Nate was sitting under a tree, lazily playing a tune on his guitar.
It was fall, and the leaves started collecting around him, the fresh breeze calming.
He was done with classes for the day, and was just relaxing under the tree, contemplating his plans.
"Hey," Kensi called out from a few yards away as she approached him.
He smiled at her and put his guitar in its case, closing the lid firmly.
He was smiling when she reached him. She dropped her messenger bag next to his guitar case and bag, and leaned down to kiss him. He tugged her down and she got settled into him. With her back pressed up against his chest, his arms circled her waist and she leaned back into him.
"You done for the day?" he asked, whispering into her ear.
"No. I still have my History midterm to re do."
"When's that start?"
"Three-thirty. I'm free until then." She smiled when his fingers played with the bottom of her top, going under it and stroking the alabaster skin he found there.
He moved to go under the waistband of her jeans, when she hissed, "Nate."
"Relax, Kenz, I'm not doing anything here." He smiled at the look she gave him. "Besides, I like it when you scream." And before she could retort, he kissed her fully on the mouth. She twisted in his lap to face him and continued kissing him.
"Oh jeez, you have a room," Callen commented as he reached the couple.
"They just choose not to use it," Sam said, dropping down onto the freshly cut grass.
"Oh trust me they do," Callen replied, making Nate blush lightly and Kensi grin.
"Didn't need to know that," Sam said to himself.
"It's cause you sleep like a baby, Sam. It's very good. G is just cranky cause he barely gets any sleep," Kensi said, twisting back to her original position. G made a face at her, which provoked Kensi into sticking out her tongue.
"Hey, did aunt Hetty call you? I got like three missed calls from her, but I was in my midterm," Callen said. Kensi reached for her bag and dug through it.
"Oh damn, yeah, she did," she said when she found her cellphone.
"Well call her," Callen urged.
"You call her, you brought it up."
"I'm pulling rank, I'm the oldest, you do it."
"Don't you pull rank on me, or I will twist your finger so far you won't even know it's a finger," Kensi threatened, while Nate playfully held her back as she slowly inched forward.
Suddenly his cellphone started ringing. Fishing it out of his pocket, he looked at the Caller ID.
"Aunt Hetty."
He put the phone on the grass in between the siblings. They both looked at it defiantly.
Sam swiftly pressed the talk button.
Callen groaned and picked up the phone.
"Yes aunt Hetty?"
"Tell me Mr. Callen, why do you and your sister not pick up your phone?"
"Well I was in midterm, I don't know what her excuse is." He stuck his tongue out at her.
Kensi grabbed the phone from Callen's hold. "I pay attention to class, aunt Hetty, I'm sorry, it was on silent. At least I pay attention to class." She handed the phone back to Callen.
"Oh, well, aunt Hetty, I am polite and don't suck face in front of people."
"Oh like hell you don't!"
"I don't, not like the two of you!"
"Oh puh-leaze, should I mention your stray of one-night stands?"
"QUIET, BOTH OF YOU!" came through the phone, startling them all into silence. "There, that's better. Could I speak to Nate please?"
Nate sheepishly reached for the phone.
"Aunt Hetty?" he asked, eyes wide, while the other three looked on.
"Would you please tell Kensi and G to pass by the house at four, today? You can come too if you want."
"Alright, but Kensi's midterm starts at three-thirty."
"Well then come by at seven."
"Okay, will do."
"Bye Nate."
"Bye aunt Hetty."
The dial tone made him disconnect and place his phone in his pocket.
"What was that?" Sam asked.
"We gotta be at aunt Hetty's at seven."
"All of us?" Sam asked.
"No, you don't have to go."
"Thank the lord," Sam said, looking up towards the sky.
"Great. That's just fan-TAS-tic," Kensi said sarcastically. "This is BAD, with capital letters."
"Before you say it, I didn't do anything."
Kensi rolled her eyes.
The bell rang, making G jump up.
"Music," he said with a smile.
"Since when do you take music?" Nate asked.
"Since he switched to Performing Arts."
"You switched again?"
Callen nodded.
"Oh G. I see myself graduating before you, and you're two years older," Kensi sighed.
Sam laughed and G muttered something under his breath.
"Better get going, G, if you wanna get a seat next to that girl," Kensi said, making G roll his eyes. He looked at his watch and panicked.
With a simple 'bye' he was off running.
"Well, I'll go too. Have fun," Sam said with a smile. "And please, keep it rated G."
Sam smiled and walked away.
Kensi turned in Nate's grip, coming face-to-face with him.
"I'm worried about him."
"Don't be, Kenz."
"Nate, he's a junior. And he's changed his major like, eight times!"
"He'll be okay, don't worry about it."
"Fine," she said as he coaxed her into a hug.
"Wanna go get something to eat?" She shook her head in the crook of his neck. "Why not?"
She smiled and moved away from him, towards her bag. She produced two Chinese take-out cartons.
She moved to sit next to him as they silently ate.
She stole his carrots and he took her mushrooms without so much as a word.
When they were done, he nicely went and threw the cartons out, while she produced her History book.
She gracefully lay down on the grass. When he came to sit down, he raised her legs and sat down, placing them on his lap. He pulled her slightly closer and took her History book from her.
"Hey!"
"I'll help."
She smiled thankfully.
And so, they sat under a big oak tree, surrounded by orange and brown leaves.
He quizzed her on the French revolution and World War 2, while gently stroking her leg, and she had her head on her bag, watching him, his face as it lightly lit up when she got an answer right, frowning when she got it wrong.
When they were done he gave her back her History book, expecting her to go study, but instead she put it away, reaching for his Anatomy book.
"My turn," she said, flipping open the book to its bookmark.
She played the dutiful girlfriend, quizzing him through eight chapters of Anatomy, her own head spinning at all the stuff he had to study.
When they were almost done, he plucked the book from her hands and pulled her to him by her legs.
Laughing, she sat up. He laughed at her unruly hair, and when she passed a hand through it, it seemed to get even more tangled. He reached out to her hair and she took that opportunity to pull him closer. She grabbed the collar of his polo shirt and pulled him in for a surprisingly chaste kiss.
When they pulled away he yawned.
"You can take a nap, y'know," she suggested, moving him from his spot and leaning against the big tree. He placed his head in her lap and closed his eyes. She raked her fingers through his hair and watched as he fell asleep.
She placed a kiss on his forehead when she was sure he was asleep, and then reached for her book.
And so the wind blew all around them and the leaves collected at their feet, as the couple lay under the big oak tree, peacefully enjoying their time together.
