densi-mber

[densi-mber]

Densimber Day 28 Creative Prompt:

Deeks is hot. That’s the prompt. 🙂

[densi-mber]

A/N: I can’t believe we’re at the end of another December and densimber. Thank you for your participation in the celebrations. Wishing a happy new year to you all!

***

The Future’s Bright

Kensi sat with Sophia and Caleb cradled between the V of her legs, sorting through a box of New Years trinkets. Sophia pulled out a noisemaker and immediately bopped Caleb on the head with it, cackling at yelp of surprise. He stared at her in shock for a few seconds, then started laughing too.

“Sophia you blow on it,” Kensi said, around her own laughter. “Look, like this.” She demonstrated putting the appropriate end in her mouth and blew hard enough for the curled end of the trinket to pop out.

Sophia’s mouth dropped open in delight and she immediately grabbed the noisemaker from Kensi, stuffing the wrong end in her mouth.

“Pease?” Caleb begged, making a grabby hand towards Sophia.

“Don’t worry, sweetie, you can have your own. You want green or blue?”

Caleb took a blue one, following Sophia’s example and sucking on the wrong end.

“Hey, how’s it going? I’ve got snacks,” Deeks announced, appearing from the kitchen with a tray of lunchmeat, cheese, crackers, chips, and strawberries.

“Enjoying the noisemakers,” Kensi said. Then amended as Caleb pulled the soggy toy out of his mouth. “Or at least the paper.”

“Sounds about right.” He made up bowls of snacks for the twins, carrying them over to the coffee table. “Hmm, I wonder who wants some strawberries and string cheese.”

Caleb and Sophia immediately scrambled over at hearing their favorite foods and descended on the bowls as if they were starving. Kensi came over to join them, sitting crosslegged while they munched away.

“Eat,” Sophia said, offering Deeks a bite of a half-eaten strawberry.

“Thank you, my lady,” he said and snapped up the berry, pretending eat her fingers too, resulting in more giggles, and a fair amount of strawberry juice smeared over Deeks.

“Teese!” Caleb held up a gnawed on cheese stick for Deeks to sample.

When all the food was gone, the twins settled back in Kensi and Deeks’ arms. It was only 7:30 or so, but they were already flagging a little bit.

“You know, later we’ll watch some fireworks and maybe eat some cake,” Deeks said. “You know, cause you’re too young for champagne.”

“Loud,” Caleb said, covering his ears.

“Yeah, the fireworks are loud. But they won’t be on the TV,” Kensi assured him.

“Adagawe TV?”

“Yep. And at midnight, a giant ball will drop. Except you’ll hopefully be in bed looong before that,” Deeks added in an undertone.

Rosa had left for a party with Steven and some of her college friends a few hours ago, so it would be just Kensi and Deeks to ring in the new year.

“Somebody didn’t make it,” he whispered half an hour later, nodding to Caleb, who’d fallen asleep with his thumb tucked in his mouth and a shredded noisemaker in his other hand.

Kensi took a quick picture, adjusting Sophia who wasn’t far behind Caleb.

“Let’s get them to bed, then we can really celebrate,” she suggested, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Ooh, I’ll get the white noise machine and champagne.”

By nine, the kids were finally asleep after some protesting, three books, and Deeks singing “Sunshine on My Shoulders” five times.

Settling on the couch with a glass of the promised champagne, Kensi curled up against his side.

“This has been a really good year,” she mused. “Exhausting and crazy sometimes, but good.”

“Yeah.” Deeks tilted his head back against the couch, his smile soft and reminiscent. “We’ve spent a whole year with the twins, got to see them walk and start talking. Rosa’s had an amazing year in college. We both don’t hate our jobs.” Kensi snorted and nudged him with her shoulder. Turning his head to look at her, he added, “And I got to spend all 365 days with the most amazing woman in the world.”

“That—is really cheesy,” she told him, cupping his cheek and kissing him once. “And also one of the sweetest things you’ve ever said. I’ve loved living this year with you too and I can’t wait for next year with you.”

“Now who’s cheesy?” he teased, his eyes bright and full of love. “Happy New Year, baby.”

“Happy New Year.”

Drawing his face to hers, she kissed him deeply, sealing the wish with her love.

[densi-mber]

Densimber Day 31 Creative Prompt:

New Year’s Celebrations

[densi-mber]

Get Through It

Deeks was going to FLETC. Perfect. Excellent. Just what they needed right now. It was good new for Deeks; it meant he’d be able to keep working with the team and return as her partner. The timing just left something to be desired.

Kensi kept her reservations to herself though. Deeks needed support, not her selfish complaints.

“Should I be doing this?” Deeks asked, turning from the bag he’d been efficiently and neatly packing atop their bed.

“Yes.”

“But we’re trying to buy a house and start IVF and there’s a creepy killer who’s obsessed with you out there,” he continued, almost as if he hadn’t heard her.

“We can buy a house when you get back, we didn’t get approved for IVF yet, and we can deal with Kessler if he’s stupid enough to come back around here,” Kensi replied. “Plus, those first two things will be a lot easier if you have a job.”

He sighed, plopping onto the bed next to his bag and scrubbed his hands over his eyes. “I feel like I’m abandoning you. This year has not been easy on either of us and I’m worried about you.” He held out his hand, waiting for her to take. Then he pulled her down beside him. “I know you don’t like to talk about it, but our—our struggle to get pregnant has been really hard on you. What if I’m not here and you…I don’t want to just leave you when we’re both vulnerable.”

She’d worried about that too. Her emotions has been unpredictable at best, with Deeks taking most of the brunt when she’d snapped. He didn’t deserve it and she wouldn’t let stop him from securing his future.

“It’s only going to be a few weeks, and work will keep me and my mind busy,” Kensi assured him, a little too brightly even to her own ears. “Plus, I’ll be taking over at the bar too so I’ll have my hands full.”

Deeks’ mouth tightened, his brows furrowing with obvious guilt and she realized too late it was the wrong thing to say.

“Baby, I’ll be fine,” she reiterated.

“You promise you’ll call if you need me?” he asked and she nodded, squeezing his hand tightly enough it probably hurt a little. She leaned into his shoulder, focusing on the contact while she could.

“This is going to suck,” he sighed.

“Yeah, it will. We’ll get through it together.”

[densi-mber]

Densimber Day 30 Creative Prompt:

Reluctant goodbye

[densi-mber]

A/N: The fluffiest of fluff. Set while Kensi and Deeks are at Mammoth.

***

Winter Wonderland

“Ok, the head is a little asymmetrical,” Kensi said, head tilted to the side as she examined their mostly constructed snowman.

“It looks fine to me,” Deeks said with a shrug.

“If we add a little more on this side, it would be perfect.” She made a gesture to indicate the slightly flat right cheek.

He felt a rush of affection for her right then. Her perfectionism came out to play even during a silly little winter activity.

“It’s a snowman, Kensalina. They’re literally made of a substance that melts, so I don’t think it needs to be a work of art. Unless you can ice sculpt any never told me, in which case, I will be thoroughly impressed.”

Sighing, Kensi stopped gather up snow and crossed her arms. “Well, he looks a little sad right now,” she said, and she did have a point. They’d given him a pair of uneven stick arms, but he didn’t have a face or any other definable features.

“I think I have know the perfect thing. Come on.” Deeks grabbed her hand and they ran back inside the cabin, collecting whatever they had on hand. There weren’t any carrots, so they settled on a long pepper, a few tomatoes, and some potatoes. Deeks contributed the scarf and hat his mom gave him as a gift this year.

They came back out with their bounty, giggling as they added random vegetables to make a face and buttons. When they stepped back a few minutes later, Kensi made a choked sound.

“Well, that certainly is a unique snowman,” she decided. The smile had ended up crooked, the tomatoes eyes too close together and giving the impression it was glowering at them.

Deranged was the more appropriate word. Deeks broke into full on laughter, falling into Kensi’s shoulder.

“Oh my god, we created a demon snowman,” he gasped.

“It’s kind of cute,” Kensi protested.

“Uh-huh, until it comes and haunts us in our sleep.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I just don’t want to get stabbed by a—” He broke off as Kensi gathered up a handful of snow. “Kensi, I know you’re not going to hit me with a snowball without any warning.”

Grinning at him, she raised her arm and aimed, and he ran, letting out a yelp when a piece of tightly packed snow hit him squarely in the arm.

“No fair attacking a defenseless man!” he called out, hiding behind the snowman. He quickly formed his own snowball, popping up to throw it at Kensi, who wasn’t fast enough to escape it hitting her in the back.

The battle continued until they were both breathless and covered with powdery snow. Completely exhausted, Deeks fell back onto the packed snow, arms splayed out at his sides. Kensi walked over to him, dropping down beside him, and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Perfect,” she sighed.

Deeks couldn’t think of a better word to describe the day.

[densi-mber]

Densimber Day 29 Creative Prompt:

Fun in the snow

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Too Hot to Handle

Deeks watched Kensi and Rosa walk away down the beach, on a mission to retrieve the bucket of toys they’d forgotten in the van. That left him with Caleb and Sophia to entertain in the meantime.

They’d both just finished off a package of goldfish and juice pouch a few minutes ago, so they should be good for a little while. He wriggled both of them into water wings, slathered in sunscreen and headed out into the water, stopping about waist deep.

“You want to swim?” he asked, gentling dipping Caleb’s legs in the water.

Caleb earnestly kicked his legs, managing to spin himself in a circle.

“There you go buddy! You got it! You want to try it Sophia?”

Sophia dipped one of her feet in the water, squealing as soon as it made contact, and immediately tightened her grip on Deeks’ neck, apparently content to stay dry.

“Cold, daddy,” she complained.

“It’s too cold?” he repeated. “That’s ok, daddy will keep you warm.”

While Deeks kept Sophia entertained by throwing her in the air, Caleb kicked himself around them, smacking at the water in excitement.

“Look, simming!” he shouted.

“I know, that’s incredible, kiddo. Soon you’re gonna be swimming faster than daddy.”

Caleb grinned back, pleased with the praise.

After about ten minutes, he started to flag, and gave Deeks a pitiful look. “I seepy.”

“Ok, you ready to get out too, Sophie?” Deeks asked.

“Yeah. More fis.”

“You know, you keep eating so many fish, you’re going to turn into one, one of these days,” he teased her as he scooped Caleb out of the water and toted both back to the shore.

“No!”

“Yes. I think I see a little bit of yellow coming out right here.” He tickled behind her ear, eliciting a delighted giggle.

“Daddy!”

Back on the sand, Deeks set Sophia on the sand and grabbed Caleb’s towel to dry him off.

“Wow, looks like you’ve got your hands full,” a voice observed from behind him as he tried to keep Sophia from rubbing sand in her hair and Caleb from wandering back towards the water.

He turned to look over his shoulder at a woman with brown hair and a yellow sundress.

“Yeah, they keep you busy for sure,” he agreed with a polite smile, hurriedly smoothing a beach blanket out for the twins to sit on.

“It’s amazing to see a father so involved in his children. I can tell you’re a great parent,” the woman continued.

“Uh, thanks.”

“I’m Paula, by the way.” She held out her hand and he paused long enough to shake it before grabbing more snacks.

“Deeks.”

“That’s an unusual name,” she commented and he nodded.

“Yeah, so I’ve heard. Well, I gotta get these guys fed if I don’t want to have a meltdown,” he said, unapologetically using the twins to end the conversation.

“Oh, I don’t mind. Go ahead.” She sat on the other side of the blanket, smiling up at him with a look he’d come to recognize.

He sighed internally. Where was Kensi when he needed her?

***

“I told Steven we could go on Thursday, but he has a test then,” Rosa said, walking beside Kensi with a bucket of toys.

“Well, maybe you can go after his test,” Kensi suggested, her feet sinking into the warm sand. She couldn’t wait to get into the water.

“Maybe. It will be kind of late though. Also, who’s that talking to Deeks?”

Kensi squinted at the spot where they’d left Deeks and the twins about 15 minutes ago. Sure enough, a woman in a yellow dress stood across from Deeks, her arms moving through the air as she talked.

“Looks like he found a friend,” Kensi said. He had both twins in his arms, acting as mini shields from what she could tell. He was on the defensive, but didn’t seem in immediate distress.

“Maybe she’s just being friendly,” Rosa suggested. Then the woman tilted her head back and laughed. “Or maybe not.”

“It’s always been pretty bad at the beach. You know, the bathing suit and tan emphasizes his muscles and he just has that surfer guy look going on.”

Rosa made a face of mild distaste. “Yes, you find dad very attractive. It’s beautiful.”

Snorting, Kensi squeezed Rosa’s shoulder. “Sorry. It’s not just how Deeks looks. It’s his charm and kindness that’s irresistible.”

“It doesn’t ever make you jealous?” Rosa asked curiously. “I’ve always wondered.”

“It used to,” Kensi admitted. “Then one day I realized Deeks has no interest in anyone else. So, they can look as much as they want, and it doesn’t make a difference. As long as there’s no touching involved.”

“Right, I remember what happened when the lady at the barbecue touch his bicep.”

“She squeezed it,” Kensi defended herself. “I was just doing what any good wife would do.”

“Mm—hmm.”

They were about twenty feet away now and Kensi watched Deeks take a purposeful step back, lifting Caleb and Sophia a little higher in his arms. The woman mirrored his movement, closing the gap between them.

“Oh, looks like it’s time for me to make a timely appearance.” Handing the other bucket of toys to Rosa, Kensi shook her hair back—the better to defend Deeks’ honor obviously—and walked the rest of the way to their spot.

“Don’t hurt anyone!” Rosa playfully hissed after her.

“Yeah, I’m pretty busy with my wife and kids,” Deeks was saying, emphasizing the last few words.

“Aw, that’s so sweet. I love a dedicated man,” the woman gushed.

Deeks caught sight of Kensi and relief flashed across his face. As she approached, he set the twins down, holding his arms out.

“Hey baby. Sorry I took so long,” Kensi apologized, resting her hand on Deeks’ chest as she leaned in to kiss him. When she pulled back, she kept her hand on his chest, sliding the other up his back. His skin felt perfectly warm from the sun and she got whiffs of his sunscreen.

“That’s ok. I’ve been occupied.”

She turned to face the woman and smiled blandly. “Who’s this?”

“Paula,” Deeks answered wryly. “Paula likes to surf and take long walks on the beach and babies.”

“It’s nice of meet you, Paula,” Kensi said, earning an insincere smile from the other woman.

“Mm. Your husband is very sweet and dedicated. We were just talking about me taking some surfing lessons with him,” Paula said, unabashedly ogling Deeks.

Kensi held him a little tighter.

“Yeah, but I’m way too busy for that right now what with my job and three kids—oh look, there’s my teenager—and beautiful wife, so best of luck finding someone else.” Deeks rested a hand on Sophia’s head as she started to wander away.

“It was nice meeting you,” Kensi added in a clear dismissal.

“I guess I should get going,” Paula said. “Hopefully we’ll talk again sometime, Deeks.” She gave him a last seductive look, waving her fingers at him as she walked away with a heavy sway to her hips.

“Yeah, see you later,” Deeks muttered, then sighed in relief. “Thank god you two came along.”

“Happy to be of help.” Kensi kissed his cheeks, releasing him so she could pick up Caleb.

Rosa joined them then, having observed the entire interaction from afar. She regarded them with amused disbelief.

“I still can’t believe how often you get hit on,” she said. “What were you going to do if Kensi didn’t come to rescue you?”

“Deeks arched an eyebrow. “Tell her I’m not interested and if that didn’t work, fake a diaper emergency.”

“It’s so sexy the way you hate other women flirting with you,” Kensi joked.

[densi-mber]

Densimber Day 28 Creative Prompt:

Deeks is hot. That’s the prompt. 🙂

[densi-mber]

Aunt and Uncle

“Come on Sophie, come see Auntie Nell,” Nell encourages Sophia, holding out a star-shaped cookie.

“Fank-ou!” Sophia said sweetly, snatching the cookie up and scooting backwards until she sat on Nell’s lap.

“I’m not sure how I feel about you luring my child with baked goods,” Deeks teased.

“Don’t take sweets from strange people,” Nell instructed Sophia, who happily nodded while eating her cookie.

“Unless it’s from your Aunt Nell or Uncle Eric,” Kensi clarified.

“You know, Caleb has really good dexterity for a one year old,” Eric said. He had Caleb perched next to his side on the floor, tapping away at a tablet.

“Yeah, we’ve been working on fine motor during meals and whenever we play.” Deeks reached over to ruffle Caleb’s hair. “Their favorite activity at the moment is throwing peas at each other. So that’s fun.”

“Peas?” Caleb asked excitedly, looking for his favorite projectile.

“Sorry, no peas today,” Kensi said. “Just carrots and green beans.”

Finished with her cookie, Sophia got and toddled over to a cloth bin of board books, getting out one about a pet pig. She brought it back to Nell, proceeding to point out every object she could name.

“How do you feel about kids and technology in general?” Eric asked casually.

“It’s fine in small doses?” Kensi answered uncertainly. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Eric said quickly.

“Eric Bartholomew Beale, do you have a ridiculously expensive computer or tablet in one the packages you brought with?” Deeks squinted at Eric, who just shrugged innocently.

“I guess we’ll just have to find out when we open presents later.”

“And if there’s a a couple of tiny Lamborghinis in there or leather jackets, that’s just between the four of us,” Nell added.

“Croissant and doughnut, your aunt and uncle are gonna spoil you worse than Grandma Deeks.”

Caleb looked up at Deeks with a slobbery grin, as if he understood every word.

“Dee-dee,” he requested, holding his arms out, and Deeks happily picked Caleb up, tossing him over his shoulder, and pretending to eat his tummy.

“Dain! Dain, Dain, Dain!”

“Sorry we’re not very exciting,” Deeks apologized a few minutes later after Caleb had been thoroughly tickled and lay draped over his legs.

“Yeah, you probably didn’t expect to become babysitters the second you walked in,” Kensi said.

“It’s ok,” Nell assured them. “Why do you think we decided to stay for three weeks? We want to spend time with all of you.”

“And we can still go out and do things, right?” As Eric spoke, Caleb decided to climb his shoulder, using his hair as a handhold.

“Of course. It’ll just take three times as long and require lots of snacks. You ok there, Beale.” Deeks reached out to help him, but Eric waved him off.

“No, it’s fine. It’s adorable actually.”

“Oh, they have the baby fever bad,” Deeks stage whispered to Kensi.

“That’s because they’re the best babies,” Nell responded, talking to Sophia. “Aren’t you? And extremely smart too.”

“So far gone,” Kensi whispered back, grinning at their friends, totally smitten with the twins.

[densi-mber]

Densimber Day 27 Creative Prompt:

Our two favorite ships: Densi and Neric together again!

[densi-mber]

Reunited and It Feels So Good

Kensi shoved a frozen dinner into the microwave, set the time for four minutes, and leaned against the counter, waiting for it to heat. It was only six, but she already wore her pajamas—an old shirt of Deeks’—and probably would end up in bed before long. Kensi never realized how much time she had on her hands until Deeks was gone.

For the last three weeks, he’d been on a multiagency case in another state. Fortunately, the case was supposed to be low risk, but Deeks couldn’t have contact with anyone on the outside.

At first, Kensi had kept busy catching up with friends, going out for drinks with Sam and Callen or to the weirder places Eric and Nell liked, and even took the time to get her arms recertification. After about a week though, the extra time and Deeks’ absence had started to wear on her. She found herself longing for the sound of his voice, his laugh, his gentle touch even during the moments when she was with someone else.

It was completely sappy to even think, but without Deeks it felt as though a vital part of her was missing.

The microwave beeped and she took it out unenthusiastically, pausing in the living room. Did she sit on the couch and watch TV, missing Deeks’ comments and cuddles, or go upstairs and struggle to sleep in their empty bed? Neither sounded appealing. At least upstairs she could hug Deeks’ pillow.

Halfway to the stairs, the doorbell rang, and she turned back around, setting the dinner to the side to check who it was.

“Special delivery,” Deeks called through the door before she had a chance to look.

Kensi whipped the door open, almost not believing he was standing there in front of her in all his blue-eyed and disheveled blond-haired glory.

“Baby, what are you doing here?” Not waiting for him to answer, Kensi tugged him inside, and immediately embraced him, her arms crisscrossing over his back. She closed her eyes, inhaling his comforting scent and the steady beat of his heart through their shirts.

“We got done yesterday, so I thought I’d surprise you,” Deeks answered, lifting her slightly off her feet to hold her even closer. “God, I missed you so much.”

Cupping the back of her head, Deeks pressed his mouth to hers, making a slightly desperate sound. Kensi tried to as much of her longing into the kiss, slipping her tongue past his lips curling her fingers into his hair.

She had missed this so much.

With a groan, Deeks lifted her higher, and Kensi automatically wrapped her legs around his waist, aching for any contact. He carried her to the couch, sitting with her straddling him as they continued to kiss. She slipped her fingers under the hem of his shirt, not teasing yet, just needing to feel more of him.

Eventually, Deeks shifted to kiss the corner of her mouth, lingering for a few extra seconds before he tipped his head back.

“That was quite the welcome home,” he said, smiling at her with so much love in his eyes, her chest tightened with overwhelming affection.

“Well, I might have missed you,” she said in the understatement of the year. She lightly ran her fingertips over the bruise-like circles under his eyes; whatever he’d been doing had obviously kept him very busy. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home early?”

“I wanted to surprise you.” He shrugged, grin turning playful. “I also figured if I mentioned it to anyone, the powers that be would make me go into the office bright and early tomorrow morning,” he added.

“That does sound like Hetty. I’m glad you’re here. The house has been really quiet without you.”

“Monty hasn’t been keeping up his end of the conversation?” he asked, earning an eye roll from Kensi.

“No.” She brushed his hair back, now slightly shorter than when he left, and kissed near the corner of one eye. “It was very lonely without you here.”

“Is that why you’re wearing my shirt?”

“It smells like you,” Kensi told him while leaning back in to seal her lips over his again. Reaching down, she grasped the hem of her shirt, only moving back long enough to tug it over her head.

“Even better than I remembered,” Deeks said reverently, slowly running his fingers up her sides.

“There’ll be time for that later.” She started tugging at his shirt.

“What’s your hurry?” he whispered.

“We have three weeks to make up,” she informed him, succeeding in stripping his shirt off. “So, take your pants off.”

[densi-mber]

Densimber Day 26 Creative Prompt

Kensi and Deeks reuniting after an extended separation.

[densi-mber]

1 harmless joke involving whiskey in the eggnog= trouble!

@densi-mber

[densi-mber]

A/N: Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has a fantastic day.

***

Santa Clause is Coming to Town

For the first time in a couple years, Kensi and Deeks were hosting everyone for Christmas again. Nell and Eric had flown in for the month and would be arriving soon, Sam and Callen had found time in their schedules, and even Admiral Kilbride had deigned to accept their invitation. The dining area, living room, and front room were completely filled, broken to little groups either chatting or eating.

Kensi and Deeks made their way around, greeting everyone and making sure there was enough food.

Fatima, Rountree, and Rosa sat on the couch, entertaining Sophia and Caleb. Or maybe it was the other way around, Deeks decided as he watched Fatima flip Caleb and break into laughter at his squeals of delight.

“Hey guys, thanks for coming,” Deeks said, giving them each a hug.

“Thanks for having us.” Fatima reached before her, pulling out a small gift box. “That’s for tomorrow when you don’t feel like cooking.”

“Thank you.” Accepting the gift, Kensi turned to Rountree. “Is Summer ok? I thought you said she was coming.”

“She’s ok,” Rountree assured them. “Not happy, but fine. She’s on call and got asked to sub in for another who’s sick.”

“Yeah, I remember those days,” Deeks said with a grimace. “Well, there’s lots of food in the kitchen, water and pop in the white cooler, and adult beverages in the blue one.” Deeks lowered his voice to a whisper. “There’s also mixed drinks in the top cabinet over the refrigerator, but don’t let Arkady see.”

“Gotcha.”

“Yeah, last year was not good,” Rosa said, shaking her head.

“What happened?” Rountree wondered with a hint of trepidation in his eyes.

“We had to retrieve Arkady from the neighbors after he had a little too much Christmas cheer and decided to regale them with stories of his past.”

“Fortunately it was an older couple who found him very entertaining,” Kensi explained.

“Well, at least he seems occupied for now,” Fatima pointed out, nodding to where Arkady held court with Colonel Hanna and Roberta. Whatever tall tale he was telling had both of them cracking up.

“For now.”

The doorbell rang and Deeks heard Nell’s voice a moment later.

“Eric and Nell are here!” Rosa said excitedly, rushing up to go greet them. Deeks title his head to see the top of a boingy elf hat that could only belong to Nell and Eric’s signature holiday top hat.

“Well, I guess we’ve been replaced as the welcoming committee,” Deeks joked.

“Up.” Caleb started to climb Deeks’ leg, and he picked him up, propping him up on his hip, then Sophia when she immediately reached for him too.

“Are you hungry?” Kensi asked.

“Cookie?” Sophia said hopefully.

“Mm, maybe after some cheese and crackers.”

“Alright, we’re going to get these guys some dinner. Or at the very least, some snacks. You want anything?” Deeks gestured to Fatima and Rountree.

“Eh, I already ate like ten Christmas cookies,” Rountree revealed with a grimace.

“I told you to pace yourself,” Fatima reminded him.

“I know.” He sighed. “But they’re so good.”

“Ok, we’ll back in a little bit,” Deeks said, hefting the twins higher. “Sheesh, you guys are killing my back.”

After Caleb and Sophia ate a well-rounded dinner of cucumbers, crackers, and cookies, they ended up chatting with Anna, Eric, and Nell.

“It’s great being back at work,” Kensi was explaining to Nell and Anna. “But I also really miss these guys.” She nodded to Sophia and Caleb, currently building a tower with Sam.

“That has to be so hard,” Nell said. “I’m so happy for you two though. Well, five.”

“Thanks. Every day is crazy, but it’s an amazing kind of crazy.”

“Ooh, speaking of crazy, remind me to get your gifts before we leave,” Eric said.

“That’s a concerning segue,” Deeks observed, pursing his lips. “Do k wanna know?”

“Probably not,” Eric told him happily.

“I would be very scared,” Anna told Deeks in an undertone. “And what is my husband doing?”

A few feet away, Callen had interrupted the block building by presenting Sam with a large white box.

“Come on, Sam,” he cajoled.

“I’m not putting that on,” Sam insisted, leaning away from Callen as he tried to make him take the box. He picked Caleb up, using him as a sort of human shield.

“There are children present. We need a Santa.” Callen pointed to the twins as evidence, pulling out a white beard and hat.

“Yeah, well it’s not going to be me. I bet it wouldn’t the suit wouldn’t even fit me.”

“It stretches.”

“Grisha Callen, leave him alone,” Anna interceded.

“Ooh, you just got full first-named,” Deeks teased.

“Martin Atticus, tell Sam he needs to participate,” Callen said. “It wouldn’t be Christmas without Santa.”

“Tanta?” Sophia asked, looking around excitedly.

“See?” Callen gestured to her as evidence. “You wouldn’t want to disappoint your little niece.”

“You’re shameless.” Sam said, shaking his head. “Ask Deeks.”

“Sorry, the twins would see through that in a second.”

“Enough with bickering. Good lord, it’s like I’m back in the office,” Kilbride grumbled, getting off of his chair with a grimace. “I’ll do it.”

“You’re going to be Santa?” Deeks repeated, fighting back a grin.

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Kilbride responded with as much dignity as he could.

“I did not see that coming,” Kensi murmured.

“Ooh, and Eric and I can be elves,” Nell added excitedly. “We brought our costumes just in case.”

“I’ll get them out of the car,” Eric said, hurrying off. Kilbride didn’t look too pleased by this update and grumbled something about needing another drink as he grabbed the box from Callen.

“I’ll be right back,” Kensi told Deeks.

“Where are you going?”

“To get my phone. This moment needs to be recorded for posterity.”

Merry Christmas to us,” he sang, sitting down beside Caleb and Sophia. “Hey, don’t worry if Santa seems a little extra grumpy this year. He’s a big old softy deep down.”

[densi-mber]

Densimber Day 25 Creative Prompt:

Write our favorite heroes having all the fluffy holiday goodness.

[densi-mber]

A/N: Merry Christmas Eve everyone! This idea was inspired by @mashmaiden.

***

Picture Perfect

“Ok, is everyone fully dressed? No spit up or other bodily fluids?” Kensi checked, looking into the back of the van to give a quick scan of Caleb and Sophia’s coordinated outfits. Sophia had on a res dress with a poofy skirt and matching headband for her tiny curls while Caleb wore an adorable little red vest with tiny black pants.

It had taken the majority of an hour to get everybody ready this morning. Then Caleb had promptly poured orange juice on his shirt and Sophia somehow wriggled out of her shoes.

“Yes to both,” Deeks confirmed. “Let’s get inside to Santa before either of those changes.”

“Don’t forget your earrings, Kensi,” Rosa prompted as Kensi started to get out of the van.

“Oh my god. Thank you.”

“Does my hair look ok?”

Kensi stopped long enough to gently take Rosa by the shoulders, taking in her black and green dress, loose curls, and Christmas tree earrings.

“You look absolutely beautiful,” Kensi told her honestly.

“You both look amazing,” Deeks said, coming to stand next them with a twin in each arm. “And so do you,” he kissed Sophia’s head, then Caleb’s. “And you.”

Together, they all walked into the shopping center, following the signs directing them to pictures with Santa. At 10 AM on Christmas Eve, only one other family was before them.

Kensi took the opportunity to adjust the collar of Deeks’ shirt. “Now you’re perfect too.

As they waited, Caleb and Sophia took turns running between the various decorations, shouting out their best approximation of the name, and then hugging each item. When it was their turn, Kensi took Caleb’s hand and started to lead him towards the stage scene where a kindly looking Santa sat.

“Nooooo!” Caleb wailed, pushing back against Kensi’s legs as hard as he could.

“Sweetheart, it’s just Santa,” Kensi assured him, bending down to comfort him.

“No. Bye-bye.” Caleb shook his head definitely. “Bye!”

“Ok, you don’t have to sit with Santa. Mommy will hold you.”

In direct contrast, Sophia ran forward, stopping in front of Santa with a look of awe.

“Hi Tanta,” she said happily, reaching up to give him a high five. She pointed to herself. “Sopee.” The man smiled with what looked like genuine delight and nodded along to her chatter.

Caleb tucked himself into Kensi’s shoulder, but watched his sister with guarded interest. Rosa whispered softly to him in Spanish, trying to convince him that Santa was not scary.

“What should we do?” Kensi asked Deeks, who shrugged.

“Give him a few minutes?” he suggested. “Hopefully he’ll warm up.”

“No Tanta,” Caleb repeated firmly.

“You got it, kiddo.”

After a few minutes, Caleb let them carry him over to the stage, but glared at Santa the entire time while they arranged themselves.

“Sorry,” Deeks apologized as he retrieved Sophia.

“Happens all the time,” the man assured him.

Kensi stood to the left with Caleb, Deeks to the right with Sophia and Rosa directly in the middle. The photographer snapped several pictures with slightly different poses and then offered them a preview of the shots.

Deeks let out a snort when he saw Caleb scowling in all but one. “Yeah, that seems about right for us.”

“It’s perfect,” Kensi decided.

***

A/N: I like to think that Kensi and Deeks would enjoy the opportunity to participate in all the cliché activities after so many years of missing those kind of things.