Derek sat down on the front porch, book in hand. He was hoping that he could find a way to convince his family to break the betrothal. He wanted to be with Stiles, but Derek knew that if he broke off the wedding, he'd be putting a lot of people's lives in danger.

Peter sat down beside him. "You look troubled." He said, looking at his nephew. "Are you having cold feet about the wedding?" Peter asked.

"I don't want to marry her." Derek said. "What if I'm in love with someone else?"

"Are they an Argent?" Peter asked, tilting his head a little.

"No." Derek said.

"Then you can't marry them." Peter said. "Who do you like?"

"Stiles." Derek admitted.

Peter laughed. "From the way you two were dancing at the party, that hardly comes as a surprise."

"Can't you talk to Talia? She won't listen to me. I Don't. Want. .Allison." Derek said, frowning. "Is there a chance that we could call it off?"

"Derek, need I remind you of the countless murders of our kind before this ceasefire?" Peter said, raising his eyebrows at his younger nephew. "Wolves weren't safe. They were hunted down like animals, and slaughtered. It was absolutely horrific. For the first time in centuries, us wolves have been able to peacefully coexist alongside the hunters. This is a great feat." He said.

Derek took a deep breath. "I know that, Peter." He said. He'd grown up hearing the horror stories of wolves being cut in half, or shot by wolfsbane arrows, or attacked on the full moon. He knew that this was very important. "I just don't see why it has to be me." Derek said, annoyed. "Why couldn't one of the girls have married an Argent?"

"You're the only son Talia had." His uncle said, smirking. "And besides, I don't think either Talia or Chris considered the possibility of marrying Allison to Laura or Cora."

"It'd make my life a lot easier if they had." Derek growled, staring out into the woods surrounding their property. "They have it too easy."

"Stop pouting, it doesn't become you." Peter said, standing up. He stuck out his hand, and pulled Derek to his feet. "Come on, let's go pick up Stiles. We need to buy your suit."

Derek looked around the store, his heart sinking. There was an endless amount of suits, ties, and jackets to look through. He didn't give a crap which one he wore to the wedding ; He just wanted to get the hell out of there. Derek picked up the first jacket he saw, and stalked back to Peter.

"Okay, I chose one." He said, shoving the brown jacket into his uncle's arms.

Peter raised his eyebrows. "Really? You're going with that colour?" He said, holding up the jacket against Derek. "This won't work."

"Well, what do you recommend?" Derek asked, snarkily.

Stiles looked from Peter to Derek, and wondered if he should speak up or not.

"Let's try something black," Peter suggested, putting the brown jacket back. He lead Derek back to the racks. "This one looks good." He said, inspecting one.

Derek rolled his eyes. "I hate shopping."

Stiles put a hand on his arm, and looked up at Derek. "Try it on?" He said. "Just see how it looks on you."

Derek took it off the hanger, and tried it on. The sleeves were too short. Derek lifted his hands over his head, it rode up well above his wrists.

Peter looked around, until he found one in Derek's size. "Try this one." He said.

Derek tried it on, and was glad that it was a much better fit. "This one's nice." He commented, looking to Stiles for approval. Stiles nodded, grinning.

"You look great." He said, giving Derek a thumbs up.

"You need a tie," Peter said, walking over to the display. He grabbed a few, and held them up against Derek's jacket. He held up a silky, red tie. "This one is perfect."

Derek shook his head. "I'm not wearing that." He said, frowning. "Stiles, what's your favourite colour?"

"Blue." Stiles told him, picking up a navy blue tie and handing it to Derek.

"I'll wear this one." Derek said, giving Stiles a small smile.

Peter gave Stiles a funny look. "Why does he value your opinion more than mine? That blue tie isn't his best colour. Talia said I'm in charge of everyone's outfits."

"Because he's my boyfriend." Derek said. "And I want to wear something he picked out for me."

"You won't look as good in the blue." Peter insisted. "Wear the red."

"Screw off, Uncle." Derek said. "You know damn well I don't want to be here."

Peter's eyebrows shot up, as he stared at his nephew. "Excuse me? I'm here to help you!" He said, raising his voice. "I didn't go to the Argents. Talia did."

Stiles could see both Peter and Derek's jaw start to clench, and Derek's hand was crushing the blue tie in a death grip.

Stiles took a step forward. "Guys," He said, stepping in between them. "Can we just finish shopping? I wanna get out of here just as badly as you do." He told Derek, watching as both Hales glared at each other.

As soon as they were finished shopping, Derek insisted that he wanted to stay at the mall with Stiles. Peter was still upset with him, so he took Derek's purchases and drove back home.

"You hungry?" Derek asked, grabbing Stiles' hand and walking to the food court. Derek's shoulders were taut, and Stiles could see his boyfriend was visibly upset.

"Just think – two more days, and all this will be behind you. You'll be married, and people will leave you alone." Stiles told him.

"I hope so." Derek said, squeezing Stiles' hand tightly.

"You'll still have me." Stiles said, leaning against Derek's shoulder as they walked.

Derek's mouth twitched a little. "Thank god for that." He said.