I was asked for this story and I'm hoping that this is what they were hoping for. Just a little cuteness between Eric and Callen because they deserve to have some cuteness. Also, making the team blind is fairly fun.
I hope you enjoy!
Warnings: That's all I can think of right now. Tell me if you see more!
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Callen couldn't help rolling his eyes at the amused smirk that played on his partners lips. It was an all too familiar look that everyone else on the team had been giving him ever since Hetty pointed out that they needed a tech in the field. A very specific tech actually.
And not just going in for a little bit. No, they would need this person to go undercover and gain the trust of the people that they were trying to take down. Something that could take up to a few months if necessary. It didn't matter the length of time. They needed to take them down.
Which meant that Eric was going to have to go in deep cover. Well, slightly deep. While they all knew that it was good at his job they also knew that it was easy to fluster him at times. So he wasn't going to go in alone.
That brought in Callen. Under any other circumstance he knew that it would have been Deeks or Kensi going under with Eric, but both of them already had jobs that they needed to fulfill for this particular case. That left him or Sam. Which basically just left him.
It wasn't as if he was upset about the assignment. Truthfully, he was glad that Hetty had decided to put someone in with Eric so he didn't have to try to figure what needed to be done alone. That rarely worked out well.
So they would be going undercover together. Eric would be pretending to be a weapons programmer that only cared about money while he was the hired gun that kept him safe from anyone that wanted to go after him.
Hetty had also felt the need to point out that they would be sharing an apartment together and if people thought they were together it could help their covers. It was something that Callen had done in the past often enough that he didn't question it. The rest of the team, on the other hand…
Apparently the idea that he and Eric were dating was cause for some light teasing from everyone. While he could see why they all thought it was funny he couldn't help feeling a bit nostalgic for the past they had. While he didn't exactly want it back he did still miss what they shared before.
Still it was pretty fun for him to pretend that he had no idea why the team was laughing at the situation. He couldn't wait until one of them finally broke down and tried to to explain their logic behind it all.
"I'm ready!" Eric practically yelled scrambling down the stairs a large back over his shoulders and three tablets and a laptop in his hands, "I am ready! I am good. Let's go, Callen."
"You sure you got everything?" Callen smirked standing up from his desk.
Eric's eyes went almost comically wide as he placed the electronics on the edge of the desk dropping to his knees and going through his bag. From where he was standing he could hear the younger man mutter under his breath going over all the things he had. It was such an Eric move he had to stop himself from laughing out loud.
With a shake of his head Callen made his way around his desk and stopped in front of the tech. Eric froze completely before slowly lifting his head so he was staring at him. Swallowing roughly he jumped to his feet knocking into the desk shaking everything.
Not even bothering to look away Callen grabbed a hold of the electronics before they fell to the floor. A smirk was on his lips as he held them up to the man. Eric sent him a bashful smile taking the things before he moved to fix the mess he just made of his bag.
"You sure you're ready for this, Mr. Evans?" Callen questioned as he straightened up again.
"Mr. Evans?" Eric asked cocking his head to the side looking not unlike a puppy dog, "Oh! Oh right! Daniel Evans. Weapons programmer for hire. Money over morals. And his maybe boyfriend Chris Jackson. Tests the weapons on people that try to go up against us."
"Good. Don't want to forget our covers. Let's go."
"Go? Let's… go? Yeah! Totally. I'm ready, Callen. I'm so ready. I'm-"
Knowing that the younger man would continue to talk if they didn't get going Callen started towards the front door knowing the man would follow. He didn't get far before he heard laughter as well as footsteps behind him. A smile came to his lips as he pushed the door open and started to the car.
A part of Callen expected the tech to continue to talk like he normally did. He always had loved asking every question under the sun. Instead the man sat there curled over his tablet. From what he saw the man was going over the case once more. Knowing that sometimes focus was all that was needed he left him alone as they drove to the cover apartment.
Staring at the file in his hands Callen let out a low sigh. When he had gotten a text from Sam earlier that day saying he was going to be stopping by with updates about the case he had been hopeful that they were making progress.
Instead what he got was two more bodies added to an already long list of kills and the knowledge that they weren't any closer to stopping the people that did this. Hell they weren't even sure who they were going after in the organization.
It had been a little over two weeks since he and Eric had been sent undercover and they weren't any closer to getting the information they needed. It seemed no matter how hard they tried to gain the trust of the suspects they couldn't. They were paranoid to say the least.
Which in truth wasn't all that surprising. People that dealt in weapons dealing, whether legal or illegal, tended to be a little concerned about the people they had around them. It was something they had to deal with and do their best to overcome.
It was easier said than done since the body count was continuing to grow. Having the fact that more people were being killed and they could do nothing about it was one of the worst feelings that any of them ever faced.
Feeling helpless as new names were added to a list that was already too long was almost too much to handle. If they didn't get some information soon then there was going to be many more. None of them wanted that.
Even with all of that in mind though they couldn't rush what they were already doing. If they did than the only thing that was going to happen was them getting sloppy. That would only cause more lives to be lost.
It also made it seem like they wanted something from whomever they were in talks with. Letting those people know that they were trying to hurry up the process not only took away some of the power, but made them seem more suspicious.
"Tell me Deeks and Kensi are having better luck on their end," Callen sighed dropping the file to the table and running a hand over his face.
"A little," Sam nodded pointing to the tablet Eric was reading as he walked into the kitchen, "Nell sent you what they have so far."
Eric nodded his head to Sam's words his eyes darting over the screen taking everything in. He looked completely lost in what he was reading that Callen knew the rest of the world was just background noise at that point.
Shaking his head at the all too familiar sight Callen climbed to his feet just in time to grab the back of the techs shirt before he ran into the counter. Pulling him back a few steps Callen moved in front of him and opened the cabinet knowing what he was going after.
"Coffee and way too much sugar," Callen muttered to himself grabbing the things out.
A soft hum slipped from Eric though he didn't bother to answer him. Not that he was expecting an answer. At that point there was no talking to him until he was done if the wanted him paying attention to anything else.
Pouring sugar into the coffee he grabbed Eric's wrist and pulled it away from the tablet so he could put it in his hand hand before turning back to Sam. His partner gave him a confused look before looking back at Eric. Callen had to fight back a smirk.
Knowing that the other man had no idea why that had been so easy for him to do was hilarious. It was times like this that he remembered that no one knew his and Eric's past together. Something that the two of them had decided as soon as they realized they were going to be working together.
Neither of them wanted their past to harm their present or any cases. They meant too much to the both of them for what they used to have to mess them up. Having that on their conscious was the last thing they wanted.
If he was truth, Callen hadn't actually thought that they were going to be able to work together. Yes, the break-up had been mutual, but a part of him had thought that was just something Eric said. He never could have guessed that the two of them could actually be friends after it all.
Something that he was actually more than happy about. While they hadn't worked out as a couple it hadn't been because they hadn't been in love with each other. They had just wanted different things out of their relationship.
None of that meant he didn't like having the younger man in his life. Eric had always been able to bring a light into his life that made him see everything that he was trying to fight for. Truthfully, a part of him was still loved Eric. Just more as a friend than anything else.
Which he had said to Eric a little while after they found out they were working together. The younger man had just smiled happily before going about what he was doing like nothing had happened. It made him more than happy that they met again after their break-up.
"So," Callen started leaning against the counter, "What's next?"
Slowly twisting the knife between his fingers Callen let a dark smirk come to his lips as he saw the woman across the room staring at him. An obvious shutter ran down her spine as she looked away and tucked herself ever so slightly closer to her husband.
It was an all too familiar sight that he absolutely hated knowing the was the direct cause of. He was aware that he was putting on a front at the moment in time and that was why he was being stared at in fear. If it wasn't for that he'd probably be unnoticed. Except he wasn't.
The only thing that gave him any kind of peace was the fact that he was 'scaring' Kensi and Deeks. Neither of which were actually afraid of him in any way, shape, or form. Well, Kensi wasn't afraid of him. He could still get Deeks if he actually put some effort into it.
Still he couldn't help but hope that they were going to be done with the case before too much longer. It had already been far too long and they were all starting to feel it. If something didn't change soon than he didn't know if they would keep going.
Looking away from the woman he took in the rest of the room the same dark look on his face knowing that he was being watched. The last thing he could do was lose the little bit of trust that they had been able to gain.
Sitting next to Kensi was Deeks. He held her hand his eyes darting around like he was afraid of the people around him. Across the way Eric sat in the corner of the room staring at his laptop looking completely unconcerned with what was going on around him.
Callen knew that the younger man was actually carefully analyzing everything that was being said and done. It was something that he still found pretty impressive. Especially knowing just how hard it was for the younger man to act like that. Eric had come a long way from the man that he had been when they started.
Other than the people from his team there was also the people they were investigating. It was only a small handful of people and most of them were just following the orders of the man in-charge. If he went somewhere they went.
That man was one James Cooper. Also known as… Well, that was a list of names that went on far too long. If they were right though his real name was Sean Gorganski. A native Polish man that had gotten into selling illegal weapons. At least that had been how he began. Now he seemed to be branching out into selling children to people that came looking.
That had been the reason that Deeks and Kensi had gone under as well. If they couldn't get the organization one way than they had another. And if they got it on more than one crime? They'd all go away for even more time. Hopefully, forever.
"Mr. Cooper," Deeks started nervously looking between him and Callen, "I- Um..."
"My apologizes, Mr. Davis. Do try to ignore my friend here," Cooper offered an almost snake-like smile on his lips, "His bark is worse than his bite. He is simply here to keep not only my associate safe, but you as well. You remember Mr. Evans, of course?"
"Of course."
Cooper opened his mouth to continue their conversation only to stop when his phone rang. A dark look flitted over his face for a moment before being covered with a fake smile as he got control over his temper once more.
It had been happening more and more. Almost every time that he had been in the same room as the man he saw his temper and his control slip away just for a moment. A part of him hoped that they wrapped the case up before it was lost completely.
Standing up Cooper quickly excused himself his people following close behind him. If he was smart he would have left at least two people in the room with them. He wasn't smart. As soon as the doors closed the energy of the room changed though none of them moved.
"That guy is horrible," Eric said flicking towards the door.
"Agreed," Kensi nodded her head, "Did you get anything from this meeting?"
"A few things, but mostly just more names to look up. This guy is well connected."
Hearing the hopelessness in the mans voice Callen made his way over and placed a hand on his shoulder. Sending a slight smile to Eric he motioned to the laptop. A soft sigh fell from the tech as he leaned back letting Callen read what he had gathered.
From his position he couldn't see either Deeks or Kensi, but he could feel their eyes on him. He knew that in any other situation he probably wouldn't be leaning this closely to someone and, if he was honest, he probably didn't need to right now.
He was tried though. All of them knew that it wouldn't be long before something happened and they could finally end the case, but until that did he was going to take the little comfort he could get when he could get it.
Quickly reading over everything that Eric had been able to find he hoped that the man had just missed something. Name after name of people that Cooper was in contact with filled the screen. Some of them were people they were attempting to take in with Cooper. A lot of them though were like Deeks and Kensi. People that were looking to start a family in any way they could.
"We have nothing," Eric sighed shaking his head, "There's nothing here."
"Yes, there is," Callen reassured squeezing the younger mans shoulder, "We will stop him. I promise."
Letting his eyes move up to the couple at the table he saw Kensi giving him a confused but knowing look awhile Deeks nodded his head in agreement. Sending a smile her way he stood up just in time to hear footsteps come down the hallway.
"I have good news, Mr. and Mrs. Davis," Cooper grinned tucking his cell phone in his pocket, "I believe I have found a baby for you."
Rolling his neck Callen tried to relax a little knowing he had been hunched over his desk for too long. He had spent the entire day going over every single file on the Cooper case making sure that they hadn't missed anything important.
That was a part of the job that he hated. He knew that writing everything out and making sure they didn't go too far over the line while trying to take someone down was a good thing, but it was so tedious sometimes.
It had only taken a little over two months to wrap up the case and there was a mountain of paperwork for him to go over. Something that was made worse by him being team leader. He didn't just have his own to read but everyone else's too. Plus everything that they had been able to uncover while they were working.
It didn't seem like all that much time in the grand scheme of things, but if there was one thing he learned it was the fact that one case could suddenly blow up into more than he could count in a matter of minutes. That was how this one was going.
Cooper was behind bars as was his inner circle, but he had lead them to a lot more people that they now had to go over and see if they were a victim of the man or if they had been planning on working with him
He was actually pretty proud of the fact that it hadn't taken them all that long to take him down. Yes, it was longer than any of them had wanted, but given how they had started it had ended fairly quickly.
The thing that he couldn't come to terms with was how many lives had been lost along the way. The man had only really come onto their radar because a body had been found. One that they could link to a man they were already suspicious of.
That was almost always how it started though. One or more dead bodies would be found giving them enough evidence to start a full investigation into someone. More often than not the whole thing ended with even more death that they just couldn't stop.
The end of the case more often than not brought a bitter-sweet feeling for him. As great as it was knowing that the bad guys were out of commission and couldn't hurt anymore anymore it always came at a price.
That was something that he truly hated about the job. The last thing that he wanted was to be surrounded by so much death. He knew that someone had to do it though and he did enjoy everything else that came with the job. It helped he was good at it.
"Callen?" a voice called from beside him.
Blinking a few times to knock the thoughts away he lifted his head and saw Eric and Nell standing at the entrance. It took a few moments for his thoughts to come back to him so he could focus on the pair.
Both of them looked like they had just been heading out of the building when they stopped. It wasn't until he noticed that that he realized just how exhausted he felt. Given the clock read half past midnight he wasn't surprised.
"What are the two of you doing here still?" Callen questioned looking between them, "You're usually gone by now."
"There's a lot of names that we got from Cooper," Nell shrugged sounding just as tired as he felt, "We've been going through all of them trying to put together a time line and figure out who needs to be investigated next."
"Have you found anything?"
"Not really," Eric shook his head, "Most were couples that had been turned down for adoption for one reason or another. They were just trying to start a family."
Callen couldn't help but shake his head at that. There were so many kinds and teenagers in the system that were looking for a place to call home. Hell, he had been one of them. He had wanted so badly to find some place where he felt safe.
He knew that there were people that were looking into adoption but even now it always felt as if that was just out of the range for so many. There were families that could be built if they could just get past all the tests and prejudice that were in the way.
Callen wasn't stupid. He knew that not all the people that were attempting to adopt were doing it for the right reason. The laws were in place to keep as many safe as possible. It would never deny that was a good thing that they were trying to protect everyone.
At the same time though perfectly good people were turned away all the time for reasons that made no sense. It broke his heart knowing how many could-be parents and kids lost hope in a system that seemed broken in so many ways.
"Callen," Eric muttered resting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm fine," the agent instantly replied without thought.
"Callen."
Hearing the slightly firmer tone Callen found himself looking up only to see the younger man staring at him worriedly. A part of him wished that he could brush off the concern and get back to work as if nothing happened. If it was anyone else he might have actually gotten away with it. Eric knew just how much he was bothered by the whole thing though.
With a soft smile he placed a hand on top of Eric's and gently squeezed it. After everything that had happened on the case he was glad to have a little comfort from someone that he knew understood how he felt.
That was something that he would forever be grateful for when it came to Eric. Even after they broke up the younger man didn't really need him to explain what he was feeling. He simply stayed there with him letting him know he wasn't alone.
Leaning back slightly he let himself simply feel the warmth coming off the tech. It was then that he remembered that Nell had been there too. Blinking a few times he looked past Eric and caught eyes with the woman. An almost serene smile was on her lips.
"Thanks," Callen muttered patting Eric's hand.
"Nell and I were going to watch some old movies," Eric offered pulling back and giving him a smile, "You could join us."
"Maybe next time."
"You sure?" Nell asked stepping forward, "We'd love having you there."
There was a weight in her tone that had him pausing to look at her. The smile was still on her lips but there was an understanding in her eyes that hadn't been there before. He couldn't help smiling back at her knowing she had figured out his and Eric's past and was almost asking permission.
"Thanks," Callen said staring at her before looking at Eric, "I have to finish up here. You two have fun."