Disclaimers: NCIS, the rights to the show and its characters do not belong to me.
Spoilers: none really
Pairing: Ziva David/Kate Todd romance
Summary: After DiNozzo makes a few inappropriate comments upon finding out that Ziva stayed at Kate's place, the two women decide to get back at Tony, only to have their plan backfire.
Ziva stepped off the elevator and went into the squad room, ignoring Tony's overly cheery greetings in favor of putting her backpack down and pulling a wrapped present from it. She went over to Kate's desk and stood there, waiting until the other woman looked up from her work, at which point Ziva held out the present.
"I just wanted to thank you again." she told the other woman. Kate gave her a short smile before pointing at the present with her pen.
"It was nothing, really. And you better take that back where it came from." she told her colleague and Ziva rolled her eyes, putting the present down on the other woman's desk.
"Why does she get a present and I don't?" Tony asked getting up from his own desk to peer at Kate's present.
"Because you didn't let me stay at your place when my apartment was being fumigated, Kate did." Ziva told him, retreading to her own desk opposite of McGee's. Since her addition to the team, the two working areas next to theirs had been removed and a separation had been put up at the end, where Gibbs' desk now stood, giving him the vantage point of seeing all four agents at once. Tony, McGee and Kate had remained at their old desks and Ziva had been given Gibbs' former workspace.
"You didn't tell me your apartment was being fumigated." Tony pointed out and Ziva rolled her eyes as she sat down at her desk.
"I wonder why." she joked, booting up her computer as Kate unwrapped the present, finding the book she had mentioned she couldn't find anywhere when Ziva had stayed with her.
"Thank you, Ziva." the NCIS agent smiled, putting the book in her drawer.
"So, you stayed at Kate's huh?" Tony continued as McGee walked in, greeting the others and frowning slightly in confusion. "That must have been one hell of a night." the senior agent leered at them before ducking quickly as Kate balled up the wrapping paper and threw it at him, only to have Gibbs reprimand her when their boss walked in, telling them that they had a new case.
"So, where did you sleep?" Tony asked, snapping a picture of the dead Petty Officer lying naked on his bed. Ziva looked up from the bedside drawer she was going through and gave him a glare. He hadn't stopped his running commentary since they had gotten off the truck, and Kate had gone with McGee, which made Tony concentrate all his energy on Ziva. She wondered if Gibbs would get mad in case she killed DiNozzo…
"What? Just curious. Because I have been to Kate's place and there is no guest bedroom." he told her, flashing her a grin.
"I have an extendable couch, DiNozzo." Kate told him when she and McGee returned from questioning the woman who had found their victim.
"Really?" Tony's eyebrows rose and he gave them a suggestive look. "Or did you two share a bed? Was there chocolate involved?" He let his eyes travel up and down Kate's body and Ziva reached over to give him a head slap.
"Really, Tony?" McGee raised an eyebrow at the other man before he started helping Ziva look for evidence as Kate wandered off to tell Gibbs what they had found out as he was talking to the local LEOs that had been called in.
"This is getting ridiculous." Kate hissed and slammed her hand down on the elevator button as she and Ziva got on board the cart to get to Abby and ask her what she had found.
"I agree." Ziva nodded, crossing her arms as the elevator began its descent. "It's like he is obsessed with the idea of you and me being more than friends. I do not wish to know what sort of movie has been playing in his head ever since this morning."
Kate made a face of disgust. "Whatever it is, it is certainly X-rated." she muttered, giving Ziva a confused look when the Israeli reached over and flipped the emergency stop switch.
"What do you say we mess with him a little?" she suggested, watching Kate's face as the other woman frowned.
"What do you mean?" she asked. Working with Ziva, she had come to find that it was necessary to question the other woman when she had one of her bright ideas, lest they all ended up dead one day. The Israeli had a… reckless streak that, while making her an effective Mossad operative and assassin, often meant that she tended to disregard problems of personal safety in favor of getting the job done.
"We start acting secretive. Stop conversations when he walks in, decline when he suggests going for a drink only to make plans with each other when he can hear us. Give each other looks. A few 'secretive' looks and touches. It should not be too hard to convince him that there is something going on between us two. It should teach him a lesson."
Kate briefly contemplated the idea before a mischievous expression took over her face. "This is perfect." she exclaimed, grinning. "Do we tell the others?" she asked and Ziva hesitated.
"I do not know." she shook her head. "I mean, we probably should, but then they may tell Tony."
"If we don't and Gibbs starts thinking that we're actually going out with each other…" Kate trailed off and Ziva swallowed thickly.
"Yes, we should definitely tell Gibbs." she agreed. Kate reached over and flipped the switch again, allowing the elevator to continue its descent.
"Okay, tell Gibbs, keep the others out of it." the NCIS agent confirmed, sharing a smile with Ziva. "This should be fun; I can't wait to see his face when he realizes we have been jerking his chain the whole time."
She considered it excellent payback for the infinite number of times where Tony had taken it upon himself to make her squirm.
When he heard the elevator ding and decidedly girly giggle carried over, Tony lifted his head from his paperwork. Ziva and Kate had been gone for quite some time now. Probably lost track of time while chatting with Abby. To his surprise, the two women of his thoughts actually exited the elevator, remaining in the area in front of it and talking, a big smile on Ziva's face. That froze when she let her eyes travel over Kate's shoulder and noticed Tony was watching them. She said something and Kate tensed up before the two women came back to the squad room, the laughter gone.
"Hey, what took you so long?"
"Complicated results, Abby had to explain a lot." Kate shrugged as she handed the file over to Gibbs who immediately started looking through it as the two women related the findings of their forensic scientist. Just as Gibbs disappeared on a coffee run and Kate and McGee went out to pick up one of their suspects for questioning, Tony walked over to Ziva's desk where she was going through their victim's financial records.
"What? I am trying to work, Tony." she frowned at him.
"What where you and Kate talking about?" he asked her and Ziva's frown deepened.
"When?"
"Earlier, by the elevator." her colleague persisted. Ziva's frown disappeared and her face instantly became a mask.
"Nothing." she told him, returning to her work.
"Didn't sound like nothing. Actually, it sounded like you were having a lot of fun." Tony pushed and Ziva threw him a glare.
"We were continuing the conversation we had started in Abby's Lab. Now leave me alone, I need to get this done before Gibbs returns and you have phone records to go through." she snapped at him. Tony raised an eyebrow and slowly made his way back to his desk, watching Ziva for a minute before he went back to his work, filing away the strange behavior of his team mate for future investigation while Ziva congratulated herself for her acting skills. He would really make this easy for her and Kate, it appeared.
"Okay, he's coming." Kate muttered, leaning down so she could rest a hand on Ziva desk and rest the other on the other woman's shoulder as Tony walked into the squadroom, a bounce in his step. When he saw the two women, he froze in his steps.
"- no, that doesn't seem appropriate." Kate shook her head, pulling a face.
"Really?" Ziva asked her, looking up and making sure her eyes stayed on the other woman's breasts for a second before she looked into her face.
"Yes. Back up, more…" Kate instructed her as Tony slowly walked over to them.
"Ladies." he greeted them and the two women looked to him as if they had just noticed him standing there.
"Hi Tony."
"What are you two doing?" their colleague asked as Kate took her hand from Ziva's shoulder and straightened.
"A friend of mine invited me to his wedding and I do not know what to give as a present. Kate was helping me." Ziva informed him with a soft smile, returning her attention to the monitor.
"Really, is she now?" Tony grinned, giving Kate a look. The woman frowned at him.
"Yes. I have been to a few weddings and I thought I could help." she answered, crossing her arms.
"Well, if it's a guy, why not give him honey dust?" Tony suggested. Ziva tilted her head to the side.
"Actually, that is an idea." she allowed.
"You can't be serious." Kate muttered, staring at her friend. Ziva turned around and gave her a look before going on.
"Well, yes, I am. I mean, they are going to have sex that night. Oh, remember the raspberry-" she said, cutting herself of abruptly. Kate's eyes widened in shock and for a second, she actually thought that Ziva had slipped up about one of her sexual adventures before she saw the brief flash of mischief in the other woman's dark eyes. Damn, she was good.
"Raspberry what?" Tony asked, his voice slightly husky. Ziva quickly shook her head and Kate flushed with the effort that it took her to keep a shocked expression and then a straight face. Her physical reaction obviously lead Tony to a different conclusion as his eyes widened.
"Nothing. Yeah, perfect gift." she muttered, beating a hasty retreat to her own desk. Tony turned around, looking back and forth between the two women.
"Since when do you know what honey dust is?" his eyes narrowed suspiciously at Kate, who took care to flash a slightly panicky look in Ziva's direction. Which almost proved to be her undoing as the other woman bit her lip hard to keep herself from laughing out loud.
"I… tried it." Kate settled on an answer, blushing at the lie and returning to her paperwork.
"You tried honey dust?" Tony walked over to her. "Pray tell, did you like him rubbing it on your body?" he asked and Kate looked up.
"Actually, we used a feather. Lighter touch, you know, less messy." she told him completely deadpan, almost squealing with delight when Tony's eyes widened again.
"What flavor?" he husked and Kate whacked her brain. She had heard Ziva and Abby mention it a few times, but never looked it up herself and couldn't remember one of the flavors. If Tony caught the lie-
"Will you back off, DiNozzo?" Ziva snapped at him, dark glare on her face, one that was suggesting he was invading her territory. "Her sex life is none of your concern." she added, continuing to glare at the man. Tony raised an eyebrow at her.
"Of course not." he allowed, giving a mocking bow and retreading to his desk, keeping his eyes on the two friends.
They continued their little game with Tony for the next two weeks, stopping mid-word when he walked into the squad room, exchanging glances. Kate could have sworn she felt Ziva check her out a few times, too, when she walked in front of the other woman, and even did it herself once when they were down in Abby's Lab to watch her present the results of her latest findings.
Gibbs caught them discussing their strategy halfway through the first week and they sheepishly told him what they were doing. To their surprise, their boss merely told them not to go too far and that he would tell them to stop it if it started interfering with their work.
Halfway through the second week, Kate was at Ziva's place, the two of them having a movie night and talking when they were called to a scene. Arriving there together, in the middle of the night, still dressed in their clothes from work and with Kate smelling softly of Ziva's perfume (she had been going through the other woman's slightly impressive collection after Ziva had kicked her out of the kitchen and by chance found the one Ziva was sometimes wearing at work) did more to convince Tony that something was going on between them than half their actions had.
"So, what's our next step?" Kate asked her friend when they entered the ladies' room. Ziva shrugged and went to wash her hands after having just had lunch.
"Well, I suppose we could start arriving on time to work." she suggested, frowning at her reflection in the mirror. "Or…" the Israeli added, trailing off.
"Or what?" Kate asked, grabbing a few paper towels to dry her hands. Ziva turned to her and drew a deep breath.
"How far are you willing to go?" she asked the other woman. Kate frowned lightly at her.
"Well, he deserves the lesson." she told Ziva. "Why, what do you have in mind?"
Ziva bit her lip. "Touching inappropriately." she told her and Kate felt her eyes widen.
"What?" she blurted. Ziva quickly shook her head.
"It was just a suggestion, forget about it." she assured her. "Would you be opposed to acting as if we had made out?" she asked. Kate eyes her suspiciously and Ziva rolled her eyes. "Not actually doing it. We just, muss up our hair before we get back to the squad room. Or after elevator rides together." the Israeli explained, bringing a grin to Kate's face.
"Sounds good." the NCIS agent nodded and bent over, shaking her hair out. When she straightened, she found herself gaping at Ziva. The other woman had shaken out her curls, leaving them in a messy state and was pulling at her lip with her teeth. Kate swallowed thickly as she watched Ziva's tongue dart out briefly before following her cue. She turned to the mirror and smudged her lipstick a little, nodding at herself when she was satisfied with the result.
"Hey, how did you know about the lip-biting trick?" Kate asked her friend when they emerged from the bathroom. Ziva shrugged.
"I have had to pretend I was with someone a few times while under cover. Some things you just pick up along the way." she told her, flashing Kate a hearty smile before she went in front of her, swinging her hips invitingly as they entered the squad room again, much to their amusement as Tony gaped at him. Only that this time, Kate noticed him staring at them just after she had sat down. Her eyes had been glued to Ziva's backside before that.
"You wanted to see me?" Ziva asked as she stepped into Jenny's office, coming to stand in front of her desk. Jenny looked up at her from her paperwork and rolled her eyes slightly before nodding and setting her pen down. Even though she had been at NCIS for over a year, there were things that been so deeply ingrained into her that Ziva could not rid herself of them. Standing at attention in front of a superior's desk was one of those.
"Yes. Take a seat." she told her friend. Ziva sat down and reclined in the chair when Jenny offered her something to drink. Apparently, this wasn't a work-related conversation. Jenny sat back down behind her desk with a glass of bourbon, twirling it slowly.
"You know, there has been some… talk." she started, watching her friend intensely. Ziva merely raised an eyebrow. "About you and Agent Todd." the director added, taking in Ziva's surprised expression as she took a sip of her drink.
"What kind of talk?" Ziva asked, frowning lightly. Jenny sighed.
"That you two are doing each other." she informed her bluntly. Ziva's eyes widened slightly. "Are you?"
"Should I answer?" Ziva asked, tilting her head slightly and Jenny gave another sigh.
"Ziva…" she muttered, setting down her glass before looking at her friend again, surprised by the amused smile on her face. Jenny knew that she was toeing the line with her question, and Ziva was right, she did not have to answer to any question concerning her private life. Still…
"Relax. Kate and I are just… friends." the Israeli told her. At that, Jenny raised her eyebrows so they almost met her hairline. Ziva rolled her eyes. "I suppose I should not be surprised by the talk." she said, brushing a few of her curls from her face. "A few weeks ago, my apartment was being fumigated, and Kate let me sleep at hers. DiNozzo was being a pig about it after he found out, asking if we had shared a bed and things, and we decided to pay him back by acting secretive, as if we were really having an affair." Ziva clued her in. "That is all." she shrugged. Jenny watched her carefully.
"I don't have to tell you that you're playing with fire, do I?" she asked her friend and Ziva laughed.
"If you are concerned about Gibbs, he already knows. He caught us discussing our plan and we had to tell him."
Jenny took another sip of her drink, contemplating her friend. What Ziva had said actually made sense. Or it would, if Jenny hadn't been present for some of those instances. She had noticed the lingering looks Ziva flashed the other agent when she had supervised the squad room a few times, had seen Ziva blush when she had been caught staring. And while the other woman must have thought it part of her act, Jenny actually knew that it was one of the few things Ziva couldn't do: blush on command.
"I'm not talking about Gibbs. Does Kate know about…" she trailed off, not sure how to put it. Ziva frowned lightly before realization dawned on her and she scowled.
"I do not randomly discuss my sexuality with other people." she told Jenny, a sharp edge in her voice.
"Don't you think she should know that-"
"I swing both ways, as you Americans like to put it?" Ziva supplied, crossing her arms and legs. "Aside from not feeling like talking about it with everyone, I am pretty sure that Kate has put the pieces to that puzzle together already."
Jenny leaned back, giving a soft sigh. "I do not wish to spoil your fun. I just thought that, if she doesn't know and finds out, she could feel betrayed and the whole thing could backfire. As could developing feelings for her."
Instantly, she knew that had been the wrong thing to say. Ziva's jaw slackened slightly before Jenny saw her grinding her teeth and watched her fingers dig into her upper arms.
"I will make sure not to do that, then." she informed Jen, getting up.
"Ziva-"
"Are you jealous?" the Israeli asked her bluntly. Jenny gawked at her before shaking her head vehemently.
"No. No, Ziva, I am not jealous." Jenny said. Cairo had been a long time ago, and nothing had really happened between them, except for a few heated kisses. Ziva was her friend, simple as that, nothing more and nothing less. "I am merely… concerned." the director continued, leaning forward in her seat. "I consider you a friend, and I don't want to see you get hurt over this."
"I will make sure I don't, then." her friend told her, her voice cold as ice. "Director." Ziva nodded before leaving her office, slamming the door shut behind her. Jenny stared at it before getting up and pouring herself another drink.
If anything, Ziva's reaction just now had proven it to her that the Israeli was getting in way over her head.
Kate was leaving through a book when the doorbell rang. She frowned at the lock. Almost 2200, who was calling on her at this time?
She slowly stood and walked over, looking through the peephole. Instantly, her confusion morphed into concern when she found Ziva standing on the other side of her door, staring down at the floor.
"Hey." Kate greeted her when she opened her door. Ziva looked up, slightly startled. The expression on her face did nothing to get rid of Kate's concern, though, instead it grew.
"I should not have come." Ziva started, shaking her head. "I am sorry, I forgot the time, and… I will see you at work." she nodded firmly, turning around. Kate reached out and grabbed her arm, holding her back.
"It's okay, I was still up, reading. Come on, you've driven all the way over here, so it must be important. Just, come on in, Ziva." she gently asked her friend and Ziva sighed, following Kate into the other woman's apartment.
"So, what are you doing here?"
"Jenny talked to me. People are starting to notice our behavior, and apparently there is a rumor that we… are more than just friends." Ziva revealed, watching Kate's face for her reaction.
"Oh." the NCIS agent breathed before shrugging. "Well, I guess we're doing a pretty convincing job, then."
Ziva watched her, drawing a deep breath and plucking up her courage. She had never come out to anyone directly before, most people figured it out sooner or later on their own. But what Jenny had said had made her think. She liked Kate, she valued her friendship, and considering how narrow-minded the other woman could be at times, Ziva wouldn't be too surprised to find that Kate had just closed her eyes to the evidence and not figured it out yet.
"There is more." the Israeli started, sitting down in Kate's armchair. "I know that there have been comments, but Director Shepard pointed it out to me that I have never said anything about them, so… I think you should know that I have been with women."
Kate blinked slowly, reclining in her seat. "Wow." she breathed, frowning. "Is the Director one of them?" she asked and watched as Ziva bit her lip.
"No." the Israeli settled on an answer. "We got close to it, yes, but it did not happen. Jenny and I are friends, nothing more."
"Do you have… feelings, for me?" Kate then asked Ziva and the other woman quickly shook her head.
"No!" she exclaimed. "No, I-, well, I value out friendship, and I am glad that we have gotten to this point, after getting a really bad start." she said, remembering how her brother had attempted to assassinate the women on Team Gibbs and the only way to stop him had been to sell him out. He still haunted her in her dreams sometimes. "But I am not in love with you." Ziva added, fighting the painful pang in her chest when Kate gave a relieved sigh.
"Good." the NCIS agent smiled before frowning. "Well, I don't mean… I like our friendship, too, it's just that…" she trailed off, searching for the right words.
"You're straight. I get it." Ziva helped her out; unable to fight the relieved smile that was making its way to her face. "So, are we good?" she asked hopefully. Kate nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes, we're good." she assured her friend. "Hey, did you have dinner yet?" she suddenly asked and Ziva slowly shook her head.
"No, I wasn't hungry."
"Let's order pizza and we can finish Scream." Kate suggested, already on her way to the kitchen to find the delivery service menu. Ziva couldn't help stare at her as she left before shaking her head quickly. If she wanted this friendship to remain intact after they got back at Tony for his comments, she would have to get over the silly crush she was developing for Kate.
It took almost another week until it became apparent that the way Ziva and Kate acted around each other had been noticed by McGee and Abby, too, as the Goth invited the team for a movie night at her place. Ziva offered Kate to stop their act at this point, because even she was getting anxious about what would happen when their friends found out that they had merely played with them the whole time. And it was getting harder for the Israeli to ignore the feelings she was developing for the other woman.
Kate, though, insisted that they continue with this, at least until Tony had made a fool of himself, and until now, the man had not commented on their sudden closeness and secretive behavior. It seemed more like he was gathering information and brooding over it, and Kate had paused briefly to consider what that could mean, but given up on that pretty soon. And if she was completely honest with herself, she didn't want to stop being this close to Ziva. Even though they had become friends, especially when Gibbs was in Mexico and they had had to endure Tony as their team leader, it had still felt as if there had been a barrier between them. Part of that was her fault, she kept Ziva at arm's length for some time, knowing that she had been close to the monster that had tried to kill her hadn't done anything to make her trust the Israeli woman. But then when she slowly let go of her resentment of Ziva for trying to protect Haswari in the beginning, she had found that it was also part of Ziva's own reaction to her: the other woman kept herself at a distance from the team, most of all her. Gibbs had seemed to be the only one Ziva trusted implicitly and there was something between them that made Kate feel slightly jealous. Not something sexual (though really, was there anyone Ziva didn't have any sexual tension with, other than Palmer and Ducky), but an understanding of each other that Kate instinctively knew would never exist between Gibbs and any other member of their team, except maybe the Director.
So Friday night rolled around and Kate found herself picking up Ziva at her place and driving them to Abby, finding, much to her surprise, that the other woman was nervous.
"If you want to stop our act…" Kate started, but Ziva quickly interrupted her.
"No, it's not that." she assured her, giving a soft sigh. "Abby and I… do not always get along. When I first started on the team… well, you know what happened." the Israeli muttered, shaking her head as Kate frowned lightly.
"Yes, but you have been getting closer. Abby likes you, Ziva, she has let go of her resentment… much like me."
At that, Ziva gave her a soft, almost sad smile. "Thank you. I just, I am not great at friendships with other women. I always end up doing something that destroys it." she frowned lightly, drawing a deep breath. "Enough of that."
Once they went up to Abby's apartment, they found that McGee was already there. Kate raised an eyebrow at her friend in silent questioning and Abby rolled her eyes, shaking her head as Ziva went over to talk to their team mate. Her and McGee had developed and easy friendship ever since Ziva had joined their team. Thinking about it, Kate suddenly realized that McGee had been the only one who had always been nice to Ziva and never joined the others in hazing her. Never mind the huge crush the young man had had on the Israeli liaison in the beginning, though that had apparently slipped away. At least there hadn't been any blushing in a while, Kate mused as she saw Ziva bump McGee's shoulder with hers and the man grinned at her, continuing his animated explanation of the plot of his most recently read book.
As usual, Tony was late, but once he arrived, the group sat down on the couch and floor and Abby started the movie, interrupting DiNozzo's long winded introduction speech of how important this piece was for the history of cinema. Kate found herself wedged between Ziva and McGee on the couch as Abby and Tony sat on the floor. She could feel the heat radiating off of the woman sitting next to her and her skin broke out in goose bumps every time Ziva moved slightly and their thighs touched. After fifteen minutes, Kate reached over and squeezed the other woman's thigh to keep her still. She felt Ziva tense next to her before she heard her draw a shuddering breath, dark eyes never flickering away from the plasma TV. Kate told herself that she'd let go once the message had sunk in, but when Abby declared she needed a break half-way through the movie, Kate noticed that not only was her hand still resting on Ziva's thigh, her thumb was even gently stroking the inside of it. She quickly pulled her hand back as if she had been burned and went to the kitchen under the ruse of getting them new drinks in order to collect herself. Her hand that had been touching Ziva was tingling and she shook her head, telling herself to get a grip when she felt a pang of longing to be close to the other woman again.
Back in the living room, she told Abby that she was switching seats with her, claiming that it wasn't fair that their host was sitting on the floor all the time and Tony used the same excuse to make McGee switch with him, so Kate found herself sitting at Ziva's feet with McGee next to her. She must have had sitting in a draft when they had gone to interview one of their witnesses earlier that day as Kate felt her neck starting to get stiff. She tilted her head to the side and rolled her shoulders to no avail, jumping when two warm hands suddenly settled at the base of her neck. She felt Ziva shift and open her legs, gently massaging the base of Kate's neck with her fingers. The NCIS agent scooted back until her back hit the couch and let her head roll forward, giving Ziva full access to her neck. Damn, she was good. Kate gave a soft sigh as Ziva started to really work on her, her hands firm and warm, easing out the tension gradually. Kate quickly bit her lip to keep herself from moaning in relief, shocked at herself when decidedly impure images of Ziva's hands on her body suddenly flickered through her brain.
When she felt Kate put her hand on her thigh, Ziva's heart skipped a beat before it started racing in her chest. She could feel the warmth of the other woman's touch seep through her jeans and slowly spread from the point of her thigh throughout her entire body, making it tingle and sending a jolt of longing through her when the other woman suddenly let go of her halfway through the movie when they paused it for a bathroom break.
After Kate returned from Abby's kitchen and sat down in front of her, Ziva had to ball her fists to keep herself from touching the other woman. She wanted nothing more than to lean forward and run her hands through Kate's hair, touch her shoulder, hold her hand… and then she started rolling her shoulders and Ziva suddenly had an excuse to do it, to touch her, even if it was under the pretense of providing relief of the tension in her neck.
She noticed the goose bumps breaking out on Kate's skin when she started touching her and felt her tense, but then the other woman relaxed and rolled her head forward, exposing the length of her neck, and Ziva set to work, the movie completely forgotten. It felt so good to be able to touch her, to run her fingers over Kate's smooth skin, and the vulnerable position the other woman was in made Ziva sigh softly as Kate did the same. She didn't even notice when her touch went from massaging the other woman's neck to gently stroking it, only that it was what she was doing when she felt someone's eyes on her as the credits of the movie began to roll.
Ziva gave Kate's shoulders a soft squeeze before letting go of her. Kate slowly raised her head and Ziva looked at her watch and stretched slowly, faking a yawn.
"Well, this was lovely-" she started, only to have Abby interrupt her with a pout.
"You are not going to say that you're tired and need to go." the Forensic Scientist told her and Ziva gave a soft sigh.
"I am sorry, Abby, but really-"
"It's Friday, Ziva!" Tony exclaimed. To Ziva's surprise, Kate came to her help.
"Yes, but we are on call this weekend, and if we get a case, I would also like to be well-rested." the brunette said, rising from her seat and leaning over McGee to give Abby a hug before she and Ziva left. Down in the car, Ziva took a deep breath.
"You did not have to do this." she muttered, looking out the window.
"I wasn't in the mood for anything more than the movie." Kate told her, pulling out of the parking space. "Plus, I drove you here. How were you going to get home?"
Ziva shrugged. "I could have gotten a cab or something." she tried; ignoring the look Kate flashed her. When they reached Ziva's apartment complex, the Israeli unfastened her seatbelt, but didn't get out of the car.
"What happened tonight…" she started, but Kate cut her off.
"It was okay. I know I said that I wasn't for inappropriate touching before, but I think that we got a good deal closer to convincing Tony that there is something going on between us."
Ziva drew a deep breath.
"Yes. Maybe. But I think we should stop this." she said, watching as Kate blinked slowly.
"What?"
"I think we have made our point. Let's tell him we were just joking on Monday, let him have a whole weekend to torture himself by wondering what is going on between us and then call it off when we see him next time." the Israeli explained slowly, taking in Kate's frown and confusion.
"Did I go too far? I probably should have told you I was going to touch you-" her friend started, and Ziva quickly shook her head.
"No, the touching was not a problem." she assured her. Only her own reaction to it was, Ziva thought, clenching her jaw briefly. "But we did it in front of Tim and Abby, too, and… I am not comfortable with dragging them into this. I do not wish to lie to them, Tim… he is my closest friend. I do not want him to get hurt because he thinks I didn't trust him enough to tell him about 'us'," she continued, hoping that it seemed like a plausible enough reason to Kate. She wasn't really worried about Tim; he would understand that she couldn't have told him, Ziva was sure of that. The major threat to the team relationships was her building attraction to Kate, and the Israeli was highly aware of that never being a possibility. Kate was straight, she was a woman and not at all attracted to her.
Kate sighed and bit her lip.
"Well, if you are worried about that…" she said, giving Ziva a soft smile. "It was fun." she nodded and Ziva breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yes, it was." she agreed. "Thank you for driving me." she added, opening the passenger door and getting out of the car. She didn't look back on her way to her apartment building, but was aware that she only heard Kate's car pull away when she was inserting her key into the doorlock.
If they had thought that Tony would have gotten the message by the prank they pulled on him, the two women on Team Gibbs couldn't have been more wrong. Instead of stopping his pestering of them about what had happened the night Ziva had stayed at Kate's, he was now commenting on how much chemistry they had and made a pretty convincing couple. It didn't help that he kept rubbing their actions at Abby's apartment into their faces, making especially Ziva feel highly uncomfortable. She knew that Kate had only touched her to keep her from squirming in her seat and then gone along with their masquerade, but her intentions when she had touched the other woman had not been pure, on the contrary. It turned out that, after all, Jenny had been right: this had been a splendidly bad idea and it did end up getting her hurt, though nowhere near the proportions that could have been possible had Kate found out about her feelings.
The only way Ziva knew to get her attraction under control was to keep Kate at arm's length and to seek tension relief with someone else, preferably someone who looked a bit like her. Which was why she found herself at a club two weeks later, making out with another woman. She had already forgotten her name, something with an M, possibly? It didn't matter to Ziva, what mattered that she needed to get rid of her mounting sexual frustration and her stupid infatuation.
"You wanna take this elsewhere?" the other woman asked when she broke the kiss, toying with a strand of Ziva's hair. The Israeli swallowed thickly before nodding.
"Yes, let's get out of-" she started, turning around and freezing in her steps.
"Ziva?" her companion asked and the Israeli swallowed thickly.
"Um, not tonight." she suddenly changed her mind, groaning inwardly when the other woman frowned in confusion.
"Did I do something wrong?" she asked and Ziva shook her head.
"No. No, it's… complicated. Excuse me." she muttered and left the other girl standing there, completely bewildered.
"Nice show." Tony leered at his teammate when she came to stand in front of the group. Tim was trying hard not to look at her, his face almost crimson. Abby merely raised an eyebrow, but Kate… Kate was glaring at her and crossed her arms in indignation.
"Yeah." Ziva shook her head. "I didn't know you were going to be here tonight." she tried to explain.
"Why, would you have gone elsewhere, then?" Kate asked, her voice icy. Ziva gave her a look.
"Yes." she nodded. "I do not care for an audience when I am…"
"Participating in a tonsil exam?" Tony helpfully supplied, earning himself a glare from the women.
"That did not seem to be the case over there. Go on, I'm sure she was very interested." Kate told Ziva and the Israeli took a deep breath, trying to keep her cool.
"Who I sleep with and when and where I do it, is my business, and that of my partners." she told her friend, surprised when Kate clenched her fists.
"Excuse me, I am done for tonight." the NCIS agent spat, turned on her heel and left the club, leaving the others staring after her in confusion.
"What the…" Ziva trailed off.
"Are you sure you two were just acting?" Tony muttered, impressed by Kate's reaction to seeing their team mate kiss someone else and obviously enjoying it. Which was when he suddenly realized that the woman Ziva had been busy making out with shared some physical characteristics with Kate. Actually, if he hadn't known that the woman was standing next to him, he could have sworn that Ziva and Kate had been the ones making out at the bar, not Ziva and some random stranger.
"You should go talk to her." Abby tried to help. Ziva gave a soft sigh and nodded, pushing through the crowd. She would have thought that Kate had already left, but she found her outside, a few steps from the club entrance and the crowd, shaking her cell phone.
"Stupid damn-" the brunette muttered, hitting the device against the palm of her hand.
"Not working?" Ziva asked and Kate's head flew up, surprise on her features before they settled in a scowl.
"Wouldn't you like to know." she snapped at the other woman. Ziva bit her lip, unsure of what to say. It wasn't as if her and Kate actually were a couple, and she saw no reason to apologize to the other woman for kissing someone. So what if she had gone out tonight with the intention of getting laid? It wasn't any of Kate's business, she could take her prudish attitude and shove it up her-
"Dammit!" Kate snapped, stomping her foot in frustration.
"If you need a cab, I can drive you." the Israeli offered, pointing in the other direction where she had parked her car. Kate merely glared at her.
"Sure, because you are certainly sober."
"I am under the legal limit." Ziva told her, her voice taking a sharp edge. "Having sex with strangers is not a good idea when you cannot defend yourself." she added. At that, Kate gave a short, pained laugh and shook her head, staring at her cell phone and pressing a few buttons before giving up. She turned and started walking down the street, leaving Ziva to hurry after her.
"Where are you going?" she asked her.
"There's a cab stop a few blocks from here." Kate informed her, not even glancing at her. Ziva raked a hand through her curls and pulled at her hair to keep herself from screaming out in frustration. She reached out and grabbed Kate's arm. Her friend turned and yanked from her grasp, glaring at the Israeli.
"Stop acting like this! I can drive you home, there is no need-"
"I have no intention of being anywhere close to you." Kate snapped at her. To her surprise, Ziva noticed a sudden moisture in the other woman's eyes.
"Kate…"
"Do you know how stupid I feel?" she asked her, gesturing back at the club. "We fake being in a relationship to get back at Tony. You flirt with me, you stare at me, you compliment me… and then you suddenly decide that you don't want to play. You shut me out and then make out with some bimbo and-" Kate suddenly stopped, clamming her mouth shut. "It does not matter, I am done here." she added before starting to walk again. Ziva stared after her, swallowing and plucking up her courage before she went after her, grabbing Kate's arm again. This time, when the other woman turned around, Ziva took a step towards her and kissed her, holding onto Kate's arm to prevent her from hitting her in a reflex. When she broke the kiss, Ziva took a step back, ready to duck, but Kate just stared at her, completely stunned.
"I asked to end our act because I realized that I wasn't just acting anymore." Ziva admitted, closing her eyes briefly before looking at Kate again. "But I knew you were straight and only considered me as a somewhat close friend, and I didn't want to ruin that. I thought if I shut you out, I could get over this stupid infatuation, that I could save our friendship if I just managed to get rid of these feelings. If I could start acting normal again, it would all turn out well."
Kate blinked slowly, trying to process what was just happening.
"So you lied to me. You do have feelings for me. Feelings that go beyond friendship." she muttered and Ziva sighed softly.
"Yes. And I realize that it is inappr-"
Kate's lips on hers cut her off effectively and the Israeli took a stumbling step backwards, only to have the other woman follow her and deepen the kiss. Ziva gave a soft moan and opened her mouth willingly as her hands came to rest on Kate's hips, pulling her even closer.
"Wait." Ziva muttered as she broke the kiss again, holding the other woman close. Kate frowned at her, brushing a strand of dark hair behind Ziva's ear. "I want you, I really do, but not, not like this. Not as a one-night stand, not…" she trailed off, drawing a shuddering breath. Kate bit her lip before brushing them over Ziva's again.
"I don't do one-night stands." she told the other woman softly. Ziva's eyes widened slightly in surprise as Kate let go of her and started walking back towards the club. After a few steps, the NCIS agent turned around, holding out her arms. "Didn't you say your car was parked down there?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and Ziva couldn't help but shake her head at the sudden turn of events. She had thought she'd have sex with some substitute in hope of getting over her feelings for Kate. Never had she considered that she'd actually go home with the actual person herself.
fin.