Author's Note: Welcome to the final chapter! Enjoy! :)

six. fight

They both pass all their finals with good marks.

They survive the Christmas holiday at home without clueing the family in to the change in their relationship.

They start the new term with high expectations and a sunny outlook.

But they are still Derek-and-Casey. So they only make it to the end of the first week back before they are having a yelling fight outside her dorm building.

Casey can't even remember how the fight started. But she knows how it ended: Derek stormed off with a frustrated groan and hasn't spoken to her since.

After two days of silence, Casey simply can't handle it anymore. She knows things are different now. Their dynamic has changed. They aren't just step-siblings fighting for dominance anymore. This is a romantic relationship that could damage several other relationships if they can't make it work. So she decides she must find out what Derek's problem is.

Because he hasn't answered any of her calls for two days, she finds herself stomping up to his dorm room for a change. They usually hang out in her dorm because she at least has a private room, while Derek has to share, but this isn't the first time she's been here. It's just such a rare occurrence that it feels strange.

Hoping his roommate is out so they can discuss this privately, Casey forces herself to knock on his door like a normal person, rather than an angry girlfriend who's been given the silent treatment for a couple days. She knows if he suspects it's her by the way she bangs on his door, he will probably just leave her out in the hall.

Knowing his schedule as well as her own, she knows he should be back from hockey practice. If she's lucky, he's already had a shower and is trying to soothe any aching muscles from the difficult practice. She knocks on his door (controlled, regulated, normal) and waits a moment.

He swings his door open and stares at her. She's expecting anger, but there's surprise first, then confusion.

"Casey." He doesn't let her in just yet. "What are you doing here?"

Still trying to regulate her emotions so this doesn't absolutely blow up in their faces, her response is controlled.

"I thought we should talk…" She's wringing her hands in nervousness, but she's still looking at his face.

"Okay. Yeah. You're right." With that, he stands aside and holds the door open wide for her to enter his room.

Glancing around, she realizes that his roommate is not in and says a silent thanks to the universe for that. She also notices that Derek's side of the room is the 'neat' side for a change, except for several balls of wadded up paper that have missed the trashcan.

"Derek—"

"Casey—"

They begin speaking at the same time, and stop when they hear the other. Derek gestures for her to continue.

"I don't really even know where to start…"

Derek scoffs. "You mean you don't have a speech prepared?"

"No, actually, I don't." She gives him her best defiant look. "I just wanted to talk. Derek, it's been two days of silence from you and I hate that!"

He knows how much she hates the silent treatment. She had hoped, when they started this thing, that he wouldn't stoop to using such a tactic on her. She had hoped that this would be easier because of how well they knew each other before.

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry, Casey. I just needed some time."

She can't be sure if she's more shocked by his sorry or confused that he needed time.

"Time? Time for what? Figuring out how to end this?" She's failing miserably, but she would tell you that she's trying really hard not to cry.

"End it?" He had started pacing, but now he comes to a halt in front of her. "You think I want to end this?"

"Well, let's look at the facts, shall we? One, we got into a fight and you stormed off in a huff. Two, you haven't spoken to me or answered any of my calls for two days. What else am I supposed to think, Derek?"

"God, Casey, I just told you that I needed time!" He throws his hands in the air in frustration and starts pacing again. "I needed time to think, woman!"

"Time to think? What could you possibly need two days to think about while not speaking to me at all? We haven't gone that long without speaking in years, Derek!"

"Dammit, Case! I was trying to figure out how to tell you that I love you!"

She stares in shock for a few seconds, unable to catch her breath. When the first tear falls from her eye, Derek seems to realize what he's said.

"Shit! This isn't how this was supposed to go. This wasn't the plan." He drags both hands through his hair and stands in silence, waiting for her to respond.

"Y-you—you love me?" Her tears are flowing freely now, but her lips are beginning to curve up into a smile. She takes a deep breath and wipes a few tears away.

"I do. God only knows why," he reaches out to take her hands in his, "but I love you, Case. When we were fighting the other day, it was like fitting the last piece into a puzzle, and I thought, 'she's the only one I want to do this with for the rest of my life.' I stormed off because I knew I couldn't just say it in that moment. You'd never accept it if I said it while we were fighting."

"But you love me. Derek Venturi is actually expressing his feelings for once, and it's to me, of all people? I'm not sure what is more shocking right now." The smile on her face grows as her eyes soften, a few lingering tears stuck to her lashes. "I love you too, Derek."

His face breaks out into a grin now and he can't hold back anymore. His hands let go of hers to grasp either side of her face. He pulls her into him and kisses her, hard. One hand moves to her waist and wraps around, pulling her impossibly closer, as the other moves into her hair. Both of her hands are on his back, fisting his shirt.

Without breaking the kiss, he directs her to his bed, where he lays her down gently and falls beside her. The hand around her waist begins drawing circles on her lower back, while her hands drift under his shirt. He can feel her nails scratching down his back and he hisses into her mouth.

When he opens his eyes, she's smiling at him. She scratches a line down his spine and he throws his head back, closing his eyes again.

"Case. You gotta stop that."

"Stop what?" There's a hint of devious in her voice and he loves it almost as much as he loves her.

With a chuckle, he brings his eyes back to meet hers. "You know exactly what." He reaches behind himself and pulls her hand out of his shirt, then wraps it behind her back and holds it there loosely. She smirks up at him. "Stop torturing me before I lose control and start ripping all your clothes off."

"Maybe that's exactly what I want you to do." She leans in and kisses his jaw, then trails down his neck and nips at his Adam's apple. He hisses again and pulls back.

"No, Case. Not like this."

"Why not? You just told me you love me. What better time is there? We've only had about four years of foreplay." She's still smirking, and he nearly caves.

"Believe me, I want to. I do. I just think our first time should be special. Perfect. And not coming off an emotional confession after a two day fight."

"Okay, okay." She stops trying to get her hand back under his shirt and rests it on his chest. She presses her forehead to his. "You're right. I'll stop."

"Thank you." He places a kiss to her forehead, then tucks her head under his chin. "But I do want you to stay with me tonight, if you want."

She moves her hand from his chest to wrap around his waist and mumbles "hmm" as though she has to think about her answer.

"My roommate won't be back tonight, if that's what you're worried about." His lips pull up into a smile.

"It was a factor. But I also didn't come here prepared to stay the night, so I don't have any clothes or anything."

He scoffs at her again, knowing she's stalling.

"As if I don't have any shirts and sweatpants you could wear? I also have a spare toothbrush in the bathroom. Never been used. It's got your name on it, if you want it." His arm around her waist tightens and pulls her just a tiny bit closer.

"Okay," she says in a peppy voice. "You convinced me." Her head pops up to give him a smile and she places a kiss right at the corner of his mouth.

"Well that was easy." His laugh vibrates in his chest. Then he rolls off the bed so he can find her some clothes and that toothbrush.

Fifteen minutes later, Casey comes out of his bathroom wearing that old orangutan shirt and a pair of sweatpants that definitely look better on her than him, smiling shyly at him from the door. Derek turns to look at her and his breath catches in his throat. She starts toward him and he opens his arms to her.

Wrapping her tightly in his arms, he whispers into her hair. "This is all I need, for the rest of my life."

Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it. Reviews would be greatly appreciated!

I know the ending was cheesy, and wayyyy less steamy than it could have been. I'm obsessed with the idea of Derek finally tapping into some of his emotions when they get away from the family and he can actually think straight. And I think if anyone is going to turn him into a full-on sap, it's going to be Casey. But I have one or two other stories up my sleeve that may or may not be a little steamier than this. ;) Go ahead and give me a follow so you can be alerted when I post a new story.

Thanks again for taking the time to read!

-Bethany :)