AN: I know, I haven't written in ages. The muse is having some issues. Migraines seem to force him out of his hidey hole and I had a humdinger of one today. This is the result. Written to be a one shot, but I'd be open to expanding if there was a desire for it.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: LA, any of the characters, or anything in the Marvel universe because I'm poor.
As the credits to Captain America: The First Avenger rolled, Marty Deeks realized he had zoned out through the entire movie. He sighed, careful to do so quietly enough that he didn't disturb his partner. Kensi hadn't made it through the opening sequence before falling asleep, her head in his lap. It was the realization that this had somehow become their normal that had led to him becoming lost in his own thoughts.
Night after night it was the same routine. They would leave work, head back to one of their apartments, have dinner, and watch movies, sports, or TV until they fell asleep. It had been so long since he had slept in his bed he was pretty sure that disturbing the bedding would result in a cloud of dust so thick it would choke him, and, if he had to guess, hers would be the same way.
He wasn't entirely complaining. Hands down he would take this over her shutting him out completely. On the other hand, before Afghanistan, they had been making progress.
The night that he had taken her home with him after their impromptu date, the night that everyone thought they had slept together, was one of the best of his life. They had, indeed, spent the night together, but they had done so fully clothed.
Looking back, he was sure that even Kensi may have initially misunderstood the meaning of what he'd said at the restaurant. He was trying to be open with her and hadn't really managed to succeed until they were in his apartment.
"Okay, so now you're here with me. Now what?"
He knew she hated it when he answered a question with a shrug but he hadn't been able to help himself. "Now, just us. No fancy restaurant. No expectations. Just you and me, a movie, and a six pack. The real us."
Confusion had clouded her face and he immediately grasped that she'd gotten the wrong impression.
"Oh, geeze, you thought...I didn't mean... not that I wouldn't be willing to it's just not what I had meant. I just... I just want a chance for us to be us, Kens. That's it."
She had stared at him for a long minute, making him feel as though they were separate by lifetimes instead of a single foot. His heart was just about to plummet into his feet when she'd done the last thing he expected.
She had stepped toward him, stretching up to place her lips gently against his. The kiss was soft, gentle, sweet, and terrifying though it lasted only a few seconds. They'd forgone the movie afterwards, but had included the beer, curling up on his couch. They had talked for hours until they had drifted off, cuddled together.
Memories of the following morning made him sigh again. For some reason they could act just shy of a couple when they were alone together in either of their apartments, but anywhere else they were just partners. Awkward partners at times. In varying ways their relationship was both at its most intimate and its most distant.
With a shake of his head, he tried to force the thoughts from his mind. It was already quite late and they had to work the next morning. He pulled a blanket from the back of the couch, carefully draping Kensi with it before turning off the TV and settling back against the cushions.
For now, he was going to focus on enjoying more moments on the intimate side, and let the rest of it work itself out.
