A/N: *Spoiler Alert*

It's been a couple of weeks since the season 9 finale premiered, but it should go without saying that this story contains minor spoilers (or at least, allusions to spoilers). Though, since it occurs mid-episode, it doesn't reveal much that you wouldn't already know if you've at least seen the promos.

Still, for my readers abroad who won't see the episodes for several weeks, you have been warned.

Set after the events of 9x23 ("A Line in the Sand"), and in the middle of episode 9x24 ("Ninguna Salida") between days one and two down in Mexico.

Rating: M for Mexico. M for Misery if this all doesn't work out next fall. M for Moose. And as always, M for Mature content in this work of fan-fiction.

"Deeks, you're going to have to talk to me at some point."

When Kensi spoke, he looked up from his laptop. She'd been watching him while he sat at the small motel table, pouring over the satellite images and recon photos they'd taken earlier in the day— at the expense of nearly being caught by the roving compound patrol.

"Yeah, maybe," he answered. Looking back down at the screen he added, "But I don't have anything to say right now."

Kensi kept staring over at him from the bed she was sitting cross legged on. It had been a long couple of days with very little sleep, and she was a lot more anxious than she should be right before an op. For that, she blamed Deeks. They had just finished fleshing out the plan for breaching the compound and picking up the kid, and tonight might just be their last few hours of relative peace before they put the plot into action the next day.

All she wanted to do was apologize for what she had said in the garage the night before, and for storming off— despite the fact that she meant every word. But she was stubborn and proud, and waiting for him to make the first move; for him to bring it up and insist again that he didn't intend to actually leave her… or so she desperately hoped. It was hard because she was still so angry with him for bringing up his desire to get out of the game again, especially at such a moment. Angry with him for drawing a line in the sand and insisting that this would be their last mission— without any consideration of her feelings on the matter.

"You had plenty to say back in the parking garage," she reminded him, her voice full of more venom than she had really intended.

Still looking down, he spat back, "So did you. Plenty to shout, as I recall."

Kensi took a calming breath, her nostrils flaring as she stared him down. "We need to talk," she insisted.

"We do," he agreed as he closed his laptop suddenly. Rising from his chair he walked over to his backpack to dig out some things for bed. "But not now. Not when we're about to assault a house protected by the Mexican Army, the Federales, and the cartel, if you can believe it."

"We might feel better if we can resolve this now," she suggested, mirroring his actions and starting to change into her sleepwear. She noticed that he continued to change in front of her with no modesty, and took some comfort in the simple gesture. He wasn't yet acting like they were broken up, at least.

Finally looking up at her as she finished pulling on her sleep shirt, he met her gaze and said, "Unless we can't. In which case I'd lose the last of what I desperately need right now."

"And what's that?"

"Hope," he said plainly, a look of pain painted across his face.

They stared at each other for what felt like several minutes. Maybe it actually was. She tried to read his face, but each of the dozen emotions she was feeling herself were reflected in the complicated look he was giving her, and she couldn't tell which was the most prominent.

Kensi stepped closer to him. Tentatively, she reached out with one hand to brush some of his unruly hair from his brow; a brow that now showed signs of age and the stress they lived through on a daily basis. Something inside of Deeks softened. He closed his eyes and leaned his whole head into her palm, letting her caress and soothe him.

She stepped closer still, and lifted her other hand to tuck it behind his shoulders. As their foreheads pressed together, his arms came to rest loosely around her waist. And when his lips brushed against hers so delicately, his hold on her tightened, his mouth opened, and he pulled her into a slow, deep kiss.

As their impassioned kiss intensified, she dug her fingers into his shirt, bunching it in her fists as he moved with her. They tumbled back onto the nearest bed, barely pulling their lips apart as they shifted fully onto it. She yanked his shirt over his head and tossed it aside, then he did the same for her as she slid her shorts down her long legs. His smooth skin was now exposed to her, and her hands immediately went to work exploring the familiar muscles that tensed beneath her touch.

Deeks continued to kiss her even through her occasional nibbles. In fact, they only seemed to spur him on. His hands slid down her torso, over her bare breasts and the centerline of her toned stomach, until he reached the waistband of her underwear.

Kensi had no doubt of where this was going, despite having some reservations. But she was still surprised when his fingers delved between her legs with little warning and no fanfare. She let out a whimper against his lips as he traced circles around her clit, and dug her nails into his back in response.

He groaned and pushed his fingers in deeper, but Kensi was ready to combust. She started to squirm beneath him as she wiggled out of her underwear. He helped her along, then sat up on his knees to pull down his boxers. Kensi joined him on her knees. Face to face with him, she leaned in to kiss him voraciously. Barely able to keep her balance through the head-spinning intensity of their kiss, she put her hands on his chest for balance. When Deeks' own hands, which were cupping her ass, squeezed firmly, she was reminded of what she had planned on doing next.

Dragging her palms down the rippled plane of his chest and abs, she reached between them and located his stiff cock, which had been prodding her in the hip these past few minutes. She tugged on him a few times, and through his moans, Deeks leaned forward to push her back down on the bed. But rather than falling to her back again, Kensi turned to settle on her elbows and knees.

Deeks planted himself behind her and didn't tease her even a little bit before pushing into her. Kensi moaned as he squeezed in. Wet and ready as she was, she was still tight and not entirely prepared for the quick pace he had already set.

His thrusts were fast and short. But as she started to relax around him, his strokes lengthened. For a few minutes, he held onto her hips to pull her back into him each time he propelled forward.

Kensi could feel some of her fears and anxiety slipping away as he hit that perfect spot within her again and again, but she wanted more. She wanted to feel his body pressed against hers. She wanted to kiss his lips again. But mostly, she wanted to see his eyes and to try and pour into a look what she was struggling to say out loud.

Rocking her body back with all her strength, she was able to throw him off of her. Deeks had only a moment to stare at her in surprise before she tackled him, pinning him on his back beneath her. The look of shock on his face was gone once she had melded her lips with his again. Straddling his hips, she blindly reached between them and guided his slick cock back into the folds of her pussy.

Once she had sunk down onto him, Deeks wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. With her lips on his and her breasts pressed to his chest, she arched her back and started to raise and lower her hips to a steady beat.

The feel of him gliding in and out was as amazing as it always was. But there was something so much more intense happening now as she kept her body fused with his. She wasn't sure it had ever been like this. At least not since their first time— then like now, she wasn't sure of where they stood, of what they were to each other. All she had known then and all she knew now was that she loved him. And she absolutely did.

The fear that their love might be coming to an end was completely banished for a few moments when their eyes met.

"Deeks," was all she could utter in a shaky whisper.

Her breathing and her movements grew erratic. Deeks had taken over for her and with each upward thrust, was driving her over the edge. He was no more composed than she was. And his harsh moans joined in harmony with hers, in spite of her best efforts to keep quiet.

The critical mass of all the tension, all the fear, the anguish, the uncertainty, and everything else she had been feeling these last twenty four hours burst forth in a climax more overpowering than she was used to. The pure ecstasy coursed through her veins and rendered her silent, save for her sharp breaths.

She tried to keep moving. Tried to keep up her high, because she didn't want this to end just yet. But her body objected, and she slowly collapsed on top of him.

Deeks slowed his pace. He held onto her, cradling her as he rolled them over. Kensi moaned in satisfaction, and let her body sway with his as he slowly started to rock back and forth, sliding in and out, in and out. He held himself up on his elbows above her; high enough so as not to crush her, while their torsos remained pressed together.

Continuing his languid tempo, he planted several wet kisses on her neck and shoulder. He whispered something against her flush skin, but she couldn't quite make out what he had said.

"Deeks!" she moaned again.

This time he answered in a harsh whisper, "Kensi. Kens."

At that, he broke away. Planting his knees for leverage, he picked up the pace. With speed and force, he started to use his whole body to pound her into the bed. It was almost more than she could handle.

Practically whimpering, Kensi bit her own lip to keep from moaning too loudly. With her arms wrapped firmly around his shoulders, she held on as tightly as she could as the sensations of pleasure started to take control of her again. It was all so much. She could feel an itch and a glossy sheen start to form in her eyes. But she refused to lose her composure, so she buried her face in his neck, nibbling gently.

The fluttering of her inner muscles hadn't fully subsided from her last orgasm only a few minutes ago. But between her heightened emotions and the continued stimulation of Deeks' generous girth, she found herself on the precipice of another. This time, she pulled him with her.

The spasms and convulsions within her couldn't mask the feeling of his release as Deeks slammed into her through strained groans. With a few final, hard thrusts, his whole body shook before he finally came to rest.

They held each other as they struggled to catch their breath. Kensi rarely ever considered the potential consequences of their love making, but this time her mind couldn't help but drift back to the heated conversation about their potential-future-family they had had last night— a more emotional version of one they'd already talked through several times.

Far too sated to put effort into thinking about the futures each of them wanted, she instead tried urgently to hold onto this brief moment of calm and contentedness before it could all slip away.

Even minutes later, as their breathing had finally calmed, Kensi still had her arms wrapped around him. She didn't realize how hard she was holding on until the muscles in her shoulders had started to quake. Deeks' face was still tucked in at the base of her neck, and she could still feel him inside of her, softened but buried as deep as he could be.

It occurred to her that she should get up. That they should get themselves out of this position. That this was only making things harder on them, and that they needed sleep. But as she turned her head and her lips grazed his shoulders, she couldn't help but kiss his smooth skin. She peppered kisses up his neck, and Deeks started to do the same to her.

She shifted slightly under his comforting weight, and as she did, felt him there again. With a groan, Deeks lifted himself up on tired arms. And like magnets, their lips found each other's. As their kiss deepened, he started to move his hips. He pulled, but he was pushing rope. Until all the sudden, he wasn't. It was a strange feeling, but in less than thirty seconds he was able to move more freely inside her. He was fully hard again, and slowly squeezing back and forth between her inner muscles that still ached so sweetly from before.

Steadily, they swayed as one. Their lips pushing and pulling on each other's, keeping time with the rhythm of their bodies. Deeks moved so slowly and so gently that sometimes he ceased entirely, seemingly content to focus on the deep, devouring kisses he shared with her.

For many minutes they carried on like this. And Kensi knew first hand that Deeks' second wind could last a long time.

"Deeks!" she cried out quietly. "Please!"

What she was pleading for, she didn't know. Because if she could, she would make this feeling— this moment shared with him— last forever.

"Come on, Kens!" he urged her. "Come for me again!"

With a new found strength, she started to move with him more actively, raising her hips to meet him thrust for thrust. Slowly, they gathered speed until their pace was nothing short of frenzied. Soon, she found herself unable to keep up with him. She was also unable to distinguish individual sensations anymore. It was all one powerful symphony of feelings racing through her body.

Deeks' mouth was still latched firmly with hers in kisses so desperate she feared he might also be worried that this could be their last time together. She hoped she was wrong. But like every thought that drifted through her muddled brain in that moment, she was blissfully unable to devote any further energy to that line of thinking.

Pushing in as deep as he could go and grinding his hips into hers, Deeks came again before crashing down on top of her. She had been so close that his release triggered a third climax in her; less powerful than the others, but it lingered. The warmth from it spread out to the tips of her toes, and this time, she knew she was entirely spent.

The room was still and silent. The only sounds audible over their gentle breathing were the occasional cars passing by on the road outside.

Finally getting stiff in their tangle of limbs, Kensi decided it was time to move. With a great deal of will power, she pushed herself out from beneath him. Deeks groaned, but shifted to let her go.

She headed to the small bathroom and hopped in the shower, something she hadn't intended to do until the morning. Soon after, she heard Deeks come in. Expectantly, she waited to see if he would join her. Truth be told, she kind of hoped he would. Hoped that they could just go back to how things were before last night and pretend it never happened.

But that seemed unlikely.

She heard Deeks brush his teeth and wash his face. Then she heard him leave. She swallowed her disappointment, finished her shower, and continued getting ready for bed.

When she returned to the main area of the small hotel room, she was faced with a decision. Deeks had turned the lights off and had crawled under the covers of the double bed they had just rumpled up. His back was to her. The other bed was empty and undisturbed. Though torn, she immediately felt as if she'd made the right call when she crawled into the bed her partner occupied.

She was certain he was still awake. But he didn't move, didn't say anything, and didn't make any acknowledgement when she joined him. She shifted up higher on the pillows and settled in close behind him. Resting her chin on his shoulder and snaking an arm around his side, she quickly found one of his hands. He didn't hesitate to entwine his fingers with hers. Kensi closed her eyes both out of exhaustion, and a desire to keep tears from forming again.

In unison, they sighed.

Drifting off to sleep quicker than she thought she would, she felt almost content. Almost. She didn't know what the next day held, much less the more distant future. But at that moment he was still her partner. And that night, he had still been hers. At least one last time.

A/N: Ouch. These episodes killed me. But as usual, I found a way to sneak in a little passionate Densi alone time.

As for speculation, (assuming the main cast all returns) I suspect Densi will work it out. Even if it takes a few episodes. I'm in an ongoing argument with someone about Hidoko's fate and Mosley's employment status, but that matters less to me in the grand scheme of things.

I believe I have one more chapter of 'Swapping Paint' to finish. And I have a number of outlines I've been sitting on. So you'll probably see me continue to update throughout the summer.