A/N: Two words for you: angsty romance. Or at least, angsty romance-like situations. I know I originally said this chapter was going to be fluffy, but this fit well into my plot line. Plus I just sort of wanted to write about it.
The next few chapters are going to differ greatly from the first two; this one is more serious, the next is going to be more romantic, and the one after that: lemons. And lots of them. There are going to be more chapters after that, but I'm not entirely sure how the storyline is going to play out yet.
Disclaimer: I just realized I had forgotten to do this in the previous chapters! Oops. So, I guess this applies to all chapters, past, present and future: I don't own NCIS. Never have, never will.
"I need food," Tony moaned, lying back on their dirty mattress and covering his face with a pillow.
"Tony, stop whining. I will get us a big breakfast tomorrow." Ziva's voice floated in from the bathroom, where she crouched on aching thighs over the floor, scrubbing away at the pale brown bathroom tiles that were coated in a thin layer of mold. It seemed that all the two had looked at for the entire night was mold. Mold covering the walls. Mold covering the window. Mold in the patch of carpet that was located under the part of the ceiling that leaked. Ziva had never had a big problem with mold, but after tonight...
"Ziva, I think we've both warranted a break from our...mold scrubbing. Come sit down." Jumping at the opportunity, Ziva put down her rag and bottle of soap and trekked tiredly into their tiny bedroom, unfolded one of their chairs and plopped down in it. Tony opened one eye and observed her lined face and drooping eyelids.
"You look exhausted," he commented, in a voice that indicated he felt exactly the same way.
"It has been a long night," she responded, before turning towards their computers. "Has there been any activity at all?"
"Nope. I swear, this is the most dormant prostitute/serial killer I have ever encountered."
Ziva's mouth curved up slightly. "And how many prostitutes have you encountered, Tony?"
Tony chose to ignore the question. "I think we should got to bed." Before Ziva could protest, he reasoned: "Ziva. It's like 2 am. If she doesn't act now, she's not going to at all tonight. There's no use staying up and watching her do nothing." Ziva closed her mouth and gave a short nod.
"Fine. But we should tell Gibbs." When Tony gave her a look of despair, she said: "I will do it while you get changed. Go." She grabbed his arm and pulled him off their mattress, pushing him and the trashbag filled with NCIS clothing into the bathroom after pulling out her own sweatshirt, t-shirt and sweatpants.
"Okay, okay. I can get up by myself, you kn-" Ziva shut the door at Tony's argument.
She sighed and looked around. Before turning on the computer to tell Gibbs that they were stopping for the night, Ziva quickly pulled over her shirt and pants and replaced them with an NCIS sweatshirt and sweatpants. Tony was still in the bathroom, and by the sounds of it, hadn't even started to undress because he was trying to avoid standing on all of the moldy spots on the floor; she obviously hadn't done a particularly impressive job of cleaning. Ziva smiled and rolled her eyes before turning on the monitor that was connected to the live camera in Abby's lab.
"McGee! I have not talked to you in a while. How are you?" Ziva said excitedly, after the camera had revealed a close up of McGee's soft, fleshy face. After giving it a second look, however, Ziva realized his cheek was pressed to one of Abby's tables and his body was giving small, predictable, rhythmic shudders- he was asleep. Ziva sighed and said loudly into the camera: "Is anyone awake there?"
"Ziva?" Ducky's voice was quiet and sounded far away.
"Ducky! Are you there? I cannot see you," Ziva said confusedly into the camera.
"My dear, I am in autopsy. Are you in Abby's lab? I thought you and Tony started your stakeout earlier today," Ducky said, surprised, and sounding equally as confused.
"Hold on a minute- if you are in autopsy, how can I hear you...oh, your are also using your camera?"
"Yes, my dear, I was just checking to see if Abby was there. What did you want to talk to her about?"
"Actually, I am looking for Gibbs. I wanted to let him know that Tony and I were going to bed. Do you know where he is?"
"I believe he, too, decided to go to bed- he left just over an hour ago. Why don't you call him?"
"Our phones do not get reception here."
"Ah. Well, I could call him for you, if you like."
"Yes, thank you Ducky. And say hello to Jimmy for me."
"I will, my dear. Good night, now."
"Good night."
Ziva switched off the computer, still pondering over the strange electronic conversation she had just had.
"Tony? Are you almost done in there?" Ziva called.
She heard Tony laugh tightly. "Sure, I'll be out soon; right after I finish scrubbing mold off the faucet handles so I can brush me teeth."
Ziva rolled her eyes and walked into the bathroom. Grabbing a paper towel from under the sink, she placed it over the faucet handle and turned it. Yellowish water came streaming out of the faucet in odd spurts and clumps. Tony looked at the water for a moment, traces of horror in his eyes. "You know what? I didn't eat dinner. I really don't think I need to brush my teeth tonight." He reached out a hand to turn the water off, but Ziva had already twisted the faucet handle; his hand lay on hers for an awkward yet somewhat comfortable moment, before they simultaneously pulled their hands away.
"We should....." Tony began, then trailed off after he indicated towards their bedroom.
"Yes," Ziva responded uncomfortably.
Ziva followed Tony into their room, switching off both the bathroom light and the bare light bulb that was screwed into their ceiling. and watched as he lay down on their tiny mattress, putting his head down on one of the pillows.
"How are you only wearing that?" Ziva asked suspiciously, eying his ensemble of a thin NCIS t-shirt and boxers. "I am freezing."
"I can tell," Tony said, glancing at her heavy sweatpants and sweatshirt. 'Think you have enough layers? You're like an Eskimo." He smiled.
She, on the other, averted her eyes and wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach. "I am just cold. It seems as though the heating system is also broken."
"Mm-hm," Tony said slowly, scrutinizing her protective moment.
Ziva, feeling Tony's eyes on her, turned and walked over to the window. She reached up to pull down the thin, shabby blinds, and as she did so, her sweatshirt, which was a little short, rode up her waist to the bottom of her ribcage.
That's when Tony saw them.
Ziva's back and stomach were riddled with bruises, cuts and ridges, extending past the waistline of her sweats and probably up onto her shoulders and breasts. Ziva, who still had her back to Tony, felt her sweatshirt ride up and quickly pulled her arms down- but it was too late. When she turned around, Tony had stood up and walked over to her, his eyes still glued to the spot that had just been exposed.
Ziva looked down at the floor, at the wall, at the window. Anywhere but Tony's face. After a few moments, he brought his hand up to her face and firmly but gently tipped it up, so that her chocolate eyes were looking directly into his hazel ones. Tony's face had set into a clenched, sad expression that matched his voice as he said quietly:
"It was him."
Ziva bit her lip and downcast her now-glossy eyes in response.
"What else did he do to you?" This time, Ziva raised her eyes bravely to his and didn't say anything. Tony knew the answer by her defiant expression.
He released his grip on Ziva's face and turned around, pressing both hands roughly to his neck before spinning back around to face her.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me?"
"Because," Ziva responded in an impressively steady voice, though her eyes threatened to spill at any moment, "I knew you would react this way."
"Gibbs know?" he asked, trying and failing to restrain the shaking in his voice.
She nodded slowly and calculated his expression, which seemed to hold a mixture of sadness and shock.
"Tony-" she began, uncertain of what to say.
"What?" he responded, his tone layered with anger and worry and jealousy and confusion.
"Please do not be angry with me. I have already had enough of that. They do not even hurt anymore."
Tony's face softened at this. "Ziva."
She looked up at him with pleading eyes.
"You need to know that you can tell me anything. Anytime."
Ziva nodded, overcome with relief at his lack of anger.
"Seriously. Because I care about you. A lot. You're my partner."
"I'm sorry, Tony."
"And you don't need to apologize. But....just tell me about stuff like that, okay?"
She nodded again and suddenly, she was leaning subconsciously into his shoulder. He carefully wrapped his warm arms around her waist and pressed her face against his chest. They both took a deep, shuddering breath at the same time, their chests rising and falling in perfect, organized harmony. Ziva let one tear fall and soak into Tony's shirt before peacefully resting her head against him and deciding not to cry about it again.
The pair stood together, in the dark, for only a handful of minutes, but as each second ticked by, they basked in each other's warmth and size, soaked up scents and colors and unsaid words.
"Can we lay down? Cause I'm kind of exhausted," Tony said into Ziva's shoulder. Ziva smiled into his chest.
"Yes. I am too."
They laid down together, facing away from each other, but each smiling into their pillows. When Tony was sure Ziva was asleep, he turned towards her and slung an arm around her waist, pulling her to his chest for the second time that night. He fell asleep to her soft, cadenced breathing.
A/N: Blech. This is so cliched it makes me want to throw up. And on the fluff scale, I'd say it gets about a zero. But as I said before, I felt that this chapter was necessary- after all, I can't write them doing it without Tony noticing the scars that would have to exist all over Ziva from her recent encounter with torture.
I promise the next chapter will be better, and it should be here by Saturday at the latest. Thanks for reading, guys, and drop in a review on your way out!