That first weekend set the tone for their relationship. Warmly affectionate. Incredibly erotic. And secret.
While Rule 12 had been thrown out the window, they kept Rule 4 with scrupulous attention: the best way to keep something a secret is to keep it to yourself. For the first year, keeping it to themselves had added a heady excitement. All of their lives Ziva and Gibbs had kept to personal codes of honor that included putting their country before themselves. But this…this was just for them. There was something almost decadent, yet freeing about being together simply for pleasure and enjoyment and comfort. And their desire to protect this from scrutiny or interference was nearly as strong as their desire for each other.
They went out for occasional dinners at out-of-the-way places, but mostly stayed in at his place or hers. Before the end of the first year, Ziva was living at his house all the time, though she kept her apartment for appearances sake. When schedules permitted, they took weekend getaways, consciously choosing places that were not well-traveled. But those romantic escapes without the constant pressure of someone they knew spotting them solidified their place in each other's lives and lent an air of normalcy to their situation. During these times, they were just like any other couple on vacation.
But as their relationship deepened and evolved, the secrecy engendered a sense that this was like an undercover op that would blow up if anyone found out. Yet, this was the part of their lives that came to feel the most real to them. By the second year, it was their friendships with the team and their work as special agents that began to feel like undercover identities they slipped into as they walked out of his door every morning and drove to work in separate cars.
Living a double life was wearing on them and did not do justice to the love they felt for each other or to the relationships they had with the team. They all deserved better than that. It was time to come out of the shadows.
Back to present day…
"Then you came back from Mexico…" she said, coming back to the present.
"And you started coming around all the time," he pointed out.
"I did not hear you complain," she said, brow cocked.
"No complaints," he assured her.
He paused, still thinking back, fingers playing almost absently with her curls. "I missed you when you stopped coming around much there for a while."
She knew instantly the period of time to which he was referring. "I could not watch you with her," she admitted softly.
He kissed her temple by way of apology. "You both deserved better than me using her to avoid what I felt for you." He shook his head. "I'm not proud of that."
She squeezed him tightly for an instant, offering comfort. "I did not like it, but do not be too hard on yourself," she told him, looking up into his face. From the comfort of her current position in his life, she could look at the situation with Colonel Mann from a more generous perspective. "You would never have risked my position with NCIS by taking the first step with us. You are too good a man for that."
"I don't know about that, though I wouldn't have knowingly given anyone a chance to take you away." He looked down at her, his hand smoothing over her hair. "I was hung up on my rules… and the fact that you deserved better."
His patented half-smile curved his mouth. "And then you took things into your own hands." He pulled her in for a quick, one-armed hug. "Thank God."
"Mhm," she smiled back at him. "Although at first, you were worried…and noble. Remember?"
"I remember." He smirked ruefully. "That lasted all of a few days."
"It lasted long enough for me to think you had decided that you didn't need this complication in your life," she admitted. Then she smiled, remembering what followed. "And then my phone rang and it was you."
"Didn't need the complications," he confirmed, "but needed you." That earned him a kiss that curled his toes.
Coming up for air, she snuggled into his chest, allowing more memories to roll through her mind. "For our first date you took me to Giovanni's," she reminded him. "It is still my favorite restaurant."
"And Sal and Angie still like you better than me," he snorted, referring to the Italian couple who owned the place, secretly delighted that the couple had taken to Ziva from the moment he'd introduced them.
She laughed, but didn't contradict him. It was true.
"It is just that I speak Italian," she consoled him with a twinkle in her eye.
For a moment they sat in silence, completely content.
"I cannot believe it has been two years," Ziva marveled.
"You're amazed you've put up with this old man that long?" he questioned, teasing. "That makes two of us."
She gave him a not-so-light mock punch on the shoulder.
"You are not old," she said firmly. "You are simply older than I am."
"By a lot," he murmured sardonically, sipping from the beer he was still holding, then placing it on the end table beside him.
She pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him, unwilling to hear anything negative on that subject, even from him.
He shrugged and gave her a smile that was a little self-deprecating. His hand gently cupped her jaw, while his thumb brushed her cheekbone and his fingers tunneled into her hair. A touch of wonder shone in his eyes, testimony to the fact that part of him was truly amazed that she was with him, even after all this time.
"You could have anyone you wanted," he said, looking deeply into her chocolate brown eyes. "Sometimes it's hard for me to believe you picked me."
Her gaze softened and her hand came up to press his hand more tightly to her cheek. Turning her face, she pressed a kiss to his palm.
Then she pulled herself over his lap so she was straddling him. Cupping his face in her hands, she looked intently into those piercing blue eyes of his that she would swear could see all the way to her soul.
"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me," she told him, her voice ringing clear as a bell. "And I do not want anyone but you."
He gazed into her face, those vague worries melting in the face of the truth shining from her eyes. His hands came up to settle comfortably on her hips; squeezing in appreciation.
"And soon everyone will know it." She brushed a kiss across his mouth. Raising her head, her eyes took on a happy sparkle. "You know what that means."
He raised a brow in silent question.
"It means we can actually go out to dinner or to a movie without worrying that someone will see us."
"It also means DiNozzo will have a smart-ass comment every time we're alone together in the elevator," Gibbs offered dryly.
"More headslaps in store for him, then, yes?" she grinned. He chuckled, glad to see cheerful humor, rather than apprehension, in her eyes.
"And it means I can finally stop paying rent for an apartment I am never in," Ziva continued in a satisfied voice.
The look in Jethro's eyes shifted, a curious mix of certainty and vulnerability replacing the easy smile. Before she could ask what he was thinking, he spoke again.
"It also means I can finally give you this."
She looked at him in confusion as he steadied her with a hand at the small of her back and leaned over to open the drawer in the table beside the couch. He pulled out a small black velvet ring box he'd hidden there earlier and placed it gently in her hands. She looked at it in shock, heart pounding, then raised her gaze to his. Warring with the "Is this what I think it is?" look in her eyes was hope – Oh, please God - that it was indeed exactly that.
"Jethro?" she whispered, barely audible.
His smile was so gentle that her breath caught in her lungs. After tucking her hair behind her left ear, he cupped her jaw in his hand. He looked deeply into her big brown eyes.
"You complete me in ways I never expected to find again. And I am a better man because of what we have together. No matter what happens tomorrow, I want you with me for the rest of my life and I want the whole world to know you're mine."
She was so moved by his words, her throat thickened with tears and she had to try twice before she could speak. She cradled the ring box protectively to her heart. "You are sure you do not wish to wait?" she husked, leaving until after tomorrow unsaid.
"I'm sure."
He rested his forehead against hers. "Please say yes."
"You have not actually asked me a question yet," she pointed out shakily, tears of joy starting to spill down her face.
He gave her his half-grin, then nodded his head once to acknowledge she was right.
Placing his hands on her waist, Jethro lifted her off his lap and sat her beside him. Sliding off the couch, he went down on one knee in front of her. He took the jeweler's box from her hands and opened it to reveal a beautiful star-shaped diamond in a platinum setting. Smaller diamonds flowed in a ribbon from both sides of the larger central diamond down onto the band.
"I love you, Ziva David. Will you please marry me?"
The happiness on her face would stay with him forever.
"Yes. Yes, Jethro. I would be honored to marry you." With a joyful cry, she threw her arms around his neck, almost knocking him off balance. "I love you," she whispered in his ear. "So much."
His laugh was pure, unadulterated delight. He steadied them both and hugged her tightly, relieved she hadn't said no or made him wait for her answer.
When she pulled back, he took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. Perfect fit. Ziva couldn't stop staring at it and he couldn't stop looking at her.
Pulling him back up to the couch she crawled into his lap, cupping the back of his head with her hands. Leaning into him, she kissed him deeply and slowly, putting everything she felt for him into it. Both of their hearts were racing by the time she raised her head.
"How long have you been planning this?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Found the ring a few weeks ago. Wanted to find the right moment." He brushed a kiss across her lips. "How'd I do?"
"Perfect. You were perfect." She kissed him again, unable to resist. She loved his lips and everything else about him. After a few long moments, she buried her face into his neck. His arms tightened around her, holding her close.
"I was certain you would never want to get married again," she said in a low voice. "But I dreamed of being married to you."
"It bother you that I have three ex-wives?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I do not really understand it, though. It does not fit with the man I know."
At first, she thought he wasn't going to say anything.
"It was only after I stopped trying to replace what I'd lost, that I found the one who matters most."
With his quiet words, her heart simply melted.
Leaning her forehead to his, she whispered in a voice rough with emotion, "How is it possible that you say the most perfect things to me so often?"
"Beats the hell outta me," he grinned, only partially joking.
Laughter bubbled up out of her, mixing with tears of happiness that trickled down her face again.
"God, I love you," she said.
They looked at each other for a moment, blissful contentment arcing between them.
Then her gaze narrowed in mock fierceness. "And, just so you know, there will be no more divorce in your future."
He smiled. "Promise?" he asked, the huskiness in his voice betraying the need behind the question.
"Promise," she returned, in a tone that left no room for doubt.
He pulled her even closer, finding her mouth with his. The kiss began soft and sweet, lips clinging, pulling. Then his tongue licked along her bottom lip, requesting entrance. She gladly obliged, and the heat built between them exponentially. She pressed tightly against him, sliding her hands up inside his shirt as he lost himself in her sweet mouth. He loved the feel of her strong yet delicate hands stroking his skin – God, yes. Craving more of her, his hands mirrored hers, finding her softness under her clothes. Breathy sounds of need were soon coming from both of them.
Wanting to take this someplace more comfortable, Ziva slowly slipped off his lap and stood in front of him, holding out the hand that now sparkled with the diamond he'd given her.
"Come to bed, Jethro." Her voice sent shivers down his spine, and he had no desire to resist her come-hither smile even for a moment. He took the hand she offered, pressed a kiss to the spot where his ring encircled her finger, and allowed her to pull him up against her.
"My pleasure," he murmured against her skin, his mouth finding that sensitive spot on her neck that never failed to zing goosebumps down her arms. She gasped, hips arching more firmly into his.
"And yours," he added wickedly, a sexy glint in his eyes.
She laughed out of pure happiness as he scooped her up in his arms, and her lips captured his in another hot kiss. Grinning against each other's mouths and murmuring sexy words to each other, he carried her to their bed, where their celebration continued long into the night.
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A/N: A HUGE thank you goes out to iyimgrace and Sehrezad for their input on this story. And a round of applause, please, for Geekery15 and iyimgrace for their avatar re-sizing assistance! New one is up in celebration of this update. And, last but not least, THANK YOU ALL for reading, reviewing, alerting and "favoriting" - it means more than I can say. =)