Title: A House Is Not a Home
Rating: K
Summary: Tony has moved and things have changed. Tiva.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of NCIS. But if you want to, I would like some for Christmas.
Spoilers: Anything from season 7 so far (up to "Endgame")
Chapter 2: Home Warming
The second time she shows up at his door is not unplanned. It is after a week of planning on Abby's part. He isn't positive what brought it on, but Abby had insisted on having a house warming party for him, although he is pretty sure it has something to do with Ziva and her unannounced visit the week before.
He had only agreed to the house warming party because Abby had conned him into, telling him that she would rush any request that he put into her lab and she would plan the party, all he had to do was let her. And he had agreed.
Gibbs was there first, greeting Tony at the door with a bottle of bourbon.
"Boss," Tony says, "Thanks for coming."
"Nice place, DiNozzo."
McGee is next, carrying a stack of CDs.
"I thought you could use some new music," he says, handing the stack to Tony, "Where's Abby?"
Tony gestures to the kitchen and McGee disappears. He has been to Tony's new house more than any of the rest of them so he knows where to go without Tony's direction.
Ziva arrives last, accompanied by Ducky and Palmer, and she is empty handed. He smiles at her, taking her coat, and tells her that the others are in the kitchen already. She moves in that direction, allowing him to take the bottle of scotch from Ducky and the bakery box from Palmer.
"Thank you," he says to both of them, leading them through the living room to where everyone else is gathered. Abby pours wine for everyone, minus Gibbs and Ducky who break into the bottle of scotch, and they move into the dining room. The table has been set with dishes that Tony didn't know he owned and everyone sits around, their conversation light and amused.
They don't wait long for Abby to set dinner on the table, pasta with shrimp and scallops and a creamy garlic butter sauce, and they continue to talk as they eat. The food is gone before they know it and Tony takes small groups around the house, one or two people at a time, giving them some of the details. Palmer, Abby and McGee walk with him, although McGee and Abby have been here before, leaving Ziva with Gibbs and Ducky in the dining room.
"Am I the only one who did not know that Tony had moved?" she asks them when the other three have gone upstairs.
Gibbs nods, "You weren't here, Ziva."
"But why did no one tell me when I returned?" she asks.
"It wasn't our place, dear," Ducky tells her, "It is Anthony's news to share and you had to wait until he was ready."
She stares into her wine glass, "He seems... different."
Gibbs and Ducky share a look.
"Ziva, Tony isn't the same man that you left behind," Gibbs says.
The look of hurt that flashes across her face betrays her and she looks away.
"We thought we'd lost you, dear," Ducky says, "When we'd learned the fate of the Damocles, Anthony took it the hardest. I believe that the fear of losing you has changed him greatly. And you know him well enough to know that he spent months blaming himself."
Ziva remains quiet as Palmer, Abby and McGee reappear. They reclaim their places at the table and Gibbs and Ducky tell Tony that it is their turn for a tour. He makes a show of walking them out of the dining room and into the entryway, laughing as Gibbs makes to smack the back of his head.
"Don't you want to look around Tony's new place, Ziva?"
Palmer's voice startles her and she glances up to find the three of them watching her.
"I have already seen the house," Ziva tells them, "I stopped by last week to drop off a file for Gibbs and Tony was kind enough to show me around."
"It's nice," McGee says, still watching her, "We hadn't been back two weeks when he told me he was looking for a new place. He said something about putting down roots. I'm pretty sure I laughed when he first told me, I didn't think he was serious."
"McGee! That's so mean!" Abby says, smacking him on the arm, "Tony had enough problems after –"
She cuts herself off so abruptly that Ziva turns to look at her. But Abby does not speak again and looks anywhere but at her.
When Ducky and Gibbs return with Tony, everyone begins saying their goodbyes. McGee leaves with Abby, walking her to her car. Tony has to assure her over and over that he does not mind cleaning up, that she did enough by setting everything up and making dinner, before she finally allows McGee to escort her out.
Ducky and Palmer decided wisely not to wait for Ziva when Gibbs offers to drop them both back at the office on his way home. The three men say goodbye to Tony and then to Ziva and before either of them know how, they are standing alone in his living room.
"Would you like me to help you clean up?" Ziva asks, shifting around uncomfortably.
Tony shakes his head, "It's okay, really, I can take care of it. Believe it or not, I've been cleaning my own place for years."
The tone of his voice makes Ziva's heart ache and she is reminded of her first visit here. She can see herself here, with him, so clearly that it worries her. Before she came to America she would never have allowed herself to fantasize about being domestic with anyone. But that thought just makes her realize that Tony is not the only one who was different.
"I brought something for you," she says then, "I will be right back."
And before he can argue she is walking out the front door. She returns a few moments later with a large box in her hands and he has not moved from the living room. She hands him the box, smilingly shyly.
"It is a home warming gift," she says, "Abby advised me that it is customary to bring someone a gift when they purchase a home."
He smiles at her, "It's house warming, Ziva. But I think that, in this particular case, either could work. And really, you didn't have to get me anything."
She shakes her head, "I wanted to. Please, open it."
He takes the box to the breakfast bar that creates a definition between the living room and kitchen and sets it down. He opens the box carefully, removing the item inside with practiced hands. It is a turn table, the exact one he'd seen at their crime scene just a few days ago.
"I saw you admiring it at the consignment shop while we were working the McNamara case," she tells him, "And I did not see one when I was here last week. Do you like it?"
The smile he gives her reminds her briefly of the old Tony, the happy, easy-going Tony she knew years ago, and it makes her breath a little deeper.
"It's great," he says, taking it over to one of the bookshelves that flank the fireplace.
It doesn't take long for him to set it up and find an album in the collection that she hadn't noticed before. Slow jazz music seeps from speakers she cannot see and fills the room. She steps up beside him, looking at the record player in front of them. She is glad that the gift she bought for him makes him so happy.
"Thank you," he says then, "Really, you didn't need to get me anything, but I'm glad you did. I had one but it got broken when I moved. I've been meaning to get another but I like it better this way, this way, it means something. Because it came from you."
They don't speak for a long moment and she cannot tell if Tony regrets allowing himself to say those words to her or not. But she is happy that he said that. She is happy that she means something to him.
"I should go," she says then, "I am sure you are tired of having so many people around."
Tony turns to her, shaking his head, "It's nice, actually, it can get lonely. Being in a big empty house isn't all it's cracked up to be."
She thinks for just a moment that he might kiss her (and she would gladly let him) but he turns and moves to the coat closet, finding her jacket and helping her into it.
"Thank you," he says again, "For everything."
"You are welcome, Tony."
He follows her to the door and holds it open for her. This time, as she steps off of the porch, she feels his eyes on her back and knows that he is still standing there, watching. She climbs into her car, waving at him as she starts it and pulls away from the curb, thinking that she has left something significant behind. It may very well be her heart.