A/N: Yep. I pretty much write for every single fandom now. But my love for Densi borders on unnatural. And they're at a pretty happy place right now.

Oh, for those who have never read anything I've written before: I take happiness, crush it, squash it, and then volley it into another universe, never to be found again.

Thank you and have a pleasant read!

Get case. Get briefed. Go to crime scene. Talk to witnesses. Find suspect. Interrogate suspect. Suspect runs. Catch suspect. Find killer. Interrogate killer. Killer confesses. Put killer in jail.

No, of course there were exceptions, but generally, after awhile the cases all started to blend together for junior agent Kensi Blye. One after the other, one victim after the next.

Then again, there were things livening her workplace up. Callen and Sam's constant mind-meld (they were more married then Sam and his never-mentioned wife, she swore), Hetty's habit of sneaking up at the exact wrong moment, and the constant bickering between her and Deeks.

On second thought, scratch that last one. Rewrite to awkward distance and forced politeness between her and Deeks.

She should have known it was a mistake from the beginning. There was a reason she didn't get involved with her partners. They had bickered nonstop since the beginning of their partnership two years ago, before their "thing" was even acknowledged.

Except then it was just them jabbing playfully at each other, testing the other's limits. And they had settled comfortably into a routine. And then had come the case with the Russians. One moment she was being shoved into their car and forced to the floor, then she was flying out of an exploding building, landing on top of Deeks, staying there for longer then was probably strictly necessary.

So it was probably no surprise (at least not to Callen, Sam, Hetty or anyone else in Ops), that it had come to this.

"No, it doesn't fucking surprise me that it meant nothing to you, partner. I'm just surprised that you think it would have meant nothing to me!"

"Because it was nothing! We were drunk, we were stupid, it was one night. We're both adults, we are capable of forgetting about it and going back to the way things were.

The look in his eyes cut into her. "You're my best friend. I don't know how to go back."

It was the last time she'd talked to Deeks, past exchanging information about the current case, in two weeks. Kensi had never gone this long without talking to Deeks before. She missed him more than she cared to admit.

And the bitch of it was, she knew exactly what it would take to fix this. Deeks wanted more from her, she knew. Sometimes the irony of it would slap her straight in the face – she should have been concerned about the situation with Deeks being so awkward that he'd never want to talk to her again, want to switch partners immediately, get as far away from her as possible. But that'd be with an ordinary partner, this was Deeks. Deeks was the guy who wanted marriage, kids and a house in the suburbs. And she…she was Kensi. Kensi of the no-second-date rule.

She was not what Deeks wanted, and certainly not what he deserved.

She was selfish in wanting to keep him, not only as a partner, but as a friend. Kensi knew this would end sooner or later. She just figured she'd get more than 2 years out of it.

So she'd let Deeks go. He'd move on, they'd have a few awkward weeks, but eventually it'd be like it never happened. They'd go back to being partners, she'd deal with his stories of his various girls, eventually it would blend into his constant chatter.

She was protecting him. He'd realize that eventually and thank her for it. She was sure of it.

break

"Hey G! What's up with Densi over there," Sam questioned his partner, gesturing to where Kensi and Deeks were filling out paperwork, pointedly never glancing at each other.

"Don't know," Callen said, glancing at his coworkers. "They haven't talked to each other in weeks, they don't fight, they don't finish each other's sentences, they just kinda…coexist."

Sam nodded, regarding Kensi's tense posture. "Awkward sex?"

Callen choked on his coffee. "What?"

Sam shrugged. "What what? They had sex, it was awkward, hence….awkwardness."

"That's your solution? They're not talking so they must have had awkward sex, and based on the look on your face…we need to fix it."

"See, that's what I love about this, G. We get each other."

"So in this scenario, the logical response is….for us to play cupid?"

"Exactly!"

"That's crazy, Sam. I've long suspected it, but just confirmed it now. You are actually, certifiably insane."

"No, you just don't understand my delicate genius, G, especially when it comes to my plan."

"Which is?"

"We lock them in the gym together. Simples."

"Wow, Sam. How many hours of long, studious hours did it take you to come up with that elaborate plan?"

"Laugh all you want, G. The gym has cameras. You know you want to see it happen."

Callen pushed his chair back and perched on his desk, facing his partner.

"So, hypothetically, how would we get them there?"

break

The door was locked behind them before either Kensi or Deeks had time to react. They pounded it with all their might, but it didn't budge.

"Sam! Callen! Come on guys, open the door! Surveillance is only fun when there's dirty stuff involved!" Deeks called.

Which, under normal circumstances, would have earned him a smack from Kensi, but she just avoided his gaze and resumed kicking the door.

They pounded and banged for five full minutes (and Deeks reminded them both of the dirty references in that statement) before Kensi finally sunk against a weight bench, defeated. Deeks wasn't far behind, eventually leaning against the door, facing her.

Silence permeated for long moments, until Kensi finally spoke.

"So I guess this is their version of getting us to talk."

"Won't work." Deeks bit off shortly. "Way I understand it, talking to someone is a voluntary action."

Kensi sighed, eyeing her partner's closed off body language. Making a quick decision, she stood and slid in beside him against the door, in no way missing how he tensed even more.

"Come on, Deeks," she implored. "You're going to have to talk to me eventually."

"I thought I said everything I needed to."

"Well, you didn't." Kensi leaned her pounding head against the door. "Since you've barely said two words to me for the last three weeks."

Deeks scoffed and angled his body away from hers, but she caught his arm before he could go anywhere.

"Deeks," she whispered, and she could see his resolve breaking as he struggled to hold onto the anger.

"Oh, fuck, come on, Deeks," Kensi groaned. "I'm trying to fix us."

"Guess that's the bitch of it," he snapped. "There never really was an us. Never will be, either."

"There was. Just not in the way you wanted there to be. There's us, we're partners. We're damn good partners. And I thought…I thought we were friends too. I don't want to lose that, Deeks. Is it too much to ask for a little effort on your part?"

"Yes, Kensi, it is," he spat, coming off the wall and struggling to his feet.

"You remember that night. You remember what it was like. As much as you try to push it away, I know it wasn't just me. You felt it too."

Kensi lifted herself to her feet as well, standing toe to toe with Deeks.

"Deeks, we were drunk. I don't remember."

"That's a lie. That's a fucking lie, Kensi."

Utter frustration ran through Kensi, and she raked her fingers angrily through her hair.

"Jesus, Deeks, what do you want from me? I want to be your partner, I want to be your friend, but this? Don't you have other friends who actually want…something with you? Neither of us want this. You'll see it eventually. Can't you just let it go?"

"I already told you. I have one best friend. That's you. I want this. And so do you, you just can't see past your own defenses."

"Oh, I can't see past my own defenses, Mr. Deflective Humor? You're just as bad as me, if not worse. Who are you to lecture me about my own issues? God, Deeks, do you know how tired people get of trying to pretend to like you? Your home isn't here any more than LAPD."

The words were coming out on their own volition now, and Kensi was powerless to stop them.

"Maybe terminating the partnership is a good thing. At least then I wouldn't have a partner who's afraid to pull the trigger because of his own daddy issues. Couldn't kill him, huh, Deeks? Even at 11, you couldn't protect yourself. We're better off without each other."

Deeks stepped even closer, so they were practically nose-to-nose. The anger in his eyes was something Kensi had never seen before, especially in Deeks, but she forced herself not to back down.

"No, you're right. First-date-Kensi. Pretty much a robot with a hot body. Ever consider that that's why Jack left? 'Cause, unlike you, he had the human quality of emotion? That maybe he just manufactured this PTSD excuse, just like Talbot, so that he didn't have to be stifled by you anymore?"

The words cut into Kensi more than she thought possible. She stepped back and blinked furiously at the tears clouding her vision. No, he wouldn't see her cry. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

But Deeks wasn't done. "Suppose nobody should be surprised. I mean, your own father probably couldn't even stand you. That's why he raised you as a boy, he never wanted you. He wanted a son. Yeah, I imagine his last thoughts before he died were "Thank god I never have to see what a lonely, emotionally stunted adult my daughter will be." Everyone leaves, and guess what? You drive them away. "

He should have seen the first punch coming, but not the second one. And probably not the tears.

He wondered what should have been his tip-off to too far. As of then, it was probably Callen and Sam rushing into the room and pulling Kensi away before she rushed at him again.

Deeks could only stand there in shock, the cruel words he had flung at the best partner he had ever had playing over and over in his head, barely noticing Hetty striding up to him.

"Mr. Deeks," she began.

"I have to apologize," he whispered.

"I don't disagree, Mr. Deeks. But now is not the time. We have a new suspect in one of our cold cases, the Columbian drug cartel. His name is Trevor Degros. He was last questioned after the murder of Andrew Blye. Kensi's father."