Thank you for the amazing response to this new story! I'm so excited to finally be sharing it…
Kensi gets into work early, hoping to be the first one in.
She doesn't get her wish.
The moment she enters the bullpen, three heads pop up from their respective focuses on their laptops.
"How was your date?" Agent Mike Renko asks, speaking first.
She does a double take at the agent who was very much not there the day before.
"What is he doing here?" She asks Callen and Sam, ignoring both Renko and Renko's question.
"He has a name." Renko says.
"Called him in for help," Callen explains.
"And he is sitting right here," Renko continues.
"I said I was fine staying last night," Kensi insists.
"It isn't about last night," Sam says. "We need more than the three of us to finish this case."
"Ah, so glad you thought of me," Renko says.
Sam shoots him a look. "You were the first one who picked up your phone."
"Really feeling the love, Sam," Renko says, hand on his chest. He turns back to Kensi. "How was your date?" He asks again.
She opens her mouth, ready to tell her part-time partner to mind his own business, but quickly turns her attention back to Callen and Sam. She holds up her finger accusingly. "Why does he know I had a date last night?"
Callen actually winces. "So close."
Sam laughs, though he winces first, too.
"I am a highly trained federal agent with excellent deductive skills," Renko insists. "I deduced you were on a date."
"I deduced you were an idiot," Kensi counters.
Callen and Sam both laugh.
Renko clears his throat and tries again. "You are a young, single woman. And, if you don't mind me saying, quite pretty, so why wouldn't you be on a date?"
She narrows her eyes at him.
"Fine. Callen and Sam told me the moment I got here."
Callen and Sam speak at once.
"Hey!"
"That's not true."
"That's what I thought," Kensi says as she takes her seat at her desk. She opens her laptop screen. "So, where are we on the case?"
00
The case grinds on for the next two days. Three shootings, a car chase and an explosion hold her focus and keep her from calling the lawyer until late morning on Thursday.
"Shit," she curses, not having realized how much time had passed until now. She'd worked overnight and hadn't realized Friday was tomorrow until right now.
With the case finally wrapped up, Callen and Sam have calmed down, and she knows she can get away for a few minutes without issue. She makes her way down the hall behind the bullpen and finds an empty office.
She opens her contacts and pulls up the Ds. The lawyer is the only Deeks she knows. She hesitates for a long moment as her heart pounds in her chest. She's not sure why she's suddenly so nervous. The first date was good. Really good. And they've already agreed to the second date, so it's not like he's about to shoot her down.
She places the phone down on the bare desk for a moment and turns her back to it, leaning against the desk. She doesn't do second dates as a general rule, but she's been known to break her own rule from time to time. What's different this time is that she felt something.
Something she hasn't felt in a long time. Something that scares her more than second dates. Or third dates. Or lawyers. Or dinners and movies. Or dating clichés.
"You survived two shootouts in the last six hours," she tells herself. "You can make this phone call." She nods to herself, trying to force a sense of confidence.
She turns and reaches for her phone. She presses send before she can stop herself.
And then she laughs. Because he has put his last name into the phone as 'Deeks,' but he has put his first name in as 'Lawyer-By-Day," so that when she calls out, his name reads as 'Lawyer-By-Day Deeks.'
He answers on the third ring.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Lawyer-By-Day Deeks," she greets, trying to make herself sound confident.
"Kensi," he says warmly. "It's nice to hear from you." She can hear the shuffling of papers as he presumably sets down a file.
"Yeah, I'm so sorry it took me so long. Work's been...crazy. And I didn't realize how many days had gone by." She cringes as she realizes how stupid that sounds. To most people, even if work is crazy, they go home at night and notice the days going by. Her job doesn't always afford her that opportunity. But he doesn't know that.
"It's okay," he says quickly, brushing it off. "You said work was crazy. I understand."
She frowns slightly at his tone. He doesn't sound upset at her at all. He sounds...resigned. Like he truly believes he doesn't deserve any better than she has offered him. She makes a mental note to do better if this happens again. "Thank you for understanding," she tells him, at least wanting him to feel appreciated.
"No worries." He pauses. "So, did you maybe want to reschedule something for next week?"
Kensi feels her chest tighten in disappointment. "Oh, yeah, sounds good. I guess you made plans for tomorrow..."
"No," he says quickly. "I'm still free. I just thought... When you didn't call..." He trails off again.
Kensi frowns again, wondering where the confident man she had met earlier that week had gone. She really should have called sooner. Days sooner.
He clears his throat. "I just assumed with your work being crazy you wouldn't be free."
"We were having...a bit of an emergency," she tells him. "And it's taken all of my time and attention until right now. So, I really am sorry I didn't call sooner. But, it's resolved now, so I'm..." She trails off for a moment. "I'm free tomorrow evening if you are."
"I'm definitely free," he says, a hint of his confidence back.
"Great. I think you said something about dinner and a movie?"
She can practically hear him smile through the phone. "Decided it's not too cliché for you?" He teases.
Kensi hesitates before taking a chance. "Well, how about you take the reins on this one, and I'll plan the next one?"
There is an extended pause on the other end of the phone. She hears him swallow hard. "Uh, drama or comedy?"
"Surprise me."
00
She lets him pick her up at home. Normally her dates don't even get to know her real name, but seeing as they'd been set up by her college friend Mindy, who knows everything about Kensi except what she actually does for a living, Marty already knows her full name. She doesn't see the harm in letting him know where she lives, seeing as it will just look more suspicious if Mindy finds out she's hiding her home from him or pretending to live elsewhere.
She meets him out front, raising an eyebrow when he pulls up in a dark blue pickup truck. It's more than a couple years old, but clearly well kept.
She lets herself in before he can get out to open her door.
"You are just full of surprises," she tells him.
He stares at her before putting the truck into drive. He looks slightly vulnerable, but otherwise good. He's dressed in jeans and a black button down. He still hasn't combed his hair, but she finds the shaggy look is less of a shock today than at their first date. She kind of likes it. It must be growing on her.
She offers him a smile. "I think a pickup truck would be the last type of car I would guess for a lawyer to have."
He smiles back, but she's surprised to see he's somewhat embarrassed. She wonders if he's gotten less than amused reactions before.
"Yeah, I surf," he offers. "The bed of the truck is the easiest to transport my board to the beach." He points his thumb over his shoulder towards the bed of the truck.
She twists and looks back over her shoulder, but can't see past the small backseat area. "Ah, I guess that's easier than strapping the board to your roof, like I've seen other people do."
He nods. "That can damage the board."
She smiles. "So, you really surf."
He shrugs. "I get out most mornings. Something I've been doing since I was a kid."
"You did say you grew up here."
He nods and smiles, happy she remembered. "You surf?"
She shakes her head. "Not really. My dad was stationed in Hawaii for a year. I tried it a few times, but..." She scrunches her nose. "It was hard."
He laughs. "You just need a good teacher."
It's half comment and half offer, and he leaves it to dangle between them.
She's halfway to responding when he speaks again.
"Man, surfing in Hawaii..." He shakes his head. "I'd kill to go surfing in Hawaii."
"You ever been?"
"No." He shakes his head. "I just haven't had the time to go anywhere. You been back since you were a kid?"
Kensi thinks back to the trip she had taken to Hawaii the week before to try to speak with former members of her father's unit and the work she had done for the Hawaii 5-0 team while she had been there. She wonders if it's possible to explain that away.
"Briefly," she tells him. "But it was for work."
"Your work seems busy," he says, but his tone is conversational and not judgmental. "Do you travel a lot?"
"Uh, a fair bit, I guess," she says, trying not to be too specific. If this thing with Marty becomes something real, this could actually be a useful part of her cover story. "It's okay, but it's usually at the last minute." She forces a laugh. "I actually keep a bag at work now, because I've been sent away on such short notice that I couldn't go home first."
He smiles along with her. "What kind of urgent trips does the pharmaceutical world have?"
Again, he's being conversational. He's not challenging her explanation. He's just curious.
She still curses herself for setting herself up for this. "Uh, well, I can't go into too many details. I had to sign a confidentiality clause." When he cocks his head, she rolls her eyes for effect. She smiles, knowing she's making her cover story work. "But we have sister companies. And I work in development, which involves not only the drug itself, but a lot of administrative work. And because we're the main branch, if there are any issues in the other locations, we go out and help."
"Makes sense," he accepts easily.
She smiles sadly across the car at him as he focuses on the road. He's so trusting of her story. She hates that she has to lie to him.
00
He picks a comedy for the movie. She laughs so hard her sides hurt by the time it's over.
"Are you sure you're up for dinner?" He asks.
She eyes him warily. "Yeah. Why?"
He clears his throat and hesitates before answering.
"Marty?" She prompts.
"You ate a lot of popcorn," he says, one eyebrow raised. "Like, a lot."
"It was good!" She argues. "And I did not eat that whole tub myself. You ate it, too."
"I ate maybe this much," he jokes, holding his hands out to signify a very small amount.
She swipes at his shoulder playfully, laughing along with him. "That is a lie."
He laughs out loud and drops it. "You win. Let's get to dinner. I, uh, made a reservation. I hope that's okay. It's an Italian place, but if you want something else, we can-"
"Italian sounds great," she cuts him off. He meets her eyes, concern lining his as if he needs additional confirmation that Italian really is okay. She smiles warmly at him. "Is it close? Or are we driving?"
He exhales slowly and then returns her smile. "Just a few blocks if you're okay to walk?"
She nods and is surprised when he reaches for her hand.
This man is an enigma to her. He's confident until he's not. And then he's back to confident. He's a lawyer who became a lawyer to be a public defender. He drives a pickup truck and wears jeans on a second date. And he (probably) doesn't own a hairbrush. But he's proud of what he does. And she thinks he's happy to be here with her.
Kensi walks along beside him now, her hand tucked into his. He's a comfortable presence beside her. She's looking forward to dinner and getting to know him better. She knows it was her fault that he lost his confidence with her the first time. She had promised to call and had lost track of the days, letting too much time pass before she called. But she doesn't think this second time was her. It was like he thought the wrong restaurant might mean she'd walk away.
When they reach the restaurant, Kensi puts in some extra effort. "Mmm, looks really good," she tells him. She's not lying. The restaurant is of an older style, with a neon sign, but a welcoming ambiance. It gives the impression of a decades old, family-run establishment.
He shoots a smile her way. "Like Italian?"
She nods, but then continues. "I like most food," she tells him, wanting to bring back some of the previous humour they had shared.
He chuckles as he holds the door open for her. She's trying to be a good date and make him feel good, so she walks through the door with a simple, "thanks."
They are seated quickly. It's not a fancy restaurant. There are several couples and a few families. A group of young men sit across the room, probably college kids. But the atmosphere is light, the food fantastic, and the company even better.
Kensi laughs as much as she had during the movie. She smiles and she flirts and she banters back with him when he teases her for putting away a rather large pasta dish.
She really likes him. It's still a scary realization, but doesn't take her by surprise quite as much as their first date.
After dinner (and dessert), he swipes the bill before she can make a move. She tries to argue, wanting to pay her half again, but he shakes his head.
"Nope," he says simply, and then reminds her of their previous agreement. "This was my date to plan and execute. You're in charge of the next one."
She almost argues, but closes her mouth and nods. "Alright. When did you want to do this next date?"
He smirks at her from across the table. "Not up to me."
She huffs, realizing quickly he has a point. "I hear you. I'll, uh, look into things."
His expression softens ever so slightly, some uncertainty showing through again. "You don't have to…if you don't want to."
"No, I want to. Honestly, with everything that went on at work this week, I didn't have time to think past tonight. But I'm looking forward to…more."
He smiles at her. "Me, too."
Kensi feels her breath catch. There's that feeling again. She's wishing she had looked into something sooner, so they could have date three soon. Like tomorrow.
They walk back to his truck hand in hand. The drive is comfortable, half silence and half quiet conversation. When they get back to Kensi's place, he parks and walks her to the door.
He kisses her again, like the last time; just long enough not to be chaste. But she pulls him in for another kiss. Deeper this time. And longer. His mouth creaks open and she steals his air as he pushes closer against her.
She backs up slowly, stopping only when something solid meets her back. She wonders for a moment before smiling into the kiss when she realizes it's her front door.
When they finally break away, they're both breathing hard. His eyes are dark blue, shining in the moonlight. She feels her lungs heave in her chest. And, oh…there's that feeling again. Only more so this time.
She's starting to really like this feeling.
And she really likes him. She wants this. She wants more with him.
He pecks her gently on the lips one more time. "I should go," he whispers.
She wants to argue, wants to invite him in, doesn't want this night to end. But he's right. It's too soon for more.
Kensi nods. "Okay. I'm going to, uh," she runs her hand through her hair, trying to organize her thoughts. "I'm going to get planning. For date three."
He smiles warmly at her. "Sounds good."
"I'll call you," she says. Then she laughs out loud. "Why can't I stop sounding so cliché?" She huffs before he can answer. "I am going to call. Much sooner this time."
"Looking forward to it."
AN: I chose Renko to be the 'fourth' on the team for this story because, according to IMDB, he was offered a full-time part prior to ECO being hired to play Deeks. Plus, we know him and like him.