A/N: The next chapter of the Agent and the Lawyer. Loosely based off of Absolution. I'm trying something a little different with the structure and not following the episodes so closely.

"We should run together every morning," Deeks said as he and Kensi rounded a bend in his favorite beach side path. "There's this great little convenience store where we can grab coffee and a mostly fresh donut. The coffee's not great, but the owner is super nice."

Beside him, Kensi was matching him stride for stride, her breath even despite the pace. She smiled at his description, shaking her head.

"It's not a good idea to follow a particular routine. It's too easy for your movements, habits, and location to be tracked," she explained. He knew how important it was for the team to maintain relative anonymity, but sometimes he thought they all took it a little far.

"It's just coffee Kens. I'm sure no one suspects me of being a big bad fed or cares where I go."

"Don't let Sam catch you saying that. He'll rip you a new one."

"So does that mean no coffee?" he asked. It was definitely a part of his routine and gave him the energy to run all the way back home. Kensi groaned and tossed her head back, but didn't put up any further protest when he led them to Sandune Convenience store. "Hey Frank!" he greeted the owner, heading for the canisters of brewed coffee.

"Hi," Kensi said, looking a little uncomfortable as she waited for Deeks to fill a paper cup for her. Frank shot them a curious look, but didn't comment.

"I ran five miles today, Deeks told Frank. Kensi snorted at that and said,

"Uh, that's a big fat lie, he ran three."

"So rude," he said, amused at how quickly Kensi had abandoned her reservations when given the chance to make fun of him.

"I thought you were buying me a donut," she reminded him.

"Of course, my lady." He grabbed two Boston Creams and an apple fritter because he knew from past experience that when Kensi finished hers, she'd likely try to steal part of his.

After chatting with Frank for a few more minutes-his oldest daughter would be graduating from high school soon-they headed back on to the path. Their pace was leisurely now as they munched on donuts and drank coffee. It was significantly more enjoyable with Kensi beside him.

"Hey Marty!" A woman called out as she ran by. Deeks waved back without thinking.

"You know, if I was the jealous type, I might be worried about all the women who know you, wherever you go," she said, gesturing with her cup.

"What can I say, I'm a friendly guy," he said with a shrug, grinning around the rim of his cup. It was adorable when she got jealous.

"Mm, be careful you don't friendly yourself into singledom." He rolled his eyes at her warning and nudged her with his shoulder.

"Oh, come on, Kensalina, you know I would never cheat on you."

"I would hope not," Kensi said, looking a little uncertain. "You would certainly regret it if you did."

"I would never," he repeated seriously. "You have my promise. I'm not that kind of guy." He saw her cheeks flush a little and she glanced away as an awkward silence grew between them.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and Kensi reached for hers, seeming grateful for the distraction.

"Hey Eric," she said. "Uh-huh. Ok, we'll be there in a bit." Deeks heard the faint sound of Eric's voice raise in a question. "Oh, yeah, I promised Deeks I'd pick him up." She forced a laugh and hung up quickly.

"Smooth," Deeks teased.

"Shut up. Hetty wants us in OPS. Something to do with a dead antiques dealer." She tossed her trash in a nearby can and then bent down to tighten a shoelace. As she stood back up, she turned to face Deeks, her expression playful. "I'll race you back."

Not waiting for him to respond, she took off at a sprint, her delighted chuckle floating behind her.

"Man, you are so whipped," he said with a smile as he tossed his own cup and followed after.

"Where's Deeks?" Callen asked when Kensi walks into OPS about an hour later. After they got back to his house, they'd made out in Deeks' garden for several long minutes. Kensi had been highly tempted to call off work and finish what they'd started a couple weeks ago. Common sense had prevailed and she'd reluctantly left before she took Deeks up on his offer to join him in the shower.

She didn't mention that to Callen though and shrugged.

"He got called into the office for a last minute legal emergency," she explained.

"What exactly qualifies as a legal emergency?" Sam asked.

"He mentioned something about a CPS case that isn't going well. He'll come as soon as he can."

She found herself turning to make comments to Deeks more than once while Eric, Hetty, and Nell explained who Sebastian Renner was. It felt weirder than she expected without Deeks by her side. She'd grown used to his comments and, often, inappropriate jokes, as well as his unique insight into cases.

Kensi smiled involuntarily when she walked back into the bull pen a couple hours later and saw Deeks sitting at his desk.

"So what'd I miss? he asked.

"Our victim, Sebastian Renner, was an arms dealer, a bunch of spies from other countries are now vying for his black book, and Hetty has an ex-German Police officer named Branston Cole, who might have pertinent information," she summed up. Deeks looked a little stunned for a second and then nodded.

"Wow, this is the last time I take a morning off. You guys bring out the fun cases when I'm gone."

"Well, now you get to join the fun too," she said with a smile, grabbing her gun and slipping it into her waistband. Deeks hadn't passed his firearms training yet, so he just watched. "Callen and Sam got chased out of Renner's home by his dogs earlier. Now that they're gone, Hetty wants us to see if we can find anything else."

"So did you make it here on time this morning?" he asked, smirking at her. "You seemed a little disorganized and, uh, distracted when you left my place." She smiled sweetly, pretending she wasn't currently remembering the feel of his chest, damp with sweat, pressing into hers.

"I made it just fine," she answered. "How was your shower?" Her voice was innocent, but she let her eyes drop a bit lower than was strictly polite.

"It was cold. Very cold." Kensi snickered at that as they walked out.

"M-O-U-S-E?" Kensi said scathingly as she finished cuffing the two men she and Deeks had just fought. She rifled through one's suit pocket and found a DGSE ID.

"What was I supposed to say?" he asked. "I'm not and Agent and I'm not LAPD. You guys were shouting out your little acronyms and I felt left out. Which, reminds me, why the hell did you kick an NSA Agent in the groin?"

Kensi let out an irritated sigh and showed him the ID.

"He's French Intelligence, Deeks. He was lying."

"You couldn't have possibly known that though."

"I had a hunch," she said with a shrug. Deeks made an outraged sound.

"A hunch. You don't kick a guy in the nuts over a hunch!" He felt a little nauseous at the thought and resisted the urge to cover his crotch.

"I recognized his accent. It's not American."

"He didn't have an accent," Deeks said, horrified for the agent who was slowly gaining consciousness.

"I'm trained in linguistics, Deeks. I know the difference between French and English speech patterns," she insisted.

"You're insane."

"Deeks, you're acting ridiculous." He ignored her, shaking his head.

"Sometimes it's like I don't even know you."

Kensi watched Deeks from a few feet away. She couldn't tell what he was saying, but his lips were split in a wide smile as he chatted with Sam and Callen several seats away.

They'd successfully apprehended a German spy named Matthias and the FBI and NSA were looking for the rest of the spies. They'd had to leave Deeks behind since he wasn't authorized to carry a weapon.

Now they were at a nearby bar, per Deeks suggestions and on his dime. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. After a few drinks, Nell challenged Eric to a pool game and had even shed the little sweater she wore of her think strapped dress. There was definitely something going on there.

The combination of Deeks' considerable charm, which he was working to its full limits, and large amounts of alcohol both had even Callen and Sam more at ease than she'd seen them in a while.

Deeks noticed her watching and headed her way. He looked ridiculously pleased with himself.

"Nicely done," she complimented him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said innocently.

"You know that once they sober up, they're still going to ride you." He groaned, dragging out a stool to sit next to her.

"Yeah, well, unfortunately I can't use the same methods I used with you," he pointed out. Kensi rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you are way too full of yourself," she said. He chuckled, resting his hand on the middle of her back. He probably did it without even thinking, but Kensi tensed immediately. She roughly pushed his hand away, glancing around to see if anyone had caught Deeks' slip.

Fortunately, they all were occupied and she let out a slow breath of relief. Beside her, Deeks had gone silent, making her belatedly regret her hasty actions.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. He scratched at jaw, not meeting her eyes, which always a bad sign. "I just didn't-"

"No, it's ok. I get it."

"The team is here and we agreed not to..." she trailed off awkwardly as Deeks filled in.

"Yeah, no, we agreed to keep out relationship quiet. I just forget sometimes." He sighed, the sound heavy. Kensi looked down for a second, pressing her lips together as she tried to think of some way to brighten the mood again.

"You want to come over tonight when we're done here?" she asked as a form of peace offering. So far she hadn't let him past her living room and that was only after she hastily straightened everything. Deeks allowed a tiny smile, clearly realizing her attempt to apologize without actually apologizing.

"I would, but I have to work on that pro bono case. It's a mess," he said. Kensi wasn't sure if it was a convenient excuse, but she felt a small sinking in her stomach.

"Ok," she said in a small voice.

"Maybe tomorrow."

"Sure." She tried to tell herself she was overreacting, but couldn't help notice the distance Deeks kept between them for the rest of the night.

A/N: Ooh, unexpected drama. Don't worry, I don't plan to have anything terrible happen.