It was new. They'd only gotten together last night, and only because they were both hurting. No alcohol, and they didn't sleep together. All they had shared was a long kiss, but both were begging for more when it was over.
When they walked into the mission that morning, separate to keep up the façade, it was all Deeks could do to keep from welcoming her in the warmest way he could think of. All Kensi wanted was a quick day; no cases, no shootouts, and hopefully no bomb threats. She had a date to prepare for, after all.
Those dreams were shattered quickly with a whistle from upstairs. "We've got a case." Eric called down, almost too excitedly, and Kensi groaned inwardly. At least in the mission she was across the bullpen from Deeks, the mandatory separation helping keep her from jumping him like she really wanted to. In the field, there was no such separation. It was going to be a long day.
The briefing in OPS seemed to be taking longer than usual. Twice Kensi caught herself drifting off mentally, sidetracked because of her proximity to one Marty Deeks. She zoned back in to catch the tail end of Eric's speech. "The smugglers seem to be using dangerous fish to transport the material. No customs official is gonna reach their hand into a fish tank to check for stolen Navy submarine plans. Petty Officer Boling is staying under the radar, but he is scheduled to attend the gala to support the Aquarium of the Pacific tonight. We're going to need eyes on him to keep him from dropping off more intel. It's the perfect place. Right to the source of the fish."
"Thanks Eric. Kensi and Deeks, you go check out the aquarium beforehand. Talk to whoever's in charge of the gala. They'll probably be so flustered they won't have noticed anything, so try to talk to some zookeepers too. They'd be the ones who know how to slip the intel into the tanks and come back without being stung. Sam and I will go check out Boling's workplace and talk to his superiors." Callen finished giving the orders, and both pairs of partners left the OPS center.
On the drive to the aquarium, Deeks found Kensi's hand as she drove, knowing it was all the contact he'd be able to get away with while they were working. Kensi found herself smiling as he drummed his fingers on the back of her hand in spite of the fact that she'd normally reprimand him for his hyperactivity. If she was being honest with herself, just his touch made her want to strum in excitement too.
As they approached the Aquarium of the Pacific, he pulled his hand away, steeling himself into controlling his emotions in public. Once they talked to multiple aquarium workers, they realized they weren't going to get any information; no one knew anything about smuggling, and if they did, they weren't disclosing it.
Returning to the mission, they reported this information to Callen and Sam, who had found some information at PO Boling's office, but not any info on who he was working with.
"I think we're going to have to send someone to the gala to watch for Boling." Callen said, and Deeks prepared himself for another stint as a janitor or busboy.
"I quite agree, Mr. Callen, and I shall be sending Miss Blye and Detective Deeks in to keep an eye on things." Hetty said out of nowhere. Deeks breathed a sigh of relief, but he quickly realized it meant he and Kensi would have to go as a couple and act as they always had. Easier said than done.
"With me please." Deeks and Kensi followed Hetty to wardrobe, where she put Deeks in an Armani suit and Kensi in another one of her figure-hugging dresses, because she lived to torture Deeks. After they were briefed on their aliases, they headed to the aquarium in the SRX, with Deeks driving for the first time in a while. Once they entered, they quickly set about finding Boling. When they had eyes on him, they went back to normal behavior, with one eye always watching the suspect.
Kensi heard Eric, Callen, and Sam in her earpiece, arguing about how quickly Boling would make his move.
"Callen's right guys, he's heading to the back now. He walked down a long hallway, finally ducking into a room on the left. Kensi and Deeks entered the room next to Boling's and found that it was filled with fish in small tanks. The biggest was filled with a jellyfish with foot-long tentacles. Quietly, Kensi and Deeks listened, quickly realizing they could hear the words in the other room incredibly clearly, and kept quiet so they weren't the ones who ended up caught.
That worked well until Kensi dropped her engagement ring into the tank with the jellyfish.
"Shit" she mumbled under her breath. "Hetty'll kill me if I lose that". She started to reach into the tank, when Deeks stopped her.
"Kens. You're gonna get stung and it's gonna hurt like hell."
"I'll watch out for the tentacles." Stubborn as ever, she slowly reached into the tank, narrowly avoiding the shorter tentacles. Quicker than she could see, the longest stinger caught her around the wrist. Sensing she was about to cry out in pain, Deeks quickly cut her off with a quick kiss. He knew if he could make her forge we own name, she wouldn't be able to feel her arm and cry out. So he put everything into the kiss, splitting her lips with his tongue and immediately massaging her tongue to make her forget the pain. She seemed to catch on, starting to battle with him, all while pulling her hand and the ring out of the tank. Only once she was safely free did she realize her earwig was on the whole time, and while their neighbors in the next room hasn't heard them, the guys surely had. With a "we'll talk about the magic that that was later" look, Kensi and Deeks returned their attention to the meet next door. Once they had heard enough, they breached the room, the men next door surrendering without a fight. Once they had been taken to the boatshed for interrogation, Kensi drove them back to OSP. Upon walking in they were met with a wolf-whistle from Eric, a squeal from Nell, and two very stunned looks from Callen and Sam.
"That was all fake right? To keep your covers?" Sam asked, though it sounded like he was pleading.
Kensi and Deeks looked at each other, and realized they were caught either way. With a quick nod from Deeks, Kensi started, "not exactly. We hadn't planned to tell anyone, and that was the first time we've done anything like that at work, but it was completely necessary. I would have screamed in pain otherwise. So it was for a good cause, but it wasn't to sell our cover."
"So you're together now, or what?" Callen asked, clearly confused.
"Yes stupid. And leave Deeks alone about it. It's all good." That was all she said, but it cut the conversation off completely. Neither Callen nor Sam wanted to know anymore.
"So now that the air is clear, can we leave? It was kind of a long day saving the world, and I'd like dinner" Deeks added, ushering himself and Kensi out the door of the mission without giving anyone time to respond.
After the painfully long drive to Kensi's house, they finally got home, and she practically dragged him inside. "So can we continue where we left off without a jellyfish wrapped around me?" She asked a little breathlessly, and Deeks could only nod before she pulled him into a kiss that was surely only the first of the night.