Ziva lifted her head at the sudden banging noise on her door. Not bothering with a gun, she placed her almost empty wine glass on the coffee table along with the book she had been attempting to read and padded quietly over to the door. She stood on her tiptoes to peer through the peephole. She sighed at the sight of her former partner on the other side. Former partner, she thought with dismay as she pulled the door open. Neither said anything as he stepped inside, shrugging off his jacket before he fell back onto the couch. She did the same, tucking her legs up underneath her butt. Both of them looked like they had just gone through the worlds worst break-up; their hair was disheveled and their clothes appeared as if they had gone digging in the bottom of the hamper.
"I see you're taking everything well," he said after a minute, indicating her appearance and the glass on the table.
"Do you want one?" she asked. He nodded hesitantly and she made her way into the kitchen, returning a moment later with the bottle and another glass. She filled the new glass and handed it to him before refilling her own.
"What now?" he asked after a minute of quiet sipping. She shrugged and downed the rest of her drink before sliding back onto the table.
"I've been a cop for over fifteen years, Ziva. I have nothing to fall back onto."
"And I do?" she practically yelled, finally snapping. "According to most paperwork, I've only existed for three years. I have nothing here anymore and I can't go back to Israel," her voice grew softer as she ended her sentence, "there is nothing there for me either."
"You have me," his words were barely audible.
"What?" she said, turning to look at him directly for the first time.
"You have me," he repeated. "And McGee, and Abby and Ducky, and even Palmer. And Gibbs, wherever he went, he still cares. You say that you never expect happy endings, but I think you just need to search for the one you want. The one where you're not alone, at lo levad, remember?"
"Thank you, Tony." She gave a weak smile and patted his leg, letting her hand linger afterwards. "Why did you come over here anyway?"
"Make sure you were okay," he shrugged and paused for a second before continuing. "And I didn't want to be alone, physically, didn't think you wanted to be either." He shrugged again and stared down into the empty glass in his hand.
"You can stay if you would like," she suggested.
"Thanks," he nodded slightly. She stood and brought everything back into the kitchen before heading into the bedroom. Tony was unsure of whether or not she wanted him to follow her, but she reappeared a second later, arms burdened with blankets and pillows.
"If you take the cushions off the couch it should be more comfortable," she said, dropping everything onto the table. She turned back to him, her tired brown eyes meeting his green ones.
"Good night, Tony." She gave one last smile before disappearing into the bedroom again. He sighed and busied himself with making up his couch-bed. He toed off his shoes and pulled his shirt over his head, leaving him in just his rumpled sweats and the boxers he had on underneath. He pulled the surprisingly soft blanket around himself and tried to fall asleep, but to no avail. He tossed and turned for about an hour before giving up. He got up and found his way blindly down the hallway by the light from outside. He pushed open the door to what he knew to be Ziva's bedroom and silently slipped inside. She lifted her head slightly as he slid under the covers behind her.
"Couldn't sleep," he murmured at her unasked question. She simply laid her head back down in understanding as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Neither really questioned why they always slept so close whenever they had to share a bed, it just seemed to be the natural thing to do. Not that either was complaining, it was one of the few times that they made it through the night without waking with a start because of a nightmare of some kind.
And there was nothing different about this time as both were sound asleep with in the next ten minutes.
{{NCIS}}
The next morning they woke around seven o'clock, still tangled around one another. They silently parted, disentangling their limbs before Ziva slipped out of bed into the bathroom. Tony sighed, running his fingers through his disheveled hair as he heard the shower turn on. He took this as a signal to make his leave. He stood and shuffled into the living room where his shirt lay discarded on the floor from the night before. He shook it out in a lame attempt to rid the shirt of the various wrinkles it had picked up over night. He looked around for his jacket, then, remembering that he had never taken it off the couch before making it up as a bed, proceeded to refold and put the couch back together. All in all, the whole process took him about half an hour. Though after he had hit the ten minute mark he knew he should just face the fact that he was just procrastinating, waiting for Ziva to finish in the shower before he left.
"Tony?" he turned at the sound of her voice. She was standing at the end of the hallway dressed in very short shorts and a tank top, her damp hair making a small puddle at her feet. Not a vision I've had of Ziva before, Tony though. "I thought you had already gone," she muttered meekly, cutting through his thoughts and pulling him back to reality.
"Couldn't find my jacket, and I didn't want to leave you to pick this up by yourself." He waved his hand at the neatly folded blankets and shrugged, knowing how lame his excuse sounded.
"Oh, thank you." She smiled at him and walked through the living room and into the kitchen.
"Would you like something to eat?" she asked as she pulled open the fridge.
"No, thanks. I should probably get going." He picked his jacket up off of the pile of blankets and pulled it over his shoulders. "Need to find something to get me through life with. Can't live off savings for the rest of my life."
"Yeah," she nodded, knowing she should be doing the same, but also knowing that in doing do it meant that all this was real. They no longer worked at NCIS. There would be no more all-nighters, and no more break room coffee to get them through those long nights.
No more Gibbs barking orders, or McGee messing them up.
No more of Ducky's long, drawn out tales and Palmer's weird sense of humor.
No more staring at one another across the bullpen, having eye sex as Abby had put it once.
No more of the cheerful Goth and her obnoxiously loud music.
No more resisting the urge they both had to walk the short distance between them and give in to that tingling feeling in the pit of their stomachs every time they saw the other.
"Well, I'll see you later then," he gave her a small wave before walking to that door and reaching for the knob.
"Are you coming back?" her voice was quiet, almost fearful.
He thought for a second before nodding, "Yeah," he muttered, "I'll see tonight." She smiled and gave him a small nod.
{{NCIS}}
This went on for the next few weeks.
Tony would show up at her door, always with a movie or pizza, and occasionally a bottle of wine. Then they would go their separate ways in the morning, though neither really had anywhere special to go; seemed no one wanted a rogue federal agent and an ex-Mossad officer working for them.
Every night they would watch the movie and talk a little, and then she would bring out the blankets and they would both lie down in their respective places.
He never lasted more then half and hour on the couch before he would crawl into bed behind her. They never talked about how each night they seemed to be more and more comfortable with what was happening. A silent understanding that everything was going to be okay between them.
Every morning they would wake up wrapped around each other. And not a word was ever spoken about it, until one night about three weeks later.
"What are you doing?" Ziva asked as Tony followed her into the bedroom.
"I always end up here anyway," he shrugged. "What's the big deal?" She opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable to come up with a legitimate response.
"I'll go back to the couch if it really bothers you that much," he offered, jabbing his thumb in the general direction of the living room.
"No, no," she assured, though her voice was barely above a whisper. "It does not bother me, just scares me a little."
"Why?" he asked, taking a step closer to her and gently toke hold of shoulders to keep her from turning away, from running away. The Ziva he knew didn't get scared, which meant something was wrong.
"I don't know," she stuttered, on the verge of tears. "I just…" she trailed off as she looked up at him, her breaking façade and his understanding reflected back at her in his shining green eyes.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Ziva," Tony stressed.
"I know," she gave a feeble smile before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. "Thank you," she whispered against his ear, "for everything."
"That's what friends are for," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into him.
"You are not a friend, Tony," she said a moment later as she pulled back. His heart nearly stopped when she didn't continue right away. He opened his mouth to basically plea for her mercy when she blurted out those five words he had wanted to hear for a long time. "You are more then that."
"What am I then?" he responded, trying to keep his cool as best as he could.
"A partner, a companion… a lover." He met her eyes for a brief second before they both leaned forward in the same instant and their lips met, sending an unexpected shock through both of their bodies. They jumped apart, their breathing heavy and their hearts beating rapidly in their chests. Their lips had barely touched yet both felt as if they had just run a marathon.
"What was that?" she gasped, trying to sound angry.
"Hey, you kissed me too," he countered, throwing his arm in her direction.
"Please do it again," she squeaked. She stood there like a scared little child, watching him intently. The alien sound of her voice sparking something in both of them that they had never really wanted to face before, didn't want to face now. He stared at her for another second before lightly taking her hand in his, lacing their fingers together before bring his lips down and pressing them to her forehead.
"Why now?" he asked before kissing her cheek.
"I need you," she answered, her eyes fluttering shut.
"Like you needed Adam?" She shuddered but didn't push him away.
"No. I need something with more, meaning. Someone that I know will always be there." She took a deep breath as he moved to her other cheek, his mouth passing within half an inch of hers. "That is you."
"But why now?" he asked again, his mouth hovering over hers for a second before gently brushing his lips against her nose.
"We… are… ready," she said slowly.
"How do you know?" He gently kissed both corners of her mouth before she answered.
"I just do," she murmured before he captured her lips with his. One of his hands slid up to cup her neck and the other wrapped around her waist, pulling her into him. He could feel her heart beating rapidly against his own. He felt her run her tongue gently along his lower lip, begging for entrance. He happily complied, sliding his tongue into her mouth to dance with hers. She groaned, pulling him after her as she began to step back towards the bed.
"Are you sure?" Tony asked against her lips when she pulled at the hem of his shirt.
"Yes," Ziva growled, not so gently biting his lip. He smiled, yanking her shirt over her head before he picked her and threw her back onto the bed. He paused for a second to take in her half naked form sprawled across the bed, tanned skin contrasting greatly against the white sheets.
"You're so beautiful," he murmured, kissing her hip before nibbling at her soft skin. His fingers trailed up and down her leg a few times before moving to pop the button that held her pants closed. She didn't even try to stifle the groan that passed her lips as his hand dipped inside and gripped her leg skin on skin. His thumb lightly brushed the inside of her thigh, making her wiggle as she tried to move his hand closer to where she wanted it.
"Tony," Ziva barked, trying to make her tone threatening, as he pulled his hand away. He responded by hooking his fingers in the belt loops and giving a small tug. She lifted her hips as he pulled the offending item completely off her body.
She groaned as he kissed the inside of her knee and his hand ran up her leg then under the waistband of her panties for a brief second before continuing up her body to the fabric that covered her breasts.
"Please," she almost begged, hooking her ankles into his lower back and pulling his still completely clothed form against her.
"Please what?" he teased, his breath hot against her ear and his hands barely brushing over the skimpy pieces of lace that covered her. Her head rolled back and forth as she tried to form a logical sentence in her current state of utter bliss. He sat back as she thought, pressing his knee against her heat as he yanked his shirt over his head and unfastened his pants before reaching behind her and popping the clasp that held the lace against her slender frame, pulling it free from the constraints of her arms.
"I want you inside me now," she growled as his bare chest was pressed against hers, the action somehow spurring her mind forward. His chuckled at how impatient she was only to find himself pinned underneath her a second later.
"I said now," she growled as she crawled back and yanked his pants and boxers off in one fluid motion. She proceeded to wiggle out of her panties before making her way back up his body.
"I can see that," he laughed. She let out another growl as she rubbed her heat against his growing erection. "Oh god, Ziva, you're so wet. Is that just from kissing me?"
"Shut up and let me fuck you," she practically snarled before forcefully impaling herself on his now very alert member. They both gasped at the intense pleasure that immediately took over their bodies. She stilled for a second, adjusting to his size before lifting herself of him then slamming back down.
"Oh God, Ziva," he gasped, his hands running up her thighs to grasp her hips. She continued to move her hips up and down, back and forth, eliciting more gasps from both of them, which were growing louder as she continued to ride him. But it wasn't enough, he wanted more and he could tell she did too. He somehow managed to roll them over without falling completely out of her, and she made no objection to the sudden change in position. He began rapidly slamming into her, making no attempt to stay quiet anymore. Her nails and heels dug into his back as she tried to hold on, but it was only encouraging him to more faster.
This is what they had been waiting for, what they had been longing for. To watch as the other squirmed as they fell over the edge. To feel their hearts beat rapidly as they came down from the high. To truly feel the other; hold them close as they regained their breath, as they fell asleep, and as they woke again in the morning.
To be entirely at the other's mercy.
Tony couldn't tell if the tingling in his back was the telltale sign that he was nearing the end, or Ziva's heels digging into him. Either way he didn't really care, it felt to good to care about anything other then the fact that he was having sex with the woman he had fantasized about for years. Who had driven him insane with desire, and who he would, and had, gone to the ends of the earth to save. At this very second the woman he had fallen madly in love with was moaning his name as she writhed beneath him.
He watched as she pushed her head back into the pillows and arched her back off the bed. God she's beautiful, he thought as he wrapped his arm under her and pulled her body to his.
"Tony," she mewed, dragging out his name as he left fiery kisses across her hot flesh.
"Come for me, Ziva," he breathed against her as he reached down to play with her clit. She gasped and began to shudder, his name falling from her lips in a high-pitched shriek. He gave a few more good thrusts before following her into oblivion. She fell limp in his arms second before he collapsed on top of her, completely out of breath. He went to roll off of her but she stopped him with a light hand on his cheek.
"I don't want to crush you," he muttered. She still wouldn't let him move so he wrapped his arms around her waist and rolled them over so she was on top, pulling the blankets around them as he did so.
"Thank you, Tony," she whispered, lifting her head from his chest to look him in the eye.
"Anytime, Sweet Cheeks," he grinned and gently kissed her forehead.
"I do not know what I would do without you."
"Couldn't live without you."
"You guess," she finished, repeating his words from that fateful day.
"No, I'm certain." She smiled and kissed his lips. When she pulled back she looked down at him, her eyes reflecting with the glowing light on the nightstand.
"I love you, Tony," she blurted out suddenly. He watched her for a second, searching for any sign of doubt in her eyes, but knowing he would find none.
"I love you too, Ziva." She smiled once more before nestling her head in the crook of his neck and falling asleep.
"I'll never let you go," he mumbled before sleep took him over too.
