They always said how Dexter slowly learned to fake normal-ness throughout his early years. But Dexter wasn't as "good" at this act at first. It seemed to beg the question: Didn't Debra notice something was "off" about him during their childhood together? Like that fake smile of his became more present at one point.
Dexter often acted unemotional. But Debra often excused this behavior of his on him having a typical "guy" reaction. Or people in general blamed Dexter's social awkwardness on him being "nerdy" or "geeky."
Their sibling relationship went as follows: Debra swore and yelled at her brother. Dexter stoically obeyed his sister.
I always took it that Dexter played with Debra as a child, and acted as her friend, because it was almost like his duty to do so. But that interaction always "conditioned" him to act normal.

nice

Beautiful. After Astor accused Dexter of not caring that Rita died and Quinn stating that the neighbor looked more upset about her death than Dexter did, it's nice to see a different viewpoint, one that corroborates the audience's knowledge of how much more attached be became throughout the first four seasons. Also, I love Deb's reasoning for why the Dexter/Rita relationship seemed to work. The final line is powerful.

Very nice work.

Great story!

Really liked this fic! I think it was interesting how you wrote this, and it was very emotional! It was really nice to see Deb's view of her brother throughout the years. Great work!

Once again another great story. I love your your stories because they are so full of emotion. Amazing writing!