He just went out from the house when he heard her speak.

"You know I asked him to marry me." Kensi said so heedlessly that Deeks thought she was joking, he snorted.

But when he saw her face looking at him seriously, he stopped and took a seat beside her.

Deeks woke up minutes ago from a banging sound on the door. He slept late last night after crying on his mother's hold. It helped, the shedding of tears in some way removed the heaviness he was feeling. He had become so good at hiding his true emotions, Deeks knew he just had to work a little hard this time until his return to LA in two weeks.

The knock wouldn't stop so forcing himself out from the bed, he went downstairs to open the door. He assumed his mother had long been gone to work and he was left alone in their home. With the continued knocks, Deeks opened the door fast. Standing outside was Kensi, smiling at him hesitantly. She dropped by to talk to him. He offered her to come inside while he fix himself but she refused. Instead she sat on the front porch swing and told him she would wait for him.

She smirked seeing his reaction. "Of course it happened after I declined his proposal three times, Deeks." After rolling her eyes at him, she explained. "Do you remember what you said when I told you Jack asked me to be his girlfriend?" She smiled when he saw him nod. "You believed I deserve the best. And if there's one person who will never hurt me, it's him."

He remained silent but recalled that particular moment.

Deeks stood up straight from his seat on the couch when he saw Kensi marching towards him fast. He was busy watching TV when he heard the loud thud of the door opening. Before he can ask her what's wrong, her closed fist landed on his unprepared arm.

"Ouch! What did I do now?" He complained while rubbing his arm. It had become a habit for her to hit him everytime she was frustrated or angry at him.

"That's for hurting Elsa!" She bellowed, teeth gritting in anger. "And this," She punched his opposite arm. "For making her hate me now!"

"Ouch!"

Kensi's eyes were throwing fire but to his disbelief, he saw tears streaked her face. "How could you do that to her? She likes you!" She yelled in between sniffs. "You told me you might feel the same way for her too. What happened, Deeks?! Why date her only to hurt her?! She said you broke up with her for no reason. Why?!" She stopped and glared at him, waiting for his response.

He ran his fingers through his hair in discomfort. Deeks knew she will hate him for what he did to her friend but he couldn't tell her the only reason he dated Elsa to begin with was her. He really never liked the blonde girl, it wasn't that he didn't find her attractive with her pretty face and porcelain skin but he had learned long ago with whom his heart really belonged.

But when Kensi opened up the idea a month ago that he ask her friend out, Deeks did just like that. Simply because he saw how it made her cheery and thrilled. The glittering of her eyes put Deeks in a crossroad for a minute. All he wanted to be was the one to make her happy, the one to put a smile on her lips. He will do anything for her even pretend to like her friend.

It was stupid, he thought of it now seeing that in the end it only made her cry.

When she grew tired of his silence, she continued in a calmer tone now. "I know you've had girlfriends before her, Deeks. I saw how it all ended with them crying."

He winced at her statement knowing the truthfulness of it. Kensi witnessed each and every failed relationships he had. He was no angel. He tried dating several girls, hoping to get rid of what he was feeling for her. There were even instances when he thought he was falling in love with his then girlfriend only to realize that he couldn't forget how he feels for his friend.

"I never said a thing whenever you broke up with any of them. But Elsa is my friend. I... I just thought this time it'll be different, Deeks."

"I'm sorry."

Kensi shook her head. "No! You don't understand. You should have seen how heartbroken she is. She really likes you and you hurt her." She chided. "And it scares me, Deeks." She wiped her tears and eyed him. "What if it happens to me? What if I give my heart to someone only to get hurt in the end?"

"Kensi..."

She let out a sigh. "Do you know Jack asked me to be his girlfriend?"

Deeks felt his world had stopped. 'So he told her then.' He said to himself. He knew all about it, Jack spoke to him of his feelings for Kensi and his plan on admitting it to her. Thinking about the conversation he had with him, he thought he already prepared himself for it, he was mistaken. Feeling speechless, he just nodded.

A sad smile formed on her lips when she saw his affirmation. "Of course, he told you." She slumped on the sofa, head bowed down. "He said he likes me. But I don't know, Deeks. I'm scared."

Never in his 18 years of existence had he seen Kensi this vulnerable. She was bold and brave, never meek. He kneeled before her, placing his thumb and forefinger on her chin, lifting her head to face him. "Look at me." He said softly, and when her eyes met his, Deeks wanted to back down from what he was about to do. "You deserve the best, Kensi." He hesitated but felt the need to continue. "J-Jack... He really cares for you. More than you know. And if there's one person who will never hurt you, i-it's him."

Deeks felt like a masochist knowing what he just did was the last thing he really craved to do. But he was honest with her when he told her those words. Kensi deserved Jack. He was the best man for her. Jack could give her more, more than what Deeks can provide for her. They were perfect for each other, as if they were born to be together. Both came from good families, both shared the same hobbies and interests and they even wanted to take the same course after graduation.

He was not the only person who saw their potential. Deek can see how both the Simons and Blyes wanted their children to end up together. Since the Blyes moved across the Simons, the two families became friends and were now very close. He was very much aware of the way they were pushing, although very discreetly, Kensi and Jack to be closer. The only oblivious to their parents' matchmaking mission were Kensi and Jack.

But Deeks knew Jack didn't need a push for he had a crush on her since they were young. Maybe because the three of them grew up together or he was extra sensitive to Kensi's well-being, he saw it every time Jack would look at her and the extra attention he was giving her. He knew it was only a matter of time before his best friend will confess. What came out of the blue and left him unprepared was what Jack had asked from him several days ago.

Kensi, even if she was still mad, managed to give him a smile. A smile that meant she trusted his words.

It was then that Deeks knew, she will never be his.

A week later, Kensi and Jack became a couple.

"You are right, do you know that?" Kensi's words brought him back to reality. "Jack never hurt me. I don't think he can even a hurt a fly. He is just... perfect. I can't think of a man as great as him."

Deeks felt pained with how she described her fiancé, wishing she thought about him that way too.

"But after declining his proposal for the third time, I felt bad. He doesn't deserve my rejections. Any of it."

"A person can only do so much for the one he loves." He said but felt the opposite. Deep inside, he knew he was willing to do everything for her.

Kensi shook her head to disagree. "Not Jack. I expected him to give up, to throw the past ten years of our lives away. But he didn't. He was just standing there, looking at me like I am the only woman he sees. He told me not to worry because he will not leave, he will wait for me till I'm ready. It was then I hated myself more than before." She turned to him. "How can I hurt the only person who without a doubt loves me more than himself? How can I let myself hurt him that much when all he does is love me?"

She took a pause and looked away from him, settling her eyes on the green grass of the lawn. "Because of you."

"K-Kensi..." Deeks felt his world had stopped.

"I came to LA last month to see you, Deeks. I... I'm tired of waiting. I can no longer put my life on hold for you. I've been doing that since you left. Silly me for thinking what you admitted to me that night will not change because when I was about to knock on your door, I saw her. I didn't know you still had a thing for blondes, Deeks." She joked dryly.

Deeks' jaw dropped at her revelation. She was in LA. She went to see him. How can he not know it? Where was he? Who was the blonde girl she was talking about? Deeks didn't have a girlfriend, which he was sure of.

"Kens-"

Kensi stood up and gazed at him. With finality in her voice, she said. "I'm marrying Jack. I love him, maybe not as much as I love you. But like you said, I deserve the best."

Deeks can only watch her walk away from him.