fluff is best served with tension and plot. let's see how it goes, eh? thank you all for the support :]
i don't own NCISLA, but enjoy ;]
Chapter 25
Kensi woke up to an annoying chirping sound. Refusing to open her eyes, or wake up yet, Kensi let the noise be, hoping that it would just go away. She was warm, and she was comfortable, and Kensi Blye did not want to leave her warmth or comfort; which, in this case, was in the form of Marty Deeks' arms.
The incessant chirping stopped momentarily, and the woman let out a sigh of relief.
Until it started back up again.
"Make it stop." Kensi mumbled into Deeks' chest, where her head was laying. But Deeks made no reply. She looked up to see that he hadn't even moved, much less awake. "What is it?" She demanded, looking around sleepily.
As the female agent rubbed her eyes, she realized the sound was a ringtone, coming from the phone on the side table. Without thinking, she scooted across Deeks' body until she was lying completely on top of him; his arms that had been hanging loosely around her immediately adjusted and drew her closer to him, making Kensi smile slightly. She glanced down at his sleeping face as she reached out and grabbed the demon phone that was so determined to disrupt her sleep and snuggle time.
"Hello?" Kensi yawned, answering the phone. She sleepily closed her eyes and laid her head back on her partner's bare chest, snuggling back into his embrace as she kept the phone to her ear. Deeks shifted slightly underneath her, and pressed a tiny kiss to the top of her head before lowering his back onto the pillow; being so close to him, Kensi could feel his nose do that cute twitchy thing.
I have a tendency of doing that when I'm happy. His words from their married undercover mission rang through her mind softly and made her smile.
"Uh... Kens?" Sam's voice answered.
"Hey Sam." She replied, falling back asleep without a care of what the call was about.
"Kensi, is there a reason you're answering Deeks' phone at six o'clock in the morning?" The SEAL inquired, amused.
That woke Kensi up faster than the damn chirping did.
She shot up, now half sitting and half laying on Deeks as she looked around horrified. "Deeks' phone? Wait this isn't mine?" Kensi asked.
"Nope. So tell me Kensi, why would you be anywhere near our shaggy friend's phone at this early an hour?" Sam chuckled. He was implying something, and Kensi didn't like it.
The senior agent was completely on point, but that didn't mean Kensi had to like it.
"Huh. I guess this is Deeks' phone. I thought it was mine. You know, both our phones look exactly the same, they must've gotten switched sometime yesterday." Kensi lied smoothly.
"So what you're saying is that yours and Deeks' phones got switched, and you didn't notice all last night? So if Deeks has your phone, if I call it he'll answer." Sam inquired, calling her on her bluff.
"Well, if he's even awake. You know how he gets sometimes; can hardly get him up." She laughed awkwardly.
"Kensi, I have no idea how hard it is to get Deeks up; but the fact that you must obviously know is very interesting." The senior agent teased her.
"Well when we rode to work together, sometimes he'd still be in bed when I went to pick him up; or I'd have to wait for him to get here because he'd be late." Kensi lied again.
She realized then that her partner was not one to sleep in very late; he was a surfer, and surfers rose with the sun.
"Uh huh." Sam replied, obviously unconvinced.
"Sam, you did have an actual reason for calling me, or well I guess you wanted to talk to Deeks since you called his phone... that just so happened to get switched with mine." The female agent winced at how feeble she sounded.
"Well I was calling because we've got a new lead on this damn case. I'm not saying get here now, but we need you and Deeks to come in a little sooner than 9:30 this morning. Eric called me a little bit ago, and me and G are gonna check out a couple things and we'll keep you posted; okay?" Sam explained.
The case the SEAL referred to was the same case they'd been working on for over a week now; the number of murders had increased, and everyone had been on edge.
"Yeah, alright. If it's not urgent, I'll still need to take a shower and get ready. But if you guys need us now we can be ready in thirty, forty-five minutes tops." Kensi replied seriously.
"Oh, we can be ready that soon?" The SEAL teased again.
She groaned in response. "Sam, you know what I meant."
"No, Kens actually I don't. Please explain." Sam chuckled.
"I meant that I'll call Deeks, and tell him to get ready." Kensi said through her teeth.
"Yeah. So if G and I drop by your place you'll be there. Because you're not with Deeks, right?" The man asked.
Kensi hoped the momentary panic she felt didn't show in her voice. "Of course I will be at my apartment." She said firmly.
"Will be?" Sam chuckled, and she got almost feel the man grinning over the line.
"Sam. You know what I mean. I am at my place. I am not with Deeks. Why would I be with Deeks this early in the morning? It's far too early to try to deal with him." Kensi emphasized.
"Alright, if you say so, Kensi. Hey I'm gonna go, I'll see you in a bit." Sam replied.
"Uh, yeah. Sure." She agreed, hanging up.
"I'll see you in a bit?" Kensi mumbled to herself, slowly lowering the phone. A knot had formed in her stomach; Sam sounded like he at the very least suspected something between her and her partner, and she wouldn't be surprised after the conversation they'd had if Sam didn't know something for definite.
The thought wasn't sitting well with Kensi.
"Someone on the phone, babe?" Deeks asked lowly, sleepily; breaking her out of her thoughts. Kensi looked up at him, still halfway asleep and not very comprehensive yet.
He must not have heard any of the conversation. Kensi thought.
"Uh, no, Deeks. Just go back to sleep." She told him softly, brushing hair away from his face.
"Mkay." He nodded slightly, a smile on his face as he fell back asleep.
Kensi let out a slow breath and ran a hand through her hair. She needed to get out of Deeks' apartment; if Sam really did drop by, she had to be there. Kensi couldn't let Sam, or anyone else at OSP for that matter, know about how her relationship with Deeks had changed into an actual relationship.
She carefully slid out of Deeks' arms, trying hard not to wake him; Deeks grumbled as he turned to try and catch her before she slipped away. But she managed to evade his grasp and his hand fell on the bed, making Deeks nuzzle unhappily into his pillow; Kensi was fairly sure he stayed asleep through the whole exchange, and let out a breath of relief at that.
The female agent quickly gathered clothes for the day, her makeup and toiletries bag, quickly checked on Leo, and drove away from Deeks' apartment without a second thought.
Deeks woke up to an empty bed. Where Kensi should have been lying in his arms, there was a pillow he was snuggled up to. He looked around, confused at this development. Deeks had never woken up after Kensi; she loved her sleep and he rose early.
"Kens?" He called out.
No answer.
Deeks turned over to look in his bathroom, thinking maybe she was in there and didn't hear him.
But he didn't see her.
The shaggy agent jumped out of bed, his sweatpants hanging low on his hips, and looked around his room. There was a distinct lack of Kensi, and it made Deeks' stomach drop uncomfortably.
"Kensalina?" Deeks called out again.
But yet again he got no answer.
Panic suddenly flooded Deeks as he hurried down the hall to Leo's room, throwing open the door in his haste.
The room was empty.
Deeks' just heaved as he struggled for breath. Kensi wasn't there, Leo wasn't there. Deeks was all alone.
No... Not again... Deeks thought desperately.
Rachel had left sometime in the night years ago, and had taken Leo with her; leaving Deeks alone in their house with the same panic filling him as it was now.
But Kensi wasn't Rachel, Deeks told himself. She was so much better than that woman is. He hurried to the kitchen, half hoping Kensi would be there, but she wasn't.
The man could feel his heart breaking again, and his hands shook horribly. Kensi had taken her clothes –his floor was surprisingly bare for the first time in weeks- and her makeup bag –his bathroom cabinet had been practically empty; she didn't just go out to grab coffee or donuts before coming right back.
She hadn't intended to come back that morning.
And where was Leo? Deeks thought. That scared him almost half to death; Leo was the center of his world, followed by Kensi, and Deeks didn't know what he would do if he lost Leo again. And he didn't even have a clue as to what was going on.
Tears stung in Deeks' eyes as he looked around his empty apartment, a sense of abandonment filling his chest again. It had occurred too many times in Deeks' life.
A sudden noise from the living room broke through his thoughts, and Deeks immediately ran into the other room. Sitting there in the recliner was Leo and Monty; the two struggling to sit in the chair without it tipping over.
The air in Deeks' chest released with a whoosh at the sight of his son. Even if Kensi had left, Deeks at least still had Leo.
"Leo... little man, what are you doing?" Deeks asked desperately. He walked over to his son and picked him up into his arms, rocking them back and forth.
"Oh hi Daddy! Monty and me was gonna watch some 'Pongebob!" Leo explained.
"Oh... you were being so quiet I thought you weren't even here." Deeks chuckled, attempting to ride his eyes of the tears threatening to fall. As he held his boy close the sense of abandonment lessened slightly, but he still couldn't help but wonder where his partner was, and why she'd taken all her stuff with her.
"I here Daddy! But why Kens no here. I wooked for her but she not here." Leo replied.
"Yea, uh... Kensi had to go take care of something." Deeks told the boy.
"Oh." The three year old nodded, losing interest in the conversation and attempting to wiggle out of his father's grasp.
"I'm gonna hurry up and get ready, okay buddy? You want some cereal or Pop Tarts?" Deeks inquired, trying to get the morning to feel somewhat regular. The man felt horribly off, and he wasn't sure what he could do to fix it.
"Pop Tawt!" Leo exclaimed, scrambling into the chair next to Monty. The dog shuffled slightly and laid his head on the little boy's lap; the two had become almost inseparable anymore.
"Coming right up, buddy." Deeks smiled slightly, before walking into the kitchen.
As he got ready that morning, Deeks couldn't help but check on Leo a few times; just to make sure he was still there.
Turned out Sam had just been kidding about showing up at Kensi's apartment. She'd drove over there as fast as she could, and roughed up her apartment a little; throwing clothes everywhere and putting out a few plates to make it seem like she'd been there the whole time.
But Kensi couldn't fix the strange feeling she had as she walked around her apartment.
This place no longer felt right to her; her bathroom was too big, when she sat on her bed it felt too soft, the entire apartment was entirely too quiet.
It drove Kensi slightly nuts.
Everything felt wrong and Kensi hated it. She hated that she couldn't feel at home in her own home anymore.
The woman couldn't figure out when exactly she had stopped thinking of her apartment as home, changing the definition to a fuller, louder, apartment with a little boy, a dog, and Deeks. Truthfully, Kensi couldn't remember the last time she'd slept in her own bed.
As she got ready, Kensi kept waiting for Deeks to walk in and grin at her, or for Leo to start running around the house in search of one specific toy that no other toy would equate to at that moment.
But neither of those things happened, to her dismay.
Kensi had always thought of herself as incredibly independent; she hadn't needed anybody for so long. However, now it felt like she needed Deeks and Leo to be in her morning routine; it felt so wrong not being with them.
But when Kensi reminded herself of Sam's possibly not so teasing words, and the thought that he knew about her and Deeks, she squashed that need down. If Hetty or Granger found out, everything would change.
Kensi wasn't the best with change.
She'd gotten ready and made herself some coffee. But when she tasted it Kensi realized it was incredibly old and nasty; making her dump out the entire pot. Deeks would've made fun of her for not even being able to make decent coffee.
But she'd left Deeks at his apartment, Kensi sighed.
Sam never showed up, so Kensi got in her car and drove to OSP. As she pulled into the lot, Sam's Challenger pulled in right behind her.
The senior agents got out of the car and Kensi grabbed her bag before walking over to them. "Hey guys. Anything happen with the lead?" She inquired.
"We got a little information that could be useful." Callen replied, before glancing around. "Where's Deeks?" He asked as the three walked into the bullpen.
"Uh, still at his apartment I guess. I didn't ride with him." Kensi shrugged nonchalantly. Or so she hoped.
"Really?" Sam smirked at her.
"Yeah. Really." She replied cautiously.
"I'm gonna go talk to Nell and Eric real quick; give them this information." Callen told the two before walking off.
Suddenly the doors could be heard opening and footsteps echoed through the tunnel, signaling Deeks' arrival. Kensi looked up just as Deeks entered the bullpen, and noticed the tension in his shoulders; it was barely noticeable, but Kensi had become an expert on reading him, so she noticed.
And it bothered her.
Why was he so tense? She asked herself.
"Morning!" Deeks announced, attempting to sound cheery.
"Hey rookie." Sam replied.
"Hey Deeks." Kensi greeted.
His eyes cut towards her, and for a second they were full of too many emotions for Kensi to process at once; it looked like anger, fear, rejection, all mixed in with the usual awe he had around her. "Hey, Kensi." He replied after a moment.
Kensi.
Not Kens, or Kensalina.
Just Kensi.
Something about it didn't sit well with her, but she attempted to push it from her thoughts and get back to the problems at hand.
"Oh, hey Deeks I think our uh, phones got switched or something. Sam called you but it was actually me, and it's really funny actually." She laughed that horrible laugh as she hurried over to him.
"What?" Deeks inquired, completely lost.
"The phone you have is actually my phone, and the phone I have is actually your phone. And I need it back." Kensi said slowly, trying to perform to kill Sam's irritatingly correct suspicions.
"What are you talking about? This is my phone." Her partner narrowed his eyes at her.
She rolled hers and grabbed his phone from his hand and made a show of switching them around. "See? That is your phone and this is my phone!" Kensi exclaimed, the triumphant grin on her face completely fake.
"Uh, okay. Thanks?" Deeks replied, it coming out as more of a question than a statement.
"Hey Sam! Come up here a second will you?" Callen called over the banister.
"I'll be right there, G." The SEAL yelled back, getting out of his chair.
Sam looked at Kensi and shook his head, grinning slightly. "I'll be back." He said, before heading upstairs into OPS.
Kensi let loose a breath of relief, allowing her shoulders to sag as she leaned against Callen's desk. When she glanced up at Deeks, he was giving her a puzzled, irritated look.
"What's up?" She asked.
"What the hell was all that about? I had my phone." Deeks said.
"Well, Sam called you this morning, and I didn't realize it was your phone so I answered it. But then it hit me that it was early in the morning and I was answering your phone! So I made up the lie of our phones getting switched so Sam wouldn't know why I actually answered it." Kensi explained.
"Why didn't you just say something like Leo insisted on you staying for dinner last night, and that we were exhausted and fell asleep on the couch?" Deeks inquired.
Kensi paused. "Oh... well, yeah I guess that would've worked too but..." She shrugged.
"Where were you, this morning?" Deeks asked cautiously, his voice strained.
"At my apartment." Kensi replied simply, walking around her desk and sitting down; shuffling through some papers.
"Your apartment? Something suddenly wrong with mine?" He asked.
Kensi's head snapped up, making sure no one was listening. "Will you watch it? We're at work, someone might hear."
"So let them. I don't care." Deeks replied firmly.
"When I was talking to Sam implied that I wasn't at my apartment and that he might drop by just to see if I really was, so I made sure that if he did I would be there. But he didn't and now he won't suspect anything is happening." Kensi shrugged.
"So you just left early this morning, just to make sure Sam doesn't know we're –" Deeks said slowly, but was interrupted.
"Deeks!" His partner exclaimed. "We are at work. Here we are partners in crime solving, okay?" She explained.
Deeks looked hurt, and Kensi couldn't figure out why. "Okay, yes, Deeks. I left this morning. Why is that such a big deal?" She asked.
"I woke up alone, Leo was hiding in the living room so I didn't even know he was there. And it..." Deeks shook his head as his voice cracked slightly. "You're not the only one that's woken up to find their partner was gone. To wake up and find themselves alone." He finished firmly.
Kensi's eyes widened as she remembered; Rachel had left him in the middle of the night and taken Leo. If he couldn't find Leo and she obviously wasn't there...
"Deeks..." She sighed sadly, realizing what she'd done.
Suddenly Callen and Sam came rushing down the stairs and towards them. "That lead led us to an address of the suspect. We gotta go, now." Callen said firmly.
"Right." Deeks nodded, following them.
Kensi hesitated for a moment, worried about Deeks. But when the three men walked off she hurried to catch up to them.
Sam and Callen took the front entrance of the warehouse, and Deeks and Kensi took the back; they slowly made their way around back, when Deeks spoke for the first time since they left the bullpen twenty minutes ago.
"Why did you freak out so bad? So what if Sam had shown at your apartment and you weren't there?" Deeks asked.
"Well then he'd put the pieces together; I wasn't at my place and I answered your phone. Fill in the blank Deeks, where else would I be?" Kensi snapped.
"And? Is it really such a horrible thing, being with me?" Deeks inquired, pain dripping from his words.
"Deeks... it's not that..." Kensi shook her head as they got into position, waiting on Callen's orders.
"Then I don't understand Kensi. Yes, we didn't want them to know at first. But it's been a couple weeks. We've shown we're still kickass partners. Why else would you try so hard to keep it a secret?" The shaggy man said.
"I..." Kensi shook her head, unable to communicate her intentions.
"Am I not enough? Afraid of what Callen and Sam will say if they find out?" Deeks guessed.
Before Kensi could object the comms turned on and Callen's voice filled their ears. "You guys ready?" He inquired.
"Ready." Kensi replied.
"Alright then. On my go...now." Callen called out, and the four burst into the warehouse; guns poised and ready for action.
"We're clear back here, Callen." Deeks announced
"Copy that." Callen replied, and the comms clicked back off.
The two slowly made their way towards the front of the building, when Kensi turned to her partner.
"Deeks, you are enough. I don't want you to think that." Kensi said firmly.
The man sighed and looked around. "Kens, we can talk about this later."
"No, I mean it, Deeks. I want you to know you mean so much to me." She told him.
"But not enough to be honest with our team, our friends, about us... Not enough." Deeks said sadly.
"Deeks.." Kensi started.
Suddenly, a gunshot rang through the warehouse. Deeks automatically tensed up and raised his gun, but the man almost dropped it when he heard the gasp of pain come from right beside him.
Deeks turned in time to see Kensi fall to the ground, blood pouring out of her. "KENSI!" He yelled desperately.
dun dun dunnnn.
xox