Title: Tony & Ziva's Rules of Engagement: Does She Or Doesn't She?
Author: rekkidbraka
Rating: T
Pairings: Tony D. and Ziva D.
Category: Romance; humor; angst
Disclaimer: No infringement intended.
Spoilers: None.
Summary: Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David take on their toughest assignment yet: traveling the globe to handle NCIS cases while planning their wedding. TIVA. This chapter is a "Rizzoli & Isles" crossover. No slash.
Boston, Massachusetts
He knew he was staring at the woman and, yet, he couldn't stop himself. So far, she hadn't appeared to notice. This was good; confrontation wasn't what he wanted. Not at all.
She just looked so familiar, that was all. Like a ghost from his past, daring him to see if she was real — if it was really her...
"Tony?"
The sound of Ziva's voice brought him back to himself.
"What?"
"Are you alright? You look pale."
"Fine... I'm fine."
Turning back, Tony saw nothing. He peered down the busy street. A mass of people on their way to work, school, wherever met his gaze.
The woman was gone. Maybe she hadn't even been there.
"Tony, are you sure..."
"I said I'm OK, Ziva. C'mon, let's go. Gonna be late for our appointment."
"Your hair," Jane Rizzoli said, squinting across the table. "You get something done to it?"
"Highlights," Maura Isles replied nonchalantly. "So who are we meeting with today?"
"Couple of NCIS agents from D.C.," Jane answered. "You had time to get your hair done?"
"Why is NCIS coming here?" Maura asked.
"The sailor who washed up in the harbor? Beat his buddies here for Fleet Week? Did that trip to the stylist's affect your memory or something?" Jane smirked in Maura's direction. Maura should know this stuff.
"Right," Maura said. She should have known that. But she'd been distracted all morning.
Jane's phone rang. Answering, she made a few terse comments and again addressed Maura.
"They're here," she said. "NCIS downstairs."
"I don't like being eyeballed by strange men," Maura hissed. She'd been trying to get this guy — Tony, right? — alone all afternoon without making his girlfriend think she was hitting on him. And she certainly didn't want him to think that, either. He was the type who would, too. Maura could tell. Guys like him annoyed the hell out of her.
"I'm not a 'strange man,'" Tony replied. This was about as uncomfortable a situation as he could've imagined. Now there was no way out. He'd started it; she was finishing it.
"Why were you staring at me?" Maura asked. His eyes were bright and sparkling with mischief but she detected sadness in them, too.
"You remind me of someone, that's all," Tony said quietly.
"Your GIRLFRIEND is right outside," Maura said pointedly. "This is how you treat her?"
"It's not like that," Tony insisted. "You look just like... like someone I used to know. Listen, my partner... before Ziva... she was..."
His voice quivered. The words wouldn't come.
"Whoever she is — or was — I'm not her," Maura said bitterly. Turning back one last time before she left to rejoin Jane and Ziva in the next room over, she added, "Ziva seems nice. And she deserves better than... this."
Standing alone in the interrogation room, Tony tried sifting through the myriad of thoughts racing through his mind.
She's right, Tony concluded with a heavy sigh. Ziva deserves better.
"Hang on," Jane said, trying to process the information she'd been given. "The guy sees you on the street, stares you down and he's our NCIS agent? Here WITH his fianceé? Nice."
"He said I look like some woman from his past," Maura replied, trying to sound as if she didn't care. Looking straight at Jane, she added pointedly, "I told him Ziva could do better."
"Maybe," Jane answered. "I liked him."
"He's a jerk," Maura pronounced.
"Speaking from experience?" Jane teased.
"Let's get back to the case," Maura shot back. She had no interest at all in Tony DiNozzo. But she hoped Ziva would see through his act.
"Had to sneak in that trip to the hairstylist, huh?" Jane joked, trying to lighten the mood. "This is what you get for being late to work today — a date with..." Jane tried to remember how he'd introduced himself, "VERY Special Agent Tony DiNozzo... and his fianceé."
"Thanks, Jane," Maura replied sarcastically. "I appreciate the support."
"But, hey," Jane went on, smirking, "your highlights look fantastic."
The first crisp, cool air of autumn caused Ziva to shiver. Even the light jacket she'd brought along for the Boston trip wasn't quite cutting the chill.
"You cold, Sweet Cheeks?" Tony asked softly. "Here," he said, starting to remove his own coat, "take mine."
"No, Tony, I am alright," Ziva replied, not unkindly. Her dark eyes searched Tony's face. She'd been worried about him all day. "And you? Are you going to be okay?"
Tony put his arm around Ziva's shoulders. Tenderly, he planted a little kiss on her cheek.
"Yeah," he sighed. "I'm good now."
"Did you tell her... about Kate?" Ziva asked.
"Tried to," Tony said. "She wasn't interested. Said you deserved better than me. Can't say she's wrong about that."
"She is," Ziva answered confidently. "She does not know you like I do."
"Well, you know how it is, Ziva," Tony said, obviously uncomfortable over the day's events, "when a strange guy stares you down on the street and makes a fool of himself and then you run into him later and he gives you the old line about how you look just like his dead partner, huh? What woman wouldn't find that creepy and weird?"
"I do not think Jane would mind," Ziva teased.
The heaviness of the moment broken, Tony laughed, flashing Ziva his most dazzling grin before taking her in his arms, loving the sensation of her soft lips wet against his, the warmth of her embrace bracing him against the night breeze.