Author's Note: Just wanted to say a big thank you again to everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed. It means a lot to me that people are enjoying my story! I'm sorry that I haven't responded yet to individual reviews, but life has been extremely hectic...I'm hoping I might be able to do that this weekend. In the meantime, please know that I value each and every comment I've gotten! Originally, I'd planned for this to be three chapters, but there has been enough new material in Resurrection and The Raven and the Swans to give me ideas for a fourth chapter...so things aren't quite over yet. There will definitely be one more chapter after this...and we'll see about whether I'm inspired enough by the end of the season to do a fifth. Incidentally, the first half of this chapter was the first of the scenes I wrote for the story, and it was actually the moment that inspired me to tackle it at all...so I have a special place in my heart for that one. Hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: Still don't own it...if I did, Densi would be canon already.
Officers Snyder and Sobatino – Wanted
Vostanik Sobatino falls into step next to his partner as they amble slowly across the boat shed's parking lot, trailing along behind Special Agent Blye and Detective Deeks who appear to be bickering good-naturedly about something he can't quite hear. Observing the pair carefully, he snorts and arches an eyebrow at Snyder. "Alright. What's the bet this time?"
The look on his partner's face mirrors his own bemused expression. Snyder looks at the pair ahead of them for a moment before glancing back and muttering. "Hundred bucks, Nick."
Nick inclines his head slightly, signaling his agreement. "Terms?" he questions.
"Easy," Snyder answers, his voice laced with cynical amusement. "You hit on her – you win if she turns you down – specifically for him." Snyder points in the direction of the lanky detective before turning to his partner with a smirk.
Sobatino can't help but laugh. "Well, I guess a hundred bucks'll take the sting out of losing out on that," he gestures in Blye's general direction.
"You're pretty sure of yourself there, partner."
"Why shouldn't I be? I win and I get the money, I lose and I get to go on a date with her." He pauses a moment, watching Blye laugh at some unintelligible comment from the detective. Apparently their friendly squabble has been resolved. He turns back to Snyder, shaking his head with amusement. "But – unfortunately for me – I'm going to win. They're not even trying to be subtle about it. There's no way she'll say yes. In fact…"
"Yeah?" Snyder looks at him, the smirk at the edge of his mouth widening as if he already has an idea of what Nick is about to suggest. This habit – these nonsense bets – are a trademark of their long partnership. They'd started them years ago on a whim simply as a way to pass the time during assignments, but now they've become the personal code of their partnership, their way of relieving the stress of tense cases with a much-needed distraction. They've been doing it so long, in fact, that Nick figures that Snyder probably can predict what he's about to say.
"Want to make it double or nothing?" Sobatino asks.
"Terms?" Snyder fires back without missing a beat, as if he had, indeed, been expecting the question.
Now it is Nick's turn to smirk. "You needle him. Mercilessly. You win if he caves and makes some sort of overt territorial claim on her." He locks eyes with Snyder for a beat. "Remember, it's got to be overt. Nothing half-assed. He's got to come out and say it, or make some sort of physical move."
Snyder laughs loudly as they draw closer to the pair in question, who are now leaning companionably, shoulder-to-shoulder against the tailgate of Blye's Cadillac, waiting for the two CIA officers to catch up. "Deal, but you do realize you're handing me this one from the start, right?"
Sobatino's smirk turns into a confident grin. "We'll see about that." He couldn't wait to collect from Snyder when he won. The satisfaction of besting his partner would almost make up for, in all likelihood, having to miss out on a date with the undeniably beautiful agent.
Oh, yes, he thinks. No matter the end result, playing out this bet is going to be fun.
Special Agents Claire Keats and Dave Flynn – Red, Part 1
"I'm just going to put it over here," Deeks says as Kensi moves back towards what Claire assumes is her desk. Claire's gaze follows the lanky detective as he hefts the large, mysterious box into his arms and moves in the direction of a tall shelving unit, teasingly calling back over his shoulder to his partner. "It's not socks, is it?"
Claire stifles a sigh at Deeks' comment. She's undeniably frustrated, though not with him. Not really. No, the real source of her frustration is standing in much closer proximity and is a good deal more ginger. Her eyes flick over to Dave. And so much more annoying.
Why did he have to bring up that rash? I try to do something nice for him and he turns it in to a joke in front of people we barely know, she thinks testily. Well. We'll see if I'm that nice to him again anytime soon.
"–pretty blatant, wouldn't you say?" her partner's voice cuts across her inner monologue, interrupting the rant she's working herself up to and it takes a few seconds for her to realize he's asked her a question.
"What?" She hates how inarticulate she sounds in that moment, but she's clueless as to what he's just said.
Dave just smiles at her – it's the smile she wishes he wouldn't use so often, mainly because she likes it just that little bit too much – and repeats his question. "Them," he says, pointing at Kensi and then over to Deeks. "The way they are with each other. It's pretty obvious there's something going on there, right? I mean you saw the same thing I did – that whole thing with the box? You can't tell me you didn't feel the tension between them, can you? It was completely clear that they have the hots for each other." He pauses for a moment, his grin widening as he looks at her. "I mean, don't you think so?"
She can do nothing but stare back at him incredulously, her feelings of annoyance mounting rapidly. He's not wrong – the signals the pair of partners from the LA-based team had been sending each other were almost embarrassingly easy to read. Now, if only Dave could see what's right in front of his own face that easily, she thinks, a touch of regret bleeding into the existing irritation she feels. Crossing her arms, she releases a slow breath before responding. "What I think," she says, unable to keep the slight edge out of her voice, "is that it's none of our business."
"Yeah, but –"
"But nothing," she fixes him with a bit of a glare now, willing him to just let it go. "Don't be a gossip, Dave."
"You've never minded befo-"
"Yeah, well, I mind now, okay?" she cuts him off again before stalking away from him, suddenly so very tired of this line of conversation. She hears him huff out a bemused burst of air that's not quite a disbelieving laugh before she's out of earshot. Nearing Kensi's desk, she smiles at the other agent briefly. "Hey, I hate to ask this, but…you don't have a cigarette do you? I really need one."
Claire sees Kensi's eyes look past her, over her shoulder, flicking over to where she knows Dave is still standing before the other woman meets her gaze again. When their eyes meet again, a flash of understanding instantly passes between the two women. Does she find us as easy to read as we found them? Claire wonders fleetingly to herself before Kensi responds, an apologetic tone in her voice. "Can't say that I do, but if you're in the market for a doughnut, you've come to the right place."
Claire shakes her head. She's grateful for Kensi's offer, but sweets won't do the trick right now. She needs something to take the edge off, and the sugar would only rile her up further. Suddenly an idea strikes her. "Thanks, but…actually…maybe I could get in some target practice? If you'll show me where your shooting range is?"
Kensi smiles genuinely at her. "I'll do you one better. I think I'll get in some practice myself – that is if you don't mind some company?" And as Claire nods in acceptance, she notices a shift in Kensi's expression. The brunette's eyes have drifted across the bullpen and are locked on Deeks, and Claire sees a curious blend of affection and frustration, mixed with a touch of disappointment, wash over the other woman's face. It's a look that perfectly mirrors what she herself feels when she thinks about her own partner. But before Claire can comment – not that she would have known the right thing to say, really – the look is gone and Kensi is totally composed once more.
"C'mon," she gestures for Claire to follow her, "it's this way."
And as Claire falls into step behind Kensi, the female agents leaving their respective partners behind in the bullpen, she takes a small measure of comfort in knowing that even though they've not explicitly spoken about it, there's someone else out there who understands the perils of falling for their partner.
TBC...