A/N: AU. Takes place before Search and Destroy (episode 1x04). This is a continuation of "Please Don't Do This" (Chapter 70 of It'll Be You - seriously if you haven't read it, do so right now. It's amazing!) by Hermionesmydawg.
My friend, thank you for not only giving me permission to write this but also telling me I absolutely had to :)
Kensi openly joined in teasing Nate for finding every excuse in the book to stop by the morgue. His not-so secret crush on Rose the coroner made him an easy target for good natured mocking from his co-workers.
The hypocrisy of it all was not lost on her though. She was eternally grateful that none of them noticed that she was guilty of the exact same thing. If they did, she'd never hear the end of it.
But she just couldn't help herself. Whenever there was an LAPD officer to talk to, whenever someone had to go down to one of the precincts, whenever there was a phone call to be made to local law enforcement, Kensi was the one casually volunteering for the task. She was subtle, careful not to seem too eager, as she'd listen for that drawl or look for that stubbled face. She tried to not get her hopes up. After all, Los Angeles was a big city and there were lots of LAPD officers (and detectives).
So far her search had come up with nothing. She hadn't seen Detective Deeks with the ocean blue eyes and dynamite smile since he pulled her over for speeding, running late for her first day at OSP. He was annoyed by her questions and had a couple laughs at her expense and saw right through her attempt to cover up what she did for a living. It's not like she thought about him every waking minute. But she was still fairly new to the city and she worked long hours. That left little time to make friends or go on dates or have much if any fun. Sure, she went to clubs sometimes, drinking and dancing her stress away. But no one seemed to peak her interest the same way Deeks in his dress blues did.
With the resources at her finger tips, she was fully aware that she could easily track him down. But that would mean admitting to herself how much she wanted to see him again and also it felt more than a little creepy. So she left it up to chance whether or not he would cross her path again.
She wasn't even sure what she'd do if she did encounter him. Would she flirt a little, act aloof, maybe even ask him out? She had no idea. For now, at least she was having a little fun imagining it.
And then one day she was sent to investigate an explosion at a warehouse... and there he was. Or so she thought. She was pretty sure it was him. He wasn't in his uniform this time. Instead he was wearing a hideous plaid shirt and without his hat it was painfully obvious that he needed a haircut. Or maybe just a comb. But the aviator sunglasses were definitely working. Despite his mostly unfortunate fashion choices, she still gave his tall lean body more than a once over.
She was so happy to be here by herself. There was nothing overly complicated about this task and she liked that she was trusted to handle more things on her own. (Plus she didn't need the judging eyes of her co-workers distracting her from her side mission.) She took a deep breath, steadied herself and put on her best I'm a seriously federal agent face. She walked up to the man that she was 75% sure was her detective (her detective? really?) and held up her badge.
"Special Agent Kensi Blye. Can you tell me what happened here?"
And there was that smile. It was definitely him. He took off his glasses and holy crap his eyes were just as beautiful as she remembered. "Well, Agent Blye. It's nice to see that you found your badge."
She let out a little chuckle. "Yes, I did." She hoped she didn't sound as excited as she felt. Seriously, what was wrong with her? "Thank you for noticing."
"That's my job. And no need for the formal introductions since we're already friends."
"Well, that was months ago and I didn't think you'd remember."
"You obviously remembered me. I must have made quite an impression."
"You seem pretty full of yourself, Detective Deeks."
"For good reasons."
She rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from turning up into a smile. "Anyway, back to my original question. What happened here?"
"All this? The best we can tell is that these guys were morons." He waved his arm towards the building missing part of an exterior wall.
"Care to elaborate?"
"There are all kinds of weapons and explosives in there that they were planning on selling to local gangs and drug traffickers. We've been on the inside and knew that a deal was going down. Unfortunately, the idiots that were handling these explosives managed to blow themselves up before any of this happened."
"On the inside?"
"I've been undercover on this case for the past six weeks."
"Wow." She was definitely impressed (and maybe a little turned on).
"Yeah. It sucks because all that work trying to get something on these guys just literally went up in smoke."
"We have reason to believe those weapons were the same ones stolen from Camp Pendleton a few weeks ago."
"Well, definitely look around. Anything you need for your investigation, just let us know."
"Thank you." She was about to turn away but he kept talking.
"So how are you adjusting to life in the City of Angels?"
"Fine, thank you very much."
"Living a wild and crazy life?"
"You could say that. If you call chasing down criminals and avoiding explosions and getting shot at all day wild and crazy, then sure."
"Sounds eerily similar to my life."
"It's the best, isn't it?"
"Right. Hey, if you ever need anyone to show you around, I'd be more than happy to help with that."
"That's awfully nice of you, Detective." Here was her chance. "But I think I'm good." What? Good? She had been fantasizing about him for months and now here he was offering to spend time with her and all she could say was she's good? Apparently the dead thieves weren't the only morons around here.
"Yeah, you definitely are." He smiled as he looked her up and down.
"But..." Okay, there was still time to salvage this without seeming like an eager back-pedaling idiot. "If you were interested, I might be at 420 tonight. Maybe I'll see you there."
Deeks narrowed his eyes at her. "420? Really? Their DJ sucks."
"Hey! I like him."
"Oh... sorry about that." The sheepish look on his face was down right adorable. "Who am I to judge a beautiful woman's terrible taste in music?"
"You think that by calling me beautiful I won't notice that you just insulted me?"
"Hey, you know you're hot. Don't make it weird."
"Oh, so I'm hot now?"
"Hot enough to make it worth suffering through that DJ? Absolutely."
Heat rose in her face and she hoped he didn't notice the blush that she knew was on her face right now. "So I'll see you there?"
"You bet."
Picking out clothes for a night out wasn't suppose to be this complicated, especially since she wasn't sure what this really was. Was it a date if they were just meeting each other there? Her closet was emptied before she settled on a form-fitting black dress that ended mid-thigh. With simple black heels and hoop earrings, she was ready. She checked her makeup and ran her fingers through her wavy hair as she gave herself a pep talk in the mirror.
Leaning against the bar, she had a clear view of the whole club. Thankfully she was only on her second Jack on the rocks before she saw his shaggy mop in the crowd. And wow. He had traded in his ugly plaid for a dark blue button down, reminding her of the first day she saw him.
When she thought about it, she realized that he was so far from her type. His messy hair was too long, he needed a shave, and he had a cockiness that she normally found irritating. But that smile of his did something to her that she really couldn't explain. She pushed aside her uncertainty and was determined to have some much needed fun.
He had a drink with her before they went out to dance. He was good. Really good. The way he moved was hypnotizing and was doing nothing to help control her growing interest in him.
She lost track of how much time went by and could have really been content to dance with him all night. When they went back the bar to get another round, she was disappointed when he said he had had enough of the music.
"Okay, well... this was nice. Thanks for suffering on my account."
He smiled. "You want to get out of here with me?"
"Um... I don't know. I do really like this DJ."
"I'm not going to hold that against you. Come on, let's go somewhere a little quieter."
That was all the convincing she needed. They ended up driving separately to the beach. Leaving their shoes behind, they went for a walk. He talked about surfing and she laughed at him for being a typical Californian. The subject of comic books came up and she instantly lit up with excitement as they discussed and debated and argued about their favorites. She began to feel a chill so they headed back to their cars.
"Well, maybe we should call it a night." He fussed with his keys but didn't move to unlock the door.
"Yeah, it's getting kind of late and I do have to work in the morning."
"Yes, and we need you to keep the world safe, Special Agent Kensi Blye."
She smiled and laughed nervously. "Oh my god."
"What?"
"I just realized that I don't know your first name."
He laughed. "Wow. That's funny. Since it's obvious that you're only interested in me for my body, details like names must not be that important to you."
"Wow. You are hilarious." And not entirely wrong, she thought. "So do you have a first name? Or were your parents psychic and decided to name you Detective because they knew it was your calling?"
He stepped closer to her. "I like the way you say detective."
She tried glaring at him, but was unable to stop the smile from forming across her face.
"Okay, fine. You got me. It's Marty."
"Marty," she said with a smile.
"Wow, I like the way you say that too."
They stood there in front of each other, electricity filling the air between them. She really needed to go home before she did something rash.
"So... um..." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't live far from here. Do you want to have one more drink?"
So much for not being rash. "Sure."
"Dammit, where is it?" She whispered to herself.
Kensi was on her hands and knees looking under the couch for her other shoe. If she didn't find it soon, she was going to be late for work. Also, she was kind of hoping to slip out before Marty woke up. Morning after awkwardness was something she always liked to avoid.
They arrived at his apartment the night before and he disappeared into the kitchen to get her a beer. She looked around his living room and something on a bookshelf caught her eye. A diploma from Pepperdine Law. He came back and she asked him about it. He brushed it off as no big deal.
"So you were a lawyer?"
"You could say that."
"What made you decide to switch professions?"
"The exciting and glamorous life of a cop was just too much to resist."
"Wow," She smiled at him. "You are full of surprises."
He looked at her with an intensity that burned right through her. He set the beers down and reached up to thread his fingers through her hair. The second his lips touched hers, all her reluctance regarding him was gone.
Which was how she found herself quietly cursing, looking for all her clothes the next morning. The last item was a shoe and she was seriously considering just leaving without it.
"Um..." She froze as she heard a voice behind her. "You looking for this?"
She looked up and saw him leaning against the door frame of his bedroom, wearing nothing but his boxers and holding her missing shoe.
"Oh... hi... good morning." She stood up and adjusted her dress. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to enjoy the view of you on all fours."
She covered her face with her hand. "Just great."
"Where you off to?" He walked up to her and held her shoe out.
"I'm late for work." Her hand brushed against his and she shivered slightly.
"That seems to be a pattern with you."
She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Right. Thanks."
"So, when will I see you again?"
"I don't know..." This was always the part she hated. There's no denying she had fun with him and the sex was incredible, just the release (multiple releases actually) that she needed. But there was a deep seated fear that started to rear its ugly head. "I don't do so well on second dates."
"Really?" That smile of his really should be illegal. "I'd love to prove you wrong."
Before she could respond, he placed his hands on her hips and drew her closer. Leaning down, he kissed her, gentle and slow at first. She closed her eyes and moaned, memories from last night flooding back to her. She dropped her shoes so she could run her hands all over his chest and shoulders and arms. Worry about being late for work was completely forgotten as he kissed her deeply, teasing her with his incredible tongue as he splay his hands on the small of her back.
She whimpered when he broke the kiss. He leaned his forehead against hers and grinned, obviously proud of himself for having that effect on her.
"So what do you say?" He spoke quietly, almost a growl and it made her weak in the knees.
"That sounds like a challenge." She leaned back to look in his eyes and her resolve crumbed. She was in so much trouble. "I can't back down from a challenge."
"Wow. I never would have guessed that about you."
"So if we go out again and it goes well, what happens next?"
"Then we get to find out how you do on third dates."
She laughed. "And what happens if it goes terribly, like it probably will?"
"Then I'll buy you dinner again to make up for it."
"That sounds a lot like a third date." She scrunched her face in fake annoyance.
"Nothing gets by you, Agent Blye."
She smiled and took in a deep breath. "Well, Detective Deeks, I really have to leave now. I won't even have time to go home. It should be fun explaining my appearance to my co-workers."
"Just tell them you were running an undercover op where you had to seduce a sexy cop for information."
"Wow, I doubt that will work but thanks."
"I'm always here to help."
She leaned up and kissed him one more time before leaving. As she walked to her car, she found herself thinking that maybe this might be the first time that she would love to be proved wrong.
