Of Christmas, Kisses and Miracles
Summary: Tag to "Faith"
A/N: Wow, it's been a while. Life always gets in the way, but finally! Here I am again. This is intended as an oneshot, but maybe, later on, I'll continue it ;) Thanks to my amazing beta Rachel! Enjoy and review please!
Disclaimer: Santa didn't bring me the rights to own NCIS, so nope, still not mine (if it were, I certainly wouldn't have Ziva the Fish, but the real Ziva on the show -_-)
Ziva was usually pretty good at not showing her emotions. She could be angry, hurting, even happy, and she knew how to control her features to prevent others from noticing. It was very useful on multiple occasions, and more than once, she had used it with her own team at NCIS, more often whenever she was asked if she was 'okay'. It was her mask, and she hid beneath it all the time, to guard her true emotions, which made her weak and vulnerable, and she hated to feel like that. She had perfected her mask over the years, much so that she could even control what exact emotions to filter through the mask to make anything look believable, and what emotions to fake at the appropriate time.
There was someone, however, who could see past her carefully elaborated mask, someone who saw right through it, and it made her crazy to know she couldn't get it past him. Her poker face, as he called it, was futile against him, and that scared her, not that she'd ever admit it to anyone.
Today, however she didn't bother to maintain her mask. She was around him anyways, and it was a waste of energy, since he saw her. And it wasn't like she was hiding anything from him right now, well not much anyway.
How much I love him is 'much'. Did I just think that? No, it's not true. Slip of the tongue.
From the moment he started babbling off how he'd come across that tidbit of information that allowed him to know what to buy, she had already stepped back to give him space with Delores and watched his face intently, although his face was focused on the older lady. By the time Delores had opened the box revealing the doll, Ziva felt such pride and emotion towards the man that she could swear her eyes were getting a little teary.
When Delores hugged him, and he looked at her in mild shock, her smile was so warm that she could feel the heat spreading through her cheeks.
Damn, why did he had to be so nice to the old lady?
When she was determined to don't let him affect her, he did little things like that, and she found herself falling even harder for the guy. Something she was supposed to be avoiding.
Damn you, Anthony DiNozzo.
She didn't notice when Delores wished them both a Merry Christmas and disappeared into her office again, nor when Tony stood in front of her. She snapped out of her thoughts when he placed a hand on her arm, asking his trademark question, "Are you okay?"
She looked into his green eyes and decided to do something for him tonight. Something like what he had done could not pass that simply. She smiled, "I am fine. Why?"
He looked at her strangely for a second, not letting go of her arm just yet, "Because I asked you if you thought it went well enough, and you spaced out on me".
She shook her head slightly, "Sorry, things on my head. I think it went pretty well. It was very nice of you, Tony," she said, trying to convey her feelings on the matter a little.
He let go of her arm and placed a hand on his heart with a surprised expression. "Ex-Mossad assassin Ziva David is complimenting me? Can you say it again so I can record it?" he said smirking, scrambling to get his phone out of his pocket.
She rolled her eyes and the moment was broken. Trust him to be all nice and sweet one minute, and then go back to being the Tony everyone knew. Except that she knew that the real Tony was hiding under that facade of goofball. She started walking and grabbed him by his arm, ignoring his indignant "Hey!" before he fell to walking with her back to the bullpen. "There is no need to be an ass. I am cooking, now come on".
Tony almost tripped on his desk, surprised she had said that, and turned to see her grabbing her stuff from her own desk, with her eyes cast down focused on her task, and the remnants of a smile playing on her lips. Why? "Are you serious? Or is this payback for what I said, and you're just pulling my leg?"
She looked up from her backpack in her hand and looked at him with confused eyes, putting her coat on. "Why would I want to pull you by your leg? That makes no sense."
Tony sighed and picked up his own backpack, "It means joking, Ziva. We really need to work more on your idiom skills".
She huffed and swung her backpack over her shoulder, her gun and badge in place by her hip, and waited for him between their desks. "I told you already that I speak too many languages to be worried about getting confused sometimes".
"No, Zee," he argued back, shrugging into his coat. "You'll be a US citizen soon. We need to work on those idioms, or else you could fail the test. Those are very important."
She rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Things like that won't come up on the test."
"Don't come crying to me when you fail because you wouldn't listen to me, asking me to marry you just so you can stay here." His words would've sounded harsh enough to grant him a good smack, but his teasing tone just made her sigh and shake her head.
"I'm not cooking anymore. Merry Christmas," she waved at him and stomped off to the elevator.
He hurried to catch up with her, backpack on his shoulder, and swung an arm over her shoulder, pulling her close. "Nuh-uh, you invited me over, you can't take it back. You're stuck with me tonight," he smirked, silently pleading with her to agree. "I have nowhere else to go tonight. It's Christmas, and I'd be alone."
She tensed for a moment, and then relaxed against him, both entering the elevator as the doors opened. "Just because you made Delores very happy tonight," she answered, and he smiled broadly. She saw his face and leaned up to kiss his cheek.
The feel of her soft lips touching his cheek froze his body and brain, completely surprised by her actions. He stuttered when she leaned back again, face flushed, "What- what was that for?"
"You are a good man, Anthony," she smiled warmly at him, and they locked eyes, suddenly realizing how close they really were, how his arm was still over her shoulder, and how her hand rested on his chest. The air crackled with tension, and the temperature in the elevator rose a notch.
In that very moment, the elevator doors opened on the first floor, and someone cleared their throat. They separated and exited the elevator, wishing a "Merry Christmas" to the agent waiting there. Maybe later tonight they'd have another moment.
And then no one would be there to interrupt.
And maybe they wouldn't have to spend Christmas alone after all.
Christmas was a time of miracles, after all.
A/N: Short but fluffy, and with the right amount of Tiva ;)
Until next time,
Eve
