Lost Together
Title: Lost Together
Length/Word Count: 646
Pairing/Characters: Tony/Ziva
Prompt: Prompt #83. Questions from 100_tales
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not my sandbox ... I'm just playing in it. I'll clean up when I'm done.
Summary: What really went on in Ziva's apartment when Gibbs was in Mexico?
Author Notes: It irks me that we never really know what went on in Ziva's apartment ...
The click of the shutter didn’t capture what was going on inside. A stack of movies strewn on the coffee table and an almost empty box of pizza open on the sofa cushion. Two people, each lost, stared silently at the movie playing out on the television screen in front of them.
Tony nudged the final piece of pizza toward Ziva with a soft frown. Silently she reached for it, taking a bite without looking away from the movie. Tony grabbed a lone piece of pepperoni from the box before closing it and tossing it to the floor. Sliding into the empty space, he stretched his arm out and wrapped it around Ziva’s shoulders. She leaned against him, sighing softly.
She was asleep on his shoulder by the time the movie ended. Sliding away from her, he stood and stretched before crossing the room to slide his DVD from the player. He heard her stir and turned to see her rub her eyes with the back of her hand.
“You can do this Tony.” She whispered. “He wouldn’t have left if he did not think you could handle it.”
“I told you I didn’t want to talk about it Zee-vah.” He said, trying to grin as he rolled her name from his mouth.
“It does not matter what you want. You need to talk about it.”
Tony shook his head. “No. You and McGee can talk about, Abby can talk about it. Even Ducky and Jimmy can talk about it. I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Tony turned to stare out the window, lost in his own thought until he heard her stand and felt her swap her arms around him. With a sigh he turned back to her. “I just can’t.”
“Because you are the boss?”
Tony nodded, not meeting her eyes.
“You are not Gibbs. You do not need to lock things away as he did. You can still be Tony. He left you in charge. He did not tell you to turn into him.” She let out a string of Hebrew words and hit him in the chest. “Stop living by Gibbs’s rules. Be Tony.”
“You just hit your superior.”
“No. I just hit you. Tony. Not my boss, not someone with the world on his shoulders. I hit Tony. And the Tony I know would try to get me back.”
Tony turned and crossed the room, flopping back onto the sofa. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“You are right. I do not understand. Tim and I listen to you. We have your six. We do what you ask us to do. We do not fight you, we do not argue. I do not understand what is wrong. We are trying Tony.”
He laughed bitterly. “You’re just waiting. Following my lead, waiting for me to mess up, waiting for something to go wrong so you can run to the director.”
Ziva shook her head gently as she took Tony’s hand in her own. “I am waiting Tony. But I am not waiting for any of those things. I am waiting for you to stop living by Gibbs’s rules.”
Tony looked down at his hand as Ziva lightly ran her thumb across his fingers. Closing his eyes, he leaned into the sofa and took a deep breath. “I’ll do. That’s the best that he could say. Not that I was ready. Not that I would good at it. Just that I would do. That’s it. That’s all the more faith he had in me.”
Ziva leaned into him, releasing his hand to softly ruffle his hair. “McGee and I have faith in you. Gibbs does too, he just did not know how to tell you.”
“What if I can’t do it Ziva?” He whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.
“You do not have to do it alone.” She shifted closer, gently kissing his cheek. “Let us help you.”
Length/Word Count: 646
Pairing/Characters: Tony/Ziva
Prompt: Prompt #83. Questions from 100_tales
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not my sandbox ... I'm just playing in it. I'll clean up when I'm done.
Summary: What really went on in Ziva's apartment when Gibbs was in Mexico?
Author Notes: It irks me that we never really know what went on in Ziva's apartment ...
The click of the shutter didn’t capture what was going on inside. A stack of movies strewn on the coffee table and an almost empty box of pizza open on the sofa cushion. Two people, each lost, stared silently at the movie playing out on the television screen in front of them.
Tony nudged the final piece of pizza toward Ziva with a soft frown. Silently she reached for it, taking a bite without looking away from the movie. Tony grabbed a lone piece of pepperoni from the box before closing it and tossing it to the floor. Sliding into the empty space, he stretched his arm out and wrapped it around Ziva’s shoulders. She leaned against him, sighing softly.
She was asleep on his shoulder by the time the movie ended. Sliding away from her, he stood and stretched before crossing the room to slide his DVD from the player. He heard her stir and turned to see her rub her eyes with the back of her hand.
“You can do this Tony.” She whispered. “He wouldn’t have left if he did not think you could handle it.”
“I told you I didn’t want to talk about it Zee-vah.” He said, trying to grin as he rolled her name from his mouth.
“It does not matter what you want. You need to talk about it.”
Tony shook his head. “No. You and McGee can talk about, Abby can talk about it. Even Ducky and Jimmy can talk about it. I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Tony turned to stare out the window, lost in his own thought until he heard her stand and felt her swap her arms around him. With a sigh he turned back to her. “I just can’t.”
“Because you are the boss?”
Tony nodded, not meeting her eyes.
“You are not Gibbs. You do not need to lock things away as he did. You can still be Tony. He left you in charge. He did not tell you to turn into him.” She let out a string of Hebrew words and hit him in the chest. “Stop living by Gibbs’s rules. Be Tony.”
“You just hit your superior.”
“No. I just hit you. Tony. Not my boss, not someone with the world on his shoulders. I hit Tony. And the Tony I know would try to get me back.”
Tony turned and crossed the room, flopping back onto the sofa. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“You are right. I do not understand. Tim and I listen to you. We have your six. We do what you ask us to do. We do not fight you, we do not argue. I do not understand what is wrong. We are trying Tony.”
He laughed bitterly. “You’re just waiting. Following my lead, waiting for me to mess up, waiting for something to go wrong so you can run to the director.”
Ziva shook her head gently as she took Tony’s hand in her own. “I am waiting Tony. But I am not waiting for any of those things. I am waiting for you to stop living by Gibbs’s rules.”
Tony looked down at his hand as Ziva lightly ran her thumb across his fingers. Closing his eyes, he leaned into the sofa and took a deep breath. “I’ll do. That’s the best that he could say. Not that I was ready. Not that I would good at it. Just that I would do. That’s it. That’s all the more faith he had in me.”
Ziva leaned into him, releasing his hand to softly ruffle his hair. “McGee and I have faith in you. Gibbs does too, he just did not know how to tell you.”
“What if I can’t do it Ziva?” He whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.
“You do not have to do it alone.” She shifted closer, gently kissing his cheek. “Let us help you.”