I went back and edited some of this chapter because I rewatched the episode and realized that the way Callen is talking about Michelle calling them all down makes it sound like it's actually the next day. I'd noticed Kensi was in a different shirt, but later noticed everyone else had changed too.
Deeks grabbed her hand the moment their skates hit the ice.
"Oh my gosh!" Kensi squealed as he pulled her along behind him. He was definitely much better on ice than she was. She allowed herself to be pulled along by him as he babbled on about ice skating moves.
He turned around and grinned at her at the same time that he grabbed her other hand. She met his eyes and knew that she needed to get a certain conversation out of the way.
"Hey, Deeks, I want to talk to you for a second" she said as they reached the wall and he dropped her hand.
"I gotta go skate" he said as he left her at the wall.
"Come here….. Deeks!" she called after him. For about half a second she thought he was actually ignoring her but then she saw the smirk on his face and watched him skate back to her, dodging many people in the process. He stopped just short of her.
"Go for Santa." He said, reminding her of their satellite phone conversation a year ago. A YEAR ago. She couldn't believe they'd put this talk off for so long.
But then she met his eyes and forgot everything she had wrote out before coming to the ice rink. She'd been getting ready to meet the team for a day of ice skating and enjoying each other's company and her mind started to wander.
She thought about Joelle and what she said about taking the "easy" way, and how she had agreed to go with Deeks to Mammoth to go snowboarding, how her stomach had erupted with butterflies at his suggestion and the smile he gave her when she accepted the invitation without a fight, and how she couldn't bear the thought of them not being together, officially, anymore.
She felt herself smiling and suddenly felt super nervous.
"What's goin' on? Your freaking me out?" Deeks asked as he waited for her to make eye contact.
She felt the need to say something so he didn't run or ruin the moment, she couldn't have this pushed off any longer.
"Oh my gosh…. You plan these things to say, and then when the time comes, you can't say them… um…" she paused for a second and took a steadying breath. "this you and me, Kensi and Deeks, Deeks and Kensi… A..Alone we're bold; we're brash; we can move mountains. And together… we're….umm"
"We're safe." He finishes. Gone is the joking and banter. He's well aware that the outcome of this conversation is going to be detrimental to their relationship, and he's honestly surprised she's initiating it. Glad, but surprised. He can't stand not knowing where they stand anymore.
"Yeah, together we're safe." Kensi agrees.
"Yeah, I know." He replies. Sure, they flirt and they banter, but neither of them wants to commit for fear that the other will run, just like today in the car when Kensi was insiting she was going to Mammoth because it was practical, not personal.
"I want to be bold, Deeks." And for a brief, horrifying split second, he thinks that she's ending their 'thing'. Then she reaches and grabs his hand, intertwining their fingers. "But I want to be bold with you." She holds her breath awaiting a response. She doesn't have to wait long.
"So, no more games then?" he asks
"No more games." She confirms with a smile. She can see the grin threatening to break free on his face and knows he is with her on this.
"Chips on the table?" he counters.
"All in."
"All in." He repeats with a smile.
"tonight.." She starts
"Tomorrow…" he continues.
"And the day af…." She doesn't get to finish because he is grabbing her and pulling her towards him so that he can kiss her.
The kiss is short, but its perfect. This is them, no covers, nothing to hide. Kensi and Deeks, Deeks and Kensi, and they're being bold, together.
He pulls back and she's still in a semi-shocked daze for a few moments. Her eyes float between his eyes and his lips, her mind still processing what just happened. It clicks and she breaks into a shy smile, averting her eyes to the side momentarily.
He thinks she is adorable. He loves that he can kiss her now without fear of rejection or physical injuries. He decides to try it again and leans in for another kiss.
The second kiss is so much better. The first one had merely been their lips pressing together, but the second has both of them parting their lips so that they can properly kiss. It lasts much longer than the first as well.
Deeks pulled back and smiled before letting out a little laugh. Kensi did the same. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. "I'm so glad we finally settled our thing, Fern."
Kensi pulled back and gave him a glare, but she couldn't stop smiling so it didn't even look remotely threatening. "Me too." Kensi said as she pulled back some and grabbed his hands.
"So… I guess this means that we made it across our frozen lake?" Deeks asks with a grin as he looks down at the ice between them.
"I guess it does." Kensi agreed, smiling at the irony of the fact that they literally were on solid ice, no cracks in sight.
"So… You wanna skate some?" Deeks asked, clearly anxious to get back on the ice. Kensi was starting to think that he was innately drawn to any sport that involved the water, in any form. Ice, snow, water, it didn't seem to matter.
"Sure." She agreed, interlacing one of their hands while she let the other drop so she could skate beside him. She looked around the rink and saw Callen just arriving back with his skates and getting ready to go out on the ice and Sam with his family, Aiden included.
"Looks like Sam's whole family is here!" Deeks commented. He pulled her over with him to the wall just as Callen entered the rink.
"Hey Aiden, it's great to see you again." Kensi said. She'd not seen him for a while since he enrolled himself into the military academy.
"Kensi!" Aiden greeted her, then gave her an awkward hug over the railing.
"I thought you were going to be in Virginia?" Kensi questioned. She'd overheard this bit of information through the grapevine.
"I got to come home early. I couldn't make Dad spend the holidays on his own against all the women in the family. Even a navy seal can't survive that." He said with humor. They all laughed and Kensi casually grabbed onto Deeks arm with the illusion of needing something to hold onto.
"Aiden!" his mother said, playfully slapping him on the shoulder. They were all laughing and having a good time. Deeks looked over across the rink.
"Looks like Joelle is giving him another chance." Deeks commented, seeing the pair standing at the edge of the rink.
"Good, he deserves it." Sam said.
They talked a little while longer before they all took some laps around the rink together. Kensi and Deeks held hands the entire time and were surprised when no comments were made.
They were all enjoying some hot chocolates around the rink afterwards when Deeks realized what time it was. "Hey, Kens, we should probably get going if we want to get up there by midnight." It was nearing 5:00 and she still needed to pack. The trip would hopefully only take about five and a half hours if they didn't hit traffic.
"Oh, right. Well, Merry Christmas guys!" she said standing up.
"Wait, where are you guys going?" Callen asked.
"We're heading up to Mammoth for a couple days. You know, skiing, snowboarding, crisp mountain air, warm fires. Perfect place to spend Christmas." Deeks replied.
Callen and Sam were looking back and forth between the two, obviously sensing a change.
"So you guys are going away for 4 days together?" Sam clarified.
"Yep, we figured after the last couple Christmases that we've had, we deserve to get away for a little while" Kensi replied.
Deeks smiled at her and she returned it. Obviously neither of their coworkers had seen their little makeout session earlier and were trying to put the pieces together.
Kensi raised an eyebrow in question and Deeks just smiled back. She said she wanted them to be bold together. Here was a good place to start.
"I didn't know you snowboarded or skied?" Callen questioned, still trying to figure them out.
"Yeah, not recently, but Deeks is going to teach me, right?" she asked, grabbing his hand.
"Absolutely." He replied.
Callen and Sam seemed to catch on at this point and just laughed. "Well it took you guys long enough!" Sam chuckled.
"Seriously guys, there's been bets placed on when you'd get your act together for the last few years!" Callen said.
"Yeah, well, we're done avoiding the subject." Kensi said as she looked at Deeks who'd moved closer to her since the beginning of the conversation.
"Wait, so you're not going to split us up or anything?" Deeks asked, wanting to be sure there wouldn't be repurcussions.
"Technically its just highly reccommeded not to let your agents be involved. Its also highly recommended that we keep our identities a secret, but I feel like there should be a few exceptions." Callen said smiling at Joelle who proceeded to give him a quick kiss.
"Okay good." Deeks said and then quickly leaned down and kissed Kensi, his free hand coming up to cradle her face.
"Get a room!" Sam said, but they could tell he was secretly happy for his teammates.
Deeks and Kensi broke apart. "Well, we do really need to get going." Deeks said as he and Kensi parted.
"Okay guys, have fun." Callen said.
They started to walk away, holding hands, of course, when Sam called out "make sure you actually make it out of your room and onto the slopes at some point this weekend!"
"Samuel!" His wife admonished.
Kensi and Deeks both gave a slight laugh but both had red faces. Everyone else laughed, except for Sam's youngest, who didn't quite understand what he meant.
They arrived at Kensi's car and she let Deeks drive. "So, you ready for this?" Deeks asked, and she knew he didn't just mean the trip.
"Absolutely."