Conclusion. I still own nothing. So sad.

No. No thanks, I'm good. I have beer at my place. I've decided to give up drinking. I'm sorry, you have the wrong number. I can't, I turn into a pumpkin at midnight.

Deeks thought of multiple replies he should have given Kensi when she invited him over to her place for a 'beer' at ten after midnight. Anything other than the 'okay, i can come over' he sent her would have been a better response. This was a bad idea, and he knew it. People don't just invite their exes over late at night for a beer; they invite them over for sex.

He knew it would do nothing but further complicate their already complicated situation. As he sat on his bike in front of her apartment, trying to convince himself he should just go back home, the events of the past year flashed before his eyes. Most of it was a blur. They slept together, he couldn't take the shot, she punched him, he forgave her, she saved him, he said he'd be patient with her, and then she disappeared. It didn't get much better after that. He was patient with her, staying true and doing everything he could to keep in contact with her while she was in Afghanistan.

But that mission changed her. She didn't want to open up about all of the details of what she saw and experienced while she was captured; and how could he blame her when he treated his torture the same way, pushing his anxiety further and further down in hopes that one day everyone would forget that he wasn't quite the man he used to be. It worked for him until the day he discovered she was missing; that day another piece of his soul died, buried and forgotten along with the parts that never left the chair in that auto body shop. The stress became too much for him to handle anymore. He was broken; and when they finally found Kensi, she was too.

Their attempt at a relationship after she came home had been doomed from the start. He was too emotionally invested in her; she was too emotionally damaged to reciprocate. Two halves couldn't make a whole. And when their partnership started to reflect the struggles of their relationship, Hetty was forced to give them an ultimatum. As much as it hurt, the choice to remain partners over lovers was obvious. Working together was easier and took less effort than actually being together. And at the end of the day they cared too much about each other to let anybody else be their partner, to have their back in life or death situations day in and day out. The transition back to 'normal' wasn't easy, but they were learning how to just be partners again. Over time they had flashes of what they used to be together, fun and flirty and happy, but that's all it was: flashes.

Tonight's sexually charged antics at the bar were more than just a flash; for Deeks, it felt more like a wildfire that he wasn't able to extinguish. Even though his brain kept telling him to turn around and go home, to suppress his urges like he'd become so accustomed to doing over the past five years with her, he couldn't stop his body from walking to her front door. He raised his knuckles but her door swung open before he even had a chance to knock.

Kensi stood in the open doorway, barefoot but still in the same tank top and skirt that had taunted him earlier by the pool table. The air between them felt so thick that they both stopped breathing for a few moments, waiting for the other to move or just do or say anything. Licking his lips and exhaling, Deeks spoke first. "Hi."

"Hi," Kensi responded, smiling at him like she hadn't in months. She gestured for him to enter and stepped away from the door. "You coming inside?"

Stifling a smirk, Deeks tentatively stepped over the threshold into the land of no return and closed the door. Kensi closed the gap between them, fingering the zipper of his leather jacket. He gulped when she wordlessly unzipped it and ran her hands up his chest to his shoulders, pushing his jacket to the floor with a thud.

"So no beer, huh?" Kensi shook her head no, her hands roaming across his stomach. Nerves and desire were fighting a war in his chest until Kensi raised her eyes to his and nibbled her bottom lip. He gave in, his hand grabbing her neck as he crashed his lips against hers, moaning when she eagerly hooked her fingers in his belt loops and tugged his hips into her own as they stumbled over to her couch. She never released his lips when she shoved him down on the couch and straddled him, whimpering at the beautiful friction it created.

Deeks was no longer concerned with anything other than the beautiful woman grinding against him. Slipping his hands under her shirt he forced her bra up to her collarbone and tore his lips away from hers to take one of her breasts in his mouth. She twisted her fingers in his hair and bucked against him as he hiked her skirt up and cupped her bare ass. "Really?" he mumbled, grazing his teeth against her chest.

"Shut up," Kensi growled, grabbing his hand and forcing it between her thighs with a sigh.

"Yeah okay, shutting up." He hesitated briefly, taking just a moment to listen to her breathe before he touched her. This was his favorite part; the anticipation of her knowing that he could bring her to the edge and back again with just his hands. Forget what he needed, he wanted it to be all about her.

She closed her eyes and parted her lips, bracing herself against the back of her couch as he deftly handled her. It didn't take long for her come close to her peak and she desperately clawed at the clasp of his jeans. Deeks shook his head. "Not yet," he whispered. As gently as possible he grabbed her wrist and pinned it behind her body, glancing at her face to make sure she wasn't affected by that action. Her eyes showed no fear, so he tightened his grip on her as she cried out and slammed herself repeatedly against his hand.

Wrapping his free arm around her waist, he held her chest close to his face and peppered kisses up and down her body from her breasts to her navel. "That tickles," she sighed, slowing her breathing slightly. He released her hand, allowing her to touch him finally. "Jeans, off, now."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Deeks replied, fumbling with his belt. He lifted Kensi easily in his arms as he stood up and pushed his pants off, laying her down on her back on the couch. She parted her legs and grasped his shirt, pulling him flush to her body to kiss him. Her hands moved from his shirt to his face and his hair and then to his thighs, silently urging him. Pulling his lips away from hers, he frantically kissed her neck. "Do I need a-"

"No, I'm still good," she interrupted, anxiously wrapping her legs around his back. "Come on. Please."

He wanted to wait longer, to take time to enjoy just her more, but he'd never been very good at telling her no. Tilting her hips up he eased himself inside of her, stopping for a second when he heard her gasp in his ear. "You good?"

"Very." She met him halfway and they quickly found their old familiar rhythm. This time it was less loving and more desperate than in the past, but they still knew what the other wanted and when they wanted it. He knew when she arched her back that she had him right where she wanted him; she knew when he held her tighter and stopped moving it was only because he didn't want it to end. That's when she took over, rocking against him and biting his jaw as she moaned in his ear until he just couldn't take it anymore. She coaxed him to his true happy place, allowing him to release all his emotions and frustrations into her.

Kensi ran her hands through his tangled hair and kissed his cheek as he slowly came back down to Earth. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear.

Deeks grunted softly, pushing himself up with shaking arms. "Um. Okay." He fell back on top of her, nuzzling his scruff in the crook of her neck. "Why are you thanking me?"

"For coming over, for not asking questions or making this complicated." She sighed, fingers still in his hair. "We're so fucked up."

"This is not new information." Chuckling, Deeks fiddled with her bra and tank top, still pushed up to her collarbone. "So, are we not going to talk about this?"

"What is there to say, Deeks? We both know how this story ends." She looked down at him sadly. He sat up again, pulling her up with him and leading her to her bathroom. "What are you doing?"

He turned on her shower and pulled his shirt over his head. "It's been a long day, and now we're both a little messy." He tugged at her tank top and she smiled, raising her arms over her head so he could remove it. "Besides, I want to see you all the way naked. Since that didn't happen a few minutes ago."

"It all happened pretty fast," Kensi said, smirking at him as she unbuttoned her skirt, letting it fall to the floor.

"Yeah," Deeks muttered, testing the temperature of the water and stepping in. "It's uh, been a while." Kensi nodded in agreement and stepped in next to him. She pushed him out of the way, stealing all the water. "Really? Water hog."

"Fine." She moved over and craned her neck, trying to get her hair wet. Deeks rolled his eyes and shook his head, turning to face her. He grabbed her shampoo and squirted a blob of it in her hair, massaging it into her scalp. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she moaned. "Oh my God."

"Yeah, this gets an oh my God," Deeks teased as he lathered her head. "Seriously, why are you acting like you don't know how to share a shower with somebody? This can be a lot of fun, you know."

"I know how to," Kensi said softly. "It's just be a long time."

Deeks was thankful her eyes were closed so she couldn't see him cringe. "Forget I said anything."

Kensi shook her head and started rinsing the shampoo out of her hair. "No. Quit treating me like I'm going to break. I'm a lot stronger than you want to give me credit for, Deeks." She wiped the water off of her face and opened her eyes, looking up at him. "The same could be said for you, too."

"Me? I'm like Superman. Faster than a speeding bullet," he joked nervously.

Kensi didn't laugh as she poured her body wash onto a loofa. She lathered up herself and then washed Deeks' chest and arms before responding to him. "Like I said earlier, we're fucked up,"

"And what's so wrong with that, Kens?" She shrugged and starting re-washing her own body again. Deeks snatched the loofa from her and she sighed at him, avoiding his gaze. "I'm serious. So what if we're fucked up, if we make mistakes, or if we just have days when we can't deal with life anymore. We're human."

Kensi wiped her face and smiled slightly. "I know. You're right." She wrapped her arms around his waist, her bubbles and his bubbles making a squelching sound when pressed together. She giggled for a second and squeezed her arms tighter around him.

Draping his arms over her shoulder, Deeks rested his chin on her head. "Are we really not going to talk about this?"

"Can we talk about it in bed? The hot water is starting to run out."

"Am I staying the night? Or should I say morning?"

Kensi pulled away from him and turned the water off. "It's still night until the sun comes up. And why wouldn't you stay the night?"

Deeks shrugged and took the towel Kensi handed him. "I dunno. Maybe cause we haven't talked about what exactly this thing is we're doing here. In the past, most of the women that call me for a wham-bam-thank-you-Deeks shove me out the door when they're done with me." Kensi rolled her eyes "What, I make jokes when I don't know what to say. It's just what I do."

"I'm fully aware." Kensi towel dried her hair and ran a comb through it, wincing when it caught in her tangles. She offered her comb to Deeks with a smirk on her face. He curled his lips into a smile and shook his head like a dog, sending water droplets flying across the bathroom. Walking into her bedroom. Kensi rifled through a laundry basket of clean clothes for something to wear, much to Deeks' displeasure.

"Nuh uh, no way. If I have to sleep naked, so do you."

"Fine," she grumbled, climbing into her unmade bed.

He crawled in bed and laid on his stomach, staring at her. "So what now?" She pulled the covers up to her chest and linked her fingers together. Her mouth opened but nothing came out, so she just shut it and stared at the ceiling fan. "Come on, Kens. Say something."

"We can't do this," she said, still avoiding his gaze. "We're supposed to be moving on with our lives."

"Well..." Deeks said, draping an arm over her waist, "We were moving on. I thought so, anyway, since I've been spending every night alone for the past four months."

"Okay, so why are you spending every night alone? You could have already found somebody else by now, someone who doesn't have any...issues."

Deeks pursed his lips, tightening his arm around her. "I'm not ready for that, I guess. And I know that this doesn't work. I'm just...not over you enough to try to make it work with anybody else, either."

Kensi smiled at the ceiling. "For once, we might actually be on the same page about something."

"So what do we do? Was this a one time thing, or are we gonna be fuck-buddies?" He gently grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting her head to the side to make her look at him. "Cause this is hard enough as it is. I really don't think I can do that."

She nodded with sad eyes. "Yeah. I know. It was just tonight. Everybody has a relapse every once in a while, right?"

Deeks lifted his head, raising an eyebrow at her. "Okay, so starting tomorrow, sex is off the table? Again."

Kensi scrunched her face. "Eh. With us, it may never truly be off the table."

"Really? Really. Did you just quote Friends? Did you just Rachel me?"

"I like Friends," Kensi said, fake pouting.

Deeks smiled, remembering he had just been watching that show himself a couple of hours earlier. "You remember how it ends, though. Ross and Rachel spend years dancing around each other, on again and off again, until a life-altering event makes them realize they need to quit being stupid and just be together."

"But it took them 10 years to get to that point."

"We're halfway there already." He licked his lips. "So uh yeah, can I get you to do me a favor?"

"Anything," Kensi answered, rolling on her side.

"Don't be a cock tease again like tonight." She playfully punched his arm. "What, I'm serious. I'm just saying, if sex is supposed to be off the table, then maybe literally making me want to fuck you on a table isn't the best route for us to take."

Kensi snorted. "Okay, but you were just as bad as me."

"Alright, I won't be a ladycock tease then."

"Ladycock?!"

"Well, you don't like it when I say p-"

Kensi interrupted him with a finger to his lips. "I get it."

A twinkle shone in Deeks eyes as he grabbed her hand, kissing her palm. "Hey Kens?"

"Hmm?"

His kisses drifted from her hand down her arm and up to her neck. "If we're only doing this thing tonight," he murmured as he rolled her onto her back, "and you said it's still night until sunrise..."

Kensi squirmed under the sudden weight of his body as he slowly trailed kisses from her collarbone to her navel and down to her hips, dragging her sheets along with him. She shivered when the scruff of his face scratched the inside of her thigh and she instinctively ran her hands through his hair. He pulled her covers up to his shoulders and glanced up, asking for her permission with his eyes. Closing her eyes, she nodded and moaned. "Oh yeah. We've definitely got a couple of hours left."