Can You Stand the Rain by saulalovin
A NCIS fan fiction

Pairing: Tony DiNozzo and Kate Todd
Summary: Every significant moment she had with him was accompanied by rain.
Disclaimer: For the nth time, I do not own NCIS or its characters. Maybe I'll get them for Christmas or something! lol
Spoilers: None.
Author's Note: Just some Tate fluff, inspired by – what else? – the rain. It's been pouring here lately. Kate's still alive, obviously. Please read and review. I lurve reviews. Hee.

PART ONE – THROUGH THE RAIN

She wasn't blind – she knew he was good-looking, and that plenty of other women would've killed to be her in position, working side-by-side with him practically 24/7. She even let herself admit that if he had been someone other than her co-worker who teased and annoyed her mercilessly with his sexual and juvenile remarks, she would've considered going on a date with him.

But he was, so she didn't. And that was that.

Or so she thought.

It was the little things that began to throw her off – how the brush of their fingers felt as they passed files to each other, the tingle that ran up her spine whenever he tossed that knee-weakening grin of his her way, the involuntary blush that rose in her cheeks whenever he made even the slightest comment in reference to her…

She refused to admit she had it bad – because she didn't. Not the slightest bit.

It's just a little crush, she told herself, over and over again. That's all there is to it.

She chose to ignore her feelings. She harbored them deep inside herself, keeping them tucked away and refusing to dredge them out – this sort of thing just wasn't up for discussion.

She couldn't possibly have feelings for him – it was just wrong. The idea of them being together was laughable… Not to mention that he couldn't possibly be feeling the same way about her.

But it was funny how fate always seemed to have something else in mind. She remembered that day clearly – the day everything changed.

Gibbs had sent the two of them to Norfolk to find out everything they could about a missing petty officer. The investigation proved unnecessary when they found the supposedly missing petty officer at the base, safe and sound. It was late, and Gibbs had allowed them to go home as soon as they got back at the NCIS HQ.

It had been raining that day. Gray clouds filled the sky, blocking out any chance of the sun peeking out. The air was chilly, and sullen drops of rain just kept coming.

It was just her luck that her car was in the shop for a couple of days and she had to hitch a ride with one of her co-workers to and from the headquarters. Mostly, she stuck with Abby or Gibbs – McGee drove a little too slowly for her taste, and you only rode with Tony if you wanted to feel like you were on some cheap roller coaster in a carnival or if you had a death wish. The only downside to driving with Abby was her choice of music, blaring out through the car speakers at the highest possible volume, and as for Gibbs… Well, it was Gibbs. Plus, he had the tendency to stay at the headquarters past midnight and get there the following morning before nine.

She kind of needed her beauty sleep, you know? Especially considering she hadn't had a full night's sleep in nearly two weeks – case after case had kept on coming, and the paperwork had seemingly begun to self-multiply, creating a lovely little mountain on her desk.

The rain didn't really help, either – she felt thoroughly soaked, down to the very bone, practically. And, as DiNozzo put it, she had been in one of her moods lately.

Right now, she just wanted to go home and curl up in front of the fire with a mug of steaming tea – chamomile, maybe, or mint – and a good book, a blanket at her feet.

Only problem was… Who would get her there?

Gibbs was keeping Abby at the lab late because of some new case that had turned up – they'd be there forever. And being the kind of boss he was, Gibbs had McGee poring through stacks and stacks of paperwork – he'd be there forever, too. So that left…

"Tony, would you mind giving me a ride home?" she asked, fingering her coat nervously, praying with all her might that he wouldn't spout another teasing remark or movie reference – she just did not have it in her to think of a snappy comeback.

A whack on the arm would just have to suffice for now.

Luckily, he agreed without any further incident (she was slightly put out by the fact that she didn't have an excuse to hit him; any contact with him thrilled her nowadays – she felt very much like a lovesick teenager, and because of that, she was thoroughly disgusted with herself), and she followed him down to the parking lot, silently thanking God because things seemed to be going her way, finally.

They rode in comfortable silence, the radio playing softly in the background, slightly drowned out by the rain pounding outside.

She had allowed herself to close her eyes for just a second (she didn't dare fall asleep with DiNozzo at the wheel, although he was driving considerably better than usual as he navigated through the rain-slick streets), but she guessed she was more tired than she'd thought, because the next thing she knew, he was parked outside her house and was shaking her awake.

Bleary-eyed with sleep, she mumbled her thanks and was about to climb out the door when he rested a hand on her arm to stop her from getting out.

"I'll walk you to your door," he told her, grabbing an umbrella from the backseat. He climbed out and jogged over to her side, gallantly opening the door for her and helping her out of the car.

She fumbled with her house keys for a while before dropping them clumsily on the floor. She bent down to pick them up and slipped on a puddle of water. With the quick reflexes of his athletic training, he grabbed at her arm and managed not to pitch forward himself as he got a firm grip on her wrist.

It was only at that moment when both of them realized how dangerously close their faces were. She swallowed hard, fully awake now. She had never really had him in such close proximity before. Either of them could lean forward just a little and press his or her lips on the other's.

He has beautiful eyes, she thought to herself numbly, losing herself in them. Her eyes traveled down to his lips, and her heart began to slam hard into her ribcage. He has strong lips, too. I wonder how they would feel on mine…

Heat began to rise in her cheeks as images bombarded her brain – images she should've never thought of. But before she could berate herself, those strong lips were on hers, lightly nipping at her own. Slowly, she began to kiss him back, just as he was kissing her – light, exploratory, almost shy kisses. The umbrella had long dropped to the ground, and his hands gently eased her up until she was in the regular standing position, not once breaking the contact of their lips.

When they broke apart, sucking in air urgently, she was seeing a whole different side to the person she had thought she knew. Her heart continued to beat wildly – she was heading into uncharted territory, and the thought excited her, yet petrified her at the same time. He seemed to be looking at her with a question in his eyes, and after a moment's brief hesitation, she smiled slowly and unlocked the front door, pushing it open and allowing him entrance.

He had lit a fire, and she made tea. A big old afghan, the result of her mother's one and only knitting frenzy, was draped at their feet, and they lay on the couch, their arms wrapped around each other, providing each other with additional warmth. The rain still pitter-pattered away above them, but in his arms, she felt safe – loved, even.

And, as she allowed a small smile to form across her face, she thought that that was all she really wanted.

That was the last she remembered before falling asleep, feeling – for the first time in a long while – content.

TBC... Now click that awesome little button down there.