CHAPTER TWO

Derek looked back at Stiles, wondering if he should take his words at face value or if he should look deeper and take a risk. While he debated, he could see the doubt all over Stiles' face and he felt his hand release his arm as he looked away from Derek. All Derek could do was stand there and watch Stiles as he averted his own eyes. Eventually he decided to take a chance and see what was going on. He knelt down in front of the younger man and waited until Stiles turned his head and looked at him.

Stiles felt like an idiot. How could he have said something so stupid? Even though Derek had made that comment, Stiles should have held his tongue and not asked him to stay. Now he'd ruined any chance of figuring out what was going with his feelings for this guy. It scared him how much he wanted to be with Derek. The feelings he had for Derek were now stronger than the feelings he had for Lydia. He was so embarrassed so he let go of Derek's arm and he looked away, not able to keep his eyes on him. He should go; he had made a big enough fool of himself as it was. Just as he was about to get up and leave, he felt Derek kneel down in front of him. He still couldn't look at him. He knew that what he was feeling would be written all over his face. Not only the confusion but the desire as well.

Derek waited patiently for Stiles to look at him. If it took all night, he would wait. He had waited years for this moment; he wasn't going to rush it now. Eventually he saw Stiles turn his head. Their eyes connected and Derek felt whole once again. He placed his hand on Stiles' and left it there. He could see the younger man's eyes dart down to where their hands were and then he raised them again to look at Derek questioningly. Derek moved his hand slightly and he interlaced their fingers before he smiled up at Stiles. Stiles raised his eyebrows in a silent question and all Derek did was nod at him. Stiles smiled back at the man kneeling in front of him and he felt his heart skip a beat as his smile grew bigger. His hand was warm and tingly and he knew that it had to do with the fact that Derek was still holding it. Without thinking, Stiles lifted his other hand and placed it on Derek's cheek. In the instant his skin touched Derek's, he went to pull away but Derek covered his hand with one of his own and he closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were filled with lust. He slowly leant into Stiles, rising slightly so that his face was at the same height as Stiles'.

Keeping his movements slow, he began to lean in closer. All the while, keeping his eyes on Stiles' eyes, waiting to see if the younger man started to get scared. When nothing changed in his eyes, Derek kept moving forward, closer and closer until his lips touched Stiles' and in that instant all of his doubts were eradicated. He let the hand that had been keeping Stiles' hand held to his cheek go and he placed it on Stiles' cheek. The skin under his hand felt so soft and as he continued to kiss Stiles, he let his hand drift down to his neck and then around to the back where he let his fingers twine through Stiles' hair. He kept the kiss light, not wanting to scare the younger man but before he knew it, Stiles deepened the kiss. Pushing himself closer to Derek, letting his hand travel up his side. All of a sudden Stiles lent back and he pulled Derek with him and the two of them found themselves half lying on the couch and Derek knew that if he didn't stop things now, they would quickly get out of hand so he dropped his hands to rest on the couch and he lifted himself off the younger man.

"Did I do something wrong?" Stiles asked nervously.

"Oh God no. It was amazing but if we don't stop now, I don't think I will be able to stop myself later."

Stiles looked at Derek and told him that he didn't want to stop. Derek smiled at him and told him that he didn't really want to stop either but they needed to take this slow. To make sure that it was what he really wanted. Stiles told him that it was, that he wanted Derek so much. Derek smiled again and he gave Stiles a quick kiss, telling him that that particular feeling was very mutual.

"However, I think that I have known for a lot longer than you that I wanted this. I don't want to rush you. I want to have a relationship with you, Stiles. I want to be there for you, through everything. This is a very big step for you. I've never once heard you talk about liking guys before. It's always been Lydia."

"That's because you are the first guy who has made me feel this way."

Derek looked down at Stiles and couldn't believe what he had just said. He smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Thank you. That makes me feel amazing but I still want us to take things slowly. As you said, you've never had feelings like this for a man before. I don't want to rush you into anything that you might regret later."

"I've always been attracted to girls but then when I saw you something shifted in me. I will admit that it scared me. I've never felt this way about a man but it's only you Derek. No one else, just you. What have you done to me?"

Derek looked down at Stiles, touched by what he had just said. He wanted to make sure that Stiles never got hurt. Hell, he would rather have a broken heart himself than to have Stiles hurt in any way.

"I don't know that I've done anything. You can't help who you are attracted to, and trust me when I tell you that I am most definitely attracted to you. But, like I said, we will take things slowly."

"Plus we have a whole pack of Alphas to deal with."

"Yes we do," Derek responded with a smile as he held out his hand to Stiles. He helped him to stand up and the two men walked out of the apartment hand in hand. Derek didn't let go of his hand until they reached Stiles' car and that was when Derek insisted on coming back to his place with him. Stiles insisted that he was fine, that he could make it home alone but Derek just ignored him and got into the passenger side of the jeep and waited for Stiles to get in beside him. Stiles stared at him through the open driver's door before getting in behind the wheel. Jamming his keys into the ignition, he started the car. The drive to his house was done in silence. Halfway there, Derek dropped his hand onto Stiles' knee and left it there. Stiles almost lost control of the car when he felt Derek's hand on his leg but he managed to keep the car on the road.

When they reached the Stilinski house, they both got out of the jeep and Derek walked around to take a hold of Stiles' hands in his, telling him that whatever happened, they would make it through this together. Stiles smiled at him and nodded his head. Derek leant down and placed a kiss on his lips. Stiles instinctively wrapped his arms around Derek's waist and he pulled the older man closer. As soon as their thighs touched, Stiles could feel Derek's erect penis pressing against him and he inhaled sharply. He slowly moved one of his hands around Derek's waist but before he could reach his intended target, Derek grabbed his hand with his.

"If you do that, we are both going to be in a lot of trouble. Go, go inside now Stiles. I will see you tomorrow."

With that he turned Stiles around so that he was facing his front door and he gave him a gently shove. As Stiles took a step away from him Derek couldn't help but slap him softly on the butt. Stiles spun around quickly and glared at him.

"If I don't get to explore, then neither do you. Keep your hands to yourself mister."

Derek laughed out loud at Stiles' statement and Stiles grinned. He hadn't really ever heard Derek laugh before and it made him happy that he had been able to do it. He gave the older man a cheeky grin and when Derek made to grab him, he bolted for the front door, laughing all the way. Derek waited until the front door closed behind Stiles and then he turned to make his way back home. The whole way, he couldn't stop himself from smiling. What he had been waiting for for years had finally happened. He had been able to kiss Stiles and hold him and tell him how he felt. He knew that there was a lot of things going on in their lives at the moment but he would make sure that whatever moments they could have together they would take.

As he was closing the front door he heard movement behind him. He twirled quickly, shifting, preparing to face whoever or whatever had invaded his home. He let his guard down when he saw that it was Isaac. He walked further into the apartment and was heading to the kitchen to grab something to eat but he didn't get very far before Isaac's words stopped him in his tracks.

"What the hell is going on between you and Stiles?"

Derek turned to face his young beta.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. I saw the two of you leaving here earlier. You were holding hands and I could smell something different about the two of you."

"You know what Isaac? It's none of your damn business. Just leave it alone. Don't bring it up again and especially in front of Stiles," Derek practically growled at him, making Isaac take a step or two backwards as he raised his hands in surrender. He knew better than to keep pressing when Derek was like this. He walked back into the kitchen and continued making their dinner. For the rest of the night, whenever Isaac looked at Derek, all he received in return was an evil glare and a low growl. He eventually had enough and left Derek alone.

The following morning was no better. Derek was still grumpy and Isaac decided to get out of the apartment as soon as he could. Even though it was a school day, he wanted to follow up on a lead he had discovered last night about Erica and Boyd but he would need Scott's help. He found him in the hallway before class and he asked him to help. Unfortunately, Stiles was standing right next to Scott when he asked him so, of course, he volunteered to help him as well. Hell, if Derek found out that he had dragged Stiles into this, he'd kill him. But there was no swaying Stiles once he had made up his mind. He decided to try though.

"What about Derek? He's not gonna like you going on this mission," Isaac said to Stiles as they walked away from Scott, who was currently kissing Allison and had lost interest in what they had been talking about. Stiles stopped walking and glared at Isaac.

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

Isaac looked down at Stiles' panicked face and decided to cover. He remembered what Derek had said the night before.

"Nothing, I just know that Derek is really protective of everyone at the moment and its one thing for Scott and I to go. We can shift if we need to but you, well you can't."

Stiles watched him for a moment but Isaac held his ground, trying not to show that he knew about him and Derek. He must have hid it well because he could see Stiles' shoulders relax.

"Yeah well, Derek isn't my boss. I'll do whatever I can do to help. But right now I have to get to class and so do you."

"Shit," Isaac whispered before thinking to himself that Derek was going to kill him. Although, if they managed to bring Boyd and Erica home, maybe he wouldn't. He just had to hope that they could come up with a decent plan to save his friends. All he could do was get through today and with the help of Scott and Stiles save his friends this afternoon.

It was nearly time for the afternoon bell to go when Stiles felt like someone was watching him. It was a feeling that he had had every now and then for years but at least now he knew what it was. He looked out of the window and sure enough he could see Derek standing outside. Stiles raised his hand to wave at Derek and he smiled when Derek waved back.

He whispered a hello and somehow he knew that Derek had heard him. His attention was drawn to the front of the class and when he looked back Derek had gone. His smile didn't leave his face for the rest of the lesson and when the bell went, he made his way out into the hallway and started to look for Scott and Isaac. Twenty minutes later, he still hadn't found them and he was starting to panic. Had they left without him? He ran out the front of the school just in time to see the two of them leaving the car park. He called out to them but they just kept on driving. He ran towards his car but before he could reach it, he spotted Derek leaning against the hood and all thoughts of following the other two disappeared from his mind. He smiled as he walked directly up to Derek.

"Hey you, what are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd surprise you. Maybe we could go out for something to eat. Are you interested?"

Stiles smiled and nodded his head and opened up the passenger door so that Derek could get in. As he did so, their hands grazed each other and Stiles felt the tingle go all the way up his arm. He looked around to see if anyone else had noticed but of course no one had. He let his hand glide up Derek's leg and he smiled when the other man flinched and let out a guttural growl as Stile's hand reached his hip. But he had enough sense to grab Stiles' hand before it reached his groin and he placed a quick kiss on the palm before telling Stiles to get into the car. Stiles laughed as he walked around the bonnet of the car. They then drove into town to get something to eat.