mashmaiden

[mashmaiden]

I mean, as expected, I totally got sick of seeing it, but I'm a little sad the first commercial I've worked on is almost done airing! 😂😭

Twas a fun one though!

If you guys see (and get sick of) this commercial this Christmas season, think of me! I got to work as a script supervisor for it when it filmed here in PHX!!

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northern hemisphere babes we made it to the longest night of the year. we made it. for the next 6 months, every day will give us a little more daylight than the last. let's go. take my hand. climb out of the darkness with me

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A/N: Little kids are germ factories.

***

Fatima, at Kensi and Deeks house: Oh, Caleb just picked something up off the floor and ate it! What do we do

Deeks, raising his head: Did it look sharp, poisonous, or battery-esque?

Fatima: No. I think it was part of a waffle. Or possibly toast.

Deeks, relaxing: Oh, that’s fine.

Fatima, in mild disgust: Really? You don’t care that they eat food off the floor?

Kensi: Oh, we used to.

Deeks: But it turns out one year olds like to lick everything.

Kensi, significantly: And he means everything. They also like to put random things in the toilet.

Deeks: And eat mud. Slightly used food is the least of our worries.

Fatima, frowning: Now I’m regretting that raisin Sophia gave me earlier.

[mashmaiden]

Wrongfully Accused

Deeks stormed into Rosa’s high school, Kensi by his side. He was trying extremely hard not to no one of “those” parents right now, but a call from the Dean of Students informing them Rosa had been suspended for the day had him in fight mode.

“Remember, we want to stay calm, professional, and open-minded,” Kensi reminded him. Deeks sent her a look over his shoulder and muttered,

“You’re the one who asked if I could send a threatening letter on my office stationary.”

“I was joking,” she hissed back as they were buzzed into the main office. They stepped up to the front desk, where a woman with short curly hair was on the phone. When she hung up, Deeks pulled on his best customer service smile.

“Hi, I’m Marty Deeks.”

“And I’m Kensi Blye,” Kensi added.

“We’re Rosa Reyes’ parents.”

“Oh yes,” the secretary said, offering them each a stick on visitor badge. “She’s just down the hall. You can go see her, but please wait until the Dean is available to speak with you.”

“Can you tell us what happened?” Kensi asked.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Mr. Ruddell.”

“Of course. Thank you.”

Taking that as a dismissal, they headed in the direction the secretary indicated. They found Rosa sitting outside an office a couple rooms down a long hallway. Her was bowed over her raised knees, her defeated posture increasing Deeks’ concern.

“Rosa,” he called out softly, and she looked up, relief followed by embarrassment flashing across her face.

“Kensi, Deeks,” she said, standing, and accepting a hug from each of them.

“Are you ok?” Kensi asked, cupping Rosa’s cheeks as Deeks looked for visual signs of injury.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She nodded shortly.

“What happened?”

As soon as Deeks asked the question, Rosa glanced down, her reluctance to speak palpable.

“It’s ok. Whatever happened, we’ll figure it out together,” Deeks assured her.

“Mrs. Kelly kicked me out of class,” Rosa finally revealed.

“What? Why?” Deeks asked in surprise. He. Knew Rosa wasn’t perfect, and he’d never held her to that expectation, but he couldn’t imagine her causing any problems worthy of expulsion.

“She said my phone was ringing, but it was not. I always put it on mute or in my locker before a class,” Rosa explained, a bit of fire entering her voice which made Deeks oddly proud.

“Did you tell her that?” Kensi asked.

“Yes. She didn’t believe me though and by the time I got my phone out, the ringing stopped. She told me to gather my things and come down here.”

“Over one phone call?”

Rosa shrugged. “She really doesn’t like students being on their phone during class,” she answered.

“Where’s your phone now?” Deeks asked, falling into lawyer mode.

“Um, she confiscated it before I left the room.”

“I see.”

“What does that mean?” Rosa asked with a hint of nervousness returning. “I promise I didn’t do it.”

“We believe you,” Kensi said, squeezing Rosa’s shoulder. “Deeks is just mentally crafting his defense on your behalf.”

“My defense? I don’t think that’s really necessary.”

“Oh yes it is,” Kensi and Deeks said together. They shared a look.

“You’re not taking the blame for something you didn’t do,” Deeks told Rosa firmly.

“Thank you,” she whispered, offering him a grateful smile.

“That’s kind of our job.”

“Plus, Deeks loves a good reason to argue,” Kensi added.

“Ok, but please try not to scare Mr. Ruddell too badly,” Rosa requested.

“No promises,” Deeks said.

***

A/N: Once again, drawn from a real-life scenario. One time when I was getting ready to take an exam in undergrad, someone’s phone went off. The professor walked up to me and said my phone was ringing. I insisted it wasn’t and started to get my phone out to show him it was off, but whoever did have the ringing phone silenced it before I could. While I didn’t get kicked out, the professor gave me this knowing, judgy look.

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me every day without fail: I'll do [chore] when I get home

me when I get home:

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A/N: Roberta returns to cause more trouble in this dialogue drabble.

***

Roberta: How annoyed would you be if I told you there was a little incident today while you were out?

Deeks, calmly: That is an oddly specific and worrying question. Continue.

Roberta, sighing: Well, Ary—

Deeks, less calmly: I thought we agreed Arkady wasn’t allowed over when we aren’t around.

Roberta, bristling: You make it sound like I’m some kind of a child.

Deeks: Oh no, because my children would and do cause less trouble than when you and Arkady Kolcheck get together. What happened?

Roberta: Arkady got a phone call while he was here and it wasn’t the best news, so he said a couple of choice words, in Russian, and the twins might have heard him. And repeated what he said a couple times.

Deeks, dryly: So now my one year olds can swear in Russian. Perfect.

Roberta: I’m sure they’ll forget it in a couple days. *Deeks glares at her* And on the bright side, they’re picking up another language so quickly.

Deeks, talking to himself: And people ask me why I always look so stressed.

[mashmaiden]

Blunt Force, Part 6

***

Deeks was released late in the afternoon the next day. Between last minute checks, paperwork, and finding someone to take him down to the lobby, he had a headache that had nothing to do with his concussion. Even so, he was beyond grateful to be going home.

Kensi had shown him pictures of his apartment, which was not the same dinky place he remembered. Thank god. That place had been truly awful, but the only thing he could afford a couple years out of law school and on a new public defender’s salary.

“You ready to go?” Kensi asked, coming back in his room with her phone in one hand. “Hetty’s letting me take the day.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Deeks told her immediately, even though the thought of going to an apartment he couldn’t remember setting foot in all by himself terrified him more than he wanted to admit.

“Deeks, I’m not leaving you all alone for your first day out of the hospital,” she said in an exasperated tone, echoing his thoughts. She had an uncanny ability to do that; he didn’t know if it solely came from working together so closely or something more.

He exhaled softly. “Thank you.”

A few minutes later, he’d been wheeled out into the parking lot and safely loaded up into Kensi’s SUV. As Kensi carefully pulled out onto the road, he had the strangest sense of deja vu. He had no specific memory, just feeling that he’d been in this seat before, leaving a hospital with Kensi.

He didn’t say anything, not wanting to give Kensi false hope. Or himself.

Silence settled around them, but it wasn’t awkward. Deeks looked out the window, watching houses and trees pass by until the blur started to make him dizzy. Then he closed his eyes, and within minutes, the motion of the car lulled him to sleep.

***

Deeks jerked awake to Kensi gently shaking his shoulder.

“Ugh, sorry,” he muttered, blinking rapidly.

“You don’t have to apologize for falling asleep. You looked so comfortable there, I feel bad about waking you up,” she said, standing by while he slid out of the passenger seat.

He walked up to the apartment Kensi had shown him, conscious of her at his shoulder. He found the keys Sam Hanna gave him and unlocked the door, hesitating momentarily before he crossed the threshold.

It opened up into a living room area, furnished with a couch, television, and a good amount of pictures and other decorative pieces. He recognized one of the surfboards on the wall and his old guitar. So some things hadn’t changed completely. There were a couple pieces, like the gigantic light up arrow, he questioned.

“Do I still surf much?” he asked, wandering over to run his fingers over the waxy surface.

“Whenever you can. I know you want to more, but we work a lot of weekends,” Kensi answered.

“I guess not much has changed then. I get up, used to get up, before the sun to surf on days I had back-to-back cases.” He turned to a skateboard also standing upright against the wall near the door.

“You’ve taken me with a few times. We even went undercover as surfers once.”

Twisting his head to look at Kensi, he saw her standing behind him with her fingers tightly intertwined, face carefully blank.

“Really. Are you any good?”

“I’m not bad,” she said, holding his gaze for all of five seconds before she sighed in exasperation. “Damn, I can’t lie to the guy with amnesia. I’m not you. There, does that make you happy?”

“A little,” he said. Abandoning his explorations, he sat on the couch. Embarrassingly, just standing for a few minutes had sapped his energy.

“Can I make you something to eat? I can’t really cook, but I could heat up soup or make a sandwich,” Kensi said.

“I’m not really hungry.”

She smiled faintly. “Normally, you’d make some joke about how I think pop tarts are a gourmet meal.”

“Do you think that’s a gourmet meal?” he asked, gratified when her smile widened. He liked making her laugh and smile a little bit too much.

“No! But they’re good,” she protested, the immediacy of her response making him think this had been a common line of conversation between them. She sat down on the other side of the couch, seeming more comfortable in the face of their “argument”.

Resting his cheek on his fist, he regarded her with interest.

“Ok, what else classifies as edible on Kensi Blye’s list?” he wondered. She’d shared so much about him, but relatively about herself.

“Don’t laugh.” She gave him a severe look, to which he held up his hands, then she said, “Twinkies.”

“I’m sensing a pattern here. Is that why there were candy wrappers all over the floor of your car?”

“There were not!”

“I saw a Snickers and a Twix one right under the floor mat.”

“Oh my god, even with amnesia you’re obnoxious,” she groaned, crossing over the midpoint of the couch so she could gently elbow him. Despite her groans and protests, he got the distinct feeling she was enjoying herself.

“That’s not a no,” he pointed out. Tossing her head back, she gave in.

“Fine. Yes, I love junk food and I am a huge slob. I don’t fold clothes, I hate washing dishes, and if you didn’t keep up on it, the entire SUV would be covered in take out containers.”

This was the most animated he’d seen her in the last three days. It was fascinating. He relaxed into the couch cushions, Kensi’s arm brushing against his.

“Sounds like my college roommate.” He shifted again, trying to find a comfortable position. “So, you told me we met on a shared case. What was it about? Did we interact much?”

Kensi chuckled at that, and he had the sense she’d thought of some inside joke. “We met on a case where we were both undercover, only neither of us realized it at first.”

“Ooh, that sounds like fun.”

“Not exactly. You were undercover at an MMA gym, and had been for quite a while by the time we came into the picture,” Kensi explained, shaking her head with mild amusement. “We clocked each other right away. Well, I thought you were sketchy and you didn’t believe I was our victim’s girlfriend.” She paused to catch his eye. “I’ve never had anyone call me out that quickly. And I’ve also never admitted that to anyone, including you,” she admitted.

Deeks sensed the importance of that revelation and decided not to tease about it. Maybe he would have under normal circumstance, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment.

“Anyway, then Sam went in as a very experienced fighter. Since the gym had a heavy military background, they welcomed him in right away and offered the position you’d been working for right away. You ended up fighting it out for the spot,” Kensi continued.

“Seriously? I fought the guy who came here yesterday. The Mr. T wannabe?” Deeks demanded, vaguely amazed and horrified. Kensi snorted, pressing her lips together.

“I wouldn’t suggest calling Sam that to his face.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t seem wise. How did I not die?”

“You actually held your own pretty well for being in a completely different weight group than Sam. Not to mention, you were a lot leaner back then.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You know what I mean.” She knocked his shoulder with the back of her hand, leaving it there. “We’ve been through a lot together,” she murmured, wiping her knuckles over her cheek, though not fast enough to stop a tear from escaping.

“Hey, it’s ok,” Deeks told her, automatically reaching to comfort her.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized in a slightly nasally voice. “You shouldn’t have to worry about me.”

“I don’t mind.” Taking care of other people came naturally to him.

“I just—” Inhaling deeply, she held it for several seconds, and when she exhaled again, seemed to have more control. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, and I’m not blaming you at all, but it feels like I’ve lost you.”

Not sure what to say, Deeks lifted his free arm in invitation. Kensi buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. As he held her, slowly running his hand over her upper back, he felt a surge of protectiveness and affection.

“I may not remember meeting you the first time, or anything that happened after, but I’d like to get to know you again,” he said after a few minutes.

Kensi lifted her head, her eyes heartbreakingly hopeful. “Really?”

“Absolutely.”

Her eyes dropped to his lips then before drifting back up to meet his. She didn’t try to conceal the longing. Drifting closer, Deeks waited for Kensi to move back, to object, to do anything to indicate she didn’t want this. When she stayed, lips slightly parted and eyes still wide, he closed that last inch between them, kissing her.

Her lips were soft and slightly hesitant on his for a second. She tentatively deepened the kiss, cupping the back of his head in a way that felt both felt both strangely familiar and completely new. Electric.

Their lips parted and Kensi pulled away from him slowly.

“We don’t do this, do we?” he asked softly.

“No, but we wanted to,” Kensi answered. “At least I did.”

Deeks didn’t know what to do with that. Before he could even think of a response, Kensi scrambled up from the sofa. He missed her warmth and touch as soon as she was out of reach.

“I better go. You need rest.”

“We should talk about what just happened.” He started to get up but Kensi waved him back down, almost frantically. “No, don’t get up. I—call if you need anything.”

She was out the door with an impressive amount of speed, leaving Deeks to blink in confusion.

“What the hell just happened?” he muttered to himself.

***

A/N: So, that was dramatic. As much as she might want to, Kensi still can’t let herself take that leap just yet.

[mashmaiden]

A/N: Can you believe Kensi and Deek have been together for 10 years?

***

Ten Years Strong

Deeks wandered out of Sophia and Caleb’s room with Kensi, each holding a twin. He suppressed a huge yawn as Kensi proposed their schedule for the day.

“I’m just saying it we go to the store first then we won’t have to—”

Deeks yelped, covering Sophia’s face instinctively as something banged. It took him about three seconds to register the confetti floating through the air and Rosa standing in front of the dining room table with a party popper.

“What is going on?” Kensi asked.

“Happy anniversary!” Rosa said and pulled the string on another popper. Caleb and Sophia both clapped their hands excitedly, scrambling to get down and gather up the bits of shredded paper.

“I seem to recall our anniversary isn’t until the spring,” Deeks said, his heart rate starting to return to a normal level.

“Oh come on, I don’t believe you’ve forgotten about All-in day. You’ve only mentioned it about a hundred time since I met you,” she teased.

“Honestly, my primary thought before this was ‘coffee’,” Kensi admitted.

“Same.”

“I thought you might have forgotten since you’ve been so busy,” Rosa explained, stepping to the side to reveal buffet style breakfast laid out on the table.

“Rosa, you made all of this?” Kensi examined the stacks of waffles, pancakes, bacon, and berries.

“It wasn’t hard.”

“Rose, you did not have to do all this,” Deeks said, thinking of how early she must have woken up to prepare everything.

“I wanted to,” she insisted. “I know how important today is for you, so wanted it to be special.”

“Well, we appreciate it.” Holding out his arm, Deeks hugged Rosa tightly, shifting her to one side to welcome Kensi into the fold. “Thank you.”

“We love you,” Kensi added.

“Love you too.” Hugging them for a few more seconds, Rosa moved back, gesturing to the table. “Let’s before the food gets cold.”

“Food?” Caleb inquired, distracted from stuffing confetti in his mouth at the prospect of eating.

“Yes, it’s time to celebrate mom and dad. You should get used to celebrating anniversaries,” Rosa told the twins, flashing him a grin. “There are many.”

“Ok!” Caleb responded easily.

“Takes?” Sophia asked.

“Yes, there are pancakes, Sophie.”

Watching Rosa gently encourage them to come to the table, Deeks wrapped his arm around Kensi’s shoulders again.

“We really got lucky when we decided to give us a try ten years ago,” he mused.

“We did.” Kensi kissed him gently. “Happy all-in day, baby.”

[mashmaiden]

A/N: This one comes thanks to my nephews.

***

Hippy Songs

“You know, I thought the “Baby Shark” phase was annoying,” Kensi said, raising her voice to talk over the music playing in the van. “‘Apples and Bananas’ might have that beat.”

“The banaynays getting to you again?” Deeks asked, looking away from the road just long enough to grin at her.

“Oh my god, I can practically hear it in my sleep.”

“Yeah, but nothing can compare to the Elmo days.”

“Daddy, can we listen to the bird guy?” Caleb requested after the third repeat of “Baby Shark”. Deeks looked in the rear view mirror to see him playing with a small superhero figurine and Sophia squishing a sensory ball.

Frowning, Deeks tried to think of any group with a bird in the name. “What bird guy? You mean the Eagles?”

“No, he’s a, a—Sophia, what’s he called again?”

“Joe Driver,” Sophia replied confidently. Deeks shook his head, still at a complete loss, looking to Kensi, who just shrugged.

“You know, he’s your favorite, daddy. He sings about the airplanes and Rocky road Mountains,” Caleb.

“Oh, John Denver,” Deeks said as Kensi snorted beside him, covering her mouth. “I would love to play John Denver for you.” He switched from the kids playlist to the one Kensi had jokingly named “Deeks’ Hippy Songs” and he’d never bothered to rename.

“So much better,” Kensi sighed.

“Words I never thought I’d hear.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’ve changed. I like your hippy songs too.”

Grinning again, Deeks joined in with John, Caleb, and Sophia, singing Rocky Mountain High at the top of his lungs. With a roll of her eyes, Kensi joined in too.

In the short pause the followed the end of the song, Caleb’s voice piped up again.

“What does Rocky Mountain High mean?”

“Uhhhh,” Deeks said, looking to Kensi again, who patted him on the arm.

“This one’s all on you, baby.”

“Um, he’s talking about when you get to the very top of the moment,” he came up with, and Caleb sat back, considering the information. He added more quietly to Kensi, “We’ll circle back to that one when they’re older.”

***

A/N: As mentioned, inspired by my nephews, who have started calling a certain singer, “Bang Crispy”. Any guesses?

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First ever recorded snowball fight (1897)

Happy Holidays And Merry Christmas To All!

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Friday the Thirteenth

“Guys, it Friday the Thirteenth today with a full moon on Sunday,” Deeks announced as he strolled into the bullpen with Kensi. “Expect pure insanity.”

“Deeks, are you really still on all this superstitious garbage?” Sam asked incredulously.

“I find that very offensive.”

Sam looked to Kensi and Callen for support. “C’mon, you both know none of this is real, right?”

Kensi shrugged, setting up her desk. “I don’t know, he’s been pretty spot on at predicting these things in the past,” she said.

“How much would it bug you if I say he won me over?” Callen wondered, stroking his chin.

“You’re the reason I have to do deep breathing exercises,” Sam told him with obvious disgust, turning back to Deeks. “It’s not real.”

“Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Sucking a breath between his teeth, Deeks gave Sam a pitying look.

“Right, let me check with my fortune teller first,” he scoffed, and Deeks laughed.

“I think the preferred term is ‘psychic’”

“Unbelievable.”

A short and remarkably normal whistle alerted them to Eric’s presence above them in the stairs. “Hey guys, we’ve got a new case. A missing laptop with confidential information.”

Together, they trekked upstairs, walking into OPS, occupied by Eric and only the support staff.

“Where’s Nell?” Kensi asked.

“Oh, she had a mishap with her coffee on the way out the door this morning, so she had to go back in and change. She should be here soon though,” Eric explained.

“Interesting,” Deeks commented under his breath, earning a warning glare from Sam.

“Don't start.”

Eric gave them both a curious look, and Deeks mouthed, “Friday the Thirteenth”.

“Ah,” Eric mouthed back. “Ok, well, like I said, there’s a laptop missing and the security company it belongs to, would like it back as soon as possible.”

Twenty minutes later, Kensi and Deeks were tasked with visiting the security firm while Callen and Sam went to question a witness. On his way out the sliding doors, Sam tripped, narrowly catching himself on the wall.

Callen grabbed his arm to steady him, eyeing him dubiously. “You ok there, partner?”

“Yeah, the floor is just uneven. Someone should fix that,” Sam grumbled.

“Right. I don’t remember it being uneven before. Maybe it’s time to look into some orthotics.”

As they walked out, Kensi turned to Deeks. “Are you having fun?” she asked.

“A little. Do you mind?”

Closing the distance between them, Kensi touched her lips to his. “No. I like seeing you happy.”

***

“Hey, did you find anything on that Jackson guy?” Deeks asked, peering over Kensi’s shoulder. They each had a couple boxes of paper files—the security company had refused to hand over anything digital—and were working their way through past and present employees. “He gave me a weird feeling.”

“And I always trust your weird feelings,” Kensi said, shuffling through her “finished stack”. “Let me see. He has a string of speeding tickets, but nothing else jumped out at me.”

“Hmm. I’ll ask Eric if he can dig a little deeper. I still—”

The sound of the main entrance door slamming shut, followed by Sam’s irritated voice had Deeks breaking off and craning his head with interest.

“No, I don’t want any of your food. I told you I’m not hungry, and of you wave that thing in my face one more time, I’m throwing it out the window.”

“Those sound like the words of a man who needs lunch,” Callen replied, blatantly unconcerned.

Frowning, Kensi stood up, waiting for the two to enter the bullpen. “Are you guys ok?” she asked, looking both men over. They seemed none the worse for wear, if a little sweaty.

“The Challenger stalled out on the way back from talking to our witness. Had to call Castor to pick us up,” Sam explained shortly.

“And someone missed lunch,” Callen added helpfully.

“Friday the thirteenth,” Deeks said. He emphasized the three words with a nod. “We should all go home.”

“Are you done? It’s nothing to do with the day, it’s just bad—”

“Luck?” Deeks finished innocently. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that, brother.” He patted Sam on the shoulder. “Personally, I’ll be stepping gingerly and staying far away from both of you for the rest of the day.”

“For the last time, there is no such thing as bad luck due to Friday the thirteenth, the size of the moon, or mercury’s position,” Sam ranted. “Neither are broken mirrors, black cats, or stepping on a damn crack in the concrete for that matter.”

“I don’t know, Sam,” Kensi spoke up, pressing her knuckles to her mouth. “There have been a lot of accidents today. First with Nell, then you tripping on air—”

“It was the floor.”

“And now the Challenger. It seems like more than coincidence.”

“She makes a very good point,” Deeks agreed. Looking between them in disgust, Sam muttered something under his breath.

“I need a drink. None of you follow me.”

“Kensi Blye, I’m surprised to see you joining in on the bit,” Callen said.

She shrugged, looking at Deek fondly. “Well, I am married to Deeks after all, so I figured I should back him up. Besides, it’s kind of fun.”

“I knew I’d make a troublemaker out of you eventually,” Deeks said proudly.

***

The rest of the day continued with an odd series of mishaps. Various objects stopped working, Eric’s favorite tablet shorted out after Sam touched it, and the burn room door refused to open. Oddly enough, the only two who were completely spared were Kensi and Deeks, to Sam’s annoyance.

“Hey, you have to respect it,” Deeks explained when Callen questioned how he’d managed to get through the day completely unscathed.

“Uh-huh. You wouldn’t have planned any of these little incidents would you?”

“I appreciate you think I could plan all this, but I think making the Challenger’s transmission fail is not only beyond my skill level, but slightly more diabolical than my usual style.”

“It is weird though,” Kensi commented.

“I’m telling you, it’s a superstition for a reason,” Deeks said.

“You’re not going to disagree again, Sam?” Callen looked across the bullpen.

“Nope.” Sam studiously contracted on the after case forms on his desk. “I’ve already stated my argument. I’m not repeating myself.” A second later he swore loudly, brushing at his pants. “My pen just broke.”

Deeks peered over his arm to see ink splattered over the newly completed forms, Sam’s desk, and his pants and shirt.

“Not a word,” he said between gritted teeth.

Deeks stayed silent; even he wasn’t that cruel. With the air of a man past his limit, Sam stood up, tossing the ruined pen onto his desk.

“I’m going home.” He grabbed his duffel bag, shoulders bunched. As he walked away, he muttered, “Damn full moon.”

***

A/N: I’m afraid I put Sam through it in this one. For once, Kensi and Deeks weren’t on the receiving end.

[mashmaiden]

[mashmaiden]

A/N: The first time Rosa calls Deeks dad.

***

The first time it happens, it’s not planned out or some moment of particular significance. It’s about two years since they adopted Rosa, and Deeks is dropping her off at college since her car has a flat tire.

“You got everything?” Deeks asks, watching her grab her backpack, water bottle, and phone.

“I think so.” She frowns, patting down her pockets, and nods. “Yes, I do.”

“Ok, I’ll pick you up at 4:30 by the fountain. Do you want me to pick you up something to eat? I can swing by the sushi place around here.”

��That would be nice,” Rosa says. “If you have time, maybe we can eat in.”

“I like it. Too bad Kensi’s busy all day because she’s going to be so jealous,” he anticipates, and Rosa nods, laughing softly. “Alright, I’ll see you later, Rosalie. Have a good day and call if you need anything.”

“I will. Thanks, dad.”

She’s almost out of the truck when Deeks registers what she just said. He stays frozen, not sure if he should respond at all. It was probably an accident, a slip of the tongue. Then she turns around, her eyes a little wide and shocked.

“I—”

“It’s ok,” Deeks assures her quickly.

“No, I—see you later, dad,” she says, repeating the last word with purpose.