Part 1
Summer Games
Chapter 1
Tony wasn't too surprised by the knock on the door that night. He was actually expecting her to drop by, and he welcomed the idea with open arms. He didn't want to voice anything out loud at the moment, but Ziva was exactly what he needed right now. After the three musketeers had turned in their badges, some familiarity would be helpful.
He nearly ran to the door to open it.
"Hey, Ziva." He said when he answered it. She was wearing dark jeans and a fitted, light blue top which fit her beautifully. Her hair was down in waves, like it had been a lot recently.
"I thought you could use some company." She said. The two of them were staring deep into each other's eyes. Ziva was vulnerable at the moment. She wanted to be with Tony right now. And just as easily as she ran to him, he could slam the door in her face, but she knew he wouldn't do that.
"Yeah, I could." He said, stepping back and letting her into the apartment.
"I brought some beer." She said, holding up the plastic bag in her hand. She really wanted to get wine, but decided that wine was too romantic.
"Great."
"What are you thinking right now, Tony?" she finally asked.
"I'm thinking about what I'm gonna do next, what we're gonna do next."
"We?"
"You, me…McGee." He quickly added. "What's next for us? We just threw our careers away on an impulse."
"Together." Ziva said.
"What difference does it make, Ziva?"
"We've been through worse together. We can get through this. Partners or not, we have each other's backs, Tony. We will adapt." She assured him, stepping closer. She gave him a slight smile that Tony knew not to argue with.
"If you say so." He whispered. Tony leaned over, staring into Ziva's eyes. She thought for a quick second he was going to kiss her until he took the bag from her hand. "So what do you say? We can order a pizza, watch a couple of movies, drink this beer?"
"What movies?"
"Your choice." Tony went into his kitchen to throw the bag away and put the rest of the beer in his fridge. He set two bottles on the coffee table.
"I found one." She took a DVD in her hand and brought it to Tony to see if the movie gained his approval.
"How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?" he read. She nodded. "Really?"
"Is there a problem?"
"Did you read the back?"
"Yes."
"And you still want to watch it?" he questioned. She grabbed the movie out of his grasp and slipped the movie into the DVD player as if she had done it a thousand times before. Tony didn't know why this simple action got to him.
"The title says enough, Tony."
"Okay." It surprised Tony a little that Ziva wanted to watch a romantic comedy, but then he remembered that she did love "The Sound of Music". He had been too caught up in his thoughts to ever realize he had been staring at her.
"Are you going to order the pizza?" she asked when she caught him.
"Yeah. I'll just-I'll go do that now." He stuttered. He left the room as Ziva grabbed the remote, taking a seat on the couch and waiting for him.
When he came back, he took a spot next to her on the couch, stealing the remote from her.
"Hey!" she exclaimed.
"My remote." He reasoned, hitting play with one hand and holding his beer bottle to drink a swig in the other. Ziva leaned over his body to grab the bottle.
"My beer." She said. It wasn't until Ziva could feel Tony's breath on her lips that she realized how close they were. She thought about leaning in just a little bit, or freezing where she was and leaving it to Tony to decide if he wanted to kiss her or not.
The mood in the room quickly became serious, and then…
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Pizza's here." He whispered. She nodded, getting up from their current position and walking to the apartment door. Tony watched her walk away. He knew how he felt about her, and it had never been this hard for him to just make a move.
"Thank you for the pizza." She said, coming back to the couch and placing the pizza box in between their two beers.
"Don't mention it." He smiled.
Tony couldn't help but smile at how much Ziva seemed to enjoy the movie. She laughed at all the right parts, and smiled when the couple went away to his parents' house for the weekend.
"What?" she finally asked.
"What?" Tony returned.
"You have been staring at me the entire movie, Tony." She said, her eyes not leaving the screen.
"What? No-no I haven't."
"Tony."
"Fine. I have been glancing at you every now and then, but only to see your reaction to the movie." He defended. Ziva nodded.
"What's on your mind?"
"Why do you always want to know what I'm thinking?"
"I don't."
"That's the second time you've asked me."
"Why do you keep track?"
"Come on, Ziva."
"You just never tell me what you're thinking unless I ask you, and despite what you might think, I actually do care about what you think and how you feel." Her answer shocked him. It was so honest, and he truly appreciated it. Her reply made him smile.
"Well, you never tell me what you're thinking."
"Is that the problem? We are not honest with each other?" she asked.
"I think we are."
"Then, what is the problem, Tony?" she asked, getting a little frustrated.
"We keep dancing around the real answers." Tony decided.
"And what is the solution?" she spoke softly. They were gazing deeply into each other's eyes again. The other's eyes were mesmerizing, almost hypnotizing, and they were afraid if they looked away, they would forget exactly how wonderful it is to uphold this staring contest.
"How about a little game?" he proposed.
"A game?" she repeated.
"Yes, a game. For the next half an hour, we get to ask each other all sorts of questions, and the other can only reply with complete and utter honesty."
"Any kind of question?"
"Are you afraid of what I might ask, Miss David?" She laughed.
"I have nothing to worry about. You, on the other hand…let's just say that I am surprised you came up with this idea, but I'm not sure it was a good one."
"Come on, Ziva, have a little fun. I know there's stuff you wanna ask me about certain things. We can ask stupid questions and serious ones, and it'll be good for us." He explained.
"Us as in 'us' us or just…?"
"Is that your first question?"
"I never agreed to the game, Tony."
"Please, Ziva." She looked in his eyes once more and soon regretted it. It took all her will, and she still couldn't tell his sweet, puppy face no.
"Fine." She nearly exclaimed. Tony grinned his thousand watt grin. "But there are rules. No teasing. No sharing the answers with anyone else. No blackmailing. No threatening. No lying."
"Deal." He extended his hand.
"Deal." She shook it, wondering what she had just gotten herself into. At least it would help them take their minds off of how they were supposed to deal with the rest of the summer.
Please leave me a review, and tell me what you think. I love all feedback. Chapter 2 will be up soon, so keep on the look out. Love you, guys!
NCIStiva3
