Note: First and foremost, this little story is in honor of MioneAlterEgo's birthday. It's a birthday story and seemed like a serendipitous tribute to a wonderful friend and a great beta. Happy Birthday, Jenn! This is told in a similar vein as another story of mine, "Camisoles, Corduroy, and Lip Balm," though this one is from Kensi's POV on how she can try to make it up to Deeks for forgetting his birthday. There are ten chapters in total and I'll post one a day until completed. And check out the wonderful "Ice Cream, Confessions and the Wingnut Board" by thepixiesmademedoit - we both had ideas for post-Drive stories and made a pact to publish our stories together. Thank you, Anna, for the beta read and advice, and for being my fellow cliff-jumper.

Thank you for reading, and reviewing if you do!

Non-Fat Latte

Okay, so I screwed up.

I didn't realize it immediately, but it didn't take me too long to realize Deeks was actually hurt by my forgetting his birthday. Birthdays aren't really a big deal to me, have never been a big deal. At least not since my family was something resembling whole. You have to make things mean less when there aren't people around to celebrate them.

Despite my hang-ups, it wasn't until today, January 8, 2013, that I realized how important birthdays are to Deeks. Especially when he hopefully asked me a second time if my dinner reservations included him.

Big fat fail, Kensi.

The thing is, I didn't mean to hurt Deeks by forgetting. And looking back I can see how he was trying to remind me all day, how he expected that I knew it was his birthday. But there was being undercover, almost getting killed, and almost getting Jaime killed distracting me.

I'm not used to thinking about other people the way I do with Deeks. He's managed to become the person first on my mind, even if I can't always show it the way normal people do. Even if I don't always understand our connection. And even if I'm slow to get that a cutting remark or a glance from me can hit him harder than it would from other people.

All through dinner with Jaime and his mom I tried to think of a way to make it up to Deeks. Not because I care about birthdays all that much, but because Deeks cares about his birthday. And when I finally came up with my plan I felt relief. I could make this right between us.

The next morning, I made sure to show up at Deeks' house well before he usually left. And it turned out I was way early because he answered the door with his hair rumpled from sleep and dragging his feet like a little kid reluctant to go to school. But he saw the non-fat latte in my hands, with the words "Happy Belated Birthday, Marty!" scrawled on the side and he managed a slight smile. I blamed that barista who has a crush on Deeks for the notation since I'd let it slip the coffee was for him as a sort of consolation for the forgotten day before.

He drank a few sips and I hurriedly laid out my plan. And tried to ignore how nervous I felt, hoping this Hail Mary would fix things. Or at least start to fix things. I'd missed his birth DAY, but it was still his birth MONTH. So I would find ways to make up for having forgotten his birthday, starting right then. With the coffee he likes. Even though I think the laundry list of directions he gives when he orders is ridiculously fussy.

Thing is, I didn't have any trouble remembering exactly how Deeks likes his coffee. I was relieved to see his cautious, yet accepting, smile as I offered up my plan and I tried not to examine too closely how important seeing that smile was.

And when I told Deeks about the night before, starting with Jaime's hopeful expression when I'd arrived at dinner and ending with Jaime's mother inviting me to his cousin's Quinceañera next weekend, the grin slowly lit his face and his chuckle was light as he shook his head in amusement at me. I think there's probably a lesson about karma in there somewhere.

But I had a month to make it up to him. Starting with that non-fat latte.

Next: Flowers