It's the smell that wakes him. Slowly invading his nostrils, the warm, sweet scent of Ziva's new favorite recipe - black pepper maple bacon.
Subconsciously, Tony's mouth waters and he rolls over in bed, wrinkling his face as he slowly wakes up. Tony yawns widely, jaw cracking and eyes squinted shut. He stretches his whole body and just slumps back against the pillows and sheets for a minute, waking up fully and really enjoying the way the smell of bacon is permeating the whole house. His stomach growls and that's the only motivation Tony needs to get out of bed.
He pulls a sweatshirt over his head and stuffs his feet into the sheepskin slippers Ziva had gotten him for Christmas.
("I'm not really a slipper kind of guy, Ziva."
"Yes, well I am not a listen to my husband whine about his cold feet while refusing to do anything about it kind of woman, Tony."
"...I could be a slipper kind of guy."
"That is what I thought.")
Tony follows the scent of bacon into the kitchen. He sniffs the air like a cartoon skunk following the trail of flowery perfume and stops just outside the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe when he catches sight of his girls working at the counter.
Tali, long-limbed and tall for her age, is standing at the counter, pouring chocolate chips into a large bowl. Ziva leans down to whisper something in her ear, and Tali giggles delightedly, dumping more chips into the bowl. Ziva nudges Tali's cheek with the knuckle of her index finger and moves over to the stove, smoothly sliding a baking tray covered in bacon out and deposits it onto the countertop. Tony watches as she carefully flips each piece before putting the tray back into the oven to crisp up.
It's like watching a dance, Tony thinks. The way Ziva moves around the kitchen with grace, handling Tali and the moving pieces of breakfast, is impressive.
"Do you think Daddy will be surprised?" Tali asks, her voice high and still childlike. Tony watches as she sneaks a handful of chocolate chips into her mouth.
Ziva hums. "Oh, I think so, motek. Daddy sleeps very soundly and he will probably need to be woken up, yes?"
"Yes!" Tali giggles. "Like when he fell asleep on the beach and turned red, red, red! Like a lobster!"
Tony's had enough. With teasing agitation in his voice, he pushes away from the wall and strides into the kitchen, saying, "Well, I wouldn't have been so red if someone had reminded me about sunscreen."
"Ah," Ziva grins at him, "you were so peaceful and silent when you were sleeping. I did not want to ruin my day."
He glares playfully at her and lets out a puff of air when Tali launches herself at his middle with a squeal of "Daddy!" He braces at the impact and wraps his arms around her, lifting her off of her feet and swinging her around a little.
"Tali!" he mimics her tone, laughing. "What kind of trouble are you and Ima getting up to, huh?"
"Not trouble!" Tali retorts, hands on her hips and looking scarily like Ziva. "Breakfast! It was supposed to be a surprise and breakfast in bed for you, but you woke up and ruined it all."
"Sorry, kiddo," Tony shrugs apologetically. "The bacon smelled so good, I couldn't stay away."
"Ima put the special mix on it," Tali whispers conspiratorially, her fake anger at Tony dissipating. "We were just gonna make pancakes! Chocolate chip for me and you and blueberry for Ima." She tugs on his hand, "Wanna help?"
"Of course I do," Tony replies happily, allowing Tali to drag him over to the counter by his hand. "Okay, Julia Child, what do I do first?"
Tali looks at him like he's grown a third eye in the middle of his forehead. "Daddy, my name's Tali, not Julia Child. Maybe you need to go back to bed?"
Ziva snorts a laugh and Tony chuckles. He rubs a hand over Tali's hair and smiles down at her, "I know that. She was famous for her cooking, I was making a joke."
"It wasn't very good," Tali shrugs and turns back to the counter, beginning to explain the steps for making pancakes. Tony looks helplessly over his shoulder at Ziva, who's shaking with silent laughter. When he sees her mirth, he narrows his eyes and mutters about unsupportive wives. "Daddy! Pay attention!" Tali huffs, drawing Tony's focus back to her.
"Sorry, T, I'm paying attention," he apologizes and takes the ladle that she hands him. Before he knows it, Tony's scooping batter onto the skillet, under the watchful eye of Chef Tali. Ziva leans against the counter, watching them, until she has to pull the tray of bacon out of the oven. By that point, Tony's got a stack of pancakes half a foot high and Tali is bouncing from foot to foot with excitement.
"I think we can make more pancakes later or save the batter for another day," Ziva suggests, transferring the bacon to a clean serving plate. "We do not want everything to get cold."
Tali nods her agreement and she pushes at Tony's side, "Bring the pancakes to the table, Daddy, please."
He obliges, holding the platter on one hand, like a waiter and ushers Tali to the table ahead of him. Ziva follows behind with the bacon and a pitcher of orange juice, and it's so painfully domestic and something she's wished for her entire life, that it almost hurts. They each settle into their designated chairs and Tony begins doling out pancakes, leaning over to give Ziva a kiss for each pancake he puts on her plate.
Tali giggles at them, squealing about how gross they are.
"That is more than enough, Tony," Ziva laughs, pushing at his chest when he tries to drop a fifth pancake on her plate.
"Can never have enough pancakes, Ziva," he grins, dropping one more kiss on her lips, "or kisses!"
"Squashball," she accuses affectionately, putting some bacon on Tali's plate.
Tony settles back into his see and takes a bite of bacon, saying around a mouthful, "See, I love you so much I'm not even going to correct you and tell you that the word you're looking for is 'cornball'."
Ziva rolls her eyes at him and he smiles at her over Tali's head, eyes crinkling at the corner.
He loves Sunday mornings.
a/n: okay it's sunday afternoon as i post this, but the general vibe is the same lol. i literally only wrote this because i really miss the smell of bacon and i'm glad i'm getting my sense of smell back after my little dance with covid. enjoy! :)