A Favor

Chapter One

He was antsy. The surfing he'd done after work had helped but now, sitting on his couch alone, he couldn't be still. He stood, paced around the apartment, and then dropped back onto the cushions. Monty, feeling his master's tension, put his head in Marty's lap and whined softly.

"I know. A couple handsome guys like us should not be alone on Friday night. Right buddy? Guess we'll just do some male bonding."

He had considered going out alone. There were several clubs he dropped into now and then. If he wanted to, he was sure he could end the night with some company. But reality bites, and his reality said that the only company he really craved, he couldn't have.

Lifting himself off the couch with a groan he walked to the kitchen, opened a cupboard and took down a package of popcorn. He tossed it into the microwave and was about to press start when he heard his phone chime.

"Hey Princess. Do you miss me?"

His voice was light and teasing but his mind flipped quickly through a list of reasons she might be calling. He wavered between concern for her safety and interest in her story. It seemed like a long time before she spoke.

"Deeks, don't you owe me a favor?"

"Pretty sure I don't Kens. But it sounds like you might owe me one before the night is over. What's up?"

"Okay. I don't have much time so here goes. There's a group of people I meet up with now and then to go clubbing. Nothing too personal but it's nice to have someone to sit with or a dance partner some times. It's taken a long time to get to this point. Anyway, tonight we're at Shiny Pieces and one of the girls showed up with her cousin from Texas. What a piece of work! He will not leave me alone no matter what I tell him. I know I could kick his ass Deeks, but I don't want to alienate these people, you know? So, I finally told him I have a boyfriend but he doesn't come clubbing with me very often because he works. I thought he'd back off – but he swears he'll fight to the death for me and I should forget about anyone else but him… what a mess." Kensi punctuated her monolog with a groan, then took a deep breath and gritted her teeth. "Deeks, if you'll help me get out of this, I will most definitely owe you one."

Marty had gone through a rapid succession of emotions as his partner spoke. Relief. She might be in trouble, but she was in no real danger. Confusion. It was a bit of a convoluted story. Delight. She needed help and she was calling him to get it. Plus, she was willing to pretend that he was her boyfriend – even if it wasn't real (on her part)- he'd sign up for that job any day.

Without hesitation Deeks replied. "Okay, Kensi. But here's the deal, you have to do anything I ask for one whole weekend. Swear you will and I'll come rescue you."

There was a brief beat when he wasn't sure she was going to answer, before he barely heard her say, "I swear Deeks." Then louder, "Now hurry up. And wear something nice. I told them you were hot. "

"Oh, I knew it!" he teased with a laugh. "I'll be hot, don't worry. Hey, do I have a name?"

"Tim, and I'm Jessa. Got it? Oh no, here he comes. Please hurry."

Deeks hung up his phone and paused before he stood up. He was pleased that Kensi had called him – they both knew he would go to her aid any time, any place, but he felt a little buzz in his chest over this request. She wasn't in real danger and she could undoubtedly handle the situation herself. He hoped she'd decided to call him because part of her wanted him at the club with her tonight. Maybe she was comfortable enough with their relationship (he'd call it the r word in his own mind if he wanted to) to take a little step closer. It definitely had his head spinning.

With a huge grin, Marty Deeks headed for the bedroom. "Sorry about the bonding time buddy, but I've got a date."

Shiny Pieces was a newer club with a clientele that matched its name. Deeks handed his keys to the valet with a sizable tip. "Keep it safe dude." The young man looked at the money in his hand and assured him he would.

At Kensi's request Marty had put a little extra effort into choosing his attire for the evening. He often wore blue because women said it brought out the color of his eyes, but tonight he'd gone with a soft and frankly expensive looking, moss green shirt, dark wash jeans and a blazer length leather jacket. He'd put a little product in his hair and was satisfied with the total effect as he checked the mirror on his way out. Now, as he confidently passed the people standing in line and spoke to yet another bouncer who knew his name, he was pleased with the number of female eyes that followed his every move with interest.

When he entered the club, Marty headed to the bar. He ordered a drink with a half shot and used the wait time to scan the room. He had spotted Kensi immediately. She was taller than most of the women, especially in the heels she loved so much. But, face it, he had Kensi radar and it was just natural for him to seek her out. She was dancing with a huge African American man with a shaved head whose similarity to Sam wasn't lost on him. Deeks chuckled at her resourcefulness. No geek from Texas was going to bother her when she was on the dance floor with that guy.

When his drink arrived, Marty tipped the bartender and moved to the edge of the room. He took a couple drinks from his glass, then put it on a small table, took his jacket off and hung it on the chair. Before he could even move away from the table towards the dance floor, a slightly unsteady but very attractive blond in a bright blue dress was leaning in to him.

"You look lonely," she started out and then giggled.

"Nice try, sweetheart," Marty replied with a grin, "but I'm taken." And it sent a little shock through him to realize just how true those words really were.

The song that was playing was about to end when Marty approached Kensi on the dance floor. She was obviously having a good time as she danced; dressed all in black, her dress suggestive rather than revealing, hair pulled into a high, smooth pony tail, makeup dusky, heels unbelievably high and eyes half closed. The sight of her made Marty swallow reflexively. She was the most beautiful woman in the place – he wasn't biased- and he was struck, again, by how badly he wanted to be close to her.

He stood still and made himself relax, waiting for her to notice him. When she did, the evening was instantly worth whatever effort he had to put out, because she smiled at him, not in relief, but with genuine delight as she opened her arms and flowed into his.

Deeks didn't hesitate. He drew her in, then moved back just enough to lock his gaze with hers before he leaned in and kissed her. Nope. Not a tentative, undercover, pretend kiss. This was the real deal. His hands gripped her hips, pulling her closer before one slid slowly up her spine, ending in her hair, fingers wide, holding her head possessively. His mouth was open with just a hint of frantic and the kiss wasn't short but instead went on and on.

When he finally pulled away slightly to catch his breath his eyes were still locked with hers. He hadn't missed the gasp she emitted as his lips had first touched and then owned hers. Panting slightly she whispered "Deeks" into his ear. He knew she intended it to indicate displeasure with what had just happened – but failed miserably.

He covered her jaw with gentle kisses before letting his lips settle just below her ear. "Come on Kensi," he said softly so that only she could hear. "If we were dating, I would never miss the opportunity to kiss you like that, especially in a room full of men. Do you have any idea how many of these guys hate me right now? Watch the bar, in the next five minutes there will be a line of guys up there buying drinks. They just decided to get drunk because they're not going to be the one to take you home tonight."

Kensi might have blustered through some kind of lame argument, if she had been able to form words, but couldn't. She did manage to give her head a tiny shake followed by a barely there, self-conscious smile. Deeks grinned when he noticed a hint of a blush moving up her cheeks. He put one hand gently against her warm face before leaning close to her ear once again.

"You might act like you're glad to see me, too," he chided, a smirk firmly in place.

Kensi went still in his arms. Marty held his breath trying to see what he'd said to upset her. His concern disappeared as she clasped her hands together behind his neck and pulled him close. She placed several small, gentle kisses to the corners of his mouth before sinking into a deep kiss. When she pulled away from him, she maintained her grasp on his neck and with a quiet but strong voice said, "I am."

They moved slightly apart and danced. The first song was fast, with a heavy beat. Deeks stayed close enough that she could move and sway inside the relaxed circle of his arms. She was beautiful at her worst, but when she danced it brought out the graceful, feminine side that she kept hidden in her daily life. Even though she seemed to be absorbed in the music with her eyes half closed and a secretive smile on her face, he knew she was watching him, never taking her eyes off his face for more time than it took her to spin around.

When the music ended again he asked if she wanted to sit down and have a drink, but when she heard the soft, slow beginning of one of her favorite songs she shook her head and pulled herself into his arms again. Without releasing her hands that were still clasped behind his head, she moved until there was no space between them and laid her head carefully on his chest.

"I can hear your heart."

Deeks chuckled as he pushed his face against the top of her head. "Can you hear how fast it's beating? You know that's what you do to me, right? He wasn't sure why he felt the need to be quite so honest with her, but for once she didn't seem to mind.

After a half hour of dancing they were both ready for a drink and a little rest. Deeks took Kensi's hand gently in his and lead her toward the table she had pointed out to him earlier.

There were seven people seated around the table and only one empty chair. When they stopped next to the empty spot Kensi did a quick round of introductions.

"Hey, this is my boyfriend Tim. See, I told you he was real." Kensi paused and gave him an almost shy smile while she waited for the gang to finish laughing.

"Tim, this is Ellen and Trevor, Amanda and Blake, and Sarah and Ethan. Oh, and this is Amanda's cousin Arthur from Dallas. Everybody, this is Tim."

Deeks had smiled and nodded to each couple as they had been introduced but when Kensi got to Arthur, Deeks' face was expressionless except for a slight narrowing of his eyes. Marty Deeks used his sunny disposition to his advantage in his work and private life. Many people had never seen him as anything other than a jovial, laid back guy. But those that worked with him, especially Kensi, knew that he also had a serious, determined and loyal badass side that no one should ever ignore. At that moment she felt a little sorry for Arthur and hoped that he would cut his losses and find another "pretty gal" to chase after for the rest of the evening.

Deeks sat in the last empty chair and pulled Kensi into his lap. He didn't know how obvious he needed to be to get the message across to cousin Arthur, but he wasn't going to miss the opportunity to spend as much of the night as possible with Kensi in his arms or his lap. The conversation around the table went well. Several of the guys asked Marty what he did for a living and each got a generic reply that basically told them nothing.

After several minutes, Blake announced he was heading to the bar and took orders for refills. He gave Deeks a small sideways look and Marty stood up quickly and offered to help.

Standing in line at the bar, Blake didn't waste any time getting to the point. "Hey man. I'm sorry about Arthur, he's not really a total jerk, just clueless. But I wanted to tell you that you don't have anything to worry about – not that Arthur's worth your time of day. Jessa's a cool girl and she's been here enough that pretty much everybody knows and likes her. She'll dance with anyone but that's all she does. Dance. I saw some guy try to get handsy with her once and before Rif – he's the big guy Jessa was dancing with when you came in – could even get over there to help her, she had the guy's hand all twisted around and he was on his knees. It was awesome!" He stopped and threw Marty a serious look. "She's completely into you. Talks about you a lot. I just want you to know that she's okay here when you can't be." He paused and then added, "You know you're a lucky guy, right?"

Deeks wasn't surprised by most of what he'd just heard but he knew Kensi could have sold her cover without telling people much about "her boyfriend", so why did she? It was something he was going to need to spend some time thinking about.

It started out as a little bitty one shot thing but has grown wings! Hope you enjoy it. I truly would love to hear what you think.