A/N: You all are too kind in your comments. I love that you're enjoying this story, even though it's a bit of a departure from my usual AUs.
What Kensi had intended to be a quick drive to celebrate her newfound freedom and power, turned into a two hour exploration, ending with a late night visit to a patch of beach they normally couldn't reach by foot or bus.
She could count on one hand the number of times she did something truly reckless, and she found it oddly thrilling. She also knew she had shocked Deeks a little, and maybe that's part of why she did it. It was kind of fun to defy his expectations.
"Ok, I'm not normally one to be overly cautious, but maybe you should slow down just a tiny bit," Deeks suggested, clinging to the passenger door handle as Kensi whipped around a tight curve on a bumpy road.
"Don't tell me I scared you," she teased, even as she eased up on the gas. There was no point in ending up in a crash, especially since Deeks was her passenger.
"Definitely not. But, if something should happen to you, I know that no matter how much your dad has come to tolerate me, I will get blamed for it."
"He doesn't just tolerate you," Kensi countered immediately. "You're just paranoid."
Deeks didn't touch that comment, leaning forward to peer out at the darkened scenery around the them. "Speaking of your dad, what are you going to tell him when he asks how you got your license?" Deeks wondered.
"The truth." She shrugged. "He knew I didn't want to wait."
"And what about the whole two underage drivers thing? I don't think he'll love that we've been essentially joyriding."
"Ok, I might tell him that Kat drove us since she's 18. She's willing to back me up if necessary." It helped that her dad had an out-of-town conference that wouldn't have him back at home until after midnight.
"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" Deeks teased, shaking his head.
"Shut up." Hopefully the darkened interior hid her flushed cheeks. Glancing at the clock, she noticed that it was after 10. "We probably should head back," she conceded. "Give the car time to cool down before my dad gets back."
"That would be wise," Deeks agreed.
"Do you want me to drop you off at your house first?"
"Nah, I have to pick something up. I can grab a bus."
Kensi wondered if he actually had some unknown errand or just didn't want her in his neighborhood for some reason. Either way, she didn't push it. As part of her new driver celebration, she'd sprung for burgers on their escapade so she knew he'd eaten.
Deeks fiddled with the radio while she drove, stopping on a station that played older music. She rolled her eyes as he belted out "Rocky Mountain High" at the top of his lungs, but in the end, she ended up singing along with some 70s song she normally hated.
It was just after 11 when Kensi pulled onto her street.
"Crap," she muttered about four houses down. Deeks leaned forward, immediately on alert.
"What?"
"The lights are on. My dad must have gotten home early."
Don had set up a lawn chair in front of the garage, and was indeed waiting for them. Kensi reluctantly pulled into the driveway. Taking his time to get up, and walked over, bracing his arms on the open window.
"Kensi Marie Blye, you want to explain where you've been?"
Deeks sat next to Kensi on the couch, wishing he could be any place but here. Oddly enough, he'd only been in situations like this a few times. Most of his friends besides Kensi never made it to the visiting each other's house stage. Ray's mom was never sober enough to care and his dad skipped out two years ago.
Having Donald Blye stand over them, his arms crossed, and looking every bit a US Marine, felt worse than he could ever imagine. It made Deeks regret having ever agreed to drive Kensi. He'd known it was a bad idea from the beginning, yet he'd gone along with rather than possibly disappoint her.
"Dad, it's not what it looks like," Kensi said into the painful silence.
"Oh, so you didn't take my car and illegally drive it?" Don asked, and even though Deeks didn't fear him, he found himself leaning closer towards Kensi.
"I have my license. I got it today." Grabbing her purse, Kensi pulled out the creased paper that represented her temporary license. Donald took it, examining the picture.
"Uh-huh." He shook the paper. "Marty's still sixteen and shouldn't have been driving with you in the car."
"Kat took us," Kensi spoke up quickly. Too quickly.
"Kensi, you know better than to lie to me."
"Sir, it's my fault," Deeks interceded before Kensi could dig herself in any deeper. He'd always been better at bending the truth when needed. "I agreed to go with Kensi even though I knew we shouldn't. I understand if you don't want me around for a while."
"Although I'm not pleased that you went along with her, I don't blame you for my daughter's actions," Don said, fixing Deeks with a look that was somehow so much worse than anger or any punishment could ever be. "I'm not stupid enough to try and separate you two. You'd just find some way to spend time together."
"Thank you, Sir," Deeks said.
Turning his attention back to Kensi, Donald shook his head. "That still doesn't excuse you from sneaking around behind my back. I said I'd take you in a couple days, but apparently you couldn't wait that long. You put Marty and yourself in danger today."
"I'm a good driver," Kensi protested, leaning forward in apparent outrage. "I would never do anything to put Deeks in danger."
"You're 16, honey," he reminded her gently. "And you're banned from driving for the next three weeks."
"Dad!"
"I do not want to hear it. You've gotten along fine without a car for the last 16 years, you'll be fine for a few more weeks. Maybe it will give you a chance to think about your actions and keep you from dragging your friends along for the ride."
Eyes flashing, Kensi stood up and broke into Spanish, the words rapid fire. Don responded just as quickly, not taken aback by the anger in her voice.
Like every other time this happened, Deeks pretended that he didn't understand, even as Kensi's frustrated "you're treating me like a child" and Don's "only because you're acting like one" made him want to disappear again.
After a few more minutes of heated discussion, Donald ended with a firm, "it's not up for debate."
Kensi shook her head, cheeks an angry red, and her arms crossed.
Don sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, and flicked a glance to Deeks. "You should probably go home now, Marty."
"Yeah, no, you're right. I'll see you tomorrow, Kensi." Deeks offered her an apologetic smile. She shook her back just a tiny bit in response, her expression softening slightly.
"I'll give you a ride," Don said, and something about the way he said it made Deeks thinks it wasn't a suggestion. "Kensi, we'll talk more when I get back."
Shooting her one more look, Deeks followed Donald Blye out of the house and endured what felt like the longest car ride of his life.
A/N: I hope Kensi didn't appear too OOC here. I think at some point when we were teenagers, most of us made a risky or uncharacteristic decision for one reason or another. In this case, Kensi's desire to accomplish a particular goal mixed with maybe just a little bit of desire to impress Deeks overcame her usual good judgment.
