A/N: This fanfic has been roaming around in my head since Tony's comment to his father about his relationship with Ziva in "Broken Arrow" (season 8 episode 7). I have tried ignoring the plot bunny, but when you literally start dreaming about the story then it is time to write it out. As with most of my Tiva-ish stories this one is told from Tony's POV.
Strictly business is how Tony had described his relationship with Ziva to his father, and Tony guessed that would be an adequate description of their relationship depending on how you defined strictly business. If you defined it as having impromptu movie nights at work, traveling half way across the world in order to avenge that 'strictly business" partner's supposed death then yes, Ziva and Tony's relationship was strictly business. The more Tony thought about it the more he realized that strictly business was really the best way to describe his relationship with Ziva because everything in their relationship circled back to NCIS.
They had met because of Ari going rogue. They continued to be together because of being partners at work. Tony had only tried to find out Rivkin's true intentions for being with Ziva not because he was jealous, but because he had wanted to insure the safety of his partner. The woman who had his six going into dangerous situations, and had managed to save his ass a time or two, with that in mind it made perfect sense as to why he wanted to save Ziva's heart from Rivkin. He was trying to keep his work partner who excelled at her job safe because it would be a pain to train a new partner. He was simply being protective of himself. He wasn't that he cared for Ziva in way that was out of the realm of being strictly business. He was being selfish in an evolutionary sense of the word; he was caring for Ziva's welfare because of how it would affect his performance at NCIS.
It all made sense now. He had explained anything away that would make that hooker, a couple years before think that he was not getting busy because there was someone he was waiting for. He had been busy since then and the elevator doors opening to Ziva after that conversation was purely coincidental.
"There are no such things as coincidences," Gibbs voice reverberated through his brain reminding Tony once again of one of Gibbs' most important rules.
"Shut up, Gibbs. I am not taking relationship advice from a man who has been divorced three times." Tony said aloud earning him a glaring look from fellow agents who remained in the bullpen.
"Shit," Tony muttered under his breath. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. He had a feeling that a rumor would be going around by morning that Agent DiNozzo was losing it.
Gibbs' voice once again rang through his head repeating the words, "There is no such thing as coincidences." Tony started to rub his face as though to clean Gibbs' annoying rules from his brain.
"Gibbs' rules are about work, and have no bearing on my relationship with Ziva," Tony thought and this time he didn't utter it out loud.
"Shit," Tony exclaimed this time earning scathing looks from the other industrious agents. Thankful that the rest of the team was gone for the day, Tony did manage to look a bit sheepish this time.
With the realization that Tony had just inadvertently categorized his relationship as with Ziva as not work-related after he had spent a good hour convincing himself that's all his relationship with her was. Tony had reasoned himself into a corner, and he did not like it. His relationship with Ziva needed to fit into nice little box because if it didn't then Tony might just go insane. Tony's inner musings were broken as the elevator doors whooshed open and his fellow team members' voices filled the bullpen. Rome was not built in day nor would Tony and Ziva's relationship be defined in an hour. Tony put all thoughts as to what Ziva meant to him in the back of his mind, a decision that would later haunt him.