Derek never mentioned exactly when his birthday was for a very good reason. He wasn't one for big celebrations for surviving another year and he didn't want to be the center of attention on an otherwise normal day. Whenever asked (by Stiles usually) he usually gave a vague answer of it being sometime in September but never gave the actual number to go along with the month. But being the good detective and research guru he was, Stiles seemed to have managed to figure enough out to peg the date just right. That or he bribed Cora into telling him with the promise that he'd stop pestering her for information about Derek as a kid. There were streamers, balloons, and a table full of perfectly wrapped boxes by the window of his loft accompanied by a grinning pack that looked far too excited despite being stared down by a glaring former alpha werewolf.
"What the hell is this?" Derek gritted out. He knew his eyes had to be flashing blue but the slight faltering smile on Stiles' face but he seemed otherwise unmoved. "Stiles, what have you done?"
"Well, I wanted to give you an actual birthday party since you never seemed to celebrate the occasion in all the time I've known you. Surprise!" he explained. He threw his arms in the air as he shouted, throwing confetti that was balled up in his fists towards Derek. "Come on, we've got presents and cake so let us do this for you? Just for today, please?"
"No," Derek spat as he turned on his heel. He wrenched the door open and stomped out as loudly as he could manage. He heard a small groan of frustration come from his loft but didn't stop his retreat. Stiles knew that he didn't want anything to do with his own birthday, yet he was bound and determined that he would do it despite Derek's wishes. Derek cursed him in as many different ways that he could think of and in as many languages he knew how to curse in for Stiles' efforts. The stupid, squishy, breakable human had no place in giving Derek exactly had said he didn't want despite the low burning desire to actually celebrate it one more time since the fire.
"Derek?" Peter's voice called out from down the hallway. "Where do you think you are going?"
"Anywhere other than here. Stiles' knew that I didn't want this yet he did it anyway. Don't let his puppy dog eyes lead you to believe any different," Derek snapped. He took the stairs down to the parking lot two at a time while Peter continued to follow him at a distance.
"He looks more like a kicked dog right now. He put a lot of time and effort into doing this for you in hopes that the two of you might actually become friends rather than two individuals revolving around your need for Scott. He's part of the pack just as you are and you will have to deal with him regardless, so you might as well let Stiles' do what he does best and take care of people," Peter chastised. He quickened his movements to catch up to Derek and caught him by his elbow, forcing him to turn to face Peter. "He wants to take care of you in a normal human way. You might be a born werewolf but you still have a human side. Let Stiles' indulge it a little?"
"I don't need to be indulged, I need to be left the hell alone when I asked to be left alone. I want to spend my birthday alone in peace like I have for the last ten plus years. Now if you don't mind, I'm going for a run," Derek spat back. He yanked his arm from Peter's grasp and pulled the car door open with more force than necessary. Peter shoved it closed and glowered at Derek while flashing identical bright blue eyes at each other.
"I do mind actually, and so does everyone up there," Peter pointed up to the window. Derek looked up to see Stiles' looking forlorn and sad while hugging Scott. He could hear a few hiccupped sobs coming from the human as he tried to keep his emotions in check. Stiles did look upset at Derek's sudden departure and spurning of the party. "Stiles' cares about you more than you realize Derek and you would do well to go back up there, apologize, and actually have a good time with the people that care about you. And if you admit it to yourself for once, you care about them, too. Scott might be the alpha but you are just as much of a leader as he is. They look to you for advice that you were unable to get because of some unfortunate circumstances. Don't let them go through the same losses?"
"Fine," Derek finally agreed. He shoved his car keys back into his pocket and took the stairs slowly back up to his place. Stiles nearly jumped out of his skin when the door slid back open to revel a calmer looking Derek.
"You came back?" Stiles questioned, his eyebrows raised high in disbelief. Derek crossed the room and pulled Stiles unceremoniously into a tight hug against his chest. "And now you are hugging me. Your emotions are so over the place, I might be getting whiplash here."
"I'm sorry, Stiles. Thank you for doing this for me, I just haven't celebrated in a long time. I guess I forgot how I'm supposed to do this right," Derek admitted. He released Stiles from his grip and grinned at the human.
"Alright, I promise then I won't make you do any of the stupid party games. But I will make you open your gifts while we ooh and aww over them, okay? Do you like chocolate cake with vanilla icing or vanilla cake with chocolate icing?" Stiles quipped as he moved to the large cake in the middle of his kitchen table. "I wasn't sure what your preference was so I went bigger than necessary and had the bakery do half and half."
"Surprise me," Derek offered as he handed a plastic plate to Stiles. He perked up and cut off the nearest corner and dropped it carefully in the center. "Maybe I should let you do this more often for me, Stiles. You did a good job in the decorations."
"Helps when I've got Lydia to help me pick out everything. Thank you for coming back," Stiles said with a shy smile on his face. Derek felt his wolf try to surface at the smile, wanting to smother Stiles' until the scent of other people were washed away under Derek's own. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm just realizing something that I should have noticed before. You look really handsome, by the way," Derek offered. He could almost feel the heat of Stiles' blush as it creeped up his neck and face while the rest of the pack stopped to watch the interaction.
"Thank you?" Stiles questioned as he continued to cut away at the cake. "Where is this coming from?"
"I don't know. I feel like I'm actually seeing you for the first time rather than just looking at you, as strange as that sounds," Derek explained but the words sounded insufficient in his own ears. He stepped forward and crowded into Stiles' personal space. Stiles took a step back at the sudden intrusion and the entire back growled at the sudden perceived threat. Derek reached out and ran his thumb over the corner of Stiles' mouth. "Can I kiss you?" Stiles breathed out a sigh of relief and laughter erupted from everyone standing behind Derek. He turned to glare at the pack for a moment before returning his attention back to an awe-struck Stiles.
"You don't even have to ask that question, Derek! Have you any idea how long I've wanted you to kiss me?" Stiles breathed out. Derek smiled and his wolf purred in agreement at Stiles' sentiment. Leaning close, Derek gave Stiles' a chance to back away if he changed his mind before Stiles' surged up and connected their lips together. The kiss started off awkward but they slowly shifted until tongues battled for dominance in the others mouth. Clapping and cheering from behind them cut the kiss short much to Derek's displeasure.
"About damn time!" Peter called out over the excitement. Stiles smiled brilliantly at the group gathered as Derek wrapped his arms possessively around Stiles' smaller form.
"I'm going to have to agree with him on that one," Stiles whispered up to Derek, a small smirk playing on his lips. "I've wanted you for almost as long as I've known you."
"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Derek questioned as he nipped lightly at Stiles' earlobe. Stiles shuddered at the light contact and leaned into Derek's touch. "We could have been doing this for ages at this point."
"Pardon me for being a little terrified of the big bad wolf with pointy claws and sharp teeth. Considering within the first few times of us meeting you threatened to rip my throat out with your teeth, I wasn't too eager for you to fulfill that promise with me confessing my crush to you," Stiles pointed out with a slight pout.
"Fair enough, but can you trust me enough now to not actually hurt you? I might say something stupid like that but I won't actually go through with it," Derek offered hopefully.
"Fair enough, sour wolf. But you owe me a lot of make out sessions to make up for all the kissing time we've missed out on," Stiles offered. Derek nodded in agreement and lowered his face back to meet Stiles' once more. "Lots and lots of make out sessions."
"Shut up already!" Derek ordered before he shoved his tongue back into Stiles' mouth and explored every inch of his newly minted better half.