Just so you all know- many facts we've learned about their past lives will be playing into this story. It's AU... but in a way it's totally not. You'll see what I mean very soon. :)
Please review as always!
-Hazel
Her eyes flutter open, the morning sun piercing them with a bright orange glow. Immediately, Kensi knows exactly where she is, and smiles upon finding that her head is still resting against Deeks' chest.
She inhales his scent, which is strongly reminiscent of axe body wash and some type of musky cologne she doesn't recognize. Whatever it is, it's practically intoxicating as it mixes with the salt in the air.
Deeks' eyes are closed, but his nose is doing this cute little twitchy thing that she just adores. Could it mean something? Internally, she shrugs it off. Eh. Probably nothing.
Kensi tries to move around a bit but comes to find that she's tightly bundled up, with one of Deeks' arms wound securely around her waist. Right now, with him, she feels safe and secure.
His beating heart fills her ears, the pace slow and even. As Kensi's eyes dance around his face, she notes how the wavy blond hair on his head shines in the light, the flaxen hue gleaming brighter than it ever has before.
Kensi doesn't know how it's possible that was able to find such an incredible guy, or how they've come to form such an unbreakable bond. The logistics of it all don't really matter, though.
They found one another, and that's the only fact that counts.
Deeks begins to stir beside her, squinting as he lazily moves one hand up to try and shield his eyes from the sun. She chuckles at the lethargic movement, and watches with a smile as he begins to remember exactly where he is.
Laying beside Kensi in the bed of his truck. Not a bad place to be.
"Hey," she mumbles, her voice soft.
Deeks grins, adjusting his body so their faces are almost touching.
"Hey," he replies, brushing the tip of his nose against hers.
She's so strikingly beautiful that his breath hitches, the air getting caught up in his lungs. Deeks has never seen her smile like that before- wearing an expression that mirrors pure blissfulness.
"How'd you sleep?" Deeks asks, exhaling and closing his eyes.
"Really well. I never would've pegged the bed of a truck for being this comfortable."
"I think it's me."
"You?"
"Yes, me. I'm your very own personal heater."
"The blankets are pretty warm too."
"I'm not buying it."
"Which part?"
"Aren't I better than a wad of fabric?"
She pretends to contemplate the question, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Fine. You're better than the blankets."
He grins, dropping a lazy kiss to her lips.
"Thank you."
Kensi's heart begins to pound, and judging by the small amount of space that's between them she assumes Deeks can hear the change in speed. By now, she should be used to kissing him.
But this is Marty Deeks. He's always going to take her by surprise, and she knows it.
"You good, Fern?"
"Hm?"
"Your heart. I think it's palpitating."
She blushes. "My heart's fine."
"You sure?" He asks, wearing a cheeky grin.
"Yup."
Kensi's ready to be done with this topic of discussion, so she burrows herself closer to him. Deeks easily takes the hint.
"Okay. Shutting up now."
With a smile, she closes her eyes once more.
Around two hours later, they begrudgingly grab the blankets and sleeping bags from the bed of the truck, loading them into the backseat before hitting the road. Neither Kensi nor Deeks wants to leave, as they have no clue what could be waiting for them back home.
But the longer they stay away, the worse it's going to get.
"Should we stop by school and get your bag first?" Deeks asks as they begin to cross into more familiar territory. LA is just a couple of exits away.
Kensi shakes her head, massaging her temples.
"No, no. I really don't wanna see all the missed calls right now."
He clenches up his jaw, but tries to make his tone sound comforting.
"I'm sure it'll all be fine."
"Probably not, actually."
"We'll figure it out."
"That's the same thing I said to you yesterday, and you told me that I was being vague."
"That was a completely different scenario."
"Not at all."
"It was about your dad."
"So?"
He sighs, shaking his head.
"So... that was about meeting your father. This is about sneaking away for one night. How mad can she get?"
There isn't an ounce of hesitation in her voice. "Really mad."
"Haven't you ever skipped school before?"
"Nope."
"Really?"
"Yes. Why do you keep asking me so many questions?"
"Because I'm surprised!"
She chuckles, furrowing both eyebrows. "Do I seem like a 'bad kid' to you?"
"Not really. But you didn't hesitate to run away for an impromptu road trip with your boyfriend, so I'm not sure any more."
Boyfriend. Boyfriend. Boyfriend.
The word plays on repeat in Kensi's head, but she tries not to seem affected by its use.
"Sometimes people change."
The comment seems oddly sincere for the statement he's presented her with. Deeks quickly sneaks a glance her way, bemused.
"Yeah. Sometimes."
They drive in silence for forty minutes or so, the radio vaguely playing in the background. To Kensi's surprise, as some overplayed song by Hanson comes on, Deeks immediately begins to sing along. His voice is soft, slow... almost soothing.
She is completely taken aback, her chin dropping in awe. Deeks is gorgeous, smart, funny, charming, flirtatious, and a shockingly good singer.
No, he can't be real. Probably a figment of her own imagination.
She reaches for her water bottle from the cupholder, almost feeling lightheaded. Deeks sings another line or two before trailing off, noticing Kensi's wide eyed expression.
"You good?"
She chugs down a long swig of water. "I didn't know you could sing, too."
Both eyebrows pop up at her peculiar wording. "Too? What is this in addition to, exactly?"
"You just..." Deeks is smiling out the front windshield. Kensi knows exactly what she wants to say, but worries that giving him too much of an ego boost could have a negative effect.
"I just what?" He asks after she fails to complete the statement.
"You... surprise me, that's all."
"How is my beautiful voice surprising?"
"I've never heard you sing before, Deeks."
He cocks his head to one side. "But... haven't I told you about the band?"
Her eyes come damn close to popping out of her skull.
"The band? What band?"
"My band."
"Your band?!"
"Well, it's not exactly mine. There's Josh, Mike, Joey, Alan-"
"I think you're missing the big picture here."
"And what's that?"
She laughs, tossing both hands in the air.
"You're in a band!"
"I know that."
Kensi rolls her eyes. "Clearly. But I didn't."
"You do now."
She nearly groans. "God, you're a smartass."
"Just trying to lighten the mood, Kensalina."
"Okay. But what's it called?"
"What are you talking about? The band?"
"Yeah, Sherlock- the band."
"You're rather sassy today."
"Really? Haven't noticed." He smirks in the silence. "Wanna answer my question, Deeks?"
"Touching Wood."
"That's the name?"
"Yup."
"Touching wood?"
He smiles. "Yeah."
Kensi snorts, unable to stifle the laughter as she buckles forward.
"No freaking way.Touching wood?"
"Yeah."
"But really? Like, that's the actual name? Touching wood?"
"Why do you keep repeating it? It's cool!"
Kensi just snorts once more, waving one hand in the air.
"You are so the opposite of cool."
"So.. that's hot? You think I'm hot?" He shrugs. "That's cool."
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to."
"Deeks-"
"I know you think I'm hot, so don't you dare try and deny it."
Kensi strongly considers doing exactly what he's just advised her against, but decides that lying isn't the best option.
"I find you to be... somewhat attractive."
"Somewhat?"
"Yeah."
"I was hoping for absolutely, positively, irrefutably stunning-"
"Deeks."
"Hmmm?"
She points at the road ahead of them, her heart pumping. "Turn left."
"Why?"
"This is my street."
He looks positively baffled. "How are we already here?"
His tone sounds slightly whiny, and most definitely terrified.
"I don't wanna go in, either."
"She's gonna hate me."
Kensi sighs, shaking her head. All sense of joking is gone, genuine concern moving in to take it's place.
"My mom likes you, Deeks. She told me herself."
"It'll be different now."
"Why?"
"Because I made you skip school and leave town!"
Despite Deeks' rising voice, Kensi keeps hers soft and low.
"You didn't make me do anything. I chose to go."
"I know that. But I doubt she'll understand."
Much to his chagrin, they've arrived. Deeks throws the car into park and steps outside before he can convince himself otherwise.
She isn't expecting a reaction like that from him, and quickly jogs to catch up.
"Should we have some sort of a reason for leaving? Or an excuse for not calling?"
"You left your bag at school."
"Yeah, but we still left."
He sighs, not a touch of humor in his tone. "Touche."
Kensi reaches for his hand, intertwining their fingers together as they approach the house.
"Go in with a united front?" She asks, trying to be optimistic.
"So... you defend me, and I defend you?"
Kensi shrugs, completely unsure of herself. A hint of fearfulness is glistening in her mismatched eyes.
"It's worth a shot."
He swallows, nodding. "Okay. We can try."
She barely smiles back at him, pushing the front door open.
"Kensi?!"
The loud voice immediately comes booming in from the kitchen as they enter. Kensi releases Deeks' hand and hangs her head as they approach the staircase, bracing for the verbal beating that she knows is coming her way.
Kensi's mother appears in the entryway, practically fuming. She doesn't even take a second look in Deeks direction- Julia had assumed he'd be with her.
"Where the hell have you been? I've called, I've texted, I've spoken to the school, I've-"
"It's my fault, Mrs. Blye," Deeks interjects, trying to remain as polite and innocent as possible. "I picked her up during lunch break. Don't blame her, blame me."
Kensi's chin drops. That was not the plan.
"Deeks, I went along with you."
"Maybe, but I-"
"Enough!" Julia exclaims, thrusting her hands away from either side of her body. "Just... leave, Mr. Deeks. You're not going to be seeing my daughter anytime soon."
Kensi should've been bracing for that, but the sound of the words still causes her breathing to become staggered.
"Mom, would you please just-"
"No," she states simply, not even bothering to hear the last part of Kensi's request. Julia refocuses her eyes on Deeks. "Go home."
He considers saying that he doesn't have a home, but instead refrains and nods politely, turning around to face the front door.
Kensi's frozen where she stands, a lump forming in the back of her throat. She wants to scream and yell and shout, but holds the feelings inside. Silent tears roll down her cheeks, despite her many attempts to make them disappear altogether.
Deeks pauses for a split second before exiting, giving her the faintest smile he can manage to conjure up. There's a hint of hopefulness in the expression, and Kensi holds onto it- engraining the image into her mind.
Two slow steps later, with a tucked head and rather battered ego, he's gone.