Author's note: I wrote this because the Dasey fandom seems to be coming back (my OTP). Shout-out to all my fellow Dasey shippers. Dasey forever!

This story is a tribute to the YouTube video: Derek & Casey | Yellow (S1-4 Tribute), by MsLyraGW. To get a good feel for my story, you should watch it.

Yes, a tribute to a tribute lol. It basically shows a bunch of clips that really express what we all love about Dasey and the subtext in the show. They tell the story of Dasey from Derek's perspective and summarises their relationship. I am loosely basing this story on the story in the video. Basically, telling the subtext story for the entire 4 seasons in a sort of memoir/flashback style. Everything is canon, I'll try to stay authentic to the show and hopefully I have all my information right but feel free to correct me.

Since Dasey burned the slowest for all 4 seasons, this won't have much hot Dasey action, but it will hopefully make your Dasey shipping hearts flutter as we reminisce about their unique relationship and Derek's obvious feelings for Casey. There will be some new stuff in the story as well as I slip in explanations of what happened post LWD-movie.

I don't own Life with Derek or any of these characters.

Before everything, I was just a dumb hockey kid living in London, Ontario. I was absolutely fine with it. Everything was normal. In fact, my life was great! Pretty much everything had seemed perfect to my 14-year-old self. I was a really popular kid; and I was all up in my head about it too if I'm being honest. I was basically the god of the hallways. I guess I knew how to charm people, and I got used to being the cool guy…leather jacket and all. I was also a pretty rebellious kid. I didn't do anything crazy, but I hated rules and I loved to get my way—I was good at getting my way too. I would plan and scheme and schmooze my way through life. That was me, Derek Venturi. Still is me…although I'd like to think I've matured significantly. At least that's what Casey tells me…but now I'm getting way ahead of myself.

14-year-old me had a decent family situation. I lived with my goofy dad George, my even goofier younger brother Edwin, and Marti, my adorable little sister (or Smarti, as I called her). My mom, Abby wasn't in the picture much at that time. Her and dad got divorced when I was around ten, leaving full custody of the kids (including 2-year-old Marti) to dad. But it didn't bother me very much that she wasn't around. Of course, I loved mom, and she loved me…she was just far away. She couldn't exactly come to all my hockey games when she lived across the country (did I mention I was also a hockey god? Best kid on the team. I really thought my life was perfect). I guess the only thing I wondered sometimes was why mom didn't choose to live closer to her children. It just tells a kid that there is something out there that's more important than them in their mother's eyes, you know? But mom cared. She cared about my wellbeing and shit, blah blah blah…the point is, I had a happy home life.

The Venturi household was a riot. George was a single dad raising three kids, so we had our own way of doing things. My favorite memories looking back at that time would be when we would play takeout roulette. We had a box full of take out menus, and for dinner we would reach in and dig around; whatever menu came up, we would order from. This took almost all the arguing out of dinner-time, except for complaints that it was usually my favorite places getting picked (I may have cheated…once or twice). You could tell we were a male-dominated home by our cleanliness standards and general laid-back attitude. We all thrived, including Marti who was a Venturi through and through. We were an organized chaos, and so was our house.

The Venturi's were and are, a unique breed. I inherited my scheming attitude from my dad, and so did the rest of the Venturis. We would often pull pranks on one another. It became a fun competition (in which I would ensure my own victory by any means). We were all determined in that way. The Venturis would settle disagreements over bets. Oh man, we would bet on anything! We would do all kinds of crazy stuff to win. It was fun.

Just like at school…I always got my way at home. I would often talk my way out of things. Sure, sometimes George would go all 'lawyer' on me, and I'd get in trouble. But, for the most part, I felt like a god at home too.

My younger siblings basically worshiped me. Edwin looked up to me as the cool older brother. He was kind of an awkward kid, and he struggled with things socially sometimes, especially with girls. But he was smart, and funny (when he wasn't trying too hard). I would often take advantage of Edwin, bossing him around and making him do my bidding. What are older brothers for, anyway? Edwin would always do exactly what I said, and in return I would offer him 'valuable' life advice (about how to be cool and get chicks usually). We also grew up playing lots of video games together (ones that are totally ancient now). Marti—my Smarti—adored me. And I adored her. I had a real soft spot for Smarti. Just a rambunctious 6-year-old who lived in a magical world where anything was possible, and whose older brother, 'Smerek' loved her. I wasn't big on showing sensitivity back then, but if I showed it for anybody, I showed it for Marti. Part of me maybe felt sorry for her that she was being raised without her mom. I had figured it must be confusing for her. I would always be there for Marti. I've always been great with kids, which sometimes surprises people. Kids just know what life is about—they don't care about taxes or what they're supposed to do in life. They don't really have to worry about what other people think of them. So, they just exist, unapologetically as themselves. And I respect that. I'm a big kid at heart.

I have a great dad. He's a lawyer, but not the fancy kind. Even though he was talented, smart, and great at his job, he preferred to root for the underdog, and he wasn't competitive when it came to his career. He's a family man, and he loves us, unconditionally. To this day, he says his family is the thing he is most grateful for. I always had an underlying worry that I was disappointing my father, sometimes I took things a little too far or I didn't take serious things seriously enough. I often struggled in school, and as a result, I would slack off, and get shitty grades. I was kind of a screw up at times, and I really committed to the role. Dad never gave up on me though. He just loves us kids so much, and he dedicated his life to caring for us. George was satisfied…for the most part. Little did I know that my dad had an unfulfilled part of his life; and that the fulfilment of which would start a chain of events that would change my life forever.

My life changed with her. Casey. She was the last thing I expected but she turned out to be the thing I needed. Like I said…before everything, I was just a dumb hockey kid living in London, Ontario, and I was absolutely fine with it. But, life can change so quickly. My life was turned upside down when Casey McDonald waltzed into it like she owned the place. The ironic thing…is that now Casey is the number one person who I would trust with my life. Weird, how that happened. It's shocking how much of an influence we have had on each other. Before Casey McDonald, I didn't believe in love, or "true-love" for that matter. But there were feelings I didn't know existed until I felt them for Casey. Our love story is truly one of epic proportions.

And I know what you're thinking. When did Derek Venturi become such a sap? Don't worry, I'll tell you…