Love Letters and Chain Mail
A Ziva and Tony Fanfiction by .Stars
Inside of her apartment, Ziva's heart sank. The former Mossad officer couldn't love him… it hurt her too much. Plus, her boss would never approve. But the one she loved meant so much to her. Why had she been such an idiot before?
"So Ziva," DiNozzo called from across the bullpen as she arrived that Tuesday morning. "How's Ray?"
"Fine," she answered in a clipped, annoyed tone.
He smirked the way he always did. "Is our little Ray of Sunshine being blocked by a storm cloud?"
"It is none of your business, Tony, go bark up someone else's bush."
"It's tree, Ziva," he rolled his eyes and stood up slightly. "When will you learn? Where's that American pride that says, 'My name is Ziva David and I hate my coworkers'?"
The truth was, Ziva thought it was hilarious. The way his eyes reflected the fluorescent lights, the way his eyebrows shot up when he was excited, and how much he acted like her own brother many years ago, when they were still children.
Before she knew it, she glared at him and yelled, "Tony, it is none of your business what goes on in my personal life, so leave me alone!"
He stared at her, shocked. Then, much to Ziva's surprise, Tony settled back down at his desk and ducked his head into his paperwork. McGee had just walked in and, in the midst of her yelling, hurried to his desk and began typing noisily. Ziva leaned back in her chair and sighed, forcing the thought of apologizing out of her head.
A knock at her door aroused her from the memories of earlier, and she stood to answer it. When she opened the door, there was no one there. At first Ziva thought she'd been tricked by a local teen, but then she saw a scrap of paper on the ground. She knelt to pick it up and carried it back inside. In a plain script at the top was written, "To Ziva— I'm so sorry."
Intrigued, she continued to the body of the letter:
"Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before.
Want to vanish inside your kiss
Everyday I love you more and more.
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings
Telling me to give you everything,
Seasons may change winter to spring,
But I love you until the end of time.
Come what may, come what may,
I will love you until my dying day."
She turned the paper over, reading it again and again. It wasn't until she reread the top note that she realized whom it was from.
Tony must have been sorry about work earlier.
Hopping onto her computer, Ziva wrote up an e-mail to Tony to open up. She was ready.
"Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place,
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace.
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste,
It all revolves around you.
And there's no mountain too high no river too wide,
Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side.
Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide,
But I love you until the end of time."
Tony sat at his computer, sighing and rubbing his face. He had wanted to hand the letter to Ziva himself, but he'd gotten nervous and dropped it, hurrying away. Why couldn't he do anything right?
A ding sounded from his speakers. Tony clicked on his e-mail and saw one new message from Ziva.
His heart thumping, he opened it and read it carefully, savoring each word. The hit 'reply' and began typing up another letter.
"Come what may, come what may,
I will love you until my dying day.
Oh come what may, come what may,
I will love you.
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place…"
Clicking send felt like he had brushed his hand against hers.
Ziva waited intently, re-clicking 'receive mail' every three seconds, until at last a new message from Tony arrived. She read it five times over before closing out of her e-mail, grabbing her jacket and getting in her car.
Tony waited for ten minutes, just to see if Ziva would reply. When she didn't, Tony was worried. Had he overwhelmed her? No, maybe she was in the bathroom. But what if she was just ignoring him?
There was a gentle knock on his door. Tony hurried to open it, and his heart lifted. Ziva stood there in the cold, dark night, smiling. Her eyes glittered from the lights in his home, and so did the tear resting gently on her cheek.
"Tony, I'm sorry for everything," Ziva began.
He stopped her. "I know, Ziva. I'm sorry, too. Look, no matter what Gibbs' rules are, promise me something."
Her eyes widened. "Anything."
"Promise you'll always love me." He whispered, his lips just inches from her ear. Tony ran his hand through her long hair and patted her back.
She leaned back and, in a voice cracking with emotion, replied:
"Come what may, come what may,
I will love you until my dying day."