Kensi came home that evening while Deeks was still in the backyard spreading wood chips, thanks to an unusual burst of energy. He'd noticed there weren't so many late nights, making him suspect that tough-as-nails Kilbride was once again giving them a break.
He set the wood chips to the side, meeting Kensi halfway to gif ether a sweaty hug. "Hey, how was work today?"
"Good. If you consider beating up a really annoying criminal and using my Portuguese good," Kensi replied flippantly.
"Sexy," Deeks said, leaning down to kiss her. Kensi leaned into the kiss, extending it for several extra seconds.
"How about you?" she asked when they separated.
"My labs were fine, I got that stubborn yucca plant out of the garden," he paused the briefest of seconds, finishing with, "and Sam's a match."
Kensi, who had been nodding along, checking out the now empty spot where the unfortunate yucca had lived, froze. "What?"
"Sam's an organ match for me. He told me this morning."
"Oh my god." Kensi pressed her fingers to her mouth, voice less than a whisper. "You're not messing with me?"
"Kensi, you know I wouldn't joke, not about this," he said and she nodded, looking as stunned as he'd felt since Sam left.
"And what did you…?" she asked just as softly, not able to finished the question. He could see the barely concealed hope in her eyes, overridden by fear.
"I didn't give him an answer," Deeks told her honestly.
"Deeks." Her hand tightened in the front of his shirt.
He closed his eyes, heaving a sigh. He'd argued with himself the whole time since Sam left. Battled with his fear of permanently altering Sam's life and the stubborn part of him that didn't want to accept any more help than necessary. The part of him that hated to show so much weakness.
"I, uh, thought about it a lot this afternoon, and, um," he exhaled shakily through his teeth. "Whoo. I'm going to go through with it. I'm going to tell Sam yes."
"Really?" she whispered, and when he nodded, her eyes filled with tears. She gasped, a sound of relief and gratefulness, and grasped the sides of his face, pulling him to her for a desperate kiss. "Thank you." she said in between kisses, her lips wet from the moisture spilling out onto her cheeks.
"Oh my god," she repeated, covering her cheeks with her hands. "I'm not dreaming, am I?"
The sheer relief in her voice, the way her shoulders caved, made him realize just how much weight she'd been carrying all this time. That realization was followed by a sweeping guilt. As much as he'd convinced himself that it was his battle to fight alone, she been right alongside hike every step of the way. Even worse, she'd lived with the horror of watching him slowly fade away.
"I'm sorry," he blurted out. Kensi frowned, smoothing her thumb over his left eyebrow.
"For what?"
"For being such a stubborn ass through all of this. I made this so much harder than it had to be."
Kensi's eyes had furrowed when he started, and now softened into understanding. She stroked his cheek a couple times, the gesture soothing.
"Oh baby, I know you were just trying to protect all of us, like you always do. Because you're a good man," she assured him. "And also amazingly stubborn.
They both burst into giggles, shock giving way to giddiness. When they quieted a little, Kensi pressed their foreheads together, and when she spoke again, her voice was hoarse again
"I know how hard this is for you. Thank you for doing it anyway."
And if he hadn't known before, that was enough to tell him he'd made the right decision.
A/N: Thank you for sticking with this story. I know it's different from most of my other work in many ways.