As soon as she set a foot inside his apartment, all she could think about was the ugly ass burger that should be waiting for her when she is finished from her shower. She could hear her stomach growling and would eat anything that it's in the refrigerator if Deeks hadn't volunteered to go and get dinner. He was too tired tired to even cook, anyways and, he told her he rather reserves his energy for something much more excited.
She shakes her head at the thought of that. She loved how he was so straightforward with her, how he really says what he feels. (unlike before but, he clearly had improved a lot since then) She would never admit it but, it was probably what she loved most about him, he was never afraid to speak up, even if he always... always end up saying the wrong thing or get laughed at.
When she slid out of the shower, wrapping a towel tightly around her, she peeked inside the kitchen but learned that Deeks still haven't arrived and, the growling in her stomach seemed to increase.
What's taking him so long? she thought as she scattered he feet towards the bedroom. It has already been almost an hour. Or maybe less... maybe the hunger is making her lose all sense of direction.
She shook her head, trying to get rid of the fact that she could practically eat a bull right at that moment as she walked her way to Deeks' dresser, searching for something to sleep in as she really didn't plan on spending the night. She would rather steal, or in the term that she puts it, borrow something of his instead of sleeping in her work clothes.
As soon as she began fidgeting inside the first drawer of the dresser, she came across an neatly folded piece of paper right in the inside left corner. She pulled it out, having absolutely no idea what it was but was curious to find out. She could tell it was old and staring at it as she unfolded it, her eyes darted at the two words that was written messy onto it: The Vows.
Her breaths were uneven as she stepped backwards and sat onto the bed. She kept staring at the two words a bit longer before she closed her eyes and hesitated to peek inside the note. Once she opened her eyes again, she was looking at about nine sentences, all written underneath one another...
"1. You are every reason, every hope, every dream I ever had. No matter what happens, I will cherish every moment we have together " she begins reading softly. She doesn't know why or even why the hell that piece of paper existed but, reading that one little sentence had gotten her hooked.
"2. You pulled me away from so many dangers and I hope that I'll get to do the same with you...
3. For every story I tell, I want to be able to tell it with you.
4. For every memory we will cherish, I want to remember it with you.
5. You encourage me to be the man I am just as I hope I do the same to you.
6. If there's a long road, which is filled with ups and downs, I'm glad I will get through them with you because just as you helped me before, I know that you'll help me again.
7. Above all, I promise not to keep score even when I'm totally winning..." that one was funny, she'll give him that. She should've have known that Marty Deeks would literally be the only one who would joke at a serious matter.
"8. When ever I catch a glimpse of those beautiful mismatched eyes, I feel as I'm falling head over heels in love with you... all over again.
9. Because of you, I laugh, I smile, I dare to dream again. I look forward with great joy to spending the rest of my life with you, caring for you, nurturing you, being there for you in all life has for us, and I vow to be true and faithful for as long as we both shall live"
There was the number ten written as well but, with nothing beside it other than a teardrop that had escaped from down her eyes when she finished reading. That must have been the most true, honest words she had every read and it scared her a bit, thinking about the reason they were hidden.
She suddenly heard the front door opened and in a quick second, she managed to dispose of her towel and threw an over sized shirt on her, grabbing the paper before heading out. She wiped away the few tears that were held up in her eyes, not wanting to let him know she has been crying.
"Kensi?" she heard him say as she was just about to step in the living room. "I would've been back sooner but there was a mean lady who kept stealing my place in line and I was..." he stopped babbling when he noticed how she was standing quietly before him. "What's wrong?" he asked, still with a slight hint of smile lingering on his face. Kensi looked down at the paper and then turned it over so he could see it. She saw how the expression on his face remarkably change and he quickly explained...
"All right before you say anything and start punching me, just know that I'm not planning anything at the moment and I absolutely have a reason for that"
Kensi was somewhat hurt by those words but, she knew that he knew she wasn't ready for marriage just yet so, she led it slide and then asked...
"Well...?"
"I, uhh... well, there's..."
"Deeks, come on... if you have a reason then tell me"
"Well, it's kind of embarrassing because I've been writing those since Senior year in High School"
"Why..." she asked once again, basically chuckle.
"Okay, you mind me explaining this over dinner because I'm really starving right now and I'm not thinking straight" he pleaded.
Kensi smiled and still holding on to paper, she stomped herself onto the sofa and later was joined by Deeks who had by then turned on the TV for some background tension for his 'story' to begin.
"Well..."
"All right, the reason that I have been writing those is that... when I'm under pressure and I'm suppose to speak out, I tend to be a little unsubtle"
Kensi burst out laughing, almost spitting out the bite that she had taken for her burger.
"Oh, yeah sure... laugh it all up"
"I'm- I'm sorry... you are the most talkative person I ever met but you get unsubtle in big speeches...?"
"Why is that so funny... I have you know that a lot of people go through it and I just wanted to get it over with"
"Oh, you're right, it's not funny" Kensi said, trying really hard not to laugh anymore.
"Thank you" Deeks replied, slamming his back against the sofa.
"Okay, so who's idea was it?"
"What...?"
"For you to start writing those, who told you to?"
"No one..."
"You decided?"
"Yeah..."
"Wow, I never pegged you to be that guy"
"What guy?"
"You know, the closet romantic... kind of"
"Oh, so you admit it's romantic?"
"I'm just saying, it's kind of, somewhat... sweet"
"Sweet... wow, you must really want something from me tonight"
And there was her cue for a punch in his shoulder but he didn't really feel it because he was too busy laughing.
"So, how did you come up with them?"
"What the vows?" Deeks asked. When Kensi nodded, he sat up and replied... "Well, I came up with some of them while I was... dating"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, when you see someone and there is that one specific thing that you notice more than anything else and you just specify your reasoning of why do you like that about them... something like that"
"So, you're saying that if one day you're to get married, you are planning on using the words that you used to use to get other girls to sleep with you?"
"Why would you assume that I slept with every girl I dated?"
"Well, with the way you put it, I'm just assuming that that is what usually happened... I'm just guessing here"
"Well, you guessed wrong" Deeks responded, glancing over to the TV as he continued to eat his dinner.
Kensi stared at him before another question popped inside her head...
"How did you know that they apply to any girl?"
Deeks looked at her once again and replied honestly... "Because I was sure of what I wanted" as he held his gaze with hers. Kensi looked down quickly, trying not to let the warm flush around her cheeks notable.
Too late, Kenselina... I can see you blushing... Deeks thought to himself.
"So, is any of these... you know, about me?" Kensi asked again, glancing up towards him again.
"I think the one before the last is about you"
"You think?" she asked, kind of offended but not too much as not to let out a slight smile.
Deeks chuckled before gulping in another sip of his beer. Kensi glanced back to the paper that was then lying next to her onto the sofa.
"Whenever I catch..."
"A glimpse in those beautiful mismatched eyes, I feel as I'm falling head over heels in love with you... all over again" he finished her sentence, glancing towards her once again. Kensi looked away from the paper and stared at him, not knowing what to say or do other than just smile.
"So... are they all about someone?"
"The last one is actually about an old lady" Deeks admitted, fighting back a chuckle.
Kensi blinked and shook her head... "I'm sorry, what?"
"What...?"
"Did you say old lady?"
"Yeah, I was at the beach the other day and I heard her say something about that and I kind of liked it"
"So, you stole her vow?"
"It wasn't actually stealing, she didn't use those exact words. I was inspired"
"Oh, you were inspired?" she mocked.
Deeks just shook his head and got his attention back to his dinner.
When they were done, Kensi cleared out the living room table and later joined Deeks back onto the sofa. Deeks was comfortable, leaning his back all the way to the back of the sofa, sliding down slightly and as for Kensi, she sat next to him, later laying her head onto his stomach and him resting one hand onto her waist, drawing useless pattered through the fabric of his shirt.
"You really think my eyes are beautiful...?" she managed to ask as she played with the button of his shirt, closing her eyes tightly as she did so.
"Well, judging from the angle you're sitting now, I can see a lot of other things that I can consider beautiful" Deeks replied, smirking.
"Way to kill the mood" Kensi said, playfully punching his stomach, making him snigger. He leaned in and pressed a sweet soft kiss into her hair before bringing his head back up again.
It wasn't longer than an hour later when Deeks began hearing slight snores coming from Kensi he looked down to her and noticed how she kept twitching her nose in her sleep. He smiled, leaning in to give her a soft kiss onto her cheek, trying not to wake her. As she found himself in peaceful and quiet, other then the faded sound of the TV, he kept his glance at Kensi and then placed his hands into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out a small box. He stared at it briefly and then opened it, revealing a small one-diamond silver ring inside. He continued to stare at it, sighing deeply every few seconds.
How could he bring up the question when he knew that she felt that she wasn't ready yet? How could he ask her when he knew how scared she was of actually settling down? He understood that the fact about getting married could probably bring up certain memories in her head... about Jack, about her father. He loved her, he was certain of it. He tried to play it cool about the vows, making sure she understood that they weren't for her, that he wasn't rushing her into anything. But, what if they were? What would her response be if she knew? Would she run away... he couldn't imagine loosing her again, not when he fought so hard to be with her...