Author's Note: So sorry to have disappeared from writing for awhile - work got completely crazy for a bit. But I'm making a push during November to write every day (even though I'm not doing NaNo) and hopefully will be finishing a lot of fic that I had half-done/in the works. I have not forgotten about Talking in Circles, and that will hopefully be finished this month as well (or at least, the next chapter will be), but in the meantime this silly little friendship ficlet popped into my head and demanded attention. It was inspired by the promo pics of the Big Brother episode that showed Deeks' and Sam's shared desk. I know that the biggest thing in those photos was the treadmill desk (which I'm actually ignoring for purposes of this story), but I was more focused on a small object on the front of Sam's side. To say anymore would be to give too much away - so, without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still don't own it. If I did, Deeks would be riding that motorcycle in every episode.

Deeks trudged slowly into the bullpen, blinking sleepily as he rounded the corner near his team's desks. Coffee in one hand, he ran the other through his hair absently, unintentionally ruffling it a bit. He stopped short, somewhat surprised to find that he was the only one there. He glanced at his watch, seeing that he was actually slightly earlier than usual. A quick look around showed that Callen and Kensi's desks were not only empty but none of their personal belongings were present, either – they clearly hadn't arrived. But Sam's laptop was on his desk and his bag was near his chair – the big man himself, though, was not in evidence. Deeks guessed that his desk-mate must have hit the gym for a round with the heavy bag as soon as he'd arrived that morning. It was fairly standard for Sam to get his workout out of the way right away, so Deeks wasn't too surprised.

As he stepped closer to their shared desk, intending to put his bag down and settle in while the bullpen was still relatively quiet, he stopped short at the sight of a smallish green box sitting squarely in the middle of the open space on his side of the desk. Turning slightly, he glanced up at the much larger box on the shelves off to the side of the bullpen before looking back at the smaller, and slightly oddly shaped, one in front of him. He quickly considered and discarded the idea that the one on his desk was also from Kensi – mainly because she wasn't in yet, but also because that color and shape were distinctive and he knew he'd seen that box before. Or, actually, one just like it.

He put his bag and coffee down and took another look at Sam's side of the desk. Sure enough, there was an identical box sitting there near the front edge of Sam's half of the shared workspace – though the top of Sam's was open with a plethora of pale green and blue papers spilling out of it. Deeks wondered if the same thing were inside the mystery box that he had by now deduced that Sam had given him, but before he could move to pick it up and open it, Sam answered the question for him. "It's kami," he said, his voice coming from the vicinity of the lockers behind Deeks. "It won't bite."

Picking up the box and turning to face the other man, who was closing his locker after having grabbed a fresh towel, Deeks tilted his head inquisitively. "Kami?" he asked before chuckling at Sam's second comment. "Uh, thanks, that's good to know…but what exactly is kami?"

Sam smiled and gestured to the identical box on his own half of the desk. "It's that," he said. "Origami paper." Deeks' gaze followed to where Sam was pointing, realizing that the box he now held in his hand did indeed contain sheets of the same delicate paper that was bursting out of the one on Sam's desk. His brow wrinkled in confusion and he opened his mouth and closed it once before making a second attempt at speaking.

"Uh…thanks," he cleared his throat before continuing. "But I, uh…I don't know how to use it, so…"

Sam waved off his concern, his smile only growing wider as he began to walk towards the kitchenette near the bullpen. He turned and looked at Deeks over his shoulder, explaining as he fixed himself a cup of green tea. "Do you know why I like to make origami figures Deeks?"

Deeks smirked slightly before replying. "I always assumed it was to annoy Callen on stakeouts, but what do I know."

Sam just shook his head, but Deeks thought he saw a grin tugging at the corner of the other man's mouth. "Side benefit," he said before his tone grew slightly more serious. "Honestly though, it's a centering thing. It's always helped me focus…concentrating on making the folds and shaping the figures. It's kind of like a meditation – at least for me." Sam had crossed back to stand closer to their desks by this point, and he caught Deeks' gaze before continuing. "Helps block out a lot of the…noise," he said, his eyes communicating a deeper layer of meaning than was evident in the simplicity of his words.

Deeks sighed, his gaze sliding away from Sam for a moment as he put the box back down on his desk. He crossed his arms in front of him before looking back up at the other man. He knew what Sam meant, without his teammate really having to say it out loud. Ever since their unfortunate "adventure" with Sidorov, his relationship with Sam had shifted – they talked more frequently, and Deeks knew that Sam was surreptitiously keeping an eye on him and looking out for him. He didn't sense any pity from the former SEAL though, nor did he get the sense that Sam was helping him out of a sense of obligation. Guilt didn't seem to be a motivator either – at least not anymore, though he did think that right after their rescue, during their initial recovery, Sam had felt at least somewhat guilty about how things had formerly been between them. Not now though – they'd managed to get past that and all that was left was a new sort of mutual respect and friendly concern. It was hard, after all, to go through the kind of thing that they had been through and not feel more connected to another person who shared that experience. It was a bit surreal for Deeks to realize that he and Sam were actually on the same page more often than not now. They'd never be as close as they each were with their respective partners, but they'd definitely reached some sort of accord, and Deeks was glad. It felt like the last barrier to him really feeling fully part of the team had finally fallen away.

Still, it was unnerving sometimes to realize that Sam had gotten so much better at reading what was going on with him and vice versa. It was clear to Deeks from the look on Sam's face right now that the other man could tell that Deeks was still struggling a bit with settling back into a regular routine – or, perhaps more accurately, with figuring out a new routine that helped him to truly move forward and let go of what had happened. Deeks appreciated that Sam didn't call him out on it though, but rather took this more subtle approach to offering support. He ducked his head and cleared his throat. "Thanks, Sam…but, uh," he looked back up, a grin hovering around the edges of his mouth. "Why the…uh, what was it? Kami? I thought you preferred to work with Tootsie pop wrappers."

Sam chuckled. "Oh, I do. But that's master level. You're not ready for that yet," he said, his voice laced with good humor.

Deeks chuckled. "Alright. Fair enough," he said with a smile. "But I bet I'll get there before too long."

The sound of footsteps and a muffled conversation coming from the direction of the Mission's entrance signaled that their partners had arrived for the work day, and as Callen and Kensi drew closer to the bullpen, Sam simply shook his head and murmured, "We'll see."

A few weeks later…

"How can you say that, G?" Sam asked his partner as they entered the Mission, continuing the argument they'd started in the car. "The ref clearly made the wrong call."

"I'm sorry, were you watching the same game that I was watching?" Callen asked him with a smirk. "Because if you were, you would know how wrong you are."

"Tell me, should I be worried about you in the field? If your eyesight is getting that bad, maybe you should think about getting some glasses before our next case," Sam said, the laughter in his voice taking some of the sting out of his words.

The pair of partners rounded the corner into the bullpen and separated, each going to their own desks. Kensi and Deeks were already there, each settled into their own spots, though they were quietly chatting rather than working. Deeks had just said something that had made Kensi laugh when the senior partners approached.

"Morning Sam, Callen," Kensi said cheerily when she saw them. "Sounds like you guys enjoyed the game last night."

Sam sat down and opened his bag, pulling out his laptop and beginning to set up his workstation. "Some of us apparently enjoyed it more than others," he muttered, earning a smirk from Callen.

"Now, now Sam, don't be a sore loser," his partner said, the smirk only growing wider. "That's not very sportsmanlike."

"Not very-" Sam began, before breaking off as his eyes landed on something unusual sitting on his desk. He was silent for a moment before shrugging at Callen. "Nevermind."

If Callen thought it was strange that he had suddenly given up the argument, he didn't say anything, for which Sam was grateful as it gave him a few moments to study the object that was balanced on top of the small black file box on his desk. It was a beautifully crafted piece of origami, the sleek blue paper folded crisply into the shape of a charging bull. The work was excellent, and the piece had been just casually placed on his desk among the cubes and cranes that he himself had made.

But this wasn't his.

Before he could remark on it, a piercing whistle sounded from above, followed by Eric calling out that they had a new case. As the all stood and filed upstairs, Sam caught Deeks' eye as the younger man passed in front of their shared desk. They fell into step as they climbed the stairs to Ops, following a short distance after Kensi and Callen. Sam looked at Deeks, then pointed over his shoulder back towards the origami bull. "Did you…?" he trailed off, guessing that Deeks would know what he meant.

Deeks nodded, a grin tugging at his mouth. "Yep."

Sam gaped. "But that figure is incredibly complex…and you've only been practicing for-"

"A few weeks," Deeks cut him off. "I told you it wouldn't take me long."

"But-"

"In fact, you might say, the student has become the master," Deeks interrupted him again, the grin blooming fully across his face. His whole expression was filled with pride, and just a touch of smugness.

"Yeah," Sam said with a chuckle as they reached the second floor. "You might be good, but I don't think you'll ever get me to say that."

"We'll see, Sam," Deeks laughed, clapping him on the back as they entered Ops. "We'll see."

THE END.