Title: A House Is Not a Home

Rating: K

Summary: Tony has moved and things have changed. Tiva.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of NCIS. But if you want to, I would like some for Christmas.

Spoilers: Anything from season 7 so far (up to "Endgame")

Chapter 1: A House

The first time she shows up at his house it is later in the evening and she is clutching a manila folder to her chest, her car keys dangling off of one finger. She was surprised when Gibbs had asked her to drop the file at Tony's on her way home, protesting that his apartment is not on her way, only to have Gibbs write an address on the folder. It is in Bethesda, not five minutes from her new apartment.

When she pulls up behind his car and glances up at the moderate, craftsman-style house she is taken slightly aback. Tony had moved in the few months that she had been away and she suddenly wondered what else had changed while she'd been gone.

She finds herself standing on his front porch, admiring the furniture he had tucked into one corner under a large picture window. She knocks, waiting a long moment before she hears footsteps approaching the door.

"Ziva?" he says, taking in her appearance, "What are you doing here?"

He has removed his suit jacket and un-tucked his shirt. He is not wearing any shoes, just a pair of black socks.

She does not offer the file to him as she says, "You moved."

"Yeah, right after – right after we got back from Tel Aviv," he tells her, ignoring the fact that she chose to avoid his question.

She is looking past him, trying to get a better view of the house, and he sighs.

"Come on in," he says casually, stepping back to make room for her.

She steps through the front door and is not really surprised at the decor in his home. The living room walls are painted a cool, light grey, just a couple of shades beyond white, and the room is large and open. His furniture is modern, square and leather with steel accents and she thinks that if his personality were to be described in furniture, these pieces would work perfectly. Practical, cool, striking, and uncommonly comfortable.

"It is beautiful, Tony," she says, taking in the fireplace opposite the couch and the large, flat-screen television mounted above it.

"Thanks," he says quietly, "Do you wanna see the rest of it?"

She nods mutely, allowing him to walk her through the living room into the open kitchen. She glimpses a door that she assumes leads to a backyard but she does not ask about the yard as she follows him into a spacious dining room. The room is accented by golden walls and rich furniture and she is fairly certain that no one has eaten a meal at the dining table since he moved in. One end of it is cluttered with files and paperwork and his laptop is open at the opposite end.

"No point eating in here when it's just me," he tells her without being asked.

She nods again as he leads her back into the entry way and up the stairs. They reach the second floor and he points out a bathroom at the top of the stairs before turning into the first bedroom. It is a blank canvas. White walls, hardwood floors, no furniture. There are a few boxes stacked in one corner and a question bubbles up from within her before she can stop herself.

"What are you going to do with this room?" she asks.

He shrugs, not meeting her eyes, "I haven't decided yet. When I bought this place, I think a part of me was thinking that maybe, someday, there could be another person living in this room."

A child, she thinks, not saying the words for fear of a conversation neither of them is really ready to have.

She follows him out of this room and into another, larger room. There is a desk in this room, and a couch and a smaller television. He is using this room as an office, even though he often finds himself at the dining room table.

She smiles. His home is large enough for a family of four and her heart suddenly aches for this. Thoughts are running through her head a mile a minute and she has to bite her tongue to keep from letting them all come rushing out.

He moves on from the office, opening the door to his room with little flourish, joking that it is the room where "all the magic happens" but the smile on his face does not reach his eyes. The walls in his bedroom are stark white, all of them but one, which is painted a dusty blue color. She likes this room, very much, but she cannot admit that to Tony. The bed in his room is large, taking up more than half of the space with its grand headboard. She wants to go over to it, to run her hands over the bedding, to feel the sheets that he sleeps under, but she stays rooted just inside the door.

"So what exactly did you drop by for?" he asks again, pulling her thoughts away from his bed.

She hands him the folder then, shrugging, "Gibbs asked me to bring this by. I did not want to because I knew that your old apartment would have been out of my way. I did not know that you had moved."

"It wasn't a big deal, really, I didn't even tell Abby until I'd been here for almost a month," he tells her, "I just didn't want to make it into something it didn't need to be. Besides, I knew that Abby would want to come and see the place and I wanted to get moved in before I had people over."

She nods, understanding. This is not the Tony that she met the first day that she had arrived at NCIS. This Tony is private and mature and, even though he still teases her, the life in his eyes seems to be diminishing slowly. That thought frightens her.

He leads her back down the stairs and they stand in the entry way for a long moment.

"The house is very beautiful, Tony," she says, "You made a wise choice."

He nods, "Thanks, Ziva."

She looks down at her shoes, suddenly very uncomfortable.

"I should go," she says, playing with her keys, "I will see you at work tomorrow?"

"Of course," he says, opening the door for her.

She steps off of the porch, turning back to him as she does.

"Goodnight, Tony."

"Night, Probie."

She smirks at her new nickname as Tony closes the front door. Even though she cannot see him, she can feel him watching her but she does not turn around. She simply climbs into her car and pulls away from the curb, thinking how she so desperately wanted to stay with Tony and to make his house her home as well.