"Hey."
Deeks dropped down next to his partner on the couch. Sam had just left 10 minutes ago and she had disappeared as soon as she wished him goodbye. He had been searching for her all over the ship.
Kensi's face was blank, her steaming mug sitting on the coffee table in front of her. She didn't even acknowledge him as he sat beside her. "You okay, Kens?"
She sighed heavily, sinking back into the couch. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... I was really looking forward to spending Christmas with my mom. We had plans for dinner."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm missing all my soup kitchen buddies right about now."
She smiled at him. "Well, Callen's holed up alone somewhere, and Hetty is in the mess hall with the captains." Her eyes glanced at the case of old movies and DVD player that rested on a table. "What do you say, will I be an adequate replacement for your soup friends?"
He grinned at her. "Even better than them, partner."
Minutes later, the player was resting on Kensi's lap and she had picked out three movies for the night. Deeks was grabbing a bag of popcorn and emptying it into a bowl. He walked back over to the couch and just barely caught a glimpse of Titanic being inserted into the player.
"Seriously, Kensi? We're on a ship." Deeks grabbed a blanket that was folded up next to the couch and sat next to her.
"Shut up. This movie is great."
He covered her with the blanket and she pressed play. The movie began on the little screen, the player resting on one of Kensi's legs and one of Deeks'. Kensi had more or less stolen the popcorn bowl, moving it to her side where Deeks could not reach it. He scooted up under the blanket too, both of them barely fitting under the warm layers of fleece. Neither of them mentioned to each other that there were more blankets beside the couch and that they didn't have to share. They also didn't mention how close they were together, arms touching. Or how thirty minutes in, Kensi rested her head on his shoulder even though there was a pillow right next to her head. Or how Deeks snaked an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. They just sat there in comfortable silence aside from the sound of Kensi muching on air popped popcorn. Eventually, even that stopped when she finished the bowl, and the movie ended.
Deeks moved to put in the next movie she had selected when he realized she was passed out on his shoulder. Instead he moved the little DVD player off their laps to the coffee table, along with Titanic, When Harry Met Sally, and It's a Wonderful Life. The room was quiet apart from the sound of Kensi lightly snoring, a sound almost too faint to hear, but most definitely present. He smiled to himself as he lay relaxed next to his sleeping partner. He cared about her more than anyone else in the world. She was his only family, and that was fine, that was all he needed. And he smiled in the dark as he thought to himself. He was on a boat for Christmas, feeling tired and slightly nauseated from the turbulent ocean. He was missing the people back in Los Angeles that he would spend Christmas with. But none of that mattered, because his partner was right there with him, sleeping on his shoulder and snoring ever so softly in his ear. And that was a million times better than the soup kitchen.
It's a Wonderful Life indeed.
Hope everyone enjoyed. I loved season 5 on NCIS LA and I cannot wait for more in the fall! Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a review!
xoxo- J