Dinner
It was the night before their vacation and even though they had spent a lot of money to go on this vacation, Tony wanted to take Ziva out for dinner tonight. She had dressed up in one of his favorite little black dresses and he was dressed in a suit. It was a fancy place and she was feeling nervous for some reason she couldn't explain.
They sat down across from each other and Ziva couldn't fight the feeling that this vacation was something more to him than it was to her at the moment, like he was planning some sort of surprise or something. She smiled nervously at him, as though this was their very first date ever. They had been on plenty of dates and plenty of romantic dinners and even fancy dinners, so this should be nothing new. But Ziva was only just beginning to realize that something was different now.
She thought about it as they ate in silence. Tony had talked to Gibbs without her there. Tony had called her father. Tony wanted to go on this vacation and had made sure the both of them had the week off and made sure it was a big vacation and somewhere warm like she liked it. Tony was taking her out on a romantic and fancy dinner now. Something was definitely different and Ziva was only beginning to see it. Tony could see that she was beginning to see it.
"What's on your mind, love?" Tony asked her curiously as they finished eating.
"You, always," she replied thoughtfully and he knew it was the truth. He knew that she was trying to figure out what he was up to without actually investigating it. He knew that she didn't expect what was coming to her either, otherwise the surprise would have been ruined.
The common knowledge was that Tony had commitment issues and he wasn't every going to get married. He was a playboy who had fallen in love with the Israeli ninja (former Mossad Operative), which was nearly a forbidden love. Those who had either figured out that they were together or assumed that they were together also assumed that there was no way that this was going to work out.
What the other people knew was an emotionless Mossad assassin and an unfaithful playboy who couldn't commit. It made for an interesting mental image. But, no one could imagine how well they would work together both on and off the field, inside and outside of work.
"Of course," Tony said with a smile and took her hand. "Come, dance with me."
She smiled back at him, knowing that she had never allowed any man to take her out onto the dance floor. This was another first for her and she was giving it willingly to Tony. Sure, she had danced with a man, just never in an intimate way and allowing him to take the lead. That was against her better judgment until meeting Tony.
He led her toward the dance floor and held her close to his body as the music began playing. His arms were wrapped around her waist and hers were around his shoulders. They were lost in each other's eyes, as they usually got caught up doing. Tony moved and Ziva followed. It was natural for her to follow his lead and go with what he was doing.
Tony never led her astray, they swayed and circled, staring into each other's eyes the entire time. When the song ended, Tony leaned in and kissed Ziva on the nose lightly and smiled at her. She returned the smile and led him back toward the table.
"Let's go home," Tony said, after paying for their food.
"Yes, let's go home," Ziva agreed with a smile on her face.
She had honestly never been this happy in her entire life before now. She kept saying that to herself and kept getting happier. But, she was done waiting for the other shoe to drop, she knew that this was going to last as long as they worked together, which was what they did best.
The ride home was silent, as their hands stayed laced together in the car, needing to be near one another. They were both happy about how things had changed for them over the last two years and they were both looking forward to this vacation, because they definitely needed some time away from work to get totally lost in each other for a while, because working together without any contact was extremely difficult at times and it only got more difficult with more time. Vacations were a must and they both knew that. The only thing was, that now Vance and Gibbs new that too.
"We forgot to tell the others about us as Gibbs asked," Ziva reminded Tony as they stepped out of the car.
"We can tell them when we get home again," Tony said with a soft shrug. "Cases come first. That's Gibbs' rules."
"I know," Ziva agreed as Tony unlocked the apartment and let them in.
Ziva smiled. The flowers that Tony had gotten her earlier were sitting in a vase right inside the entrance. She was reminded again of how amazing it was to call Tony hers. She turned, without much warning and pressed an eager kiss to his lips and he smiled against her mouth, taking her in his arms and holding her close to him. Yes, they both needed the vacation very much and were both looking forward to no responsibilities other than each other for an entire week away from work.
A/N – So, it's a little short with a lot of fluff. But, we needed some fluff. Review, please. And, thank you!