A Story of Trains and Tunnels.
Why on earth had they decided to take the train instead of driving to that damn conference? It wasn't even that important. It was just a little update for all the NCIS agents who were stationed all over the country, representing the agency in smaller towns. Tony was supposed to go to the conference with Ziva, but he had fallen ill this morning, leaving only Gibbs to join Ziva on the trip. McGee had been on vacation for about a week and was spending some time with his family.
Since Ziva had sold her car and taken the bus for the last few months, and Gibbs' cars had both been in accidents he wasn't even remotely responsible for – or at least that's what he had told the team, the two agents had to take the train to get to the hotel the conference would take place in. Had they really just signed up for a six-hour trip across the country on an almost empty train – because who actually still uses trains, anyway – which didn't even have air conditioning? This would be one hell of a trip.
As if hot weather, loss of air conditioning and a six-hour train ride weren't enough, Gibbs had been having these weird dreams lately – sex dreams, to be exact. Ziva David had crept into his dreams late at night, every night, for the past few weeks, seducing him to the point where he would wake up rock hard, craving her touch. He hadn't had dreams like that ever since he was a teenager and he had been quite happy about it, since he had had a very hard time ignoring them when he was young. Now he worried that they might interfere with his work, which they did only occasionally, whenever Ziva wore particularly tight fitting clothes. He just couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Why did she have to be so beautiful? It's not like her ninja moves and her high intelligence already did enough to arouse him most days, but of course she had to be pretty, too. He wasn't the youngest anymore – how was he supposed to deal with a woman like that?
When he arrived at the train station, he was surprised to see her already waiting for him. She was wearing a more casual outfit than he usually saw her in at work, just as he had suggested. Six hours on a train could be annoying enough as it was, but being dressed in work clothes would just have been enough. Her jeans were black and way too tight not to have an effect on him, while her blouse was loose and had a few more open buttons than work would allow her to. Her outfit was still not as casual as he would have expected of any other woman, but the fact that her hair was falling in loose curls around her face was a clear indicator that they weren't at work. She had been wearing ponytails and buns for months, just sometimes having her hair open, but even then it would be straight and nowhere near playful. He liked her curls and he liked the smile she greeted him with as he walked towards her.
Damn, why did he have to be so handsome? When he was walking towards her in simple blue jeans and a white NIS shirt, Ziva couldn't believe how attractive he looked. She had always been attracted to him, but this outfit made him seem a lot less Gibbs and a lot more Jethro. He somehow didn't seem unreachable anymore. Just a down to earth kind of guy – that's what he was. For a moment there, she thought that maybe, just maybe, he could let his guard down with her, completely that is. He had always been more open with her than with any of the other agents, but she hoped that she could finally get actually close to him. He had already changed into a casual outfit, maybe opening up to her would be the next step.
As they walked onto the platform together, their hands close but not yet touching, they both smiled to themselves, happy that they could actually be casual together for a while and knowing that this trip might change the character of their relationship forever. They were both looking forward to some changes, but a tiny bit of fear settled over them as they entered the train, knowing that those changes might not be all good.
TBC
A/N: Damn, this was going to be a one-shot… what is it with me not being able to sort my thoughts enough to keep stories short?! Anyway… How did you like it?! Reviewers get imaginary cookies, as always :D