This is my response to the Densi Proposal Fic Challenge that Raccoon Lady posted on Tumblr. I hope you like :)

Disclaimer: Nope, these wonderful babies are not mine. I wish they were, but they're not.

Deeks panted quietly alongside Kensi, who was happily chatting.

A week earlier, Deeks had bribed the Wonder Twins into researching hikes that lead to magnificent scenery. But, really, all it had taken was three boxes of Oreos for the two of them; easy peasy. Although, they had demanded extra payment for their extended assistance. Deeks had readily agreed, which is why they were communicating through coms, unbeknown to Kensi. He was relying heavily on the twins to guide them to their final destination.

Kensi, of course, had been skeptical when he had told her about the hike, pulling out the "But you hate hikes" card. He had claimed that he loved doing it with her, producing an adorable smile out of her.

That was how they ended up in this trail, Kensi babbling on chirpily, and Deeks silently listening, mainly because he was too out of breath to say anything.

"How much longer?" he inquired softly.

"Seven more minutes," Nell informed him. "If you keep going at the pace you are."

Deeks dipped his head in a slight nod, and struggled to keep up with his girlfriend. They kept walking, Deeks not saying a word. Either Kensi didn't notice, or she was too busy listening to herself. Deeks placed his money on the latter.

"Ok, about a hundred yards in front of you, there are two hills," Nell's voice informed in his ear. "You're going to want to take the left one."

"So, which hill are we taking?" Kensi wondered not a minute after Deeks had received the information. He didn't say anything, otherwise Kensi would see how much he was finding it difficult to cope. Instead, he simply walked to the left hill and started up it, and Kensi followed starting to chat again. Two minutes later, they were near the top, and Deeks prompted Nell to give him the next direction.

"It's just at the top of the hill," Nell encouraged. Deeks looked up, but all he saw was a fence. Maybe he had to walk around the fence…oh god no. Deeks didn't know if he could walk much further. He glanced up at Kensi, still chattering like a parrot. He sighed inwardly, knowing he'd go as far as it took for her.

Fortunately, he spotted a hole in the fence and grinned to himself. This was the place. She was going to love it, he could feel it. He led the way through the fence and took a quick minute to appreciate the view before stepping back. Kensi's babbling had stopped as she looked out over the hills. In the distance was the city of Los Angeles in all its splendour. Water stretched across where the city cut off, and she could see a boat on the horizon. It was truly spectacular, and she smiled.

Only Deeks would put himself through this sort of pain to give her such a beautiful scenery.

It was true, she knew he hated hikes. Even as they hiked up here, she had seen him struggling, but had been noble enough not to call him out due to his attempts to hide it. But really, she admired him for it; for enduring extreme discomfort to do something that she loved. She took in a deep breath of air and then turned around to see Deeks…kneeling on one knee on the ground?

"Deeks?"

"Kensi, I have something important I gotta say," he told her, trying to hide his panting. "So please don't interrupt."

She nodded, feeling suddenly nervous. Was this what she thought it was?

"So, I know I've said before that the rule is 10 years," he began his speech, not bothering to hide his weariness any longer. "But I don't think I can wait that long. I love being your partner, your friend, your boyfriend, and I love you. So, Kensi Marie Blye…"

He paused, struggling to pull something out of his right pocket. Usually, Kensi would have laughed, but it was a very solemn moment so she patiently watched as he was able to pull the blue velvet box out. Her eyes went wide.

"Will you marry me?"

She blinked a few times, trying desperately to process his question. She'd heard him quite clearly, and it wasn't like he'd never said it before, but those were all occasions where he'd been silly and joking, and he'd never spoken the actual words. Now, in this moment, the fact that he had just asked her The Question for real, it felt so surreal. She felt giddy, and scared, and simply overwhelmed with emotion.

So overwhelmed, in fact, she almost couldn't produce her response.

"Are you serious?" she asked quietly. Deeks knew her well enough to read between the lines, to know that she wanted a commitment and that nothing less would do.

"Kensi, I just trekked fifteen minutes up a basically continuous hill so that I could propose here," Deeks replied in a tone that matched the seriousness of the moment. "I think I might collapse from exhaustion if you don't answer me soon, so, yes, I am dead serious."

Kensi licked her lips, took a deep breath and then gave her answer.

"Yes."

She could have sworn a techno music party started in her heart when an ear-splitting grin almost broke his face. She felt tears sting the corners of her eyes as the familiar feeling of metal slid across her nerves on her ring finger. The ring wasn't fancy, but it wasn't thoughtless either; it was so…her.

Deeks almost leapt to his feet and embraced her, quickly attacking her mouth with his. He felt like he was flying on could nine, and he felt like he would cry with joy, except for that he spied a tear slip from his girlfriend's eye and figured it'd be better if he didn't break down.

"Are you crying, Kens?" he murmured, his lips an inch away from hers.

"It's just sweat," she whispered back, not needing to force her smile.

"Eye sweat, you mean," he teased in a low voice, earning himself a well-earned kick to the shin. He yelped, but swallowed it down. She was his, and no amount of anything could change that.

"This is just so…beautiful and scary," she admitted, letting another tear slip out.

"Beautifully terrifying," he agreed, gently brushing her tears away with his thumb. She nodded, kissing him again.

"Terrifyingly beautiful," she added in between kisses, and he bobbed his head in agreement, deepening the kiss.

"Um, Deeks, this whole thing is sweet and everything, but we don't really wanna hear you guys making out," Nell piped up from the other end of the com line.

"Aw, shit," Deeks muttered, not pulling away from Kensi, but removing his earpiece anyway. However, this did not go unnoticed by Kensi, and she pulled away just in time to catch him shoving the earpiece into his pocket. She tilted her head and clicked her tongue.

"You had no idea where we were going," she accused, stepping back.

"No, I did, it's just…I've never been on this hike before," he defended himself. She smirked.

"And so you bullied Nell and Eric into helping you to get here."

"Bribed, Kensi," he corrected, flashing his signature grin. "And before you ask: ten boxes of Oreos."

She let out a snort, and crossed her arms. Of course they'd demand Oreos. But the fact that Deeks had spent $37 to get her here was truly touching. She felt her heart melt, but she couldn't let him get by without a compisult (a compliment cross an insult; he'd come up with the word himself).

"You are such a…" she trailed off, unable to find the right word to describe him.

"What?" he teased, stepping forward. "Good partner? Loving boyfriend? Charmer?"

"You are so full of yourself," she muttered, lip locking with him again.

"You love me anyway," he chuckled against her mouth.

"Hell yeah, I do."