I was going to make this a super quick one shot, but there will be a part two. (And possibly a part three- but we'll just have to wait and see, I'm not entirely sure yet.) I hope you all enjoy, please let me know if I should continue! We pick up right at the tail end of 5x03, and carry on from there. :)

-Hazel

"...I thought earlier you said that today I get to choose the restaurant."

"But that was lunch. And now it's dinner."

Deeks nodded, amused as his partner turned to walk away.

"…For dinner we're going to do-" she paused briefly to dance. "-bulgogi."

They strolled out of the bullpen, walking side by side towards the exit. "Okay. Your logic is super flawed but I'll go as long as you just stop doing whatever that is."

She wasn't swayed. "What? You mean this? You mean bulgooooogi?"

"Actually… no. Nevermind. That's great."

Kensi laughed, and the sound was nearly a giggle considering how high pitched it was.

Deeks smiled, as his partner was practically egging him on by that point. "I dig it. Keep it up."

Kensi nodded with a smirk, continuing her dance all the way out to the parking lot until they reached her car, which was parked directly beside Deeks'.

"So… can I meet you at the restaurant?" Kensi asked, leaning against the truck of her car.

"We haven't even settled on where we are going yet!"

"Yes we have. Or, yes I have. It's gonna be great, you wanna know why? Because we're gettin' bulgoooo-"

"Okay partner, I get it."

"You sure? Bulgoooo-"

"Yup. Let's not. That's still disturbing, and I'll follow you."

Deeks chuckled and ducked into his car without another word, still wearing a huge smile. He didn't necessarily enjoy driving separately from Kensi, but the ten or fifteen minutes he got to spend alone certainly gave him time to think- but whether or not that was a bad thing... Deeks wasn't entirely sure.

After Kensi peeled out of the driveway he was quick to catch up with her, trying not to speed as he followed his partner towards her Korean dinner of choice.

He was eager to eat with her, eager to talk with her, but mostly just eager to be with her. Alone time wasn't something that came often during their work day, and Deeks desperately wanted a place that was at least the tiniest bit secluded, one that might provide them a place to talk without any interruptions.

It truly was getting ridiculous- any 'moment' that they might have had in the past was almost always interrupted by one of their team members. It literally happened every damn time, and he was quickly getting sick of it.

Deeks' mind was pulled back into reality as he noticed a fairly large amount of movement coming from the car in front of him- which was Kensi's car. She looked to be enthusiastically singing along to the radio and he laughed, equal parts unable and unwilling to hold it back.

For a split second, Kensi somehow managed to lock eyes with him in the rearview mirror. She stopped singing immediately and settled back into her seat, as the woman clearly knew that Deeks had been watching her. She tried her very best not to drift off the road and keep her eyes staring straight ahead, since Kensi knew that if she swerved even the tiniest bit Deeks would never let her hear the end of it- or that was at least what she thought.

Truthfully- he wasn't exactly in a mood to tease, not really. Of course he would do it anyways, just so she wouldn't become alarmed, but his mind was having a hard time staying focused in on one feeling or emotion. Deeks' stomach was in knots, and he wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe it was because things were suddenly so different between them? He didn't have an exact answer, but that certainly seemed like the most plausible option.

This was their first dinner outing since the abduction, since the torture, since the kiss- since everything changed.

And it just felt strange, because although the differences that currently faced their relationship were substantial, both Kensi and Deeks were acting as if nothing had happened; as if planting a kiss on your partner and asking 'How's that for communication?' was totally normal.

In Deeks' mind, the kiss was supposed to be the turning point, the learning curve- the one fleeting moment that sparked something inside of them both, leaving a lingering blaze of passion and excitement behind.

But rather than saving the damsel in distress and riding off into the sunset, a wrench had been thrown into Deeks' grand, gallant plan. After the smooch he'd been abducted and brutally tortured, all to save the life of someone that he hardly even knew.

Then, instead of getting the chance to save the damsel himself, the damsel had come into the autobody shop where he was being held captive, strapped a blood bag to his chest and said "You have to stay here just a little while longer, okay?"

It wasn't the fairytale anyone had been hoping for, but it was the one they were stuck with, so Deeks just had to deal with it. Because at the end of the day, the damsel had eventually been the one to save the knight in shining armor- and that aspect of it all was integral to the storyline.

The book in question was battered and beaten on the outside, but that fact didn't matter. It still had a purpose, still had a reason for continuing. There were scars practically imprinted onto the front cover, sure, but Deeks didn't even care. It was their story, after all- and it was one filled with grief, joy, sadness, and the occasional bought of hysterical laughter. '

It was Gunpowder and Sunshine- The Story of Kensi and Deeks.' A long, complex, 800 page novel that had taken him years to even begin to decipher.

It was confusing as well as baffling, mystifying yet endearing. There were new twists and turns on every page- some good and some bad, but even with the bad parts Deeks just couldn't bring himself to close the book for good. He wanted it to continue on and never, ever come to an end- he just needed that extra inch. He needed to know what was going to happen next.

But that request was impossible, as there were no hints hidden in between the lines. No chapters that had been left unread- for their self professed 'love story' was still being written.