Hey guys so it's been a while I know, this story is based on spoilers for Ziva's farewell. I am so so sad she's going. Anyway please let me know what you think, much love.
"You know," Tony started, his hand ghosting against hers as their shoulders gently collided, "at some point we are going to have to address the fact that tomorrow we have to say goodbye to each other, maybe forever."
Ziva stopped in her tracks, in their comfortable silence she hadn't realised quite how far into the orange grove they had wandered, so lost she had been in her own thoughts, trying not to think about the fact Tony had just voiced out loud.
Tony stopped and turned round as he felt the loss of her presence from his close proximity.
"Ziva?" he hesitated slightly as she refused to meet his gaze.
"We do not say goodbyes," she finally replied, her eyes fleetingly meeting her partners before they returned to her shoes.
"So what's the plan then?" Tony asked, taking a step back towards her, "I wake up in the morning and you're gone forever, not so much as a 'nice knowing you'."
"I had considered that, yes," Ziva replied honestly, brown eyes meeting deep green as he came to stand squarely in front of her.
"I hope that you have reconsidered," he frowned, almost purposefully trying to make her feel uncomfortable with the closeness of his body to hers.
"I could not do that to you Tony," she assured him, "not after everything, I owe you more than that."
For a moment they lapsed back into silence, this one less than comfortable, and the air around them thick with words that refused to be spoken, just staring into each others eyes.
"I wish that it hadn't come to this," he sighed, taking half a step back into one of the furrows that ran through the earth, lowering him so he was at eye level with Ziva.
"Believe me Tony I wish it hadn't either," she replied, "I just do not see any other way of doing this."
"Come home," he half whispered, taking her left hand with his right, "come home with me, we can find a way to fix this I know we can."
Ziva's heart skipped a beat as she desperately tried to swallow the lump that was beginning to form in her throat. "You know I cannot Tony," she smiled sadly, reaching for his other hand with her free one, "I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you, or McGee or anybody because you were protecting me, yet again."
"I would rather get shot than not see you every day," he smiled sadly in return, squeezing her hands gently.
"You should forget about me, move on with your life," Ziva tried to tell him, "Find a woman who will make you happy."
"Nope, never gonna happen," he adamantly shook his head, "you're not replaceable in any sense of the word."
"Tony…" she started.
"No Ziva," he cut her off, "I am not just gonna go home and forget about the woman I have spent the last 8 years falling in love with!"
Ziva was stunned into silence, her eyebrows shot skyward and her jaw almost dropped to the floor as she felt the tears begin to prick her eyes. She must have had the most disbelieving look on her face because Tony then smiled and added, "Yeah that's right, you're the most amazing pain in the ass I've ever met, I couldn't help but fall in love with you."
Unable to hold back her tears any longer Ziva flung her arms around his neck, almost knocking him off his feet as he wound his arms round her waist and pulled her close to him. As her tears began to soak into the collar of his jacket, she whispered "I love you too," into his ear as he buried his face in her curls.
Ziva pulled back from Tony's embrace, her hands moving to either side of his face as his hands remained on her hips. Her eyes flickered between his eyes and his lips as she traced her way down his face, trying to commit to memory the feel of his skin, the contours of his features, and the prickliness of his stubble under her palms.
Unable to deny herself any longer, Ziva closed the gap between them, placing the lightest of kisses on his lips. As the contact ended and their eyes met for a brief second, she could see the tears beginning to form in the corners on Tony's eyes. This time he bridged the centimetres between them and captured her lips with his own, looping an arm round her waist as his other hand quickly became lost in her curls. Ziva wound her arm round his neck and wove her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck as she savoured the feel of his lips caressing hers.
As the taste of salty tears began into infuse into their kiss and the need for air became an issue, Tony reluctantly ended it, resting his forehead on Ziva's, gently using his thumb to wipe away the trails down her cheeks, as she did the same for him.
Smiling as she brought her hands down to rest over his heart, he placed his over them, then clasping them together he brought them to his lips, placing a feather light kiss on each of her palms.
"I know what has to happen tomorrow Ziva," he sighed, "I know that in order for you and us to stay alive this is what we have to do, but I need you to know that I will always love you, and when this is over, you and me, we can be amazing together, I will never give up on that. I just don't know how I'm supposed to live without you in the mean time."
"Don't worry Tony," Ziva smiled, placing her hand on his cheek once again, "we will be ok, I promise. We have been through worse than this before and made it out the other side."
"God I hope so," he replied, tucking her hair back behind her ear, causing her to lean into his touch.
Suddenly she took his hand and pulled him towards her, setting off at a quick pace in the direction they had come.
"Where are we going?" he asked, stumbling over the rough ground.
"Back to the farm," she replied, "I want to make the most of the time we have left together."
"Oh really," he chuckled. With that he pushed gently causing her to stumble off course and then he set off at a run, yelling, "I'll race you back."