Tony and Ziva effortlessly fall into a new routine. He is taken aback at how easy it is for them to switch from awkward, forced companionship to couple. There is a lot of laughter and, on the flip side, a lot of sharing. Some of their conversations venture into territory that was formerly seldom touched, simply because now they are daring to let each other see the innermost regions of their souls. One night, it is childhood; the next, it is past loves. At first, they talk about their first relationships that mattered, but the conversation progresses and before he knows it, he's talking about Jeanne and the toll that case had taken on him and the guilt he harbored for months after it ended. He stops abruptly when he realizes that Ziva might prefer not to hear about something she had been close to, but she surprises him. She squeezes his knee, clears her throat, and says that she sometimes asks herself whose betrayal was greater: Ray's or Michael's. "I still cannot decide."
"Does it matter?" he asks. "I mean, neither one was all that good."
"No, it doesn't. Sometimes my mind wanders, though, and I try to make myself choose."
Tony nods. "Like asking yourself if you'd rather be blind or deaf."
A couple seconds pass in silence, and then Ziva starts laughing. He settles back into the couch cushions and just watches her for a moment, a smile playing on his own lips. "What an analogy for my past boyfriends," she says finally. "And it's accurate. We really are so romantically dysfunctional."
"Together."
She looks over at him. "Hmm?"
"We are romantically dysfunctional together," Tony clarifies, and then accepts her kiss.
That's another thing there is suddenly a lot of: kissing. Not more than that, since they have established that Ziva's shoulder can't take a whole lot of movement; even so, they are decidedly intimate with each other. There are quick kisses, but there are also long, heavy ones which leave them panting and breathless and hating the fact that they can't go further. At night, they huddle together in Tony's bed. Sometimes there is more talking and sometimes more making out; either way, they drift off to sleep in each other's arms.
And then they wake up in the morning and go to work and act like nothing is going on.
Maybe it's just because he knows he'll get all the time he wants with her later, but Tony finds it easier than he thought it would be to sit in a room with Ziva and keep his hands to himself. Both of them study Gibbs intently and discuss the state of their lie at the end of the day; they agree that they're doing a good job. And when they go to visit Ducky or McGee, their other team members also seem perfectly clueless.
For now, they have created a clear distinction between Team Gibbs World and Tony and Ziva World.
If only they could keep it up forever.
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At long last, McGee is released from the hospital. It's been a full five weeks since the blast; the July sun reflects harshly off of the wheelchair he is brought outside in. His skin, already pasty, has grown even pastier during his confinement, but when he sees the team waiting for him in a rented minivan, he grins and his color seems to come back.
Tony and Gibbs wrestle the wheelchair into the wayback while Ziva and Abby help McGee get in the passenger seat. It takes fifteen minutes and the help of an exasperated hospital security guard, but they get it done, and then they are on their way.
"So you aren't paralyzed, right?" Tony asks.
McGee rolls his eyes. "No, Tony. I'm just having some pain in my legs right now."
"Just making sure. Didn't expect for you to come out in a wheelchair." He sees Ziva looking at him and knows she hears the underlying concern in his voice. She also appears to be the only one who does.
At McGee's apartment, Ziva goes right to the kitchen to prepare dinner for him. Abby heads to the guest room to unpack her belongings because "of course I'm not leaving you home alone in a wheelchair, McGee! Are you stupid?" This leaves the three men to sit in the living room with no idea what to do next.
"Bet it's weird being back here, huh?" Tony asks, running a hand over the typewriter. Beside it is what appears to be a half-finished manuscript. He quickly flips through it, but does not see the names Tommy and Lisa.
"Not weird so much. More like… an overdue reunion."
"Alright, McHomeward Bound. Don't get all poetic on me."
From his place on the couch, Gibbs sighs loudly. "DiNozzo. Shut up."
"Shutting up, Boss."
Clearly, the boss man isn't in the mood for conversation, which means that there is none until Ziva waltzes in with a plate of chili beans over rice. "McGee, does this taste okay to you?"
He takes a bite and makes a noise of approval. "This is a billion times better than hospital food."
After giving McGee a smile and a chaste kiss on the cheek, she walks over to the armchair Tony slouches in and sits on the ground in front of it, leaning back against his legs. He stops his hands halfway to rubbing her shoulders and slowly draws them back into his lap. A quick look at Gibbs reassures him that the action went unnoticed.
Then he looks at McGee. And McGee has definitely noticed.
The probie is frowning in confusion. Tony doesn't think he'll ask in front of Gibbs, but just in case, he gives an ever so slight shake of his head.
McGee returns his attention to his meal, and Tony slips his hands under his thighs so as to keep them under control.
After another hour or so, Abby decides that McGee needs to rest and gently but firmly ushers the others out the door. Tony and Ziva walk ahead of Gibbs, who hangs back to exchange a few words with Abby and give her a kiss on the forehead. He chastises himself for it, but Tony can't help bitterly thinking that she is surely not getting a rule number twelve lecture.
The fact that it will be impossible to continue pretending the way they have been is really beginning to sink in. Whether it's because of a slip by McGee or simply his own intuition, Gibbs will know. Tony considers the inevitable with dread; how will he and Ziva handle it?
What if Ziva handles it by insisting that they go back to being partners and friends?
The possibility scares the shit out of him. Convincing her to give being together a shot was hard, but he managed to do it, and damn, he has been so happy lately. So happy with her. If something were to mess it up now…
He just can't let that happen.
Late that night (really, it's early the next morning) they have yet to go to sleep; Ziva is settled into her corner of the bed, arm cradled by a pillow, and Tony is leaning over her. He breaks their fervent kiss in favor of planting kisses along her collarbone and up her neck. When he reaches her ear, he worries the lobe gently between his teeth; her low-pitched moan vibrates in her throat, where they can both feel it.
"Tony." The way she says his name makes his breathing grow a bit heavier, and he flicks his tongue out, only briefly allowing it contact with her skin. That's all he needs, though; Ziva gasps and arches slightly into him. "I will get you back."
"Go ahead," he says mischievously, but before she can decide her plan of action, he puts his mouth back against hers and whispers into it. "McGee is onto us."
"I noticed," she replies, surprising him, and quickly nips at his neck. With something similar to a squeak, Tony jumps back; Ziva tries not to laugh while she pats his cheek with her good hand. "McGee can keep a secret."
"Not forever." He curls up against her side, resting his head beside hers. "I'm starting to think we should just tell everyone. Rip it off like a Band-Aid."
Ziva is quiet, which scares him. The words you said you weren't going to back out are on the tip of his tongue. But she doesn't.
When she finally speaks, it is on the heels of a long kiss she initiates, one which leaves him holding her close with all the strength and tenderness he possesses.
"I am ready when you are."
I'm sorry this is late! I've been very busy the past few days, but there won't be this many days between chapters anymore, because I want to make sure the whole thing is up by September 25! (ONLY 12 DAYS!)
Thank you to everybody for continuing to read and support this story! You guys are amazing!