Skateboarding

"Okay, see this?" Deeks held up a skateboard as Kensi buckled a helmet beneath her chin. "This is called a cruiser board. It has a wider deck and bigger wheels, and it's easier to learn on."

"Okay," Kensi agreed as Deeks placed the board near her feet.

"And you're sure you don't want these?" Deeks motioned to the knee and elbow pads resting on the open tailgate of his truck.

"Nope," Kensi said with a definite shake of her head.

"Alright," Deeks said reluctantly. "You'll probably regret it. I do want you to wear these though." He passed her a pair of black wrist guards, reinforced with thick plastic on the palms and undersides. "If you fall forward, you're going to really mess up your hands without those."

"Fine," Kensi gave in, reaching for the guards, quickly velcro-ing them around her hands and wrists. "Let's go," she said once finished, placing her toe on the skateboard's deck. Deeks grinned, buckling his own helmet and placing his board on the ground.

"I'm going to roll along side you, I'll hold on to you so hopefully you don't fall," Deeks explained as he hopped up on his own board. "Now you surf goofy foot, so you'll have better balance if you skate like that too, so put your right foot to the nose of the board, and your left on the tail. Push off with your left foot, okay?"

Kensi grinned. "Okay," she said as she positioned her feet correctly, wobbling a little as she tried to balance.

"Kensi," Deeks said pointedly.

"Huh?"

"Slowly," Deeks emphasized, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay," Kensi said. "Can we go now?"

"Yes, push off," Deeks said as he stepped onto his own board, gripping Kensi's elbow. Gently, they pushed off in unison, and rolled down the smooth concrete of the skate park. Kensi grinned as she placed her foot back on the deck and rolled, Deeks helping her balance by keeping hold of her elbow. "Now, shift your weight either to your toes or your heels, depending on the way you want to turn. Take it easy."

Kensi bit her lip determinedly and she put her foot down to push off again and pick up a bit more momentum, before leaning back to attempt to turn to the right. She overcorrected and fell backwards. Deeks tried to pull her upright but he lost balance and slipped from his board. Kensi fell, landing hard on her butt. Both their boards went rolling away, where they lost sight of them as they dipped down the ramp into the bowl.

Kensi grimaced, slowly getting to her feet.

"You alright?" Deeks asked, holding out his hand to help her stand.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kensi replied, wrinkling her nose. She rubbed her backside as she walked towards the bowl to retrieve her board. "Let's go again!"

Round two went a little better, Deeks had ditched his board in favor of running beside Kensi's, that way he could steady her without falling himself. Kensi only fell a couple more times before figuring out her balance, and was soon zipping all over the flat surfaces of the skatepark. Deeks grinned as he hopped back on his board, following her as she looped around again.

"Let's try the half-pipe!" Kensi exclaimed as she came screeching to a halt, almost slamming into Deeks.

"Hey, easy, there," Deeks said. "That's not the half pipe, that's the half pipe," he motioned to the correct obstacle, "this is the bowl, and you're not ready for that." Kensi frowned.

"I want to try!" she protested as she pushed off and turned around, pointing towards the obstacle in question. Deeks raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything, knowing whatever he said wouldn't change her mind.

"Take it slow," he warned as Kensi gave a mighty pushed and went flying towards the bowl, paying his warning no mind, disappearing down the slope with a shriek. "Kensi!" Deeks shouted, pushing off on his board and flying after her. He could hear a sickening scraping and thudding sound echoing from the bottom of the obstacle. He careened down the slope to find Kensi slowly rolling onto her back, her jeans ripped and her knees scraped.

"Kens!" Deeks called as he fell to his knees beside her. "Are you alright?" A pause before Kensi opened her eyes and began to laugh.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Kensi exclaimed, sitting up and throwing her hands in the air. She laughed that loud, wild laugh that terrified Deeks, her eyes bright and wild. "Let's do it again!" Deeks sat back on his heels, laughing ruefully.

"You're crazy, you know that?" Deeks asked with a rueful chuckle as he stood, reaching out a hand to heave Kensi up onto her feet. Kensi laughed and bounced on her toes.

"I know," Kensi said with a wide grin. "Let's go again!" she exclaimed, bending to grab her board, paying no mind to her skinned knees. Deeks watched as she ran up and came careening down at breakneck speed, blowing past him and shooting up the other side of the bowl. He grimaced as the back truck got stuck on the concrete lip and Kensi lost her balance, falling forward as the cruiser board slipped and rolled back down the slope. Deeks stopped it with his toe before collecting it and running up to Kensi.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he bent down beside her again.

"I'm great!" Kensi replied as she sat up. She glanced down at her knees, seemingly just noticing the scrapes on the skin. "Oh. When did that happen?"

Deeks chuckled. "You're nuts. I love you."

"I love you too," Kensi said. "Thanks for teaching me." She grinned.

"You're welcome," Deeks said, leaning over to kiss her on the forehead. "We should probably go clean you up though," he pointed out, taking in her scraped knees and tattered bloody jeans, and her dirt smudged and sweat streaked face.

"Okay," Kensi replied. She scrambled to her feet and picked up her board, then slipped her hand into Deeks', and off they went.