A/N: Helloooooo :)
This is a one-shot to celebrate the birthday of the one and only, the beautiful, the talented Miss Cote de Pablo! And since it's Ziva's birthday, too, I thought I'd write a cute little drabble about Tony wishing Ziva a happy birthday all the way from Washington to Israel ;) Hope you like it :)
Summary: "Yeah, well, I just wanted to make sure you got the message" It's Ziva's birthday and Tony wants to make sure she gets his message over the ocean. Birthday one-shot for Cote de Pablo. Tiva.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of it's characters. No copyright intended! Buuuuut I own my thoughts :D LOL!
Please enjoy reading! :)
Dedication
To the wonderful, talented and inspirational
Cote de Pablo
Happy birthday! I hope it's a good one! :)
xo
Tony stared at the phone in his hands. Would it be ridiculous to leave a sixth voicemail? It would probably seem clingy and weird. It wasn't like there was an emergency or something.
He just wanted to tell her 'happy birthday'. The thing was, she hadn't picked up the phone all day. He'd tried calling her five times already and had left five messages.
Still, she didn't even text him to say thank you. Just nothing. That was just how it was these days though. He waited for her to contact him and she didn't. Today he'd decided that her birthday was a pretty good reason to call her for the first time in months.
He'd actually been looking forward to that phone call all week. He'd imagined how it'd go, what they'd say. The thought that she wouldn't pick up had never crossed his mind though.
It was ridiculous. He should have known, but still he had refused to face the facts. Tony sighed and pressed Ziva's number again. As expected, it went straight to voice mail after five rings.
"Ziva, it's me again. Happy birthday. Again, obviously. I, uh, I just feel like actually telling you and not your voice mail. So, if you're free tonight, we could perhaps..listen, I'll just send you a text, okay? Happy birthday", Tony said.
God, he'd messed up yet another voice mail. Great. Just great. He opened his text message folder and composed a message to Ziva. "8pm my time. Video chat. It's a birthday date. Love, Tony", he wrote.
Yeah, it sounded cheesy. But who cared, right? He hit send before he could decide against it. Just as he put his cell phone back down, Gibbs walked around the corner. "The case?", Gibbs questioned. Tony shot up from his seat and hurried over to the screen. It was gonna be a freaking long day.
Tony sat in front of his laptop at exactly 8pm that night. Truth be told, he had expected to be left hanging. But it still hurt like hell. His heart was literally aching to see her again, to just hear her voice and be able to talk to her.
He sighed and looked at the clock again. Five past eight. Maybe she was just late? But then again, it probably wasn't a good idea to get his hopes up. Suddenly the screen of his laptop lit up, signaling an incoming video chat.
Tony's heart rate picked up speed. With shaking hands he pressed the accept button. It felt like an eternity until the connection was finally loaded. A huge grin spread across his face and he was sure his heart would beat out of his chest, as he caught sight of her.
"Ziva", he breathed. She smiled at him warmly. "Hello Tony", she greeted. He was so mesmerized by her beauty, that he forgot why he'd set up this "date" in the first place.
Eventually though, he managed to get his thoughts straight. "Happy birthday", he said, his smile bright and genuine. "Thank you", she said softly, her eyes locked on his.
They were silent for a moment. It was Tony who spoke up again first: "So, you got my message." It was a dumb thing to say, that was for sure. But truth be told, he didn't really know what else to say.
She chuckled. "Yes. But I think the plural is more fitting here. Six calls and one text, yes?", she replied. He blushed slightly but laughed along with her. "Yeah, well, I just wanted to make sure you got the message", he said, shrugging.
"I am glad that you wanted to make sure", Ziva stated softly. He raised his eyebrow, silently asking her for an explanation. "I have missed you, Tony", she admitted quietly.
He could see tears pooling in her eyes and wished he could just reach out and wipe them away. "I miss you, too", he told her, his eyes teary as well. She brushed her tears away with the back of her hand and smiled at him sadly.
"How are you?", she asked. He chuckled dryly. "I think you know the answer to that question", he stated bitterly. She gulped audibly. "I'm sorry, Ziva. I didn't mean to snap at you", he apologized immediately.
"It's just..it's hard, you know. Life isn't the same without you. Nothing is", he explained, shrugging helplessly. He had no idea how to verbalize his heartache without causing her too much pain.
"I know", she whispered. "I once told you that I couldn't live without you, Ziva. It still applies. I just..I can't", he admitted, his voice breaking. "Tony", she whispered.
"It just hurts so much, Ziva. I can't sleep because every time I close my eyes, I see you and hear you but I can't reach you. And wherever I go, everything reminds me of you. I-I feel like I'm losing it. It's just..h-hard", Tony said, finally letting everything out.
He'd been trying so hard to keep it bottled up inside but he couldn't help it. He knew she'd be shocked and he knew it'd hurt her to know. But he couldn't help it, really.
Tears were now flowing down his cheeks and he hated himself for how pathetic he probably looked and sounded. "I am so sorry. I never intended to cause you so much pain", she said softly.
He wiped away his tears. "I know. And it's not your fault, Ziva. You did what you had to do. And I respect your decision. It's just not easy, you know", he told her. She nodded.
"It is not easy for me either. I miss you. Very much. And not a day goes by that I do not think about you", she admitted. A soft smile spread across his face. So, he wasn't the only one who didn't like the situation.
"I love you", he suddenly blurted out, shocking not only her but himself as well. They hadn't exactly verbalized it in Israel. They'd just assumed the other felt the same way.
They'd acted upon their feelings, not talked about them. She gasped and a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I love you, too", she all but whispered. He smiled brightly.
He stopped himself from making any stupid comment and instead just locked his eyes on hers, getting lost in them. "Tony?", Ziva asked softly. He blinked and nodded.
"I..it is already three at night here. I am rather tired..", she said carefully, obviously not liking it either. "Damn it! I totally forgot about the time differences. That means I was too late to wish you a happy birthday in person, right?", Tony rambled.
She chuckled. "It is fine, Tony. It is the most special birthday wish I got, so that makes up for the three hour delay", she told him softly. He smiled upon hearing her words.
"I have to go, Tony. I am sorry", she then said. He nodded in understanding. "Can you promise me something though?", he asked. "Anything", she confirmed.
"I know you need your time. And trust me, I understand. And you have my support. But until you are ready to come home..to me..would you please promise to keep in touch? A text message a day would be perfectly fine. I just want to know you're okay and I wanna hear from you on a regular basis", he requested.
Her smile widened. "That is a promise I will gladly make", she agreed. "I have a birthday present for you, actually. If you give me your new address, maybe I can send it to you?", he then asked.
"Yes, of course. I will send you a text message tomorrow", she said, smiling brightly. They were quiet again, neither really wanting to end the video call. "I love you, don't forget that, okay?", Tony said.
She smiled. "I love you, too. So very much, Tony", she told him softly. "Good night, ninja. And happy birthday again", he said, touching his finger to the screen. She mimicked him and put her finger on the screen as well, right where his finger was.
"Good night, Tony", she said softly. They smiled at each other, until eventually Ziva pressed the button to end the call. Tony's finger remained where it was and he smiled brightly.
For the first time in months, he felt like maybe the world wasn't ending after all. Maybe he'd just have to wait until the world lit up again. Until she came home. "Happy birthday, Ziva. And come home soon", he whispered into the darkness.
If everything went well, he told himself, he'd be holding her in his arms this time next year around.
A/N: aww some Tiva birthday fluff! :)
Please let me know what you think in the reviews section! :) I'd love to hear whether you liked it :)
Updates for my other stories will hopefully be up by the end of the week (as in Sunday ;D)
Happy birthday, Cote!
Love y'all,
~ Caro