"Ah...Italy." Tony grinned as he and Ziva debarked the plane in Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport. Ziva smiled back as they started through the crowd of people, Ziva following Tony as closely as possible. They had gotten their luggage from the baggage claim and were now trying to find the FBI team.
Before they left, they were informed by Gibbs and Fornell that the FBI's team was already in place in Italy, set up at a dingy hotel, the building across the street the supposed headquarters of the terrorist cell Corrado ran. And, they were also informed that they were going to be waiting with a car for them at the airport.
Tony managed to shimmy between some people, Ziva grabbed onto his jacket in order to keep up with him, "You know, this is where my roots are, Zee-vah." He grinned, "I'm a true Italian. Italian blood runs through my veins."
She rolled her eyes, "Yes, Tony, I know. You also speak Italian."
"So do you."
"Not fluently." She admitted, "And look at that, you do know something about me."
"Oh, I know lots about you, David." He grinned and she let her hand travel lower to his wrist, "Like your favorite tea. That Israeli crap you keep in my apartment."
"I care more for tea than coffee, you know that."
"Well this is more of a coffee town, so get used to it."
She groaned, "I never said I would not drink it, Tony. I just said that I preferred tea."
"Ah." He nodded as they stopped at the front entrance. He gestured to one of the chairs, and they both took their seats, setting their suitcases down onto the ground, "So..." Tony started, "How long do you think that we're gonna be here?"
"I would say a week, but no more than two. It depends."
"On what?"
She moved her eyes so that she was looking at him, "On how fast I can pick up on his movements."
"Oh ho ho! So it's all about you eh?"
She shrugged, "Tony, I am the only one that truly has dealt with enough terrorists to understand how they work. They may all be different, but they work in relatively the same fashion and speed."
They sat in a silence for a while before a woman with short, light brown hair approached them, "Are you Agents David and DiNozzo?" She questioned and Tony and Ziva both looked at each other before standing up.
"Yes." Ziva responded for her, and two men, who had been standing back by a plant started towards them, one of them fairly handsome, with brown, short hair, much like Tony's, but without any...gel. And shorter. And he was...stronger. Well, maybe not stronger, but he definitely had defined muscles in his arms. He flashed her a brilliant smile and she couldn't help but give him one back. Tony, standing beside her, subconsciously fixed his hair and moved closer to her, giving the man 'the look'. As if to say 'nuh-uh, buddy. NOT gonna happen.'
She extended her hand to them, "I'm Terri Wood," She pointed to her right, to the man that Ziva was smiling at, "This here is Jason Scott," she pointed to her left, to the man with black hair and glasses, "And this is Russell Johnson."
"Ziva David." She smiled at them, shaking all of their hands, Jason starting towards her first. Tony narrowed his eyes at him and stepped in front of him.
"Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo." He butted in, giving him his famous smile as he grabbed his hand, shaking it, "Great. Nice to meet you."
Eventually, they managed to shake everyone's hands, and then they stood in an awkward silence before they gestured towards the door, "Shall we? Our car's waiting outside."
Tony and Ziva nodded and Jason walked towards her, "You wouldn't mind if I took your bag for you, would you?"
"No, I would not." She smiled as he bent down and took it for her, Tony growling in the process. He didn't exactly understand why he was feeling this way, but he knew that it had to end. And soon. Before something slipped that shouldn't be said. Like the fact that she stars every night in his dreams.
The group started towards the door and out of the airport, into the black sedan that sat there. Jason took Ziva's bag and placed it in the trunk, leaving Tony to deal with his own by himself.
Jason got into the driver's seat, Terri shotgun. Tony opened the door for Ziva and let her get in first, allowing her to sit behind Terri, for Italy drove on the other side of the road, and next to the window. Russell got in after them, leaving Tony for the 'hump' in the middle. Uncomfortable, he groaned and Ziva sent him a look, "Tony." She said, gently touching his arm, "Would you like to switch seats with me?" She questioned and he went to go and tell her that it was perfectly fine when he watched that she was already getting up.
In the tight space in the car, Tony had to bend over, so not to hit his head on the ceiling. Ziva had to do the same and they carefully manuvered over, nearly knocking Tony down. She managed to squeeze herself between Tony and the seat, but then paused as she heard the significant thump of a head on the ceiling.
And then, she made a mistake and looked up at him, into his eyes, and caught her breath, their faces not even inches from each others.
However, before they could even attempt to get out of their predicament, with Tony nearly capturing Ziva against the back of the seat, the car was shot forwards. Tony fell against the window, sliding down the door to the seat while Ziva did the same, running into Tony.
"Ouch." He hissed, barely audible.
"Sorry." She muttered before prying herself off of him and sitting back down in her seat. Right as the two got situated and started to buckle their seat belts, Jason stopped the car in front of the hotel.
"So..." Jason started as they got out of the car, "Tell me about yourself, Ziva." Tony rolled his eyes. Could this guy be any more obvious?
She smiled as he walked around the back and opened up the trunk, pulling out Ziva's suitcase and then closing it. Tony growled as he opened it back up, grabbing his suitcase out and then following them as they talked.
Russell lagged behind Ziva and Jason, and Terri walked next to Tony, "So..." He started, "Uh...so you work with Fornell and Sacks, right?"
She just turned to him, "Shut up." And then promptly walked in front of him. Tony had to resist the urge to gape as they started up the stairs, for the elevator was broken. Tony had to admit; this hotel didn't give Italy justice at all. It was small and drab and run down. Or, as Ziva would say, 'run over'.
"Here are your rooms." Jason announced, pulling out two keys. He handed one to Tony and then one to Ziva, making sure that his hand lingered on hers for just a second or two. She smiled as she unlocked the door and started in, dumping her suitcase onto her bed. Tony did the same, taking in the small bedroom. It had a dresser up against one wall and a double bed that couldn't be much more than a full. Tony had to admit that he did enjoy the color of the comforter on the bed...green. A mirror was in front of the dresser, and a chair was shoved up in one corner, a bedside table in the other with one lamp, an alarm clock, and a telephone. The closet was small, but Tony managed to shove his suitcase in there anyways.
Tony sighed and then started out of the room, meeting Ziva and Jason in the hallway, "Oh, Tony, the bathrooms are public. Down the hall." He pointed towards a different colored door between two other rooms.
"My room is here." He tapped on the door in front of his, "Terri's is there-" He pointed to the one next to his, "And Russell's is right here-" He pointed to the one in front of Ziva's door. He started to the bedroom that was next to Tony's and Ziva and Tony furrowed their eyebrows together.
"Whose is that?" Tony questioned as Jason opened it up, revealing computer monitors on tables, the bed shoved into the corner, "Well hey! I didn't know that McGoo was coming!" he grinned at Ziva, who just rolled her eyes.
"This is surveillance, Tony." Jason explained, gesturing to the camera in front of the window, "I would suggest setting up your own laptops and web cams in order to keep in contact with NCIS. These are only hooked up to the FBI-" He placed his hand on top of one of the monitors, which showed an ally in between buildings.
"How many cameras do you have set up?" Ziva questioned.
"Well when we first got here, Terri went around and placed camera bugs in certain areas outside, in order to get a better angle on Corrado."
He gestured to the monitors, "These have been set up for about three days."
Terri appeared in the doorway, a cup of coffee in hand as she entered the room, "He's made no movements whatsoever, we just got footage of him entering the building. He hasn't come out. We would probably need to get someone to go in there, but we don't know anyone with stealthy spy moves to do that." She took a sip of her coffee.
Tony perked up, "Hey!" he grinned, "What about Ziva?" He questioned, "She's a ninja though, not a spy."
Ziva rolled her eyes and Terri nodded, "When the time comes." She plopped down on the bed, sitting Indian style as she looked at Jason.
"Great." He smiled at Ziva, "Set up, get in touch with your people, and then come to my room, okay?"
Ziva nodded, "That sounds great."
"Good." He grinned and then turned to Terri, "Let's go."
They both started out of the room, leaving Tony and Ziva there, "I will get the laptops, cameras, and that wad of cords you insisted on bringing."
"Hey, I didn't insist anything, sweetcheeks, I just said that McGeek told us to bring it." She rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. I will go and get it."
Ziva returned about a minute later, this time with lots of cords and everything else that they needed.
Several curse words and other phrases later, in fact, about thirty minutes later, they figured out where all of the cords were supposed to go and they managed to get an MTAC feed to Gibbs.
Tony grinned as they bent over the screen, "Hey boss!" he smiled, "We're uh...here!"
"We just finished setting up surveillance for Corrado. The FBI team already had most of it in place."
"Good work you two." Gibbs nodded, "You should probably make a list of-" He paused as Tony lifted it up, shaking it proudly.
"Already did it, boss!"
"Great. Then take the rest of the day off. But if you see anything, you contact me, got that, DiNozzo? You tell Ziva and then you contact me, not the FBI team."
He nodded, "Gotcha." They paused for a moment of silence before Tony spoke again, "Oh, hey, boss?"
"What?"
"You know how I love pizza?" He watched as he rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well Italy has the best-" But he stopped as he was greeted by static, meaning that Gibbs had already turned the feed off. Tony sighed, "Well he was charming, wasn't he?"
"It is Gibbs." She responded as they started out of the room, "What did you expect?"
"Well yeah...that's true." He nodded as Ziva knocked on Jason's door. She barely even finished knocking, for he was already opening it up, as if he was waiting for her or something.
"We finished setting up," She informed him, "And I thought that you would like to know that we were given the rest of the day off." She smiled and he grinned.
"Great! Let's go get dinner. I know this great restaurant down the block that has the best pasta sauce."
She smiled, "Sounds lovely."
"Great!" Tony grinned, stepping towards them, "I'm hungry too, let's go!"
"Tony..." Ziva sighed, "I think he meant just...us."
"But I speak Italian."
"So do I." She rebutted.
"Not fluently." He fought back and she narrowed her eyes at him.
Jason spoke up, "Why don't we all go to dinner? That way we could all get to know each other a little better?" Tony made note that he gestured that question to Ziva.
She smiled, "That is lovely. We would love to go."
"Great!" he grinned, "I'll tell Terri and Russell and then we can be on our way. Oh, and it is a rather fancy restaurant, so...you know....you could...dress up a little?" He smiled, looking her up and down.
Tony ran a hand through his hair and had to turn around, biting the inside of his lip.
The guy was totally thinking horrible thoughts about Ziva. Thoughts that were completely inappropriate. And he could tell just by the way that he was standing there, just by his personality that he would lead Ziva up to the point to her giving herself away to him and then dump her the first chance the sex goes from amazing to 'great'.
And he wasn't going to let that happen to Ziva.
He knew just how many women he'd hurt by doing the exact same thing from not only Jeanne but from other women as well.
Like...Ziva.
"Come on, Zi, let's go." Tony tugged on her arm and she left the doorway reluctantly, not fighting him as he thought she would. Once the door to Jason's room closed, Ziva snatched her arm away from Tony, turning quickly on him between their rooms.
"You are so jealous."
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!" Ziva opened her mouth to argue back when he put a finger up, "Get dressed, okay? And stay away from him, got it?"
"You cannot tell me who to date, you are not my father."
"Thank god for that, huh?" He questioned, "Look, Ziva, he's scum."
"Jealous."
He groaned, "Am not!"
Ziva only rolled her eyes, letting out a noticeable sigh as she walked into her room, slamming the door behind her. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she walked over to the closet, pulling out the small, blue party dress that had a black belt around it. She shrugged and threw it on the bed, pulling off her clothes in the process.
Her mind raced, 'It is none of his business who I date. He cannot tell me who to date. He is not my father. Why does he care?' Just after she slipped on her dress, a knock was heard at her door. She smiled and quickly slipped on her heels that she had already planned on wearing, hoping that her visitor was Jason.
She opened the door and her smile immediately dropped, revealing one Tony DiNozzo on the other side. She groaned, "What do you want, Tony?" She asked. Even though she could kill him a million different ways, she had to admit, the man did look handsome.
Tony, on the other hand, could barely speak when he saw his partner. In fact, he had to look twice to make sure it was his partner. He cleared his throat when he realized that he was staring at her. "You look...nice." He managed. Ziva only rolled her eyes and tried to shut the door when he put his foot in front of it, preventing it from going any further.
"Tony! Move!" She said.
"No, Ziva, I want to talk to you."
"I do not have time for this." She said and walked back into her room. Tony followed and closed the door quietly. "What?" She demanded, looking at him again.
"I'm sorry I got in your business, Zi. But I'm telling you-" Ziva put her finger in the air to stop him from speaking.
"I do not want your advice, Tony."
"Ziva I know guys like him!" Tony yelled. Ziva narrowed her eyes at him and put the brush on the dresser.
"Why, because you are a 'guy like him'?"
Tony sighed, "That was uncalled for." He stuffed his hands in his pocket and turned around, walking towards the door.
Ziva gaped, "And you telling me who to date is not uncalled for?!"
He pulled his hand out of his pocket and wiggled his finger at her, "I'm not telling you who to date. I'm telling you who not to date."
She took a step towards him and narrowed her eyes, "You. Are. Not. My. Father."
"I never said I was. I'm your partner."
"Nowhere in Gibbs' rules does it say," She used her hands for quotations for emphasis, "Your partner is to protect you from dating."
"This has nothing to do with Gibbs. Or NCIS." He pointed to her, "You," and then to himself, "And me."
She let out a sigh, "I can take care of myself."
Tony shrugged, "I know that."
"Then why are you still here?"
"I'm trying to stop you from dating that...bastard."
"I will date who I want to date, Tony." She said, her voice almost at a normal tone again.
"He only wants one thing, Zi!"
Ziva laughed sarcastically, turning her attention back to her hair, "What if I want that as well, Tony?"
"No, Ziva. I know you're not that kind of woman." Tony retaliated.
She walked over to him again, standing so close that she could feel the heat radiating off of his body, and looked deep into his green eyes, talking through her teeth. "I have changed." Tony stared at her for several seconds before he walked away from her, and out of the door.
He shook his head as he walked back to his room.
She had changed.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tony walked out of his room and walked down to the lobby, or, at least, that's what he thought it was, the agreed meeting place. As he walked in, Terri and Russell only nodded at him and then continued with their conversation. He rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself, "Great. This is going to be real fun."
A few minuets later, Agent Jason Scott walked in, a smile stretched across his face. "Hey To-nay. What's up?"
Tony had to stop himself from punching the man, for he really didn't want to talk to him, "I'm just...waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
Tony stared at him, "To go...eat?"
"Oh yeah, right." He laughed, "I thought you meant that you were waiting on Ziva."
Tony crossed his arms and scoffed, "No."
"So you two aren't a item?"
"That is the last thing we are. Ziva is my partner." He snapped.
"Good. I sure would like to get in on that."
"Dude look, I don't think she's your type."
"Hell yes she is!"
"My advice? Stay away from her." Tony said, staring right into his eyes. Jason laughed and hit Tony on the back, just as Ziva joined them in the lobby.
"Didn't ask for your advice." He replied. Tony watched as Jason then walked over to Ziva. "Wow, you look great Ziva."
Tony rolled his eyes as he followed the rest of the group out to the cars.
Jason Scott was a bastard.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The two cars pulled up at a very small building, the outside didn't look like a restaurant at all. As soon as they were inside, they were seated in a circular booth. Russell and Terri sat down first, followed by Jason, who made sure he sat by Ziva. Tony awkwardly sat on the other end, across from Ziva.
Small talk surrounded the table until the waiter walked up, speaking in heavy Italian, confusing them all, including Ziva, who only picked up a little. Tony rolled his eyes, "He asked what everyone wanted to drink." The rest of the group nodded and quickly made their selections, sending the waiter off. Tony would occasionally look up and at the four others, but mostly he kept his head down, twisting his fork on the tablecloth.
He really hated being there.
After Tony ordered everyone's meal in Italian for them, the waiter disappeared again, and Tony turned his attention back to his fork game. "So, Tony," Jason started. Tony looked up at him, "Where'd you learn to speak Italian?"
Tony shrugged, "I'm Italian. I guess I learned it from my ancestors."
"Oh right." Jason said and then put his arm on the booth, around Ziva's shoulders, "Where are you from, Officer David?"
Ziva chuckled, "I am Israeli. Tel Aviv."
"Oh really?" Jason asked as he turned so that he was facing her. He dropped his hand down to her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, "Are all the women as beautiful as you are?" Ziva only smiled as she felt a small rush of blood come to her cheeks from embarrassment. Tony gripped his fork even harder, to prevent himself from throwing it at the phony that was flirting with his Ziva. 'Whoa, DiNozzo. That is not your Ziva. That is just Ziva. Your partner. Get it straight.'
After what seemed like hours of small talk, the food was finally served, and Tony could finally use his fork for what it was supposed to be used for.
A few bites in, he heard his partner laugh. He looked up at her and narrowed his eyes.
"Stop, Jason." She said with a smile, but it was firm, as if it was a warning. Under the table, Ziva moved his rough hand from her bare knee. He smiled back and Ziva glanced over at Tony, who quickly looked down at his food again. He used his fork to move the whatever-it-was on his plate around. He wasn't very hungry, for the lovely "couple" on the opposite side of the table made him lose his appetite.
"Sorry." Jason said softly.
A few more minuets of silence and Russell started on one of those never-ending stories that the FBI people always loved to tell, no matter who they were. Tony thought about catching a cab back to the hotel, watching whatever crappy channels the 12-inch TV had to offer.
Ziva was half listening to Russell, and half eating her food. It wasn't bad, but she definitely had better. She gripped her fork tighter when she felt the same rough hand on her knee again, only this time, he moved his hand further up, so that it was just under her skirt. She looked at him and snatched her leg away, sitting as far as she could away from him, without falling from her seat.
And slowly, Ziva came to the realization that Tony was right.
His hand found her leg again, and she stood from the table, throwing her fork down in the process. Tony stared at her for a few seconds before turning his attention to her buddy next to her, who was also staring in the direction Ziva just disappeared to. Russell stopped his story and Terri spoke next.
"Maybe she really had to pee?" She commented, earning a laugh from the other two men.
A few seconds later and Tony felt his cell phone buzz from it's position on his belt. He opened it to reveal a text message from Ziva.
'Bathroom, now.'
Before he had a chance to move, his phone buzzed again, with another new text message.
'I need you.' And with that, he stood quickly from the table, sending another glance at Jason. Russell furrowed his eyebrows together, looking at Jason.
"What's with tweedle dee and tweedle dum?"
"I don't know."
Terri raised and dropped one shoulder, "Maybe they both had to really pee?"
As soon as Tony rounded the corner at the bathrooms, he heard Ziva shut her phone, so he walked over to her.
"What's wrong?" He asked softly.
"Look I do not-" She started, but stopped when several women passed them in the tight hallway. She groaned, grabbing him by the wrist, "Come here." She demanded, pulling him in to the Men's Restroom. Once inside, she turned the small knob on the door, locking it. Her eyes were glazed with tears, but she held them back.
"What's wrong, Zi?" He asked again. She let out a sigh, and Tony could tell that she was angry as well.
"You were right." She said softly, but then put her hand up, "I do not need you to say you told me so, Tony."
Tony put his hands in his pockets and shrugged, "Wasn't going to."
Ziva took a step closer to him, "I am sorry...for what I said."
"Sign of weakness, Ziva." He mentioned, earning a small smile from her. Tony smiled, but then became very serious, "What did that bastard do to you?"
"It is nothing I-"
"No, Zi. What did he do?" He asked again, this time, his voice was firm and to the point.
Ziva let out another long sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, "He just...put his hand on my leg." Tony fumed as she continued, "It is my own fault, Tony. You tried to warn me and I did not listen. I should have trusted you."
"It's not your fault that he's a bastard, Zi." Tony said. "Now, I'm gonna go out there and punch his lights out." Ziva grabbed his wrist again.
"No, Tony." He turned back to her.
"He had no right Ziva."
She furrowed her eyebrows together and dropped his wrist, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Why do you care so much, Tony?"
Tony shook his head, shrugging one shoulder, "You're my partner."
"I can handle him." She mumbled, and noticed that he was very close to her, as she leaned on the wall in the bathroom, the cold tiles on the bare skin of her back.
"I can too." Tony said, his voice just as low as hers. She stared at the floor until she saw his shoes, for now he was standing right in front of her. She looked up at him and he tentatively put his hands on her shoulders, squeezing lightly. "You sure you're okay?"
"I am fine." She replied.
He nodded, "Ok."
"We should probably get back to the table."
Tony shook his head, continuing his path closer to her face, "I'm not worried about the table."
"Tony..." She said. His lips were merely inches from hers, until banging was heard through the bathroom door, Italian being screamed at them. He let out a sigh and cleared his throat, quickly taking a step from her.
"He's not happy." Tony mumbled. He flicked the lock and three men rushed in, almost running over Ziva in the process. Tony held the door open as Ziva walked out. He shook his head at himself, "Damn it, DiNozzo."
Taking long steps, Tony made it to the table the same time as Ziva did. Tony quickly stepped in front of her, taking her plate from it's position next to Jason and placing it next to his own. Terri looked up at him, confused. "Ziva, you can sit here. Everyone if you would please, schooch."
Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together, "Schooch?"
"That's right, schooch. Move down please. Thank you." He held his arm out, "Zi?" He said and Ziva half smiled at him as she sat down. "Ziva felt a draft over there. It's warmer over here. Hope you don't mind." Tony said, smiling like an idiot at Jason.
Jason returned the fake smile, taking a sip of his wine before answering, "No, that's fine."
"Good." Was Tony's reply.
The two men stared at each other for a few more seconds until Russell spoke, "So you two didn't hear the rest of my story. Anyway, I told him..." Tony took a sip of his own wine, returning his stare to him.
He wanted to kill him.
Ziva laughed, and he looked at his partner, who now seemed to be having a slightly better time.
He smiled at his thought, deciding that he'd let Ziva kill him.
For she could do much, much worse.
After dinner was finished and the bill was paid, they all exited the restaurant silently, Tony making sure to stay close to Ziva, and making sure that Jason was nowhere near her.
Terri, and Russell went in one car, after they insisted that Jason could take Ziva home, so Tony could ride with them.
Unfortunately, that was exactly what he wanted to do.
Tony, naturally, protested, leaving Terri and Russell in one car and Jason, Tony, and Ziva in the other. Tony quickly took shotgun so that Ziva could sit in the back, behind the driver's seat. Well, what would have been the driver's seat if they were in America.
The car ride was silent, Jason trying to ask Ziva questions about her personal life, but she ignored every single one. Tony had to resist the urge to punch him, so he literally sat on his hands.
Once he parked the car, Ziva couldn't have run out of there fast enough, zooming into the hotel and up the steps.
Jason furrowed his eyebrows together, confused by her behavior. Tony walked around the car, running a hand through his hair and heading towards the entrance, like Ziva had, and Russell and Terri were doing at the moment.
However, he was stopped when he felt a small tug on his arm. He turned around, and Jason was standing there. He shoved his hands in his pockets.
He had promised himself that he was going to let Ziva kill him.
"What?" He questioned.
"What's up with Ziva?" He asked, watching the door, where she retreated.
Tony shrugged, "Maybe she just really had to pee." He grinned and then quickly moved in front of him, opening up the door but then pausing when he heard Jason from behind him.
"Hold on, Tony."
He groaned and turned around, "Look, I told you to stay away from her." he growled, taking a step towards him, "You're gonna find out why I told you to stay away from her if you don't leave her alone."
He laughed, "What? You gonna beat me up or something?"
Tony let his eyes scan over the well defined arm muscles and he swallowed, "No." He said, "More like what she's gonna do."
"She can't do anything!" He laughed.
Tony stared at him and then chuckled, letting it grow into a full out laugh as he threw his head back, "You just keep thinking that." He laughed, wiping the tears from his eyes as he shook his head and started into the hotel, leaving Jason there on the sidewalk to ponder in his thoughts.
He made it up the stairs and then realized one thing.
It was freezing.
Rubbing his arms with his hands, he shuddered and moved towards his bedroom before pausing in front of Ziva's.
Looking around, he tapped on the door, "Ziva, it's Tony." He called, and the door opened nearly seconds later, revealing a trembling Ziva, a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt on, socks covering her feet.
"So you're not the only one." He commented, looking at her.
"It's freezing." She chattered out, "I think that Russell might have mentioned that the heater went out."
"You don't have a sweatshirt?" He questioned, and she shook her head.
"Only my NCIS jacket and my long winter coat." She admitted, "But neither of those are comfortable to sleep in."
He pointed towards his room, "Oh! You could borrow one of my sweatshirts, I brought two!"
"No, no." She put her hand up and motioned, "That is perfectly fine, Tony, thank you."
"Zi, you're nearly blue, come on."
"I am fine, Tony." She smiled, "Thank you." She nodded, quietly.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Goodnight."
She smiled, a closed one, "Buona Notte."
The room was dark, the only light the moonlight that shown through the window, dancing on the hardwood floors.
A cocktail dress was thrown carelessly on one of the brass posts of the bed, a silk, cream colored bathrobe on top of that.
A woman lay in bed, her curly locks tumbling down her shoulder and onto her chest, a bed sheet, a comforter, and a blanket she brought from home pulled up to her neck, as high as it could go. She shivered under the covers and let out a deep breath, visibly seeing the breath in front of her.
She shifted her position in bed, groaning and then nearly gasping as she hit cold sheets. She quickly moved back to her previous position, where she was already warm.
She shivered again and then buried herself deeper into the sheets. She almost wished, no, definitely wished that she had taken the sweatshirt that Tony had offered her.
She stared out the window and once one more shiver ran through her body, she finally stood up, quickly moving towards the door, throwing it open and then squinting terribly, the lights bright in the hallway.
Walking silently, she made her way to Tony's bedroom door, knocking quietly on it.
All she received was a groan and then a, "Go away!"
Inside, Tony buried his face into his pillow. If it was Jason asking him more time about Ziva, he was going to kill him. He slightly lifted his head so that he could see the alarm clock next to his bed, reading 0237.
He shoved his face back into his pillow as the door opened. He knew that he locked it. And the feet were light and padded...
The visitor closed the door silently behind them and he smiled into the pillow, "Ziva."
They paused, and he didn't move his face from it's location, "Sorry for bothering you, Tony." She quietly said and he turned his head slightly in the pillow, even though he still couldn't see her.
"It's fine, I-" He paused and then took in a deep breath, sniffing the air.
She furrowed her eyebrows together, "What are you doing?"
He finally sat up and turned on her, "Did you switch shampoos?" He questioned, and she backed up slightly, literally, her eyebrows furrowing together even more.
"What?" She demanded, finally finding her voice.
Tony looked down at the comforter, as if he was embarrassed, "You just...uh..." He paused, "...smell..." He took in a deep breath and looked up at her, "...different." He finally managed.
On the inside, she smiled, but she put her hands on her hips anyways, putting on an angry facade, "And why are you sniffing me, Tony?" She questioned, raising her eyebrows this time.
He spoke quickly, as if he didn't have a valid excuse, "Because you're a woman and I'm a male, and that's what I do! I sniff people, okay!" He nearly shouted, exasperated.
"Oh really?" She questioned, crossing her arms instead, "And what does Gibbs smell like?"
"Hah!" Tony shouted, "That's easy! Bourbon and a construction site."
"McGee?"
"Nerds and sweat from when he loses a life in that elf lord game of his." He grinned and even she had to chuckle a little. Barely a laugh escaped her throat.
She sighed and then looked around the dark room, "Where is that sweatshirt, Tony? I would like it now."
He grinned as he pointed to the suitcase in the closet, "Why?" he asked, "Wanna learn my scent?" He questioned seductively.
She stood, the first sweatshirt she could find in her hand as she looked at him, "I already know your scent, Tony." She shrugged one shoulder, "Sweat."
He dropped his mouth open before quickly closing it, "And...?" he prompted, motioning with his hand for her to add something else.
"Attitude by Giorgio Armani." She said, no tone in her voice before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.
Tony sat back on his pillow and smiled at himself, "She knows what I smell like." He said to himself, almost in a daze.
Once back in her own room, she slipped the sweatshirt over her head and moved back under the covers, feeling warmer already.
She may have been tired, but her mind was racing, causing her to have troubles falling asleep. Pulling the long sleeves of the sweatshirt over her hands, she pulled her legs up to her chest, pulling the hood over her head, since heat does, in fact, escape fastest from her head.
Shivering, she felt Jason's hand on her thigh, running up it. Shuddering even more, she pulled the blanket tighter around her body, closing her eyes.
She briefly thought back to her and Tony's little spat before dinner and she felt horrible. She had in fact apologized to him, but she felt as if it wasn't enough at this point in time. She felt absolutely horrible. She knew that she should have listened to him, she really should have, but she didn't. She had only done it to get Tony jealous, for reasons she wasn't even sure of at the moment.
And how come she wanted, oh so badly wanted Tony's arms around her, holding her close to him as they slept in warmth?
Maybe she just wanted to be warm.
Maybe it was just because she was wearing his sweatshirt, but she honestly didn't understand the feeling.
All she knew was that Tony had been right about Jason being a bastard and all, and only wanting one thing.
She remembered when Tony was like that, before Jeanne, before they were even good friends, so, to her, it made sense that he could pick out someone that was the shadow of what he used to be in a crowd.
Cursing to herself in Hebrew, she took in a deep, cold, shaky breath of air as she blinked.
Sleep would come hard to her tonight, and she knew that it wasn't just because of the time change or jet lag or any of that. In fact, she was so accustomed to it, that her body almost changed automatically.
She thought back to when she had dragged Tony into the Men's bathroom at dinner tonight. He had been so determined that he was going to get even with Jason for what he did to her, it was almost scary.
And then...
She felt her heart race accelerate.
And then he...they had almost kissed. There, in the bathroom in Italy.
At least, that's what she thought, no, hoped that he was trying to do.
She sighed as she felt something wet roll down her cheek, and she brushed the lone tear away, blinking away the others that were briming on her eyelids, threatening to fall.
She knew two things:
One, Tony would never feel the same way that she did about him, no matter how obvious she made her intentions.
And two?
She was never going to get any sleep tonight.
Slowly, another tear rolled down her cheek and she stifled a sob as they fell down, for Tony, for the fact that she didn't trust him, and, for once, herself.
She sobbed the night away as the eternal city slept.