A/N: I have to admit that while I've loved a couple of the scenes between these two we've gotten on the show, I was hoping to see a littttttle more buildup and character development before they got to this point. So, I'm starting up this series of post-eps and one-shots that kind of serves as an alternate storyline for season 5, but it connects together some of the good scenes and [hopefully] fills in some blanks.

You're inches from my fingertips
I've come as close as I can get
I'm reaching but the rest is up to you
'Cause I don't ever wanna miss
Being here with you like this
I'm trying but it's all that I can do
I'm reaching but the rest is up to you
~Jason Reeves, "Reaching"

Per usual, the Los Angeles sun was blinding as it radiated off the Pacific across from Deeks' house. He had to slip his sunglasses over his eyes before he twisted his key into the lock to secure his place for the day. He turned back toward the shore, taking a few steps down his walkway toward his car, eyes slowly adjusting to the brightness – and that's when he saw her.

Like some perfect portrait from a pin-up calendar in his dreams, Kensi was draped over his brand new, absolutely gorgeous, recently confiscated bike in a perfect mix of leather and shimmering metal. Okay, so he might have been imagining the draped part, he admitted a second later; it was really more of a lean, her foot planted against the weight of the bike, her backside seated on the edge of the driver's seat, her arm resting on the cushion of the back seat. And the only leather she had on was a black jacket loosely hugging her figure over her typical jeans and plaid button-up.

"Good morning, Sunshine." She grinned, squinting even with the sun at her back.

"You stole my opening," he accused. Now that he was close, he was paying special attention to the wind-blown strands of hair that had escaped her low ponytail and kept falling across her face.

Walking around the bike – and her – he gave it a onceover, checking for any scratches, dings, or imperfections. He was almost about to be a little angry that she'd taken her out of Hetty's garage and gone for a joy ride, but Deeks was finding it hard to stay irritated right now. He thumbed away a smudge on the chrome handlebar and resumed his stance across from her.

"How'd you pull this off?"

"Because I'm Hetty's favorite," she answered proudly, "and I can be very convincing."

"Oh I don't doubt the latter part of that," Deeks agreed, his eyes dancing over her pointedly. "But what's the catch? I have to ride shotgun?"

"You're driving," she clarified, pressing the keys into his palm. "I'm riding on the back."

"Couldn't stop thinking about that, huh?" he teased, giving her an obligatory sidelong glance as he brushed past her to reclaim his new toy. "I knew you'd come around."

"Keep dreaming," she told him as she watched him start up the bike, the roar of the engine almost drowning out her words. Taking his place in the driver's seat, he exhaled as the now familiar rush of excitement and adrenaline coursed through him. Somehow, though, it felt a little reckless this time.

And then Kensi gripped the edges of the open leather jacket, peeling it from her shoulders. As she shrugged it off, her plaid shirt rode up with it, revealing the smallest patch of smooth, toned light olive skin.

"I think I am." He grinned as she shoved the jacket – his jacket, he now realized – into his chest.

But at the sight of her bare arms where her shirt ended halfway up her forearms, he hesitated before sliding it on.

"That's all you're wearing?"

"Yep."

Suddenly, a harsh dose of reality he hadn't felt in a while overwhelmed him as his mind conjured up motorcycle accident incidence rates, images of road rash on crash victims from his time as a patrol officer, statistics on passenger fatalities and injuries…

"Do you know how painful road rash is?" he reasoned with her, not amused by her smile at their role reversal.

"Yep."

He handed the jacket back over to her, but she refused. Instead, she placed a hand on his hip like it was the most natural thing in the world – though it sent his senses into overdrive – and set her right foot on the back footrest, lifting herself into the back seat behind him.

"I'm not going to need it," she assured him, adjusting her balance until she was centered. She'd taken special care not to lean against him yet, he noted, but the contact was inevitable. Her knees were already brushing against his thighs, and once they were moving she'd have to lean into the turns with him, would have to brace against him when he hit the brakes.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because you're my partner," she said simply, like it was the only answer. She leaned forward, resting her chin on his shoulder. Although she was definitely trying to get to him, he was sure her voice wasn't supposed to sound quite so enticing as she added, "It's your job to keep me safe."

She smiled as she felt his body stiffen. Swallowing hard, he looked dead ahead for fear of catching sight of the playfulness and softness in her eyes he knew was there.

"Really?" he finally managed, aggressively kicking up the stand. "You're seducing me into safety? Hetty was okay with this?"

"Oh, Hetty thought it was brilliant."

Balancing their weight on the bike, he finally slid the jacket on like the catch that it was. And when he turned around to pass her a helmet, she was still smiling – half proudly, half something else.

Because if this worked, which it was, then it pushed the bonds of their partnership even further.

Something told him, whether Kensi realized it or not, that the lesson wasn't just for him. Yesterday Kensi had lectured him on the dangers of motorcycle crashes and PTSD and mortality rates for soldiers returning from traumatic experiences. Yesterday she'd declared it was her job to keep him safe, taking on all the responsibility in the world, and today she'd willingly turned it around on him.

It was his job to keep her safe, too. How much of that, he wondered, involved keeping himself safe for her, too?

Deeks fastened his own helmet, checking the controls, the mirrors, the brakes what seemed like a hundred times before he even considered leaving the curb. And when he finally did, he checked the road several times more before pulling out slowly and steadily.

Resisting the urge to roar the engine against the wind and race along the shore, he crawled along at the speed limit. Kensi peered over his shoulder, a smile curving her lips when she saw that they were humming along at a very steady, very exact 35 miles per hour.

But by the time he'd pulled up at the first main light they needed to turn left at, her amusement was dwindling.

They were going slow. Like, grandpa driving, cars angrily swerving around them slow. And now he was stopped in a left turn lane when they had a yield light and several opportunities to make it through. To make matters worse, he was humming. Happily, carelessly, and yet completely attentive to the road. He was just trying to get to her now and it was working.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for the light. Because it's safer."

"This is going to take forever," she said, glancing at the time on his watch. Between her early morning talk with Hetty, a trip to the garage, their short exchange outside his house, and his overly cautious driving, they were late.

And waiting for a green light when the roads were completely clear.

"Oh my God, there aren't any cars. Deeks, go. You're driving me crazy."

"What's that, Sunshine?" he called out, purposely roaring the engine as it sat idle. "You want to go now?"

Deeks couldn't resist. With a discreet glance each direction, he hit the gas hard and peeled out – though controlled and safely – of the intersection, forcing Kensi to hold his waist for balance. And when the gears shifted sharply as he accelerated, her chest bumped against his back.

Rather than right herself, she had to lean into the turn with him so she stayed there, her hand on his waist as her body pressed into his, heat and tension between them.

"Have I mentioned that you're very annoying?"

She heard – and felt – him laugh against her. Despite her words from moments ago, it made her smile. It had been a while since she'd heard him laugh like that, since she'd seen him so…balanced. Either he was a wreck or he was so, so good that he was on a high, searching for anything that would keep his heart racing and his adrenaline pumping.

But there was nothing like Kensi's safety to sober him up from an adrenaline binge, and that both calmed her and terrified her. Hadn't there been a time not too long ago when they'd struggled with trust – when he'd freaked out at the thought of her touching his gun, when she'd hidden so many parts of herself away from him?

Now trust was at the very center of so many things about them… It was everything.