Lockers and Love

Chapter Twenty-One

They made their way up the ladder and Ziva gasped. There were candles and flowers surrounding the frame of the treehouse. She looked back at Tony who was standing behind her and just saw him smiling at her. The way the candlelight illuminated his face made him look majestic.

"What is all of this, Tony?" He moved to stand in front of her.

"This is...a...well I don't really know what it is." Ziva chuckled. She could sense his nervousness all day. It was something that practically radiated off of him. It made her curious as to why he was acting so strangely. Was he okay? Was something wrong? Looking around the treehouse she hoped nothing would be wrong seeing as this was the most romantic thing she had ever seen.

"So...uh...how has your day been today?" He asked. The stutter is his voice didn't go unnoticed. Ziva's eyebrows furrowed. What was going on? She moved closer to him, trying to get him to say what was on his mind.

"Tony. What is it?" He looked up at her abruptly. Damn Ninja skills. Well not really, he guessed that he had been acting weird all day, even without trying to. Tony took her hands in his and looked into her beautiful brown eyes.

"Ziva. I...I'm used to this kind of thing. Um... So I'm just going to come out and say it...or ask it." He took a deep breath.

"Ziva. Will you go to the dance with me?" He had never really asked a girl out to a dance or to anything before. Girls had always just thrown themselves at him, he never had to try. But now, with Ziva, he felt like he had never felt before. She wasn't just another notch on his bedpost, or someone he didn't care about. She was different, in a very good way. He was falling in love with her.

Ziva was stunned. The dance? The one at their school? The one that everyone wouldn't shut up about in any of her classes? This was not what she was expecting, but she could honestly say that she didn't mind. Going with Tony sounded like a great time, not only would she experience her first American school dance, but she would spend it with Tony, the one that had constantly occupied her thoughts. The one that she couldn't wait to talk to every day.

"Yes." She spoke. Tony's smile was as large as his face. She had never seen him look so...happy. So joyous. That smile made her heart beat faster, made butterflies fly around her stomach. They stared into each other's eyes, not wanting to break the hold. Tony began to lean into her. He placed his lips softly on hers. She kissed him back with just as much tenderness and affection as she could. When he pulled back, the smile was still there residing on his face. She loved the fact that she was the one to put it there. She looked back around the treehouse, finally understanding it's intention. This was something romantic, was something more thoughtful than she could have ever imagined.

"That is why you have been acting weird today, yes?" Tony looked sheepishly at the wood that surrounded them and gave a light chuckle. He nodded.

"Yeah. I've been thinking about it all week, well when Abby first brought it up. And I spent all night last night thinking about everything that I would do, everything I would say. I didn't want to mess it up. It was too important. You're too important." She smiled, she felt the need to just hug him. Which was very unlike her. She was never a hugger, never a cuddler, never a kisser. But with Tony, she felt this pull, this need to be able to do these things. She smiled up at him and pulled him back down to her. She placed a sweet kiss upon his lips and smiled when he deepened it. He had set up blankets and pillows throughout the treehouse making it more comfortable to sit on. He slowly laid her down on the blanket, her head hitting one of the soft pillows. One of his hands went to her cheek, trying to pull her even closer to him, while the other placed itself on her hip. She allowed him to do this. Even though she had never done anything like this before with anyone, she trusted him. Another thing that surprised her. She didn't easily trust others, she had bad experiences with trust. But with him, that went out the door. She placed her hands on his back, slowly running her hands up and down. He let a small groan pass through and that's what broke Ziva out of the trance. She pulled back from the kiss, sucking in a much-needed breath. Tony looked at her and smiled. His green eyes shone brightly as they looked at her. She placed one more quick kiss upon his lips and moved a tad away from him. They weren't ready for that yet. Hell, they weren't even dating. Maybe that would change soon. She really hoped that it would. They had talked about taking things slow, but she wanted to be his, wanted him to call her his. Wanted to tell off all the other girls that tried to get with him and hook up with him, tell them that he was hers.

Sensing that she was deep in thought, he brought his hand to hers. Squeezing it lightly. It brought her back to the present. The question in his eyes was evident. She didn't want to get his thoughts jumbled up. She was the one that told him that they should take it slow, and here she was thinking about a full-on relationship with him. She didn't want to confuse him or scare him away.

He could sense her hesitation.

"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" She smiled and her face turned a shade pinker than she would have liked. Again, she hesitated. Maybe this was too much, what would he say to it? What would he think? She thought back to the steamy kiss that they had shared only moments before. Clearly, he was still interested, right? Of course, he was. He wouldn't have asked her to the dance if he wasn't. She sighed and took his hand.

"Remember our conversation about taking things slow?" He nodded, still not looking away from her or loosening his grip on her hand. She looked out the opening in the treehouse at the sparkling water ahead of them. She found that that gave her the strength to ask him.

"What would you say to moving forward?" If she thought his smile earlier lit up his face, it was nothing to the one that was there now.

"Are you serious?" She nodded her head, looking into his eyes.

"I want to...try." He nodded.

"I do too. More than anything." She smiled at that. Clearly, he was just as smitten with her as she was him.

"Then let's do it." His voice was strong. Like he was delivering a speech about something that he believed in. Which in a way, he kind of was. He was passionate about her. Wanted to be with her more than anything and now that she was willing to give them a chance he was out of this world.
"So...we're dating?" She smiled.

"I guess we are."

She was going to the dance with him not as a friend, not as a fling, but as his girlfriend. Girlfriend. With Jeanne, he hated the term and felt like it was meaningless. But with Ziva, it felt like a revelation. He loved the word, wanted to say it out loud to anyone that would listen. This was the beginning of something special, something he wouldn't let go without a fight. And he was going to do everything he could to make her happy.