Title: BEHIND THE ROPE
TV Series: NCIS: Los Angeles
Episode: Post-"Deep Trouble," parts 1 & 2.
Featured Characters: Kensi Blye & Marty Deeks, with a bit of Talia Del Campo (guest star) thrown in for good measure.
Rating: Hard M. Chapter 1 for language, and the remaining chapters for strong sexual content and language. Not for under-age readers!
Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own any rights in NCIS: LA, the characters portrayed in the show or the scripts/story lines that inspired this story. Those rights belong to the series creator, the script writers and CBS. This fic was written merely for fun and writing practice, and not for profit. No copyright infringement intended.
Author's Note: The idea for my first NCIS: LA fanfic was inspired by a comment that Talia made during the season 5 finale, "Deep Trouble, pt, 1." I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic, so naturally, I've been a "Densi" shipper since Deeks' character became a series regular in season 2 of the show, and I've wanted to write a fic about them for a while. Granted, this is not the most conventional idea for a Densi fic, but the darn thing wouldn't die, no matter how hard I tried to squelch it, stomp on it and shove it in a corner. I had no choice but to follow where this inspiration led me. I've written M-rated fanfics before, but none about this particular subject matter. And, as you'll understand when you (hopefully) read the story, I'm figuring that writing this genre of adult fiction will be somewhat more challenging for me than the average M-rated story. That said, I'd really appreciate some feedback on the direction of my storyline, as well as the "basics" like my writing style, characters, etc. I'm always open to constructive criticism - all I ask is that it's kindly delivered (smile). Anyhow, enough pontificating ... On with the story!
Chapter 1
A/N: This chapter is rated M only for a bit of adult language. Steamy sexy-times will follow in later chapters.
It had been a harrowing few days for the NCIS team, to say the least. But fortunately, in the end, they, together with the DEA, had managed to keep thousands of pounds of cocaine from hitting the streets of Los Angeles, and had stopped an explosives-laden submarine controlled by Jihadist extremists from detonating under the USS Van Buren, an aircraft carrier carrying thousands of military personnel and a couple of nuclear reactors. And, most importantly, Callen and Sam were alive. Thankfully, due to their combination of innate smarts and top-notch training, the longtime partners had emerged a bit waterlogged and claustrophobic - but otherwise practically unscathed - from their mission aboard the doomed underwater vessel. After the emotional and physical roller-coaster that this latest mission had put the entire group through, they all needed to blow off some major steam.
Hetty had given everyone a couple of well-deserved days off to decompress. To that end, Kensi had decided to take DEA agent Talia Del Campo up on her offer to meet up for some "major credit card damage," and drinks afterwards. After they'd almost busted each others' noses in an all-out girl-fight midway through the recent case, Kensi and Talia had gotten to talking, and found out that they really had quite a bit in common. Both were former "military brats" who'd been inspired by their fathers to go into law enforcement, and they'd both clawed their way up the ranks of what was largely still a bit of a "Boys Club," determined to be taken seriously despite the stereotypes stacked against them for being attractive women. The two female agents also had a "girly side" in common, which they both kept well-hidden during business hours, so they ended up forming quite a tight bond over their mutual love of fashion, shopping, and Modern Bride magazines. Not to mention their shared sense of humor, mostly at Deeks' expense.
Arms laden with bags from Melrose Avenue's finest shopping establishments, Kensi and Talia walked into Mike's, a dive bar that was almost as famous for its burgers as it was for its brewskies. (Both ladies also shared a love of good food, and weren't shy about demolishing a quality burger). They were chit-chatting and comparing purchases over a couple of Pale Ales, when Kensi's personal phone rang.
"It's Deeks," she said. She muted the call and fired off a quick text message response: Having dinner/drinks with Talia. Call you later.
His answer was virtually instantaneous: I still don't know if I like this. I feel like you two could get into a lot of trouble together. Should I be worried? Anyhow, TTYL.
The raised-eyebrow emoji at the end of his text made her chuckle as she looked back up at Talia. "His Spidey-Sense must've told him that we were together. I swear he thinks we're plotting against him."
"Well, you gotta admit, we could trade jokes all day about that guy. He's something else," Talia replied.
"He definitely is something," Kensi mused.
Their burger platters arrived and both ladies dug in enthusiastically. After a few minutes of silence, punctuated only by the sounds of chewing and appreciative grunts at how awesomely good their meal tasted, Talia piped up.
"Don't head-butt me again for bringing this up, but have you really never tapped that, or even been tempted?"
Kensi nearly choked on the bite of burger in her mouth and did her best to stifle the resulting cough. She opted for a sip of her beer instead, to cover-up her shock and buy herself a little time. She considered deflecting Talia's question or changing the subject, but ended up deciding to come clean with the DEA agent. After all, they didn't work together and their joint case was over, so what harm could come from a little confiding?
"Actually, I have let Deeks 'change my oil,' as you put it. Just between us, we've had a bit of a 'thing' going on for the past few months. We haven't quite figured out what our 'thing' is yet 'cause neither of us is a huge fan of labels. But he's definitely been 'under my hood,' so to speak."
"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" Talia laughed. Then, she continued, "Well, good for you! At least now I know you're not frigid or crazy! Deeks can be a major doofus, but you gotta admit that the dude's very easy on the eyes."
"No argument there," answered Kensi. "Did you and Deeks ever hook up in the 'biblical' sense back when you first teamed up on that case a few months ago?" Though she'd never admit it aloud, Kensi was a bit nervous in anticipation of Talia's response, even though Deeks and the DEA agent had first met long before he and Kensi were in an official - or even unofficial - romantic relationship. Hell, as it stood now, the partners' status as a couple was still pretty "up-in-the-air."
"Nah," came Talia's response. Kensi tried not to let her sense of relief show on her face. "I definitely put it out there that I was interested," Talia continued, "but Deeks never took the bait. In fact, he spent most of our down-time together on the investigation talking about you. I wasn't lying when I said that I thought you were Deeks' imaginary friend. He made you sound too good to be true." She punctuated the end of her sentence with a wink.
"To be honest, he kind of let on that you two were more than just partners when I flat-out asked him in the Boatshed last week," Talia admitted. You should have seen his reaction when I told him that I wouldn't have let 'regulations' stop me! Friggin' priceless!"
"What? Why?" Kensi asked, puzzled. Then, her eyes went as wide as saucers when realization dawned. "Wait, you mean ... you wouldn't have let regulations stop you if I was your partner?"
"Well, duh! Try to keep up, Blye!," Talia laughed. "In case you haven't noticed, you're smoking hot. And by the look on Deek's face, I'm sure I gave him plenty of fodder for his Spank-Bank for, like, the next decade."
Kensi laughed so hard that she almost snorted beer through her nose. "Why am I not the least bit surprised?" Deeks always seemed to have sex on the brain. Plus, she was secretly more than a little bit flattered that the DEA agent found her attractive. Still, she decided to play it cool. "I didn't know you batted for both teams," she said noncommittally.
"Girl, if only you knew," Talia retorted, somewhat conspiratorially. "The stories I could tell would get us kicked out of this 'family establishment'!" The irony wasn't lost on Kensi, since the ladies were in a strictly 21-and-over watering hole.
Kensi could see the wheels turning in her dinner companion's mind as the latter woman came up with a plan. Judging by the mischievous glint in the DEA agent's eyes, said plan was nothing but trouble. "Okay, spill it, Del Campo. I can tell you're cooking up some sort of scheme."
"Well, if you're up for it, how about we put on a little show for our mutual friend, Detective Deeks?"
"You mean - " Kensi choked, cat having apparently caught her tongue.
"Hell yeah! The guy talks a good game about hooking up with two women and whatnot, but what if we really made him put his money where his mouth is?" She paused, noting the deer-in-headlights expression on the NCIS agent's face. "That is, if it wouldn't be too weird for you. Far be it for me to get in the way of true love," she singsonged, only half-teasing.
Kensi's reaction to the "L-word" was swift and visceral. "Whoa, slow your roll there, sister! Nobody said anything about love." She almost agreed to Talia's proposition right then, just to disprove the thought that love could have anything to do with her decision. In Kensi's unfortunate experience, falling in love meant getting left. The men she'd given her heart to in the past had seemed to have an uncanny knack for deserting her or dying - or both - so she was not about to stick a toe in that pool again. "It's just that this idea of yours came out of left field. Give me a minute to process, will you?"
She took a huge bite out of her now-lukewarm burger, taking some time to let the notion marinate. If she were brutally honest with herself, the idea of a threesome with Deeks and Talia wasn't altogether unappealing. Quite the opposite, actually. Of all the pinnacle moments in her life, none came close to seeing Deeks get so turned-on that he was virtually out-of-his-mind with lust. (The last time it had happened was a couple of months ago, when Kensi had dressed up in a "Sexy Cop" outfit for a friend's costume party - skirt up to there, thigh-high boots, you get the picture. She'd thought the whole outfit was horrendously cheesy, but when Deeks had been done scraping his tongue off the floor, he'd ravaged her until she couldn't feel her legs anymore). If she could capture that look and bottle it up for the rest of her life, she would. And if mixing it up with Talia would earn her another one of those looks from Deeks, then Kensi was all for it.
Besides, though it had been awhile (not since her pre-NCIS days), it would hardly be the first time she'd engaged in a little ménage play. She was by no means gay, nor did she consider herself bisexual, but she could appreciate a beautiful woman, and, as women went, Talia was sexy as all get-out. So carrying out this little plot would be far from a chore.
Kensi was just about to answer when Talia broke the silence. "Tell ya what. How about we sweeten the pot a little by upping the stakes with a friendly wager? Fifty bucks says Deeks chickens out."
"You feeling generous today, Del Campo? 'Cause you're about to part with 50 bucks of your hard-earned money."
"Says you. You need to get your eyes checked if you can't see that Deeks is madly in love with you. He's not gonna want to share you - or himself - with anyone else, even a hot tamale like me," she grinned.
Kensi gave her most convincing scoff, trying her darndest to tamp-down the blush that was threatening to creep up her face. "You're the one who needs to see a doctor, honey! A: Deeks is not in love with me. Sure, we care about each other and the sex is off-the-charts, but love? Not in the cards. And B: We're talking about a threesome here." She lowered her voice when she noticed a nearby waiter staring at them open-mouthed, almost dropping his tray full of beers and greasy bar food. "I have it on good authority that one of the top three things on Deeks' bucket list is getting it on with twins. And granted, we don't look exactly alike, but we could pass for sisters, or at least cousins. You're dreaming if you think Deeks is gonna pass this up," she argued, gesturing between the two women.
"Okay, if you say so," Talia deadpanned, her raised eyebrow indicating that she was clearly not buying what Kensi was trying to sell her. But the DEA agent would play along, especially if she would get fifty bucks out of the deal when Deeks proved her right. "So … does this mean you're in?"
The only thing Kensi hated more than being wrong was backing down from a challenge. "You know what? Game on!" she replied.
Burgers and beers now forgotten, the two brunettes put their heads together and began to concoct the details of their scheme.
Deeks won't know what hit him, Kensi thought with a sly smile. She could hardly wait ...
A/N: So that's it, chapter 1 of my first ever NCIS: LA fanfic! I'd really appreciate some feedback from you guys, especially on whether the direction of this story is an avenue worth pursuing. Please be gentle with me! ;-)