Tony tensed and slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair. He swung round on his chair, pulling himself from Ziva's grip.
"What d'ya mean, it wasn't my fault?" he shouted loudly, a large vein throbbing in the middle of his forehead. "Of course it was my fault!"
"You didn't know it was him," she said quietly, trying to calm Tony down. Tony stood up quickly, anger emanating from him, and Ziva stepped back.
"It was a stupid disguise," he said bitterly, a small amount of spit flying in Ziva's direction. She ignored it and stared back at him, waiting out his anger. "A probie could have seen through it," he said. Ziva could see the look of disgust on his face as he sat back down slowly. He leaned over and put his head between his legs, his hands ruffling through his chocolate brown hair. Ziva knelt down in front of him and put a hand to the side of his face, her heart going out to him.
"Tony, it wasn't your fault, you have to believe that," she said in earnest, but to no avail. Tony didn't reply. Instead Ziva was confronted with a sobbing middle-aged man. His hands covered his tearstained face but he couldn't disguise the broken cries. Ziva crumbled and raised her other hand to his face, pulling him closer to her so that their foreheads touched.
"Tony, please. You didn't know."
Tony continued to let out long sobs and his body began to shake. Ziva clutched his head to her breast and held him in her arms, comforting his trembling body. She rocked back and forth, calming him so that the cries now became whimpers. She didn't let him go, even when it had stopped completely, still holding him, still rocking him. They stayed like that for a long time; Ziva supporting him, consoling him. He finally pulled away, but only a small distance. He looked up, their faces inches apart, Ziva's hand now steady at the base of his neck.
"If he…"
"He won't," Ziva said, unwilling to let him finish that sentence.
"But…"
"He won't." she repeated firmly, her eyes looking deep into his eyes, convincing him nothing was going to happen. They remained like that, looking into each other's eyes, both of them trying to gain some sense of strength and security.
"Thank you."
Ziva was taken aback and she gave him a confused look. "What for? I didn't do anything."
Tony raised his hands and placed them on her shoulders, looking deeper still into her eyes. "Just you being here, it's…comforting," he said, choosing his words carefully.
"You are my friend. I will always be there to…comfort you," she replied.
"Thank you," he repeated and an awkward silence crept in. Still just inches away from each other, Tony could feel her body heat radiating from her, tickling the surface of his skin. He slipped his hands down her back to rest on her waist and the look in his eyes changed. Ziva noticed this and she dropped from his gaze, pulling away slightly.
"You should go home, Tony," she said quietly. Tony pulled her closer into his, forcing her to look up again, their lips barely missing each other.
"What if I don't want to go home?" he asked, the intent plain in his voice.
Ziva looked at him for a few seconds, clearly entertaining the idea, her eyes full of her longing for the man staring back. Tony saw the look in her eyes and leaned forwards. His lips brushed against hers sending a wave of electricity across his stomach. He was so close, yet so far as he felt her pull out of his grip. She stood up and backed away, her voice trembling ever so slightly as she spoke.
"Well, I'm going home; I think you should do the same," she turned and walked away, feeling the burn of his eyes on her back. As she stepped into the elevator and looked at Tony from across the room, she saw a sadness displayed in his face and she felt sick. She'd been waiting for that moment for a long time and when it finally came…
The metal doors closed and Tony sighed deeply. He leaned back in the chair and spun it round to face the great glass windows. He stared out onto the streets below and felt a great sorrow at what had just happened. Or rather hadn't happened. Tiredness suddenly hit him and his eyelids drooped. Tony let them close and his thoughts went over everything that had happened that day. He prepared for the nightmare to begin; today had not been good.
As the doors closed in front of her Ziva closed her eyes, her hand hung trembling by her side. She used her other one to still it and opened her eyes slowly. They were glossy with tears and her mouth wobbled slightly. The luminous numbers above the door were descending closer and closer to G, and she hastily blinked away her tears, furious at herself for letting them be there in the first place. She shook herself and looked forwards as the bell dinged and the doors reopened, smiling faintly at the man passing her to get in the elevator.
***
Author's Chapter Notes:
Ziva comforts Tony in his moment of need.
Chapter End Notes:
Tiva moment!