Author's note: I do not own NCIS:LA or its characters
Fatima groaned and sat down at her desk. It had been a long day, and now she wanted to sit and draw for a bit. She opened her sketchbook and set it down after wiping her desk down, then pulled out her favorite colored pencils. She found a charcoal pencil and sharpened it quickly, then began lightly sketching on the paper. After a few minutes, she decided that it was too quiet, so she started playing music from her phone. She smiled and began drawing again. After about thirty minutes, she selected a few colored pencils from the selection on the table. Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Fatima? It's me, you, um, left your bag in my car," he said shyly. Fatima blushed and put her sketchbook on the top shelf.
"Just a second," she replied. She quickly put all the colored pencils in their respective boxes, then put them under the desk. She opened a drawer and pulled out a hijab, then put it on and opened the door shyly. "Hi," she said sheepishly.
"Hey. Everything okay?" he asked, noticing her shy look.
"Yeah. Everything's great," she replied. Devin nodded.
"Okay. Good," he said. He handed Fatima the gym bag, then raised an eyebrow. "Something feels off. You sure you're okay?" he asked.
"Tree, I'm good. Do you want to come in? I can put on a movie," she offered. Devin smiled.
"That feels more like it. Of course," he replied. Fatima stepped aside and allowed him to walk in.
"Door stays open," she said as Devin was closing the door.
"Sorry. Still getting used to the new rules," he said, opening it again. He went into the room and sat on the bed, careful not to move the book nestled in the covers. He'd learned his lesson after the last time, when he'd accidentally tossed one of her Religious Studies books to the floor, without realizing what he'd done. It had taken him hours of apologies and begging for forgiveness before he felt okay again. She'd been upset at first, but calmed down quickly. He was always careful to not move anything in her room without permission after that. Fatima grabbed her sketchbook and colored pencils, figuring she'd go back to her drawings.
"You can put on whatever you want," she said softly.
"80's movies?" he asked. Fatima smiled.
"Sounds good," she replied. She started coloring her picture in quietly, relaxed by the feeling of her boyfriend so close to her. Devin stood up and went over to her, then wrapped his arms around her.
"What're you drawing?" he asked. Fatima blushed and smiled.
"Kensi's knife," she replied, blushing softly. She showed him the page and smiled softly. Devin put his lips to her head and smiled.
"I like it. Picasso," he said softly. Fatima blushed and smiled. She smiled and stood up. She took the sketchbook and walked over to the bed. She took the book and set it on her shelf, then sat down and patted the bed next to her. Devin sat down and put his arm around her shoulder, smiling softly.
"Um, some of these are a little rough. I have another one," she said, pulling a second sketchbook out from under her bed. She opened it and moved closer to him as she showed him the first page. "I started drawing when I was in Egypt. I drew about missing LA, my team, you know?" she asked softly.
"Yeah. Fatima, you're really talented. I love this," he said softly, gently tracing the paper. Fatima smiled softly. She put her head on his chest and turned the page. Devin gasped softly. A figure sat in the middle of the page, curled up in a ball. The woman had brown hair all over her face, and her wrists were tied. There was a small pile of clothes on the floor, and a pool of blood under the woman. She sniffled and closed her eyes.
"I did this on the way home from Egypt. Um, is it okay if I don't talk about it anymore?" she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. Devin could see the raw emotion all over the page, and he completely understood why she didn't want to talk about it. She flipped through a few more pages before she came across a yin and yang with two faces. Fatima smiled. "I drew this for Leilani's birthday. Me and her, yin and yang, best friends, a part of each other," she said quietly. Devin smiled.
"Is it okay if I touch?" he asked. Fatima smiled.
"Don't smear it. This one is really special to me," she said softly. Devin smiled.
"I won't touch then," he said gently. Fatima smiled and flipped through a little more. Most of the drawings were simple drawings, like flowers or a sunset. She also had detailed drawings, like the gun she carried and her favorite knife. She even had a few religious symbols scattered throughout. Each drawing was articulate and colored very carefully, and it was obvious she'd spent a lot of time on each. Devin picked up the second sketchbook and looked at her, as if he was asking her permission. Fatima nodded a little, then opened it for him. He smiled as they flipped through the drawings. Then, he came across a picture of two people kissing. Fatima blushed when she realized he could see the date she'd written on it. 9/8/2021 was written in the corner, in a black watercolor pencil.
"Us. The day I realized how much I care about you, I drew that," she explained quietly. Devin smiled and kissed her head.
"I love you," he said softly. Fatima smiled.
"I love you too, baby," she whispered. Devin smiled softly and took her hand in his. They spent the rest of the night going through her sketchbook, sharing stories and getting to know each other better. They were exhausted when they woke up the next morning, but neither regretted the rabbit hole of memories they'd went down.
