This may or may not turn into a multi chapter fic… I don't know… depends on if anyone even likes it.
My 'in a perfect world' take on what happens between Tony and Ziva the summer after they resign.
It was late into the evening and Tony was sprawled across his black leather couch, a beer in one hand and a remote in the other, mindlessly flipping channels. He had considered selecting a movie from his sizeable collection, but he figured his mind would be too scattered to follow a two hour plot line. The gentle knock on his door drew his attention from the screen, and he groaned as he threw his feet over the edge of the couch, stretching his arms above his head, his back cracking while he paused momentarily, knowing full well who stood on the other side of the door. Though he hadn't really expected her to come, he had hoped she might make an appearance.
After their conversation in the woods, Tony's confusion as to where their relationship stood had not been granted much clarity. He hadn't been certain where she was going to lead the conversation when she had placed her hand over his heart, yet when she had spoken that word, friendship, his heart had sunk momentarily, because in his eyes, they had been working toward something so much more than friendship. However the stutter in her voice as she spoke that word had instilled in him a faint hope that perhaps she saw them as something more too.
He slowly rose onto his feet and made his way toward the door, pulling it open.
She shuffled her feet slightly, giving him a gentle smile while balancing a pizza box in her hand.
"Up for some company?" she questioned, her eyebrows drawing together with apprehension that he might decline her offer.
"Sure," he responded, drawing the door open further and stepping aside to allow space for her to maneuver into the family room.
He noticed she had changed out of her clothes from work and now sported yoga pants and an old, baggy NCIS sweatshirt he suspected had once found residence in his gym locker from the basement of the office.
"I'll go grab some plates. Make yourself at home," he called over his shoulder as he made his way into the kitchen.
When he rounded the corner back to the family room, he smiled internally seeing Ziva curled on the end of the couch, her feet tucked beneath her. He set the plates onto the coffee table, alongside the pizza box, and approached his wall of movies.
"What are you in the mood for?" he questioned.
"Whatever is fine, Tony," she answered.
He skimmed the shelves briefly before landing on an suitable choice.
"How does Pirates of the Caribbean sound? … I know how much you like your Johnny Depp," he added, a hint of a smile ghosting his voice.
"Sure," she nodded in response.
He plopped the DVD into the player and took his seat an appropriate distance from Ziva's side, not wishing to cross any lines tonight.
As the movie began, they both reached for a piece of pizza from the open box and fell into a comfortable silence.
It amazed him how easy things felt between them, even after all they had been through over the past few months. He was reminded of their summer together nearly seven years ago, when Gibbs had resigned, though this time it was them who had turned in their badges. They had grown close that summer, not in a romantic sense, but rather they had become friends, not just coworkers, often spending their Friday evenings at her apartment as he worked to educate her on the finest of America's cinema classics. Things had been so simple back then; before Jeanne, Rivkin, EJ, and Ray, before Somalia and her father's death. He sometimes missed those days and became angry that they had had to face so much pain over the years, but then he remembered where they stood now, how much they had both grown from those experiences, and he was thankful for all the crap they had been through, because it had made them stronger.
He had sensed her eyes on his profile the past ten minutes but had kept his stare fixed on the movie, though had anyone asked what had just happened during the climax, he wouldn't have been able to relay a single detail.
"Tony?" she called quietly.
"Huh?" he replied, drawing his gaze from the screen and meeting her gentle stare.
"I missed this," she answered with a soft smile.
The corners of his mouth turned upward with a mirrored expression.
"Me too."
So this was kinda shorter than I wanted. Send me a review if you think I should add another chapter!