Timeless

Inspired by this picture : www[dot]etsy[dot]com/listing/99455453/regardant-la-tour-eiffel-photographie

Set in the future. No spoilers. Maybe you'll need a tissue. I know I almost did writing it. Anyway, enjoy ! xxx

He had always loved Paris at that time of year. There was something about the soft, fresh wind and the humidity in the air that made him feel at peace and something else he couldn't quite manage to describe, something like nostalgia maybe. He didn't know. Tony had never been good at explaining the things he felt inside. Growing older hadn't changed anything. Over 70 years of age and he was still as confused about feelings as he used to be. As he always had been...

There was something he was sure of, though: he had never been happier than when he was here. When they were here together.

He raised a shaky wrinkled hand to rest on the railing before him, closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply. Paris. He never thought he would ever be able to come back here without her. Had never really wanted to. Made no sense. Hurt too much.

He tried to ignore the lump in his throat and blamed the cold wind for the stinging in his eyes but when he had to grip the railing in front of him to keep his balance, he realized that this might be way more difficult than he had naively thought.

The air had grown incredibly colder all of a sudden and he released his grip on the iron bar and readjusted the black cap on his head before sticking his hands deep in the pockets of his long black winter coat.

The Eiffel Tower was standing majestically in front of him. The Iron Lady, as they called it, had lost nothing of its magic. After so many years, she was still standing there, straight and proud, impressive and captivating. Timeless.

"Can you imagine what it must be like to go through time and see everything around you change, people come and go while you remain the same, forever the only remnant of a time nobody but you can recall?" Ziva had asked him once, as they were standing at this exact same spot, what it felt like a lifetime ago. He had made fun of her at the time, laughing at her sudden empathy towards a building of all things. She had just shrugged his mockery off and snuggled deeper in his arms before adding "You will get it someday."

The memory sent a pang of sadness in his heart. He did get it now. He knew exactly how it felt to be the sole witness of time passing and things changing with nobody there to give him a comforting and understanding smile and remember the good old days with him. He let out a humorless chuckle as he imagined the smug "I told you so" look on her face, had she been there with him now.

Oh, he knew what would have happened if she had been here with him. He would have rolled his eyes and she would have laughed. Her laugh. How he missed her laugh... Of all the things that he missed about her, her laugh must have been at the top of the list. He had never really gotten used to her absence, had never gotten used to the cold side of the bed and the silence in the house in the morning either. Ever since she had passed, he had felt alone and empty. Terribly so.

But now standing at their favorite spot for what he knew would be the last time, he closed his eyes and tried to picture her next to him, tried to feel her warmth as she would take hold of his arm, snuggling closer to him and burying her head in the crook of his neck. He could smell the familiar scent of jasmine that seemed to naturally emanate from her skin. He could hear the soft hum of contentment she would make when he'd ask her if she was comfortable there. He could feel her satin-like hair on his lips as he would kiss the top of her head and whisper to her to stay like that as long as she wanted then.

They would stay like that for an hour, maybe more. There was no rush, they had all the time in the world. They could stay there forever, looking at the City of Light spread out before their eyes in its early winter beauty and watch time go by, things change, people come and go as they would remain still and silent, lost in each other's embrace.

Timeless.