Summary – Kensi and Deeks have dinner with Roberta and her boyfriend. Post 7.23 (Where there's smoke…)
Disclaimer – I don't own the characters. I'm just borrowing.
AN – Just needed to take a break from ADLS to write something short and fun. And can I say how much I love how Kensi/Deeks are being portrayed this season? So many simple moments that show they're happy and comfortable together. Although, I am a little confused about whether they are engaged? I am assuming no, but them talking seriously about wedding plans confused me…
Michael Walsh is an average looking man. His once dark hair is speckled with grey and his skin looks a little rough, likely a product of spending his life out in the southern California sun. But he has an easy smile and happy eyes. His face is filled with laugh lines. He's tall, not as tall as Marty but over six feet, and carrying about an extra twenty pounds.
He's long divorced, with three adult children and two grandkids. He has good relationships with all of his family, as evidenced by the pictures he shows on his phone.
He's knowledgeable about what's going on in the world, but doesn't hold any extreme opinions.
He clearly knows his way around Roberta Deeks's kitchen. He keeps up with the conversation as he opens cupboards and retrieves ingredients and kitchen utensils Kensi didn't know existed with ease.
She likes him.
Deeks, however, does not. He stands stiffly beside her in the kitchen, frowning at the familiarity in which Michael navigates his mother's kitchen. Where Kensi had smiled at Michael's family pictures, Deeks had stared at them, as if looking for cracks.
Michael and Roberta are chattering on about their spa day.
"I always thought spas were too fancy," Roberta is saying. "But this one was really nice."
"What did I tell you?" Michael says easily. "Sometimes you have to spoil yourself. Massage, steam room, pool? What could be better?" He shoots a smile towards Kensi and Deeks. He hasn't been off put yet by Deeks's behaviour and keeps trying to engage him.
Deeks shifts beside Kensi and crosses his arms. "We're not really spa people."
Michael half nods and turns back to the food.
Kensi elbows her boyfriend as subtly as she can.
He blocks his side for further attacks and looks at her. She shoots a 'what the hell are you doing?' look at him. He at least has the decency to look sorry.
She motions across the kitchen, towards the older couple working together in the kitchen. She knows if she could just get him to settle down, he may actually like Michael.
He cocks his head at her.
She raises an eyebrow.
He sighs, and she knows she's got him.
Unfortunately, his phone rings before he says a words. He pulls it from his pocket and checks the ID. He takes a step back. "I have to take this. It's work." He turns and leaves the kitchen.
Kensi watches him go, and frowns at the sound of the front door closing. Work, my ass, she thinks to herself. They are both off the clock and she knows if it were work calling them in, she'd get a call as well.
She turns back to the kitchen.
Roberta looks worried.
Kensi offers the older woman a smile. "The food smells amazing."
Roberta smiles back at her, her attention momentarily off her son. "You sure you don't want to learn?" It's a question Roberta asks pretty much every time Kensi and Deeks are over for dinner.
"Maybe another time. Not today; I don't want to ruin this when it smells so good."
"Anytime, Kensi. Just say the words."
Kensi feels a wave of gratitude towards the kind women who (sort of) raised her partner. She's been nothing but kind and welcoming to Kensi since they met the previous year.
Unlike Deeks right now.
Kensi turns towards the hallway. There is no movement at the front door.
"I'll be right back," she announces.
She makes her way down the hall towards the front door.
Deeks looks up at her as she steps out onto the porch. He is on his phone. She tucks herself against him as he 'uh-huhs' and 'mm-hmms' into the phone. His free arm stretches around her, holding her close. She closes her eyes and sighs. She can only hope the closeness will do as much good for him as it does for her.
"Mm-hmm," he continues his conversation. "Okay. Thanks, Eric."
Kensi's eyes snap open as he ends the call. "Eric? What did Eric need?"
She pulls back to meet his eyes. He hesitates for just a moment, but it's enough for her to know exactly what's going. "You had Eric run your mother's boyfriend through the system?!"
"What else was I supposed to do?" He shoots back at her.
"Be a normal person and get to know him by talking to him, not by being creepy-stalker guy."
He smiles at that. "But creepy-stalker guy is the faster option."
She rolls her eyes. "I assume he came back clean."
He sighs. "Not even a parking tickets. Ex-wife and kids are clean, too."
She glares at him again. "You ran his family?"
"Desperate times, Kensalina."
"No, no. These are not desperate times. This is not a sole-crushing other shoe scenario. This is your mom finding some happiness."
"I just need to make sure she's okay."
Kensi deflates slightly at his tone. She reaches to cup his jaw in her hands. "You aren't responsible for her choices, Deeks."
"I need to protect her."
She brushes her thumb along his cheek. "I know you feel like you need to protect her. But you are her son. She is your mother. You are not responsible for her choices."
His hands find her hips as he presses closer. "She has a history of making bad choices."
Kensi stares up at him for a long moment. She sees pain and uncertainty in his eyes. He's been thrown off kilter by his mother's sudden news and it's bringing up old thoughts and memories.
"Your mother's choices weren't as bad as you're making them out to be," she tells him.
He scoffs. "My dad was a horrible person. He-"
Kensi cuts him off by tugging him down to her level and kissing him. It's always been an effective move with him when she needs him to stop talking.
He kisses her back and she can feel him relaxing a bit under her hands.
"Her choices weren't that bad," she repeats. "Because the result of those choices was you."
He says nothing to her words, clearly thrown off. His jaw tightens and his eyes become just a little shiny.
She kisses him again. "She did something really right, Marty," she tells him. It's not often that she uses his first name, but she makes it count when she does. "You're the best man I've ever known. You're kind, and loyal, and funny. There's nothing you wouldn't do to protect the people you love, but you can still see the good in this world."
His head drops forwards, looking down at the ground between their feet.
She runs a hand through his hair, knowing he needs a moment.
"Do you think you can try and see the good in Michael? In how happy he's making your mom?"
He nods and then lifts his head. "I can do that. Though you may have to remind me a few times."
"I'll remind you every day if I have to. You're not going through this alone."
His arms curl around her, pulling her to his chest. She goes easily, settling against him and running her hands back and forth across his shoulder blades.
He presses a kiss to the top of her shoulder. "Thank you."
Kensi smiles. "Any time, partner." She runs her hands down to settle at the small of his back as she sinks into the hug.
Her hands encounter a familiar shape pressed against the small of his back.
She pulls back suddenly.
He is already wincing, expecting her reaction.
Kensi forces herself to take a breath before saying anything to him. He doesn't need another lecture. She points down the walkway to where his truck is parked on the street. "Go. Put your gun in the car. And then come back and we can have a nice – unarmed – dinner."
He actually smirks at her, and brushes a kiss to her cheek as he walks by her, heading for the truck.
She rolls her eyes as she turns to head back into the house.
Roberta looks up expectantly when she re-enters the kitchen.
Kensi offers her an encouraging smile. "He'll be right in."
"He's worried. About me."
Kensi debates arguing, before she nods. "He is. But he worries about everyone he loves. He'll get over it and be okay."
Roberta smiles back at her. "You're a good influence on him."
"Well, he's a good influence on me, too."
Michael, who has stayed silent through this conversation, smiles at Kensi's words. From the older man's behaviour, it's clear to Kensi that he has been read into Roberta's history, and what Deeks had been forced to do. He's not judging; a fact for which Kensi is grateful.
The front door opens, and a moment later, Deeks returns to her side.
She smiles and playfully bumps his hip. He responds by hooking an arm around her and pressing a kiss to her cheek. Kensi feels her cheeks heat every so slightly, knowing Roberta is watching them. But Deeks is happy and mostly relaxed now, and Roberta is smiling at them, so she'll take it.
Still holding Kensi close, Deeks clears his throat. "So, Michael… Mom says you're retired. What did you do for work?"
Michael engages easily, telling them of his business ventures; both successful and less so.
Kensi laughs at his easy humour as he tells what are clearly well practiced stories.
By the time dinner is ready, Deeks has relaxed and is laughing along with her.
Dinner is amazing. Kensi loves pasta of any sort, but this aglio e olio pasta is better than she has ever had. Combined with the very cheesy garlic bread and wine, and Kensi is pretty much in heaven.
The conversation is comfortable through dinner.
By the time they've finished, Kensi is pretty sure she's on the verge of a food coma.
She offers to help clear the table. Deeks stands next to her, but she takes the plate from his hand and sends him a pointed look.
He releases the plate into her hand with a nod.
Kensi follows Michael into the kitchen. Despite her partner's teasing, she does know how to clean up. She makes easy work of rinsing the plates and settling them into the dishwasher.
"Thank you," Michael says quietly.
"No problem. You made dinner. You shouldn't have to clean up, too."
"I meant about whatever you said to Marty outside."
She takes a breath and places the plate in her hands down. She faces him and leans back against the counter.
"I really like Roberta," he offers. "I want this to work."
Kensi considers him for a long moment and nods. "I get that. You know about their past." She motions towards the dining room where Deeks and Roberta are presumably having a conversation. "He's not going to be okay with anyone right away."
"I hear you. But I also get the feeling he puts a lot of weight in your opinion."
She takes another moment to consider her choices before saying a word. Yes, she does like Michael. And yes, she knows Deeks takes into account her opinions. But it's not her intention to force acceptance onto her partner. She just wants him to be open and free of the fear his past has imbedded into him.
"We're partners," she tells Michael. "He'll make his own decisions and I'll support him." She can't help her next words. Because Deeks is as much an influence on her as she is on him. And she had promised to help her partner beat up his mother's boyfriend if they had to. "And you know what we do for a living, so you know what will happen if you hurt her."
Michael's eyes flash ever so slightly as he takes in her words. Kensi knows how to downplay her abilities and skills outside of work. She can act like a simple, carefree girl. But Michael knows about her job, and with this reminder from her, he's clearly now seeing her in a different way.
"Understood," he eventually comments.
She nods.
He clears his throat. "But I also want you to know – both of you – that you don't have to worry about me." He pauses for a moment. "Roberta has told me about her past. I know…" He trails off for a moment. His eyes flash and when he speaks again his voice is gentle. "I know what happened, what Marty did to protect her. And I can assure you that she doesn't need protecting from me."
She's pretty sure she can trust him, but she's not about to make a decision for Deeks. "I'm glad to hear that," she tells him.
They finish cleaning up the kitchen in comfortable silence.
When they're finished, Kensi quietly makes her way back towards the dining room. She catches her partner hugging his mother tight. She hopes this means they've had a good conversation.
He kisses her cheek and releases her with an, "I love you, mama."
Kensi stands back and smiles when Deeks looks to her and meets her eyes.
Roberta makes her way back towards the kitchen, but slows to squeeze Kensi's forearm on the way by. "Thank you, honey," she whispers.
Before Kensi can say anything, Roberta is gone from the room and Deeks is reaching for her.
She goes to him and allows him to pull her into his arms.
"You have a good talk?" She asks.
"Yeah. I think she's going to be okay."
It doesn't escape her that instead of Roberta having been wary of Kensi dating her only son, it was Deeks wary of Michael dating his mother. The fact that both Roberta and Michael not only readily accept her, but recognize her influence on him is a little staggering. But not overwhelming like it may have been a year earlier.
"I think so, too," she tells him.
He pulls back to meet her eyes. "I still feel better knowing Eric ran his background…"
She smiles at him and shrugs. "Yeah, well, I may have threatened him while we were in the kitchen."
He makes a show of gasping. "Hypocrite!"
She laughs. "Okay, it wasn't exactly a threat, but I made it clear what would happen if he hurt her."
He huffs. "Why didn't you wait for me to do that?" He presses his bottom lip out and pretends to pout.
She raises an eyebrow. "Because you brought your gun to dinner."
"Oh yeah, that…"
She reaches her hands over his shoulders to bury her fingers in his hair. "I don't think there's a problem," she tells him seriously.
"I don't either," he admits. He ducks his head to kiss her. "Thank you for loving my mom, too."
His words surprise her for a moment, but she realizes he's right. They may not be married or engaged (at least, not officially) but they're family. She loves him, and she loves what makes him who he is, and she loves his mom.
"We're in this together, Deeks," she reminds him. "Your mom is family now."
His gaze deepens and he cocks his head ever so slightly as he stares at her.
She feels her shoulder rise slightly under his attention, but doesn't look away.
"Family," he confirms.
She nods. "Family," she echoes.
He pecks her lips. "Good to know."
Kensi smiles at him, glad they're on the same page. As amused as she had been by his earlier rumblings about things being too good, she understands where he was coming from. Things between them have been good for a while now. Good and stable and happy. They've been on the same page for a while now.
"Just for the record, when your mom brings home a boyfriend, I will be more than willing to deliver a thinly veiled threat," he announces.
Her smile falls away at the thought. "My mother is not dating."
"That you know of," he points out.
She shakes her head. "Don't…put these thoughts into my head!"
He looks amusedly at her. "So, I have to be reasonable about my mother's dating life, but you don't have to be?"
She scrunches her nose before hissing at her partner, "Shut up."
He laughs. "Don't worry, partner. I got your back, and Eric on speed dial."
She suddenly finds herself understanding Deeks's reaction to have Eric run Michael's history, and it no longer seems unreasonable. "You don't…think she's seeing someone and is afraid to tell us?"
"Absolutely not."
"Are you humouring me?"
He nods. "Yes."
She laughs, despite herself. "Well, I will humour you, too, then. I'm sure Michael won't be spending the night with your mom."
"I- No… Kensi!" He flattens his hands over his ears as if he can actually un-hear her words. "Why would you say that? Oh, my God, I think I'm going to be sick…"
She tugs a hand away from his ear. "Don't be a drama queen."
He accepts her hand in his. "Fine. One crisis at a time."
"This is so not a crisis." She reaches up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.
"You're right. Michael seems like a good guy." He raises an eyebrow. "You think we should add him to our crazy long wedding guest list?"
She waves her left hand between them. "Still don't see a ring on this finger…"
He rolls his eyes in good nature. "Working on it."
"Okay, then yes."
He coughs. "Yes, like…yes?"
"No."
He frowns. "No?"
She huffs. "Yes to putting Michael on the list. The other answer I'm not giving until you actually ask the question. Not that you don't know what the answer is going to be."
He smiles softly at her. "I hope I do."
She rolls her eyes. "Deeks, seriously, not even Mars in retrograde could stop me from saying yes."