A/N: It has been a while, hasn't it? I promised a very very good friend this story a while ago, but it took me a while to get the words flowing. Better late than never, here it is.
Summary: "McGee got engaged." "You don't seem happy." News of McGee's engagement reach Tony in Paris. Set in the show's current timeline, but AU. Tiva.
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters or plot lines.
Enjoy :)
FOR SARAH!
Washington, DC, USA
"You should contact him."
McGee looked up from his computer and gave Bishop a sad smile. She had tried so hard to convince him over the past weeks, and she did not seem to be planning on giving up any time soon.
He sighed, "Bishop, we've been over this."
She rolled her eyes at him, "If you would just stop being so stubborn."
"I'm not," he huffed.
"Look, if you won't contact Tony about the wedding, I will," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
He shrugged, "Whatever."
"Okay."
She started typing on her computer, but could still feel McGee's gaze on her.
"Fine," he huffed loudly.
She looked up at him, a sparkle in her eyes, challenging him, "Fine."
Paris, France
The loud ping of his phone woke Tony up and he rolled over with a groan. He reached for his phone blindly and blinked as the bright light hit his eyes. An email notification had popped up on his screen. A small smile formed on his face when he saw who it was from.
"Tony?"
The sleepy voice brought an even bigger smile to his face, the email suddenly less interesting than it had been a second ago. He put his phone back onto the nightstand and turned back around.
"Good morning, Ziva."
He dropped a kiss to her forehead, his lips lingering a second longer than necessary. Her hum of approval didn't go unnoticed by him.
"How did you sleep?"
"Could have been better. Tali went to the bathroom at 3 and then your phone made that noise," she sighed, her hand finding his between them, "What time is it?"
"Just after seven," he replied, his free hand brushing a strand of hair out of her face.
She closed her eyes and leaned into the touch. He couldn't help but smile. Ziva David, literal ninja, had become a light sleeper. And he loved it. He loved when they woke up and she knew exactly what time Tali went to the bathroom, when he sneaked out in the morning to watch a movie with Tali. She had only become a light sleeper because she had become even more alert than she had ever been before. Not on alert for danger per say, but on alert for any noise her family made.
Family. He had never dared to use that word. Especially not when it came to his thoughts about her. His partner, his best friend. And yet here they were. A small house in the suburbs of Paris. Just enough room for the three of them. A playroom for Tali. A home office for Ziva so she could continue teaching language classes online. And enough room for his DVD collection that Senior had sent from Washington.
"What was that notification on your phone?"
Her question pulled him from his thoughts.
"Bishop emailed," he said.
She smiled at him, her hand giving his a squeeze, "That is nice."
He nodded. Ziva had been not-so-subtly pushing the topic lately, had told him to reach out to the team more. His other family. Their other family, as Tony liked to correct her. He had emailed back and forth with Bishop a couple times, the one member of the team he had always thought he'd have the least contact with. He had tried keeping in touch with McGee and Abby, calling Gibbs sometimes. When he had found Ziva that had changed though. He wasn't sure how to tell them, wasn't sure what they would say. He wasn't sure whether they would notice just from the choice of words in his emails. Keeping in touch with Bishop had been easier. She didn't know Ziva or their history. She hadn't noticed. And her long emails always put a smile on his face. She would update him about office gossip, funny undercover stories and her latest food obsessions.
"What did she say?" Ziva asked.
Tony shrugged, "I didn't read it yet."
She patted him on the chest lightly, "Do it. I will get Tali and we will prepare some breakfast, yes?"
Tony smiled, kissing her lips almost lazily, "I will be right there."
He watched as she got out of bed, put on his Ohio State sweatshirt and went out into the hallway to get Tali. How had he gotten so lucky?
He reached over to the nightstand again, retrieving his phone and opened the email.
He pulled Ziva aside after breakfast, when Tali had gone to her room to play. She looked at him with worried eyes, fearing the worst after studying his serious expression ever since he had emerged from the bedroom.
"What is it?" She asked as he leaned against the kitchen counter.
She took a step closer to him when he didn't reply.
"Hey," she took his hands in hers, "What is it?"
He sighed deeply, "McGee got engaged."
Her eyes lit up, "He proposed to Delilah?"
Tony nodded and her smile widened, "That is great."
He shrugged, "I guess it is."
He averted his gaze from hers, looking anywhere but at her. His unusually closed off behavior didn't go unnoticed by Ziva. She studied his face closely as a range of emotions passed through his eyes and features. He suddenly looked so much older, like someone had dropped years of burden on his shoulders.
"You are not happy," she observed.
"I'm happy for McGee," he replied, his eyes still not meeting hers.
Her hand came to rest just above his heart, "But you are not happy."
Damn her. Why was she always able to look right through him?
"Bishop told me," he said.
His eyes met hers and she understood. He had heard of his best friend's engagement through a third party.
"He would have told you," Ziva tried to assure him, "Eventually."
A humorless laugh escaped his throat, "He didn't even think to ask me to be his best man."
The pained expression on his face made Ziva's heart contort. She wanted to just take all his pain and hurt away, but she knew it wasn't that easy. Not this time. She knew he had always thought of McGee as a brother. And even if they had never talked about, she had always sensed that there was a certain understanding that should either of them ever get married, the other would automatically be best man.
"You should call him," she said softly.
He shook his head, averting his gaze again. But no matter how hard he tried to hide it, Ziva caught a glimpse of the tears pooling in his eyes anyway.
She brought her hand up to his cheek, "Tony."
"What am I supposed to say?"
His words reminded her of a moment years ago, only it had been here who had uttered those words.
"Say hello."
His eyes met hers, wide in surprise. She gave him a small smile and winked.
"Do you think you can take a few days off at the end of next month?"
A bright smile spread across her face and she spun around to face him. He was leaning against the door frame almost casually, but she knew him well enough to notice the slight nervousness in his eyes.
"You called McGee."
He nodded in confirmation and walked over to where she was standing by the kitchen table. He took her hands in his. His gaze stayed on their hands.
"I told him I would be coming with two people," he whispered.
Her breath hitched and her heart rate skyrocketed. "You told him."
He shook his head lightly, "I didn't tell him. I said I would be bringing Tali. And Senior."
Ziva nodded slowly, "Only it will not be Senior who is going to show up."
His gaze went up and he met her eyes, the nervousness now evidently clear in his eyes. "If that would be alright with you."
A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips, her hands trailing up his chest. His arms went around her waist almost immediately, pulling her that tiny bit closer to him.
"I would say," she kissed his lips, "we should book a flight."
A/N: It feels so good to be baaack! Don't get too excited though, I still have so much stuff going on. I can't guarantee any timelines for any future writing. But know that I love it and I love and appreciate each and every one of you. I wouldn't be opposed to writing a second chapter for this. Opinions?
Please let me know what you think in the comments below :)
xoxo
~ C.