Some of you may recognize this from a different story I had up. I have now hot writer's block, decided to just publish the chapters as separate little stories.
...
'That Arizona sky, burnin' in your eyes
You look at me and babe, I wanna catch of fire
It's buried in my soul, like California gold
You found the light in me that I couldn't find."
- "Always Remember Us This Way", Lady Gaga
...
The setting sun reflected fire in their eyes, rimming Deeks' baby blues in bright orange as they stood on the hot tarmac after a particularly tiring mission. Kensi stared at him behind her sunglasses, a small smile playing on her lips. Gosh, she loved that man. She just didn't know how to say it. She wouldn't admit it either, she just somehow couldn't allow herself to fall in love. Her job didn't allow it. Nearly every day she was faced with near death experiences and dangerous situations.
She couldn't put someone through that, even if that someone went through that with her every day. If something happened to her, she couldn't bear to make him suffer. She knew what it would do to Deeks if she was killed in a line of duty, because it would be the same for her if he was killed. Her heart would be ripped from her chest, an aching hole left in its place.
It would be worse if she allowed herself to fall in love.
But it was hard.
Deeks had this way of finding small sparks of light in her that she hadn't even seen in herself, pulling her from the deep dark holes of guilt she tended to bury herself in. He always knew what to say, even if he did have a hard time saying what he meant. He fumbled with his words when he spoke, as if somehow he was trying so hard to say something but maybe he just didn't know how.
She smiled at him, sadly, eyes brimming with tears. She reached a dusty hand beneath her aviators, wiping away the tears before they slipped down her cheeks, leaving damp smears of dirt behind. Deeks holstered the pistol he had been holding loosely in his hand, walking towards her. Without a word, he held out his hand from his side, a subtle invitation for her to take it.
She gave a little hop and trotted to him, slipping her hand into his. It was big, swallowing her small one. Both of their palms were covered in a fine layer of desert dust, as well as their clothes and hair. That didn't stop Deeks from bringing her hand up to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to the back of it. Kensi's cheeks flushed bright red, but the light from the setting sun masked the blush.
"Let's go home," Deeks said, brushing at some of the blood seeping down the side of his face from an injury sustained from the mission. "Arizona sucks."
Kensi huffed happily in agreement, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked towards the plane waiting to take them home. Maybe it was okay to fall in love with him. Just for tonight.