He had decided yet again to stay late at work, just so he could talk to her. Those few moments a day were all he needed, some time to be alone with her. One of these days he knew he would pluck up the courage to tell her how he really felt. To tell her that all he wanted was to be there for her, but as someone who was more than just a work colleague, a friend. He wanted to become something more than that, and he knew the only way to do that was to tell her that he loved her, that he truly loved her.
Sitting in his revolving chair, he propped his feet up on his desk, careful not to knock his now cold coffee onto the floor. Everyone else had scattered, Gibbs had gone for a drink with Ducky, Palmer had departed to be with his wife, McGee had decided that some late night reading was his calling, and no one knew where Abby was, which wasn't at all surprising.
He heard footsteps behind him, and swivelled in his chair. Unsurprisingly, it was Ziva. She laughed when he saw her, and threw her hands up in defeat.
"Ha, Tony, looks like I'll never catch up on you anymore."
He chuckled, something he hadn't done in a while, since every little bit of drama had occurred.
"Ziva, I believe you'll find that it's 'I'll never creep up on you'. Plus, it's a good thing that you can't shock me anymore. Nothing can." She sighed at his last few words, remembering the explosion that happened just a few weeks before.
"I want to move past all that. We all do, and so we have to let what happened go. No one died, or was seriously injured." She pleaded, wishing she could forget everything they had been through. They were not memories she wanted to have, nor planned on keeping. He nodded, answering her silent thoughts, indicating he too would try to forget.
"Just let me ask one question. It's not because of the explosion that you want to forget, is it?" He looked directly into her eyes, with warmth and understanding. She knew he was right.
He still hadn't been given an answer, so he tried again.
"It's because of –"
She shut him up quickly. She could not handle hearing that name again, and she had to appear strong, especially in front of Tony. She gently placed one of her fingers on his lips, and he stopped talking, with the only sound they could hear, the breathing of the other.