A/N: I don't think I mentioned this before, but this is set around when Deeks would have been in high school. I've aged Kensi up a few years so they'd both be in the same grade.
Thanks so much for all your kind words and positive response to this story!
Deeks got home around 11 o'clock. He'd left the Blye house at 10 (gently kicked out when Donald Blye realized the time might be more accurate), but had to stop off at one of the marts that stayed open late for groceries. For thirty bucks, he came out with a depressingly small bag of food that would get them through the next few days.
When he walked through the backdoor, his mom wasn't back yet. He put away the food, and flipped on a couple lights, throwing the pile of mail he'd picked up on the way in on the kitchen table. Just from a glance, he could tell there were a couple bills there to join the growing stack on the counter.
His mom tried her best, he knew that, but sometimes she just couldn't keep up with everything. The housekeeping, the meals, bills, it was a lot for a single mom working 70+ hours a week. Deeks never blamed her for any of it; not when she worked so hard, and he could see how much she hated falling short.
Sorting through the envelopes until he found the two notices closest to being past due, Deeks sat down at the table, and started filling out the voucher from the phone company. He'd filled out his first check when he was thirteen. Now, it was second nature; though he usually paid with cash. He found it helped if Roberta didn't have direct evidence of his involvement.
Once he sealed the last enveloped and put them in the mailbox for tomorrow, Deeks made a quick sweep through the house to neaten things up. Whenever his mom did get home, he didn't want her to worry about anything other than eating and sleeping.
The rest of the week passed in a similar routine of going to school, going their separate ways for a few hours, and then meeting back up at one of their houses or the library to study.
On Saturday, Kensi took a bus to Deeks' neighborhood, then walked to the park a few blocks from his house. As she expected, he and several other boys were out on the beaten up basketball court—if a weedy, faded piece of concrete with a hoop at one end counted as a court.
Kensi saw Ray and Kip, two of Deeks' longtime friends among the group along with a couple of guys that looked like they might have been a year or two older than the rest.
Like Deeks, Ray had a reputation, though his was actually earned. He'd gotten himself into enough trouble to earn a short stint at juvie. Personally, Kensi didn't like or trust him. He'd pulled Deeks into his borderline criminal activities one too many times for her to approve of their friendship. She knew Deeks' loyalty ran too deep though to let him completely abandon Ray though, so she didn't voice her concern (at least not often).
She stayed a few yards back, watching the boys play. Deeks charged across the court, dodging Ray to jump and make an impressive basket. He landed back on his feet, and caught the ball again, letting out a crow of victory.
"And that is how you do it!" Kip shouted, running over to Deeks for a body slam. Deeks' face was lit up with a massive, joyful grin. "My man, Marty!"
"I want a rematch," Ray argued, pointing at Deeks. "He was traveling. It wasn't a fair play."
"C'mon Ray, just face reality. We are just better than you," Deeks said smugly.
Kensi walked closer, shaking her head as they broke into a bout of good-natured arguing.
"Do I need to break this up?" she joked, walking into the hot concrete. Deeks turned at the sound of her voice, his smile softening when he saw her. He jogged over, basketball tucked under one arm, sweat glistening on his forehead, his bangs clinging to his skin in damp curls.
Ray whistled, giving her a once over, and apparently instantly forgetting his grievances with Deeks' playing. "Looking good there, Blye? You wanna play?"
The other guys drifted off, grabbing bottles of water and t-shirts they'd stripped off sometime during the game.
"Nah, you don't want to embarrass yourself, Martindale," Kip intervened. He clapped Ray in the center of his chest. "Your side already lost 2-1."
"You're an ass," Ray said, which made Kip chuckle.
"Same to you. Hey, Marty, you need a ride?" Kip asked.
"No, I'm good, man. I'll see you guys on Tuesday."
Nodding, Kip slung and arm around a reluctant looking Ray, and started walking backwards
"Hey, and think about what Evans said. It'd be a shame not to have you on the team!"
"I will," Deeks promised. Falling into step beside Kensi, he walked with her to one of the metal benches overlooking the field. He sat down with a heavy sigh, using the hem of his shirt to wipe his face. Kensi saw a flash of tan skin, and quickly glanced away.
"One of these days I think Kip is going to push Ray a little too far and he's going to punch Kip," Kensi observed, seeing the two walking in the distance.
"That's never going to happen," Deeks said confidently, sitting up again. Now that some of the adrenaline had worn off, he looked worn out, balanced his forearms on his knees. "He knows Kip is a better fighter than him."
"Well, that's reassuring."
Deeks grinned at her sarcasm, leaning back with his eyes closed. She let him rest for a couple minutes, a slight breeze blowing over them.
"So, what was Kip talking about when he said about you not being on the team?" she asked, giving into her curiosity.
"Oh, Coach Evans says I'm good enough to be a starter next year," Deeks told her.
"Deeks, that's amazing!" Kensi swooped into hug him, mostly grabbing his neck. He smiled, accepting her affection with a briefer hug. "Congratulations." She pulled back, brushing hair back from her face.
"Thanks." Deeks smiled back at her, and she noticed the expression was oddly strained. "I'm not going to accept though."
"What? Why not?"
"Being a starter would mean a lot of away games," he said. "I don't think my mom would want me gone so much."
Kensi heard what he left unsaid: Away games meant money.
"Well, I'm sure you could figure something out," Kensi said, instantly starting to plan. "You could carpool with someone."
"Kensi, I appreciate it, but I've already made my decision. I'm not good enough to play for any college, so I'd rather spend my time doing something more worthwhile."
"Like working."
"Like working, surfing, maybe an internship or something," Deeks said, matching her purposely flippant tone. She gave him a mildly disgusted look, and shifted her knees away from him. Sighing, Deeks poked her in the side. "Kens. Kensalina. Kensi!"
"What!" she snapped, hiding any amusement at his pestering.
"It's not the end of the world, Kensi. I can survive without playing organized basketball," he assured her. She turned her head, annoyance dissipating as quickly as it came. She wasn't really angry with him.
"I know. I just want you to have the things that make you happy," she explained softly, her cheeks warming with an unelected flush. They didn't do this; get quite so honest.
"I do have those things," he said softly. "You don't have to worry about me."
Kensi snorted. "Like that's going to happen." She reached over an swept a few pieces of hair off his forehead before she could think better of it. "Do you have to work today?"
"Later."
"Slacker," she teased.
"What about you? Got any Little Leaguers to umpire?"
"Oh my god, don't even remind me," Kensi groaned, dropping her head into her hands. She turned to peek at Deeks with one eye. "Those eight-year-olds are going to be the death of me. You so should have this job instead of me."
"Hey, I will happily wrangle them anytime you want," Deeks offered. "But you're way better than you think you are.
"I might take you up on that tomorrow." Kensi's stomach growled, reminding her that she'd only eaten a banana on her way out this morning. "You wanna grab some food from the deli?"
"I'm good. I ate before I left." Deeks leaned down to shove his ball and water in his backpack.
"No one's ever too full for bagels. Ooh, or maybe the bakery. I could go for a doughnut," Kensi mused.
"You know, one of these days, you're going to turn into a Boston cream," he warned her, and Kensi shrugged.
"And it will be a glorious transformation." Hopping off of the bench, Kensi looped her arm through Deeks'. "So, bagels and doughnuts it is. And over lunch, you can tell me what Kimberly Hutchinson was whispering to you in math class yesterday."
A/N: As often happens in my fics like this, food is a common focus. I hope I'm not being too heavy handed with emphasizing Deeks' situation. I think he'd be reluctant to let Kensi know the true state of his home life, even though they're closer and more honest with each other in this version of themselves.