Hopefully one more chapter if I get the time to finish it today. Enjoy.
Hundan.
For the first time in a very long time Tony was out with his buddies. When Pete had called and asked him to come along with the guys to watch the football game down at the bar, like good old times, Tony had loved the idea. Of course he had hesitated a little at it though, he thought that the need to ask Ziva first was something he should do. She'd laughed at him a little at his thought to ask her, and she'd told him he never had to ask her if he could hang out with his friends, she was always fine with it. She was actually very happy to hear him reconnecting with his friends for the first time in the last few months. He'd been spending pretty much all of his time with her and the kids lately. He deserved a break. To let loose a little.
So here Tony now sat, happy in the company of a few good mates, Pete, Matt, Logan, and he had also asked Josh to come along, which Josh had happily accepted. Pete was also a friend from Baltimore so he knew Josh as well and Matt knew them both through his years with Tony, Tony has been friends with Matt since college. And Logan hadn't known Josh before now, but he did now, and they were getting along great. Tony was sporting his Ohio State hoddie in faith to his Buckeyes –who were winning at present if he may add- and he felt good to be back with the boys. Sure Ziva would be just like one of the guys sometimes, but sometimes you just need that testosterone filling the air. It was a guy thing.
And his second beer tasted just as good as the first.
"So Pete, how's the wife?" Tony asked, still keeping a watchful eye on the game while he brought up the conversation.
"Still the same, and still wanting kids" Pete said with a chuckle. He and Tony used to agree on the fact that they didn't really want kids, but now that Tony had had them (so to speak) he felt the need to let Pete in on the fact of just how wonderful it is.
"You know Pete, kids aren't all that bad" Tony replied. Pete raised his eyebrows at Tony. Tony used to never want kids.
"Don't tell me you got some woman knocked up and now you are stuck with having a kid and you are just thinking kids are a good thing?" Pete asked. If Tony was having a kid, he would have told him right? It had been 9 months since they'd seen each other, but still it wasn't something you kept from your best friends.
"No" Tony laughed "I didn't get anyone knocked up. I just, I know what it's like to live with kids" Tony admitted. Josh was the only one that knew a little about his situation. But that was only brief.
"Are you dating someone who has kids?" Matt then asked before Pete could. Matt himself had one kid, a seven year old daughter with his wife. And Tony was good with his kid, but it wasn't like he would think Tony would ever get committed to having a kid around all the time.
"Ah, yeah, pretty much" Tony replied, smiling at the thought of those kids. He watched as Logan, Matt and Pete stared at him, they really didn't believe what they were hearing.
"So who is it you are dating? She must be pretty hot for you to date her if she has kids" Logan said. Tony chuckled a little, Ziva was so much more than just hot. And Matt, Logan and Pete all knew well who Ziva was, Tony talked about her enough over the years. So when he told them, it would probably be a bit of a shock.
"Well ah, you know her" Tony began. All three of them were looking at him, slightly confused. Tony didn't have many female friends that have been around for very long, ones that they know.
"We do?" Pete asked, trying to think of who it may be. He wasn't getting any ideas.
"Yeah, but Matt is the only one who has actually met her" Tony replied. Matt thought for a minute, then a few things clicked into place. Only two of Tony females friends Matt had met, one of which Tony treated like a sister and wasn't really his type, no matter how happy and nice the Goth was. And the other is the woman he had obsessively talked about over the years, and Matt has been fully convinced Tony has deep feelings for her.
"Don't tell me, you two finally got together after all these years?" Matt asked. God, Ziva was a woman of beauty, but all had failed for Matt that one time many, many years ago he tried flirting with her. Ziva was a hard shell to crack, but Tony seemed to crack it very well from the little he had seen of the two together.
"Who two? Who is he talking about?" Logan then asked.
"Tony and Ziva" Matt blurted out. He didn't need the spoken confirmation from Tony to realize it was her he was dating, he could tell just by the smile on his face.
"You mean your partner Ziva? The hot ass kicking one that you can never stop talking about?" Pete asked, he was not expecting that.
"No, his mail man named Ziva, of course his partner Ziva" Matt said, pulling a face at Pete. Tony chuckled as Pete smacked Matt on the arm.
"Wait, but Ziva doesn't have kids does she?" Logan then asked, realizing something else. They all watched Tony, waiting for the answer.
"Yes, Ziva and I are dating, and no Ziva hasn't had kids herself, but she does have kids, if that makes any sense. It's complicated" Tony explained.
"So she didn't give birth to these kids, she adopted them or something?" Pete asked, trying to make sense of all of this.
"Yeah, something like that. They're her godchildren, and when her best friend past away, she got custody" he said. All the men understood, being in law enforcement you deal a lot with those sorts of things, custody, and even though Matt hadn't been in law enforcement, he's got a lot of close buddies that he's been around long enough to know what goes down.
"And so you and Ziva?" Logan said, not asking anything but insinuating a lot. Tony chuckled.
"Yeah, Ziva and I, what about it?" Tony said. A smile adorning his face.
"What about it? Are you kidding, you have been trailing behind that woman like a lost puppy for the past, how many years?" Pete asked, they had been playing their 'I don't have feelings for my partner' game for far too long.
"Seven years" Tony said, not even having to count. He just knew how long it had been. He didn't even deny what Pete had said about him being a lost puppy following behind her all these years. He sort of had been on an occasion.
"I still cannot believe you waited seven years to sleep with her, she's hot" Matt stated. He'd seen her, and he didn't think he could work and grow close to a woman like that for seven years, and not at least try once in the first two years.
"Um…well I sort of haven't slept with her yet" Tony replied. Know exactly what Matt was meaning by slept.
"What?" Matt asked. He couldn't really believe that, not from Tony. Not after his history.
"How long have you been going out with her, and you haven't slept with her yet?" Logan asked. They all knew what Tony was like with women. So if had only been a week, there would be an acceptable explanation. But if longer, Logan would wonder what has happened to Tony's way with women.
"Well, I think it is around about something like three months, I don't remember when it really started" Tony said with a small shrug. To be honest he didn't remember, but he knew it was the best time in his life, however long it had been.
"Something like three months, and you haven't yet?" Pete asked incredulously. Right now Tony was losing his reputation with women. But he didn't really mind, because he liked the man he was today, no matter what his friends thought about it.
"Na, you know, it's not that we don't want to or anything, it's just complicated" Tony said. He didn't know how he was meant to explain this.
"How is it complicated? It's just sex" Logan said. Logan was the only one of them still single, but then again he was the youngest.
"We just haven't had the time" Tony said. And they hadn't, not alone anyways.
"The time? Three months is a lot of time" Josh joined in, he had just been listening in most the time for this conversation. Matt seemed to get something, something he understood about Tony's answer.
"You guys don't have kids, it's hard to find time with them around" Matt stated. And the look on Tony's face told Matt that he had got it right, that that's the reason. Because he knows Tony isn't like he used to be, he's changed, but still, three months was a long time. Tony wasn't that changed.
"Can't you just send them to a friend's house or something?" Pete asked.
"One is three years old, it's hard to just send him to a friend's house" Tony said with a smile at the thought of Caleb. Matt noticed, but he didn't say anything. All these years and all it took for Tony to change his mind on kids, was to have him take care of kids with a bit of permanency behind it.
"How old is the other one?" Logan asked. Tony was glad the whole sex conversation thing had passed.
"Fifteen" Tony replied, smiling again at the thought of Maxi this time. Those kids made him so happy.
"Fifteen, like a teenager? And a toddler?" Pete asked. That was a lot to handle, it was the two hardest ages.
"Yeah, they are good kids, really good kids" Tony replied. Still smiling. All the guys seemed to notice this, how happy it made Tony just speaking of these two kids. Tony had changed, and that was obvious. It was a good thing, a great thing. And Matt really liked this change, and how much Tony's opinion on kids had changed. Because ever since Matt had his girl, he'd realized just how fantastic kids were. And that a lot, especially this group of friends, had been missing out on how great it was.
"It's good to see you happy" Pete said. It had been a long time since he'd seen Tony just this happy. It was like he was glowing. If this is what kids did to him, maybe he would really think about considering finally having a child of his own. Maybe it would be good for him, it seemed to be great for Tony.
Even though their little conversation had stolen the attention away from the game for a minute, not much was missed. But now as it continued the opposing team was starting to catch up to Ohio. The tension in the bar was starting to rise and a few more beers were beginning to be passed around, it was great. And Tony had missed this cheering, barbaric excitement over sports with his buddies.
Ohio just scored another touchdown and just over half of the bar cheered with excitement. Matt called out to the barkeep for another round for their table. The night was only just beginning.
Ohio winning had only brought the boys in a more celebratory mood, and Tony was feeling great. It had been a while since he'd been drunk like he is tonight, and he was feeling like superman. It was great. Logan had disappear to the corner of the bar with some blonde he had picked up and charmed, Pete was at a table a few over, having a big discussion about the game with a few random guys there, and he Josh and Matt sat at their table, emptying the last of the jug in the middle of their table. And they had only just got the newly full jug a minute ago.
"So I feel left out here on the table, you need to show me what this new partner of yours looks like, cause' Matt knows and all this discussioning about her and not knowing a face to a name" Josh said, slurring a little in his words. Matt barked with a laugh.
"Josh, discussioning is not a word, I think the beer has gone to your head" Matt said, and Tony was chuckling in his seat now too.
"Still, you get what I mean" Josh said waving his hands in dismissal.
"Okay, okay, I think it is only fair" Tony smiled as he dug his phone out of his pocket. He squinted his eyes at the screen, it was a little bright for his slightly blurry eyes in the dim lit bar. He scrolled through a few pictures until he found on of Ziva. He'd taken it of her when they were out at the park one afternoon as she sat under a tree in the shade and she was smiling warmly at him, and Caleb had snuck himself into the photo too, pulling a cheeky grin.
He handed the phone over to Josh and he squinted his eyes much the same as Tony did.
"Wow, she's… wow. How did you manage to charm her?" Josh asked with a smiled, he'd known who the little boy was. Before Tony got back his phone Matt grabbed it and had a look himself.
"Well it wasn't easy" Tony said with a chuckle, and Matt chuckled too at Tony's comment.
"Of course it wasn't easy, she was Mossad, she didn't take your crap like every other woman did" Matt said, putting his opinion into the mix, and Tony had to admit it was pretty accurate.
"Wait, she was Mossad?" Josh asked wide eyed.
"Oh yeah, she was one hell of a ninja minx assassin back in the day" Tony said, grinning from ear to ear. He would always smile at the thought of how she used to be. He had very fond memories with Ziva years ago when she first came to America. He also had some very fond memories of her now too. Most memories involving Ziva were fond, and he loved who she used to be and who she now was.
"You fell for an assassin?" Josh asked. He was still flabbergasted by this knowledge. He didn't know why, but the one woman to set him straight, had been an assassin. Well, when he thinks about it, it makes a lot of sense.
"Because she was the one woman he couldn't have, and the only woman that had ever intimidated him" Matt blurted out. And yeah, Matt remembered everything Tony told him. No matter how drunk they had been.
"Makes sense" Josh smiled.
"Hey, I thought you were asking me this question, not Matt" Tony said jokingly as he gave Josh a playful punch to the shoulder. Josh smacked him one back.
"Hey you two, no fighting. Now tell me this Mr BabyDaddy, is this the youngest one of Ziva's kids?" Matt asked, pointing at the little boy grinning in the photo.
"Sure is, that's Caleb. He thinks I'm Batman, and he's pretty smart" Tony grinned. Matt and Josh burst into laughter.
"Okay, I think we need more beer now for me to believe that" Matt laughed before signaling the barkeep again.
"I think you are just trying to get me wasted" Tony accused pointing a finger in his good friend's direction. But the smirk on his face said his accusation was in no way serious or threatening.
"Never" Matt replied, obviously lying with that smirk also on his face.
"Since when did you care about getting wasted Tony?" Josh asked, tipping back the last of his beer.
"Since I live with kids" Tony blurted out.
"So you live with your partner and her kids do you?" Josh asked, then he turned to Matt "This is getting pretty serious by the sounds of things" he whispered to Matt, however it was loud enough for Tony to hear. Josh was intending on Tony hearing anyways.
"Oh shut up you two, just because I am a little serious compared to how I used to, doesn't mean you can pick on me for it" Tony said, laughing a little. He didn't even know why he was laughing.
"A little, oh come off it, it's more than a little" Matt poked his fun. They all laughed this time. And then the barkeep arrived with a new full jug for the table, making the boys even happier.
"Where's my phone?" Tony asked, confused and slurring his words a little. Matt burst into laughter.
"I don't know" he replied. Somehow in his drunken mind he thought Tony not being able to find his phone absolutely hilarious.
"Matt this isn't funny, what if Bossy man calls with a case?" Tony stated. Matt was stuck with the giggles.
"Tony you are far too drunk to be working, he would just kick your ass home" Matt chuckled.
"I will be the discussion picker on how drunk I am" Tony stated, waving his finger at Matt.
"Picker?" Matt laughed.
"I found it!" Tony cheered as he found his phone under one of the napkins on the table.
"High-five!" Matt replied and he and Tony shared a big high-five, even though they spilt a beer in the process, the high-five was successful. Matt and Tony were the only two left, Josh's wife had picked him up and Pete had taxied home. Logan, he had taken the blonde home when he'd disappeared a little earlier.
"How are you getting home?" Tony asked Matt. Matt shrugged.
"Was gonna taxi I guess" he said. Tony waved his hand.
"I am sure Zee-vah can drop you off on our way homey" Tony said "But I will have to confirm my offer with the mistress herself first" Tony smiled. Earlier Ziva had said that she would pick him up anytime he needed. And Tony looked down at his phone, 2am wasn't too bad for a Friday night. He hoped.
"Sweet dude" Matt said.
"Don't call me dude" Tony said, giving him a stern look. Matt smirked.
"What's your problem with dude, dude?" Matt laughed.
"I don't like being called a camel's penis" Tony said, bursting into laughter. Matt followed in his lead.
"Seriously? That's what it means?" Matt chuckled out.
"Yeah, that or the hair on the butt of an elephant" Tony laughed.
"Man Tony, you have far too much time on your hands sometimes" Matt said.
"Hey, to be fair I learnt this like years ago!" Tony protested.
"Tony?" Matt asked.
"Yeah?" Tony said leaning in, feeling like Matt had something important to tell him.
"Call your girlfriend already" Matt stated. Tony just pulled a face at Matt before picking up his phone and calling Ziva. It rang two times before she answered.
"Hey" she answered softly. Tony's face split with a smile at the sound of her voice.
"Hey beautiful" Tony said. And Ziva didn't miss the slur in his voice. She chuckled lightly.
"You sound very happy, have you been enjoying some beer?" she asked. She heard Tony giggle a little over the phone.
"Mayyyybbbee" he mumbled. Yes, it seems as though he had been. She smiled, it was good, he had enjoyed himself by the sounds of things.
"You ready to come home?" she asked, this would be the reason for his call, she had promised after all.
"Yes please. Oh and um, can we take Matty home too?" Tony asked. If she could see him right now she knew he would be attempting the drunken puppy dog eyes.
"Yes, of course we can take Matt home too" she replied. She heard him tell Matt and Matt tried calling out into the phone, saying something which Ziva didn't really catch.
"Thanks Zi" he said a little more quietly. Matt was watching him trying to be all personal conversational with Ziva, Matt thought it was sweet.
"I'll be there soon" she replied. She already knew what bar they were at tonight. Tony smiled and closed his phone. He really loved Ziva, she would do anything for him, like come down to a bar in the middle of the night to pick him and his friend up in their drunken state.
"Zee-vah" Tony cheered as she walked up to their table in the bar. He stood from his chair and quickly wrapped her up in a big hug. She chuckled and hugged him right back. Yes, he was going to be a touchy-feely drunk tonight, she could tell already.
"Tony" she smiled as she pulled back, then she turned to Matt.
"And hello Matt, it's been far too long" she said as she walked over to him and gave him a friendly hug. He appreciated the gesture.
"It has Ziva, far too long considering you two have now hooked up" Matt stated, sending a wink her way. Ziva chuckled again, so the secret was out to Tony's friends. Tony reached out and smacked Matt in the arm.
"Hey, what was that for?" Matt asked. Tony just poked his tongue out at Matt in a juvenile action.
"Okay boys, I think it is time I get you both home" Ziva interrupted. They both smiled at her and nodded their heads, and Tony decided to sling his arm around her shoulders. Again, she was chuckling softly. This was only going to get more and more interesting.
When she got them out to the car, trying to get them in the car was the tricky part.
"No, Matt, you need to duck your head, you are going to-" Ziva stopped short when Matt smacked his head on the edge of her car as he tried to climb in. She tried not to laugh but it bubbled out of her anyways. She reached out and held his head, pushing it down under the door as she sat him in the backseat. He smiled at her when she reached over and put his seatbelt on for him.
"Wow Ziva, you have really become domestic" he smiled. She chuckled down at him before patting him lightly on the shoulder.
"You're seeing things" she said with a grin. He laughed in reply.
"Now, no spewing in my car, because no matter how domestic I have become, I can still kill you as easy as I used to" she stated, making him stop laughing. She wasn't really serious, but his drunken mind had processed it as her being serious. And again she was laughing, she gave his cheek a little pat before closing the door. Looking to the front passenger seat of the car, Tony was already there and smiling at her, showing how smart he was to get himself into his seat without the need of her help. She smiled at him and walked around the car and got into the drivers seat.
All the way to Matt's house Matt and Tony were talking about the weirdest things, half of what they were saying wasn't making sense. Ziva sort of began to shut off, because she was having a hard time paying attention to it. However it did make her laugh many times over. She pulled up outside of Matt's house, Tony had remembered the address, Matt hadn't.
"So you want help getting inside?" Ziva asked, looking back at Matt in the backseat. He shook his head.
"Na I think I should be alright" he said unbuckling himself, and slowly getting out of the car. Ziva opened Tony's window and once Matt closed his door he leant in Tony's window.
"Thanks for the ride Ziva, you are the best. Take care of my boy" he smiled as he tapped Tony's chest.
"You are welcome, you take care of yourself" Ziva smiled. Matt gave a wave and told Tony he would catch him later before slowly and very off balance, he walked his way down to his front door. Tony and Ziva watched him make his way there, almost falling over a few times, but he eventually made it to his door and walked inside. When he was safely inside Tony and Ziva headed off home.
On the way to her apartment Tony was telling Ziva all about the game and how great it had been, highlighting the awesomeness of it with his enthusiasm as he explained. Ziva found that she couldn't stop smiling ever since she picked him up.
He tripped over halfway up the stairs to her apartment and so she slipped her arm around his waist to keep him on his feet the rest of the way there. And she felt his hand wrap its way around her also, but it went lower, slipping down and his hand grabbed a handful of her bottom. She chuckled and moved his hand up higher. He was very hands on when he was drunk, he always had been, but not as much as now. Maybe that was because they were in a relationship now and he knew he was allowed to touch her like this.
"I don't remember your apartment being up this many stairs" he slurred his words, leaning heavily on her as she looked for her key, he was very distracting right now as he stood behind her, pressing his chest to her back as he ran his hands up and down her sides.
"That's because you are drunk Tony" she said, chuckling lightly when she felt his lips press into the side of her neck. All he did was hum in reply to her statement, then it was followed by a groan when she opened the door and stepped away from his embrace.
"Zee-vah" he complained, stumbling a few feet behind her, trying to get her back in his hands. She chuckled slightly at him as she placed her keys on the bench. She turned around to look at him when he stepped on one of Caleb's toys and fell to the ground with a loud thump.
"Oww" he mumbled as he lay face down on the floor. Ziva smiled and shook her head as she went over and started to help lift him off the floor. As she did Maxi appeared at the end of the hallway and stared at them.
"Is he okay?" she asked, a little concerned and a little confused. She had been awake when she heard the noise, because Ziva had woken her up a little earlier to let her know she was going to pick Tony up, and for her to watch out for Caleb (even though he was asleep).
"Yeah he's fine" Ziva chuckled, she had managed to sit him up.
"No I'm not, I think I broke my face bone, dial the nine and the one and wait for me to tell you before dialing the last one" he said, he brought his hand to his face and pressed on his forehead "Okay, dial the last one, I think I need an emergency operation on my face ASAP" Tony said. Maxi watched on, and all she could do was laugh. Tony was very obviously drunk right now, and she'd never seen him like that before. It was very entertaining. Wait until she told Dean about this. Ziva brought her hand up to the side of his face softly and made him look at her.
"Tony you are fine, you face is fine, we do not need to call the ambulance" Ziva explained, even though she would normally find this a little annoying, she was finding it very adorable right now. Tony's face softened.
"Is my face still beautiful?" he asked, serious. Maxi was trying to stifle her laughter. Ziva brushed her hand into the side of his hair.
"Yes Tony, you are still beautiful" she said and his face lit up with a smile at her answer "But come on now, lets get you off the floor and to bed" Ziva added as she lifted him, and he stood on wobbly feet. His hands went to her hips and pulled her closer, he was still tempted to have a piece of her tonight in his drunken state, which continued to make her chuckle. She knew as soon as she had his back laying down on the bed he would be out cold, it always was that easy when he was this drunk.
"But before bed, can we make out a little?" he asked in what he thought was a whisper, but was actually quite loud.
"Tony!" she said, slapping his chest lightly. He pulled a face at her, he didn't know why he was in trouble for asking that. "Maxi is standing right behind you" Ziva pointed out. His eyes went wide and he went a little confused. He turned around and saw Maxi looking at him, she was a little shocked at his bluntness to ask Ziva to make out like that, right in front of her. Given, he was drunk, but it was still a little shocking.
"Maxi, when did you get here? You are a little young for this partaaay aren't you?" he said. Maxi burst into laughter, Tony was off his rocker. Tony was confused again, this time at why Maxi was laughing.
"Come on Tony, lets get you to bed" Ziva said as she began pushing him towards the bedroom. She smiled at Maxi and gave a small eye roll in Tony's direction, which made Maxi smile more. Tony was a very entertaining drunk.
When Ziva placed Tony on the bed he'd pulled her down on top of him, she'd laughed softly as his attempt.
"You need to sleep" she said, running her hands into the sides of his hair.
"In a minute…" Tony mumbled, his eyes slowly flickering closed. Ziva's hands were doing well at relaxing him. When she moved to get off him his hands clamped down on her hips.
"Don't go" he asked, eyes half closed.
"I will be right back, I am just going to check on the kids and lock up for the night" she whispered, placing a soft kiss to his lips.
"Okay" he said as he let her go and she climbed off of him.
"Zee-vah?" he said, just before she walked out the door. She stopped in the doorway and looked across to him.
"Yes Tony?" she replied.
"Thank you for picking me and Mattosaurus up tonight" he mumbled, his eyes closed. She chuckled lightly at the way he'd made Matt into some sort of dinosaur name, and just him in general.
"You are welcome my sweet little T-Rex" she replied, grinning away. She heard him chuckle softly before he fell silent. After checking on Caleb and laughing a little with Maxi and saying goodnight to the younger girl, Ziva retired to bed for the night. And no matter how worse Tony's snoring got when he was this drunk, she would sleep next to it every night if she had to. Because she loved him that much, and because secretly she knew she was a snorer herself when she'd hit the bottle as much as he had.
No matter how much they had complained and accused each other of snoring in the past, they both never actually minded it that much. It was just all part of that cat and mouse game they used to play so well. Personally, she liked the game they played now a lot better. She laughed to herself in the darkness of hers and Tony's bedroom, it reminds her of that game Tony once showed her many years ago after his persistence to show her when he found out she had never played before. LIFE.
And so far this game of life, all she was doing was winning. Because her life couldn't get any better right now.