Chapter 4: Imaginary Traffic Jams And Consequences
For the life of him, Derek couldn't understand why on God's green Earth he had gone through the trouble of trying to make the driver's ed car more presentable. Usually it was full of papers and a butt or two from a cigarette, and it always kind of smelt like smoke, but he had cleared the papers and cleaned the seats and mats. There was even a new air freshener in the holder and the sweet smell of flowers wafted through the air conditioning vents.
When Stiles came into the car, he looked around and laughed at Derek. "I love what you've done with the place, Ms. Hale," he joked and Derek gave him a scowl. "Shut it," he said and Stiles just laughed again and started adjusting the mirrors and seat. "Who're you trying to impress anyway?" Stiles asked as they went around the course, avoiding cones and making turned more smoothly than the week before. You, Derek thought but cleared his throat and kept his eyes on the road, saying, "Never you mind." Stiles rolled his eyes and stopped the car in the middle of the course. Derek looked at him and Stiles sat back in the car, folding his arms. "Is there a reason you're stopping on the highway?" Derek asked and Stiles looked at the course in front of him and then at Derek, "Road works, we're in a three hour jam that's at a standstill."
Derek rolled his eyes and sat back in the seat. "C'mon Derek," Stiles said, "Traffic's backed up and we're not moving for a while. Tell me who!" Derek shook his head and looked out the window and suddenly he felt a prod in his side and he jerked to the side. "Don't do that!" he said and Stiles' eyes lit up. "You're ticklish," he said happily and began prodding Derek repeatedly. Derek shouted a little and tried to stop Stiles, but he couldn't help but laugh a little before he regained his senses and grabbed Stiles' hands, stopping him.
"Don't," Derek said, breathing hard and Stiles just smiled at him. Then Derek suddenly leaned across and planted a kiss on Stiles' lips. Stiles raised his eyes in surprise and Derek, regaining his senses, pulled back and looked at Stiles before he turned and got out of the car. Stiles sat in the car seat, stunned into a state of silence that didn't come often. He sat back in the car seat and then looked at Derek who was walking circles around the course, hitting himself on the head a little.
Derek was hitting himself on the head and muttering to himself, trying to keep himself from crying for some reason. "What the hell is wrong with you," he muttered to himself, "Stupid… Stupid… Idiotic… no good excuse… ARGH!" Then he felt a hand on his arm and he looked up and saw Stiles standing in front of him, concern on his face. "Derek, stop hurting yourself," Stiles said and Derek just looked at him before he sank to his knees and sobbed. "Stiles…" he said as Stiles went down and put his arms around Derek. "It's okay," Stiles said and rubbed circles in Derek's back, "It'll be okay." Derek just cried, sobbing for all the things that he'd been holding in. Resentment, fear, anger, sadness, everything came out, but Stiles just knelt there and rubbed circles in Derek's back.
After a while, Derek calmed down and sat back on his heels. "Sorry," he said gruffly and wiped his face with his hands, but Stiles took his hands away and gently wiped Derek's cheeks with his sleeve. "Don't be sorry, it's a gift," he said and Derek chuckled at him. "A. That's my line and B. How is me acting like a baby a gift?" Derek said and Stiles smiled at him. "Crying means that you've been strong for too long and that you need someone to lean on to," Stiles said and Derek considered it.
"You don't even know me," he said and Stiles shrugged at that. "Then let me get to know you then," Stiles said and Derek smiled and sniffed. "What like a date?" he said and Stiles shrugged again, something that Derek realized was a habit of Stiles'. So he took it as a yes. "Fine," Derek said, "Friday, 8pm?" Stiles laughed, "Wednesday's sooner," he mused and Derek rolled his eyes. "Fine, Wednesday, 8pm?" Stiles nodded and got up before he helped Derek up. "I think we're done for the day," Derek said and Stiles nodded to him and then smiled a cheeky smile before I tip toed a little and kissed Derek on the lips again, just a quick one, but it left Derek with a blush creeping across his cheeks and nose.
"See you Wednesday," Stiles said and laughed at Derek who tried to grab him to smack him on the head. Stiles jogged a few paces and then turned and waved good-naturedly at Derek who huffed and folded his arms.
Then suddenly it hit Derek like a ton of bricks:
What the hell did I just do…?