AN: I was bored and came up with this. It will have more chapters and I promise I'll update as soon as I can. Reviews are love, dear readers. Enjoy ;-)

BTW, this is my story number 50 and my baby brother gave up on SpongeBob thanks to me (Dragon Ball Z is an obsession I can deal with just fine) so I'm pretty pleased with myself.

Sarah

Five years of partnership are, without question, a remarkable landmark.

Marty Deeks has been working for long enough to know not many partnerships last that long.

Hell, most marriages in LA don't last that long.

As he finishes his paperwork for the day he can't help but hope to, one day, celebrate five years of partnership with Kensi. He knows just how special that is.

That's why he doesn't really expect Sam to walk up to his desk and invite him to come and have dinner with them tonight. It's not like it is a weird request. They've all had dinner together many times before. But today is a special occasion and he is not sure he wants to sit there while they reminisce about old cases and stuff like that.

So he declines politely and starts gathering his things to leave.

But Sam seems to understand what he's thinking and tells him he's not going to be the only one there. The other agent tells him Kensi is going to.

And Deeks knows he just lost the only reason not to go.

He accepts Sam's offer and frowns when the other agent throws him Kensi's car keys.

"Are you aware that these are Kensi's leys? She will kill you for handing me these, you know?"

Sam rolls his eyes at him. "Kensi is already at the restaurant with Callen. They went ahead to get a table and I promised her I would find a way to get her car there."

Deeks frowns. "So she has no idea that I'm going to be the one driving her car?"

Sam shakes his head and grabs his bag. "No, so be careful. If you scratch it, she 'll have you head on a stick."

Deeks nods and both men walk to their respective cars (or Kensi's car in his case).

What Sam doesn't know is that his head is not what worries him.

He knows Kensi well enough to know that wouldn't be the body part she would aim for first. He's sees where she practices shooting a man.

He's simply not willing to take the risk.

He drives as carefully as possible and lets out a sigh of relief when the car is safely parked outside the restaurant. He's not a bad driver. In fact, he is a better driver than Kensi. He trusts himself when it comes to drive a car.

It's the LA mad-drivers he doesn't trust.

Sam parks next to him and they both start walking to the door.

"Five years is pretty remarkable."

Sam turns to him and shrugs. "Kensi and Callen have known each other for six. They just don't celebrate it because they were never technically partners."

Deeks nods, even though he didn't know that small piece of information. He knows Sam is trying not to make a big deal out of this when they all know it is but he lets it slide. He doesn't want the big guy to get in a bad mood even before dinner starts.

Kensi and Callen are already waiting for them at a nice table for four.

They eat, talk and have fun.

It's a good night and they celebrate the fact that Sam managed to put up with Callen's lone wolf ways and that Callen managed to put up with Sam's moods. They do it because they all know they are more than just a team.

They are a family.

That became obvious to Deeks only after a week of working with them. The mutual care there was something that couldn't be seen amongst simple co-workers. They are a family and he's proud to admit he's a part of that. He's the newest member of the family but still a member. They've accepted him quite quickly but his position was only further cemented the day he got Kensi out of a room full of explosives.

When they leave the restaurant, Sam and Callen invite them to go to a bar with them but Kensi declines and Deeks understands that's the part where they both leave the two partners alone. He follows Kensi to the cars in silence and it's only when she hugs Callen and Sam goodbye that he dares to speak.

"I didn't scratch it."

Kensi laughs and hands him her car keys. "Then you get to drive me home."

Deeks doesn't argue with her.

They both know that the two glasses of wine she had with her dinner wouldn't cloud her vision enough to unable her to drive. She's not a light-weight. So he chooses to see this as a sign that she trusts him. She trusts him enough to drive her home in her car.

There's something different about her tonight, about them.

And he knows he's pushing his luck but the night's still young and he doesn't feel like leaving her home right away.

She doesn't comment when he makes a right turn instead of the left one that would lead them to her house. She doesn't say a word when he parks outside his building and doesn't put up a fight because he didn't do as she told him.

Instead, she follows him out of the car and inside his house.

They both know this is dangerous territory but there's something about this specific night that makes them both throw caution at the wind. Seeing Callen and Sam celebrating five years of partnership made them think about a lot of things.

Kensi sits on his couch and he sits next to her, so close that their thighs are touching. She's the one who breaks the comfortable silence between them.

"You're my partner. I want to share personal things with you."

Deeks knows she's talking about what he told her in the victim's house. He meant it, despite his joking tone, and she knows that. Otherwise, she wouldn't bring that up right now.

Deeks rests his hand on her thigh, and she turns to him. It's a simple gesture, really. There's no hidden agenda behind it and he's not trying to seduce her. That would be wrong. He would never do that while they're having a serious conversation.

"You can tell me anything."

Kensi looks him in the eye and he's sure he stops breathing for a few seconds.

Her look is intense and her walls are not in place, for the first time. He can see everything she tries so hard to hide from everyone. He can see what she's feeling right now. He sees more than the fear and nervousness in her eyes.

He sees lust and it's exhilarating, to say the least.

But he doesn't say a word, doesn't move.

He just waits for her to say something.

Her voice is no louder than a whisper when she talks but they're so close that he hears her just fine. "I developed a thing for a blue-eyed surfer, recently."

Deeks finds himself leaning in towards her, their eyes still locked together.

He stops when he's so close to her lips that he can feel her breath against his own.

And when he speaks, he sees her eyes close, his closeness obviously affecting her. He would smirk but this is far too serious. This is a make it or break it situation and he sure as hell doesn't want to lose her.

He needs her like his next breath.

"That's okay. I have something to confess too."

She opens her eyes and the intensity of his blue ones staring right at her is almost more than what she can take. It takes all the strength she has in her not to push him to the couch and kiss him like there's no tomorrow. She still manages to talk, though, even if her voice is slightly shaky.

"And what is that?"

He smirks and she has to close her eyes once again because this is torture. Having him this close without feeling his lips against hers is too much.

"I've developed a thing for a brunette. She has mismatched eyes, wavy hair and curves to die for. And don't even get me started on her temper."

She opens her eyes, intending to give him a deathly glare, but he stops her with one single movement. He connects their lips and all thoughts leave both their minds.

Because they're both sure nothing has ever felt this good, this right.

He kisses her passionately, trying to show her with his lips what he has yet to say to her. She kisses him back and almost slaps him when he pulls back and says the words that infuriate her behind belief.

"We can't do this."

Kensi can't believe what she just heard.

Deeks, on the other hand, gets up from the couch because sitting that close to her doesn't seem like a good idea at this point.

"Why can't we do this?"

She's shocked and he understands why but he had to stop this before things got out of hand. "Kensi, we're partners."

She shakes her head. For someone who denied her feelings for so long, she's being awfully stubborn now. "There's no rule that says we can't be together."

He sighs. "Look, we just saw Sam and Callen celebrate five years of partnership. And we've never had that with anyone else before. That's why this is happening. Deep down, we just don't want to be alone right now."

When he looks into her eyes and sees that her walls are back in place, he almost runs back to the couch, takes her in his arms and tells her he doesn't mean a word of what he's saying. Because that's the truth. He doesn't mean a word of what he's saying and he has the feeling he's going to regret this pretty soon but he's afraid this Sam and Callen thing is clouding her judgment. He doesn't want her to wake up in the morning and realize this was a mistake. That's why he stands his ground, even when she breaks the silence once again.

"Is that why you kissed me? "

He can't, for the life of him, figure out why he nods but he does. And she gets up from the couch, walking to him until she's standing right in front of him.

"Good night, Marty." She kisses his cheek and leaves.

Marty

She actually called him Marty. By the time he realizes he just made the worst mistake of his life, her car is already gone and he knows going after her today wouldn't be good for any of them.

So he just allows a single tear to run down his cheek and lies on his couch, knowing he will need to make things better in the morning.