Derek isn't sure of exactly when Stiles' visits to his coffee shop became the best part of his day, but he does know that this is wrong, and completely unfair. He shouldn't feel this way about somebody that is so irrevocably not his.
Stiles has Scott. Based on the ease of their interactions, and their affectionate glances; it's clear that they really care about each other. They're in it for the long haul. But then there was Stiles' incessant flirting. Not with Scott, but with Derek. It had been an agonizing 5 months of Stiles steadily becoming more heavy-handed with his flirting. And it didn't matter whether he had come in alone or with Scott in tow, he was relentless. Derek might have to talk to Stiles about it if it got any worse. He really respected Scott, but it was clear that Stiles did not.
Speak of the devil.
"Hey there big guy, polishing a hole into the counter I see?" Stiles smirks as he walks inside, suit jacket slung over his shoulder as he sits down in his usual spot at the bar near the register. He sets his jacket down on the stool next to him and turns to face Derek who's just turned around to see him, all amber eyes and long lashes, chin resting in his right hand.
"Just lost in thought, " Derek says, regaining his composure, throwing the towel over his shoulder "What can I get for you tonight?" Stiles repositions himself so that he has his chin resting in both hands, looking as if he's deep in thought before saying,
"I'll just have my usual, and throw in a muffin or something for Scott will you? Whatever he usually gets." Derek just nods and turns away to get started on Stiles' drink, a large green tea with soy milk. Around the 5th or 6th time Stiles ordered it, Derek asked him why he always came to a coffee shop for a drink so simple that he could make it at home. Stiles had responded with 'because I love the view'. Derek puzzled over that one before Erica explained to him a day later that Stiles was checking out his butt. Since then he'd refrained from questioning Stiles' motives for basically anything involving his shop.
It's nearly 9:45pm on a Wednesday, so Scott must be sleeping over at Stiles' or vice versa. Derek didn't understand why the two hadn't moved in together yet; they were 27 and had been together for years. What was the hold up? Following his train of thought he turns to a dazed Stiles who was clearly ogling his behind, as he's waiting for the tea to brew.
"Why don't you two just move in together?"
It comes out harsher than Derek wants it to but oh well. Stiles startles a bit, straightening in his seat and running a hand through his already messy hair
"What, you mean Scotty?"
Stiles asks as the blush fades from his cheeks from being caught in the act "I love him to the ends of the earth, but a man needs his space."
Derek nods, turning around to check on the tea.
"You guys have a lot of sleepovers, I just thought you'd want to finally move in together".
At that Stiles lets out a short laugh, as if he thinks Derek is joking, "Yeah, that's probably never gonna happen in life." Derek lets out a small grunt in acknowledgement as he finishes mixing Stiles' drink, handing it over to him before walking over to the glass case that all of the baked goods are held in. He picks out a banana nut chocolate muffin (original recipe stolen from Peter) that Scott orders every time he comes in and places it in front of Stiles next to the tea.
Derek silently watches Stiles sip his tea as he reads something on his phone, marveling at the way he manages to make everything he does look seductive. Or that could just be Derek and his ridiculous crush coloring his judgement. Stiles looks up, straw still in his mouth.
"You are literally a statue," he says, releasing the straw from his full pink lips. Derek raises an eyebrow as Stiles continues "I mean seriously how does a human being stand so still, and look so damn good doing it." Stiles says, hunching over the counter again and squinting his eyes at Derek like he's looking to unmask his secrets "You are so not human." Derek laughs at that; if only Stiles knew.
And then Erica appears from the back of the store.
Though the store belonged to Derek, Laura insisted on doing the hiring when she was still in Beacon Hills. Derek had been extremely closed off for years after the fire. It wasn't until he got the idea to open a coffee shop with his portion of the inheritance that he had started to get better. Peter had always talked about wanting to open up a place, and he felt that it was the least he could do to honor his dead family members. That's how Hale's was born. But Laura was still worried about him, so she purposefully chose somebody as similar to her as possible. Somebody that she knew would look after him and challenge him as much as she did. He's glad that she did it, he'd just never say that out loud.
"Stiles!" Erica says as she walks around the counter to hug him.
"I was just talking to Derek about his statuesque beauty," Stiles says, taking his seat again as Erica throws her head back in laughter, red lips parting. She fixes her gaze on a now blushing Derek, looking thoughtful, nodding her head.
"Yeah, yeah, I see what you mean. But you know those statues are usually naked," she says, grinning wolfishly at Derek. "I'll bet he's even better then." She winks at Stiles whose gaze is now averted to the muffin before him, hand rubbing the back of his neck. Derek glares at Erica before saying,
"As much as I'd love to listen to the two of you go on about my statuesque nature it's past closing time, and I'd like to go home." Derek says, giving them both a pointed look.
"Right, right, sorry man, I'm in a bit later than usual, this case is eating me alive," Stiles says as he takes out his wallet.
Derek feels bad for kicking him out, but he can't stand the ball of sexually charged energy that is Stiles right now, especially with Erica around to make things even more awkward than they usually are. He cannot give in to the flirting of a man that is spoken for. Troubling as his relationship seems to be.
Stiles slides his card across the counter and Derek takes it, swiping it and waiting for the receipt to print out so that he can have Stiles sign it. He hands back the receipt "You can just trash my copy," he says gathering his things and making his way to the door, a blush spreading up his neck.
"I'll see you later, Derek," he says ducking his head in what Derek pegs as...embarrassment? "You too Erica." He wonders what that's about. And then Stiles is gone.
Derek makes his way to the door, locking it after Stiles."Need help closing boss?" Erica asks, giving Derek a knowing look as he wipes down the tables. Derek rolls his eyes and glares at her, eyebrows raised.
"I will take that as a no then," Erica says as she removes her apron. She walks over to the front door, long blonde hair swaying behind her, she unlocks it and leaves with a "See ya Derek, and good luck." He shakes his head. He had no idea what she was talking about, but whatever it was could not be good.
Erica always did weird things when Stiles was around. Always pushing him to pursue Derek even more. She had known Scott and Stiles way before he had opened up Hale's, and Derek couldn't understand how she could knowingly stand-by while Stiles so blatantly threw himself at Derek.
When he heads back up to the front to count the register he notices Stiles' signed receipt back on the counter, Erica had to have taken it out of the register. He glances at it before reaching to place it back into the register. Before he does though he notices that there's more than Stiles' simple signature of 'SS' on it. Stiles had left him his number. Underneath it he had written "Call me sometime" with a little winky face next to it. This is what Erica had been talking about.
He had about three seconds to feel excited before he was just agitated. He would definitely be calling Stiles, but not for the reason he suspected. He needed to put an end to all of this nonsense. He was not going to be the other man in anybody's life.
Cut to the following night, Derek is sitting in his loft, practically sweating all over his phone, turning it over again and again in his hands, Stiles' number is sitting on the coffee table in front of him. He is a grown man. He can do this. He can call up this freckled vixen and tell him the truth. He takes a deep breath and dials Stiles' number, holding the phone to his ear as he waits for him to pick up.
The phone rings once.
Twice.
There's some rustling on the other line and then "Hello?". And Derek will never admit it but he nearly balks. What is he even doing? He knows that he can never have Stiles, but what if Stiles stops coming around if he pushes him away? What is he gonna do without the best part of his days?
"Ummm, hellooooo? Is anybody there?" Derek clears his throat, brought back to reality. He's gotta do this. If not for Scott, then for his own dignity.
"Hey, Stiles? It's Derek."
"Ohhh Derek, I thought that was you breathing over there, what's up man?"
"I think-" Derek pauses, clearing his throat "I need to talk to you about… things."
There's a short pause on Stiles' end before he answers "Yeahhh, ok, I can come over if you want?" Stiles asks, sounding hopeful. Derek hesitates at that, but he knows better. Having Stiles present, in his home no less, would just make what he needs to do harder. "No, no that's ok, I can do this over the phone," he says, wiping his palms on his pant legs. "Whatever works for you then," Stiles says, slightly deflated. Derek steels himself, takes a deep breathe, and tells Stiles
"Look, I like you, and I know that you feel the same, but I can't do this with you. It's not fair to me, but it's especially not fair to Scott. I don't know what's going on with your relationship with him, but he deserves the respect of an honest break-up. You can't keep doing this to him, and I refuse to be a part of it," Derek lets out in a rush.
It's silent for a beat too long after he finishes his speech and he thinks that Stiles has hung up but then he hears him exhale.
"Wow, that might just be the most you've ever said to me at one time," Stiles says.
Derek ignores him, and presses on "I'm sorry I just- I can't keep pretending that I'm ok with this,"
"Derek?"
"What?"
"Scott is my best friend, I have known him since we were like 3," Dereks heart sinks, he's heard all of this before, and he doesn't understand why Stiles is repeating it, but he continues on
"My best FRIEND Derek, I have never dated Scott in my entire life," Stiles says, letting out a short laugh "we're practically brothers."
In that moment Derek becomes a time traveler, traversing the entire trajectory of his relationship with Stiles and picking at every conversation, trying to pick out anything that could prove what Stiles is saying wrong. But as he thinks about it, he realizes that Stiles has never explicitly said that him and Scott are together.
And Derek is mortified.
"Hey big guy, you still there?"
And then Derek hangs up and calls Erica.
The second she answers he asks her "Stiles and Scott aren't a couple?" the pitch of his voice higher than it's been since puberty.
"Um, no, why would I keep trying to push you two together if he was already taken?"
"Because you're evil?" Derek asks, pacing his loft , running a hand through his hair, cursing himself in his head.
"Hold on, loverboy is on the other line," and before Derek can protest she's already clicked over.
5 minutes of pacing later and Erica is back "You hung up on him?!"
"I didn't know what to say!" Erica sighs at him and Derek can practically hear the eye roll that accompanies it. "I swear you idiots would be nowhere without me."
"It's not my-"
"No, no, I don't wanna hear it" she says, silencing him "I gave him your address, he's on his way over, make yourself pretty, okay?" and then she just hangs up. Derek is standing in the middle of his loft staring at his phone, slack-jawed. Shit.
This is one of those moments where Derek is extremely glad that he keeps his loft so neat. There's no last minute cleaning up to do, so he takes to sitting on his couch freaking out some more, wringing his hands. He knows he's being ridiculous; not only does Stiles like him, but he is single. Boyfriend free. Unattached. 100% Dereks for the taking. He's just so embarrassed. Stiles had been coming into Hale's for about 5 months, and had been outwardly flirting with Derek for most of them.
How had he never realized that Stiles and Scott weren't a thing? How had he never taken the time to talk to Erica about it?
And how the hell did Stiles get to the loft so fast? He either broke every speed limit law on the way over to the loft or he lives extremely nearby, because about 5 minutes after Erica hung up there's a knock at the door.
Derek forces himself to get up and answer it, pausing and taking a deep deep breath before slowly sliding it open.
Stiles smiles widely at Derek, taking him in from head to toe. Derek just sort of stares at him. Arms crossed in front of him, uncomfortably.
"I will take you opening the door 6 inches as an invitation to come inside and make myself comfortable" he says, before sliding through the gap. He walks around, touching everything, taking in the space.
"You know I always assumed you'd be the type of guy who kept his kitchen really clean but everything else a mess, just judging by the way you keep the shop," he says, poking at the perfectly made bed. "But this," he spins around to face Derek, who is standing with his back against the closed door "this, I was not expecting," he spins around to face Derek, face slowly falling
"And you look like you're gonna crap your pants," Stiles mutters, looking worried. He takes a seat on the arm of the sofa, still facing Derek but looking down, and running a hand through his hair.
"You know you don't have to stress about this right? You're not the first person to think Scott and I are a couple," Stiles starts to explain to the floor. Dereks frozen before him, in the same spot in front of the door.
"Granted, most people don't think it for so long without asking about it but hey, I'm not judging you," Stiles says looking up at Derek. Derek who does not care about anything that Stiles is saying. He knows that it's not his fault. He gets that. But on top of the whole being deeply mortified he's also bad at relationships having not been in one in about 12 years. He's kind of having a silent meltdown.
"Oh fuck it," Stiles says, exasperated, rising from the couch and swiftly making his way towards Derek.
Derek is thinking that Stiles want's to leave, seeing as to how he's approaching the door. Derek probably deserves this. He can't blame Stiles for not wanting to deal with him. He probably should try to protest. But he can't find it within him to say anything, so he moves to open the door when Stiles is suddenly crowding him against it. Derek's expression turns into one of confusion before Stiles says "I'm gonna kiss you now," and does just that.
Derek is motionless beneath Stiles' lips until his body catches up to his brain and kisses Stiles back. Stiles lets out a guttural noise before fisting a hand in Derek's shirt, cautiously licking into his mouth.
He responds by parting his lips, allowing Stiles to deepen the kiss. He wraps his arms around Stiles, pulling him in closer, and he moves with him, pliable in his grip. Stiles keeps one hand gripping Derek's shirt, and with the other he reaches up, fingers tangling in Derek's hair. He slides his hand down the side of Derek's face, grazing his ear before breaking the kiss, panting slightly, forehead resting on Derek's shoulder.
"Your ears feel weird, and that was the best kiss of my entire life," Derek puzzles at the first bit before realizing that he had forgotten his self control during the kiss. He hurriedly brings his ears back to normal before Stiles looks up from his shoulder.
Derek looks Stiles in the eyes, his pupils blown "I'm sorr-" he starts, before Stiles stops him, pressing his index finger to his lips.
"There's nothing to apologize for, you didn't do anything," Derek's eyebrows furrow. Stiles rolls his eyes.
"You were stressed out, you thought I was trying to cheat with you, you're allowed to freak out a little bit."
"But still-"
"No, nope, no more moping for you, you are going to take me out to dinner. I have missed out on all of this," he says gesturing at Derek's entire body "for months, and I refuse to spend anymore time tiptoeing around each other," and now it's Derek's turn to roll his eyes, before giving Stiles a small smile and coalescing.
"Fine," Derek says, grabbing his jacket from a hook hanging by the door.
"I want curly fries, and a strawberry milkshake, and a disgusting greasy burger, and maybe your lips again later," Stiles starts, as they head out of Derek's loft.
"Lots of lips," he mumbles before taking Derek's hand, causing the man to blush from the nape of his neck all the way to the tips of his ears. Things were going to be ok. Things were going to be amazing.
Things were definitely not going as planned. Plans and relationships have never gone hand in hand either, so that may also be part of the problem. The problem being that Derek could not trust Stiles with the single biggest secret that a person could ever have. The fact that he was kind of not human. Stiles could understand Derek being reluctant about sharing that sort of thing, after like a month of dating, and like 5 of not so casual flirting. But they had been together for about four months now, and Stiles was not gonna put his penis in somebody when he didn't even know what they were. Stiles had tried dropping subtle hints about Derek being inhumanly beautiful, and pointed out whenever Derek obviously started to shift when they were making out, but Derek always brushed it off, quickly changing the subject, and Stiles was tired of it. And so was his dick.
They had gotten so close to having sex so many times, but Stiles just couldn't be comfortable with Derek knowing that he was hiding things from him. He supposes he had Scott and his own cursed curiosity to blame for this inner turmoil.
Scott was a born werewolf, and the very first time the two had entered the shop, Scott went to searching for the other supernatural creature in cafe. It was kind of a game the two played everywhere they went.
"Oooh somebody in here is a were," Scott whispered to Stiles, face scrunching up in concentration, focusing on each person inside.
"Oh man I love this game," Stiles said bouncing on the balls of his feet, joining Scott in the hunt. "Ok so I'll guess, and you tell me if I'm right."
"Wait until we order man, then we can sit down and text about it, we don't want anybody to hear." Stiles nods at that, sometimes Scotty had good ideas.
They order, Stiles a simple tea, and Scott a coffee and a muffin, before sitting at a table towards the back of the shop. The second they sit down the two men start texting each other. Stiles receives Scott's first
Same rules as always, you get 3 guesses, and if you lose you owe me one of those awesome chocolate cakes you always make.
Stiles rolls his eyes, squinting menacingly at Scott before texting back,
Watever man im gonna win this time tho. U WILL C
Scott sits back in his chair, sipping his coffee, smug look on his face as he watches Stiles look around the shop, trying to pick out the other shape-shifter present.
"Can I at least get a hint?"
Scott raises an eyebrow, about to protest, before a wide, crooked, grin takes over his face and he texts,
They aren't a werewolf.
Stiles is baffled. "How, how, how is that supposed to help me Scotty? That is like the opposite of a hint," Scott lets out a small laugh before texting him,
You usually pick out people that remind you of wolves. I'm just sayin, that won't help you here
"Fair enough," Stiles says, bobbing his head. He sips his tea pensively, surveying the people in the room even closer.
He loses at this game every goddamn time. He doesn't really mind because Scott always shares the cake, but winning for once would be nice. The fact that the person isn't a werewolf isn't helping him. Not that knowing that they are a wolf has ever helped at all, but what if there's a wereotter?
What if the dark haired man at the register is some sort of cheetah? What if the tall scarved man sitting alone is a frigging zebra? The possibilities are endless, but Stiles has to make up his mind. Another rule of the game is that he only gets 5 minutes to compile his guesses. He finally lets out a deep sigh, rolling his eyes and grabbing his phone.
Mkay so, the strwbrry blnd on the bar stool the brnett with the dimples that just sat with scarf man or….ummm...the scarf man?
Scott reads his text, smiling widely before looking at Stiles and saying,
"Nope, sorry, you just lost the game." Stiles curses under his breath before asking,
"Well who is it then?" Scott takes to texting him again.
They're not actually out here anywhere. They're somewhere in the back room of the store. =P
Stiles glares at Scott "You, my friend, are lucky that I love you," Stiles says, pointing a finger at Scott "I will let your trickery slide just this once."
Scott chuckles, "I couldn't resist, you're such a sucker when it comes to this game." Stiles rolls his eyes at him before getting up to trash his cup, tea long gone.
"Now we're gonna sit here and wait for this mystery person to surface, I wanna see what winning looks like."
The men ended up waiting for around half an hour before the person finally surfaced. Stiles saw him first because his seat was facing the front of the store.
"Oh my god Scott, is it him?" Stiles says, trying not to stare at the ruggedly handsome man that's just walked up to the glass case of baked goods, adding more muffins. Scott sniffs the air before nodding "Yeah," and quickly texting Stiles,
Still don't know what he is, so we should probably keep our voices down.
Stiles nods before heading to the front of the store towards the perfectly chiseled man. Scott noisily gets up from his seat practically bounding after him, but Stiles ignores him, he's got a man to hunt.
And that was sort of the beginning of everything. Derek was really pretty, and initially that's really all he was to Stiles; a really hot man to stare at over his green tea. But the more often Stiles came in, the better he got to know Derek, and the more resolved he became to make Derek his. It took months and months, but he finally won, at least, almost. He had decided that he was gonna tell Derek what he knew; he was done with being patient.
He was discussing the logistics of his plan with Scott on the phone. He'd let himself into Derek's loft with his key (his own key, but Derek still hadn't told him anything), and he was pacing around, opening and closing the fridge every few minutes.
"This could be a really bad idea Stiles. What if he gets mad, you don't even know what he is, he could be a bear, he couldkill you." Stiles scoffs at that, removing the phone from his ear and giving it a condescending look as if it, and not Scott, was the one that offended him before placing it back against his ear.
"He's not gonna kill me for relieving him the burden of his secret Scott," Stiles says, laying back on Derek's bed, kicking his shoes off.
"If anything he should be crying tears of joy, because then everything's in the open, and we get to have sex. Everybody wins!" Stiles exclaims free hand extending outward and hitting a pillow.
"I just want you to be safe Stiles," and Stiles can see Scott making his concerned puppy face in his minds eyes. Scotty is so cute.
"Scott, I am a grown man, that had to deal with a teenage you on full moons. Nothing can be worse than that."
"Fine fine man, just, promise you'll call me if things get weird?"
Stiles smirks.
"Define weird," he says, mockingly, waggling his eyebrows at the ceiling.
"Ewww, gross man," Scott says like he regrets ever befriending Stiles before hanging up on him.
He gets a text a couple of minutes later from him though.
Be safe.
is all it says. Stiles throws his phone across the bed. What a worry wart. The plan was honestly so simple there was no way that it could go wrong. Him and Derek were supposed to be cooking dinner together that night, and then when they were sitting down, Stiles with his cocktail and Derek with his water, and their fancy pasta (Derek had his own pasta maker and Stiles had been adamant about trying it out himself). Stiles would just nonchalantly bring it up. No big deal. Everything was gonna be fine.
Derek can smell Stiles' anxiety before he even opens the door to the loft. He waits outside for a minute, bag of groceries in hand, trying to get a clue as to why Stiles is so excessively anxious.
He's muttering to himself, and it sounds like it's some sort of pep talk peppered with "you can do this," and "it's no big deal." Derek thought that maybe it was about sex. He respected Stiles' decision about wanting to wait a little bit longer, but he wasn't sure as to exactly what Stiles was waiting for. Derek knew that he was withholding a lot of information about himself from Stiles, what with being a shape-shifter and all, but there was no way that Stiles knew anything. Derek knew that Scott was a werewolf - he recognized the scent the first time he met him - but it was clear that Stiles wasn't in on the secret. So maybe he was just nervous because he was ready to take things further.
Derek steps inside to see that Stiles has just fallen face first onto the bed, flailing his arms around. Derek decides not to bother him, closing the door and walking over to the kitchen to set things up for the pasta. Stiles went still when Derek shut the door, and now he was standing directly behind Derek who was washing his hands in the kitchen sink, arms lacing around his waist.
"Hey big guy," Stiles breathes into his ear flirtatiously, all hints of anxiety completely gone. Weird.
"What took you so long?" Stiles asks, resting his chin on Derek's shoulder, still holding on to him. Derek starts to dry his hands, thinking better of changing the subject to talk about Stiles' anxiety from mere minutes ago
"Had to stop by the shop, Erica called me about a rude customer and I had to help her handle him."
Stiles releases Derek, hefting himself up onto the counter next to the sink.
"How fun," Stiles says smiling warmly at Derek "did you have to use your muscles to make him go away?" Stiles goads, poking one of Derek's biceps. Derek shakes his head at Stiles, walking over to a cabinet to pull out the pasta maker.
"He high-tailed it out of there as soon as I showed up," Derek says pulling down the heavy stainless steel contraption "it was Matt."
"Oh my GOD, THAT guy?" Stiles says in disgust "Poor Erica, I hope he isn't back in town to stalk her." Stiles clicks his tongue, and pushes down from the counter, messing with the pasta machine as Derek takes the supplies out of the grocery store bags.
"So where do we start?"
The men make the pasta together. Stiles working on the noodles at his insistence, and Derek getting the sauce together. It's when they finally sit down to eat that Stiles' anxiety slowly starts to kick in again. He's a ball of nervous energy, pushing his food around on the plate, taking tiny sips of his drink, bouncing his leg incessantly. Derek gets tired of it eventually, and levels Stiles with a stare, eyebrow quirked upwards. Stiles makes eye contact with him.
"What?" he says nervously, and Derek just gestures at his entire body, raising both eyebrows even higher.
"Oh my God I hate that you talk to me with your eyebrows and I hate that I understand it." Stiles leans back in his seat, running a hand through his already messy hair. It looked better that way, honestly; just not in conjunction with his current worry-ridden facial expression.
Derek continues to stare at Stiles, arms crossed over his chest, eyebrows still raised, until Stiles finally takes a deep breath and starts to ramble, staring at his now cold pasta.
"Ok so I need to talk to you about something, which- oh my god that sounds like I'm gonna break up with you." Stiles flails both arms upwards toward the ceiling looking upwards before yelling "I'm not gonna break up with you! Just to like clear the air, I hate it when you're nervous. I'm probably making you nervous with all of my nervous jabbering aren't I?" Stiles says, quickly glancing at Derek who is still sitting in the same position, but more still somehow. Derek was only worried about Stiles dumping him for about 3 seconds. Now he's thinking Stiles is going to bring up sex. Which he knows he's ok with, but he's still a little scared. It's been a while since he's been with anybody, and he just doesn't want to screw anything up. He is definitely ready though. The first few months of Stiles holding back had been ok with him, but now, he needed more.
"So I've been thinking about this for a while, and I've been very patient with you, but I just can't hold out any longer, so I'm just gonna say it. I-" and then Derek cuts Stiles off with a "Yes," smiling, looking at Stiles the way he usually does in the middle of some of their more intense make-out sessions.
"Yes?" Stiles questions, looking confused.
"I don't know," Derek falters "It sounds like you're talking about...sex?" The tips of Derek's ears turn pink as he nearly whispers that last word. Stiles looks a little shocked, and very amused.
"Well, I uh, I guess that has to do with it yes, but it's not directly related to what I was gonna say?" Stiles says, voice rising in pitch as he gets to the end of the sentence.
Derek is flustered and he does nothing but motion for Stiles to continue what he was saying previously.
"Right so, yeah I guess this is related to why I've been holding off on having sex with you," Stiles says, looking at Derek now instead of his plate. Derek starts to think that maybe Stiles has an STD.
"Because I wanted everything out in the open between us before we took that step". Yeah, Stiles definitely has an STD. It's not like it'd stop Derek from loving him. He doesn't know why Stiles would wait so long to tell him about it.
"Is there anything that you want to tell me Derek?" Stiles asks, placing both of his hands palm up in the middle of the small dining room table, wiggling his fingers and nodding toward them. Derek is caught off guard, and wonders where Stiles is going with his question, but he takes his hands anyway.
"No..." he shakes his head, hesitantly, giving Stiles' hands a light squeeze, "Why?" he asks, tilting his head to one side, eyebrows forever raised.
"Uh huh, that's what I figured, ok," Stiles looks like he's bracing himself for something- what, Derek has no idea - before he blurts out
"I know about you," his face turns the reddest Derek has probably ever seen it, and Derek does not understand why because he has no idea what Stiles is talking about, and his face shows that much.
Stiles pulls his hands away from Derek's, dropping his ever reddening face into them.
"Oh my GOD why does this have to be so difficult!" Stiles rubs his hands over his face before looking at Derek again. Mouth set in a firm determined line.
"Scott is a werewolf."
Derek isn't sure how to respond to that. At first he thinks that maybe Stiles is just finding out and that Scott hasn't told him about Derek yet. But then he thinks and he remembers that Stiles said it was somehow related to them not having sex and then it dawns on him. Stiles had been waiting for him to reveal his secret.
Derek must have been quiet, processing everything, for longer than he thought because he comes back to reality with Stiles poking at his shoulder and saying his name.
Stiles looks worried, standing over Derek whose fists are balled up at his sides. Stiles places a hand on his shoulder
"I understand that maybe you wanted to wait to tell me, but I've known since the first time I spoke to you Derek, and I don't see you any differently for it."
Derek's muscles slowly relax. He's only wary because the last partner he'd told killed most of his family, but he knows Stiles, knows how long Stiles has known Scott, and if he's okay with Scott then he has to be okay with Derek too.
"Is that how you controlled your emotions so well earlier?" Derek asked, referring to Stiles' sudden change from anxiety ridden to perfectly calm.
"Yeah, 23 years of being friends with Scott has taught me a lot of things" Derek simply nods before returning to his silent state.
Stiles is actually really surprised that everything went according to plan. Derek, understandably, freaked out a little bit after his questioning, but Stiles calmed him down and then Derek sort of melted into his arms explaining exactly why he hadn't told him.
"Hey, listen to me," Stiles says, holding Derek's face in his hands "I'm not gonna hurt you, and I'm not going anywhere."
Derek nods, "I know" he says before Stiles presses a chaste kiss to his lips.
"And now that the drama of that is all over," Stiles says, releasing Derek's face and pointing at him "I know you're not human, but I don't know what you are, and I really wanna guess."
Derek grins at that, swatting Stiles' finger from in front of his face "I guarantee that you will never figure it out that way."
Stiles starts to waggle his eyebrows, "Are we making this a bet? Because I am so down for a bet right now." Derek considers it for a second and comes back with
"Okay," taking a step closer to Stiles, getting even further into his personal space.
"If I win," Derek says, leaning forward to bite at Stiles' lip "I get to do whatever I want to you."
Stiles lets out a huff of breath, before nodding "I think I might lose on purpose," he says, as Derek buries his face in Stiles' neck.
"S'not fair," he mumbles, making Stiles shiver at the scratch of stubble against his skin.
"Okay fine," Stiles says starting to think but then Derek starts sucking on his neck and how is he supposed to concentrate on anything when Derek is being so goddamn distracting.
"Hey, hey," Stiles exclaims, pulling at Derek's hair "get off of me I need to focus." Derek does so begrudgingly, staring at Stiles petulantly.
Stiles smiles at him mockingly before saying, "If I win we're having a sex marathon." Derek gives Stiles a questioning look, "I am serious, like 48 hours, clear your schedule, turn off your phone, sex party".
Derek rolls his eyes, "So basically no matter who wins, sex is the prize?"
Stiles nods, "I'm a sexually deprived man Derek," the other man chuckles in agreement at that.
And then Stiles is pacing around the loft, stopping at intervals to stare at Derek.
He'd been trying to figure out what Derek was since he'd met him, so he'd already had 9 months to consider what it could be. The city that they lived in was pretty far from any beaches or bodies of water so Stiles had ruled out all sea creatures from the beginning. It was impossible to tell by what Derek's ears felt like when he occasionally started to shift, but he did know that whatever Derek was had big teeth, as he'd felt them growing during more than one make-out session. Stiles really only had Derek's mannerisms to go by, which he knew was faulty, but it was the best he could do.
"Ok so, I've got my three guesses," Stiles says, stopping in the middle of the loft, facing Derek, "but I think I deserve a hint".
Derek just looks at him before saying "It's nothing that you would expect it to be." Stiles throws his hands up in resolution.
"I swear to God you and Scott give the worst fucking hints," he shakes his head at Derek. "Whatever, my guesses aren't changing," Derek sits down, and crosses his right leg over his left. He's got the most smug expression on his face as he waits for Stiles to list his guesses. Stiles flips him off before continuing, still pacing in front of him.
"Okay so I'm thinking, lion because you cried that one time when we watched the lion king?" Derek gives him a deadpan glare.
"Okay okay, fine what about a panda because you're big like a bear but still cute and cuddly?" Derek's facial expression stays the same, as he crosses his arms across his chest. Stiles stops in front of Derek, running a hand through his hair and leaving it on his neck, "A monkey?" he asks hopefully. "Because that's definitely something that I wouldn't expect," Derek smiles wide finally, all teeth,
"I thought you weren't changing your guesses?"
"Shut up and tell me if I got it," Stiles crosses his arms. "Assface," he mutters, tapping his foot impatiently.
"None of the above," Derek finally says.
"UGH!" Stiles screams out, "I hate this stupid game! What are you then?"
Derek gets up from his chair and makes his way to the front door of the loft, opening it.
"I'll show you."
Stiles follows him outside, shivering in the cold. Derek just hands him his jacket (It's like Derek only ever brought the jacket with him to hand it off to Stiles) and takes his hand, walking towards the forest that started not even half a mile away from Derek's loft.
"Is this even safe?" Stiles asks, breaking their hands apart to get the jacket on. It's nearly midnight, and they're the only ones out.
"Are you forgetting the part about me being a supernatural creature?"
Stiles punches him in the shoulder
"I'm just checking, you could be a tiny defenseless rodent," Derek scoffs at that " and I'm too cute to die."
Derek just rolls his eyes and walks on.
Eventually they reach a clearing a little ways into the forest. Stiles is swimming in his anticipation. He's also just a touch worried. What if he gets mauled? Maybe he should text Scott and tell him where he is just in case. Or maybe he's just overreacti-
"Stiles stop freaking out and close your eyes." Stiles glares at him before listening.
The second he closes his eyes he feels a slight wind that dissipates immediately. He opens his eyes again, faced with...a butt? A horse butt, a deer butt, maybe a moose butt, who knows?
"Is this supposed to be revealing? Because all I'm getting is that you might be a were-butt."
The large creature lets out a very Derek-esque huff before slowly turning to face him. Stiles lets out a gasp, and then covers his mouth and dissolves into giggles. Derek manages to look unamused before turning back to his human form and scowling at Stiles who is sitting cross legged on the forest floor, chortling to himself. He doesn't know what other reaction Derek would have expected.
"You can't even be mad at me right now, I didn't even know that was possible."
He says, laughter dying out, "And your EYEBROWS, they transcend shifting. Even Scott has different eyebrows when he shifts."
Derek just rolls his eyes and joins Stiles on the ground, their knees knocking together. "Now you know why I couldn't just tell you" he says, matter of factly, gently nudging Stiles with his shoulder.
Stiles nods, "Yeah because who would believe that?" Derek just shrugs, looking out into the trees before them.
"We're pretty rare and mythical, even amongst supernatural creatures."
"Have you tried to find any others?" Stiles asks, taking Derek's hand into his and resting his head on his shoulder.
"I never have, but when Cora left for school she happened across a pack," Stiles sits in silence, content to let Derek do the talking for once. He can tell that Derek has more to say, can feel the way his body relaxes with each word he lets out.
"I remember when Laura found out," he says, and Stiles looks up at him, taking in the smile painted across his face. "She was so excited, that she took the first flight to New York so that she could meet them, and maybe find out if there were any others that they knew about." Derek's smile fades a little, gaze now focused on Stiles.
"She's actually married to one of the betas in their pack now, that's why she moved away." Stiles grips his hand tighter, thinking about how it would feel to have his only family on the other side of the country.
"At first she wouldn't leave," Derek looks down at his and Stiles' hands now, "I had been so hard on myself for years, and she was constantly worrying about me, but I wanted her to be happy," Stiles just nods in understanding, letting Derek continue. "That's around the time I bought Hale's, and I'm really glad I did." And then Derek is grinning again and looking at Stiles "It helped bring me back to reality, and it also helped me meet the most annoying tea drinker on the planet."
Stiles laughs at that, "You know you loved every second of my flirting." Derek rolls his eyes, getting up and lending Stiles a hand so he can do the same.
"And now I'm about to love every second of winning the bet," Derek says, walking backwards away from Stiles, smirking at him.
Stiles runs to catch up with him, "I still think we should have a sex marathon, but get this:wherein you do anything you want to me." Stiles says as he falls into step next to Derek.
"Because honestly how in the hell was I supposed to know that you're a UNICORN? A compromise is necessary."
"Whatever you want Stiles," Derek says, sighing to the moonlit sky above them.
"Actually, I think it's whatever you want, big guy."
Derek stops dead in his tracks, shaking his head at Stiles. Stiles rolls his eyes at him, grinning and grabbing his hand, pulling him into his arms.
"Awww come on, don't act like you don't love my corny pick-up lines."
"I hate you," Derek says into Stiles' neck.
"No, you don't," Stiles says smiling, pressing a kiss to the top of Derek's head.
"Yeah I know." Derek responds, pulling away with a fond look taking over his features, "I love you," he says, reaching for Stiles' hand. Stiles smiles sweetly, "I love you too," he says sweeping his thumb over the back of Derek's hand. Derek beams at that before Stiles kisses him on the cheek and continues out of the forest with Derek by his side.