It was a clear, cool morning, wherever these woods were in Virginia.
Deeks thought of the comfort of his bed, and the comfort of his partner next to him, his dog Monty wandering around the house, wi-fi for his smartphone, air conditioning...at least he had Kensi, and he knew Monty was being cared for by Sam. The cool breeze moving through the woods was a nice change-up from southern California, and it was good to unplug from the web once in a while.
He knew, however, the first thing he'd do when he got back to the Navy Yard was ask Abby for his phone back.
Right now, here he was, out in the middle of nowhere, learning how to cut wood for the first time in his life. So far, he managed to miss the first piece of wood completely; spend five minutes with Gibbs reteaching him how to swing an ax; and split five more pieces down the middle afterwards.
"Yes!" Deeks said excitedly. "I'm already a pro at this...betcha Callen and Sam don't know how to chop wood like this." Deeks stacked another piece on the stand, took a swing and split the piece right in two. "Ding ding ding, 'let's hear it for MARTY DEEKS!'"
He sensed her presence before she spoke, before she started her long, slow, clap. Deeks turned, raised his arms - and ax - in triumph, and grinned at his lover. "Check this out, Kensalina."
"Nice job, Paul Bunyan," said Kensi, ending her clapping only after Deeks lowered his arms.
"You like the 'brawny' look, Kens?" Deeks said, stroking his chin. "I could grow out the beard when we get back to LA. Complete the look."
He flexed his arms, and Kensi walked over and gave his bicep a squeeze, then cocked her head and looked at him. She loved him, dearly, and was glad for a lighter moment before the uncertain conversation they were sure to have with the man who owned the nearby cabin: Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Kensi wasn't sure Gibbs would push his Rule 12 on them, but she was ready to go the distance with the legendary agent, punch for punch, if she had to.
"What?" asked Deeks, whom Kensi was sure was as ready as she was to defend their 'thing' - and go on the offensive if need be.
"Your hair is more Shaggy from Scooby Doo, Vance made you shave while we're here and," she said, giving his bicep another squeeze, "you need another 30 pounds of muscle."
"Another 30 pounds?" Deeks said, flexing for his princess. "I will have you know, Kensi Marie Blye, that I am a finely-honed, 180-pound machine of steel and sex appeal." Kensi rolled her eyes, good-naturedly. "Kensi, it is not I who needs to roid up to look like Mr. Brawny, it's HE who needs to tone down and tone up to look like ME."
Deeks flashed that smile of his, and Kensi couldn't resist wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a long, long kiss...nor letting her hands wander a bit.
"Whoa!" Deeks said, after Kensi touched a certain body part. "How many of Gibbs' rules did you just break?"
"I know we just broke twelve - again," she replied. "Probably all of them."
"Gutsy, agent Blye," Deeks said, as his hand found its way to her waist. "The boss is in that cabin, you do realize?"
"Oh, I do Deeks, and so do you," she said. "You ready to stand up to the ol' bastard, detective Deeks?"
Deeks' eyes grew wide for a moment. "Like I said, you know he's over there, right?"
"Yeah," Kensi replied. "We've worked with Granger. With - for - Hetty, for years. Gibbs might give Granger a run for his money, but he can NOT intimidate anyone like Hetty can, right?...right?...Deeks?"
"Sometimes, Kensi," Deeks whispered, "I think we may have met Hetty's match."
"No we haven't," Kensi said. "Gibbs is a lot of things - good things - but he can't outdo Hetty in the intimidation department. And he can't glare us into walking away from each other."
"No he can't," Deeks replied, then sniffed. "You smell something?"
Kensi sniffed. "Just the woods - God, it's so fresh out here - and coffee. Which Gibbs was making when he sent you out to chop wood."
"No, I smell eggs, and steak," Deeks said.
"Now that you mention it, I smell it too," Kensi said. "Smells delicious."
"You know, I should get back and try to finish this job before he's through in there," Deeks said, wrapping his arms around Kensi. "Before I do...let's see if we can break Rule 12 another minute or so."
Deeks reached down and gave Kensi a deep, passionate kiss.
"Deeks, that's taking Rule 12 and putting it thru the shredder," she whispered.
"I thought that was the last night we were in LA," Deeks said, as Kensi threw her head back and chuckled.
"Wonder what other rules of his we've broken here in Washington? For real…" Deeks added, as he and Kensi reached for each other's lips a third time.
"Rule 23, Deeks, when you drank my coffee and replaced it with that crap you and DiNozzo drink," they heard Gibbs say, three feet away.
"Sorry, boss-"
"Sorry, Gibbs-"
"Rule 6, both of ya," Gibbs said. "'Never say you're sorry, it's'-"
"-'it's a sign of weakness'," both said in unison.
"Breakfast is ready," Gibbs continued. "Put the ax down, 'Shaggy'" - Kensi chuckled at the reference, then wondered how much of their conversation the man had heard - "I'll show ya both how to chop wood later on. Right now, we're gonna eat."
"Smells delicious," Kensi said.
"Eat up," Gibbs cautioned, "cause we've got a lot to talk about after."