A/N: This story was inspired by a post on tumblr from "fuckyeahtonyandziva" aka Mary-Kate. So, the prompt/idea is hers :) Also thanks to my favorite, Mary (aka werealljustwinginit) for leading me to this spectacular post/idea! :)
Summary: "Anna had won the bet. She had rememberd his order from two years ago perfectly. One black coffee and one green tea. But it was no longer two years ago." Eventually Tiva. Multi-Chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of it's characters. And the original idea was Mary-Kate's (kisses to you!).
Please enjoy reading! :)
"Tony? Tony DiNozzo?"
Tony looked up, trying to make out where the voice had come from. He was sure he had heard the voice before but he couldn't quite place a finger on it. When he looked to the counter, he looked at none other than Anna, the barista that had been working at this very coffee shop up until two years ago. At some point she had just mysteriously disappeared, as Ziva had put it. And then there was that. Tony hadn't been to this particular coffee shop in one year. Ever since Ziva left. The sole reason being that he couldn't bear the thought of doing things he used to do with Ziva. Today was the first day he had made himself go to this coffee shop. He couldn't stay away from places like this forever. It was ridiculous.
"Anna?" Tony asked, a grin plastered across his face as he approached the counter.
Anna grinned right back at him and spread her arms in a tada-like gesture.
"I'm back," she announced.
"I can see that much. Where were you all this time?" Tony asked.
She rolled her eyes. "I was transferred to this stupid new store up in Connecticut. I swear it was the worst," she complained, her voice just a bit overly dramatic. Exactly the way Tony remembered her to be.
"When did you come back?" Tony proceeded to ask.
"Today's my first day back actually," Anna told him, apparently really happy about it.
"Well, welcome back to DC then," Tony said warmly.
Seemed like he wasn't the only one with a fresh start today. For some reason it made him feel better about coming here today. Maybe fresh starts weren't all bad. Anna seemed to be very enthusiastic about hers. So, maybe he just needed to start looking at the good things in life. For example..well, he couldn't quite think of anything. Except maybe a good cup of coffee. Anna had always been the one to make the best coffees in town. It had been Ziva who had introduced him to this particular coffee shop. No, he honestly needed to stop connecting Ziva to everything he did or thought. This was his life. And no matter how much he longed for her to be there with him, he knew it was not going to happen. He had waited for over a year and still hadn't heard anything from her. The situation seemed to be pretty hopeless.
"Thanks, I'm so excited to be back," Anna beamed, pulling Tony from his thoughts.
"Look, I'd love to chat a little more but I really need to go to work," Tony said apologetically.
He knew how much Anna loved to talk, especially to costumers she knew. But right now, he really didn't have time for that. He had already been running late when he had left his apartment. And he knew Gibbs wouldn't be too happy if he was late. Again. Tony had been late on the last three days. In front of his co-workers he had claimed that he'd had a hot date the previous night. Which wasn't true. It was actually far from the truth. The truth was, he'd been spending too much time contemplating whether or not to come to this coffee shop that in the end he'd always had to come to the office without getting any coffee, and still had been late on all three occasions.
"Sure, no worries," Anna replied.
"Okay, well, I'd like to have..," Tony started but Anna held up her hand to stop him.
"I bet you I remember your order," she announced, holding out her hand for him to shake.
He sighed but shook her hand anyway, agreeing to the little bet. Anna grinned, then got to work.
Tony looked around the coffee shop, trying hard to keep the tears at bay. He could not cry in public. It was just so hard. Everything in this store reminded him of Ziva. God, why couldn't they just change stuff every now and then? Then he wouldn't have a problem with painful memories.
"That'll be seven dollars," Anna announced from the counter.
Tony furrowed his eyebrows. Seven dollars? Had they changed their prizes? Well, he definitely wouldn't be coming back then. Seven dollars for one coffee was way too much. He wasn't, however, in the mood to discuss it right now, so he simply handed Anna the money.
She took the money, then pushed two cups across the counter.
"One all black coffee with a secret little packet of sugar; and one green tea with two tea bags, one and a half packets of honey," Anna said, smiling at Tony brightly.
Tony's smile on the other hand dropped. With shaking hands he reached for the two cups, pressed out a faint "thank you" and left the coffee shop, barely able to walk.
He didn't know how he even made it to his car. He slumped down in the driver's seat, placed the two cups in the cup holder on the center console, and gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white. He didn't even dare to start the car, knowing he was in no condition to drive right now. He needed a moment to collect himself. Two moments maybe. Or three.
His gaze shifted to the two cups and a chocked sob escaped his throat. He hadn't cried about it in eleven months. But this, this little stupid thing, just broke him apart.
Anna had won the bet. She had remembered his order from two years ago perfectly. One all black coffee with a secret little packet of sugar. For him. And one green tea with two tea bags, one and a half packets of honey. For Ziva.
A/N: Yes, you read correctly (the summary). This is a multi-chapter story! YAAAAAAAY! It's been a while, hasn't it? But don't get your hopes up TOO high. This is NOT like "Our Summer", that's for sure haha. College and stuff... ;)
Please let me know what you think, what could be improved and what you maaaaybe wanna see in future chapters in the reviews section below :) Loooove to hear from you! :)
Kisses xoxo,
~ C.