Disclaimer: Still haven't managed to grab ownership of NCIS or any of its characters by the second chapter.
Nope. Definitely not easy.
It had been a couple of days after his big decision to tell Ziva, but he still wasn't any closer to figuring out how to best approach the difficult topic of 'us' with her. In all honesty, he hadn't thought for a second that he could just start that conversation with her out of the blue, knowing full well they called themselves 'romantically dysfunctional' for a reason.
Hence, he figured he would go with the flow and improvised when the time came. He was the wild card after all.
He realized he had been staring at his computer screen for far too long, courtesy of the infuriatingly mesmerizing Israeli sitting across from him.
"What is wrong with you?" she asked of him, tapping away furiously at the keyboard.
Good question.
'I'm in love with you.'
'I want to spend my every waking minute next to you.'
'I'd like to push you against the nearest wall and kiss you senseless,' he wondered dreamily but figured none of those answers would fly too well with her at this specific moment. Not to mention they sounded an awful lot like what a stalker would say.
So, he settled with something a little less intense. "Oh nothing, Curious George."
"Who's George?" Ziva frowned.
Tony rolled his eyes and ignored her. "I was just wondering if my avid interest in cinematic masterpieces has perhaps made me the perfect person to create the next blockbuster."
Ziva let out a snort and chuckled, "What? You? Make a movie? And pray tell, what would this great work of art of yours be about then? A ruggedly handsome spy trying to save the world from yet another disaster? Not very original, I have to say."
Tony quirked an eyebrow and scoffed. "Come on, Ziva. Give me more credit than that. Even though there is nothing wrong with a good old spy movie. They keep on making Bond movies and those seem to be doing just fine at the box office."
"That is because people do not know any better, Tony." Ziva coolly remarked.
"Hey now, Ms. David. There is no need to knock Bond movies, okay? Have you even ever seen one?" Tony incredulously asked.
"No. Never felt the need to." she calmly replied.
Tony's eyes widened at her admission and he unintentionally shouted, "Never felt the-Ziva!"
"What?" she looked over at him with her impossibly big brown eyes.
"You do realize we need to remedy your little lapse in judgment right?" he simply stated.
"Why?"
He looked at her wistfully and leaned back in his chair. "Why? You ask, oh young Padawan. Because you are now an American citizen. Heck, you are a world citizen. And my conscience will not allow you to live in ignorance any longer."
Ziva rolled her eyes and went back to typing. "Are you not being a bit melodramatic? I mean it is just a movie."
Tony started shaking his head and replied, "Ziva, Ziva, Ziva. Oh my furry little Israeli. You have so much to learn" he sighed dramatically, deciding to ignore the affectionate pet name that had slipped out of his mouth without his permission."But not to worry! That is why you have me to teach you all about the wonders of the world" he continued cheerfully.
Ziva chuckled lightly and smiled at him. "Is that what your movie is going to be about? Saving the damsel in distress one movie at a time?"
"Are you calling yourself a damsel in distress, Ziva David?" he grinned at her brightly, never having heard her refer to herself as someone who needed any kind of help. Except the one time he had to go fix the plumbing in her apartment. Apparently pipes weren't her 'thing'.
Ziva stood up and was on her way to the elevator before she smiled at him with a thoughtful look in her eyes and said, "Depends on who is doing the saving" and walked away, leaving Tony gaping after her.
"So will you come to my place tomorrow to educate yourself a bit?" Tony asked in a hopeful tone.
Ziva smirked. "Well, what do I get out of it?"
Tony walked over to her desk, holding his arms open to drive the point home. "Isn't the whole request self-explanatory? One of the best movie experiences of your life with terrifyingly good company accompanied by pizza and wine. What more could you possibly want woman?"
Ziva leaned back in her chair and narrowed her eyes. "To be at home, reading a book and taking a long bubble bath instead?"
"Well I can help you with the bubble bath." Tony grinned.
He thought he saw Ziva blush for a second before she stood up and turned her back on him to start gathering her things. "Tony. I will not be feeding your mind with any more images of me prancing around your apartment half-naked."
An image of a wet-haired Ziva in a towel meandering around his apartment as if it were their own, flashed before his eyes, momentarily taking his breath away before putting back on his game face. "Hey, it was worth a try." he smirked and took a deep breath. "But seriously. Will you come watch a Bond movie with me?"
"You have yet to give me an acceptable sales pitch." Ziva eyed him curiously. "But why is this so important for you Tony?"
Tony started shuffling his feet anxiously. "Well I mean, heh, I just don't want you to miss out on something so great just because you didn't want to come out of your usual comfort zone." He coughed nervously and added when he saw Ziva's eyes go wide, "I mean, the movie is amazing. Of course there are so many Bond movies to choose from. Mind you, not all of them are as great as some, but nevertheless it isn't slim pickens when it comes to Bond" he rambled quickly, not daring to look at her.
He sensed Ziva standing next to him and decided to glance at her. Her gaze was soft and he felt her eyes piercing through him when he heard her quietly murmur, "Okay."
He couldn't believe his ears. "Okay?" he asked her in surprise.
She nodded slightly. "Okay." And started walking towards the elevator.
Tony felt as if he was in some kind of a haze when her voice echoed across the office. "But it better be the best damn pizza I have ever eaten!"
Tony laughed and yelled, "You got it, sweetcheeks."
He felt lighter than he had for years and all because the woman he loved was willing to watch a movie with him. God, he was turning into such a cheeseball.
He wondered if his and Ziva's story would end like one of those chick-flicks where the guy made that grand gesture and the girl would fall into his arms and declared their undying love for each other.
Yeah. Fat chance of that happening.
In all honesty, their whole relationship right now seemed to be heading towards the scene in the second installment of Madagascar, where the plane was falling out of the sky and Melman blurted out, "I love you, Gloria! I always have!" and she's asleep. He could totally see that happening with him and Ziva. They have always had the worst timing.
However, in his opinion, he believed their moment, if they ever got to it, would end up like Leia and Han in The Empire Strikes Back with an exclamation of "I love you" and "I know".
Well, now that he thought of it, he probably would have to make some more effort because Ziva would never simply accept his love as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Maybe if she opened her eyes and took off the self-deprecating goggles, she would be able to see how inconceivably deep he was with her.
And that is why he needed to make himself as clear as he could once and for all.
Okay my lovelies, that was the second chapter. Obviously.
But thank you so much for all of your feedback and follows. They seriously make my day, so I really appreciate it :)
So, I hope you continue liking it!
Also, I will upload the next one in a couple of days.