner of our living room! As long as we got bourbon, he's just gonna sit on our sofa and make breathing noises!"

Ziva sat next to him and hit him lightly on his shoulder, "He is not like that".

"He so is. You can't tell me otherwise", he winked.

She chuckled and rested her head against his shoulder. All the anger washed away. Laundry seemed less important while sitting next to him.

"Whatcha thinking?" he asked and picked up a remote. He turned on the TV.

"You", she started and he made a satisfied 'mm'-sound, "And laundry".

"Oh crap", he groaned and patted her thigh, "I thought you were thinking about last night".

Tony moved her little for to be able to kiss her neck. It made her giggle. He smiled against her skin and kissed it once more, "Let's do it again, Ziver".

She turned to look at him and just like that, straddled him and smiled. The lip gloss on her lips shone against the bright summer sun. She smelled like the ocean breeze and shea butter, "Tony, I have a suggestion for you".

He reached to kiss her, "What is that?"

She pulled away and removed herself from his lap, "Do the laundry, or you will not be getting anything for a week".

Tony thought about it for two seconds, then stood up and almost ran to the downstairs living room and their bedroom. He picked up every single piece of laundry and stuffed them into the washing machine. Ziva watched him with slight amusement from the downstairs living room, before moving into the kitchen to make coffee. She hummed an old Israeli lullaby. When Tony had pushed the on button of the washing machine, he walked behind her, took a deep breath of her sweet scent and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I did the laundry", he whispered into her neck, "Now... Sex?"

"Tony", her voice was low.

"Just a suggestion", he lifted his arms into the air and then wrapped them around her again. He spun her around in her arms, until she was looking into her deep, dark eyes.

"Thank you", she said and kissed him, "For doing the laundry".

"You're welcome, Ziva", he smiled, "Now... About last night..."

His suggestive wink and tone made her laugh. He tickled her sides until they fell down on the floor where the tickling turned into kissing. Before they knew it, their clothes were gathered all over the kitchen and they were laying naked on the cold and hard wooden floor.

"Oh crap", he groaned.

"What now?"

"Now we got more laundry".

She laughed.

The morning broke as beautiful as her sleeping next to him. A sheet was covering her naked body. They had moved from the kitchen to the bedroom, for another round. He was reminiscing how her body arched into his touch just few hours ago before the first rays of sunlight. He smiled at her slight snoring that he didn't want to complain about it. She was beautiful and he felt lucky to have her in his life.

"You looking at me while I sleep could be considered weird", she remarked.

He chuckled and kissed her forehead as she nested against him and his warmth.

"We should get up", she groaned, "And make sure that everything is right before Gibbs arrives".

"What is up with you and him? You're obviously freaking out about it," he asked and rose to sat up. He leaned against the board of the bed and sighed.

"I am not", she said and and tussled her hair, "It is just that ever since we left work, I feel like there has been tension between us. I know it is possibly nothing, but still... I feel something that is not okay".

"You think he's holding a grudge or feeling bitter?"

"Well, no. But... But.. I am not sure. Maybe?"

"Come on, Ziva. The man practically considers you as his daughter!You should have seen him when you left to Israel. He called you and almost cried. At work, he was pouting like a baby. At least I did my pouting and crying at home, completely alone".

"You cried?" she moved on the bed and looked at him with a compassionate look on her face.

"No! I mean... I had something in my eye, couple of times. Maybe mold, my bachelor apartment was getting really old and it had a strange smell in there... Of course that could have just been the laundry, since I had no one to nag me to wash them, I kept on forgetting", he objected and made her laugh.

"Right", she nodded and kissed his cheek, "I am going to go make coffee".

She found herself a rope and walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. She swayed silently at the sound of her humming. Tony went outside to pick up the newspaper. After coming back into the house, he sat on the kitchen chair and watched her in her morning rituals – making coffee and porridge. She poured orange juice into a glass and turned around.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

"About what? Gibbs? Not really. He's a good guy and as said, with bourbon, a little more mellow and silent than usual".

"You are not nervous at all?"

"Why should I be?"

"We have not really talked to him since you left and especially when I left", she said and sat opposite of him with her bowl of porridge, cups of coffee and orange juice, "Do you think he might be angry with us?"

"For what? Moving on with our lives, together? Breaking his famous rules? Leaving McGoo and Abs alone? He can't be that petty."

Ziva took a sip from her coffee, "I feel bad".

"You shouldn't. This is our lives now – has been for years, for that matter. He can't control us. His rules don't apply to us anymore. He's just our... um... Gibbs now. Besides, deep down he's a good guy. I'm sure he understands."

"But, Tony, what if he holds a grudge towards us?"

"Then we'll talk it out – or drink about it," he shrugged.

Ziva smiled and sighed.

"Don't worry, everything'll go just fine".

Gibbs was thirty minutes early. He still worked at the Navy Yard and refused to listen Leon's constant whining about possible retirement. He had aged gracefully but time didn't erase the marks of the years he had gone through from his face. He sighed and walked into Tony and Ziva's home. He looked around, like reminiscing an old memory. He had been there once before, but it was when they had just bought the place.

"You want coffee?" Ziva asked nervously as she rushed in the kitchen, while trying to look busy doing absolutely nothing. Tony walked into the kitchen and straight to the fridge.

"You know what I want", Gibbs groaned and sat on the living room couch. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He rubbed his knee with his hand, not telling a soul about how much it ached nowadays. Getting old was not Gibbs' best and most welcomed friend.

Tony sat next to him and gave him the beer he took from the fridge, "It's not bourbon but it does the trick anyway".

Ziva leaned against the sink and took a deep breath. She was nervous about what Gibbs was going to ask from her. She admitted to herself that she had left things way too open after her departure to Israel. When she came back from there, she still hadn't had the guts to face Gibbs. She had been tortured in Somalia, had a gun pointed to her face more than once and still, she was more afraid of Gibbs and his actions and silent judgement.

"How's the Navy Yard?" Tony tried to make small talk.

"Dead navy personnel", Gibbs shrugged.

"How are Abs and McGee and Ellie?"

"Abby is busy and McGee is sweating because of all the pressure he's under. Ellie is doing just fine. Most of the time she's calming McGee down".

Tony took a sip of his beer, "Well, he went to MIT, I'm sure he can handle quite a lot".

"He already took a week long leave of absence".

Tony raised his brows, "So... He's going down like the Titanic. Great. Have you thought about re-enforcement?"

"We have", Gibbs said and looked at Tony, "His name is Morrison. He's a good agent".

"That's great, then. Great that everything's working out".

Ziva entered the living room and the clouds of awkward silence were almost visibly floating in the ceiling. The tension was pressuring and not funny at all.

"Morrison?" she asked, pretending to be curious.

"Bruce. Bruce Morrison. He works hard and gets along just fine with the others", Gibbs said and drank his beer.

"He sounds great", Ziva tried to fake a smile. Gibbs saw right through her and she felt shivers down her spine. Tony noticed how twitchy and nervous Ziva was, so he tried to ease up the tension.

"So, thinking about retirement?"

Gibbs glared at him silently, "What do you think?"

"I wanna say no, but I feel like you're under pressure too", Tony said and felt like he was going down the rabbit hole, hard and fast, hitting all the pumps and spikes along the way. It really didn't feel nice.

"Tell me", Gibbs turned to look at them both, "Why the hell did you invite me here?"

"We thought you needed a break from all the wood you're carving", Tony chuckled but quickly piped down after a very disapproving look from Gibbs, "Not funny, got it".

"We thought it would be good to see you again", Ziva said and smiled awkwardly.

Gibbs wasn't buying the suburbia life of his two former agents. He didn't buy their smiles or hospitality. He knew better. The spark in their eyes was gone. There was no excitement in anything anymore. He wasn't enjoying his staying. He wanted to leave.

"Are you two coming back to work anymore?" he asked, flat out.

Ziva looked at Tony and he looked back at her. Panic flashed in their eyes as they tried to gather their reasons.

"We thought we already had this discussion like five years ago", Tony said, "I thought we've already been through this".

"This is our life now", Ziva added.

"Really? A dead end suburbia house. Are you serious? You two were federal agents and suddenly this is enough to make you happy?" Gibbs insisted.

"I've got her, that's all I need," Tony admitted and took Ziva's hand in his.

Gibbs looked at them and stood up. He left the unfinished beer on the table and walked to the front door.

Ziva stood up. She was afraid of this.

"Family is the number one thing. You don't hurt your family and you most certainly not break it apart", Gibbs said and turned to look at them both, "It's broken now".

The door opened and closed.

Ziva shivered from Gibbs' words and his cold shoulder towards her new life.

Tony wrapped her inside his embrace and knew that suburbia life wasn't what they had planned, but it was certainly better than waiting for possible and sudden death at work. It got to him fast and strong and so did Ziva. He'd do anything for her, no questions asked. He changed when she left him and went to Israel. There wasn't a moment when he didn't miss her and her failed American idioms. He missed her support and swore to himself to never be apart from her if they ever met again. So years later, in the same spot where he kissed her goodbye and confessed it all to be the hardest 180 of his life, he stood, waiting for her. She came running and crying and smiling. His heart filled up with joy. In that same place where he cried because the better half of him that was always there, was leaving behind, he said he loved her and always had. When she said the same thing back at him, he swore he could move mountains. Tony helped her move back to United States and they immediately started a life together. Countless relatives and friends thought it was way too rushed, including Gibbs, but Ziva and Tony were way too happy to care. People tried to support but in time, connections faded and there were more old memories than new ones. Abby used to visit them quite frequently but she was way too busy for that nowadays. McGee was cracking under pressure of a more leading role. Gibbs was reluctant to accept the reality and truth of having to let go his two best agents. After five years, he still refused to give up. He carried a hope of them coming back within him and every time someone crashed that hope, he would leave and certainly never talk about it. It was hard when no one gave up from their beliefs.

Tony kissed Ziva's hair. He promised to make it right.

"I'm gonna go talk to him", Tony said and let her go, "He hasn't driven anywhere. I can see his car on the parking lot."

Ziva sat on the couch and sighed. She hid her head in her hands and felt beyond tired.

Tony ran to Gibbs. He tried to think about what to say to his former boss on his way.

"We need to talk", he said.

Gibbs was about to open the car door but stopped to look at Tony, who was upset and angry.

"What do you want now?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Look who's talking", he said and opened door of his car.

"You are not going anywhere until we talk!" Tony said and slammed the door back closed, "Why are you acting like a child? You hurt Ziva's feelings and mine too, for that matter!"

"Stop acting like a hypocrite, DiNozzo, you know better than that!" Gibbs said and hit the door with his fist, "You quit your job just like that, barely even explaining why! Then all of a sudden Ziva drops in and suddenly you're moving in together! What the hell, DiNozzo?!"

"Oh come on, you are like one big baby! I told you several times why I'm quitting! I don't know about you and Ziva but at least I told you what was going on!" Tony objected, "Why are you doing this? You judge us for some reason that no one knows! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You think that this is your life now? Suburbs? You two were my agents! Work was your life and now suddenly it's not? What the hell are you planning to do? "

"Live! Something you haven't done in years!"

Gibbs shut his mouth and wiped his face with his hand. He sighed deeply.

"I want to be with her more than anything! I love her and I'm tired of hiding it! I want to live with her and be with her! It's idiotic for you to act like this! Ziva's like your daughter and she basically adores you! Why are you ignoring all that? Why can't you accept change and be part of it? We're not going back anymore."

"Why are you so insistent of this?"

"Because... Because I'm thinking of marrying her".

Gibbs looked at Tony with widen eyes of surprise, "W-what?"

"I wanna marry her", Tony smiled, "To be honest, that's all I've thought about in years. I just can't seem to catch a break! Either it's laundry or cooking or past knocking at my door or angry ex-bosses... Something always gets in the way of my proposal".

"I don't understand..."

"We live in the suburbs because it's a big change compared to our lives at the Navy Yard. We wanted something different. We have two stories of house now instead of two different ones. I love her so much I'd die for her. I don't want her to be upset and right now, you are making her feel so! She misses you and she wants your approval to this change and we both want you to grow up and accept this. Things don't always stay the same but it doesn't mean that people stop caring about each others".

Gibbs sighed and felt tired instead of upset. He understood Tony's point but still wasn't willing to bend his beliefs in his favor, "When did you grow up?"

"Somewhere in between selling my apartment and buying her an engagement ring", Tony smirked. He noticed that Gibbs was more relaxed and it made himself feel at ease too, "Why don't you go see her now?"

"I have to go back to work. Dead petty officer, just got a call from Ellie", Gibbs shrugged and opened the car door. He sat in the driver seat and twisted the keys in the ignition lock. The car started slow and steady. He cracked open a window, "Hope you two are happy".

"We are", Tony nodded and watched Gibbs drive away from their home, towards the place that he once called home, instead of his bachelor flat.

Tony came back to the house and to Ziva. She was still sitting on the couch. She turned her gaze into him and smiled, "Is he still upset? Or in denial?"

"He's still very much Gibbs", Tony shrugged, "I think that he needs time, that's all".

Tony sat next to her and hugged her, "I love you".

"I love you too".

Tony woke up in the middle of the night. Ziva wasn't snoring next to him, possibly that was what woke him up. He looked around but she was nowhere to be found.

He sat up and yawned. His scents got sharper when he heard a slight sobbing noise coming from downstairs. He frowned and silently made his way down the stairs and found Ziva.

She had curled into a little ball on the couch. The night was bright and the moon painted her with pale light. Shadows danced in the ceiling and the whole room felt like it was from a whole different universe.

"Ziva?" Tony leaned against the doorway of the living room.

"Did I wake you? I am sorry", she said and dried her tears. She tried so hard to be the warrior she used to be, but there was no cause for a war anymore. No family, nothing. The life in the boring suburbia didn't require to be a hero of any kind, just a bare human being. It was harder to let down the guards and face the world as just yourself.

"You alright?"

"Gibbs called".

"Oh dear".

"No", Ziva said and sat up on the couch. She smiled with tears in her eyes, "Gibbs called to say that he is alright with all this. Or at least, he will be, eventually".

She sobbed and smiled, while drying her eyes again, "He's happy for us".

Tony smiled too and sat next to her, "While now that we're on happy subject, let me tell you something".

"What?"

"I love you, Ziva David and you make my life a better place. I've never made a better decision than the two I've made during my whole life. Rescuing you from Somalia even after everyone thought you were dead and two, being me, coming to get you back from Israel. I just want you to know that I'd do anything for you and that you make me so happy."

"You make me happy too".

"No, Ziva... I just... I want you ask you something. I mean, you know... In a lot of movies, people say things like this and then they -"

"Tony", she stopped him and caressed his cheek with her hand, "Yes".

"What?" Tony looked baffled and leaned against her hand. He kissed it sincerely.

"Yes, I will marry you".

"What? You will? I didn't even get to finish my question!"

"That would have taken us all night".

"What do you mean by -"

"Tony...!"

"Sorry, sorry!" he laughed and stood up. He almost jumped up and down in his spot, "So you're marrying me? Really?"

Ziva giggled at his childish behavior, "Yes".

Tony's mouth took over a wide smile, as he captured Ziva in his arms and danced her around the living room. She howled in laughter and let out couple tears of joy. He kissed her and wrapped his arms around her body. He held her tight and buried his face into her neck. They stopped dancing, instead they stood completely still, holding each other tight.

"Tony...?"

"I'm just so happy", he kept swallowing his tears, "I finally feel like I'm complete and that all the pieces of the puzzle are falling right into place".

Ziva smiled and to kiss him. To her, he tasted like sweet redemption from all the horrible times they had been through. To her, he was the bright side of her life. To her, he was the one who could carry her through the strongest storms. He was her rock, for better and for worse.

Tony tried to hide his sobbing but failed in his attempt. Tears ran down on his cheek and in the end, he chose not to care. With her in his arms and the fact that she'd marry him, he was better than okay, more than happy and beyond grateful to have her. She was beautiful and all that he could ever ask for.

"Oh, wait a second", Tony said and let her go momentarily. He ran to the downstairs guestroom and then returned back to her, with a ring box in his hand. He took out the ring that once belonged to his mother and Ziva's hand in his. Slowly he placed the ring on her finger. She looked at it in awe and then him.

"It is beautiful, Tony".

"Just like you are".

Ziva felt tears in the corner of her eyes, "I love you so much".

"I love you too, my bride-to-be".

She could get used to that, she thought.