A/N: Set very early on in Kensi and Deeks' partnership, before "Personal".
"How did you not like camping?" Kensi wondered irritably while combing through a victim's belongings. Over the last couple hours, she and Deeks had drifted between different topics to pass the time. Most recently, favorite pastimes.
"I don't know, every time I went camping with my friends in college it inevitably rained, which meant our tent flooded. We'd come back soggy, covered in bug bites, and starving," Deeks replied, his tone filled with distaste.
Kensi paused in her search to stare at him. For a guy who loved surfing, running, ice hockey, and apparently any other outdoor activity possible, it his position on camping surprised her.
"What about when you went with your dad? Learning to fish, swimming all day, and then cooking the fish we caught are some of my favorite memories growing up."
"Yeah, my dad wasn't really a camping kind of guy." Deeks' voice had turned sardonic, and he tipped his head back slightly, hands settling on his hips. "His favored activities included a fifth of cheap whisky, or in lieu of that, a 6 pack, and getting unreasonably angry. Not exactly kid friendly." He raised his finger flippantly, but turned around so Kensi couldn't see his face. "Though I did get really good at sneaking past him once he fell asleep. Which has come in useful over the years."
The implied violence of his comment made Kensi still completely. Over the past couple months, he'd made a few references to his than idyllic relationship with his family, but he'd always assumed that they'd fallen out when he was older. It dawned on her with sudden and horribly clarity, that he was hinting at domestic violence.
She stared at the back of her fairly new partner, a man who seemed irreverent and uncomplicated at first look, but continually surprised her with his hidden layers at every turn.
"I'm sorry," she said after a prolonged silence.
Deeks looked over his shoulder, throwing her a careless smirk. Nothing to see there, it said.
"It's ok. And I think I found out why our guy was killed." He held up a thumb drive hidden in the bottom of a fake plant. He headed out of the room, a swagger to his step.
Kensi shook her head, wondering if she'd ever seen the real Marty Deeks.