The first time Stiles smiled at Derek, Stiles doesn't remember because he was only two, but Derek does. He thinks that's probably when he first fell in love with Stiles, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is Claudia says that Stiles must really like Derek because he doesn't usually smile at strangers, and although Derek was four and didn't really understand why, he felt like all his insides went all gooey. Then he watched as Claudia walked away with Stiles to the dairy section of the grocery store, his eyes fixated on the baby. Which, okay, is a little bit creepy. But Derek was five and hated all his family photos because his buck teeth stood out so much.
They didn't see each other for years after that-well, not properly, anyway. Derek would often try his hardest to catch a glimpse of Stiles if he saw Claudia on the streets, not that he was successful very often. It's not until Stiles gets into the 1st grade that they actually see each other again, and that's only because their mums are talking to each other after picking them both up. Stiles is adorably shy, hiding behind his mums legs, and peeking up at the adults in the cutest manner possible, and Derek gets the melt-y feeling agian. The 'grown ups' conversation lasts for ever, but Derek doesn't mind because Stiles keeps stealing quick glances at Derek, and Derek thinks it must be the most precious thing in the universe.
"You have funny eyebrows." Stiles states matter-of-factly, and Derek can't help but blush.
"Thanks?" He mumbles in reply, stepping closer to his mum like he too wants to seek refuge behind her calves.
Stiles giggles at something that Derek doesn't get, but he doesn't care because the huge grin on Stiles' face is worth being the punchline to any joke, and he has to tell himself not to smile back because Vernon Boyd was staring at him across the parking lot and Derek refused to look weak in front of him, but boy was this kid cute.
Derek only sees Stiles around school for a year, because then he goes into the 5th grade and that means Middle School-uncharted territory. Only now he and Boyd are frinds-best friends-and they hang around together, but Derek doesn't forget Stiles. The schools are right next to each other, and sometimes their breaks were at the same time, and Derek would catch glimpses of Stiles and Scott playing together. And he'd watch as Stiles grinned at Scott until he got scared he'd get caught, then he'd spend the rest of break talking to Boyd, and telling himself to stop thinking about Stiles!
It's unfair, really, that when Stiles finally goes into the 5th grade, Derek's in his secont-to-last year before High School. Like with Middle School, only this time he won't get to see Stiles in the playground, because Beacon Hills High School is on the other side of town.
Derek scarcely see's Stiles at all the first year, and doesn't see Stiles smile much the second, because that's the year his mum died. Derek's family was invited to the funeral because Claudia and Derek's mum were quite good friends, and Stiles' dad thinks it's only fair to let them pay their respects. Derek goes, too, but feels like an imposter. It's not his place to grieve because he didn't know Claudia that well, and he watches as Stiles bends down to throw dirt over the coffin, and his insides go cold at the sight of the tears on Stiles' face. He wants nothing more than to run forward and hug Stiles hard, but he knows he can't do that, so he stays where he is and just clenches his fists and tightens his jaw.
The next time Derek sees Stiles properly is Christmas Eve. Derek's been sent to the grocery store in search of vegan food because his creepy Uncle Peter is coming for Christmas Dinner, and Peter's decided to try being a vegan-Derek doubts it'll last, because two years ago he told everyone he was going vegetarian, but still ate turkey at Thanksgiving. He's checking the back of a tin of soup to see if it's suitable for vegans when he hears a thud and an 'oompf' from the next aisle along. Derek puts down the soup and gingerly rounds the shelves. He finds Stiles layed out on the floor surrounded by toilet rolls, his cheeks bright red in a blush, and damn if that isn't the most adorable thing Derek's ever seen.
"Are you okay?" He asks, telling himself not to laugh.
Stiles grins and says, "Aside from my pride, nothings broken." And Derek doesn't remember being that outspoken when he was twelve.
"Are you sure?" Derek asks, moving forward to help Stiles up.
Stiles is still grinning, and Derek feels like he might float away, because that is a smile blessed by the angels if ever he saw one. And Stiles just nods and bites his lip through his grin all shyly, and Derek thinks that it must be the cutest thing on planet earth because surely nothing could compare. Then Derek remembers that he's 15, and there's only really a two year age gap, but it's probably a little bit innapropriate to be thinking about Stiles like that, but no one can hear his thoughts so he doesn't really care as much as he proabably should.
"Okay." Derek says still unconvinced, letting go of Stiles.
Derek helps Stiles put all the toilet rolls back onto the shelf, all the while Stiles is explaining his dad dragged him shopping with him, and because he's so clumsy told him to go and get the toilet roll because even Stiles "can't turn getting toilet rolls into a scene from a disaster movie." And then he says that his dad probably jinxed him by saying that, and he hasn't stopped grinning since Derek found him, and Derek is more than a little dissapointed when Sheriff Stillinski rounds the corner and asks why Stiles tooks so long. Stiles quickly thanks Derek for helping him out before hurrying off with his Dad, and that's probably when Derek really fell for Stiles.
In the summer between Derek's Sophmore and Junior year, he grows into his skin a little more. His acne finally clears up completely, and his facial hair grows into something that actually resembles a beard, rather than just random splotches he'd have to chave off every morning before going to school. His mum buys him a Camaro as an early birthday present, and Derek rocks the whole bad-boy look on the first day back at school. And as the new captain of the Basketball and Baseball teams, and co-captain of the lacrosse team, life couldn't be better for Derek.
And then a rusty old blue jeep comes flying round a corner in the parking lot, almost knocking Derek over, and Derek is just about to give the driver a piece of his mind, when Stiles jumps out of the passenger's side. He grew up well over the summer, too.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" He asks frantically, and Scott comes bounding around the back of the jeep, and looks like he might start crying when he sees Derek.
"I'm fine." Derek explains, and his voice has finally stopped breaking every few seconds and it comes out more threatening than he had intended it to-he can tell because all the colour drains from Scott's face, and it looks like Scott might puke.
"Sorry man." Stiles says, and a small grin appears on his face.
That's when Stiles' dad appears out of the drivers side, and he looks a little sheepish to say the least. "Sorry, Derek." The Sheriff says, "I was distracted. If you'd like to press chargers, I understand."
Stiles starts giggling at something and says, "Yeah, you could get him to give himself a ticket if you want." And Scott starts giggling too, leaning towards Stiles naturally, and a flare of somthing surges through Derek.
"No harm, no foul, right?" Derek says, a small smile tugging at his lips.
The Sheriff nods before turning to Stiles, "Behave." He says, and Derek can hear the warning tone in his voice.
"Yes Dad." Stiles sighs, and rolls his eyes, but the smile is still plastered on his face.
Derek nods at the Sheriff before leaving, feeling suddenly awkward, and like he dousn't belong. But, he doesn't. He hasn't spoken to Stiles in nearly a year, hasn't spoken to the Sheriff in far longer than that, and Scott? Derek couldn't remember ever having a conversation with him. He huffed and carried on walking to his locker.
Derek sees Stiles around school sometimes, and Stiles will sometimes give him a small smile as they pass in the hallway, and Derek will try his damndest not to blush because if Boyd-or worse, Erika-see that, then Derek will never hear the end of it. Derek sees Stiles at lunch, sitting at a table with Scott-who always stares at the table Jackson Whittmore sits at, with his friend David or Danny or something, Lydia Martin (his girlfriend) and Allison Argent. And Derek sometimes even sees his friend Isaac looking over at that table too, and he'll hide his smirk behind a drink of water.
Stiles and Scott both try out for the Lacrosse team. Try outs start the last week of February, which is killer for Derek and Isaac who both have to prove themselves to keep their places on the team-Derek's been co-captain since his freshman year, why do he and Jackson have to keep trying out?-because it was Isaacs birthday the friday before, and they spend most of their weekends getting drunk. Neither Scott nor Stiles play well, but Stiles is the better of the two-Scott keeps having to take breaks so he doesn't have an asthma attack. They both make the team as bench warmers. Derek and Jackson are Still co-captains.
The first game they play is a sucess, and afterwards in the changing room, everyone is whooping and hollering. Derek sits back on a bench and watches, giving high fives to passers by, the whole while grinning like an idiot. They deserved this win, they all played the best Derek had ever seen them. Derek was also secretly proud of himself for scoring five of the eleven goals-Jackson scored two and Danny scored three-though he wasn't going to tell anyone else that. He bent down to untie his shoe laces, most of the celebrations now over, and when he looked back up Stiles was stood in front of him. Grinning.
"You played well tonight, well done." Stiles says, and then he's gone. Derek watches him walk away, over to Scott, and can't help the blush that spreads on his cheeks.
The next time Derek properly sees Stiles he knows he's crushing on him, big time. Stiles is all he seems to think about, and he even dreams about him. Some are cute, him telling Stiles how he feels, and Stiles explaining that he feels the same. Others are more him banging Stiles on every surface he has ever seen-he will never look at Coach Finstocks desk the same agian. But they're all of Stiles, and his cute little smile and those cute little moles. Derek had it bad.
Derek felt much better about the situation knowing he wasn't alone in his crushing phase, often catching Isaac staring not-so-secretly at an oblivious Danny-Derek thought it was adorable how hard Isaac blushed if ever they made eye contact. And Erika and Boyd were so gone for each other it was sickening. Sickening. But, Derek couldn't deny, they made one cute couple.
Derek was a senior, and Stiles was a Sophmore, and Derek still had an uncomfortable feeling about the age gap. But then he'd see Stiles smile and think screw it-or more, feel screw it, because is brain and his heart hadn't quite come to an agreement on whether or not it was appropriate to be thinking of Stiles naked (other regions of his body were all for it, but that's beyond the point. Derek was determined to keep his feelings secret, though. He was so sure they would just go away, eventually. They didn't.
His first summer break since going to college, Derek came home to Beacon Hills still feeling the same about Stiles. It wasn't like he'd not tried to get over him-do you realise how much of a manwhore one can become in just under a year?-it was just that at the end of the day, just before he fell asleep, his thoughts were always of Stiles.
His first day back, his mum made him go to Dunkin' Doghnuts as a treat for the whole family, and to celebrate his return. He drove in his Camaro-which he'd missed whilst he'd been at college-and enoyed the feeling of being home. He got to Dunkin' Doghnuts and found the parking lot empty save for a rusty, beat up old jeep. Derek's heart missed a beat when he realised who that car belonged to.
He checked his hair in his wing mirror, and chewed on a mint before deciding that he couldn't make himself look better anyway, so he might as well just face the music. He walked into the store, and found Stiles, Scott, Lydia and Allison sat at one of the few tables. Stiles was smiling, and Derek had to tell himself not to smile back.
He bought the doghnuts in record time, and probably broke a few speed limits on his drive home. Stiles and Lydia had been holding hands, and making out. Stiles and Lydia were together.
Summer break after Stiles' first year at college, there was a huge party. A huge party Derek didn't attend, because what was the point. It was Stiles and Lydia's engagment party, and Derek didn't need to see them all happy and together, not even just to see Stiles' smile.
"They aren't getting married until at least after they've both left college." Cora tells Derek after the party, "And I don't think it's going to last."
Derek shot up on his bed, his full attention on his sister. "Why?" He says as calmly as he can muster.
"I dunno." Cora says dreamily, sighing. "I just don't think they're as into each other as they think they are."
"That doesn't make any sense." Derek argues, frowning. He's not sure why he's arguing with her when this is everything he's ever wanted to hear, but he is.
"I just think they're into other people, and that they're just settling for each other." Cora shrugs and stands up, "Night, Der." She adds cheerily, leaving the room.
Derek dreams of Stiles for the first time in two years that night, one of the cute dreams. Him and Stiles at a picnic somewhere in the woods on a summers day, birds tweeting all around them, Stiles smiling. Stiles...
Cora, as she usually is, was right. Two summers later, and Stiles breaks off the engagement. Well, Stiles officially breaks of the engagement, but it's Lydia who has a year and a half affair with Jackson Whittmore prior to. So you could argue Lydia broke off the engagement long before Stiles walked in on them being intamate-news travels fast in Beacon Hills, Stiles probably on told one person, but then the whole town found out.
Derek is walking through the woods when he sees Stiles for the first time after the break up. Stiles is sat in the middle of a clearing, jack bottle in his hand. The sun shines down, illuminating the hazel in Stiles' eyes. It lights up Stiles' pouty lips, all pink and kissable and Derek has to remind himself that Stiles just found out his fiance was sleeping with someone else, he shouldn't be thinking about what it would feel like to kiss Stiles!
"Drinking away your problems?" Derek says, and Stiles' head snaps around to face him. Stiles scowls so Derek adds, "Hey, I'm not judging. Better drinking yourself silly than doing something stupid." Like sleeping around because you fell in love with his smile and no one else is him.
"You've heard about it then?" Stiles sighs, and he slurs his words slightly.
"I think everyone's heard." Derek replies, finding the confidence to walk into the clearing and sit down next to Stiles.
"Want some?" Stiles asks, holding out the bottle for Derek to take.
Derek's first thought is to take the bottle, and take a long swig. To let the alcohol burn his throat so Stiles isn't drinking alone. Then Derek thinks about all the things he might confess with a loosened tongue and instead shaked his head politely.
"I know we're hardly best friends," Derek says, "but if you want to talk to someone who's not going to judge, I'm here."
Stiles lets out a bitter laugh, "Everyone keeps asking me if I want to talk about it, or if I'm doing okay."
"You are sat in the middle of the forest with a bottle of jack." Derek points out, and when Stiles shrugs he adds. "It's three o'clock."
Stiles huffs and says, "I don't care that she cheated on me, okay, I don't. I don't even miss her to be honest. It's just..." Stiles cuts himself of, like he only just realised that Derek was sat there listening to him.
"It's just?" Derek echoes, looking at the side of Stiles' face with interest.
"It's just why should she get the guy she wants and I don't?" Stiles mumbles, looking at the bottle of Jack in his hands.
He moves to throw it, but Derek catches his wrist just in time. "Maybe don't start endangering the environment over it." Derek says softly, taking the bottle out of Stiles' hand and standing on his other side.
"Yeah." Stiles sighs.
"Why don't you just try talking to this guy that you want." Derek suggests.
He doesn't know why he says it, it's not like he wants Stiles to go and confess his undying love for someone else. But the idea of seeing Stiles smile again is too tempting. He thinks back to that first time he saw it, the way he melted a little, and he wants that agian. Even if that's all he gets, because that's better than nothing, and with Stiles anything is better than nothing.
Stiles frowns and says, "I'm think he's straight, and even if he wasn't he wouldn't like me back anyway."
"How do you know that?"
"Because," Stiles says exasperatedly, "I've known him since I was like really little, like before my mum died. He's never made a move on me once."
"Maybe he's just shy." Derek mumbles, looking out across the clearing, hoping Stiles doesn't notice his blush.
Stiles snorts and replies, "I doubt it. He was one of the popular kids in high school. Not reknowned for being shy."
"You'd be surprised."
"Really?"
"Really."
The sun's still high in the sky as a silence settles between them. The bottle of jack is still at Derek's side and he thinks screw it, he takes a long drink straight from the bottle, hyperaware of Stiles' eyes on him. He lowers the bottle back to the grass, and can already feel the alcohol taking effect-Derek was never a good drinker, even in college, it was ridiculously easy to get him drunk.
"What makes you so sure about all of this anyway?" Stiles asks sceptically, breaking the silence.
"I just am, ok." Derek replies.
He knows he can't give Stiles an honest answer, how could he? How could he tell Stiles that he knew that Stiles should just tell this guy how he felt because the guy would be an idiot to turn Stiles down. That Stiles had the worlds most adorable yet somehow sexy smile, that could make Derek's day go from awful to incredible in two seconds flat. How could he tell Stiles how distracting his lips were, and how much Derek would kill to be able to kiss them just once. How could he tell Stiles that he was funny and smart with a face that looks like it was sculpted by the Gods themselves? How could he tell Stiles all that?
"Derek?" Stiles whispers after Derek had been quiet for a long time, "Are you okay?"
"Fine." Derek replies sharply, taking another long gulp from the bottle.
"Derek?" Stiles repeats quietly, and Derek turns his head to face him.
Stiles leans in slowly, and Derek doesn't know how to react. He just sits like a statue and watches as Stiles closes the space between them. Stiles lips are barely brushing his when Stiles whispers, "It's you."
Those two little words break Derek from his trance, and he closes the rest of the space between them. He presses his lips to Stiles', softly, slowly. One of his hands finds their way to the hairs at the nape of Stiles' neck, and the other to Stiles' waist. Stiles' hands grip the front of his shirt like he's worried Derek might vanish in a puff of smoke. Derek is tempted to deepen the kiss, to take everything he can, but he has to make this okay for Stiles. He has to make this good for Stiles.
Derek doesn't know how long they kiss for, just that they only part when they need to breathe again. Stiles' lips are a deep red, and puffy. Derek lifts two fingers to his own and finds they are in a similar state. He looks at Stiles, and begins to worry as Stiles stares back at him blankly. Then, Stiles smiles.
A/N Please leave a review saying what you thought! This is unbeatd to I can only apologise for any spelling mistakes. Thanks for reading!