Author's note: Thank you so much for the reviews as always, great to see some familiar names, as well as some new ones. Sorry again about the wait, I wrote a chapter, only to suddenly feel that it needs to come later in the story instead, so now this one had to be written to move things along before I can post the next bit. There will undoubtedly be some angst coming, I don't see the transition as smooth, but for now, some fluff. Apologies in advance for the dodgy English lesson and Hebrew, I relied on Google.
Chapter Seven - Taking Care
Ziva knocked at the door of Tony's apartment. She had been home no more than 10 minutes before her phone had buzzed. Another long case had wound up, and the request for her presence was not entirely unexpected nor unwelcome, so Ziva had turned and headed out the door before her weary body gave her a chance to change her mind. Knocking again, her sharp hearing picked up the sounds of scuffling, her hand going to her hip immediately, her fingers falling around the side arm she had not had time to shed.
She tested the door, finding it locked, and knocked again, louder this time. The movement inside the apartment got louder, more frantic sounding. Silently she knelt, removing the knife she wore at her ankle and a pin from her hair and set to work. As the lock gave way beneath her trained actions, the handle turned and the door was opened from the inside, her hand flew to her side arm again, raising the knife quickly.
"Ziva!" Tony stepped back hastily on finding a knife, purely by Ziva's position, aimed at the most delicate part of his body.
"Tony!" The relief was not well hidden in Ziva's voice. "Why did you not answer me?" She sheathed the knife, accepting his hand to come to her feet. He grinned sheepishly, the apartment was in disarray, the sounds Ziva had heard being a rushed tidy up.
"Been kinda busy with the case, then I realised I should try and straighten up a bit. Hadn't counted on your crazy driving." Ziva looked around, acknowledging the apartment was a mess. "Why did you pick the lock?"
"When you did not answer, all I heard was shuffling noises. I thought you were in trouble."
"Do you ever switch those crazy Ninja senses off?" Tony queried, heaving a collection of old take out containers into a trash bag. Ziva raised her eyebrows, "I'll take that as a no."
"I was concerned Tony. What is so bad about that?" Ziva moved around the apartment finding coffee mugs and plates, abandoned mid-meal. He watched her for a second, interested that she would take to helping without a request or comment.
"Nothing Zi, good to know you've got my six. Just unsettling to think you could let yourself into my apartment whenever you want."
"What makes you think I have not already?" She smirked at him playfully. "Let me help." Having put the last of the dishes in the kitchen, she turned to Tony, taking one of the now bulging trash bags from each hand, leaving two for him. Taking the fire escape, they heaved the bags into a dumpster in the alley below.
"Planning to surprise me sometime are you?" Tony picked up the conversation as they climbed back up to the apartment. They resumed tidying, working around each other comfortably.
"Perhaps," Ziva considered briefly, a smile flitting across her face, filling Tony's mind with all kinds of fun scenarios on coming home to find Ziva already there.
"In that case I should probably just give you a spare key." Tony looked surprised as his ears registered the words. "I mean, it's good to have a spare outside the apartment." He covered quickly.
"Gibbs has mine." Ziva replied, giving him an odd look at the flustered expression, she'd missed the innuendo. She drained the sink and wiped her hands dry on a dish towel. The apartment was now reasonably clean, while the floor still needed mopping, it was no longer hazardous to sit on the sofa.
"Why Gibbs?" Tony asked, drawing her to him. She responded to the closeness, wrapping her arms around him and leaning into the embrace.
"After I... came back." Ziva chose her words carefully. "Gibbs would visit to make sure I was eating, sleeping. He did not exactly give me a choice about the matter. Either I gave him a key or he would pick the lock."
"He's good like that." Tony acknowledged, his arms came around Ziva's waist, he went to nuzzle her hair, realising it was still up in the tight braid she'd worn to work. "Did you even make it home?"
"Yes, but your message came not long after I arrived. I decided to leave before I got too comfortable to move." Tony looked apologetic. "It is no matter, I will just use your shower."
"Will you now?" Tony teased as he reached behind her to tug the elastic securing her hair, gently loosening the braid. He ran his hands through, finding a few more bobby pins, pulling them out as well. Once her hair was free, he cupped her head, raking his fingers over her scalp, she leaned her head back, sighing appreciatively.
"Yes Tony, I will." Ziva murmured, her eyes half closed, relaxing in his touch. She sounded tired, he realised more teasing would probably end in injury for him if her weariness translated to a short fuse.
"Come on then." Her eyes opened, disappointed, as he let go of her head, tugging her hands toward the bathroom instead. He threw the dirty towels in the laundry hamper, and noticed Ziva had already found clean ones and laid her weapons on the table next to 'her' side of the bed. Unbuttoning his shirt, Tony noticed Ziva sitting on the toilet, lid down, her eyebrows furrowed at a knot in the laces of her combat boots.
"Let me." He knelt before her, untangling the lace, quickly repeating the action on the other boot, he tugged them off, peeling her socks down as well. He pulled her gently to her feet, brushing a kiss to her forehead, and reached for the hem of her sweater.
"Tony I can do it myself." Ziva protested quietly, stilling his hands.
"Uh-uh Ninja." Tony shook his head. "You took care of me before, my turn to take care of you." He resumed his actions, easing the blue fabric gently over her head.
"You do not owe me Tony. You are a friend, I was just helping." Ziva yawned despite herself.
"I don't owe you, but you need help now." His voice was low, gentle. When she didn't protest again, he unbuttoned her blouse, kissing each shoulder as he pushed the material away from her skin. The shirt pooled on the floor, joined by her pants as he slid them down her hips. She wriggled out of them, using his outstretched arms for balance.
"Gibbs worked you hard hey?" Tony commented, noticing how her head drooped slightly. "You shouldn't have come if you were so tired."
"I am here now." Ziva shrugged.
"Guess my stamina is just better than yours." Tony prodded gently, pleased when she responded with an incredulous scoff. He took the time to turn the taps on, the room quickly filling with steam, and finish undressing himself.
"You napped for two hours in Abby's lab yesterday while I was making calls." Ziva reminded him.
"Oh yeah," Tony admitted with a sheepish grin. "All the more reason for me to take care of you now." He pulled her toward him again, unhooking her bra and sliding the straps down her arms. He looped his hands in the waist of her underwear and eased them down her legs gently. Standing behind her, and wrapping his arms around her waist, he used his body to guide her into the tiled recess. Ziva immediately turned her face to the spray, sighing as the warm water hit her.
"Thank you Tony." She ran her hands through her hair as water soaked it. Tony smiled, taking a bath puff, he'd taken to keeping a spare for her, and squeezing a generous amount of shower gel onto it. Holding it under the water for a second, he began rubbing it gently over her shoulders, building a thick lather quickly.
"I got it." He pulled the soapy bundle away when Ziva tried to take it. "Learn to let someone else take care of you for a change Zi. Unlike apologising it's not a sign of weakness." He worked gently down her body, taking his time, enjoying the way the beautiful woman stretched and leaned into his touch. He knelt as his hands passed down her belly and over her hips, moving down her legs, avoiding the more delicate area in the middle, unsure if the soap would irritate the sensitive flesh. She twitched slightly as he rubbed the puff over the tops of her feet, curling her toes to resist the lightly tickling sensation.
"Now would not be a good time to try and re-enact the opening scene from Carrie on me." Tony commented, working his way slowly up the back of her legs.
"What? I thought you would be quoting Psycho." Ziva glanced down at him.
"Gotta mix it up sometimes." Tony grinned, skimming his hands over the curve of her buttocks as he rose, coming to rest in the small of her back. He increased the pressure, using it both to massage her back, and pull her soapy frame against his.
"This is nice Tony." Ziva put her arms around him as he reached her shoulders, rotating them together so she was under the force of the spray so she could rinse off the lather. While she did, Tony grabbed his own sponge and scrubbed himself quickly, reaching for the shampoo before Ziva could.
"You've earned the Dinozzo Super-Deluxe Pamper Session. Turn around." He explained at her puzzled face, holding the shampoo out of reach - not that there was such a place in the small shower, but Ziva did not really fight him for it either. With a small chuckle, she complied, turning her back, and allowing him to apply shampoo through the long dark curls.
"It has been a long time since anyone washed my hair Tony." Ziva murmured, for someone who couldn't brush hair that gently, Tony sure knew how to lather shampoo, his fingers working on her scalp, lulling her into a near-catatonic state of relaxation.
"Just so you know, I draw the line at manicures." He responded and felt the tremor of Ziva's laugh against his body. "But, I'd wash your hair every night if you'd let me." He bent, scooping the hair up to place a kiss softly on her shoulder.
"I could get used to that." Ziva moved again, to rinse her hair. "Shall I do yours?"
"Nah," Tony shook his head. "It's all about you tonight." He turned her around gently to smooth conditioner through as well. A final rinse later, as the water began to cool, Tony handed Ziva a towel, and began to rub himself down briskly, Ziva, though refreshed from the shower, moved slower. Her thick curls held more water than Tony's own short hair, and he left her to it for a while, getting dressed in the bedroom and generally rummaging around.
"Hey, couldn't find your go bag anywhere." Tony tossed some of his sweatpants and a shirt at Ziva through the open bathroom door. The tighter clothes from the winter's evening that had started everything had mysteriously disappeared a while back. When questioned, Ziva had evasively murmured something about ninjas and changed the subject.
"Thank you. It is still in my car." Ziva began to get dressed, Tony disappearing again. When she emerged from the bathroom, she found him sitting up on the bed, a cup of tea steaming gently beside her gun on the bedside table, 3 or 4 DVDs laid out on the comforter. Climbing onto the bed beside Tony, she thanked him again with a sweet kiss. "You do not have to do this, really Tony. It is over the tip."
"Top." He chuckled..
"Whatever." Ziva rolled her eyes. From the kitchen, the timer on the stove beeping caught Tony's attention.
"You choose, I'll be right back." He jumped up, pointing to the DVDs. Studying the titles, Ziva sipped her tea. She set aside Titanic quickly, whatever the change between them it was not that sappy, there were a couple of romantic comedies from the early 2000s, with a smirk her eyes settled on a newer title.
"What'd you pick?" Tony returned to the room, holding a plate, seeing Ziva at the end of the room setting up the DVD. She tossed the case onto the bed for him. "No Strings Attached" Tony raised his eyebrows. "You trying to tell me something?"
"No, I like whatever... this..." she gestured between them. "feels like. It is nice to have someone take care of me without expecting anything in return. I just have not seen this movie before." She settled back on the bed, handing Tony the remote, in return he set a plate of grilled cheese on toast between them.
"It's no first class dining experience, but it was quick and easy." He offered, Ziva took a slice with a smile. They munched in silence for a while, watching the movie.
About halfway through, Ziva yawned widely, setting Tony off too. It was not especially late, but after the long hours they'd been putting in at work, a shower, snack and half a movie to unwind was all the energy left in them. Ziva moved for her hairbrush, the wild curls drove Tony crazy overnight getting in his eyes and nose, so she had taken to sleeping with her hair back.
"Can I?" He held his hand out expectantly for the brush.
"Sure" The pleased surprise was evident in Ziva's voice. Tony sat up against the headboard, spreading his legs into a wide V and patted the space between them. Obligingly, Ziva settled where he indicated, allowing them to both continue watching the movie as Tony worked on her hair. Finding a hair tie wrapped around the handle, Tony parted the dark locks into 3 parts and worked the curls into the loose plait he knew Ziva preferred for sleeping. He'd watched her often enough and knew to start low on the back of her neck so it didn't pull tight, still despite seeing it done, it was harder than he thought and it took much more time than Ziva's deft touch would have.
"Done!" He exclaimed proudly. The elastic snapped back, slamming onto his thumbnail. He cursed mildly, as Ziva reached back and felt his handiwork.
"I did not know you could do that. Thank you." She reached for his injured hand, kissing the offending digit and snuggled back into his chest, Tony automatically putting his arms around her, their hands forming an oversized fist in Ziva's lap.
"I watched you." Tony explained, as the dark head came back to rest on his shoulder.
"And you think it is unsettling to know that I can let myself in, you just watch quietly and take notes. A creeping Tom is much more unnerving is it not?" Ziva asked with a small laugh
"Peeping Tom, and yes if I was one that would be very creepy." Tony corrected, placing a kiss on Ziva's temple.
"If I wereone Tony. When the statement is untrue, you say were, not was."
"So thatyou get right but you can't use a contraction!" Tony looked shocked. Ziva laughed, snuggling into him a little deeper.
"It is easier to learn the rules by heart than to keep them at all times." She explained simply. With a resigned chuckle - after all it was not just language rules they were expected to know - and another kiss, they turned their attention back to the movie for a little.
"What?" Tony jerked awake suddenly, his head had dropped onto Ziva's, he realised she was out, sound asleep on his shoulder. A glance at the screen told him they'd slept through the rest of the DVD, the main menu now looping, although one of them had managed to get the mute button at some point. "Nighty night my Ninja." He whispered, rolling her off him and onto the bed.
"What Tony?" Ziva groaned as her head hit the pillow.
"We passed out. Just tucking you in." Tony whispered with a soft kiss to her cheek.
"Mmm... toda, ahuvi." Ziva murmured, drifting back into sleep. Tony was suddenly wide awake. Toda, he knew what that was, thank you, she'd said it often enough before, but that last part, what was that? Ziva was still asleep, he got up and returned to the lounge, switching on his laptop on the coffee table.
"Come on..." He grumbled. It took him a couple of goes to get the spelling correct, repeating the strange word to get the right sounds. Finally his search yielded some promising links, he clicked the top one and waited as the page loaded. "Wow..." Tony murmured, reading the results - thank you, my love.