Stars

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: LA or America's Next Top Model. All original characters are mine. Enjoy!

When he was a little kid, Marty Deeks would often wish on a star. He would wish that his Dad would stop hurting him and his Mom. He wished that he could be happy. He wished that he could have a normal family. And, most importantly, he wished that he could know true love. Granted, his mother did try, but she was too involved in keeping Marty safe from his Dad. So when Marty met Kensi, he realized that his wish came true. It was just later than he expected. He couldn't help but think about those days long ago as he lay on the beach, hands intertwined with Kensi's, staring at the night sky peppered with stars.

"What're you thinking about?" Kensi asked.

"About how wishes on stars really do come true. I wished for love: I met you." Deeks answered.

"Don't be a sap." Kensi laughed, as she jokingly hit him in the arm.

"I could arrest you for that you know. You assaulted a member of LAPD." Deeks grinned, staring into her eyes.

"So arrest me. I'll be at your mercy." Kensi answered slyly, lightly tracing circles on his chest.

"Maybe next time. I want to show you something." Deeks said, holding out his hand, and helping Kensi up.

LALALA

"Why am I always blindfolded? If it's not Katie, it's you. I would still act surprised if I could see where we were going." Kensi muttered.

"Because I said so, Fern, that's why." Deeks replied as he stopped the car. He got out of the car, and opened the door for Kensi, who blindly got out, cursing as she went.

"Okay, here we go." Deeks said as he pulled off the blindfold.

"Deeks, this is your apartment. I've been here before." Kensi stated, utterly confused at their current location.

"There's a reason that we're here. Come on inside, Monty will be thrilled to see you." Deeks smiled, taking her by the hand and leading her towards the door.

Once inside Monty immediately came running towards the couple. Kensi dropped to her knees and absentmindedly scratched the dog behind the ears. She always liked Deeks' apartment. It was clean and well put together. He had a cream and light blue color scheme throughout the apartment, similar to the beach and the ocean. She walked into his kitchen, picked up a cookie and munching it, followed Deeks towards his living room. He was bent over a set of drawers, digging for something apparently. Sensing that it could take a while, she turned the TV on, and began to watch America's Next Top Model.

"Really again?" Deeks questioned without even turning around.

"I'm not going to explain this again. It's a great show. That's all." Kensi answered, playing with the blue fibers of the blanket that was on the couch.

After what seemed like hours, Deeks finally turned around, holding something in his hand. He beckoned Kensi over and opened his palm. Resting there was a clay sculpture of a star painted with silver, about the size of a baseball. The designs on the sculpture were intricate and detailed, with ribbons and various shapes engrained throughout.

"It's beautiful Deeks," Kensi whispered, admiring the piece of artwork, "where did you get it?"

"I made it. In high school, I had to take an arts credit. I didn't have much of a singing voice, so I tried my hand at art. I really enjoyed the class, and, as it turned out, I was a decent sculptor. This was my end of the year project, got on A on it." Deeks grinned.

"So that's why you decided to make Justin an artist." Kensi murmured, still caught up in the star's beauty.

"Well I wouldn't have had to work hard to impress anyone with my knowledge, that's for sure. But that's not why I wanted to show this star to you. I want you to have it. It's brilliant, bright and completely unique, just like you." Deeks said his blue eyes locked onto Kensi's.

He expected a lot of things, but for Kensi Blye to burst into tears was not one of them. Flinging her arms around him, she locked him into a fierce hug. Not really knowing how to proceed, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Minutes later, after they pulled apart and Kensi pulled herself together, he placed the star in her hand.

"Thank you Deeks," she told her boyfriend, "I'll treasure it forever."

"Really? Forever? That's a long time." Deeks teased, playing with her brown curls.

"It's worth it, if it's with you." Kensi replied smiling broadly.

LALALA

Hope you all enjoyed this second one-shot. I have a number of ideas where to take these stories. Thank you all again for your kind reviews, they keep me going.