Disclaimer: This chapter contains LEGO (as trademarked), which is manufactured by Denmark-based company the Lego Group. For simplicity's sake, subsequent mentions of this product I have written as "Lego," but regardless, I do not own Lego or any other creations by the Lego Group. I only buy their merchandise *wicked laughter*.
Enjoy!
-Soph
Day Twenty-Three
"Do you think there are any Japanese gardens in DC?" she asks him as they stroll through the Normandale Japanese Garden.
"I don't know." He scrunches up his face. "You'd think I'd know, seeing as I've lived in DC for like what, eleven years? But I've never gone looking for one."
"What do you look for?" It's her turn to scrunch up her face. "It has just occurred to me that we have lived in the District of Columbia for years, but we do not know what tourist spots there are in it. At least, I do not know. I have not been to many of them."
"Yeah, neither have I," he admits. "Y'know, maybe we should have a Team's Day Out."
She raises her eyebrows. "A day out? With the team?"
"Why not?" He shrugs. "Imagine Gibbs with the huge camera and an oversized T-shirt."
She snorts. "That would never happen. It would be … amusing to see Abby as a tourist, though."
"I have a feeling she'd go looking for voodoo museums or something just as … unusual." He sits down on the grass, tugging on her hand until she sits down beside him. "Maybe we'll just keep this to the two of us."
"Voodoo museums can be interesting."
"You've been in one?"
"No, but now I think I would like to."
He wrinkles his nose, but says nothing. In the moment of stillness she feels his arm come around her waist; she leans against him and tries to get used to it all because despite everything, this is still the one action that makes her heart race. Perhaps she is wrong, but she can't help thinking that this, more than everything else, speaks volumes about how far they've come.
"Okay, would you like a wedding held here?" he breaks the silence by asking. She splutters and lifts her head to look at him in incredulity.
"Are you asking?"
"No … not yet." He pauses. "Sorry, I was just doing recon."
"Recon?" she echoes in disbelief.
"Well…" He twitches a little, looking as if he's just realized his mistake. She shakes her head and pats his cheek, feeling strongly tempted to tell him not to take for granted that she will agree to marry him.
She kind of likes that he thinks it a possibility, though, so she just advises, "You can worry about it further down the line. Besides, we do not know if this garden will be taken if and when we want to get married, yes?"
"Yeah." He grimaces. "Sorry."
"You do not need to rush things," she tells him quietly.
"I know." He shuts his eyes, shaking his own head and muttering, "I'm trying not to."
She stares at him for a few long moments before resting her head back onto his shoulder. "It is okay. If it gets to be that bad, I will just muzzle you."
That draws a chuckle out of him. "Trust you to know how to keep my impulses under control."
She smirks. "I have had years to learn."
xoxo
She steals his bread at lunch.
He looks at her in astonishment for a full second before breaking into a huge grin and stealing an entire half of her fish. She pretends to be cross, but she's secretly thankful that in a way, they are rediscovering the playfulness between them which has been lost for years.
A moment's reflection tells her that this trip has brought them together in more ways than one, and that she will miss it when it is over. She is glad to have something to bring home at the end of it: She enjoys getting to know the Tony DiNozzo that exists beneath the layers of bravado and false cheer and fierce insistence on being the one who keeps everything together.
xoxo
"Do you want to go in?" she asks as he eyes the banner to the Diana: A Celebration exhibit in the mall longingly, and his attention snaps back to her.
He frowns. "I thought we're here so you can visit the Lego Store."
"The Lego Store closes at nine-thirty. Besides, I am not a child. I can live with never having touched Lego."
"No, you can't!" he exclaims with indignation that is almost Abby-worthy. "Whose life is complete without having been exposed to Lego at least once?"
She rolls her eyes impatiently and repeats, "Do you want to go in, Tony?"
He shrugs and answers sheepishly, "It's too expensive."
"How much is it?"
"Twenty bucks or so per adult."
"I have the money." She furrows her brows. "You do not?"
"I do, but think of how many five-dollar attractions we could visit if we skipped this."
"You want to visit this, yes?"
"It's Princess Diana…" He bounces on the balls of his feet and then grabs her elbow. "Never mind. Let's go to the Lego Store. Look, giant robot!"
She ignores the gigantic robot made of Lego bricks and towering above their heads that he's pointing to. "I can pay for your ticket."
He sighs and lowers his hand. "I'm not a charity case."
"Neither am I. But you brought me on this trip and paid for the RV rental and parks, and, I might add, have yet to collect."
"Well, I mean, I was only doing what I could to cheer you up."
"And I am doing what I can to make you happy. This is not charity, Tony. It would give me as much pleasure to see you smile as you would gain from doing something you like."
He ponders that seriously for a while before finally nodding. "Okay."
She lets him draw her in for a quick kiss to her hair in thanks, and then leads him towards the escalators. "I'm still going to pay you back when we return to DC, by the way."
"Y'know, you don't have to." He leans against the escalator's hand-rest as they ascend to the next floor. "Could let me be the gentleman that covers all expenses."
"You could always buy me flowers with the money I'm going to repay you."
"You're such a feminist."
She laughs and jerks her head at the top of the escalator. "Only because I'm a working woman. Watch your step."
xoxo
They do get to spend an hour and a half in the Lego Store in the end, and she learns two things about the little multi-coloured plastic bricks in relation to herself: One, that she hasn't the patience to take on any major endeavour using Lego bricks; and two, that she's going to subject her own children to the torture of building things out of Lego, since it appears almost to be a rite of passage.
She is rather enthralled by the already-assembled Lego objects, however (as he notes with glee), and so spends most of her time studying them. She wonders if perhaps, in a different world, she would've loved the way the pieces fit together to form things which could almost be considered works of art.
In the end, she buys a keychain of a tiny Lego City Policeman. Brown-haired and standing tall with an intimidating frown on his face, she thinks the Minifigure would look like her partner in the interrogation room if it weren't for the figure's yellow skin. She doesn't share this thought. She does, however, express her surprise at her partner's lack of teasing over the fact that she's just bought something meant for six-year-olds, but he merely shrugs and says that there shall be no teasing if he does not see it hanging from her work backpack.
She finds that she really loves this side of him.
A/N:
The Normandale Japanese Garden is a two-acre (eight-thousand-square-metre) strolling garden with a lagoon, a waterfall, a koi pond, handcrafted bridges, and manicured trees and shrubs. It is situated in the Normandale Community College, but is open to the public year-round at no charge, and may be reserved for special events (like weddings). Website: www(dot)normandale(dot)edu/japanesegarden/index(dot)cfm
The Mall of America is a … well, a mall, in Bloomington, Minnesota. From February 4 to June 10 of this year, it will be hosting Diana: A Celebration, whichis an exhibition celebrating the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. Exhibits include Diana's royal wedding gown, family heirlooms, and personal mementos. The MOA is also home to a Lego store with a robot that is thirty-four feet (ten metres) tall. Website: www(dot)mallofamerica(dot)com
I have a Lego Minifigure of Hermione Granger from Harry Potter :D my elder sister gave it to me. Just so you know!
Thank you for reading!
-Soph