Is it really the same difference?
It was late at night; all the members of the McDonald-Venturi family were sound asleep except for the two eldest children. Maybe they were more like adults now since they both got a scholarship to Queen's University, which would change both of their lives very soon.
Their lives were already changing so fast. Earlier that day, the two of them graduated and Derek pulled a prank—with the help of Edwin—that actually impressed Casey and to him, seeing her impressed—or at least smiling—about his pranks made him feel proud and even a bit flustered. Now, he would never admit this to anyone- even if it was obvious—but he really liked Casey and pushing her buttons seemed to be the only thing that caught her attention.
After the graduation party, he had a chat with Emily, and, since they were both going to different universities, they decided that breaking up was their best options. Anyway, dating each other was nothing like what they expected. Derek expected Emily to be like she is with Casey with him, but she did not act that way, and Emily expected Derek to lose some of his temper. They both knew they weren't going to last, so none of them was mad, or devastated that they broke up.
Also, during the graduation party, Casey had another argument with Truman. Casey wanted to talk about how their long-distance relationship would work while they both attend different universities and Truman told her he wasn't sure if he could do that. Casey tried to convince him that they could make it work, but he ended up breaking up with her. She thought she would be devastated, but she was not. Somehow, it felt like a weight lifted off her shoulders; deep down, she knew Truman would not be able to stay faithful to her while being separated, so, at least, she did not have to worry about that anymore.
Casey walked silently into the kitchen while she read a booklet from Queen's University describing each of the classes it offers to freshmen. She could not be more ecstatic about going to university; she loved school and, maybe, deep down, she was happy that Derek would be there too. She would never tell anyone this, but she could not imagine her life without him anymore, as much as it pained her to admit, she needed him. He brought out the best in her and she knew it.
A voice startled her as she reached the island in the middle of the room. Queen's University's booklet also captivated Derek. When he heard steps coming closer to him, his sight went from the booklet to the entrance of the kitchen.
"Hey, what are you doing up so late?" Derek asked, surprised his keener sister was up past her bed time.
"Picking courses for next year," Casey answered as she noticed Derek was holding the same booklet. "There are so many amazing classes!"
"I know; women's literature, feminist theory," Derek enumerated to Casey to irritate her.
"Derek, you're only taking those to meet girls!" Casey retorted, but she was not surprised by what he was saying at all. Sometimes, a tiny part of her wished he would stop flirting with every girl and flirt with her instead. Although, she never noticed that he literally flirted with her all the time.
"Huh, yeah!" He exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But maybe I should just take the classes you're taking and then take all your notes."
"Forget it!" She exclaimed in a high-pitch. She would never ever let him take advantage of her like that—even if she liked the idea of seeing him in some of her classes. "And do me a favour, when you see me in the quad, pretend you don't know me."
Derek scoffed.
"Are you kidding?" He asked. "We are gonna be best bud, 'cause then you could introduce me to all your sorority sisters."
"Derek, you are the most annoying brother—"she started to say, but he immediately interrupted her.
"Step-brother," he emphasized. He never saw her as a sister and he never will.
"Same difference," Casey answered.
"Yeah, you're right," he answered, but he did not believe a word he said. In fact, he did not even look like he believed what he just said.
The two graduates looked at each other for a couple of seconds before things got awkward and Derek had to open his mouth again.
"Hey, maybe we can live in the same residence," the boy suggested, annoying Casey even more.
"I'm living in an all-girl residence," Casey reminded him.
"I know," Derek said with his usual smirk, the one that irritated Casey to unbelievable extent.
"Oh yeah?" She challenged the boy across the counter. "Well, I can't wait to go to all your hockey games and embarrass you in front of all of your friends!"
As he tried to defend himself, Casey walked to the other side of the counter to join him. She could not explain why, but she felt the need to get closer to him, to confront him.
"Uh, uh, fine," Derek stuttered. "Now, I won't take your classes if you stay away from my hockey games."
"No deal," Casey answered him. "There may be some cute hockey hunk or some frat boys."
"Oh no, you're not getting my fraternity brothers!" Derek exclaimed as he took a step towards her. He would die internally if she went out with a guy on his team, because, secretly, he wanted to be that guy.
There was about half a meter between them now and the air was suddenly getting heavy. The two of them had been closer than that before, but something else was in the air at that exact moment.
Casey could not stop thinking about how Derek did not seem to mean it when she called him her brother and he called her his sister. He almost seemed disappointed by her reaction and she needed to know why.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Derek asked as he noticed Casey staring at her questionably. She had that look of wonder in her eyes, and that was never a good sign.
"You didn't mean it, did you?" Casey asked after a couple of seconds passed.
"What?" He asked, confused by her question. What didn't he mean? He didn't mean a lot of things, but, as of that moment, he had no idea what she was talking about.
"You don't see me as a sister, do you?" She asked. She needed to know. She had the slightest hope he would say exactly what she wanted to hear. On one side, she would be thrilled that Derek finally accepted her as family, on the other side, she did not want to be his sister; she wanted to be something completely different.
He looked down and seemed to be battling with himself. He seemed lost in his thoughts for a couple of seconds. Casey found his sudden change of behaviour weird, but she was more surprised by what he did next.
As his final answer, he put his hands on her hips and pulled her towards him. Their chests were touching and Casey's breath hitched. She looked up only to meet his beautiful hazel eyes only to find him staring into her own deep blue eyes.
"No, I will never ever see you as a sister," he whispered, putting emphasis on the word "never," and that sent a shiver down her spine. It might also have been the strong hands on her hips, she would never know.
"Any particular reason?" Casey asked, suddenly nervous. What if he was just playing with her? He loved pranking her and maybe that was just another one of his cruel schemes.
"I think you know exactly why," Derek stated and she blushed, even if she did not want him to see her face redden.
He leaned in, making sure she was not freaking out, but most importantly not rejecting him, but she put her hands on his chest to stop him. He had waited for that moment ever since he saw her, and now he had the chance to kiss her.
"De-rek!" She whispered-yelled. "What about Emily?"
The boy chuckled. "We broke up earlier today."
"Oh," Casey said thoughtfully.
"What about Truman?" Derek asked, realizing that it seemed like she wanted to kiss him too.
"He broke up with me," Casey responded, and Derek could only smirk at that revelation.
"Good," he answered as he leaned in once more, but she stopped him again.
"De-rek, this isn't right," Casey said even if she didn't believe a word she said. It felt right. It felt so right.
"Now, you're the one who doesn't mean what she says," Derek smirked. He still had his hands on her hips and he used that opportunity to pull her even closer. "I know you want this as much as I do."
"And what do we want?" Casey asked playfully and she swore she saw Derek smile a real smile, not one of his usual smirk. What he did next only made her feelings surface even more.
"Well," he said as he kissed her cheek, "I think," he said as he kissed her nose, "that we want," he said as he kissed her other cheek, "to be together."
Casey giggled as Derek placed feather kisses on her face, waiting for her to make another move.
She looked up to meet his eyes for the fraction of a second, and that was the exact moment that she lost every bit of self-control she had. She snaked her arms around Derek's neck, and then she pulled him in so their lips would meet for the first time.
The kiss was nothing like she expected. She honestly expected things to heat up quickly; she expected Derek to be needier, but he wasn't. He was gentle and caring, but that didn't stop him from kissing her with passion. He, on the other hand, expected Casey to take things slow, but she was the one to deepen the kiss and he never enjoyed kissing a girl that much.
After those four dreadful years, where the two of them were too afraid to face their feelings for each other, they were finally able to relieve all the tension their fights created and most importantly, be honest with each other.
Finally realizing that Casey was not such a prude after all and seemed to be enjoying this as much as him, he picked her up and set her on the counter in the middle of the kitchen so he could kiss her more passionately. She only answered by wrapping her legs around him to pull him closer.
"Derek," she moaned silently as he deposited gentle kisses down her neck. She played with the hair at the crook of his neck and he rolled his eyes in pleasure. Eventually, he started playing with the hem of her shirt. He was just hitching to touch her bare skin.
"I think," Casey started to say, but he cut her off with a kiss, "that we should take this somewhere else."
Derek raised an eyebrow as he looked at her in realization. She just suggested what he had been wanting for years and she seemed to want it as much as he did.
"Are you sure?" He asked, unsure of himself. This was a big step for the both of them and he did not want to push her away or to make her do something she would regret.
"I think we've waited long enough," Casey answered and they both grinned.
"Way too long," Derek answered.
Casey tried to hop off the counter Derek put her on, but she ended up losing balance and falling to the floor. Luckily for her, Derek caught her before any damage could be done and she blushed intensely as she realized how compromising their position was. Although, she should not feel that since she had just suggested getting to a room with Derek.
"I see Klutzilla can still resurface when you like a guy," Derek teased and Casey's eyes widened.
"De-rek!" She exclaimed, not too loud to wake anyone in the house though.
"You know, I've always loved it when you say my name like that," Derek whispered in her ear and she blushed bright red once more.
After that, Casey was absolutely stunned at how Derek was the perfect gentleman with her. He did not pressure her into anything and he followed her own pace. He was acting as if she was the most precious thing in the world, something she did not think he was capable of. She realized that she might have misjudged him. In fact, she realized that she should have given him a chance instead of always picking fights with him.
After an incredible and unexpected night, the two of them fell asleep in Derek's bed and he did not miss the chance to pull her towards him so they could cuddle. He had wanted to do that ever since he landed eyes on Casey. The two teenagers both fell asleep with a genuine smile on their face. Nothing had ever made them feel that good.
"George," Nora asked as she walked down the stairs, "Have you seen Casey? I wanted to talk to her about our apartment idea."
"No," the man answered, confused. "Should I have?"
"She's not in her bedroom, and nowhere else in the house," Nora explained and her eyes widened in realization. George looked at her confused once more.
"Did you check everywhere?" George asked.
"There is one place in the house I haven't checked," Nora answered.
"Derek's bedroom," they said at the same time.
The married couple walked up the stairs and tiptoed to Derek's bedroom. They did not want to make a noise, because they wanted to see the truth, not have them make a lame excuse to why they were in his room together. Well, they assumed they were both in Derek's bedroom.
George carefully cracked open the door so they could see a glimpse of what was inside. They saw exactly what they expected to see. The two teenagers were cuddling in their sleep and they couldn't fail to notice that Casey was lying on Derek's bare chest and the sheet revealed enough of Casey's back for the adults to notice that she wasn't wearing any shirt either.
They closed the door, silently laughing at the scene before them.
"It took four years," Nora whispered as they returned downstairs, "but it happened."
"Don't you find this weird?" George asked, still trying to make sense of what he saw.
"Come on," Nora said. "It was obvious that this was going to happen."
"I know, but this is still weird," George said.
"George, stop trying to make sense out of this," Nora said. "Nothing in this family makes sense."
"You're right," George answered. "Besides, I've never seen Derek smile in his sleep before. She must be really special to him."
"This is just so romantic!" Nora gushed.
Derek was actually the first one to wake up on that morning and he could not help but smile a genuine smile as he saw Casey between his arms and remembered what happened the night before. He was woken up by whispering voices right outside his door and he knew they had been caught. He did not care though. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her head lovingly.
He was deeply falling in love with her and he knew it. As he kissed her head, she stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes.
"Morning!" Derek said in a hushed tone. Casey turned around to face him and smiled widely.
"Morning!" She answered. "I'd actually love to get used to this!"
"What?" Derek asked, still clearly sleepy.
"Waking up beside you!" Casey announced. "Last night was incredible!"
"It was definitely something else," Derek said and Casey knew that was his own way of saying he enjoyed it too. Derek was never one with his feelings and she knew that would be hard to change, but she also knew that everything would change because of what happened the night before. There was no way of going back to being just step-siblings and since they were going to the same university, they would see a lot of each other. Over there, people will not know about their complicated relationship and they could just be themselves. If they stayed with their family, they would have to sneak around or let it all go.
"Stop thinking," Derek told Casey.
"Nora and dad already know," Derek said and he laughed as he saw Casey's eyes widen.
"How?" the girl asked, shocked.
"There were here right before you woke up," Derek explained. "I heard them whispering right outside the door and I'm pretty sure it's because they saw us."
"What are we gonna do?" Casey asked as her breathing got heavy. "They'll disown us, or break us apart, or—'
"Casey, chill, I don't think they would do that," Derek tried to assure her.
"What do you think they'll do?" Casey asked.
"I don't know, but, whatever happens, just remember that I love you," Derek said a shock made its way on both teenagers' faces.
"Did you just say you love me?" Casey asked, flabbergasted. "Did you just admit that the great Derek Venturi actually has feelings?"
"I'm not a total insensitive person, you know," Derek defended.
"Aw, you love me," Casey cooed to annoy him even more than he already was.
"And you don't?" Derek asked, trying to make her say what he had always wanted to hear.
"Yes," she said and she saw his eyes lit up. "I do love myself."
"Casey!" The boy whined.
"I'm just teasing," Casey assured him. "I do love you."
"Really?" Derek asked. Casey couldn't believe that he was actually insecure about her feelings towards him. Was she not clear enough the night before?
"Last night wouldn't have happened if I didn't," Casey stated and Derek smiled a genuine smile.
"Now, come here," Casey said as she pulled his face to hers so they could enjoy their last kiss before they face the family.
"So, Casey, is it really the same difference?" Derek asked, smirking. For once, Casey knew exactly what he was referring to.
"No, it's not, and I am glad it's not," she answered. "I would much rather love you like this than as a brother."
"I'm glad we can agree on something," Derek answered, smirking.
Hi there! This is my first LWD fanfiction. I don't know if I will write again for this fandom, but I do have a couple of other ideas I would like to explore. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story. I had a lot of fun writing it. Honestly, I used to watch LWD when I was like ten and never once did I think about Casey and Derek together, but now that I've rewatched some episodes, I don't understand how some people don't ship them. Thank you all for reading :D