Title: What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Author: DizzyDrea

Summary: A song inspires a new beginning.

Rating: T

Spoilers: Brimstone

Author's Notes: Just a little Callen/Kensi fluff for the holidays. Inspired by the great camera shots of Callen and Kensi talking to the girlfriend, as well as the fine acting skills on display by Chris O'Donnell and Danielle Ruah.

Disclaimer: NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles and all its particulars are the property of CBS, Paramount, Donald P. Bellisario, Belisarius Productions, Shane Brennan, Shane Brennan Productions, and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.

~&O&~

Author's Note 12/24/10: I wrote this story last year, after I saw Brimstone, and it sat on my hard drive for the next year. I hadn't planned for it to be the very first one I ever uploaded here, but it would seem Santa had other plans. To all you Kensi/Callen shippers out there, Merry Christmas!

~&O&~

G Callen sat in the bullpen twirling his empty glass on the desk. The lights had been dimmed so that Hetty's festive decorations could twinkle merrily, casting dancing shadows on the walls. From somewhere out of sight, the music still played, softly now, floating through the rooms and filling every corner with its warmth.

Callen was the last to leave. Actually, he was the last to leave every night, simply because he almost never left anymore. But this night he would stay, so that everyone else could go home and spend the holiday with their loved ones.

It wasn't that he didn't have loved ones. Not anymore. Somehow he had acquired a family without realizing it. Sam Hanna, the trusted older brother. Dominic Vail, the younger brother out to please his older siblings. Nate Getz, the crazy uncle who always knows what you're thinking. Always. Hetty Lange, everyone's favorite eccentric aunt. Eric Beal, the cousin that everyone knows they're related to, but nobody knows quite how.

Kensi Blye. There was a time he'd have said she was like a sister to him. But those days were long gone. Kensi was not his sister. Because if she were, he wouldn't dream about doing things to her that no one should ever, ever consider doing with his sister.

He was, of course, completely mystified as to how she got past his walls and settled into his heart. And into his heart she was. All the way. He regretted volunteering to stay on call this week because it meant he couldn't spend more time with her. And he'd realized somewhere over the last day or so that he wasn't afraid of that idea anymore.

Progress at last. Nate would be so proud.

As if in response to his internal musings, Callen heard soft footsteps behind him. Footsteps that could only belong to one person. Kensi.

She stepped around him, trailing a hand along his shoulder, settling in to lean against the desk. She propped her arms on the desk and tilted her head to look at him, the intensity in her brown eyes almost taking his breath away.

"I thought you'd gone home," he said, looking back down at his glass as he twirled it on the desk. Looking anywhere but in those eyes.

"I had a few things to take care of," she said.

When she didn't elaborate, he tried a new tack. "Not going to see your family this year?"

He risked a glance, and wished he hadn't asked the question. Her face had fallen slightly, though she'd quickly schooled her expression into a careful neutrality.

"No," she said. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she deflated. "If I go, they'll just ask questions I don't wanna answer. Or can't answer. Best to just skip the whole thing."

"I guess I can understand that," he said. "Besides, there's always next year."

Kensi rolled her eyes and smiled, just the result Callen was hoping for.

Just then the song changed, and Callen recognized the first bars of an old favorite. Rising to his feet, he extended a hand to Kensi. "Care to dance?"

Kensi's smile stretched as she took his hand. He led her to the open area near their Christmas Palm Tree, and pulled her into his arms. They swayed together for long moments, as he relished the excuse to have her so close.

The song's tempo shifted slightly, and he took that opportunity to swing her out and back again, and she threw her head back and laughed as she slid easily into his arms once again.

Callen looked into Kensi's eyes, and saw them glittering with happiness. He began to sing along with the song, the words coming from his heart in a rich tenor.

"Ah, but in case I stand one little chance, here comes the jackpot question in advance," he sang. "What are you doing New Year's, New Year's Eve?"

Kensi smiled up at him, a faint blush tinting her cheeks. She closed her eyes and snuggled into his shoulder, giving a contented sigh. Callen took that as encouragement. She so rarely allowed herself to be feminine, but here she was, snuggled close to his side as they swayed to the music.

The song ended, but instead of a new one playing, the same one started over again. Kensi seemed oblivious, but Callen scanned the room, looking for what he didn't know. His eyes lit on movement on the balcony, and he found Eric looking down at them, his keyboard in his hands, a smile on his face. Callen winked up at his young friend, who smiled in return, then slipped quietly back into the control room.

Kensi sighed again, and Callen smiled down at her. She looked content, but he wanted one more thing for Christmas. He slipped his finger under her chin and nudged her head up, bending his down until his lips touched down into bliss. He kissed her gently, pouring his affection and desire for her into her lips.

When the kiss ended, she looked up at him with a mixture of happiness and confusion on her face. Callen smiled down at her, then looked up, Kensi's eyes naturally following his.

Above them, suspended from the ceiling by Hetty, no doubt, was the Mistletoe, strung together in a bunch entwined with twinkling white lights so that it looked like a Christmas Disco Ball. Appropriate, considering their unconventional tree.

When he looked down, Kensi was smiling at him, but her smile had changed. It was now deep with emotion, and her eyes glittered with unshed tears as she smiled up at him.

The song's chorus came around again, and once again Callen's voice sang out the words, this time quiet and heartfelt.

"Ah, but in case I stand one little chance, here comes the jackpot question in advance. What are you doing New Year's, New Year's Eve?"

Kensi wrapped both arms around his neck and leaned close. "I'll be spending it with you," she said before she reached up and kissed him in return.

The song changed, and this time neither of them noticed. Nor did they notice the shadowy spectator standing in the doorway to the operations center, a huge grin on his face.

~Finis

Completed: December 2009