Title: The Sooner, The Better
Category: Life With Derek
Rating: T
Genre: Romance/Drama
Pairing: Casey/Derek
Prompt: #01 - Evidence
Word Count: 772
Summary: Being the Lord of the Lies meant that Derek knew a thing or two about keeping something secret.
The Sooner, The Better
-Drabble-
Being the Lord of the Lies meant that Derek knew a thing or two about keeping something secret. When it came down to it, if he wanted something kept entirely quiet, never known and never found out, he told no one. Not Sam, definitely not Ralph, and none of his siblings, step or otherwise. But the most important thing to do was hide the evidence; everything that could point him out in a lineup and label him guilty had to be hidden away in places nobody would find. Every word, nod, smile, or extra lingering look had to be kept from curious eyes at all times. So when he fell for his step-sister it was by far the biggest secret he ever had to keep, especially when she returned the feeling.
He wasn't a sap, so he wasn't shouting it from rooftops. Point in fact, he rarely actually said the three dreaded words. But she knew and he knew and that's all that really mattered. What was important was that nobody else knew... He knew his family and his friends and there'd be some major freaking out. Not only because few would see past the whole step-siblings thing but also because it'd been five years already, since mid-senior year, and neither of them had let it out, not once. He got good at hiding evidence; it became second nature.
Some things he didn't have to hide; lipstick on the collar just made it look like he didn't care that anybody noticed he'd been with "some random girl," even though he knew it wasn't random and had been the same girl for years. But other things, like the fact that their apartment had one bedroom, not two, became a little harder to hide. That took some careful avoidance techniques that meant they always went to other people's places and never invited family or longtime friends over. Their college friends didn't know about the step sib's thing, so they were okay, but Sam and Emily did, which meant any meeting up was done in public or at their places.
It was tiresome sometimes. While he didn't want to shout it at people or proclaim it from the rooftops, he didn't want to hide her away from his family. Especially since they were starting in on the "You need to grow up sometime, Derek. You're whole life can't all be about the next woman..." Yeah, he knew that. Had for awhile now. And while the old him would've shuddered at the very thought of only one girl, he learned quick that it wasn't so bad... In fact, it had a lot of upsides.
Sure, they fought. A lot. But the making up was even more passionate and he always knew that no matter what was said or done, in the end, it was always going to be him and Casey. Which is why he slowly started letting the evidence come out. He stopped hiding pictures, didn't bring up non-existent women he'd seduce and quit covering the scent of her perfume on him with his cologne. He didn't bother telling the fam they couldn't come over to the apartment, in fact he rather encouraged it. He wanted it out; wanted them to know. So he let his arm linger around her longer than they were used to, let his real smile show rather than the smirk they were used to. He stopped fighting with her about nothing just for show and he noticed the way they were looking at them now; skeptical but suspicious. It was only a matter of time before they all figured it out and he personally couldn't wait for the shit to hit the fan. The sooner it happened, the sooner they could get used to it, and the sooner he could propose.
It was all part of the plan, see... What Derek Venturi wants, he gets and he never does anything without thinking about what will happen. So there'll be fighting and questions and a whole lot angsty crap that will eventually blow over. But in the end, he'll marry her and the people that matter will come around... That's just how it goes. Sure, Casey will freak and cry and overanalyze everything, annoyed that he's being so 'whatever' about it, but he already knows what's going to happen. It always turns out right for him and as much as that might drive her crazy, it'll come in handy for them now. So when they knocked at his and Casey's front door and she burned a hole through him with her glare, all he did was smirk. The sooner, the better.