15. Create a DiNozzo coat of arms.
…
"Fifteen," he says when she comes in the next morning. "That's where I'm starting."
She checks her paper. "A DiNozzo coat of arms?"
"Should be easy enough," he answers. "I've already got a shield drawn."
She smirks. "And how long did that take you?"
"Only an hour," he says evasively.
She laughs, and it rings through the air. "What is going to be on the shield?"
"References to my four favorite movies," he answers. She notices the list he's writing.
"That is far more than four movies," she observes.
"That's the thing," he says, frowning at the paper. "I can't pick just four. I know I want at least one Hitchcock film…and at least one James Bond… but how to pick which?"
"Good luck with that," she says with a smirk.
"Dead petty officer," Gibbs calls as he walks in. "Grab your gear."
…
"It's done," he says after a few days.
It takes her a few moments to orient herself to what he's talking about, but when she does, she laughs. "I want to see it."
He squints at her and holds his paper back. "I never said I was a good artist. Promise not to laugh at my drawing."
"Hmmm," she says. She makes a bit of a show pretending to think it over. "I promise. Now let me see."
He takes one last look at it, then hands it over. "No laughter, you promised."
It is nothing like she expects. There is a television drawn in one corner of the shield, but the other three are completely serious. In one square he's drawn a piano, remarkably similar to the one in her old apartment. In another square he's written the letters NCIS, and in the last square are (mediocre) drawings of each member of the NCIS team. She finds her own face and is impressed with how accurately he has drawn her eyes.
She hands it back to him. "It's beautiful, Tony."
"Yeah, well, I couldn't figure how to represent From Russia With Love and I can't draw birds, so this was the alternative."
She smiles. "How did you draw my eyes so accurately?"
He pretends not to hear her, instead grabbing his bag and heading toward the elevator. Once inside, however, he meets her eyes.
"I've spent the most time looking at them."
And then the doors shut and he leaves.
…
A/N: Everyone who reviewed encouraged me to continue, so I shall. Each chapter will be one item crossed off Tony's list. Most will be fairly short, although some will be a little longer. I hope you enjoy them.
