Wow. Just wow. I never dreamed of getting that much response to a One-shot! You people out there are amazing :D

Since almost everyone voted for a second part, here it is! Although I'm not entirely happy with it. Partly because I don't really like the ending and partly because I just think that something's missing. Read the A/N at the bottom for more, because I don't wanna spoil the whole story with my rambling ;)

Disclaimer: I only own my thoughts...

When Tony strolled out of the elevator the next day he was trying really hard to pretend like nothing had happened. He couldn't believe that he'd just left after kissing her. How stupid was he? He should've waited for her to say at least something more than his name. But the fact that she'd kissed him back gave him hope. Maybe it was good that he left and gave her some time to think.
...Or maybe it was really bad, he thought when he saw Ziva torturing her computer's keys.

"Morning Tony", a very cheerful McGee called over from his desk, taking a bite off his Nutter Butter. Tony always wondered how many of those the younger man ate during a normal work day. It seemed like a lot.

"Morning McGee..." he called back, trying to sound as happy and flashing one of his smiles before he turned to Ziva with slight hesitation "...and good morning Ziva." His fake smile earned him a death glare in return. Still he kept it in place and sat down at his desk, his eyes never leaving her. "Not that much of a good morning so far?", he asked lightly. Ziva huffed in disapproval before she turned back to her computer screen, ignoring him completely.

"She's been like this since I came in.", McGee whispered with a frown "I don't know what's wrong.."

"You are aware that I can hear you, right?", Ziva said with an eye-roll. "And nothing is wrong. I am fine."

"Really?", Tony asked, not in the sarcastic way he usually would have, but in the low and serious way that showed that he cared. McGee cleared his throat and pretended to be awfully busy with something when he felt the tension between his two co-workers. Ziva just nodded once and before she could say anything Gibbs stepped out of the elevator.

"McGee! Vance wants you up at MTAC, someone tried to hack our system!", he called across the bullpen and McGee immediately jumped up to see the Director. Gibbs sat down at his desk and took a sip from his coffee, watching the intense staring battle of his agents for a moment before clearing his throat. "I hate to interrupt...", he said in a tone that indicated for his agents to stop whatever it was they were doing. Ziva was the first to tear her eyes away from her partner, looking somewhat irritated at her boss.

"We did not do anything", she stated.

"That's kind of the problem, David", Gibbs huffed "Are you being paid for staring matches or what?" Tony sighed mumbled a silent 'no boss' and turned his computer on before Ziva could even respond to Gibbs statement.

...

It was very quiet day at NCIS, leaving the team only with boring paperwork, which didn't help to ease the tension between Tony and Ziva. They did not exchange one word if it wasn't extremely necessary and even then the conversation was kept as short as humanly possible. By noon both, McGee and Gibbs, were sure that something was going on. Gibbs' gut was churning and when Tony disappeared to the bathroom and Ziva followed shortly after he knew that rule 12 had either already been or was shortly going to be violated. Of course he'd known that since his little chat with Tony on Christmas Eve.

...

Ziva opened the door a little bit too forcefully, barely missing Probationary Agent Wright, the newest member of a team working in the bullpen next to Team Gibbs'. He was surprised when he saw it was a woman who entered the men's room and just found a poor excuse to leave. Tony turned to look at Ziva with raised eyebrows.

"You kissed me!", she said in her most accusing manner, locking the door and leaning against it.

"Oh, right...I knew there was something...",Tony hit his forehead with his palm as if he'd just remembered something important.

"Stop it with your jokes, Tony." Ziva glared at him and took a step in his direction. "You. Kissed. Me."

"Yes." He was serious now, knowing that he shouldn't push her any further, and leaned casually against the counter.

"Why?"

Silence filled the room as Tony tried to find the right words. "You wanted to know why I...cared so much", he said after seemingly an eternity. This was even harder for him than he'd expected it to be. "And I care...a lot." Her eyes softened the tiniest bit after his confession, but still her expression was far from friendly. She laughed a sad laugh.

"We can't keep doing this.", she said in a whisper. Before he could ask she explained. "Acting as if we were more than partners or friends. It is driving us apart."

"It doesn't have to Ziva." Tony's eyes shimmered with hope. She stared at him, clearly missing his point. He sighed and continued, pushing himself off the counter and taking a step towards her. "I was willing to die for you when we were undercover because you were my partner. I stayed with you when you defused that bomb and I did it as a friend." He paused shortly, taking a breath and fixed his gaze on the ground. "When I rescued you from Somalia, you weren't my partner and our friendship was pretty much ruined...So there had to be more." He peeked up at her and the confused look she wore told him that she still didn't get it, or tried really hard to play dumb.

"I do not understand.", Ziva said, shaking her head.

"Yes you do. And don't make me say the words, because I know you're not ready to hear them." Tony hadn't realised when exactly he'd come that close, but his chest was nearly brushing hers and he could faintly smell her perfume. "And I can see you feel it too, you know..." This came out as a whisper.

Ziva couldn't help but stare up into his eyes, looking for some kind of proof in them, something that showed her that he wasn't lying like Michael or Ray had. Of course she knew what he meant.

Couldn't live without you...I guess.

These words, his words, still rang in her ears whenever he looked at her the way he did now. As if she was his balance, holding everything that mattered. And she realized that he was her balance as well and that everything he'd said was true. That their intimacy wasn't driving them apart, but pulling them towards each other. Time after time, closer and closer.

And finally she understood what he so desperately tried to explain to her. Last night it had either been that kiss or three little words, that she'd heard just a little too often from another guy lately. And he was right that she wasn't ready to yet hear them again so soon. He just knew her so well.

Finally she found her voice again. "For how long have you been...caring ", she asked, avoiding the actual words like him.

"I don't know...for a long time." Tony gulped. "When Gibbs told us about the Damocles I was certain." Still that dreadful memory made his stomach turn upside down and his body stiffen. Ziva closed the almost non-existent gap between their bodies and put her arms around his waist. They hadn't hugged since the day she broke down in the elevator but still Tony's arms wrapped around her in an immediate response. It felt right to both of them.

"I care about you too." she whispered into his shirt.

"I know."

"But I will need a little bit of time...", she said, carefully looking up at him to see his reaction.

"I know." he repeated softly, tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear and caressing her cheek with his thumb. "Take as much time as you need."

"One more thing..."

"What?"

Ziva smiled. "We really need to stop these ridiculous fights and just be honest with each other."

Tony chuckled softly and buried his face in her hair. "I agree."

They lost all measure of time while standing in their intimate embrace in the men's room, of all places. It felt like hours before someone tried to open the door, noticed that it was locked from the inside and left again. Tony was the first to step away after that, reluctantly unwrapping his arms from around Ziva's body. They both immediately missed the warmth of the other, but they knew that they had to get back to work eventually before Gibbs kicked in the door and dragged them out to their desks. Tony sighed when he unlocked the door and stepped out, but was surprised when he felt Ziva's hand glide into his and giving it a gentle squeeze. It was an unspoken promise, he knew that. And he was going to wait until she was ready to return to him what he was willing to give to her.

Before the pair turned around the corner to the bullpen, Ziva stopped and their joined hands made Tony stop as well. When he turned to look at her, she was chewing on her lower lip, which was something she rarely did. It just was a very girly thing to do. After a moment she seemed to have made a choice and she took one step forward, so she could get on her tiptoes. One hand moving to his cheek and the other staying in his, she kissed him just on the corner of his mouth and let her lips linger there for the longest of moments. After that she let go of his hand and they shared a long look before she walked past him to re-join Gibbs and McGee. Tony stared after her for a moment before he did the same thing, trying to look as calm as possible, because somehow that kiss had been more intimate than if she'd kissed him on the lips. It just showed him how deep their connection truly went and when he sat back down at his desk across from hers he couldn't keep the smile from his face. And the joy he felt when he saw her smile in return was worth six years of hurt and frustration. Because now he knew that he held her heart just like she held his and that he didn't have to let her go again. Ever.

Well...that's it. Somehow I kept distracting myself with random stuff like the McGee/MTAC thing or ProbieWright to avoid the actual conversation between them and this is what it turned out to be in the end. It's really hard for me to write deep meaningful, emotional stuff. I'm more of a random fun person, but I tried really hard and I hope y'all liked it.

Your thoughts on this are really appreciated and I am grateful for every single review. :)