Here's one that takes place right after the under cover assignment in season 3 where Tony and Ziva take the place of the assassin couple. I've seen some stories that look at that, but I wanted to put in my own take on the aftermath. While some of the emotional attachment between the two, even if unexpressed between them until later in the story, may seem premature in terms of the timeline of the series, I saw the glimmers of the emotions between them when I rewatched some of the surrounding episodes to the one that this takes off from. I hope you enjoy it. Gregg.
Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Ziva was sitting in her apartment after having gotten home from NCIS. The under cover op had been successful, and she had been genuinely surprised that Tony had done so well. The man had taken a beating and did exactly what was expected of him. Sure he was a trained federal agent, but he was not trained in dealing with torture, no matter how amateurish, whereas she was. She'd seen a side to Tony that she hadn't imagined was there buried under all the bluster and childish behavior. He was a man, and one that could be counted on in dire circumstances. More than that, he'd proven that he was a damn good partner. She'd never had that in Mossad. She had had colleagues. She had had handlers, and others she had handled. She'd had many casual lovers while on assignment in order to maintain a cover, or entice an enemy, or simply deal with the stresses of the assignment. But never had she had someone she could consider a partner.
As she thought about all of this she began to wonder if there could be something more than just a partnership with Tony. When she had first read his personnel file she had been intrigued by his good looks and his record. Then she had met him and the lusty feelings that were always present when a hot guy was in front of her came to the fore and she'd seriously considered taking him to her hotel and fucking him senseless. But that was before she had killed Ari and she had become the Liaison to NCIS, thus making anything that developed with Tony much more than a casual lay one night.
There were only two distinct issues that were making her wonder if it was a good idea to act on her desires for Tony. First was the feeling she had that while Tony had not been involved with Kate, he had been in love with her and that it was only a matter of time before something would have developed. She was not sure if she was comfortable with being something of a sympathy relationship, despite how she really felt. Second was Gibbs. His rules for the most part were very sensible and made for a smoother running team. But there was one that didn't make sense. Number 12. Never date coworkers, or something to that effect. Ridiculous in her opinion, but she respected Gibbs and didn't want to disappoint him.
Of course she could always go to a bar and pick up some random guy to take home and have her way with, and she had done that a couple of times already since being in DC as the Liaison, but was that all she wanted? A string of one night stands, as Tony calls them, that mean nothing outside of simply having a night of pleasure? She'd done so in the past, but something was different. Perhaps it was the fact that her situation was stable as opposed to running ops in Mossad. She wasn't constantly coming and going with no time for anything other than a one night stand.
She also thought about the times in the hotel room with Tony and the very sexy playfulness they had. She had thoroughly enjoyed watching him doing pushups over her, and spent much of that time looking at his well defined chest. Her arousal had been high, but she'd held back. For some reason she had wanted him to think highly of her, and she felt that if she had blatantly taken him right there he would lose the respect for her that she saw in his eyes at times. It hadn't kept her from copping a good feel of his ass and giving him a new nickname, though. My Little Hairy Butt. She smiled as she thought of that. She was definitely going to tease him with that for some time.
What about now, though? The operation was over. They were back to being Tony and Ziva. Would Gibbs really break up an effective team simply because the two of them decided to pursue a possible relationship? She didn't think so. She was also sure that Tony had some definite feelings for her that went well beyond a simple desire to see how she was in bed. As far as the issue about his feelings for Kate, she was sure that while he was working through his emotional issues, he had made his peace with it. There really was nothing to keep them from getting together. Her mind made up, she changed clothes and then left her apartment.
Across town Tony was barely moving. His whole body ached, and his jaw was on fire with even the slightest movement. He had on the movie Rambo III and was at least able to enjoy watching Rambo kicking ass in the Afghan desert. Whenever he felt battered and bruised he put in either a Stallone film, or a Schwarzenegger film. It made him feel more macho and tough.
His thoughts, though, kept wandering to Ziva. He had to keep himself from laughing at the nickname she gave him. He would never admit it, and he would shoot Probie if he ever gave him shit about it, but he actually liked it. He could have done without all the pushups, though. Damn it was hard to do those things on a mattress. He'd tried to keep from simply dropping down on Ziva and going at it with her right there. He could well imagine Gibbs head slapping the shit out of him if he had. Head slaps, though, would be a fondly wished for punishment compared to what he would get. Hell, he'd probably wish for the good old days of having the crap beat out of him as he was tied to that chair.
He knew everyone thought of him as some snobby frat boy who got off on one night stands and making a complete fool of himself. But he could see that Ziva had pierced the surface layer of smart ass and seen the real Tony DiNozzo. The fact that she'd given him that nickname and smiled with real caring behind it had convinced him of that. Would it be so bad to be involved with her?
There was the disturbing issue of his feelings for Kate that he was still struggling with. The feelings between the two had been building steadily, especially after the plague quarrantine, but had been ruthlessly snuffed out by that bastard Ari. The truth was he had been in love with Kate. He'd been on the verge of taking her to one of those dinners they had every couple of weeks and telling her how he really felt. Now it was in the past and a closed chapter in his life. Could he move on this soon? It was sad, but yes he could. He wasn't one to let personal anguish hold him back too long.
Before he could think anymore on the subject someone knocked on the door. Groaning, he slowly got up off the couch and made his way to the door. Opening it he was shocked to see Ziva standing there.
"Ziva?" he asked.
"May I come in?" she asked. She could see right away he was in pain, and she did not like that he was suffering. It was one more piece to the puzzle of her feelings about this man.
"Sure," Tony said and stiffly moved out of the way. "There's some beer in the fridge. Help yourself."
"Thank you," she said as she watched him maneuver himself over to the couch and very slowly lower himself down onto it. She grabbed two beers and took them over to the couch, handing him one.
"Thanks," Tony said as he took a healthy swig of the beer.
"I think we should break Rule 12," Ziva said bluntly. She watched as all the beer in Tony's mouth went spewing forth across the room and all over his television.
His chest and jaw wracked with pain as he hacked and spluttered, he looked over at her incredulously. "What?" he said in a voice that was definitely not normal. He even let his eyes rapidly look around for hidden cameras and microphones in case Gibbs was testing him or something.
"It is Rule 12, yes? The one that partners should not date?" she asked. Maybe she had the rule number wrong?
"Uh, yeah," he said in a much more normal tone of voice. He was still trying to get over the shock, and also wondering if it was possible to clean Beer off of an LCD screen without destroying it. Damn! He'd just bought the damn thing!
"I think we should break it," she told him. At his incredulous stare, she proceeded to explain to him why, and what she wanted to develop. She really wanted to remove herself from her old patterns, and even though she had nothing against the casual sex she'd always engaged in, she wanted something different now that she was in a situation that made it realistic. She would not date someone who could not appreciate her background, or her current work, and the only one she really believed met that standard was Tony. If he turned her down, then she would simply engage in her pattern of one night stands when the urge to do so hit. She made it clear, though, that she really wanted to be with him, and not in just a casual manner.
"Do you agree?" she asked, still blunt as hell.
Tony had listened to what she had to say, and he could also read between the lines and figure out what some of her casual liaisons had been, and he had to admit that her thinking dovetailed with his own. He did want something more than the casual lifestyle he'd been living, and he also had feelings for her.
"I'm over Kate," he told her in order to put to rest one of the concerns she'd had about approaching him now. He saw a small sigh of relief from her. "But I'm not so sure about Gibbs. The man will slap the shit out of me. My head hurts enough right now as it is."
"Is My Little Hairy Butt afraid of Gibbs?" she teased a bit, knowing that a good teasing comment would be appreciated.
"Your Little Hairy Butt might get skinned alive," he told her, both teasingly, and with a hint of seriousness. "Ziva, he takes his rules seriously. Very seriously."
Ziva had never heard Tony have a serious conversation before, and she decided she liked this serious side to him. It was comforting to know that if things got dicey on a mission she could count on him to take it with the seriousness needed. Her assumptions about this man, and her deductions had been more accurate than she'd thought. She also liked the fact that he, jokingly or otherwise, had implied that his Little Hairy Butt was hers.
"Rules are good," she acknowledged. "But he would not be so foolish as to break up a very effective team over that particular rule. I do not believe that Jen would let him if he tried."
Another thing that she noticed was that she didn't have to struggle with her English as much when she was having a serious discussion with Tony. Sure she'd make a mess of some common clichés, but she didn't feel, or to her ears sound, as if she was constantly working to make sure she was using the right term in everyday conversing. Another piece to the puzzle that was forming in her mind that told her that despite how short a time she'd known him, this was a good thing to develop.
Tony considered this very carefully. His libido was screaming at him to take the chance, but his more rational mind was telling him that this was doable, but also entailed some risk. Mainly from Gibbs, but also, potentially, in the long run if she was forced to go back to Mossad. In the end, though, he couldn't get beyond the simple reality that this amazing, hot, and intelligent woman wanted to be with him. Not for a quick roll in the hay, or some other superficial reason, but simply because he was him. Tony DiNozzo. That made up his mind.
"Alright," he agreed, a smile forming until he winced when his jaw protested.
Ziva felt a wave of relief pass over her. She was also feeling for the first time in many years like someone who had something substantial and positive to look forward to. There was no doubt that this would be difficult, and the divide between them culturally and personally would cause some disputes, but nothing that couldn't be worked out if they were patient. She stood up and went to his door, locking it and then went and pulled the blinds on all the windows.
"Uh, what'ya doin'" Tony asked, a little confused. He gulped when he saw her turn to face him. She had a very sultry look on her face, and her eyes were downright seductive!
"I think it's time for me to get to know My Little Hairy Butt much better," she said as she sauntered over to him, casually removing her shirt, leaving her in her pants and a bra. A very sexy black lace bra.
"Uh, Ziva?" Tony almost had a stroke. "I'm a little worse for wear here so now may not be the best time?"
Ziva smiled as she leaned over his and whispered into his ear. "Don't worry My Little Hairy Butt," she assured him. "I will do all the work. You just sit back and enjoy it. You can make it up to me when you recover from your battle wounds," she told him.
Tony shuddered in anticipation and also the thrill of having his wounds called battle wounds as if he was some warrior God like Rambo. Leaning back slightly, he focused his eyes on Ziva and the sexy moves she was beginning to make. This was going to be one Hell of a great evening!
A/N: I am going to write one more chapter to this and post it soon where we see what Ziva does to our Rambo wannabe. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Gregg.