45A/N: WE HAVE THE NAME OF THE BAR! I could cry. Bless whichever writer took pity on the fanfic community and randomly gave us the name during "Hail Mary." But of course it begs the question, what the hell Deeks?! I answered it for you. You're welcome.
"Babe! Kensi!"
Deeks' cry was so sharp and sudden that Monty jumped up from where he'd been snuggled into Kensi's side on the couch and began barking like crazy. "Deeks?" she put down her book as he barreled down the stairs at top speed. "Are you all right? What's wrong?"
"Babe, baby I've got it!" He dropped next to her on the couch and grabbed her hands.
"What? You've got what?"
He took a breath. "Okay, are you ready?"
"Deeks, what the hell is going on?"
"I know the name of the bar."
That wasn't what she'd been expecting at all. She wrinkled her nose. "I thought you'd already named the bar."
"No I didn't."
"Yes, you did. Last week you came down here and said you were going to call it 'Deeks' Bar' because you couldn't think of anything else and the paperwork had to go in or you wouldn't be ready for the grand opening."
"No, no, no, I was overwhelmed and stressed and made that decision in haste. But the good news is I checked and I can refile all the paperwork with a rush fee and still get it done in time."
"Oh, okay," Kensi said, still slightly confused. Deeks had become somewhat manic and unrecognizable when working on the bar and she'd learned to just nod and smile at whatever harebrained scheme he came up. And there had been many.
He'd wanted a petting zoo. Then a mixed martial arts night. Then he'd changed his mind about a bar at all and decided to turn it into a surf school. Then it was back to a bar but a secret one, like a speakeasy, hidden behind a phone booth and when Sam had told him it was a dumb idea he'd switched back to a regular bar with a normal door and turtle races.
It was a enough to make her head spin and at this point she sincerely believed they would never see a penny of profit from the money pit Deeks had bought; but he was so happy and adorable she just couldn't deny him after all they'd been through in the last couple years.
So support and encouragement it was with every new twist and turn, including tonight's latest installment of, "I know what to name the bar!"
"I'm listening," she said, giving him her full attention. "Tell me."
"Are you sure? This is the one you know."
"I know. Go ahead."
"The Squid and the Dagger." He raised his eyebrows. "Huh? Good right?"
"Very funny. What's the real name?"
"That is the real name."
"The Squid and the Dagger?"
"You don't like it?"
"No, no baby, I love it," she said hastily at the flash of hurt in his eyes. "I just…what does it…mean?"
"Well you know I want kind of an ocean casual theme for the bar."
She did know. She also knew she had no idea what the hell that meant except there was going to be a giant fish on the wall. "Yep."
"So it's kind of pirate-y and ocean-y and it represents both of us!"
"Both of—I'm sorry, how?" she asked, confused.
"How what?"
"How does it represent both of us?"
"You don't get it?!" Deeks cried.
"Well I'm the squi—" she watched his face carefully, "-agger. I'm the dagger right?" Good god she hoped she was the dagger.
"Obviously. My badass wife with all her knives and ninja skills. You're definitely the dagger."
"Which makes you the…squid?"
"Um yeah."
"Because…you have eight arms and are delicious when fried?" she guessed.
"No, because squids are an enigma! A mystery. There's a lot we don't know about them."
"Well it's true there's a lot we don't know about you." Like why, for example, her he'd suddenly decided to equate himself to one of earth's weirdest creatures.
"You know what else? Squids have three hearts. It's a metaphor for our relationship. Like we show each other all three of our hearts and that's what makes us so special."
Now he'd really lost her. "Deeks, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Seriously? The Paul Angelo case. With the 'three hearts' talk? One for people, one for family, and the one only you see?"
She shook her head. "Not ringing a bell."
"Are you kidding me? That was a pivotal moment in our relationship! You don't remember that?"
"Was Paul Angelo a suspect or a victim?"
"Kensi!"
"I'm sorry! Deeks, we've had a lot of cases over the years. You can't expect me to remember all of them."
"Well not all of them, but the ones that were meaningful!"
She was truly wracking her brain for any connection to Paul Angelo and coming up completely blank. "I remember the day I met you," she said sweetly, hoping to distract him.
"Well, yeah. Of course you do. You were into me."
"Yes, absolutely. And the case where we went undercover as Justin and Melissa."
"A classic. You were also into me then."
"And I remember all the Kirkin cases," she said with a grin.
He winced. "Those you can definitely forget."
"Nope. Seared into my brain for all time. You sure you don't want to name the place Anatoli's? It can be a metaphor for his unrequited love for you."
"You hate the name," he accused, catching onto her game.
"No, oh baby no!" She grabbed his hand as he tried to get up. "No, I'm sorry. It's a good name. Very…unique."
"Right? It's going to stand out against all the LA competition."
"It will definitely stand out," she echoed confidently.
"Okay, I'm going to go get started on the new paperwork." He leaned forward and kissed her quickly. "It's going to be great!"
He bolted back upstairs and Kensi looked down at Monty. "Should we just let him have his fun?" she asked.
He gave a sharp bark and she smiled, ruffling his ears. "I'll take that as a yes."
A/N: If you have a different/better explanation I'd love to hear it! Leave your reasoning and love in the reviews!
