Author's Note: This one-shot came from a photo that can be found on my tumblr "that-is-total-salami" if you want to see it.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters (or the astonishingly beautiful photo that inspired this story).
Ziva David ran her fingertips along the rich mahogany of the regal bookcase, eyes searching diligently for the book she had come here for. It wasn't often that she found herself in this area of the library. Or this library, in any event. Manchester, England really wasn't a place she had spent a lot of time in before. But alas, she found herself shuffling along the creaking wooden floors as she tried to focus on the rows of books surrounding her. The all-encompassing smell of old books delighted her and allowed a warmth to spread that she hadn't felt in years.
When she informed Tony that day on the tarmac that she needed a fresh start, she really hadn't been sure of what that meant for her. She knew she couldn't stay in Israel. It was too dangerous and too full of heartbreaking memories that threatened to suffocate her very existence. And she was mostly sure that she couldn't go back to the States either. The reasoning for that wasn't something she allowed herself to think about too often. Except that she spent so much time NOT thinking about it that it invaded her dreams and startled her awake most mornings. But she woke and trudged through each day as if on autopilot.
Today she had started her new job at the Chetham's Library in Manchester. Sure, it wasn't something she had ever considered doing previously, but after years of jumping from one job to the next after NCIS she figured that maybe she should settle down somewhere. It wasn't as if she was getting any younger. Maybe she could even think about starting a family. Her heart hammered a familiar thought to her brain and Ziva shook her head, reminding herself that it had been YEARS now and people had certainly moved ON.
A familiar tingle ran up her back and she paused in her quest for The Little Prince, hand coming down to rub the back of her neck. She rolled her eyes at herself; sometimes her imagination got the best of her when she was left to think for too long.
"Two rows over and down one." Her head whipped around so fast that she thought she'd suffer a bad case of whiplash as she turned toward the voice.
His arm was raised, leaning nonchalantly on the bookcase, one hand in his jean pocket. The smirk was undeniable and likely the cause of the heat now radiating from her body. He continued and she faltered, gripping the bookcase for stability. "Hello, Sweetcheeks."
Her voice was lost in her throat but she cleared it and spoke, softly. "Tony?"
She watched as he chuckled and pushed himself from the bookcase. "In the flesh."
He stalked toward her, causing her to back up, her mind firing ten messages at once, none of which she was really able to keep up with. She knew she shouldn't let him keep staring at her that way but she found herself physically unable to tear herself away from his piercing green eyes. Clearly, it was still a weakness of hers. Ten steps backward of her own and he had caught up to her, so close that she had to turn and lean against the bookcase to stay upright. Her heart lept into her throat as he leaned with her, pressing their bodies together. So close that she could smell his cologne and she closed her eyes, biting her lip. He was definitely going to get her fired on her first day.
"Found it." Tony whispered in her ear before the warmth of him was gone and she opened her eyes. He was holding a copy of The Little Price up, a sly grin spread across his features.
She rolled her eyes but stayed leaning against the bookcase for support. "I…thank you."
"Pleasure's all mine." His wink sent shocks through her body. It had been far too long and she used to be able to control herself around him.
She bit down on her lip hard, eyes raking from his lips back up to his eyes lazily. The self-control she was exerting right now was enough to break her. Finally she voiced her previous fleeting concern. "You're going to get me fired."
This time his laugh was more audible as he leaned back into her. Suddenly his expression was serious as he rested his forehead against hers. "I've missed you."
Ziva's eyelids fluttered closed before they opened again and she shivered at the sincerity. "I have missed you too, Tony."
Suddenly his lips were crashing into her own, his free hand coming up to tangle in her hair. She sank into the kiss, bringing both arms up to hold him tightly against her. He tasted exactly as she had remembered and she couldn't help the soft moan that escaped when his tongue begged for entrance. She had imagined, many times, their reunion and somehow a library in Manchester, England had never even crossed her mind. She wasn't sure what he was even doing there, thousands of miles away from home, but as he kissed her harder she stored the question for a more appropriate time.
A more appropriate time came when he finally pulled back, forehead resting on her own, and she was able to think clearly. "What are you doing here, Tony?"
He chuckled softly and pulled back, smoothing his hand through her hair and tugging on the ends. "Couldn't live without you, I guess."
His words from another lifetime created a surge in her heart and a tear slipped down her cheek. After he brushed it away with the tip of his thumb she felt ready to speak again. Ziva cleared her throat. "I am done. I am done figuring out who I am. I know now. But I do not think I can go back to D.C. right now. I cannot go home with you."
She refused to look up at his face, see the pain in his eyes. It was killing her just to tell him that. She wanted to go back, for him. But there was too much there. Too many horrible memories of her father and it was not something she was ready to do yet. She waited for the disappointment but it never came. Instead, he pulled her tightly to him, his face burrowing in her hair.
"Home, Zi, is wherever you are."
He was so sincere, so honest, and she fought the lump in her throat. But she felt it too. She could search and search the whole world over but in the end she would never feel more home than she did when she was in his arms. This is what made her decide that she would come home to him. And it may not be to D.C. but it would be wherever they had decided it would be together. Because, after all, home, she finally figured out, was wherever Tony was.