Okay, so it ended up not as short (post-editing, and editing, and editing again until I've gone crazy) as I thought it'd be. But I'm sure that's not a bad thing, right? :P

-Soph

Anniversary (Part 2)

For two people who dedicated their life to drama and overly complicated love stories, Tony and Ziva's first date had ended rather unremarkably.

They'd started off somewhere between maybe this will work and maybe this won't work but secured themselves a successful first date and an 'official' romantic relationship to boot not three hours later; still, the night had not ended in fireworks brought on by either a shy peck to the lips or a round of really hot monkey sex like Ziva had been expecting. Instead, her boyfriend had driven her back to her apartment and she'd invited him in for a late-night movie. It had been exactly like while they were just friends, except that she had snuggled brazenly into his side and he had unfailingly held her close to him—and yes, they had stepped out of their usually closed-off shells to exchange a lot of exhilaration-fuelled kisses.

At the end of the day, it has just been comfortable—albeit in an all-of-this-is-novel way—and that was what had made it the best moment out of the whole date.

Memories of this very first date flashed through her mind's eye as Ziva waited—whilst holding onto the door like it was her lifeline—the requisite five seconds in the bathroom for Tony's thoughts to catch up with his shock. Apart from Lissie's intermittent squeaks, the whole apartment was deathly quiet. Finally, Ziva pushed open the door and started the long, almost-unending trek into the kitchen. Tony swung around to look at her as she entered, and his eyes were large and conflicted (definitely not what she was hoping for); his mouth, slightly parted.

He huffed a couple of times, breathlessly and probably at a loss for words, before gasping, "You didn't really need to pee, did you?"

She bit her lip and shook her head, feeling her heart pound in her chest. "No. I was waiting for you to discover that." She waved her hand towards the opened box that he kept in a death grip.

"I didn't put that … in the fridge," he told her unnecessarily, apparently not yet over his shock.

She gulped. "I did."

"You…" he murmured, and his thumb appeared to stroke the tiny square of cream paper she had painstakingly written on and attached to the inside of the box lid. "You're asking me to marry you."

"Yes." When he didn't reply immediately, she shifted on her feet. "I mean, I know we didn't really talk about marriage in that much detail, but you had expressed a wish, and I thought…"

And that was when he lifted out the plain white-gold band and very decisively snapped the velvet box shut. She watched as he unceremoniously stuffed the box into his coat pocket and attempted to put on the ring; after several unfruitful tries to get it past the middle joint of his finger, she found the voice she needed to say, "It's been in the fridge, Tony. I don't think it is going to fit right now. But it will."

"Oh." He stared dumbly at the ring, as if pondering what to do with it, before simply removing it and closing his hand around it and asking, "You're … going to let me buy you an engagement ring, too, right?"

She relaxed and chuckled, moving forward and putting her arms around his waist. "Is that a 'yes'?" she asked softly, and the corners of his eyes crinkled upwards.

"It is a 'yes,'" he confirmed, kissing her. "But … I want to get you a ring too, Ziva. A ring with a big rock on it."

"I would expect that."

His eyes darted around nervously. "You want a ring, right?"

"I do," she assured him, knowing that he would never be able to live with being the only one of them to wear an engagement ring. "I do. I don't need one, but I would like one."

And she would.

"Good." His smile was relieved. But before she could say anything in return, his brows drew together. "I have a question, though."

She studied him warily. "Go ahead."

"Is this because of what I said to Lissie two months ago? About wanting you and kids with you."

"Ohhh." She ran her fingers through his hair, and he closed his eyes as her fingertips grazed his scalp. She understood his reticence now. "You are worried that I rushed to make a decision."

"Kinda, yeah." His shoulders dropped the tiniest bit.

"Well, I did not." He opened his eyes, and she elaborated, "I do not put too much thought into wedding proposals. So, yes, if you had not said anything, I would probably just have waited for you to ask me. But … you did tell me where you stood. And I do know where I stand. So, I asked you."

"Yeah, but," he hesitated. "Are you sure you really want to marry me?"

"I was sure it would be us even before that night, Tony. At least, for me. And … and admittedly, I was scared then to picture myself as a wife rather than a girlfriend, but now I have realized that I want that. Like it or not, I want to be stuck with you forever."

"The proverbial ball and chain, huh?" he joked, and she dug a thumb into his flesh.

"Yes. But don't you ever dare call me that."

"I would never." His eyes glistened a bit. "Why now?"

Why now?

She knew he was asking her why she was choosing to propose now, and it reminded her of a lonely night two months ago, when she'd asked him the very same question because she couldn't figure out how his general wish for a family had turned into yearning so great that he couldn't keep it all a secret anymore.

He hadn't had an answer for her, and she was sure that he still didn't really know, either. But she knew. A moment of shock and a night of revelations and a week of realizations had turned into two months of introspection, and she knew why she was standing there on that particular evening, having that particular conversation with that particular man.

So, she took a deep breath and said, "Because I am ready. And I know that you are afraid I might not be ready, but I am not going to let that stop us when we know what we want. So, I am telling you. I am taking the initiative to tell you that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"I can't believe this," he blurted out, and she frowned. He noticed her reaction and hastened to explain, "No, no, I'm not doubting you at all. It's just … I'm just the goddamn luckiest man to walk this Earth."

She laughed and rubbed the tip of her nose against his. "You are overly sappy, DiNozzo."

"I don't care," he answered defiantly, and the proof was in the slightest hint of lingering moisture on his eyelashes. "You just told me you want to marry me, David."

"I did," she affirmed. "And I mean it. So, Anthony DiNozzo, Jr., will you marry me?"

And he brought his hand up in between them, the band on his ring finger already catching the light as he cupped her cheek to pull her in for a kiss.

"Yes I will, Ziva David."

Bam. Longest Tiva wedding proposal ever. But I hope you enjoyed it.

And now we're done! Thank you for reading, everyone! Thank you for all the alerts put out and the favourites and the reviews!

Here: Have some random virtual chocolate as a thank-you gift. See you guys in the next story!

-Soph