Title: Lifting the Rainclouds
Pairing: McGee/Ziva
Rating: K
Genre: a bit of Angst, Fluff, Romance
Cat: Het
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None.
Summary: The rain is not always lonely.
Author's Note: Super fluff ahead! I love it, I do. I wanted to write some fluffy McGiva, so I headed for the random pairing generator and used not a McGiva prompt, but Ziva/Jethro the Dog/doldrums. And as I mentioned, SUPER fluffy. Maybe even slightly OOC fluff. :P LOL. I don't care. It's fluff. ;D I wrote & originally posted this last summer, lol.

Ziva sat on the front stoop of her apartment building, staring out on the rain creating puddles on the pavement. She let out a sigh as a rumble of thunder sounded through the sky. It wasn't that she didn't love the rain; she wouldn't have been sitting out here in it if she didn't have at least a small appreciation for it. It just felt so lonely when it stormed, when everyone rushed inside, newspapers tossed over their heads, afraid to get wet.

She was just about to let out another sigh when a snuffling noise followed by a soft woof made her sit up and look around. She relaxed again and smiled as a familiar German shepherd trotted over to her, woofing again and resting his wet muzzle on her knee.

"Jethro!" she said, scratching behind his ears and grinning as he rubbed his nose against her pants. "What are you doing out here? And where is your master?"

Jethro let out a plaintive whine and rubbed his nose against her again, and Ziva felt her stomach flip a little. She didn't think McGee was truly in trouble, but the dog's reaction made her feel slightly uneasy. She made to stand when she heard the sloppy slaps of shoes against the sidewalk and looked up to see the object of her thoughts standing before her, breathing heavily.

"There you are, Jethro," he said, and only then seemed to realize the other person sitting there. "Ziva. Hey. What are you doing here?"

She let out a snort. "I live here, McGee."

He looked up at the apartment building, then back down at her, still trying to catch his breath. "Right." He rested his hands on his knees, looking down at the wet concrete, then raised his eyes to meet hers again. "So why are you sitting out here in the rain?"

Ziva shrugged. "I like the rain."

"You like getting drenched and freezing cold?"

"There are worse things," she said, and McGee sensed the change of tone and nodded quickly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right . . ." he said, for lack of anything better to say, and almost called for Jethro to come to him, so they could go home, but then thought better of it. It was just something about the look on Ziva's face . . . He could tell, she didn't want to be alone. "Say, Ziva," he started, and she looked up at him, her attention wholly back on him. He felt his face heat up under her gaze and fought for the words that he'd meant to say. "Uh, are you busy?" He regretted the words as soon as he said them, especially when Ziva laughed softly.

"Do I look busy?" she asked, though there was a smile in her voice.

He gave her a lopsided smile. "That's not what I meant. I just thought . . ." He shrugged. "Maybe you'd want some company. You know, get out of the rain, put on some dry clothes . . ."

"And what, McGee?" Ziva asked, amused.

He paused. "I don't really know," he admitted, and they both laughed.

There was a brief moment of silence then, before Ziva patted the cement next to her. McGee smiled and made his way over to her, holding Jethro out of his way as he sat down next to her. The dog stuck his face in McGee's, wagging his entire body, as McGee pushed him away again, laughing. Jethro took the hint and lied down on a step below where McGee and Ziva sat, leaving them to talk.

"I am glad you showed up, McGee," Ziva said, and McGee gave her a sidelong look.

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "Yes. I was feeling a bit . . . alone." She rubbed her hands on her thighs, obviously feeling exposed emotionally.

McGee turned his head toward her to study her further then, realizing he had to play this right in order to not scare her away from opening up to him. He watched as Ziva gave an almost indiscernible shiver and used that as a way in. "You cold?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Ziva insisted, and balled her hands into fists, letting them rest on her knees.

"I don't bite . . ." McGee said, and Ziva laughed, then looked at him, a soft smile on her face. He returned the smile, eyes sparkling. "I know I'm all wet, but -"

His words were cut off by Ziva suddenly leaning over and pressing a soft, short kiss to his lips. She pulled back just as quickly, her cheeks flushed slightly, and tried to hide the giddy smile threatening to erupt on her face.

McGee blinked a few times, his mind still processing what just happened, and finally he asked, "What was that for?"

Ziva shrugged, looking forward, the picture of nonchalance again. "I have always wanted to do it," she said, as though it were no big deal at all. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, waiting to hear his response.

"Huh," McGee said after a moment, and Ziva narrowed her eyes. That wasn't quite the response she had expected. He was quiet for a few more moments, and Ziva ran a nervous hand through her hair, worried she had made things awkward between them, and was just about to apologize when he spoke again. "I always wanted you to do that."

Ziva's mouth fell open in surprise and she turned to look at him, finding him grinning at her. He shrugged and she said, "You can be quite sneaky when you wish to be, McGee."

"I learned from the best," he responded, winking at her. She shook her head and he lowered his voice as he continued. "So, I don't know about you, but I think I want you to try that again."

Ziva gave him a teasing look. "That can perhaps be arranged," she said, and gasped as McGee wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. "McGee?" she said before they went any further.

"Hmm?" he said, preoccupied by her lips.

"I don't feel so alone anymore," she said, and allowed him to cover her lips with his, the kiss deepening even as the rain continued to fall on them and Jethro rose to his feet, barking at the oblivious couple, the only thing on their minds each other.

THE END!