A/N: All of these stories were written for the Tumblr Hiatus Fic Challenge: Unlikely Pairings. These are written for fun, and to present a challenge to myself (and readers) to open up our minds about different ideas. If you're not okay with that, save yourself some energy and don't even read them.
Challenge: Kensi/Talia - "I think it's time we stop avoiding the obvious."
The club was unbearably hot and her beer was deliciously cold, meaning she left a wet trail of condensation everywhere she went that night. It had been years since Kensi had frequented clubs at her current rate. Those were the years before she met Deeks and started to think of a good time as hanging out on the couch with burgers, beers, and bad television.
But now? Now things were different. She was different, he was different, every goddamn thing she laid her eyes upon or touched was different. The nights with Deeks were less often and more tense, and her time at the clubs was far more frequent. That wasn't necessarily her choice, but she went along with it.
"You're dripping." A playful voice purred in her ear, causing her to jump and sparking the spread of goosebumps across her damp skin.
"It's basic science." Kensi finished her beer in one gulp and slammed it down on the table nearest to her. "I'm not going to have to explain it to you, am I?"
Talia flashed a bright smile. Her cheesy grins were part of the reason Kensi decided to embrace a potential friendship with the DEA agent. Her twin, people would say when they saw them together, though Talia acted a lot more like Deeks than herself. Unlike Deeks, Talia didn't come with a load of baggage that wouldn't, or couldn't, be opened. "Oh, I get it. This is cold," she explained, dragging a finger along the outside of the now empty bottle. "And you are hot."
"I doubt my body temperature has a direct effect on the amount of condensation on a PBR," Kensi argued, trying her best to downplay the obvious. Every time they went out together, Talia flirted like mad. And every time, Kensi fought it, though her objections grew weaker and weaker every week.
Talia raised an eyebrow. "You know that's not what I meant."
"I know."
Talia nodded her head towards the center of the club. "You're done with your beer. Ready to dance?"
"Sure." When Talia grabbed her hand and dragged her to the dance floor, her skin was cool. It felt…nice.
"You feeling okay?" Deeks was usually hyperaware of all things Kensi related, and today was no different. "You've got the whole raccoon eyes thing going on today."
"Fine," she answered, rubbing one eye. "Long night."
He nodded. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
Kensi froze. Guilt sunk deep in her belly as she realized he'd assumed she had trouble sleeping. He still had nightmares about his torture, just like she did. It should be a connection they could use to help mend their wounds together, but somehow they just failed at that too. "I'm fine, Deeks. I was just out late. But thanks."
His expression was hard for her to read, a combination of curiosity, confusion, and hurt. He looked like he desperately wanted to know what she had been doing all night but was too scared of the answer. Neither of them had really dated in the last year, or maybe even longer than that. Even though they weren't together, it kind of felt like they were. It didn't make much sense, but seeing other people felt wrong.
Technically she wasn't seeing Talia, at least not in her mind. They were friends who could relate to each other, and had fun together. So maybe the personal attention was nice, and she wasn't as scared as she had been before about her advances. It was nice to just have fun, to be touched, and to feel beautiful. It was harmless. It was healing.
"I was hanging out with Talia, Deeks."
"Oh." He seemed surprised and relieved. If only he understood what that really meant. "She's pretty cool, right? Nice to see you two getting along."
"Maybe you should join us sometime," Kensi blurted out. Wow, that was not the right thing to say at all, and it was definitely a horrible idea. There was no way he could find out just how well she and Talia were actually getting along. She remembered the way he looked at the two of them during their last case together. It was either his greatest fantasy or his worst nightmare, having them fawn all over him. Maybe a little bit of both.
"Ha, yeah…" He laughed uncomfortably. "Maybe."
Luckily she knew Deeks well enough to understand that maybe meant no.
They never talked about Deeks in the beginning. Kensi didn't ask if Talia had felt a connection with him the first time they worked together. Talia didn't pry into the extent of Kensi's feelings for her partner. When they were "hanging out," as Kensi referred to it, all drama was avoided. They compared guns and knives and scars and crazy bosses. Kensi won all of those categories but the scars. Just like Deeks, Talia had bullet holes.
As hard as she tried, she couldn't stop herself from comparing the two. She was confused and it wasn't fair to either one of them. Kensi wasn't gay, that much she knew for sure. She liked women, she discovered, and she liked Talia. She was happy with her. But she also liked men, and loved Deeks. Their movie nights had started becoming more comfortable and frequent again. Their scars were healing. She had a connection with both Deeks and Talia, but the feelings were very different.
Over time, it got to a point where Kensi couldn't avoid talking about Deeks anymore. The mentions were few and short, but Talia's reaction was very telling. It wasn't jealousy per se, but more of a brief flash of sadness. When she kissed Kensi, she did it like it meant something. Like it was real to her, even if she thought the feelings weren't returned. Kensi was using her, and they both knew it.
"So what's the actual deal with you and Deeks?"
Kensi was almost asleep, snuggled up tight under her comforter while Talia twisted curls in her hair. The question from behind her ended her hopes of sleeping anytime soon, though. She sighed and rolled over. "What do you mean by deal? We're partners, friends. He's my - he's my best friend."
"Yeah, I get that. It's the same song and dance both of you always do." Talia propped her head up on her hand. "Though it's better than the brother-sister bullshit he tried to pull on me before I got him to admit that you two had sex."
Kensi narrowed her eyes. "Come again?"
"Maybe after we talk." Talia winked. "So was it just the one time, right? Neither one of you want to admit that it happened. He's pretty hot, so you must have had your reasons. It was bad, wasn't it?"
"No…"
Talia held up her pinky. "Little dick?"
Kensi rolled her eyes. "Appropriately sized dick."
"He didn't go down on you?"
"You're very nosy, do you know that?"
"So he didn't."
"He did," Kensi growled. "And it was good. The dick, his mouth, his hands, every fucking thing was good, okay? We just have issues."
"That's one way to put it." She dropped her eyes to the bed. "Being in love with someone you work with, it always leads to…issues."
"What did you say?"
"Look, don't you think it's about time we stop avoiding the obvious?" Her tone was teasing, but Kensi could feel the tension radiating from her…whatever Talia was to her. "You're in love with him. Not me."
The weight of the guilt she'd been carrying for weeks sat heavy on Kensi's heart then. It would be wrong for her to lie and pretend that this was more than just a summer fling. Granted, this was unlike any fling she'd ever had before but when it all boiled down to it, this was just another example of how she operated. Never open enough, never real enough, never devoted enough. There was only one person she could be all of those things with. She knew it, and Talia knew it.
"I'm sorry," she simply said.
With the truth out there now, Talia smiled and shoved Kensi's shoulder playfully. "Don't go acting like you broke my heart," she said, because sometimes joking about the truth makes it feel less real. "Friends?"
"Friends." Kensi nodded and smiled.
They didn't speak again for nearly a year, but acted as if nothing ever happened when they met up again. Talia flirted with Deeks, but not as much as she flirted with Kensi. Deeks relished in every second of it while being none the wiser that his wild ideas of the two beautiful women were much closer to the truth than he could have ever imagined.