Kate was not intimidated by Ziva David.
Or at least, that's what she liked to tell herself.
Sure the come hither stare Ziva shot her way sometimes was confusing, if a bit gratifying. The lithe body dressed in cargo pants and shirts that were just a bit too short around the waist never failed to catch her attention.
There were a million reasons it was a bad idea.
Ziva was the new hire, but not the probie. Apparently that term wasn't used for liaison officers with years of experienced murder behind them; the ones who could kill with a credit card, a paper clip, or a smirk with just the right amount of sex appeal, that it made Kate dry in the mouth.
Not that she had any belief that anything would come of it. Yes, because there was Gibbs, and there was the rules- rule 12 especially, and then there was the overwhelming understanding that she was not what Ziva was looking for. She was a former Secret Service agent, attached to the Presidential detail, turned NCIS agent, the profiler, the one who held a slightly more conservative worldview than her partners, and who still stuffed herself into frumpy suits on occasion.
No one would ever describe Ziva David as frumpy.
She was a breath of fresh air in the office, full of misplaced idioms and good intentions, the one who would flirt with Tony, but never mean it. The one who radiated sex appeal in a way that Kate didn't understand, but didn't envy. Hearing Ziva and Tony compare what was a better sexual position bothered Kate, if only because she couldn't contribute to the stories, the banter. Never mind that Kate's first time had been with a woman, all Ziva would ever see when she looked at Kate was the serious older woman with no sense of adventure and a crack shot.
Ziva was the adventurous one, the one who could drive like a maniac, and go undercover as Tony's wife without worrying that she might actually fall for him. McGee looked up to Ziva, Abby loved having another girl to confide in, Ducky treated her like a daughter and so did Gibbs.
Kate felt superfluous.
And yet, every time Ziva winked at her, or leaned against her desk, or stole her food, drawing crude doodles on stolen pages from Kate's sketchpad, Kate couldn't help but feel there was some kind of bigger joke going on, that she was a part of.
Then she noticed that Ziva was flirting with her. Maybe it was unintentional, maybe it was only to mess with DiNozzo's head.
"Agent Todd, would you like a sip of my coffee?"
"Agent Todd, could you please zip up this dress please? I'd ask DiNozzo, but he does not know how to handle a woman."
"Agent Todd, would you say that I am normal? Sexually I mean?"
"Agent Todd, would you like to be my sparring partner at the gym today?"
Usually Kate would get somewhat flustered and have a hard time answering. After all, she could always hope that it was merely friendly interest. And then she realized it was the perfect way to get back at Tony. She'd seen him drooling over Ziva. Hell, the whole office took their sweet time drooling over Ziva. And she was ashamed, because she was no different.
So she did the unthinkable; she started flirting back.
It was a subtle start one morning, when Ziva walked in, gliding past Kate's desk, before turning back, and leaning against the desk.
"Good morning, Agent Todd."
"Officer David." She looked up and offered an Oscar-worthy smile. "How was your evening?"
"Quiet. Lonely, even."
"You get lonely?" Kate asked. "I thought you had a never-ending line of visitors. As in, longer lines than Disney World."
"I have never been to Disney World," Ziva smiled back down at her.
"How about we do a girls' weekend?" she offered.
"A date?" Ziva asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kate took the coffee cup from Ziva's hand and took a sip, before handing it back, "That's what I was thinking."
Tony walked in just then, "Ziva's got a date?" he asked.
"As usual, Tony, your timing is impeccable." Kate rolled her eyes.
"Yes, Kate has offered to take me to Disney World. Isn't that nice of her?"
"You mean… like a date?" Tony asked, mouth dropping open as he stared between his female coworkers. "Didn't know you swung that way, Kate."
"I'd imagine Agent Todd is full of surprises," Ziva smirked.
Kate winked at her.
"We've got a body in Bethesda. Grab your gear." Gibbs stopped at Kate's desk. "Is there going to be a problem here Agent Todd?"
"No Gibbs."
"Everything's just beachy."
"Peachy," Kate corrected gently.
Ziva smiled, before walking over to her own desk, and grabbing her gear. Kate walked her head out of the bullpen, a fire glowing in her that had nothing to do with messing with DiNozzo's head, and everything to do with a certain Mossad officer.
XNCISX
It was a few weeks later when they met up in the elevator, Kate's heart in her throat as she reached over and grabbed Ziva's hand, "So, sweetheart, how was your night?" she asked.
"You should know," Ziva smirked back, squeezing her hand. "You were there, yes?"
"Just be grateful that I can handle you."
The doors opened and they walked into the bullpen together.
"I never said you could not handle me, but you should have relaxed, you would have enjoyed it more."
"You ladies spent the night with each other?" DiNozzo asked, not exactly one for subtlety.
"Yes. Agent Todd is an amazing sparring partner." Ziva let go of her hand and walked over to her desk. She started rifling through her papers. "Kate, have you seen-,"
It was the first time she had called her anything other than Agent Todd, which left Kate unable to think or move for a second, beyond staring at Ziva in hopeless confusion. "What?" she asked, realizing she'd tuned out the rest of Ziva's question.
"I asked," Ziva said patiently, "What you did with my apartment key?"
Kate held up her keyring and offered a smile. "Right here, Ziva."
"Good. Would not want you to get locked out."
"Nope."
"So… what did you two ladies get up to last night?"
"DiNozzo, I'd tell you, but I don't think you could handle the conversation," Kate said with a grin.
Ziva walked past her, "I am off to see Ducky. See you at lunch, yes ma belle?"
Kate's mouth dropped open, and she spun in her chair to watch Ziva walking to the elevator, half out of her chair before she made the translation. Ziva had just called her my beautiful. It was all part of the game, no doubt, but it still made Kate nervous for what was to come at lunch.
She did not have the ability to continue this charade for much longer, as amusing as she found torturing Tony.
Ziva calling her cute names in other languages was a step up from holding hands and sharing coffee though.
Even if it did make her heart pound a bit harder at being called beautiful by a woman who definitely blew all of Kate's previous definitions of amazing out of the water.
Ziva was gorgeous, and funny, and intelligent, and a trained assassin which added to her charm instead of detracting from it.
Ma belle, indeed.
"What did she call you?" Tony asked, staring after Ziva, eyebrows raised. Kate could tell- he was attracted to her, and she almost felt bad for him, being attracted to someone so different from what he was used to.
Ziva had come into the NCIS bullpen, and changed anything, shaken up the whole team- and Kate could never find it in her to complain.
Suddenly, she was bouncing in her seat, unable to wait for lunch. Maybe this was a ruse, a way to tease Tony, but as she found herself getting closer to Ziva, she couldn't help but wonder if she really was pretending.
XNCISX
They were sitting in Ziva's car- a Mini Cooper that barely held them both- and Kate was picking at her lunch, staring over at Ziva in between sips of coffee.
Ziva smelled like sandalwood and coffee, and looked as though she belonged nowhere else but NCIS, like she'd always been there, relatively new though she was. She fit in perfectly with the team, and some days Kate wondered if the team would better off if Ziva was there in her place.
Somewhere deep down, she trusted Ziva. Ziva had taken down her own brother to protect Gibbs.
Ziva noticed her companion's lack of appetite. "Is there something wrong with your food, Kate?"
Kate hoped she'd appreciate the brutal honesty. "What are we doing, Ziva?"
"What?"
"This fake flirting. The hand holding. Your ambiguous sexuality. All of it. What the hell are we doing here?"
Ziva turned in her seat to stare at Kate, "Would you have preferred I flirt with Tony to make you jealous, instead of sneezing the day?"
"It's seizing the day, Ziva." Kate corrected absentmindedly. "You were close though."
"It isn't ambiguous."
"Oh, it's complicated?" Kate asked, sarcastically.
"What is complicated about it?" Ziva asked back. "I am attracted to you."
Kate blinked, taken aback, "You mean it wasn't all just to mess with Tony?"
"No, of course not. I have a better way of messing with Tony, than pretending to be attracted to women. Unless your feelings for me are a ruse?"
"No. They're not. I…"
And then she was surprised as Ziva leaned in and kissed her, cupping Kate's face in her melted into her, ignoring the discomfort of the gear shift between them, desperately trying to get closer to Ziva, smelling sandalwood and roses, unable to care if anyone was walking past.
XNCISX
They walked back into the bullpen, holding hands again, sharing a coffee and a smile.
"Oh boy." Tony looked at them, "You girls eat out for lunch?"
"Hilarious, Tony. You ought to do stand-up," Kate said, deadpan, rolling her eyes.
Ziva merely laughed. "He thinks he is funny, but I think he's just jealous."
"Grab your gear," Gibbs walked past. "Not your girlfriend, Officer David."
"Ah, Gibbs," Ziva leaned against his desk, "Don't worry, I'll share her."
Kate laughed as Gibbs choked on his coffee.