Lie Again

Big Step

Ziva glanced over at Tony, who had been fast asleep most of the flight.

She didn't know how he could be sleeping; her insides were twisting anxiously, and she was about one second away from breaking a window and jumping out.

Why on earth was she so nervous? This wasn't anything new. Ziva had spent the last ten years of her life doing exactly this: chasing down bad guys. So why did it feel like something was fighting to get out of her chest?

She glanced out the window again, stifling the urge to get out.

"Daydreaming about making out with me?" Tony mumbled.

"No," she said, giving him a stern look.

"Your lips say one thing, but your eyes say something else."

"Okay, well, now I am thinking about it!"

He laughed triumphantly.

"Not because I want to. Only because you brought it up," she amended.

"Sure, sure. We both know the truth."

She rolled her eyes at him but was pretty sure he didn't even notice. That kind of thing usually bounced right off Tony DiNozzo.

"On a more serious note, where are we starting this adventure?" he asked.

"Israel."

"Thanks. That was what I meant."

"Tel Aviv."

"You're killing me, Zee-vah."

"Then I am doing my job." She didn't like to dwell on the fact that her father trained her to be an assassin, but sometimes that fact came in handy. Not that anyone besides her caught her intentional pun.

"Are we diving straight in, or are we going to get comfortable at the hotel first?"

"You just spent the last three hours sleeping."

"You only thought so. I happen to like looking at the insides of my eyelids." He smiled.

Ziva sighed. "We are not diving in until tomorrow morning. And we are not staying at a hotel."

Tony looked, in all honesty, panicked at that. "Then where are we staying? No offense, but I don't do well sleeping under bridges and on park benches."

"My father offered his house to us for the next couple of days," she said softly. As soon as Vance had pulled Eli David up in MTAC, the Mossad director had launched into his usual list of apologies, offers, and promises. They meant very little to Ziva, but she had to admit it would be nice to go home for a few days.

Even if it was to track down the man who killed her Mossad partner.

***

"That's generous," Tony said carefully. He watched her face, unsure how Ziva was feeling about staying at her father's place.

She nodded. "It has been too long. It will be good to see the house again."

Whoa. Was he about to see where Ziva grew up? That was definitely a big step for them.

"And in the morning?" he asked, his voice coming out a little croaky. He had no clue what that was about. Well, okay, he had a pretty good guess.

Relationship freak-out.

Which was funny, because he and Ziva weren't even technically in a relationship.

They were friends, and they were partners, and that was it. Friendship, partnership, no relationship.

The disjointed memories of Ziva's lips on his flooded his mind for a moment.

Dang.

He shook his head, actually shook it, and then was aware of Ziva staring at him. "I was trying to remember if I fed my fish before I left," he said.

"And?"

"Nope. I'll just call my neighbor when we land and ask her to take care of it."

"Your neighbor has a key to your apartment?"

Did he detect a hint of jealousy? "No, I have a spare on top of the door frame."

"Not a very safe place to leave a key."

He shrugged. "Not too concerned about people trying to get into my apartment."

"You should be."

Maybe not jealousy. Maybe just worry. That was nice, too.

"Would it make you feel better if I put the spare key somewhere else?"

She nodded, but he could tell she was no longer listening.

"I'll hide it in that potted plant next to my door. How's that?"

"Better."

"Alright." He didn't see how that was any better than having the key above his door, but if it would make Ziva happy, he'd do it.

***

Ziva sucked in her cheeks as she stepped out into the Israeli heat. It was a bit warmer than she remembered.

Behind her, she heard Tony groan.

"We can go in," she said, leading the way. She set her duffel bag down so she could fish a key out of her bag and unlock the front door.

"Your father isn't even home to greet you?" Tony asked.

She turned just enough to give him a look. When was her father ever home?

He shrugged.

"He does not spend much time here. He prefers his penthouse in the city. It is much closer to his office." She pushed the door inward, not at all surprised when the air sweeping out of the house was just as warm as the air outside.

"Ah."

She went straight to the thermostat, flicking the settings to what was basically arctic blast. "I am sorry about the heat. My father does not like to waste money on things he does not need."

"Got that impression." Tony left his suitcase next to the door and poked his head into a couple rooms. "Nice place."

"I guess." The house was already starting to cool down, thankfully. "You can stay in one of the guest rooms upstairs."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "One of the guest rooms? How many are there?"

Ziva shrugged. "Does not matter." She pointed to the staircase. "You wanted to sleep. I will not take off without you."

"You promise?" he asked, holding her gaze.

She held in a sigh. "I promise."

That seemed to satisfy him; he grabbed his suitcase and heaved it towards the stairs. "You should get some rest, too."

"I am fine." She knew that those were the least convincing words in the English language, but they were the only ones that rang true.

She was fine.

Not great, but not terrible. Just fine.

*****

Little shorter (just a tiny bit), but I want the next scene to be another update. Maybe I'll get another one typed up this weekend. Probably tomorrow morning, if at all. I have a ton of homework to get done before next Wednesday.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting a really strong Berlin vibe. It wasn't entirely intentional, but this is going to be somewhat similar just because (let's face it) that was a beautiful Tiva episode even though it came to a screeching halt. Pun intended.

Anyway. Tiva is what y'all wanted.

Vote/comment/follow!!! Seriously, I'll follow you back because I'm just that cool. Or desperate. Take your pick.