We pick up right where that lovely scene left us in episode 5x02! Enjoy:)

-Hazel

"What happens next?"

"It's a love story," Deeks whispered, his voice breathy and low as he drifted off to sleep, one that would be dreamless for the first time in weeks.

"What?"

His words made Kensi's heart rate spike, though she had no idea what he was referring to. The horror movie that she'd planned for them to watch wasn't at all a love story, so he couldn't be referring to that.

Her question had held a double meaning, definitely- and with a strong flutter in her chest Kensi knew that his answer did as well.

She watched the slow rising and lowering of Deeks' chest and knew that he was out like a light. Pulling the quilt off the side of the couch Kensi flung it over his body, tucking it up around his shoulders.

He wasn't going to make it into his bed that night, no doubt in her mind. She pressed her head back down on the pillow that was propped up beside Deeks, their faces only separated by one or two inches.

Knowing that he was sound asleep, and that there was little chance he might wake up, Kensi pressed her lips gently against his forehead, smoothing his hear back just a tad as she did so.

"Sleep tight…"

Kensi whispered the words sleepily, her eyelids dropping with exhaustion. Although it wasn't important because Deeks was already fast asleep, Kensi was still unsure of what to call him. She settled on her favorite term of endearment though, the one that she hoped she'd be able to call him for many more years to come.

"…partner."

The rising sunlight pierced Kensi's eyes as she awoke the next morning, the entire room illuminated by an orange and yellow color scheme that peered in through the the wooden shutters in Deeks' living room.

Sure enough, Deeks sat directly in front of Kensi when she opened her eyes, still in practically the exact same position that he'd been in when they'd both fallen asleep the night before.

Sitting up slowly she rolled her neck; it was in knots from sleeping so awkwardly on Deeks' couch. Truthfully though, Kensi couldn't have cared less.

She was with her partner. He was finally getting some sleep.That was good.

Careful not to awake her partner, Kensi stood up and began tidying his place. She chuckled thinking about all the grief she could give him for it- it would be easy to say that his house looked messier than hers ever had. But Kensi knew much better than to do that right then, so instead she just internalized the thoughts and let herself be amused.

Deeks' house was totally silent, aside from the very distant and faint sound of ocean waves, as well as the few cars that zoomed by on nearby roads.

Moving about with ease, Kensi came to a screeching halt and her jaw clenched as she pushed two random magazines aside to find a CD case, which was titled 'Soothing and Relaxing Sounds to Put Your Restless Mind At Ease.'

She didn't like it, not one bit. Had she been failing? Had her never ending stream of unaccepted phone calls made things worse rather than better? Should she have come over sooner?

Kensi had thought that giving Deeks some space was the best idea. Now though, with him sleeping dreamlessly just feet away from her, Kensi was strongly second guessing her decisions.

Deeks was her best friend as well as her partner. Partners aren't ever supposed to let one another down. Ever. And Kensi couldn't help but feel that she had.

Regardless she kept moving, picking up miscellaneous cereal and snack boxes as she went. There was a half empty milk carton sitting out on the coffee table, she held it out in front of herself as she carried it to the garbage bin- it was way past it's expiration date.

"Oh, um Kens… you don't have to…"

Deeks' groggy voice trailed off as he sat up straighter on the couch. Kensi spun around at the sound of his voice, still holding the carton of milk away an arm's length from herself.

"I'm just cleaning up a bit," she said with a grin, her tone uncharacteristically soft and gentle. "Go back to sleep."

It sounded so much like Kensi could be his girlfriend or wife in that moment that Deeks could hardly formulate an intelligible sentence.

"Well… I'm wide awake now, so I don't think that's going to happen."

He yawned loudly and stretched, watching Kensi's back as she jogged into his kitchen to throw away the milk carton. "What time is it?"

Deeks didn't have a watch on, and was yet to be at a point where he could even begin to know where a time-telling device was in his cluttered house.

Kensi checked the microwave in the kitchen, hollering back out towards the living room.

"A little past noon."

Deeks ran one hand through his hair, eyes widening as he processed her words. "It's Wednesday- don't you have to be at OSP?"

She walked back into the room slowly, quietly pressing her hands together and shifting her weight from foot to foot with each passing step.

"Not without a partner."

Deeks chuckled, almost shy as he ducked his head.

"Right."

Kensi stopped in front of the coffee table and raised one eyebrow, waiting for her partner to elaborate- maybe even give her an answer to the implied question. He didn't seem to take the hint though, so she helped him out.

"Are you coming back?"

She was going to blunt about it, as it seemed that there was no real reason to stifle herself by that point in time.

Suddenly, Deeks looked almost hurt. He swallowed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"So was that what this was?" He asked, gesturing to the cartons of takeout. "Some type of a ploy to get me back to work?"

Kensi turned her head to one side, narrowing her eyes in confusion. "Of course I want you back… but no, it's not just that."

"What's the other part?"

Unsure of what the proper way to word it was, Kensi went with the safest option.

"I was worried about you. You haven't answered my calls for weeks, and you never texted me about the cronut that I left on your doorstep…"

Deeks smiled at the use of that word, any previous sense of hurt gone. "Yeah- thanks for that."

"Of course. It's what partners do."

He strongly considered saying, 'No, it's what girlfriends do,' but stifled himself and changed the subject instead.

"I can't believe it's noon already."

Kensi moved back towards the couch, not wanting to look too eager but doing it anyways.

"Yeah, you were out like a light."

He sighed. "I haven't slept for awhile."

Kensi eyebrows furrowed as she leaned forward, hoping to catch a glimpse of her partner's face.

They did that so easily- found some way to sneak back into deep and meaningful conversations. She knew it was important though, because those bad memories would win if they were just kept on the inside, no light to pull them out of the darkness.

"How long is awhile, Deeks?"

He slammed his eyes shut, only opening them when his face was looking directly at Kensi's.

"I don't know… a few weeks."

Kensi's mouth dropped open slightly- she hadn't known that part. And maybe if she had, things would've been different. He might have started healing sooner.

"A few weeks? Why didn't you just call me?"

He chuckled. "I'm a grown ass man, Kens. I don't think there was anything you could've done."

Kensi just pointed to the place on the couch where she'd slept the previous night. "Clearly that's not true. You slept like a rock."

Kensi was absolutely right: before she'd gotten there the night before, It had felt as if the world was collapsing in around him. But just in the knick of time, Kensi had swarmed in and begun to help him pick up all the broken pieces before he suffocated beneath their colossal weight.

Deeks smirked, laughing as he fiddled with his hands. "Touché, Blye."

Yeah, he was definitely feeling better.

"However it happened… I'm glad that I could help."

He shook his head just once, his eyes suddenly glaring into hers with a newfound sincerity.

"Yeah… you have a tendency of doing that."

Kensi dropped her smile, her face slowly but surely morphing into a mix of sadness, pleasure and uncertainty. She wasn't sure which emotion was the most powerful, as they all came with force.

"What do you mean?"

It was a dumb question- she already knew the answer. But regardless, Kensi wanted to hear him say it all over again, in private. No chance for interruption.

Deeks didn't shrug or try to do anything typical to his personality. Instead, he chose to be real and frank and true.

"You helped me back there, and you're helping now."

He didn't know what to call the place that Siderov had taken him and Sam, as there were a million different names that would work for it.

Autobody shop, torture chamber, deep dark cave of horrors- you name it, he'd thought it. But saying it made the memories come flooding back, so Deeks just settled for 'back there.'

Kensi knew what he meant, so Deeks didn't have to say it aloud.

"Someone had to do it."

"I'm glad you're that person, Kens."

"Me too."

She wanted terribly bad to say something more, something with meaning. So rather than stifling herself and pushing it all back inside like they'd both done for years on end, Kensi finally decided that the safest plan was to just say what she was thinking.

"I should be the one to help you through this… It is a love story, after all."

Deeks eyes widened. He hadn't internally dreamed those words the night before. He'd said them. Aloud.

And Kensi had heard.

His heart rate instantly sped up, but Deeks just held his partner's gaze.

"Well… wouldn't you agree?"

Now they were getting into completely uncharted territory, and Kensi couldn't help but stutter and stammer over her words.

"What- wait, Deeks, are you, um, saying that…?"

She trailed off, unsure how much farther she should go, but Deeks picked up the sentence for her. That was their relationship- when one couldn't carry on, the other persevered for them both.

"Am I saying what?"

"Stop it Deeks."

"Stop what?"

Kensi had to chuckle as she looked down to her lap, but there was a much more serious expression hidden behind it.

"Stop doing that thing that you do."

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about, Kens." He said, trying to breathe as dropped any and all sense of joking.

"I just want you to say something you actually mean."

Her head shot up, eyes wide. Deeks was using Kensi's own words against her, but she didn't mind. It was necessary.

"Fine then. You're right," she said, swallowing hard and making sure that she wasn't leaving room for Deeks to ask any more incessant little questions.

"It's a love story. We're a love story. And I want it, Deeks. I want us. I want all of it. I want you to return my calls, I want you to call me partner, and I want to come over here whenever I please. I want to buy you cronuts, and I want to actually smile and laugh like I used to when you were still at NCIS. I want us."

Her posture suffered slightly as Deeks remained silent, and Kensi wondered whether she should've been slightly less forward about her intentions.

"But… don't you?"

Deeks' mouth was ajar, his heart racing. Kensi truly had said something she actually meant, and the experience had been thrilling, to say the very least.

"Yes."

Without another spoken word, Deeks just leaned in and kissed her, no feelings of trepidation in the slightest.

Kensi was shocked for a second, but quickly moved in to meet him, wrapping both arms around her partner's neck and scooting closer in towards him on the couch.

Deeks was the first to release, wearing a crooked smile that went straight to Kensi's heart, instantly allying any of her worries.

"So, partner, tell me- was I right?"

With their noses still touching, Kensi grinned, relishing in that moment. Deeks was in front of her, his face pulled up into a genuine smile. He looked happy and content, not an ounce of worry on his face, at least for the time being.

She'd been searching for that- happiness. Without Deeks, nothing truly held any meaning. Everything had seemed was daft and dull, but in that moment, there with him- life was bright and colorful.

Kensi leaned in to kiss her partner one more time, keeping it short and sweet so she could answer his question.

"Yes Deeks. It's a love story."