A/N: Hey folks! Hope you are enjoying your holiday season! This little bit of one-shot goodness got into my head after watching "Reign Fall" and I just couldn't let it go. So I wrote it for your enjoyment. It's a little bit off the plot of the episode which I don't always love but what can I say? Hope you like it!

Kensi waited until they got to the car and then turned, slamming her first into her partner's shoulder. "Ow!" Deeks yelled in surprise. "What the-OW!" he cried as she hit him again. "Hey! Abuse!"

Kensi sent her third punch to his abdomen and swung for a fourth but he fended her off with his forearm. "Kensi, Kensi stop it!" he caught her swinging fists, "What was that for?"

"You lied to me!" she yelled, pushing him away. "All this time, all those games, and not ONCE did you even MENTION that you knew him."

"It never came up!" Deeks exclaimed. She swung at him again. "Ah, okay, sorry!" he cried, rubbing the spot where her fist had made contact.

"You are not!" she yelled. "You're lying right now! You're a liar, liar, pants on fire!"

"Pants on fire huh? Very mature," Deeks smiled at her in amusement which only infuriated her more.

She glared at him and then stalked to the driver's side door, slamming it closed. "Kensi, come on!" Deeks called after her. "Hey!"

She revved the engine and Deeks had to lunge through the passenger side door to get in before she left the driveway.

"Whoa, okay, slow down," he told her as he fumbled with his seatbelt.

Instead she hit the gas, swerving around other cars as Deeks gripped the armrest in terror. "Ah, okay, Kensi, Kens, your driving is scary even when you're not angry," he said loudly.

"You know what else is scary?" she asked. "How easily the lies roll off your tongue. What else are you lying about huh? Your age, your weight?"

"Why would I lie about my weight?" Deeks cried. "Watch the-"

Deeks felt the air leave his lungs as she hit the brakes and turned them down a side street to avoid a cement truck. "Kensi, Kensi stop!"

She hit the brakes again threw the car into park. "Why would you lie to me?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You didn't seem too upset when he was asking for some one on one interrogation," Deeks stated.

"Deeks!"

He sighed. "Kensi, you've never asked."

She stared at him blankly. "What are you talking about?"

"You've never asked me about my life outside of NCIS. Not once in five years."

"I-"

"Always assumed I didn't have one?" Deeks spoke for her. "I know. Surprise." He gave a short laugh. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not much of one but I try."

"Deeks," Kensi's eyes were wide, "I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It's okay," he glanced at his watch. "We should get back."

Kensi automatically put her hands back on the wheel. "Yeah, right, of course."

"Hey, what's eating you?" Nell asked hours later as she and Kensi sat sipping cocktails at a club in downtown LA.

"Hm?" Kensi snapped out of her trance and looked at her friend. "What?"

"You've been out of it all day," Nell told her. "Three guys have come over and asked to buy you drinks and you barely even looked at them."

"Sorry," Kensi sighed and toyed with the straw in her drink.

"Kensi," Nell looked concerned, "what's wrong?"

Kensi looked up. "Do you know what Eric does when he's not working?"

"Um…" Nell cocked her head, "He's in an online gaming league with some friends from college. Once a month he volunteers at a youth center teaching computer programming to at-risk kids. And sometimes on the weekends he likes to go geo-caching."

"So he does things without you?" Kensi asked.

"Well, yeah," Nell told her. "I do stuff without him too. Like this. Sometimes you need a break from your partner."

"Do you think Deeks needs a break from me?"

Nell's eyebrows rose. "Do you want to tell me what this is all about?"

"Deeks…Deeks has friends. And I didn't know," she looked up miserably. "I never asked."

"Oh Kens," Nell set her drink on the bar, "you've never asked him about his life outside of NCIS? Why not?"

"I don't know," Kensi told her. "I just assumed he didn't want to talk about it."

"Kensi…"

"Oh god. I am a terrible person," Kensi shook her head. "I'm a terrible partner, a terrible friend."

"You're not terrible," Nell told her tactfully. "You just…lack some manners. That's far easier to fix than being a terrible person. Just start asking him questions. Like…'how was your weekend? What did you do?' It's not hard stuff."

"It's too late," Kensi downed the rest of her drink. "Deeks hates me."

"Okay, let's put that down," Nell took the glass from her and set it gingerly on the bar. "You are dramatic when you're drunk."

"Can I buy you ladies a drink?" a dark haired man smiled down at them.

"I think we're good," Nell told him as Kensi reached for the fresh drink the bar tender had poured.

"Deeks hates me. Just let me drink my pain," Kensi threw back her fourth, or was it her fifth?, drink of the night and signaled for another.

"Okay snap out of it," Nell said loudly. "Deeks does not hate you. He could never hate you. Just apologize and make it right."

Kensi sipped at her drink broodingly. "Oh my god!" Nell snatched it from her hand. "Go! Go now!

"Are you sure?" Kensi asked.

"Yes," Nell laughed. "I could use a night at home anyway. Go. Fix this. And then text me."

Deeks was lying on his couch with his dog when there was a knock on his door. A glace at his watch told him it was after eleven, past time for it to be a neighbor. He slid Monty off his lap, stretching his stiff muscles as he walked to the door. "Since when do you knock?" he asked when he opened it. "You have a key."

"What do you do on the weekends?" Kensi asked, pushing past him into the apartment. "When you're not with me or working, what do you do?"

"Are you drunk?" Deeks asked, wrinkling his nose. "You smell like whiskey. You don't even drink whiskey."

"Some guy spilled a drink on me," Kensi said. "I'm not drunk. I only had a couple."

"Okay…" Deeks said slowly.

"Can you just answer the question?"

"Whoa," Deeks raised his hands, "interrogation Kensi came over tonight."

"Deeks, this is not funny." Kensi took a step toward him and stumbled. "Maybe I'm a little drunk."

"You think?" Deeks couldn't hide his amused smile. "Did you drive here?"

"No, I'm not stupid," Kensi told him. "I took a cab. Are you going to answer or not?"

"I'll tell you what," Deeks said, "Let me get you some clean clothes and I'll tell you whatever you want."

Fifteen minutes later a slightly more sober Kensi sat on the couch in one of Deeks' t-shirts and a pair of basketball shorts. "Now," Deeks joined her, handing her a cup of coffee, "what's going on? I thought you were going out with Nell."

"I was. We were," Kensi looked down at the mug. "Deeks, I'm…I'm really sorry I've never asked you about your life. I don't know why I never have."

"You left your girl's night for that?" Deeks asked. "Kens, it's okay. We're good."

"No, it's not," Kensi told him. "You always do this. I do something awful and then you tell me it's okay. Make me feel bad! I deserve it!"

"Okay, you're a bad person."

"Come on Deeks!"

"Kensi, there's no benefit to being angry with you. Yeah, sometimes I wish you would be a little more interested, but that's not what's important to me. You are. Our friendship is. I know you've got my back and that's a lot more than I can say for a lot of people in my life."

"It was bad," Kensi said slowly, "wasn't it? Your childhood?"

Deeks shrugged. "It had its moments. But I know people who had it worse. I've moved on."

She thought for a moment. "How did you meet Kip Brigham?"

"They moved in down the street when I was 8th grade. We went to the same school. Rode the same bus. Played on the same team," Deeks' eyes dimmed slightly. "He knew some of what went on at home. I spent a lot of time at his house when things got…bad."

"You told him about me," Kensi said. "Why?"

"Well I can't talk to you about you," Deeks said with a smile. "And I'm definitely not going to talk to Callen or Sam."

Kensi took a sip of her coffee. "What did you tell him?"

Deeks leaned back against the cushions. "That you're smart. Funny. Kind of a badass," he grinned.

"And what did he say about me?"

Deeks looked at her as if weighing his options. "He said I was a pansy and I should be with you."

Kensi nodded thoughtfully. "And what did you tell him?"

"That we're figuring things out. Taking it slow. And that I'm very…fond of you."

"Fond of me?"

"Was that the right answer?"

Kensi met his gaze. "Yeah, I think it was."

He quirked a smile. "Are you staying tonight?"

"Do you want me to?"

Deeks' voice deepened. "I think you know the answer to that."

Kensi felt a flutter in her stomach that had nothing to do with the amount of alcohol she'd consumed. "Then I'll stay."

"Good."

He reached for the remote but she snatched it from him. "Reflexes still good even when you're drunk huh?"

"You have bad taste in television," she told him as she turned on the TV.

"This from the woman who DVR's 'Days of Our Lives'."

"Hey! It's a classic! Hetty watches it too," Kensi told him as she settled on a rerun of 'Cake Boss'.

"Yeah, I'm sure she does," Deeks muttered. "Come here."

She settled back against his chest enjoying the comfort of feeling his body against hers as she closed her eyes. "You stole my remote and now you're going to sleep on me?" Deeks asked.

"Yep," Kensi told him, snuggling closer.

Deeks nodded. "Works for me."

A/N: Well? Thoughts? I promise there is more coming your way soon! Maybe even some Kensi whump *wink, wink!*. Keep your eyes peeled for an update to "Lawfully Wedded Partners" and some more one-shots! And, as always, please review!