A/N: Early season Tony and Ziva. I can't believe we're only at day 8...
Day 8: Write about a hot beverage.
They sat down in a booth with a view on the parking lot. After hours of driving in rain and sleet, on icy roads, they were both exhausted. Tony from cussing and telling Ziva to be more careful while gripping the edge of his seat, and checking his seatbelt worked properly every ten minutes; Ziva from listening to Tony complain, and trying not to end up in a ditch or wrapping the car around a tree.
When the waitress brought their order—one black coffee, one hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream—Ziva rolled her eyes at his choice of beverage, and took a sip from her coffee, warming her hands around the cup.
"Do your taste buds even work?" she asked sweetly.
He made a face and nodded at her black coffee. "Do yours?"
Ziva tapped her fingers on her cup. The only reason she was drinking black coffee right now was to stay awake. Regardless of Gibbs' taste in drinks, she still preferred tea, but sometimes you needed something stronger.
That whipped cream looked good, though.
"Stop eyeing my hot chocolate and marshmallows," Tony said.
"Marshmallows?" She wrinkled her nose for good measure.
"Wait, you've never had hot chocolate with marshmallows, have you?" he said in disbelief.
Ziva shook her head and took a big gulp of coffee. The warmth and caffeine were welcome, the taste…not so much.
"You don't know what you're missing," Tony said, then took a big gulp of his own, smacking his lips afterwards.
"Type 2 diabetes?" Ziva deadpanned.
Tony mock-laughed, glared, then went to the men's room. They really needed to find a way to be cooped up in a small space for hours without biting each other's heads off.
Her gaze drifted from the door to the men's room, to the hot chocolate at the other side of the table. She licked her lips as her mouth watered. It looked so tempting.
Ziva glanced in the direction of the men's room, there was enough time for a quick sip. Just a taste. To wash away the coffee.
She grabbed his cup, held it up to her nose and the rich aroma, with a hint of cinnamon, made her eyelids flutter shut. It reminded her of the hot chocolate her grandmother used to make for her and Tali when they were little kids. Minus the marshmallows.
The jangling of cutlery coming from the counter broke her reverie, and she eyed the door once more, then took a swig from Tony's cup. The smooth savory liquid running down her throat instantly calmed her. Maybe hot chocolate could help her through hours of Tony quoting movies.
Ziva took another sip from the creamy decadent drink before replacing the cup the way he had left it. And not a second too soon.
She licked her lips discreetly and smiled at Tony walking up to the table. He squinted at her, brows wrinkled. Perhaps she shouldn't have smiled, not after the way they had been snapping at each other for the past hour.
Tony sat down, one corner of his mouth twitching upwards. He grabbed his cup without a comment and took a sip, meeting her gaze.
"No longer worried about diabetes?" he asked smugly.
Ziva tilted her head slightly, her eyes flicking from his to the cup and back.
He reached over to the napkin dispenser and handed her a napkin grinning broadly. "You have whipped cream on your nose."
A/N: Thank you to everyone who's been reading, liking, letting me know they like this challenge. I really appreciate it.
