ejzah

***

Deeks, heading for the front door: Coming! Caleb, you better not be helping your sister get those cookies. *he opens the door to Callen and Rebecca* Hey, guys. *Rebecca turns her face into Callen’s jacket*

Callen, with forced brightness: Hey! Are you busy?

Deeks, stepping to the side: Just hanging out with the Pastry Twins. Did you need help with the missing peas?

*at the mention of peas, Rebecca lifts her head, sticking out her lower lip*

Callen, walking in: Yeah, about that. The smallest Callen-Kolcheck did not appreciate the removal process. She’s been voicing her displeasure very loudly and frequently.

Deeks: Ah. And you got good lung capacity, don’t you, kiddo?

Rebecca: Nods seriously.

Callen: I thought maybe you guys could help distract her. If I’m not imposing.

Deeks, shrugging: Of course not. Come here, Miss Becca. *Rebecca readily lets Deeks take her* You wanna play? Caleb, Sophie, Uncle Callen and Becca are here!

Sophia and Caleb, running in: Becca!

Sophia: You wanna play wit us, baby?

Caleb: Here, you have my Vengers.

Deeks, carefully sets Rebecca down: Be careful with her. She’s little.

Caleb, seriously: I be careful, daddy. *then in a higher pitch* C’mon, Becca, we’ll help you. It’s not hard.

*the twins walk away with Becca between them*

Callen, tilting his head: That was worryingly easy.

Deeks, patting his shoulder: They’ll come up with something to give us a few more gray hairs before you know it. In the mean time, you want a drink during these precious moments of peace?

***

Deeks, answering his phone: Hey Grisha, what’s up?

Callen, speaking slightly higher than normal: So, odd question for you. Remember when Sophia put beans in her nose?

Deeks: Uh-huh. Let me guess, Rebecca is exploring the joys of stuffing food in small spaces.

Callen: Yep. I guess she didn’t enjoy her peas today.

Deeks, wincing: Nice. So how can I help you? I’d think Google would have all the answers for you.

Callen: Google lies and you’ve successfully raised twins to toddlerhood, so I trust you more than the internet. What did you do to get the beans out? We’re trying to avoid a doctor visit. *Rebecca babbles something loudly* No! Becca, no flowers!

Deeks, pressing his lips together: Ah, you’ve reached the Curious Ones. It’s a beautiful, messy, often nerve wracking time.

Callen: Yeah, it’s been delightful. So, the peas.

Deeks: Right. You’re gonna put your mouth over Becca’s and make sure you have a good seal like with CPR. Then you blow, but not too hard. If you know which side the bean is in, squeeze the other side shut. Granted, that’s only work one time for us. Once we got lucky and Caleb sneezed really hard.

Callen, momentarily distracted: How many times have they put beans in their noses?

Deeks: Only twice. The other times were a Barbie shoe, a dried noodle, and a fruit snack in the ear. And that last one definitely ended in an urgent care visit.

Callen, dryly: Thanks. I feel so much better now.

Deeks, cheerfully: I got your back, brother. Call me if you need reinforcements.

Forty-five minutes later, Kensi had a brand new wetsuit, a waxing brush, what Deeks had cited as the best wax available, and a bag to carry all of it. Now, Kensi was out back in front a row of surfboards of varying lengths.

“Here, try this one,” Deeks said, setting a blue and green board in front of her to replace the bright pink one she’d just tested. “It’s a little bit longer but slightly firmer.”

He’d explained since she was less experienced, a longer board with a softer top might be helpful. So far, she’d tried out four different boards. The last one, which had also been the longest, Deeks had immediately rejected as soon as she’d tried out a basic stance.

“Are you sure this will really make a difference?” she asked. She could feel the slight give in the top material, but not enough that she imagined it would make or break her performance.

“Absolutely. You’ll be able to stay on your board longer, have greater stability while standing, and have a better chance of catching waves,” Deeks explained while observing her. “You know what, I think I have one inside that might be an even better fit for you. I’ll be right back.”

“Mr. Deeks, you don’t need to—”

“Deeks,” he corrected with a soft laugh. “The last person to call me Mr. Deeks was my high school chemistry teacher and he may or may not have hated me just a little bit.”

“Ok. Deeks.” Kensi nodded in acceptance that they were taking down another small barrier. “I think you’re going a little overboard. We can compensate you for some of the merchandise, but I don’t know if our supervisor will approve of all these extras. I don’t want your business to suffer because of this.

“Call it the NCIS special,” Deeks said with a shrug. “Having the right equipment will help you keep up. Besides, I told you Branston thinks he’s some kind of surfing guru. He’ll want to impress you and prove that he’s better if he sees you decked out with the best.”

“So, I should probably not show him up,” Kensi guessed.

“Eh, you can a little bit. He’s a competitive guy. Sometimes he tries to engage with random surfers who are way out of his league. You’ll just want to pull back before he pulls the adult version of ‘that’s my ball and I’m leaving’.”

“Dealt with my fair share of those before.”

Deeks disappeared for a few minutes, then returned with the promised board. Kensi walked across the surface, dropping into her knees a little, and paying attention to the way it gripped the bottom of her bare feet.

“How’s that feel?”

“Actually, a lot better,” Kensi admitted with rueful chuckle. “I guess I should have listened to the master.”

Deeks’ upper lip lifted in a satisfied smile, but he shrugged off the implied compliment. “I’m just a guy who grew up on the water and had a lot of great mentors. Now I get to do that for other people, which is a pretty amazing feeling.”

“That’s really admirable,” she murmured, smiling back without thinking.

“I don’t know about that.” Clearing his throat, he gestured to her. “Can I?”

After a second, Kensi realized he was asking permission to adjust her stance.

“Be my guest.” She held her arms in the air, not unlike of she was about to be frisked. A shiver of anticipation ran through her as she waited for Deeks touch her. He very carefully place one hand at her waist and the other on her right shoulder. The warmth of his hands permeated the thin material of her t-shirt.

“Is this ok?” he asked, his voice lower and slightly rougher than normal.

“Yes,” Kensi said, annoyed at how breathy she sounded.

With the same care, Deeks shifted her position, gently pressing on her shoulder or nudging her leg a few inches one way or the other.

“This should help you keep your balance with less effort,” he explained. One of his hands drifted down her arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.

Kensi was acutely aware of how close he was to her; if she turned her head a little—

Deeks cleared his throat and abruptly stepped back, taking the warmth with him. “I think that’s, uh, that’s enough off water practice. We should probably go down to the shore before it gets too busy.”

“Right.” Kensi nodded several times and knelt to pick up the board, hoping it would cover her annoyingly flushed skin.

“Hey, remember that you’re going to be seducing Meyers, not the surfer,” Callen reminded her in her ear.

“Shut up,” she hissed back. Deeks gave her a confused look, which she ignored in favor of stalking towards the water.

***

Thanks for tagging me @romancemedia!

Tagging @mashmaiden, @bluenet13, @chicgeekgirl89, and @wanna-be-bold.

***

Deeks, pulling out his wallet: It was good seeing you, man. We need to do this more often.

Kip, outraged: Wait, where you going? Dude, we just got here and I haven’t seen you in six months. You’re leaving after one beer?

Deeks, apologetically: Sorry, man. It’s a school night. My boss will do scary things if I come in with a hangover.

Kip: I’ll write you an excuse. Better yet, I’ll buy your agency.

Deeks, laughing: As much as I’d love to see the look on Hetty’s face if you sent me in with a sick note, I have to pass.

Kip, squinting at Deeks: You’re lying. Don’t think I can’t read your face. You’re just dying to get out of here. *he grins then* It’s your partner, isn’t it? Kensi.

Deeks: No, I’m just very tired and I bumped my shoulder on the—

Kip, crossing his arms: Right. You’re abandoning me so you can play house with Special Agent Blye.

Deeks, rubbing his jaw: Do you blame me?

Kip, delighted now: Not a damn bit. In fact, you’re an idiot if you don’t leave right now. It took you long enough to make a move in the first place.

Deeks: What happened to me, what was it you said, “abandoning” you?

Kip, spreading his hands: Who am I to stand in the way of love? Now go get your girl before she gets tired of waiting for you.

Deeks: Thanks, man. Next night out is on me.

Kip: I’m gonna hold you to that. And, I want all the dirty little details!

***

It isn’t until the entire team arrive for dinner, that Kensi realizes just how small her apartment is. Although she’s had more of a social life than Deeks, she hasn’t been entertaining.

The entire team had encouraged her to take a chance with Deeks, but that was so much different than leaving. Now that the moment is here, nerves have kicked in. She’s completely certain of her decision to leave, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy.

So here she is watching the team talk and laugh from the kitchen while what-ifs paralyze her.

“Thinking of making a break for it?” Deeks says unexpectedly from behind her, making her jump slightly.

“I thought you were checking the pizza.”

“It’s out. And you’re avoiding the question.” Deeks makes the observation lightly, but with obvious compassion.

“No, I haven’t changed my mind,” she promises. “I’m just realizing that making such a big announcement is easier in theory.” With a sigh, Kensi leans against Deeks’ chest, appreciating the stability and comfort. “How did you do it?” She twists her head in time to see Deeks lift an eyebrow.

“If you recall, I wasn’t exactly doing too well emotionally at that time. Resigning didn’t seem like that big a deal in the grand scheme of things,” he replies sardonically.

“Right.” Kensi winces. “Stupid question. I just don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

“Kens, they love you and they’re gonna support you no matter what.” Deeks kisses her cheek and wraps and arm around her shoulder, hugging her against his chest for a second.

“You’re right. Thank you for always knowing how to talk me down,” she says, squeezing his arm before she lets go and walks back into her small living room.

“Oh good, we were just getting ready to stage an intervention if you didn’t come out soon,” Callen jokes.

“Is everything ok?” Eric checks.

“We’re fabulous,” Deeks answers. “We were neither fighting nor engaged in any unmentionable activities.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Sam mutters as Callen chuckles.

Kensi looks around the room, at all these people who have supported her, loved her, and put up with her in her worst moments. Eric and Nell share a couch with Jared squeezed in at the end.

Jared has handled keeping her secret surprisingly well. Unlike Kensi, he seems completely calm and hasn’t given any sign that he knows anything. He’s come a long way and she feels proud at the realization. He’s going to be ok without her. They all will.

“Actually, there is another reason why we invited all of you here tonight besides celebrating us getting back together,” Kensi begins, sharing a nervous look with Deeks. He nods encouragingly and she wishes this didn’t feel so much like a high school presentation. “Even though I’ve spent hours thinking about it, I don’t really know how to say this.”

“Can I say something first?” Sam asks, standing up from his spot on the couch.

“Sure.” Kensi nods uncertainly, but lets Sam move to the center of the room.

“I remember when you were just a rookie agent who was so determined to make a difference and prove yourself. I’d say you more than met your own expectation because you are one hell of an agent, Kensi.” He gave Kensi a half-smirk as he paused. “And you’re going to be amazing at whatever you do next. Whether it’s with NCIS or somewhere else.”

“How did you—?” Kensi asks, looking first to Deeks and then Jared, but they look equally surprised.

Sam rolls his eyes. “You’ve been on edge all night. I couldn’t take you biting at your nails anymore.”

“We also kind of made bets as soon as Deeks came back on board,” Callen reveals shamelessly. “Figured it wouldn’t be too long until you started thinking about the future beyond NCIS.”

“There’s also the fact you actually took your full medical leave for a change,” Sam adds.

So, you are leaving?” Eric confirms. He’s been unusually quiet all evening and now she knows why.

“Three months,” Kensi says. “I promise I wasn’t hiding this from you guys. I just had to make sure everything was in order before I shared the news.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Nell tells her, coming over to hug Kensi tightly. “I’m gonna miss you so much, Lady. But I’m also happy for you.” Nell laughs wetly, then reaches for Deeks, hugging him just as fiercely. “And you too. You have no idea how hard I’ve worked for this.”

“Oh, we know,” Deeks assures her. “Thank you for all your meddling and pushing. I don’t know if we would have figured it out without you.”

“Definitely not,” Callen teases. “You two idiots were prepared to be miserable for the rest of her lives.”

***

Caleb, poking at Deeks’ chest: Daddy, what’s dis?

Deeks, squinting at his scarred bullet wound: It’s a boo-boo.

Kensi, under her breath: A very, very big boo boo.

Sophia, rushing to climb on Deeks’ lap: I wanna see it! Where’s da blood? You needa bandaid, daddy?

Deeks, chuckling: Thanks, kiddo, but I’m ok. This one happened a long time ago.

Caleb: What happened? Did you fall down? Did you cry?

Deeks: Uh, I was stopping a bad guy.

Kensi, squeezing Deeks’ shoulder: Daddy was saving me.

Sophia, with a soft gasp: Like a superhero!

Caleb, delighted: Like Spiderman! And da Captain of America.

***

Deeks: Sir, I need to leave early on Monday.

Kilbride, sighing: What is the current catastrophe? A family illness, perhaps. You’re adopting more children? No, I suppose your dog has an emergency vet appointment.

Deeks, after a lengthy pause: Actually, I need to pick Rosa up from school early.

Kilbride: I see. Well, why not have an agent pick her up instead and bring her to the boat shed? I can work from there.

Deeks, uncertainly: So you’re offering to stay with Rosa?

Kilbride, tersely: It didn’t go that badly last time. Your daughter is a decent conversationalist and surprisingly respectful.

Deeks: I’m sure there’s a compliment in there somewhere. That’s a very kind offer, sir. Unfortunately, I don’t think that will work out since Rosa has a vocational activity at a local museum. I missed the last one. Unless you’d like to help supervise fifteen or so 16-17 year olds.

Kilbride, with obvious distaste: Absolutely not. *he waves his hand* I approve the time off. And do not even think of bringing any of those other children here.

***

Summer Nights

Deeks sat on the back patio, a can of cool sparkling water in his hand. Even though it was after 9pm, the air still felt thick and hot around him. Naturally, their AC had given out during the hottest week of the summer.

By running every fan he and Kensi owned, they’d managed to keep the house livable until their maintenance guy could replace the air conditioner.

He heard the sliding door open behind him and scooted over to make room for Kensi to join him.

“Hey, sugar bear,” he said, looking up as he sat next to him. Taking her hand, he presses a kiss to her wrist, smiling against the already warm skin. “How was work?”

“Well, I had working AC, so nothing I’m going to complain about right now,” she answered, reaching out to brush his slightly damp hair back from his forehead. Deeks noticed she’d changed into her smallest shirt and a crop top already. “Thank for taking care of the Sophia and Caleb through all this. I can’t imagine they were too happy.”

“Eh, we spent most of the day at mama’s house, so it wasn’t too bad. They went to sleep about twenty minutes ago with the fans on full blast. The projected cost for the replacement AC and labor is gonna hurt in a few weeks.”

Kensi grimaced. “Yeah.” She swatted away a mosquito. “What are you doing out here, baby?”

“I was getting a little stir crazy,” Deeks explained. He tracked a lightning bug across the yard. “I used to catch lightning bugs with Ray when I was a kid. We never did anything to them. We’d just catch them, see how long they’d stay on our hands before they flew away. Then start all over again.”

“That’s a sweet memory,” Kensi said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“Nights like this make me think of when I was a kid. The air conditioning always seemed to go out once a summer. Or if money was tight, we’d keep it off to save a little. It would get so warm in my room, I couldn’t sleep. A few times, mom took me to the corner store to get stale ice cream. Mostly, we’d stay up half the night just talking to pass the time. Then mom would go to work and I’d go to the library or beach as early as possible.”

Deeks smiled as he stares distantly across the small patch of ground Rosa had helped cultivate into a thriving garden.

“Even though it’s miserable, I don’t completely hate these hot, muggy nights.”

They were silent for a few minutes, the only sounds permeating the air those of frogs and insects.

“I had a few days like that after I ran away,” Kensi revealed unexpectedly. “The closest cooling center was a library. The first time I went in, I didn’t really know what to expect. A lot of times, people didn’t like it that a teenager was wandering around all by myself. So, I found a spot at the end of a bookshelf in the biography section cause no one else was around.”

Deeks didn’t say anything, but rubbed his thumb along Kensi’s shoulder, quietly encouraging.

“I’d only been there for about ten minutes when this tiny, older lady found me. I thought she was going to kick me out or ask where my parents were. Instead, she told me it was much cooler downstairs in the juvenile section. I tried to tell her I was fine, but she insisted that I was going to pass out if I stayed there and she didn’t have time to call an ambulance.”

Deeks chuckled at that. “What did you do?”

“I followed her downstairs and she gave me a popsicle, Gatorade, and a book and told me not to spill anything,” Kensi answered, her tone caught between amusement and melancholy.

“It’s weird how objectively crappy things make you feel nostalgic,” he mused.

“Yeah.” Kensi twisted her head to kiss his cheek. “Wanna stay up all night and eat popsicles?”

Nephew, talking about Infinity War Steve: Something happened to the star on his chest. It’s black.

Me: Yeah, in that movie, he has a different uniform. You haven’t seen that one yet. He also has a beard.

Nephew: That’s kind of weird.

Me, trying to be vague: He also doesn’t have a shield.

Nephew, getting more excited: Yeah, I noticed that and I thought “that’s weird”. Why does he look different? I wonder why he doesn’t have a shield.

Me, internally: Oh, just you wait 5-7 years, kiddo.

***

*The Deeks family are walking on the pier, close to dusk*

Deeks, pushing the sleeping twins in a stroller: So, Rosalie what are you planning for this summer?

Rosa, shrugging: I’m going to pick up a few more hours at work. I also need to test out of a couple classes and I’m debating getting a couple core classes out of the way.

Kensi, teasing: Oh, is that all? *then more seriously* Please don’t burn yourself out. You’ve worked so hard this whole year. You deserve a break.

Rosa: Don’t worry, mom. In comparison to fall and spring semesters, I’ll be getting done with classes so early. I’ll have so much time to relax.

Deeks: Man, I remember when I had that much energy. Or at least could drink enough caffeine to feel like I had energy. *he pulls Rosa into a one-armed hug* We’re proud of you, Rose.

Rosa, smiling: Thank you.

Kensi: And maybe you can find time to squeeze in a vacation with us.

Rosa: I probably have a week or two free. *she smiles a little slyly* I think Steven wouldn’t mind coming along too.