TITLE: First to Flinch
E-MAIL: eli @ popullus.net
ARCHIVE: Ask, please.
RATING: PG-13
POSTED: March 15, 2005
NOTES: Kate and Tony get a little more from this challenge than usual. This is most definitely the fault of Celli and Voleuse.
DISCLAIMER: Read
"I would kiss one of Ducky's bodies..."
Tony's hand went to his heart and he gasped.
"...one of the crispy ones..."
A choking noise came from somewhere around McGee's desk.
"...before I kissed you, Tony," Kate said sweetly. "Even on an assignment."
His mouth setting, Tony straightened in his chair and peered across at her. "You never know what you're going to need to do in the rush of the moment."
Kate raised an eyebrow. "The rush?"
"You'd rather I said 'heat'?"
"No. No, Tony, that's all right. I think we got the idea."
"It's true," he insisted.
"Yes, okay." Kate nodded, making it obvious that she was humoring him. "I could have to do just about anything, including jamming my elbow into your ribs...a-gain."
"Not if it would blow our cover you wouldn't," Tony smirked.
Kate took a deep breath, considering. "It wouldn't come up," she decided.
Tony's mouth opened, and stayed open, and Kate frowned as he started to grin.
His hand shot out to point at her. "You're afraid you'd like it," he laughed.
"Oh, please." She almost snorted, but managed to turn it into a sneer. "Of course you'd fall back on that line."
There was a snort, then -- from McGee.
They both swung around in their chairs.
"You say something?" Tony demanded.
McGee's eyes widened, but his lips were tight, Kate saw, holding back a grin. He learned quickly; she'd give him that. When Tony kept up his glare, though, McGee cleared his throat.
"Not a word," he said solemnly.
Tony held his eyes a moment longer, and then nodded. Kate rolled her eyes. Sometimes, this was a little too much like high school, she thought again.
"Besides," she said, and Tony twisted back around to face her. "You'd never do it."
His head tilted as he considered that. "You think I won't? If it's necessary?"
"No. I don't. I think you'd find any other way to rescue the situation." She paused, then grudgingly admitted, "You're good at pulling lies out on the spot."
Eyebrows raised, Tony shoved back his chair, stood, and circled around to the front of his desk. Kate widened her eyes dramatically when he drawled, "Really."
She shook her head and flapped her hand, dismissing the idea and him. "When it comes to this, you're all talk, Tony."
He stepped forward. Stalked forward, actually; that was the more precise term, if someone came along and made her pick one. Kate raised her chin at the look that came into his eyes but she didn't let her own eyes narrow, not even when the corner of his mouth kicked up in one of those bet-I-know-what-you're-thinking smiles. It was all show. All of it.
"Wanna stand up and see?" he asked, and damn it, she'd heard him use that low, slow voice before, and she knew he knew what it did. She'd seen the women who fluttered. And the ones who didn't react...except to touch their hair, or push back their shoulders and push forward other things. It was automatic. Hormones. That was why he was doing it.
The sharp pain of biting her tongue kept her from wetting her lips. "Okay." And she stood, arms crossed. Calling his bluff.
Tony's mouth stretched into a wicked grin.
"Um...Kate..."
"Don't worry, McGee," she said loudly, not looking away from Tony's face, which was getting closer now that he'd put both hands on her desk. His eyes weren't really blue, she thought. Not a true blue, like Gibbs'.
"Yeah, probie, sit back. Nothing to worry about. Kate'll agree, and everything'll be fine."
Now Kate narrowed her eyes; it worked well with the way her teeth came together hearing the smooth confidence in Tony's voice. She smiled back at him, as falsely sweet as possible.
"I'm never going to agree, Tony. Ever. And I'm not going to be the one that flinches, either."
His head cocked to the side, his smile fading as another expression took over: a steady concentration that was almost like the look she'd stopped being surprised to see at her side when guns were drawn.
She wasn't nervous then like she was suddenly nervous now, though.
"Right," he said.
Neither of them looked away as his right hand came up and fingertips stroked lightly, so lightly, barely leaving an impression of rougher skin across her cheek. Her jaw clenched, but no, she didn't flinch.
His smile was gone now, she could see the little lines from it disappear from the corners of his eyes, and she might have been holding her breath while that hand slid into her hair, his wrist warm against her cheek, his palm sure cupping her jaw, his fingers tingling, no, her ear tingling--
Her hands tightened on her elbows. He blinked. So did she.
"You wouldn't," she said quietly.
A pause, and she would swear her heart almost stopped when his eyes dropped to her mouth.
"What're you two doing?" Abby's voice snickered.
Kate jerked back, her eyes burning when her hip bumped hard into her chair arm, while Tony leapt away, getting back against his own desk in one move.
"N-nothing!" Kate snapped. And she sat, frowning right at her monitor. Not frowning at Tony's frown, or at the phantom sensation of heat that wasn't a phantom any more when Gibbs walked around the corner of the partition and she started blushing. Holy...what had she...they'd almost...
Gibbs paused in front of her desk, but, thank god, he wasn't facing her.
"Problem, DiNozzo?"
Kate watched, unwillingly impressed again at the way Tony did indeed rescue the situation as he coughed once, then twice. Then he thumped a fist against his breastbone. Jolted out of staring by that action, she shook her head and casually reached for her mouse, and didn't look at Abby.
"Water," Tony gasped through another, not-too-fake cough. "Need. I'll...be right back."
"O-kay."
Nothing would happen. Gibbs wouldn't ask her any questions, as long as she didn't look up. Kate was sure of that. Pretty sure.
There was another cough.
"McGee!"
Kate clicked blindly on an icon. Not looking.
"Yessir?"
"You need water, too?"
She barely caught herself before sliding lower in her chair. Ohmygod, not looking.
"Uh, no. No, I'm fine, boss."
"Good."
Gibbs finally moved away, wanting more from McGee -- soon would be good, or now, even -- on the Thorne file.
Kate finally started breathing again.
"Hey."
At Abby's sharp whisper, Kate's head shot up and she almost winced at the raised eyebrows she saw.
"So?" Abby asked, clearly struggling not to laugh.
"Nothing," Kate hissed.
"Uh-huh." The head-nod was unnecessarily condescending, Kate felt. "Later?"
Kate glared. "No."
Abby just looked at her.
Oooh. Blowing out a frustrated breath, Kate said, "Fine. Just remember that I really do know how to kill you."
Abby straightened immediately with a bright grin. "Back atcha."
While Kate rolled her eyes, Abby spun and came around just in time to pat Tony's arm.
He didn't wince, either. He went straight to his desk, put down his cup, and started typing. Something. That Kate so wasn't looking at.
"See ya, Kate!" Abby called.
With a tense smile stuck painfully on her face, Kate raised her arm and waved.
She could leave through a window. Probably. It was an old building.
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