Alternative

(2/7)

Ziva had just finished putting the final touches on her make-up when the doorbell rang.

She should have been upset that he was ten minutes early and she wasn’t nearly as close to being ready as she’d wanted to be, but she couldn‘t find it in herself to be angry with him. If she had been in the same position; forced to face an ex-lover knowing that they’d moved on and she hadn’t, she would probably be a little anxious as well.

Her favorite fluffy pink robe was wrapped tightly around her body, the hem swishing gently against her knees as bare feet padded softly against the floor on her way to let him in.

Gibbs would just have to wait while she finished getting ready.

She opened her door and found him standing there holding a bouquet of wild flowers sheepishly in front of him. Her head tilted to the side, slightly amused that he seemed a nervous about giving them to her.

“I thought you might like these.”

“They’re beautiful, Gibbs.” Ziva smiled thankfully, taking them from him to smell their scent. “It was unnecessary, but very sweet of you.” She opened the door wider, allowing him inside. “It’s been a long time since a man has bought me flowers.”

“It was the least I could do.”

They both grinned, and much to her embarrassment, he seemed to finally take notice to what she was wearing.

“You’re not ready.” It was more of a statement than a question.

She pulled the neckline of her robe closer together. “I would have been if you hadn’t shown up before you were supposed to.”

He smirked and stole the flowers from her before she could protest, gently pushing her toward the back of her apartment. “I’ll put these in some water, and you go finish whatever you need to do.”

She complied without argument, and opened her closet once she reached it, pulling out the dress that she’d worn while she and Tony had been under cover the year before. It was one of her favorite pieces of clothing and she didn’t get to wear it nearly enough.

The tie of her robe slid undone easily and she let the whole garment fall off her shoulders, landing in a pile around her feet on the floor.

Her dress was halfway over her head, the material just covering her bare breasts, black panties in plain view, when she heard Gibbs walk into her bedroom. She froze, dread churning in the pit of her stomach.

“Hey, Ziva. Where do you keep your vase-” He stopped dead in his tracks, mouth agape. “Oh, God!” His hand had found its way over his eyes, and he turned away from her while the silk slipped the rest of the way down her body. “I- I couldn‘t find a vase for the flowers. I didn‘t mean to walk in on- you know…”

A healthy blush settled over her skin, cooled lightly by the soft fabric against her skin. “It’s alright.”

He turned hesitantly, making sure that she was fully dressed, before looking at her skeptically. It had been anything other than alright, that‘s for sure. His breathing had hitched the second he’d seen her tanned skin, an image of her lace covered curves burnt forever into his mind.

“No, it’s not, Ziva. It was-”

“An honest mistake.” She finished, coming across calmer than she actually was. “I shouldn’t have left the door open. It’s not your fault.”

To make her point, she walked over to him and set a hand on his arm. “Truly, Gibbs. It’s okay.”

He shook his head in disagreement, but didn’t say anything as she changed the subject and started pulling him in the direction they‘d both come from before.

“Just let me grab my shoes, and then we can ‘hit the tar’.”

“Road, Ziva.” He said, suddenly feeling like DiNozzo. “That’s, ‘hit the road’.”

--------------------

They’d been in Gibbs’ car for about twenty minutes and were just starting to reach the outer edges of the city when he took an off-ramp and began navigating familiar back streets like he‘d done it a thousand times.

She didn’t recognize anything, though that didn‘t surprise her, DC was a large city and she didn‘t get out nearly as often as she should for a person her age. “So, where are we going?”

The break in silence startled him, and he glanced at her before turning back to the road. “It’s this little Italian place that David, Shelia, and I used to meet at once a week. I haven’t been there in years, but I imagine it’s still the same.”

Ziva eyed him wearily as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. She’d never known him to do so before. Odd. She thought. “Is there something that you‘re not telling me, Gibbs?”

His jaw clenched, and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel a bit harder than necessary. “I, might have let it slip that I’d been dating someone for a while.”

She scoffed. “Were you planning on telling me about that little bit of information? Or, was it supposed to be a surprise?”

“I was going to tell you…” He trailed off.

“No you weren’t.” She countered. “You were going to hope that no one brought it up, and that I wouldn’t find out.”

“I just- I’ve been married and divorced twice since Shelia and I went our separate ways.” He grudgingly admitted to her. “I’m not justifying what I did, but… I couldn’t tell either of them that I had barely dated in four years.”

Her heart melted just a little bit, annoyed that her compassionate side seemed to have won out over the angered one. Poor Gibbs. She sympathized. Four years is a long time to be alone.

“How long have we been a couple then?”

He sighed, grateful that she was saving getting back at him for later. “Just over a year.”

“Alright.“ She said, her grin far too wide for his liking.

If they’d been ‘seeing each other’ for that amount of time, she decided to have some fun; take advantage of the situation, even if she knew that she shouldn‘t. If asked later, she would say that she’d started it because they were both single and lonely, and deserved to have a little human contact every once in a while, and it was partially true.

Before she could change her mind she reached across to him, sliding her palm seductively along his thigh.

Gibbs jumped, his heart in his throat, and heard Ziva chuckle as the car swerved a bit.

“This means I get to call you Jethro, yes?”

To Be Continued…