No Ordinary Love - G.Callen NCIS L.A

Chapter 37

He was in a bad mood. He was grumbling and his jaw was set. So far, his morning was not going as planned. He'd overslept for the first time in his life, then burnt his bagel and let his tea steep for too long so that it tasted bitter, then, in his hurry to still be at the office in time, had ripped his shirt because it caught on the door handle he'd promised Dee he'd fix.

Honestly, he was plain miserable without her. It had been two weeks, and although they at least tried to text every day and Skype on a few occasions, he missed her. So he'd been short tempered and moody.

He stalked into the mission, threw his bag on his desk without acknowledging anyone and went over to Hetty's desk. "I need some time off." No intro, no request, just an announcement.

The Operations Manager wasn't even caught off guard. "Oh, finally! He's here to ask for time off."

Callen raised an eyebrow. "Is it that bad?" He knew he hadn't been himself, but he tried to reign himself in and not take it out on the others.

Hetty folded her hands on her desk. "Do you really want to know? You've been sulking ever since you put her on that plane."

"I miss her."

"I know you do. It's not that."

"Then what?"

"Why didn't you ask for time off when you convinced her to go to London? And just go with her?"

He bit his lip. "Because we needed space. Space to figure out what we wanted. You know, together and as two individuals."

"And what do you want?"

"Her." Even he was surprised by the bluntness of that statement. "I mean it, Hetty. I want her. This is my way of showing her that I want her. Hoping that she'll have me in return."

Hetty eyed him. "Are you going to propose?"

It took him three seconds before he shook his head. "Nope."

"Ever?"

"No, I'm going to propose. Just not in London."

She smiled. "Why haven't you proposed yet, Grisha?"

"Because when Bogdanov happened I was still trying to figure out how and when, and then after Bogdanov we weren't really in place to propose."

"Are you now?" Hetty wanted to know.

"We're getting there."

Hetty was still stunned by the changes she saw in her agent sometimes. So much had changed in the past eighteen months that he'd known Deja. He'd found a place in himself that was comfortable enough to accept his truth and talk about his feelings.

"How's the house hunting?"

"Not doing that until she's back."

"Grisha..."

But he shook his head. "I know you mean well, Hetty, but we're not looking at new houses until we're back. I'm not making that kind of decisions without her; they're to important."

And he was standing up for himself. Which was good too. Hetty gave in. "Fine. But as soon as you've set foot on American ground again..."

"Yes, we'll start looking for another house."

"Okay." She leaned back in her chair. "How long do you want to go?"

"How long can you give me?" he asked.

Hetty pursed her lips. "Technically, with all the leave you have on the books, probably until the end of the year. But, as I can't have Mr. Hanna without a partner for that long, will three weeks suffice?"