Hi… please don't shoot! I'm unarmed and extremely apologetic. I mean, it only took me 4 months to upload this chapter… We'll look back on this and laugh in a few years!

In a few years, like when I finish this story. Heh... heh…

ANYWAYS, thank you so so much for all your lovely reviews. I'm responding to them now! Better late than never, right?

Music. That was the first thing he noticed: blaring, cheery, carnival music. Which was appropriate, though, since they were at a carnival.

Deeks had heard a few weeks earlier that a traveling carnival was going to set up camp for a couple of days on the nearby pier, and he'd been chatting excitedly about it ever since. Somehow, he convinced the whole team to visit it; he claimed he pulled that feat due to his great skills of persuasion, but Kensi had rolled her eyes and said everyone was just fed up with his incessant babbling about it so they agreed to go in order to shut him up. Either way, he was happy for the outing.

After they paid the entrance fee and pushed their way past the turnstiles, the group stopped for a minute to look around. There was a myriad of game and food booths, and a few rides visible over the tops of the tents. Deeks clapped his hands and turned to his coworkers.

"So what do you guys want to do first?"

Sam didn't respond to him, but rather turned to Callen, challenging: "Bet I can beat you at that shooting booth game."

Callen scoffed. "You're on."

"There is no way you can beat my SEAL training, G" Sam teased as they walked towards the booth.

Deeks was going to yell after them that this was supposed to be a team bonding experience, but Nell cut him off.

"Check this out!" she said excitedly to Eric, pointing at the small map she had picked up at the entrance. "There's a roller coaster called 'Apollo's Chariot'!"

Eric looked over her shoulder and grinned. "Six corkscrews in a row? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"See how many times we can ride it without puking?"

"Yes!"

The techs did an underhanded high five before dashing away in the direction of the roller coaster, leaving Kensi and Deeks alone.

"So, do you plan on ditching me too, Fern?"

But Kensi didn't answer, and when he turned to bother her about it, he noticed her eyes were fixated on some people walking by. Well, fixated on what they were holding: towering bowls of ice cream. She put a hand on her stomach like she suddenly remembered she was starving. And by the way she was staring down those people, he didn't doubt it.

"Hungry?" Deeks asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"After seeing that, how could I not be? We need to find that ice cream stand!"

"And soon, too. I was worried for a second there that you were going to devour that small child."

"Hey, I would never eat a person."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what Hannibal Lecter said as a child, and look where he ended up."

She punched him not-so-lightly in the shoulder, and he backed away, clutching it dramatically.

"Oh no! I think I see a cannibalistic glint in your eyes! I know I'm magically delicious, Kens, but try to restrain yourself!" he said, finishing with an eyebrow waggle.

She rolled her eyes attempted to glare at him, but he could see the amusement in her features.

"Just shut up and help me find that ice cream stand, Deeks."

So they began to weave their way through the multitude of booths in a pleasant silence. Every so often her arm would accidentally bump his, or her fingers would innocently graze the back of his hand. Such had been the way for a few months now, and Deeks was not about to complain. Each contact was a reassurance of what he already knew, and he found himself struggling to contain the huge smile that was threatening to explode across his face.

After a few minutes of scouring the grounds, Kensi gasped excitedly. "Found it! Go find us a place to sit while I order" she said quickly before practically skipping towards the booth.

He shook his head and found an empty table for them to sit at. It was strange how a woman so intimidating and strong could also be insanely adorable as she got so giddy over food. That was just one more thing that made her so indisputably awesome. Most women that Deeks knew, on a date or any such occasion, would order a green salad and pick at it like a scavenging bird, but not Kensi. She would order a giant steak with a loaded baked potato, and of course, would always save room for dessert.

And yet, for someone who so loved food, she was clueless when it came to making any. He grinned as he remembered the fruit smoothie stem fiasco. But before his brain could finish conjuring up a different fruit scenario that involved chocolate covered strawberries and very few articles of clothing, he noticed Kensi walking towards him. And she wasn't alone.

She was accompanied by the biggest mound of ice cream he had ever seen – at least he assumed there was ice cream somewhere beneath the towering heap of toppings. She sat down with a triumphant look on her face as she gazed adoringly at her creation.

"Geez Kens, did you leave any for the other people in line?"

She ignored him and waved her hand at the masterpiece, saying, "I call it 'Ice Cream a la Kensi'!"

"Well I call it diabetes" he muttered as she took a bite. He watched as her eyelids fluttered close and heard her make a guttural noise of approval. The sound surprised him, and he felt his pulse quicken as he imagined her making it in a much different setting. This wasn't going to turn into the diner scene from When Harry Met Sally, was it? He wasn't sure he could handle that.

Her eyelids popped open and he tried to pretend like he wasn't just very turned on by her eating ice cream.

"Deeks, I don't care what you call this, you have to try it."

He nodded and dug his spoon deep into the bowl in an attempt to actually get some ice cream along with his sprinkles, peanut butter cup chunks, Oreo crumbles, M&Ms, whipped cream, hot fudge, caramel, and a number of other sweet treats he couldn't even identify. As soon as the spoon hit his tongue, he was assaulted by a (surprisingly) pleasant meld of delicious sugary goodness – it was in that moment that he finally experienced an explosion of flavor.

"Do you like it?" she asked eagerly.

"Like it? I want to be alone with it!"

She laughed as they both continued to devour the delectable dessert, and within an astonishingly short amount of time, the bowl was empty. Deeks leaned back and thought about the implications of what he had just done. In order to make up for all those calories, his diet next week would be… lettuce.

Kensi also leaned back and put a hand on her stomach. "Wow, that was a lot of ice cream."

"I know, I think I might actually explode from sugar overload" he said, tossing their trash into a nearby garbage can.

She smiled. "Totally worth it though. But I guess this means we can't go on any rides since we don't want to get sick…"

Deeks suddenly sat up straight as an idea dawned on him.

"Yes we can, come on!"

He grabbed her hand and nearly dragged her behind him as he raced to his destination. Why hadn't he thought of this earlier? He didn't slow down until they were right in front of the Ferris wheel, and surprisingly, there was no one in line. A small grin snuck on to Deeks' face as he got another idea. He walked up to the ride operator and whispered something in his ear before beckoning Kensi to get on the ride with him.

"What did you ask that guy?" she inquired as she slid into the passenger carriage.

"You'll find out soon enough" he replied as mysteriously as possible. She eyed him with suspicion as the wheel lurched into motion.

Their carriage slowly made its way to the top, where it softly came to a halt (and would hopefully stay that way for the next few minutes, as the operator had agreed). The view was fantastic. To the left, part of the carnival was still visible, with its cheery bright lights and eager attendees rushing about, but the main attraction was the ocean.

Calm and quiet, it was a stark contrast to the semi-hectic environment to the left. Deeks sighed contentedly as he gazed out at the gently crashing waves and breathed in the wonderfully calming sea air. He had never felt more at home, swinging gently in the breeze, with the water in his sights and his partner sidled up next to him. Speaking of which…

"So, about that kiss you owe me…"

Surprisingly, Kensi turned to him and leaned in without hesitation, pressing her lips softly against his. She pulled away after only a few seconds, and Deeks cleared his throat.

"So I guess we're all even then" he said, failing at masking his disappointment.

Kensi didn't settle back down into her seat though. Instead, she bit her lip tentatively, their faces still only inches apart. She shifted closer to him before speaking: "Well, I don't know, you did a lot for me when I was sick. I'm not sure if one little kiss could make up for it."

Deeks turned more towards her, causing their chests to touch and making their already mingled breaths come in shorter bursts. He licked his lips before whispering huskily, "You think I deserve a little bit more?"

"Yeah, I'd say so" she said breathily as she stared down at his mouth. With that, he leaned in and kissed her again.

Her hand immediately came up to his shirt and she grabbed a bunch of the material in her fist, pulling him closer. He wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her in tighter, until she was practically on his lap. Her tongue slid along his lower lip before slipping into his mouth and as his collided with hers, his whole body pulsed with excitement.

She tasted just the way he remembered, but with some hints of ice cream sundae, which he was definitely not complaining about.

His fingertips slipped under her shirt and ghosted lightly across her lower back, and as she tangled her fingers in his hair and gently pulled on his lower lip with her teeth, he felt her heart pounding at the same rhythm as his. He slowly sucked each of her lips before pulling away, since he realized the ride had apparently gone back into motion – someone must have gotten in line. Damn them.

They unwillingly untangled themselves, and while smoothing her shirt, Kensi smiled.

"I knew it" she breathed as their carriage slowed to a stop at the bottom of the ride.

"Knew what?"

"It's better with the scruff."

Deeks had never smiled so widely in his life, and as they walked away, he struggled to find something to say. He needed to tell her how awesome that was, how much it meant to him, how much it made his heart soar… about how he apparently was the female protagonist in a crappy romance novel… But before Deeks could make an embarrassingly sappy admission, Kensi stopped suddenly.

"Oh my god. It just hit me that we're one of those cliché couples who make out on Ferris wheels."

"Couples? We're a couple?"

"Well I mean a couple of… people. Because there are two of us. Two is a couple."

Deeks grinned instead of teasing her and laced his fingers with hers. Being the other half of a couple with Kensi? He could live with that. Hell, he practically lived for that.

They continued to stroll along for a few minutes in a now peaceful, comfortable silence before another ride caught Deeks' eye. He stopped walking and squeezed Kensi's hand to get her attention. When she turned to him, he beamed at her excitedly.

"Are we one of those couples who makes out in the Tunnel of Love?"