Hello my darlings. I would like to thank Scififan33, Veuve Noir, lulu625, Petunia3116, French fan (Guest) and Beststoriesever, for the wonderful reviews. I would also like to thank those of you who have followed and favoured since my last update. You are all awesome.
So this chapter is set in season 2, episode 8 'Bounty'. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: LA nor any of the lines I have taken from the show.
Callen and Sam were sitting nice and quietly in the bullpen, well almost quietly. Callen was reading the paper while Sam meditated. Or at least that was what he called it, Callen wasn't so sure about that. And as the big guy had gotten up early that morning to train Marty, he was pretty sure Sam was actually sleeping. And being Callen he really wasn't going to let the chance to wind his partner up go, because seriously, where would be the fun in that?
Of course their banter was interrupted by the junior partners joining them.
Deeks and Kensi had just been finishing up their shooting contest when everything seemed to blow up. She had asked to hold his gun, and there was no way Deeks was going to let that happen. No one touched his gun, well apart from G, but he was different. He was the man he loved. So no. He had never let anyone else handle his piece, it was his lifeline and sometimes the only thing he had that stood between life and death, he wasn't going to pass that round the office now was he? I mean come on.
"I honestly don't understand what the big deal is." He said to Kensi as they walked back, trying to work out why she was so pissed at him for something that to him, seemed perfectly sensible.
"You don't trust me. I'd say that was a big deal, wouldn't you?" Kensi snapped back. Okay sure she knew she had her issues as well, but to not let her even look at his gun? I mean it was the weapon that had her back, why couldn't' she see it? What was his problem with this?
"I have a thing about my gun." Deeks replied with exasperation making Callen look up at him with a smirk as his mind took that in a completely different direction to the one Deeks had meant it. He had a thing for Marty's 'gun' too. Though the next words out of Kensi mouth made the smirk disappear to be replaced with a slight frown.
"At this point in our relationship, after all the stuff we have done-" Kensi started to say only for Deeks to hold up his hand and stop her, even as he eyes cut to his boyfriend who was now frowning at him. There was no relationship between him and Kensi, damn it. Surely G knew that right?
"I'm sorry. Did you just say relationship?" He asked calmly even while his usual cheeky smile appeared on his face at her words. He couldn't take this in any way other than a jokey one if he was going to maintain his cover.
"No, I said partnership, okay? You're very annoying." Kensi replied irritated. Why did Deeks have to do this? All the time he'd try to change the conversation from what they were talking about to something else. There was nothing going on between the two of them but work.
"Maybe I need a little space." Deeks responded leaning back on Kensi's desk so he could still see G out of the corner of his eye, his boyfriends face now had only a blank look of curiosity on it, as if he was enjoying the show he and Kensi were putting on.
"You are on my desk." Kensi breathed out trying to keep her temper in check with her partner. Why was it he always did this, pushed her damn buttons so much. It drove her crazy, he drove her crazy. And she would bet is Callen or Sam had to spend a serious amount of time with him, he would drive them crazy as well.
"Listen, here. Both of you. You don't trust each other. All the fist bumping and saying you got each other's back doesn't mean squat unless there's trust. So build it soon, or risk the consequences. You got it? And for the record I was meditating." Sam snapped out at the arguing pair having had enough. He needed them to realise what was missing and sort it out. Because he knew that losing either one of them was not an option.
"Oh. Is that what meditation sounds like? Because I call it yelling." Callen replied in a calm voice, though his eyes were a different story. He didn't like Sam shouting at Marty thank you very much, but he wasn't about to say that right then, and well… his partner was right, even if he did feel he could have said it without raising his voice. Hmm, Sam really did need to get some more sleep. He was always so grumpy when he was tried.
Before anyone else could say anything there was a whistle from Eric, calling them all to ops for their latest case. Kensi turned and walked away, not waiting for any of the others to join her. Which was good in Callen's mind because it gave him a few seconds as they walked up the stairs to have a word with his boyfriend.
"Relationship?" He said in a quiet voice as he walked past where Marty was still leaning on Kensi's desk.
"There is nothing going on, you know that." Deeks replied moving to fall into step next to his team leader slash lover. He didn't want G getting the wrong idea about him and Kensi, or any idea about them for that matter.
"But does she?" Callen asked carefully. He didn't want Kensi to develop feelings for Marty, he was his and he wasn't about to share him with anyone.
"What? Of course." Deeks responded with a frown of his own. He and Kensi may have a slightly volatile partnership, with him flirting with her and winding her up equally, but she knew it meant nothing, right?
"Ha-huh. Maybe you should try not flirting with her so much, just to make sure." Callen replied before he entered ops, not giving Deeks a chance to respond. Instead the younger man moved to his place behind the table, well away from Kensi. He didn't want G to get any idea that he might have feelings for his partner, because he didn't. No way. He loved G, and only G.
The case was a hard one, involving a guy who had been tortured to get intel on where a high value terrorist target was located. Deeks and Kensi were sent to protect the guys son, who it seemed didn't have the best relationship with his dad. It made something stir inside of Deeks as he told lies about his own father to the younger man, hoping to connect with him so that he could gain his trust. It brought the memories he tried so hard not to think about back into his mind, memories of the last time he had seen his father, what hell his life had been before then.
But he needed to push them back. He had a job to do, and it wasn't like he could talk to anyone about it. Though as soon as he thought that someone did come into his mind. G. He could talk to G. he didn't know if the guy he loved would understand, but maybe he didn't have to. Maybe he would just be there for him as he shared that part of his past. Allowed him in. Plus G had told him about his sister, it would only be fair to tell him a bit about himself, about his family too, right? But before the case could close and he and G could talk, G and Sam disappeared off to Afghanistan to capture not just the terrorist, but also the man who done the torturing and killing.
Deeks wasn't sure how he felt about that. I mean it was one thing for his boyfriend to go off to the Caymans and arrest his former fake wife, it was a completely different story for him to go into war-torn country. He knew Sam would have G's back, just as he knew he wouldn't be alone. But that didn't stop him worrying, nor grabbing G just before he left and pulling him into his arms and holding him tightly while Sam ran interference for them, with the help of Hetty.
"Be careful G." He whispered as he held him, closing his eyes tight as he just breathed in the smell of the man he loved, felt his body against his own, and printed the memory of the feel of his arms around him and in his hair in his mind.
"Don't worry Marty, I'll be back soon." Callen replied pulling the younger man's head up so that he could look into his eyes with a reassuring smile. He would be fine. But still Callen couldn't stop himself from placing an innocent kiss on his lover's lips before pulling out of his arms and following Sam towards the door. They had to go and catch a killer.
"You'd better be." Deeks muttered with a sigh as he let him go. He knew that having a relationship with G wasn't going to be easy, but he hadn't really considered the idea that he would have to stand back and watch him go into danger without being there to have his back. Another pair of eyes watching the one he loved.
"Do not worry Mr Deeks. They will be fine." Hetty said from his side smiling at him in a motherly way when he turned to look at her. When she saw that he had himself under control her smile turned into commanding one as she continued. "Now I believe you have reports to write."
"Yeah, I'll go do that." Deeks nodded before walking away and returning to the bullpen and his desk, not even registering the puzzled look Kensi gave him as he sat down without a word and started on his paperwork, anything to keep his mind off of G.
Kensi sitting there watching him wondered what was wrong with her partner now. She wanted to try to understand, and from what she had seen something about this case had hit him hard. Maybe it was the connection he seemed to have formed with the boy over bad fathers. She remembered him telling her about how his dad had pulled a shotgun on him six years ago. She still couldn't understand how any father could do that to their son, but maybe something about this case had brought those memories back. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but she knew they didn't have the sort of partnership where she could do that and get a real answer, not yet.
Therefore she instead turned her mind to how she could try and help him take his mind off it. Trying to think of something she could say that would give him an opening to tease her, or flirt. Give him something to bring back the cheeky detective she had gotten used to having at her side. Because that was what partners did, they had each other's backs.
"So Deeks, got yourself a hot date lined up tonight?" She asked trying to make it sound as sarcastic as she could. And watching she saw Deeks head shoot up at her words and a second later his normal cheeky smile was back on his face as he replied.
"Why Fern? You jealous? You want a hot date with me?"
"Please, I have taste." Kensi responded with a roll of her eyes, though she really was trying not to smile. He was back. Deeks was back.
"I'll take that as a yes then." Deeks relied with a smirk and a shake of his head as if to say aren't I so gorgeous.
"I wouldn't date you Deeks, even if you were the last man alive." Kensi snapped back.
And so it continued while they wrote there reports, teasing each other back and forth as Kensi endeavoured to keep Deeks' mind from whatever was worrying him and tried to pull him back to the Deeks she knew.
Deeks couldn't have thanked her more. It gave him some relief from the worry he felt at having G in a country where anything could happen to him. Oh, he knew what she was doing, I mean there was no way Kensi would ever start a conversation with him about women, unless she was trying to distract him. Yeah, this was what partners did. They didn't just watch each other's back in the field, they watched them in the office as well. Watched them and helped them when they needed it. Maybe he could trust her with his gun after all.