Life, Lies and Video Surveillance
By Cortexikid
Chapter 11: Doppelgänger
A/N: I'M BAAAAAAACK! =] Lol. I'm a dork, I know. Anyway, moving swiftly onwards—thanks to SunnyCitrus10 for the word submission and the helpful suggestions on the characteristics of the doppelgänger, name, eye-colour etc. =] The name especially was genius so thanks so much :) hope I do him justice!
NOTE: This is the first in what I'm calling the 'Doppelgänger Series.' It will more than likely be about 3 chapters.
Disclaimer: If I owned NCIS:LA I would make Kensi run her fingers through Deeks' hair at least twice a day for the foreseeable future. So yeah, clearly I don't own it. A girl can dream though...
WOTD: DOPPELGANGER; dop·pel·gäng·er noun. Deprived from the German language, literally meaning 'Ghostly Double.' One who nearly or completely resembles another- but with no biological relation.
Kensi Blye rolled her eyes and suppressed a groan as she waited in line at her favourite burger place, her stomach rumbling embarrassingly loudly. Her eyes darted around her nervously, praying that the hustle and bustle was just noisy enough to mask the consistent grumbling from her abdomen. It had been over twenty-five minutes since she arrived and she was beginning to lose her patience, it was a Saturday for god's sake, she had better things to be doing with her time – like cleaning her guns and catching up on Top Model.
But no, Detective Marty Deeks had to come and hijack her lazy Saturday afternoon with his stupid persistence in taking her surfing. Surfing her ass...she spent more time standing on the beach, staring blearily at the water as a Deeks-shaped blur whirled around in the ocean than she did 'practicing her stand.' She'd been 'standing' since she was 9 months old for pete's sake, why the hell did she have to practice on a flat board on the frickin' sand anyway? And to top it off, not so much as her big toe went within a five foot radius of the damn sea! It was a huge waste of time if you asked her – although she did enjoy Deeks getting washed out by a gigantic wave – that was hilarious (once she knew he was okay, of course), definitely something to convince Eric and Nell to get their hands on later.
Yet all so-called-good things must come to an end, and after her partner not-so-subtly expressed his hunger loudly in her ear for a full twenty minutes, Kensi left him to get changed out of his wet-suit while she went on the hunt for some lunch.
But this was plain ridiculous! How long does it take to fry up a few burgers, slap 'em on a bun with some tomato and lettuce and ring up an order? After checking her watch for what felt like the millionth time in the last five minutes, Kensi threw up her hands and fully prepared to high-tail it outta there (the veggie deluxe was good but not that good) when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.
A flash of familiar, tousled blonde hair appeared a few feet to her left. Her eyebrows furrowed angrily as she watched him get served food – the bastard just cut the line! After she'd already said she was buying—what the hell was he doing? And how did he even find this place anyway? It was small, fairly hidden away and she'd deliberately never told him about it.
An overwhelming surge of annoyance flooded her veins as she took in his appearance. Even though she could only see the back of his head, she saw the ease in which he held himself, could practically feel his smug smirk as he pretended not to see her.
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—" Kensi's voice died in her throat as she jerked away from him, realizing with horror when he turned around that he was most definitely not her partner.
"Oh I'm sorry; I thought you were someone else!" she apologized as heat rose in her cheeks.
"I'm sorry to disappoint," the blond-haired man replied, flashing her a wide grin, his hazel eyes shining with mirth at her obvious embarrassment. The two stood a mere foot apart, staring at one another before Kensi's brain seemed to catch up with her and ordered her feet to step back.
"I—you cut the line," she grumbled, trying desperately to quell the rapidly flowing blood spreading to her face.
"Uh, actually, I ordered ahead...this is kinda my haunt, creature of habit," he replied politely, shrugging his shoulders, looking at her expectedly.
"Then I...I'm sorry again," she murmured, looking at her feet for a moment, before gathering strength and forcing herself to look back into very his unfamiliar eyes.
"Don't worry about it," he smiled widely, his tone oozing with a laid-back nature that also reminded her so much of her partner.
"I've never seen you here before," he commented simply, clutching the brown-paper bag in his grasp as her demeanour relaxed a little.
"Oh uh, I usually order take-out but my friend and I were starving and it was my turn to grab lunch so..." she trailed off, not really knowing what to say in the presence of this uncanny lookalike of a man she knew so well.
"Oh, you're out with your boyfriend?" he asked, his intentions transparent but oddly cute as he smiled at her shyly – an expression that looked alien on someone that reminded her so much of a certain confident detective.
Shaking her head, she forced herself to stop making comparisons between the two. Deeks was just one man in a sea of every-day-looking types in this town full of blond surfers, she assured herself. But this guy? For starters, now that she looked more closely, she realized he was even more impeccably dressed than the standard LA surfer. His jeans were top-end designer, his tee made-to-look vintage instead of just plain old – also costing a pretty penny, and his hair...more salon-styled than 'bed-head chic.'
Problem was, Kensi couldn't decide if she liked any of that or not.
"Uh, no he's...just a friend," she stressed, not knowing why she was doing so for a complete stranger.
The beam she received when he heard that was remarkable.
Oh yeah, that was why.
"Oh, right," he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, a little sheepishly.
"So, uh, maybe I'll see you around sometime?" he continued, his voice sounding a little more confident as she returned his soft grin.
"Yeah...maybe..." Kensi felt a blush crawl up her neck, cursing herself, wondering why she was so...enamoured with this guy.
"Okay then," he nodded, his grin widening as he began to walk out of the diner.
Kensi's gaze followed the blonde fixedly, biting her bottom lip as she now got an even better look at his...assets.
"Oh," he said suddenly, whirling around and causing the NCIS agent to jump, startled at possibly being caught checking him out.
"I'm Hale by the way," he jerked his head and shrugged his shoulders, "you know, just in case you were wondering..." he trailed off, now walking backwards with ease, his hazel orbs trained on her.
"Kensi," she replied with a shake of her hand, a chuckle on her lips.
"Kensi..." he murmured, letting it roll on his lips, "good to know. See ya around then...Kensi..."
And at that, he turned away, and strolled out, his hand raised in a half-wave over his shoulder, his golden locks gleaming in the sunshine.
The brunette watched him leave until he disappeared into a throng of beach-enthusiasts, a whimsical smirk on her face. It had been a long time since she'd had one of those semi-flirty conversations with a man that didn't find the need to effortlessly tease her every five minutes. It was kinda refreshing.
Just as that thought left her brain, the shrill tone of her cell-phone sounded from her pocket. Knowing well who it was on the other end, not bothering to check her caller ID, the agent rolled her eyes and shook her head as she answered with an air of impatience.
"Yes, Deeks?"
"Where the hell have you gone for those burgers, Blye? Texas? Did you have to kill the cow yourself or something? What's the hold—"
"There's a long line," she grumbled into the phone, noticing that finally – even after she stepped out of line – she was the next customer.
"Well get your rear in gear road-runner, I ain't got all day," he replied, the teasing tone evident even over the phone.
"Was that an order?" Kensi couldn't help but rise to the bate. He knew how to push her buttons. The bastard.
"Not an order per se, more like a strong suggestion," he smirked, "besides, if you don't get back here quick the popsicles I just bought for dessert will melt..."
"How did you know I was craving popsicles?" she asked suspiciously, finding it odd that he that she'd been craving the iced-dessert for the last few weeks now yet hadn't gotten around to buying any.
"Lucky guess," he replied, sounding a little too smug for her liking, as if he knew something she didn't.
"I'll be five minutes."
Her partner may be an annoyance, but damn did he know her.
It took just a little under a month of her 'casually' dropping by Rick's Diner and 'happening' to run into Hale for him to finally ask her out. She thought it was cute really, he was being...gentlemanly (a rarity in this age and town) and while Kensi was in the mind-set that chivalry should stay dead, it was invigorating to know that he had the graciousness to give it time. Many men she'd met would have already tried to jump her by now.
"So, pick you up at seven?" he asked, a pleased grin on his handsome, clean-shaven face.
"Uh actually, how about I meet you there? I'll be coming straight from work so—it'd be easier," she suggested, sticking to her first-date-rule, and the for-god's-sake-don't-let-them know-where-you-live rule perfected by one Detective Marty Deeks. But, something told her she may break both, this was a guy she actually wanted to go on a second date with – and that was a damn good impression to make on a woman like Kensi, from only a few conversations in a diner.
"Yeah sure," he replied, "it's a date."
She had the irrational urge to skip back to OSP, a sense of excitement that she hadn't felt in a long time soaring through her veins. As she unlocked her car and climbed in, she smiled softly to herself before pulling out of the parking lot and heading to work. It was gonna be a good day – she could feel it.
"Ugh, could this day get any worse?" Kensi groaned, craning her neck from side and rolling her shoulders, trying in vain to ease the knot of tension that had settled there.
"Doubt it," her usually chipper partner responded, sounding just as exasperated as her.
"Coffee?" she asked politely, standing up and away from her desk.
"What's the catch?" Deeks asked, his eyes narrowed as he watched her edge towards the coffee station, arms stretched above her head – he averted his gaze accordingly, puffing out a sigh.
"No catch," she smirked at his avoidant eyes, shrugging her shoulders as she turned away to get a cup.
"Uh-huh," Deeks responded sarcastically, his orbs (now back on her) still cerulean slits of suspicion.
Suddenly, a loud chirp of a cell-phone sounded throughout the bull-pen.
"Hey Deeks, could you get my phone? It's probably Callen with an update," Kensi said almost to herself, her back still turned as she filled two cups of coffee.
Deeks leapt up out of his chair and snapped up the phone off her desk, glancing down at the screen.
"Who's Hale?" he pondered, a frown creasing his eyebrows.
Kensi's mouth dropped open, slamming down the coffee cups before she sprinted over to where he stood, bumping up against him as she tried to snatch the phone (that she just realized was her personal one and not her work one) out of his grasp.
"Whoa, whoa," Deeks wrenched his hands away, holding the phone behind his back as it continued to ring.
"Deeks! Give me my phone!" Kensi bellowed, reaching under his arm and around his back with her left hand, glaring at him. The blond smirked cheekily as he switched it to his other hand, forcing his partner to reach around him with her right – effectively embracing him. To the outsider, it was quite the sight, he with his arms behind his back as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Hardly work-place appropriate.
It took precisely 2.3 seconds for Kensi to realise the position she and her partner were in and her polychrome eyes widened in shock, gaping, her head tilted back so she could look into Deeks' expressive orbs. What she saw there angered her, amused her and frightened the hell out of her.
A wide range of emotions passed over her partner's face. She saw hints of shock, delight and something a little...deeper, that she couldn't or wouldn't define.
"Aww, Kens, if you wanted a hug, all you had to do was ask..." the cheeky blond smirked but clever brunette saw right through it. The detective was nervous, incredibly so, to be standing this close to her. She caught him off guard, again. First was the cover kiss at Brett and Polina's home, then again with another cover kiss at The Camden Hotel and now they were pressed together, chest to chest, right in the middle of OSP. Actually, maybe she wasn't as clever as she first thought...eyes and ears were everywhere, she had to get her phone back now!
With a gleam in her gaze, a plan quickly formed in her mind as they stood there, motionless, her arms around him. She knew she'd more than likely pay dearly but, short of shooting him or round-house kicking him in the face, she couldn't see any other way out of this. So, taking a deep breath, Kensi leaned even further into Deeks' chest and flashed him her most sultry grin. As expected, this caused her partner to freeze and stare down into her eyes, a frown forming on his face. She could practically hear the wheels churning in his brain as he tried to frantically summon up some sort of response.
Unfortunately for Deeks, this rapid firing of conflicted messages across his sensory system caused his body to temporarily relax, his arms unclasping from behind his back, just a fraction. But, that was all Kensi needed, and with lightening speed she took the advantage and snatched the phone out of his grasp, wrenching away from him and staring down at the screen. She could feel him staring at her, knowing well that he thought she played damn dirty but couldn't at this point let herself be too concerned about it. No, that came later, when her nightly routine of lying awake in her bed and staring at her ceiling began.
"Hale, hi," she answered, her breath slightly laboured as she adverted her glance from her partner and tried to focus on what her date was saying to her.
"Uh huh," she nodded, one part of her brain registering that Deeks had sat back down at his desk and was shuffling paper-work around.
"Uh huh, okay, great, see you at 8 then," she hung up, biting her lip, almost afraid to turn around and look at her partner. She really didn't know what he was going to say. It was at times like these when he was his most unpredictable.
Slowly, she walked back over to her desk and sat down, keeping her gaze fixed on a spot on the wall just to the side of his head. It would only be a matter of moments now:
Three
Two
One
"Really Kens...Hale?" he began, his eyes finding her, a slightly forced smirk on his face, "you're seriously gonna go on a date with a guy named after the weather?"
A/N: And here begins the jealous!Deeks trilogy =] I plan to have serious undertones as well as some Deeks hilarity! Thanks again for all the support =]
NEXT CHAPTER TEASER:
"Hi, I'm Marty," Deeks held out his hand for him to shake.
"Hi, I'm Hale," Kensi's date replied, clasping the detective's hand in his.
"Huh, look at us..." Deeks turned to Kensi, Hale's hand still in his, "a cop and an accountant, I can save his life and he can do my taxes."