"Most wonderful time of the year my ass." Tony said staring out the apartment window at the snow flurries rapidly becoming a snow squall. He was thankful he didn't have to be out in it.
In his 35 years on the planet he'd notice that people usually fell into two categories when it came to Christmas. Bah humbug or crazy-must-buy-a-present-for-everyone-I've-ever-known. He was neither. To him it was almost just another day. Working his job he'd learned to go with the fact that instead of hanging out with your girlfriend under the mistletoe on Christmas you were bound to be out, stuck in some awful sleeting rain storm looking at the seedy underside of what passed for human life.
This year had promised to be different though. To clear the books the team had actually been forced to take all the comp time owed them. He wasn't due back at work until well after New Year's. He'd actually been looking forward to the week off with his new flame, Catholic school alum Mary Rose Mulcahy
It's all her fault. A sex therapist in a plaid mini skirt, Mary Rose was quite nearly the girl of his dreams. Until she'd called him last night at quarter to six; "Hey. It's me. I just wanted to let you know not to count on me for Christmas after all."
"Something wrong?"
"Erik and I are going skiing in the Alps. I'm in a cab on the way to the airport now."
He blinked. And blinked again. Then he swore and she returned the favor before hanging up. Erik. Erik Dietz. One time pledge brother and all around best friend. That is, until he took off for Switzerland with his girlfriend at Christmas time.
He turned up the gas in the fireplace and settled back onto the sofa, watching "A Christmas Story." It was the one holiday movie that he enjoyed: possessing neither moral nor message.
The fake fire did little to take the chill off and outside was turning icy. He pulled an afghan over himself. He hated the look of the thing but his half blind grandmother had made it for him. Which could explain the look of it, as though she'd made it with her own two feet in the dark. Still, women always seemed to melt when he explained the origin of the beautiful chartreuse and lavender acrylic creation.
Sleet started to ping off the bay window and he stretched out on his side, head propped on a sofa pillow. His mind churned through the day's events and one thought pushed its way to the surface that made him smile: Ziva's live in love-machine had just left her.
Ziva sighed as she opened the fridge, the sheer amount of leftovers boggled her mind. How did I end up with all of this?
The night before she'd held a party for her friends from the embassy for the last night of Hanukah. They'd eaten together and lit the candles of the Menorah and wondered aloud at how for the supposed 'happiest time of the year' people seemed awful pissy.
She'd woken alone in a cold bed for the second week in a row. Adam had been sent on deep cover mission to parts unknown. What's American term for him again, friend with benefits? His absence made her feel cranky. She wasn't sure if she missed him, or if she missed the steady supply of reliably good sex. If she'd known where he was she would have flown out to meet him. As it was now she was looking at a very long dry spell. And no work and no sex meant plenty of time to think about things best forgotten.
At least Tony's alone too. He wouldn't mind if I just showed up. She lifted the milk jug from the shelf and idly checked the sell by date. Americans and their plastic milk jugs, I'm not sure what they do to it to make milk taste off all the time. The milk had one more day. She returned it to the shelf. But are you sure he's alone? Do you really want to get a glimpse of his flavor of the week naked and woman superior?
She selected a Tupperware container and cracked the lid and sniffed the contents. Still good. Go for it.
She quickly assembled the best bits, packed her bag and left before she could talk herself out of it.
Tony was contemplating defrosting a pizza when he heard pounding on his door. Part of him wished that Mary Rose had changed her mind and had showed up, with her plaid skirt and ponytails. The other part of him wanted her to suffer a painful skiing accident on the Matterhorn; failing that, a rampant yeast infection.
He peeked through the peephole and was not surprised to see Ziva peering back at him. He opened the door and she breezed in.
"Come on in." He said, after the fact. She was already hanging her coat in the hall closet. "I was just about to defrost a pizza."
"Don't bother. I brought leftovers." She gave him a pat on the cheek that he didn't understand before setting a bulging canvas bag on the kitchen counter top. She swung her backpack off her shoulder and handed it to him. "Just in case."
"We're on comp time Ziva. We're not going to get called out for a week at least. There's no just in case." He unzipped the bag and brazenly studied the contents. Change of clothes, toiletry kit, black lace nightie…
She smiled at him. "That's not what I meant."
"Then I'll put this upstairs," he grinned. "Just in case."
When he came back down from the loft she'd extracted several containers from the canvas bag and arranged them on the counter. Tony amused himself by lifting Tupperware lids and poking through plastic wrap as Ziva investigated his cabinets, learning the layout of his kitchen. She located a plain white plate and placed what looked to be pancakes on it.
"How did you know I was going to be alone?" Tony asked. He'd given up poking through her assortment of leftovers for leaning against the counter, his hands grasping the counter's edge on either side of him.
Ziva had her back to him as she stuck the plate into the microwave. "You were depressed and cranky all day. Not to mention you've been staring at my ass more than usual."
He ripped his eyes from her posterior just as she turned to face him. "I don't stare."
"Okay. So you don't stare." She said. "You ogle." She closed the space between them and he couldn't help notice that she smelled good. Really good. He couldn't explain the scent, other than it was pure Ziva. The corners of her mouth curved up in a curious smile. "So what happened to Megan? Courtney? Becki with an I? Jessyca with a Y?"
"Mary Rose." He said. "She ran off to Switzerland with my frat brother."
"You need better taste in women." She smiled. "Are you going to your Dad's?"
"He and new wifey-poo are somewhere in the middle of the Caribbean on a cruise. No children allowed." He grinned.
She cocked her head to the side. "Ahah. And you were supposed to, how do you say it, suck face with Mary Rose underneath the Mistletoe?"
"I was counting on more than sucking face." He said. "What about you, lover boy gone for parts unknown?"
Most people never would have seen the brief acknowledgement flicker in her eyes. But then again, he knew her better than either one of them would admit. "Lucky guess." She snapped.
"Luck as nothing to do with it. You've been…"
"Bitchy?" she offered cheerfully.
"I was going to go with 'like a cat in heat' but I value a certain appendage too much."
She thought about kneeing him in the groin and decided against it. In her experience, 'the parcel' as Tony liked to call it-no wait- 'the package,' tended to not so work so well later if you did that. "You'd better watch it or I'm not sharing my leftovers." She said. She turned her attention to preparing their dinner.
He hovered microns behind her. "Speaking of leftovers, aren't you supposed to be married before you start serving them to a man?"
"You'd rather eat pizza?" She retorted in a tone that was more of a dare for him to say yes than it was actual question.
"No, this smells good." He said genuinely. "You get all gussied up for me?"
"Gussied up?" She said the word slowly, as was her habit when committing a new American term to memory.
"You changed." He replied, noting her dark jeans and brown fitted sweater. Her hair was still slightly damp. "And you just got out of the shower."
"I needed it." She stated.
His breath was warm in her ear when he spoke. "Had to spend a little time with the shower massage, that it?"
She smacked him and he grinned. He'd baited her and she'd taken it. "Easy there AquaGirl. Want to finish the movie with me?"
Ziva set the warmed food out on plates. "Sure. I love that movie."
He grabbed his plate and followed her into the living room. "Let me guess. You wanted a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas too."
"I'm Jewish." She said, plunking herself down in his corner of the sofa and settling her bare feet on his coffee table. He noticed that she'd painted them pale pink.
"Oh. Right. So you wanted one for Hanukah then?" He sat beside her, his sock clad feet next to hers.
"Contrary to popular belief Tony, it's not the equivalent of Christmas. It's more political than religious."
"Bummer. No presents."
"You can't actually tell me that you enjoy all that scurrying around?" She asked, the incredulity plain in her voice.
"Actually it sucks."
"And yet you have a tree." She pointed at the little Scotch pine next to the fireplace. It was small but well shaped, decorated with white lights and a few antique looking glass ornaments.
"Surprised?"
"Only by the lack of mistletoe. You of all people…" She trailed off. She didn't have to finish the statement: her expression said it all.
"Oh, I have it. And if you're a very good girl I'll let you see where I've hung it. Cross my heart." He grinned at her and she had no doubt that he'd be more than willing to make good on his promise.
"Hmmp." She gave him a cursory once over from head to toe before returning her attention to her dinner.
They ate in comfortable silence. When they were finished Ziva took both plates brought them back into the kitchen.
"That's very domestic of you, Mrs. David," Tony quipped.
"Go soak your head." She called. The stunned silence from the living room let her know she'd gotten the idiom correct.
She brought out two plates of tiramisu. "Thought you might like a little Italian."
That's not exactly the nationality I had in mind. He thought as he accepted the proffered plate. Ziva settled back onto the sofa next to him. She plucked at the afghan he'd tucked over her lap. "Can we move this? It's so hideous it's making me sick to my stomach."
"My grandma made that!" he protested.
"It's pretty good birth control." She replied.
Tony rose and gathered the blanket into a ball and rushed to the hall closet to hide it away. He returned; a red chenille throw tucked under his arm. He found her standing, inspecting the tree.
As she touched one of the ornaments, Tony came up behind her, his breath warm on the bare skin of her neck. She turned to face him, her head tilted as she raised an eyebrow, mischief sparkling in her eyes.
Tony smiled wolfishly. Leaning down he brushed his lips ever so softly against Ziva's slightly parted mouth. His hands cupped her face and he automatically deepened the kiss. A moan, almost a whimper, vibrated low in Ziva's throat as she dug her hands into his hair. Tony felt the familiar tightening in his groin. If a kiss with Ziva was this erotic, what would sex with her be like? With that thought he plunged his tongue even deeper into her hot mouth. Ziva pushed her body up against him, sensing the affect she was having on him. His hand found the hook on her bra.
The phone rang.
"Ignore it," she murmured against his mouth.
"Mmmhmmm." He replied, urging her lips apart once more. The answering machine beeped and the voice of Mary Rose echoed through the apartment. Listen, Tony. I'm so sorry. I was wrong; Erik's a jerk. I have a flight out late tonight. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow.
Tony broke off the kiss and snatched up the receiver. The rest of the conversation was lost to Ziva. He listened to the plight of Mary Rose, the heel of his palm pressed against his forehead. "Mary," he said. "Mary." It seemed Mary Rose was not one to let anyone get a word in edgewise, Ziva mused.
Ziva took the two empty plates and made her way back to the kitchen. The minutes seemed to tick by. Five, ten, fifteen minutes. Tony didn't sound angry, he hadn't immediately hung up on her. Instead, she heard the low -pitched tones of honest conversation. She knew where it was going. She was about to be pushed over for Mary Rose. She went back into the living room, to the spiral staircase that led to the loft to retrieve her backpack. She started up the stairs.
"Hey!" Tony called. "What's wrong?"
Ziva turned and looked over her shoulder. He'd returned the phone to the cradle and was now staring at her, confused.
"To get my bag and go home."
"Now?" He questioned.
"It's going to get pretty crowded in here and I'm not in the mood for a threesome."
"What?"
"Mary Rose."
"Mary Rose is staying in Switzerland with Erik. I talked to the two of them. Last thing we want is her at our door tomorrow morning."
"Our door?" she said, slowly descending the steps.
"You have a better plan for our time off?"
"Not really. But just so you know I really only co habitat well on a part time basis."
"Perfect. I'm commitment phobic." He deadpanned.
"A match made in heaven." She joked. "If you believe in that junk."
"No." He said. "Look. I know you don't celebrate Christmas, but I saw this and thought of you." He retrieved a flat perfectly wrapped rectangle from under the tree and held it out to her.
"Can I open it?"
"That's usually what happens." He replied wryly.
Ziva carefully unwrapped the present to reveal a music book titled 'Chopin's piano concertos.' She stared at it for a moment until her lips curved into a small smile.
Tony was feeling uncomfortable. "If you don't like it I can take it back…"
"Huh? Yes… No! I mean, yes I like it and no don't take it back." Ziva was not used to being flustered. "I love it."
"Really?"
She flung her arms around him and squeezed. "Really."
She couldn't say how it started. Other than she had wanted to kiss him and she did. She placed a light kiss on his lips, a test.
"That's the best you can do spy girl?" He mumbled against her mouth.
She brought her lips to his in a heated kiss. He returned it, his hands warm and confident under her sweater. She let herself sink against him. Men always liked that. It did the trick. Tony picked her up and began to carry her across the room towards the staircase leading up into his loft bedroom.
"Wait." Tony put her down on the second step, breaking the moment.
"What for?" Ziva tried to reach for him again.
"No, I need you to know. I've always wanted you …" Tony looked down at Ziva who sat beneath him, partly resting on her elbows with her legs slightly splayed.
"Say something." Tony was staring at her.
"Tell me something I don't know." Ziva replied as she licked her kiss -bruised lips.
"Are you sure?"
Ziva smiled up at him, reaching for his shirt to pull him back down to her for another heated kiss. Her hands caressed his back as she explored his mouth. Tony groaned into the kiss, unable to hold back any longer. She ripped his shirt open so she could run her hands all over his taut chest. How she loved the feel of his chest hair beneath her fingers. He tugged her jeans free of her body. Neither wasted any time divesting the other of their clothing. Ziva reached down to take Tony into her hand, massaging the silky smoothness of the fine skin encasing his hardness. She opened her legs further and teased him by rubbing him against her slick folds. Heat emanated from her and the sweet smell of her arousal filled his nostrils. Inhaling deeply he groaned out loud as his senses heightened. He wanted to be inside her and he wanted it to be right now.
He didn't need any more encouragement from Ziva. He thrust himself into her with one push and they both moaned in unison at the erotic sensation. Tony wasted no time. He pushed himself hard into her again, and she screamed in pleasure, wrapping her legs around his waist to help him deepen the thrust.
Their movements became hurried and frantic, both urgent to reach release. "Oh, Ziva…" Tony managed as their bodies slapped noisily together.
"Yes," she whimpered, meeting him thrust for thrust.
"Yes!" He groaned out loud as he felt the stirrings of his orgasm.
Ziva reached down to touch herself as Tony felt his release take control of his body. Continuing to thrust erratically as he rode out the sensations of his orgasm, Ziva felt herself tightening around him as her own release exploded around her. Pulsations rocked her body as she clung to Tony, who was still moaning loudly, his eyes closed in pure bliss.
Coming down from their high, both breathing heavily as their sweat-slicked bodies remained joined, both Tony and Ziva began to laugh.
"Did we really just do what I think we did?" Ziva was smiling as she looked down at where they were joined.
"Ah – I think if you don't know the answer to that then we didn't do it right." Tony's voice was low, and husky, a hint of playfulness masking the edges.
"Perhaps we should do it again then, you know – to be sure." Ziva was still smiling.
"Perhaps." Tony picked her up, careful so they could remain joined. He carried her up the stairs to his bedroom. Depositing her on the bed, he slipped from inside of her. He collapsed beside her, face up on the bed.
She laughed. From the ceiling hung a sprig of mistletoe. "I figured since it wasn't hung off your belt it was here."
"I could arrange that if you like."
"Not at the moment." She said, pressing her body into his. "I am going to have a huge bruise on my back tomorrow."
He flipped to his side. Bracing his head on his hand he traced a lazy circle around her belly button with his index finger. "How about we go soak this bruise of yours? The tub's big enough for two."
Her only reply was a smile.
She rose from the bed and made her way to the master bath. He indulged himself for a moment watching her walk, following the subtle shift to her hips. She turned to him. "You going to sit this one out?"
"No." he said, trailing after her. "I think not."
X
Ziva struggled up from the depths of sleep feeling welded to the bed by some unseen force. The fog of slumber lifted quickly and she found herself half-covered by an inert Tony. He slept face down on top of her, snoring softly in her ear. Not yet conscience, he repositioned himself against her and she felt him dig into her stomach. Men. She thought. They don't even need to be awake to be turned on.
A willing captive she lay watching the sleet storm ensconce the metal rail of the fire escape in a thick layer of ice. She inhaled deeply. The scent of him filled her lungs. Lightly she ran her hands down his back.
"Making your move while I'm still sleeping?" Tony asked his voice muffled by the pillow.
Her hands stilled.
Tony rolled off of her onto his back. His eyes cracked open. "I don't mind. I didn't mind." He said in reference to finding himself suddenly awake in the middle of the night with her in the throes of passion astride him.
"I thought you were awake. You were….responsive. Who actually has sex in their sleep?" Ziva replied, clearly annoyed.
"What? That's never happened to you before?"
"No. There are times I wish I could have slept through it but I haven't actually ever done it. You're on your own with that one."
Ziva pivoted onto her side and propped herself up in her elbow to study his face. Tony's eyes had lulled closed. His breathing was soft and even. Slowly, deliberately, she slid her hand, fingers splayed into his boxers to brush him with the lightest of touches. She felt him hold his breath. She paused before giving him another gentle caress and sliding her hand up to settle low on his abdomen.
"Do that again and I'll…" He said without opening his eyes.
"You'll what?" She laughed as she slipped her hand once more beneath the waist of his boxers.
In one fluid move he pushed her onto her back and settled on top of her. He pinned her wrists gently as he would have held a kitten. "No more games."
Ziva brought her mouth to his in a leisurely kiss. She kissed him, allowing her body to rise to meet his even as he pressed her down into the mattress.
She was the first to break it off. She nipped his lower lip and rested her head against the pillow. Tony's eyes locked on hers and she looked abruptly away, gazing intently through the sleet-glazed window. He kissed her cheek, nuzzled her neck; still she looked away.
"Ziva?" he said softly.
She turned to meet his unwavering gaze solidly as she slipped her wrists from his grasp. They both grinned at each other as her hands traveled down his back and settled for a moment on his hips. The corner of her mouth turned up as she pulled him in to rest inside her.
He wisely let her set the pace. She was frantic a first, so quick he thought he wouldn't outlast her. Abruptly she slowed, enjoying the feel of the two of them moving together until her eyelids fluttered shut. A soft Oh escaped her pink lips. Tony recognized it as the edge of her release, the precursor to the screams that thrilled him. He felt his own eyes squeeze shut as the electric surge shot through him.
He collapsed and lay beside her.
Ziva gave him a butterfly light kiss on his cheek and settled beside him on her back, body tightly against him.
"So." Tony said, as his arm snaked out to pull her in even closer. "What's this I hear about threesomes?"
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