A/N: My annual birthday fic for Kensi's birthday. This one's a bit different.
Deeks hefted a large cooler into the back of his truck, pushing it alongside two suitcases. There were also two camping chairs and hiking gear.
"Is that everything?" Kensi called from the ground. "If you let me take a look—"
"Oh Kensi, my love, did you really think I would fall for that? I'm not letting any details slip about this trip." Deeks shifted to the side to block Kensi's view as she tried see up into the truck. "So, it would be best if you just gave up trying."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen."
She did step back so he could secure the top, and extended a hand to help him down. Together, they walked back into the house where Rosa and Roberta were entertaining the twins.
"Are you guys ready to go?" Rosa asked, passing Sophia to Kensi when she reached out. Deeks hauled Caleb up into his arms.
"Yeah. I'm going to miss you guys."
"Adaba," Sophia replied, patting Kensi's cheek.
"All the numbers, doctors, and other important information are still in the binder on the counter," Kensi said. Rosa nodded along, paying more attention than Roberta as Kensi and Deeks ran through the instructions.
While Deeks took Kensi on a surprise birthday trip, Rosa and Roberta had offered to take care of the twins. This wasn't the first time Rosa had stayed with the twins overnight, but it would be the longest.
"I know you've got this handled, but don't hesitate to call if anything happens or you need us to come back. Even if it's just because you get sick of these two," Deeks added. He tweaked Caleb's cheek, hefting him higher on his hip.
"As if I could ever get tired of my beautiful brother and sister," Rosa said. "We'll be fine. Now please go have fun."
"Of course they will." Roberta rolled her eyes. "By the way, where'd you hide the key to the liquor cabinet?"
Deeks ignored her, turning back to Rosa.
He hugged her tightly and Kensi came on her other side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"Thank you."
"We love you, call if you need us," he said, and snuck a glance at Roberta. "And keep an eye on your crazy grandma." He whispered the last part as he and Kensi passed the twins back to Rosa and Roberta.
"I will, but nothing's going to happen. Love you, guys. Have a fun birthday, Kensi!" Rosa called after them on their way through the door.
"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" Kensi asked, snuggling into Deeks as she rode in the passenger seat of the truck. They'd been driving for a couple hours now, and the scenery had become distinctly greener and less populated.
"I guess we're close enough. We are going to spend the next four days at a cozy little cabin. It's not Mammoth, but the views and trails are supposed to be amazing," Deeks told her. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "And there's a fireplace and hot tub outside."
"Ooh, sounds romantic." She nuzzled his cheek, letting her hand creep up his thigh. "Where did you hear about it?"
"Kat. She said she stayed in one of the cabins a few years ago and it was amazing."
"Well, if Kat gave it her seal of approval, then it's got to be good. That girl does not like to endure any hardships," Kensi said, and Deeks chuckled in agreement.
"No, she does not. Show ponies and filet mignon."
"I could have done without the ponies, but the food was phenomenal," Kensi admitted. She hadn't known quite what to expect of Deeks' surprise; anything would have been great, but was a little relieved they weren't headed for a four-day survival hike. The past couple years, combined with motherhood had lowered her appreciation for those kinds of activities.
They drove through increasingly winding roads surrounded by forest until they reached a small guardhouse. Deeks showed the guard their pass, and he was provided a small map of the grounds, keys, a pass for the truck and waved through.
"This is gorgeous!" Kensi exclaimed as they drove by rows of luscious trees. Deeks followed the directions on the map, stopping beside a clearing with a wooden cabin.
"This is a little more overgrown than I expected," Deeks commented as they passed a tree growing through the crack between two slats of wood on the porch.
Inside, was a short entryway that immediately opened into a den area decorated with wooden furniture. It was small, but cozy-looking, and contained a fireplace as promised.
"It's cute," Kensi decided.
"I was going for luxurious. As per Kat and the website's reviews. This is more…forest ranger."
"It's rustic, which I happen to like." Nudging his shoulder, Kensi stepped back outside. "C'mon, let's unload the truck and then we can explore the rest of the place."
"Ok. But if the jacuzzi doesn't work, I'm writing a strongly worded Yelp review," he said as he followed her out.
Further exploration revealed most of the rooms had some level of water damage or decrepit amenities. The bathroom also sported a large spider in one corner, which they decided to leave to its own devices—though Deeks reserved the right to squash it if it made any signs of movement. Luckily for the owners, the jacuzzi did in fact work, though it would need a thorough cleaning before it would be fit for use.
They saved the master bedroom for last. Fortunately, the bed seemed reasonably sturdy, and clean. Though the same couldn't be said of the floor beneath it. It creaked with every step, and Kensi didn't point out the dark stains underneath.
Even though it wasn't what Deeks had anticipated, it seemed good enough to her. She didn't think they'd make it out of the bedroom for much of the first couple days.
With that in mind, Kensi threw herself back on the bed, tugging an unsuspecting Deeks with her, one hand tangling in his hair while the other settled comfortable on his lower back. His hands automatically fell to her hips, his body reacting to Kensi's against his.
"Don't you want to check for bed bugs, first?" he asked, his tone only half-joking.
"Baby, we have a full four days to ourselves. As much as I love our children, I'm looking forward to the uninterrupted alone time with you. Are you really going to waste a moment of it worrying about whether or not the sheets are two thousand count thread?" she asked.
"I don't think two thousand is a—"
Kensi cut him off with a kiss, her hand sliding up the back of his shirt. Ot successfully distracted him from any further objections and within moments she had both of them out of their shirts.
Deeks woke sometime later to sunlight streaming across his face and a naked Kensi tucked between his arms. Burrowing his nose in Kensi's neck, he sighed contentedly.
"See, it's not so bad after all," Kensi mumbled sleepily.
"Yeah, but you were willing to have sex with me in the middle of the desert while we were on the run from the federales. Your standards aren't that high," he pointed out. Kensi made a half-hearted swat at his back, that ended more like a caress.
"I was trying to get you to wake up."
"Uh-huh."
"Oh my god!" Kensi groaned. Deeks hid his grin in her shoulder, his body shaking with laughter. "You're terrible." Despite her proclamation, nudged his chin so she could reach his mouth, her lips moving softly over his.
"We should eat something," he said breathily as Kensi kissed her way down his neck and chest.
"I'm not that hungry."
"It won't do us any good if we pass out from exhaustion." At this, Kensi lifted her head, rolling back onto one elbow.
"I hate it when you make sense," she sighed. Planting a hand on his chest, she pushed up, hovering over him. "But when we get done, you're mine." She dipped her head to kiss him one more time, then used his chest to sit up.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Deeks said. Rolling out of bed, he grabbed his discarded shorts, tugged them on, and headed for the kitchen.
Kensi wandered into the kitchen in just his t-shirt about 10 minutes later, finding him in the middle of filling a large pot with water. She peered over his shoulder, examining the boxes and cans spread over the small counters.
"What gourmet meal are you making me?"
"Fettuccini in a rosé sauce. Hopefully. Apparently the state-of-the-art kitchen is a little worse for wear too. Kat and I are going to have a little talk when we get back," he said grimly, frowning at the hand-written sign taped over the oven that read "Out of order".
"It'll be ok," Kensi insisted. "We brought enough food that doesn't need to be cooked or at least doesn't require an oven."
He took a deep breath, reminding himself that he wasn't doing either of them any good by constantly whining. "Sorry, you're right. I just want you to have a nice birthday weekend."
"I already am." Kensi took advantage of his current position to slip her hands in his back pockets and squeeze. "I'm going to go to the bathroom and when I get back, I'll chop vegetables or something."
Deeks continued prepping, getting out a bag of green beans, a jar of tomato sauce, and cream cheese. He was just dumping the sauce into a smaller pan when he heard Kensi make a truly bloodcurdling scream.
He didn't have a gun with him of course, but out of instinct, he grabbed a chef's knife and ran for the bathroom.
"Kensi!" he shouted, kicking the door open. He expected to find blood, an armed intruder, possibly a bomb. He did not anticipate Kensi to be standing over the sink, shaking out her hair. "Kens," he repeated, slowly lowering the knife. "Everything ok?"
She turned around, eyes blazing. "No! I was washing my hands and a toad fell out of the ceiling and on my head."
"A toad?"
"Yes. It was huge. It landed somewhere over there." Pointing towards the other side of the room, she crossed her arms as Deeks poked around. He found said toad cowering—as much as a toad could cower—at one end of the tub.
"Oh, it's just a toad, Kensalina," Deeks said, cupping his hands and lowering them inside the tub. The toad obligingly hopped into them.
"I don't care, they're slimy and gross and I don't want them in my hair."
Deeks tried to keep his amusement at his tough-as-nails, could make a raft out of twigs Kensi freaking out over a two-inch amphibian.
"Do not laugh," she ordered with a fierce expression.
"I would never," he promised, making a hasty exit before broke that promise. "I'll just take this little guy outside."
Fortunately, the rest of the evening passed without any more excitement. Dinner turned out pretty good, and they tumbled into bed, making plans to explore one of the trails the next day. Assuming they made it out of bed in time.
"We should have brought a machete," Deeks said, settling his hands on his hips as he considered the fallen tree blocking their path. "Or maybe an electric saw."
At the start of the leisure trail, everything had been fine. As they got deeper into the woods though, it became clear that no one had been back here in a long time. The path was overgrown with brush and trees had fallen in multiple places. Clearly, things had changed significantly since Kat stayed since Kensi could never imagine her stepping foot on this trail.
It wouldn't have been that bad if Kensi had actually dressed for a wilderness hike. Instead, she'd foolishly worn shorts and a t-shirt, and she was now splattered with mud and scratched up. Deeks hadn't fared much better.
"We should just go back."
"No, we made it this far," Kensi objected. She didn't really know why. She was hot and itchy, and wanted nothing more than to go back to the cabin and shower. Somehow it felt like she'd be giving up if they didn't finish this stupid trail. "There was a sign for a fire pit about half a mile back, let's try and find that."
"Are you sure? Cause I have no problem going back and spending the rest of today in the jacuzzi. Sans Frankie," Deeks told her, and she rolled her eyes.
"I cannot believe you named the toad," she groaned. Together, they turned around, retracing their steps.
"Well, pets have to have a name."
"Oh, we are not keeping that thing. He can have the bathtub back when we leave."
"You mean he's not growing on you?" Deeks teased.
"No. The dog would probably end up eating him at some point anyway," Kensi pointed out, and Deeks grimaced, following her as she took the slight right that the signpost indicated.
After a small incline, they found a small raised wood platform with two benches and chairs surrounding a brick fire pit.
"Huh, they actually told the truth this time," Deeks commented. "I was expecting like a pit of snakes or something.
"Or quicksand," Kensi added with a wry grin. She plopped down on the closest bench, feeling a soreness in her thighs from the unexpected trek.
"This is kind of nice," Deeks admitted, taking the other side of the bench. He put his head back, letting out a relieved sigh.
A second later thunderous crack rolled through the air and without warning a sheet of rain poured down from the sky, instantly penetrating the foliage above.
Kensi stared in shock, completely still for a few seconds, then she started laughing.
"Happy birthday! I've officially gifted you the worst vacation ever!" Deeks shouted over the rain drops. "I'm sorry!"
"Deeks, come here." Beckoning him closer, she grabbed the front of his now soaked shirt and kissed him firmly. She pulled back, her lips smacking against his. "I don't care what we do or where we do it. If it's eating sushi at the most extravagant hotel in the world or chasing toads out of a barely functioning bathtubs, I want to do it with you."
"I wanted this to be special though."
"It is. In its own way," Kensi said. "The fact that you planned all of this, even if it didn't turn out the way we expected, is special. And I love you for it."
"I love you too," Deeks murmured, leaning in for another kiss. They made out for a couple minutes as the rain soaked through their hair and clothes. Deeks pulled back, water dripping off of his nose.
"Do you want to see if we can get the deposit back, find a Super 8, and maybe get some ice cream?"
"Yes," Kensi said immediately. "As quickly as possible."
He laughed, mouth settling into a fond smile.
"Happy birthday, Kensi. Let's never do this again."
A/N: Thanks for reading this silly story!
Side note, up 'til I was around six, we had two pet toads. One was named Frankie.
