Hello again my dears. I would like to thank GoldenEyes-65 and Petunia3116 for the lovely reviews.
Okay, this is a really long chapter, but I couldn't split it. Anyway time for some Callen and Deeks mushiness in my mind. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: LA.
Callen was the last to leave that night. Smiling goodbye to the team as they left one by one, Deeks being the last to go. But he didn't insist his boyfriend come back with him, he knew G would turn up at his apartment when he was done. And G did have more paper work to do than the rest of them, even him who had to write reports for both the LAPD and Hetty. So with a smile and a quiet I'll see you in a bit, Deeks left, whistling a jaunty tune as he did so.
Callen watched him go, he could feel the folder in his desk burning a hole in the wood as he heard the happy sound of his lover walking away. But still he didn't move until he could no longer hear any evidence of Marty still being in the building. When he knew he was truly alone Callen unlocked the draw and pulled the folder out once more, not being able to stop himself from reading the words.
He knew what it said, but he still had to double check, to make sure that Deeks dad really was dead. That there would be no chance of them ever trying to repair whatever it was that had happened between them. No way his dad could ever make it up to his son for the pain and terror he had put him through. Taking a deep breath Callen could see his knuckles turning white as he clenched the file tightly. He needed to stop thinking about Marty's childhood. Instead he needed to think about how he was going to tell him what he had found. And what he had done. Because he didn't think for a minute that Marty was going to be happy that he had gotten Nell to look for Gordon John Brandel. But surely he had known what he would do when he had asked the guy's name, right?
No. that didn't matter. What did was that he was going to have to be the one to tell Marty he was dead. How the hell was he going to do that? I mean sure, he had told people the ones they loved had died before… but he had never told his boyfriend, the man he maybe loved, that his abusive bastard of a father had died in a traffic accident shortly after being released from prison. A prison his son had put him in by shooting him in self-defence. Oh he was really not looking forward to the conversation that was to come. But he knew he couldn't put it off. If he was too late Marty would get worried, he had already been giving him subtle looks across the bullpen all afternoon. It was time to go.
With that resolution in his mind he placed the file in his bag before swinging onto his shoulder and walking out of the bullpen heading towards his car. He had no plans of going to his house tonight. No tonight he would go straight round to Marty's. And hopefully his lover would not be too hurt by what he had to say. Hmm, maybe he should pick up a bottle of something stronger than the beer he knew Marty had in his fridge. He had feeling they were going to need it.
Deeks was singing along to the radio and dancing around the apartment with Monty. He knew he could have been cooking dinner, but he really couldn't be bothered. He and G could have take-out tonight.
He was seriously, honestly happy. Kensi and he had gone back to how they used to be, though maybe they were closer now. What with him having saved her life and her knowing his secret. They were friends, and that was a strange feeling for detective Marty Deeks. After all he really hadn't had many of them in the LAPD, so having a friend watching his back again felt good.
Then there was Him and G. They were going well, better than well, they had got over the crapfeast of the Kensi situation. G seemed to have accepted that he loved him, and he was pretty sure he had seen a return of those feelings in G's eyes more than once over thanksgiving. But it was different from before, because, from his perspective at least, it seemed that maybe G was realising the truth. That maybe soon he would be able to say the words to him. Maybe soon he would hear G tell him he loved him. Deeks couldn't wait. Because as much as he had said he was fine with G not being able to say it, there was still something special in knowing that the one you loved loved you back without question.
So yeah, they were good, and soon it would be Christmas. He loved Christmas, the excitement and decorations. It always made him feel just a little bit more like a child. I mean who couldn't feel the joy in Christmas right? And this year he had someone special to spend it with. Oh man, it was gonna be so awesome.
Just as he had grabbed a beer out of the fridge Deeks heard the unmistakable sound of someone picking his lock. But rather than reaching for his gun as he would have done a year ago, now he just reached for another beer. Hmm, maybe that wasn't the response he should give to that sound. But he blamed G. If he wanted him to be vigilant about people breaking into his apartment, then his boyfriend should just accept the key he kept offering him then shouldn't he?
Callen made his way into Marty's apartment only to be greeted by Monty rushing up to him for a welcome home stoke, and Marty standing there smiling at him with love in his eyes and beers in his hands. How had he got so lucky to get this man? I mean really? With that thought he moved to stand close to the younger man, placing a deep passionate kiss on his lips before stepping away from him with a smirk and one of the beers in his hand.
"Oh, is that all you wanted?" Deeks snarked, though there was laughter in his eyes as he watched G take a deep drink of the beer.
"No. But it'll do for now." Callen replied with a smirk before leaning in for one more quick kiss. Of course that did not go to plan because before he could move back he found himself being turned around and pressed against the wall by his favourite cop.
"I think I should search you, you are breaking and entering after all." Deeks murmured into G's ear as he ran his free hand down the hard chest of the man he was pressed against, before letting it come to rest on a certain part of G's anatomy that seemed to want to join the party. And Deeks, well he couldn't help himself. "Is that a gun in your pocket? Or are you just pleased to see me?"
"You didn't just say that." Callen groaned leaning his head back as he closed his eyes in disbelief at the other man's words. Because, really?
With a chuckle Deeks moved away from Callen and headed towards the livingroom, throwing his response over his shoulder. "Your right silly question. I know full well you keep your gun holstered at your lower back."
Callen couldn't think of anything to say to that. So instead he followed the younger man into the livingroom, where he took out his gun and placed it in the lockbox next to Deeks' own and swung his bag carefully down onto a chair. At the sight of it he remembered the file it contained, and the worried look from earlier returned to his eyes. He couldn't take his eyes off the bag which contained the one thing he knew that would ruin Marty's good mood. Oh man, he really didn't want to do that.
"G, what's wrong?" Deeks asked coming up behind him and circling him in his arms. He had seen the look from earlier return, and at least this time he could do what he wanted to do. Comfort G and help him, with whatever the problem was. Because that was what people in love did.
"I… do you have plans for Christmas?" Callen asked turning in Deeks arms so he had his back to the bag. He knew he should tell him, but he couldn't. He couldn't take that happy smile from Marty's face. Not now, later, he would show him later. With that he resolutely put the file from his mind and concentrated on the thing he had been thinking about before Nell had incepted him earlier that day.
"Well I was thinking of spending it with the man I loved. You know if he's free?" Deeks replied trying to make his words sound jokey, but in truth meaning them completely. He really hoped G didn't have any other plans.
"Yeah, about that…" Callen responded pulling out of Deeks arms and grabbing the bottle of whiskey he had in his bag. This might not be the use he had intended it for, but he was about to tell Marty that they would be having Christmas dinner with Hetty. So maybe some Dutch courage wouldn't be such a bad thing.
"That bad huh?" Deeks asked with a raise of his eyebrow when he saw the bottle. Was G about to tell him that they couldn't spend the holiday together? Or worse, was Hetty sending him on some secret mission so he wouldn't see him for months? Of course she was, it had all been going far too well after all.
"Not bad exactly." Callen replied moving to grab a couple of glasses before sitting on the couch and patting the seat next to him as poured. Once Marty was sat next to him with a glass in hand Callen continued. "There's someone I have Christmas dinner with whenever I'm in LA.-" but before he could say anything more he was interrupted.
"Right so, we're not spending it together." Deeks said trying to not let the hurt enter his voice as he took a large swallow of the whiskey. At least G had got a decent brand.
"No. She's invited you too, if you want to come." Callen replied taking a sip himself. He really wasn't sure how Marty would react to the idea of spend Christmas evening with Hetty.
"Of course I want to come." Deeks responded without thought. He wanted to spend Christmas with G, and if he was spending it with this woman, then he wanted to spend it with her too. Well he did as long as she wasn't another one of his ex-wife's. With that thought he had to ask. "Wait, you were never married to her right?"
"No. Definitely not married. If anything, she is like… a… a mom, I guess." Callen replied with a soft smile on his lips as thought over his and Hetty's relationship. He had never really tried to define it before, but that words seemed to be the closest he could come up with right then. He knew if anyone ever knew the truth they wouldn't really understand it. Or at least he knew if Sam ever knew he wouldn't understand, he corrected, but he hoped Marty would. He wanted Marty to know that side of him. Wanted him to know the only family he had ever known, in the non-work related sense.
"Then I definitely want to meet her. Does she have a name, or is that classified." Deeks asked with a chuckle at his own joke. He had presumed that this was one of the foster families G had spent his childhood with, and as such he couldn't wait to meet the woman who meant so much to the man he loved. Though looking at G he could see something in his eyes which told him he might not be so far from the truth with the classified thing. Okay then.
"She has a name, many actually." Callen replied smirking as he saw the thoughts whirling through Marty's mind.
"Care to share?" Deeks asked, though he had a suspicion of just who it was he had agreed to spend Christmas with. After all it really was the only choice that he could see. What he wondered was why, and how it had come about.
"It's Hetty." Callen said confirming Deeks idea, though not answering any of his questions.
"What? You spend every Christmas with Hetty? Since when?" Deeks asked turning so sitting opposite G and could look into his eyes as they talked. He had a feeling he was about to learn the reason for the deep connection he had seen between his boss and his boyfriend. And it was something he really wanted to know. This new insight into the life of the one he loved.
"Since I was fifteen, or at least every Christmas we were both in LA anyway." Callen replied simply. Though he hoped this wouldn't be too weird for Marty when he told him the whole truth. He hoped not, I mean he got the feeling that Hetty and Marty got on after all, so surely it would be fine, right?
"Hold on. How have you known Hetty since you were fifteen?" Deeks asked sitting up straight with a puzzled frown. He had though that the two had met sometime in the past when they both worked for another agency or something like that. But there was no way G was doing anything but being a kid when he was fifteen, right?
"It's a long story." Callen responded trying not to smirk as he saw the thoughts and questions going through Marty's head. Though in truth it wasn't that long, more… complicated, and it probably would be hard for the younger man to get his head around. He just hoped he did.
"I have the time." Deeks replied in casual tone, even if he couldn't wait to hear what G had to say.
"I was in juvie, for breaking into a storage locker. I didn't like it much, so I broke out." Callen said simply, deciding against going into the details of how or why. There were things Marty did not need to know.
"You broke out of juvie, just like that?" Deeks asked spluttering on the drink of whiskey he had just taken. Though as the words settled into his mind he could feel his eyes rolling. Of course G had broken out of juvie. He doubted anyone could keep him anywhere he didn't want to be for long. But still, it was an impressive thing for a fifteen year old to do.
"I have my ways." Callen responded giving his mysterious smile that Deeks loved so much. Oh yeah, he certainly did have his ways.
"Superspy at only fifteen. I'm so proud. So how does Hetty fit in?" Deeks asked with a smile, deciding not to ask any more about the break out. He doubted it had been easy, or fun.
"Well the cops weren't too happy with me. So when they finally caught me, I crashed into a lamppost, they wanted to try me as an adult for endangering police lives. Hetty stepped in and took me under her wing. I went to live with her until I went to college." Callen replied smiling again, though this time because he was remembering that first ever meeting. Remembering the time he stood on the sidewalk and looked down at the woman who had just saved him from being arrested. His first words to her had been that she was short. Oh man, he wouldn't dare say that to her now.
"Oh. Now everything make so much sense." Deeks responded after a moment of silence as he processed the fact that Callen had lived with Hetty. That he had called her his mom. Whoa, that was a lot to take in, but still… it really did make so much sense. They really were far too alike not to have some kind of connection.
"What?" Callen asked confused by that. What was Marty thinking now?
"Well she is the master of superspy's. Did she have you training to be an agent while you were there? Or maybe she had a secret room like in the bond movies and you stumbled across it and that was how you became an agent." Deeks replied with excitement as every spy movie he had ever seen ran through his mind and he made G's life with Hetty fit them all.
"None of the above. She helped me come to terms with a few things, made sure I went to school and actually studied. You know, the usual I guess." Callen responded with a chuckle at the idea of Hetty having some sort of secret room. She didn't need a secret room, she already had a secret base in ops. Though thinking about it, she did encourage his love of languages, teaching him the ones she knew. Plus they had played a lot of chess. Okay, maybe she had done some training.
"What did she help you come to terms with?" Deeks asked latching onto the one thing G had let slip. Though again he had an idea. I mean fifteen was the time most people explored their sexuality, he knew he did.
"The reason I broke into the storage locker was because my current foster family did not take to kindly to finding me kissing a guy. I didn't take to kindly to their way of trying to make me straight." Callen replied again not going into details. Though he doubted he needed to. He was sure Marty could work it out from those words alone. But when all that followed was silence he felt the need to say more.
"Hetty made me realise there was nothing wrong with liking men."
"Remind me to send her a fruit basket." Deeks responded with his usual sunny smile, though inside he was thinking how he wanted to get his hands on that foster family and make sure they never had a chance to go near children again. He knew he had been lucky having the mom he did. She had accepted him without thought. But the idea that someone who hurt a child for something that they couldn't change? Yeah, it was people like that that made him become a cop rather than a lawyer.
"So you're okay with having Christmas dinner with her?" Callen asked with a relieved simile. It seemed Marty didn't mind his relationship with Hetty, didn't even question it in fact. It made that feeling that he was almost sure was love, grow inside him, warming him from the inside out.
"Of course. Though it will be a little weird, you know dining with my boss who is also my boyfriend's mom. Oh man, what should I get her?" Deeks asked his eye suddenly going wide as he remembered all the conversations over what to get Hetty for her birthday. Now it would be even worse, because she was his boyfriend's mom. What the hell was he going to get Hetty for Christmas?
"What do you mean?" Callen asked completely confused by that sentence. Marty didn't need to get her anything. It was just dinner.
"It's Christmas G. Have to get her a present." Deeks replied turning astonished eyes on the man he loved. I mean, it was Christmas!
"Hetty and I don't do presents Marty." Callen responded with a shake of his head at the younger man. There was no need to get Hetty anything. He never did, not out of work anyway.
"Yeah, but I'm not you. I'm your better half." Deeks replied with a roll of his eyes even while part of his mind was turning over ideas. Trying to think of the perfect gift.
"Better, really?" Callen questioned with a raise of his eyebrow and a smirk. Though if he was pushed, he might just have to agree with Marty on that one.
"Definitely." Deeks nodded pushing thoughts of Hetty from his mind. The conversation had brought another thought to it instead.
"Hah-uh." Callen replied taking a sip of his whiskey, finding the glass almost empty. But he couldn't be bothered to move and fill it. This conversation had gone a lot better than he thought it would.
"Speaking of presents, anything you want for Christmas? Or do you want me to surprise you?" Deeks asked with a smirk. He had so many ideas of things he could get G. I mean it would be easy, the guy really did seem to have very little material stuff. Unless he hid it all away in his house. Hmm, one of these days he was going to have to see G's mysterious home.
"Marty… I really don't do presents." Callen said, trying not to feel uncomfortable about the conversation. He didn't really do Christmas either, but he had a feeling that this year that would be changing. And for the first time that idea didn't scare the shit out of him. In fact he even found himself looking forward to the idea of going to pick out a tree with Marty and decorating, or whatever it was people did at Christmas.
At his words Deeks looked at Callen with disbelief in his eyes, but then he thought about all he knew of his childhood. He guessed G hadn't really ever had a real Christmas. Well time to change that in his mind. He was going to make sure that G had the best Christmas ever. So the first thing he wanted to do was make sure the man he loved was comfortable, and didn't feel any need to get him anything. After all Christmas wasn't about receiving gifts, it was all about giving them. So finishing his whiskey and placing the glass on the coffee table he turned to G with his sunny smile firmly in place, trying very hard to hide the deviousness from his eyes as he replied.
"Okay."
"Is that an okay I fine with a no present rule, or an okay, I'm going to get you one anyway?" Callen asked narrowing his eyes at the other man. He could see in his eyes that there was no way Marty would not be getting him something. Great, now he had to work out what the hell to get him. Hmm, maybe he could give Marty himself in a bow? Would that work? Probably not. Shame that sounded like fun.
"You'll just have to wait and see." Deeks replied not being able to stop the smirk that appeared on his lips as his mind continued to come up with ideas for presents he could get G. There were so many choices, how was he to decide?
"Marty no. I don't want you to go spending your money on me." Callen stated simply. He knew there was next to no chance that he would get Marty to agree to not get him a present, but the least he could do was make sure he didn't spend all his money on it.
"I promise, I wouldn't go spending my money on you. How's that?" Deeks asked latching onto the challenge inherent in those words. A present that cost him nothing, oh that was so much more fun.
"I don't believe you." Callen responded simply.
"Do you think I would lie to you?" Deeks asked with fake shock at such an idea. Even as he chuckled to himself. G really did know him too well.
"About this? Yes." Callen replied dryly. He wasn't fooled, and now he was going to have to think of something to get Marty. Awesome. He hated buying people presents.
"Come on G. Its Christmas. A time for giving." Deeks whined, determined to get G to agree. He wanted to get his man something. Something that would show his love for him. Something personal.
"Fine, but nothing big, okay. We keep it small." Callen conceded. He knew he had no choice, but hopefully by stating something small he could get away with getting Marty… well something.
"I can do small." Deeks answered his ideas changing to fit the new regulations G had set. He could work within those parameters.
At that Callen just shook his head. He had no idea what he had just got himself into, but he had a feeling he was going to have to get used to this if he was going to stay with Marty. They guy did the things normal people did. He was going to have to get with the program and join the real world, for Christmas at least. But not now. He did not want to think about buying things for Marty right now. So instead he changed the subject.
"What's for dinner?"
"Do I look like your wife?" Deeks answered automatically, though in truth they both knew he was the one who did dinner. Mainly because he was the one who could cook.
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Callen asked with a smirk as he eyed Marty's hair. He was tempted to make a comment about it, but they both knew it was one of the things he loved best about his man. He didn't want Marty to threaten to get it cut.
"No, and take-out." Deeks replied moving so he leaning back against the couch, enjoying the normality of sitting with his man.
"Well in case, I think we should work up an appetite before we order don't you?" Callen asked as his arms swiftly moved and Deeks suddenly found himself lying against Callen's chest, his lips barely an inch from the older mans.
"Definitely." Deeks replied before closing the distance and kissing G with a fire that always seemed to burn within them both whenever they were close. It was only minutes later that Deeks had Callen pinned to the couch, but it was a lot later than that before they managed to get round to actually ordering their dinner.