A/N: I am aware that this is not my best and is later than I had hoped but I thought that I should at least try and get something up. My schedule with work and University has been crazy recently. I've just been cast in a play as well as a film and so read throughs and rehearsals are taking over my time right now.
Regardless, here is some Deeks-centric fic with appearances from the whole team, enjoy!
36 - Glowing
"Dudes, you're glowing!" Eric remarked, looking back and forth between them.
For the most part, the Mission had been pretty quiet operations wise. The occasional shooting, maybe there was a missing marine but with nothing else to occupy the agents time, Hetty had begun expecting paperwork.
More paperwork than Deeks believed was humane.
Honestly, who needed to read eight sheets of paper only to sign a form for the right to fire a weapon out of a moving vehicle?
After losing several rounds of waste paper basketball with Sam and Callen, exhausting his paper aeroplane making skills trying to make Kensi smile and bugging Nell to the point where the red-head had threatened bodily harm if the detective continued his behaviour, Deeks had run out of things to do other than the aforementioned paperwork.
It was for this reason the Deeks quite literally jumped when Hetty asked the team to make contact with a man the elder woman referred to as 'The Hermit', failing to notice the looks on the other team members faces.
Three hours later, Deeks felt like he was beginning to understand why Sam and Callen were laughing so hard as he practically ran out of the Mission and into the scorching sun, dragging a reluctant Kensi behind him. Shaking his hand through his hair once more, Deeks tried to cool himself down as the summer sun beat down upon the part-time surfer and his partner.
Two hours after that, Deeks began rethinking all his life choices and whether Hetty would notice if he went surfing for a little while. The detective had been told to meet this reclusive fellow on the beach by the street vendor, surely he could sell going surfing as part of his cover until their contact arrived. Kensi had been flitting back and forth from one of the vendors buying cold drinks all afternoon, surely he deserved some fun.
Finally, almost six hours after originally leaving the Mission, Deeks returned, holding a small envelope addressed to Hetty.
Twisting his neck from side to side, skin feeling tight, Deeks relished in the cool air inside the old building, gingerly taking of his sunglasses and watching his partner do the same.
Tight feeling, red skin, visible marks from where the sunglasses had covered their faces; there was no doubt in the matter. Kensi and Deeks had been sunburnt. Badly.
For a brief moment, neither partner spoke; instead, staring at each other and praying that they didn't look the same. Sam laughed. Callen laughed. Hetty shook her head and walked away.
It wasn't until Deeks heard the tell-tale slapping footwear descending the stairs that the detective finally looked up at the technical operator.
Barely containing his mirth at the sight of the agent and detective, Eric grasped the banister for support, willing himself not to laugh at the vision before him. "Dudes, you're glowing!" Eric remarked, looking back and forth between them.
It appeared that the ex-SEAL by this point could no longer contain himself. Slapping Deeks on the back, not sympathetic at all to the wince from the detective at this move. "I know what you mean, Eric, they're looking a little rosy to me."
"Shiny," Callen offered.
"Sun kissed?" Nell suggested having descended the stairs from Ops to see what all the fuss was about.
"This is all Deeks' fault!" Kensi yelled, gesturing at her partner, "Some just couldn't stay in Ops and had to go meet the Hermit!"
"How was I to know the guy lived up to his name?" Deeks defended.
"It's still all your fault," Kensi grumbled, touching the reddened skin and wincing.
Rolling up his sleeves, Deeks grimaced at the visible line where his shirt had covered his arm throughout the day. The detective didn't know whether he was more embarrassed or annoyed that he'd allowed himself to get sunburnt; not once had Marty Deeks ever come home with anything more than slightly red cheeks after a day at the beach. The self-proclaimed surfer was mortified that he'd failed to notice the suns effects.
"I believe this may help," Hetty announced, placing a small green bottle on Sam's desk, in-between both Kensi and Deeks.
The operations manager barely had chance to move out of the way after setting the bottle down before the partners were fighting to reach the bottle.
Perhaps next time, the wise, shorter woman thought, Mr Deeks would actually choose to do the paperwork intended.
A/N2: And so there you go. I doubt anyone else out there burns as easily as I do but this is what came to mind when I saw the prompt.
Hopefully the next chapter will be a bit longer for you all and that I'll finally stop posting late chapters. I said I would finish this in forty days and so that's what I'm going to do. The final chapter for Loving You Is Like A Fairy Tale, Let's Start With Chapter One will be posted on Friday, after that, I may take a short break before starting anything else so please bear with me.
I'll leave you all with the prompt title for the next chapter, make of it what you will: Reverse.