Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.
Tony watched Ziva as she slept on the sofa in her apartment. It was late, or rather early, depending on how you looked at it. Tony, Tim and Ziva had handed in their resignation hours earlier, and were technically jobless. Tim decided to go and see his girlfriend, Delilah, leaving Ziva and Tony to decide what to do. It was Ziva who decided for them.
'Come home with me' she said quietly. She had sounded exhausted, and a short while later, had fallen asleep.
Parson's investigation had taken its toll in Ziva. She had spent the past few months dealing with grief and guilt. Grief surrounding her father, and guilty for the death of Jackie Vance. Even though Bodnar had been arrested and was about to stand trial for his actions, Ziva felt that Gibbs should not have taken the blame for her actions, or anyone else's and was angry at him for not trying to fight Parsons.
After their brief conversation outside Gibbs' cabin earlier that day, Tony was worried about their blossoming romance. It seemed to be derailing before it even got started. He had wanted to kiss her then and there, but did not want Gibbs or Tim to witness it. Both he and Ziva wanted to keep this new part of their relationship private for now.
Ziva shifted on the sofa and opened her eyes. Tony was still sitting where he was the last time she looked. His presence was comforting to her and made Ziva smile. Tony saw that she was awake.
'Hey, you OK?' he asked quietly. Ziva nodded and moved so that they were sitting next to each other. Tony draped his arm over her shoulders and switched on the TV.
Over the next couple of days, not needing to go into the office, Tony and Ziva started to talk more. Talk about things they did not talk about at work, and they were honest with each other. They spoke about their favourite music, movies and books, how many partners they had been with. Ziva even asked Tony if he had even been jealous. He nodded, confirming her suspicions.
'Of both of them?'
'Yes. With Rivkin I was jealous that he had your confidence, your trust.'
'With Ray?' Ziva held her breath, waiting for the answer.
'He had your heart, and I didn't want a repeat of Rivkin.' They sat in silence, letting the raw honesty between them settle.
'He never had my heart' whispered Ziva.
'What?' asked Tony. She had spoken so quietly that he hadn't heard.
'Ray. He never had my heart. He was in love with me, but I was not in love with him.'
'Really? I thought you were going to say yes?'
'I think I liked the idea of him, the idea of what we could have been, but I think it only lasted as long as it did because it was long distance. If we had lived closer together, I do not think it would have survived.'
Ziva wanted to ask another question. 'Were you always staring at my ass?'
Tony laughed and nodded. 'It's a great ass.' Ziva laughed. It warmed Tony's heart to hear her laugh. It had become a rare occurrence over the last few months. 'Honesty Zi, you are gorgeous. Do you remember when we went to Naples last year?'
'We met Stan Burley.'
'The man could not take his eyes off you. Neither could the captain of the trawler that took us to the aircraft carrier, or many of the men on board. I meant what I said, Zi; you are the most beautiful woman on the planet.' He wiped away the tears that had started to form in Ziva's eyes. It had been a long time since someone had spoken to her like that. She shifted closer to Tony. He draped his arm over her shoulders, securing themselves to each other.
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