A/N: For Intro, please see Every Day Thoughts January.
Every Day Thoughts: May
May 1
For you are the first friend I ever had, and the best friend I ever can have, and nobody can respect you and love you too much to please me. – Charles Dickens
Tony watched his partner from behind his desk. They were the only people left in the squad room after a long day.
She was busying herself with preparations for a date she was about to leave for. Tony had known Marcus Bent for years, ever since they had been partners at Baltimore. The man lived up to his name and was known for having a series of lovers on the go at the same time, each oblivious to the others.
When Marcus had crossed their path on a recent case, Tony had not been happy. He had half suspected Marcus of having killed the Petty Officer himself. Unfortunately, his fantasies of tackling his old partner to the ground and arresting him had come to an abrupt end when Gibbs had persuaded the Petty Officer's wife to admit to murder.
And he had not been happy to watch Marcus and Ziva flirting. She was clearly attracted to him, and Tony did not want to be the one to burst her bubble.
Finally, as she seemed ready to go, he decided he would tell her anyway.
"Zee-vah," he called, drawing her name out in the way he knew she disliked.
"What?" she called back.
"Marcus is an idiot," he told her. "A world-class pain in the backside."
She looked at him for a few moments before beginning to giggle. "You are jealous," she decided.
He returned her look, forcing himself to be serious. "I just don't want to see you get hurt," he replied. "I know Marcus and he is not good enough for you."
She sobered up and nodded. "Thank you for the warning," she offered. "If he does anything stupid, we can hurt him together."
He shot her a weak smile before she left. He knew this would go wrong. It was only a matter of time… and he was determined to be there for her when it did.