A/N: A little Densi family story, with a dash of Roberta. Fluff all the way. Oh, except for maybe just a tiny smidge of angst.
"Oh, and this is one of Marty when he was three," Roberta shared, flipping to a new page in the aging photo album balanced between her and Rosa's lap, and pointed to a picture. There was a stack of three more albums in different flower patterns on the other side of the couch.
Kensi leaned over far enough to see a miniature version of Deeks in a blue sweater. His hair was fluffed around his head in a flurry of white-blonde curls and he hugged a red car to his chest while he gave the camera a shy, toothy smile. Kensi knew it was a favorite of Roberta's.
"He was so cute!" Rosa commented, mouth softening with a look that all women seemed to get when they saw baby Marty Deeks.
"Who's cute?" Deeks asked, coming in from checking the air in his mom's tires.
"Your mom's showing Rosa your childhood," Kensi answered helpfully.
"Oh, that doesn't bode well. Mama, I thought we talked about this."
"What, there's nothing wrong about your daughter wanting to know a little bit more about you two," Roberta said reasonably. "Besides, you were adorable back then."
"I feel like I should be offended by that," Deeks muttered, raising an eyebrow. Kensi tugged at his hand until he plopped onto the chair next to her. She wiggled to the side to make room for him.
"What was Marty like when he was younger?" Rosa asked, continuing to flip through the album on her own.
"Oh, as a little boy he was the sweetest little thing. A troublemaker sometimes, but a sweetheart." Roberta glanced over at Deeks fondly and he rolled his eyes. "And you wouldn't believe it now, but back then he was so quiet most of the time.
"Then as he got older, he found his voice. And the notes I got home from his teachers. Lord help me, I thought he'd get expelled for having to debate everything for sure," Roberta continued.
"Ok Mom, I think that's enough," Deeks interjected loudly, cheeks flushing a fairly bright red. "Rosa definitely does not need to know about any of this. Definitely not my teenage years at all."
"You know, I think I have a picture of him from around then." Ignoring him, Roberta flipped a few more pages. "There it is. I think that was his junior year of high school."
She held the book up to show a picture of Deeks, his hair now a golden color and nearly at his shoulders. In this one, he wasn't smiling, and Kensi saw the first hints of the man he would become in the angles of his jaw and serious stare.
"Oh my goodness!" Rosa gasped. "Your hair was so long!"
"I don't think I've ever seen that one," Kensi said, leaning closer despite Deeks' unintelligible protest.
"Yeah, grew it out when he turned 13. Absolutely refused to cut it, even when the principal got after him, and he sang John Denver music everywhere he went."
"Because I have remarkably good taste," Deeks commented, tilting his chin up with faux superiority.
"Oh, don't act so embarrassed," Roberta said, waving her hand at him. Turning back to Rosa, she ran her finger over the picture, eyes softening. "The most important thing you should know about Martin is that no matter what else, he was kind and always did what he thought was right."
"Just like now," Rosa replied as she deliberately caught Deeks' eye. Kensi heard Deeks swallow harshly and he dipped his head, clearly caught by surprise by the implicit compliment.
She felt her eyes prick with tears at the unexpected moment between them. This was everything Deeks had ever wanted. To be a good father. After a moment, Rosa dropped her gaze, returning to the teenage Deeks again.
"You know, I think you would look good with your hair like this again."
"Yeah, we tried that, it's not a good idea," Kensi said quickly as Roberta loudly proclaimed,
"Oh lord, no! It took him forever to cut his hair last time. Never again."
Deeks shared a conspiratorial grin with Rosa, that spelled nothing but trouble.