NCIS ~ I Will Love You Thru Everything

part 11 - trust

Tony slowly opened the door. His jaw went slack when he saw how she looked in that dress. Anxiously, he cleared his throat and ushered her through the door. Ziva followed him through the living room. This was her first time being in his apartment.

She looked at the coffeestand and saw a framed picture of the team, standing outside the building. She had no remembrance of this photo being taken. She picked the frame up to look closer at the photo, but something slipped out of the frame and fell to the floor. Ziva bent to pick it up and stopped short when she saw what it was. Tony blushed. "You weren't really supposed to see that." he admitted. Ziva slowly looked from Tony to the photo. "How did you..?" she whispered. The photo was the closeup of her face that she had caught him looking at a few days earlier.

Tony blushed even more. "I sort of got back in your desk and took it. Ziva I couldn't help it. This photo just..is the most beautiful picture. And you are what makes it so beautiful."

Ziva couldn't think. She couldn't respond, she was still stunned.

Sensing that she needed to be rescued, Tony gently took her hand. "You aren't upset, are you?" he questioned her.

Ziva shook her head. "No no, not at all upset. But I cannot think straight when you look at me like this. I..I...you make me feel treasured. "

Tony took her other hand as well and raised them both to his lips. He kissed both her hands and then led her to the kitchen.

Ziva looked around the well-stocked kitchen. The cabinets were full and a ceiling hanger had silver pots and pans hanging. His table was set for two with a tall candle burning in the middle.

"shall we eat, Miss David?" he questioned. Ziva slowly smiled. "Yes," she whispered.

Tony pulled her chair out for her and helped her in. They both began to eat and talk, laughter filling the room as they remembered funny memories of working together.

After the meal was over, they slowly did the dishes together. Tony was washing and Ziva was drying and stacking.

He handed her a few plates and she took them and began to dry them. As she turned away from Tony to set them down, he grabbed her around the waist. "Tony!" Ziva scolded. "I could have broken the plates. We are not done with the dishes. We are going to finish them first!" Tony looked mischievously into her eyes. He whispered something so soft she could not hear him. "What did you say?" asked Ziva, unconsciously leaning closer to him to hear.

Tony regained his hold on her waist and pulled her close. "I said, wanna bet?" he repeated playfully. He picked her up and started carrying her to the living room, ignoring her squirms to get free. "Tony!" Ziva squealed. Strong as she was, Tony was stronger. Bigger, too.

He set her gently down on the sofa.

Ziva pretended to be stern. "I said we should finish the dishes Mr. Dinnozio and I meant--mmphh.." Tony silenced her with a long kiss. He carressed her face. He kissed her again and then asked, "what were you saying, Zi?" Ziva sighed. She kissed him deeply and ran her fingers through his hair. "I think it might have been something about getting used to this.."she mumbled in between kisses.

Needless to say, Ziva did not leave Tony's house for a few more hours.

Thanks for reading!