Title: Unexpected Meetings
Rating: T-ish
Genre: Angst/Romance
Character(s): Ziva David, Kate Todd
Pairing(s): Kate/Ziva
Summary: //'Ziva knew that she should not be here. She knew that being in this place would only hurt her. She was already battered, and she was not sure how much more pain her body could take.'// Ziva visits the cemetery and meets up with someone she didn't expect to see.
Disclaimer: I don't own it. If I did, then why the heck would I be writing fanfiction?
Author's Note: So, my muse decided to come back for a while. It inspired me with this angsty oneshot that I'm actually quite happy with. Let's just hope that my muse stays long enough for me to be able to update my multi-chapter fics soon.
Author's Note 2: I read through this a couple of times to make sure everything was okay, but I probably missed something somewhere. So, all mistakes are mine and that jazz. Feel free to mention any mistakes you find and I'll correct them later.
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Ziva knew that she should not be here. She knew that being in this place would only hurt her. She was already battered, and she was not sure how much more pain her body could take. But she did not care, and even if she did she could not move. Something was pulling at her like an unseen rope, coiled around her body and holding her in place.
Rain soaked through her clothes and wet her skin. Her dark locks stuck to her cheeks, plastered against her forehead as if they were glued there. A shiver ran though Ziva's body as icy rain ran down her spine. It was miserable.
The weather fit Ziva's mood perfectly. All she wanted to do was sit in a corner and cry her eyes out. But she was stronger than that. Ziva David did not cry. Not on the outside, at least.
Blinking rain (or maybe tears) from her eyes, Ziva studied the gravestone. She chewed her bottom lip so hard it hurt and swallowed around the sob that had risen in her throat. No crying, Ziva. No crying, She thought, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her palms.
"I thought I would find you here," The voice came from behind her, and Ziva could not stop herself from jumping in surprise. The voice was a soft, flowing legato that seemed all too familiar. Ziva shivered again, but not from the cold this time.
She turned and faced the owner of the voice, pursing her lips in a thin line to hold the sobs inside and stop herself from saying something stupid. The woman standing before her looked so casual, brown hair pulled into a neat ponytail, emotions flickering in her hazel eyes like the fireflies that filled the air on summer nights.
Every time a new emotion appeared, it was gone just as quickly. There was no time for Ziva to read what each one was, to know what the other woman before her was feeling. Swallowing thickly, Ziva let the painfully familiar name roll off her tongue, "Kate."
A long pause followed, silence broken only by the wind, the rain, and the sound of their breathing. Shifting awkwardly, Ziva looked away from Kate, feeling the sting of tears pricking at her eyelids. Several furious blinks later, and the feeling faded once again.
"I thought I would find you here," Kate repeated, sitting on a bench that was placed beside the trunk of an oak tree, sheltered by the large branches that spread above it, "But I didn't come here to see you."
Without thinking about it first, Ziva walked over and sat down on the other side of the bench from Kate, not looking at the brunette. She was not positive that she could keep herself from breaking down if she met the other woman's eyes.
Under the protection of the oak branches, less rain managed to soak Ziva to the bone. Not much less, though, and raindrops ran down her cheeks like tears. Or maybe she really was crying. It was too hard to tell through the cobwebs in her brain.
"So, if you did not come to see me, then why are you here?" Ziva asked, voice rough from the unshed tears clouding her throat. She stared at her hands, picking at her fingernails and doing anything to avoid looking at Kate.
Kate did not respond for a long moment, and Ziva braved a glance at the brunette. She was staring off into space, a thoughtful frown on her face. Finally, she turned to face Ziva again and the Israeli tried not to drown in those gorgeous hazel eyes, "Asking won't always get you an answer, Ziva."
Suddenly, Ziva had gone from not wanting to look at Kate to not being able to turn away. Ziva did not respond to what Kate said, licking her lips and trying to think of something to say that wouldn't make her sound like an idiot.
"I am sorry that…that it is all over," Ziva whispered, so quietly that she was not even sure that she had said the words out loud. But Kate obviously heard them because she gave Ziva a grim smile and a curt nod. Sighing, the Israeli continued, "It hurts that it had to end up this way. I never wanted it to end like it did."
Kate closed her eyes tiredly, leaning back against the bench and letting out a slow, shuddering breath, "Be honest with me—are you sorry that we met?" It was such a simple question, but it held so much meaning.
"No," Ziva said, surprised by the firmness in her voice. She did not let the surprise show, instead keeping her face stoic and serious, "I am sorry that it is over, though."
Brushing a strand of wet hair back into her ponytail, Kate looked straight ahead at the gravestone that Ziva had come to visit, "I'm not sorry for anything. I'm not sorry we met. I'm not sorry I loved you. I'm not sorry it ended the way it did because I can't change fate. No one can."
There was a sadness to Kate's voice that made Ziva frown and gave her the urge to pull the other woman close. But she kept a tight hold on the urge, crushing it to bits in her grip until it faded away completely.
"You should go home," Kate said seriously, glancing up as lightning cracked loudly, illuminating everything in an eerie glow, "It could be dangerous for you to be outside in this storm. Don't want you getting fried, do we?"
She gave Ziva a small, completely fake smile. Ziva did not return the expression, instead closing her eyes tightly to force back another wave of tears, "Kate…I do not want to leave you. I love you too much to leave you."
"Don't worry about me, Z. I'll be fine," Kate replied, and even with her eyes closed, Ziva could sense her leaning closer. Sparks buzzed in her stomach and she tried not to move, just in case this was all a dream that would end the second she twitched, "And…and I love you too."
Ziva waited for the familiar feeling of Kate's lips against hers as she felt the other woman's breath against her cheek. Suddenly, though, it disappeared and Ziva's eyes fluttered open. He eyes stung agonizingly, and Ziva could not fight it any longer. Tears rolled down her cheeks—definitely not the rain this time— and Ziva could do nothing to stop them.
Kate was gone, and Ziva was completely alone in a cemetery in the middle of a thunderstorm. Her heart shattered in her chest for the hundredth time, and sobs tore from her throat so roughly that it burned. Through her tears, Ziva casted a glance at the gravestone a few feet away.
'Kate Todd' is the only thing she saw before her eyes burned so much that she had to close them, more tears and more sobs filling the air. Lightning cracked again, thunder rolling and sending the rain down so hard that not even the tree branches could protect her from the worst of it.
As Ziva slowly rose to her feet and walked back to the car, she did not stop crying. Nothing could dull the ache in her lungs or her chest. Nothing could completely rid Ziva of the pain that mocked her.
Oblivious of it all, the rain kept falling.
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