A/N: Tiva, drunken Tiva to be precise.

Inspired by the prompt "DRUNKEN CAROLLING ("that's not a thing" "oh yes it is")"

Day 29: Write about a tradition, which takes place in winter.


Tony still couldn't believe they weren't on call for once. Which meant that, for the first time in years, he could partake in a Christmas tradition he had loved since high school and college. He looked at his coworkers. Not quite as rowdy as his frat brothers had been, but they would do.

"Ziva," he said dramatically while placing a hand on her shoulder, "you've adjusted well to the American lifestyle these past few years. In fact, if you keep your mouth shut and stop Krav Maga-ing your way out of everything, you could even be mistaken for a red-blooded American."

Ziva narrowed her eyes at him. "So…shoot my way out of everything, instead."

Tony blinked a few times. His gut told him there was something distinctly unpatriotic about that comment. His boozed up brain couldn't quite keep up, though. He should probably get to the point before she Krav Maga-d him. Was that even a word? He shrugged and took a sip of his beer.

"There's one tradition you haven't participated in." He looked at Abby and McGee pointedly, then at her, and raised his beer. "Drunken caroling!"

Ziva scoffed. "That's not a thing."

"Oh yes it is," Tony said, and Abby and McGee chimed in.

Abby downed the reaming half of her beer, and hooked her arm in Ziva's. "That is the best idea you've ever had," she said. It came out a bit slower than her usual jabber.

Tony nodded slowly. Clearly all the tequila shots she had earlier were kicking in nicely. He stared at the Probie; face flushed, bit of a glaze. Yep, definitely getting there.

Ziva on the other hand was not quite drunk enough. He ordered another shot and handed it to her.

"Are you serious?"

She didn't sound very amused. Getting Ziva drunk when she didn't want to be drunk was almost impossible, no matter how much alcohol you gave her. He wasn't sure how she did it. Was it sheer willpower? Some weird Mossad mind trick?

"I never joke about drunk caroling, Ziva." He made an effort to look serious. Judging by her eye roll it wasn't very successful.

"It's a rite of passage," he said and placed both hands on her shoulders while staring her in the eyes.

And there it was. That flash of mischief he loved so much. Well, when they weren't in the middle of a dangerous arrest, anyway. She downed the shot, then emptied her beer.

"Lead the way," she said.

Tony turned towards the bar, finished his own beer, then placed an arm around her shoulder pulling her in for a hug.

"Onwards!" he said with an arm raised in the air. He grabbed Ziva's hand and pulled her behind him, while making his way through the crowded bar.

Once outside, the cold winter air hit him in the face, sobering him up just enough to realize they needed some attributes. He spotted a store across the street and walked over, the rest of the team in tow.

Ten minutes later they were back outside and he handed out his loot.

Elf hat for Tim, antlers for Ziva and Abby, a Santa hat for himself. Ziva wasn't drunk enough yet to be convinced to wear a red nose, so he handed her a bottle of vodka, instead.

"Are you trying to get me drunk, DiNozzo?" she said with a lewd smile, but took a gulp anyway.

Tony blinked, hadn't they covered that part yet? His gaze drifted to her lips and his mouth went dry. He needed a drink.

"We'll start practicing here, in the parking lot," Tony said slightly distracted by her smile, as he grabbed the bottle from her and took a sip. He felt it burn on the way down and looked at his teammates. This was such a good idea. Maybe they should head over to Gibbs' later.

Tony looked at the bottle—maybe he had enough alcohol for now—and handed it back to Ziva, who immediately took another swig.

He began singing "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer", and was pleasantly surprised when Ziva joined in almost immediately. Halfway through, he stopped singing and stared at her again.

His three teammates were still singing, and he went to stand directly in front of Ziva, taking hold of her upper arms.

"Ziva," he said loudly. "You're not singing off-key."

He gave her a stern look and she frowned, then drank some more vodka.

"What are you talking about?"

He shook his head wildly. "You have to sing off-key…otherwise it's not real drunken caroling."

Her mouth formed an O as she raised her eyebrows. When she nodded slowly, and her gaze began to drift all over his face, he knew the alcohol was finally getting to her. He smiled and took a couple of steps back, tripping over air in the process.

McGee and Abby had gotten hold of the vodka, but were still singing merrily. Ziva joined in again, still not singing off-key.

Tony stared at her moving lips. How did she keep them from getting chapped in the cold? He should ask her if he could borrow her chapstick. He grinned widely. Maybe, he could rub his lips against hers and see if that helped. She took the bottle of vodka back and took another sip while focusing her attention on him. His grin faltered, she'd probably waterboard him with vodka if he tried that without her permission.

She joined in again, and Tony thought they were either repeating themselves or singing too slowly. Shouldn't that song have ended by now?

"Wait…you can actually sing," he said as he leaned in close to Ziva's face again. They worked together for years, he should've known this. What else didn't he know about her?

Tony glared at her as if she had deliberately kept this a secret from him, and decided they should head for the restaurant a bit further down the road. McGee was stuck on repeat, so he head slapped him and sang the first line of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer".

He glanced at Ziva who was walking four feet from him. As he, Abby and McGee continued singing, Ziva looked at him with wide eyes.

"That is a horrible song," she said.

How had she never heard that song before?

He shrugged, and when he sang "Grandma got run over" a second time, he noticed the antlers he had given her and began laughing.

Ziva cocked her head.

Tony pointed at the antlers. "You…you can't drive…and you're a reindeer…you ran over grandma," he wheezed in between laughs.

In his drunken laughter he had completely missed all the merriness sliding from her face. She threw the antlers at his head, and he should really be grateful it wasn't the bottle of vodka.

The other two were still singing like an odd background theme as he picked up the antlers as smoothly as possible. He stepped a little closer to her.

In his anger—why had he been angry again—he had forgotten how volatile drunk Ziva could be. From an alluring temptress to a fiery hellhound in a matter of seconds if you weren't careful.

She refused to look at him, so he finished singing the song with Tim and Abby, who had now linked arms. It didn't help much to keep Abby from teetering on her platforms.

Abby burst out in "Jingle Bells", and he tried to get on Ziva's good side again, by singing the Batman lyrics instead. She frowned and looked at him.

"What are you singing, that's not how it goes."

"It's tradition, Ziva."

"Well, I don't know the lyrics to that either," she said, waving her arms around. "This is stupid," she whined. She stopped walking so suddenly, Abby and Tim almost tripped over each other trying not to bump into her.

Tony walked back to where she was standing. "How about, I Saw Mommy Kissin' Santa Claus?"

Ziva wrinkled her nose. "Why are all your Christmas songs so weird?"

Well, at least she didn't look angry anymore. He leaned in close and placed his hands on her shoulders, his thumbs brushing her neck.

"Ziva, it's drunken caroling," he said slowly, loudly, as if talking to a stubborn three-year old. Why was she not getting this?

Meanwhile, Abby and McGee had struck up the song. Ziva's eyes drifted in their direction, then to him, and then slowly up to his Santa hat.

Ziva bit her bottom lip and Tony's mind drifted back to the chapstick conundrum from earlier. Abby belted out that mommy was tickling Santa Claus underneath his beard and Ziva touched Tony's chin.

"You don't have a beard Santa," she said and ran her palm over his cheek.

And the way her mouth curved upwards and a glint appeared in her eyes, made him want to loosen his scarf. But then he'd have to stop running his thumbs over her neck, so that wasn't happening.

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, and he couldn't help but mimic the gesture. He hummed a little as his gaze drifted between her mouth and her eyes.

Was someone saying they should be kissing? It sounded like they were.

And then Ziva leaned in closer. Or was she swaying because she was drunk?

Her hand went to the back of his head, pulling him towards her. Nope, still steady on her feet, as always.

They bumped noses and Tony tilted his head. He opened his mouth, and before his alcohol addled brain could catch up, her tongue was already sliding over his. Her fingers tugged at the hairs at the nape of his neck as he deepened the kiss.

"Oh my god," Abby squealed. "I'm gonna tell Gibbs."