My first of several rewrites. The substance of the story is unchanged, just a lot of rewording and such.
Based on the song of the same name by Melanie C. Pure Tiva fluff, not set to any episode.
Enjoy!
Ziva stepped out of the elevator and into the squad, a single earbud fixed firmly in her right ear. Past experience had taught her that coming into work with her hearing impaired was not the most favourable thing to do. However, to much of their surprise, Gibbs had become more lenient. The theory put forward by McGee was that their boss was finally getting to grips with the technological age they were living in. This was soon shut down by Tony and Ziva and simply put down as another of Gibbs' mysteries. Nowadays the agents were permitted to occasionally listen to music, as long as it did not interfere in their work. Gibbs ensured this by confiscating all iPods and the like when they all began work.
-NCIS-
As she stepped into the bullpen, Ziva noticed that the three desks surrounding her own were still empty. She knew that this solidarity would not last long, so she decided to seize the moment while she can. Allowing her bag to fall off her shoulder and hit the floor with a thud, Ziva sat down at her desk. She booted up her computer and began to fiddle with her iPod and scrolling through the songs. She stopped at one in particular, placed the other earbud in her ear and hit play. Ziva instinctively began to bop along with the upbeat introduction and began typing on her computer.
I see you every day
I've known you for a while
As the lyrics began, she subconsciously began to sing along softly.
You always say hello
I love the way you smile
"Aww, thanks Ziva. I get that a lot."
A voice spoke causing Ziva to quickly tug the headphones out of her ears and turn off the iPod. She looked up to see her partner standing in front of her desk wearing a wide, goofy grin.
"Good morning, Tony." She said, trying to smile back through the surprise and slight embarrassment of him hearing her sing.
"Hello, Ziva." He said and walked across to his own desk. "Where's the bossman?" He asked, unholstering his gun and placing it in the top drawer.
"I have not seen him, but I have not been here for very long."
Tony sat down and kicked back in his own chair, using the lever underneath to recline it what little distance it went back. Ziva watched him as his eyes gently fluttered closed.
"Keep a look out for me?" Ziva asked as she picked her earbud back up off the desk. She received a 'huh?' from Tony in replied. "Watch for Gibbs." She clarified.
Tony nodded, still keeping his eyes closed as Ziva turned her iPod back on.
Do you have any idea what seeing you does to me?
I can feel you look in my direction
When will you give in to me?
Her vision lingered on Tony for a few moments longer before turning back to her computer. A second or two later she heard the harsh squeak of his chair and could feel his gaze upon her.
"Ziva!" Tony hissed, but she didn't look up. "Ziva!" He tried again, this time successful in his effort.
Ziva looked up and forward, expecting to see Tony at the desk, but instead witnessed Gibbs standing before her. She quickly pulled her headphones out and shoved her iPod in the top drawer.
"Sorry, Gibbs." She apologised as he walked over to his own desk.
Ziva flashed a warning, yet still slightly playful, glare over at Tony.
-NCIS-
Ziva was laying face-up on a mat in the centre of the NCIS gym. She was dressed in grey tracksuit pants and a plain black T-shirt with her iPod resting on the ground beside her. She was doing sit-ups to the same song she was listening to in the squadroom earlier that day.
I wonder what it would be like
If we turned out the light
I wonder what it would be like
I'm longing for ya, wanna adore ya
Who would be the first to strike?
If you stayed the night
I wonder what it would be like to love you
Ziva was counting under her breath with each upward movement she made.
"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine..."
At thirty she stopped and remained upright. She could hear a faint whirring noise coming from nearby in the absence of her constricted breathing. Ziva looked around and saw Tony peddling away next to her.
Well don't you think it's strange?
Fate brought you to my side
I was doing crunches
You were on stationary bike
Ziva paused her music.
"Tony!" She said surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Working out." Tony said matter-of-factly.
Ziva laughed sarcastically. She got up off the ground and walked over to Tony, leaning on the handlebars of the exercise bike.
"Do not kid yourself, Tony." She said and walked off towards the showers.
-NCIS-
Ziva stood under the steady stream of water in the small shower cubicle. Her mind continued to play the song in her head.
I had given up on love
I'd met too many freaks
Ever since I was seventeen I've been on this losing streak
As she lathered soap all over her body, Ziva briefly began to reflect on her past love life. She was surprised to realise that she had not had a real boyfriend since her teenage years, and nothing anyone had that young could really count as a proper relationships. Sure, she had flings and casual partners, but nothing that ever lasted more than a couple of months. She put this down to her father and Mossad. Ziva had known for a while that she would have been glad to be rid of the Israeli secret service, but was only just noticing how glad.
She turned off the water in order to adhere to NCIS's for minute shower policy and began to dry herself off. Ziva dressed quickly, knowing that Tony would no doubt make a wisecrack if she took too long in the bathroom. As she walked back into the central part of the gym, she saw Tony sitting on the bench with her iPod in both ears. He did not look up straight away, focused on scrolling through the songs. Ziva walked over to him and looked down at the iPod; she immediately recognised the album art.
"Enjoying the song, Tony?" She said loudly.
He was startled and pulled the earbuds out.
"Oh, hi Ziva." He said, "You left your iPod on the mat. I was just checking out your top played. This is Sporty Spice, yeah?"
"Err, no. It is Melanie C." Ziva replied with a blank expression.
"Yeah, previously known as Sporty Spice." Tony was received with a look of cluelessness. "Obviously Girl Power never managed to penetrate the walls of Mossad." He said with a grin.
Ziva just snatched her iPod out of Tony's hands, shoved it in the pocket of her cargo pants and exited the gym.
-NCIS-
The next morning, Tony and Ziva passed each other in their cars whilst driving to their respective parking spaces. It was a mild morning and they both had their windows down. As they passed and exchanged glances, Ziva heard the music playing through Tony's car stereo.
I wonder what it would be like
If we turned out the light
I wonder what it would be like
I'm longing for ya, wanna adore ya
Who would be the first to strike
If you stayed the night
I wonder what it would be like to love you
She drove away, with a smile on her face thinking of possible ways to harass Tony during the day ahead.
Queries? Comments? Criticism?
\/