#bet zivas missing the suits these days

[indestinatus]

In Every Universe

TIVATOBER 2020 // DAY 22

↳ prompt: Farmer’s Market - rated T (1,304 words)

summary: As the sun rises on a nearby market, Tony and Ziva make their way through the fruit and vegetables stands. 

A/N: my take on the pure soulmate energy that irradiates from Tiva. Those who know me well, know how much I’m obsessed with this topic haha <3

read it on AO3 🍊

It was early enough to hear the birds singing in different tunes, but still too early for the sun to have fully risen. With the sky shifting from dark blue to pale orange, Tony blinked away the tiredness as he tried to fully appreciate the beauty of it.

His eyelids burned with fatigue, but the crisp cool autumn air made him alert enough not to fall asleep on the spot. After a rather difficult case and long nights locked inside the navy yard with only bad stakeout food and shots of caffeine, Tony was immensely glad they’d found their killer in time and their boss had sent them home. The prospects of a three-day weekend brought a nice feeling to his chest, one that made the drowsiness feel soothing, not guilty as it did before.  

Tony was, in fact, so glad, that he didn’t even register where his feet were heading until they suddenly arrived at the local market—early vendors setting up their stands and a few curious passersby already eyeing their products even before dawn. There were fresh fruit and vegetables neatly displayed (things he wasn’t particularly fond of) but they looked so good it made his mouth water. He really needed some sleep to get his mind back together. 

McGee went home to crash on something that wasn’t the hard floor of Abby’s lab and when Ziva said she was still to take a look at what was for sale at a farmer’s market nearby, Tony found himself following her without even thinking about it. It felt almost second nature to him now, and she appeared to be too tired to complain.  

“C’mon,” Tony sent a lazy grin her way and somehow knew he looked like a fool doing so. “You’re no fun. I already know you as an officer.”

“But it’s true,” Ziva chuckled, shoulders hunching up in defence. “I do not see myself being anything else.”

“Oh, c’mon, David,” he encouraged, bumping his shoulder with hers, “Let down your guard a little. Think about your childhood dreams, your locked-away secrets. Your walls can’t be that high this time in the morning.”

Ziva looked at him amused and quirked up an eyebrow, asking, “What would you be?”

“I asked you first,” Tony replied with a smile. 

“And I asked you second.”

Ziva then pulled a face he knew too well - the one she did whenever she was determined to make something happen, with her nose angled up just a little - and Tony found himself wondering if all people looked that beautiful at dawn, or if it was just her. 

“Hmm,” Tony mused to himself, putting his hands inside his pockets, “Probably a personal trainer. It would certainly make me feel great not to throw my Bachelor degree in Physical Education right into the trash bin like I did when I left Ohio Estate.”

“It wasn’t a complete waste.”

He turned to Ziva to find her watching him with a small smile and was surprised to see that she looked almost shy about it. Perhaps days without sleep had done something to her hardiness, and Tony instantly felt more vulnerable than he would ever admit. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he replied with a slight duck of his head. “And you? Now you have to answer.”

Ziva looked at the sky beyond, putting her hands behind her back and swaying closer to him. He wondered if she also felt that pull of wanting to touch each other, one that was frequently present but not as strong. Now with the world around them turning pastel, it seemed like it had increased a thousandfold, and Tony had to press his lips together to keep his self-control in check. He suddenly had to fight the urge of taking her hand in his, and that alone made his fingers itch. 

“Hm,” Ziva hummed. “I think I would’ve liked to teach self-defense classes.” 

“A fighting instructor, huh?” He wasn’t surprised. “Suits you. I bet your classes would be filled with douchebags trying to get your number.”

Ziva chuckled. “I could teach them a thing or two.”

“You think we would work at the same place?”

“Hm. Maybe.”

“Be coworkers, huh?” Tony sent her a lopsided grin and Ziva huffed out a laugh, clearly amused by his line of thinking. 

“I do not think we would even have met.”

“Of course we would,” he stepped into her personal space to whisper, “I would be the too hot gym instructor you wouldn’t be able to take your eyes from all day.”

Ziva’s answering chuckle made his heart skip a beat, and Tony grew addicted to the sound. All he wanted to do nowadays was to make her laugh, his attempts at joking about everything turning more frequent than not. 

“Sure,” she smiled, and stepped closer to one booth at the side to look at its vegetables. In a minute, she had charmed the couple of vendors and now left with a paper bag filled with beetroots, a soft smile permanent on her face. 

He couldn’t stop staring.

“Maybe you would be the one asking my number then, huh?” asked Tony smugly, though the smile in his voice betrayed the truth. 

“Don’t fool yourself.” Ziva huffed. “You would be too occupied taking every single one of your clients to bed.”

“Ha!” Tony laughed to the sky. She was probably right. “But would you give me your number if I asked?”

“If you asked nicely…” She sent him a knowing look. “... perhaps.”

Tony’s eyebrows shot skywards. “Really? And would you go out with me?” 

Ziva turned to him then, and a smile started to twitch on his lips. He hadn’t missed how she’d halted for a moment, the double meaning of his words hanging in the air. The twinkle in her eye told him she had caught it, and Tony’s grin widened when she chose not to comment on it.

“It would have probably been out of pity,” Ziva replied instead. 

“Ouch,” Tony pretended to look affronted. “Not even casual sex? I bet we would’ve teamed up against bad wages and annoying students.”

She raised an eyebrow, but chuckled nonetheless. “Probably.”

“Be friends with benefits.”

“Now you’re dreaming.”

“Friends, at least?”

Whatever quick reply Ziva was ready to give him was cut short when an old lady approached them, coming from behind one of the stands. She had wrinkles around her eyes and starking white hair, but her smile was honest and excited. 

“For the couple,” she said, taking Tony’s hands inside her own and giving him a clementine. 

He felt a heat crept up his neck, and immediately corrected her, “We’re not a…”  

Then Tony turned to Ziva to find her watching him closely. There was a different sparkle in her eyes he’d never seen before, one that made him double-check to see if it was still there. But there it was - smiling as if she knew a secret, and silently asking if he knew that too.

Blinking away something more than just tiredness, Tony turned to the old lady again, who was patting the hand that was still on top of his.

“Thank you,” Tony said, watching her nod and then go back to behind her shop. 

He threw the orange from one hand to another, trying to think properly. Eventually, he decided it was way too early to be dwelling on matters that made his heart race like that. 

Tony parted the clementine into two identical halves and gave one to Ziva, who accepted without a word. 

Failing to suppress their smiles, they continued to walk down the market, stopping to grab some breakfast and then later to watch the sun fully rise. 

They didn’t continue their conversation, though, but it didn’t really matter. 

He had a feeling that in every universe, they would’ve always ended up that way.