Tag to Season 7, Episode 4 "Command and Control"

"Damn"

"What?" Kensi asked glancing over at Deeks in the passenger seat as she turned the Audi on to his street.

"The wonder twins are right behind us."

"We did invite them." Kensi replied with a raised eyebrow curious of the reason for his attitude change.

"Yeah, but I was hoping for some time to smooch on you before they got here."

"You can smooch on me after they leave." She smiled at her adorable dork of a boyfriend as she pulled the car into the driveway and turned off the engine.

"I guess."

"Come here." Kensi smiled as she moved towards Deeks. He immediately leaned over the centre console and pressed his lips to Kensi's. Just as he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss a tapping sounded on his window. Deeks turned to see the smiling face of Nell and a blushing Eric.

"Do you practice that, or does it just come natural?" Deeks asked as he opened the car door and stepped out.

"It's a gift." Nell smiled.

The unlikely group headed inside. Dinner was filled with laughter and friendly chatter. It did not escape Nell or Eric's notice that away from the confines of the mission style Office of Special Projects Deeks and Kensi had a very different dynamic. They seemed to effortlessly switch from partners to couple. From the carelessly slung arm around Kensi's shoulders from Deeks, to the casual way they touched each other, and the frequent brief kisses dropped to lips, cheeks, hands, shoulders, heads. If it was within reach, their lips brushed it gently. It was sweet and comfortable and full of love.

Nell couldn't help but smile at the picture they made, or the blush that permanently resided on Eric's face throughout dinner. After their burgers were finished, Monty came trotting up to the table and placed his head in Deeks's lap, obviously wanting his walk.

"Ok buddy. I'll take you. Tell Mommy not to eat my fries while I'm gone."

"Ha! Monty would never tell me any such thing!" Monty's head shifted between Deeks and Kensi in a comical understanding of who and what was being spoken about.

"He knows it's useless." Deeks grinned mischievously and offered an over exaggerated wink in his girlfriend's direction.

"He likes me better." Kensi countered and Nell tried unsuccessfully to hold in a laugh at the couple's antics.

"So do I." Deeks smiled before placing a quick kiss on Kensi's lips and attaching the lead to Monty's collar.

Spotting her chance to speak with Kensi alone, something she'd been dying to do since they arrived, Nell quickly spoke up. "Eric, why don't you go with Deeks."

"What?" Eric's face was the picture of bewildered confusion. While Deeks merely rolled his eyes.

"Come on Beale, clearly the ladies want to talk about us behind our backs."

"Ok. But isn't it weird? Us walking a dog together?" Eric's eyes shot between Deeks and Nell.

"You worried people will think we're gay, Beale? Please, you'd be lucky to have me. Isn't that right ladybird?"

"Go! Monty is practically doing the pee dance." Kensi laughed as she pointed at the door.

Once the door closed behind Deeks, Eric and Monty, the girls moved to the sofa. Kensi looked at Nell, waiting for her to begin speaking but when the redhead only sipped at her beer Kensi couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Nell. Come on. Spill."

"Are you and Deeks living together?" Nell blurted out in a rush of words.

"What?" Kensi couldn't help but laugh slightly at the manner in which her friend asked a fairly simple question. Like she was announcing she'd found a bomb.

"Well, I figured when something that big happened you'd tell me. But then..."

"Then?" Kensi prompted when it was clear Nell wouldn't continue on her own.

"Well, I look around this place and I wonder. I mean, look around Kensi. See this place like a suspect's or a crime scene. Analyse it and tell me if you'd come to a different conclusion."

Kensi glanced around the living room. There were framed pictures of her and Deeks scattered around the walls and on the mantle above the fireplace. Her hoodie was draped over the back of the armchair, her jacket on the arm of the couch. Knick knacks that were clearly feminine littered the room. There was even a lipstick on the coffee table and a pair of high heels tucked underneath.

"Ok. You're right. It looks like I could be living here." Kensi conceded when her gaze evaluated the room and came to the same conclusion that Nell had.

"Kensi, you are imprinted on every inch of this place. I bet if I walked upstairs I'd find that half the things in the closet are yours and there's make up and tampons in the bathroom."

"You'd be close." Kensi wouldn't admit that she took up more than half the walk in closet. Or that she had two drawers in the dresser. The cabinet in the bathroom was full of make up, skin care and hair products. And the bottom drawer of the vanity unit did indeed contain a supply of feminine hygiene products.

"And what's the deal with this place? It's huge. I know I've never been to Deeks old place, but I doubt it was anything like this."

"No. It was a one bedroom, second floor walk up. When his lease came up he decided he wanted to move. We went to look at places together. I liked this one."

"So he picked it because you liked it." Nell raised her eyebrows at Kensi and the agent felt rather defensive at the comment.

"That wasn't the only reason. It has a backyard for Monty, and a garage." It was a weak argument but it was still true.

"Kensi. You still haven't answered the question."

"We're not living together... Yet."

"Yet?" Nell asked with a raised brow. It was an expression that the slight woman had perfected. And one that would make Hetty proud.

"Not officially anyway. But... I'm pretty sure he's going to ask me soon."

"Yeah?"

"Well. The size of this place was a dead giveaway. And insisting that I have a say. It has three bedrooms and he's turning the third into a den."

"I don't get it."

"We're always conscious of the fact that we spend so much time together and that we need to have time apart or things could go horribly wrong." Kensi explained. It was an issue that they'd been aware of since the beginning of their relationship.

"So if we were living together we'd need space to separate from each other. Like corners in a boxing ring. Seeing as he's making a second living room upstairs, I'd say that's a pretty big sign."

"Yeah. I'd agree with that. What's he done with it?" Nell pushed. She could tell that Kensi wanted to talk about this, wanted someone to unload her thoughts upon.

"He's a got a big bookcase that's only half full, and an empty media unit plus a big space for a sofa." Kensi's expression was far away, as she imagined the room upstairs in its current form and the way she'd imagined it would look once all of her possessions were filling the space.

"Sounds like he's waiting for your stuff to go in there."

"Yeah. I know." Kensi smiled shyly as she glanced at a photo on the mantle. A photo of the couple smiling and laughing as Monty ran around them.

"Does it freak you out?"

"No. Not at all. I thought it would, that it should, but it doesn't." Kensi smiled, her whole face alight with happiness. It was an expression that was more common than not these days, but Nell knew from Eric that it had not existed before Kensi met Deeks.

"I'm glad. I've never seen you so happy."

"I've never been this happy. Never felt like this either. Not even..." Kensi trailed off and her expression briefly flashed guilt before being replaced with happiness once again.

"Really? Not even with Jack?" Nell asked and watched with pleasure as her friend nodded her agreement. "Wow"

"Yeah. It's... Amazing." Kensi smiled with a far away look in her eye. Nell couldn't help but smile at the picture of happiness her friend made. After all the pain and suffering both Kensi and Deeks had been through, they deserved this peace and happiness. She was about to speak up again when the front door opened and Monty suddenly ran full ball into the room and straight to Kensi.

"Hey buddy, did you have a nice walk?" Kensi cooed at the scruffy dog.

"He was flirting with the Labrador down the street again." Deeks spoke as he entered the room followed by a laughing Eric, who claimed the vacant armchair as his own.

"The chocolate one?" Kensi asked as she shifted closer to Nell, to make room on the sofa for Deeks.

"Yup. He's got a thing for brunettes. Just like his dad." Deeks smirked mischievously as he plopped down beside Kensi on the sofa and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. "What are we watching?"

"Nothing yet. We were talking." Kensi snuggled back against Deeks and caught the small smile from Nell but ignored it.

The group settled on a rerun of a basketball game they'd missed and made themselves comfortable. It was half way through the second quarter when Kensi shifted. She swung her legs around to drape over Deeks' lap and cuddled up against him with her head on his chest and her arms around him.

Nell couldn't stop herself from watching as Deeks automatically moved to accommodate Kensi's change in position, his arms wrapping around her and dropping a gentle kiss on her head. His hand absentmindedly ran up and down her back and Nell could see Kensi was drifting off in his arms.

"I think we should head out." Nell whispered to the room. Deeks turned to look at her and Nell gestured to the sleeping agent in his arms. "Don't move, we'll let ourselves out. Thanks for dinner shaggy."

"Anytime, Velma." Deeks smiled as Nell lead Eric out of the house. It was with an ironic kind of nostalgia that he watched them. It wasn't all that long ago that he and Kensi were dancing around their feelings for each other, like Nell and Eric. Glancing down at the brunette asleep in his arms he smiled softly and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Holding her closer he relaxed, he'd catch the end of the game and then he'd try to wake her all the while knowing he'd end up carrying her up the stairs to their bed.

Sorry this is late. I'm an emotional writer, if I'm not in the right head space, I just can't write. And I wasn't in the right place to finish this until recently. Hope you all enjoy it.