Work Text:
'Cause all of the small things that you do
Are what remind me why I fell for you
And when we're apart and I'm missing you
I close my eyes and all I see is you
And the small things you do
Tony had been woken up to a sound of metal clinking from the kitchen. He glanced at the clock at the nightstand beside him. 0500. He then looked at the opposite side, only to see his lovely wife still immersed in her sleep as heard from her snores. He slowly moved his face towards hers, kissing her temple softly. With a loud sigh, he walked to the source of the sound, only to find his a-decade-year-old daughter already experimenting in the kitchen. After inheriting her mother’s early riser gene, she’s also reminding him of little Anthony DiNozzo Jr. who loved experimenting in the kitchen with his mother. She’s definitely a daddy and ima’s girl.
“What are you doing here, Tals?” Tony took a glass with a brown liquid inside on the countertop, inspecting it carefully.
His daughter beamed proudly at him, “making hot chocolate. Ima said she has been craving it lately, so I tried to make one. Try it, dad.”
“You really made this?” Tony squinted his eyes with doubt, hoping his daughter wouldn’t poison him.
She nodded firmly.
“Okay then, I should try a bit.” He sipped her creation, only to find her hot chocolate wasn't that bad. She hit almost the right amount of everything. It hit him that his daughter wasn't a toddler or a little girl anymore. He had lost the first two years of her life. As she’s almost a teenager now, he won’t waste any more time with his child.
Children , in a few months.
The image of his wife holding a blue stick with two lines flashed into his mind. His wife has been the toughest trooper all this time, enduring all her pains alone, including one where she had to keep Tali from him because she felt she was doing enough damage to his life. He felt resentful when he found out the reason behind his wife's disappearance, but guilt ate him at the same time. If that night he hadn't left her on the tarmac, maybe the story would've been different.
He quickly brushed off the thought that indulged his mind. He's still lucky enough to finally have the love of his life and his children by his side, and he definitely wouldn't take it for granted.
A hopeful glint came from his daughter, waiting for his response, “This is actually good, Tals. Think we should serve this to Ima?”
And the whole discourse ended with both happily making one special glass for her mother. The whole apartment now smells like sweet hot cocoa and cinnamon, somehow waking the woman who was still in deep sleep just a few minutes ago.
“What's going on here?" The woman waddled her way to the counter, cradling her already big baby bump.
"You're up, hon," Tony walked in the opposite direction, giving his wife a forehead kiss. He helped her sit on the stool, giving her a light massage on her back. She moaned softly from the contact. Having his baby is a delight she wouldn't trade it for anything, but she forgot how big her husband is. During her pregnancy with Tali, she weighed almost several pounds more than the average number. With Tali's unborn sibling, she is now weighed almost double than her last pregnancy. Definitely, Tony's gene is obvious in their blood. "Just making your old request."
Tali carefully picked up a mug full of hot chocolate and its overflowing toppings, “Daddy said you requested a hot chocolate with extra marshmallows years ago, the tiny ones. So, me and Daddy made this.”
“You remembered.” Ziva gasped, surprised that he still remembered the request she made more than a decade ago during a case that included a pregnant marine.
He gave her a wide grin while twirling his cool wedding band. Married his very best friend with a daughter and a baby on the way . Sometimes he couldn't believe how life had turned out. Years ago, even during that case, he was adamant, not convinced whether he'd meet the love of his life. Constant meetings with the wrong women brought him to a denial thought that he'd end up becoming a single old man with no lover by his side. Turns out, everything he was searching for was already in front of him.
“Well, I will gladly take the special treatment. I like mine with extra marshmallows, the little tiny ones, please.”
“Who do you think I am, your elf?”
Tony chuckled, “Your very special treatment. And now, indeed I am your elf.”
“Yes, you are.”
Tali’s face scrunched at her parents’ antics, “EW! You lovebirds!”
"Why? We just love each other, that’s all!" Tony defended himself while playfully sticking his tongue out at his daughter. The tween snickered while leaving her parents to watch her favorite movies.
The pregnant woman couldn’t help but laugh, “Oh Lord, have mercy on me.”
After Tali left the room, Ziva took a sip of her drink, "oh, this is the best. Even better than what they usually sell!"
Tony noticed the whipped cream left on the corner of her lips, hands cupped her face. He scooted closer to her. His face was just a mere inch from hers before welcomed her into his mouth. He knew she'd tasted so sweet, but with the help of the hot chocolate he made earlier, she tasted sweeter– better –than he ever thought. He could feel the cinnamon, the mix of bitterness and sweetness, and Ziva . The light inside him ignited, wanting her even more.
"Oh shoot. You're delicious."
Ziva broke the kiss, inhaled the fresh air she needed, "I'm huge, Tony."
"Tsk. I don't care, Zi. You're even a thousand times more beautiful with that baby bump. I can't resist."
“Dad! Ima!” An impatient Tali shouted from the room across from them, “Let’s watch Despicable Me!”
The couple broke the kiss, still smiling after making a scene. Tony carefully helped his delicate wife get down from the stool, both of them joining their daughter for a movie morning session. The hot chocolate earlier still tasted sweet, but nothing sweeter than how their lives turned out right now.
Yeah, nothing would top that.