For my first NCIS story, I will be writing a series of one-shots inspired by/based on the songs composed by Eric Whitacer, who is an amazing (young) modern composer. With each on, I recommend listening to them while you read. Thanks go to my good friend Wildskysong.

Characters: Tony, Ziva (and McGee and Gibbs make an appearance)

Pairing: Tiva

Rating: K+

Warning: Fluff

Inspiration: A Boy and A Girl by Eric Whitacer

A boy and a girl/stretched out on the grass/Savoring their oranges/exchanging their kisses like waves exchanging foam/

The first thing Ziva noticed when she got into work that morning was the fact for the first time she could remember, Tony had arrived before her. He was absorbed in his work; the only acknowledgement she got was a raised hand in greeting before it went back to the keyboard in front of him. His partner had to resist the urge to take his temperature. Tony DiNozzo, working, early (for him) in the morning, into work before, and he hadn't even said good morning or made a joke. Something strange was going on here.

The second thing she noticed answered some of the questions about Tony's odd behavior. On her desk were three perfect oranges, looking ripe and delicious. Underneath them was a piece of paper folded in half once. Ziva slipped it out from under the oranges and glanced at it. It was a note, written in Tony's unique scrawl.

Zee-vah-

No, I'm not sick. I know you think I must be as I am on time and working hard today (a rare occurrence and one that I will not repeat any time soon for fear of being expected to make a pattern of it! I have a reputation to uphold.)

Later, you'll find out the reason for this anomaly and the oranges on your desk. Finish your work quickly and meet me at the Jefferson Memorial at 1900. Oh, and bring the oranges.

-Tony

So that was why he was so hard at work. He wanted to leave early, so he needed to finish the pile of paperwork on his desk so he could. Ziva chuckled quietly to herself. He must quite a plan up his sleeve to want to leave early that badly. She looked at her own pile of paperwork and sighed. Maybe he had the right idea. She sat down at her desk, logged on, and then carefully placed the oranges in her purse. She didn't want them to be commented on during the day, or worse, eaten, not that many would dare steal from Ziva's desk. They knew the consequences.

When Gibbs and McGee arrived, coffee cups in hand, they were surprised as Ziva had been to see Tony. Gibbs said nothing, but McGee couldn't help himself. Ziva watched as the junior field agent asked Tony what he was doing in the bull pen so early on a Monday.

"Why, Probie," the senior field agent replied, a smirk on his face. "I am here today to work hard, and get released from school early so I can have a long recess. We all know you can't go out and play if your homework isn't done. Right, Ziva?" Tony looked at her, the smirk now in her direction.

Ziva couldn't help it, the falsely earnest (or maybe it wasn't, she wasn't quite sure….that note seemed to indicate otherwise, at least for today) note in his voice making her return his smirk. "Yes, Tony, you should do your homework first. Or else you make get rapped on the knuckles by the teacher for not doing your work."

"Or I'll slap you on the back of the head, DiNozzo." came Gibbs' voice, and Tony and Ziva went back to their work, McGee getting started, with the "Getting back to work, Boss." courtesy of Tony.

The day passed slowly, for once, and it had been a day of firsts, Tony had just worked on his paperwork, not breaking up the monotony by throwing paper balls at her, or pranking McGee, or playing games on his computer. If Ziva didn't know better, she would suspect he really was sick. Without his distractions, Ziva was able to work in peace, and was so focused on her screen that she didn't realize he had left. It wasn't until her phone vibrated with a message from him that she glanced up to see his desk empty.

She opened the text message on her phone and it said: Zee-vah, I now request your presence and those oranges…Tony.

She smiled. That sounded just like Tony, to use flowery language such as "request your presence". Luckily, she was almost finished with her paperwork. A few additions, and this much was done. There would be more, tomorrow, there always was, unless they had a case, and hopeful tomorrow Tony would be back to normal and bored, so he could distract her. She printed her finished product, grabbed her jacket and gear and put the paperwork on Gibbs' desk. He wasn't there, so Ziva just left. She was out of the building and into her car as quickly as she could without seeming rushed. Once she was in her car and on her way she drove as she always did, fast and with obedience of only some traffic laws.

Soon, sooner than most others would have been there, she was at the Jefferson Memorial. She parked, and then went to find Tony. When she found him, his face lit up in one of his brilliant grins.

"Glad you finally got here. I was afraid you had been buried under all of the paperwork and died of boredom."

Ziva chuckled as she came up beside him. "Perhaps, as for once you were not throwing paper balls at me and actually doing your work."

"I always do my work. I just don't always look like I am doing my work."

"Very true. You prefer to poof off."

"Goof off. And it's part of my charm"

Ziva elbowed him, and he made a face at her. "Shall we?" He asked, motioning to the open green space of the Basin before them.

"Yes, lets." They began walking, side by side, strides matching. Ziva didn't know where they were going, but figured he did. After a moment, he reached over and grabbed her hand, entwining their fingers. Ziva let him, unwinding after a long day.

On they walked, chatting some, and just enjoying the evening. The cherry trees were blossoming, and everything smelled wonderful, not to mention the beautiful sight of cherry blossoms everywhere.

Soon they came to a semi-secluded place, where there was a blanket set up, with a picnic basket, and an orange, sitting right in the middle of the blanket.

"Is this why you brought me here?" Ziva asked him, the sweep of her hand taking in the blanket, basket, orange, and the flowering tree that the blanket was under.

"Yes." Tony replied, with an impish grin. "It's the National Cherry Blossom Festival right now, and I figured we needed a break from the paperwork. Do you like it?"

Ziva stepped closer, her face now close to his, and whispered, "What do you think?" and gently kissed him, and then stepped swiftly back to tug him down onto the blanket. "What food did you bring for us?" she asked, untangling her hand to open the basket and peer inside.

"Your favorite food, of course. Philly cheese steak with extra cheese and extra steak for you and a meatball sub for me. No wine tonight, we have to drive home." Tony replied, getting comfortable on the blanket.

"And the oranges."

"Yes, and the oranges. You brought the ones I left one your desk?"

"They are in my purse." Ziva replied, finding her sandwich and after taking it out of the basket, she shut the lid. She turned back to face Tony to find he had them out of her purse and set to the side. Ziva reached for one, and Tony swatted her hand away lightly.

"Those are for dessert."

Ziva pouted, but then her stomach growled. She couldn't help it, she began to giggle. "It seems to me," she said as her laughter spilled out, "that my stomach wants me to stop pouting and eat. Then it can have the oranges it wants."

Tony started to laugh too, and he said, "Sounds like a plan."

They ate in the comfortable silence of two people too hungry to think about talking. Ziva finished before Tony, and she tried to reach for a orange again, but Ton grabbed her fingers and shook his head. "I'm not done yet, you have to wait for me to finish too." Ziva glared at him, willing him to eat faster. Tony ignored her, if anything eating slower to annoy her. Finally, after what seemed like forever to Ziva (but was in fact less than five minutes) Tony was done.

"Alright, Zee-vah, now we can have the oranges." Tony told her, amusement in his green eyes.

"At last! You eat slower than maple syrup."

"It's molasses."

"Whatever!" Ziva grabbed an orange, and peeled it quickly, taking the first bite of the juicy fruit, savoring the rich flavor. She ate her orange slowly, slice by slice, getting juice all over her fingers in the process. In the middle, she decided to lie down and look up at the cherry branches that arched over their heads.

Tony stretched out beside her, and it was peaceful, eating oranges and looking up at the delicate blossoms against the blue sky. When she was through with her first orange, she tried to sit up to grab another one, but Tony tugged her back down beside him. He picked up another one from his side of the blanket on which they lay, side by side. He peeled it, and then feed it to her slowly. Ziva stared into his eyes as he did, enjoying the tenderness there. "Are you enjoying yourself, my little hairy butt?" she asked, when the orange was gone.

"Very much, sweet cheeks. Are you?" he asked in return, grabbing her sticky fingers.

"Yes." She whispered as he brought her fingers to his lips and gently kissed them. "Do my fingers taste good?"

"Mm-hmm" he murmured. He kissed the top of her hand and then set it on his chest, not letting go.

Ziva scooted closer, her hand still trapped in his. His other hand, the one not holding hers, snaked out to slip under her hip and pull her closer still. They lay like that, stretched out on the grass, holding hands and watching the sky darken as the sun set. As the evening progressed, Ziva was grateful they were so close together, as the chill reminded her that while it was spring, the nights were still cool. When the sun had set but it was not all the way dark yet, she half-sat up, leaning on her elbow to look down at him. "Thank you for bringing me out here, I have enjoyed myself. It was a good way to unwind after paperwork." She leaned down and kissed him, and she was pleased to find he tasted like oranges and coffee.

"You're welcome." He whispered when she had pulled back slightly. She was about to kiss him again when a stiff breeze blew, and they both shivered. "Guess that means it is time to go home now." He said as she sat back, a note of disappointment in his voice.

"Maybe," Ziva said, as they packed everything up. "But that does not mean we cannot do this again."

"Are you asking me out, Zee-vah?" Tony asked, and Ziva could practically hear his grin as she packed the food, her back to him.

She turned, and grinned at him in the twilight. "Yes, I am."

"Good. But I hope your boyfriend doesn't get jealous."

"Oh, he won't. Because next time I will get the oranges and set everything up so he does not have to actually do some work for a change."

They both grinned again and finished packing up. As they walked back to the parking lot, hand in hand, Ziva decided that she was glad he had been acting strange this morning. She had enjoyed the results of his oddness very much. She also decided that her new favorite fruit was oranges.

A boy and a girl/stretched out on the grass/Savoring their oranges/exchanging their kisses like waves exchanging foam/

And that's that. It started with the above quote and turned into five pages on my computer. Coincidently, on the day this was written, March 27th, 2010, is the first day of the National Cherry Blossom festival. ;)

As for the delay between its writing and this posting, I blame my beta who took so long to get it back to me! XD

The next one should be up soon, it is already written but still needs to be edited. I have 5 so far completed but unedited, so updates should be pretty quick.

-The Lady Grace