Something felt really good.
In the bleary state of subconsciousness she was in she couldn't pinpoint what it was at first; all she knew was that there was a series of gentle pressures being administered against her stomach, the side of her shoulder, her jawline, her temple. When she finally forced her eyes open, she smiled. Well, at first. Then, remembering who and where she was, her eyes widened. Of course, Deeks, who was currently kissing the side of her neck with his eyes still partially closed, couldn't see her. But he must have felt her stiffen under his touch, so he mumbled, "Good morning, beautiful."
She blushed remembering the night before, bunching the plush white comforter in her hands and pulling it up to cover her bare chest. Noticing her behavior Deeks smirked, pulling away from her slightly to roll to his side, propping his head up with his elbow as he stared at her. "No need to be shy, Kensi. You certainly weren't last night."
At that point, her face was probably the color of a tomato. She tried to respond, but the words died on her tongue.
"Aw, you're so adorable when you're flustered." He tried to lean in for a kiss, but she rolled away, almost falling off of the bed. He stifled a laugh while she scrambled to remain on the mattress, catching one of her flailing arms in his strong grip and helping to keep her upright and on the mattress.
When she noticed his obvious amusement, she glared. "Not a word, Deeks."
"Fine, fine," he said easily, raising his hands as a gesture of surrender.
A moment passed as Kensi tried to put together her thoughts, finally speaking. "Listen, uh, Deeks... I- Last night was..."
"Incredible, epic, invigorating, best sex you've ever had?" he completed, grin still firmly in place.
"I was going to say a mistake."
His grin didn't falter, but it stopped reaching his eyes. "Oh."
"I- I like you, Deeks, I do. But this... situation... I don't know. I was confused and scared and not myself and-"
"It's okay, Kens," Deeks interrupted, standing up to grab his clothes. She tried not to stare at his body (which, for the record, was the definition of perfection), forcing herself to look away as he continued to talk. "You know what? I totally understand."
"I'm- I'm sorry, Deeks."
"Don't be," he said, obviously straining to keep the disappointment from his voice. Now fully dressed, he closed a cedar chest that she hadn't noticed before, making eye contact with her. She was still sitting on the bed, comforter pulled up to her chin. "Really, it's fine."
"I didn't mean-"
"For the record," he interrupted, something that nobody had did to her in years, "last night had to have been one of the best nights of my life." He was looking right at her, then popped two of the buttons on his white shirt open revealing a portion of his tan chest.
Kensi frowned, biting her lip. A few seconds of heavy silence passed before Deeks finally broke it, asking in a monotone, "It's because I'm not royalty, isn't it?"
"Excuse me?"
"That's why you're not interested. I'm not... good enough."
"Deeks."
"What? It's the truth."
"No, it's not."
"Then why? A few hours ago, you seemed more than interested."
"Because, Deeks! Because we could never be together!" she yelled, squeezing the comforter tightly in her fists. "What happens when we fall in love? We just stay in this shack our whole lives? Never return to the kingdom?"
"I don't see why we'd have to."
"Oh, come on. Hetty's going to find me sooner or later. Or, worse, Granger. He'd kill you, Deeks."
He perched himself on the mattress by her feet, and she didn't move away. "Is that what this is about? Kensi, you're not going anywhere if you don't want to. I'm not going anywhere."
"Swear?" she asked quietly, needing the conformation.
"Cross my heart." His promise was delivered with a smile, and she grinned back.
She sat up a little straighter, still covering her torso, but she wasn't nearly as rigid as she'd been moments before. "So, what now?"
"Sex?" he hoped aloud, and she snorted.
"You're a pig."
-
Granger groaned. That damn Deeks hadn't sent back word of whether he'd found that damn princess or not. That was enough to send Granger into a frenzy though it had only been a few days since Deeks had ridden into the forest. He'd much rather have his own son, Jack, find Kensi, because it would be so much easier for the upcoming marriage of the two. But that bloody Henrietta had to have her say in the matter and insert Deeks into the equation, substituting Jack out like a variable.
"Dad?" Granger whirled around with a hand resting lightly on his sword and found Jack grinning at him.
"Jack, don't do that. You could've gotten killed by me."
"Dad, why are you so worried? I'll go get Kensi!" He shot an arrogant grin before leaning towards his father. "Are you sure your plan will work?"
"Of course I'm sure! That old bat won't even know what hit her and we'll have this kingdom all to ourselves while Callen will be sent on a mission to some far, far kingdom and the darling princess will be locked in your room with her only purpose being to please you." Granger snickered.
"But hey, where's that.. Dee.. Deal… Deek guy? Wasn't he supposed to send his report already?"
"That's the damn problem. Bloody Deeks hasn't sent anything back."
"Maybe he's deep in the woods. Maybe he may not come back…" Granger looked up and grinned.
"I'm proud of the way you think, son."
-
Days passed since Kensi and Deeks had their first night together and the two slowly fell in love with each other as the days passed. Their days consisted of walking on the beach, hunting, relaxing on their hill and of course, worshiping each others' bodies at night. One night, Deeks brought out some cards he had stashed away and the two were playing when Kensi laughed to herself quietly.
"Ha, I remember when G taught me how to play poker. It was like, the fifth or so night I'd been in the castle, and of course I was still introverted and scared out of my mind, and he brought me into his room and taught me how to play poker. The first hand he dealt I got a royal flush, and I kept asking him 'Is that good? Did I win?' Meanwhile, he's just sitting there in total shock, one of his eyebrows raised... you know the look..." She trailed off, smile slowly fading. She chuckled again, but this time it was definitely off.
Deeks recognized the look as the unmistakable expression of homesickness. He had nobody to miss back in the kingdom other than Ray and Eric, but he had no family to return to, no loved ones worrying about him. Kensi, on the other hand, had a whole colony of people anxiously awaiting her return.
"So.. your friend, Nell? She seems like a sweet girl."
"Oh, she is. The sweetest." Kensi smiled, remembering her best friend, so different from most girls her age. She was loyal to a fault and had a heart of the lion, but she was petite and had always reminded Kensi of a fairy. Nell had sneaked Kensi out to see a few events that weren't exactly fit for a princess, and even though she didn't have the build to be a warrior, she definitely had the daredevil aspect down pat. "Did she say anything to you?"
"She wanted me to bring you back safely. She, uh, had tears in her eyes and everything. Really worried. Everybody was." Deeks peered over his hand of cards, watching Kensi's reaction discreetly. She was frowning, eyes sad.
"I shouldn't have left without telling her goodbye," Kensi muttered. Had their situations been reversed, Nell would've made it a point to talk to her before she left.
"Kens..."
"What do you think I should do? We should do? They probably think I'm dead or something."
"Do you want to go back?"
"I want to be with you." It was the truth. Above all, she wanted him. Every day for the rest of her life.
"Okay," Deeks said simply, pretending he actually knew what he was doing, pretending to be the reasonable rock that she needed right now. Solid and realistic, even though he knew his suggestion would be far from it. But he couldn't live on keeping her from her family while she feared that they were worrying about her, and they probably were. So when he spoke again, he hoped she didn't call him out on his bullshit idea. "Okay. We'll go back and tell Hetty the truth, yeah?"
"Which is?"
"That we're in love." He stated it with such certainty, like it was a fact. And in a way she supposed it was, but it still made her blush slightly.
"Oh, we are now?" she joked, taking his hand in hers over the table.
"We are," he affirmed, kissing the hand that he know held in his. "We'll tell her we're in love and that she has to work out a different settlement with Granger because we refuse to be separated and nothing can come in between true love. Hetty's fond of you and seems reasonable enough. She'll understand."
"Are you sure?" she asked, frowning slightly.
He smiled warmly. "Positive. We can start packing tonight and head out tomorrow morning."
"Do we have to leave tomorrow?" She was really dreading going back to the kingdom and being idolized and envied, not to mention the reputation she would get when she returned with a man that she wanted to marry that wasn't the fiance she was assigned to.
"Might as well get it out of the way." When her eyes dropped and she sighed, he spoke again. "I know, it sucks. Unfortunately, this is probably our only option."
"I hate it when you're right," she said, pouting.
He laughed. "I know you do, Kens."
That night, he held her close, their sex less desperate and more tender as he savored her, holding her close and listening to her breathe as she fell asleep. He'd probably kissed her at least a hundred times that night alone, and he'd stared into her eyes for so long that he'd nearly memorized the exact pattern of her irises. When he closed his eyes he could see hers staring back at him. When he finally loosened his hold on her sleeping form slightly to get comfortable he did so reluctantly, because deep down he was nearly certain that after their last night together in the cabin their happily ever after would grow increasingly further away from them.
