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I
Stiles is waiting for his name to be called in the coffee shop when Derek gets inside. It’s raining outside and the shoulders of his coat have little drops on it, even though he’s closing his soaked umbrella. Derek spots him and nods, acknowledging his presence and moving to the counter to place his order.
Stiles distracts himself with the straps of his own coat for a minute and when he lifts his eyes he can see Derek’s tense shoulders. He actually hasn’t seen those in a very long time, not since they fought a shamelessly flirt witch a few years ago. Stiles looks at the counter and a girl is in front of Derek, she can’t be past 20 and she’s smiling at him and playing with her hair in a clear flirtatious mode. Without thinking it twice, Stiles gets up.
“Derek is such a nice name” she says, sweet voice and all, “I’m sure it’s just as nice as your phone number.”
And, oh God, this girl is watching too much Friends.
Stiles plants himself behind Derek, takes his hand and interlocks their fingers, squishing with maybe too much force.
“Hey, boo. What’s taking you so long?” Stiles asks with a tooth rooting voice.
“I’m just waiting for my coffee, honey.” Derek answers and moves a little to let Stiles get into vision for the girl behind the counter to see.
“He who must not be named?” One of the baristas asks and Stiles giggles.
“You didn’t…” Derek says, and if Stiles didn’t know him better he would say there was just teasing on his voice. But he does know better and there’s also annoyance because he’s annoying like that most of the time.
“Oh, I did.”
Stiles lets Derek’s hand go and takes his coffee order, walking straight back to Derek to wait for his name to be called.
“Are we still going to your house, baby?” Stiles asks, and the girl behind the counter is still looking at them like six heads grew out of his neck. Hah, she hasn’t seen any hydras, the fucker. She walks to the machine and hides, giving them her back.
“Yup. The Camaro’s parked outside.”
“Awesome! You know how much I love ridding in your car,” Stiles says filthily and with a mischievous smile on his face, Derek rolls his eyes. The girl doesn’t see his gesture but they do hear her choke on her own saliva, clearly still paying attention to them.
“Derek.” Someone calls and Derek takes his coffee order, both of them walk to the shop’s door.
“Thank you.” Derek says once they’re out, opening the umbrella again.
“Don’t mention it.”
II
“Do you think they’ll believe me if I tell them I’m pregnant? I’m tired of waiting.” Lydia says.
They’re both sitting in the Administration building’s reception surrounded by a lot of students, waiting for the graduation tickets to be handled.
“Maybe. But we didn’t tell them sooner, so they probably won’t.”
“Damn it. I need to take a plane in less than two hours and I’m still stuck in here!” she complains. “Do you know how hard was to get Jackson to agree of giving me his address to visit him!?”
“I heard you complain a lot of times because of that, so I’m gonna take a wild guess and say I do.”
“If I lose my plane, you’re the ones that’ll have to pay for the damages!” she complains loudly and Stiles sighs.
“Go, Lyds. I’ll stay here and pick your tickets.”
“But… you have to get home too.”
“Yeah, but Martin it’s first on the list than Stilinski. I’ll be sitting here a lot more time waiting for my tickets than for yours. Come on, give me your carnet and I’ll pick them.”
“You’re the best. I’ll bring you something nice from London, I promise.” Lydia says, gathering her stuff, giving him her carnet and kissing his cheek.
“Yes, yes. Go, Lydia, go!” he says as he watches her get out of the building.
He stays on his phone, texting, when a girl he’s seen too many times around campus comes to sit beside him.
“I couldn’t help but notice that your girlfriend just left.” She says, there’s a smile on her face that he doesn’t like.
Sometimes I wish I could smell chemo signals just like the wolves, he thinks.
“Hmm? Oh, she’s not my girlfriend.” He says, and purposely avoids saying Lydia’s name.
“Oh… you have a girlfriend? I’m sure you do, you’re a really handsome looking guy.”
Stiles laughs nervously and murmurs a ‘thanks’ and a denial, he grabs his phone and texts a quick message to Derek.
Stiles: Call me. Help me. Creepy girl beside me.
His phone rings and the screen lights up to show Derek’s picture. He took that one the last time he went to Beacon Hills. Derek was asleep on his couch and the Eyebrows of Doom don’t look that Doom-ish when he’s sleeping. Stiles couldn’t help but find it adorable.
“Hey, love.” Stiles says as a greeting and the girl is looking at him with wide eyes.
“What is it?” Derek asks, directly to the point.
“I’m getting my graduation tickets.” Stiles answers.
“Are you with Lydia, then?”
“Nope, she just left. She has a plane to take, remember?”
“Oh, right. She’s been telling everyone she’s going to see Jackson.”
“Yup.” They stay silent for a moment. “I think I can sneak a third ticket, do you want to come?”
“What? Stiles, I don’t know, your father…”
“Oh please, Der. My father loves you. And so does Melissa.”
“And Scott? Don’t you want him to come to your graduation?”
“I do, yes. But Scotty will be living the dream in Mexico. You know how grandma Carmen gets if Scott doesn’t visit her at least once every two months.”
“Yeah…” Stiles can feel the shiver in that answers, so he laughs. “Shut up.”
“I’m sorry, boo. But even you have to admit it was funny.”
“It wasn’t, sweetiepie.” And Stiles burst laughing again because the pet name sounds like it’s actually physically wounding Derek to say it.
“So, you coming, right?” Stiles asks, the girl beside him huffs as she stands up and walks away.
“If you want me to, yeah. I’ll go.”
“Thanks.” There’s a few seconds of silence and Stiles starts to talk again. “There was this girl beside me asking me if ‘a handsome looking guy like me’ had a girlfriend. God, it sounded so creepy, and a lot more in broad day light.”
“And? Does a handsome looking guy like you has a girlfriend?” Derek asks, and Stiles hears the smirk on his voice.
“Of course not, honey bear! There’s only you!”
“I’m flattered!”
“You should be!”
III
“Oh, my God! Did you hear my speech!?” Stiles says, almost jumping around as he catches his dad, Melissa and Derek on their seats. He’s full of energy and smiling broadly. “Did you? I didn’t mess it up, right? God, I was so nervous!”
“We heard it, Stiles. And no, you didn’t mess it up. It all came out as you practiced it.” Melissa answers with an encouraging smile.
“Oh, thank God. I was beginning to think I messed it up because nobody reacted when I finished. I was so worried.”
“They were just impressed, son.” The Sheriff answers and Stiles smile grows impossibly wider.
“I’m so proud of you, Stiles.” Melissa says as she hugs him with too much force, but he reciprocates the hug with the same enthusiasm. “We’re going to congratulate Lydia on her speech too, ok? We’ll be right back.”
His father and Melissa walk away to where the Martins are and Stiles and Derek stay there, staring at them.
“I’m proud of you.” Derek mumbles. “You made it.”
“Aww, Sappywolf! You’re gonna make me cry” and even if Stiles says it with a mocking tone, he does have tears trying to get out of his eyes without his permission. “Thanks, Derek. It means a lot to me that you’re here”, he says after a moment, smiling softly at him.
“Come on, I have a gift waiting for you in my car.”
“Derek, I’m not having sex with you on your car. Not with these many people around!” Stiles says, feign scandalized.
“Don’t be an idiot, come on.”
Stiles laughs but follows him anyway. When they get to the Camaro, Stiles catches the sight of the creepy girl from the tickets incident, watching intently from one of the designated parking lots. Stiles heart does something strange and Derek is all over him, worried eyes and deep frown.
“What is it?” he mumbles the question.
“The creepy girl I told you about last time is staring at us from behind you. No! Don’t turn around!” Stiles stops Derek’s head from turning around with his own hand, cupping his jaw. “She already thinks you’re my boyfriend… because of the last time.” Derek nods shortly and he lets his hands rest on Stiles’ waist.
“I’m going to kiss you now, is that ok?” he asks, turning them both so Stiles’ back is pressed onto one of the Camaro’s doors. Derek focuses his sight and sees the girl, gaping at them in anger.
“Oh… ok” Stiles mumbles against Derek’s lips and then he’s being kissed.
As first kisses go, it’s something very simple. Derek kisses him softly, slow, and if Stiles had feelings for Derek, he’s sure the kiss would make him turn into a pile of goo. But as it is, he doesn’t have feelings for the older man so he doesn’t feel anything other than a clench on his chest for a second and then nothing. And it’s not that Derek isn’t a good kisser, because he’s amazing at that, but he’s too familiar with kissing strangers at parties that a kiss doesn’t mean anything to him anymore.
“She’s gone,” Derek mumbles against his lips once they break the kiss and Stiles turns around to confirm with his own eyes that, indeed, the creepy/stalker girl is gone.
“Thank you, Der.” Stiles mumbles, wide smile on his lips and Derek shrugs. “Now, come on, give me my gift.” Derek chuckles and gets something out of the car’s backseat.
Stiles ends up holding a red hoodie that says ‘Well, Now What?’ with a graduation cap on top of the phrase. Stiles laughs happily for straight five minutes.
IV
Derek and Stiles are doing grocery shopping for Pack Night. Stiles has his Jeep with his mechanic so Derek’s driving, he doesn’t seem too happy about that but Stiles doesn’t give it a single thought.
“Should we buy pop tarts? Those are Isaac’s favorites.” Stiles comments when they’re in the sweets aisle.
“He’s the only one that likes it.”
“Do you really wanna see his kicked-puppy face?”
Derek sighs, takes a bag of pop tarts and throws it into the cart, Stiles chuckles a bit and Derek glares at him.
“I’m going to get some beers, we drank them all last time.”
When Stiles comes back with three six packs of beer, Derek seems relieved to see him at the end of the aisle. There’s a woman in front of him and she has her back turned to Stiles. She’s blonde, tall and from behind, she looks like Kate, even though Stiles is sure she’s dead because they killed her and burned her a couple of years ago. Stiles is so tired of this. He doesn’t want to see that expression on Derek’s face again because the guy deserves to be happy, ok? He really does. So, he walks up straight to them, places the six packs inside the cart and puts his ‘jealous boyfriend’ act on. He stands beside Derek, kisses him deeply while she’s still talking and then wraps himself on Derek, letting the older man put his arm around his shoulders.
“Hey, baby. I brought the beers” Stiles says sweetly. “And who’s this?” Stiles asks, enjoying the disgusted look on the woman’s face.
“Um…” Derek answers, not really knowing the woman’s name.
“I was just telling him that those fries are no good to his health,” she answers and Stiles just knows that’s a lie, and Derek holding him impossibly closer just affirms that theory.
“Well, those fries aren’t for him. Those are our friends’ favorites and they have a really good metabolism, you don’t need to worry”, he answers and starts pushing the cart. “Come on, love. Let’s get the rest of the food somewhere else where this lady doesn’t have any other business on”, and the woman is left there, gapping.
When they’re in another aisle, Stiles sighs and looks at Derek. He looks defeated and sad.
“She looked like…”
“I know.” Stiles answers, not letting him say her name. He seriously wants to be beside Derek and just hold him until Kate’s memory doesn’t chase him anymore. “We don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
“Ok…” and God, Stiles wants to resuscitate Kate just to kill her again himself for making Derek sound so small. “Thanks, babe.” Derek mumbles distractedly, putting some things inside the cart.
Stiles’ heart does not skip a beat. If Derek didn’t notice it, it didn’t happen.
V
“I saw you and Derek kissing the other day, at the grocery store.” Lydia says while painting her nails. They’re doing their monthly-catching-up-with-Lydia-and-Stiles. She doesn’t even look up. “Do you have something to tell me?”
“Not really, no.” Stiles answers. He’s holding Lydia’s nail polish on his hand. “There was a woman bothering him. She looked a lot like Kate, Lyds. He was so uncomfortable and she wouldn’t leave him alone, even though his whole body was screaming ‘panic attack’.”
“Hmm…” she hums, cleaning her skin with one of her fingers and putting another coat of nail polish on her next nail. “That didn’t look like a first kiss to me, though.”
“That’s because it wasn’t our first kiss.” Lydia looks up at him when he says that and she raises an eyebrow. “We kissed the day we graduated. You remember the creepy girl I told you about? The one that was stalking me?” she nods. “She was there. She already thought Derek was my boyfriend so we made a scene beside his car and she went away. Haven’t seen her since.”
“Are you sure it was a scene?” she asks, both eyebrows raised.
“Yes, of course. What else would it be?” he asks with a frown of confusion and when Lydia’s going to answer his phone chimes with a text message notification.
Derek: hey babe, what are you doing?
Stiles smiles and he just knows Derek needs help getting out of an awkward situation.
Stiles: being my gay self and helping Lydia paint her nails.
Derek: can you send me a picture of the two of you? I ran into an ex-classmate and she’s been trying to ask me out this whole time we’ve been talking.
Stiles: sure, sweetie.
“Hey, Lyds. Photo for Derek. Show him your awesome nails!” he says and Lydia looks at him annoyed. However, as soon as the camera is showing on Stiles’ phone screen, she smiles wide and happy, and shows her nails. “Thanks, Lyds”, he mumbles and starts typing again.
Stiles: here you go, boo.
Stiles: *photo attachment*
Derek: thanks, baby.
Derek: tell Lydia that nail polish looks good on her.
Stiles: will do.
“What was that for?” she asks, too interested in her nails again.
“Derek ran into an ex-classmate and she’s trying to ask him out. I suppose he needed proof of his boyfriend’s whereabouts.”
“He could say his girlfriend was painting her nails at home with one of her best friends, who also happens to be bisexual.”
“Please, as if he ever would ask you to belittle yourself like that and pretend to be in a relationship with someone. You’re too high in hierarchy for that. He said the nail polish looks good on you.”
“You’re right. I would have said no,” she checks her now-finished nails and smiles. “Of course it looks good on me, I chose it.”
Stiles chuckles and closes the nail polish little bottle and places it on the table. Lydia lets her nails dry and looks at Stiles calculating.
“What?” he asks confused.
“Are you sure this fake relationship is only that?” she asks with a serious expression.
“Of course it is, Lydia. The guy’s my friend. Friends help each other out of uncomfortable situations.”
“I’m not saying that’s not the case, but does that really help with your feelings for Derek?”
“Feelings for-? What? Lydia, I don’t have feelings for Derek!” he says scandalized.
“Oh, cut the crap, Stilinski. You can fool everyone, including yourself, but you can’t fool me. You’re in love with him.”
“What!?” Stiles scuffs. “I’m not- why would I even-? He’s Derek, Lydia, and I’m me.”
“Stop with the self-deprecation. It’s not attractive.”
“I’m not trying to be! I’m not in love with Derek, Lydia.”
“You are. Now, stop whining about it and pass me the transparent one.”
Stiles handles her the little bottle and he sits quietly for a few minutes. Him? In love with Derek? Yeah, right. Yes, the guy is loyal, and gentle, and soft, and caring. And he’s an asshole too, but he’s a funny asshole at that (when his asshole-ness is not directed towards Stiles). And he has these beautiful ‘what’s-their-color’ eyes that makes him think of the clearing they found once in the Preserve. And his beard makes him look soft instead of threatening and he just wants to hug the guy. And his lips. God, his lips are so soft on his, and so warm, and…
Shit.
Shit. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Shit!” Stiles almost yells out of nowhere but Lydia seems undisturbed by that. “Damn it!”
“Go look for him, Stiles. Tell him how you feel.”
“But, what if he doesn’t…?” he starts but shuts up when Lydia shoots him a glare. “No, you’re right. I should go find him.”
Lydia watches him gather his stuff and get out of her apartment, she sighs and continues to put clear nail polish on her nails.
“Fuckin finally.”
+ I
Stiles lets himself inside Derek’s apartment, he gave him the key so Derek doesn’t have anyone to blame but himself for this. He’ll probably have to wait a good half an hour before Derek comes home and he can’t help but look around to find something to do. When he doesn’t find anything, he resumes texting Derek to tell him he’s there.
Stiles: can you come home? I need to talk to you about something.
Derek: on my way.
Derek arrives ten minutes later and Stiles is sitting on the couch, waiting for him. The moment the door creaks open he feels his heart beat like crazy.
“Stiles? Are you ok? Your heart is…” Derek comes closer and kneels in front of Stiles, worried face, hands gently touching his arms and Stiles feels like crying.
“Why do you have to be so goddamned perfect? Stiles mumbles, sobbing a little bit.
“What?” Derek asks, confused.
“You don’t make it easy for me, you know?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…” Stiles answers, shifting closer and caressing Derek’s cheek. He could swear Derek leans forward and into the touch. “You don’t make it easy for me not to fall in love with you.”
There’s a few seconds of silence where Derek processes what Stiles just said and then he has a wide, happy grin on his face.
“Can I kiss you?” Derek asks, leaning forward and Stiles smiles shyly at him.
“For real this time?” Stiles mumbles, Derek’s breath on his lips.
“Yes…” he answers breathlessly.
“Then yes, please.”
And when Derek kisses him, really kisses him, he doesn’t know why he was postponing this for so long. Because this feels amazing and Stiles doesn’t want to ever let go.