Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Hey guys, this is Licia. Um, if you've been reading Past Lives Linked, you know who I am- for those of you who haven't, Z (the one who owns this profile) is going to be my sister-in-law soon. She's engaged to my baby brother, Evan, who's been helping her on PLL and a few other stories (getting them in order, etc. to post); anyway, long story short, there have been some health issues come up for Z and she's taking some time off on doctor's orders (mine) and Evan is taking care of her. So I am trying to help out with the writing by finishing PLL and update a few of her other stories. Currently, I'm slogging through my brother's hand doodles he calls chapters (can't read his writing worth crap) for PLL, trying to get them in order so I can finish posting it; I was also looking through the folders on Z's laptop for her fanfiction, and I found this chapter finished and ready to be posted for... well, what was Remember my Name, now Diverging Roads.

So after I clean it up, I'll post it; hopefully it'll tide everyone over while I try to get PLL back on track, because I lost it somewhere between making sure my future sister-in-law eats and my baby brother gets some sleep. - Licia

Thanks to Girl with a pink flying carpet, Sazzita and Reader for reviewing 9. I'm sorry it took so long to update.

"Morning, Thom."

He looked up from quickly checking the books, a smile tugging at his lips. "Mrs. Langston, it's good to see you again!" He quickly moved around the counter towards the older woman, wrapping her in a quick hug. "I haven't seen you in a while! How have you been?"

The older woman smiled, reaching up and taking his face in her hands before gently tapping his nose. "You know how I feel about such titles, Thom. Old-fashioned, patriarchal nonsense. And I just got back from Berlin. Beautiful this time of year." He blushed, pulling away and quickly heading back to the kitchen, quickly fixing two cups of coffee. He then returned to the main store, taking a seat on the sofa beside her. "So tell me, how have you been? What's been going on since I've been gone?"

He glanced at his cup, taking a deep breath. She instantly recognized that look-

"You met someone, didn't you?" He blushed, catching her eye before returning his gaze to the coffee in his hands. "Oh, Thom, that's wonderful! Who is she?"

The was the one thing Thom couldn't get past- how Mrs. Langston could read him like a... well, like a book. Penelope Langston had been an expatriate living in Paris since the sixties, when she and her husband had moved to France to attend school; they'd loved it so much, that they'd stayed permanently. Her husband had been killed in an act of terrorism in the early nineties, leaving Penny alone in Paris, and without any family back in the States, for her last surviving child had been killed in the bombing of the trade center in ninety-three. So she had come to look on Thom as her family. And honestly, he didn't mind. It was nice to have someone else from the States in the city; someone he could turn to if he needed to.

He swallowed. "She's just... a girl." He whispered, glancing at her quickly before returning his gaze to his cup. Girl? Thom snorted internally. More like a woman. A beautiful, intoxicating woman.

Penny raised an eyebrow. "Just a girl? Well, what does this girl look like? Where is she from? Is she from Paris? Or-"

"Is... Israel." He replied, coughing lightly as he choked on his coffee.

"Israel?" He nodded. "Well, what is a girl from Israel doing in France?" A moment passed as the younger man swallowed his sip.

"She's on assignment. She... works with my cousin E. J. Well, I don't know if she works with her, but she works with the same agency; she's a liaison officer from Mossad, attached to the team. I'm not sure which team though." He slowly, met Penny's gaze as silence fell between the two.

"What's her name?"

"Ziva." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as her name fell from his lips, like the smoothest of pearls and the brightest of diamonds. The only difference was that he hadn't given a fairy, disguised as an old crone, a drink of water when she asked. He chuckled softly with a shake of his head.

"That's a beautiful name." He nodded, his gaze shifting from his companion to his coffee cup. "But?"

"But what?" He asked, quickly glancing at her.

"I know you well enough to know when you're holding back, Thom." He rolled his eyes, resting his head on his knuckles as he propped his elbow on the back of the sofa. Sighing, he set his cup on the coffee table and got up, adding another log to the fire. Minutes passed, as he watched the flames, the dancing orange, yellow and blue morphing into her dark curls, the popping fairies becoming her smile, or the sparkle in her eyes. He'd grasped at her, feeling, in those moments, as though he needed no one and nothing in the world but her- the taste of her mouth, the touch of her skin, the feel of her contracting around him, culminating in one marvelous conclusion as they reached the peak of their symphony.

A soft sigh escaped his lips. "We went on one date yesterday. And then slept together." Penny raised her eyebrows.

"Do you like her, Thom?" He turned to her, confused.

"What?"

"It's a simple question. Do you like this Ziva?" He shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess? You either do or don't."

"Look, even if I do, it's not like it can go anywhere. She's with a federal agency back in the States and I'm just a struggling author running a bookstore. This has nowhere to go, Penny. If anything, it would just be... series of one-night-stands, a fling, a fuck and I..." He returned to the sofa, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't do that type of thing."

A moment passed before Penny gently patted his cheek. "How do you know she doesn't either?"