Title: Duckie Knows Best
Author: TrueVindication
Characters: Tony, Ziva
Pairing: Tiva
Rating: K
Spoilers: Relatively in canon, up to what I can only gather from 09x13 "A Desperate Man" commercial teasers.
Summary: Ziva shares what happened with Ray during their reunion with Tony, who less than thrilled. So naturally he turns to explaining his feelings with a classic 80s movie.

Anthony DiNozzo sat in his favorite recliner flipping through hundreds of channels finding nothing on television. So many channels and nothing to watch, go figure. He browsed through his DVD collection and nothing seemed to suite his mood. He picked up his cell phone and flipped through his contact list and still, no one's name quite seemed to fit. As if on cue there was a knock on his front door. With a shrug of a shoulder at the convenient timing he looked through the peephole, slowly opening the door.

"Ziva? What are you doing here?" He stepped back and let her saunter in though she said nothing. She had an amused look on her face, as if she were holding back a smile. "Zi? What's up?" he asked, slightly bemused at her playful look.
"I just saw Ray," her tone matched her hidden smile, as if she were hiding a secret she was about to reveal.
"Oh," his face fell, "I take it things with well with seven-week-missing CI-Ray."
"Depending on how you look at it, yes, things went really well."
"Well, good then. I'm… glad for you." He had made his way to the kitchen and pulled a beer from the fridge. "Are things all hunky-dory in Ziva-land now?" He motioned a beer to her but instead she helped herself to juice, dancing her way around him as if he was in her kitchen.
"I'm taking that to mean good, and yes, yes they are hunky… dory…" she said the words slowly and sipped her juice. Tony couldn't help but notice a smile playing on her lips around the glass.

She waited for him to say or ask something more but instead he looked at everything in the kitchen but her as he took long pulls from his can. She stared at him, willing him to ask, but he avoided her gaze.
"Well aren't you going to ask me what happened?"
He casually raised his hands to the side of his head, "It's none of my business."
She gaffed. "None of your… Anthony DiNozzo," she said his name matter-of-factly, "are you actually telling me you're not curious? Aren't you the same man who goes through people's trash and magazines when they're not around?"
His grin was faint but it was there. "Maybe I've grown and matured since then Zee-vah." He walked back to the living room, she was a few steps behind. "A man can only investigate through so much trash until he learns better and more tactful ways." He sat on the couch and she next to him on a small loveseat.
She rolled her eyes at him, "that was last week, Tony." He just smiled back at her.

In reality he was dying to know what happened. Ray had been completely incommunicado for almost two months and she comes into his apartment glowing like that… of course he wanted to know. But at the same time he didn't. He didn't want to risk the heartache he was bound to hear. About how happy she was that she finally saw him. He didn't want to hear about some grand sweeping gesture he did for her to apologize for not being in better contact. He didn't want to hear any of that. No, I'm going to make her tell me. He refused to ask.
"So what happened with Ray?" Well that plan failed.
"Well, since he hasn't been around at all for a while, when he finally called he asked to meet me in the park, he told me he had something special planned." Of course he did, Tony thought dryly. "So, I know I said no more maybes, and I have to look to the future and to my some days," Tony raised an eyebrow but didn't stop her, "so I went."
"So… you're planning a future with him?" As soon as the words left his mouth he finished the rest of his beer, almost as if to cover up his words.
"Well, I figured he would have a lot to do with my future, so in a way, yes he was a factor."
"Was?"
"I told him no," she said it definitively, proudly, and very stern. And Tony had no idea what she was talking about.
"You told him no for… what now?" He had gotten another beer and rejoined her in the living room.
Ziva took a long breath and with a smile on her face she breathed out, "he asked me to marry him." Tony nearly choked.
"Wait- what?" He wiped some beer from his chin. "You don't say things like that when I'm mid-drink." He coughed a few more times and finally looked back at her. "So wait. He asked you to marry him…"
"Yes."
"And you're smiling now…"
"Yes."
"But you told him…"
"No." She smiled even brighter now.

Tony looked down at the beer in his hand and shook his head. "I must have drunk more than I thought because I really have no idea what's going on right now." He placed the beer on the coffee table and clapped his hands together, looking her square in the eye. "Explain."
"I told you, Tony!" She stood up and walked around the room. "He asked me, I said no." She turned to smile at him again. "I can't say yes to a man just because he asks me! It was… nice to be asked but-" Tony cut her words off with a laugh.
"Nice? It was nice? Well I'm sure he was happy to hear that!"
"What I mean is, I was building him up in my mind to be Mr. Right, I tried so hard to make him fit some vision I had of who I wanted to be with when it wasn't him. Yes, he was sweet and charming and-"
"I get it." Tony's voice was deadpan.
"-but he wasn't right."
"He wasn't?"
"No. I mean, I knew the job description, just as I would have to keep things from him at NCIS he would do the same from his job, but… I came to Washington knowing I wanted to finally seed myself-"
"I think you mean plant yourself. Or plant roots. Whatever, you need 'plant' in there somewhere."
"-I want to settle down. Maybe not the whole family and kids quite yet, but I don't want to have a boyfriend that I won't hear from for months, having no idea where he is." She was walking around with quicker steps, as if her feet were trying to keep up with her words. "Does this make any sense?" she asked, seemingly exasperated with her own reasoning.
"In a way it makes perfect sense…" he lounged back a little more in his chair, watching her pace. "I guess you've grown there, too, Miss Da-vid." He stressed her name playfully. She stopped her quick pace and looked at him over her shoulder.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, you said he's not Mr. Right… does that mean you know what Mr. Right looks like now?"
"I never said that." She felt like she was walking into a trap and started to mentally back peddle a little. "All I'm saying is I can't make myself look at someone and convince myself that they're right for me, if they're not."
Tony squinted mischievously at her and sipped his beer. "I see.."
"What 'see'? You see what?" She squared up to him and put her hands on her hips. "There is nothing to see."
"Oh, quite contrary, Zee-vah…" he stressed her name again, knowing she was caught a little off-guard. "Tell me, what does Mr. Right look like now? Because a few weeks ago I'm pretty confident you would have described good ol' CI-Ray…" He wiggled his eyebrows at her, finally feeling confident again, and controlling the conversation.

Ziva thought for a minute, weighing the options about how this conversation could go. Had they not just started the same conversation a few days ago, if that? And what else did she expect from coming here and telling Tony, of all people, what had just transpired? Obviously, at least in the back of her mind, she would have known that the conversation could have come to this point, no matter when she told him.
"Get lost in thought there, Ninja?" Involuntarily goose bumps tickled the back of her neck. She hated when he did that. He rarely called her that anymore, almost never in front of others, and he knew it affected her. He watched her as he stood up, and walked towards her. Her eyes followed him as a lion watched its prey. He reached his hand out as if to brush hair off her shoulders. Just as she expected contact, he spoke again. "Ever seen this?" He grabbed a movie from his collection she was standing directly in front of. She cursed herself inwardly.
"No," she said nonchalantly as she glanced at the title in his hand, "but I have a suspicion you're going to tell me all about it."
"See, people tend to forget about Jon Cryer, most recently noted alongside Charlie Sheen on their own sitcom, being in movies. But this," he holds up Pretty in Pink, "man, this is a classic. Molly Ringwald, albeit stunning, wasn't the main character to me; I couldn't help but see Jon Cryer's Duckie as the hero in the story."
"A hero?" Ziva took the box from his hand and read the synopsis, "It does not look like a hero type movie." Tony snatched the box back playfully.
"I never said it was. All I'm saying is his character is heroic. Selfless, one might say."
"Oh? And what does he do?" Ziva crossed her arms and looked at her partner expectantly as she lowered herself to sit on the sofa seat he had been occupying. "Please, explain." He took a few steps back and forth, looking thoughtful.

"See, Molly Ringwald plays this girl from the wrong side of the tracks-" he saw the confused look on Ziva's face and shook his head, clarifying himself, "she was from the poor side of town. And of course as most love stories play out, she had a crush on someone from the total opposite side of her universe, one of the rich guys. Well, she tries so hard for this guy and yea, the guy tries a little, but everyone 20 minutes or so in the movie it seems like he's ready to bail on her. But the entire time-" he paused for effect, "the entire time her best friend Duckie was there for her. When she thought she got stood up by the rich guy. When she had no one to take her to the prom. She didn't even have to ask; Duckie was there for her."
"Supporting her the entire time, I would assume."
"Eh," Tony waved his hand side to side, "kind of. He was protective of her. Making sure she knew this guy would probably hurt her."
"So he was jealous," Ziva half chuckled.
"Well. Depends on how you see it…"
"And you see him as a hero so you see…?" She was a little lost on the analogy, but then again she usually was when it came to Tony's movie references.
"He was her best friend. Always there no matter what. He was willing to step aside for the other guy, even when he didn't trust him. But no matter what, even when he knew the other guy would hurt her, Duckie was there. I mean, I kind of feel bad for the guy."
"Because he did not get the girl?"
"No, that was kind of assumed throughout the movie. C'mon, it was the 80s, we saw it coming." He said this almost as a side thought. He shook his head to get himself back on track. "Because he was always there. He was there when she was happy, and when she was heartbroken, and when he felt he had to pick up the pieces. When he was waiting for the other guy to screw up. When saw her hurting and couldn't do anything about it. When she wouldn't let him help her make it better…" He put the movie back on the shelf tenderly as he spoke, as if moving too fast would break the box. "How can you ask for a character more selfless, more perfect than that?"

Ziva had just realized how serious this conversation had become. When did that happen? Even more so, she wasn't sure who caused it, herself or Tony. "Tony…"
"Now this is not to say that the duck man was without fault!" He spoke deeply and with grandiose hand movements as he turned away from the collection and towards her once more. "He definitely was. But in the end," he clasped his hands together wistfully, "isn't that what all women want? That perfect guy, that best friend, that protector…" Ziva had no words at this point, and wondered if Tony had any left as well. "Because that's what all women say they want. And they end up in the same place as Duckie did. Left in the friend zone." He nodded with curtness and wandered back to the fridge for a beer, his last was unfinished sitting on the table, Ziva noted. He needed a reason to excuse himself. She followed him but stayed a few paces behind.
"Tony.."
"Yes, Sweetcheeks." He raised his eyebrows with a forced smile.
She sighed. "How did we get here?"
"I think the process for that is called walking. One foot in front of the other-"
"You know what I mean." To that he said nothing. Sipping his drink, watching her with a cautious eye he spoke slowly and slightly softer.
"Why did you come here, Ziva?" Even though it was a question he said it with no question mark. It was firm, almost demanding.
"I…. I do not know. I needed to tell someone-"
"Someone? Just anyone?" He put his drink down and spoke to her gently, "Why did you come to me with this, Zi?"

She thought carefully, asking herself the same question. She was excited to feel the weight off of her chest when she told Ray no, happy to get an epiphany of sorts of what she wanted. But to why she came here specifically… she knew the answer but did not know how to put it into words.
"I had to tell someone… I had to tell you."
"Hm." He said nothing else, waiting for her to say more.
"When I told him no," she spoke slowly, "you are right. I do not know exactly what Mr. Right looks like, but I know what he is not. And he is not Ray." He still said nothing. He placed both hands behind his back, leaning on the counter. "He is not someone who can go without speaking to me for seven weeks. He is not someone who is content with not knowing how I am." She reflected on Tony's words, his admiration, for the character he spoke so highly of. "He is someone who wants to protect me, but who is also willing to let me see those mistakes in others… before I can see who I have in front of me." She crossed her arms, subconsciously using her body language to start closing herself off in the conversation.
"And what is that, Zee-vah?" Again with the goose bumps.

She rubbed her arm and looked around the kitchen, avoiding his steady gaze. She didn't regret coming here, but at this point in time wished she had thought out this conversation a little more. Yes, she knew that something like this would be discussed, but she did not think he would be so forward with it. Well, he talked through it with a movie, so maybe not so forward… She knew he would be happy that she told Ray no, but then what?
"I've lost the game I guess, I did my best to win the part…"
"And who's to say you've lost?" He took the few steps to close the gap between them and stopped just a breath away from her. He put his thumbs in his pockets, looking down at her, completely relaxed. "Do you know the most iconic scene in that movie, to me at least?" She shook her head, hesitant in the conversation. "He had said his peace. He yelled at her, he warned her… But in the end," Tony shrugged, thumbs still relaxed in his pockets, "he was there waiting for her at the prom. He was still the Duck man, he didn't change who he was, but he knew he had to take a step back for that part of the movie."
Ziva tried to read his eyes, but got nothing. "Did he get the girl?"
Tony laughed, a soft chuckle. "Well, what would you have done?" He tentatively raised his hand to her cheek, and she closed her eyes at the warmth. "Duckie could only try so hard. It was in his character." Ziva held her breath and opened her eyes, to see his dark eyes looking back at her intently.
"So he didn't get the girl." He smiled at her persistence.
"No," he shook his head, "he didn't get the girl. But I was always rooting for him."
"Hm." He dropped his hand slowly, letting it rest on her waist, his other hand following suit. "Well," she copied his movements and rested her hands around his waist softly, "I think I would have rooted for him, too."
"Oh really?" He started to slowly lower his face down to hers, praying she wouldn't change her mind and pull away.
"Andie had terrible taste." She closed the distance and kissed him softly.

In an instance she knew why she had gone there. The kiss was soft, gentle, and perfect; as if it was the most natural thing between them. She knew that what she felt with Tony was more right than anything she had forced with Ray. He pulled away with a smile and let out a soft laugh.
"You lied to me." He looked at her, pushing a fallen lock of hair behind her ear. "You've seen it before; I never said what Molly Ringwald's name was in the movie." Ziva squinted her eyes at him slightly, scrunching her nose as if to tease him and shrugged.
"I thought your synopsis was a good one, nonetheless." She smiled at him as he pulled her closer. "I'm sure you can forgive me."
"Let's see…" he hummed and hawed as he rested his chin on her head, "secretly watching 80s classics, rooting for the underdog…" he looked down at her once more, "I think I can live with that." She laughed at the grin across his face. "Score one for the underdogs."
She laughed once more as he kissed her.
She still wasn't sure if he was Mr. Right, but this definitely felt as close as she could describe to what she saw in her Someday. And as far as Right now went... well, she couldn't even imagine wanting to ask for anything more.

A/N: Holy kriest! Didn't see that happening! This started as a chapter for my GoLAaOC series but turned into a country song/80s movie inspired crossover. Excuse any mistakes, they are all my own, and I've been left in a room by myself for the past 6 hours, so this may not make full coherent sense. But it was fun to write to pass the time! Please review and let me know what you think.
Inspired by Jo Dee Messina's "Bye Bye" and of course "Pretty in Pink". I own neither any lines nor summaries borrowed therein. Along with, of course, owning nothing of NCIS, characters or anything other than plotline. Hope you enjoyed! Again, please let me know what you think!