When Tony turned up at her apartment, looking all big-eyed and hopeful she thought that it was going to be about a movie or basketball or something along those lines. That's what those eyes tended to mean. Something that he really enjoyed and wanted to share with her so that she would enjoy it as well. Which, to be honest, did work some of the time. But no. Not today. Today was something completely different. Yet, she really should have been expecting it. The weather was warmer, after all. Finally, after all of winter. Warmer. Key word. Not warm. Just warmer. There was a difference. A very big difference. As in, simply being warmer did not mean that she voluntarily wanted to spend time outside unless she was running and therefore warming herself up.
Apparently, the change in temperature was enough for Tony to decide that they could return to the beaches. Needless to say, she did not agree with this. Not that Tony was paying any attention to her.
"First beach trip of the season!" He had announced and then proceeded to try and drag her outside.
Not that he had got very far with that because she had simply twisted his arm until he yelped and let go of her.
"No."
Because she was not going to a beach. No way. The sun was not even out at the moment, there were clouds. And clouds meant that it got cold. And, as had been said many, many, many times before, she did not like the cold.
"Come on! It's Spring! The weather's great!"
"No."
One word. No room for argument. Unless you were Anthony DiNozzo, of course. He could argue even when you remained silent. She had plenty of proof of this.
"You know you'll love it."
"I will not. It was bad enough in autumn."
He pointed his finger at her triumphantly. "Ah ha! You did have fun way back in autumn! Multiple times!"
"Except for the times that we were soaked by the rain," she reminded him.
He frowned at her like he did not like to be reminded of those times. Ziva could not forget them because they had definitely not been pleasant. Before America, she had not minded rain. Before America, rain had been a welcome relief from a desert climate. Deliciously cool and refreshing. Not here. No. Definitely not here. Rain not just soaked you, the damp stayed. There was no sun to evaporate it away quickly. Or not enough sun even in the warmer months. It was thoroughly unpleasant and she really hated the sensation of wet socks.
"You just have to wrap up warm and you'll be fine. It's warmer than it was back in November."
She noticed that he did not say that it would not rain.
"But not warm."
"Well, no," Tony admitted. "But warmer. That's still better, isn't it?"
"Yes," Ziva felt like she had to agree.
Mainly because it definitely was much better that freezing rain, sleet and snow. Sometimes all in one day!
"But I do remember saying in December that I did not want to go to any beaches until summer. Spring is not summer."
"Close enough."
"It is a completely different season!"
"But it is a warm season."
"Not if you go by today!"
Somehow, she wasn't entirely sure how Tony managed it, she had ended up in his car with a warm coat and an extremely happy Tony. She had honestly thought that he would have forgotten about this beach thing when it started to get sunny again (not warm because it definitely was not warm) but apparently not. The long winter months (and they had been long had not been long enough.
She supposed that she wasn't entirely against this idea. Tony would not have got her into the car while remaining uninjured, after all. She did enjoy the beach, that much was true. And it was a bit wanted. She supposed she could stick being outside as long as Tony did not get it into his head that they needed to sit on the sand or something. That would just be a step too far.
Half the fun was now refusing Tony and him trying to persuade her to come. It was a little bit mean of her but he always seemed to win so it was not that bad. Both of them ended up happy at the end of the day.
They got to the beach and Tony easily found a parking spot because it was still too cold though she knew it was useless pointing that out again. Briefly, she contemplated refusing to get out of the car but decided that would be a bit too dramatic for her liking. It was warmer than it was back in Hallowe'en, after all. Even she could admit to that. So, she decided to humour him and get out of the car, much to his visible delight.
"Come on, you missed doing this."
"I did no such thing," she said.
That sounded unconvincing even to her own ears. Because she had done, surprisingly. She did not think that she would, considering the not so pleasant time of their last beach visit (It did not matter of they were at a beach, freezing weather made anything horrible) but she was really enjoying this. The fresh air, the salty smell of the sea, that distinct smell of seaweed. All of it. She had missed all of it.
"Come on, let's get an ice-cream," he said eagerly.
Honestly, him and his sugar.
"It is still too cold for that," she called after him as he darted towards an ice-cream truck.
"Does that mean I can have yours?"
Somehow, by the time she had caught up he had managed to buy two.
"Absolutely not," she said, taking hers from him - hers had the strawberry sauce instead of chocolate.
She shivered as she took a lick, it was definitely still too cold for ice-cream but ice-cream was not something you turned down.