#cairo fic

For the third night in a row, Tony DiNozzo didn’t sleep. He couldn’t. Not when his gut was telling him that something was left unexplained, something only he could get to the bottom of. And that motherless child deserved to see her mother. He deserved to have his answers.

ACT ONE: RESEARCH

Ziva locked her jaw, ignoring the thought as soon as it came. There was no time to victimize herself, wallowing over the fact that no one had come to search for her. She simply wasn’t that valuable. It was high time for her to accept that. No life in a foreign country or a team like Gibbs’ would change that. She had never depended on anybody to lead such a life, fighting for what she believed in.  If she were to die protecting her family, any death would be merciful. It was much more than she could ask for.  Taking a match from a nearby box, Ziva set the photograph on fire, already knowing its location by heart. The paper turned to ash, shrinking in her hand, and she stared at the flames, her eyes fixated on them until they neared her fingers. The tempting sensation of the fire licking her fingertips nearly burned her skin, but she blew it away at the last minute.  Her bloodied fingers turn sooty with ash. Ziva found it ironically fitting. Considering all the destruction she had caused. 

Tony and Tali find Ziva in Cairo—and all that was left unsaid now hangs between them. It's time to face it.

ACT TWO: REVEAL

finally I'm sharing sentences from a wip I'm planning to share someday, so here's a bit of the cairo fic ✨

tagging @pokingacave @benditlikepress @hopeless-nostalgiac @mrsmungus @sheistheweapon @television-overload @tivaforgood @zeevah-ninja and whoever wants to do this!

Wild flames danced in front of her face, deep orange fire heating the skin of her cheeks. It was night. If not for the fire rapidly spreading across the vast grassland, the sky would be pure black, the stars vivid specks of light she could map out since she was little. Tonight, though, no star was visible in the sky. There was only fire, spreading wide, burning the dry vegetation and making it an easy accelerator of the destruction she had caused.  In the end, all the destruction she had to face in her arduous life had come from her own hand.

if it isn't another update to keep me sane while I try to write a long fic like Sweet Disposition. Here's an excerpt from the next chapter no one asked for:

Tony stared at the large building of the Cairo Opera House, doubting whether he had the energy to let himself down again. He couldn’t deny its beauty—there was a big fountain on its entrance, and curated gardens around it—but the part of him that appreciated the beautiful things in life was gone. Instead, he just wanted to get this over with. The sun had already set, and the sky was a navy shade of blue, speckled with stars he wasted no time to see. They were running late.

I feel like that doesn't make much sense (regarding the fact that fanfiction value isn't measured by kudos or hits) but I can't say my excitement was the same as before, thinking people would fall in love with the story the same as I am.