Notes: title and opening quote from the Mason Jennings's song, "Bullet." No profit garnered, all everything owned by others. Thanks to sfa for beta.

You pulled out the pin with your own sweet lips

Marty had thought of something very important and also very funny he intended to share with Kensi when she finished talking to her mother, but he swallowed it back when she came out. Instead he said, "How is she?"

"She's good," Kensi said. "Kinda disappointed we're not together."

"Did you tell her we're all three going to a cabin?"

"Why would I tell her that?" Kensi laughed and started walking down one of 500 corridors on this extremely confusing ship. He followed her because he liked walking behind or next to Kensi (can't beat the view) but also because otherwise, he was pretty sure he would be hopelessly lost.

"Just because we can't have a white Christmas doesn't mean we can't have a white New Year's. I thought it was just assumed, since you did agree, we would just move it back a few days." He smiled at her as they turned again. He was totally lost on this hunk of metal.

She ignored him and said, "No one you wanted to talk to on Christmas Day?"

"I don't think they do ship to shore for dogs, so, no. Besides Monty loves his boarding place, he'd probably be mad at me for interrupting his game with that hot bijon frise," Marty said.

She stopped and turned to face him. "You don't send him to the same boarding place every time." She had her big pleading eyes on him.

"Yes, I do," Marty said. "I am as careful about it as I can be, but yes. It's run by an ex-cop I know and he knows I'm undercover. So."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," he said. "Also, Monty loves that place. Anyway," he said, taking a step closer to her. His fidgeting hands would almost brush her regulation Marine Major shirt right at the lovely breast region. But he held himself back. "Anyway. I meant to tell you, this, all of this, is why I am glad to stay LAPD."

"This," she said. She looked skeptical. She also didn't step away.

"Agent afloating. I would not want to be an agent afloat on this boat. Or any boat."

"Ship," she said.

He said, "Have you ever?" She blinked and he added, "Afloated."

She looked down at her feet and then back up at him. "You know I haven't. You know my entire career, Deeks, and also, they don't tend to assign many female agents to be agent afloat."

He was surprised she was willingly bringing up that she faced some obstacles other male agents did not. It was a subject Kensi usually ignored completely. He decided not to push on that one, either. He said, "Right, I just wondered if maybe you didn't mention it when you told those stories about your time in San Diego and Norfolk before you came to LA. Not that you tell me all the good stories from either of those assignments."

"Whatever," she said.

He didn't want to run out of things to say, especially when they were standing this close. He said, "You're still wearing your Major hottie outfit, I'm taking that as a Christmas gift to me. Not that other guy."

She smiled. "Other guy? Are you jealous?"

"Absolutely. Just like you are every time I smile at some super hot woman." He flexed his fingers a little and did brush her shirt. "Sam and G tried to convince me Marines are your type."

She shrugged. "We both know I'm your type."

"I do have a weakness for super hot chicks," he said.

"You like law enforcement," she said, laughing. "By the way, I don't understand someone who talks so much about his Norway ancestors doesn't want to be on a boat."

"You mean like vikings?"

She stepped forward, pressed against him and kissed him. He kissed her back, like always. He quickly slipped the button at her chest open. She shifted so he could get his hand in her bra, cupping her breast. She was trembling or he was. He could really do this for hours and days.

There was a sound like someone coming. They both stepped back and Kensi hastily buttoned her shirt. She was still looking at him and he was looking at her. He was pretty sure they both had the same look in their eyes, same as every time this happened. Fear. Fear of asking what happened now, or what had just happened. So he said, "uh, vikings?"

"Vikings," she said. She smoothed out her skirt. "They sailed all over the place. In ships."

"But," he said. "But I'm evolved. This is evolution, baby, that's why I'm even closer to the ocean. Surfing, it's my evolved Norse genes."

A sailor walked by them both with a quick muttered "ma'am" at Kensi. She blushed.

"The thing is," she said. "I only have two outfits and they're both this. But I feel a little awkward, now that we're not undercover, pretending to be a Marine."

"You're close enough," he said. "To being a Marine. But if you wanted, Callen and I both have jeans you could try."

"You think Callen's jeans would fit me?" She looked insulted.

"I am going to tell him you think he's fatter than you," Marty said, laughing.

"He isn't fat at all," she said. "But I mean, come on, he's, look, his jeans would fall off me. And you shouldn't be offering up his clothes."

"But you think mine would fit?" He grinned.

"You are very lanky. Skinny, even." She hooked her finger in his belt loop. "We should try." She let go and started walking. He immediately followed.

"This is the way to my cabin? This is the way to my cabin," he said.

"Your berth that you are now sharing with Callen, yes," she said.

He really couldn't think of anything funny to say as they walked briskly. He also didn't want her to change her mind. The Kensi could be skittish, he thought. Skittish and afraid. Much like the Marty, he thought. They'd been spontaneously kissing and making out for months. It was sad that they hadn't gotten to the sex yet because, wow, he really wanted to have sex with Kensi. And a relationship, like partners with benefits, or more, but he was thinking just then about her breast in his hand.

They stepped into his place and she went straight for his bag. She pulled out his other pair of jeans and looked at them. Then she kicked off her shoes and put on the jeans under her skirt. She wiggled out of the skirt and stood there in jeans with her Marine shirt. "What do you think?"

"You are still super hot. Can you do that again, I'm dying to know if you're wearing regulation underwear," he said.

She laughed and took off her cute little Marine hat. She shook her head and looked at him. It was a very intent look. "You know what, Deeks? It's Christmas. What are we doing?"

"We're alone in my berth and you're wearing my jeans." He knew he was avoiding her real question but he wanted her to be super sure. Because then he could be super sure. Besides, Kensi really was the alpha in their relationship, which Marty would never ever admit out loud.

She scrunched her nose up in an adorable way. Then she started unbuttoning her shirt. "We should have sex."

"God, yes," he said. Five seconds later, she was pushing back on the bottom bunk, as they both scrambled out of their clothes.

She sat up on his naked thighs, as much as she could without hitting her head on the top bunk. He touched the line of hair on her pussy. "Landing strip," he said. "I always wondered, seriously."

"Really," she said. She grabbed his hand and guided him between her legs. She bent down, pressing her perfect completely real breasts against his chest.

"Wait, um," he said.

"Don't stop that," she said, pushing his fingers to all her right places.

"No plans to stop, but, also, not pregnant, you, I don't want you to be pregnant," he said. It was difficult being articulate when he was that hard and so much naked Kensi on him and his one free hand grabbing her delightful ass.

"Don't worry," she said. "Taken care of."

"Okay, okay, good. Because, that was definitely something important."

"Shush," she said. And he was finally inside her, which was something like three years of fantasizing made wonderfully real right there in that awful berth and sheets that smelled a little weird. She nudged at his hand again. She came first, in a surprisingly quiet way he hadn't expected.

"I win," he said, grabbing her round magnificent butt with both hands.

"I could do that again," she said, laughing a little. Then he came, hopefully not too loudly.

She kissed him. "Wait," she said. "Did Sam and Callen bring up Jack to make you feel bad?" She frowned.

"They did not, at all."

"That was nice of them," she said. "To me, I mean, not you."

"Thank you," Callen said from the door, sounding confused and disgusted.

"Whoa, HEY" He and Kensi were scrambling to get covered. "You coulda knocked," Marty said.

"To my own berth?" Callen covered his eyes and backed out. "We need to talk about this."

"Close the door so I can put on some clothes," Kensi said. She sounded a little screechy but Marty decided right then to never tell her.

Kensi waited until the door was firmly closed to put on her underwear, bra and his jeans. Her bra was a simple red racerback, but the panties were fantastic. Definitely not regulation. They were red with orange and blue flowers all over and not a thong and it was really sad when she put on things that covered them. She fished a t-shirt out of his bag. It was a totally stunning outfit. She glared at him. "Pull up your damn pants, Deeks."

"Sorry, you're really pretty." He finished getting dressed. "It's super distracting to me."

She blushed and opened the door.

Callen was still frowning. He joined in the glaring at Marty party. "What did you say, what did you say the first second you came in here?"

"Me?"

"You said top bunk, I call the top bunk. You went on about it in your obnoxious talking way too much way," Callen said.

"You're upset because we did it in your bunk," Kensi said slowly.

Marty said, "Okay, I get that, Callen, I really do, but it's not like we planned this or something -"

Callen held up his hand and looked at both of them. "Are you two - is this the first time you've done that?"

Marty nodded, then Kensi hit him in the arm. "That's none of your business," she said.

"I thought you'd been doing it for months," Callen said. "Okay, separate from the bunk issue, we are having a long discussion about appropriate professional conduct."

"On Christmas?" Marty said.

"Fine," Callen said. "Tomorrow."

"On Boxing Day?" Marty said.

Callen said, "Fine, the flight home. Maybe it will stop you from talking so much to cover your fear of flying."

"I have no fear," Marty said. "I look forward to hearing all about how to be more professional -"

"It involves a lot less butt grabbing, Kensi," Callen said.

"It was once, twice," Kensi said. "How did you even see that?"

Marty turned to Kensi. She did look beautiful in her silly indignation. "Are you really asking him about how he saw something in our workplace with fifteen hundred cameras and Hetty?"

She rolled her eyes. Marty said, "So I guess we're switching bunks, right?"

"God, yes," Callen said. "I'm leaving for three hours." He stomped off.

Marty closed the door after him and said, "See? I didn't tell him you think he's fat."

"You're the greatest," Kensi said. She smiled at him. "Remember when I said I could go again? We've got three hours."

"And then when Callen comes back, we can go somewhere and talk. For real talk, I mean. I have no fear," Marty said.

"Okay," Kensi said. "Me either. I am sort of dreading Callen's lecture, but not afraid of it." She took off the shirt she was wearing. "Sex first, though."