A/N: Once again, thanks to everyone who has read, favorited, reviewed and shown their support! If you want to read new chapters sooner, I post every chapter on my tumblr (ejzah) every Sunday before adding them here.
"Looks like someone got lucky last night," Callen commented, glancing up briefly to smirk at her.
"Shut up. Not that it's any of your business, but no one got lucky last night," she insisted, rolling her eyes at her teammates.
"That's too bad. So why are you all chipper and bushy tailed?" She grinned at Sam as she sat down and started logging into her laptop.
"I had a good workout." And a good morning text from Deeks, but they didn't need to know that. He'd been busy prepping for a debriefing the last couple days, so she hadn't seen him for most of the week. It was a little disconcerting how easily she'd gotten used to spending time with him.
"Uh-uh, that doesn't explain the glow in your eyes," Callen insisted.
"It's called exhilaration. I ran five miles today," she said. It had absolutely nothing to do with Deeks calling her Kensalina before he signed off last night. Sam flexed his muscles, his shirt straining a little.
"That's nothing. You want a real workout, I run at 5am every single day til 6am. Then I do a 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 50 crunches. Sometimes I switch it u with a lifting routine," he bragged.
"Every day?" Callen questioned. "Isn't that poor tradecraft?" Looking deeply offended, Sam scoffed.
"I don't workout out in the same location every day. You know I'm a member at multiple gyms and some days I run outdoors. There's nothing wrong with my tradecraft."
"I still think you should mix it up a little more." Sam sat back with his arms crossed.
"I mix it up plenty. Which you would know if you ever worked out with me," he said. As they continued to bicker, Kensi let out a sigh of relief. Thank god she had been able to distract them so easily. Hopefully by the time they exhausted the topic, they'd have forgotten about her supposed dating life.
"Good morning everyone," Hetty greeted them, entering the bullpen. Sam and Callen instantly stopped bickering, glancing up as Deeks trailed in behind her. Kensi immediately straightened, catching his eye. He nodded and she had to hold back a smile.
He'd done it. She hadn't actually thought he would. Deeks pulled his gaze away before she did and as he paused beside Sam's desk she realized he was wearing the suit she'd requested. It looked even better in person.
"What are you doing here, Deeks?" Callen asked, glancing warningly at Hetty who smiled benignly.
"Let me introduce our new legal consultant," she said proudly. Sam shook his head again.
"No, Hetty, you can't be serious," he said.
"Oh, that's no way to talk to a new team member," Deeks said lightly, pasting on a careless smile. "Remember, lawyers have feelings too, Sammy." Kensi sucked in a surprised breath.
"Don't call me that," Sam said firmly, turning to Hetty. "I thought you said he declined the position."
"I said I didn't think he'd accept. Luckily for us, I was wrong."
"I'd say it's more like unlucky," Sam muttered under his breath.
"What do you want us to do with him?" Callen asked, clearly implying that Deeks was someone who needed to be carefully watched. Deeks just rocked back on his heels, apparently unaffected by their unflattering discussion of him. Kensi thought she saw the skin around his eyes tighten slightly though.
"Show him around. Perhaps Kensi wouldn't mind that particular task," Hetty said. She glanced pointedly at Kensi who shrugged nonchalantly.
"Sure, I can handle that."
"Wonderful. Make sure you give him a tour of the armory and shooting range." Now I need to share the good news with Mr. Beale so he can start creating the necessary documents for Mr. Deeks." She nodded, looking highly satisfied with her conniving and slowly left the room.
"You guys have an armory?" Deeks said after she'd left. "That sounds intense. Do you have like swords there? Some nun chucks? Maybe a couple of suits of armor?"
"Do you ever stop talking?" Sam wondered, he looked even more irritated, if that was possible. Deeks grinned.
"I'm a lawyer. One of our main skills is the ability to speak indefinitely when necessary. I was the captain of my debate team in high school."
"This isn't a joke, Deeks," Callen said seriously. "I know you did ok undercover, but that was more luck and fast talking than anything."
"You know, I'm starting to feel a little insulted here," Deeks commented lightly.
"I just think you should know the facts before you take on something you're not ready for. This job is hard. There's a reason none of Kensi's partners have lasted long."
Kensi glared at Callen, wondering what the hell he thought he was doing.
"First of all, I'm not Kensi's partner," Deeks started. "Secondly, why haven't her partners lasted-"Kensi grabbed his forearm, tugging him away before he could finish asking.
"Ok, it's time for your tour," she said abruptly, ignoring Deeks' protests. It was only after she had pulled Deeks into the hallway that she realized how familiar she'd acted with him. Hopefully Sam and Callen has been too distracted by Deeks to notice.
"Well, that went just as well as last time. I thought Sam might have warmed up to me just a tiny bit. I mean, he seemed worried about me when I almost died." Deeks managed to make it sound like he hadn't made friends with the cool kids, instead of pissing off federal agents.
Kensi turned to look at him at him, once more caught off-guard by how good he looked. Focus, Blye.
"You did not almost die. And you need to stop messing with them so much. I'm used to it now, but they're not. Sam's an ex Navy-"
"SEAL," Deeks finished for her. "Yeah, I know. He mentioned it no less than three times." His tone was slightly derisive and Kensi held back a sigh.
"Look, I know they're not super welcoming, but I swear they're good people. I trust them with my life and if you give each other a chance, you will too," she insisted. Suddenly it seemed very important to make sure Deeks stayed.
"Oh, I'm definitely not giving up yet." Deeks chuckled. "But don't expect me to lay down without a fight. I didn't get to where I am by letting people walk all over me."
"I know and I don't expect you too." They shared a smile and then she gestured to the door in front of them. "Well, here's the armory. I'm not really sure why Hetty thinks you need to see it, but I'll show you around."
Deeks wandered in behind her, glancing at the rows of rifles and other firearms. He let out a low whistle. Punching in an access code to one of the steel cages that housed a row of firearms. She carefully lifted it out.
"This is a SIG, which is what I typically carry," she told Deeks who was watching her with an unreadable look on his face. His eyes were glued to the weapon. "Want to give it a try?" He held up a hand, taking a step back.
"Ah, no thanks. I'm, uh, not really a big fan of guns," he said, reaching up to ruffled his hair. It was the most uncomfortable Kensi had ever seen him and she wasn't quite sure what had brought it on.
"Ok." She shrugged and replaced the gun on it's designated holder.
"So, uh, what are the machetes and crossbow for?" Deeks asked, raising a brow at the row of shining metal, a little out of place among the more modern weapons.
"They're mostly for show."
"Mostly?"
"Sometimes we use them for training," she explained, elaborating when Deeks continued to look bemused. "You never know what weapons will be at your disposal, so it's best to be prepared for any circumstance."
"That's kind of terrifying," Deeks decided, cocking his head like he was picturing something. "And kind of hot." Kensi forced herself not to smile
"Careful, or I'll use one of those on you," she warned and he grinned.
"Might be worth it." She knocked his shoulder, grinning back. Even when she wanted to be annoyed with him, she couldn't help but be amused by his antics.
"Oh shut up." Deeks didn't say anything else, but continued exploring, his hands tucked in the pockets of his pants. It surprised Kensi; she expected him to have a more hands-on approach. "So can I ask you a question?" she said after a few more minutes. "And do not say that I already did or I will hit you."
"So violent," he commented, apparently unconcerned by her threats. "What's your question?"
"Why didn't you tell me you had decided to accept Hetty's offer?"
"I didn't want to get your hopes up if it didn't work out for some reason."
"So you weren't working on depositions the last three nights?"
"Debriefings," he corrected with a smile. "And yes, I was, but I also was tying up some lose ends at the firm. Ray and the rest of the partners aren't too happy with me right now."
"I thought you said Ray was one of your oldest friends," she said. "He should be happy for you."
"He is, but I didn't exactly give him a lot warning about all this."
"I'm sure it will be fine."
"I hope so. He also doesn't understand why I would leave a highly successful law career to work with a financial agency that's going to-and these are his words-"pay me peanuts for twice the work"," Deeks explained.
"Tell him that it's worth the dock in pay because you'll be serving your country," Kensi suggested and he snorted.
"I'm pretty sure Ray would punch me if I said anything that sanctimonious."
"He's not as philanthropic as you?"
"No...Ray's just a lot more cynical than me. His childhood was pretty bleak and that's stayed with him," Deeks said, bending to peer at some knuckle rings.
"I think I'd like to meet this Ray, he sounds like an interesting man," Kensi said, which made Deeks chuckle.
"Ha, yeah, no, that's never happening. Ray knows way to many embarrassing stories about me."
"Even more reason to meet him."
"Not a chance," Deeks repeated, then abruptly changed the subject. "So, uh, what exactly happened to your partners?" Kensi narrowed her eyes at him. She'd let him get away with it this time, but she wouldn't forget about her growing list of questions.
"The last one, Dom, moved over to the FBI," she explained, then pointed her finger at Deeks before he could say anything. "But that was not my fault. He didn't like the constant violence that comes with this job so when the FBI offered him a position in their IT department, he jumped at the chance. Our partnership was just fine."
"You sound defensive," Deeks commented, grinning at her. They were standing side by side now, Deeks' arm brushing hers every time one of them moved.
"Maybe that's because it's now an ongoing joke. I'm some kind of Ice Queen, I scare away all my partners. I'm jinxed," she rattled off, shaking her head mockingly. "Every time somebody doesn't work out, it just reinforces it."
"I don't think you're an ice queen." Deeks turned so he was facing and brushed his fingers across her cheek unexpectedly, sending a shiver down her spine. Her lips parted as he tipped her chin up using his thumb and forefinger and slowly leaned in towards her. "You're very warm and not scary at all."
Kensi held her breath as he gently kissed her, his lips warm as they pressed against hers, his beard scraping softly across her skin. He pulled back after just a few seconds, but Kensi felt electrified. It took a considerable amount of self-control to not slam him against one of the cabinets and attack his mouth.
"Hetty has cameras in here," she blurted out. Deeks shrugged, looking down at her with a gleam in his eye.
"She can fire me if she wants. It was totally worth it," he decided.