A/N: So apparently I haven't written a fic in oh, almost 10 years! However 5x10 provided a whole host of inspiration (to many!) and so here we are…..

Let me know if you think I should continue!

It felt as if her legs had run a thousand miles. Her chest ached with weariness and her brain was foggy with exhaustion. As she sat in the back of the C130 – exactly the same as the one before, she could only focus on one thing

She was going home.

It had been 4 long months since she had been away. She'd missed the smell of salt in the LA air, she'd missed her favourite coffee shop, the way Callen and Sam bantered with each other, the way she caught Eric staring at Nell sometimes – but most of all, she'd missed him. Deeks. Her partner, her best friend, her…Max.

Kensi turned her head to the right, catching Nate's eye as he sat beside her. "Do you know how he's been?" she asked over the sound of the plane's engines roaring, not needing to be any more specific. Nate knew more than he let on, and she trusted that he wouldn't lie to her.

Nate paused, he understood that he had been sent to meet the team on the way home to help them debrief – a string Hetty pulled no doubt, but this wasn't about the mission they had just been through. Kensi wasn't asking him as her psychologist, she was asking him as her friend how the most important person in her life had been whilst she was away.

"He's….survived. He got on with the job, hasn't been injured, and has been doing his part supporting Nell in the field." He answered. Kensi nodded slowly, sensing there was more to come. Had Nell become his new partner? A wave of jealousy swept over her before she checked herself. He needed someone to watch his back whilst she wasn't there to do it – and she was glad it had been a friend.

"But, he hasn't been sleeping well I don't think. Not as bad as the last time", continued Nate, referring to Deeks reaction post –Sidarov, "but enough that it became a problem. I saw him a few weeks ago and recommended some natural sleeping pills. They aren't strong, more of a relaxant really, but they seemed to give him the kick he needed to get back into a regular sleep pattern."

Kensi rested her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She knew what had caused his lack of sleep because it had done the same to her too. The not knowing, the not speaking, the not seeing each other every day. No sly glances, no subtle touches, no jokes that only the other would understand. Her heart had ached for 4 months as the distance stretched longer and further each day.

But no more. Today she would be back on American soil and able to look into his ocean blue eyes. It sounded stupid but more than anything, she couldn't wait for him to make her laugh.

A voice over the planes announcement system let her know that they were 30 minutes out, and she smiled with anticipation. She knew exactly where she was headed the moment she was free.

As Nate pulled up outside the familiar apartment building, Kensi's stomach was suddenly a jumble of nerves. What if he didn't feel the same way anymore? What if he was angry at her for not saying goodbye? She has asked him to be patient – what if he had gone back on his promise?

Nate's voice startled her out of her reverie. "He's going to think he woke up on Christmas and his birthday all rolled up in one." She smiled as she turned to face him, reaching out with one hand to open the passenger door. "Thanks for the ride Nate. See you at OPS?"

"Maybe tomorrow. We'll see." He replied. Kensi rolled her eyes "A couple of years in the field and you've gone all dark and mysterious on us?" she joked. "Well, maybe, see you tomorrow".

Kensi hopped out of the car with a wince, reminding her of those bruised ribs that were just starting to heal.

As she headed towards the front door of an apartment she knew all too well, she was reminded of a time where she stood in this exact same spot, Cronut in hand, waiting for him to answer the door. She waited for what seemed like hours, before her pride pushed her back to her car and away from his home.

Not tonight. As she reached into the bag she carried across her shoulder, she pulled out her set of keys and selected the shiny silver one, hardly ever used. He'd kill her if he knew she had had a copy made. "But what if I make you mad and you sneak in to kill me in my sleep?" But ever since his recovery from the Sidarov case, she had wanted to make sure she could take care of him no matter what.

She slipped the key into the lock and turned it slowly. The whole apartment was in darkness, not unusual for the late hour. She dropped her duffel bag by the door and looked around for a moment. Everything was exactly as it was the night before she left -an empty beer bottle on the coffee table, a pair of sneakers strewn by the door, Monty's dog toys littering the floor. It was strangely comforting to know that life had gone on, things hadn't changed. She could slip in as if she had never been away – she hoped.

Kensi draped her jacket across a chair and removed her shoes so as not to make a sound, then headed towards the partially open door at the end of the hallway. The anticipation of this moment caused her heart to race – and then she saw him and it was as if her heart just stopped.

The moonlight cast an eerie glow across the room, and in its light she could see a head of shaggy blond hair that was as familiar to her as her own. He lay on his stomach, face towards her with the sheet pulled up around him. His arms were hugging his pillow tightly and his nose twitched subtly.

It was then that she felt like she was home.

Moving silently, she stripped off her jeans and walked towards the empty half of the bed. Tomorrow, she would have words with him about not noticing an intruder in your own apartment, but tonight she would just enjoy being next to him.

Slowly, she lifted the edge of the sheet and slipped in beside him, her face resting on the pillow just inches from his. He shifted slightly but did not wake, and Kensi's heart fluttered. Tomorrow, they would be Fern and Max, a boy and a girl who just hang out. Maybe they would go for a drive or go for ice cream, or maybe they would just stay here and ignore the rest of the world around them.

In an indulgent move, Kensi lifted her hand and brushed a strand of hair from his face. The softness of his golden locks brought a smile to her face as she saw his nose twitch under her touch. She breathed a soft sigh of contentment as she closed her eyes and succumbed to the first real night of restful sleep in 4 months.

Tomorrow would be a good day.