Game of Love
Rifiuto: Non Miriena
Summary: "'Til death do us part..." Little did they know that such simple words, said as children during play, would ultimately seal their fate, not only then, but years later. Using a couple of their parents' rings, Tim and Ziva, childhood friends growing up in Israel, hold a pretend wedding ceremony in an abandoned synagogue, unaware of the repercussions their little game has for their lives. Thinking nothing of the words or actions, they later part ways as teenagers, only to reunite years later as adults at NCIS. Unknown to them, someone was watching that long ago day, listening, and took their 'fake wedding' very seriously. McGiva.
A/N: Hey guys, it's Licia. I'm working on Zani and Ev's past lives story- reading through what they'd written and going over the various chapters not posted for mistakes, grammar, sentence structure... you get it. I was originally an English major before I switched to medicine... um, anyway, I'm not gonna update that quite yet- I'm still working on a couple of the chapters, but this is something I wrote on the back of an envelope last night before I went checked on Zani and Ev and then curled up on the sofa with a book, which was promptly abandoned when I fell asleep mid-read.
Um, anyway, I figured I'd post this here, see what you guys think... I don't think either Ev or Zani would mind... and I will get back to theirs as soon as I can. I just have to check on Zani today, and that's going to be a hassle, since she fights me at every turn. It's a combination of the everything that's making her react like this... so I might not get that story updated until afternoon, depending.
Funny, I remember Zani telling me once how addicting writing fan fiction can be... drugs? Sure. Alcohol, gambling? Absolutely. But fan fiction? Highly doubt it.
Past Lives should be updated soon, but it all depends.
Okay, well, enjoy.
- Licia
Be'er Sheva,
Israel,
1985
The sun beat down hard on the desert sands of igniting waves of heat to rise from the roads and dazzling fires of light to blind the sun from view. In the center of the Israeli city, cars moved down the streets, men and women walked the streets, headed to work or out for the day. It was June; school was out, and the children had the run of the city- to an extent.
Shouts followed the two children as they raced down the street, out of the city, towards the olive grove not far from town. "Come and get me!"
"Wait up! That is not fair!" The two children rushed managed to duck and dodge cars and people alike, laughter trailing behind. Eventually, they made it to the old building, sitting abandoned on the outskirts of the city. Once the center of Be'er Sheva, the old synagogue had since been abandoned after the Yom Kippur War. This old, abandoned part of the city was a child's paradise- one endless game of hide-and-seek among the ruins of the older part of town. Eventually, they reached the old, burned out ruins of the synagogue, and after checking that they were alone, dashed inside.
It was simply the skeleton that remained of the old house of worship- the synagogue had burned down back during the war, and what remained- what had been saved- was simply the outer shell, a few columns inside that had once supported the ceiling, and the Tebah and the burnt Torah Ark. The platform of the Tebah was what the children liked best- they could lay on the platform and watch the clouds from "inside" a building- their very own planetarium.
Eventually, the child stopped, sitting on the steps that led to the platform, facing each other. Both were out of breath, but smiling, excited for this new game. They had done everything under the sun since school had gotten out a week ago, from swimming at the beach to picking olives-
"Do you have it?" He nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling something out. She watched as he opened the white scarf, revealing a simple gold ring with a tiny pearl in the center. She gazed. "It's so pretty!" He grinned, happy he'd managed to get out of the apartment without his mother noticing.
"Did you bring yours?" She quickly pulled something out of the pocket of her capris- one of her father's ties and a ring similar to his- a gold band with a small pearl set center. He met her gaze, biting his lip.
"Now what do we do?" He thought a moment, before taking the scarf and draping it over her head.
"There. Your veil." She then took the tie, wrapping it around his neck and tying it in a bow.
"And your tie." She replied, laughing. But they soon fell into silence. "Now what?
They'd been playing this game for the last couple days- imitating her older brother and their parents, watching the adults and doing what they did. Flirting, dating, pretending to get engaged... all in an elaborate game of 'house.' The two children- only a few months apart in age- stared at each other, unsure of what to do or say. A moment passed, before he finally said,
"Well, how do people get married in Israel?" The girl thought a moment, trying to remember her Aunt Nettie's wedding, a couple month prior.
"There was a big canopy... and... they faced each other-" She stopped, watching as the boy grabbed the sheet that had been placed over the floor behind them, to protect against broken glass. The stairs they sat on soon became their small cave, hiding them from any lurking behind them.
"Now what?"
She watched him sit back down, thinking, before noticing the backpack he'd brought; their books and a few toys were inside, as well as a couple pastries they'd bought from the baker before fleeing. "What do people in America do when they get married?"
He shrugged; the last wedding he'd been too had been his cousin's- he'd been the ring-bearer, while his little sister had been a flower girl; but here, they had neither bearers nor flower girls, nor any of the other things that had been at his cousin's wedding. "A priest recited a bunch of stuff that they had to say back to him, and then... they exchanged rings."
"What did they have to say?" The boy pursed his lips, trying to remember.
"Um... that they... promised to... be faithful and... love each other forever and ever and... that they would help each other when they got sick... and be together even if they were poor... and... 'til death do they part."
"Okay." The girl nodded, resolute. "Do I have to say it to?"
"Well, my cousin Sophie said it to Bobby so... I guess."
Slowly, they took hands, as both had seen done before, and after a moment, she spoke. "I promise to... to be faithful and love you forever and ever and... help you when you get sick and... be together even if we are poor and... what was the last part?"
He grinned, blushing. "'Til death do us part."
"Right. And 'til death do us part." She then slid the ring she'd taken from her mother's jewelry box onto his fourth finger, as she'd seen her aunt do, before allowing him to repeat the phrase and put his ring on her finger. Once they were done, they locked eyes. "What now?"
"My cousins kissed." He wrinkled his nose. "Can we skip that part?"
"But if we do not kiss, then we are not married..." She replied; it made perfect sense to her young mind. He sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Fine." Then, without a word, he leaned over, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. She giggled, doing the same. As they sat together, sharing their pastries, they were unaware of the person slipping out of the ruins of the synagogue, having watched and heard the entire conversation; completely unaware that they'd been simply playing a game.