Author's notes:
- please bear with me - I'm posting my first drafts, so i haven't had time to go back and polish them yet.
- it's been a while since I watched NCIS so the characterizations need some work.
- sorry for the short chapters - but it means more frequent updates.
- I'm not sure exactly where this fits in the Avengers timeline - after the Battle of New York, but probably before Iron Man 3. Definitely before Tony has the arc reactor removed from his chest. And they all know that Coulson's alive, so probably A.U.
- Normally I ship Clintasha, but for this fic, a different pairing seems appropriate.
Ziva followed her colleagues as Agent Coulson led them through a maze of passageways. It would be very easy to get lost in a place like this, but Ziva had almost subconsciously noted the route, and had no doubt that even blindfolded, she could navigate her way back to the deck.
Finally, they emerged into a light, airy space that felt very out-of-place on an aircraft carrier. Except that, of course, it was no ordinary aircraft carrier. Ziva knew that the entire vessel was now airborne, and a few months ago, she might have been astounded. But since the events in New York City last summer, she found it much easier to believe the fantastical.
At this point, only her finely honed reflexes prevented her from bumping into DiNozzo, who had stopped dead. Stepping to one side, Ziva saw the reason. Tony was gazing at an admittedly attractive woman seated at the conference table in front of them. Red hair, and expressive grey eyes set in a pale, pointed face would have been more than enough to captivate her partner, but Ziva had no doubt that Tony's attention was riveted by the skin tight cat suit the woman was wearing, or more accurately, poured into! And with a figure like that, the outfit could almost qualify as a weapon in its own right, guaranteed to distract and dazzle. And that was definitely what it was doing to Tony. Ziva poked him sharply in the back, and smirked to herself when he flinched and snapped out of it.
As the NCIS agents took the seats indicated to them, Ziva saw that Abby was similarly distracted, but in her case it was by the operations deck on a lower level, spread out before them. It was clear that Abby was going to spend a large part of this mission geeking out over the technology.
Ziva looked across the table, and reflected that SHIELD was an equal-opportunities provider of eye candy. The man opposite her was dressed unremarkably, in a red t-shirt and black jeans, but they served as a perfect foil for his physique. Muscles like that, Ziva knew, didn't just come from working out in a gym, but from actual use, in whatever his particular field might be. At this point, Coulson dropped a folder on the table, and Ziva jumped slightly, realizing that she had been as distracted as Tony and Abby had been moments earlier. Pulling herself together, she moved her gaze to the final man, seated to the right of the red-head.
He didn't quite fit in with the surroundings, somehow. Slightly rumpled, his long-sleeved shirt open at the throat, he met Ziva's scrutiny with gentle brown eyes, and an awkward half-nod of acknowledgment He had a faintly apologetic air, that made Ziva speculate that he might be here representing C.S.I.S. But there was no more time to size up her new colleagues. Coulson was making brief introductions.
"Agent Gibbs, team lead. Agents David and DiNozzo; and Specialist Sciuto," he reeled off, before naming his own team. "Agents Romanoff and Barton. Dr Banner." As the first two were named, it clicked into place. Ziva had seen their faces in some of the raw footage from the Battle of New York. Banner, though - she didn't recall having seen his face. A technical advisor then? Probably S.H.I.E.L.D.'s counterpart to Abby. Ziva looked back at Coulson, and saw his expression stiffen almost imperceptibly, before he said, "I'm afraid Mr Stark was delayed, but he'll be joining us shortly."
"Anthony Stark? Iron Man?" Abby sounded awed, and Ziva saw slight exasperation cloud Coulson's features, as of one long grown tired of dealing with Stark fangirls. He nodded. "I can't believe he's going to be here," Abby gushed. "He's bringing J.A.R.V.I.S., isn't he?" She sounded anxious.
Coulson raised an eyebrow fractionally. "J.A.R.V.I.S.? Well - he's not exactly going to be here..."
"Oh, I know he's not really a person," Abby said, "but I've read every article about him I could find, he's the most advanced AI in existence. I was working on my own AI, back in high school, it started out as a ninth grade science fair project, but I could never quite get the..."
"Abbs..." Gibbs quietly cut off Abby's flow of excited chatter, and she smiled apologetically. "Sorry Gibbs! But really - J.A.R.V.I.S.!" She subsided, her expression one of suppressed glee.
After a moment of silence, Coulson opened the folder in front of him. "Well then - let's get started."