A/N: Last time I updated this, I received almost 30 reviews in a 24 hour period. That's a record. No words can express my reaction. You guys really are amazing. And for all of you who reviewed and expressed your appreciation and love for this collection but hadn't reviewed before (or don't review much), I only have one thing to say. And this goes to those who haven't reviewed at all. Reviews are wonderfully amazing, but they aren't everything. The almost 23,000 hits to Catch Phrase speak for themselves. Right here, right now, I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read collection, whether it's one chapter or all 35 of them. I may never hear from you, but knowing that you are reading means just as much. So THANK YOU guys!

xox Ash

I have two chapters for you tonight, if not more. Here's the first one.

Disclaimer: I can only take credit for my ideas, not the show.

Tony: You and me, McGee, we're done.

McGee: No problem here.

Ziva: You know what, you two? I have actually heard of this. You two are having a seven-year bitch.

Tony: Itch. And yes we are.

Ziva: You two are like a married couple.

7x19 Guilty Pleasures

Bromance

A seven-year itch or, in Ziva David's twilight zone of American idioms, a seven-year bitch. Either way you word it, it was acceptable not juvenile; all good relationships have one, or two, or three, and so on. It's that point when you have long since kissed the honeymoon stage goodbye, yet you find yourself craving to have it back. The pranks have lost their luster, the conversations have turned stale, and those little personal quirks have become irritating. Everything that has become natural, cute and common place irks you in every way imaginable.

And once it comes to a head, everything goes to hell. You fight and bicker more than usual, and unusually. Another man catches your eye, and you decide to explore the possibilities. It goes well until you realize it's the complete opposite of what you really want. So you go back and amends are made, each side giving in a little; not much slack, but it's enough to get back on track.

Because you understand that his incessant love for Nutter Butters and his habitual tendency to puff on his coffee is actually endearing. Because you realize that the nicknames mean something, to him and to you, and that being his geeky wing-man really is all it's cracked up to be.

One team. Partners. Friends. Brothers.

It finally dawns of you that you're not one without the other. And that's how it should be.