Tony's car broke down and Ziva is giving him a ride to work, fake dating ensues (WIP rescue from years ago)
Prompt: Take my hand
The small Toyota parking across the street made Tony lose all focus on what Ziva was saying. "Take my hand," he told Ziva, as he watched his perky new neighbor—the one who was half his age, yet had been hitting on him ever since she moved in—cross the street towards them.
Ziva looked at him in confusion.
He leaned closer to her, and repeated his request with more persistence.
"What? Why?"
With Sally now within hearing distance, he simply grabbed hold of Ziva's left hand and pulled her right next to him, ignoring her look.
"Tony!" Sally said, all smiles.
"Sally, fancy seeing you here," Tony said with a fake smile.
Sally frowned. "In front of our apartment building?"
"Ha, yeah," Tony said at a loss for words. Feeling Ziva's burning stare, he held up his and Ziva's conjoined hands. "Sally this is Ziva." He glanced at Ziva, who looked at him in amusement. "Ziva this is Sally, she moved into Patterson's apartment last week."
Ziva narrowed her eyes, never having actually met Patterson, so he squeezed her hand, willing her to play along.
"Pleasure to meet you," Ziva said with exaggerated pleasantness.
Sally's smile faded significantly as she glanced at their hands again. "Oh, yes, I think I saw you in the hallway a few days ago, and Tony mentioned your name…are you two…?"
Tony smiled widely and looked at Ziva affectionately. "We're partners."
"Yes, we have worked together for six years now," Ziva added.
"Must be fun working with the person you love every day," Sally said.
Ziva looked at him like the cat that ate the canary, and he knew he had to be on his toes for whatever she was about to throw at him.
"I wouldn't know," she said sweetly.
Tony forced out a chuckle, and brought her hand up to his mouth to kiss it, before giving Sally a conspiratorial look and saying, "Strictly business at work."
Sally gave them a conflicted look. "Right…well, I have to go."
As Sally walked away, Tony leaned down to grumpily whisper in Ziva's ear, "Thanks, I don't think she bought it."
"Easy enough to fix," Ziva said with a hint of mischief in her voice. She placed a hand on his cheek and guided his mouth to hers.
His heart skipped a beat as his mind focused fully on Ziva, giving as good as he got, and god was it good.
She pulled away, biting her bottom lip, gaze flicking to his mouth before meeting his eyes. "More believable?"
"No," Tony said, getting lost in the desire in her eyes and the need to stay close to her. "Not at all," he breathed against her lips and kissed her with fervor.
All too soon, Ziva broke the kiss, a small gasp leaving her lips. She kept her face close to his. "That should definitely do it."
"I don't know…" He grazed her lips gently.
"Tony, she's inside," Ziva murmured.
He nuzzled her nose, not wanting this to end, fake or real. "She might be watching us through the window."
Ziva pulled back and looked at him with a bemused smile. "Her apartment is on the side of the building."
With a grin, and a last glance at her lips, he said, "I guess we should get to work, anyway."
As they walked towards her Mini, his heart skipped another beat realizing she had not let go of his hand. Mindlessly he gave it a light squeeze, drawing her attention.
She let go of his hand, brows knitting together as she unlocked the car, but didn't open the door.
He reached the passenger side, opened the door, and hesitated as he watched her seemingly lost in thought.
She glanced back at his apartment building, then met his gaze over the roof of the car. "When did you say your car would be fixed?"
"Tomorrow," he said, then caught another glimpse of mischief in her eyes. Tony glanced at the same spot she had glanced at, and felt a flutter in his chest. "Maybe next week, who knows with mechanics, right."
She opened the car door, a slow smile building as she held eye contact. "Do you think we'll run into your neighbor again?"
Tony smiled his million dollar smile. "I never thought I'd say this, but, I hope so."