A/N: YAY! I managed to get it done before our dinner starts :D Thank you for making my 2013 amazing! You're so awesome and I love every single one of you to pieces! xo YOU ROCK! Thank you for "Our Summer", thank you for the sequel, thank you for the drabbles, thank you for "Silver Lining", thank you for Alison, thank you for "Jamaica Dreamin'", JUST THANK YOU! You rock! I LOVE YOU xo Please enjoy reading! :)
I wish you a wonderful New Years Eve, a happy New Year and all the best for 2014! I hope it'll be all you wished for xo
For all of you
xo
Tony sighed as he fixed his tie that evening. It was New Years Eve which meant they only had two more days together. One actually. His plane would leave in the early morning hours of the 2nd. And so far, she hadn't said anything about coming home. He was starting to loose hope.
"Tony?", Ziva called from the other side of the bathroom door.
"Yes?", he called back, looking at his reflection in the mirror, trying to fix his hair.
"It is almost midnight. Are you coming?", she asked.
"One second", he replied.
He looked at himself one last time, then took a deep breath and placed his hand on the doorknob. He would ask her tonight. Ask her to come home with him. Actually ask it as a question, not say 'Please come home with me'. Maybe if he asked her directly, she would actually realize what he was getting at.
As he walked out of the bathroom, his breath caught in his throat. She looked absolutely stunning. Her hair was down and curly just like he liked it best. She was wearing a beautiful black dress that showed just the right amount of skin and hugged her curves perfectly. Black heels and small golden earrings made her outfit complete. He looked down and immediately noticed the ring on her finger. She had been wearing it non-stop ever since he'd given it to her.
"You look amazing", he told her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to his body.
"You do not look bad either", she declared, smirking.
She was looking up and down his body appreciatively. He was wearing black dress pants and a white dress shirt. Seeing as it was still very warm outside this time of the day in Jamaica, he had decided against the tie and suit jacket.
Tony kissed her softly, then took her hand and interlaced their fingers.
"Ready to say goodbye to 2013?", he asked.
She rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. "Absolutely", she said bitterly.
He hated how much she'd had to go through this year. It wasn't fair. And he just wished he could take away all of her pain but he couldn't. Still, he didn't like it one bit. And he genuinely hoped that the new year would bring happiness for her, no more pain. And he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to spend that year with her. Not miles apart but in the same city.
They made their way down to the beach and walked over to a bar that the hotel had set up for tonight. Tony ordered them each a drink and handed one to Ziva. They leaned against the bar counter, Tony's free arm around her waist. She smiled up at him and he couldn't help but lean down and kiss her.
"Get ready for the countdown!", someone suddenly yelled.
Tony broke their kiss and tugged a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling at her. They were both ready for this year to be over. Sure, there had been wonderful moments but there had been heartbreaking moments as well. It had been a roller-coaster ride, definitely. But now here they were and Tony couldn't stop the excitement that was rushing through him. In less than a minute it would be 2014 and he would ask her to come home with him.
He prayed to whoever was listening that she would agree to come home with him. Because if she did, 2014 couldn't get any better.
Ziva smiled up at him and whispered: "Ten."
He grinned and went along with it: "Nine."
"Eight."
"Seven."
"Six."
"Five."
"Four."
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
"Happy New Year", she said softly, kissing him on the lips.
"Happy New Year", he murmured against her lips.
Fireworks exploded around them and when they broke the kiss, the entire sky was covered in beautiful lights. Being at the beach made it even more special. Ziva raised her glass and he clinked his against hers. They both took a sip but Tony's hands were shaking violently. He needed to get the question off his chest or else he'd burst.
"Ziva?", he asked softly.
She averted her eyes from the fireworks and looked at him instead.
"Yes?", she replied.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. This was it. It was now or never. And he knew that her answer could potentially change his life forever. He really didn't know what he'd do if she said no. He wasn't sure whether he could handle another rejection from him.
"Ziva, will you make me the happiest man alive and make this the best New Year ever and..come home with me?", he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Her eyes widened and she just stared at him for a moment.
"Tony, I..I have been thinking about this for a long time. Ever since you left Israel. Eventually I realized that I needed you and that is why I asked you to meet me here for the Holidays", she started eventually.
He nodded. Yeah, he knew that much.
"On Christmas Eve you asked me whether I would come home with you and I told you I would make my decision by the end of the week. Today is our last day together, so it is time for my decision", she continued.
God, why was she making it so hard? Couldn't she just say what she had decided upon?
Ziva leaned closer to him, her heart pounding wildly. For the past week, she had spent every second thinking about their relationship. Somehow they had gotten from friends to something that was like a real relationship and she had no idea when that change had occurred but nobody questioned it and she had to admit, she really liked it.
"I will..come home with you, Tony", she eventually whispered.
And she knew in that moment that it was the right decision. For the first time in her life, she really felt like she'd done the right thing. It was like a weight was lifted off her shoulders and she felt like laughing out loud because God, this felt good. She had never been so sure of anything in her entire life.
His eyes widened. "You..really?", he asked carefully, afraid she'd tell him it was all a joke.
She placed her drink on the counter and took his from his hand as well. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his.
"Yes, Tony. I will come home with you tomorrow", she assured him.
"Oh Ziva", he breathed, pulling her as close as possible.
She saw tears pooling in his eyes but wasn't exactly surprised. She was pretty sure he could see the same in her eyes.
"Happy New Year", someone next to them said and they smiled at the stranger.
"Happy New Year to you too", Tony said and the man grinned and walked over to the next people.
Tony smiled at Ziva and kissed her lips again.
"A very happy New Year", he whispered against her lips.
"Yes", she murmured.
When they finally broke the kiss, she didn't move out of his arms. They just stayed their, wrapped in each others' arms, more happy than they'd been in..forever. They watched as the fireworks exploded into the night and really..could 2014 get any better?
A/N: Can 2014 get any better? :D I can hear you squealing by the way :P
Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you wanna see in future chapters in the reviews section! :) LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU xo
I hope you read my author's note at the beginning :)
Happy New Year! xo
Love y'all,
~ C.