Chapter 18—
The atmosphere of the office felt totally different when Ziva walked in, just fifteen minutes after Tony. She had left her curls free today, with just a touch of bed-head.
Tony struggled to retain focus on his paperwork. Every time he caught sight of her he thought of that morning and he thought of how she had kissed him and how they'd taken this plunge into dangerously alluring territory and how he didn't even care. Finally, he'd be able to give her the sense of purpose and self-esteem that she deserved. But more than that, he'd be allowed to love her. That alone gave him a thrill unlike any other.
It was a pleasure just to be allowed to love somebody like Ziva.
She walked past the boys' desks to her own, which had recently been freed up due to the loss of an officer. Despite being his office assistant, Major Raimey had allowed for Ziva to move out into the main area with everyone else, saying something like, "A young thing like you doesn't deserve to be cooped up in a little room all day." She had been thrilled and was now situated across from Danny and Tony.
Look at me, she thought for a second. I have a desk. I have a phone. I have files and folders. This is good. This is progress.
But her thoughts of professionalism were quickly swept away when she caught Tony's eyes on her. She felt her cheeks go a fiery shade of red but she smiled.
"Morning, Officer DiNozzo," she said in a voice that was suddenly sultry. She turned to the other man. "Danny."
"He gets an 'Officer' and I don't?" Danny whined, but he was kidding. He often joked with her in the way that constituted a friendly relationship between co-workers. It was nice to have one of those.
"Sorry," she replied, not giving him one, and not taking her eyes off of Tony. She was about to say something else, though, when the Major poked his head out and called for Ziva to come and collect a few piles of things that needed filing.
"What is going on with you two this morning, Tony?" Danny asked. "Did you finally seal the deal?"
Tony coolly clicked his tongue and his fingers kept tapping away at his keyboard. He said nothing to Danny, which only served to irritate him further, much to Tony's amusement. If he could only get McGee in on this, then he'd be set to not do any work but play with them like marionettes for the entire day, or two, if he was lucky.
"Listen, I know I should probably be supportive and everything," Danny started, working under an assumption. "But is she still . . . you know?"
"She's not a stripper anymore, if that's what you're asking," Tony said, feeling solemn all of a sudden. "Not since we arrested her manager. Pretty obvious, considering she's been here all week."
"Just checking," Danny said feebly, twiddling his thumbs. Tony's smugness gave him an odd feeling of uncertainty.
"Why do you care so much, anyways?" Tony asked, after a long pause.
"Why do I care about what?" Danny asked in reply, having forgotten what they were talking about.
"About Ziva," he said. "Being a stripper. Why do you care?"
Danny felt a little invaded by his questions, as if he were a suspect being interrogated. They were brought forth with a rather harsh tone that was not frequented by the man he had come to call his partner and best friend.
"I don't, really," he said, not sounding the slightest bit convincing.
"Yeah you do," Tony accused. "If she hadn't been a stripper, then she'd just be another smart, beautiful girl, wouldn't she?" He had risen from his chair and was standing over the shorter man with menacing presence.
"Calm down, man," Danny stammered.
"Answer the question, Price," Tony demanded.
"Look, I guess it was more at the beginning but I didn't want you stickin' your nose in where it didn't belong. Especially with a girl so tangled in all this underground business. But I see what you liked about her. She's classy, and she's outta that job now."
"But if she wasn't, then what?"
"Then . . . I don't know."
"It wouldn't matter," Tony spat. "It doesn't matter what she does, or when she does it – that doesn't define who she is, and that," he smacked the table loud enough to turn heads. "Is why I love her." Those final words were soft as Tony leaned in close.
Danny's eyes widened and he physically leaned away from Tony. "Whoa, did you just say you loved her?"
Tony took a deep breath and collapsed in his chair. "Yeah," he admitted. He may have loved her, but it was a tiring thing to do.
"Does she know that?"
As Danny spoke, Ziva came back through the door and began to walk back to her desk. Tony let his eyes linger on her for a moment. It was his favourite time when he could look at her without her knowing (or, at least, acknowledging. Few things were quick enough to get past her unnoticed).
"Yeah, she does," Tony whispered.
"And does she . . ."
Ziva was too close for him to answer, so he just looked at her again, more obviously this time. She looked back, with a smile. When Tony turned back to his partner, he seemed to understand, and he gave a reassuring nod.
"Okay," he said, getting up, and patting Tony on the back. "I gotta take a leak."
Ziva screwed up her face and Tony laughed, thinking it was adorable..
"Hey," he said finally. She didn't answer him at first, because she thought he might say something else. He didn't, he just looked at her in the kind of indulgent way that he couldn't before and it made her stomach do flips.
"Hi," she replied after a while. Inwardly, she cursed herself for her inability to form a sentence, or to tear her eyes from him. Looking at him, she was reminded of everything that he had always been to her and so much more.
"You gotta stop with the little looks." The corner of his mouth was raised in a crooked smile.
She laughed (he did truly adore that sound). "Me? Stop yourself."
"Sorry." And there was that tantalising smile again. His green eyes sparkled at her and God, it would be so easy just to fall into his arms right then and there. But she didn't. She stayed upright and straight-backed in her chair that few feet away from him. The competitive streak in her told her to resist it, and to resist him, but it really was difficult, and she thought for a moment how stupid she had been to even consider shutting him out.
He was the best thing that had happened to her in far too long.
...
Despite everyone's best efforts to keep the events of that morning secret, most of the office were playing Chinese whispers with Tony's love life by mid-afternoon. Danny had filled McGee in like a gossiping schoolgirl and someone his not only misheard but misinterpreted, and so it began. Ziva kept dignified as the details surrounding the infamous "she" in the story grew darker and more distorted by the hour, and she felt awful hearing them, but did not jump to correct anyone. She stayed silent.
Just before five thirty, two men whom Ziva recognised from that first night at Tim's party approached Danny's desk. Tony was not there.
"Hey, Dan," one of them said. "What do you know about this 'Tony hooking up with a stripper in the back of a taxi' thing?"
A taxi, Ziva thought. That's a new one.
Danny gulped and looked over at Ziva. On any other occasion he might indulge the entertainment of two of his fellow officers, but this time, he knew his best friend would take it to heart, and he liked Ziva. She didn't deserve to be trash-talked by the entire office.
"No," he said quietly, still looking at Ziva. "No, it's not true."
"You sure?" the other asked.
"Positive. He told me himself."
"Then where'd the rumour come from?"
Danny gave a sigh. "I don't know," he lied. "But he does have a girlfriend. And he really . . . he really loves her."
Ziva smiled as subtly as she could, but struggled to be subtle at all.
"Maybe we should start planning his bachelor party. Hey, we could get that stripper that McGee had – she was good."
Ziva resisted the urge to choke out a sarcastic thank-you and decided to start afresh with these men if she ever actually had to talk to them. Clearly they didn't recognise her, though she supposed that was a good thing.
Eventually, they turned to leave, and Danny told them to spread the actual word before the false one got any worse.
After they had left, Ziva tapped Danny on the shoulder. "Thank you," she said. "That was a kind thing to do for him. Especially when the situation between he and I is so complicated."
"Anytime," he answered. "And I wouldn't worry about complicated, Ziva. He's head over heels for you."
Ziva had never smiled so much in one day.