Talia stared at her shaggy haired friend at the other end of the couch. He showed up at her apartment, looking not unlike a lost puppy. He didn't call first, but he had beer so she let him in without complaining. He hadn't said much since arriving, which was very unusual, almost worrisome. Her attempts to start a conversation just resulted in one or two word answers. It seemed to be time for the direct approach.

"Tell me again why you're here?"

Deeks took the last drink of his beer and set the empty bottle on her coffee table. He leaned back with a sigh. "Kensi and I are taking the night off."

"Okay... that's a good thing once in awhile, isn't it? I mean you two have been literally joined at the hip for months now."

He smiled slightly, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, I guess."

"I mean, seriously. I'm surprised you two have the energy to get out of bed everyday at the rate you two are going at it."

He was finally laughing. "It sounds like you know a little too much. Should I be worried about hidden cameras in our bedroom?"

"No. Not yet anyway." She smiled before taking another drink. "Actually, Kensi likes to share when she's tipsy."

He ran his fingers through his hair, looking a little embarrassed. "Oh, that's just great."

"Don't be like that. You should be proud. She has nothing but good things to say about your skills. In bed, that is. Your cooking is another story."

He smiled, but it slowly faded. "Yeah... if I'm so great, then why am I not with her right now?"

"Deeks, it's okay. It's just one night, right?"

"I know. I know, it seems so stupid to worry about it. I guess I'd feel better about it if we didn't have a stupid fight this morning."

"Fight? Uh oh, what'd you do?"

"Why do you assume that it was me who did something?"

"Okay, fair enough." Talia held her hands up. "Tell me what happened."

"I don't know. We met her friends last night and everything went great. I was charming and delightful and funny. They loved me. I got the official friends' stamp of approval. And then this morning all of the sudden she thinks we're moving too fast."

"All of the sudden?"

"Yes, all of the sudden. We were just waking up and she was kissing my neck..." He smiled at the memory. "And I was just starting to tease her about her friends. A little bit."

"You mean you were about to get morning sex until you ruined it by making fun of her friends."

"What? No, not really. I was just joking around."

"Okay, let's break this down." She reached for another beer and opened it. "Kensi Blye, who never opens up to anyone about anything, who keeps things that are very important to her very close to the vest. This same Kensi Blye invited her new boyfriend to met her old friends, which she was probably very nervous about, and it ended up going really well... until her moron boyfriend started making fun of her friends. You keeping up?"

He had an adorably confused look on his face. "You really think I was gonna get morning sex?"

"Focus, Deeks."

"I am..."

"Not on morning sex."

He sighed. "You're making this out to be a bigger deal than it was. I was just joking around, like I always do. She likes it when I'm funny."

"Yes, your sense of humor is so irresistible." Talia took another drink, trying to hide her rolling eyes behind the bottle. "It doesn't matter that you were just joking. These are her friends and you don't make fun of them in front of her. No matter how ridiculous their cupcake obsession is."

"See?" Deeks suddenly turned towards her. "You've met them. They are ridiculous, crazy girls."

"First of all, you are not wrong." Talia cringed slightly. "Second of all, I bet you called them crazy to Kensi's face during this whole argument that supposedly wasn't your fault."

"Ummm..."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Come on, you're suppose to take my side here. That's what bros do."

"Sorry to break it to you, but I'm Kensi's bro too. Also, it sounds like you were kind of being an ass and it's my job as your bro to point that out to you."

Deeks hung his head and let out a breath. "Why is this so hard? I mean, the furthest thing from my mind was that I might upset her. It's the last thing I wanted to do."

"Listen, you two have known each other a long time, but this relationship is still pretty new. Kensi has a lot of defenses and she wants to lower them when she's with you, but she's not quite there yet. She wants to be and she's working on it. But sometimes, you're just going to have to be patient with her. And also not be an ass."

He was quiet for a bit, his brow furrowed. "Um... do I... do I make her happy?"

"I think you know the answer to that question."

"Yeah, I think I do. But I still want to hear your answer."

Talia smiled. "Yes, you make her very happy."

Deeks took in a breath and let it out, looking like a weight had been taken off his shoulders.

"Deeks?" She looked him in the eyes as he raised his head. "I'm sorry about your friend."

"Thanks... um how did you..."

"She texted me before you got here."

"And how'd she know I'd be here?" He asked.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "A night off from your girlfriend after a shitty day at work? Where else would you go?"

"Haha very funny. I have other friends, you know."

"Name one. And don't say Kip because we all know he's out of town."

"I could name one." He crossed his arms in front of himself. "I just don't want to right now."

"Okay, whatever you say."

"She really texted you? Did she tell you about our fight? Did you just pretend you didn't know what happened?"

"She did. And no, she didn't. And no, I didn't. She just told me that you lost someone and that you might be looking for a friend right now and that she would tell me everything later."

"You mean she would tell you how I was being an ass."

"See, you're getting it. But you know... in all seriousness, she really cares about you." She said. "Even if she doesn't always know the best way to show it."

Deeks smiled. "She really is something else."

"Of course if you ever screw it up completely, you could always send her my way."

"Really?"

"I'm just saying, if you can't handle a woman like Kensi, I'd be more than willing to give it a shot." She teased.

"Wow... look, I know she's your type and everything, but I think there are things about me that she'd miss, okay?"

"I don't know about that. I'd never make fun of her friends and I guarantee I could satisfy her in plenty of other ways. Even without the same equipment as you." She waved her hand in his direction. "And I definitely have nicer boobs than you."

"You know?" His face was the perfect mixture of annoyance and affection. "You really freak me out when you talk about trying to steal my girlfriend."

"Why?" Talia laughed. "Because you know I would be successful?"

"Okay, now you're really scaring me."

"Just trying to keep you on your toes."

"Thank you so much."

"That's what friends are for."