IMPORTANT! If you absolutely do NOT understand American Football, I STRONGLY suggest you watch this quick 3-minute Youtube video, where the game will be explained enough to give you a basic understanding, or at least enough to understand the last chapter, and future chapters to come! (Copy and paste the following set of letters at the end of the Youtube homepage URL. Or you could always check out my PROFILE where I have the full URL's to the video, as well as other football video's if you want an in-depth understanding of the game, and can then FULLY appreciate Chapter 10 and future chapters where I will be writing more football games, but only one or two more).
/watch?v=Pr7Pu-Zw0Ow
Tony walked off of the field, his shirt soaked in his own sweat. He felt pride swell in himself not because he won the game for the school, but because he won the game for Ziva. Every bead of sweat he released, every ounce of energy he expended on the field, it was all for Ziva. Every time he scored, Tony would search the bleachers to see Ziva's ecstatic face filled with joy and energy, and that only made him stronger. In a way, Ziva completed him.
Ziva, Ari, Abby, McGee, and Tali were all talking by the SUV, obviously excited over the win. Abby was the first one to spot him, and immediately jumped into his arms to give him a massive bear hug.
"TONYYY!" Abby squealed, then suddenly jumped out of his arms.
"Ewwww, you're so sweaty." Abby said, scrunching up her nose. In Ziva's opinion, it just made him look better. It was proof that he worked hard to accomplish a goal, that he put forth all his effort, and that was a quality Ziva hadn't seen in many people. Plus the fact that the shirt was drenched made his rock-hard abs visible. Wow, you look amazing...
Everyone turned to Ziva with an amused expression on their faces. Tony's face started to redden slightly, but one could blame that on the intense game he just dominated. Ziva furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, unsure as to why everyone was staring at her. Then it was Tony to break the silence.
"E sei bellissima (And you're beautiful)." Tony said with a pointed look at Ziva. Everyone else furrowed their eyebrows in confusion, not knowing the Italian language. Ziva's face reddened as she cast her glance to the ground for a moment in embarrassment. Harah! I said that out loud!
"What'd you say, Tony?" McGee inquired. Tony simply gave McGee a look, telling him that he wasn't going to spill.
"You played amazingly tonight, Tony." Ari congratulated Tony as he patted his shoulder.
"Did you expect anything less?" Tony asked, cocking his eyebrow up. Ari simply laughed, squeezing his shoulder to tell him that he didn't. Out of the corner of his eye Tony spotted Dylan watching them with a hateful glare. Upon noticing his gaze, Dylan quickly retreated to his car and drove away, tires screeching as he made a sharp turn.
"Who was that?" Tali asked, having too noticed that he was staring at them.
"Dylan, our Middle Linebacker. Coach kicked him off for feeding the Dodgers points. I personally think he did it for drugs, but it's anyone's guess." Tony answered with anger coating his voice.
"He's screwed us over in the long run, since none of our subs are even a quarter as good as Dylan was, and now we have no Middle Linebacker." Tony growled. Ari pondered this for a moment, wondering what the requirements would be to try out for the Varsity team.
"Hypothetically, what would a Middle Linebacker need to be like in terms of his build?" Ari asked, trying to dig into what he would need to become.
"Agile, quick, but also has to be able to do some serious hitting. Most linebackers in general are usually heavily built, but not like a lineman. The linemen are like the tanks without weapons of the armed forces, and the linebackers are more like transport vehicles loaded with machine guns. Why do you ask?" Tony asked, slightly suspicious of Ari's intentions.
"No reason." Ari answered quickly, wanting to surprise Tony.
"Look man, if you're thinking about trying out for the position, go for it if you want to, but let me know. I can put in a good word for you and set you up in a tryout session. If you get in, I'll act as your trainer." Tony told him, seeing right through him. Ari looked down in embarrassment. Of course he would know what I would be thinking about.
"Thank you." Ari said, thankful that Tony didn't reject him.
"No problem, man. Besides, I'm sure that Mossad training would surely help." Tony chuckled. At the word 'Mossad Training,' Ziva and Tali looked up, both thinking the same thing.
"Can we tryout too?" they both asked simultaneously, earning chuckles from Tony and McGee.
"Sorry, Football is a guys-only sport. They're not going to let girls even tryout." Tony said, but Ziva and Tali were undeterred.
"Can you at least take us to one of your practices? I'm sure they won't recognize us as girls when we put on all that gear and a helmet." Ziva said, practically begging him. Tony pondered it for a moment. It sure would be fun to watch the David sisters kick ass in one of our practices, then reveal themselves as girls afterwards.
"Sure, I'll take both of you to one of our practices, maybe even next practice if you want? It's this Sunday." Tony said, and both Ziva and Tali brightened up.
"Thank you, Tony!" Tali squealed as she jumped into her arms, unfazed by the sweat.
"Thank you, we really appreciate it." Ziva said politely, not trusting herself to keep her hands anywhere PG if she got within two feet of Tony. Tony smiled as he ushered them into the SUV.
NCIS
The car was filled with jokes and laughter as Tony drove into Gibbs's driveway. Gibbs and Jenny were standing outside with smiles on their faces. They all exited the car with smiles of their own plastered on their faces. It truly had been an amazing night, and boy was it exciting.
"So, how was the game?" Gibbs asked, knowing that Tony's team won based on the smiles on all their faces.
"It was awesome! Tony was like an NFL player with all the jukes and stuff! He was so fast, no one could catch him! And one time he completely decked three of the other team's players at the same time! And then, one of the players on Tony's team got ejected, but Tony managed to cause a fumble and run it for a touchdown! And the-" Abby rambled, but was cut off as Jenny put her palm over her mouth, muffling her.
"Ok, we get it Abby!" Jenny smiled as Abby continued to ramble with Jenny's hand over her mouth.
"Come on kids, time for bed." Gibbs said, clapping his hands together. Everyone filed inside the house except Ziva and Jenny, who was waiting for Ziva to come inside.
"I just need a moment with Tony." Ziva told Jenny. Jenny gave a knowing smirk before going back inside the house. Ziva turned around to face Tony, who was watching her with a smile.
"What?" Ziva asked, shooting Tony a questioning look.
"You tell me, you're the one who wanted to have a moment with you." Tony replied, giving a bright smile. Ziva internally rolled her eyes it herself. Duh!
"Oh yeah, sorry. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for tonight. I had a lot of fun, and I appreciate it." Ziva said nervously, unsure now what to say.
"It's no problem, Zi. I'm glad you had fun, as was my intention. I hope we can do this again another time." Tony smiled, melting Ziva's insides. Ziva smiled as she suddenly found interest in the ground... I am still wearing Tony's jacket!
"Oh-sorry! Here's your jacket back." Ziva apologized as she started to take off her jacket. Tony simply put his hand on Ziva's shoulder, causing her to knit her eyebrows in confusion.
"Keep it. I think it looks better on you than it does on me!" Tony chuckled as he stopped Ziva once again from taking off the jacket.
"But this is your jacket, Tony! I can't just take it from you!" Ziva said, getting slightly frustrated that Tony stopped her once again from removing said jacket.
"Ziva, trust me. I want you to have it, consider it a gift. I hardly wear it anyway, so you won't have to feel guilty." Tony said seriously, communicating that he did indeed want Ziva to have it. Tears almost shot into her eyes as she felt the sincerity of his words. She quietly buttoned the jacket back up and adjusted it.
"Thank you." Ziva said quietly, placing her hand on his right cheek and leaving a lingering kiss on his left. The kiss shot fire and energy through both of their veins, time seemed to slow to a standstill, the world around them faded into nothingness, it was just them. Their minds seemed to stop working, their hearts pounded wildly in desire and something deeper, feeling in their legs slowly escaping both of them. Their insides turned to mush as butterflies fluttered madly in their stomachs, vision becoming blurred and smoky, their breathing erratic and quick. The sound of crickets chirping and grass gently shifting in the breeze was deafened, the smell of each other warm and sweet (what is this, drugs!? Imagine what they would be feeling if the kiss was on the lips...hmm...).
Ziva slowly pulled away, both of them immediately feeling the loss. Ziva slowly opened her eyes, as did Tony. They both gave each other beaming smiles, practically lighting up the whole neighborhood. They both reluctantly turned away and went back to their respective homes.
Chris was beaming at Tony as he walked through the doors and into the house. Tony gave his usual thumbs up, indicating that he won the game. Chris wasn't able to make it tonight since he had a SEAL buddy give him a call to pick him up from a bar. Chris patted his shoulder in congratulations, knowing Tony would be tired and only wanted to shower and go to sleep. Tony had an everlasting smile on his face as he made his way up the stairs and turned on the shower.
Chris had seen the entire exchange between Tony and Ziva, and it simply warmed his heart to see the endearment and kindness between the two. Tony might have finally found the missing piece to finding his true self again. Chris chuckled to himself as he realized something. Teenage boy with Navy SEAL training slowly falling in love with teenage girl with Mossad training, who herself was slowly falling in love with said teenage boy? What is this, some kind of cosmic joke?
NCIS
Finally, Sunday! Ziva thought to herself as she anxiously awaited for Tony to come knocking on the front door to pick her and Tali up for his practice. Ziva had to admit, all she was really doing on Saturday was watch hours and hours of Football with Tali, both trying to get even more acquainted with the sport so they would perform better in practice. A knock came from the front door, and both Ziva and Tali shot up as they raced to open the door as fast as they could. Tony had an amused expression on his face as the door was practically ripped open seconds after Tony knocked. Tony stepped to the side and let them go by him and into the SUV. Tony chuckled as he closed the front door behind them and hopped into the driver's seat. The entire car ride was only Tony telling them to be careful, don't do anything risky, and all that boring stuff. Ziva and Tali groaned as they finally arrived at the school parking lot, happy to escape Tony's detailed lecture on concussions and practically threatening to pick them up and take them back to their house if they so much as left their mouth guards out of their mouths for more than three seconds while on the field. Shit he even accidentally let it slip that he would literally wrap them in bubble wrap if they got so much as a bruise during practice, which was annoying, but still quite adorable.
Tony quickly dragged them into the locker room and went to a far corner where the showers were. Checking the biggest shower stall, he ushered them inside and shut the shower curtain tightly. Equipment in hand, he gave Ziva and Tali their own pairs of equipment and told them to put them on while he stood guard outside. Tony got dressed quickly outside the curtain and silently glared at anyone who came within five feet of the shower he was guarding, sending them away to another shower.
Five minutes later and Tali came out of the shower with full pads and equipment on, a helmet with it's visor tinted so you wouldn't be able to see her face very well. Thirty seconds passed and a frustrated growl came from the shower.
"Ziva, what's taking you so long?" Tony whispered, watching out for any other players on his team who were nearby.
"I can't get my shoulder pads on!" Ziva hissed back at him as she let out another frustrated growl. Tony quickly stepped inside the shower to help her. Ziva let out a defeated sigh as she let Tony strip off the wrangled shoulder pads off and adjust them. Now came the awkward part: Football shoulder pads had padding that covered the shoulders, upper back, and...upper chest. Tony slowly slipped the large piece of equipment over head and began securing it in place. The entire time he made sure not to apply too much pressure, afraid he might offend her in some way if he pushed too hard in those areas. After an awkward minute or so later, Tony finally buckled in the last strap in, firmly securing the pads in place. Ziva gave him a slight smile as he picked up her helmet and slipped it on, wearing the same visor Tali had worn. Tony helped her strap in the chin guard and fastened the mouth guard to the face mask so it wouldn't fall out. Finally, practice could start.
Tony jogged onto the field to talk to Coach Harris about two new players.
"Hey coach, I brought two of my friends to practice today. Is it okay if they participate?" Tony asked, hoping he would say yes.
"With that win you got us last night, I wouldn't care if you brought twenty!" Coach Harris said in delight. Coach Harris was a tall African-American man with a strong and deep voice and unworldly large muscles, as if each individual bulge could fit at least two oranges, at least.
"Oh also, I think I know a guy who'd be a good filler for a Middle-Linebacker. His name's Ari Haswari, is it okay if you try him out some time?" Tony asked him. Coach Harris pondered it for a moment, then went with the knowledge that Tony could always pinpoint talent when he saw it.
"Sure, Tony. Bring him with you next practice and we'll see how he does." Coach Harris said, then blew his whistle to signal that practice would be starting.
NCIS
Everyone was amazed at how well Tony's two friends performed. They were pretty small in comparison to the rest of the players, but man did they have fire. Both of them moved at speeds surpassing everyone except Tony, who ran at a slightly faster pace then the other two. Not only did they have speed, but they were strong. It was a simple drill where one person would run with the ball, the other person would tackle the runner. The two would lie face-up on the ground 10 yards away from each other. As soon as Coach Harris blew the whistle, both of them would get up as fast as they could. The runner would have to get by the defender in any way he could while staying in a 10 yard-wide lane, and the defender would have to tackle the runner. Simple.
Tony was the first one to go as the defender, preparing to tackle Jason, the team's starting Full-Back. Coach Harris blew the whistle, and they both shot up from the ground at blinding speeds. Jason decided to go head-on and try to blow past Tony. Big mistake.
As Jason quickly approached Tony, he dipped his shoulder to take the brunt of the tackle, then try to peel away from Tony. Tony dived at Jason's waist before Jason could even lower his shoulder and brought him crashing to the ground. Everyone applauded as Tony helped Jason up and got out of the way for Tali to start.
Tali was paired up with Eric, the left Defensive-End with brute size and weight on his side. All the other players chuckled as they waited to see a humorous and feeble attempt of a small player matched up with a huge one. The whistle was blown, and Tali shot up and was seven yards away from Eric by the time he had gotten up. Eric tried to knock her over with his size and simply breeze past. As Eric charged at Tali, Tali side-stepped him and used a Judo move to quickly use the displacement of his body against him and slammed him to the ground, shocking the entire team. Tali snickered as she walked away, leaving Ziva to go against the biggest person on the team: Kyle.
Kyle was a 340 pound walking beast, with layers of muscle coated with more layers of fat. This hulking monster stood at 6 feet and 3 inches, a supreme challenge for even Tony to bring down to the ground. As Tony noticed who her opponent was, she grabbed her by the shoulder, a worried look in his eyes.
"Don't do this, you could get seriously hurt. He's got at least 200 pounds over you, you could literally get crushed!" Tony whispered in her ear so no one else could hear him. Ziva chuckled, amused that Tony was so worried for her. Then again, she had to admit that he had good reason to. Ziva playfully shoved him in the chest, a smile on her face telling him that it would be alright. Tony nodded slightly then retreated back to watch, prepared to rip Kyle off Ziva the moment things got hairy. Tony had sweat pouring down his face, holding himself from biting his nails as he watched Ziva lie down on the ground.
Adrenaline and excitement pumped through Ziva's veins as she lowered herself to the ground. This is it. Time to blow Tony right out of the ocean. Or was it water?
Time moved in slow-motion as Coach Harris blew the whistle. Ziva shot up at blinding speeds already running towards Kyle. Kyle slowly got up and started running by the time Ziva was within two yards of him. Kyle tried to completely dominate her with his weight and thought he would be completely unfazed by a tackle.
Ziva understanding that tackling Kyle wouldn't work, decided to try something else. As Kyle came within arm's reach, she quickly kicked his shins, sending him stumbling backwards. Using his unbalance to her advantage, Ziva kicked Kyle's shins again, sending him stumbling backwards again. Ziva shoved him forcefully to his chest, causing him to be very unbalanced. Ziva jumped into the air to Kyle's height and impacted her right forearm with his collarbone, using all her strength she could summon to send Kyle crashing to the ground.
Everyone's jaw's dropped as they stood frozen in place, too shocked for words. What the hell? Kyle must be like 200 pounds heavier than him, how can someone as small as him possess that much strength? Even if that was illegal, that was still pretty bad-ass!
Tony's jaw was wide open as he stared in disbelief at Ziva who made her way towards him. Ziva clamped his mouth shut with her fingers and gave a wide grin at Tony, who gave a feeble one in return. Making sure no one else was looking, Ziva gave Tony's ass a playful smack, causing him to turn around in embarrassment as Ziva chuckled. Oooh, she's gonna get it...
Coach Harris brought the whole team around him to prepare for the next drill.
"Alright boys! Team captain's will be Tony DiNozzo and his friend there." Coach Harris said as he pointed to Ziva. Tony and Ziva gave each other wide grins as both of them took a stance, saying with their postures that this was a game to be won for bragging rights. It was game time.
By the way, the whole bubble wrap thing was a true story in my life. Got a small bruise on my arm in the 7th grade in my first game, and my Mom actually threatened to wrap my arms in bubble wrap if it happened again (it happened again, but thankfully my Mom was only joking!)
But who cares about my personal life!? Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the story! Favorites and especially REVIEWS are VERY much appreciated! I do read each and every one of your reviews, and it only drives me more to write and update this story with every review! So please, keep the reviews coming, they always bring a smile to my face :)