149I'm going to make this short but I do need to apologise. I have been working on fic, just never really completing anything...so I have random odds and ends floating around for a lot of new stories in many other fandoms depending on the mood or the day I'd had...but I've decided that I eventually need to upload it all, and before I do that I need to finish all the stories I've left hanging. I'll also be starting a new policy where I won't post a new story unless I have it finished or at least in the final stages!
In summary- I'm hoping to finish any uncompleted stories on my profile over the next few months, and (hopefully) will never leave anything unfinished for this long again!
Anyway, more team bonding ahead! This one is based after Designated Target.
Tony barged past him and into the apartment before he'd even finished opening the door.
"Yes Tony." He muttered to himself, even as he swung the door closed behind the other man, "I'd love for you to come in."
"I brought pizza." His partner defended, setting the box down before he turned back around, arms crossed.
"Ok...that's good?" He hedged, quickly racking his brains before he finally admitted what was worrying him, "Did we have plans and I forgot?"
"Nope." Tony stared him down, "It's tradition."
"What?" He blinked at the other man, confused. Tony gave a slight grin and held his hands up in a mock surrender position,
"I'm just quoting you here McPartner. You said, and I do quote 'when one of us does something ridiculous, or gets hurt or almost dies' this" he gestured behind himself to the pizza box and then to the apartment as a whole, "Is what we do."
"What did..."
"Your girlfriend." Tony interrupted before he could even finish. "Arrest her."
He sighed,
"Tony..."
"I'm serious Mcpushover." Tony stopped him again, "It's even what she wants out of this. Do it."
"And where did this attitude come from?" He demanded of the older man, "Because this was apparently entertaining a few hours ago."
"So was seasickness until I was worried you'd bring up your stomach lining." Tony countered, "Vomit once and it's a barrel of laughs, keep doing it like you're trying to lose those extra pounds through expelling organs and I get to be all weird about it alright..." Tony frowned at him, "You've got me off point."
He kept looking at Tony, spreading his arms wide, "Do you see me vomiting?"
"I said I was off point." Tony defended, "And you are...you're metaphorically vomiting your stomach lining McGee."
He stared at his partner incredulously,
"That made no sense, I hope you realise that."
"It made perfect sense. You started off all pale and hilarious, upchucking a couple of times, but now you're in danger of spilling organs all over the place by not arresting this chick."
"I'm going to pretend that that didn't start making some kind of sense." He told a now grinning Tony as he rubbed his forehead, "Because that means I've started to think like you, and that's a minefield we are not entering...why weren't you telling me this earlier?"
Tony rolled his eyes at him, and in a copy of his earlier move, spread his own arms out as he made his point,
"Because I thought you'd be...you enough to do it without me telling you to. You're McGee...you're not supposed to let the criminal walk away, that's not what you do."
Tony pointed a finger at him and frowned, shaking his head as if he was disappointed in him as he scolded, "Bad McGee."
"And what if, this once, this is what I'm going to do?" He countered, staring steadily back,
"Well then I'll arrest her for you." Tony informed him, finally sitting down on the couch and staring up at him. He watched as Tony propped his legs up and leaned back into the cushions to make himself comfortable, "For your own good."
He scoffed,
"Right."
"I'm serious." Tony told him, frown on his face even as he remained in the relaxed position he'd adopted, "I don't think you should just let her walk away from this...and I knew you'd be stubborn about it..." The grin was back full force now as a knock came at the door, causing him to look warily between Tony and the entrance to his apartment, "Which is why I sent for re-enforcements"
Before he could respond Tony had somehow managed to get himself out of his relaxed pose and launched over the back of the couch, answering the door and blocking whoever was at it from his view. He glared at Tony's back for a moment before he shrugged and left him to whatever it was he was planning.
"McGee." He stiffened as the other voice addressed him and turned slowly, forcing a grin onto his face despite the steel and disapproval that had managed to be conveyed in that single word.
"Ziva." He greeted, resisting the urge to glare at a grinning Tony who was stood right behind their female teammate, "Tony brought pizza." He waved an arm at the box where the other man had left it, "Join us?"
"I will, thank you McGee." She accepted the offer, still glaring in his direction, arms crossed as she stared him down, "But first you shall explain why you are not arresting this woman."
He groaned, finally shooting the glare at Tony before turning away from the both of them and heading into the kitchen,
"Because Ziva," he started to explain as he grabbed a glass and ran some water into it, "It's not worth it."
"It is McGee." He was corrected, even as he turned and held the glass out to her. She reached out and took it without her eyes ever leaving his face. His gaze shot to Tony as the man chimed in,
"That's what I said. But McPushover here disagrees."
He shook his head and turned to run another glass of cold water for his other partner,
"Guys it's not a big deal. It's not like we'd been dating for very long. I wasn't that attached."
"Doesn't matter." Tony stated, even as he accepted his own glass and nodded in thanks, "We are officers of the law McGee, duty bound to see that those who disrespect and pose threat to our way of life are taught a lesson and..."
"What Tony is saying," Ziva stepped in "Is that, even though she paid the money back, she betrayed your trust McGee. It does not matter that you had not known her long enough for the betrayal to be significant. She betrayed you."
He paused at the emphasis, feeling all of his arguments slip out of his head. Betrayed you.
"Oh." He muttered, looking between the two of them, and finally registering the barely concealed fury in their gazes.
They weren't angry that he'd been betrayed. They were angry that he'd been betrayed.
"Yes. Oh." Ziva glared at him disapprovingly, "It is not the fact that she broke the law McGee. She saw that you were a good man, that you would trust her with access to your apartment and she used that. That is her crime. And she should be punished, no?"
He fought down the urge to smile.
"Thank you Ziva."
Her gaze softened almost imperceptibly and she nodded,
"It is true McGee. You are a good man. She should not have been allowed to use that."
He shrugged,
"Honestly guys, it's not as big of a deal as you seem to think. I mean, you have weird exes," he turned to Tony, "I've heard all about your weird exes."
"We have all heard all about his weird exes." Ziva agreed seriously, "Even if we wish we had not."
"Your support is appreciated." Tony muttered sarcastically, "Buuuuuut, if one of our weird exes stole money from us McGee, would you, or would you not arrest them? And don't lie, because Ziva will know."
He looked between the two of them again and sighed,
"Fine, I'd arrest them. Happy now?"
"Ecstatic." Tony grinned, slapping and also smiling Ziva on the back lightly as he turned and walked back into the lounge. "That's all I needed to hear. Ziva?"
"I am satisfied as well...you mentioned pizza McGee?"
"It's in here!" Tony called back over his shoulder as McGee frowned at both of them,
"I'm definitely missing something aren't I?" He asked their retreating backs.
He shook his head and walked into the main room to see them both making themselves at home. Tony already had a slice of pizza in hand and was staring intently at his shelf of DVD's, while Ziva had apparently already claimed herself a seating space.
"Tony...you know all the DVD's I have." He informed the other man, crossing his arms as he continued to watch the two of them suspiciously.
"It never hurts to check." Tony grinned at him, "So what is everyone in the mood for?"
His frown deepened,
"Okay...what did you two do?"
"Nothing you need to worry your little McGeekle brain about, right Ziva?"
His eyes moved from Tony to the Agent calmly sitting and reaching towards the pizza box,
"He is right, McGee, it is nothing...your ex simply got what she deserved."
His eyes widened as the words and meaning behind them registered, before he began glaring at the two of them.
"You arrested her before even turning up here?"
"She deserved it McGee." Tony repeated, selecting a DVD from the shelf with apparent triumph, and turning to face him with a grin, "And it's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission."
"You admitted yourself it is what you would have done." Ziva reminded him, "And we accept your forgiveness."
He tried to hold up the glare, but ended up sighing and sinking into a seat next to Ziva,
"Fine. She got what she deserved."
"Glad we all agree." Tony nodded, moving over to the TV, "It would have been awkward having to share the pizza and watch a movie with all that tension and animosity floating around."
Just as a quick final note, I've been saying all the way through that this will eventually go AU...and was originally planning to do so around the episode Caged...But as it's been a while since I worked on this I now have an idea I think I might like better, so we shall have to see!
Obviously I will put a warning up for those who simply like the 'missing scene' format without too many deviations from the show when the AU is about to start...or may even upload is as a sequel/separate story.