Chapter Two
I'd Lie – Taylor Swift
The sun had barely peeked above the horizon when their small alarm clock signaled the beginning of their day. Its cruel and repeated buzz rang for nearly a whole minute before Stiles opened his eyes. He yawned loudly and gently slid Derek's arm from around his waist as he reached over to shut the alarm clock off. In a nearly startling motion Derek slammed his hand on the alarm clock instead. It stood no chance against the force of his hit and so it crumbled to pieces on their nightstand.
Stiles scoffed as he slid towards the edge of the bed. Though he tried to get up, Derek wrapped his arm back around him and pulled him back to spoon for a little while longer.
"Derek," Stiles moaned, "I've got to go jog and shower."
"No."
"Derek!" Stiles tried to pry Derek's arm from around him, but the Alpha's strong grip secured him in his spot. Derek grinned and rubbed his scruffy chin against Stiles' neck as Stiles squirmed under his grip. This had become their "thing." Nearly every morning Stiles would wake up at 5:00am, Derek would hold him prisoner for a few minutes while barraging him with a range of his annoying habits, until eventually he would let him go.
"Just skip your shower and cuddle with me," Derek whispered, "I'll make it worth it."
Stiles jerked out of his grip and rolled over to face his fiancée, "Have you ever slept in the same bed with a Werewolf? You're like a furnace! I sweat all night. That's how I stay so skinny, I sweat out everything I eat in the bed with you."
"You're damn right you do, and that means you don't have to jog." Derek grinned and pulled Stiles into a kiss. Stiles returned the kiss for a moment until pressing his hands against Derek's chest and pushing him away. Derek moaned loudly.
Stiles laughed, "Stop it. I'll wake you up at six."
In order to get to work on time Stiles typically woke up at 5:00am, took thirty minutes to jog around the numerous parks located among the varied rowhouses in Northeast and Southeast corners of Capitol Hill, before returning to their house to shower. By 6:00am he smelled fresh before he woke Derek up. As Derek fumbled sleepily into the shower Stiles scooped the remains of their alarm clock into a trash can and replaced it with another one. He usually kept ten of them hidden in a closet due to Derek's heavy hand.
Derek stepped out of the shower and wrapped a white towel around his waist. He joined Stiles in front of their dual-sink vanity and squeezed a bit of toothpaste onto his toothbrush. Stiles was dressed in dark pants, a white shirt, and a green and blue tie. He preferred to get dressed before finishing up his morning routine. Derek grinned and talked through a mouth of toothpaste, "You look good."
"I know," Stiles grinned and spit out a mouthful of foam. He elbowed Derek playfully before they both rinsed their mouths and exchanged a quick kiss. They returned to their bedroom where Derek began getting dressed and Stiles began spraying his cologne and putting on his shoes. "Don't forget, Allison and Scott are flying in tonight so we're taking them out to dinner."
Derek sighed, "Another Council meeting?"
"Just a Code hearing," Stiles said, "Chris caught an Omega that we think went on a killing spree, but we have to prove it."
Derek half-heartedly laughed and rolled his eyes, "I never would have pictured you being part of the Hunter's Council."
Stiles shrugged, "They needed a genius, and Lydia's too busy working in the Department of Defense."
The entire arrangement was odd. Stiles left his position as a lead research at a chemical lab in southern California to follow Derek to his government contracting job, mostly building plans for bases and other secret military details he refused to tell Stiles. After living in DC for a year Allison approached him to become a consult with the Council, something heavily needed after Gerard went rogue and half of their Hunters stopped following the Council due to Code infractions by their leaders. Stiles told Derek he was helping to make the Council more of peacekeepers than Hunters. Derek just growled at him.
"If you spend the whole dinner talking about the wedding I'm going to rip your throat out with my teeth," Derek said nonchalantly as they headed downstairs.
Stiles grinned, "So you were listening to me last night." He was referring to his trip down memory lane, that over-confident and slightly obnoxious conversation at the diner. He kissed Derek quickly and grabbed his bag, turning to walk out of the door. Derek pulled him back and kissed him again, a bit longer than before.
"Hey," he grinned, his lips no more than a centimeter from Stiles.
"Hi." Stiles said, twisting his eyes in confusion.
"I love you." Derek squeezed Stiles' hips.
Stiles rolled his eyes, "Whatever. I packed three sandwiches for your lunch, since I apparently don't feed you enough." He playfully slapped Derek's stomach before walking out of the kitchen and through the front door.
XXXX
I don't think that passenger seat
Has ever looked this good to me
Stiles fidgeted uncomfortably in Derek's Camaro. He had just dropped Scott off at his house after a frustrating night of tracking members of Peter's pack. The previous week they thought they had eliminated the last of the sadistic wolves, but a fresh murder in Beacon Hills linked to the fire at the Hale estate indicated that they were mistaken. Despite Derek's furious expression, Stiles could not help but be happy in the car with him. Only a week before Derek had mentioned how he liked Stiles' confidence and he assumed that night, the first night they had been alone since then, would be the night they would talk about it.
He tells me about his night
And I count the colors in his eyes
Somehow, as Derek recounted every scent and wrong turn of the night, Stiles found himself trying to get a glimpse into his eyes. Was he playing hard to get? Was he simply not interested in divulging his feelings in that moment? Derek had never been the type to put his feelings out for inspection, but after commenting on his confidence Stiles assumed he would be more willing. If he could get a look into his eyes he would know, they were the only part of Derek that revealed how the truly felt. Honestly, Stiles needed to talk to him because he was just as confused about what his attraction to him, an Alpha and a male, meant.
He'll never fall in love he swears
As he runs his fingers through his hair
And I'm laughing 'cause I hope he's wrong
Derek continued with his frustrations about the night with how Allison only got in the way. She could not move at the speed the two of them could, but she insisted on being there in case something happened. What if there were more than there were their first night tracking the wolves? What if they couldn't handle it? Derek was insulted that Scott not only let the girl he loved get in their way, but that she thought she could help them. Love makes you weak, which is something Derek always touted as an absolute truth. Stiles always wondered why he thought this, but as Derek ran his hands through his hair he could not help but hope he could convince him otherwise. He also grinned slightly because he remembered that Derek was the one to ask him to come along, even though he thought Allison being human was a distraction.
And I don't think it ever crossed his mind
He tells a joke, I fake a smile
That I know all his favorite songs
His frustrated retelling of their hunt was only broken by an ill-mannered joke about how, if Allison had died, there would be one less Hunter who could turn on them. Stiles shook his head to condemn the mention of Allison's death and Derek, surprisingly, apologized. He looked over to Stiles and slightly grinned, the silence between them acting like a mist of confusion for Stiles.
Derek propped his elbow on the console between them and extended his hand, opening it for Stiles. It was as if Derek knew the thoughts running through Stiles' head and did his best to help him work through it. Maybe Derek wouldn't be able to verbally mention their limbo, but at least he was trying. Stiles began to take Derek's hand, but Derek quickly withdrew it and used it to fumble with the radio.
"I hate this song," Derek said as he turned the dial.
Stiles patted his hand away and turned it to a classic rock station. The sound of Journey filled the car. Derek hummed along, satisfied with the choice. Stiles shrugged lightly, he didn't get to touch his hand, but he got to give Derek a clue as to how well he knew him.
And I could tell you his favorite color's green
He loves to argue, born on the seventeenth
"He's impossible!" Stiles exclaimed, his words being met by odd glances from Scott and Allison. They had been hurriedly talking about how the Hunt was slower and more difficult than they had originally thought, and how Derek was being unresponsive. Allison thought it was because he still hated her after not coming to Scott's defense the night of the Winter Formal, but Scott said it was because Derek viewed emotional attachment as a weakness. It was a well-worded explanation for someone as dubious as him, and his confirmation of Stiles' worries the previous night frustrated him.
Stiles joined in, adding his frustration in a cryptic sense. Those two words he uttered led Allison and Scott onto another rant and he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized they didn't pick up on their frustrated undertone.
His sister's beautiful; he has his father's eyes
And if you ask me if I love him, I'd lie
Stiles sat contently listening, trapped in his thoughts, until Allison began to utter words of discontent at what Derek was doing to her. Her parents knew she was working with Scott, which led them to their belief that she was working with Derek. They were content with letting her be with Scott as long as she pretended to be broken up with him, but an Alpha Werewolf was out of the question. Though she was rebellious, she still felt as if it was Derek's fault she was having trouble in her home.
"It's not his fault," Stiles interrupted, again met by odd glances from his two friends, "I mean—he didn't change Scott. He didn't make you fall for him. He didn't even know you before Scott. How is it his fault?"
Allison shrugged, "I guess it's not. I just need something to blame." She awkwardly stared at Stiles, "Why so defensive?"
Stiles shrugged, "He still sucks, but I just want you to deal with it truthfully, instead of scapegoating."
Allison grinned, "I guess you're right."
Stiles breathed a low sigh of relief and though to himself: Nice save.
He looks around the room
Innocently overlooks the truth
Shouldn't a light go on?
Doesn't he know I've had him memorized for so long?
That evening the three of them met Derek at the abandoned train station he now called a home. Stiles sat idly on a rusted container so old he couldn't tell what it was while Scott and Derek ran through plans to find the rest of the pack. Stiles wanted to jump in to the conversation, to help in any way he could, be he found himself distracted by how he was going to get Derek alone and attempt a chat.
Derek must have noticed Stiles' blank gaze, because he cleared his throat and spoke extremely authoritatively when he said they needed to get evidence from the murder scene out of the Sherriff's database. Stiles' ears perked up, he knew that Derek wouldn't find anything in those computers that would lead to their identity. He also knew Derek would not say something needed to be done that he couldn't do himself. He wanted Stiles to have an excuse to be with him.
Stiles grinned, "Why don't we do that and you two can go and see if something else has come up at the scene. Maybe we missed something when we checked it out the other day?"
Allison nodded and Scott followed her out the door.
He sees everything black and white
Never let nobody see him cry
I don't let nobody see me wishing he was mine
"So," Stiles said as they exited, "we're not going to police station are we?"
Derek didn't show a trace of any different expression from his usual broody one, "You are, I'm staying here."
Stiles sighed, "You know what you're doing to me, right?"
Derek cut his eyes at him, "Stiles, I can't think of anything right now, except getting rid of this pack."
Stiles sighed louder, "That doesn't answer my question."
For a moment Stiles thought he saw Derek's lips curl into a small grin, but Derek's expression returned to a pout faster than he had time to examine, "I'm not going to answer it. Not now."
Stiles rolled his eyes. Outside of that night in the hotel, he had never even touched Derek willingly before. He saved his life a few times, as Derek did to him, but an honest simple touch was never traded between the two of them. Feeling Derek around him made him feel something he hadn't before. Stiles initially thought it was love, but how could you love someone you've barely even traded pleasant words with?
And I could tell you his favorite color's green
He loves to argue, born on the seventeenth
His sister's beautiful, he has his father's eyes
And if you ask me if I love him, I'd lie
Stiles caught a photo out of the corner of his eye. A simple one of Derek's family. He had seen it before, but Derek's similarity to his family was striking. They were beautiful people. His sister had a classic beauty so intense Stiles hated that he had only seen her face when she was sliced in half. After he recovered from the shivers that memory brought him he looked back to Derek, looking into the eyes that were so similar to his father's.
"I guess I'll wait," Stiles shrugged, trying to play some sort of guilt to Derek.
He stands there then walks away
My God, if I could only say
I'm holding every breath for you
"Thanks." Derek plainly stated as he turned and walked into the depths of the catacomb-like station. Stiles turned and walked out through its eerie and dirty passages until he emerged next to his Jeep. He thought, only for a moment, that he may understand the reasons behind Derek's anger. He lost his entire family. It was an obvious conclusion, but one he did not fully understand until he was on the receiving end of Derek's inability to accept that someone feels for him. Derek was probably still lost and confused after losing his loved ones, only to find that they were ripped away by Kate—someone he also thought he loved.
Stiles suddenly found himself holding his breath. How could he have missed something so apparent? Furthermore, how could he help Derek truly recover?
He'd never tell you but he can play guitar
I think he can see through everything but my heart
First thought when I wake up is, "My God, he's beautiful"
So I put on my t-shirt and pray for a miracle
He opened his Jeep's driver side door and began to hop in, but could faintly hear Derek's baritone voice singingly quietly along to a guitar. Stiles had never once seen Derek playing guitar before, but was only more attracted to him once he heard the sounds coming from the station. He grinned and pictured Derek leaning over it, pouting as he tried to sooth his anger over its strings. He then tried to picture Derek in his Alpha form trying to play the guitar and wrecking it with his gigantic claws.
He laughed, "A Werewolf with a guitar, perfect name for a horror movie." He began to climb into his Jeep, but heard Derek yell from inside.
"I heard that!"
Stiles grinned and whispered, "I meant for you to." He knew Derek would hear that too, and continued on, "I'm here when you want to talk."
Yes I could tell you his favorite color's green
He loves to argue oh and it kills me
His sister's beautiful, he has his father's eyes
And if you asked me if I love him
If you ask me if I love him, I'd lie
X-X-X-X
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews Cuddle Heart and shb85. If you have any songs you would like put in this story let me know, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
