Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS
2013
Ziva opened the door to her apartment, letting Tony in. Tony was carrying a large box for Ziva. It was parcel full of Ziva's favourite Israeli foods that she couldn't find in DC. She would make an order every two months. It had arrived at headquarters and Tony offered to carry it for Ziva.
'You can put on the table' said Ziva. Tony did as he was told, putting the box down and turning back to Ziva. They stood in the apartment, looking at each other, both smiling and simply happy to be in each other's presence. They both found it calming, and both felt the urge to hold the other, be in each other's arms. Something had happened over the past year, had shifted between the two of them since the bombing.
'Screw this' said Tony, under his breath. 'Ziva, do you want to have dinner?'
'Now? I am not that hungry actually.' Ziva was now busy going through her other mail.
'No, tomorrow night.' Ziva looked at Tony.
'What, like a date?'
'Yes, a date.' Tony took a deep breath. 'Ziva David, will you go on a date with me?' The smile on Ziva's face grew a little. 'Zi, don't leave me hanging here?'
'Oh, sorry.'
'Well?'
'Yes, Tony. I will have dinner with you tomorrow night.' Tony's own smile grew.
'OK. I'll pick you up at 7.30?'
Ziva nodded in agreement and closed the door after Tony left. She leaned against it, her smile not going anywhere. She was happy. There was a knock at the door. Ziva opened it and found Tony.
'Tony, what is it?'
'I forgot something.'
'What?'
Tony stepped forward and pulled Ziva towards him, kissing her. It was sweet and chaste, but held the promise of what couple happen. When Tony left (again), Ziva pulled out her phone and dialed her friend's number.
'Tara, you will never guess what just happened.'
Twenty-four hours later, Tony, wearing his nicest suit, knocked on Ziva's front door. It opened and Ziva was standing on the other side, wearing a navy blue lace dress, black heels and her curls draped over one shoulder. Ziva smiled when she saw Tony.
'Hi' she said, somewhat quietly.
'Hi' he replied. 'You look amazing.'
'Thank you.' They stood in silence.
'Oh, um, these are for you' said Tony, producing a bouquet of flowers and handing them over to Ziva.
'They are beautiful, Tony. Thank you.' Ziva went into her kitchen and put the flowers in a vase. 'What do you think?' she asked him, once she put them on a side table in her living room.
'Perfect' answered Tony, though he was more interested in the woman rather than the flowers. 'Shall we go?'
Ziva picked up her purse, locked her front door and the two of them made their way down to the street.
'Where are we going?' asked Ziva, as Tony led the way.
'It's a surprise' said Tony, grinning. Ziva chuckled.
The surprise turned out to be a little Italian restaurant called Proserpina. The maître de led them over to a table upstairs and next to the window. It looked out onto the Georgetown street down below.
What Tony and Ziva thought would be awkward between them, was actually the complete opposite. Very quickly they got into the flow of conversation, managing to not talk about work somehow. Their lives intersected with each other so much, yet there were things that neither of them knew about the other. Ziva talked about her books and Tony talked about the movies he had seen recently.
After dinner, they went for a walk. They turned a corner and found themselves in a little square. A musician had set up her stand and was playing her guitar and singing what sounded like an original song. Tony took Ziva's hand and twirled her under his arm, both of them laughing. Tony pulled Ziva towards him and they started dancing to the singing and soft guitar.
Tony wondered why on earth he had waited so long to ask out Ziva. She was beautiful, sexy, intelligent and a badass. His perfect woman in many ways. In all honesty, Tony knew why. Rule 12. It had hung over the two of them for too long.
Suddenly, Ziva let go of Tony's hand and walked away, rather hurriedly. Tony, concerned, followed.
'Ziva? Zi? Are you alright?' he asked. Ziva turned to look at him. She had a confused and worried look on her face. 'Hey, what's the matter?' Tony pushed some hair out of her face.
'I do not know how to explain it?'
'Start where it's the easiest' suggested Tony. He spotted a bench nearby. 'Come on. Let's go sit down.' He led her over to the bench.
'I am scared' began Ziva
'Scared of what?'
'What if this does not work? You and me? Tonight was probably one of the best dates I have had.' Tony grinned. 'But what if that is all this is? One really good date? I am scared to lose you as a friend because your friendship is so important to me. But my feelings for you…'
'Yes?'
'They are so strong, Tony. I have never felt like this about anyone before. When we were dancing just then, I felt… happy. Genuinely happy, for the first time a long time, and I do not want to lose that.' Ziva had found it almost overwhelming. 'What if we cannot work together? What if we ruin everything?'
Tony gave her a kind smile.
'I'm scared too' he said. Ziva looked up at him.
'Really?' Tony nodded.
'For the exact same reasons. What if this doesn't work and ruins our friendship and we can't work together anymore? I don't want that to happen. But I cannot ignore my feelings anymore, Zi. Like you, I have never felt this strongly about anyone and I can't help but think that we would regret it if we didn't at least try.'
Ziva lent forwards and kissed Tony. Tony returned it, cupping Ziva's face and pulling her slightly closer.
'You feeling better?' asked Tony, after the kiss broke. Ziva nodded. It helped to tell Tony what she was thinking and feeling. It hadn't occurred to Ziva that Tony felt the same. He was right, though. If they didn't at least try, they would regret it and Ziva had enough regret in her life.
'Let's go for a walk' suggested Ziva. She stood up and held out her hand for Tony. He stood up and took it. They ended up outside Ziva's building.
'You coming up?' asked Ziva.
'I think not' replied Tony. Ziva looked quizzical.
'Why not?'
'Because, as you said, this has been one of the best dates and I don't want to ruin it.' Ziva smiled and chuckled.
'You are a gentleman, Tony DiNozzo.'
'You're one of a kind, Ziva David' replied Tony, very quietly. He bent his head and kissed Ziva. 'I'll see you tomorrow?' he asked. Ziva nodded and waved Tony goodbye. As she climbed the stairs to her apartment, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number, grinning.
'Tara, it's Ziva. Can you talk?'
Hope you enjoyed this.
I wanted to write about Tony and Ziva's first date. In my mind, this is set in Season 10 at some point. I also gave Ziva a friend called Tara. I considered having her call Abby but changed my mind.
Thank you for reading and all you reviews. They are wonderful and make me smile.
