Stiles didn't know how he got dragged into this. It started off as Lydia going to visit some aunt who was recovering from a heart surgery in the hospital. Then she roped Allison into going with her, who then told Kira, who mentioned it at a pack meeting. Scott then wanted to go, which made Isaac want to go, then Erica invited herself, and it continued in a domino effect until Derek was pressured into going. He swore it was just to watch over the rest of the pack and make sure they didn't get into anything stupid or do anything reckless, but Stiles knew otherwise. He saw the private, happy little smile adorning the alpha's face while watching the rest of them plan. It curled Stiles' stomach with a warm feeling that he definitely didn't want to dwell on.
Derek was actually the one who noticed that Stiles never said he was joining the little trip.
"Stiles, if I have to go, then so do you."
Then the others seemed to realize what Derek had, and Stiles cringed.
He was instantly attacked with questions and demands and accusations, all playful, of course. "You're coming, too, right Stiles?" "Um Batman? What the hell? Of course you're coming." "Oh, he doesn't want to spend time with us." "No, he just doesn't want to have to deal with Allison and Isaac making out the whole trip!" "You mean Scott and Kira!" "Or Lydia and Jackson." "Don't worry, Batman. You can just hang out with Boyd and I." "No way, you guys are gonna be the worst!"
The pack was falling apart with laughter while simultaneously teasing one another and blushing. Stiles had an eyebrow raised at the group of rowdy teenagers and smirked slightly in amusement. His gaze shifted over to Derek whose face was wearing the same expression. Their gazes met and they both rolled their eyes and chuckled lightly.
"Oh, Stiles! Der-Bear's gonna need someone to hang out with while we're there!" Erica exclaimed, delighted and a little smug. She smirked, looking between them mischievously, which told Stiles that he needed to have a serious talk with her. He had told her 'the thing' under the conditions that she would never ever mention it or do anything about it. "You don't want him to be all alone, do you?"
Everyone gave Stiles an expectant and somewhat victorious look, which made Stiles think that Erica had definitely broken the terms of their weekly private 'sharing session'. They all knew he was going to cave. He thought about at least making it difficult for them, but then he made the mistake of looking at Derek again. Green eyes looked up at him almost… shyly. Like he expected Stiles to say no. All of his defenses crumbled right then and there.
Damn Derek and his stupid insecurities. They were getting in the way of Stiles' resolves.
So that's how he ended up in a plane on his way to Indiana. They had initially planned to drive the whole way there, but then thought about being all cramped up in such a small space with each other for such a long time. The idea had gotten vetoed ridiculously quickly. The couples all paired off for the flight, which left Stiles sitting between a window and Derek Hale, both equally as beautiful and intimidating. Stiles had never flown in an airplane before, or gone as far from home and his dad as he was on this trip. His nerves were a mess of anxiety, excitement, homesickness, and a smidge of fear.
He may or may not have googled the hell out of plane crashes before leaving, skipping out on sleep.
Knees bouncing, fingers tapping, pulse quickening- Stiles was beginning to annoy himself. There wasn't enough room for his legs and the people around him were talking too loudly.
"Stiles. Stop." Derek's glare actually made him feel a bit better, it was familiar, but it didn't calm his nerves all that much.
"Right… Right, I'll stop."
Yeah, no.
As the minutes past, Stiles only grew more anxious, his fidgeting more violent and his breathing harsher. Not nearly bad enough for a panic attack, but enough to make himself weary. He heard Derek sigh beside him.
"Stiles. Calm down."
But he couldn't. They were miles high in the sky, relying on a machine to get them more than halfway across the country. Stiles' palms started sweating and he wiped them repeatedly on his sweatpants. He tried to take a few deep, calming breaths, but it wasn't helping very much. He wiped his hands faster on his thighs.
"Stiles!" Derek hissed. "We're fine, nothing's going to happen."
"I'm trying! God, can you just stop talking? Please? It's not really helping."
Stiles closed his eyes and rested his head back against the headrest. Forcing his hands to stop moving, he instead grabbed fistfuls of his pants and gripped them so hard his knuckles turned white. His breath still wasn't slowing at all, however.
Derek sighed again and Stiles was about to snap at him to shut up, but the remark died in his throat when he felt a warm, strong hand settle over his own, prying his fingers away from his pant leg, lacing them together with its own instead.
"Breathe."
Stiles let out a puff of air he hadn't even realized he'd been holding in and then proceeded to inhale and exhale at a much steadier pace. Derek moved to remove his hand, but Stiles squeezed it tighter before he could. He was glad his eyes were closed so that he couldn't see the judgment on Derek's face in reaction to the humiliation he was almost certainly seeing on Stiles' own. He was expecting Derek to forcefully pull his hand away, but was pleasantly surprised when he simply settled into the touch, squeezing back briefly, and not commenting.
Stiles ended up falling asleep like that, fingers intertwined with Derek's and pulse slightly fast for a whole new reason.
He woke up to laughing. When his eyes opened, the first thing he noticed was Jackson turned around, looking over at Stiles over the back of his seat. A closer look revealed a phone being pointed at them, obviously having just taken a picture. Then Jackson said, "Morning, Stilinski. Say 'hi'!"
Then Stiles' other senses came back to him, and he realized why Jackson was laughing so hard. His head had lolled to the side sometime while he was asleep, unconsciously deciding that Derek's shoulder was more comfortable than the headrest. He flailed into a position within his own bubble and looked sheepishly at the man who he had been using as his own personal pillow. Derek's cheeks were flushed red under his stubble, whether from anger or embarrassment Stiles didn't know, nor did he wish to ask. He moved to rub his neck instinctively, but found his hand unable to move. Looking down, Stiles discovered with shock that it was still tightly engulfed in Derek's. Jackson's gaze followed his own and he laughed once again in delight, pointing the phone down to their joined hands.
"Awe, isn't that adorable. Looks like it's not actually Scott and Kira we have to worry about being disgustingly cute. Did you guys enjoy your rest? Or, actually, Derek, did you enjoy watching Stiles while he slept?" Jackson looked absolutely overjoyed with the embarrassment he was obviously causing them both, never taking the camera off of them.
Stiles and Derek quickly untangled their hands, yanking them back into their respective laps.
Derek recovered his speech first, spitting out, "I was not watching him sleep. Now get that thing out of my face."
Smirking Jackson countered, "Oh, really? Cause I swear that video I got earlier showed you staring… I guess I'll just have to send it to everyone else to get their opinions. Sucks that I'll have to wait until we land, but I'll be sure to tell you what the rest think. Anyway, don't let me stop your cuddle-fest. Please, continue." With that, the dick turned back around and put his earbuds back in.
Stiles coughed awkwardly and looked back over at Derek. Who was pointedly not looking back.
"Hey, uh…" Stiles started. "Sorry about that. I'm a stealth sleep-cuddler, I can't help it. If it happens again, just shove me off or hit me or something."
Derek glanced back, green meeting brown for just a second, before he dropped his eyes down to look at his lap intently. "It's fine. You slept through most of the flight, and that was the point. We've only got about 15 minutes left now."
"Oh… Uh, okay. Thanks, then..? For, you know. Not punching me. That was nice…" Stiles cringed at his word vomit and turned to face the window. The sky was truly beautiful and it took his breath away for a moment.
"Wow… That's amazing. I've never flown before, but I've seen plenty of photos. It never looked this beautiful in them, though. Damn…" Stiles managed to tear his eyes away from the outside view to make sure Derek was seeing what he was seeing. However, when he looked, Derek was not admiring the view. Well, not the one Stiles was, at least. No, instead Derek's eyes were glued to Stiles' face, a soft look on his own. Their gazes locked onto one another and neither wavered. They stayed that way for a few minutes. Derek's eyes were even more beautiful than the sky.
The object of his admirations instantly turned beat red and he quickly looked in the opposite direction. Stiles was confused at first, then realized that he had spoken out loud.
"Oh shit. Uh, sorry, that was super weird and creepy sounding. Uh, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, shit, that wasn't supposed to come out, just forget I said anything, 'kay? Wow, i just need to stop talking, that's what got us into this awkward situation to begin with, so, uh sorry again for that-"
"Stiles," Derek interrupted, not looking as embarrassed as he did before, but more bashful. "Don't worry about it."
Stiles smiled sheepishly, thinking of what to reply with, when the announcement came on telling them they were starting to get close to the Indianapolis Airport. Stiles got a little nervous again as they started going through the landing procedures. Derek just elbowed him lightly in the arm, letting him know that he was there. Stiles was fine after that.
Soon they were all back in possession of their luggage and looking for Lydia's uncle, Matt, and cousins, Kyle and Jess, who would be driving them to their hotel to get settled, and then to a car rental place to attain some cars of their own for the week. They had booked five rooms and were split up the same way they had been on the plane. Their rooms were spanned across three floors of the hotel, Stiles and Derek getting the lone room on the fourth floor, while the rest were under them.
When they entered the room, they both froze.
"Umm…" Stiles began. "Where's the second bed?"
Derek sighed, a long and drawn out sound. "There isn't one."
They looked at each other before saying, at the same time, "Erica."
"Okay, so this is fine, we can work with this. I'll just sleep on the floor or in the chair or something. You take the bed." Stiles decided to not consider switching every other night, he didn't want to make things complicated.
Derek looked a little pained as he said, "Stiles, we can just share. It's big enough. You don't have to sleep on the floor."
Stiles totally would've jumped at the chance to share a bed with Derek Hale, if it weren't for the expression on his face. "Nah, man. It's okay, I'll be fine on the floor. I'm not gonna make you share if you don't want to." Stiles really wanted to share. Because he was a masochist.
"Stiles." Derek really seemed to like saying Stiles' name like he was an idiot. "We can share. I'm fine with sharing. Take the side by the window, I'll take the one closest to the door."
Stiles throat was suddenly dry and he swallowed heavily, sputtering a little. He mumbled and stumbled over his words, agreeing to the arrangement in short, halted phrases that didn't follow English syntax whatsoever. He dumped his bags on the bed, pulled out his smaller bag of toiletries, and tried to coherently communicate that he was going to take a shower. He didn't think he succeeded, but Derek seemed to understand, so Stiles quickly ducked into the bathroom and shut the door, locking it. He then turned the fan on to drown out any noise. He wasn't planning on jerking off- not with Derek's sense of hearing and smell- but he was definitely going to take a cold shower.
It was going to be a long week.
Derek got in the shower after him, and Stiles busied himself with unpacking and finding something to watch on TV, resolutely not thinking of Derek, just a few yards away, naked and shrouded in steam, rivulets of water gliding down his body over glistening, toned skin and in the crevices of perfectly formed abs-
Okay, so maybe he wasn't quite succeeding on the 'not picturing Derek in the shower' front, but not for lack of trying. Eventually he came across a Lord of The Rings marathon, near the beginning of The Fellowship of The Ring, and he stopped flipping to watch it. Frodo and Sam had just ran into Merry and Pippin when the shower stopped and the door opened, heat spilling out into the rest of the room. And then Derek walked out.
In a towel.
Stiles cut off a choking noise, dragging his eyes up to Derek's face from where they had been straying to his hips without permission. He couldn't blame them though, because Derek looked… delicious. He always looked sexy, and beautiful, and sometimes even cute, but with the way the towel was slipping slightly lower, exposing the smooth stretch of skin under Derek's naval and the enticing 'v' of his hips… Stiles was glad he had the blanket pulled over his lap.
"Sorry, I forgot my clothes. I'll be quick."
In response, Stiles made another choking noise, then cleared his throat and reluctantly tore his eyes back to the screen, trying to distract himself with the four hobbits hiding from the ringwraith, but it wasn't working. He hummed his acknowledgment, and then collapsed heavily back against the headboard once Derek was back in the bathroom with his clothes. Stiles then pulled out his phone and texted to Erica-
You bitch, I hate you.
A moment later, he got a response.
U can thnk me latr ;)
Definitely going to be a long week.
The first night sleeping in the same bed was awkward to say the least. Stiles had set up a pillow between them to hopefully stop himself from rolling over in the middle of the night to attach himself to Derek like an octopus, and it luckily worked pretty well. It had taken Stiles a long time to fall asleep because, shocker, Derek didn't like to sleep in clothes. He still wore his boxers, thank god, but said something about getting too hot at night before stripping off his shirt and pants. Stiles made sure to leave everything on.
When he woke up, Derek was still sound asleep, mouth parted the tiniest bit. He was on his back, opposed to Stiles, who was on his stomach. Both of their heads were facing each other, however, and only about half a foot separated their faces. From this close Stiles could probably count Derek's eyelashes, but that was creepy. So instead, he just stared at the rest of his face. Which he objectively knew was just as creepy, but he was feeling self indulgent, so he allowed himself to, just for a few moments.
A few moments turned into ten minutes which turned into Stiles dozing off again. The next time he woke up, his arm was splayed over Derek's torso and he internally freaked out for an instant before processing the feeling of Derek's thumb rubbing little circles onto the back of his wrist. It shouldn't have felt as good as it did. It was probably just because it was Derek that it contented him so much, but Stiles decided to allow Derek to peacefully continue his ministrations and simply enjoy it. He shifted his fingers slightly and felt Derek's warm and naked skin, soft under his fingertips. It felt amazing. Stiles wished he could wake up like this for the rest of his life.
Derek's chest rumbled under his hand as he spoke, voice raspy from sleep, "I know you're awake, Stiles."
Aforementioned teen simply groaned in annoyance at the interruption of the peaceful quiet that had blanketed them and burrowed further into his pillow, which he had fortunately remembered to pack before they left. Another rumble vibrated up through his forearm as Derek chuckled from deep in his chest.
"We're gonna have to leave in about an hour. Lydia apparently already went and visited her aunt earlier this morning. And I guess we're going to the Children's Museum for some reason. Probably Isaac's idea." Derek sounded fondly annoyed at that.
Stiles' head shot up, suddenly wide awake, and leveled a glare at Derek. "Um excuse me, I suggested it because it's supposed to be super awesome. Don't judge before you've seen it…." Stiles had planned to continue the Calling Out of Derek Hale, but…
His hair was ruffled from sleep, his eyes were drooping a bit from leftover tiredness, and he had another one of those soft smiles on his face; Stiles had been seeing them a lot more lately, often pointed at him, no less. He looked kind of adorable. He hoped he wasn't making Derek uncomfortable with all of his staring, but he couldn't get himself to stop.
What Stiles didn't know was that Derek was busy staring at Stiles' own bed head, the red line running down the side of his face from laying on the sheets, and the early morning sun reflecting off of the molten brown color of his eyes, making them sparkle, like a glass of swirling whiskey.
Stiles' head started to slowly lean down towards the other man's, whose lifted up slightly in turn. Their noses brushed and their breath caught, stopping altogether as they moved to close those last few centimeters between them and finally-
"YO LOSERS! HURRY THE FUCK UP! WE'RE LEAVING IN 20!"
They jumped away from each other, Stiles falling out of the bed and banging his head on the floor with a loud thud. He quickly stood up, rubbing the back of his skull, and went to open the door. Erica was standing there smirking on the other side. It fell off her face when she saw that Stiles was still in his pajamas. She stormed past him into the room and stopped in her tracks when she saw Derek laying in the bed, that they had obviously shared, almost naked. She raised two immaculate eyebrows and looked between them, trying to figure out if something had happened. Stiles was tempted to yell that nothing had happened, but might've if she hadn't decided to coming pounding on the door like she did. He didn't, but he did glare at her something fierce. A look at Derek confirmed that he wasn't the only one.
Erica cleared her throat and told them to get ready before turning on her heel, blonde curls flying over her shoulder, and strutting out the way she barged in.
Stiles stared at her as she closed the door, waggling her eyebrows at him teasingly. He slowly turned back to Derek and took a deep breath. Opening his mouth to say something in an attempt to break the awkward tension that filled the space between them, Stiles was frustrated when nothing came out. Derek sighed and sat up, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed. He rubbed his face and ran a hand through his hair before rifling through some clothes and walking to the bathroom.
"I'll be quick," was all he said.
Stiles lamely responded, "Yeah."
The second Derek had closed the door, Stiles let out a huge breath and slapped a hand over his eyes, wondering how much more awkward this situation could get. He sighed pathetically once more and then went to get ready for the day.
The Children's Museum was awesome. Like, really freaking awesome. They were there all day and by the time they had walked through all of the exhibits twice, everyone was exhausted and ready to go back to the hotel. Stiles somehow got voted to drive one of the cars, as did Allison and Jackson. They all went straight to their rooms. Stiles and Derek took turns using the bathroom and then fell straight into bed. Neither of them moved all night.
The next morning, everyone met in the lobby for the free hotel breakfast. It wasn't all that bad, considering what Stiles had been expecting. He made a huge stack of blueberry waffles, two thirds of which were stolen by Scott and Isaac, which was precisely why he had made so many. The sausage was a tad bit cold and the eggs a tad bit soggy, but the coffee was heavenly. Stiles had about four cups before Lydia came over and cut him off, proclaiming that she didn't need the Energizer Bunny bothering her all day. After they had all eaten their fill and Kira had changed once after spilling syrup on herself and then again from juice, the pack convened on the lobby's couches to decide what they were going to do that day. They had gotten to Indiana on a Monday, went to the museum Tuesday, and had to think of things to do for that day and the following two before they went home on Saturday. They searched around on their phones for things to do that they couldn't do back in California.
"We could go visit some corn fields," Boyd suggested. "Isn't that most of what they have over here?"
"Soybeans, actually," Lydia corrected immediately.
Scott spoke up next, "Why don't we just go Downtown? Check out Monument Circle? This website says that since it's around Christmas, they have a giant Christmas tree or something."
"No," Kira sighed, "We're going Downtown on Friday."
"Well what about Broadripple? It says that it's got some really cool shops and a long trail through the woods. It's also supposed to be a big cultural area. Maybe we could walk around a bit?" Allison suggested hopefully.
Stiles exclaimed, "Dude, there's a Broadripple here? Like the song?"
Everyone looked at him, confused. He rolled his eyes at their apparent musical ignorance and tutted, disappointed.
The woman standing behind the front desk, who had been blatantly been listening in on their plans the whole time (not that he could blame her; it had to be a pretty boring job) broke in.
"Yes, like the song. It was written about here, you know. It also mentions Fountain Square, which is in Downtown."
Stiles clapped his hands. "I vote Broadripple! Thank you, Ma'am."
Kira smiles brightly and seconds it, followed by Scott and Isaac. Lydia looks around at all of them and asks, "Are we all in agreement? Good, grab anything you need; we'll leave in ten minutes."
Stiles drove again with Derek to his right and Scott and Kira in the back. He connected his phone to the car's audio jack and scrolled through his music to the B's.
"Lady and gentlemen, I present to you "Broadripple Is Burning" by Margot and the Nuclear So and So's! Now this isn't a dancy song; it's actually really freaking sad, but we have to listen to it if we're going to the place it was based off of!" Stiles hit play and the sounds of harmonica and soft guitar flowed through the speakers.
"Children, Broadripple is burning and
the girls are getting sick of huffing glue
Up in the bathroom while their boyfriends pick up chicks,
And darling I'm lost
I heard you whisperin' that night in Fountain Square-
The trash-filled streets made me wish
We were heading home.
And there was love inside the basement
Where that woman used to lie
In a sleeping bag we shared upon the floor most every night
And darling I'm drunk
And everything that I have loved has turned to stone
So pack your bags and come back home
And I'm wasted
You can taste it
Don't look at me that way
Cause I'll be hanging from a rope
I will haunt you like a ghost."
"Well, you're right about it being sad.." Kira commented.
Stiles let the rest of the song play out before switching to a more upbeat playlist. He was flipping through his songs when Derek reached over and snatched the phone from his hand.
"Watch the road," was all he said before pushing Stiles' face back forward and looking through the music himself. After a moment of silence, the beginning of "Howlin' For You" by The Black Keys started up and Stiles grinned, glancing at Derek who smirked back, bobbing his head along with the music.
"I must admit
I can't explain
Any of these thoughts racing through my brain
It's true
That baby I'm howlin' for you."
When the 'duh-duh-duh-duh-duh's came on, all four in the car sang them loudly and slightly off-key. They listened to most of the rest of the "Brothers" album after that before they arrived in Broadripple. The three cars found parking by a sign that indicated the start of the Monon Trail, which Allison confirmed was the one she'd read about. The pack agreed to walk the trail for a bit before hitting the shops. It started off as just a bunch of concrete, but there were interesting pieces of artwork along the sides to look at and take funny pictures next to. The path was about to enter the forest when Stiles looked over to the side of the trail and saw a water pump next to a table with paper cups and a giant container of dog treats. He stopped walking and felt someone walk into his back, but he was still staring at the table.
"Oh my god…" he said. "It's a doggie rest stop. I have to get pictures of you guys next to it."
"No fucking way, Stilinski," said Jackson from right behind him. "I'm not getting near that thing."
"Scott, Isaac, please. This is gold, we can't just pass up an opportunity like this! It wouldn't be posted anywhere, and no one would get it if it was, anyway! Pleeeaaase?" Stiles whined and pleaded until Scott cracked, breaking out into a grin that Stiles knew he had been holding back, and grabbed Isaac's arm, pulling him towards the table.
Stiles got pictures of them drinking straight from under the pump and reaching into the treat container, pretending like they were looking out for witnesses. Just those pictures alone made the whole trip worth it.
Just a few minutes later and they were completely surrounded by trees, bare branches arching over their heads like a tunnel.
"It's beautiful," Allison said under her breath.
"We see trees literally every day," Jackson countered. "What's so special about these ones?"
Allison sighed exasperatedly. "Oh, shut up, Jackson. Ours never seem to lose all their leaves like these. And I'm so used to the preserve by now, I think any forest besides it would look beautiful." The others mumbled and hummed their agreement, and then it was silent again. Their weren't many other people walking, aside for some on bikes who all looked deadly serious. They didn't smile or slow down or anything, they just said "move" if their way was even slightly blocked and then kept going.
They day was chilly, but none of the other people they saw on the trail were even wearing jackets. The pack's humans, on the other hand, were starting to get cold in theirs. They decided to turn around once they reached a bridge passing over a river and head back to go browse the shops. Said shops were all pretty small and spanned a decent area of blocks. They all looked pretty old and in need of some cleaning up, but it just added to the homey feel. There were at least five music stores that they checked out and Stiles bought some local bands CDs, just for the heck of it.
They were walking along one of the outer streets when Scott exclaimed, "Popsicle shop! Come on, guys, let's get some popsicles!"
The pack entered the tiny building and the woman behind the counter looked absolutely delighted. As it turned out, she was actually the owner of the store and most of the products were vegan. Stiles got one of the only non-vegan flavors- chocolate (a chocolate popsicle. It just didn't sound right; he had to try it). The rest of the pack got flavors such as lemonade, apple, and… avocado? That just sounded disgusting. They payed and thanked the woman, turned to leave, and-
It was snowing. Heavily.
"What the-"
"We were in here for not even ten minutes-"
"It wasn't even that cold out-"
The shop-owner laughed loudly and said, "Well, you know, if you don't like the weather in Indiana, just wait twenty minutes!" She said it as if it was a joke told often. The pack laughed quietly and walked out into the snow, flurries coming down all around them.
Isaac lifted a cupped palm into the air and whispered, "I've never seen snow in real life before…" He looked up at the rest of them with an adorably excited grin on his face. The rest laughed and looked up into the sky, trying to catch the flakes on their tongues. Eventually, they finished their treats and there was nothing left to look at, so they treaded back to the cars and decided to leave. Since it was still only late afternoon, they agreed to explore the suburbs of the city a bit. Stiles was no longer driving, having let Derek take over, and decided instead to play 'count the crop fields' once they were within the suburbs. By the time they were driving back to the hotel, he had gotten to 17.
In the back seat, Scott muttered, "I can't imagine what the rurals look like…"
"We'd be playing 'count the buildings' instead," said Kira.
Back at the hotel, the pack ordered some pizza and hung out in Stiles and Derek's room, since it was the only one that didn't smell like sex. They found a Harry Potter marathon on television and watched the first four before the couples got tired and disappeared to go back to their respective rooms. Stiles and Derek were soon the only ones left. They sat against the headboard, shoulder-to-shoulder, watching "Order of the Phoenix". Derek had to keep shoving Stiles to get him to stop quoting every line. Stiles couldn't help it; it was basically instinct.
They both fell asleep as Fred and George wrecked the O.W.L. testing room with fireworks.
The next morning, Derek and Stiles woke up tangled together on the bed. The former was on his back while the latter starfished fully on top of him. Derek's arms were wrapped tightly around Stiles' middle, who had his trapped under Derek's back in return and their legs were intertwined. The younger man's head rested on a solid collar bone, face pressed into a warm neck. Derek's nose was shoved into dark brown locks, his lips brushing against a smooth forehead every so often. It was a perfect picture, which was why Isaac was currently taking one.
That was the second time that week Stiles woke up to laughing.
"Oh guys. This is just too cute."
"Sh'up."
"What was that Stiles? I couldn't understand you."
Stiles turned his face away from Derek's neck, who whined slightly, still mostly asleep. He looked at Isaac with a droopy glare. He was still holding the phone at them, just like Jackson had on the plane.
"Go'way."
Stiles just wanted to snuggle with Derek for a little longer and he wasn't going to let Isaac get in the way of that. So he turned his face back into Derek and burrowed in as much as possible. He pulled his tingling arms out from underneath the warm body that was slowly crushing them and slid them up, eventually threading his fingers through dark hair. Derek's arms tightened around him in response, instinctively pulling him as close as he could. The older man then nuzzled Stiles' hair and let out a contented sigh.
Isaac had been quiet for a few moments and Stiles dared to hope that he had left. That hope was crushed, figuratively and literally, as the douche jumped onto Stiles' back and shouted, "Puppy pile!" Within minutes, the rest of the pack had shown up and gotten inside the room somehow (Stiles really didn't want to know) and joined in. Stiles could barely breathe with all of the weight pressing down on him, and he said, muffled by Derek's neck, "Get off!"
By that point, Derek was most definitely awake, made evident to the rest of the pack as a threatening growl sounded deep from his throat. They all flew off in an instant, straightening their clothes and laughing raucously. Stiles, however, was still being pinned flush against Derek's body. The grip wasn't lessening, despite his effort to squirm away and the damning flush on his cheeks. Stiles continued to wiggle, trying to break the grip, and froze in horror as he felt part of himself was a bit more awake than it should be. Derek's firm thigh was pressed incredibly snug against him and there was no way he couldn't feel it through the jeans they were both still wearing. But Derek wasn't shoving Stiles off in disgust. So either he wasn't actually awake or…
He didn't mind. Honestly, it could be either of them.
(Stiles found himself really hoping it was the second one.)
Just then, Derek shifted slightly, and Stiles felt it. Derek's…
Holy shit.
Holy shit.
"Get. Out," he growled at the rest. They sprinted out of the room at break neck speed, sly grins adorning each face. So Derek definitely wasn't still asleep. Which meant he didn't mind that Stiles had popped a woody on top of him. Actually, going by Derek's mutual hard-on, he really didn't mind. Strong hands slid to grip tightly at Stiles' sides and pulled him down harder against Derek's body, forcing a shaky breath out of both of their mouths. Stiles squeezed his eyes shut and rocked his hips slightly and let out a soft moan that sounded vaguely like Derek's name.
But then Derek was lifting Stiles' body off of his own and depositing him on the bed, getting up and walking to the bathroom without a word, leaving Stiles confused and horny and a little hurt. This week was giving him whiplash.
Derek avoided him for the rest of the morning, which was an impressive feat, considering they were currently occupying the same living space. But he somehow managed it, all of the warmth they'd built up between them the past few days broken. Stiles wasn't even sure what had went wrong; one second they'd been okay- more than okay, way more- and the they'd been on the same wonderful page, and then they just… weren't. And Stiles wanted to know why. He would've asked Derek about it if the guy would just stop avoiding him.
Eventually, Stiles gave up on trying to talk about it with him and went two floors down to Scott and Kira's room. He rapped on the door, hoping they weren't, er, busy with anything. Kira opened the door with a bright smile; behind her was Allison, Lydia, and Erica. Scott was nowhere to be seen. When Stiles inquired as to where he was, Lydia informed him that he, Isaac, Jackson, and Boyd were all playing games on the XBox they brought from home.
"Well why wasn't I invited?" Stiles asked with a touch of bitterness. Lydia raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow.
"We thought you'd be… busy."
He knew what that tone of voice was insinuating and it angered him. Not because she was wrong, but because she should've been right.
Stiles sighed. "So… What are you guys doing?"
"We're going shopping! There's a mall about 20 minutes away that we're gonna check out," Kira said excitedly.
Shuffling from foot to foot, Stiles mumbled almost too quietly to hear, "Can I come with you?"
Four brows raised in perfect unison, which would've been comical, had Stiles not been in such a foul mood. "Please?"
Erica's eyes narrowed at him and she stepped up right in his space. Staring intensely at his eyes, she tried to deduce what was wrong with him. "You know what, this was supposed to be a girl's outing, but I think we can make an exception for our sassy gay best friend."
Stiles blanched. "Um, excuse me?! One, I am sarcastic, not sassy; there is a difference! Two, I'm bi, not gay." When what he said caught up to him, Stiles' face burned with humiliation. "God, I didn't mean to say- shit. I've never told anyone that…"
Allison stepped up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Stiles, it's fine. We all already knew, anyway."
"Yeah, I sort of guessed you did for a while. But I still would've liked to have actually told you guys. I just… wasn't ready to say it yet, I guess. I haven't even told Dad…"
The gentle hand on his shoulder moved up to cup his cheek, thumb rubbing back and forth softly. "I get it, but remember that we're family, Stiles, and we know you. You don't have to tell us things for us to accept them. When you do eventually tell your dad, don't be surprised if he already knows as well."
"Yeah, I know he must. It's just different, you know? Assuming someone knows something and actually telling them. It's like a trust thing. And we don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to that."
Lydia walked up and lightly gripped his hand, then walked past him and dragged him along, back out the door. She squeezed his palm, saying, "It'll be fine. Take your time, but he loves you and won't care, just like we don't."
Stiles smiled, genuinely feeling better, and listened as the others trailed after them, shutting the door behind them.
The Greenwood Park Mall was right next to a Barnes and Noble, which made Stiles really happy. It'd been awhile since he had bought some new books and was eager to check out the selection. But before that, he had to walk through virtually every store in the entire mall, carrying the bags of items the girls purchased for them. After a few hours, the five of them grabbed a table at the food court and ate a late lunch. That's when they confessed to him that they weren't just going Downtown the next night.
"Of course we'll walk around and see Monument Circle and all that," said Lydia, "but then, at 7:30…" She trailed off and looked at the other girls, smiling.
"We're going swing dancing!" squealed Kira.
Stiles choked on his drink.
"We're what? Swing dancing? Do the guys know about this? You do realize that none of us know how to swing dance, right? Unless you guys really do and have been hiding it and waiting for a chance to embarrass us like this."
Lydia scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. "No, Stiles, we don't know how to swing dance. But according to the woman at the desk back at the hotel, lots of people who go there aren't that great at it. She also said they have lessons before hand for two dollars. And apparently, lots of girls wear vintage dresses and hairstyles and the guys look super snazzy. Why do you think we got those dresses earlier? We were planning on telling you guys when we got back and had already bought the dresses, so that you couldn't say no and would have to come on your own and get something nice."
"But since you came with us..." Erica jumped in.
"We get to help you pick out your outfit," Allison finished.
They all looked pretty impressed with themselves. With good reason, Stiles supposed. And that's how he found himself stuck in a dressing room with different colored button downs being thrown over the door along with incredibly tight black slacks. Every time he changed into something new, the group of girls made him walk out and show them how it looked. They deemed the slacks a definite yes right away, claiming that it made his ass look "sexy and squeezable." He was wearing a tight black button down shirt the next time he exited his stall. Lydia gasped and motioned for the others to come look as well. They eyed him up and down, making Stiles feel increasingly insecure and uncomfortable, for a moment before deciding that it was the one. They walked over to him and messed with the shirt, unbuttoning the top button, only to rebutton it, and rolling the sleeves up to his elbows, murmuring affirmations of their choices. Kira shoved them aside and held up two ties, one white, the other red.
"Red, for sure," Allison stated. "But… Hmm. Give me one second." She disappeared for a moment and then returned with a bow tie of the same color. She held it up to his neck and smiled brightly. "Yes! It's perfect! Don't you think?"
Stiles was about to reply that he couldn't actually see what he looked like at the moment, but then realized that Allison wasn't even talking to him.
"Just one more thing," Erica said as she brought over a pair of red suspenders. Together, the girls put both accessories on him, and he didn't even try to resist; he knew better by that point. They stepped back and handed him some shoes to put on. How they knew his size, Stiles wasn't sure, but they fit perfectly. Sleek and black, the dress shoes were incredibly comfortable and he knew he'd wear them again. The girls were nodding and grinning their approval and shoved him over to a mirror, in which he saw…
Okay. Damn. Yeah, the bow tie looked better than a regular tie and he could admit the black looked really good on him. Stiles was so used to color and t-shirts and loose flannels; this outfit was basically a 180 for him, but it worked.
Kira came up behind him and hugged his arm, laying her head on his shoulder. "You look incredibly handsome, Stiles."
"More like incredibly hot," said Erica as she took her place at his other side.
Stiles smiled at them through the mirror, a little bashful, and grateful to have such awesome friends. He heard Lydia say quietly to Allison, "I can't wait to see the look on Derek's face when he sees him," to which Allison responded, "It's gonna be priceless. We should record it."
"Alright, Stilinski!" Erica explained, punctuating the statement with a sharp smack to his ass. "Change back into your geek clothes so we can buy these."
Stiles did what she said with a happy smile on his face. He really loved his girls.
True to what they had told Stiles, as soon as they got back to the hotel, the remaining boys were filled on the plans for the next evening. As expected, there was grumbling and complaining, but they all soon left to get their own clothes without too much fussing, dragging Derek with them.
While the other half of the group was gone, the girls plus Stiles holed up in Lydia and Jackson's room, watching chick flicks and eating junk food. Stiles filled them in on what had happened with Derek at their insistence and they came up with theories as to why Derek reacted the way he had. It was nice. Despite the whole Derek avoiding him thing, it had been a really fun day; Stiles wanted to have more like them.
They all fell asleep in a heap on the bed, the credits of "The Notebook" still running. And that's how the boys found them when they got back from shopping.
"Alright," whispered Scott, "everyone grab yours."
Scott lifted Kira gently out of the bed and carried her to their shared room, as Boyd did with Erica and Isaac did with Allison. Soon, only Stiles and Lydia remained in the bed.
Jackson looked pointedly at Derek. "Well, take him. He's sure as hell not staying here."
Derek sighed and hooked one arm under Stiles' arms, the other under his knees, and hefted the sleeping teen into his arms. Stiles' own hands automatically tangled themselves in Derek's shirt, holding on tightly. It was an awkward position, considering Stiles was pretty much the same height as him, but it still felt… right, somehow. Riding the elevator up to their floor was incredibly uncomfortable, because they didn't have it to themselves. An old woman walked on with them right before the door shut. She saw a young man fast asleep in another's arms and it warmed her heart. She smiled sweetly at them, eyes crinkling at the corners, and hit the floor just above theirs. Derek smiled back politely and shifted Stiles in his arms, causing him to stir slightly, his eyes parting open just enough to look up at a stubbled jaw.
"Der'k?"
"Yeah, Stiles."
"What're we doin'?"
Derek smiled down at him, answering, "We're going back up to our room. You fell asleep with the girls in Lydia's room."
"Oh. M'kay. Wake me when we get there."
Just then, the elevator stopped with a ding and the door opened. The old woman moved out of the way as Derek tried to maneuver Stiles' legs to get out.
"Stiles, is it? You've got a good man there, Stiles. I'd keep him," she said with a wink. Stiles' smiled sleepily at her in his sleep groggy state, patting Derek's chest and mumbling, "I plan to." The doors closed between them and that was the end of the conversation. Derek felt an odd warmth in his chest, whether it was from Stiles' words or the hand still resting over his heart, he wasn't sure. Maybe both.
He got them both back into the room and sat Stiles down on the edge of the bed. His eyes were closed and he slumped forward as soon as Derek stopped holding him up, head landing softly on the space his hand had been just moments before. Huffing out a snort, Derek layed Stiles back against the bed and stood.
"Get changed for bed."
Stiles let out a sound that could've meant anything from 'okay' to 'fuck you' to 'do it yourself'. Derek decided to take it as the last one.
He started by untying and pulling off the worn converse, then peeling off the socks underneath. Then he grabbed Stiles' arms and dragged him upright once again, maneuvering his arms out of the jacket and flannel he was wearing over his Chewbacca t-shirt. Next was the hard part: Stiles' jeans.
"Stiles. Hey, look at me." Once Stiles had lifted his head to look at Derek sleepily, he continued. "Can you take off your jeans or do you need me to do it?"
"Nnngh," was his only response, though his hands slowly crept down to his belt, pulling at the buckle, but failing to get it unclasped. After letting him struggle for a few moments, Derek gently slapped Stiles' hands out of the way- who then fell back again- took a deep breath, and unbuckled the belt. Then his fingers moved to the button, undoing it and pulling the zipper down. Derek took a few more deep ,steadying breaths.
"Lift your hips."
Stiles did so without complaint, still watching Derek through half-lidded eyes that were holding an intensity too potent for someone so close to unconsciousness. The jeans slid off easily, leaving Stiles in just his shirt and a pair of black boxer-briefs that clung perfectly to his hips and thighs. Derek tore his eyes away and stood up, going to use the bathroom before heading to bed. He splashed water on his face and gave himself a mini lecture, trying to get a hold of himself. Stiles was fast asleep when Derek left the bathroom and was still lying with his legs hanging off the edge of the bed. After another moment's hesitation, Derek rearranged the teen so that he was under the covers on his side of the bed, muttering incoherently in his dreams. Derek looked on at the endearing sight, pleased that Stiles trusted him so much as to let him carry, undress, and put him to bed. It made his wolf preen, knowing that the boy had so much sureness in his character and ability. That Derek could and would take care of him, given the chance.
He stripped out of his own clothes, only remaining in his boxers, before sliding under the covers next to Stiles. He listened to the sound of Stiles' easy breathing and steady heartbeat and eventually allowed himself to be lulled to sleep by it.
For only the second time that week, they woke up not tangled together. However, that was probably mostly do to the fact that Stiles was sprawled out on the floor, where he had fallen off the bed without waking up in the middle of the night. He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to work out a cramp. By the sound coming from the bathroom, Stiles knew that Derek was in the shower. And going by the empty plate on one of the tables, he had already gotten breakfast, too.
Stiles' own stomach rumbled slightly and he went down to the lobby to get his own food. Once seated at the table with a bowl of cereal and a muffin, Stiles closed his eyes and let a huge yawn overtake him. He shook his head to clear it a bit and opened his eyes to find the old woman from the previous night sitting across from him. Stiles jumped in his chair, not expecting anyone to have seemingly materialized like that, and lifted a hand to his chest.
Smiling politely at her, he said, "Sorry, you scared me. Think you almost gave me a heart attack," he joked.
The woman let out a shockingly loud laugh and said, "You're too young for that. Me, on the other hand…"
"Oh, please, you don't look a day over 39."
"I'll let you know that I am 38, young man." She grinned at him before holding out a frail and veiny hand, which Stiles grasped firmly, but not too tightly. "My name is Mable. And you're Stiles, if my little old brain serves me right?"
Chuckling, Stiles nods. "Yes, Ma'am. Stiles Stilinski. I swear it's a nickname," he added at her curious look. "My real one is even weirder, I can assure you that."
"Well, I guess I'll just have to take your word for it."
For the next 20 minutes, he and Mable chatted about anything that came to mind. Their plans for the day ("My granddaughter is going to be a flower in her ballet recital. I'm betting she'll be the best damn flower there"), politics ("That Sanders fellow seems like a good man. Think I'd ever have a chance with him?" "I'm pretty sure he has a wife, but I think you could win him over." "Oh,no, I wouldn't want him to be another Bill Clinton"), the weather("I'm from California, so the snow sort of caught me off guard." "It's supposed to be warmer tonight. The weather 'round here is quite unpredictable, though, so make sure you take something warm").
It was actually really enjoyable, talking to Mable. She was sarcastic and blunt and opinionated, just like Stiles himself. They got along swimmingly and Stiles found himself sort of sad when she looked at her watch and declared she needed to go and get ready to meet up with her daughter and grandchild.
"Tell your boyfriend I said hello, will you?"
Stiles almost spit out his juice. "Who, Derek? No, he's not my boyfriend. We're not together."
Mable looked him in the eye and asked, "Well, why not?" before standing up and leaving the lobby. Stiles stared on for a moment, lost in thought, and then his phone dinged, indicating a new message.
From: Lizard Man
Lydia says we're leaving in an hour and to wear regular clothes but bring what you bought.
Stiles texted back his acknowledgment and stood to throw away his trash and go back to his room. Inside, Derek was sitting against the headboard, reading his book. If Stiles wasn't positive otherwise, he would have thought the man didn't even notice his entrance. Clearing his throat, Stiles relayed what Jackson had told him. At Derek's nod of affirmation, Stiles went to take a shower and fix up his hair for the night. He changed into his regular jeans, t-shirt, flannel, and jacket and then let Derek have the bathroom.
Half-an-hour later, they were both sitting in the lobby waiting for the others. They had their bags by their sides, holding folded clothes for that night, some water bottles, and portable chargers. Stiles looked at his phone and saw that they still had about five minutes before they were supposed to leave. He took a deep breath.
"So, uh, Derek?" At Derek's grunt he continued. "About this morning… I'm not sure what happened, but, uh, I didn't mean to..."
"Just don't worry about it Stiles. I get it, it was nothing, it's fine." Derek wasn't looking at him.
"Oh. Uh, sure. Right, nothing. Got it."
Stiles had been so sure that it was something, but apparently he was wrong. Apparently, whatever Stiles thought had been between them wasn't something special. It wasn't even something, according to Derek. It was nothing.
They stay in an awkward and tense silence until the others started arriving downstairs, declaring it time to go.
Finding one parking spot Downtown wasn't easy, much less three. They ended up on three different streets, but still close together. It was only about noon, so they found a restaurant to eat lunch in before exploring the area.
Stiles found the tension between himself and Derek slip away as the day went on, replaced by their usual banter and teasing. It felt nice to forget about the earlier conversation and just focus on having a good time with his pack. By four, the group was getting tired of walking and took one more lap around Monument Circle. Scott, ever the sweet-toothed one, spotted an ice-cream parlor and dragged them over to it. The cones were huge and the selection looked heavenly. Stiles went for a nice cookie-dough in a waffle cone. The others made their selections and watched as scoop after scoop was piled on and then handed over the counter. They paid and went to sit on the steps of Monument Circle, which had many beautiful sculptures and statues attached to it. At the top of the tower that was the center of Monument Circle was a statue of a woman with a torch and sword, and connected to her were multiple strings of lights that stretched down to the ground in a cone shape. It was still light out, though, so the lights weren't on. The pack sat, watching traffic and people walking around. Once the ice-cream was gone and their hands were sticky, it was nearing six o'clock.
Allison perked up from where she was leaning backs against the white steps and said, "Before we get ready for swing dancing, we should take carriage rides." Kira immediately exclaimed her agreement, dragging Scott up from where he was slouching and running down the steps, dragging him behind her. There were three of the carriages that they could see. Since Scott and Kira had already taken one, the rest of the group split up into groups of four to share the others. Allison, Isaac, Jackson, and Lydia took one and Derek, Stiles, Erica, and Boyd took the other. The man in front steering the two white horses asked if they were locals or just visiting, to which they said they were visiting from California, and yes, it was their first time in Indy. He proceeded to tell them about the history of everything they drove past and interesting stories about some of the places.
"See that big tower? You can see it from pretty much anywhere close to Downtown. It's the Chase Tower. They're all over the country, but we call ours the Batman Building."
Stiles looked and easily spotted a large tower with two large spires protruding from the top. He could see the resemblance.
"It's the 44th tallest tower in the country and one of those spires doesn't even work. Just there for decoration. Hey, you folks gonna be here later tonight? When it's dark? 'Cause they turn all those lights on down at the Circle. It's like our own huge Christmas tree."
"Yeah," said Erica. "We're gonna hopefully see it before we head back to our hotel."
They finished their ride, paid, and got to pet the horses before the driver went in search of other customers.
"Okay," started Lydia. "It's 6:20 right now. We'll grab something quick for dinner and then get ready in the bathrooms. We'll be finished by 7:20, giving us time to walk to Fountain Square Theatre and arrive in time for lessons, which last an hour before the band starts. Now what do we want to eat?"
They settled on simple burgers and fries before hitting the bathrooms. It didn't take long for the guys to quickly change, but Stiles was having troubles tying his bow tie straight. He struggled in the mirror for a few minutes before Boyd came out of his stall and snorted at his failing attempts.
"A little help, Vernon?"
"So long as you never call me that again, Mieczyslaw." A choked snort came from one of the stalls- probably Jackson or Isaac.
Stiles gaped at a smirking Boyd. "How… How the hell do you know…? How can you even pronounce…? What?"
"Lydia," was the response that answered all of Stiles' questions. Damn her.
Boyd reached up and properly tied the bow tie, tugging it into the right position.
"Thanks… Boyd."
Smirking again, he replied, "Don't mention it… Stiles."
Deciding his hair was still fine and didn't need any messing with, Stiles announced that he was going to wait outside while they all finished up. Eventually, Boyd, Scott, and Isaac joined him, dressed in whites and blacks with black, white and blue ties. Then Allison and Kira walked through the doors. Isaac's eyes ran up and down Allison's frame, taking in her braided hair, floral dress and high heels that did wonders for her legs. Scott stared in awe at Kira in her black dress and flats, her hair pulled up into a long, curly ponytail. They both smiled at their boyfriend's, happy with their reactions. Lydia was out next, looking stunning in her blue rose dress and black flower in her curled hair, scoffing when she noticed that Jackson wasn't done yet.
"Why the hell is he taking longer than me? Jackson is way too obsessed with his hair," she was finishing as Jackson joined them, scowling at her words before looking over her appearance. He walked over to her, picked up her hand and kissed it, whispering, "You look gorgeous, as always." She smiled delightedly up at him and threaded her arm through his. Erica made a show of exiting the bathroom, throwing herself against the doorway and then twirling to show off her outfit. The bright red cherries on the black of the dress stood out and complimented the red of her lips. Grinning, she then flounced over to wear Boyd was gulping, looking at each other. Finally, there was only one more person. Derek.
"What is taking him so long?" asked Lydia, sounding impatient.
Isaac rolled his eyes. "He doesn't want to go dancing so he's being a big baby about it. He finished changing forever ago. I'll go get him."
He disappeared into the men's room, trying to convince Derek to hurry up. From outside, arguing was heard before the door reopened, revealing a smug Isaac pulling a reluctant Derek by his bicep. His head lifted and Stiles found his eyes locked with Derek's. They both stood frozen, looking each other over.
Derek was wearing a white button down with the sleeves rolled up and the top two buttons undone, dark grey dress pants, and a vest.
A fucking vest.
Stiles was going to die.
A hand waved in front of his eyes and Stiles jumped, quickly shutting his mouth, which he hadn't even realized was hanging open. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, then cleared his throat again, all the while ogling Derek.
"Oh for the love of Christ. This is cute and all, but he need to get going if we're going to have time to drop our bags off in the cars before lessons start." Stiles wasn't actually sure who it was that had spoken, probably Lydia, but he finally tore his eyes away from Derek.
"Yep! Yeah, let's go. We really should get going, yeah that's totally something… we should do… Uh. Yeah." Stiles didn't stick around to see their amused judgment, just turned around and bent over to pick up his bag from where he had dropped it earlier. Someone behind him made a choking sound, probably trying not to laugh, and Stiles pushed open the door to the sidewalk. He didn't look back, but he knew they were following him.
Ten minutes later had the group with only phones and wallets, and purses, standing in front of the Fountain Square Theatre. With a whoop, Erica broke forward and opened the doors, beckoning for them to follow her.
The line was short and soon they all had blue stamps on their hand, except for Derek, who had two stamps because he was over 21. It seems they had arrived right on time, because there were two people, a man and a woman, standing in the middle of the dance floor, calling for everyone who paid for lessons to join them in a circle. Soon, the pack was standing as part of the circle of strangers all there to dance.
"Alright, everyone!" yelled the woman. "Hello, and welcome to Fountain Square Swing Night!" Everyone cheered and then they were instructed to form two circles- one where they already were, the other just inside of it. Leads were to be on the outside, followers on the inside. Before, though, they all had to mix up. Stiles ended up having to stand on the inside due to an odd number of people around him. Looking around, he saw that he wasn't the only guy on the inside. It seemed that there were a few more guys than girls present. There were also a few girls on the outside, like the one in front of him.
The instructors told everyone to introduce themselves to their partner, and Stiles shook hands with the girl.
"Hey, I'm Stiles. It's nice to meet you."
She smiled at him. "Hi! I'm Alyssa, and I'm normally a lead when I dance with me girlfriend, but if it makes you uncomfortable, we can switch?"
"Oh, no, it's fine. I'm totally fine with being a follower. I've never done this before, so it'll probably be easier anyway, right?"
"Definitely. You just have to follow what I do. It might be awkward since you're taller than me, but we can make it work," she spoke, grinning sweetly.
"Okay! Now that everyone is well acquainted with each other, we're gonna take up the basic positions. Now, the dancing we'll be teaching you is a bit more country style swing, although we won't be playing country music. But don't worry! It works just as well with our music! Now, leads! You will be Lego man! Hold your hands like this, just like a Lego's hands are. Awesome! Followers, you are going to be Barbie girl! Hold your hands straight like this, bent at the wrist, and put you fingers into Lego man's hands, like this. Perfect!"
Stiles and Alyssa were in position, the latter having gotten them there long before they were told to.
"Leads, you take a step to your left, and followers, you mirror them, taking a step to your right. Then step back to your starting place. Then leads, rock back on your left foot. At the same time, followers will rock back on their right, still mirroring them. Stretch your arms out in front of you, still holding hands, and then step back forward together. Then just do it again. Step, step, rock, step, step. Step, step, rock, step, step. That's the basic movement, the foundation, if you will."
With Alyssa's help, Stiles got the movements down easily, and before long, they were moving fluidly with one another, not needing instruction.
"Now, I know you're all having fun with your partners, but we're gonna switch it up! Inner circle, move four people to your left!"
Alyssa grinned at him. "It was lovely meeting you! Maybe we can share a dance later when my girlfriend's feet get tired, yeah?"
"Of course! Hopefully I'll see you later, then." They waved to one another and then Stiles walked past three guys and came to a stop in front of the fourth.
"Scotty, boy! Fancy meeting you here!"
Scott laughed, shoving Stiles lightly in the chest. "Figures you'd be a follower. Now stop joking and help me, man. I want to impress Kira."
"Ha! Good luck with that. You're the worst dancer I've ever met. Worse than me, even."
One of the instructors cut off whatever indignant retort Scott was obviously struggling to come up with, saying, "Now we're gonna put some music to it! Just listen for the beat and we'll call out the steps."
Some jazzy song started playing through the speakers and Scott and Stiles got into position.
"Step, step, rock, step, step. Step, step, rock, step, step."
Scott's movements were precise, but choppy. "Dude, loosen up. Don't think about it so much, just go with it. You're supposed to be leading me here, not the other way around."
He could see Scott's body lose some of its tension, his movements becoming more flowing, more natural. It wasn't long until they were told to move again. This time the leads moved four people to the right. The guy who ended up in front of Stiles was at least twice his age. He looked slightly uncomfortable to be dancing with a guy of Stiles' age. Or maybe just a guy. Nonetheless, they danced for a minute and then the instructors announced that they were going to learn a new move. It was incredibly simple- Stiles just had to walk, spinning, under the guy's outstretched arm and then reverse the movement to get back in front of him. Together, they managed to get it down quickly without looking each other in the face. The next time they moved was such a relief. Followers were to move five people to the left, which put Stiles face-to-face with Derek.
They stared at each other for a couple seconds and then Derek's hands lifted into the Lego man position. Stiles eyed them before sliding his own into them. Derek's skin was warm and familiar, and Stiles shuddered a bit, trying to keep it unnoticeable. It was all in vain, though, and Derek smirked. The music started back up and they moved together easily and without prompting. They practiced the move they had learned and it was much more fun with Derek than it had been with the other guy. They didn't learn anything new, but kept practicing what they had already learnt, getting better and better at it with each try. That was the last rotation before the instructors were applauding them and introducing the band for the night. The circles broke apart and people started pairing off to dance to the live music.
"I'm gonna go buy a bottle of water. Do you want one?" asked Derek.
"Sure. Thanks, man." Derek nodded and walked off to the bar. Stiles weaved through the throng of dancers, trying to grab a table for when the pack got tired. He found an empty one and sat down on one of the chairs, waiting for Derek. The music was loud in Stiles' ears as he looked around the building. Earlier, when he had been in the circle, stiles had noticed a balcony that was now right above him. He just wanted to figure out how to get up to it…
The answer came in the form of two girls walking past his table and through a doorway. Stiles was standing up to check it out when Derek appeared in front of him, holding up a bottle of water. Smiling in thanks, Stiles grabbed it and took a few sips.
"Hey," he began, "let's go check out the balcony. I'm pretty sure it's right through there."
Not waiting for a response, Stiles seized hold of Derek's wrist, dragging him over to the doorway. As expected, through it was an incredibly narrow staircase that led to the second level. Once at the top, they turned to their left, walked a few yards, and were confronted with two rooms on either side. To the right was a carpeted space, elevated and accessed by a few steps, that was full of what looked like Jr. High kids. They were dancing with each other like they had been doing it all their lives, and maybe they had. Then, out of nowhere, one of the pairs started doing tricks where the girl was being lifted into the air and rolling over the guy's back and flipping over each other.
"Damn. Think we could do that? I mean, you've got your werewolf strength and all, so it couldn't be that difficult." Derek didn't give a verbal response of any kind, so Stiles looked over to him and was met with raised eyebrows that seemed to say, "No Stiles, and you're an idiot."
Stiles muttered under his breath, "Okay, then. Nevermind." To their left was the balcony, also up a few steps. There were many people dancing there who probably wanted to escape the crown of the dance floor. It overlooked said dance floor and Stiles stepped up to the railing, spotting Erica and Boyd dancing together. It didn't take long to find everyone else, and it looked like they were having a great time. He and Derek stood for a few songs, content to just watch, but soon Stiles grew increasingly restless and bored. He looked over at Derek, who was still looking down below them. He sighed and looked away, leaning his chin on his palm. He wanted to dance, but felt too awkward to ask anyone. Then there came a tap at his shoulder.
Stiles turned around and saw a guy who looked a little older than himself standing there. He was incredibly handsome, and the smile on his face was kind.
"Would you care to dance?"
Stiles smiled back, nodding, and let himself be led away from the railing. He looked back at Derek, who looked tense, his face turned slightly in their direction.
"I'm Adam. And you are…?"
"Stiles."
"Nice to meet you, Stiles. Now, don't worry, I'm not trying to come onto you. Wouldn't want to upset Muscles over there. My girlfriend is actually dancing with her other friend and you looked bored. So, solution!"
Stiles laughed loudly. "Muscles will be fine. And thanks, I felt like I was gonna crawl out of my skin."
"No problem. You know how to follow?"
Stiles nodded. "I'm no expert, though. This is my first time trying this."
"Ah, don't worry. It's super easy. Just follow my lead."
They easily fell into the movements Stiles had just learned, moving with the music. The song ended and the next started and they kept dancing. They were moving at a faster pace than Stiles had during the lessons, but it made it all the more fun.
"Alright, I'm gonna show you a move. It's a little complicated, but totally worth it. It's called the Pretzel."
"The name even sounds complicated. You sure a beginner like me can handle it?" Stiles asked teasingly.
Adam grinned, "Oh yeah. You're way better than most beginners. It's actually pretty easy for you, you just have to let yourself follow freely. Don't try to move yourself a lot, just let me move you, 'kay?"
"Give up free will, gotcha."
Adam chuckled and said, "Ready?" At Stiles' nod, he started twisting and spinning their arms and bodies in a way that made Stiles laugh and follow along with ease. Adam told him to spin out and the move ended, so they continued in the basic movements.
"That was awesome. How the hell do you even do that so easily?"
"Lots and lots of practice. My girlfriend is actually an instructor, so she taught me a few years ago. Wanna do it again?" he asked.
"Hell yeah." They did the move again, and after that Adam taught him a few more tricks. The song ended and then Derek was behind Adam, tapping his shoulder. Surprisingly, Derek was completely polite as he asked to dance with Stiles. Adam grinned, nodded, and then winked at Stiles before going off to presumably find his girlfriend.
Stiles looked back at Derek, eyeing him with scrutiny. "You're really gonna dance with me? You're not gonna chicken out? We're going to legit dance together, not for lessons or because you want to show Adam up or something? You want to dance with me?"
Derek rolled his eyes and grabbed Stiles' hands in his, dragging them closer together. "Yes, Stiles, I want to dance with you. Now will you stop asking questions?"
"Fine, fine. But we're dancing for more than one song. And then we're going to go downstairs and dance some more." Derek glared at him. "What, you asked me to dance."
"And I'm already regretting it." He sounded completely serious, like he actually regretted asking, and Stiles pulled his hands away.
"Fine, then I'll make things easy for you. You don't have to dance with me. I'll just go downstairs and you can do whatever the hell you want."
He started walking away, but only got a few steps before Derek's hand returned to his, but more gentle this time. Light enough that Stiles could easily slip away if he wanted to. And that was the point, wasn't it. Stiles didn't want to.
"Wait, Stiles. I didn't mean… I wasn't… Sorry. I'm sorry." Stiles turned back and saw the apology written on Derek's face and he knew that it was sincere. "I just, I'm not good at this. I'm not good at… liking people."
Stiles felt his heart skip about four beats. "You… like me. Like. Like, like? I haven't been imagining it? This is real, not me reading into something that's not there? 'Cause I have a tendency of doing that, you know. I hope for something so hard that I start thinking it's actually happening but it's really not, it never is, so I need you to tell me, explicitly, that you like me like that so that I don't-"
Those are hands on his face, and those are lips on his lips. Those are Derek's lips on his lips.
"Stiles," Derek mumbled against his mouth, which felt fucking amazing, "Stop talking."
So Stiles closed his eyes and sighed shakily into the kiss. His hands wrapped around Derek's waist, holding him tightly against his own body as their lips slid together in a dance much more intimate than the one they had been doing all night. Derek pulled back slightly, resting their foreheads together. His thumbs stroked over Stiles' cheekbones as they caught their breath, eyes still closed. Slowly, the rest of Stiles' senses came back to him and reminded him that they were most definitely not alone and this was most definitely not the place for this. Derek seemed to be remembering the same thing, because his hands dropped from Stiles' face and their foreheads were no longer touching. He felt disappointed until those same hands covered his arms, pulling his hands back between them and tangling their fingers together. Stiles slowly let his eyes fall open, feeling tingly all over and content and happy. His eyes locked with Derek's and they smiled at each other, blushes adorning their cheeks, although Stiles' redness was much more noticeable without the concealing stubble. And because of Derek's stubble.
Derek leaned forward and whispered, "We're going back to the hotel. Right now."
Stiles nodded vigorously, adamantly agreeing.
Together, they walked quickly back downstairs and out onto the streets of Downtown Indianapolis. They started in the direction of the car they drove down, but then Stiles stopped him.
"Wait. First can we see the Christmas tree? At Monument Circle?"
Derek gave a small smile, and nodded. They walked the blocks to the Circle and stared up at it. The trees aligning all of the roads were wound with white Christmas lights and some of the buildings had lighted windows making pictures on the sides of them, but it didn't compare to the brightness of the multicolored lights coming down from the monument. It was huge, and it was beautiful. Stiles felt like that kind of wrapped up his evening. The step that he and Derek had taken was huge, and it was beautiful. Stiles looked over at Derek. He was beautiful.
Derek's cheeks got a tad bit rosy again as he said softly, "You're thinking out loud again."
Stiles looked at the lights reflecting in Derek's eyes, making them glisten and shine, and his damn vest, and his perfect, shy little smile. And he fell in love. Or he was already in love. He didn't know which, but he knew he was in love with the man standing in front of him.
So he slid his arms around Derek's neck and tucked his face against his collarbone. Derek let out a sigh and settled his own arms around Stiles' waist and resting his cheek on Stiles' shoulder. They stood there together for what could've been seconds, minutes, hours, days, and they felt whole.
"Derek." Stiles' voice was muffled against Derek's skin, but it didn't matter. Derek hummed in response. And he didn't feel nervous, it didn't feel too soon, because it really wasn't, when he said, "I love you."
The arms around him tightened and Derek let out a hot breath of air on Stiles' shoulder. It was quiet for a few minutes, but Stiles didn't worry. He knew he didn't need to. And then Derek was whispering back, quietly and just for him, "I love you, too. I love you so much, Stiles." And it was huge and it was beautiful, just like they were going to be.
It was on the ride home, after Stiles had sent out a group text telling everyone they would have to ride four and four in the other two cars and to not bother them until they had to leave for the airport the next morning, that Stiles asked Derek why he had pulled away when they woke up together earlier that week.
"I didn't want you to feel pressured. You're young, and I… I didn't want you to feel like you had to."
Stiles grabbed hold of Derek's hand, which was lying between them, fingers splayed like a silent invitation. He wound their fingers together and said, "I didn't. Feel pressured, I mean. You never have to worry about that, with me. I'll always want whatever it is you want to give me; you don't even have to ask. Not you." Stiles lifted Derek's hand to his mouth, pressing his lips firmly against the back of his palm, and then along each finger, feeling them grip tighter with each kiss. Derek stayed silent for the rest of the trip, but as they got closer to the hotel, the anticipation grew. It thickened the air around them, and they both caught the other glancing toward them more than once. Finally, they were parking and unbuckling and grabbing hands again and practically running through the doors to get inside. As soon as the doors to the elevator closed, Derek had Stiles pushed up against one of the walls. Their arms wrapped around each other again, already figuring out the ways the fit best together, and Derek rocked forward, capturing Stiles' mouth in a desperate kiss. They moaned and sighed into one another's mouths as they quickly grew more intense. Derek's tongue found its way inside Stiles' mouth and they gasped at the sensation. Derek's hands slipped beneath Stiles' suspenders, running up and down his chest, stomach, and sides. He dragged his mouth down from Stiles' lips to his neck, pressing fervent, open mouthed kisses anywhere he could reach. Stiles felt a nip of teeth at his throat and let out a noise somewhere between a yelp and a moan, instinctually tipping his head back to bare more of his neck. The elevator stopped and the doors opened and Stiles and Derek immediately pulled apart just as an old lady walked on.
Stiles cleared his throat as she smirked at them and pushed a button on the elevator.
"Hi there, Mable. How was, uh… How was the recital?" Stiles tried.
She just smiled wider. "Oh, it was wonderful. My little Anna was the best flower, just like I said she would be. How's not being together working? Looks to me like you didn't put much effort into it."
"Uh…" came Stiles' intelligent response.
Derek ran a hand over his face and left it there, leaving Stiles on his own. Luckily, that was when the doors opened again, this time on their floor. Derek grabbed Stiles' hand and yanked him out of the elevator and down the hall. Stiles just barely had time to look over his shoulder and smile at Mable, who winked back, before the doors closed in front of her.
Derek unlocked the door to their room and pulled the both inside, smiling. Stiles smiled back and kicked the door closed behind them.
The next day, they woke up on top of one another, naked and content. Isaac broke into their room again and took more pictures for blackmail purposes. Stiles couldn't bring himself to care. And going by the peaceful smile on Derek's face as he pulled them closer, neither could he.