Life For Rent

Chapter 15 : Osculate

Author's Notes :
- osculate: to kiss
- Just a note to clarify. DADT does not apply to civilians. What I meant in the last chapter is that Callen works with many ex-military and military people who might not appreciate him bringing a man with him to the party.
- I forgot if I gave names to Lindsey's parents. I went back through to try and find them but I didn't find anything, so if I did, oops.
- I think I was feeling extra sappy when writing this. Le sigh. Those who can't do… write.
- Don't own Train.
- Sorry I'm late with this chapter, I'm trying to play catch up, so hopefully there will be another chapter out soon.
- Once again, I just want to say thank you to all of you who review. I really appreciate it. =)

"Hetty!" Callen called, chasing after the short woman.

She stopped and turned, "Yes, Mr. Callen?"

Callen stopped in front of her and glanced around. There were various workers mulling about, but none that were close enough to overhear them. "About the holiday party…?"

"Yes?" She asked, looking at him expectantly.

Callen raised a hand to the back of his neck and rubbed it a little, a nervous gesture that he had tried to do away with on many occasions. "I was wondering if it would be alright to bring someone."

"Someone?" Hetty asked, raising an eyebrow. "You would like to bring someone? Why, Mr. Callen, I never thought I'd see the day," she remarked. "Of course you can bring someone."

Callen hesitated, "Even if that someone is a man?"

Hetty nodded, "Even if. I would certainly have no problem with it, Mr. Callen. There are some who might, but pay them no heed." She paused, "I would ask if your team has been informed about this?"

He shook his head, "No."

"Wonderful!" Hetty said, delighted. "I will look forward to their expressions as you and your young man enter. Might I presume it is Mr. Dassagne? I am still working on acquiring his clearance." She leaned in closer so Callen leaned down to hear her better, "But between you and me, he stands a fine chance of receiving it."

Callen smiled, "That's great, Hetty, thanks."

"You are quite welcome, Mr. Callen. Now, don't you have work you should be doing? Finding a missing Marine perhaps?"

"Just about to go do that, Hetty."

"See that you do." With that she walked away leaving Callen with a smile on his face.

He reached into his pocket for his phone. Pulling it out, Callen shot off a quick text message to Jared before stuffing it back into his jeans and heading up the stairs to rendezvous with the rest of his team.

"What should I get for Lindsey?"

"You don't have to get anything for Lindsey," Jared answered.

G looked at him. "Yes, I do. I'm getting something for her parents." He paused, "What should I get for her parents?"

Jared shifted the basket from his right hand to his left. They had been shopping for the past hour with nothing to show for it. G had felt the need to get the perfect present for Lindsey's parents and apparently Jared knew what that was. Except that every year he just got them a gift card and some cooking gadget. "Get them a cooking tool like I do."

"Then it will seem like I'm copying you."

"So?"

G fixed him with a stare, "No."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're stubborn, G?" Jared grumbled, following his boyfriend down yet another aisle.

"Nope."

Jared didn't really believe that. "Uh-huh." He sighed, "I'll put your name on my gift."

"Then they'll think I'm using you for your money or something."

"Don't be ridiculous," Jared groaned.

G stopped suddenly and whirled around to face the younger man, "What exactly do they know about me?"

"That we're dating."

"That's it?"

"That's it." Jared paused to think. "Oh, and that you like white chocolate."

"You told them that I like white chocolate?"

"Yeah," Jared nodded. "Why?"

"You just randomly told them that?" G asked, pausing to look at some picture frames.

"No, Sheila asked what you liked to eat." Jared stepped up behind G and wrapped his free arm around his boyfriend's waist, resting his chin on G's shoulder. "How about a vase?"

"A vase?" G asked, putting the photo frame in his hand back. "Really?"

"Yeah. They're those kind of people."

G relaxed back into him. "Okay. Let's go look at vases."

Jared grazed the side of G's jaw with a brief kiss before letting him go. "And I think Lindsey mentioned something about the new Train cd…"

"I'll get a gift receipt with it."

"Perfect," Jared smiled.

"G!"

"Yeah?" Callen called back from the shower.

"Why do all your clothes have your name printed in them?"

"Hetty does that!" Callen shouted over the water.

"Why?"

Callen finished rinsing his hair out and reached out and turned the shower off. He pushed the door aside and looked up to see Jared waiting there with a towel. "Thanks."

Jared nodded and went back out into the bedroom to finish getting ready for the holiday party tonight. "So why does Hetty print your name in your clothes?"

"They belong to NCIS," Callen explained, rubbing the water off of his skin.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"All of your clothes belong to NCIS?" Jared asked.

Callen scrubbed his hair with the towel. "Not all, but most."

"How much is most?" Jared asked, leaning in the doorway. He was buttoning a dark maroon shirt up. He had black slacks on and was barefoot, for now.

Callen thought about the question. "Um, ninety percent? Maybe?"

"Can I ask--" Jared paused. "Where do… what do…"

"Just say it," Callen said with a roll of his eyes. He tossed the towel over the shower door and reached for his clothes.

"Where do you keep the rest of your clothes?" Jared asked quietly.

With a shrug Callen answered, "In my locker at work. Sam has some of my stuff at his place, too."

Callen had just finished buttoning up his own black pants when two arms snaked around his waist. He looked up and met Jared's eyes in the mirror. They held a hint of sadness and Callen didn't want to think about why. Jared nuzzled his neck and sighed, "You smell good."

"It's your soap," Callen said with an easy smile.

"You should wear my soap more often," Jared murmured.

"I'll take that under consideration."

"Make sure you do," Jared breathed, kissing the side of Callen's neck.

"Didn't you get enough earlier?" Callen asked, but didn't push the younger man away.

"I'm just using it all up now, so I don't molest you in front of your co-workers," Jared replied cheekily.

Callen snorted, "They might like that."

"We're two hot guys," Jared murmured. "Why wouldn't they?"

Callen laughed and this time did pull out of Jared's grip. "I have to finish getting ready."

Jared sighed but stepped away, "Fine, fine. I see how it is."

"Are you sure you want to go tonight?" Callen called after his retreating form.

"Yes!" Jared called back over his shoulder. "There's no getting out of it, G!"

Callen sighed and reached for his shirt. One thing was sure--it would definitely be a night to remember.

Jared pulled the keys out of the ignition and turned his head to face his boyfriend. G had been suspiciously quiet on the drive to the hotel where the NCIS holiday party was. The expression on his face was unreadable as Jared reached over to grab his hand. G didn't fight him, instead, squeezing Jared's fingers tightly. "You okay, G?"

"Yeah."

"Sam will be here, right?"

"Yeah."

"And the rest of your team?"

"They should be here, too." G turned to face Jared. "I can drive back tonight if you want to drink."

Jared didn't even need to think about it, "No, that's fine. I'll stick to water or coffee."

"Hoping to get laid tonight?" G asked in a light tone.

"You know it," Jared smiled. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." There was a long silent moment where neither of them moved and Jared wasn't sure how long they just sat there, minutes, he assumed before he said gently, "You have to let go of my hand, G."

G immediately pulled his hand back, "Yes, sorry." He shook his head and pulled the door handle, opening the passenger door.

Jared smiled fondly and followed his lead, exiting the car. G met him at the driver side and hovered nervously as Jared locked the car. He settled a light hand at the small of G's back as they began walking towards the entrance of the hotel. It was lit up with Christmas lights and looked bright and welcoming. Jared leaned down and whispered in G's ear, "Relax."

"I am relaxed."

"Sure you are."

"I am," G insisted. "I do stuff more dangerous than this everyday."

Jared shuddered, "Which you must never tell me about in case I lose my mind."

"You don't want to know how I leap from burning buildings and moving cars?" G asked with a smirk on his face.

"I like to pretend you sit in a nice, safe, cubicle all day," Jared responded. "Try not to take my delusions away from me."

A porter outside the hotel opened a door for them. Inside the lobby a sign directed them down the hall to the main ballroom. There were people walking all around them and Jared's hand fell from G's back and they separated just a tiny bit. They approached the entrance to the ballroom and G pulled out his badge as they waited in the small queue to get in. Jared glanced at it curiously and G handed it to him.

"Good picture," Jared commented. He traced G's metal badge before running a finger over G's name. It was just 'G.'. He handed the badge back.

"Thanks."

"Looks recent."

"Yeah, Hetty likes to keep them up to date." When they reached the door, G flipped his badge open expertly to the woman at the door.

"Agent Callen and guest," She looked up and smiled at them. "Welcome."

"Thank you," G offered, returning her smile.

Together they stepped into the large ballroom. It was definitely different from Jared's holiday party. On one side of the large room were a bunch of tables. Some had people sitting at them, others were empty. On the other side of the room was a stage. In the middle was a make-shift dance floor, Jared spotted a DJ booth to the side of it. There were Christmas decorations strung up everywhere, a tree in the corner by the stage. A beverage station, complete with a bar, and a few tables with small hors d'œuvres sat on the opposite side of the entrance along the dance floor. Most of the people were hovering around, in the middle of the room, drinks in hand.

By unspoken agreement they both headed for the beverages and the food. They only had to wait a minute before the bartender was asking them what they wanted.

"Club soda," G ordered.

The bartender stared pouring G's drink and turned to Jared, "And for you, sir?"

With a grin at G, Jared said, "Shirley Temple."

G rolled his eyes at Jared but Jared noticed the mirth hidden in them. Both of their drinks came in tall glass glasses with straws poking out of the top. Jared offered his cherries to G who took them both and popped them in his mouth, pulling the stems out between his lips.

"No knot?" Jared asked with a grin.

"Maybe later," G promised, tossing the stems into a nearby receptacle. "I can't believe you ordered a twelve-year-old girl drink."

Jared shrugged and took a sip. He swallowed, "Still tastes great. You know you want some." He offered the glass in G's direction.

G waved it off, "I have my manly club soda."

Jared eyed him but let the comment slide. They walked over to the closest table of food and Jared picked up a small plate, handing it to G before picking one up for himself. "Looks good," he remarked.

"I have no idea what most of this stuff is," G commented. "It should come with labels." He seemed to be following Jared's lead and grabbed whatever the younger man did.

"Not that one," Jared said quickly as G reached for a small quiche. "You wouldn't like it."

"Really?" G asked, but skipped it.

"I noticed you weren't too fond of spinach a few weeks ago…"

"Oh." G paused. "It's not that I didn't really like it, but… there's spinach in that?"

"I'm pretty sure," Jared said. "I'll tell you after I've tried it."

They stepped away from the food with full plates of food and found an empty spot on the side of the dance floor. G was examining his food when Jared looked up. He almost choked on a salmon crudite and G looked at him in concern. "You okay?"

"Swallowed wrong," Jared got out. He took a sip of his red tinted drink. "Um, G?"

"Yeah?" G was holding up a crab and brie filo that Jared was moderately sure the other man wouldn't like. "What's this?"

"Crab and brie," Jared answered distractedly. "G, I think someone's heading towards us. Is it possible she's a… dwarf?"

G looked up and glanced over to where Jared was looking. "That's Hetty."

"That's Hetty?" Jared asked, trying to subtly examine the small woman heading their way.

"Yeah, why?"

Jared shrugged, "I guess when you talk about her I always pictured… I have no idea what I pictured."

"Ah," G answered. He took a hesitant bite of the filo and made a sour face. He put the rest of the pastry wrapped seafood on Jared's plate.

"Didn't like it?" Jared asked, still eyeing the approaching woman. She had stopped to talk to several people along the way.

"I like that other crab thing you made better," G answered.

"Crab Rangoon," Jared stated.

"Yeah, that was it."

Jared looked up to see a tall woman, clad in a thigh-high, tight red dress heading their way. "Don't look now, but I think… Kensi…? Has spotted us."

Jared was impressed with the glance G managed to take. It was very subtle and Jared probably wouldn't have known that that's what it was if G didn't follow it with, "Yeah, that's Kensi."

"She's very… red," Jared stated.

"She's a bit bold," G confirmed, with a sideways glance to Jared. "I thought you were gonna say attractive."

Jared coughed, "Really?"

"Yeah."

Jared looked down at his plate and found it full again while G's was suspiciously empty. "I think you missed the memo on me being gay then, G." He picked up a prosciutto wrapped prawn that used to be G's. "Didn't like the food?"

"I like yours better."

Jared had just finished swallowing the prawn when Kensi stopped in front of them. Hetty, Jared could see, was still waylaid by a couple other people between her and Jared and G.

"Callen," Kensi greeted. "And who's this?" Her eyes roamed up and down Jared's body and Jared shifted uncomfortably.

"Jared, meet Agent Kensi Blye, Kensi this is Jared," G introduced.

Kensi held out a hand and Jared took it, shaking it briefly. "Nice to meet you, Jared."

"Likewise."

"So how do you two know each other?" She asked, looking back and forth between the two men.

Jared looked towards G to let him answer. The older man shrugged and casually answered, "Dating for a few months."

Kensi's face dropped the previous smile it had and she faced Jared and examined him more closely. "I see," she said slowly.

"Mr. Callen, you started without me!" A voice admonished. Jared looked down to find Hetty approaching rapidly.

"Sorry, Hetty," G apologized.

Jared shifted closer to G. "Started what?" He murmured, still aware that Kensi's eyes were on him.

"Hetty wanted to see my team's reaction," G explained. He winked, "I don't think she gets out much."

"Got it." Jared straightened back up.

"It is nice to finally meet you, Mr. Dassagne," Hetty said, stopping in front of Jared. Jared had never felt taller then he did right then.

She stuck a small hand out and Jared reached down to shake it. "You as well…?" He tripped up on what he was supposed to call her.

"Henrietta Lange," She said, letting go of his hand. "But you can just call me Hetty."

"Nice to meet you, Hetty."

She smiled up at him demurely. She looked quite nice in formal looking suit, black with a maroon trim that matched the color of Jared's shirt. "I have heard so much about you," she said with a secretive smile.

Jared swallowed and next to him G groaned quietly. "Don't scare him, Hetty," G pleaded.

"Why, Mr. Callen, would I do such a thing?" Hetty asked.

"Of course not, Hetty," G sighed.

"Callen!" A tall man approached their group and Jared pegged him as the psychologist that G had mentioned, Nate. Nate was good-looking, if you like the puppy-dog eye sort of thing. His black suit and shirt were clean and well-fitted. As he stopped next to Kensi his eyes immediately locked onto Jared. Jared had never really been a self-conscious person, but he hadn't really been as scrutinized or studied before as G's friends were doing. Nate briefly looked away from Jared to address the rest of the group. "Kensi, great outfit. Hetty, nice to see you."

"Why thank you," Kensi drawled, finally looking away from Jared.

"And you as well, Mr. Getz."

"Callen, good to see you, as always," Nate greeted. His eyes moved back to Jared. "Who's your friend?"

"Nate, Jared," G gestured between them. "Jared, Nate."

"It's nice to meet you, Jared," Nate said, sticking his hand out. "Can I call you Jared?"

Jared shrugged and shook the other man's hand before dropping it. "Sure. Nice to meet you as well."

"So where did you two meet?" Kensi asked, looking between them.

"Coffee shop," G answered.

"Havin' a secret meeting and forget to invite me, G?" A new voice asked. One that Jared recognized.

He turned sideways to see Sam sling his arm around G's shoulders. "Tried to at least," G responded with a grin.

Sam glanced at Jared, "Nice to see you again, man. You keepin' him out of trouble?"

Jared smiled, "Is that possible?"

Sam appeared to think about it for a second before shaking his head, "Nah."

"I'm right here!" G protested with a smile. He shrugged Sam's arm off.

"We know you are, G," Sam said with a wink towards Jared.

"You two know each other?" Kensi asked, looking at Sam and then Jared.

"We've met," Sam answered.

"You flyin' solo tonight, Sam?" G asked his friend.

"Yep." Was the one word answer. A look passed between them and because of how they were standing, Jared could only see Sam's face. "So," Sam said, breaking his gaze from G's and turning to face Jared. "Did G tell you about the Christmas tree at headquarters?"

"Nope," Jared said with a shake of his hands.

"They found a palm tree and put lights on it," Nate cut in.

Jared laughed, "Christmas, California style."

"Exactly," G grinned.

"I think that went well." Jared pulled the blankets up over both of them. Callen moved a little bit towards the younger man's side of the bed.

"Kensi kept staring at me."

"I'm pretty sure she was staring at me," Jared countered and turned on his side to face Callen.

"She might have been staring at you," Callen relented. "But Nate was definitely staring at me."

"That's true. He was definitely studying you," Jared agreed. "You have weird friends."

"Well, at least Sam wasn't staring at either of us."

"Eric didn't stare either."

"Hmm," Callen murmured. "I'm pretty sure it was because he was too busy trying to get that one chick to dance with him."

"Dom stared."

"Dom is sheltered," Callen said. "I doubt he's really ever seen two guys together."

"He didn't seem that sheltered."

"Trust me, he is."

"Hmm. But he lives in LA," Jared protested.

"He's young."

Callen rolled on his side to face away from Jared and a few seconds later the taller man pressed up behind him. Jared slung his arm over Callen's hips and their bodies molded together.

"Hetty seemed cool," Jared commented as he moved his hand in a circle on Callen's stomach.

"Yeah."

"A little scary."

"Yeah."

"G?"

"Hmm?" Jared's hand as quickly sending Callen to sleep.

"How come everyone but Sam calls you Callen?"

"I go by Callen."

"You introduced yourself as 'G' to me," Jared said quietly. "Would you prefer I call you Callen?"

"No, I like that you call me 'G'," Callen mumbled, close to sleep.

"G?"

"…yeah?"

"Are you okay with your friends knowing about me?"

"'m not ashamed."

"I know. I just wasn't sure if maybe you wanted to keep it private or something."

"…I don't mind."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay. Goodnight, G."

"…'night, Jared."

Callen had just made it in the door when Nate sidled up to him. "So…"

"Yes, Nate?" Callen made his way to his desk, Nate trailing along beside him. In his hand was a box of still-warm apple turnovers. He dropped his bag off and then headed to the main break table to set the box down. "Are you going to follow me everywhere?"

Nate shrugged innocently, "What's in the box?"

"Apple turnovers."

"You bought us breakfast?" Nate asked, opening the lid.

Callen could smell the cinnamon and the apples. He reached in after Nate did to grab one. "Jared made them."

Nate swallowed, "I didn't realize he was so culinarily inclined."

"Culinarily? Is that even a word?" Callen asked, setting his pastry down on a napkin to go hunt down a glass of milk. He opened the fridge behind him and pull out a milk carton. He gave the contents a sniff before deciding they smelt alright. "Want a glass?" He asked Nate.

"Sure."

Callen poured two glasses out, replacing the milk, and then made his way back over to the table where Nate had started in on his second turnover. "Anyways, he works at Le Bon Choix."

"The dating restaurant?" Nate asked with interest, accepting the glass of milk that Callen held out.

"It's not just a dating restaurant, but yeah."

"They have good food."

"I've never been," Callen admitted. He tore a small piece off of his pastry and then stuck it in his mouth. He looked up from his food to find Nate looking at him, a soft expression on his face. "What?"

"He's good for you, Callen." Nate reached for a third turnover and Callen wondered if there would be any left for anybody else. Not that it mattered.

"Because he makes food for you guys?" Callen asked lightly.

Nate faced him with a serious but soft expression. "No," he said gently. "Because he makes you smile."