The smell of coffee filled the air as Callen stood at the stove, cracking eggs into a pan. The morning was slow and quiet, the way Saturdays should be, but there was an easy comfort in the air—one he was growing more and more used to with Nell staying at his place.

She sat on a stool at the kitchen island, sipping coffee and scrolling through her phone, still in her sleep shorts and a loose sweatshirt.

"So," she said, breaking the comfortable silence, "what's on the agenda for today?"

Callen shrugged, flipping the eggs. "Hadn't really thought about it."

Nell grinned. "Good. Because I was thinking about going to the flea market, and you should come with me."

Callen turned, arching a brow. "You want me to go to a flea market?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

"I don't know, Nell." He smirked. "Can't really picture myself hunting for vintage salt shakers and old movie posters."

She rolled her eyes. "There's more to flea markets than that. There's cool stuff—you just have to know how to look for it."

He plated the eggs and slid one plate in front of her. "And you're gonna teach me how to 'look for it'?"

"Obviously." She smirked. "Come with me, and I'll even buy you lunch."

Callen considered her for a moment, then shook his head, chuckling. "Fine. But I'm holding you to that lunch deal."

"Deal." Nell grinned, clearly pleased.

Flea Market Surprise

An hour later, they were strolling through the market, and Callen had to admit—it wasn't terrible.

He wasn't sure if it was the atmosphere, the live music playing somewhere in the distance, or the way Nell's eyes lit up every time she spotted something interesting, but he found himself… enjoying it.

She led the way through a row of vendors, pausing to admire an old bookshelf, flipping through stacks of vinyl records, and even dragging Callen over to a booth selling handmade knives, which—he had to admit—was kind of cool.

At one point, Nell stopped at a table covered in vintage books, running her fingers along the spines.

Callen glanced at one of the covers. "You seriously want to buy an old book when you could just get a new copy?"

She shot him a mock-offended look. "It's not just about the book. It's about the history. The feel of something with a past." She held one up. "Besides, they smell amazing."

Callen chuckled, shaking his head as she flipped through the pages.

She was something else.

After about an hour of wandering, they found a small food truck selling gourmet grilled cheese, and Nell stuck to her word—buying them both lunch before they found a spot to sit.

Callen took a bite of his sandwich, eyeing her as she happily unwrapped hers. "Alright, I'll admit it. That was more enjoyable than I expected."

"I told you flea markets were fun," Nell said smugly.

"Don't get carried away."

She just grinned.

As they finished eating, Nell glanced at him. "So, what do you usually do on a Saturday night?"

Callen shrugged. "Depends. Sometimes I meet up with Sam, grab a drink. Sometimes I just hang out at home."

Nell nodded. "You don't have to change your plans because of me. If you wanna go out or whatever, I can entertain myself."

Callen looked at her for a moment.

The truth was, he didn't want to go anywhere. He was actually enjoying spending the day with her.

But he also knew Nell wasn't the type to assume she was invited into his plans unless he made it clear.

So he just shrugged. "Nah. I'm good staying in."

She tilted her head. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. But if you have something you wanna do, don't let me stop you."

Nell smiled. "Nope. I'm good staying in, too."

Callen nodded, finishing off the last of his sandwich, trying not to think too much about the fact that he was actually looking forward to another night of just… hanging out with Nell.