A/N: It's a shorter chapter for tonight. Thanks for all your wonderful responses so far!
Deeks' skateboard was scratched and chipped from years of use, but still serviceable. Kensi remembered when he got it for his 13th birthday, and then spent the next two months covered in bruises and cuts until he figured out how to balance. Even when he came in with another bandage, Kensi had still thought it was the coolest thing in the world.
For some reason, Kensi had never bothered to learn when she was younger and until now, they'd never gotten around to the lessons Deeks always promised.
Now that she was here—knee and elbow pads and helmet on, Deeks' skateboard placed in front of her—she had to admit feeling slightly uncertain. Her athletic ability was more than adequate from years of playing soccer, high school track, and generally being an active kid, but she hadn't taken to skating or surfing as easily as Deeks.
"You need another minute?" Deeks prompted, no judgment in his voice. Still, it reminded Kensi that she wanted to learn to skateboard, and Blyes were most definitely not quitters.
Leaning into her competitive side, she threw Deeks an unimpressed look, placed one foot on the board, and kicked back like she'd watched him do a thousand times before.
"That was not at all bad for a first time."
Kensi paused in the process of wiping a trail of sticky blood off her shin to glance up at Deeks incredulously. "I fell down five times," she said. He'd been there for every single mortifying fall.
"I was so much worse," Deeks informed her. "I'm lucky I didn't break half my teeth since I refused to wear a helmet the first month." He chuckled, and Kensi glared at him. "I'm laughing at myself. Don't worry, a couple more lessons and I bet you'll be ready for a couple of tricks."
"Yeah, if my skin survives." Kensi ruefully poked at the nasty scrape just below her knee.
"Here, give me that." He grabbed the repurposed sock she'd been using as a rag, and crouched in front of her, working at the rest of the blood.
Kensi stared down at the top of his blonde curls. Even though it stung, she could tell Deeks was trying his best not to hurt any more than necessary. Something about that made her chest tighten in a way that was almost painful.
She wished the people who only saw a boy with a broken past and the wrong look could see this side of him. They'd see he was kind, and gentle, and the most loyal friend you'd ever have.
"Eh, that's about as good as it's going to get," Deeks said, starting Kensi out of her musing. She had just enough time to avert her gaze so he wouldn't find her staring at him like a complete weirdo before he looked up. "Still looks kind of gnarly."
"Wouldn't be the first time. Remember in 8th grade when I decided I wanted to be a professional softball player?"
Deeks snorted at that, clearly recalling her series of wipeouts trying to slide into bases. "You mean the summer of gravel and butterfly bandaids?" Flashing her a brief grin, Deeks stuffed the bloody sock into his backpack as well as all of the skateboard paraphernalia. "So, what's next on the agenda?" he asked, tucking the skateboard under his arm.
"Well, I rented a new movie, so maybe we could watch that?"
"What is it?" Deeks raised an eyebrow at her, which she ignored.
"It's a surprise," Kensi told him cheerfully as they started walking towards the sidewalk.
"Oh no. It's one of those cheesy horror movies, isn't it?" he groaned.
"I cannot tell. But you did like the last one."
"Like is pushing it."
Kensi leaned into his shoulder, blinking up at him until he looked away with a burst of laughter. "Fine. But only because I'm the best friend in the world," he relented.
"I knew you loved me," she joked. "We should probably drop this stuff off at your house first though."
"What for?" Deeks face fell for just a second, so quickly that she almost thought she'd imagined it, and then he just looked curious.
"My dad doesn't exactly know I was skateboarding today, and he still thinks it's unnecessarily dangerous."
"Such a rebel," Deeks teased.
By the time they made it back to Deeks' house, it was early afternoon. They'd stopped for ice cream on the way over–for energy, Kensi had explained reasonably. When they grabbed his skateboard that morning, she'd waited outside at Deeks' insistence, she almost wondered if he'd find some excuse to keep her out now.
She didn't have worry, since Deeks led her right around to the back door, jiggling the key in the lock to make it give.
"Careful, it's sticking again," he warned her, as he held the screen door for her to take, and they walked into the kitchen.
"Marty, is that you?" Kensi heard Roberta Deeks called out, sounding relieved. Deeks' muttered something under his breath, and dragged a hand through his hair as Roberta rushed into the room. "Marty, you left before–" she cut herself off abruptly, noticing Kensi standing slightly behind Deeks.
"Oh, Kensi, I didn't realize you were coming over today," she said, covering her surprise with a smile. "It's good to see you, Dear."
"It's nice to see you too, Mrs. Deeks," Kensi said genuinely. She'd always liked Roberta, even if Deeks found her overbearing and hysterical at times.
"We were just dropping something off," Deeks informed his mom, his words short and to the point. Kensi had to fight to keep her expression neutral, and the desire to quietly slip away.
"Ok, well then we'll talk when you come back," Roberta decided, her voice taking on an edge too.
"Fine. C'mon, Kensi." He jerked his head in the direction of the opposite door, which led to the rest of the house.
"It was nice seeing you again." Kensi smile awkwardly at Roberta, then hurried after Deeks. She found him standing in his small room, hands braced on his desk, backpack thrown on his bed. Kensi watched him for several seconds, debating if she should say anything, or pretend that the entire interaction with his mom never happened.
"So, do you wanna talk about what's going on with your mom?" she settled on, immediately berating herself for the subtle approach.
"Not really," Deeks responded. He sighed heavily, fingers tightening briefly on the flimsy wood before he turned around. He braced a hip against the desk instead, licking his bottom lip as he shook his head.
"We're just having a…misunderstanding. It'll blow over eventually."
"Ok. You know I'm always here if you want to talk about it. Or rant. Or do something vaguely stupid in a fit of teen rage."
Deeks snorted at that, actually breaking a smile.
"Thanks, Kensi. You're a good friend," he said softly.