[fic] Tate - That Was Then, This Is Now
Title: That Was Then, This Is Now
Rating: R for violence
Category: Romance, angst, h/c
Genre: Het, team-friendship and protective!Gibbs
Pairing: Tony/Kate
Summary: An old friend from the past turns Kate's life upside down. Not only does she have to pretend to be Mrs DiNozzo, she has to win a fight against the clock... for Tony's life.
Spoilers: Only SWAK. This is set in a universe where none of the events after SWAK ever took place.
Disclaimer: These characters belong to DPB, CBS, Paramount, et al. No copyright infringement is intended. For further information please visit my profile.
Warnings: References to murder and rape; explicit violence of a non-sexual nature and possibly philosophical discussions of variations of human sexuality.
A/N: An additional warning: This is my first het-fanfic in over 10 years. The first couple of chapters are bound to be experimental, but don't let them fool you; the story will become deeper and darker eventually.
Chandeliers were glittering overhead, almost like they were hovering there on their own, defying gravity. Graceful couples twirled around us and I had to admit that Tony and I did not seem out of place on the dance floor; even if we didn’t get along anywhere else, dancing seemed to come easy for us.
Tony hadn’t even tried to touch me anyplace he shouldn’t although our cover us a married couple would have given him the perfect excuse. Of course he couldn’t be nice and quiet for very long…
“Nice dress, Kate.”
“If it wasn’t you I’d just say ‘thank you’, but since it is… what’s wrong with the dress?”
“Nothing’s wrong with the dress! Do you have to be so suspicious? I was just trying to be nice.”
I was pretty sure that he did have a hidden agenda, but I decided to play along and be nice; it wouldn’t do to blow our cover of the happily married couple so early in the evening.
“You’re a good dancer,” I praised when he turned me back in from some sort of pirouette. “You practised a lot?”
“Lots of practical experience, dear Kate,” he replied, followed by one of his trademark DiNozzo smiles.
“Why did I even bother to ask?”
For a moment we were both quiet, just moving in time with the music and for the very first time I felt… it. It’s hard to describe it really, hard to think about it, because I didn’t want it to be true then. I was starting to see Tony as a man and not only that, I was beginning to see him as a desirable man. Apart from the annoying grin he felt perfect in that moment; his body, warm and strong, was pressing against mine, making me sweat just a little more than necessary.
“Even if you probably won’t like hearing this from me, Kate, you look beautiful.” Tony’s smile was different this time. It wasn’t broad and mocking, no, it almost seemed genuine.
“I’ll regret saying this, but thank you, Tony.”
“Why would you regret saying that-“
But Tony never got further because in that moment the accumulation of all my worst nightmares, fears and neurotic phobias turned up: Denise Gettsburg, sex on legs and the only person I’ve ever truly hated (aside from Tony when he was reading my e-mails).
“Oh my GOD! Katie!” she squealed like we weren’t women in our thirties and came… sauntering towards us.
“Stay in character, DiNozzo,” I hissed. “You’re my husband, not hers!”
“What’s wrong with you, Katie?” he hissed back pointedly. “Besides, she’s blown our cover anyway if she’s a friend of yours.”
“She’s not! She’s-“
“Katie!” Denise yanked me out of Tony’s grasp, apparently trying to choke me with her stick-arms. “It’s been years!”
“Yes, really too long. Sorry, you know how busy we girls all get with work and…”
It was all over like college again, Denise making me feel both guilty and horribly inadequate at the same time. But it was the fact that Tony was staring at her that was worse than anything else. Sure, I don’t quite compare to the likes of her, but was that any reason for him to stare at her -admittedly- heartbreakingly beautiful face like that? And yeah, okay, her night-blue dress really did compliment her eyes and showed off her perfect body, but… yes, it was little Caitlin all over again. Little Caitlin before the wet t-shirt contest, that is.
It took all my willpower, but somehow I managed to tear my gaze away from Tony watching Denise and point at him. “May I present my-“
“I’m Anthony DiNozzo, Kate’s husband,” I heard Tony introduce himself and there was nothing in hell I could do about it.
I knew Gibbs would have my head if I blew our cover over something like that, but at the same time another part of me, the little Caitlin from years ago, just wanted to turn around and leave. Denise would find out that I wasn’t really married to Tony sooner or later and she would, she most definitely would find a way to humiliate me - not out of spitefulness, but simple stupidity.
It would hurt, but I had no choice, though. I simply smiled and nodded.
“Yes… my husband. Tony. Um, may I present my ex-roomie, Denise Gettsburg?”
“Oh, it’s not Gettsburg anymore! It’s Klein now!” She extended her hand and for a moment I didn’t understand. “Patrick and I got married last year, oh my God!” She squealed again and I felt myself pale. Apparently it did show because Tony’s arm instantly wrapped around my waist, steadying me against the onslaught of emotions.
“Congratulations, Mrs Klein. Kate and I got married a little over two years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday…” He actually closed his eyes like he was thinking back to the day when I had -supposedly- agreed to do something idiotic like marry Tony DiNozzo.
“Really?” Denise seemed really pleased with the news and why wouldn’t she be? She did have everything I had wanted - and more.
Patrick…
“Kate doesn’t really feel very well right now, though. She’s been ill and we only came here for the charity. We wanted donate our share. So, we’ll see you soon, I hope.”
I followed Tony’s eyes discreetly; our target was on the move and we couldn’t afford to stay behind. Even so, it was all I could do to follow Tony. His arm was still wrapped around my waist, supporting me as we slowly followed the target through the elegantly dressed people waiting to donate their hard-earned money for… I forgot what. Denise has that effect on people.
Patrick…
“You okay?” Tony helped me into my jacket and for a moment our charade almost felt real again, like it wasn’t just a game that we were a happily married couple. Tony’s hands were lightly resting on my shoulders now, gently massaging. “Kate? What’s wrong? Wait, don’t tell me! You girls used to… you know… and now she’s married! That’s it, right?”
“You’re such an idiot.” I rolled my eyes at him. “How many times do I have to explain that to you? A lesbian would never, ever consider sleeping with you!”
An elderly gentleman looked at us, bewildered at the exchange between an obviously heterosexual couple. I ignored him.
Tony followed me out of the building, carrying my hand bag for me. As we rounded the building, the cool night air, combined with the bickering, helped calm me down again. No, I wasn’t little Katie anymore. That’s what she’d always called me; Katie. No wonder I hated the nick name so much.
“Kate?”
I turned to face Tony. “Yeah?”
For a moment I thought he was going to say something I really didn’t want to hear. There was this expression in Tony’s eyes… But then he shook his head and pointed into a dimly lit alley.
“We can rule out this suspect, I think. We’re looking for a homophobe, right? And this…”
I followed his eyes, sighing deeply. Gibbs would not like this, but… the homophobic suspect and the elderly man from before (no idea how he’d managed to get there before us) were making out like there was no tomorrow.
***
Naturally I wasn’t in the best of moods on our way back, but at least Tony wasn’t bothering me with his usual comments. Instead he was listening to one of his beloved bands who were only second to his movies. And his new car, that, too.
“God, I can’t wait to get out of this dress,” I finally broke the silence, just to distract myself from other thoughts.
Tony briefly looked over at me, shaking his head. “I told you, it looks great on you, Kate.”
“It would’ve looked better on her.”
Uh-oh.
I let that slip in front of Tony. I knew that I would never ever live that one down. Showing emotions to him was like letting a bulldog know you were afraid of it.
“Naw, she’s not the right type of girl, excuse me, woman, for that type of dress. Besides, she’s married to that guy, isn’t she? She shouldn’t be wearing dresses like this one anyway.”
“What do you mean? Technically I’m supposed to be married to you, too! So what’s wrong with the dress?”
“Nothing. Really, don’t worry about it! Besides-“
A phone call interrupted Tony before I could find a good reason to elbow his side. Grudgingly I accepted the call, hoping it was important. I hated letting Tony off this easily. “Hello?”
“Katie!”
I quickly held the cell away from my ear, fearing for my eardrums. “Hey, Denise…”
“Hey! I got your number from Tiffany! She didn’t know you were married either! So you kept this quiet, Katie? That’s just like you. Anyway, I thought we should all get together, just the girls and our husbands, to catch up on each other’s lives. What do you think? Our place, next Saturday?”
To sum this up: we lost our prime suspect, I met my former arch nemesis and had to pretend to be happily married to Tony and all of this during one short evening. This was too much, even for the woman who had single-handedly protected the President on several occasions.
But I knew what my answer was going to be. “Sure, Denise…”
After a while she finally stopped babbling and reality sank in. I turned to Tony. He looked at me.
“Let me guess. This was Denise Klein calling to invite us for a party.”
“That’s creepy, Tony. You’re becoming like Gibbs.”
“True. So… if I agree to play your husband will you do something for me, Kate?”
I should have turned his offer down. I should have just cut off all my connections to my college friends and lived with the shame, but I couldn’t. Denise couldn’t do this to me anymore. I was beyond all of that now. I was not little Katie anymore, damnit!
“Fine. What do you want?”
“I want to know why you hate her.”.
Rating: R for violence
Category: Romance, angst, h/c
Genre: Het, team-friendship and protective!Gibbs
Pairing: Tony/Kate
Summary: An old friend from the past turns Kate's life upside down. Not only does she have to pretend to be Mrs DiNozzo, she has to win a fight against the clock... for Tony's life.
Spoilers: Only SWAK. This is set in a universe where none of the events after SWAK ever took place.
Disclaimer: These characters belong to DPB, CBS, Paramount, et al. No copyright infringement is intended. For further information please visit my profile.
Warnings: References to murder and rape; explicit violence of a non-sexual nature and possibly philosophical discussions of variations of human sexuality.
A/N: An additional warning: This is my first het-fanfic in over 10 years. The first couple of chapters are bound to be experimental, but don't let them fool you; the story will become deeper and darker eventually.
Chandeliers were glittering overhead, almost like they were hovering there on their own, defying gravity. Graceful couples twirled around us and I had to admit that Tony and I did not seem out of place on the dance floor; even if we didn’t get along anywhere else, dancing seemed to come easy for us.
Tony hadn’t even tried to touch me anyplace he shouldn’t although our cover us a married couple would have given him the perfect excuse. Of course he couldn’t be nice and quiet for very long…
“Nice dress, Kate.”
“If it wasn’t you I’d just say ‘thank you’, but since it is… what’s wrong with the dress?”
“Nothing’s wrong with the dress! Do you have to be so suspicious? I was just trying to be nice.”
I was pretty sure that he did have a hidden agenda, but I decided to play along and be nice; it wouldn’t do to blow our cover of the happily married couple so early in the evening.
“You’re a good dancer,” I praised when he turned me back in from some sort of pirouette. “You practised a lot?”
“Lots of practical experience, dear Kate,” he replied, followed by one of his trademark DiNozzo smiles.
“Why did I even bother to ask?”
For a moment we were both quiet, just moving in time with the music and for the very first time I felt… it. It’s hard to describe it really, hard to think about it, because I didn’t want it to be true then. I was starting to see Tony as a man and not only that, I was beginning to see him as a desirable man. Apart from the annoying grin he felt perfect in that moment; his body, warm and strong, was pressing against mine, making me sweat just a little more than necessary.
“Even if you probably won’t like hearing this from me, Kate, you look beautiful.” Tony’s smile was different this time. It wasn’t broad and mocking, no, it almost seemed genuine.
“I’ll regret saying this, but thank you, Tony.”
“Why would you regret saying that-“
But Tony never got further because in that moment the accumulation of all my worst nightmares, fears and neurotic phobias turned up: Denise Gettsburg, sex on legs and the only person I’ve ever truly hated (aside from Tony when he was reading my e-mails).
“Oh my GOD! Katie!” she squealed like we weren’t women in our thirties and came… sauntering towards us.
“Stay in character, DiNozzo,” I hissed. “You’re my husband, not hers!”
“What’s wrong with you, Katie?” he hissed back pointedly. “Besides, she’s blown our cover anyway if she’s a friend of yours.”
“She’s not! She’s-“
“Katie!” Denise yanked me out of Tony’s grasp, apparently trying to choke me with her stick-arms. “It’s been years!”
“Yes, really too long. Sorry, you know how busy we girls all get with work and…”
It was all over like college again, Denise making me feel both guilty and horribly inadequate at the same time. But it was the fact that Tony was staring at her that was worse than anything else. Sure, I don’t quite compare to the likes of her, but was that any reason for him to stare at her -admittedly- heartbreakingly beautiful face like that? And yeah, okay, her night-blue dress really did compliment her eyes and showed off her perfect body, but… yes, it was little Caitlin all over again. Little Caitlin before the wet t-shirt contest, that is.
It took all my willpower, but somehow I managed to tear my gaze away from Tony watching Denise and point at him. “May I present my-“
“I’m Anthony DiNozzo, Kate’s husband,” I heard Tony introduce himself and there was nothing in hell I could do about it.
I knew Gibbs would have my head if I blew our cover over something like that, but at the same time another part of me, the little Caitlin from years ago, just wanted to turn around and leave. Denise would find out that I wasn’t really married to Tony sooner or later and she would, she most definitely would find a way to humiliate me - not out of spitefulness, but simple stupidity.
It would hurt, but I had no choice, though. I simply smiled and nodded.
“Yes… my husband. Tony. Um, may I present my ex-roomie, Denise Gettsburg?”
“Oh, it’s not Gettsburg anymore! It’s Klein now!” She extended her hand and for a moment I didn’t understand. “Patrick and I got married last year, oh my God!” She squealed again and I felt myself pale. Apparently it did show because Tony’s arm instantly wrapped around my waist, steadying me against the onslaught of emotions.
“Congratulations, Mrs Klein. Kate and I got married a little over two years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday…” He actually closed his eyes like he was thinking back to the day when I had -supposedly- agreed to do something idiotic like marry Tony DiNozzo.
“Really?” Denise seemed really pleased with the news and why wouldn’t she be? She did have everything I had wanted - and more.
Patrick…
“Kate doesn’t really feel very well right now, though. She’s been ill and we only came here for the charity. We wanted donate our share. So, we’ll see you soon, I hope.”
I followed Tony’s eyes discreetly; our target was on the move and we couldn’t afford to stay behind. Even so, it was all I could do to follow Tony. His arm was still wrapped around my waist, supporting me as we slowly followed the target through the elegantly dressed people waiting to donate their hard-earned money for… I forgot what. Denise has that effect on people.
Patrick…
“You okay?” Tony helped me into my jacket and for a moment our charade almost felt real again, like it wasn’t just a game that we were a happily married couple. Tony’s hands were lightly resting on my shoulders now, gently massaging. “Kate? What’s wrong? Wait, don’t tell me! You girls used to… you know… and now she’s married! That’s it, right?”
“You’re such an idiot.” I rolled my eyes at him. “How many times do I have to explain that to you? A lesbian would never, ever consider sleeping with you!”
An elderly gentleman looked at us, bewildered at the exchange between an obviously heterosexual couple. I ignored him.
Tony followed me out of the building, carrying my hand bag for me. As we rounded the building, the cool night air, combined with the bickering, helped calm me down again. No, I wasn’t little Katie anymore. That’s what she’d always called me; Katie. No wonder I hated the nick name so much.
“Kate?”
I turned to face Tony. “Yeah?”
For a moment I thought he was going to say something I really didn’t want to hear. There was this expression in Tony’s eyes… But then he shook his head and pointed into a dimly lit alley.
“We can rule out this suspect, I think. We’re looking for a homophobe, right? And this…”
I followed his eyes, sighing deeply. Gibbs would not like this, but… the homophobic suspect and the elderly man from before (no idea how he’d managed to get there before us) were making out like there was no tomorrow.
***
Naturally I wasn’t in the best of moods on our way back, but at least Tony wasn’t bothering me with his usual comments. Instead he was listening to one of his beloved bands who were only second to his movies. And his new car, that, too.
“God, I can’t wait to get out of this dress,” I finally broke the silence, just to distract myself from other thoughts.
Tony briefly looked over at me, shaking his head. “I told you, it looks great on you, Kate.”
“It would’ve looked better on her.”
Uh-oh.
I let that slip in front of Tony. I knew that I would never ever live that one down. Showing emotions to him was like letting a bulldog know you were afraid of it.
“Naw, she’s not the right type of girl, excuse me, woman, for that type of dress. Besides, she’s married to that guy, isn’t she? She shouldn’t be wearing dresses like this one anyway.”
“What do you mean? Technically I’m supposed to be married to you, too! So what’s wrong with the dress?”
“Nothing. Really, don’t worry about it! Besides-“
A phone call interrupted Tony before I could find a good reason to elbow his side. Grudgingly I accepted the call, hoping it was important. I hated letting Tony off this easily. “Hello?”
“Katie!”
I quickly held the cell away from my ear, fearing for my eardrums. “Hey, Denise…”
“Hey! I got your number from Tiffany! She didn’t know you were married either! So you kept this quiet, Katie? That’s just like you. Anyway, I thought we should all get together, just the girls and our husbands, to catch up on each other’s lives. What do you think? Our place, next Saturday?”
To sum this up: we lost our prime suspect, I met my former arch nemesis and had to pretend to be happily married to Tony and all of this during one short evening. This was too much, even for the woman who had single-handedly protected the President on several occasions.
But I knew what my answer was going to be. “Sure, Denise…”
After a while she finally stopped babbling and reality sank in. I turned to Tony. He looked at me.
“Let me guess. This was Denise Klein calling to invite us for a party.”
“That’s creepy, Tony. You’re becoming like Gibbs.”
“True. So… if I agree to play your husband will you do something for me, Kate?”
I should have turned his offer down. I should have just cut off all my connections to my college friends and lived with the shame, but I couldn’t. Denise couldn’t do this to me anymore. I was beyond all of that now. I was not little Katie anymore, damnit!
“Fine. What do you want?”
“I want to know why you hate her.”.