Writing Deeks: Deeks with… Another Woman?

Deeks and Kensi are soulmates, meant to be together forever. Or are they? How does our group of fan fiction writers feel about depicting a non-Densi relationship? A few brave writers have risked the wrath of the fandom and given us a Deeks (or a Kensi) who has loved someone else. Why would they do such a thing? And what kind of reaction did they get? We asked them all about it.

The heat that used to radiate off of him and toward me was still there… but now it was no longer directed at me… and I suddenly wanted to cry my soul out.

They were smiling when they pulled apart and it was like they realized that they weren’t alone on that particular part of the beach.

“I’m sorry Honey Bear… ” He smiled at her while he turned and nodded in my direction… the woman’s dark eyes found mine. “… this is Kensi Blye, she was my partner back when I worked for NCIS. Kensi, this is Talia, my wife.”

– Jericho Steele, “My Deeks”

For some writers, writing Deeks and Kensi apart is heresy. “I wouldn’t write them with someone else, that’s a big fat no for me,” says ZBBZL. “Even if I believe he deserves someone better than what Kensi has become.” For ZeGabz, “It kind of reminds me of something Michael Weatherly (Tony on NCIS) said in regards to Tony, that when he’s interacting with any female character that is not Ziva, it just doesn’t feel right, something always feels off. And while I love Deeks’ friendships with Nell and Hetty, writing him romantically with anyone else would feel [out of character].” imahistorian doesn’t like “the idea of him romantically with anyone else, so writing that has no appeal for me.”

thepixiesmademedoit, on the other hand, has “thought about it” and Kadiedid has come close but hasn’t crossed the line. “I’ve written about other women coming on to Deeks and I also wrote about him having to go undercover and be with Monica from ‘Parley,’” she explains, “but I’ve never really written him being with someone else. Even when I would write about someone flirting or propositioning him, I would get reviews telling me they didn’t like it. It seems that most readers like their heroes to be faithful even if there is no chance of them ever getting together.”

But not every fan fiction writer we interviewed felt completely loyal to Kensi and Deeks as a couple. phillydi, for example, has written Deeks attracted to another woman. “I wouldn’t care if [Densi] broke up at all. I just want to see Deeks happy and in a loving relationship,” she asserts. “I’m really more inspired writing about Deeks and if Kensi comes along for the ride… so be it.” In the pre-“Humbug” time when these interviews were completed, she felt strongly about her right to do away with them as a couple if TV Densi didn’t shape up. “…I will continue to write them as [a couple] unless I want to break them up so Deeks can be more fulfilled in a grown up relationship,” she said. “Always looking out for my boy.”

He actually felt guilty that he had cheated on Kensi by kissing Mac! Was that crazy or what? Didn’t you have to be in a relationship to actually be cheating on a person?

Deeks flopped down on his chair and forced a laugh which sounded bitter and a bit harsh even to him. Deeks knew Kensi better than anyone else on this planet and he was certain she had closed down to protect herself but that didn’t mean she didn’t want his love. He always saw her hesitancy not as rejection but as a test of his trust to remain solid and steadfast. Yeah, he knew all about Jack, the bastard. Deeks always hoped his loss would be Deeks’ gain. So he did his best to stay on the patient path but there was only so much his heart could take before he decided to cut his losses and move on. It was easy to go running back to Mac and soak in the love he so desperately needed… but she had hurt him terribly once too and who was to say she wouldn’t do it again. Deeks was lost and sat quietly alone with his confusion and heartache.

– phillydi, “Venus Rising”

phillydi describes her foray into a world where Deeks has feelings for another woman: “His on and off relationship with Kensi has driven me crazy so I wrote a fic where his long lost love returns to him and he really has to choose between the two. It was nice to allow him to interact lovingly with another woman unlike all the drama and angst with Kensi… At one point I had so many readers falling in love with Mac, I was going to have her continue on as his love interest and ditch Kensi but I didn’t have time to continue more stories so I resorted back to him getting back with Kensi. But I always regret it because he and Mac had such a more realistic kind of love story with a lot more in common.”

It’s not just phillydi who has strayed from Densi stories. Jericho Steele has experimented with both versions of Densi: drawn inevitably together and torn completely apart. He describes his plans for his story “Aunt Hetty,” saying, “I had originally intended for my original character, Jericho Steele, to be a romantic interest for Kensi and throw a monkey-wrench into Densi’s world and get Deeks to finally see what (or who) he was about to lose. The more I delved into the characters, the more I realized that the two of them are made for each other and having some other man begin to draw Kensi away from Deeks just felt too wrong to go with it.”

But in a pair of stories (“My Kensi/My Deeks”), he went way over to the dark side. “Kensi got back together with Jack after her mission to Afghanistan and Deeks left NCIS and ended up marrying Talia,” he describes. They “came from an idea about how the show’s writers might use Jack to mess with Kensi and Deeks. After ‘Spoils of War’ aired, I wondered if Kensi was really able to let go and forgive Jack, there were also some little shots in the show that caused me to wonder if she was really ‘over’ him like she said she was. I just took the idea of Kensi trying to help Jack escape from the CIA and let their old feelings resurface. When Deeks realized he had lost her, he moved on and found his happiness in someone else. The reaction was intense and 100% supportive. Even though quite a few readers didn’t like the path I forced Deeks to take, they were happy that I gave him a happy life, even when it wasn’t with Kensi. I was impressed that so many people were more concerned about Deeks having a happy ending over the fact that Kensi chose someone else.”

I leaned on the counter and gave him the sweet smile he used to like back when we were dating. “You always were good at crime-solving… among many other talents…”

Oh my god, he actually blushed! Not very much, but still! How adorable.

And there was yet another unspoken conversation passing from Agent Blye’s eyes to Marty’s.

I hoped she knew how lucky she was to have him in her life.

By way of apology for flirting with her guy, I offered them each a donut free of charge.

“No, thank you,” Agent Blye refused with forced politeness as she put her hand firmly into the crook of Marty’s elbow. “Deeks?”

“I’d love a donut,” Marty answered me warmly, and I wondered if he accepted it only because his ‘partner’ girlfriend didn’t want him to.

“You still like sprinkles?”

He grinned. “You know it.”

Basking in the warmth of that grin, I smiled back, slipping a sprinkle-covered donut into a small bag and handing it to him. “See you around.”

Poor Marty — he managed to squeak out a “Thanks!” as Agent Blye practically dragged him out the door.

I watched through the window as Marty took out the donut, tore it in half, and shared it with her.

That’s love, right there.

– Belle Walker, “The One Who Got Away”

Other writers have explored the idea of Deeks apart from Kensi without actually breaking them up. Belle Walker, for example wrote, “a short, humorous story [quoted above] from the viewpoint of an ex-girlfriend who observes Deeks and Kensi together, and everybody who reviewed it seemed to like it. That story was inspired by an older episode [‘Crimeleon’] where Deeks visited one angry ex-girlfriend who threw a lemon wedge at him as he was leaving. I figured there had to be at least one ex who didn’t have murderous thoughts about Deeks, so I wrote about it.”

Sweet Lu has written Deeks with quite a few other women, but only when undercover or in her most recent origin story (“The Collector”) that showed Deeks before he ever met Kensi. “The response was dependent on whether the woman was evil or good. I think I wanted to see Deeks have intimate relations with a woman because I was frustrated with the way the show refuses to let Kensi and Deeks have any kind of intimate scene together. I did do one where he has to be Lauren Hunter’s backup and that got an amazingly good response, a few people even wanting more.”

“Tell me what’s going on, Hunter, or my part in this op is over,” he said seriously.

“You surprised me last night,” she whispered and a smile flashed across her face. Then she turned and walked down to the wave line and stood trembling. He followed, standing next to her, but making sure he didn’t touch her or say anything.

“I didn’t know what to expect when Hetty suggested you come on as my backup.” she began. “I knew we would have to convince them we were a couple, but I wasn’t prepared for you. It’s been a long time since someone got to me the way you did last night. I watched you during the party, and you handled yourself so confidently with those rich, arrogant bastards, it made me want to kiss you. And when I did, I didn’t want to stop. That’s why I let things go too far last night. I didn’t want to stop. You’re gentle and kind and funny and so very, very sexy.” Then she turned toward him and put her hand on his chest, reaching for his cheek with the other and slowly brought his head down and kissed him long and deep.

Deeks was stunned, not only by what she said, but also by her passionate kiss, and he couldn’t help himself. He responded, and kissed her back as deeply as she was kissing him, and he knew this op was in big trouble, and he knew he was in trouble as well. He loved Kensi, and he was doing just what he told her he wouldn’t let happen. He was letting Hunter seduce him.

– Sweet Lu, “The Backup”

Whether Deeks or Kensi are with one another or with others, there’s still the matter of occasionally writing what can best be described as adult content. Is that easy or awkward, fun or uncomfortable, to write? Find out on next week’s Writing Deeks: The Sexytimes.

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Want to Read More?

To find the stories quoted above, follow these links:

Jericho Steele, “My Deeks”

phillydi, “Venus Rising”

Belle Walker, “The One Who Got Away”

Sweet Lu, “The Backup”

We also asked each writer to recommend a short story they thought best represents their Deeks. Jericho Steele’s “My Deeks” features a Deeks who’s married to Talia. It’s the sequel to “My Kensi,” a post-“Spoils of War” what-if where Kensi got back together with Jack. In “My Deeks,” Jericho asked “What if Deeks had to watch her slip away from him and turn back to her former fiancé? What if Deeks let her go and moved on to another life with someone else? While these ideas are anathema to Densi shippers the world over, it was a plausible scenario should events have taken a different turn after Kensi’s rescue.”

Or, go back to the last Writing Deeks, Heroes and Villains.

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A special thanks to @thewingsofnight for creating the wonderful artwork.