Life, Lies and Video Surveillance

By Cortexikid

Chapter 10: Maulifuff

A/N: So, I have a little spare time on my vacation and just remembered that it's Eric Christian Olsen's birthday today :) To celebrate that and the 10-chapter-mark, I think it's about time for a little Densi-lovin'. Nothing of the horizontal-kind (yet) but it's a step in the right direction...enjoy!

NOTE: Please forgive any/more mistakes as I'm updating on my smart-phone for the first time & without wi-fi :/

Disclaimer: If NCIS: LA was mine, it'd be mostly Densi-banter, Sam and Callen bromance and Nelric cuteness so, yeah, not mine. Neither are two of the most famous international spies...

WOTD: MAULIFUFF; Mau·li·fuff noun. A fussy female who does little or nothing

"Oh. My. God."

"Don't you dare laugh!"

"T-Too late," Kensi guffawed, her shoulders shaking as she took in her partner's appearance.

"Oh like you haven't been in worse."

Kensi raised her eyebrows in a silent 'oh really?' Deeks grimaced, knowing well he was beat.

"Okay so, you probably haven't been in worse but...you had Hetty's help for years, okay? You know me Kens, I'm totally method and that means—"

"Impersonating the Men in Black?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Kensi snorted, pulling the black sunglasses off his face.

"You don't think I look sorta like a certain international spy in this tux?"

"Yeah, sure you do."

"Really? I look like James Bond?" Deeks asked, his eyes alight with wonder at her compliment.

"Meh," Kensi scrunched up her nose, tilting her head as her eyes raked over him, "I was thinking more like Austin Powers..."

Deeks' smile fell. Kensi's smile widened.

"Okay one, Austin Powers didn't wear a tux. Two, I can't believe you saw that movie but not Raiders of the Lost Ark and three, you're mean. I have no idea why I put up with you!"

"Because Miss Blye is an exemplary agent Mr Deeks...and no one else would put up with you," came the voice of one Henrietta Lange, folding her arms and inspecting the detective in much the way his partner did.

"Couldn't have put it better myself Hetty," Kensi laughed, beaming at her uncomfortable partner.

Deeks stuck out his tongue at her and avoided eye contact with the Operations Manager, waiting for the x-ray-like assessment to end.

"So...do I pass?"

"Once you forego the ridiculous eye-wear..." Hetty grumbled, reaching up to brush invisible lint from his arm.

"Done."

"And change your outfit."

Deeks gaped at her, confusion written on his unshaven face.

"Then you'll do," she finished, patting his arm once more before walking off towards the wardrobe in search of something for her hopeless liaison.

"Oh Hetty, you make me feel so warm and fuzzy inside," Deeks called to her retreating back.

Kensi rolled her eyes and walked over to stand in front of him, looking stunning in her simple, yet elegant black dress, chestnut, wavy hair flowing about her shoulders. Attentively, her nimble fingers reached out to undo his tie. Deeks stilled, barely breathing, his mouth slightly agape as she smoothed down the cloth over his chest with both hands and pulled it out from beneath his collar, before her brain caught up with the movement and halted her hands immediately.

"Don't worry," she smirked, handing the material back to him, her two-toned gaze reaching his, "you'll do great, double-oh-behave."

The Camden Hotel was as swanky and as obnoxious as a five-star hotel could possibly get. Granite floors complemented with marble walls with pillars as tall as trees, lobbies and bars populated with fresh flowers in glass vases, pristinely-dressed staff with perpetual smiles and finely styled hair and debonair guests with much more money than sense.

Marty Deeks was in hell.

With set-shoulders, he sauntered into the bar, the embodiment of alluring, in a fitted gray suit with a tight, silver waist-coat, (courtesy of Hetty as his own tux was apparently 'a deplorable excuse for scrap material') with a confident air about him as if he owned the place. Three sets of eyes watched him intently, a bald, wealthy-looking business-man, a waiter weaving in and out of small glass tables - serving glasses of champagne and a beautiful brunette getting her ear talked-off by a man much too old for her.

"What can I get you sir?" a bar-tender asked as Deeks took a seat at the bar.

"Bourbon, neat," Deeks ordered without any semblance of warmth. God did he detest this alias.

"Comin' up," the waiter replied nonetheless, fixing the drink quickly before sliding the glass towards him.

Deeks took it up, knocked it back and slammed it down on the bar in one fluid move, ushering for another, this time to nurse a little as he took a look around. After paying for both drinks he turned on the spot, leaning backwards onto the bar and surveying the scene around him. It really was everything he expected, everything he remembered from being Will Jacobs – a young, rich, successful 'entrepreneur,' back in 2007.

"Got anything Deeks?" Sam asked, taking a sip of champagne as he 'read' a newspaper.

"You mean apart from the stench of stale desperation in the air and the urge to gouge my eyes out with ridiculously expensive silverware?" the detective asked, a hint of malice in his tone.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Callen commented under his breath as he served another glass of champagne to an aging, extravagantly dressed woman.

"No, woke up on the right as usual, just hate this place, this cover, this—uh-oh..." Deeks suddenly (but without drawing attention to himself) turned back around and lowered his head.

"What's uh-oh?" Kensi asked, her tone on edge.

"Crazy-ex – my one o'clock."

He could hear the roll of her eyes.

"Is there no square inch of LA left that isn't filled with your less-than-favourable trysts?"

"Oh yeah, baby," he murmured under his breath in his best (which wasn't saying much) Austin Powers impression.

He could feel her glare on the back of his neck from across the room. With a chance glance to his right, he saw his 'less-than-favourable-ex' edge ever nearer, champagne glass (which Callen so dutifully offered her) in hand.

"She's approaching fast guys...what ya think Kens? The time-of-the-month voices in my head and a fondness for colonics enough to scare her off?" he smirked, gulping down the last of his bourbon, pretending he doesn't see the approach of the tall, golden-haired, demon of the underworld.

"Something tells me you won't pull it off, Deeks," came his partner's less-than-teasing reply.

"Yeah, guess it takes a real nut to pull off that kinda deal."

Before Kensi could respond in what he knew would be an exclamation of extreme offense and threat of bodily harm, the blonde tapped him daintily on the shoulder. Having no choice, Deeks turned slowly, flashing the most charming smile he could muster in this cluster-fuck of a situation.

"Well hello there handsome," she cooed, running a hand down his arm, "haven't seen you in a while."

"Hey Bailey...how are you?"

Her face broke out in a predatory smile.

"Much better, now that you're here..." she laughed shrilly, bumping his hip with hers before taking a seat beside him at the bar.

"She seems a little less...homicidal than your other exes," Kensi commented dryly in his ear.

"So, how've you been Will? Last time I saw you, you were in bed with my best friend," the blonde, Bailey, began – her tone dripping with pseudo-sweetness.

"Yeah...sorry about that, I didn't realize you guys were friends—" Deeks replied casually, trying not to break character.

"And that makes it okay?" she snarled, her entire persona morphing into a bitter twist as she leaned over, getting right up into his face.

"Spoke too soon, Kens. Cut her loose Deeks."

Deeks offered the persistent blonde a tight smirk, leaning back from her, before hissing under his breath.

"The woman's a frickin' Anaconda Callen! Just how do you expect me to—"

"Hey, honey, sorry I'm late," Kensi suddenly appeared at his side, with a swish of her hips, her eyes gleaming in the dim light as she pressed up against him, her hand squeezing his shoulder as she flicked her tousled hair over her shoulder, throwing him a wide smile.

"Uh hi Sug—" Kensi effectively cut him off by pressing her lips to his in a chaste kiss. Deeks' eyes widened for a moment – not believing that this was actually happening again. His eyes fell shut as his heart soared, thudding frantically in his chest, a vibrous thrill flooding his veins.

Before he could recover from the shock and respond, she was already beginning to pull away. But Deeks' body was having none of that, not this time. His hands acted on their own accord, one hand cupping her jaw and the other planting itself on her waist, gently holding her in place.

For her part, Kensi did well in going with the flow – he expected her to tense up at his actions but nope, his ever-surprising partner decided to wrap her arms around his neck, her fingers raking through the hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him down to her.

Deeks was going to have a damn heart-attack...but what a way to go!

Deciding to take an opportunity when he was presented with one, the detective grew bold, his tongue peaking out to lick her bottom lip, begging for entrance. He felt rather than heard Kensi gasp and knew that her eyes had flown open in shock but before either of them could continue, a loud noise caught their attention, forcing them to break apart.

"Ahem!" Bailey faux-coughed, glaring at the two of them with hardened olive eyes.

"Oh! I'm sorry—didn't realize we had an audience," Kensi murmured, her breathing laboured, cheeks aflame as she avoided eye-contact with Deeks and turned her attention to the scorned blonde.

"Clearly," the woman deadpanned, her arms folding in an angry flourish.

"I'm sorry, sometimes I just can't help myself—" Kensi chuckled, standing up on her tip-toes and pecking his cheek before flashing Bailey another grin.

"Ugh," the blonde groaned in disgust, before standing up, looking right at the 'happy couple.'

"That man is a dirty, cheating low-life who cares about no one but himself – you might wanna rethink dating him if you don't wanna get screwed over, literally," she tilted her head at Deeks, her eyes daggers of steel.

"Nice seein' ya again, Will," her tone suggesting the exact opposite, before stalking off, nose in the air.

Deeks and Kensi stood there motionless for a moment, watching her retreating back in silence.

"You make it a habit of sleeping with your girlfriend's friends?" she asked suddenly, still not looking at him.

Deeks, having finally regained brain function after that mind-blowing kiss, turned to glance at her, sincerity in his eyes.

"It wasn't me Kens, it was Will. He's a spoilt, rich socialite who frankly, doesn't give a crap about anything but himself...and besides, girlfriend is such a strong word. A few nights of Deeks-pretending-to-be-Will-private-time does not a girlfriend make," he replied, trying to diffuse the tension with humour.

As soon as the words left his mouth he knew that it was not the right thing to say.

Kensi merely glared before elbowing him unnecessarily hard in the ribs to warn him of their mark's arrival, a tall, beautiful red-headed woman in a tight-fitting dress that sauntered toward them.

"Should be right up your street Casanova," she muttered under her breath before edging away, eyes lowered to avoid the widened gazes of Sam and Callen.

"Well done everyone," Hetty called, walking over to the team as they trudged into OSP, all four looking weary and rumbled in the expensive formal wear.

"Thanks to Miss Johnston's confession to Mr Deeks, we now know the location of the warehouse and have a lead on the stolen missiles."

"All in a day's work," Callen smirked, shrugging off his white, waiter's blazer and loosening his tie.

"Yeah and we even got some in-op-entertainment when Deeks ran into a little trouble in the form of a blonde socialite that wanted his head on a pike," Sam laughed, giving the detective a little shove before he took a seat at his desk. Kensi visibly tensed as she lowered herself into her chair.

Hetty nodded pensively, "ah, she was a Maulifuff—"

"Gazuntite," Deeks, Kensi, Sam and Callen interrupted in unison.

Hetty pursed her lips at the team, an amused gleam in her eye before shaking her head and shuffling away, towards her office.

Sam stood up as Callen packed his bag.

"You know what Maulifuff means, G?"

"Not a clue," Callen laughed as the two made their way past Kensi and Deeks. Sam threw them a teasing grin, murmuring "night love-birds" before walking with his partner out of OSP, their usual banter filling the silence along the way.

"And then there were two," Deeks murmured softly as he watched Kensi from his desk.

"One," she grumbled under her breath with a shrug, grabbing her stuff and standing up, preparing to leave. Deeks could tell she was still off with him by the set of her shoulders and the fact that that was the first word she spoken to him since finishing the op. With a worried glance, he watched her begin her trek towards the exit without as much as a 'kiss my ass Deeks' and couldn't bear to leave it like this.

"So, is that like, your signature move now?"

Kensi's body went rigid, her back to him, her arms held tightly at her sides.

"What?" she asked tightly, not turning around.

"The 'cover kiss.' That's twice in less than a year partner...if I didn't know better, I'd say you like lockin' lips with little ol' me..." Deeks grinned, praying she didn't see past his tense façade, eyebrows raised, knowing that she could feel his expression (no matter how false) – even if she couldn't see it. It wouldn't be long now...

Three.

Two

One.

"Oh don't flatter yourself Deeks!" she exclaimed, her once unyielding body now alive with movement as she whirled around to glare at him.

"How else would you have gotten outta that situation? That blonde was ready to throw down her Prada purse and kick you in the cul-de-sac! I saved your ass, Deeks!" she spat, now finding herself leaned over his desk, face mere inches from his as she glowered over him.

"Last I checked, cul-de-sac didn't mean ass," he murmured softly, secretly pleased that she had picked up one of his boorish terms, his cerulean eyes glimmering as he stared up at her, his heart hammering in his chest at the familiar rosy-tint to her cheeks. God, she's so frickin' hot when she's pissed the hell off...

"Well I saved the general area then," she snarled, her arms folding across her chest as she straightened up and stood back from his desk.

"And my general area thanks you. The rest of me can't help but wonder though...why a kiss? A warm smile and hand-holding would have sufficed."

Deeks had no idea why he wanted to ask this now. Maybe it was her reaction to Bailey or the fact that he had to practically bed the blonde's friend to gather intel when he was uncover or maybe (most plausibly) that kiss really did fuck up his common sense, what little he ever had of it. Whatever it was, it was happening now, the words flying out of his mouth without little permission from him.

"Well, I didn't realise it offended you so much. In future, I'll try to control myself and let you get turned into a unic," Kensi growled sarcastically before picking her bag back up off the floor from where it had fallen in her flourish and preparing to leave, again.

"Kens I—"

"It's late, Deeks. I'm going home," she grumbled, all fight suddenly absent from her voice. She sounded weary and...almost sad. Deeks' heart panged painfully in his chest at the thought of being the one that made her feel that way, even if it was only indirectly and something that had been out of his control.

"Look Kens," he said softly, slowly standing up and approaching her with caution, "I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of when I was other people, I had to charm Bailey's friend to get intel, just like you had to do with that scumbag Ethan a couple of months ago. As you know, it's one of the many hazards of undercover work, but I've never deliberately tried to hurt an innocent person."

The woman, Nicole, sprang to the forefront of her mind as he said this, but she pushed it down roughly. Kensi knew she wasn't being fair to him...but she'd no idea why. Why did it bother her so much what he did, undercover or not? More importantly, why did she let him know that it bothered her? What made her slip up? Why did Deeks always manage to get under her skin like no one else she ever knew?

But this was not the time to dwell on such life-altering questions, that would come later, far later, in the dead of the night as she lay awake in her bed, alone, staring at the ceiling. Now, her trusted partner was awaiting a response...something, anything from her that would make them...them again.

"That...that's not who I am. You know that right?" the detective shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling suddenly unnerved. Kensi let out a soft sigh, Deeks' head rose.

A two-toned brown gaze met a light blue.

Kensi saw the pain there. Even though he hid it so well, she could always see past his masks. Just like he could with her. She couldn't bear that she was making the usually easy-going, light-hearted cop this...self-conscious.

After a short (yet agonizing) moment his partner nodded her head, all expression draining from her face.

"No, I know that isn't really you. And you're right Deeks, I—I do know what it's like having to be someone that is less than...admirable, I—I shouldn't have...I don't know what I...I'm sorry," she muttered, her thoughts in a jumble as she heaved another sigh, looking as if there were now a weight off her shoulders.

"Wow, a kiss and an apology all in one night? Must be my birthday."

"Shut up, Double-Oh-Zero."

"That's Deeks, Marty Deeks," he winked, hooking his suit jacket over his shoulder as Kensi rolled her eyes.

And just like that, they were back to normal – at least on the surface. Neither were brave enough to truly explore any potential feelings that may have been felt during their second 'cover kiss' (why break the habit of a lifetime?) or investigate why Kensi had such an adverse reaction to Deeks past love-exploits. But that was them all over.

Kensi Blye and Marty Deeks.

Masters of avoidance, denial and deception.

They really were the perfect match.

A/N: I'm not sure about this one. I wanted to explore another 'cover kiss' but am not entirely satisfied with this. Meh. It'll do, I guess.

A review would be lovely =]

~Ck

NEXT CHAPTER TEASER:

She was going to kill him.

Before her brain could catch up, her legs stormed over to him, her hand reaching out and pulling at his arm roughly.

"Deeks how the hell did you find—oh I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else..." Kensi jerked her hand away from his arm, realizing with horror as he turned around that he was definitely not her partner.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint."