"Nell and I have had the best idea," Eric greeted everyone as he ran down the stairs from Ops, Nell close behind him.
"Please tell me that that's your call for a case today," Sam said.
It was never a good thing when Eric and Nell came up with these 'best ideas'. Well, they weren't exactly bad but they were definitely weird. And Sam could do without any more weird in his life.
Unfortunately, the universe didn't listen to him because when did it ever listen to him?
"We were thinking," Eric said, looking to Nell with this big grin on his face.
Sam couldn't help but wonder if it was possible for his stomach to sink any further?
"That we should all celebrate Hallowe'en this year," Nell finished.
The team stared blankly at them.
"You mean decorations?" Callen asked. "I guess we could pull out the old holiday palm tree. Stick some cobwebs on it."
"I saw pumpkin lights in a shop by that taco truck you insist from eating from," Sam added.
Hetty probably wouldn't properly appreciate it but it would make a cool holiday office decoration. But, as fun as that would be, the feeling in his stomach didn't go away.
"Yes, that would be cool," Eric said. "But that's not what we were talking about."
Of course, it wasn't.
"And what were you talking about?" Kensi asked suspiciously.
"Couple's costumes," Eric said in a tone that implied he thought that it was obvious.
And Sam's gut feeling was right. Kt normally was but it was very much so this time. Couple's costumes? Really?
"Couple's costumes?" Kensi asked, a faint look of disgust on her face.
At least she agreed with him.
"Aw, come on, it could be cute, Kensalina," said Deeks, looking far too eager about this. "You love dressing up."
"I still don't like knowing that," Sam told them.
Because he really didn't. He could have gone through his whole life happy that he didn't know that. Unfortunately, that was not to be but did it have to keep sneaking its way into conversation?
"You tease me about it so you can't talk," Kensi said indignantly, a faint red tinge to her cheeks.
He teased one time about her liking to dress up as a wench or whatever. One time! And she wasn't even with Deeks then. This was different.
"Don't want to know any more about it," Sam told them, holding a hand off in an effort to stave them off.
Not that that worked. Deeks was looking between the two of them, a look of curiosity on his face.
"When did Sam tease you? He normally tells us off for bringing up stuff like that."
"Because you guys are meant to have rules about that sort of thing," Sam grumbled. "And I really don't like hearing it."
"Yeah, you said that."
"Ahem," Nell coughed pointedly. "Back to the idea."
Sam would really rather not get back to the idea.
"That's something couples do," Callen complained. "Sam and I aren't a couple."
"Me and Kensi are. So are Nell and Eric," Deeks pointed out unnecessarily.
"Means you're outnumbered," Nell added.
"Doesn't mean we have to do it." Callen turned to his partner. "Help me out here Sam."
"Yeah, we aren't doing it," Sam said decisively.
Unfortunately, Eric and Nell were not deterred. In fact, this seemed to make them even more convinced that they should persuade them to do this. Fantastic.
"Aren't you partners?" Nell tried to coax.
"Last time I checked that doesn't make us a couple."
Sam even folded his arms to make sure his point was getting across. Very serious of him. Too bad none of his team thought so. He sighed to himself. What was the point of being an ex-Navy SEAL when nobody was in any way intimidated by it?
"It will be fun," Deeks said. "Right, Kensi?"
"Oh, why not," she said with a shrug.
Sam glared at her. He had been depending on her being a voice of reason with him. They would have outnumbered the pair, him, her and Callen. He didn't trust Deeks not to side with them.
"You guys are the ones who got dubbed 'The Old Married Couple'," Kensi reminded them.
"Still not doing it."
"Sam doesn't want to dress up with you, Callen." Deeks called over to their team leader.
"I am okay with that."
Deeks pouted. Callen was unaffected by it making Deeks pout harder. Kensi patted his shoulder sympathetically but there was an amused look on her face.
"Oh!" Eric said, looking even more excited (if that was possible). "We could make it a competition! The coup- partners," he amended hastily on Sam's glare. "The partners with the best costume win a prize!"
"Like what?" Callen asked with narrowed eyes.
No, not G. He was supposed to be against this!
Eric's face fell. "Uh, I don't know. But it could be something!"
"Really convincing," Deeks said sarcastically. "But, we're in."
"We already were in," Kensi told him.
"Yeah, but now we're even more in."
She just shook her head at him.
"How about winners get to dump their paperwork on the others?" Callen suggested, always looking for a way to procrastinate on his paperwork.
"Can't." Nell said, shaking her head. "Eric and I can't do your paperwork."
"It's probably against some sort of rule or regulation," Sam said, trying to dissuade them.
"We'll come up with something," Eric promised.