Set in season 10ish, I guess


''Whose bright idea was it to do this at 0500?''

Ziva pulled her foot up to her backside to stretch her right quad. ''You said you wanted to get in shape.''

Tony grumbled from the step he was sat on. ''That doesn't answer my question.'' The laces on his sneakers seemed to be giving him some trouble, and his breath frosted in the morning air each time he yawned down at them. ''Did I agree to this? I don't remember agreeing to this.''

Her foot dropped to the ground with a thud. ''I have the text messages to prove it.''

''Past me is an idiot.''

''If I had known it would take you half an hour to put on your shoes, I would have made it earlier.''

Tony lifted his face up to scowl at her, and she deliberately put her hands on her hips and raised a single eyebrow in challenge. The quip she was expecting never came, though. He simply grunted and got back to the task at hand. The second set of laces were finally tied, and he got to his feet with a slight wince and a rather unpleasant pop in his knee. He looked like the last person she'd expect to see out running at this time of the morning.

Ziva tried to reel in her smirk but Tony—being Tony—spotted it, even when he was at his least functional.

''What?''

She shook her head. ''I did not say anything.''

''You were smiling,'' he pointed at her mouth, eyes narrowing. ''And thinking.''

''Oh,'' she drawled. ''So you can see me thinking now?''

His response to this was to stand up straight, at full height, and take a deep breath. His hands were on his hips and Ziva could have sworn he was sucking in his gut slightly. ''I am a very special agent,'' he bragged, although she just rolled her eyes at the bravado that she knew was false. ''I can always see when someone's thinking. It's my job.''

She chuckled at the ground as she stretched her left quad. ''Is that so?''

''Especially you.''

Admittedly, Ziva's insides warmed after she'd heard those words, because there was an implication behind them that didn't escape her. A history that had led to them knowing each other better than anyone else. She couldn't help but feel a serious pang of fondness for him then, with his scruffy morning hair and his sleepy eyes. That was probably why she was finished stretching for the time being and found herself standing barely a foot away from, smiling up at his face with a sudden urge to play.

''But can you tell what I'm thinking?'' she asked him, dropping her voice a few octaves.

Tony's eyes gave her a quick once over. ''Hmm.''

''Hmm?''

''Right now?''

She felt her smile turn from the enticing one she'd been going for initially to something more genuine. Damn Tony and his insistence on catching her out every time. ''Yes. If you are such a good agent.''

His first smile of the day made her stomach do a little flip. ''That's easy.''

''Then tell me.''

''You're thinking about me,'' he stated confidently.

And Ziva had to admit that also caught her off guard a little bit. Because maybe he could read her mind after all. She was going for playfulness to cover up the all the heart-fluttering, warmth and general affection she'd been wrestling with ever since Tony stepped out of his apartment building that morning, but maybe he could see right through that. She felt her smile drop as they stared at each other for what felt like a week. God, it was definitely too early to be thinking. Especially in his presence.

''And how good I look in these shorts,'' Tony finally added.

Ziva blew out a breath—whether in relief or disappointment, she wasn't sure—before giving him the eye-roll he'd surely been expecting. His smile was all too smug, so she reached over and patted his belly to knock him down a peg or two.

''Very special, indeed,'' she teased.

She felt him tense under her touch. ''My ego remains intact,'' he warned her.

''We will see about that after we finish my route.''

He made a half-hearted attempt to stretch his arms and roll his shoulders as she stepped away from his personal space. ''Why do I feel like we're going to end up halfway to Canada before you're satisfied?''

''I promise we will stay in DC. But it's quite scenic. You'll like it.'' She reached down to touch her toes, keeping her legs straight and choosing to not really care about the view this particular stretch gave her partner from behind her. She could feel exactly where his eyes were.

''Can't be better than this scenery.''

Ziva stood back up properly and span around to aim an unimpressed look at him. ''I see you are starting to wake up.'' She glanced down at his crotch in an effort to bait him.

He didn't fall for it. ''I think your eyes might be playing tricks on you.''

She tilted her head at him. ''Are you ready? Or would you like me to do some more stretching?''

Tony chuckled, not even bothering to look ashamed of being caught staring at her. ''Ready when you are, coach.''

''Are you sure? I would not want you tripping up over your laces.''

That earned her a bark of over-exaggerated laughter. ''I triple knotted. Like a big boy.''

She reached over to pat his cheek. ''I'm so proud.''

''For the record,'' he began, grabbing on to her wrist and leveling her with a stern look to showcase his fake-seriousness. ''I'm expecting you to buy me a huge breakfast after this. If I survive, that is.''

''OK. Deal,'' She lifted a warning finger in the air from behind his knuckles. ''If you behave yourself.''

He let go of her wrist and gave her his best attempt at a charming smile. It really didn't help get rid of all the mushy-mushy feelings she was having for him that morning, but she wasn't about to let him know that. Instead, she just raised an eyebrow again, daring him to challenge her as she'd done earlier. This time, she knew he was awake enough to fight back.

Sure enough, he did. ''Also for the record, your shorts are very tight.''

Ziva snorted, in spite of herself. ''That is not a good start.''

''What can I say? It's a welcome sight at five in the morning.''

''I am already starting to regret this.''

Tony held up his hands in surrender and apology. ''OK. OK, I'm sorry,'' he said, with enough sincerity in his voice to suggest he was keen to retain her company. ''Lead the way.''

''Of course.'' She started jogging on the spot. ''So you can stare at my ass, yes?''

''Because it's your route,'' he insisted.

She winked at him. ''Just try to keep up.''

As Ziva set off at relatively fast pace, she could hear Tony mumbling something about 'damn early birds' as he stumbled after her. It forced a smile out of her, as was often the case with so many of the things he said or did, and she realised that maybe this arrangement would end up benefiting the both of them. Even if she could definitely still feel his eyes on her butt.


There will be more chapters, containing more unrelated one-shots. I'm kind of just making it up as I go along here