[Disclaimer]: Seriously? I'd treat them better than this...


"What?" Ziva snapped as she yanked the door open.

"Uh, sorry." Tony quickly relented. "Did I wake you?"

"No, you didn't. What are you doing here? It's two in the morning, Tony."

Seeing that her abruptness had nothing to do with her having been asleep already, Tony put on his most charming smile. "I know it's way past my bedtime, but I couldn't sleep. And seeing as we never made it to those drinks we wanted to take…"

He trailed off and pulled a bottle of wine from behind his back with a smile.

Ziva smiled softly at him and opened the door further to let him in, leading the way into the kitchen.

"How did you know I was still awake?"

"Lucky guess?" Tony squeaked.

Ziva just threw him a look over her shoulder from where she was getting the wine glasses out of the cupboard.

"Or I might have sat in my car across the street and watched your apartment." He relented, as he searched the drawer for the corkscrew. "Saw the TV flickering. So either you were still awake or I might have saved you from an uncomfortable night on your couch."

"My couch is not uncomfortable." Ziva said as she handed him a glass.

"Okay, I know it's not. What are you watching anyway?" Tony took his glass and strolled over towards the living room.

As soon as he saw the TV screen he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Oh my God. You're kidding, right?"

"Shut up." Ziva nudged him from behind to get him moving again.

"Seriously, Ziva." Tony sat down on the couch, only to move over when she shot him a disbelieving look. "I know I should have kept an eye on your cultural education, because you cannot seriously be watching GLEE."

"Oh hush, Tony. It's nice. I learned how to set my DVR just for this! These kids can really sing, you know? Not like that High School Musical stuff."

"You now they're not kids, right? These are adults pretending to be ten years younger and portraying teenage problems they probably never had by the way they look."

He leant back in the couch and took a sip of his wine. Ziva just chuckled and watched the screen intently. When she leant back her shoulder touched Tony's and she nudged him with her elbow until he lifted his arm around her so Ziva could tuck herself into his side.

Not that she would ever admit to it.

"You just don't like TV shows on principle."

Tony snorted. "Oh please. There's a reason cinematic masterminds such as Francis Ford Coppola, Hitchcock or Terentino never made TV shows. Because 120 minutes is all you need to compose the perfect masterpiece that is a movie. Suspense, intrigue, romance, action, humour. After 120 minutes the story is told. The end. No need for entire 24 episode seasons."

Ziva laughed softly. "First of all, The Godfather took longer than 120 minutes. And what about Spielberg? The Pacific? Ten hours of tedious-"

Tony covered her mouth with his hand to stop her from talking and dramatically looked at the ceiling.

"Don't listen to her, Oh God of Cinematography, for she doesn't know what she sayeth."

Ziva just laughed and elbowed him into his side as well as gently biting into his hand.

"Ow!" Tony exclaimed and pulled his hand back smiling down on her. "You bit me!"

Ziva just shrugged and took another sip of her wine, settling into Tony's side once again. She put her feet on the coffee table and carefully pushed the wine bottle out her line of sight.

"I'm just saying…"

"What?" Tony asked.

"Liking a TV show and watching it week after week takes commitment. So it's kind of fitting that you like movies better."

"You think I'm not committed?" His tone was cautious.

Ziva laid her hand on his thigh, pressing down gently. "I am sorry. That didn't come out right."

Tony nodded but he was not yet willing to let it go. He couldn't help but notice that her hand was still on his thigh and her thumb was moving back and forth subconsciously. Huh. That was nice.

"Ziva, you know that commitment is not the point, right?" His voice was gentle, soothing. He closed his eyes and turned his head, speaking into her hair. His lips ghosted across her forehead. The pressure on his thigh increased.

"It's not about committing, Zee."

"Then what?" Her voice was timid, almost strangled.

Tony took a deep breath, smelling her fruity shampoo.

"At the moment I'm inclined to believe it was a truckload of bad luck and bad timing."

Ziva snorted. "And you getting your head out of your ass."

Tony sighed dramatically and squeezed her with his hand still slung around her shoulders. "Had to get that one right, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry, Tony." She carefully looked up at him and he could see the tears in her eyes not yet daring to fall.

"That I bailed on you as soon as Ray called tonight."

"Was it worth it?"

Ziva just shrugged again. "I don't know. He doesn't know when he'll be back." She turned back towards the screen and they were both silent for a few minutes.

Ziva turned back towards him. "And I'm sorry for making you believe that it was all your fault. You are my best friend and you deserve better."

Tony smiled softly at her and hugged her closer. "It's okay. I'm pretty good where I am right now."

"Are you sure?"

Tony's gaze locked with hers and for a moment he just lost himself there. His eyes drifted towards her mouth, before he gave her a large smile.

"I'm good."

"Good." Ziva leant forward and Tony instantly missed her warmth next to him. But she just grabbed the remote from the coffee table. "Because we have to start that episode over again. I missed everything."

Tony groaned good-naturedly and poured them each another glass of wine. When both leant back he automatically put his arm around her shoulders again and he looked down happily as Ziva settled back into his side, her focus on the TV screen.

"Hey!" He suddenly said. "Magnum is a show. I love Magnum. See!"

But Ziva just patted his thigh and shushed him. "That doesn't count."

"Why not?"

"Because that show is already over. It's not the same."

Tony grumbled and leant back, watching the show. Okay, so it wasn't half bad. There were definitely worse out there. And that cheerleading coach actually was funny. And it was nice to listen to her humming along to the songs.

Her hand was still on his thigh.