I've been absent for a while, due to life stresses. However, I'm doing my best to get back on my feet. This chapter is dedicated to Elizabeth (tony-zivalove) for grounding me this week by reaching out.
Twenty-Five
He'd noticed Ziva had been missing for a little bit while the rest of them mucked around. Derek and Azriel were making dinner and him, Sarah and Ezra were outside on the couches. Ziva had disappeared almost an hour ago. He gets it, she hadn't had any alone time since her phone call at lunch. Not that she talked about it but he'd seen it in her eyes. Some space and time alone was needed. Ezra must have noticed his fidgeting when she'd been gone a while as he hinted to him to try down the end of the orchard.
He walked down between the trees, basking in the way the light slipped through the trees. It was almost sunset and the sky was slowly creeping from blue to red. He noticed that his leg had felt fine on one crutch today, but he also noticed that he still needed that little bit of support.
As he got to the end of the trees, he saw her figure sitting in the grass, looking over the hills, the ones that eventually became mountains. So, this was her spot.
"Beautiful" he whispered as he came up behind her. He knows she would have heard him coming, the crutch made it hard to be stealth. Especially around a ninja.
"It is, right?" she returned, her voice soft. He saw the way her cheeks pulled as a smile slipped across her lips.
"Oh, the view? That's beautiful too" he said. Her head was turning to him as she realised his initial comment hadn't been about the view as his eyes were nowhere but on her. He swore her cheeks coloured as her smile deepened on him. He just smiled back and very ungracefully made his way down onto the grass. Her chuckle was worth the difficult manoeuvre.
He made her accommodate for him and she easily let him when he came up behind her. His legs went either side of hers and she shuffled until her back rested against his chest. This, this was what he'd been looking forward to all day. Her, in his arms.
He brushed her curls back from her shoulder so he could nuzzle into her neck before wrapping his arms around her stomach and pulling her as close as he could. He breathed in, getting that scent that was only her and he sighed in content at the smell. Her hands were wrapping around his and she all but leant into him.
The sun was descending further down behind the mountains and the red was lighting the sky. Red sky at night, shepherds delight. This feeling right here was what life was about.
"My phone call at lunch" she began quietly "It was Ari" she said, her voice choking up just the slightest. Ari. Wow. He drifted his fingers around hers, intertwining them.
"Your brother" he whispered. She hadn't talked much about Ari, but he remembers when she first talked about him. She was very fond of him, he knows. The way he'd seen her react to the phone call made so much sense now. He felt her nod against him.
"I have not heard from him in about three years" she whispered. Three years. Three years since she'd talked to her brother. He's never had a sibling but he would suspect that for someone who adores their sibling in the way Ziva does, three years was a long time. Tony didn't have to think too hard about what had probably put that barrier between them. Eli. Mossad.
Tony pulled her closer and dropped a soft kiss to the curve of her neck. Not feeling the need to comment but just show her that he was there for her.
"He will be home in a few days" she said, her voice lighting up a little. She wriggled into him a bit more.
"That is fantastic news Ziva" he whispered against her skin. She moved a little more then and he lifted his face from her neck to see her face turning towards him, a smile gracing her lips. He could see the excitement in her eyes at the impending return of her brother.
"Yes, I am very excited. Ari and I had always been close before my father had him off on some mission" she explained. He noticed the way her face dropped a little at that comment. So, his suspicion had been right. Eli was to blame. Was there anything in Ziva's life that man didn't ruin?
He tired not to let his anger for her father bubble up too much. She needed him to the be the rock right now, to hold her close because all sorts of emotions about her brothers return must be swirling in her head and heart.
"I would like you to meet him" Ziva's voice suddenly said. Her eyes were watching him closely. For her to say that, was big. She wasn't keeping him at bay anymore, she was bringing him into the harbour. She was fighting for him and that meant letting him into the closest parts of her life. And Ari, he was obviously someone very important to her.
"I would really like that Ziva" he replied and he noticed the relief on her face. He hopes she didn't expect any other answer from him than that. Of course, he was nervous but he wouldn't skip this opportunity for anything. Ziva leant down then and her lips were pressing into his. So soft, so sweet. Her lips belonged on his he was sure of it. Forever.
"I promise I will make sure he is on his best behaviour" she assures him and they both chuckled at that. She turned to face the sunset and leant back into his chest. His fingers traced hers and he kissed that soft spot behind her ear.
"I promise to be on mine too" he'd never been big on making promises to people before but with her, it's like he would promise her the world and he would make sure he delivered. Her hands squeezed his and he found himself kissing that skin of hers again before resting his chin on her shoulder and simply gazing out into the view.
The last rays of sun beamed across the top of the hills while the shadows started to devourer more of the trees and wilderness. She was right, it was beautiful. But the woman in his arms, she was the sight he wanted everyday more than any beautiful sunset.
He couldn't tell if he was more nervous about meeting Ari because he was some badass assassin and would most likely be territorial about his only living sister or Ari's opinion of him. If this was a few years ago Tony would have worried about the first option, but with Ziva he was only worried about the latter. Because what Ziva's brother thought about him was going to be very important.
He hopes he doesn't make any stupid damn jokes.
Later, he's pretty drunk because he's happy and Azriel had feed him way too much alcohol. Sarah had decided they were going to play some drinking app game on her phone called Picolo. Things started to get interesting after that.
"Ezra, make up your mind: you have one free ticket for a Celine Dion concert. Do you give it to Derek or Azriel? This person won't get a ticket but will drink three sips to cheer them up" Sarah read the question that popped up on her screen. Ezra pondered, making it look like this was a hard decision.
"Azriel" he blurted out. Because yeah, Azriel would absolutely go to that concert, plus he wanted him to drink. They laughed as Azriel rolled his eyes and took his drinks. They were all seated outside again on the couch with the small firepit crackling away.
"Derek and Ziva must equalize their drink. The player who has the most filled glass, drink to have the same volume as your friend" Sarah read out the next challenge. Ziva put her hands up in protest after accessing the amount of beer in Derek's bottle.
"Oh, that is unfair, his is almost finished and I have a new drink!" she stated, laughing as she did. Tony threw his head back as he laughed.
"Well sweetheart you better drink up" he smiled down on her. She gave him what he suspected was meant to be a warning look but it held such adoration that she failed any kind of threat. She did as the challenge wished before laughing. She, as well as them all were very full of alcohol tonight.
"Ziva, for love, give out three sips to the player you like the most" Sarah read again. Ziva suddenly felt pink in the cheeks and Tony saw it. While everyone knew who she liked the most, the answer she would give would be entertaining.
"Well this is a hard one" she said and they all laughed. Because they knew. She turned to face him then, her smile beaming down on him. "I like Sarah the most" she stated and the laughing continued. She'd done that on purpose.
"I think Ziva should drink three times for lying" Ezra's voice was next.
"I concur on that" Derek added. She turned to face their challenges but laughed and accepted her fate. She and Sarah drunk their three sips together.
"That was harsh" Tony whispered in her ear as she took her last drink. A smile was aimed at him again. God, she hadn't stopped smiling all night.
"You know I like you most" she said, placing a hand to his cheek and leaning down to give him a soft kiss on the lips. He smiled into the kiss. Yeah, he liked her most too.
"If you were drunk yesterday, drink three times" Sarah stated. They all drunk for that one of course.
"Drink three times if you've ever used a lighter to set your fart on fire" Sarah read, pulling a grossed-out face. Tony and Derek both took drinks, laughing at each other.
"That's so gross you two" Sarah commented.
"That wasn't even the most disturbing thing that night" Derek pointed out, laughing hard at the memory.
"I don't even want to know" Sarah laughed.
"How did you not catch your butt on fire?" Ziva whispered to him. Her eyes teasing him.
"I had much less hair on my ass in those days" Tony replied, teasing her back. The very interested look Ziva gave him back at that comment lit his bones on fire. He laughed.
"If you're single, give three sips to one person" Sarah read. Tony suddenly felt his hands get sweaty around his beer and his eyes caught Ziva's. They never talked about labelling what they were doing but at the same time he didn't see himself as a single man. Not at all. And after the talks about fighting for each other, he believed this was going somewhere. He could see her thinking the same as him. Neither of them gave out any sips.
This didn't go unnoticed by everyone else and Sarah, Ezra and Azriel all picked on them because of it.
"Tony drink" Azriel stated.
"I vote Tony too" Sarah smirked.
"Hey, don't pick on me!" Tony exclaimed.
"I vote Ziva" Ezra added. They were absolutely being picked on for the fact they weren't dishing out sips. But secretly everyone was touched by that fact. Because it meant things were maybe, just maybe deeper than they all realised. Not that anyone was surprised.
They drunk their sips, smirking at each other. Tony suddenly felt his heart grow tight when Ziva's hand found his and she gave it a soft squeeze. When his eyes found hers, she was kissing him softly again. She really hadn't shied from kissing him in front of everyone tonight.
He was so in love with this woman.
Everyone had slowly made their way inside for the night and Tony didn't get all the way to Ziva's room before he decided he wanted her lips in his. He'd made it all the way to the hallway before his hands were at her hips, pressing his body into hers and tasting her mouth. The way she purred into his kiss told him she had no complaints to the action.
Then he was pinning her into the wall, because he needed to press himself into her just that much more. Because he couldn't get enough of her. His brain was blurred with alcohol and the only thing he could think about was her naked body under his. The more she had kissed him that night the more he had craved her. He would never get tired of her touch, her body. It was a wonderland.
He heard his crutch drop to the floor as he all but absorbed himself in her. One of his hands were deep in her hair, the other was pinning her hips against his. With his good leg slipping between hers he could feel the warmth radiating off her body. She was the one who pushed her tongue into his mouth, because as it seems she was just as desperate for him.
He was so lost in her he almost didn't hear someone clearing their throat from behind him. He and Ziva both turned their heads to see Derek smirking. He felt his cheeks get hot at being caught out in the moment.
"You two literally need to get a room, I really don't want to see any part of Tony naked" Derek stated with a large laugh. They laughed too. Getting a room was probably a good idea, because Tony was close to ripping both their clothes off.
Derek wondered off then, leaving them to their business and Ziva smirked at him. She bent down to pick up his crutch and his hand found a mind of its own as he gave her ass a playful slap. As she handed his crutch back to him her lips were on his, her teeth biting his lower lip. The twinkle in her eye told him she liked his hand slapping her ass. Interesting.
As he followed her drunkenly down to the bedroom, he had no idea what he was in for that night. Because drunk Ziva, she got a little kinky. When he held her close after, all sweaty with their sex, he thought to himself. He didn't think he was ever going to get bored of this woman as she had the tendency to always keep him on his toes.
He had most definitely met his match in the bedroom.
But when it comes to the matters of the heart, she kept him on his toes there too. He knows it's going to be a long time before anything feels secure with them. He doesn't exactly know what this was going to look like when he leaves in a few days. But he's not going to let her go. His heart races at the idea of them talking about what's going to happen next.
He's nervous about it. He still doesn't know what to say, how to make this work. He knows that for it to be something real, one of them is going to have to change their life considerably. Thinking about it, thinking about his friends back home he struggles with the idea of leaving that all to move halfway across the world.
But as much as he loves his friends, they didn't make him feel complete like Ziva did. There was something different about how she made him feel. He was willing to sacrifice a lot for her and it did scare him. But he guesses when someone makes you feel the way she does, is there even a second thought about it?
He knows if he moved here, he'd be happy if she was in his arms every night. He wasn't sure what he'd do for work but he's sure there would be something he could come up with. He loves working on MCRT, it's his dream gig. But life isn't always about the job. He'd loved being a beat cop in Baltimore before he'd become a detective. He'd also loved being a detective before he'd joined NCIS.
Over all his years working as a cop, he didn't love any of it as much as the woman in his arms makes him feel. He didn't realise how lonely he was until he'd met her. He knows Kate and McGee are going to laugh at him when they find out he'd fallen in love with someone. Because after all he's only ever showed them his womanizer side. But there was a lot of his mother in him, he wasn't only his father's son.
He wondered what his mother would think about Ziva and he found himself smiling. She'd love her, he's sure of it. He doesn't think about his mother much, but then again there is something about Ziva that brings something different out in him.
If this was his mother's favourite movie West Side Story, he'd absolutely be Tony and Ziva was his Maria.
He accidently stirs Ziva from her sleep when he grips her tighter at that thought and she offers a half-asleep mumble he cannot understand. He chuckles softly and curls against her back, pressing a soft kiss to her neck.
"Loving is enough" he whispers on her skin, quoting his favourite scene in his mother's favourite movie. She snuggles into him and he smiles at her. She was so adorable when she slept and just trusted him around her when she's that vulnerable.
He cannot help but think they were a lot like Tony and Maria. That they were both from opposite lives, be it they weren't in gangs but Mossad and a U.S federal agency were as different as they come. That and the feeling that they both needed to run away together and just be with each other because that would be enough.
He'd also put his life on the line for her already and had been shot just like Tony had in the movie. And maybe it was fate that he survived and Tony didn't in the film. Maybe, just maybe, he and Ziva were meant to be.