Hello my darlings. I would like to thank IWantColoredRain, Readmaniac103, elsje1967 and Petunia3116 for the wonderful reviews. I would also like to thank those of you who have followed and favoured since my last update.
So here we are, chapter 100. I can't believe this story has become this long, but there we are. As it is such a major milestone, I decided to give you some nice fluffy Dallen, and it's not at all coincidental at how that turned at, honestly.
I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: LA.
Deeks woke to find sunshine flittering through the window. The rays landed on the most perfect sight in the world, or at least it was in his mind. They landed on G, asleep for once in his life. Deeks took a moment just to watch him, to study how the sun showed the stubble that had appeared while G had been away. It also showed the discolorations that ran across his body, though they were mainly concentrated on one side. Deeks was determined to find out how the hell the man he loved had gotten them, and then proceed to kill the one who had caused it. Even if it was just in his mind. No one hurt his G and got away with it if he could help it. But he soon put those thoughts from his mind to instead enjoy being with his man. When he heard a small scratching at the door he pulled his eyes from the body next to him and turned to Monty, who was giving him a look that told him if he didn't let him out soon, he would make a puddle on the floor. That was a good enough reason to pull himself from the bed.
Padding softly through the quiet house, he let Monty out into the back yard before moving to the kitchen and looking round with a smile. Okay, so this was different to what he had planned, mainly because he had never suspected he would be up before G. But he could tweak it. Yes, he would do that. Therefore pulling things from the fridge and cupboards he got to work on what he had originally planned to be G's birthday breakfast, even if it was now a few days late. They could celebrate it belatedly, not to mention they had the day off after the case, so he could take all the time in the world showing G how much he loved him. Giving him his extra special birthday presents which involved at lot of nakedness. He just hoped G liked his real present as much as he was sure he would enjoy a morning spent in bed.
It didn't take him long to put together a tray of food for the both of them, placing the carefully wrapped present on it as well. He would have included a flower like G had done for his own birthday, but they didn't have any. Plus he wasn't sure how much the older man would appreciate being given flowers. Taking one more look over the tray he nodded to himself before picking up and moving back towards the bedroom. Back towards the man he loved.
Callen had woken to two things that to him he found strange. The first was that he was alone in the bed he shared with Marty, and the second was the smell of bacon cooking that wafted through the partially open door. It didn't take a genius to work out where the younger man was, though Callen was surprised that he hadn't woken when he left. That he had somehow slept through Marty getting up, when normally any movement from the other man had his eyes opening ready to protect him if needs be. He must have been more tired than he had thought. With sigh he started to move, to climb out of the bed and join Marty in the kitchen, thinking they could have a nice leisurely breakfast together. But as he did so the bruises that littered his body let themselves be known, and he found himself falling backwards against the pillows as he let out a hiss of pain. He had forgotten about them, and they seemed to be hurting a hell of a lot more than they had the previous night. Of course that might have something to do with the fact Hetty had insisted he take some Tylenol before she would allow him to go home. He should probably take some more before he tried to actually move. Of course to do that he would need to get up to get the painkillers… or maybe not, he realised as the smells made him remember the other man who now lived in his house. He was just about to call out to Marty to ask him to grab the drugs from the bathroom when the door was pushed open and the man in question came in, carrying a tray ladened with food, and what looked like a present. What the hell? But before he could even open his mouth to ask, Marty did it for him.
"Happy belated birthday, G." Deeks said when he looked towards the bed and saw those gorgeous blue eyes open and staring at him.
"And there was me hoping you would just let it go." Callen muttered though there was no heat in his tone, and a smile was spreading across his lips as the sight in front of him. He should have realised that Marty wouldn't let something as small as him not actually being there for his birthday put him off. And while he had never been big on celebrating, he couldn't stop himself from feeling some of the joy that was radiating off the man he loved.
"Really? You do know who it is you're in a relationship with, right?" Deeks asked in cheerful disbelief as he carefully placed the tray down on the bed and moved as if to follow in onto the bed.
"The wonderful boyfriend who's going to grab the Tylenol from the bathroom before we eat the food he has prepared?" Callen asked cheekily, pulling himself up into a sitting position, and not being able to hide the wince as he did so.
At the Deeks glared, though not at the words, more the idea that G was in pain. He did not like that. Therefore he quickly moved to G's side and grabbed the pillows he had slept on, insisting on putting them behind G's back so he could settle down. "You are going to tell me what happened." He growled as he moved towards the door to grab the painkillers.
At that G sighed. He did not think Marty was going to take it well that he had thrown himself out of a moving vehicle, but hey, it was the job right? Needs must and all that.
When Deeks returned he had a glass of water and the pills, giving them both to the older man and standing over him as he took them. He then placed the glass on the bedside table before moving to where he had planned to be, next to G to enjoy their breakfast. "Eat, and explain." He demanded as he handing G his plate of pancakes and bacon.
At that Callen shrugged, diving into the food so he didn't have to look at Marty as he did as he was told. "I may have gotten out of a car wrong. That's all."
"How do you get out of a car wrong?" Deeks asked with a frown trying to figure it out. Okay sure he could think of many ways to do that, and they had been hunting terrorist. But he wanted to know exactly what had happened to G so he could help him.
"Well, it was kinda still moving at the time." Callen responded simply taking a big bite of his food and smiling at the delicious flavours that exploded on his tongue. Oh how he had missed Marty's cooking while he'd been away.
"G! That does not sound like being careful." Deeks reprimanded. He had told him to be careful when he left, and flinging yourself from a moving car was the complete opposite in his mind. What the hell had G been thinking?
"Well, it was better than staying in it while it got shot up by terrorists." Callen argued back making Deeks roll his eyes. Of course G would have an excuse, and well he had come back alive and saved Sam and the boy who had been kidnapped. Deeks knew he couldn't be angry with him, no matter how much he hated it when he got hurt in the line of duty. So he decided to change the subject.
"Fine. Here is your birthday present. I hope you like it." He said biting his lip as he handed the wrapped package to the man he loved. And as he handed it over he suddenly wondered if it had been the right choice. Wondered if maybe it would have been better if he brought him something instead. A new gun or something, rather than what he had done. But it had been when his mom was down that he had gotten the idea. They had talked about G's childhood one afternoon, and when she mentioned the lack of memorabilia from that time it had come to him. He knew exactly what he wanted to do for the man he loved. But now, sitting there and watching G unwrap what had taken a lot of his medical leave to complete, he had to wonder if he had made the right decision.
Callen for his part was curious at to what Marty had gotten him. Holding it in his hands it felt a bit like a book, but its shape was like none he knew of. It was wide rather than tall, and had a softness to it, as if it was leather bound or something. Opening the present carefully, Callen was very surprised to find he had been right, in part. It was bound in a deep burgundy leather, but it wasn't a book. It was a photo album. Why was Marty giving him one of these? He didn't have any photos. Frowning he turned to the other man that question on his lips.
"Open it, G." Deeks said quietly trying to keep his nerves in check as he watched the older man do just that.
Callen opened the front cover, and rather than be confronted with a blank page as he had expected, he found himself staring down into a photo of a five year old him, holding a ratty looking teddy tight in his arms. Callen's breath hitched at the image, he didn't remember the photo being taken, but looking to the background he recognised where it had been done so. It was the second foster home he ever lived in. That place had been good. The lady who cared for them had been kind and smiley. He had been there for three weeks before he was moved, but it was the first happy memory he had of his childhood. Turning the page he found yet another image of himself, though this time he was around eight. He was standing in clothes that were much too big for him, and he had a wary look in his eyes. But it was him none the less. Turning to the next photo he quickly found another from his lost childhood. In fact the first nine pictures in the album were all from his time in care, ending with the one he had kept in the tin on his mantel. The one Arkady had gotten to him of him and Alana.
Those nine photos were the only ones he had ever seen from the first fifteen years of his life. Nine photos that spanned the time he was five until he went to Hetty's. He didn't know what to say, how to express the feelings that rose inside him at what he was seeing. All he could do was flick between the pictures, more memories coming as he took in more details of each one. He remembered the homes, remembered the faces of those who had cared for him while he was there. Remembered the smiles and the pain, he was lost in it all. Staring at the pictures which he now had, that showed him his childhood. Finally looking up at Marty with tears in his eyes he asked one simple question. "How?"
"I used your book. Looked up the addresses and talked to the people there." Deeks replied with a shrug. He didn't mention that most of the addresses he found people who didn't remember the boy G had been, nor did he mention the ones he had stood outside of and decided it best not to enter. One look at those houses and he had known what he would find inside. And they were not the memories he had been trying to give the man he loved. Instead he focused on the good ones. The ones who had invited him in for a drink while they talked about the boy they had cared for all those years ago. The ones who had happily handed over the photo they had of the man he loved, so that he could have it.
"Mrs Latinmer wanted me to tell you she's glad you're happy. Told me to tell you to come see her, if you'd like." Deeks continued tapping his finger on the photo of a twelve year Callen.
"She was nice." Callen agreed looking at the photo and seeing how his eyes seemed to shine a little bit. He had enjoyed his time in her home, and had been there for two whole months. It was definitely one of the better memories of his past.
His words were followed by silence as Deeks let him sit and look at the photos. He himself couldn't comprehend what G was going through. Couldn't understand how it would feel to suddenly have pictures from a time that lived only in memory. Sure he had had his own experience of care, but he had only been in the system for three months. G had spent his whole childhood moving from home to home, never finding a family or love. The realisation of what that meant had never hit Deeks as hard as it did when he was chasing up those names. Chasing up the addresses of the people who had helped to shape the man he loved. It was one thing to know academically, to hear in words what had happened, it was another to interact with those involved. To meet the people who dismissed the child G had been without thought, and yet also met those that held him dear, only for him to lose them, for them to be replaced by others who didn't care.
Callen finally pulled himself from the past, and managed to flip past the ninth photo to find one that made a wide smile appear on his face. Because the next one held him, standing before a glorious Christmas tree, with Hetty sitting at his side. He remembered that. His first Christmas with her. He'd only been there a few months before the holiday, and he hadn't really understood any of the traditions. He remembered it because it was the first time he had received a proper present. One wrapped in Christmas paper and placed under the tree just for him. She had given him a chess set. Oh he knew it may not seem like much to most, but to him it had meant the world. She had saved him and shown him love. He could never ask for more.
The next few pictures were also from what he knew to be Hetty's own photo albums, there were images of him playing football, images of him laughing and ones of him reading. There was also a photo of him with his first boyfriend, snuggling up on the couch in Hetty's den together. He couldn't believe Marty had put that one in there, and he couldn't help raise his eyebrow at the younger man as he looked up into his eyes.
"He's part of your past, you should have a photo of it." Deeks explained simply. Hetty had told him briefly of Callen's high school romance, and hey they all had them right? They all had that first love as they discovered who they really were. His own had been a girl called Laura, he could still remember her laugh, and he still had the photos of them together somewhere.
At that Callen nodded before he kept turning, finding a photo of him when he went off to college. The ones after that were pretty much all taken at Christmas, his chosen career not really combining with the idea of recording his activities. He quickly flipped through the years he had made it to Hetty's for the holidays, before resting a picture of him and Sam. It had been taken back when they first became partners, and the distrust he had in his eyes was clear to see. He couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered how he had not liked the idea of having someone with him. Had tried to argue with Hetty about him having a partner, but had been overwritten by the little woman. And oh how glad he was that he had been. She had given him something he had never expected to have when she had paired him up with Sam. She had given him a family. The rest of the album was filled with photos of the team. It even included pictures of Macey, Nate, Renko and Dom. All his family were there. The final photo was of course of him and Marty, taken at the barbeque they had had. Marty was laughing at something someone had said, and Callen was staring at him with love radiating in his eyes. It was a prefect picture, though he had no idea who had taken it.
Finally getting to the end Callen closed the album, but found he could remove his eyes from it. Instead he sat there and watched as his fingers ran patterns across the leather binding.
Deeks found he couldn't cope with the silence any more. He needed to know he hadn't just made the biggest mistake of his life. Needed to know he hadn't just hurt the man who held his heart. Needed to know what he had done was a good thing. Therefore with trepidation in his voice he asked "Do you like it?"
At that Callen looked up at him, his eyes still shining with the unshed tears and emotions that caused a lump to form in Deeks throat. But when his face split into a beautifully peaceful smile and Deeks found the lump disappearing. He liked it, everything was going to be okay. He hadn't made a mistake, he had done the right thing. Thank god.
"I love it." Callen whispered before moving towards Deeks, stopping when his lips were a hairs breadth away from the younger man's own. "Just as I love you for making it for me." He finished before closing the distance and sealing his lips over Deeks', kissing him with all the love he had, showing in the only way he knew how, how grateful he was for the thoughtful gift he had been given. Showing that it meant more to him than words could ever express, just as Marty himself did. For the man he loved had just given him a window into his own past, given him a way to remember the good times, a way to make sure they could override the bad. And that was something he could never explain. Something he could never ever thank the other man enough for doing.