"Ugh, who wore this last?" Kensi asked with a frown as she pulled a Kevlar vest over her head. It slid right down her chest and dropped with a thud at her feet. "Sam?"

"Yeah, probably," Sam replied, holding up the vest he had grabbed that he couldn't even get over his head. It was cinched as tight as it could go.

"Yep, that's mine. Trade." Kensi tossed her vest to Sam. Before Kensi could catch hers, Deeks, from his position beside her, reached out and snatched the vest from mid-air.

"You are tiny," Deeks said, in his attempt to pull Kensi's vest over his head. He managed to squeeze his arms through, barely, and they stuck outlike a scarecrow. Half his face was covered by the top half of the vest, the bottom half stuck securely over his pecs. "Uh, I'm stuck."

"Deeks, come on," Kensi said, exasperated. "We've got somewhere to be."

"You're an idiot," Callen said as he buckled his gun belt around his waist.

"Hey!" Deeks objected. Kensi sighed and moved to unbuckle the side clasps on her vest.

"The buckle's stuck," Kensi ground out between clenched teeth, fingers growing red in exertion as she tried to unclasp the buckle.

"Why don't you just loosen the straps?" Sam asked, logically.

"Kens is th' onl' one who kn'ts the str'ps wh'n sh' wears it," Deeks mumbled beneath the Kevlar blocking his face.

"What?" Callen asked. Kensi sighed.

"Once I adjust the vest I knot the straps at the clasp so it doesn't slip. What he means is you're not going to get them undone. They're pulled too tight." Kensi went back to working at the buckle. "Callen?" Callen rolled his eyes and walked around the table, moving to Deeks' other side in attempt to unclasp the buckle.

"Sam, can you pull it off his head?" Callen asked, struggling with the stuck clip.

"I can try," Sam muttered with a sigh, looping his big hands through the shoulder straps and tugging.

The doors to the armory slid open and Nell walked in.

"Guys! What are you doing? Eric told you to gear up and meet us in Ops 10 minutes ago!" Nell put her hands on her hips, upset, before realizing what was going on. She squinted her eyes. "What on earth...?" Kensi sighed.

"Deeks decided to put my vest on, and now he's jammed the buckles and we can't get it off." She glared at the mop of wild blonde hair poking out from the top of the vest, then drove her fist into Deeks' side.

"Ow-owwwww," Deeks whined, doubling over in pain.

"Got it!" Callen exclaimed from Deeks' other side, pulling the previously stuck buckle away. Deeks dropped his left arm, rolling his shoulder. "Just push it over his head."

Kensi pulled the vest on her side and popped it off. She popped the right buckle now that there was no pressure on it, and slipped it over her head.

"Thank you!" Deeks said, running his hand through his hair.

"Guys! Get up to Ops before Mosely blows a gasket! What are you doing?" Eric ran inside, tablet clutched in his hand.

"Long story," Kensi muttered as she clicked the buckle of her gun belt into place. Deeks slid his Kevlar over his head, grabbed his gun belt, and they filed out and up to ops.