Title: Man of Two Minds
Author: Trista Groulx aka dustytiger
Rating: T (like the show to be safe)
Disclaimer: I remain a poor barista I make nothing from this I am borrowing these characters for fun and they still belong to their network, creators, writers, actors and actresses who bring them to life.
Summary: Ziva comes back from Israel, but Tony is already in a relationship Keates. How will he choose between two such important parts of his life?
Notes: Tony talks to Keates, finally and things get fuzzy from here on out. I would like reiterate, (although it's in my summary before you began reading), that there is no way for me to pick the three characters in this fic, when Keates becomes a character I can choose she will be added until then there's nothing I can do about that. I did not intend to mislead people and I am sorry if you feel that I did. I was as honest as I could be without giving away my entire plot, again it's part of my summary. I put Ziva's name on there because I had a friend who was attacked for not "warning" people that a fic she had written mentioned Tony/Ziva's relationship. Clearly there are some overly passionate fans in this fandom, but please try to be respectful.
On with the fic!

Keates heard knocking at her door, when she opened it she smiled and let him in right away. She hugged him, but he soon felt tears on his shirt. It felt amazing having his arms around her again but she was still nervous. As much as she wanted to believe he'd talked to Ziva she had to wonder. The past few days had been hard, she hadn't realized just how much she relied on him to stress down, and also missed Colby. As much as she had wanted to go talk to him she didn't want to run into her. He was happy to have her in his arms again, and took full advantage of the long embrace glad she had opened the door for him.

"Zoe," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

"Spider, give me a minute," she whispered.

He wiped her tears with his thumbs and she smiled at him, she then cupped his face with her hand. As much as she had wanted him to be honest with her, it hadn't been easy. She had also had to tell him about her own past and her fears when she was in a relationship. She had never been in such a strong relationship before and the thought of losing that had terrified her, assuming he was there for the reason she needed him to be.

"I should have talked to her right away. I should have told you what I felt. I'm so sorry I hurt you," he told her.

"You needed the time you needed. I get it and now we'll move forward from here, right?"

"I want to Zoe. I honestly never meant to hurt you. I thought if I was honest with you it would be fine, it was really working between us. I never thought she'd come back like that. I should have dealt with everything better than I did."

"I understand you needed some time." She laid her head on his chest. "I'm glad I didn't have to lose you twice."

"Me too, you're good for me and I should have made sure you knew that from the second she came back. I handled everything so badly."

"It wasn't on you, it's all on her. I'm just glad it's over and you're here with me."

She pulled him into another hug, this time not letting her emotions get the better of her. She was focusing on the positive and how good it felt to be moving forward together. This was what she wanted and she was thrilled it had worked out. As hard as the last few days had been she was glad to be moving forward.

"You're who I need," he told her. "How about I take you out for dinner?"

"I feel the same way. Dinner sounds good, but nothing I have to get dressed up for and I don't want to miss the game."

He laughed. "If you had said that from the start I wouldn't have had to think so hard."

She leaned in and kissed his lips softly. "You know I'm easy."

"Well, I've never complained about that," he assured her. "How about wings and beer?"

"You know the way to my heart Spider, that sounds perfect. Then we can go home and see if we can get another noise complaint."

"If it's home why are you so hell bent on getting us evicted?"

"Maybe we can look for something that represents both of us."

"Sure, now are you sure you don't want to go to that Italian place?"

"They don't have a TV, so not tonight, Spider, wings and beer sounds perfect after the past few days. If you really feel the need to make it up to me with food, I want lasagna made with that sauce you're so secretive about and the noodles you make."

"All right, deal we'll have that tomorrow," he told her with a lopsided grin. "I'd be an idiot to walk away from a woman who's good with a date night that includes the game and a good sports bar."

"Hey, Tony, I kinda love you."

"I love you back Zoe." He leaned in kissed her softly but seductively.

"Oh no you don't, I don't want to miss this game."

He laughed and leaned his forehead against hers, running his fingers along her cheeks. She smiled at him then broke the embrace to go put on her shoes and jacket. He followed suit and followed her out of the apartment and to his car.

Notes: So, what'd you think? I know this isn't what some of you thought, and once again I'm sorry if you feel mislead but this is the fic I chose to write. For now I'm still allowing anonymous reviews. Also this is gonna have fifteen parts, so if you're getting alerts there'll only be a few more sorry I can't give you more info on that. Please be kind heart.