Paradise
Inspired by Styx' song of the same name. They really are each other's paradise and salvation.
One touch was all I needed to know
You were the one for me
My fate and my destiny
Tony cranked up the volume as one of his favorite songs started to play on the radio. He glanced over at Ziva who nodded and smiled at him. Both thought back to the day they met so long ago. Even though they had been just children - well a child and a teen - when Ziva had slipped her hand into Tony's as they crossed the highway to get to the beach, both had felt the connection of their souls. Ziva looked at their intertwined hands on the console and gently squeezed Tony's hand. He raised their joined hands and placed a kiss on the back of Ziva's hand.
"Ani ohev otach, Ziva, lanetzakh."
You smiled and all at once I could see
I'd found a love so true
That I could give all to you
Ziva thought about Tony's smiles. Early on in their time at NCIS he had given her a special smile that she never saw him give to anyone else. When she had started falling in love with him that smile melted her insides every time she saw it. It was that very same smile that filled her thoughts in Somalia when she did not think she would live to see it again. Their special smiles for the other could light the world, for those smiles were smiles of their souls.
And suddenly I realized
That all the fortune and fame
Can't compare to the sound of your voice
Whenever you speak my name
"Tony." Just the way she said his name had caught his attention from the start. He loved hearing her say it with her accent. His heart filled with love, even while he was still denying it to himself whenever she used his first name. As they got closer, and their physical relationship developed, he loved hearing her moan his name as he pleasured her. In fact, he still was turned on by her moaning his name when they made love.
Paradise is any place where I can be with you
Leave behind the heartache and the pain that I've been through
He'd told her long ago that wherever she and the kids were was home to him. He'd meant it, too. He didn't care where they lived, as long as they were together. When someone mentioned the word 'home' to him, her face was the first thing he pictured.
They'd learned to share and to open up to each other in what they had called 'the post-elevator us' back in their time at NCIS. Sharing pain, sharing their pasts, sharing their love; all of it had brought them even closer together and at the same time, helped heal the hurts of the past.
Safe in your arms
Safe in the world tonight
For you are my paradise
And, oh, how they had become each other's safety net… From being the one to turn to for unwinding from a tough case, to helping each other over their fears, nightmares and worries, they understood each other in a way no one else ever had. Even before they became romantic partners, they were best friends; the best friend each of them had ever had. Tony had once told Ziva that to him her eyes never shut up. He could read her like a book through her eyes only.
My heart was broken so many times
I couldn't imagine when
I'd ever love again
Long ago, Tony told Ziva that his mother was the first woman to break his heart. Losing her had changed his whole world in an instant. When Wendy left him at the altar, he swore he would never get hurt like that again even if it meant never loving anyone. Jeanne had come along and nearly broken him when he fell in love with her. In his typical style, he had buried the emotions so deep that he could deny they ever existed, telling Jeanne that it was all a fake. Perhaps it had been, for when he finally let himself realize that love he was seeking was across the squad room from him, none of the past hurts mattered.
But every time I look at you
I know that I've been blessed
Speaking of looks; oh how these two could speak volumes with their eyes. They could have an entire conversation without words and no one was the wiser. Tony grinned, remembering the times poor Tim had been caught between them in one of these moments. What had Gibbs called it? 'Eye-sex.' Yep, that was a pretty accurate description, Tony thought. No wonder McSquirm had been uncomfortable in the middle of the looks.
For I'm sure I've found heaven on earth
Each time I feel your caress
Ziva thought about the feel of Tony's body in contact with hers; his hands on her skin always set the sensation of a thousand little fires burning. Even in the early days, physical space meant nothing to them. They were always in close physical proximity whenever possible. It was as though their physical beings needed the connection as much as their souls. She loved touching him, playing with his hair, holding his hand, anything to have contact with the man who she loved with all of her being.
'cause paradise is any place where I can be with you
Leave behind the heartache and the pain that I've been through
Ziva's entire world had been about death and hurt from an early age. But her father trained her to shun emotion, to bury any sign of weakness. She at one time believed herself to be incapable of love. The first time Tony had wrapped his arms around her, she felt a peace and sense of safety that she had never before experienced. His arms felt so right around her. When the pair had started spending the evenings together, cuddling had been high on her list of favorite things to do. As they started spending nights together, sleeping in the safety and comfort of the other's embrace became their preferred way to sleep.
Safe in your arms
Safe in the world tonight
For you are my paradise
At night, Ziva curled into Tony's side, his arm wrapped around her protectively. She put her head on his chest, over his heart. Its steady rhythm lulled her to sleep many nights. He joked that he was her pillow of choice; she whole-heartedly agreed with his assessment. Over the course of the night, the pair shifted in their sleep to their normal wake-up position; Tony pressed to Ziva's back with his arm over her hip and his face buried in her hair. Always in the center of the bed; taking up just the middle half; the same position had been Tony's way of helping Ziva through a nightmare.
And all at once I realized
That all the fortune and fame
Can't compare to the sound of your voice
Whenever you call my name
"Zee-vah." When he had first started drawing out the pronunciation of her name, she figured that he did it deliberately to annoy her. Perhaps he had, but it soon became his form of endearment and she wanted to hear him say her name that way as much as possible. Just the sound of his voice was comfort to her so many times. When she heard his voice for the first time in Somalia, her heart had felt so much love for him. "Couldn't live without you, I guess." He had said it, she had thought it; they really couldn't live without the other one.
'cause paradise is any place where I can be with you
And leave behind the heartache and the pain that I've been through
I'm safe in your arms
Safe in the world tonight
For you are my paradise
Tony pulled into the driveway as the last verse played. They sang it to each other along with the radio, locking gazes as the truck stopped and he shut off the engine. Their lips met in a kiss as the final notes played.