A/N: Tony-focused, set during You Better Watch Out.

I almost cheated today, because I don't really know any winter-themed stories (well, nothing that would be easy to retell, also, for some reason The Little Match Girl and the Snow Queen stories gave me Somalia feels-don't ask, I don't know, okay), but Sophie came up with The Christmas Shoes song (which I also don't know) and that looked fairly easy to adapt, so I rolled with it. I don't know how I feel about this one, but eh, I wrote something.

To those waiting for that fake dating Christmas sequel, it will most likely not be finished in time (for some reason it keeps expanding...I'm hoping that's a good thing).

Day 23: Write a retelling of a winter-themed story.


He was tired. Bone-tired. Not to mention sick of the Christmas spirit everyone wanted to shove down his throat.

Tapping his foot, he checked his watch for the fifth time in fifteen minutes. This line was taking forever. And if it hadn't been for his dad staying at his place, he would've gotten Abby's present earlier, and been home on his couch relaxing right now. Without a sore back.

His dad was the reason he didn't care much for Christmas in the first place. Sure, the traditional movie in MTAC was fun, but he always went home to an empty apartment. And now that Senior had introduced some Christmas cheer to his place, without even asking (and let's not even think about the introduction of his neighbor to his bedroom), the emptiness seemed to have increased tenfold.

If Ziva hadn't convinced him with those big brown eyes and a hand on his chest, to let Senior stay with him, he wouldn't feel this irritated. He sighed heavily, that wasn't exactly fair. It's not as if she knew what funny business his dad would get into.

Thanks to his dad, he'd even been too distracted to pay much more than professional attention to Secret Service agent Winter. Though, that may have had more to do with his unresolved feelings for his partner, than whatever trouble he was having with Senior.

The line moved, and it was almost his turn. Finally.

There appeared to be some kind of problem with the kid in front of him. He briefly wondered where the boy's parents were. Who sends their kid out on his own to buy shoes on Christmas Eve?

The boy insisted he needed the shoes, even though he didn't have enough money. When he said he needed them for his terminally ill mother, who could die at any moment, Tony thought back to a time when he was that young. It was a memory he didn't like revisiting.

His chest clenched when the boy continued pleading; he needed the shoes so his mom would look pretty for Jesus. No kid should have to go through something like this.

Tony grabbed his wallet and handed his credit card to the cashier, offering the boy a sympathetic smile. He hoped the boy's father wouldn't turn his back on his son after his wife died, the way Senior had done with him.

Once the shoes were gift-wrapped, the boy thanked him excitedly and ran out the door as if death was chasing him. Maybe it was.

As the cashier dealt with his own purchase, with a tired, yet no longer fake smile, he reconsidered the past few days. The past years.

For all the things Senior had done wrong in the past (a lot), and even the present (maybe it was time for a king-size bed), his efforts to reconnect did seem genuine this time. The fact that he showed up when he said he would, not needing help, had to mean something.

As much as he wasn't looking forward to it, maybe he should try talking things through with him again. Neither of them were getting any younger. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life with regrets if something happened to his father and he hadn't even tried to give him another chance.

And maybe, he should ask Ziva over for a drink after the movie. He had a feeling no amount of Christmas decorations could make his apartment feel as cheerful as she could.


A/N: Thank you all who are still reading and leaving feedback.