Author's Note: This is part of the greater Ties That Bind series, fitting between No Strings Attached and Tangled. A collection of moments, scenes, drabbles, and general Tiva sweetness as they settle into their new house together and generally enjoy each other's company.
If you've come here for hard smut, don't. There'll be lots of innuendo and suggestions, but nothing super graphic.
Updates will be sporadic, my main focus is on finishing All Tied Up right now.
As always, enjoy!
The blinds were open, but the filmy curtains were closed, bathing the room in a diffuse primrose glow. Individual rays slanted through smaller gaps, creating more focused beams of light that streamed in, and pooled on the bed, warming the sheets. The room seemed suspended in a moment of gold; for a time, the only movement was created by tiny specks of dust as they danced in the air, shimmering briefly when they passed through a sunray, unnoticed by the lovers twined on the bed, although they had been the ones to raise them.
Still adrift in their afterglow, Tony and Ziva surfaced slowly, languid kisses mingled with hushed whispers, and low, sleepy laughter. Breaths gradually steadied and fell out of sync, as they each found their own pattern again.
Ziva rolled and settled on her back, her curls splayed in a halo on the sheets. "We should get up," she murmured. Her back arched as she stretched with a deeply satisfied sigh and dappled light kissed her curves in new places as she moved, accentuating the glisten of her sweaty skin.
Tony gave a drowsy, love-drunk chuckle, reaching out to trace the ridge of her hip as she relaxed into the sheets again. "When you look like that?" He let his eyes travel slowly down her body, taking in her tousled hair, the contented look in her eyes, and the tell-tale flush of recent exertion across her collarbones. "We're not going anywhere."
"After that?" Ziva laughed softly, disbelievingly. "You cannot possibly be..."
"No," he replied, voice husky. "Just lemme look at you." He didn't have the words to describe the magic of the interplay between light and shadow that painted her skin, but he wasn't ready to break the spell just yet.
She turned towards him, bringing a hand up beneath her head as she settled on her side. "Since when do you look without touching?" she asked with a quiet smirk.
He moved, mirroring her position, and for a moment, she basked in the warmth of unabashed admiration in his gaze. "Since... this..." He gestured vaguely down her body, taking in the richness of her colouring, stark against the backdrop of clean white cotton. The curtains billowed slightly as though stirred by the motion, and a new shaft of sunlight landed in the curve of her waist, a vivid golden stripe tracing down her stomach and across her navel. She stretched her legs, seeking a new spot of sun with her toes, and Tony had a glimmer of the tigress within, toned and graceful, with every movement purposeful and fluid. The combination of danger and beauty in her allure made him suck his breath in sharply for a moment. "I mean... you're a vision, Zi."
Dark lashes fluttered onto blush-warmed cheeks for a second, almost bashful at the sincere compliment. "You realise I am already naked and in your bed, you do not need to spend time on flattery, yes?" Even as she teased him, she couldn't hide her smile at his words.
He leaned closer, capturing her lips briefly with his own. "Our bed, in our house" he whispered, still delighting in the newness of their shared living arrangement. "Will you promise me something?"
Ziva arched an eyebrow, curious. "What is it?" Her fingers trailed down his bicep slowly as she spoke.
"That we'll always have white sheets on this bed." Though the request was simple, he delivered it with gravitas worthy of a marriage proposal.
"Oddly specific." Her lips quirked, amused. "But, yes if it is so important."
Tony nodded. "It is," he insisted. "I mean... you're a freaking masterpiece... anything else, colours, patterns, whatever... it's just going to distract. I just want to see this, see you. Like a blank canvas, you know?" He shrugged, not quite sure how to put it more succinctly.
The humour that still lingered on her face turned to a softer smile, and she shook her head gently. "It is very sweet you feel like that. Of course, we can, neshama."
Tony grinned. "Thanks, Zi... I know it sounds kind of stupid but..." The rest of his words melted into a long, tender kiss as she closed the gap between them again.
They drifted for a while longer, lost on one last blissful wave of endorphins and pheromones. The late afternoon light seemed to envelop them in a cozy, halcyon embrace, and they lazed in the soft, honeyed glow in contented silence. She was sprawled on his chest now, and he traced his fingertips down her spine, neither one quite asleep, but not quite awake either.
Gradually, the yellow haze deepened to richer shades of tangerine and marigold as the sun began its descent outside the window. Shadows lengthened on the ceiling, and Tony's stomach rumbled, drawing a laugh from both of them.
"I told you we should get up," Ziva said, making no move to follow through. "I knew this would happen."
Tony groaned playfully and seized her, hauling her over his body in a move that was anything but graceful. Now both facing the window, he cuddled up behind her. Through the filter of the semi-sheer curtains, the sky was turning shades of fiery orange and pink. "You've always gotta be right, don't you, Ms David?" he said. "I just don't want this to end right now."
"It is lovely," she agreed softly, gazing out at the sunset. "Although it is not a patch on watching the sunset across the Mediterranean from Haifa Beach. That is one of the most beautiful places in the world." Her shoulders hitched in a teasing chuckle.
"Yeah yeah Little Miss 'My Birth Certificate Isn't In English,'" Tony grumbled affectionately, planting a kiss on her shoulder. "But I'll take a bedroom in suburban DC over some desert oasis any day."
She caught the hand that snaked around her middle, drawing it up to kiss his fingers softly. "So would I," she admitted with a quiet, contented hum. They watched the sky change a little further, streaks of deep purple appearing at the top, the room dimming further.
"Want me to close the blinds?" Tony asked as the last streaks of the sunset disappeared, the sky phasing softly into twilight.
Ziva shook her head. "No, I want to see the stars... what there is to see in the middle of the city anyway," she added with a wry smirk.
Tony smiled, drawing her back against him. "Well, look who might be getting in touch with her romantic side after all," he said with a grin against the curve of her neck.
Ziva reached back, landing a swat on his hip. "Just enjoy the view... the one outside!"
Before the sky darkened enough for stars to become visible, Tony's stomach rumbled again, breaking the idyllic quiet for good. He laughed, let her go and shoved her towards the edge of the bed. "Okay... enough romance. Feed me, woman!"
Ziva caught herself before she rolled. "Do you want to try that again, Tony?" She rose under her own propulsion and turned to face him as he lay back on the bed his arms up behind his head with a pleased grin.
"Not really," he chuckled. Ziva cleared her throat firmly, retrieving the shirt he'd discarded earlier and sliding on her own arms. She began buttoning it very slowly and deliberately, a kind of reverse strip tease that he seemed to find as mesmerising as if she'd been disrobing. "I mean, would you please make that fantastic chicken and rice thing we had last week?" he amended, with the most hopeful expression he could manage.
Ziva arched an eyebrow at him. "I suppose I could do that," she said with mock reluctance, but the corners of her lips twitched in amusement. "It is late, though and that dish takes almost an hour. How about we order in tonight?"
Tony pouted playfully. "But I was looking forward to your cooking."
Ziva rolled her eyes affectionately. "I will make it tomorrow." She reached for her phone on her bedside table and flicked it on before settling back down beside him. "Besides, I do not want to leave this room any more than you do right now," she admitted.
"I've got your number, David," Tony chuckled. "A lazy afternoon, some really good sex, a pretty sunset and you're just as romantic as the rest of them."
"Oh, shut up and order," Ziva laughed passing him the phone.
Midnight fell, shrouding the window in a velvety blue-black. Flickers of light from the muted TV made shadows dance on the walls and bed and bathed everything with an almost ethereal blue glow. The room seemed suspended in a moment of peace and otherworldly stillness, the only movement the gentle rise and fall of even breaths, quietly in sync even as they slept.
Outside the stars glimmered faintly, unnoticed by the lovers twined on the bed even though they had left the blinds open specifically to see them.
A/N: Please don't forget, reviews are life!
Prompts and suggestions for this story are welcome. I prefer AO3 (Mirandabelle), Tumblr (MrsMungus) or Reddit (CarolineDiva) to the messaging system here, just FYI.
With the additional prompt bonus of "sunset" from the very talented and wonderfully supportive Mizuka. You'll find her gorgeous Twilight work over on AO3.
Much Love, M xx