Hey guys! Hope everyone had a good week =)

Just want to start by thanking everybody who has favorited, followed, or reviewed this story so far, THANK YOU! It really does mean a lot to me.

Sorry that this was a little late, this past week was insanely busy for me, so I didn't have a whole lot of time to write.

I don't own NCIS LA.

Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Cashed In

Deeks walked in with Kensi one Wednesday morning, still keeping up the argument they'd had on the way over. Deeks would've driven himself but Kensi had stayed the night and they'd been more comfortable carpooling again, considering it'd been a month since they'd taken the leap into couple-hood and nobody had said anything.

"Okay, just because I put my bagel maybe a smidge too close to the edge of the table does not mean that it was my fault that Monty stole it," he said.

"Uh, yes it does," Kensi replied, rolling her eyes.

"What are you guys arguing about now?" Sam asked from his desk where he was folding some sort of wrapper into an origami crane. Well, at least Deeks thought it was supposed to be a crane. It looked a little bit like a deformed vulture.

Kensi set down her bag. "Deeks is all upset because Monty stole his bagel off the table because he put it where Monty could reach it,"

"Not true," Deeks protested, though it was a little true and he just didn't want to admit it.

Ignoring him, Kensi sat down at her desk next to Sam. "I'm right,"

"Kensi is usually right," Callen added, coming over from the back counter, cup of coffee in hand.

"Ha," Kensi said triumphantly, smiling.

Looking at her, smiling, her hair down in soft, dark waves today, Deeks couldn't keep his lips from quirking up in the corners.

"Alright, fine, you win," he relented.

Kensi's eyes widened a little in shock, but then she gave him a look only he would understand. Sam dropped his origami. Callen nearly choked on his coffee.

"Did…" Sam started, looking utterly confused. "did you just let Kensi win an argument?"

Deeks looked at each of them in turn. Kensi gave a little shrugged. Callen looked at him like he was seeing him for the first time. And Sam, well Sam was studying him, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Uh…yeah." Deeks responded. "Is that a problem?"

"Well, you're Deeks," Callen said. "You always have the last word."

"What can I say?" Deeks grinned. "Guess I'm just in a good mood. Even after Monty stole my bagel."

"You've been in a 'good mood' for a while now," Sam muttered.

Sam started looking back and forth between him and Kensi, who'd been relatively silent. Callen shrugged then went and sat down and started rifling through a couple files. Deeks followed suit and sat down at his desk too. Kensi looked down, pretending to be interested in a piece of paperwork, but Deeks could see the smile on her face. Why wouldn't he be in a good mood all the time when the beautiful woman across from him was his girlfriend?

Sam continued to study them. They were all silent. Not even Eric had a whistle to break the silence with. Finally, after what felt like forever to Deeks, Sam spoke:

"You two are, like, together, aren't you?"

Deeks felt his head snap up, saw as Kensi's did too. Callen looked up as well, interested in the conversation once more.

"What?" Deeks asked. He didn't know why he was keeping the charade up. It's not like it really mattered if their friends found out. That's what they'd been waiting for, after all, for one of them to figure it out. In fact it'd be a relief if they didn't have to sneak around anymore.

"You heard me," Sam said. "So, how long?"

Sam crossed his arms over his chest with a smug smile on his face. Callen was looking in between them, waiting for one of them to answer. Deeks looked over at Kensi. She gave a little smile and shrugged. So Deeks gestured for her to talk.

She turned to Sam, a hint of a blush creeping up into her cheeks. "About a month,"

"A month on Friday, actually," Deeks corrected her, receiving a mildly annoyed glance in return.

"Really?" Callen asked. He didn't sound mad. More so like he couldn't quite believe it. "Well, okay then."

"Does that count as a blessing, Callen?" Deeks asked, grinning. Callen shook his head, but he was smiling now too.

When Deeks looked back over at Kensi, she was standing in front of his desk, holding her hand out, another triumphant look on her face.

"Pay up," she said.

It took Deeks a moment to realize what she was talking about, but then he remembered the bet they'd made on the beach a month ago. With a sigh, Deeks grabbed his wallet and pulled out a fifty and place it in Kensi's outstretched hand.

"Now you can pay for dinner," he told her.

"Yeah, you wish," she retorted.

"What'd you guys bet on?" Callen asked.

"On whether you or Sam would figure it out first," Kensi replied. "I bet on Sam."

"And that's why you're my favorite," Sam grinned at her.

"Hey," Callen protested, then held his own hand towards Sam. "And speaking of paying up,"

Sam looked just as confused as Deeks had a moment ago, then realization dawned on his features.

"What did you guys bet on?" Kensi asked, tucking her fifty away.

"On whether you and Deeks or Nell and Eric would do the deed first," Callen explained, looking at the bill Sam had given him. "I thought we agreed on thirty. This is only twenty,"

"Nah uh, it was definitely twenty." Sam argued.

"Thirty,"

"Twenty,"

Deeks cast an amused glance in Kensi's direction as they argued. Sam and Callen stared at each other for a moment before saying in unison:

"Twenty-five."

Sam handed a satisfied Callen another five.

"Happy?" Sam asked, looking a little grumpier.

"I still say it was thirty," Callen said.

"How 'bout I give you the extra five in punches?" Sam threatened.

"This office has a serious gambling problem," Deeks stated with a laugh.

Just then, Eric blew out a long whistle, summoning them up to OPS. Sam and Callen walked ahead of them. Deeks walked with Kensi, letting himself walk closer to her, their shoulders and the backs of their hands brushing as they went up the stairs. And he couldn't stop looking at her and the smile on her face. And it made him smile even wider knowing that he was the reason for that smile.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

After work that night, Kensi had driven with Deeks back to his place. It was nice not having got worry about Sam and Callen asking questions anymore. It felt good to be able to openly say at work that she and Deeks were in a relationship. She liked being able to call Deeks her boyfriend a lot more than she was willing to admit.

She had, indeed, used the fifty she had won from him to order a pizza for the two of them. They sat on his couch, eating their pizza, drinking beer, flipping aimlessly through the channels. Finally, with nothing else on, they settled on one of those Hallmark romance movies. Kensi felt her heart flutter at the gesture. She knew he would much rather be watching something else, but he watched a whole bunch of girly movies just for her. It was unbelievably sweet. Just like how he had remembered that Friday marked their one-month anniversary. Almost involuntarily, she scooted in closer to him, even though she was already about as close as she could get to him. In response, Deeks wrapped his arm even tighter around her.

Long after their pizza was gone and the television had been flipped off, they still sat on his couch, Deeks twirling his fingers through her hair.

"Do you think Nell and Eric will get together at some point?" she asked suddenly, remembering the bet Callen and Sam had made.

Deeks shrugged. "It's a good possibility. I mean, have you seen those two together?"

She laughed. "Do you think we were like that?"

"No. But then again, it's not like we can see ourselves the way we see Nell and Eric,"

"True," she agreed. "Can I ask you a question?"

"That was a question—Ow!" Deeks rubbed his arm where she hit him.

"I mean it," she said.

"Okay, okay. Ask away," Deeks said.

"I'm just wondering when you first started thinking of me as, you know, more than a partner. More than a friend." She asked quietly, looking up into the twin pools of his eyes.

Deeks chuckled and pulled her tighter to him so her head was resting on his chest, her ear over his heart where she could hear the steady thumping beat.

"Well, I think I've always...like-liked you I guess,"

"Like-liked' me?" She teased. "What are you, twelve?"

"I'm a kid at heart," he grinned.

"Clearly," she muttered. "Continue,"

"Anyway," he started again, his thumb absently making circles on her arm. "I think there were a few instances where I really knew that what I felt for you was stronger than friendship."

"Like?" She prompted.

"Like almost three years ago when those Russians kidnapped you for leverage to get that little black book that actually doesn't exist."

"I remember that," She replied quietly, remembering standing still for hours, petrified to even shuffle her feet for fear that she would break one of those beams and her life would end in a flash of fire.

"I know that was not a great experience for you," he continued. "But it was awful for me. I was so focused on getting you back, nothing else mattered. I mean, we almost died and all I could think about was that I would've been okay with that because we were together."

"Really?" She asked, tilting her head up as he tilted his head down to look at her.

"Of course," he smiled, then brushed his lips against hers briefly, making her heart flutter.

"Okay, Princess," he murmured, grinning. "Your turn,"

Kensi groaned. She should've known that the subject would get turned around on her.

"Come on, it's only fair," Deeks reasoned.

"Okay," she sighed. "I guess, there were a few instances that…maybe I—I considered you as more than just a friend,"

"You really aren't very good at this are you?" He teased.

"Shut up," she growled. But then her anger dissipated and her voice softened when she took in the gentle, teasing expression on his face. "Okay, well...I guess the first time was when you got shot."

Kensi looked up to watch his face. She wondered if he realized that he was rubbing his chest where the bullets had penetrated. It seemed tone subconscious, but she couldn't be sure. She gripped his hand—the one rubbing where his scars were—and let her gaze fall from his face.

"I was so scared when Hetty told me. Dom was shot. That's how he died. And when Hetty said—" Kensi was surprised when her voice caught. She cleared her throat, noticing how it was his hand now that squeezed hers in comfort. "It's not only that I couldn't lose another partner, I couldn't lose you either. I guess I realized that when you were shot."

"I promised you though, didn't I? That I wouldn't get myself killed. So far I've done a pretty good job, I think. Now I just gotta figure out how to become immortal so I can keep it forever." Deeks smiled and she laughed, glad for his skill of being able to lighten the mood no matter the situation.

"Yeah, you've done pretty well," she agreed.

"The same goes for you too, though." He said, his voice dropping to a more serious tone. "I can't lose you either."

"I promise," she whispered, staring into his eyes. "You wanna know when I really figured it out? When I knew for sure that I liked you that way?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"It wasn't when you kissed me, oh, what is it now? Five months ago?" she started. "It was those three days without you. It was when you were gone that I noticed how empty I felt without you. And when we found you, when I thought I'd lost you..."

Instead of saying something, Deeks placed his lips to her forehead, right below the hairline. Then his lips brushed against her cheekbones, her jaw and neck, and finally landed gently on her mouth. His hands cupped her face, comfort and warmth radiating from his fingertips throughout her whole body. Kensi clutched his shirt with one hand and let her other brush against the smooth skin of his neck, throat, collarbone, and the little golden tendrils that rested against the nape of his neck. They only broke apart when air was needed; and even then, their faces were a mere two inches apart.

Deeks gave her a crooked smile, his eyes twinkling. "Don't worry, Fern. You won't get rid of me that easy."

So I know these chapters are kinda short, but there will be some longer ones coming up here.

Hope you liked it! Remember to PLEASE REVIEW! I wanna hear your feedback, your thoughts, opinions.

I'll try to update as soon as I can, thanks for reading!

-DaughterOfPoseidon333