A/N: Hey guys! I haven't been active on fanfiction in a while... but here I am now! I've been working on this baby for a while... after getting bored and re-inspired and bored again with it multiple times, I finally have it done. No romance here, just drabble. Thanks for reading!(: xx
Most days, Kate looked forward to going home to her apartment, and being able to relax for a few hours alone. Days like this made her anticipate going back to work, in order for her to be surrounded by people, and not by her own thoughts.
These thoughts controlled her and scolded her, and she didn't like that feeling, even though she knew that these thoughts were correct.
The issue was nothing more complicated than the fact that she was wrong. Kate Todd had been living her life the wrong way for a long period of time. She thought about and interpreted things wrong, her point of view was wrong, and most importantly, her opinions of people had been wrong.
She was a little more than embarrassed to say that the instigator of these thoughts were none other than the person she supposedly had all figured out.
The way he could make her distress this much over a small, casual little conversation was appalling. No one else could get under her skin so much, to an extent that she drove herself crazy trying to figure out his motives. That was what brought her here, curled up on her couch, a bowl of once steaming chicken noodle soup now cold. Her purpose was to have a nice little night of F.R.I.E.N.D.S reruns, but she had forgot to turn it on after the thoughts had consumed her.
She figured that the television would be a good distraction, but half of her told her she should keep trying to solve the issue at hand. Her hand grabbed the remote, and pressed the 'On' switch, but she wouldn't have known. She was too busy replaying the conversation in her head.
Tony had been on her case earlier that day, constantly pressing her to reveal any details of her plans for that night. The day was almost over, and now they were at their desks, supposed to be writing a report of the newly solved case. Tony, in his true character, bugged her more, while Kate secretly wondered how the hell he always ended up finishing his reports before her.
Her clever plan was to ignore him. She was so fed up with his apparent drive to collect every detail about her life that he could. Her theory was that they provided clues for him to deduce more about her. He was happy to point out that he's a talented investigator, and no doubt used skills from his line of work in his personal life.
If his purpose was so obvious, how did it work so well? Within minutes, Kate could take no more, and she burst, "You never give is a rest, do you?" Maybe she could turn the tables on him, and beat him at his own game. Maybe she could reveal the secrets of the notoriously mysterious Tony DiNozzo.
He wouldn't budge. He leaned back in his chair, chuckling. "No," he said simply, just to irritate her. He smiled cheekily over at her.
Kate's face turned sour. She tilted her head. "Why are you so determined to ruin my day, everyday?"
His brow furrowed. "That's not true ─"
"Yesterday you read my email, today you ─" she recited.
"I didn't read your email!" he defended.
"Then how did you know I was going to the Fifteen Squares tonight?"
She could sense his smirk from her desk. "I didn't."
"But..." she trailed off. The sneaky bastard. He was too good at this. She surrendered, only responding with a roll of the eyes, and attempted to focus back on her work.
It was angering enough that he succeeded at his little game of investigating her, but what was infuriating was the question of why. It didn't make sense to her that he would care so much about thoroughly understanding her. He also confused her by continuing to give her hints, and being suggestive. Why was it so important to him to show off his skills as an investigator and as a womanizer? What was driving him to prove that to her?
This was the very reason why Kate always fought back. She made it a point to reject all of Tony's attempts at charm and humor, attempting to prove something herself. She thought that by showing Tony that she wasn't impressed by his so-called talents, she could prove that she wasn't just another woman. A woman, especially, because she was outnumbered in the job she was doing, and because of Tony's nature. He would hint and be clever and her purpose was to show him that it wouldn't work.
She sensed that he was used to having girls by the dozens approaching him, and it resulted in him being cocky about it. She would bug him about how hard he tried at it, but it didn't really seem that way. Tony was more of the person that wanted to stand alone, convinced that you could achieve more by yourself.
Maybe that was the reason Tony wanted to show off in a way. If he had figured out her prejudiced thoughts about his player lifestyle, he would probably be determined to say that he would never change himself due to her opinion.
It all boiled down to her realizing that she had been more similar to Tony than she could ever imagine. They were both dedicated to work that they do, and they both want to show each other that they would not succeed in trying to influence or change the other. All of this was shown in their actions ─ Tony continues to charm Kate as a way to show her that he's never going to change, and Kate rejects his charm to show that she'll never be influenced by him either.
Still alone, Kate was convinced to keep digging. From as long as she could remember, she was always this way with Tony. And even before she met him, it seemed like she was always prepared to meet someone like him. She had taught herself to never let someone like him affect her. She refused to be influenced by someone who thought they could win over anyone they wanted to. She wouldn't let them succeed.
It became a sort of "mission" for her. She noticed that when Tony came along, her passion for this mission had been amplified, therefore heightening her attacks.
This is where the guilt came in. Kate realized that the attacks did not have to be heightened. Being your own person was a good thing, but she was going to the extremes. In her pursuits with Tony, the meaning had obviously been lost a long time ago.
She didn't know what Tony's big purpose was, but it didn't matter anyway. She was the one that constantly went overboard, and felt guilty enough that she wouldn't blame Tony for their situation.
She decided to let it marinate for the night when she got up from the couch, leaving the chicken noodle soup on the counter and heading into her bedroom.