Kensi & Deeks' Genius Playlist

By: Michelle Rose Landau

Pairing(s): Deeks/Kensi, Jack/Kensi, implied Deeks/Trainor, Deeks/OFC

Genre: Romance/Angst/Drama

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: Los Angeles, nor any of its characters. They are the sole creative property of CBS. I do not own any of the lyrics of songs used in this work. They are the sole creative property of the singers/songwriters.

A/N: Takes place post 310-The Debt

Two

On a Sleeve

Say

John Mayer

Take all of your wasted honor

Every little past frustration

Take all of your so-called problems,

Better put 'em in quotations

"Swagger..." Sam smirked.

"Swagger..." Callen grinned, as if to say, "Right on, Bro."

Kensi strolled into the lounge area, still looking a bit troubled.

Now, it looked as if her anger was back down to a manageable level, and he looked at her.

"Bates said that you swore off female partners," she began, getting straight to the point. "Is that true?"

"Well, I don't really think of you as a female in that sense of the word," he uttered before thinking, and she fixed him with a prickly gaze, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned up against the pillar.

He backtracked.

"I mean, you're clearly not...male," he amended, gesturing to parts of her body. "Because you've got the..." He paused to chuckle-nervously-when he saw her befuddled-irritated expression. "Clearly...I don't know...Kensi."

"Oh, okay," she frowned. "Welcome home...I think."

She began to walk away.

"No, no," he called quickly after her. "That's not-that's not what I meant. I didn't mean it like that, it's supposed to be a compliment because w-females-I would be-c'mon! Kensi...?"

She ignored him as she headed to the break room, and he looked at Callen and Sam.

"Can you please back me up on this?" He requested.

Callen just gave a bemused smirk. "Game is lookin',"

Sam shook his head and added, "Game recognizes nothing."

Hetty happened by, and Deeks called out a last ditch plea for help.

"Hetty," he beseeched. "Hetty, please tell me you have advice for this..."

"Haters gonna hate," she stated.

Deeks tilted his head back with a groan.

"Well," Callen sighed as he got up. "It's safe to say you've got hell to pay for the foreseeable future. Good luck, buddy."

Sam chuckled. "You know Kensi's my girl...hate to say it, but she's got you by the balls, man."

Callen and Sam head out shortly after grabbing their things, leaving Deeks to wallow.

Say what you need to say

Say what you need to say

It was well after nine when Deeks arrived at Kensi's tiny bungalow, and he knocked on the door.

The lamp was on inside, the light showing through the closed blinds and curtains. He heard the faint sound of the TV on, and he knew that she was probably curled up on the couch, full from takeout, and downing a beer.

After a few moments, he knocked again.

"Kens, it's me," he called through.

When he received no answer, he sighed.

He very well couldn't blame her for not wanting to see him after the day's events. He'd lied to her, which shook her fragile trust in him as a partner.

There was no telling how far he set back his relation-partnership with her.

He combed his fingers through his hair with a sigh and he tried to gather his words.

"Look Kensi, um..." Came his awkward preamble. "I know you're pissed at me, and you have every right to be...regardless of the reasons, I betrayed you, and you deserved better. I know that the whole situation was difficult for you...and I know that there were some things...feelings that were brought to the surface between us..."

He paused, looking up at the starry sky, trying to grasp on to the right words.

"Things are...complicated," he began. "And to answer your question, yes, there is...a thing...between us. I don't know what the 'thing' is, exactly, but uh, it's there. Like I said, complicated," he rambled quickly. "But more to the point. I just want you to know that I will do whatever it takes to earn back your trust. I'm-"

"Deeks?"

He stopped, and he looked over at her.

His mouth went dry suddenly, and his heart raced a bit.

She was clad in a bikini that left very little to his imagination, her wet hair was draping over one shoulder, and she was clutching her iPod in one hand, and her towel and a magazine in the other.

"Hey."

Walking like a one man army

Fighting with the shadows in your head

Living out the same old moment

Knowing you'd be better off instead,

If you could only...

When Kensi arrived home, she felt restless, but she didn't feel like running, so she put on a swimsuit and she headed to the pool. She first swam laps, then she swam around and floated leisurely before getting out and reclining on the chaise with her iPod and the latest issue of People.

She mulled over the day's events, despite the deliberate distractions.

Deeks, her friend, her partner, had lied to her. It wasn't enough that her world had been disrupted by the drastic actions her partner took and the consequences that followed, but it all turned out to be a complete lie. It shook her to her core, made her question everything, and it brought out feelings and emotions that she'd forced deep down into herself, feelings that were usually hard won. But somehow, he'd managed to draw them to the surface, and that made her even more confused and angry.

The whole case forced her to admit things about her partnership with Deeks that she didn't want to ever admit, and it made her feel vulnerable and weak.

Bates was right: a partner like Deeks doesn't just come and go.

Kensi thoght briefly about her partnership with Dom. There was no comparison.

Not to sully Dominic Vail's memory, but Deeks brought something to the table.

Deeks knew how to assess and analyze a situation, he had no qualms about having her back, even when they were at the height of their distrust, and he was a quick study. Though he wasn't very well liked, he acted as thought he was meant to be at NCIS, no matter what the capacity. He belonged on the team. He belonged with her. He just slinked in and sidled his way into her professional and, at times, personal life, and it both comforted and terrified her.

She questioned a thousand times how that had happened.

The point was, the thought of losing Deeks made her stumble face first into words that were ever on the tip of her tongue, to feelings that were dangerous and endless.

When she felt herself beginning to succumb to fatigue, she reluctantly got up, fighting the urge just to sleep for a few hours at the pool, and headed back to her apartment.

She most certainly wasn't expecting any company, and even if she were, Deeks was possibly the last person she wanted to see.

"Hey," she stated flatly.

They were both silent for a moment, and she watched as Deeks struggled to keep his eyes level with her own. He had a gift bag in hand with a sign on it that read FORGIVE ME taped to it, and she fought back the urge to smile instantly because he just looked utterly pitiful. His eyes strayed, raking of her her body, and he downcast them, a remorseful look on his face.

He was fidgeting, and awkward, and she couldn't help but think that he looked rather boyish and adorable.

"What are you doing here, Deeks?" She asked.

Deeks cleared his throat, hoping that he didn't sound as pitiful and dejected as he looked.

"I uh..." He paused and furrowed his eyebrows. "How long have you been standing there? Did you hear all that?"

She took out her earbuds.

"Hear what?"

"Great..." He sighed.

"What are you talking about?"

"I was apologizing to you," he explained. "I-I thought you were inside, stubbornly ignoring me, so I did the whole John Cusack thing...minus you poking your head out a window and me holding a huge boom box over my head..."

"Deeks, no movie references right now," she frowned.

"Okay," he said, stepping closer to her. "The point is, I showed up. I showed up here because I didn't want either one of us to go through tonight with the mess I made between us. I came bearing gifts."

He handed her the bag, and she took it with a slight grin.

Kensi went over to the fountain in the middle of the courtyard garden and sat on the ledge, and Deeks followed, sitting next to her, the bag between them.

She took out the glittery tissue paper and looked inside. Her lips erupted into a full blown smile as she rummaged around. She found Twinkies, peanut butter cups, Ding-Dongs, and a baggie with a couple of frosted, jelly-filled doughnuts, and strawberry Pop-Tarts. All of her favorite treats.

"Deeks..."

"I uh, stopped at that little corner store you always go to," he grinned. "I put a variety in there to kind of last you, but it probably won't, considering your sweet tooth."

She chuckled a bit, then she looked up at him, her eyes gentle. "This was very sweet of you...no pun intended."

He smiled.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

"Do you want me to go through my whole spiel again, or...?"

"Summarize," she instructed.

"Okay, uh..." He paused and combed one hand through his hair. "I'll do whatever you want me to do if it means earning back your trust in this partnership. I am truly sorry, Kensi, and I hope that you'll forgive me."

She gently nibbled her bottom lip, then she grinned a bit.

"Kinda hard to say no when I've got a bag full of my favorite snacks..."

He chuckled.

"You really...hurt me, today," she informed him, and he nodded.

"I know, Kensi."

There was a pause between them for a long moment before she continued.

"Look, I know that you meant well," she began. "In trying to protect me, and our...thing...whatever it is...there is a thing, is there not?"

"Yeah, I guess there is," came his honest reply. "I don't know what it is either, but...I kind of like our thing."

She nibbled her bottom lip.

"Earlier, when I thought you were fired for real, there was something that I wanted to say to you," she confessed. "But...I think you were right."

Deeks laughed. "I-I'm sorry...I was what?"

She rolled her eyes. "You were right," she repeated, and he tilted his head back and laughed. "Alright, alright...don't make me push you back into this fountain."

He sobered and looked at her.

"It wasn't the best time to say it," she agreed. "This, our thing, our partnership...I like it too. It's good...it's...enough."

She'd said too much already.

"Yeah," he concurred. "It's simple...and complicated..."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Uh...simplicated."

Kensi rolled her eyes. "Your gift for amalgamation is unparalleled."

"Okay," he chuckled. "Uh, I'm not quite sure what amalgamation is, but I'll take it."

"You should know, you goof, you do it all the time," she teased as she reached into the bag and grabbed the peanut butter cups.

"You gonna share those?"

"You bought this for me, did you not?"

"Yeah," Deeks confirmed. "But...you could share...sharing is caring."

Kensi rolled her eyes.

"Here," she said, begrudgingly handing him a cup.

"See, Fern? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Kensi popped the whole thing into her mouth, and Deeks took a bite, deciding to savor his.

She looked at him, and she raised an eyebrow when she saw his eyes rake over her again.

"What?"

He smirked. "That a new bikini?"

"Yeah, actually."

He smirked, taking in the green and white polka dot suit with sweet little white bows at her hips and at the snap halter in the back. "Hash-tag: Polka dots and bows. My partner's a closet girly-girl."

Kensi frowned at him, and she got up, grabbed her things and headed inside.

"Hash-tag: Good night, Deeks."

"Oh c'mon! Again? Kensi?" He called after her. "You look-it's feminine! It's cute-I-I'm confused... do you want me to say you're feminine or not? Kensi...?"

The door to her apartment closed, and he got up.

"Kens? Fern...? Princess...Hash-tag: You're my BFF...Hash-tag: Can I get a glass of milk?"

Even as the eyes are closing

Do it with a heart wide open

Say what you need to say

Say what you need to say...