Ok, so here's a smaller chapter that didn't turn out as planned since the inspiration hit me. And even though it's smaller it's nevertheless quite important & fluffy, instead of the angsty chapter I had planned out! Enjoy reading!

"I'm here. I love you. I don't care if you need to stay up crying all night long, I will stay with you. There's nothing you can ever do to lose my love. I will protect you until you die, and after your death I will still protect you. I am stronger than Depression and I am braver than Loneliness and nothing will ever exhaust me."

― Elizabeth Gilbert

"Hey." Tony softly spoke up as soon as Ducky had left the apartment, hoping she would talk about what was going on inside of her.
"Care to tell me what happened?" She was still avoiding his gaze and that's when he put a finger underneath her chin, willing her to look at him.

"It was nothing, really." She stuttered but from his look she could tell that he did not believe her.
Moments of silence passed before she finally spoke up again.
"Why are you caring about me?" Her voice was barely above a whisper but he nevertheless clearly understood her.
For a second Tony was taken by surprise at her question and he had to think about it before actually replying.

"Because Ziva," He started "because you are my partner, my friend. I have your back and" A shaky breath interrupted his sentence "and you mean a lot to me. That's why I care about you."
At this Ziva was left speechless, not expecting for him to open his heart towards her.

"Is this the reason why you ran away?" He asked after another moment.
"I just do not want to burden you Tony and yet you are still here. I cannot continue to depend on you this much, it just feels…wrong." She gulped, still not quite over his previous confession.

"No Ziva. I'm here for you because I want to. I'm here because this is where I'm supposed to be." And with that she couldn't question him anymore. He had simply washed away her doubts and even though he hadn't said it she just knew there was more to his words.

By now their foreheads were almost touching and the warmth radiating off his body was finally beginning to warm her still cool skin but neither of them dared to inch closer, they just knew it wasn't the right moment, not now when Ziva was still so vulnerable.

It was up to Tony to ease the situation and that's when he almost whispered "Do you know what made me feel better when I was younger?" Once again taken aback by his question she looked up at him and wondered what he was about to tell her.
"A blanket fort." He now smiled at her, waiting for her reaction.

At first she shot him an almost incredulous look but seeing the delight in his eyes she couldn't help but smile as well.
"Seriously Tony, a blanket fort?" She now slightly teased him.

"Yeah, it will be great, trust me. You just sit down on the couch and I'll arrange everything, ok?" He was about to start when Ziva interrupted him.
"No, let me help you, ok?" It came almost reluctant, childlike and he couldn't help but shot her a grin.
With that they started working on their blanket fort around the couch and once they were done they stood in front of it in awe.

"What are we going to do now?" Ziva asked, already feeling a little better and definitely warmer by now.
"How about a nice hot chocolate and a movie?" He suggested and she merely nodded in reply.

Tony quickly made his way to the kitchen and started on the hot chocolate and shuffled through the cupboards to find some snacks as well while it was up to Ziva to pick a movie to watch.

Once they were both done with their task they crawled into their fort where they had a good view on the tv in front of them.
"I have to admit that it is really comfy inside of the fort." She shot him a small, almost shy smile.
"Nothing beats a good old blanket fort and a movie." Tony smirked and with that started to play the movie.

Not soon after Ziva leaned her head on his shoulder and shuffled closer until here whole body was leaning against his.
Tony absentmindedly started stroking her hair and occasionally also the side of her face, something that brought a sense of comfort to her, a moment she would definitely treasure inside her heart.
Yes, Tony was really a great friend, and possibly even a little more.

Now how was that for fluff? ;)
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