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Kensi walks into their house and immediately knows something is off. Deeks is kneeling on the floor, ear pressed against the wall, eyes closed in concentration.
"Deeks? What are you doing?" she asks, setting her bag down on the kitchen table. "What's going on?"
He jumps at the sound of her voice, turning to face her with a look of concern on his face. His worry briefly flashes away, his eyes darkening when he traces her long legs, but it comes back tenfold when a crash sounds next door. "Shhh, it's happening again."
Kensi lets out a sigh of long-suffering, knowing exactly what he's talking about, but asking anyway. "What's happening again, baby?"
"He's hitting her again," Deeks says simply, blue eyes still darkened but for a completely different reason.
"We don't know that's what's happening here, we have talked about this," Kensi states, not wanting to dismiss Deeks' concerns but also not wanting to jump the gun. "For all we know they could be doing renovations."
Deeks shakes his head and gestures for her to come over and listen.
Kensi reluctantly nods and kneels down beside him, pressing her ear to the wall. She can hear the muffled sounds of a woman crying, and a man shouting in the background. "Maybe they're watching a very emotional movie?" She suggests.
"I know what house renovations sound like, and this isn't it," Deeks argues, abandoning his post by the wall and moving to the window. "I've also seen you watch Titanic a million times, and this is a different type of crying."
Kensi chuckles but shakes her head. "Maybe, but it's not something for us to deal with. We're supposed to be keeping our heads down," she pleads, joining Deeks by the window. She wraps her arms around him and rests her head on his shoulder, raising on her toes to kiss his cheek. Eventually she turns him away from the window and presses a kiss to his lips, trying to distract him.
Deeks deepens the kiss but just as quickly pushes away and looks at her, a pleading look in his eyes. "Kens, please. You know I've been hearing it for a few days now, and it's getting worse. I can't just sit here and do nothing."
Kensi presses their foreheads together and whispers, "Since we got married, we've already moved four times. I know a couple were due to the job, but there's also that one time you thought our neighbors were smugglers, and then you were convinced the old lady next door was working for Kessler. And I really don't want to have to move again. I so happen to love this house, and Rosa is settling down. She's in a good school and is making friends."
Deeks sighs and smiles sheepishly at her. "Okay, I was way off about the smugglers, but I still think there was something off about Edith, we just moved before I could prove it." He drops his head on Kensi's shoulder and holds her close, some of the tension ebbing from his back.
She hugs him back and they stay like that for a few minutes, but then another crash sounds from the house, followed by a shriek and what appears to be glass breaking. Deeks tenses again and dislodges himself from her arms, turning back to look out the window.
Kensi sighs and runs a hand over her face, dropping on the couch with a grunt. "Deeks, it could be a dog playing and hitting some furniture, or kids running around the house. Or they could be having issues with their plumbing or replacing the carpet. I'm not saying it's not what you think, but we can't be sure."
Deeks shakes his head, and turns around, running a hand through his hair, pushing back the wayward curls that fall on his eyes. "Kens, I know what domestic abuse sounds like," he murmurs, holding her gaze. "I wish a neighbor had cared enough when I was a kid to try to interfere. Now I can do that for someone else and I need to do it. I need to stop another 11-year-old from having to shoot their father."
"We don't even know if they have kids," Kensi tries, but stops as she takes in his broken expression. His eyes are on her, but he looks haunted, and his mind's eye is clearly lost in memories of a long-lost past. "Okay, let's call the cops then. Let them handle it."
"Cops won't do anything. She will say it was an accident and they will go and turn a blind eye to what's in front of their eyes." Deeks keeps talking as he walks to the bedroom, coming back wearing boots, and a jacket, the outline of his off-duty weapon hidden enough for a civilian but not well enough for his partner to miss. "Besides, there's nothing an abuser hates more than cops showing up unexpectedly at their door."
"Yes, and I'm sure they will love a couple of federal agents instead," Kensi deadpans.
"I'm not an agent. I'm an investigator," Deeks says matter-of-factly.
"You say that like any of us even knows what the difference is," Kensi says, standing up from the couch and catching Deeks' wrist.
A fleeting grin crosses Deeks' lips but he quickly pushes it away. "I don't have to go like an agent or investigator, I can be a concerned neighbor wanting to know if everything is okay, or just a clueless neighbor asking for some salt." Deeks softly pulls his arm away and continues to the front door. He sets his hand on the handle and turns around, his expression still serious but a twinkle in his eye. "Or I can just say my wifey is baking a cake and ran out of sugar." He grins and her eye roll is so automatic, so quick and familiar, that he almost misses it.
Kensi tries to pin him with a serious look, but a soft smile breaks over her face anyway. "Yeah, right. Like I ever bake anything."
"Yeah, you just buy a cake and try to make everyone believe you bake it." Deeks's lips curve upward into a smile at the memory from so long ago. "But they don't know that."
Kensi's eyes crinkle in silent response. She worries at her bottom lip, like Deeks has seen her do a thousand times when he's trying to make her laugh and she's trying to resist. It's as distractingly sexy as it's telling, and his resolve almost crumbles, forgetting about the neighbors and taking her to the bedroom instead.
Kensi sees her husband run his tongue over his lips and feels her body respond. Her feet automatically carry her a few steps forward and her hands are suddenly on him. One hand tangles on his hair and the other braces against his chest as though to get her point across. "Are you sure you don't want to call the cops to deal with that and go have some fun in the bedroom? Rosa won't be home for a few hours," she whispers next to his ear, tickling the soft skin there, before she inches down and presses a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth.
"I, uh, I-" Deeks is uncharacteristically at a loss for words, his mouth chasing after hers when she pulls back. He scrapes his teeth against her bottom lip and his eyes linger on them.
She laughs and tiptoes back towards their bedroom, her hands beckoning Deeks forward.
Deeks' first instinct is to follow, to not let her go so easily, but he has a duty that goes far beyond the LAPD oath he once swore and the NCIS manual he now follows. "Let's put a pause to this and we will continue later," he says, opening the door. "I'll be right back. You don't have to come."
Kensi groans and stops in her tracks, knowing she'd follow him anywhere he goes. "You're not going alone, Deeks. Give me a minute." She leans down and puts her shoes back on, then goes to grab her gun and badge and follows him out the door.
"Thank you," he says softly, his all-too-familiar grin finding its natural place on his face.
Kensi grins and squeezes his hand. "Anytime, partner. Now let's go bust down some doors."
"Wait, no, no. No busting down doors. We're just trying to help not cause more trouble," Deeks calls when he's left alone to chase after her, silently wondering why he thought it was a good idea to get his kickass wife to go confront their neighbors.
-x-x-x-
Together they make their way to their neighbor's house and softly knock on the door. As they wait, they take stock of the decaying plants on the sad looking pots on the porch and how all the curtains in the house are drawn. Eventually, a woman answers and they introduce themselves as neighbors, recalling how they met once why taking out the trash.
She reminds them her name is Cindy and tries to make some small talk but hesitates when her husband calls from inside the house demanding she turn the solicitors away. "I'm sorry, I was right in the middle of making dinner," she explains, blushing, but it's barely visible over the bruise already forming on her cheek.
"Is everything okay?" Deeks asks quickly as she begins to push the door shut. "We've noticed some noise coming from your house and wanted to make sure everything is alright," he says, trying to keep his tone light and not acussing.
Cindy's eyes flash and she inadvertently turns around back to the house. She opens her mouth but before she can say anything her husband, Johnny, steps up beside her. He instantly sets a hand on her hip and keeps the other behind the door, as if to limit their view of the inside.
"We don't want whatever you're offering, you can go now," Johnny says, trying to sound polite but coming across as demanding.
"We're not trying to sell you anything, we're your neighbors," Kensi interjects, signaling to their house. "We came to see if everything was alright after hearing some concerning noises."
Johnny seems taken aback by her directness but quickly composes himself. "Oh, sorry. Everything's fine. Just a minor disagreement while organizing the kitchen." He waves his hand dismissively and begins to pull his wife back inside.
Kensi can tell that he's not being entirely truthful and doubts the wife would risk saying anything incriminating in front of him. She glances over at Deeks, silently asking how far away he wants to take this.
Deeks subtly shakes his head, and says, "All good then. We also wanted to know if you've been having problems with your plumping or if it's just us."
Both Johnny and Kensi turn to him dumbfounded but he just smiles in return. "We got a leak, and the guy said it was due to old pipes. We're still new in the neighborhood so we were wondering if you have had any issues like that."
Johnny narrows his eyes, his defenses up after the abrupt subject change, but he answers anyway, "I can't say we have. But anything like that should have come up in your inspection so why don't you contact your realtor and let us move on with our night."
"We did," Deeks explains, "he said we should ask some of the neighbors to see if it's a community-wide issue. If you come with Kensi, she can show you."
Johnny reluctantly nods and follows Kensi across their yards, calling behind his back. "Go back inside, honey. I'll be right behind you. And remember I don't like my steak burned."
As they near the house, Kensi turns to look at Deeks and lifts her brow in a way that would be entirely threatening if she didn't look so hot, silently asking what the hell she's supposed to show him.
Deeks shrugs and throws her a wink as if to say you're a federal agent specializing in undercover work, figure it out.
Once Johnny is out of sight, Cindy tries to retreat back into the house, but Deeks asks her to listen to him for a second. He makes sure to take a step back as he speaks, his tone as soft and non-threatening as he can muster. "I think I know what's going on here and I know it's hard. I've been there before." At Cindy's disbelieving look, he raises his shirt slightly and points to a faint scar over his ribs. "It was a beer bottle when I was seven."
"I'm sorry," Cindy murmurs, and blinks her eyes rapidly but they fill even quicker.
"Thank you," Deeks says honestly. He knows the husband won't stay away for long, so he steers the conversation back towards her. "We can help you, if you want. You just say the word."
"He's not- He's not really." Cindy stops and wipes her tears away, winces when she bumps her blackening eye. It seems to spur her on and she nods. "How?"
"First we start by getting you away from here. I have some friends who can take you in for the night, or we can pick a shelter. I've volunteered at a few around LA, I can get you a bed. Then I'll call some friends at the LAPD." Cindy nods again and Deeks smiles, daring to hope this story will have a happy ending. "He won't hurt you again, I promise."
But Johnny is not as easily distracted as Deeks hoped and he quickly realizes what they are trying to do. Before Deeks knows what's happening, Johnny is on his face, clearly having heard at least the end of what he said. He's past being defensive and full on aggressive as he shouts, "What're you getting at?" He pulls Deeks back so roughly that he trips and would have fallen down if not for Kensi steading him. "Are you trying to accuse me of something?"
Deeks stands up straighter and doesn't back down. "We've heard some noises that sound like domestic disputes and we're concerned for your wife's safety," he says, no longer concerned with keeping the conversation civil.
Johnny's expression turns murderous and for a moment it's not his neighbor looking back at Deeks but one Gordon Brandel. "You have no right to come into my home and accuse me of something like that."
As Johnny becomes more agitated, voice raising and arms flailing about, Deeks turns back to Cindy. She's no longer inside the threshold of the house, but fully standing in the yard and cowering behind Kensi. Tears stream freely down her face and she's hugging herself as her small frame shakes. Deeks takes that as his sign and pulls out his phone.
He tries calling 9-1-1 but the husband suddenly punches him in the face, making him stumble and fall to the floor. Kensi quickly steps away from Cindy and pulls out her gun, pointing it at Johnny and telling him to back off.
Kensi helps Deeks get up and he wipes the blood from his lip. He cleans his hand on his pants and reaches back, grabbing his handcuffs off the waistband of his jeans and taking a step towards the husband. "You're under arrest, dumbass."
"It was self-defense," Johnny tries to claim as Deeks pulls his arms behind his back.
"I never laid a hand on you. And we have two witnesses to prove it." Deeks pushes him down to sit on the steps leading up to the porch and proceeds to dial 9-1-1, addressing Johnny again once he's done with the call. "And you're not only going down for domestic abuse, but also for assaulting a federal agent." He pulls out his badge and smiles as he shows it to Johnny.
"Good luck getting out of that one," Kensi says gladly. With the husband taken care of, she goes back to Cindy and hugs her softly. The distraught woman sinks into her arms and finally lets all her anguish out. Kensi runs her hand over her back and lets her sob.
The next hour is a flurry of activity as LAPD shows up to arrest the husband and take Deeks, Kensi and Cindy's statements. A few cops who know Deeks joke about him missing them so much he had to get involved in their call, others snicker about NCIS clearly having no grooming policy if he still looks like that, and the lucky few who actually know him and his past walk quietly to him and squeeze his shoulder in understanding before texting him later that night offering their support.
Then Johnny is taken into custody, and they try to help Cindy clean out the mess in her house. She refuses for the night but accepts their help the following day and takes the business cards they offer.
It's past dinnertime when Kensi drapes one arm across Deeks' shoulder and they make their way back. They stay silent as they walk across their front yard, eyes locked down as they try to ignore the abundance of neighbors that came out of their homes to check out what was happening outside.
Once inside, Deeks sits down on the couch and leans forward, resting his head in his hands. While Kensi goes to the freezer, coming back a moment later with a frozen bag of carrots. "Thank you," Deeks whispers when she carefully pushes him back against the cushions and sets the bag over the bruised side of his mouth.
They sit like that for a bit, the icy cold soothing but not as much as the featherlike touch of her fingers running through his hair. "I'm sorry we have to move again. I really didn't mean for this to happen." Deeks lets out a sigh and tips his head back to look at her face.
"I know," Kensi says in an exhale, tugging his hair away from his forehead so she can press a kiss there. "This wasn't your fault, Deeks."
"It kinda was." He smiles sheepishly and tucks himself closer against her side.
"Maybe. But we did the right thing. You know I don't like to see you hurting, physically or otherwise, but I'll never fault you for putting yourself in harm's way to help others. It's one of the things I love the most about you." Kensi says genuinely, before adding with a smirk, "Besides, you will make it up to me."
"Is that so?" Deeks raises an eyebrow in question and teasingly pokes her side.
Kensi nods and grabs her laptop from the coffee table, pulling up Zillow before she sets it over Deeks' outstretched legs.
Deeks groans but starts searching anyway. "I promise, from now on, I'll be more careful so we can stay put for a while. And who knows, maybe our new neighbors will be a little more peaceful."
"Ha! The only chance of that happening is us moving into the countryside where we wouldn't have neighbors for a few miles," Kensi mutters, rolling her eyes, knowing that trouble seems to find them no matter where they go.
"Who's moving into the countryside?" Rosa asks, alarmed, as she pushes open the door, followed by a nonchalant Roberta, who's sipping what looks suspiciously like a Margarita.
Deeks can only groan again at the sight, realizing Kensi is not the only woman in his life he will have to make it up to. But as she grabs his hand and squeezes once, he remembers they're a team and he doesn't have to face any challenge alone, be it arresting one's neighbor for domestic violence or having to move to a new place because of it.