It hadn't been much of a case, and it had wrapped quickly, with little paperwork to be completed. A new case hasn't surfaced yet, and as a result, there isn't much going on at OSP. Callen and Sam elected to work off their boredom by sparring in the gym, and made their exit a little while ago. Hetty is on the phone in her office, giving someone hell. Deeks looks up from his game of Angry Birds, first cringing, and then smiling at the sound of the tiny woman cursing in multiple languages. "Go get 'em, Hetty," he says to himself, laughing. He stretches, then looks around. Kensi is at her desk, seemingly lost in a world all her own. She doesn't even glance up at the sound of his voice.

He leans back in his chair and watches her for a moment, waiting for her to feel his steady gaze, and yell at him. She doesn't even move. She has a book in her hands, one leg drawn up beneath her. She brings one fisted hand absently to her mouth, and catches her thumbnail between her teeth, concentrating heavily on the printed words. He keeps watching her, unable to look away. He's seen her read before, usually on her computer screen, but he can't remember seeing her read a book before, and for some odd reason, it's ridiculously interesting to him.

She's been through so much lately, learning the truth about her father and the man who killed him. Being shot in her relentless pursuit of that truth. Reuniting with her mother after all those lost years. He's sure he'll never quite get the images of those days out of his head or his heart. Helplessly watching her take a bullet, seeing her lost and scared, and on the run, finally declaring her trust in him, and asking that he protect her mother. And then, seeing her bleeding and exhausted after it all came to a violent, deadly end. Now, the sight of her sitting a few feet away, placid and relaxed is a wonderful sight.

Hetty continues to curse in the background, and he can hear telephones and voices and the everyday shuffle of life inside the Mission surrounding him, but soon, everything shrinks down into this one moment in time. He watches Kensi turn the page, replacing her curled hand against her mouth. Moments later, she absently tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and bites her lower lip, her eyes widening slightly at whatever scene she's reading. It occurs to him that she's totally engrossed in the novel – he assumes it's a novel – and completely unaware of her surroundings. He's never seen her so focused on something non-work related, and for once, he isn't even tempted to throw something at her.

He thinks he should feel bad for staring like an obsessed stalker, but he doesn't. He can't help it. She fascinates him in the first place, but each time she does something new or different, or out of character, it completely sucks him in. Like a little kid seeing a butterfly for the first time, or a stargazer catching a rare glimpse of a comet streaking through the night sky. And this is new and different and out of character. She's unguarded, unaware, unencumbered with worry or stress or details about a case. She's…different.

She turns another page, and he realizes she's turning them faster and faster. He wishes he could see what she's reading. There's no way he's bothering her, in order to ask. This quiet, candid moment is rare, and for once, he's not screwing it up with spoken words. Instead, he sits back and watches her, rolling a pen between his fingers and thumbs. She has her lip caught between her teeth again, her eyes darting across the page. And then, her mouth drops open slightly, and she swallows. He thinks he sees a slight tremor in her hands. He feels his brow crease as he tries to reconcile what he's seeing, with the ironclad woman he knows.

She flips the page, and sure enough, her fingers are trembling. She swallows again, and he watches in wonder as he sees something he's never seen before. A tear slips down her cheek. She blinks a few times, obviously trying to clear her vision, and another tear falls. His mouth drops open. His heart nearly stops. His breath catches in his throat at the sight. Backlit from the late afternoon sun, streaming in from a high window somewhere behind her, she looks soft and golden and vulnerable. He waits for her to look around in embarrassment and swipe away the errant tears, but she doesn't. She keeps reading, her emotions clearly written on her beautiful face.

He stops rolling the pen, going completely still. He watches from his desk, his heart thudding with things he can't quite imagine. Kensi in tears. Kensi in tears in the bullpen, in clear view of anyone who walks by. Strong, angry, readily violent Kensi. In tears. At work. Totally oblivious to her surroundings. It makes no sense, and if he wasn't here to witness it, he'd never believe it. But here he is, witnessing it. And to his disbelief, she hasn't noticed.

He watches her turn another page and swallow, sniffling slightly as she does so. She blinks away more tears, and takes a small, shuddering breath. He feels it run through him, clear to his feet. It's only a book. She's fine. She doesn't need me to comfort her. Holy shit, she's actually human. The thoughts roll through his mind one after the other. Still, he can't help but want to stand up and go to her, to take her into his arms and hold her. She'd likely knock the hell out of him, ask him what the hell he's doing, or what the hell is wrong with him, and storm off. And that's the last thing he wants. So, instead of doing the unthinkable, he sits back and keeps watching in wonder, as his tough as nails partner gets more and more caught up in her book.

She's incredibly beautiful this way. It's not news that she's attractive. Hell, he realized the first second he ever laid eyes on her, that she was gorgeous. There wasn't much about her that hadn't impressed him then, and two years later, he's even more impressed than he was at the start. He's learned her quirks, her habits, her likes and dislikes. He's learned when to poke at her, and when to back off or lose a limb. He's learned when to give her sugar and caffeine, and when to cut her off. He's learned not to go too far.

He's learned a few things about himself in the past two years, as well. He isn't the guy most people see him as. He's obnoxious, yes, but he's not as carefree and cavalier as it would seem. He's not out for a string of one-night stands and meaningless relationships. Not anymore. He wants more than that. And he wants it with her. That thought scares him for a plethora of reasons. The first being, she's Kensi, and she's dangerous. She's also damaged, and it's no secret that she has issues where relationships are concerned. Add to that, the fact that she's his partner, and everyone knows how well relationships between partners work, and it's an all-out disaster waiting to happen. Not that she'd let it. Sure, she flirts and tosses innuendo back and forth at will, but he doesn't imagine it's anything more than playful, innocent friendship. Their thing. He looks over at her, lip caught between her teeth, cheeks wet with tears, and it breaks his heart a little. He realizes he wants her more than he thought. Much more.

He hears Sam and Callen's laughter approaching, and sees Kensi take a deep breath and close the book, wiping her eyes. He looks quickly down at his phone, to his abandoned game of Angry Birds, and pretends to be involved in it.

Callen glances down on his way past. "Looks like you've had a productive afternoon, Deeks."

"Yeah, well. I didn't feel like getting the crap kicked out of me by you two, so..."

Sam chuckles and gathers his things to leave. Callen does the same, and Kensi joins in, shoving the book into her bag before standing up.

Deeks stands and stretches. "Heading home, Kens?"

She nods, shutting down her computer. "Yeah. You?"

"Yeah, I think so. Wanna grab a beer?"

"Nah, I think I'll just go home. I have stuff to do."

"See you tomorrow."

She smiles as she walks past, but he can't get the image of those rare, beautiful, uncharacteristic tears out of his head.