She'd been weird around him all day.
It started this morning when she slipped out of bed without so much as a kiss. She'd showered while he slept and she'd woken him up by throwing a cushion at him. Not entirely unusual for them but still, she hadn't even said anything.
He'd showered and strolled into the kitchen where she was sitting at the counter, sipping a mug of coffee. She'd poured him a mug as well and it was sitting a by the coffee machine. He'd leaned in to kiss her cheek and mumble a soft 'good morning' against her skin and she'd stiffened slightly at the contact. It was almost imperceptible and she'd recovered quickly, smiling and listing into him slightly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders from behind in a gentl hug.
Later that morning in the car he'd reached for the radio presets.
"Don't." Kensi admonished, sharper than necessary.
He'd leaned back in his seat, hands up in surrender.
"Sorry." She'd apologised sheepishly. "I ah, I really like this song."
He's looked at her skeptically. Her attempted cover had been weak at best.
He had been just about to confront her when she'd pulled the car into the OSP parking lot. She'd stopped the engine and turned to face him. They'd developed a bit of a routine when it came to going to work and even her less than normal demeanour didn't seem to be changing that, at least not yet.
"Ready?"
He'd shaken his head and grinned at her, crooking a finger to summon her closer. She'd come and he'd kissed her lips gently. This was how they left their relationship at the door.
"Now I'm ready. Let's go save the world."
And save the world they had. With Sam's life hanging in the balance, the return of Thapa, and the Threat-of-the-Week commanding their full attention there had been no time to deal with their own domestic issues. The awkwardness between the two partners was tabled and they'd acted professionally, or as professionally as they'd ever acted, until it was over and Sam was in a critical but stable state.
With the day's events being what they were it wasn't until they pulled into Deeks' drive and Kensi didn't kill the engine that Deeks was reminded of the morning's awkwardness.
"You're not coming in?" He asked.
"Ah, not tonight." She edged, avoiding his eyes.
"You sure? I have Rocky Road ice cream in my freezer and I'm more than willing to join you in a bath." He tempted, eye brows dancing.
"Rain check?" She requested, biting her bottom lip.
"No."
His blunt refusal caught her attention and her head snapped to face him.
"What?" She asked, slightly flustered.
"I'm not accepting your refusal to come in." He said stubbornly.
"Deeks, I hate to break it to you but it's not exactly something you can stop me doing." She retorted, just as stubbornly.
"We need to talk."
"Do we?"
"We do." He stood his ground. "What's got you in such a tail spin Kensi?"
"Just because I want to spend a night at home alone doesn't mean I'm in a tail spin." She air quoted. "It's healthy to have a bit of space from each other."
"True, but it's not healthy for our relationship if you're holding back. You were weird all morning and it kinda freaked me out. I've been wracking my brain to think of something I could've possibly done but I'm coming up blank. I feel like you're upset and if it's something I've done… throw me a bone here Kens, especially after a day like today."
She sat with her hands on the wheel, conflicted. He could see it on her face. She was fighting her internal monologue. There was a part of her that just wanted to run, to flee and to get over it herself but there was also the part of her that knew she needed to stay, that was telling her to be bold.
"Just, come inside for a bit and talk to me. If you still feel like leaving after we've talked it out, I won't stop you."
Kensi tilted her head to look at him.
"Okay." She agreed softly, turning the key and opening the car door.
It was only fifteen minutes later when she sat on the edge of his couch, fidgeting her fingers in her lap. He sat at the other end, turned to face her.
"So…" He tried to prompt her. She remained silent for a beat and he was about to say something else to move the conversation along when she opened up.
"I don't know if I want to get married Deeks." She said it so abruptly Deeks was taken aback.
"Ah…"
"I just, I love you. You know that. And I know that you love me but I don't know. I mean, I know I was engaged to Jack but I was a lot younger then and honestly, I had no idea what it really meant to be married to someone and if I was going to get married it'd be to you but I just don't know. I might change my mind, the idea might grow on me but I know that it's something you really want but what if I can't give that to you and especially now it just feels really sudden and really early and…"
He reached forward and put a hand on her knee to cease her rambling.
"What are you talking about? Where did this come from?" He searched his mind for a time when marriage had been mentioned, hell, they hadn't even been across a married couple in the past few cases they'd worked.
"You. This morning." She looked up at him and confusion was painted across his face.
"You were talking in your sleep and you just…"
Realisation dawned on his face as she explained.
"Kens," He pulled her hands from her lap and cradled them in his own. "It's okay. I mean, yeah, marriage would be nice but I have no plans on proposing any time soon. We've been together officially for two months. That would be moving way too fast. Remember, ten years you've got to put up with me to deserve my hand." He cracked.
Her face relaxed a bit and her lips tugged up into a slight smile.
"Once you've earned me you can do what you want with me, marry me or not. I don't care." He winked at her playfully.
"You don't?"
"It's just a piece of paper." He shrugged.
"But if you're saying it in your sleep it's obviously on your mind. It's obviously something you want, at least subconsciously." She argued.
"You don't take anything I say seriously when I'm awake Kens, why would that change when I'm asleep."
She considered him.
"Good point." She conceded.
"So, are we good?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"You gonna head home still?"
She scrunched her face in mock thought.
"I would but there's no more ice cream in my freezer. We finished it the other night."
He grinned widely and stood, leaning forward to kiss her lips.
"I'll go run the bath."
A/N: Thanks everyone who like, favourited, followed, reblogged, and reviewed the first chapter. 20 reviews for 500-odd words is pretty incredible so thank you so much! I know we know a bit more about the scene now but I still wanted to finish this off.
Thanks for the awesome reviews: Hoosier65, Jess26, bookdiva, Rach, BlueTights, clumsyraine, anonkp, homegrownoregano, DensiLovestory, dawnpritchard66, DensiShipper, LaJoyMechell, SadieGrace, Heather9979, gremlin2318, ReadtoRelax, lynnannie, and the 3 guests!
