Disclaimers: NCIS, the rights to the show and its characters do not belong to me.
Spoilers: none, AU
Pairing: Ziva David/Tim McGee romance
Summary: "Remember when you said you didn't care that I had cooties?"

inspired by a beautiful graphic of an AU with Tim and Ziva as childhood friends, done by the very talented Samm on tumblr, the link to which can be found on my profile

The girl's laughter echoed along the beach as she tried to out-run her pursuer. The boy scrunched up his face and was almost ready to throw in the towel and let her escape when he saw her stumble on the sand. He grinned to himself and sped up, finally catching up with her and tackling her into the sand.

"Oof!" Ziva exclaimed when her friend crashed into her. "Get off me!" she growled, shoving his face into the sand. Tim coughed and shook his head, spitting out the sand that had gotten into his mouth.

"Ew, gross." Ziva crinkled her nose, sitting up on her knees as her friend rolled over, sighing.

"What now?" he asked her, sitting up and shaking his head, sending sand flying everywhere.

"I do not know." Ziva shrugged. They both sat, watching the waves, knowing that they were not allowed into the water when their parents weren't around.

"Ziva?" Tim asked her after a while, his voice gone soft.

"Huh?" the girl turned her head, watching her friend and frowning when she saw that he was staring at his sandals, raining sand over his feet with his hand.

"Why are you like this?" he asked, his voice soft.

"Like what?" she frowned, brushing a long curl that had escaped her ponytail from her face.

"Why are you my friend?" Tim asked her, looking at her.

"Because…" Ziva started, hesitating, trying to find an answer, an explanation why they had gotten along right from the start. "Because you are mine." she shrugged.

"But all the others…" Tim trailed off, sighing. "At home, the girls said that I couldn't be friends with them, because I had cooties and then they'd get them, too."

Ziva tilted her head and took a few moments to mull that over before she shrugged.

"I do not care." she told him, her face erupting into a big grin when Tim smiled at her. "Hey, do you think your mom will let me sleep over again?" she asked him suddenly. Tim shrugged.

"Maybe. My dad is at a conference. We could finish Aladdin." his face lit up and they both scrambled up to race back to where they had left Tim's mother to ask her about Ziva sleeping over again. As he tried to keep up with her, Tim smiled to himself. He hadn't wanted to move to Israel, he hated being here most of the time and didn't understand a thing when people talked and wished his father had never gotten that promotion. But if he hadn't, Tim would never have met Ziva, and he really wouldn't want that. Because even after only a few weeks, she's already a better friend than any he had this far.

"I will be back in an hour." Ziva called into the house, smiling to herself as she shouldered her bag and went around the house to get her bike. Just as she was about to mount it, Tim came down the driveway with the family dog.

"Hey, you going somewhere?" he asked her, tilting his head at the bike. Ziva shrugged.

"Your mother wants some things from the store, I offered to go." she told him, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. With the conflict in Israel escalating, her father had agreed that it would be a good idea for her to spend a year in the US, improve her English, as he simultaneously sent her sister to a boarding school in Switzerland. And who better for Ziva to stay with than her childhood friend Tim? Only that Tim and her had changed, from children six and eight years old to teenagers. And Ziva wasn't sure if staying with him for a year was such a bright idea, even though she had begged her father to allow it when she had heard of his plan to send both her and Tali out of the country to keep them save. Tim was a friend, yes, but he was also a geek. He stayed indoors and in front of the computer most of the time whereas Ziva was used to a more physical lifestyle and went running and to the gym frequently. And there was the small matter of those pesky butterflies that seemed to flop around in her stomach whenever Tim smiled at her…

"If you can wait a minute, I'll come with you." Tim told her, hurrying into the house to grab his jacket and wallet and get his own bike.

"What do you want from the store?" Ziva asked him as they rode down the street side by side, casting a look at him.

"Nothing. But the new Spider-Man is out." Tim grinned at her and Ziva rolled her eyes at him. "Race you?" he suddenly asked her and Ziva tilted her head as if pondering the question before she stood up in the pedals, speeding up and hearing him call out after her.

"So, Mossad, huh?" Tim's voice carried over the line and Ziva rolled her eyes, hanging up her IDF uniform so she would not have to look for it the next day, as she had to go back to basic training.

"Yeah, well, it makes sense." she responded. "Your NIC does not."

"NCIS." he corrected her patiently before sighing. "And yes, it does."

"Really?" Ziva raised an eyebrow at the mirror and flopped down on her bed.

"Yeah. My dad's Navy, they investigate crimes committed by and against navy personnel." Tim informed her before yelping. Ziva sat up quickly in her bed, ignoring that she was half a world away and wouldn't be able to help him, anyway.

"You okay?" she asked him, frowning with worry.

"Yeah, just hit my foot on this stupid box." he told her and she could hear the pain in his voice.

"How long until you move?"

"Four days. I can't wait to get out of this place." Tim muttered, lowering his voice. Just then, Ziva could hear her father and sister start fighting downstairs and sighed.

"I know what you mean." she nodded, scowling at her door.

"You're not even living at home at the moment!" Tim exclaimed before groaning. "I have to go; my mother is having a fit about something."

"I have to check on my sister and see if she finally killed our father, anyway." Ziva sighed. "Same time next week?" she asked, ignoring the flutter in her chest.

"Yeah, I'll call you since I don't know my phone number yet."

"It's a date." Ziva smiled, frowning at herself when she caught sight of her reflection. It wasn't until he had hung up that she realized her word choice and the reason why he had suddenly stuttered his way through their good-byes.

For a second, he gawked when he recognized her, before his face broke out into a huge smile of joy at meeting her like this.

"Officer David." Tim grinned at her and Ziva rolled her eyes, hugging her friend.

"Special Agent McGee." she smiled when she let go of him, taking in his appearance. "Is this part of the wardrobe?" she grinned, tugging on his tie. Tim felt his ears get hot and took her elbow, leading her away from the rest of his team.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her after taking in her appearance and breathing a sigh of relief at finding no visible injuries. Ziva shrugged.

"It is an international security conference." she pointed out, tilting her head slightly. "Your team?" she asked, nodding in the direction of the others. Tim swallowed and nodded.

"Yeah." he told her, uncomfortable when he looked back and found Gibbs, Tony and Kate staring at him, with various degrees of surprise written on their faces. He quickly made up his mind. "Would you care for some coffee?" he asked Ziva, who looked at him with surprise.

"I prefer black tea, but sure." she said, allowing him to lead the way outside. Once they had their beverages, they found themselves a place on the grass, a few steps away from other people, to catch up with each other.

"I have not told you, but there is another reason why I am in DC." Ziva revealed after a few minutes, drumming against her now empty cup with her fingernails. Tim watched her, worry creasing his brow. In the last couple of years, he had come to expect the worst when Ziva sprung some form of surprise on him. Surprise! I'm going into Mossad. Surprise! I'm going into Kommemiute. Surprise! I got made and almost killed. Surprise! My half-brother turned rogue.

"Oh?" he settled on, waiting for her to continue.

"There is an open spot at the Israeli embassy, and Bashan offered it to me." she told him.

"Why would he do that?" Tim frowned at her and Ziva sighed, reaching up to run a hand through her wavy hair.

"I may have mentioned that I wanted to get out of the field." she muttered, avoiding his eyes. "So, what do you say?"

Tim bit his tongue quickly to keep himself from making a happy exclamation, or worse, hugging her.

"If that is what you want…" he trailed off, confused when he watched her face fall.

"Maybe it was not such a bright idea." Ziva shook her head, looking out over the grass. "I just thought it would be nice, to be closer again, you know? I… miss you. I miss my friend." she almost whispered, closing her eyes briefly and taking a deep breath. "Forget it. It was a stupid idea."

"No!" Tim exclaimed, finding the blush creep back into his face as Ziva stared at him in surprise. "No, I… I'd be happy to see you more often again. We could, we could watch movies together. Have sleepovers. I mean, like we used to, when we were kids. Not like, not in the, in the adult-"

Ziva's laughter cut him off and she reached over, hugging him. "So, you really think I should take that offer? Come work at the embassy in DC?"

"Yes." Tim nodded, smiling at her and being relieved when she returned that smile.

Tim blinked against the tears in his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to get his laughter under control as he flopped back against the couch. When he turned his head, he watched Ziva laughing and suddenly found himself mesmerized by her face. He watched as she slowly calmed down and the atmosphere shifted as she turned her face to look at him. She frowned lightly, blinking, her eyes darting to his lips.

"Tim?" she murmured. "What's happening?"

"I don't know." he breathed, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from her face and feeling his heart speed up as she turned into the touch briefly, her eyes fluttering close. He swallowed thickly, stroking his thumb over her cheek and Ziva's eyes snapped open, her breath catching in her throat.

"Remember that day on the beach? When you said you didn't care that I had cooties?" he asked her, his voice catching in his throat. Ziva swallowed mutely, giving a slow nod. "I think that's when I fell in love with you." Tim breathed, holding his breath. Just as he was about to panic, Ziva suddenly leaned in, brushing her lips over his in a gentle caress.

"I think I did, too." she mumbled, smiling when his face split into a huge grin and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a real kiss.

fin.

Reviews are very welcome. Happy 60th story!