Episode: *Season 9*
Inspired by: "Faded" (ODESZA Remix) by Zhu
He always had his eyes on her.
Relationship to relationship; failed connections and missed opportunities. He should have known it would never work, so he never tried. She, on the other hand, made it an unintentional little game; everyone noticed (how could they not) except the only two people that mattered...
The weather took a turn for the worse. Snow started to fall down and encircle their car.
Behind the steering wheel, Tony stretched and let out a exasperated yawn- loud enough to grab his partner's attention away from her binoculars. "Alright, Tony. I get it. If you want to walk around, be my guest." Then she turned all of her attention on the little shack. He took this as an approval. As his legs were brought back to life, his mood did a quick 180.
They were supposed to be on a stakeout, waiting for the black Dodge pickup to roll around the bend of the trees. Snap a few photos and perhaps make an arrest if they found the grounds to do so. But, the truck hadn't come.
No sooner when he got back into the car, Ziva tugged at him to look at an unknown hooded man making his way into the shack. They both quietly got out and were careful not to slam any car doors. Only a moment later, Tony noticed the barrel of a shotgun poking out of the window, aimed at their direction.
His instincts made him move faster than he thought he could toward his partner. In that moment all he could think about is her. This woman that he loved. Did he think that correctly? Yes, he loved her. He would do anything for her, chase her around the world or give his own breath to bring her back to life. He hadn't lost her yet.
"Ziva! Look out!" Three shots rang out the same time Tony slammed Ziva into the snowy ground.
It took all but a few seconds for Ziva to recognize the situation. With her gun already loaded in her hand, she shot the unidentified man twice in the chest and once in the carotid; dead instantly. She was used to surprises, but this one took the air right out of her.
She hoped blinking a few times would wake her up into the present. That's when she noticed her partner just rolled off her and calling into NCIS.
"Gibbs is on his way, Ducky too." He said while taking photos of the body. She nodded and went inside the shack to gather evidence. He notices she's only going through the motions, something she does when she gets too introspective. If inner thought was a virus that grows and feeds off of energy.
He trudges through the snow and finds her in the corner looking through papers and a box of old cellphones and GPS systems. She notices his presence, lurking over her. "Suspect had over twenty phones. Multiple identities, could be ring leader."
He ignores her behavior for now, only comments on the case. "Looks like it. They still have their original chip?"
She picks up one of the phones and takes out the back, "I cannot tell for sure. Abby is going to have to look at it."
Gibbs showed up forty minutes later with Ducky and Palmer. McGee stayed behind on Gibbs' orders. He instructed Tony and Ziva to bring all of the evidence they had gathered to McGee and Abby right away.
The ride on the way back to the Navy Yard was quiet except for a few comments about the case. He wanted to get her to open up but he had a plan to do that after the case. Four hours later they had arrested a petty officer and packed up for the night.
He found her waiting for the elevator and smiled at her, she cordially smiled back for only a second.
"Hey, I was thinking about getting a drink. Wanna come?"
She pressed the button for the ground floor. She wanted to spend this night alone, just her, a book and a cold shower. But something in her turned to not say no. "Sure."
She downed three drinks, he had only two beers. She found herself laughing at all of his corny jokes and feeling open enough to chat about things. Things he wanted to know.
"You want to know?"
"Yes."
She laughed, "No you don't"
He pushed on her shoulder, "I do, though."
"Oh come on Tony, don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't tell you even if your life depended on it."
He shook his head and continued to sip on the cool poison. "You know I won't let this go."
A cold sweat reaction to relief rains on her.
"Sure. You keep thinking that, Tony." She put her hand down to pat his knee. He stops her hand from leaving his leg. "What?"
"Why are you doing that thing with your lip?"
"What thing?"
"That thing where you subtly bite it." He leans in, "either you're thinking about something bad or you're worried about something." He dared to move her hair out of her eyes.
"Well, I was not aware I did that." She faked a smile. "Now can you let go of my hand now?"
He coyly gave Ziva a look and a squint, "Why? Does it make you uncomfortable?"
"Nothing makes me uncomfortable." She quickly protested.
"So you won't do a secret ninja move and murder me because-" He stopped himself as she turned away, looking anywhere but him. "I am making you uncomfortable", he marveled.
"Tony."
He let her hand go free and she recoiled back to facing the bar and holding onto a cold glass. She still felt the heat from his hand on her skin. The worst part of this situation is that she liked it. She liked Tony touching her, she liked him.
"This is so not like you, Ziva. Did I do something or say something?"
"No. It's nothing. Really." It's you! You and your psychoanalysis bullshit.
"Then why-"
"I" she interrupted him, "I never had a chance to thank you."
His hand brushed up her arm, every hair perked up in response to his touch.
"Oh, well, we're partners." He shot a smile at her. "Besides, you did do the same thing for me once."
A smile formed on her face and he took that as a signal to get closer to the woman. When he reached for her she didn't snap farther away, she moved closer.
The eye contact remained in tact. All of the noise in the bar could not break their concentration. A million words could have been said in one glance. The fourth wall is being chipped away and he loves it.
Both of their minds were too slow in the process to stop themselves. He remembers earlier that day when she had almost fallen to her death by a gunshot wound, but he was lucky enough to jump into action and protect her. All he wanted in that moment was to hold onto this dark haired beauty. A foreign mystery when he first met her, unaware of the many cracks in the veneer...and he would be the one to cause them.
She finishes her drink to find his eyes still looking at her. She softly whispers, "Take me away from here" with a smile. Her hand moved to his chest and she notices his pulse aligned with her breathes. All he could do was nod.
He was invited up to her apartment and happily obliged to the offer. She insisted he try this pastry she made the day before and pair it with some cool dessert liquor.
Tony stepped in and closed the door behind him. He removed his jacket, waiting for Ziva to say something. A short conversations turns to a question making her hide behind excuses.
They were looking at each other for the very first time where they could actually turn their over-the-top friendship to a full blown, over the moon, relationship…
Standing a mere inches apart, the two were like engines. Heat radiating or two magnets feeling so impossibly drawn to the other.
"If you're going to hide. I want to hide with you." He moved the back of her hand to his lips, softly leaving a warm kiss on her knuckles. He looks her eyes for any sign to proceed. He finds more underneath her shirt while his hands and wrists run along her spine.
She says the words he knew existed between them. "I need you." Yes, it is love when two people need each other for the rest of their lives.
Slowly, taking all that's in her being, she touches his lips with hers. So soft and sweet turns to hungry. "I need you, too" The moment they hold themselves to really look at the predicament they're in, they uncover the emotions that's been creeping to the surface for years.
"I can't go back now."
"I know." She takes his hand and leads him to the couch. Her blouse is thrown to the floor and his is tossed to the other side of the couch. "This is what you want?"
"If only I could have told you years ago" He breaths out between kisses. "You don't know how much I want this."
She grabs her throw off the couch and rolls it out onto the floor. He lays her on it and covers her skin with kisses and delicate touches. She succombs to the heat and forces him on his back.
She wakes up to the Sunday morning sunlight shining through the window. She rolls onto her side to stare at her partner. His feet were tangled with hers and his arm rested perfectly on her hip. She never felt so at home in all her life. He stirs awake to Ziva nibbling on his ear.
He catches her in mid-act and grabs her wrists, wrestling a little bit. He pulls Ziva against his bare chest. The feeling of his bare skin against her bare back made her dissolve into him. "I am throwing rule 12 out the window, Miss David."