Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuys. Sequel to Fools Like Me. I can't help the plot bunnies in my head.
Disclaimer: KFC, Tony and Ziva are NOT MINE.
"I know what you're doing, I see it all to clear. I only taste the saline when I kiss away your tears...."
-"Barely Breathing" by Duncan Sheik
A few weeks passed by. They were getting better at the healing. They flirted more than necessary; even Gibbs and McGee noticed and were amused by this although they did not acknowledge it. Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Ziva David were enjoyed working together like the Months of Hell never existed.
Now, they sat at their respective places doing much-despised paperwork. Of course, there's the occasional glancing which neither pretended not to notice. They are doing fine, alright. In fact, fine is understatement.
They've been fine since the Pizza Box incident. At least, she is. She thinks she is. He feels the same way.
So they kept it like that. No one acknowledged it. In other words, they stayed in the 'Friends' status. For the umpteenth time in their relationship.
Go through their daily routines. Flirt. Joke around. Catch bad guys. Stare at each other.
But they loved every minute of it. They just did not bring up the Pizza Box. Nope. Not in a million years.
They typed their case reports, although not really concentrating on it fully. Their souls on out of body experiences in places it can't be, or shouldn't be at this moment.
Movie Night. They had not had this since the Pizza Box. And they are starting to long for it.
When they finished their case reports, they headed down the parking garage, bid each other goodbyes, and parted ways, not before having their eyes locked in a stare. STARE. It was one of their favorite pastimes. They played it often, but it's been a hard day's night and they temporarily have to snap out of it.
But it's Friday! Who cares?
They still go home, ignoring the protests of their hearts.
When they get home to their respective apartments, they headed straight to the bathroom, quickly shedding their clothes off and run a good bath for an hour, just to drown out their heartbeats.
When they got out of the shower, they fixed themselves a drink; coffee for himself, and tea for herself. They sat down on their sofas, watched meaningless TV shows.
On her couch, Ziva lookedat the unoccupied space beside her and sighed.
"Surely he has not forgotten about it." She said to herself.
On his couch, Tony drifted away from the rampant thoughts of his head.
"I wonder what she felt about that." He mutters.
It's still early. 8:30 PM. She hasn't eaten yet, that's for sure.
He grabbed his keys, got in his car and zoomed away.
"Pizza or Chinese? Pizza or Chinese?! Pizza? Chinese? C'mon, DiNozzo!"
Finally, he settles on KFC . "Let's try something different." He said, satisfied.
She only realized that she's starving when she heard her stomach grumble. She picked up the phone to have something delivered to her house when, just in time, someone knocked on the door.
"Tony?" She eyed her partner who has his Ohio State University baseball cap donned on and grinning like an idiot. He looks adorable.
"KFC delivery?" He gestured to the plastics in his hands. Sheep-designed PJ's. She's so cute in PJ's.
"Come in." She gave him a warm smile.
"Pizza line's must've been still long at this time of night and I don't feel like eating Chinese."
"Oh. Well, this is different."
"It's nice to try something new."
They sat on the couch and took the food out. "Bucket meal?" She asked incredulously.
"Yeah." Came his nonchalant reply.
"I do not think we could finish that."
"Uh, yeah. But we could eat in the morning—" He realized the implication of what he just said and backpedaled quickly. "I mean, you could eat in the morning or bring some to work."
Ziva caught up but chose to ignore his choice of words and just shrugged it off.
"By the way, you look nice in sheep PJs." Topic switch, just to keep things going. He thought.
"Thanks?" How do you answer to that? She thought.
"Never thought of you as a sheep PJ's kind of girl though. More of an oversized shirt and panties kind of girl…. Heh Heh."
Now he didn't have time to take what he said back because she had her eyes narrowed at him with curiosity and her head cocked to the side. She put her food on the table and leaned in close to him.
" Are you saying that you want to see me in nothing but an… oversized shirt ?"
He grew uncomfortable but refused to show it. He took the challenge. "That would be better….you in nothing but an oversized shirt….minus the undies." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.
"If you are lucky, then maybe one day…." She spoke into his ear and bit it softly before she backed away regarded him for a moment and got off the couch.
He swore he saw lust in those brown orbs. But then, his mind could've played tricks on him.
And this is Ziva we're talking about. Who are you freaking kidding, DiNozzo?
In the kitchen stood Ziva drinking water, washing away thoughts of what could've been, had she not pulled away soon. She came back into the living room and cleaned up. When she was done, and since there wasn't anything good on TV, she stood by the widow and gazed upon the things going on down the street, and the illuminated buildings.
"Pretty view, huh?" Tony appeared beside her.
"I only noticed it now, but yes." She replied.
This was different from a few minutes ago. Just then, they were pushing each other's buttons, trying to annoy one another. The mood they had now was…somehow somber.
"Something bothering you, Sweetcheeks?" Tony asked cautiously.
"Nothing….it's just that….I never have taken the time to stop and just look around…. And thinking what could have been if you….the team….Never came…?"
"I know. It feels weird until now….but you're here. We're all here. There's nothing more to ask for, right?"
She walked to him and hesitantly wrapped her arms around him. He took her in his arms and they swayed to music only they could hear.
She rested her forehead on his chest, while he put his chin on her head.
"Tony?" She asked, not looking up.
"Yes?"
"Why did you do this?"
He knows what she's talking about. He didn't answer right away. "Not that things would ever be the same again….but I would like to feel some of what was today. I miss it. I just missed it. I still do."
She heard him clearly, but what she said after that warmed his inside, he almost wanted to cry.
"I miss you too."
He lifted her chin up so that he could look directly into her eyes. He noticed that there were tears streaming down her face.
"Zi, I'll never go away I'll never let anything take you away from me again. It's going to be fine. We're going to be fine. Alright?" He told her softly, with all the conviction he could muster, as he wiped and kissed the tears .
"Trust me on this, Zi." He pleaded.
"Okay." Was her only reply, before she brought her lips to his for a short but soft kiss.
"Thank you, Tony."
"You're welcome." They stood there for a few more minutes, before she fell asleep. He took her to the bedroom, laid her down on the bed and kissed her forehead before laying down beside her and wrapping his arms around her waist.
As sleep claimed him, one thought circled his mind. They are going to be fine. And he was sure of it.
It's guaranteed that I'll get a good night's sleep after writing this!
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