Prompt: Can you do something with Tony DiNozzo? When the reader is an old friend and she helps him with Tali, and Tony starts to fall in love with the reader? Just fluff, please.
Pairing: Tony DiNozzo x Reader (Y/N)
Warnings/Promises: Fluff
Word Count: 1560
Note: This came out so cute! It’s just a quick snapshot of life, but hopefully it gets across the life I imaged Tony, Tali, and Y/N living. For those who have not experienced Small Potatoes… suffer with the rest of us here. Thank you for the request, and I hope you enjoy it. Requests and my tag lists are still open. If you felt any emotion, please let me know. Keyboard smashes and gif reactions are perfect!
Tony’s POV:
Before I even had the keys in the lock, I could hear Tali happily screaming for me. She became more frantic as the keys jingled and waved at me through the windows on either side of the door. I left my stuff outside for the moment so I could scoop her up into my arms.
“How’s my Tali doing today?” She giggled as I razzberried her neck before setting her back down.
“Good! Good! Good!” Her English was still minimum, but then, so was my Hebrew. Tali ran back into the living room while I gathered my things and joined her, waving at Y/N. She nodded in agreement with Tali.
“She was good today. Ate all her carrots and everything.” When I was closer she whispered, “and napped like a brick.” She tossed a toy back into the basket, sharing a knowing look that I was probably going to step on it later anyway. I opened my mouth to speak, but she waved my unspoken words away. “Don’t say it. You always say it. Every single day.”
“And I always mean it. Thanks for doing this.”
Y/N groaned. “I still owe you for taking it upon yourself to watch after that scout troupe. If you can handle ten terrified kinds for a week, and not die by the end, then I can watch one adorable little girl and work on my toddler’s Hebrew.”
“It was purely mercenary. I took the kids so you’d do the paperwork.”
“It’s a good thing too. Your handwriting has always been illegible.” We stared at each other for a second then burst out laughing.
Tali looked up from playing and laughed with us, sending us into another fit. Y/N kneeled down and motioned for Tali to hug her goodbye. I would take a triple lecture on Gibbs’s rules over the scene that unfolded. Tali threw her toy at me (the girl’s got aim and quite the arm) and scurried away. If Y/N didn’t get a hug, then she couldn’t possibly leave. And she apparently couldn’t say goodbye if she couldn’t hear herself think.
“What is this?” Y/N asked her, not raising her voice. “We haven’t had a Mama-Drama Melt-Down in two weeks.”
“A Mama-what-now?” Had she used that term before?
“Mama-Drama. When a child suddenly has an audience they haven’t all day and decide to see if the limits are still there to push. Saw it almost every day when my mom ran a small daycare at her house. Never a peep out of any of them until it was time to leave. Good to see the same is unchanged with Tali.”
I flinched as Tali’s shrill voice reached what I hoped was the peak, or so I hoped. “A good thing?”
Y/N chuckled. “Yes. It means she’ll eventually grow out of it.” She moved to sit on the floor where Tali was huddled. “You know the deal. Lunch after Peter Rabbit. Naptime after story. And I go home after Little Einsteins before Small Potatoes comes on.”
I scrunched up my nose at that plan. Tali loved those creepy little British-singing things. And she always made sure I was watching with her and not dozing off. “With your clearance, isn’t there some way you could contact the station and have them flip the shows?”
Y/N wrapped Tali’s arms around her neck and picked her up. “I have higher clearance than you, yes. But media control is not my jurisdiction.”
“Shame.”
I leaned against the frame leading into the kitchen and watched as Y/N talked softly to Tali, reprimanding her but also promising to come back tomorrow. The Y/N I worked with years ago was a hellava shot and had even stared down Gibbs once and won. But on the other side of the coin, it never ceased to amaze me how good she was with kids. Which was why I called her in the first place when I needed help.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay? We can break out the grown-up juice before you have to show up at the office. With what’s been going down today, you might need it.”
Y/N shook her head with a smile. “I have a reserve of various juices in the fridge hidden in my desk. And no, I won’t give you the combination.”
“Juice?” Tali asked, popping up from pouting against Y/N’s shoulder.
“It’s on the table. Can I get a hug before I go?” Tali pouted again, but gripped Y/N’s neck and gave her cheek a sloppy kiss. “Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Tomorrow.” Tali nodded once and hard as if sealing the deal. She was completely over her earlier episode and bounced off, happy and singing softly to herself along with the freaky potatoes.
I led Y/N to the door and held open her jacket. There were things I could say to make her stay a bit longer, but nothing seemed to make it fast enough to my lips. Before I could stop her, Y/N was saying goodbye and giving Tali one last wave.
“See you tomorrow,” she said.
“Tomorrow,” I nodded. Once. Hard. And with a slight pout since I couldn’t find anything else to say. Y/N giggled and left, leaving me to stare after her until the elevator doors closed behind her. Tali called for me and I chuffed at myself. “Falling for the babysitter? Just add it to your list of fulfilled clichés, Tony.”
On the couch, Tali crawled into my lap with a stuffed lion. She sang along and looked at me expectantly. I bobbed my head in participation, though my mind wandered to Y/N. How long had I had these feelings? Looking down at Tali and thinking about how natural Y/N was with her, I realized it didn’t matter. All that did was that I knew now. And, if the lady was willing, I could express this to her.
If I could find the words.
Y/N’s POV
Walking up to Tony’s apartment, I could hear Tali’s giggles through the door. I used my key to let myself in. They were on the couch, Tali freezing after each burst of giggle and pulling Tony’s hand to her tummy to tickle her. With each ‘attack’ Tali would throw her head back into the cushions and laugh with her whole body. Tony’s face was bright and so… peaceful. In a way I hadn’t seen him in a long time.
Tali noticed me and screeched my name. Tony reeled back out of the way as the toddler rocketed off the couch and wrapped her arms around my legs, chanting my name.
“Well hello to you too. Good to know who the favorite is,” Tony snarked with a smile.
“I’m not necessarily the favorite,” I said, picking Tali up. “She sees you all the time. I’m the few and far between treat.” I couldn’t say much more as Tali wrapped her arms around my neck and ‘hugged’ me with constrictor-like strength. When she was satisfied with the amount of love she’d given me, she wriggled until I put her down. Tony and I were forgotten and replaced with her collection of stuffed animals. We walked into the kitchen while she babbled at them in a mix of Hebrew and English.
Tony immediately went to his wine storage and I found two glasses. He poured while I gathered my thoughts.
“Is there a particular reason why you asked me over?” He had tried to sound nonchalant on the phone, but I picked up on the nervousness in his voice.
He didn’t answer for a second, sipping on his wine first. “The plan was to take you to dinner, but then my usual childcare wouldn’t be able to come.”
I laughed. “So you’re plying me with alcohol to get me to stay for dinner?” Tony’s blush was cute, even though he claimed he didn’t have one. I chuckled as he muttered ‘maybe’ under his breath. “What are we making?”
Tony’s eyes darted to the living room, where Tali was in her own little world. “Macaroni and cheese,” he whispered.
Tali’s head popped up and she looked at us. The girl was quick; she read our guilt and knew exactly what he said. She bounced over to us. “Mac an’ chez. Mac an’ chez?”
Tony glanced at me and I nodded. “Yes, Tali,” he said. “Mac and cheese. Sound good for dinner?”
She quickly nodded her head. “Y/N?” Her big eyes looked up at me and my heart could have melted.
“Yes, I’m staying for mac and cheese.” Tony and I laughed as she hopped away, giddy and once again completely oblivious to us.
I watched Tony as he watched her. There was so much love in is eyes for his little girl. I took a sip, hoping it would calm the sudden flip in my stomach. If anything, the alcohol started to seep into my system and let my mind flicker through what life could be like. I shut those familiar thoughts away as Tony found another conversation starter.
But at the back of my mind, the familiar thoughts hovered and grew. Once or twice I tried to bring one up, but the words died on my tongue. They weren’t ready yet. Still half-baked and too fantastical. They needed just a little more time.
Hopefully one day I could find the words.
Forever Tags: @blondekel77 @laochbaineann @lavitabella87 @savmontreal @tinyelfperson @zuni21798
NCIS Tags: @lifeisabitchandsoareyou (The List is open for buisness!)
Our Deepest Desires 