Disclaimer: see previous chapter
A/N: So, I've written a second chapter o// \\o \o/ I want to thank the few people who decided to review and thought it was worth a go ;-) Couldn't have done it without you! Apparently there was something hidden inside myself that needed to be written.
Again: not betaed, all mistakes are mine, but that's what the need for reviews does to a writer I guess.
And I promise you: there will be a third chapter. Although I won't promise that it will be posted as soon as this one. Hope you enjoy the read, and I wouldn't mind a few reviews - but in the end that is entirely up to you. Have fun reading!
Hot or Not
It had been a week since Abby had pretty much discovered that Tony had more feelings for Ziva than regular 'We are partners and need to take care of each other'-feelings. And Abby being Abby, she had decided that she needed to know what Ziva exactly thought of Tony – and maybe, just maybe, she could arrange things a little bit between the two. The question was: how to start.
'Think in solutions, not in problems,' she muttered to herself, while waiting for a fingerprint match to show up on her computer. 'If I just ask her what her type is, she will become suspicious. If I ask her if she likes him, she will probably just laugh. So how to let her talk without getting her suspicious . . .' Her eyes wandered through her lab, over her equipment, monitors, photo's, computers, evidence. 'Wait a minute . . .' Abby stood up and walked towards her wall with photos. Slowly an idea formed in her head, and a grin appeared on her face. Her pigtails began to bounce enthusiastically while she began to look on the internet for a website she had found a while back.
--
At the same time Tony and Ziva were walking around in the neighborhood of their most recent crime scene, to ask the people who lived there if they had seen or heard anything suspicious. It was a job they didn't liked, but it had to be done.
'So if you can remember anything else,' Tony flashed his DiNozzo-trademark-smile, 'than please call me. This is also my mobile number, so you can reach me at all times, day or night,' he handed his card to the woman in front of him. Ziva was waiting for him from a small distance, and looked how Tony was flirting with the woman, who had been washing her car. She was thirty-something, wearing a bikini top and a very short pair of jeans which barely covered her butt. Ziva understood partly why Tony found her attractive: she had long dark brown hair, pulled together in a ponytail. Her face was flawless, her body slender and her legs long. But what she didn't understand was why he tried so hard to impress her. He had gone all-out on this woman, and he barely even knew her. It didn't make sense to Ziva – especially since this was the fifth brunette he was making his moves on.
Finally he seemed to be done with his flirting, and he came over to Ziva.
'That was the last one, wasn't she?' He asked while they walked towards their car.
'I do not know Tony, have you not checked the other street corner for another half naked woman you need to impress?' Ziva spat at him.
'Oh my, Sweetcheeks, you almost sound jealous of me – or maybe you're jealous of her?' Tony grinned, looking very content with himself.
'Jealous? Ha! Why should I be jealous? I just do not understand why you were drooling all over her. I never see you try that hard,' she huffed. She didn't wait for a response but simply unlocked the car and stepped behind the wheel and waited until Tony stepped in and secured his seatbelt before she sped away full speed back to NCIS.
--
'Ziva, go down to Abby and check what she's got. DiNozzo, McGee, give me an update,' Gibbs said when they got back in the bullpen. Ziva nodded, and walked back to the elevator. She entered the lab and saw Abby clicking through photos.
'Abby, what are you doing?' Ziva asked curious when Abby continued clicking.
'Oh, hey Ziva! I am looking on a site where you can rate if people are hot or not. It's fun, wanna join me?'
'Gibbs said to ask if you have anything yet?'
'Nope, not yet. I am still processing the fingerprints so Boss-man has to wait a bit longer. Look, what do you think of him?' Abby pointed at her screen, which showed guy with blonde hair and glasses.
'Hmm, he looks okay. I have seen better though,' Ziva laughed.
'Yeah, me too. So that's a 'not' I assume,' and she clicked on the button.
'That is all there is to it? Photos of men and we say if they are hot or not?'
'Yup, it's funny. And pretty addictive,' Abby smiled. 'Give it a go, you pick and I'll click,'Fifteen minutes later they were laughing so hard that they had tears in their eyes and cramps in their jaws – until Gibbs showed up behind them.
'Interesting results you've got Abs,' He said quietly. Ziva and Abby both stood up quickly, Abby clicked away the Hot or Not site, Ziva took some steps back and folded her hands behind her back.
'Ehm, no not yet, we ehm . . . were waiting for the results of the fingerprints but they weren't . . .' Abby looked to the other screen and saw several results flickering on it. 'Oh that's funny, you really have awesome timing Boss-man,' Abby smiled and turned to the monitor while she shared a short look with Ziva, her eyes sparkling from laughter.
'Hm-hm,' Gibbs grumbled. 'Maybe you get more work done upstairs, Ziva?'
'Of course,' Ziva answered, and she quickly left the lab before Gibbs would give her a load of paperwork to do.
--
It was hours later before Abby finally had the time to check the results from her little test with Ziva. The idea was simple, but she had the feeling it had been pretty successful. With a little script that made sure that all the 'Hotties' from the website got downloaded to a small database, she could easily see which kind of guy Ziva had picked most – and thereby she had established that she knew what kind of looks Ziva liked in a men.
'Woohoo! I knew it! I knew it!' Abby danced up and down with joy when she had arranged the pictures.
'Brown hair, green eyes, muscled and to top it off a killer smile! Ziva likes Tony too!' She flopped down in her chair when she realized something: Now she knew that they liked each other, she should get them on a date. But how on earth could she pull that off? And she realized something else too: what if Ziva liked Tony's looks, but not Tony himself? There was, after all, a pretty big difference in being attracted to someone's looks and someone's personality . . .
--
Luckily for Abby, it was Ziva herself who delivered the answer to her the next day. Abby was dancing around in her lab on a song of the Dropkick Murphys when Ziva walked in.
'Abby?' She asked, but Abby didn't hear her over the loud Irish punk rock. 'ABBY!' She yelled this time, without result. Ziva rolled her eyes and looked around. She walked to the stereo and pulled the plug out. In the middle of her dance Abby stopped and turned around and saw Ziva standing in her lab.
'Hey Ziva, what's up?'
'It it lunchtime, remember?' Ziva smiled.
'Already? Give me a sec, I'll get my things,' Abby ran around in her lab to gather her bag, jacket and purse and five minutes later they were on their way to a small diner not far from NCIS headquarters. After ordering they talked a bit, but Abby felt that Ziva wasn't really paying attention to the conversation.
'So, what's bothering you?' she asked suddenly. Ziva couldn't help laughing.
'Is it that obvious?'
'You have been playing with your food for the last two minutes. Yeah, it's pretty obvious,' Abby laughed.
'It's nothing special, actually,' Ziva said. 'And I probably am looking way too much into it, anyway,' she added. 'But I believe he is acting strange. Again. It is not as he did when, you know, with Jeanne. But he is acting strange,' she added with a definite tone in her voice. There was a small silence before Abby answered.
'I assume you are talking about Tony? How is he acting?' She asked carefully, trying not to sound curious and prying even though she was. When did Ziva ever talk about her worries, especially to her and foremost the worries she had about Tony? This probably was the very first time – and if she wasn't careful with her response, probably the last too.
'I do not know really, it is just so different. He is flirting with every brunette he sees. And when I asked him about it, he did not react other than saying I was jealous! Stupid, yes?'
'But Tony likes to flirt. I bet he can't help it, you know. Like Gibbs always makes boats, Tony needs to flirt. I really believe he would die without flirting,' Abby smirked at the thought alone.
'Yes I know Tony is a flirt, but now he only flirts with brunettes. Really, not once he looks at a blonde or a redhead! Like he
'Maybe he has discovered that he is mostly attracted to brunettes? Everybody has something he goes for right? I know what I want in a guy. He has to be caring, sweet, but he has to be able to stand his ground when necessary. What do you like in a man?'
'Does it matter?' Ziva shrugged.
'No, not really, but if I know what you like in a man, maybe I can explain why Tony does what he does while you do something completely different,' Abby said while she took a bite of her sandwich trying very hard to sound nonchalant. Ziva gave Abby a suspicious look.
'Why would you need to know what I like in a man so you can explain the reason why Tony acts like he does?' She asked, not completely trusting Abby.
'Because than I can give you better examples how his behavior is actual the same as yours,' Abby answered looking Ziva straight in the eyes. It wasn't a complete lie, if you thought about it. Because how else could she discover if they shared the same feelings?
'Hm . . . fine. But I hope you do not have lined up guys that I suppose to date next week!'
'Maybe one,' Abby grinned, feeling that she had resolved almost the first obstacle. Ziva huffed, and took a sip from her coffee.
'I like a man that has a decent job and doesn't live with his mother,' she said after a small silence.
'Ziva! That is what every woman wants in a man! You are cheating, that's not fair!' Abby pouted a bit, if this was everything she would find out today, her mission was doomed.
'Okay okay, I like a man who is . . . loyal, and who knows the difference between right and wrong. Someone who can make me laugh, but who is not trying too hard. I do not mind a bit cockiness, but I cannot stand arrogance or selfishness. He shouldn't be someone who follows the rules without thinking about it, he has to use his own mind when the rules aren't sufficient enough. But most importantly: he has to have a good heart. Now, Abby, please try to explain why Tony acts the way he acts lately?' Ziva ended her description.
'Simple: you know what you are looking for, what you want in a man. Tony apparently doesn't know what he wants in a woman, but he does know what he likes when it comes down to the looks of one. So he goes after that, and when he learns to know those women better, he discovers if he likes their personality as much as their appearance,' Abby explained without hesitation. She was pretty sure that she said a bunch of nonsense, but as long as Ziva bought it she didn't really care.
'So Tony has decided that he likes brunettes so he goes after every single one he sees? That is just ridiculous! You have to get to know someone before you can decide if you love them, not the other way around!'
'Yeah, well, I believe Tony never had a good example of how a healthy relationship works. You can't blame him for trying to find someone, right?'
'I guess you are right. But it still is a strange way of thinking,' Ziva said, shaking her head in disbelief. They paid their bill and walked back to NCIS headquarters. Abby had changed the subject towards the case they were working on before Ziva started to notice that her interest was not completely without a motive. When she was alone in her lab again, she smiled like the Cheshire cat. Tony had feelings for Ziva. And Ziva's description of a man pretty much sounded like a description of Tony. So Ziva liked Tony – and was attracted to him, considering the outcome of the Hot or Not test. Now, it was time to get them on the same time, at the same place with the same goal: a date.