Chapter Text
Derek pulled himself up with his arms to get his chin over the metal bar. He was on rep twenty-five now, breaking a sweat. He could feel the condensation running along his eye brows and down his spine. That was good – he wanted to work out hard enough to get sweaty and dirty.
Relaxing his biceps, he dropped his feet to the ground and glanced to the jump rope that was lying nearby. That would get some cardio going and accelerate his heart more. He always loves the high that working out brings to him. Gets him out of his head for a bit and truthfully, he loves the burn.
He bent down to grab the jump rope when he heard his name being called. He sighed deeply. Derek realized he wasn’t really hiding. It was obvious, if he wasn’t working or in his room, then he would be in the barn that he has basically reconfigured into a home gym.
The area used to be mostly for storage but now it’s converted into Derek’s place to go to not be bothered. He installed the chin up bar, a punching bag, and weight bench. It’s not much but it’s enough to give Derek what he wants. It means he doesn’t have to go to an actual gym. He has what is useful and the Hale property is big enough that he can also run daily.
Wiping his brows with the edge of his fingers, he stood waiting for his mother to approach. He couldn’t hide – she knew where he was so he waited.
The woman stepped into his space with her nose crunched up at the offending smell. She always says the place smells like a locker room. Derek disagrees. He thinks the odor emanates hard work. He doesn’t mind it all or he’s just used to it.
Talia Hale only took two steps inside the barn; he assumes she would prefer to be somewhere else especially since she is not dressed for this atmosphere. Wearing her tailored fitted pant suit accompanied by her perfectly coiffed burnet hair tied in a bun, she crossed her arms and sighed. “I was hoping you would be getting ready.” The tone was laced with exasperation but he knew, his mother was run taught right now. She gets stressed easily so it wasn’t surprising she was acting somewhat disappointing at Derek’s lack of readiness.
“Working on it.” Not really but he was getting there – slowly but he was. He was on his own time line at the moment.
She hummed under her breath and he noted her painted fiery red index finger nail tapping on her elbow. “Your sister is going to be here soon. We haven’t seen her in a long time. I was hoping you would be presentable so you can help put away the groceries.”
He tossed the jump rope to the side, not flinching when the plastic handles hit the cement floor. That wasn’t entirely true. They see Laura – maybe not a lot but they see her. They visit her on long weekends and she comes home for the holidays but yes, she is never around for an extended period of time. This time she will be home for almost two weeks and because of that, his mother has been going off the walls insane. A lot of it is because she will be home to celebrate their mother’s sixtieth birthday.
She is happy but psychotic at the same time. She wants everything perfect and just right. Wants everything planned out to the last millisecond. It’s almost like she has convinced herself if everything is fucking perfect, she’ll be able to persuade Laura to move back home or at least be closer and not to mention she is flying over the moon because, “I just don’t get why she has to bring her new boyfriend home with her. She hadn’t mentioned anything before and then suddenly she’s dating and wants to bring him home to meet the parents?”
It didn’t fucking add up if you asked Derek. Yes, Laura has always danced to her own beat, didn’t always look for their parent’s approval like Derek always did. She wasn’t rebellious per se but she didn’t always stay in the lines. She liked to swerve and could be morally gray at times. So yes, he may not see his sister on the regular but they do talk and not once she did mention she was seeing anyone. And if even she did, it still seemed odd she wanted to bring that person home with her. He would have assumed she would have preferred to introduce him in a different way – in a somewhat slower fashion like a Skype introduction first. But jumping in right away to meet the parents? Maybe it was Laura being herself but also seemed off.
But it didn’t matter to his mother. She saw this as finally one of her kids is seeing someone who could be serious and long term – someone who could potentially give her grandkids. She is truly afraid she’s going to grow old and not have grandbabies to spoil. He honestly doesn’t see anything wrong with the woman being a grandmother to fur babies but she never sees the humor in that thought.
“She has met someone and is happy and wants to introduce him to the family. There’s nothing wrong with that. I thought you would be happy for your sister.”
Her arms were still crossed and the tone was still laced with an undercurrent of disappointment. He hated when she made him feel like he was ten years old. Talia Hale was good at that at times. Despite Laura’s semi rebelliousness, he always believed she was the favorite child – the golden one who could do no wrong even though she did more so than Derek. His parents would always ensure they loved them both equally and he was crazy but sometimes, there were occasions he didn’t quite believe that.
Taking the hem of his white tank, he wiped the rest of the sweat of his face. “I am happy for her.” God, he wants nothing for the best for her, “I just thought it was weird that is was so out of the blue.”
“Perhaps but I am not questioning it. My baby girl is coming home and that is all that matters now.” She smiled broadly as she finally uncrossed her arms and relaxed her posture.
Baby girl is freaking thirty years old. “So can you please help your father finish unpack the groceries? I have a few other things I need to take care of before Laura’s arrival.”
Derek nodded as his mother said her peace and pivoted on her high heals and walked out of his sanctuary. Sighing, he followed her out of the barn into the grass that led to the house. They didn’t actually live on a farm but they had a rather large piece of property that bordered some woods. There were no neighbors nearby and they lived about twenty minutes from the closest town. They were secluded but not entirely cut off from civilization either.
He shuffled his feet through the grass blades as he made his way to the front door like a scolded toddler. Really though, he only had his own self to blame.
Derek is smart and makes decent money. He ventured out on his own like Laura. Granted, he didn’t leave the state or the area but he did leave home. Problem was he actually didn’t particularly like living on his own. He was a lousy cook and despite how smart he was, he couldn’t seem to budget his money at all.
Then his father had a stroke a couple years back and it was a no brainer to move back home. The man is mostly fine now but he can’t overdo it. His mother is a nervous wreck if her husband remotely doesn’t anything physical so she was for sure grateful when Derek moved back home. She uses his strength and youth to climb on the roof and do any handy work that his dad used to do. For the most part, Derek doesn’t mind. He loves his parents and would do anything for them but sometimes – there are just times he yearns for more.
And God knows Laura has tried to convinced him of that. She has told him more than once there is a job waiting for him in Washington state at her company when he’s ready. It’s fucking cold and rainy there.
Yet, maybe that’s an excuse. Perhaps he’ll never be ready.
“Hey dad.” Derek called out as he entered the open concept kitchen. They had remodeled the kitchen a few years ago to open it up. Knocked out a wall and installed a huge island that held some barstools. Mom even got a larger window installed above the sink so she could see outside while doing the dishes. “Mom said you needed help.”
His dad had evidently housed most of the items since there were only a few sacks left on the counter. “Sure, you can put that stuff away.” He pointed to the bag closest to the fridge. “You can leave the potatoes out. Your mom wants some steaks on the grill tonight.”
He stifled the laugh, “she’s going all out.”
“You know your mother son.”
He sure does. He quickly pulled out the various items from the sack, placing the vegetables in their respected drawers in the refrigerator. He then placed the milk and orange juice on the shelf. Once he emptied the bag, he folded it up and placed it with the others that his father had put to the side to bring into the laundry where they kept the reusable bags.
“Well, I guess I need to head up to take a shower.” He knew must reek. As much as it would be fun to get his stench all over his sister, he really shouldn’t offend her new boyfriend. He may think it’s odd that he’s here but he still won’t be rude either. He’ll put his best foot forward and be nice despite the circumstance.
“Please do son. I love you but you do kind of smell.”
“Always the charmer dad.”
His dad chuckled as he picked up all the folded sacks. “Not as much as your Uncle Peter.” Oh yes, the man oozed charm or at least he thinks so. Sometimes it leaned more to a creepy charm. “Speaking of, he’s coming by for dinner as well. He is anxious to see Laura.”
Derek shouldn’t be surprised. His uncle is around a lot and of course he would want to see his niece. He knows he misses her just as much. It’s just sometimes his uncle can be a little overwhelming. He loves the man but on occasion, he just needs to dial back that so called charisma. All in all, he is good guy, loyal to his family but sometimes he can be somewhat off-putting with some of his comments. Derek assures he means well – it’s just he doesn’t always know when to shut up.
“Mom sure is bringing out the red carpet for Laura and for someone we don’t even know.”
Derek didn’t know he was so bothered by that and he could tell he said that in a condescending way due to the way his dad turned towards him and arched his left brow. His father can be intimidating in his own way but his mother was definitely the one who wore the pants in the house. They were yin and yang. Perhaps that’s a reason they meshed so well together – opposites attract and what not.
He didn’t necessarily want to say Joseph Hale was meek or timid. No, he wasn’t those but he wasn’t as forward, aggressive, or intimidating. Yes, in their youth, Derek and Laura wouldn’t be able to get away with shit from their dad but his mom would rein down any form of punshment and ‘do the talk’. She would be the bad guy – never their dad.
“Your mother happy is that Laura is coming to visit for a while and to be here to celebrate her birthday. And…”, the older man paused as he thought for a moment. Derek watched as the graying sideburns moved as his face scrunched up. “Just try to be happy for your sister. Yes, this is unexpected but we’re all going to try to put our best foot forward and welcome him here.”
He knew that and would. He’s not a total asshole but doesn’t mean he has like to it. “I will dad.” He didn’t add on that his mother already lectured him and said the same thing. “I am super stoked to see Laura and it’s going to be a great time.”
His father patted him on his shoulder and then playfully shoved him away to encourage him to go get cleaned and dressed.
Derek took the stairs to the top landing and then proceeded to walk down the hall towards his bedroom. Since it was only, he and his parents that lived here, their rooms were fairly separated. They each were on the opposite ends of the hallway. He was also lucky enough that he had an attached bathroom. A couple of the spare rooms didn’t have that and they had to share a common one.
Entering his bedroom, he sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was for sure ready to wash the sweat off his body but he had no clue what to wear. What does someone wear when they meet their sister’s new boyfriend? He had no idea but decided, he would figure it out after the shower since time was getting away from him.
The water had felt refreshing and nice as it cascaded down his various body parts. He ensured he got the body wash everywhere so he could smell amazing since he was sure having foul body odor would not be a good first impression for Laura’s boyfriend. He also ensured he messaged the shampoo deep into his hair and scalp. He had taken so long in the shower that his finger tips were turning pruney so then he deemed himself ready.
Once he dried off, Derek flung the closet open. He had a lot of nicer clothes. He didn’t need to go all out but he also didn’t want to portray a slob either. Since he didn’t have a lot of time, he quickly chose some black colored jeans and a green Henley – the green color would accompany his eye color and make them pop more. Why the hell not? Might as well enhance one of his assets.
As he checked himself out in the floor length mirror that hung on the back of his bedroom door, Derek heard two car doors shut from out front.
They were here!
Taking a breath and plastering on a smile, he swung open his door and made his way down the hallway towards the stairs.
He was still descending the steps when he heard the screech of Laura’s excitement upon seeing her parents. His mother shrieked in response. Derek was glad in his eardrums were not closer in proximity.
Once he hit the bottom floor and approached the greeting, Laura was pulling back from the group hug and she noticed Derek hovering immediately. “Baby brother!” She cackled as she spread her arms widely to allow him to come in from a hug. He pressed her close. She whispered, “how I missed you.”
They embraced for a few moments until Laura was the one who released first. “My manners. Sorry. Oh my God!” She flipped her dark shoulder length hair behind her shoulder and cleared her throat. “This is Stiles.”
What the hell is a Stiles? The gangly young man that Derek had originally not noticed standing there smiled and offered out his hand to his parents. They shook and said nice to meet you.
The hand was then offered to him. He stood frozen still like an idiot at first. The younger man began to fidget uncomfortably when he took his left hand and rubbed the back of his neck. Fuck, Derek was being rude. He quickly shook the proffered the palm and said the obligatory nice to meet you. His hand was soft and for a brief moment, Derek hesitated in letting go since he was enjoying the sensation on his skin.
“You too dude. Heard a lot about you.” He bit his trembling bottom lip – probably still nervous.
Derek could not say the same thing. No, he couldn’t. He has heard nothing abound him. Not one word except he was fairly certain Laura had mentioned a neighbor named something similar. Was she dating her neighbor?
“Nice to meet you.”
The younger man and he was much younger than Laura stepped back and aligned himself next to his sister – probably hoping she would act as a shield or a buffer.
“I do hope the flight was well.” Talia spoke.
“It was fine.” Laura responded in kind.
They all stood in the doorway for a few moments, the front door not even shut all the way since they hadn’t even made it into the house completely before the greeting and hugging commenced.
With the sun poking through, Derek was able to see the light cast onto the lanky stranger who evidently stole his sister’s heart. He sort of hated himself for sizing the boy up but he couldn’t help it. He needed to know more and determine if he was good enough fit for Laura.
His skin was pale. His eye color almost looked like whiskey or honey. Derek could tell he didn’t have a lot of muscle but he didn’t seem like he would be too weak. His posture didn’t ooze confidence but it could be more related to the situation than anything.
His appearance was casual – wearing white washed denim jeans and a graphic tee that adorned some character he didn’t recognize. And his feet wore Converse. He did seem a little juvenile for Laura’s tastes but it worked for him. Actually, surprisingly, the ensemble really worked for him.
And not to mention, he screamed twink to Derek. Which odd considering he was dating Laura.
And interesting, now that he was staring, he could see some moles splattered on his milky white face. His nose was kind of adorably upturned.
Derek had to admit this Stiles kid was sort of attractive.
Shit, this wasn’t good. He inhaled deeply and shuffled his feet discreetly. Derek was attracted to his sister’s boyfriend!