Title: No Apology Needed
Author: tv_fan_girl
Character/Pairing: Tony/Ziva
Rating: K
Challenge: #255 "Apology"
Spoilers: Late Season 6 early season 7 if you squint really hard.
Warnings: None
This got a bit fluffier than I intended.
Looking over at his partner, Tony could feel the waves of resentment coming from her. It was like it was a living, breathing entity. He knew that she was still mad at him for pushing her to talk to him earlier. Pushing her to tell him what had happened during her time in Somalia. She had told him more than once that she didn't want to talk about what happened during those awful months. Months that he wasn't sure if he would ever see her again.
At first it had been simple curiosity. Then, it had turned into something more. It had turned into an almost incessant need to comfort her. Especially when she awoke screaming in the middle of the night, hitting him in the chin and giving him a black eye in the process. He'd yelled at her that morning and they had left work in separate cars that day. Something that, since becoming a couple, they had very rarely ever done. He pulled up his instant messenger and typed a simple message into the box.
I'm Sorry. I just wanted to understand.
He heard the ding from across the aisle. He saw her look at her computer screen and then he saw her look across the aisle at him. Then he heard the clack clack of her typing. He looked at his instant messenger screen and smiled.
I know. It is hard for me to talk to you about this. Hard for me to admit any weakness.
Tony felt his heart beat a bit faster and then he typed.
That's okay. I love you enough to accept everything about you. Weaknesses and all.
He saw her look at him once again. He thought for a brief moment that he saw her wipe a tear from her eye, but decided that he was seeing things. His Ziva never cried. He knew a few moments later that he wasn't seeing things when he heard a loud sob coming from her direction. He saw her get up and he knew that he needed to follow her.
When they got to the elevator, he waited for the doors to close and when they did, he hit the stop button. She stared straight ahead and whispered, "What if I cannot forget what happened to me Tony? What if I can't move forward?"
Tony took her in his arms and whispered, "You can. I'll be your shoulder to lean on when things get hard."
Ziva simply looked up at him and then she whispered, "I'm sorry for this morning. I love you. So much…."
One man and one woman stood holding each other in the safety of an elevator. A few last words fell from Ziva's lips, "I will talk about it one day Tony. I promise. I just can't right now. I…"
Tony shook his head, "Don't apologize. I only want to understand."
Ziva simply nodded and allowed Tony to hold her. Knowing that he loved her. Somehow, that was enough.