You are all continuing to amaze me at how much you like this :) I am glad you are. Here is the next chapter!
They arrived back at the hotel a little bit later, both cold from the outside temperature that continued to drop by the minute. Tony, being the gentleman on this occasion, let her have a warm shower first while he turned on their heating and waited for his round in the shower. He was happy that she decided not to take all the time in the world tonight and was out in good time for him to have his turn.
He had his shower and was standing at the basin with just his sweatpants on and was just about to start shaving when he heard a knock on the bathroom door. Ziva being Ziva would know he had been out of the shower for a bit now so he wondered what she wanted.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"I need to get the hairdryer" was her reply. He was a man that knew a thing or two about women and their hair and all that, and he knew that tonight being colder like it was, Ziva wouldn't want to be hanging around with cold wet hair all night. Hence the need for the contraption which dried those beautifully long curls of hers.
"You can come in, I'm just shaving" he called back through the door. In the next second the door was opening and all the steam was escaping. It was actually a good thing, it meant he would be able to see easier. She stepped in and stopped for a second, taking in the fact he only stood there in his sweatpants. He watched her eyes flutter over his body but when they reached his eyes with a small smile on her lips she continued her task of finding the hairdryer.
As he applied shaving cream to his face he watched her open one of the cupboards under the basin and pull out what she had been looking for.
"Is it ok if I do it in here?" she asked him. Another thing he knew was women loved their mirrors when they did their hair. Yes, Ziva may not be like most women but at the end of the day she was still one, and she did dress up in pretty dresses. Occasionally. You were a lucky man if you got to see her all done up and fantastic, he was very lucky to have seen it at a few opportunities in the time he has been her partner.
He has also noticed that she has changed a small amount since she first came here. Sure she still wears her cargo pants, she is the one woman who can really make them look fantastic, but she tends to wear more feminine shirts, a small amount of make-up (very small, but whatever she did made her look radiant) and has her hair all done, out all curly or straight or tied in those little plaits. God her hair, he loved her hair. If there was one thing about a woman that really got his attention it was their hair. And her hair is the most fantastic hair he has ever seen. And the way it feels is even better. He is a sucker for a woman with great hair.
"Tony?" Ziva's voice ripped him from his daydreaming. He felt like he had his hand caught in the cookie jar, that look she was giving him seemed as though she knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Sorry. Yeah, of course" he replied, trying to hide his slight blush with a big smile. She smiled back. If she did know what he was thinking right then, she didn't address the fact. He filled the basin with warm water as the roar of her hairdryer began. He turned his head and watched her as her slim olive fingers raked through her hair while the dryer fanned her hair in all sorts of directions when she moved it around.
It was fascinating just to watch her, but he realized the basin was full with water and he was actually meant to be doing something instead of standing there watching her. He put his shaver into the water before bringing it up to his jaw and removing one strip of his very short stubble. Gibbs liked his agents to be presentable and sharp looking. Yeah, of course Tony dresses perfect for that category but there was a small part of him that wished he would be let off on the shaving side of things sometimes. He liked a bit of stubble. Sometimes.
Rinsing his shaver again he repeated the process. As he did he couldn't help but flicker his eyes across to Ziva in the mirror. He suddenly realized that she was watching him in the mirror. Ziva wasn't ashamed that he had caught her either. She gave him this little smile and kept watching him shave as she did her thing.
And she continued to watch him too. He just removed the last of his stubble when she spoke up.
"You missed a spot" she smiled. He turned his head towards her just as she turned her hairdryer off. He grinned at her.
"Where?" he asked. Had he really missed a spot or was she just pulling his leg? He wouldn't put it past her to be joking. She put down the dryer and took a step closer to him.
"Right…" she brought her hand to his face and gently ran her finger just under his chin "There" she announced. He turned back towards the mirror and leant in as much as he could, lifting his head back to see what she was pointing at. He couldn't see anything. He was sure he couldn't see anything. It was either she was mucking with him or her younger eyes were better than his.
"I didn't miss anything" he stated, raising an eyebrow at her.
"You did" she chuckled softly. Just as he was about to take another look and then argue back again she had taken the razor from his hand.
"Here let me do it" she offered. She placed one hand to his chest and pushed him back slightly until he was turned and facing her. She wet the razor in the warm water before bringing her hand from his chest up to his jaw and softly tilted his head back. Her hands were warm and soft on his skin and her closeness was suddenly very welcoming. He was expecting to have some sort of prank or joke played on him right then but he felt the razor lightly run across his jaw and take off stubble.
So he did miss a spot. She ran her finger over the spot again, satisfied she had got it and smiled at him when he looked back down at her.
"I told you, you missed a spot" she said.
"Thank you, I am glad you were there to fix the problem" he smiled right back. He did realize the fact one of her hands still rested against his neck right now. Like it belonged there. Like this wasn't a red light situation between co-workers at all. But they weren't just co-workers and she had always belonged there, even if she didn't really know it.
He had a feeling she did.
Her hand gently slipped from his skin and he missed the contact almost right away.
"You are very welcome" she replied and shot him another smile before turning and walking out of the bathroom. Her beautiful curls spilling down her back now. God, he loved her hair.
"Tony?" she whispered. He wasn't asleep yet. He had just closed his eyes and lay there. Pulling the covers more around him he answered.
"Yeah?" he said. Turning his head towards her direction, he could vaguely see her in the dark looking at him from where she lay in her bed.
"Is it getting colder in here or is it just me?" she asked him seriously. Yes, he had felt as though the temperature of their room was getting colder. He just hadn't bothered to annoy her with asking if she was cold too or not, he wasn't sure if she was asleep yet, he didn't want to wake her if she was.
"Yeah it is a bit. Is the heater still on?" he asked. The heater was on her side of the room, he didn't really want to get out of his partly warm bed and walk all the way over there. He heard her move in her bed slightly, having a look.
"No" she replied, he could hear the confusion in her tone. Just before she asked the next thing he knew she would, he spoke up.
"I didn't turn it off though, and I know you didn't" he explained, confused now himself. He heard her move again in her bed, this time he saw her get up and move to the heater. He watched her dark shadow bend down and fiddle with the buttons. Then came the few hard smacks and a foreign swear word or two.
"I don't know what's going on, it is meant to be going but it's not" she exclaimed from the darkness. He smiled and couldn't help but chuckle lightly at her Mossad heater fixing techniques. Another firm smack was delivered before she retreated to her bed, seeking the slight warmth it brought.
"Stupid heater" she mumbled. He still smiled. Sometimes she was very entertaining without even trying.
"We will get it sorted out in the morning ninja" he told her. He knew she understood that but he heard her sigh.
"Yes, if I do not freeze to death tonight" she replied. He heard her move a few more times in the bed, trying to get warm. Even though she still had his hoddie she did get colder easier than him. Growing up in the warm weather was her downfall right now. Even he was feeling that cold air creep in and he was more used to the cold weather and had more thickness to him than her slim figure did.
He didn't want her to be up all night because of the cold. He didn't want her to be tired. He didn't want her to be uncomfortable. He knew there was one thing he could to do to help and after he cleared his suddenly nervous throat he gave her his offer.
"We could…share a bed. It would probably be warmer" he suggested. He had never given that offer before. He had never offered to share a bed with her, well maybe once or twice when he was joking but never serious. Of course he would want to all the time but he never had the courage to push their friendship another stage and actually offered. Sure, they had shared in Paris but that was because there was no other choice, he wasn't going to make her sleep on the couch and she was mindful of his back.
"Ok" her reply was quiet and he knew she had thought about it. She knew as well as him what sharing a bed, what being so close like that did to them. It would put a worry on their stable friendship, pushing them into deeper emotions. But she had agreed, they had done it once and they were fine. Doing it again wouldn't hurt. Right?
He couldn't hear her move and he knew that she was putting the next step in his hands. He would be the one to initiate the offer he had given. He climbed out of his bed and pulled the cover off, throwing it on top of Ziva's bed. She pulled it up on the bed and then watched his shadow approach the side of the bed. When he did his eyes found hers somewhere in the dark and she lifted the covers for him. He slid underneath them.
As he did his body made contact with hers, she was cold.
"You really are cold" he whispered, turning on his side and facing her.
"Yes" she replied and he could just see her nod. He was keeping his hands to himself right now but he longed to reach out and touch her, hold her. With the little bit he could see in the dark he could see her eyes watching him. He was going to say something but he really didn't know what to say. He normally only ever found himself choked up when he was nervous. Why was he nervous? He was never nervous when he shared a bed with a woman. However, Ziva was not just any woman. She was his partner.
"I am complaining in the morning about this" Ziva's voice broke the silence. He could tell just by her tone that the moments she had actually enjoyed here so far in Alaska were being decreased by the fact a heater was broken in their room. His ninja could be sensitive sometimes, he knew that very well.
"Zi it's not that bad" he replied. True it wasn't that bad but it still wasn't the nicest to have a cold hotel room, at least it wasn't filled with maggots and rotting ceilings or something. The place was nice. It was just the broken heater in this cold climate that was the problem. She sighed, giving up on trying to convince him that she wasn't happy about the cold room when he was going to continue to say it was 'not bad'.
He softened then, at her defeat. He knew she was tired from today and she was always more tired when it was cold. It was just something he knew about her. He moved his hand under the covers and gently touched her shoulder.
"If you want me to go down and talk to the front desk now, I will" he said softly. He had her back and if she wanted a new room just because of a heater, he would get it for her. Deep down, he was a big softy. She shook her head.
"No, no you do not have to do that" she replied.
"Are you sure? 'Cause I can" he stated as he moved to get up slightly. He stopped when she placed her hand on his chest. He looked into her eyes. Then he had somehow moved slightly closer than before.
"No, I will be fine tonight, we will deal with it in the morning like you said, yes?" she stated. He noticed how again her hand didn't leave him, it was still on his chest. He actually didn't want to move now.
"Ok, I'll go see them in the morning" he replied and she smiled softly at him. To be honest, she just didn't want the warmth he had generated to leave her bed. She didn't really want him to leave her bed.
"Thank you" she said quietly. He smiled at her and he was glad he could sort of see alright in the dark tonight. It was probably because he was just so close that he could see her. They fell into a silence again and he wasn't sure what to say. Her hand was still on his chest and it seemed like she wasn't going to move it away.
She was touching him so did that mean it would be ok for him to reach out and touch her?
He wasn't sure if his hand was about to be broken off or slapped away. One of the two he was sure of when he moved it under the covers, out in search of her body. Sure they touched all the time and she was fine with it but this, this was different. This was in bed, close, without supervision around of any sort. They were in a different situation. This was more personal than it ever had been before.
His hand found her hip and he gently rested it there. Waiting. Just waiting for her to bat it away and say something. Warn him that he had to keep his hands to himself. But, it never came. He finally looked up to find her looking at him. Observing him. And still, she didn't remove his hand or comment on it. He figured she was letting this be ok. She was letting him have a bit of freedom over her right now. He had never had this much freedom with her before.
She had never let him openly touch her like this in such an intimate moment. Sure they had when they went undercover all those years ago but that was a front, they had to do that to sell their cover. They didn't have to now. Saying that, he only had his hand rested on her hip. But for them, this was a big step. He dared to move his hand, trying to get some sort of reaction or for her to say something. He needed to know what she was thinking right now.
He drifted his hand higher up her hip, dipping down onto her waist. Her hand on his chest curled around his shirt. He got a reaction out of her, a small one, but it was something. But still she didn't push him away. If she wasn't going to tell him to stop he was going to take a risk. He knew this could change things between them but really, after all these years, he was sort of tired of pretending. No one else seemed to be working for him. She was always there to block them out of his heart.
She had made herself a protective ninja barrier around his heart that no other woman could penetrate. Only she had the secret key to get in. He didn't know how she had done it, but she had. And taking a risk with woman in this type of situation wasn't normally hard for him, but all of a sudden his heart was racing and he was sure his hands were shaking. He couldn't be sure. It was something she did to him. She was just so much different, so much more special than anybody else that he knew what he was doing was important. It was meaningful. It wasn't just something that meant nothing at all.
He moved his hand back down to her hip and gently he pulled her towards him while he shifted closer. All of a sudden his face was right in front of hers and her body was touching the whole length of his. Her warm breath was hitting his lips and he really wanted to lean in and kiss her right now. The fact she still hadn't moved made him speechless. Was he dreaming this right now or did she want much the same that he did?
Her hand had tightened on his shirt and her other hand slid its way over his waist and around his back in that moment. He was going to say something but he choked on the words before they came out and Ziva ended up snuggling into him, pressing herself right against him as her face buried itself in his neck. Really, this could be considered as friendly. Well maybe, if they didn't have such deep unsaid feelings between them. But they would treat this as a friendship thing. They didn't want to dive into anything else right now. What they needed was comfort from each other, they both hadn't had much comfort from someone in a while.
And he would give it to her, that comfort she needed. He pulled his arm around her and hugged her to his chest. He didn't know how they had gotten here without needing to explain what they were doing. Maybe what they were doing didn't need to be discussed. Maybe he should just settle for what she offers him and not ask questions. Wouldn't it just be easier if they didn't need to ask questions about everything?
He was left wondering, if they had taken this step right now in their friendship, where exactly would the next one take them? He didn't know, but what he did know was that Ziva fell asleep in his arms like that. She didn't move one bit.
Things are getting interesting :) Hope you liked it, next will be up as soon as I can.
Hundan