They come home, like normal. Though it wouldn't seem normal to some people, it is to them and that's what they need - normal, safe, predictable.
Deeks drops a bag of half-eaten burritos on the coffee table, grabs Monty and his leash, and heads out the door again without speaking a word. That, Kensi muses to herself, is not normal. Every day now presents a new challenge, a new hurdle for them to clear on their track to happiness. Miraculously, all the hurdles are still standing. So far, anyway.
She's waiting for him with a beer in hand when he returns, which he accepts with a nod but sets on the table. "Thanks."
"Of course," she replies casually, rocking back on her heels. The tension is thick - she knows why, but not how to break it. "So yeah, I think you said something about there being consequences to my actions earlier?"
He grins, picking up on the flirtatious nature of her words. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. I guess now is as good a time as any, huh?"
"Um," she says. "Look, I was just trying to-"
Deeks interrupts her with a hug instead of a kiss (again, not normal). But it feels good, and feels almost necessary. It's nice, really, to have somebody to come home with after a bad day at work. She rubs his back reassuringly. "He's going to be fine, you know. Callen, I mean."
"I know," he answers. "And Sam will be okay. And it wasn't us. This time."
And there it is. "Hey," she squeezes him harder. "Even if it was us, we would be fine too. Better than fine, even."
"But it's not the same," he mutters. "They're impossibly close, but it's not...the same."
"No...but nothing's the same anymore."
"You have a point there." Deeks pulls away, and even though he tries to look mischievous, the love in his eyes can't be hidden. "You wouldn't have trusted me to disarm that bomb, even just a year ago."
"Hey, that's not true. You, me, and bombs are like a match made in heaven," she responds jokingly, pinching his love handles through his hoodie. She kind of doesn't want to keep her hands off of him, and she doesn't ever want him to make his sad puppy face again. "Okay yeah, maybe I was a little nervous today. But I trusted that you could do it."
"Thank you, partner." Thumbing her cheek, she closes her eyes and melts a little bit into his touch.
It's true, she does trust him. With bombs, guns, body, and heart - they are partners in every aspect now. Things definitely aren't the same as they used to be - and she loves it.