Deeks was completely confused. He and Kensi were bedding down for the night in a motel for a case, they were meeting an arms dealer tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, the only room they had available had one bed. Because of course they did. Personally, Deeks thought the guys were messing with them, tease the new partners and all that. He wasn't confused about the room; it was said partner in the room.

"What are you doing?" Deeks incredulously demanded of his partner

Kensi looked up from her weird pillow stacking to give him a look that implied what she was doing was completely normal. Maybe it was, they hadn't been partners for very long. For all he knew she made pillow forts on the bed. Actually, that sounded fun. He should bring that up at some point.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Playing Tetris with our pillows," Deeks retorted, leaning forward to try and grab one from her. She jerked it away and held it close. "Hey!"

"It's not Tetris and I'm not done," Kensi scolded as if he was trying to stop whatever she was doing on purpose.

"I need a pillow, you can't hog them all," he complained, yanking one from the end.

"Stop that!" She scolded, slapping his hand away making him drop it. "And I'm not hogging them."

"You are."

"Not for my use."

Deeks glared at her and folded his arms.

"For who, then? The invisible man?" he asked sarcastically.

"For us."

And here they came to the source of his confusion. Deeks just blinked at her.

"Call me stupid, but that still doesn't clear anything up for me."

Sighing heavily, Kensi abandoned her pillow arranging and looked properly at him.

"So, we can share the bed," she explained.

"Why do we need the Great Wall of Pillows to share the bed?" he asked slowly.

"Because there's no couch and neither of us is going to sleep on the floor."

Deeks resisted the urge to facepalm. He was very aware that there was nothing but a bed in this room. Heck, there was barely enough room for them to walk around the bed never mind space for other furniture. It really was a seedy place but wasn't every motel when they had to track a suspect down?

"That's not what I was asking, Fern," said Deeks, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why all the pillows? The bed is barely a double as it is."

"Don't call me Fern," Kensi told him. "And I want us each to have our space."

Space? That what this was all about? He gave her an incredulous look.

"All this is because you can't keep to you part of the bed?" he demanded.

That got her all defensive.

"I can keep to my side of the bed!"

"You're the one who freaking starfishes in your sleep!"

Kensi spluttered at him, unable to deny it. There was something satisfying about her not having a quick retort. He will win this round.

A pillow got slung into his face at an impressive velocity. Maybe not then.

"You're a cuddler," she informed him.

"Yes, when people end up all over me," he explained, not denying it.

"Well, these will help keep your grabby hands to themselves," Kensi said triumphantly.

Deeks cast his eyes over the densely packed wall on the bed. He doubted that they would contain his partner's sprawling limbs. Where did she even get all these pillows? The motel surely didn't have this number of them in the whole building, did they?

Not hearing any arguments from him, Kensi held out her hand expectantly for the one that he had absent-mindedly picked up. He sighed heavily again.

"Just leave me one to lie on," he told her, reluctantly handing it over.

"Help me?"

He looked into her hopeful eyes. Aw, why not?

"Of course."

It was better than arguing over it and then Hetty getting a complaint about a pillow fight anyway.

Deeks cracked an eye open as sunlight streamed over his face from a chink in the curtains. They hadn't closed them properly last night.

He tried rub his eyes but only his left hand made it to his face. There was a pressing weight on his right side. Several pressing weights actually. He squinted and shielded his eyes with his free hand so he could see. Ah. Deeks bit back a grin.

Kensi was completely sprawled out across the bed, half her body on her wall of pillows and the other half on top of him. An arm and a leg were also slung over him. To be honest, Deeks was impressed that her body could twist itself like that. He told her that she was a starfish. If only he could use his camera...

He frowned. It really couldn't be comfortable. Her neck was at an awkward angle, she was going to wake up stiff. Definitely not good for her back either. Those pillows are lumpy. Should he move her?

Kensi let out a soft snort/sigh making him freeze. Please don't let her wake up when her hair was literally inches away from his face. He breathed in deeply, he was really coming to like that lavender smell.

Her body tensed and then she gave out a final snort before settling down, her face no longer buried into his chest.

Deeks breathed a sigh of relief and peered around for his phone. Awkwardly, using his left hand he checked the time. Yep, too early. He looked down at the woman on top of him. May as well go back to sleep. He certainly wasn't going anywhere.

No longer worried about Deeks seeing her face, Kensi smiled at the door. She had woken up when he had tried to rub his eyes, his right-hand flexing under her side.

She didn't think he realised it, but his right arm was tangled in her pyjama top, holding her against him.

Well, not really. It was keeping her close but lying against him was all her she supposed. Deeks was just too damn warm and safe. He didn't need to know that the reason why she "starfished", as he called, was because she was also a cuddler and the absence of a person made her body 'look' for someone to cuddle with. It was a bit embarrassing. Hence the pillows, she had hoped she would have hugged one of those in her sleep but apparently her body didn't accept that when there was something better on offer. Not that she was going to tell him that.

Nope, it was going to be his fault when they both woke up properly.

She squirmed herself so the pillows were pushed closer to her now unused half. May as well stay comfortable.