Tiva going shopping. Soooooo much fun to write!

(Mauritian Vanilla Tea actually exists – my boss brought me some after their family went there and it is absolutely delicious.)

Disclaimer: "I own it!" *Gibbs headslap* "Sorry, boss!"

Finding a parking spot not too far from the grocery store close to Tony's apartment, he opened her door for her again and their hands joined each other without the slightest bit of hesitation. Neither of them had the conscious thought to reach out to the other – it just happened. They walked together through the sliding doors and were immediately grateful for the warmth the store brought them.

Tony led her to the baskets and put two of them into the steel trolley.

"Get anything you like. You're going to be at my place for a while if the weather reports are anything to judge by and I want you to be comfortable," he explained.

"Okay," was her only reply. He knew she would probably ignore his offer anyway, feeling he is already doing much more for her than he should and not wanting to impose any more. He decided that he was just going to have to use his investigative skills to see if her gaze lingered longer than normal on something and take that as the fact that she was interested in it and he would get it for her.

He pushed the trolley with one hand while still holding on to hers and steered them to the very right side of the store so that they can begin to make their trek through the aisles.

First on the list were candles and matches in case the storm caused a blackout. He threw two flashlights and batteries in for good measure. He had a gas stove so they didn't have to worry about not being able to cook. Next they turned down the aisle that held canned food. He grabbed a few cans, first asking Ziva if she was allergic to anything before adding it to the basket. He made sure to check for looks of distaste as well in case she didn't eat something he picked. So far, so good. He had enough coffee and hot chocolate, but his milk was running low, so he got a gallon. He saw Ziva looking at the shelf that held the boxes of tea and he knew he had her. There was something she wanted and he was going to get it for her.

He gently nudged her towards it and whispered in her ear. "Go on. Get your favourite."

"Tony, I - "

"No," he interrupted. "I said anything you want. So go on."

She gave in, not wanting to argue and added a small box of Mauritian Vanilla Tea to their supplies. Tony wanted to dance in victory, but held off.

They continued to pile their supplies into the baskets until they were almost bursting. They got bread, two extra blankets, toilet paper, some soap, packets of chicken, cheese, soda, grapes, strawberries and whipped cream – Tony of course had a few naughty thoughts about it's uses when he loaded it into the basket – fruit juice, some ripe and juicy peaches, rice and macaroni. Tony insisted on getting pizza bases so that he could show of his Italian heritage to Ziva. He got all the toppings he needed and thankfully remembered to check everything for being kosher so as not to offend Ziva and made sure she was allowed to eat it.

Ziva stayed quiet through all this, only speaking when Tony asked her opinion on something.

Then, just as they were about to get in line to pay and Ziva wanted to heave a sigh of relief for getting out of the crowded store and into the comfort of Tony's home, her arm was once again almost pulled out of it's socket when Tony pulled her into the aisle that held the sweets. She had to roll her eyes and smile at his childlike behaviour.

"This is the best part of shopping!" Tony exclaimed. "I love sweets!"

She had to laugh at how excited he was and watched in disbelief as he piled chocolates, packets of chips, lollipops, chocolate cookies, crackers, gummy worms – the sour and the regular kind – and a few other items she could not identify into their already full baskets.

"Tony! We do not need so many sweets!" she said to try and control his oncoming sugar rush.

"What? Of course we do. Now, pick what you want."

"Tony, you had already gotten enough for six people."

"I know, but I want you to pick something you like," he stated seriously.

"Fine," she gave in and stood looking at the shelves for a second. Then she grabbed a simple milk chocolate bar and balanced it on top of the pile.

"That's it?" came his disbelieving question.

"What do you mean? You told me to pick and I picked."

"Yes, but just one? How are you going to survive on just that?"

"Tony," she began and took a deep breath before continuing. "Growing up in Israel, you learn to not eat many sweets because they are in scarce supply. Most of the time when a store gets in new stock, it is bombed before anyone gets the chance to buy themselves something sweet. I am not used to sweets, so I am happy with just one bar of chocolate," she made her case and saw understanding dawn upon him as she looked into his eyes.

"I guess that makes sense. Sorry I pushed you."

"It is okay."

"I'll share mine if you want more."

"That is very valiant of you, Tony. Thank you."

He squeezed her hand as they made their way to the cash registers once more.

They had to stand in line for almost fifteen minutes as there were many people trying to buy necessities before the blizzard hit and they were possibly stuck in their homes for days.

Tony felt his fingers go numb from not moving them for so long and he knew he had to get them back to life before he attempted driving again. Regretting what he was about to do, he pulled his hand out of Ziva's and watched her face fall with the sudden termination of their contact. He quickly wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him, close enough so that his head was next to hers and he could whisper in her ear.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to let go of you at all, but my fingers need to get their blood circulation back if we have any hope of not being in a crash on the way home."

Her face lifted again as she felt him press a kiss on her hair just behind her ear. She blushed at the gesture, and was sure he saw the sudden colour on her cheeks. He didn't remove his arm from around her and they stood together like that, shuffling forward a few inches every time a new customer was called.

Then it was finally their turn, the old lady sitting behind the counter gave them a knowing look, thinking they were together. Ziva missed it, as she was busy unloading the items to be scanned, but Tony caught it and didn't bother to correct the woman, because he knew they looked like a couple and he really didn't want to explain their situation at that moment. What would he say in any case? Hi, we just met each other a few days ago. We're soulmates, but she doesn't know it yet as I don't want to overwhelm her seeing as she just shot her brother dead yesterday to save a man she doesn't know any better than me. So we spent last night in bed together with her only wearing my shirt and now she's going to stay with me in my home while a blizzard is wreaking havoc on the city. Yeah, that wouldn't go over well. At all. So he just left the woman to her assumptions and paid for their supplies.

An errand boy helped them put everything into his car's trunk next to Ziva's bag and then they were driving to Tony's apartment again after he generously tipped the boy.

He was filled with hope by the fact that she didn't comment on or bother to correct him earlier when he said they were going home.