Title: The Odd Nice Thing
Category: Life With Derek
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance
Pairing: Casey/Derek
Prompt: #05 - Gloves
Word Count: 494
Summary: He rarely did nice things; it just wasn't in him.
The Odd Nice Thing
-Drabble-
He rarely did nice things; it just wasn't in him. He preferred to look untouched by anything; too self absorbed to notice what was going on with anybody else. But she was walking next to him, rubbing her red hands together and blowing air into them in hopes that they might warm up, which was hard to ignore. It was cold, freezing really, and why the always practical Casey MacDonald hasn't brought gloves was beyond him. He had his on, not something he regularly forgot given how often he played hockey. They were on their way home, walking from where the Prince had petered out and died on them. He had his hockey bag slung over his shoulder and she had her book bag hanging on her side, bouncing against her hip with every step.
They were silent; he was brooding over his stupid car while she was too focused on how cold she was. He was surprised she hadn't started ranting about how it was only right that he, being a boy, should give her, because she was a girl, his gloves. This would be when he replied that she was the most hypocritical feminist alive, but would she care? No. She'd just demand his gloves. But, instead, she just kept walking, faster and faster in hopes that they'd arrive home soon and she wouldn't need his gloves.
He didn't know why (okay, he did, but he hated admitting it), but he finally rolled his eyes, tugged his gloves off and handed them over to her, bumping her in the face in the process, just to show he didn't care. She furrowed her brow, stared up at him in confusion and he kept walking, waiting for her to finally take them. Silently, she tugged them away and then pulled them on, giving a sigh of relief.
"Now I'll have to wash them," he muttered, just loud enough for her to hear.
When he didn't get a snappy comeback right away, he turned to see her, sure that there'd be a pissy expression waiting for him. Instead, he was surprised to see her grinning at him, her eyes bright and her cheeks bitten by the cold, making it look like she was blushing. She didn't say anything, just caught up to his few steps ahead of her, bumped his shoulder and kept walking.
He didn't let her see it, but he grinned to himself. His cold hands, now stuffed in his winter jacket, were worth it, just for that warm Casey MacDonald smile of hers, rarely turned in his direction but just as effective as always. He told himself the squirming in his stomach was just because he missed lunch and the way his heart sped up was because he'd been walking for awhile now. But that didn't stop him from smiling to himself; feeling rather proud. Maybe a nice thing here or there wasn't so bad; the reward was pretty good after all.