A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews! I'm astounded that so many of you are responding positively to this story, it truly makes my heart sing and my fingers type faster XD Also thank you to my Tumblr followers who follow this story, remember that I post previews of the chapters before I post here!
So this chapter has refused to write itself and I have literally put my brain thru hell to get my mojo back XD But hey, this is a fun chapter. Figured we needed some fun after some of the angst these therapy sessions have given us.
DISCLAIMER: Kensi, Deeks, Callen, Sam, Hetty, Eric, and Nell are sadly not my creation. As if I'm that original!
"Um, Kensi, I hate to ask, but why are you blindfolded?"
"It's a long story, Callen."
And it has certainly been a long day for Kensi Blye, no thanks to her very satisfied partner who is standing beside her holding her hand.
Earlier that day . . .
Kensi swears that if the lips of her partner, pressed lazily and most likely subconsciously (she doesn't want to think about if they're not) against the back of her neck, don't move within the next ten seconds, she is going to, for lack of a better term, freak out. She shifts slightly, hoping to slip out of the arm he has draped over her waist, but he mumbles sleepily and pulls her closer. His lips remain on her neck.
Does he even know the definition of boundaries? It's not that Kensi minds the fact that he's a cuddler, she's known that ever since Christmas a little over a year ago, when Deeks had remained at her place after dropping her off from their volunteering, claiming that he wasn't about to leave his partner alone in her state.
No, the cuddling is fine. And that is exactly why it's a problem. Kensi should have a problem with it, she needs to have a problem with it. She should elbow him in the gut and force him back to the left side of the bed. She should bat away his head and threaten him with severe punishment if his lips ever get near her neck again.
But she simply can't.
That's dangerous.
Like the dream she had last night. Oh my God if he knew what happened in her re-imagining of their little match on this very bed . . .
Her thoughts are interrupted by a loud ringing sound that just about makes her fall off of the bed. It rouses Deeks too, and Kensi breathes out a sigh of relief when his lips finally move from her neck.
"Who calls someone this early?" he complains sleepily, punctuating his question with a yawn.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I have called you in early," the therapist says.
She's right.
Kensi's feeling awfully grumpy today. Not only did this uptight lady wake her up from a very pleasant dream she won't allow herself to recollect for the sake of her sanity and because Deeks would very quickly figure out what she had dreamed of, but Deeks is very nice to be with when he's asleep. He doesn't talk, he just lies there and cuddles his head into the crook of her neck and . . . his lips . . .
Oh shoot, he's grinning at her like he knows . . . oh God, she thinks he knows.
"May I help you?" she hisses at him. He merely grins.
"Did we do something wrong?" Deeks asks with a yawn. Their therapist smiles warmly at him. Kensi thinks she plays favorites. Deeks is such a suck-up. He's the sweet one, she's the realist. Shrinks always love the sweet ones, right?
"You, Mr. Clarke, are doing great." She turns to Kensi. "You too, Miss Garcia." Does Kensi detect a note of reluctance?
"You woke us up to compliment us?" Kensi asks blandly, hands balling into fists.
"I wouldn't dream of it," the therapist replies with a warm laugh. "I have an exercise for you to do today. And in return, you won't have to come to me this afternoon."
Kensi glances over at Deeks. More time for their check-in with Sam and Callen. Which means more time for Kensi to break cover completely and give Deeks payback.
"Fine, what is it?" Kensi asks.
"Miss Garcia, it's obvious that you trust your fiancé with work matters, but personally, I can still see some tension. It's almost as if you two aren't even a couple sometimes." They exchange a quick glance. "For your marriage to last, you will need to build trust in everything you two do together. You will need to move as one and develop a rhythm. In my experience, in order to speed things up a bit and show the couples what they need to work on, this exercise tends to work the best."
"Are we doing a trust fall?" Deeks asks. Kensi elbows him.
"No, but it's definitely along the same lines." The shrink motions to Deeks. "Follow me, Mr. Clarke. We need to discuss to rules of this exercise."
"This has to be her most ludicrous idea yet!" Kensi hisses as Deeks guides her out of the office, her eyes shrouded by a tight black blindfold. "How can I investigate this damned case if I can't see a thing?" Deeks grins at her.
"Like the shrink said, you'll just have to trust me."
"Oh my God," Kensi moans, burying her face in her hands. She stumbles on something, she assumes it's a rug. "Deeks, you're supposed to stop that from happening!"
"Sorry, didn't know you were that helpless without your eyes," he snickers. "Just listen to the sound of my voice . . ."
"I'm going to kill you."
" . . . of my voice . . ." Deeks continues in a light sing-songy voice.
"And that stupid shrink."
"My voice!" Deeks whispers right up at her ear, and Kensi uses her years of NCIS training to whip around and punch him in the general area where is gut should be. "Christ, Kens, any lower and you would have hit," he wheezes, "Unfamiliar territory."
Kensi laughs and feels around his back till she finds his jacket collar and pulls him up. "Well I'm not feeling very adventurous today, so maintain our cover and take me back to our cabin."
"Always wanted to hear you say that," Deeks says, his voice nearing her face slightly, "Except usually when I pictured it you were in sexy hiking gear and the moon was shining and-"
"Deeks?"
"Right, sorry. Let's go home, sugar bear." He takes her by the arm and pulls her into him, she feels his chuckle as she awkwardly steps into his half embrace.
"This will be a long day," she mutters to herself.
"On the contrary, light of my life," Deeks says, "They say that time flies when you're having fun."
"And you think this is fun? We're supposed to be investigating a homicide, not having fun." She can sense Deeks' grin.
"Well I think this therapy thing is doing wonders for us. Never thought I'd get to have Wonder Woman in my arms." She feels his face close to her ear, his breath sends a shiver down her spine as he whispers, "-blindfolded."
"Let it go," she warns, "Or I will find a way to hurt you."
"Is that a threat or a promise?"
"Deeks!" She bites her tongue, hoping nobody was close enough to hear her slip up.
"You mean Christian," he says cheekily. Oh, the things Kensi would do to him if she didn't have this blindfold on.
Oh wow, that sounds wrong.
And yet she finds her mind flashing back to their little wrestling match on their bed last night. In the midst of it, Kensi's mind had been solely on getting her side of the bed. It was purely a dominance thing, instinct. And had instinct instigated her dream?
That sounds wrong too. She has really got an issue here.
But afterwards, after they had decided to dig deeper into Bianca Jackson the next day and report their findings to Sam and Callen when they dropped by for a check-in, Kensi had started to think. And she realized all of the different ways that not-so-innocent game of hers could have ended. She could have kissed him. He could have kissed her. She could have-NO, she is not letting her thoughts drift that way when he is-oh shoot, he's so close to her and she'll kill him if he knows what she's thinking about.
"No snappy retort, Kens?" he asks, "Whatcha thinking about?"
"Nothing!" she answers hotly and far too quickly.
"Oooh, that sounds like a guilty nothing," he says, sounding like a little girl who just heard about a new Barbie doll coming out. "What is it? The attractive retreat worker from yesterday? That one scene from Titanic?" He suddenly stops in his tracks, forcing Kensi to as well. "Oh, I know."
"What?" Kensi snaps, patience waning. She just wants to get back to their cabin where she can sit down and not have to be seen in a state like this.
"You're thinking about having your kinky way with me."
That does it. Kensi rams her arm into Deeks, sending him flying to the ground. Only then does she realize the predicament she has left herself in. She glances around, but it does nothing to help her, all she sees is black. She hears Deeks get up, but instead of coming to her he remains wherever the hell he is.
"Christian-" she calls, feeling annoyance building up in the pit of her stomach.
"Hey babe, how are you?" She turns towards the sound of his voice and tries to walk towards it but stumbles over a bump in the path. She can hear his snicker as he shuffles around her.
"Christian, please just-"
"Oh no, Carmen, I'm liking this. My fiancé: needy-"
"I'm serious." She makes a lunge for where she last heard his voice, but he's moved by then and she only grasps thin air.
"-desperate for me to just come over and-" Oh God, for her own sake she cannot let him finish that thought out loud. She stands her ground and folds her arms.
"I'll take the blindfold off," she threatens. Her threat has the desired effect because he mutters something about her being no fun and she soon feels his arm around her waist. They begin walking again, when suddenly Kensi thinks of something.
"What did she talk about with you?" she asks.
"Who?"
"The therapist," Kensi clarifies.
"Oh, her? Yeah, she just told me when you could take the blindfold off, how to best guide you-"
"I can take the blindfold off?" Kensi asks. "When?"
"Potty breaks," Deeks says with a grin, "And that's basically it." Kensi stops.
"That's it?"
"Yup," Deeks says, popping the "p".
"What about meals?"
"I get to feed you," Deeks replies. She can hear the satisfied grin in his voice.
"There is no way I'm letting you feed me," she says.
"Fine, but I'll have you know that today's lunch is chicken noodle soup. Good luck eating that on your own."
"What about showers?" she asks, changing the subject.
"The therapist assumes we're engaged, and that as an engaged couple we already shower together sometimes, so-"
"Don't finish that, I'm showering alone."
"Whatever you say, honey, but if you need any help, remember that I've already seen you in a towel, and as your fiancé I will always be there when-"
"If you keep going, I will not hesitate to kick you right in the-"
"Oh that's hilarious," Deeks mutters, chuckling.
"What?" Kensi asks.
"From where we're standing, I can see Sheila Martin being led around by her poor husband, blindfolded just like you." He laughs. "Listen closely, to your left." Kensi cranes her neck to the left.
She had no idea those words were in Sheila Martin's vocabulary.
"Well that's odd," she murmurs to Deeks, "Looks like Sheila has an angry streak." Deeks' hand on her waist suddenly starts to drift lower. "That hand better have a destination that's appropriate."
"Bianca and Craig are approaching from behind, hun-bun. I'm just-"
"Maintaining cover? Yeah, sure," Kensi snorts.
"Believe what you want."
"I will," she huffs.
"So you want to believe that I'm getting all touchy feely? Naughty, naughty-"
"Shut up or I will make sure you do."
"Again with the promises caked with innuendo. I likey. And I'm not the one feeling my partner up while claiming it's just because she's blindfolded."
"You're thinking with the wrong body part."
"I do that a lot." His hand moves to the small of her back, sending shivers down her spine. "And you do too." Kensi gasps in indignation.
"I do not!"
"You did in therapy today. Don't know what exactly you were thinking about but your eyes were kind of glazed and there was a little bit of drool-"
"Hey, Carmen, Christian!" Kensi hears Bianca's airy voice from behind, just as Deeks said. "I see you guys got blindfolded too."
"Yes, and we're enjoying every minute of it," Deeks replies lightly, likely with a wide grin. Bianca laughs.
"Oh I'll bet."
"Are you blindfolded too?" Kensi asks. Deeks snickers.
"Turn around, babe." Sighing, annoyed, Kensi does so. Bianca laughs again.
"You two are so funny!" she gushes.
"Mostly me," Deeks says, "She's cute, and I'm funny." Kensi feels Bianca's hand on her shoulder and is grateful for the gesture that indicates she is talking to her. Besides, that is the only thing keeping her from throwing a blind punch at her partner.
"Craig is blindfolded. The shrink thinks he needs to have more faith in me," the young woman says pointedly. Kensi bites her lip, thinking that poor Craig has every reason to not trust the woman.
"And I think we could have done something else," Craig interjects.
"Tell me about it," Kensi mutters. Deeks moves his arm to drape it over her shoulder, squeezing gently. She turns her face in the general direction of Bianca's voice.
"Talk to you later?" Hopefully not in interrogation.
"Of course! Good luck today!" Bianca calls, her voice getting farther away. Deeks presses a kiss to her hair and it takes a lot of Kensi's self-control to not hit him or jump ten feet in the air. Even though she'd like nothing better than to lean into him a little more . . .
Stop it, Kensi!
A kiss to her head should not affect her like this, after all, she's kissed him before. And even though it threw her a little (or a lot) these little gestures of intimacy Deeks keeps pulling are really starting to get to her head. How the hell can they be so easy for him?
Nope, her mind is not going there again. She wishes she could see if Deeks is studying her face. He probably is.
"Callen and Sam should be here in about two and a half hours" Deeks murmurs finally, "What should we do?" Kensi sighs.
"We're supposed to head back to the cabin," she reminds him.
"To shower?" Deeks asks, snickering. Kensi throws her arm at him, not caring what she hits, but he catches it. "Easy, Wonder Woman, trust your fiancé."
She wishes he would stop saying fiancé. It reminds her, as much as she hates it, of Jack. Nobody has used the term in reference to her since then, and the word does not have positive connotations anymore, at least not to her. Fiancé is not set in stone, and she knows it better than most women. She knows it is not fair to compare Deeks to Jack, especially not in an undercover situation but she can't help it. Trust your fiancé, he said. Easier said than done.
"Kens?" His voice has lost all trace of teasing and carries only concern.
"I'm fine, Deeks," she says dismissively.
"Fine?" He knows what fine means. She knows that he knows.
"Fine," she confirms. "You know what, I changed my mind. Could you take me to the lake?" Deeks laughs out loud.
"You want to kayak again?"
"No," Kensi clarifies firmly, "I'd lose my patience and gag you with my blindfold."
"Charming." His laughing dies down. "So what do you want to do?"
"Rowboat. We can talk in the middle of the lake about . . . things." He catches on.
"Okay, princess." Kensi blushes slightly. She'll never admit it out loud, but out of all of the outrageous nicknames he's used for her, princess is one of the ones she minds the least.
"How far are we?" Deeks thinks for a moment.
"We can be there in five minutes," he says, but Kensi is not convinced.
"Really?"
"Yeah . . . if you let me carry you." She's silent for a long moment, wondering if her fiery eyes will burn through the blindfold.
"What?" Kensi deadpans. Deeks laughs nervously, but it's clear he has thought this out.
"If you let me carry you, I can get us to the lake in five minutes. Promise."
"How long if you just guide me?" she asks. "Like a normal person?" Deeks snorts.
"At our current rate? Get real, Kens."
Kensi weighs her options. On one hand, having to spend God knows how long with Deeks' hand exploring her waist and tripping over this and that sounds like a nightmare, but on the other hand, being carried by Deeks while blindfolded sounds like a nightmare for her hormones. And what's to keep his hands from exploring anyways? Depends on what kind of carrying he's planning on doing- bridal style or carrying her on his back.
"Fine," she finally relents, "-but if your hands begin to-"
"You're obsessed with my hands, aren't you?" Deeks interrupts, undoubtably with a grin on his face. Kensi wishes she could throw a punch aimed specifically at his mouth.
"As obsessed as I am with your hair," she replies, voice dripping with sarcasm.
He ignores the sarcasm. "And my ass." Not that again.
"Deeks-"
"Okay, okay, I'll stop. You just make it so easy," he chuckles, sweeping her into his arms. Bridal style. Of course. She wraps her arms around his neck and rests her head on his chest. She's tempted to press a kiss there but she can't summon the courage. Not even for their cover. Because she only wants to do it for their cover. That's it. He begins walking, a slight spring in his step.
"Wonder why Craig would have problems trusting Bianca," Deeks jokes.
"Yeah," Kensi agrees quietly, too lost in her own mind to listen. "You know what I don't get though?"
"Why you're blindfolded and not me?" Deeks guesses, not missing a beat. Wow, creepy.
"Yes!" Kensi says indignantly, "I trust you!" With my life.
"I don't think it's that," Deeks says, "Well, maybe a bit, but that's not your main issue." Kensi frowns.
"Then what it?" she asks.
"Your obsessive, compulsive need to always be in charge. You don't trust anyone else to do things as good-"
"Well."
"-Well as you can." Deeks pauses for a moment, then adds, "You trust with your brain, not your heart."
"Why didn't you just bring this up with the shrink?" Kensi asks, exasperated.
"Did you want to stay in there any longer?" he asks her. She remains silent.
"It's not like she could have helped anyways," Kensi says after a while, "After all, she doesn't know that we're just partners."
"Yeah," he murmurs distantly, "Just partners."
For the next few minutes, Kensi only feels the gentle bump of Deeks' walk and hears his casual breathing. She finds herself growing incredibly relaxed and before she knows it, she's dozing off.
She's first aware of the fact that she's blindfolded, and her instinct tells her to prepare to fight. However, instinct is completely dumbfounded by the next thing she grows aware of: she's not being held captive, she's being held. Literally. By strong arms that feel all too familiar. She jerks her head up in surprise and feels the slight rumble of his chest as he chuckles.
"Welcome back, Princess."
"Deeks?"
"Who else would I be?" Kensi, still not completely awake, tries to stand up and shrieks slightly as the ground beneath her wobbles. Deeks catches her by the waist and guides her into a sitting position. "Easy, easy," he says gently, putting his arms around her to hold her in place.
"Where are we, Deeks?" she asks, still feeling slightly uneasy.
"Rowboat in the middle of the lake. Pretty romantic, actually."
"Shut up," she mutters, and finally wakes up completely, shaking her head. Deeks chuckles.
"Ah, there she is." She would roll her eyes, but it seems pretty redundant.
"How long have I been out?" she asks. Deeks lifts his arm from its perch on her shoulders, likely checking the time on his watch.
"About an hour and a half," he says. "Don't worry, you're actually very cute in your sleep." Kensi blushes slightly.
"I am?" she asks, hating how borderline girly her tone sounds.
"Yes," Deeks says, "You say things." The blush leaves her cheeks as Kensi goes pale.
"What?"
"Yeah, very interesting things." Oh, he's enjoying this way too much. Kensi racks her brain for ways to fight blindfolded in a boat.
"Like what?" she grits out of her clenched teeth. She can feel her partner's devilish smirk. His arm goes back over her shoulders and his fingers begin tracing little circles on her collarbone.
"Let's see . . . I believe 'Oh Deeks' came out once or twice, oh and 'Please, Deeks'. You really love my name. I don't blame you, I mean it really does roll off the tongue-"
"De-" She catches herself and starts over. "Shut. Up."
He laughs, and try as she might she can't stop herself from laughing too.
"Did I really say that though?" she asks when they've both regained their composure.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Deeks murmurs mischievously, and as Kensi opens her mouth to press the subject, he speaks. "Callen texted me while you were asleep. He and Sam should be arriving soon. They'll be here soon and they'll meet us at the crime scene."
"Well then start rowing, Mr. Clarke, Kensi says, shrugging off his arm. "I don't like being late." Deeks stands up, telling her not to move and topple them over and begins rowing them back to shore.
Later that day . . .
She cannot believe he is making her trudge through the woods that have tripped her up enough without being blindfolded. At least he's given up on carrying her, now he is legitimately trying to help her walk on her own and to her surprise, it's actually working.
"Overgrown root about two steps to your right," Deeks says, guiding her gently to the left. She takes one more step to the left and turns towards his voice.
"Am I good?" she asks.
"Yeah, you're good for about ten steps," Deeks responds, and Kensi nods her head, stepping forward and gripping his wrist tightly. After about five steps, Deeks holds her back.
"Step to the right, you're drifting." She does so, and they continue forward in a similar fashion for the next ten or so minutes. She finds the woods relaxing, removed from the crazy couples and the mysteries, just her and her partner.
"Step forward about ten paces."
Kensi jumps at the unfamiliar voice and Deeks steadies her, but then something registers in her mind. "Sam?"
"Right over here," he replies from somewhere ahead of her. She hears Callen's cough.
"Um, Kensi, I hate to ask, but why are you blindfolded?"
"It's a long story, Callen," she replies. Deeks chuckles.
"Our therapist thinks Kensi needs to trust me more," he informs the two likely amused agents.
"I'm surprised you haven't killed him yet," Sam says with a smile. She snorts.
"I've come close," Kensi replies, "Now Deeks, take this thing off already, I need to see them." Deeks makes an odd whining noise but complies, untying the tight black blindfold and pulling it away.
For a few moments, all Kensi can do is blink rapidly as her eyes adjust to the muted light of the forest. She glances around and finally her eyes settle on Deeks, who is looking very nervous.
"Think she'll do it?" Sam asks Callen, who grins.
"Who do you think will win?" he asks, looking between Deeks and Kensi, who begins to approach Deeks with deliberate slowness.
"My money's on Kensi," Sam decides.
"Mine too," Callen agrees.
"Thanks for the support," Deeks says, backing up slowly. "Now Kens, don't do anything you'll regret . . ." She continues stalking forward.
"Tell me, Deeks, what do you think is a decent payback for the things you've done today? I considered gagging, but I bet you could still talk through that, huh?"
"You can have the right side of the bed!" Deeks offers.
"I'd take the couch if I were him," Callen murmurs to Sam.
Kensi rolls her eyes and turns away from Deeks, instead going over to Callen and Sam. "Deeks and I did some digging last night, and we think that Bianca Jackson and our vic were having an affair."
"Eric informed us," Callen says. "We're looking into it. I want you to try and talk to her. Lucy too. Branch out, both of you. The primary goal isn't fixing your partnership, it's-"
"Solving the murder. We know, Callen," Kensi finishes. Deeks casts a sideways glance her way and she meets his gaze, her eyes dead serious. He studies her for a moment, but unlike Deeks his eyes don't probe beyond the walls she has up. He finally nods.
"Alright. We'll do some digging into Jackson in LA and have Eric send you our findings. I can also get you a few warrants to search the cabins for the murder weapon. Keep it up, looks like your cover is still intact. Anything to add, Sam?"
"Keep him on a tight leash," Sam says pointing at Deeks. Kensi grins at looks directly at Deeks as she replies, her words, like many of hers today, both a threat and a promise.
"Will do."
I never realized how much I relied on visual details to improve the flow of my writing until this! Anyways, review review! And for all of my American readers, Happy 4th of July, in case I don't post tomorrow.
-Gab
