Catching Memories-2
Chapter 2 Unconventionally Perfect
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"Sorry, Miss, you really need to stop figeting so much, so that I can sketch properly." The middle aged man fiddled with his glasses and charcoal pencils, before glancing up at the brunette whose eyes kept drifting toward the man standing beside him.
"Yeah, Ziva! Listen to the man! I think he actually drew you cross eyed and slouching." The other man said, as he tilted his head in an exaggerated effort to show how slanted the picture was.
"Shut it, Tony. You are not the one who has to sit here for twenty minutes, without moving a muscle." The woman narrowed her eyes at her partner, making him laugh. The sketch artist thought he was lucky that her steely gaze was not directed at him, and he almost missed the underlying warmth and affection that she radiated for the man currently in her line of fire.
"Even if I was, I bet I'd still be able to do better than you." Tony said, with a hint of confidence, as he strode nearer to the woman's seat. The sketch artist even stopped trying to reposition the subject, to watch them trade barbs with a certain air of amusement.
"Hah! You are one to talk. You cannot even stay quiet for more than two minutes without coming up with some joke or movie reference!" Ziva quipped back playfully, while trying not to move too much, for the benefit of the artist. Although her tone was sharp, the sketch artist could tell that the shorter the distance between them, the brighter her smile became.
Tony leaned against her chair and shot her an incredulous look, his green eyes glistening with humor and excitement. He reminded her of a seven year old boy, who had just discovered a new toy to play with. Unfortunately, in this case, that new toy was her sanity. "You're on! I'll go after you."
"What!?" She exclaimed, with extreme disbelief and annoyance coloring her features.
"I'm serious! Let's do this, and ask the sketch artist who behaved better!" Tony explained, as if it was the most logical thing in the world, making her roll her eyes.
"Tony, that is the most absurd and immature idea you have had yet! We have already wasted enough of his time." She suddenly whirled around to the sketch artist, who was still shading and touching up, and gave him an apologetic smile.
"He's already getting paid for this! Why not let him earn a little bit more?" The sketch artist spared them another quick glance, and chuckled, as Ziva gritted her teeth and spun back to Tony with a newly lit fire present in her eyes.
"This whole thing today is for my benefit, yes? Then, why are you making things so difficult?!" She hissed, not with anger, but more of annoyance. She felt like she was talking to a stubborn child who refused to listen to anything she said, even if it was her favorite child.
"It doesn't really make that much of a difference to the plan, overall. Come on Ziva, I know you've DEFINITELY never had memories of this before!" At this point, any normal person would have either begged for forgiveness or run away, but all Tony did was to reiterate his point, and return her hard stare with full force.
"Well, now that I do, I definitely will not do this again with you." Ziva turned away from him, making Tony question exactly which one of them was being the most childish.
"You're just saying that because you know that I'll win." Tony grinned at her, and she opened her mouth to shoot him a retort, when there was a polite cough behind them.
"Excuse me, but I've completed the sketch you wanted. Would you both like to take a look at it before you resume your bickering?" The sketch artist stood in front of Ziva, and held out a piece of paper towards them with a kind smile. He had found the unconventional couple intriguing, to say the least. "I usually charge extra for couple sketches, but since it was...accidental, I'll give it to you at the normal price."
"Couple sketches?" Tony asked, bewildered. The artist just gave him a look and told him to take a look for himself. He gave the man the money, and raced back to Ziva, nearly snatching the drawing out of her hands to get a better look. It was a simple black and white sketch, but the sheer elegance of it, took their breath away.
The man had managed to capture a moment of not just Ziva, but the two of them, in the midst of their banter and grinning at one another. Ziva was trying to state her point and although she was trying to be serious, her eyes and lips betrayed the smile in her features. Tony was leaning casually against her chair and smirking at her, with a hint of his usual arrogance in his posture.
"It really brings out my style, doesn't it?" Tony asked, chuckling as he receieved a half hearted backhand slap from Ziva. "It's yours, by the way. Take it as an official birthday present for you to remember me by."
"Thank you, Tony. I shall definitely use it to remember you in future." She beamed at him happily, her short sentence telling him all the feelings that she would never dare to say out loud. Tony had never properly celebrated her birthday with her, and he had figured that she probably didn't make it a big deal. For a moment, Ziva had looked like she had just been handed the best gift of her life, a memory that she had never gotten the chance to make. That was enough for him.
He wanted to give her a day's worth of happy memories, in the hopes that perhaps, when she came across something that cut her so deep that she would not tell anyone, she could use these moments as a way to remember that her life was yet to be over.
Tony reached over and slipped an arm around her waist, tugging her closer to him as they made their way to their next destination. For once, Ziva simply smiled at the gesture, and moved even closer. She knew that she could take on anything as long as he was by her side.
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Thoughts?