NCIS. Abby/Kate. 043. Square. *
Title: Another Fine Mess
Fandom: NCIS
Characters: Abigail Sciuto, Caitlin Todd, Tony DiNozzo, Jethro Gibbs
Prompt: 043 Square
Word Count: 1,195
Rating: R
Spoilers: "Conspiracy Theory"
Summary: Kate and Tony end up compromised in more ways than one.
Author's Notes: Again, for chiroho. Follows "Grand Theft DiNozzo."
For chiroho. My last fic for you really veered off-course from the Kate/Tony I intended it to be. So, the only plausible way to keep that from happening again? Get them both naked at the start of the story and keep them that way throughout. No room for error. ;-D The Kate/Abby is reeeeeally veiled in this one, to make up for the GTD stuff. So, schnoogle, up to your discretion on whether to include it on The List. :D
Little Damn Table
The fire was roaring now. Tony gathered the jacket around his waist and returned to the log, sitting next to Kate. "Comfy?" he asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.
Kate glared at him. "I'm sitting buck-naked on a log in the middle of nowhere, soaked to the bone and wrapped in my jacket. How comfortable do you think I am?"
"I don't know," Tony said, stretching his arms over his head. "I'm pretty comfy."
Kate rolled her eyes.
"Hey, you better enjoy yourself while you can. You should've heard Gibbs when I called him. When he finds out how you let that prisoner get the jump on you..."
"Me?!" Kate said. "I seem to remember two of us escorting him..."
"You're the one who let him go into the bathroom by himself."
Kate laughed. "Excuse me for not wanting to add 'truck stop men's room' to my passport."
"I'm not blaming you, Kate, I'm just saying..."
"You're saying none of it was your fault, which is basically..."
"Okay, maybe it was my fault he took our clothes."
Kate glared at him. "You told him that Abby had hidden tracking devices on his clothes. He had no choice but to take yours!" She shifted and said, "I still don't know what he needed with mine..."
"Maybe he just wanted a free peep show," he suggested, playfully lifting the collar of the coat she was wearing.
Kate swatted his hand away, trying her best to ignore him. After Lieutenant Turner got away from the truck stop, they'd given chase through the woods. He'd managed to get behind them and knocked them into a lake. Kate hated to admit it, but even if they had their clothes, they would be facing a serious case of hypothermia. Still... it would be better than sitting out here naked.
"Oh, come on, Kate," he laughed. "We're sitting here, swinging in the wind, and you're telling me you still can't lighten up? I swear, you're the squarest person I've ever met."
"Square?!" Kate said. "You're actually calling me a square?"
Tony covered his mouth with two fingers. "Oopsie, did someone use a naughty word in front of Katie? Uh-oh, don't talk about S-E-X, Kate just walked in."
Kate looked away.
"You're honestly telling me you're not a little miss goody-good? Come on!"
"It's not like I'm a... prude or anything," Kate said weakly.
"Name one out-there thing you've ever done. Besides the wet t-shirt contest. College doesn't count."
"Does last week count?"
Tony perked up. "Definitely."
"I kissed Abby."
Tony scoffed. "Okay, sure..."
"Twice. Once in the squad room and again in her lab."
"On the cheek, sure..."
"No. Square on the lips."
Tony stared at her for a hard minute and then said, "Wait... is that what... oh, my God!" He threw his head back and laughed, "Oh, my GOD! So... a-are you and she like..."
"No," Kate said quickly. "I'm not... you know, I'm not. I like men. It's just... I didn't hate kissing her."
Tony shook his head and looked into the fire. He leaned back and Kate casually glanced over. His legs stuck out from where he'd wrapped his jacket around his waist. She was damned glad the prisoner had let them keep their coats for a modicum of privacy. She couldn't help but be impressed by the muscles in Tony's thighs. Very powerful, very attractive, if a bit hairy for her tastes...
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing," she said, whipping her head back around to the fire.
Tony whistled, "Ah-ah, Kate, you know the rule... tit-for-tat."
"You call it Tat?"
Tony waggled his eyebrows.
"If you try to pull my jacket off, I'll scream rape."
Tony's smile vanished. "You know I'd never do that."
"I know," Kate said. "But..."
"But what?"
She looked over at him, the light of the fire on his face. "Sometimes I hate how you look at me. How you leer at me. I spent years on the Secret Service, building up credentials, gaining a reputation as more than just a hot body... and now, at NCIS, it feels like I'm starting from scratch. I want to be more than just The Girl. And every time you comment about how 'hot' I look or make a suggestive comment, I'm reminded that... I'm not one of the boys."
Tony leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. "You know, we're not entirely different in that aspect."
She nudged his side. "Were you too pretty, too?"
Tony glared at her. "No. But... well, look at me." He tucked the jacket tighter and said, "I-I didn't mean look at me. But... you know me. Mr. Joke, Mr. Brevity, Mr. Always-Keep-Em-Laughing. You know how long it took for anyone to take me seriously? I was a class clown. Eternal patrolman. I finally clawed my way up to detective and got noticed by Mr. Leroy Jethro Gibbs on a case. He realized my potential and brought me on board."
"Wow. I... guess I never really thought of it that way."
"You think people look at Abby and wait to hear she's a forensics genius before they turn her away?"
"NCIS is the island of broken toys," Kate muttered.
"Yep. And Gibbs is our Yukon Cornelius."
Kate sighed and moved her feet through the dirt.
Tony nudged her arm and said, "I'm sorry I called you a square."
Kate smirked and nudged him back. After a moment, she looked over her shoulder and closed her eyes. Tony heard rustling and glanced over in time to see her push the jacket down her shoulders to her waist. His eyes widened and he looked away, not before getting an eyeful, and said, "Whoa. Uh... ah, Kate..."
"I know, I know," she said.
He cleared his throat and stared very intently at the fire. "Kate, I'm wearing a very thin jacket over a very... independent part of my anatomy, so don't be offended if..."
"It's fine, Tony," Kate assured him.
"Just a warning."
She sighed and stared into the fire. Finally, she said, "Well, on the bright side, you can't say I'm square."
Tony laughed. "No. You are definitely not square. More bell-shaped..."
Kate pushed him off the log.
---
Gibbs arrived forty-five minutes later, meeting them halfway between their fire and the car. "You two okay?"
"Yeah," Tony said. "Look, boss, about letting Turner escape..."
"It's all right, Tony, the State Troopers caught him a few miles up the road. They're holding him for now, but..." He held up a trash bag. "They let me bring you your clothes."
Kate and Tony glanced at each other. Kate smiled and shrugged, tugging on the collar of her jacket as she brushed past Gibbs. "I'm fine."
Tony tightened the knot in the sleeves of his jacket, making sure he wasn't hanging out anywhere. "Yeah," he said. "We're fine, boss."
Gibbs looked at the bag and then watched his practically-naked agents climb into the car. He smiled slightly and shrugged, walking around to the driver's side. He was sure there was a story of some kind waiting to be told... the question was whether or not he wanted to hear it...