ejzah

***

Deeks, talking on the phone: Yeah, just send me whatever you have. No, I completely understand that. I still need what you have now.

Kensi, squeezing past him: Excuse me, I just need to get something.

Deeks, moves to the side as he finishes up: Right. Thank you so much. Bye.

Kensi, concerned: Baby, are you mad at me?

Deeks, confused: No. Why would you think that? Is there something I don’t know about?

Kensi: I’m wearing a bikini and practically gave you a lap dance just now. And you didn’t even attempt to touch me. It must mean you don’t love me anymore.

Deeks, apologetically: Kens, I wasn’t even paying attention. I had that call—

Kensi, shaking her head: So, a lawyer is more tempting than me. I see how it is. *she starts to walk off*

Deeks: gently grabs her arm and tugs her against him: How’s this for distracted. *he kisses her*

***

The Monday Blues

“I survived,” Deeks announced, dragging himself into the house. He tossed his briefcase on the coffee table and sat down with a deep sigh.

“Rough first day back?” Kensi guessed.

Deeks nodded. “Yes and no. They moved my classroom an hour before my first class, so half the students were late. Then the internet went down, so we had to go old school, which I thought was fun, but some of them did not.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Leaning forward, she kissed the top of his head. “At least it doesn’t sound as bad as last year.”

“That’s true, but things I don’t want to put out into the universe would have to happen for anything to beat last year,” he said. Wedging himself further into the couch, he sighed. “It was nice to see the kids again and catch up.”

“It’s gonna be a good year,” Kensi predicted.

“I can only hope so.”

“Do you want to cuddle until the twins wake up?”

***

Kilbride, walking into the bullpen: Why did I just get off the phone with an irate Lieutenant-Colonel? He claims you were disrespectful and insubordinate.

Kensi, crossing her arms: We were disrespectful? Did he mention that he implied was incompetent? Or that he asked me to bring him coffee?

Kilbride, wryly: And I supposed you couldn’t suck it up for a few minutes.

Kensi: I just matched his energy.

Deeks, calmly: To be put is bluntly, Sir, the guy’s an ass.

Callen: Deeks. Although he’s not wrong.

Deeks: We also think he might be a killer.

Kilbride: Stares at them in disbelief.

Kensi: And that’s very disrespectful.

Kilbride, turns to Sam: Agent Hanna, I thought you were the reasonable one of this group. Don’t you have anything to say to your colleagues about their behavior.

Sam, shrugging: Sorry. I’m having an off day.

Deeks: It has nothing to do with a member of the military breaking his military oath.

Sam: Definitely not.

Kilbride, shakes his head: This is why my drinking has increased.

Callen: Would you like us to stage an intervention?

***

They stopped long enough for Kensi to change into a bikini and amazingly small shorts. At first, he tried not to stare, until he noticed that Kensi was checking him out too. Any misgivings he’d had about purposely flirting with Kensi disappeared with that retaliation.

Deeks drove to a small spot that was fairly secluded. Due to its distance from most amenities, most people avoided it, especially at this time of evening. Deeks told himself it was for both their safety and to protect Kensi’s case. It had nothing to do with having the beach all to the themselves.

It wasn’t a long drive and Deeks spent the whole time wondering exactly what Kensi was aiming for here. He pulled into a small clearing that wasn’t so much a parking space as pure gravel.

“How was the rest of your day?” Kensi asked as they got out and Deeks handed her a board. The sun was setting quickly, but she didn’t seem in a hurry to get to the lesson, so Deeks leaned against the side of his truck. Kensi mirrored him, her shoulder just barely brushing his.

“Busy, but I usually like it that way. If I don’t have something to do, I start to think too much, and that’s never a good thing,” he told her, giving a crooked grin at the end. He waited a beat. “What, no joke about me thinking being a novel idea?”

Kensi eyed him with fondness and something scarily close to understanding. It sent a curl of warmth into his stomach. It was so rare for anyone to trust him as much as she did. Let alone take him seriously.

“Why would I say something like that?”

“It’s a pretty common theme in my life. Sometimes I have done stupid things to annoy people,” he admitted.

“Hmm.” Tilting her head, she scrutinized him for a few more seconds, then reached towards him. Deeks moved back instinctively, but Kensi followed him, gently flicking a curl away from the corner of his eye. “Well, whoever said those things to you wasn’t very smart. Because I’ve seen nothing but passion, intelligence, and kindness since I met you.”

“Wow,” Deeks murmured. “What I’m hearing is that you find my brain incredibly sexy.”

Kensi rolled her eyes and bumped his shoulder with hers. “Just take the compliment and shut up.”

“Sorry.” He bumped her shoulder back. “What do you think?” He gestured towards the water with his chin.

“It’s beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever been to this area before,” Kensi commented.

“That’s because it’s top secret, Kensalina. Only surf instructors know about this location. And now you.”

“I’m honored.”

“So, uh, did you skip out on work to come here?” Deeks asked, grinning when Kensi’s cheeks flushed lightly.

“No. Branston is being annoyingly boring, so I got to leave early for a change,” Kensi said, as if to make sure he didn’t think she would ever confided shirking her duties.

“And you decided to spend that precious time with me.”

“I guess I did.” She blinked and then smiled, seeming to brush off whatever was going on in her mind. “C‘mon. Show me some of those advanced skills you’ve been holding back on.”

***

Advanced techniques had somehow translated to Deeks standing behind Kensi as he guided her into the proper surfing stance. It was an equally torturous and wonderful positing to be in.

“A little bit lower,” Deeks coached, nudging Kensi’s left leg forward an inch or so. “You really want to bend your knees.”

“Like this?”

He barely noticed if Kensi had actually followed through, too distracted by everything about her. This close, he could see the slight copper tones in her hair thanks to the sun and smell the faint scent of watermelon and ocean water in her skin.

“Deeks?” Kensi prompted. Her voice was low and unbelievably sexy. She also sounded as unsteady as he felt.

“What are we doing?” Deeks whispered, stopping with one hand resting on her waist. Her damp skin was warm despite the fading sun. He wanted to run his hands over every inch, but settled for dragging the fingertips of one hand over her collar bone. She shivered and drifted even closer.

“Being reckless,” Kensi answered. Closing her eyes, she leaned back until she pressed against his chest. She turned her head, her lips brushing his jaw.

One of them should have pulled back. Or stopped. Instead, Deeks dipped his head as he cupped Kensi’s cheek and tipped her mouth up to meet his.

***

***

Bad Guy, goading Deeks: You gonna let your girlfriend do everything for you?

Kensi, calmly: We can handle our own battles just fine.

Bad Guy: And she talks for you too. That’s cute.

Deeks, shrugging: Unlike you, it doesn’t bother me if she punches an idiot like you a few times. In fact, I think it’s kind of hot. Especially since she’s my wife.

Bad Guy, giving him a weird look: What kind of cops are you guys?

Deeks: The quirky kind.

Kensi, casually tossing her knife in the air: Also, I wouldn’t make him really angry. He tends to get a bit…scary.

Deeks, sighing: I’ve been working on it.

Bad Guy: Can—can I be questioned by someone else?

***

A Family of Polyglots

Deeks heard the murmur of little voices interspersed with Rosa’s slightly deeper tone. Since Rosa had a full day off from both school and word, Sophia and Caleb had been following her around most of the morning. Pausing in the doorway, Deeks smiled at the scene in front of him.

Caleb and Sophia were perched in front of Rosa, various toys and books splayed around them. At the moment, they watched as she read book, completely riveted on every word.

“Him eating candy,” Sophia commented, pointing to a picture.

“Mm-hmm. Candy es dulce,” Rosa explained.

“¿Dulce?” Caleb repeated carefully.

“Dulce,” Sophia copied him.

“¡Sí! Excelente.”

“That’s adorable,” Kensi whispered, coming up behind Deeks. Resting her chin on his shoulder, she joined him in watching their kids interact.

“¿Puedo have chocwate dulce?” Caleb asked the question with a sly smile.

Though they definitely were more fluent in English, the twins had picked up a good amount of Spanish. Their comprehension was considerably higher, which meant Kensi and Deeks had to be a lot more careful about using it to speak in code.

“No lo sé. ¿Ya cenaste?” Rosa said. She gave Caleb a mock severe look.

“What’s nasty?”

“No. Cenaste. It means “dinner” in Spanish.”

“Oh. Daddy, did we?” Sophia asked, leaning forward to make eye contact with Deeks. “Did we eat. Ce—did we eat dinner?”

Rosa looked over her shoulder. “Hi. I didn’t realize you guys were there,” she said.

“We didn’t want to interrupt,” Kensi told her. “Plus, it was super cute.”

“We worked on “tomatoes, cookies, and tiger today. Among other things. Caleb and Sophia are very good students.”

Caleb nodded proudly as Sophia shared,

“And Rosie telled us to say dulce. Dats candy.”

“Can we hab candy now?”

“No, nosotras necesitamos comer primero,” Deeks replied.

“Mommy,” Caleb objected, turning to Kensi. “Please. Just a little bit.”

“Tu papá dijo que no. Primero la cena, luego los dulces,” Kensi said with a shrug.

It took Caleb and Sophia a few extra seconds to process the sentence, and he wasn’t sure they got every word, but clearly it was enough since they both sighed heavily.

“Dat’s so mean.”

Giggling, Rosa leaned forward and whispered something in each other their ears. When she pulled back, she shot Kensi and Deeks a playful look.

“What about—what’s it called, Rosie?” Sophia said.

“¡Pastel!” Caleb shouted. “What about cake? Pastel is not candy.”

“Thanks for that,” Deeks said dryly.

“What? It’s part of my sibling duties to cause a small amount of chaos,” Rosa teased.

“What does that mean?” Sophia wondered.

“No pastel.” Kensi shook her head as both twins pouted.

“Don’t worry, I’ll sneak you some later.” This was said in a loud whisper that earned Rosa adoring look.

“When they’re fully bilingual, we’re gonna be in so much trouble,” Deeks predicted.

“Absolutely,” Kensi agreed.

***

A/N: The Spanish obviously comes mostly from Google translate and the occasional word I recall from high school. Please forgive any inaccuracies.

***

Kensi spent the rest of the day helping Nell and Eric sort through witness statement and financial forms in case they’d missed any details. Callen and Sam were on surveillance duty at Branston’s condo, which Kensi did not envy them. She couldn’t imagine Branston made a fascinating subject from a distance.

Since they didn’t have any new leads, Callen sent her home early with the usual instructions to be close by if needed.

On the way home, Kensi grabbed some Chinese food and threw on a movie. It was one she could practically quote line for line, but today, she found herself tuning it out. Her thoughts kept returning to Deeks. He’d looked so disappointed when she’d left today. Or maybe she was simply projecting her own feelings onto him.

Abandoning her half-eaten food, she found one of many piles of clothes in her room and started sorting them in a truly desperate attempt at distraction.

“Only a man could drive me to do laundry,” she muttered, as if Deeks could somehow hear here or was to blame for her complete inability to get him out of her mind.

Giving up all pretense, Kensi tossed a wad of socks on her bed, and grabbed the surfboard currently propped up in a corner and the duffle bag with her gear. She needed to see Deeks again.

She had the surfboard strapped to the roof of her SUV before she could second guess her decision. It was foolish and reckless. It was beyond unprofessional and crossing so many boundaries. For once, she didn’t care.

***

The beach had emptied out from earlier in the day, but there were still enough people around that Kensi kept her head lowered to avoid being recognized.

Reckless, that annoying voice that sounded an awful lot like Sam, whispered to her.

When she reached the surf shop it was dark inside without any signs of movement, and Kensi’s stomach sank with disappointment until she noticed a small “we’ll be back soon” sign on the entrance door. Kensi had no place to be, so she toted everything to the patio in the back and made herself comfortable.

In between texting Nell, Kensi periodically checked for Deeks or the employee she’d yet to meet. About twenty minutes later, she glanced up in time to see Deeks pass behind a large family.

He took long strides through the sand, surfboard easily carried under one arm. The beginnings of the sunset cast a glow over him, highlighting his tanned skin and giving his hair a golden tint. A shiver of anticipation ran through Kensi’s entire body, and this time she didn’t even pretend that she wasn’t hopelessly. attracted to him.

Deeks was just a few feet away when he finally noticed her. He stopped short, then quickly closed the distance between them.

“Kensi. What’s wrong?” he asked, worry tinging his voice. His eyes darted around the patio, perhaps expecting Branston or someone more nefarious to appear.

“Nothing,” she assured him quickly, even as some idiotic part of her rejoiced at his concern. Then before she could lose her nerve, she moved close enough that she could have touched him if she wanted. “I thought maybe you’d give me another lesson. You know, since the last two have been interrupted.”

Deeks’ eyes widened slightly. “You want—you want to surf now?”

“Yeah.” Kensi shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal. “But if your busy—

***

Deeks, running to the front door: I’m coming! This is—oh it’s just you, Sam.

Sam, walking in: Good morning to you too. I take it you’re not having a great day.

Deeks, dryly: Oh, it’s been fantastic. Have you ever tried getting twin two year olds to do anything? They tag team, they distract, and they divide and conquer.

Sam, nodding in understanding: I remember those days. I bet it’s definitely harder with two. But you and Kensi usually manage alright. What’s going wrong today?

Deeks, grimly: Potty training. Up until now, they’ve done great. Picked it up right away and no complaints, but suddenly today, it’s the worst thing in the world. Right now they’re camped out in the bathroom, arms crossed, and pouting with everything they have. *he sighs deeply* Debates with two years olds never go well.

Sam, smiling: No they don’t. Though, I might point out, they learned that skill from you. *Deeks glares at him* You know, I don’t like to you food as incentives, but have you tried candy?

Deeks: Yeah. I’ve gone through a whole pack of skittles and it got me nowhere.

Caleb, calling from down the hall: Daddy, it’s a mergency!

Deeks, groaning: Fantastic.

***

Caleb, stroking Kensi’s hair: Your hair is so pretty.

Kensi, gingerly touches her hair: Oh, thank you. You did such a nice job.

Caleb: You’re welcome! You not drink your coffee.

Kensi, quickly grabbing a plastic cup: Sorry! It is very delicious. *she coughs* And kind of dusty.

Sophia, wiping her hands on her yellow dress: Your toes are all done! Look, I made dem all rainbow.

Kensi: Wow, that’s amazing, sweetheart. I love it!

*Deeks walks in then, taking in the scene with a raised eyebrow*

Deeks: Hey, did I miss the invite to the tea party? What’s going on?

Sophia, primly: It’s a princess day. See, mommy is ‘Punzel.

Deeks, nodding: Yeah, I can definitely see the vision.

Kensi, lifts her head and extends her hand: Oh look, it’s my Flynn Rider. I think daddy needs a princess day too.

Caleb, grabs Deeks’ hand and drags him to a chair: Do you want a braid or curling hair?

Deeks: I’m feeling adventurous. Let’s go with the braid.

***

After Kensi left, Deeks felt a little bit like he’d been hit by a very beautiful and emotionally destructive train. Which was incredibly stupid. He’d known Kensi Blye for approximately a week and spent a handful of hours with her. Yet somehow, he was ridiculously close to falling for her.

Even though Kensi didn’t seem to think his part was done, he didn’t share the same optimism. This was always meant to be a short term arrangement and he doubted she’d remember him once seducing Branston required her full attention. He grimaced at the thought. For her sake, Deeks hoped that Branston screwed up in some other way so she wouldn’t have go through with dating him.

Jake came in about ten minutes early for his shift, greeting Deeks with a wave before heading for the small office that also served as their break room.

Right, Deeks had a business to run. Shaking off the last of his self-pity, he started the usual morning routine, just two and half hours behind schedule. So far, he’d taken a slight hit in revenue while helping NCIS, but it wasn’t significant enough to worry him yet. He wasn’t too hopeful that the reimbursement Kensi had mentioned would ever come through.

Though, since it meant he’d met Kensi, maybe it was worth potential financial ruin.

“Marty, you are down bad,” he muttered to himself.

“What’s bad?” Jake asked, reappearing, now with a name tag clipped to his t-shirt and a cup of coffee.

“Nothing. Just talking to myself like usual.”

“Ok. Hey, do you want me to come in late again tomorrow?” Jake took a healthy gulp of coffee. “Cause I’m totally good with sleeping in another day.”

“Sorry, man, but I think we should be back to the regular schedule after this,” Deeks told him.

“Alright,” Jake sighed, but quickly shook off his disappointment.

He was a good kid and had put up with the sudden and mostly unexplained irregularities without complaint or question.

“Am I on the register or stocking today?”

“Uh, start with the register,” Deeks decided. For once, he didn’t really feel like socializing with customers.

“You got it.” Grabbing a clipboard, Jake moved behind the counter to log into the register.

The next hour moved quickly and Deeks went through most of the inventory, placed an order, and confirmed lessons for the next day. Then it was time to head out for his next batch of lessons. After this morning, he was longing for the distraction of the ocean again.

Deeks had four more individual lessons, one family of six, and a group of high schoolers. The last one had somehow been both a delight and tested the depths of his patience. As crazy as lessons with kids could get, they tended to be more fun than their older counterparts.

It was after seven when he finished the last one, and he walked back up the beach feeling rejuvenated and in a significantly better mood. As he approached the patio to rinse off, he saw a familiar figure waiting on one of the benches.

“Kensi.” he said, setting his board down as concern surged through him. “What’s wrong?”

***

***

Deeks, turning off a light: Good night. I love you. I’ll see you in the morning. *he kisses Sophia and Caleb’s foreheads*

Sophia, grabbing his hand: Not yet, daddy. I needa ask you somepin.

Deeks, used to this routine: Ok, what’s your question.

Sophia, thinking: I love you.

Deeks: I love you too.

Caleb, quickly: I gotta question. You didn’t read da Spot book.

Deeks, nodding: I know. We read three books. Bluey, Clifford, and Hungry Caterpillar. It’s time to go to bed.

Caleb: But I not tired yet.

Deeks: I know you think you’re not, but you’re very cranky.

Sophia: I need a drink.

Deeks, handing each of them a cup: One drink.

Caleb: And a nacks.

Deeks: Nice try. No more wheeling and dealing.

Sophia, with a deep sigh: Ok. Good night.

Caleb: Bad night.