A/N: This takes place sometime early season 6.

"What do you mean you can't come?" Kensi demanded, swinging into the bullpen with her phone glued to her ear and practically throwing her bag next to her desk. "We had this planned for months. You promised."

Deeks watched, his interest definitely piqued as Kensi alternated between bribes and threats. He was slightly terrified for the person who had backed out on her.

With a few last scathing words, she hung up and threw her phone down with a growl. She braced her hands on the surface, pinning Deeks with a warning glare.

"Don't start."

"I wasn't planning to," Deeks assured her. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"One of my friends from college is getting married, this weekend, and my date just cancelled," she said from behind her teeth.

"I didn't realize you were seeing anyone." And whoever he, he was an idiot to blow a date with Kensi Blye.

"I'm not," Kensi snapped, sounding annoyed. "It's a guy I met a few months ago through a mutual friend and I got him to agree to be my plus one for this wedding."

"Oh." He felt oddly relieved by her revelation, but chose not examine that particular feeling. "I'm sorry. But your friend will understand, right?"

Kensi sighed, plopping into her seat, looking fed up.

"I never have a date to any of these thing. Weddings, engagements…I'm always single and it's kind of a running joke. I thought that if I brought somebody this time, the questions and offers to set me up with any "eligible" guy would stop for at least a little while."

"Well, maybe you can still find someone," Deeks suggested.

"Three days before the wedding?"

"Hey, a guy can do worse than a free meal and an open bar." She still didn't seem impressed by the idea.

"Deeks, it took me weeks to find a guy, get him to talk to me, and then figure out if he could make it," she said, rubbing her hands over her face. "I don't think I'd have time."

Kensi sighed again, looking morose, and Deeks started searching through his stash of chocolate, figuring she needed a pick me up.

"Unless," Kensi said suddenly, the excited tone of her voice making him look up. He leaned back warily, a package of snickers on one hand, as she eyed. "You could be my plus one."

Kensi crossed her arms over her chest to keep herself from fiddling with her nails. If she wasn't careful, she'd have her fresh manicure chipped away in minutes.

When she'd initially suggested that Deeks go as her date to the wedding, it seemed like a perfect solution. She was in a bind and Deeks agreed readily enough. It was only after she got home and let herself think about the implications, that she began to freak out.

She glanced over at Deeks in the driver's seat, his body calm and relaxed as he drove. He wore a light blue dress shirt and black pants, a suitable outfit for a wedding without being overdone as a plus one. His hair curled neatly around his face, highlighting the strength of his jaw.

Looking away before Deeks could notice the intensity of her gaze, Kensi straightened the edge of her dress, focusing on the satiny black material.

"Remember, I work for a security company now," Kensi reminded Deeks, pulling from the updated bio she'd invented for herself. "That's where I met you. We've been seeing each other for about 4 months."

"I got it."

"And you're a lawyer who-"

"Kens," he interrupted gently. "This kind of thing is literally our job. Besides, it's not the first time I've been a fake date for a wedding."

"Wait, you've done this before?"

"Or a funeral," he added, throwing her a quirked smile.

"Why would anyone need a date for a funeral?" Kensi asked despite herself.

"Let's just say, I needed $500 and she was very wealthy and lonely," Deeks replied. Kensi had roughly a dozen more questions and would normally be reveling in the blackmail worthy information, but right now she needed to focus.

"Deeks I appreciate that you're trying to distract me, but now is not the time. We have to prepare for an evening of pretending we're dating."

"We are prepared. Everyone will believe we're completely and disgustingly in love." He reached over to her side and squeezed her hand. "We got this."

"See, this isn't so bad, right?" Deeks asked quietly as he leaned over to fill her wineglass.

"It hasn't been disastrous," she allowed. Honestly, everything had gone pretty much perfectly. They'd arrived a little early and had time to talk with a few of her friends before being seated.

Deeks had charmed them and played his part well, taking the brunt of conversation off Kensi by bringing up a totally fabricated story about recent trip to Hawaii. Now they were halfway through dinner and the rest of the guests were dancing and moving between tables.

"It would have been nice to know you were planning to tell stories."

"But then your reaction wouldn't have been genuine." Deeks took her hand, something he'd been doing all evening. The first couple times, she'd flinched a little, used to shrugging off that kind of contact in public. Now, after a few drinks, she'd relaxed enough to enjoy his warm skin on hers.

"I can dial it back if you want me to though," he offered. "I know I get a little too enthusiastic sometimes."

"No, you've been great. Thank you," she said sincerely.

"Oh my god, there's my little love bird," one of Kensi's friends shouted loudly enough for the whole table to hear. Her blonde hair was still curled perfectly around her shoulders, but she'd ditched her heels and held a bundle of gauzy material in one hand to keep herself from tripping.

"Hi Liz."

"Kensi, it is so good to see you!" Liz exclaimed, bending over to hug Kensi. She quickly turned her attention to Deeks, placing a familiar hand on his shoulder. "And now tell me all about this guy."

"This is my boyfriend, Marty. He's a lawyer," Kensi shared.

"Ooh-la-la. Well, Kensi you certainly picked out a cute one. Oh my gosh, look at that hair." She pressed both hands over her chest, making a gasping sound.

"It's nice to meet you, Liz,"

"Oh, and that voice. Ok, so tell me exactly how you met. I want all the details," Liz insisted, sitting on Deeks' other side.

"We met at my company. You know, I word for a security firm and Marty was called in to consult on some legal aspects."

"Oh come on, Kensi, you gotta give me more than that."

"Kensi is just shy about it," Deek spoke up. "We actually met during a really long case. At first we didn't like each other very much, we bickered a lot and I'm pretty sure Kensi thought I was the most annoying person in the world. But after a while, we got used to it and ended up spending a lot of late nights together.

"There was this one night, we were both so exhausted we were both about to fall asleep." He paused to glance at Kensi, like he was sharing a remembered moment with her.

"So, Kensi asked me if I wanted to grab coffee at this little diner a few blocks away. It was probably after midnight and when we got there, the waitress looked at us like were crazy, but she brought us the coffee."

Kensi squeezed his hand under the table, leaning closer to him, adding,

"We talked for hours over that terrible coffee until the waitress kicked us out." Deeks smiled, looking pleased by the added detail. Next to him, Liz was completely engrossed, her chin balanced on her fist as she listened.

"As we were walking back to the office, Kensi leaned over and kissed me out of the blue. And then she informed me that it wasn't the worst first date she'd ever been on, but I'd have to work harder on the next one."

"So where'd you take her?" Liz asked.

"I, uh, have this little cabs in up in the mountains and I took her there the next free weekend we had," Deeks answered, brushing a strand of hair back from Kensi's cheek. "It was absolutely perfect."

"It was," Kensi agreed. Glancing at Liz, Kensi figured she might as well go for broke, and cupped her hand on Deeks' jaw, and kissed him lightly. To his credit, Deeks followed her lead without missing a beat.

Kensi enjoyed the few seconds of his lips pressed to hers before she pulled back.

"Oh my god, that is so romantic," Liz sighed, squeezing Deeks' arm again. "You two are just too perfect. I'm so glad you finally found someone after all this time, Kensi."

"Me too."

A slow ballad started playing in the background and Deeks gave Kensi a knowing look.

"Babe, it's your song. Can I have this dance?" Pressing her lips together, Kensi accepted his offered hand and let him help her out of her seat.

"Of course."

"It was great to meet you, Liz," he said, giving her a smile that made her sigh gently.

Kensi waited until they were on the dance floor, her chin resting on Deeks' shoulder.

"I'm not sure you needed to lay the charm on quite so thick," she murmured, lifting her head for a second to see Deeks shrug. He looked extremely pleased with himself. "Poor Liz is probably still swooning over there."

"Hey, I promised I would make them believe we were dating and I think I accomplished that mission," he pointed out.

"Well, you're right about that. I bet Liz will have half the party talking about us by tomorrow."

"Did I embarrass you?" he asked softly, genuine concern in his eyes. God, he was too much sometimes. Leaning up to kiss his cheek, Kensi curled her arms around his neck.

"No, Deeks. You were absolutely perfect."

A soft smile tugged at his lips and he rested his palm in the middle of her back, holding her even closer as they continued dance.