Covert Operation: Dasey MacVent
Summary: The last line of "Futuritis" bugs me. Derek's expression bugs me. It's almost as if he's giving. DEREK WILL NEVER GIVE UP! College with a twist: they aren't at the same school. And there will peanut butter cup ice cream. Lots and lots of peanut butter cup ice cream.
Dislaimer: Dude, if I owned Life With Derek, Truman's face would be broken in two by Derek's fist and Dasey would have already had hot, wild sex all over that freaking living room (you know, I've always wondered why that part of the house was always a bit of a disaster zone…)
Chapter 1: Same Difference? Really? Really?!
"Brother…step-brother…same difference."
Five words. Five words that made seeing her at hockey games unbearable, walking into Intro to Shakespeare Production next to her painful, and catching her eye across the student union nearly deathly. "Don't believe what people tell you, Ed," he would murmur, "College is a place of suffering and pain."
His brother would call his bull and hang up to help Marti with her fractions.
Nothing appeared to change on the outside; Casey still went keener and Derek still glued her Intro to Law book shut (it had nothing to do with seeing her rub against an ego-inflated grubber from the same class. Nope). They fought less, but only because living next to each other was against school policy and they barely even saw each other (screams of "DER-EK!" were so few and far between, he could almost feel his heart shatter).
There were some close calls. On the rare occasion they were in the library at the same time (his excuse being girls. He'd never admit to actually trying to get better grades), he would sneak up behind her as she reached for a book too high on the shelve and plucked it down for her. Or sometimes he would lean over her shoulder to look at her computer screen (and smell her hair…Wait! What?! No!). She would turn to look at him, eyes big and blue and so close and Casey. Clueless as always, she would overlook the fact that his hands hovered over her waist or shoulders. And he would sink even further into what Edwin and Lizzie diagnosed as light depression over winter break.
"You need to tell her," Lizzie would insist (look, don't ask him how she knew. She and Edwin were just scary like that) as she bounced Jace in her arms. The younger MacDonald had quickly become the number one baby sitter in the household. Derek could only look at the kid and think of what it would be like if Jace was his and Casey's (and, oh dear God, stop thinking about that before you sink even deeper).
"I can't tell Casey anything, and you know it," he retorted weakly. Because that was what he had become, a weak substitute of his former self. Sure, he went through the motions, but in the end, Derek Venturi was one depressed individual. Only the younger siblings noticed. Edwin and Lizzie, who had been attached at the hip (when the hell had they become EdwinLizzie to his DerekCasey?), seemed to have the exact same thoughts at the exact same time. Marti being Marti, she didn't even have to hear his voice or see his face to realize that something was terribly wrong with her Smerek. And Jace. Jesus Christ, Jace. Every time Derek was around, the baby would sense his pain and become hysterical.
Derek had stopped trying to hold his baby brother and made a concerted effort not to be in the same room as him.
Second semester was better, because they had no classes together. She still deemed it necessary to come to his games, but he honestly didn't care. They still saw each other in the library and for a moment, Casey almost realized that his real intentions had nothing to do with girls in the library. Derek promptly silly-stringed her in the student union and reveled in the sound of her scream "DER-EK!" (Derek!).
Halfway through the semester, they had established a routine. Dinner once a month to review family matters and then ignoring each other the rest of the time. And then It happened. The It that made Derek break completely. Le boyfriend.
He was perfect. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Tall. A gentleman. Everything Derek wasn't and it was almost as if Casey was flaunting this fact in front of him. Derek needed out.
At the end of the year he approached the admissions counselor at Queen's about a transfer. His grades had improved exponentially from when he was in high school and his proficiency in hockey got him onto a team faster than should have been possible. Apparently, a liberal arts college in the New York North Country had lost a key player.
He couldn't get the paperwork and registration in fast enough. That summer he found a job teaching field hockey to tweens in Toronto. George and Nora were overjoyed that he seemed to be taking control of his life. Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti were devastated that he was letting go.
Jace's first word wasn't 'mama' or 'dada'. It was Dewek.
A.N. I am beating up Derek. I'm a terrible person who deserves to have tomatoes thrown at me plus a Gibbs-slap. *hangs head in shame * Let it be known that I don't torture Derek for my own entertainment. I love him dearly; he happens to be one of my favorite characters of all time. It will take a while for actual, tangible Dasey to take effect, but never fear. Dasey MacVent is a stubborn concept and will not be taken lightly. I think le boyfriend will be named Edward after a certain sparklepire we all know and lol at. Note to self: Give Derek a happy chapter.