I own nothing.

Pugnacious [puhg-ney-shuhs]

Adjective

Inclined to quarrel or fight readily; quarrelsome; belligerent; combative.

"How are things at the bar Kensi?" Callen's voice asked over the earwig.

"Uneventful. I'm so bored, I am really tempted to get a real drink instead of pretending to drink." Kensi replied as she lifted the glass of water to her lips. The team was on a stake out at a club, waiting for a suspect to appear. Sam and Callen were sitting at a table at one end, Kensi was at the bar and Deeks was just making rounds around the whole club.

"Drinking on the job is a no-no, Fern." Deeks said over the earwig.

"That's because if I drank on the job, you would be dead. I would have killed you by now." Kensi replied.

"I doubt that. I know you really love me."

"In your dreams, Deeks."

"Actually, my dreams more of the R rated time."

Kensi felt her face grow warm with a blush. She was about to reply when Sam interrupted.

"I swear, if you two don't start acting like grownups, I will put you two in a time out."

Kensi closed her mouth; she really didn't feel like aggravating Sam. She was at the bar for about another 15 minutes before a group of 3 guys walked up to her.

"Hey gorgeous." One of them said.

Kensi gave a slight smile, but didn't reply back. After about a minute of silence, the guy tried again.

"So, what's your name?"

Kensi sighed. "Rose. And if you don't mind, I am waiting for my friend. She's just been dumped and it's girl's night. So if you gentlemen could please leave me alone, I would really appreciate it."

"I don't see a friend." The guy said.

"She's running late." Kensi simply said.

"Kensi, get rid of them." Callen said over the earwig.

Easier said than done Kensi thought to herself.

" You know, this sounds suspiciously like a blow off, don't you think guys?" the leader asked his entourage. They two other men murmured their agreement. The leader leaned in close to Kensi. "I don't like being blown off."

"Then maybe you should take a hint." Kensi snapped. Her patience with this bozo was starting to wear thin and she was about to do something drastic.

"I think maybe you need to be taught some manners." The guy said.

Kensi was about give a snippy answer when another voice joined the conversation. "I think the lady told you to leave."

Kensi looked around the group of guys to see her scruffy partner standing there. Only he didn't have his normal goofy grin or smirk. His mouth was set in a firm line, his stance was ready for any sort of action and his fists were balled up at his sides. He looked ready to jump in a fight and if Kensi was going to be honest about it, he looked like he could take anyone and most likely win.

The leader eyed Deeks up and down. "And if I don't?"

"Then I'll make you." Deeks stated. Just those four words, nothing more. The meaning behind the words were quite clear. Those were fighting words.

The leader eyed Deeks one more time before turning to his pals. "Come on, she's not that good looking anyway." And they sauntered off into the crowd.

As soon as they were gone, Deeks' body relaxed. He let out a sigh and sat next to Kensi.

"What was that about?" Kensi asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why did you go all tough guy on them? I could handle them just fine."

"I don't doubt that, but with those kinds of guys, they tend to listen more to a guy than to an attractive female."

Kensi gave a slight smile. "You think I'm attractive?" she asked.

Deeks gave her a sideways glance. "I'm straight, so of course I do."

Kensi debated for a moment before she said. "Well, you're not so bad yourself. Though seeing you as the tough guy is different."

"Good different or bad different?" Deeks asked.

Kensi shrugged. "Dunno. Guess I'll need to see him more often before I can give a definite answer."

Deeks gave her a look and was about to give her an answer when Callen's voice suddenly appeared. "Deeks, Kensi! We found the guy! He headed out the back! Go out front and cut him off!"

"Looks like you get to see Tough guy Deeks sooner than you expected." Deeks said as he and Kensi hustled out of the club.

Kensi didn't say anything. To be honest, it would be hard to top the normal Marty Deeks.

This was actually not the word of the day, but I read it in an article and I really liked it (felt like it was fitting for me). And so I decided to use it.

Hope you all enjoy this one, because I enjoyed writing it.

As always, feel free to leave a review and happy reading!