A/N: Just as promised, another quick update ;-)
Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, as always they made my day! :)
The next chapter is a little longer than the last ones and yeah, I just hope you like it and review :)
Have fun!
Chapter Nine: The Tiger and the Car Door
Tony looked around in his apartment, making sure that everything was where it was supposed to be. After he had gotten home, he had hurried to take a shower and had then tried to tidy up the place as quickly as possible. Ziva had never been to his apartment before and he wanted it to look nice.
His stomach was feeling all funny and Tony realized that he was a bit nervous. He shifted the blame onto his discovery earlier that day and not onto the fact that she was coming over. They had had movie nights before, especially when Gibbs had gone to Mexico a few years before but then, he had always been at her apartment, bringing the wine, the movies, the food. Never once had she visited him but Tony couldn't remember why.
He looked around once again and was satisfied with what he saw. He checked his watch and realized that Ziva was running late. That was slightly odd but maybe she had gotten lost after all. He walked over to the shelf that held all his movies and tried to choose one for tonight. He wasn't in the mood to watch a horror shocker and a romance was out of question, too, considering Ziva's recent breakup. He walked over to his comedies and had to smile to himself as he caught sight of Hangover. Yeah, that was just the right movie for them to watch…
Five minutes later, there was finally a knock on the door and Ziva was standing there, a six pack of Coke in one hand.
"Sorry, I am late. I had to run an errand before I came here."
"No problem. So, just Coke tonight, huh?" Tony stated, pointing to the bottles in her hand.
"As I am never going to drink any alcohol ever again, I thought I would bring some soda."
Tony let out a laugh and let her in. He had told himself the same thing but he knew as well as she did that they would drink again. They settled down on the couch and Tony handed Ziva the food that had arrived a few minutes before she had done and took the remote.
"So, I decided on a movie that I'm sure you'll love. It's funny, it's Las Vegas, it's something you'll never forget."
"That would make at least one thing," Ziva deadpanned and grinned at him.
Tony snorted and switched on the movie.
Halfway through it, they had both finished eating and Tony had leaned back on the couch, his arms resting on the backrest and Ziva had snuggled into the cushions beside him. Tony realized that they were sitting as close as it was possible without actually touching each other and he liked feeling her warmth beside him. They had to watch movies more often, he thought. This was nice...
-x-
"You know, Tony," Ziva suddenly said, looking over to him, "at least we did not steal a tiger, right? It cannot get any worse."
Tony laughed again but then turned serious as Ziva didn't avert her glance from him. He gave her a weak smile, still pondering how on earth he was supposed to tell her.
"Ziva," he started, "I remembered something again. Uh, we were dancing and, uh, well…"
"Come on, Tony, you almost sound like McGee. Leak."
"I think you mean 'spill.' But yeah, do you remember dancing to that Somewhere over the rainbow cover?"
Ziva looked at him for a few moments and Tony could see her frown, obviously thinking hard. Then suddenly, her eyes widened and she quickly looked away from him.
"I see, you do remember."
Tony couldn't help but grin. He looked closely at her and he noticed her cheeks were slightly turning pink.
"Yes, I do," Ziva finally answered, still avoiding any eye contact.
"Hey," Tony softly said, "don't worry about it, alright? We were just… dancing and were drunk. Could have happened to anyone, right? Plus, I kind of enjoyed it. You are one hell of a dancer."
"You are not that bad yourself."
"So, we're okay?"
"Yes, of course."
Tony nodded once and then turned his attention back to the movie. They sat in silence for a while and Tony was all consumed again by the movie soon enough. He didn't even notice that Ziva had suddenly straightened herself. It was only when he could hear a silent 'Oh god' that he turned to look at her. Ziva was sitting as straight as a pole on his couch now, her muscles tensed. Tony quickly paused the movie.
"Are you alright, Ziva?"
"I do not know actually."
"What's wrong?" Tony asked worriedly, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it softly.
Ziva imperceptibly shook her head, still looking utterly confused.
"I think," she finally started over, "stealing a tiger sounds pretty good to me right now. God, Gibbs will kill us."
"What are you talking about?"
"Tony, do you remember exiting the club at all? Remember, how hard it was to get a cab?"
Tony looked at her now, his eyes just as wide as hers…
-x-
Tony had hoped that once they were outside the club, his mind would be able to work fully again but he had to realize that quite the opposite was the case. As he had taken the first breath of the cold air around him, he had trouble to even remain standing. He stopped dead in his tracks, causing Ziva to bump into him from behind.
"Sorry," she slightly slurred, holding on to him tightly.
Tony tried to repress the dizziness that started to cloud his senses and he took another deep breath but the situation didn't change. He remained standing there, desperately trying to get a grip onto himself.
"Are you okay, Tony?"
Ziva was suddenly standing in front of him, her head tilted to one side and she smiled at him.
"No, not really," he replied.
Ziva turned her back to him, looking around.
"Let us get you a cab, yes?"
"Yeah," Tony pressed out, finally able to make sense of his surroundings.
He took a few cautious steps forward but where usually cabs were lining up to pick up drunken clubbers, there was nothing to be seen. Tony sighed, pulled out his cell phone and tried to remember the number of his favorite cab company. He stood there for a few moments but no number came to his mind.
"Hey Zi, what's the number of the telephone exchange?"
"I do not know," Ziva hesitantly answered, gripping his shoulder as she was just about to stumble over the flat street they were walking on.
Tony was able to catch her just in time and he pulled his arms around her tightly. He looked down at her and couldn't help but smile. Confused, she looked up at him.
"Feeling slightly tipsy, are we?" Tony joked.
For the third time that night, Tony couldn't help but stare into her brown eyes and he unconsciously licked his lips. She once again looked perfectly kissable and he didn't care anymore. He latently knew that his brain wasn't working properly anymore, he knew that he would increase his chances of getting killed by either Ziva or Gibbs later on but he didn't give a damn anymore. He just didn't.
He leaned forward and their noses grazed. For a short moment, Tony looked into her eyes again and he could see that she didn't mind the sudden contact at all. He meant to close the small gap between them but was interrupted by a honk right behind him. He quickly let go of her, not quite able to suppress a sigh and turned around.
"You need a ride?" The driver of the taxi asked.
"Yeah, we do… I mean, she does."
The cab driver gave him an amused smile but Tony was far beyond caring about him. He turned around to Ziva and carefully shuffled her onto the backseat. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"I'll find another cab, don't worry."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I am."
He gave her his famous DiNozzo smile and then bent down in order to give her a good night kiss on the cheek at the same time that Ziva had reached out her hand to close the door. The door came to sudden halt as it hit Tony's head hard.
"Ouch!" Tony was only able to cry out.
His head was pounding and this time the alcohol had nothing to do with it. He raised his hand and touched the spot on his cheek where the door had just hit him and he winced. He was sure he'd have a black eye the next day.
"God, Tony, I am so sorry. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Tony groaned, still rubbing his cheek.
"I did not mean to…," Ziva started to apologize but Tony just held up his hand.
"It's okay, really. You didn't do it on purpose… I hope. Now, you go home, I'll find my way."
He tried to push the door shut but yet again it didn't close because Ziva had just attempted to climb out of the cab again. Tony couldn't exactly see where the door had hit her but only a second later, she groaned, holding one hand to her neck.
Tony couldn't help but to let out a laugh. What were the odds of that happening twice?
First, Ziva shot him a withering stare but then she obviously realized how funny the situation was. She joined in laughing.
"Are you alright, sweet cheeks?" Tony asked in between the laughter.
"I think so."
"That really could only happen to us."
Tony didn't know how long they were standing there, laughing at each other but suddenly the driver was to be heard again and Tony realized that he sounded angry.
"Do you need a ride now or not? I don't have all night."
"Hey Tony," Ziva started, still fighting the urge to laugh, "Why do we not share it? We can drop you off on the way to my apartment."
"You sure?"
Ziva only nodded and slipped into the car again. Tony quickly followed suit and then carefully – very carefully – closed the door. This time it worked. He gave the directions to the driver and then looked at Ziva again.
"Come on," he said, already reaching out his hand to her neck, "Let me see where I've hit you."
Ziva tilted her head and held back her hair so Tony could see. He noticed a bright red scratch but it didn't look as bad as he thought it would. He nevertheless leaned further forward and then finally plucked up his courage and kissed the spot on her neck carefully.
He could feel Ziva tense for a short moment before she relaxed again and then she brought her hand to his left cheek. She traced the scratch softly with her index finger causing Tony's heart to stutter and it missed a beat or two. He looked up now and once again his green eyes locked into her brown ones. She tenderly tilted his head with her hand and then placed a few kisses along his cheek. Tony could feel himself burning up and he now threw all caution to the winds completely.
He turned his head a bit and then caught her lips with his.
A/N: Hah, cliffhanger, right? :D
Review on your way out please ;-)
