This story is set in my home state, and I am happy to be referencing things that I know really well and grew up with! Do I know how late this is? Yes, I do. I am so sorry I got so behind with these stories. I hope you like the story! Also, I plan on writing one long story for the month of December. I'm not sure what fandom I should write it in, so let me know if you have any thoughts. I have a google form link on my tumblr if you want to respond that way! Otherwise let me know in a review!
-owl
Of course the criminal the team was chasing had been hiding out in Minnesota. It would be too much to ask that the bad guys that the L.A. team were tracking down would stay somewhere that didn't get so damn cold.
So, grabbing their go-bags and rushing to the airport, the team had found a plane waiting for them specifically. Hetty seemed to have called in a favor. Four hours later they were getting off the plane at the airport in Owatonna. While not a commercial airport, when Hetty sends one cross country like she had, it didn't matter too much.
Luckily the criminal had been caught within the first day, really the first two hours after landing. However, at that point, the best flight Hetty could get them on wasn't until the next day. Of course, their return flight had ended up as a regular flight. That left the four field agents to their own devices for a while.
After checking into the hotel that Nell and Eric had booked for them, the four of them split up with the agreement to meet back up at a restaurant across the street by nine PM. The hotel was nice enough, and they got two rooms with two queen size beds in each.
Callen and Sam had decided that the SPAM museum would be an interesting place to explore, and so had left pretty quickly to drive the forty-five minutes to Austin. Kensi and Deeks, not yet sure of what they wanted to do, had gone for a walk through downtown Owatonna.
"I forgot how cold it can get," Kensi muttered, pulling her scarf tighter around her neck and face. "And it's only October!"
Deeks laughed, pulling her in for a warm hug. "Well, now that we've caught all the bad guys, why don't we find somewhere to hide inside for the rest of the day, seeing as it's so cold."
Kensi nodded and followed Deeks into a small local coffee shop. They stood together at the counter as they ordered their drinks.
The barista was really friendly, and she chatted with the pair as she was making their drinks.
"So, where are you two from?" She asked, smiling at them.
Deems and Kensington looked at each other. "How did you know we aren't from around here?" Deeks asked.
The girl laughed. "It's just one of the skills of being a barista! So, really, where are you from, I'm not that good yet."
Kensi gave her a smile, laughing with her. "L.A. This was a business trip, but now we're done and have a free day before our flight home."
"Have you decided what you are going to do until your flight?"
Kensi shrugged. "Not really. We haven't had time to look up anything online. Do you have any suggestions?"
The girl grinned, handing them both their drinks. "You should check out the candy store. It's outside of Jordan, and is a must for everyone who visits!"
Deeks nodded. "We'll have to look into that, thank you."
The girl waved. "Of course, have fun, now!"
With drinks in hand, the pair chose a high top table by the window. For a few minutes they sat in silence, checking their texts and other messages. When their drinks were half gone, they began to discuss their plans for the rest of the day.
"So, what are you thinking we should do today?" Deeks asked.
Kensi looked up from her phone. "I've been looking into the candy store that the barista suggested."
"What have you found?"
"It's also known as Jim's Apple Barn, and is about an hour away from here. They have things such as very odd flavors of soda, 91 flavors of taffy, and the largest collection of puzzles for sale."
"Do you want to go check it out, then?" Deeks asked.
Kensi smiled, getting up from her seat. "Yes!"
An hour later, Kensi and Deeks pulled off the highway into a large gravel parking lot. The candy store itself was a bright yellow barn, and the parking lot was packed. They ended up parking the furthest they possibly could from the building.
When they walked into the building, after trekking the entirety of the parking lot, they were greeted by the scent of baking pies and a distinctly, though unplaceable, candy scent. The walls around them had either refrigerators full of soda and various meats, or shelves reaching up to the ceiling that were covered in both sweet and savory treats.
"Whoa."
Down the middle of the building was a long table with more candy on it. All 91 types of taffy, as per mentioned on their website. As Kensi and Deeks walked further down the length of the store, the taffy in the middle switched to other hard candy, and the shelves along the walls went from various pickled items, to spicy, to savory treats.
When they made it back to Owatonna, and to the restaurant to meet up with Sam and Callen, neither Kensi or Deeks was hungry. They had eaten too much candy. Sam and Callen had already been seated at a table, and waved Kensi and Deeks over when they arrived.
"So," Callen started once they had sat down. "What have you two been up to today?"
"After getting coffee, we went to Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Kensi responded, picking up a menu. "I don't know how much we're going to eat, we had quite a bit of candy on the way back."
Sam sighed. "So we get to deal with Deeks being really hyper, then?"
Kensi gave him a mock glare. "You guys won't need to. I'm sharing a room with Deeks, not you."
Sam shook his head in amusement while Deeks acted hurt.
"How could you!" he wailed in a mocking tone. "Partners are supposed to get along!"
Kensi rolled her eyes. "I don't know what to tell you, Deeks. Just, please, don't get too hyper."
"Or what?"
"Or you'll be sleeping in the hall."
