person A goes to person B's birthday party but forgets to get them a gift ;)
Inspired by this post in my prompts tag (the pic). Yes, I know that’s Christmas but whatever. I need to clean out my prompts tag as badly as I need to clean out my inbox.
Almost everyone had left her apartment, leaving behind a rather sizeable mess which Tony had offered to help her clean, much to her surprise.
Another year had come and gone, and while she hadn’t really wanted to celebrate, her friends - namely Abby - had insisted, and so she’d decided to have a simple pizza and beer get-together at her apartment, keeping the celebration as low-key as possible. She had insisted that no one bring her anything, but they ignored her request, and now she had a small stack of wrapped packages to sift through on top of the mess created by pizza boxes and empty beer bottles.
She sighed, shaking her head with a slight smile. They meant well, but she really didn’t see what was such a big deal about surviving on this planet another year, despite her own brushes with mortality.
“Should I just run these out to the dumpster?” Tony asked, interrupting her thoughts, and she looked over at him, noting how he’d stacked about five empty pizza boxes on top of each other, alongside a full trash bag whose ends he’d tied up in a neat knot.
“Please,” she said, tilting her head to the side as she spoke. “And thank you.”
“Of course,” he said, and he stepped out, taking the trash with him, the door’s audible click as it shut behind him drawing her back out of her thoughts.
Sighing, she walked around the living room, gathering up empty solo cups and beer bottles, napkins, used plastic utensils, and paper plates. She opened up another trash bag, stuffing it in the bin and spreading it out, then dumped the garbage into it, heaving another sigh as she surveyed the room.
Just then, Tony came back inside, sliding his shoes off and walking to the kitchen to wash his hands. “It’s not too bad,” he remarked, and Ziva had to agree - the mess left by their friends was not one of the worst she’d seen.
She nodded, not saying anything as she walked back to the living room to gather the few lingering remnants of the party, and Tony followed her, noting the pile of presents sitting on a small table by the picture window. “I thought you said not to bring any presents,” he said, nodding toward the pile.
“I did,” she mused with a slight shake of her head as she ran the remaining trash items to the bin. “I know it is customary to open them in front of people, but I did not feel comfortable doing that. Perhaps if I were a child, I might.”
“Wanna open them now?” he asked, suddenly stiffening, and she wondered just what it was that Tony had gotten her.
“No,” she said softly, motioning for him to sit down. He did, propping his feet up on her coffee table, cracking open the beer he’d taken from the fridge and dropping the bottle cap on the end table beside him.
“I’ll throw it out,” he assured her, and she simply smiled. She knew he would. Tony might seem the type to be a slob, but he was actually quite good at keeping his home - and the home of others - immaculately clean.
“So what did you get me?” she asked, glancing toward the pile of presents.
He stiffened again, and then turned toward her, flashing his hugest grin. “Happy birthday. I’m your present,” he said, widening his arms to show off her gift.
She let out an amused huff that sounded almost like a laugh, then narrowed her eyes at him. “Can I have the receipt?”
“Okay, wow,” he replied, playing at being offended. Had she really meant that?
“You did not get me anything, did you?” she asked seriously then, and he sobered up, sighing slightly as his shoulders rose and fell with the motion.
“You said you didn’t want anything,” he said with a shrug. “I decided to respect your wishes.” He hadn’t wanted to sound like he was insulting the rest of the team with his statement, but he did feel as though he’d done the right thing and they hadn’t.
“That is a good present,” she said softly, looking away for the moment and staring forward quietly. He didn’t know how to react, so he chose his favorite method of diffusing awkwardness - humor.
“I mean, I can be your present, if you want. Look, I’ll take this bow, and then you can unwrap me…” he joked, standing up and reaching for one of the sticky bows that Abby had used to wrap her gifts.
“But I already have you,” she said, hoping he would get her meaning. Certainly, there were many ways to have a person, and perhaps Tony’s meaning was a bit more suggestive than her own, but she felt as though he was already there for her where it counted.
“That you do,” he said softly, and walked back toward her, planting a kiss on her forehead as he sat back down, whispering, “Happy birthday, Ziva.”
I am cleaning out my inbox. Please do not send me more prompts.
