Prompt: Could you write a story set during the early seasons where Deeks is finally fed up of everyone's unfair treatment towards him he decides to quit and now the team must find a way to make it up to him before they lose him for good and maybe a certain teammate might realize her real feelings for him.

A/N: Given the prompt, this is very much Deeks biased. It doesn't quite fit into canon.

"Yeah, thanks brother, I definitely owe you one," Deeks said, chuckling as he paced a few steps away. "Uh-Huh, I'll definitely keep you updated." He hung up and then joined Kensi by the SUV. They got in without speaking and she started driving.

"Who was that?" she asked, trying to not sound too curious. He'd had a series of similar phone calls over the past few days, but he'd yet to share what they concerned.

"A friend." He smiled. There was something wistful about it and Kensi felt little warning bells go off in her head. If she was honest with herself, she'd be a little worried for the past couple weeks. Deeks had been more quiet and introspective, taking a backseat during conversations and just not his usual gregarious self.

They drove for a couple more minutes in silence before he turned to her and added. "It's a guy I knew in law school. He runs a small, but well-established firm and he has an opening for a civil law attorney." He locked eyes with her briefly, and Kensi's hands clenched around the steering wheel. Then he looked back down, his voice dropping. "And he's offered me that spot."

"Did you accept?" She knew the answer already, but she still had to ask. Her mouth was dry as she waited for him to respond.

"I did."

"Oh." She didn't know what to say. In a matter of minutes her world had just turned upside down. Against her will, she felt the harsh prick of tears at the back of her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered. Deeks glanced at her guiltily and then looked away again. "Where you going to tell me at all, or were you just going to not show up one day?" She couldn't keep the hurt from her voice.

"Of course I was…I just wanted to find the right time," he explained, fiddling with the zipper on his jacket.

"Why?

"Why what?"

"Why are you leaving? Is it something that I did?"

"No!" Deeks said immediately, looking shocked by the suggestion. "It's nothing you've done." Kensi picked up on what he left unsaid.

"If not me, then who?"

"Who says it has to be about somebody? Maybe I just decided it was time for me to move on." Kensi rolled her eyes at that and pulled the SUV to a stop in front their witnesses house.

"Deeks, I know you better than that by now. You told me once that being a cop is part of who you are. You wouldn't just give that up, leave us, for no reason," she prompted.

Deeks shook his head, looking out the window for a moment as he brushed his bangs off his forehead. When he turned back to her, she could see something brewing in his eyes.

"Fine, you want to know why I'm leaving?" he asked, his tone not flippant like it had been a few moments ago. He sounded annoyed and slightly angry. "It's not one thing. It's 2 and a half years of being a part of this team, but still being treated like an outsider. It's comments that imply that I'm incompetent and the refusal to acknowledge that I have years of experience as an LAPD Detective. I'm not some green agent or cop who doesn't know what he's doing."

Kensi blinked in surprise, shocked by the outburst. She wasn't used to this kind of intensity from him when it didn't involve a case.

"Deeks…" He ignored her softly spoken protest, apparently on a roll.

"When Hetty offered me this position, she said I would be part of a team. That I wouldn't have to worry about doing things on my own all the time. She said you guys were like family. Sometimes I have felt like a member of this team, and not some unwanted outsider…but recently I've realized I'll never be fully accepted."

"Deeks, you have to know that I don't think about you that way," Kensi said desperately, turning in her seat to look him directly in the eye. "Anything that I might have said, my jokes, they didn't mean anything. I love having you as a partner."

He smiled at that and gently reached out to squeeze her hand.

"I know Kens," he murmured, his expression fond. "I'll miss you the most." He swallowed a little harshly and added, "I didn't make this decision lightly, but I think it's what's best for me."

She nodded, gripping onto his hand like it would keep him from leaving.

"Promise me you won't forget about m-our partnership," she begged and he grinned again. He rubbed a circular pattern across her skin with his thumb and then abruptly let go. It took all her effort not to snatch his hand back and beg him to stay.

"I think you'll always be a part of my life, Fern."

A/N: Well, it looks like I'm this is going to be another two-parter. The second half will include the rest of the team.