AN: WOW! I was sooooo surprised at the response this story got! It was originally going to just be a one-shot, but due to popular request, here's a second chapter!

Nell knows.

The panicked thought was running on a loop in my head.

She knows.

Kensi looked equally horrified, and her eyes seemed to beg me for help, but I was too paralyzed to do anything.

Apparently, kissing Kensi had not been one of my better ideas, but I still couldn't make myself regret it. The feel of her lips on mine was… right. But she'd walked away, and judging from her face right now, she felt the same way. I guess I couldn't really be sure - we'd never actually talked about it, after all - but her face seemed to scream it at me.

"Who, Nell?" Callen's question startled me out of my thoughts.

"Uhhh, hmmm…. Sam and Michelle, duh!?" Nell said, her voice only a little too high pitched. She was smart, but she was also honest. "I just thought, since Sam's a part of our team, Michelle should be too! I mean, since all that's… happened? With, you know, and I just thought that… well, we should include… because our team is, uh…"

"You know what?" I cut in, not trusting Nell to cover this up. Besides, I'd been lying to the team for months now with my 'I'm fine' standard answer. "Maybe it's not such a good idea. I mean, last time they all died, so maybe it's like… a sign or something. Besides," I added with a smirk that I tried my best to make real, "apparently kissing fish aren't actually kissing, so there's no love there."

I couldn't look at Kensi when I said this. She would hear - she always did - and she would either kill me, which I would prefer, or she'd pity me. But I guess those are really the same thing, because if there was one thing I wouldn't survive, it was Kensi Bad-Ass-Blye's pity.

This line of thinking wasn't going to do me any favors.

"I think I'm going to go get lunch," I said. I just needed to get away from Kensi. Immediately. "Any requests?"

I asked it more as a formality,booking it to the door before anyone could make a request. I was sure the guys would play it off as me

"Wow," I faintly heard Sam chuckle. "He must really want fish tacos."

I sighed with relief.

Free and clear.

I exited the mission and stopped for a moment, closed my eyes, and soaked in the beautiful LA sunshine. I stood there much longer than necessary, when I heard a voice behind me.

"Deeks?"

I whipped around and immediately lost all the relaxation I'd gained from my moment with the sun. It took a moment before I recovered from my surprise.

Time to get back to the act.

I smirked.

"Hey Fern," I said, forcing my voice to sound casual while taking a step away from her. "I'm just headed to the pier. I'll be back."

Her eyes widened at my last words, and I winced as I remembered when I'd left after our first case together. Shaking off the memories, I turned around and headed toward my car.

"Deeks?" she called again.

"Hmm… yeah?" I said, opening my car door and not turning around. When she didn't reply, I turned around, but she wasn't there.

Typical.

I got in my car, shut the door, and jumped when the passenger side door opened and Kensi crawled in.

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused by her presence.

Her mismatched eyes just stared into mine, and the expression there - while once an open book to me - was unreadable.

"I'm going with my partner to get the food," she said, her voice sounding… different. "But first," she said, reaching around for her buckle, "we have to make a stop."

I just shook my head at her and forced a smirk onto my face.

"Alrighty then. Where too, Fern?"

A half hour later, we were sitting outside a strip mall.

"Dare I ask," I began, looking over at her with a suggestive smirk, "why you brought me to a strip mall?"

She just laughed quietly, and it felt almost normal. Almost.

"Come with me," she said, exiting the car. I got out and followed her. She led me around to the side to a door that read

PHIL"S EXOTIC FISH

"Whaaaat are we doing at a fish store," I asked cautiously.

"Well, I was thinking," she began, sounding too serious. That wasn't good. I was relatively fragile right now, and I couldn't take serious if it meant what I thought it meant.

"That's never good," I cut her off with a smirk. I didn't dodge the punch I knew was coming. Instead I took it and turned away from her. "Besides, Kens, we're not doing another fish tank, remember?"

"Listen carefully, Deeks," Kensi said, pulling on my arm and making me look at her, "because I'm being serious here."

She took a deep breath.

"You're scaring me Kens," I whispered.

She managed a strained smile.

"Look, fish are a big commitment, okay?"

Okay, not the beginning I was expecting.

"Okaaaaay…?" I replied, trying to catch up to wherever my partner was.

"I'm serious. It's a big deal, and it's scary! But that doesn't mean that it isn't good, okay?"

I just nodded my head. Something told me we weren't talking about fish anymore.

"It is good," she repeated. "So I was thinking," she began again, "that everyone else's fish can stay the same, but we need a new fish."

I couldn't help it. My heart betrayed me and leapt into my eyes.

Is she saying what I think she''s saying?

She dragged me over to a tank of deep gold fish.

"These are golden angelfish," she said, looking up at me. "I think this should be our fish."

I felt a smile break out on my face as I realized what she was trying to tell me. And then, in the middle of Phil's Exotic Fish store, Kensi Blye pulled me down for the best kiss of my life.