A/N: This doesn't go along with anything that's happening on the show right now. It's just something that popped into my head and I had to write it :)

"Here we go again, Sugar Bear. Third time's a charm."

Kensi rolled her eyes as Deeks slipped a gold band and then diamond ring on her finger. Yet again a case required them to go undercover as a married couple. "I swear, next time Sam and Callen get to be married."

"Wow, as much as I'd love to see that happen, I like being married to you. We get to be all coupley without you nagging me to take the garbage out at the end of the day."

"Deeks, I don't nag."

"You're right. I'd be the one nagging you about that."

"Then I'm super grateful we're not really married." Even as Kensi said the words, she wasn't sure if she actually meant them.

The case was over. The bad guys were caught. It was the end of the day and it was time to change back into Kensi Blye. She had her own clothes on now, but there was one part of her alias that she was reluctant to take off.

The rings. This was the third time she had to take off a diamond ring after posing as Deeks' wife. And it was getting harder each time. She was staring at her left hand, deep in thought, when he approached her.

"Hey, wifey. You ready to head out?"

"Oh, um, no not quite yet."

"You want me to wait for you? Maybe we can get some food."

"No, that's okay. I have some stuff to finish up here. You go ahead and I'll see you in the morning."

"You sure?" Deeks' eyes narrowed. He knew something was on her mind and he was curious to know what. But she seemed to be acting extra casual, almost like she was trying too hard. Awkwardly casual Kensi never wanted to talk about anything because everything was always just fine.

"Of course. I'll be fine."

"Alright. I'll see you in the morning."

Kensi finally pulled the rings off as Deeks walked away and she let out a sigh.

What's wrong with me?

She had aimlessly driven around, trying to clear her head, when she ended up parked outside Deeks' apartment. She tried to convince herself that there was no meaning behind her actions. That she was just on auto-pilot. But it was pointless. She was here because she needed to be here.

"Hey there, partner." He offered her a smile when he opened the door. "It's been so long since I've seen you. Missed me already?"

"Very funny, Deeks."

"I have my moments." He shut the door. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, I think I'm good. I noticed that I'm back to partner again. No more wifey."

"Nope, no more marital bliss for us."

She looked down at the ground and reached for the now empty space on her left hand.

"Is everything alright, Kens?"

She took in a deep breath and looked up at him. "I really wanted to get married."

The confused expression on his face slowly changed as he understood what was bothering her before.

"I liked wearing the ring. I liked showing it off to people. I liked making plans and practicing signing my name as Mrs. Kensi Simon. Every time you and I go undercover like this... and I have to put those rings on and then take them off when it's all over... it reminds of when I wore the ring he gave me and it meant something and it was real. And then I had to take it off, because he was gone."

Deeks took a step closer to her and place his hand on her arm. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"I know, but I think it's easy to take it for granted. That you're just completely okay with being the married couple. Just because it's been a long time doesn't mean you're not still bothered by what happened."

"You know, I still want that for myself. I still want to be married one day."

He smiled. "You will be."

Kensi laughed. "Kind of hard to meet a potential husband in this line of work."

He ran his hand down her arm and grasped her hand. "How about you and I make one of those deals? You know, where if we're still single and alive after you've turned forty then we get married."

One day her eyeballs were going to roll right out of her head. "Brilliant idea, Deeks. We've pretended to be married so it makes sense that we just do it for real." As much as she tried to laugh off his suggestion, this was part of what was bothering her before. She realized that she wanted to be married one day... and it was getting easier and easier to picture herself being married to him.

"Hey, I'm delightful and you'd be the luckiest lady in the world if I made an honest woman out of you."

She smiled at him, feeling a lot better after talking with him (she usually did, which made her wonder why she was always so reluctant to open up to him). She realized that they were still holding hands and that she didn't really want to stop. Things like this, the way it felt to be his pretend wife, how her stomach did a little flutter when he smiled at her, how he always knew how to cheer her up... all these things made her think that maybe she'd be okay with still being single when she was forty.

"So, partner, how about you and I forget all this marriage talk and go get something to eat?"

"That's my girl. I knew something was wrong when you turned down my offer of food before."

"Just because I don't want food doesn't mean something's wrong."

"Of course it does. I notice these things about you which is another reason you'll love being married to me."

More eye rolling, but she couldn't help but smile at the same time. "Whatever, hubby. Let's go get food."