Stiles was the only one who had to get up early the next morning but as good hosts, Derek and Laura got up with them. Laura made pancakes.
"Keep me updated about Erica," Derek told them when they kissed goodbye.
"Will do." Stiles waved at Laura and then they were out of the door. Derek waited until he couldn't hear Stiles' footsteps any long before he joined Laura in the kitchen. This was way too early for him. He didn't even have a morning shift to justify the early hour.
"You know." Laura put the dishes in the sink. "It's strange but it is kind of nice, having somebody else around."
She had Kira over just the other day but the kitsune hadn't spent the night. They had played way into the night but in the end, Laura had slept in her fresh sheets alone.
"We talked about packs the other day," Derek admitted.
"You did?" She dried her hands with a towel. "Are you already this serious with them?"
He knew that she didn't mean it but he sensed the doubt behind her words. The last person he'd been serious with had been Kate.
"I never introduced her to the pack," Derek said quietly. It should have given him a hint that Kate didn't want to meet his family.
"True."
"Stiles is different." Derek didn't know how to put in words how Stiles made feel him. "They understand."
Laura studied him for a long moment but she knew Stiles. Not the same way Derek knew them but they had interacted enough for her to get the picture.
"What did they say to packs?" Laura asked. She was trying to sound casual but Derek knew her. They were low in numbers and Stiles could be a valuable addition to the pack.
"They don't like the idea that you would be able to tell them what to do," Derek answered truthfully. "Give them some time, they're not completely against it. Besides, if it doesn't work out with us it would be awkward as hell."
Couples broke up all the time and in a bigger pack, it wasn't an issue. With just the three of them, it would end in disaster.
"It was just a thought." Laura placed a hand on his chest. "You and me, that's more than enough."
Derek put his hand on top of hers, holding it close for a moment.
He helped her with the rest of the cleanup before he retreated to his room. It still smelled of Stiles in here. Derek lay down on his bed and for a moment he just inhaled their combined scent. He folded his hands behind his head and let his mind drift. He was looking up at the white ceiling and when he turned his head, he looked at bare walls. Stiles was right, his room was bleak and impersonal. Maybe he should get a plant.
Laura had personal things in her room. She even had a few pictures of their family she had found somewhere. She kept them in a box along with the blackened wedding band, it was the only thing they had left of their mother, and other trinkets. They hadn't been able to salvage much from the house but the few pieces they had Laura liked to keep close. She had asked Derek if that was okay and she had assured him that he could look at them whenever he wanted but so far he hadn't taken her up on that offer. Derek knew they were there and on some level, it gave him comfort but he had no desire to look at them.
But he could do something with his room. He would like a picture of him with Stiles. And maybe one with Laura. Pictures of the living ones. Maybe he should ask Stiles to help him decorate his room. He didn't need much and he'd never seen the appeal in figurines and stuff just standing around but a personal touch would be nice.
He was still deep in thoughts when his phone buzzed with a message from Stiles.
Erica is still in the hospital, Boyd isn't in either. Coach says he won't be for a few days
That did not sound good. For Erica but also for the whole team. They had fallen behind schedule with Stiles out of commission for a few days, now they were short by two people and they had to get ready for that convention Erica had mentioned.
Isaac and I are going to do overtime the next few days. At least
Even with overtime, Derek doubted that two people could do the work of four.
Is there anything I can do to help? Derek asked but he knew that he couldn't do much. Bring Stiles dinner but otherwise?
Thanks but if you're not secretly a game developer, graphic designer, or something like that …
I know my way around a computer but no, Derek wrote back. He would have liked to help but there wasn't anything he could do.
Gotta go, Stiles wrote and with that, they were back to work.
Derek let the phone drop onto the blanket next to him and folded his hands behind his head again. Things must be serious if Erica was still in the hospital. Bad enough for Boyd to stay at her side. That did not sound as if both would be back in a day or two.
Derek couldn't help Stiles with their work but he could make sure that they had something decent to eat. Stiles hadn't packed lunch this morning, they wanted to get something from the shop down the street. With a workload like this, Derek knew that they would forget about lunch.
So when it was time for a lunch break, Derek walked into the office with care packages for Stiles and Isaac.
"Derek?" Stiles only noticed him when he was standing right next to them. "What are you doing here?"
"Thought I could bring you lunch." Derek placed one package on Stiles' desk before he brought the other one over to Isaac. The man looked at him with big eyes but accepted the food easily.
"You're a lifesaver." Stiles was already digging into their food. Derek had packed them sandwiches, apple slices, and a few chocolate chip cookies. It should be enough to last them until dinner. Whenever that might be. They were both eating with one hand while they kept working with the other.
Derek stood in the middle of the office, not sure if he should stay or leave. They were both busy and he didn't want to interrupt but just when he was about to leave, Stiles turned in their chair.
"Derek, since you're here, could you log into Erica's computer and send a file over to me?"
Derek could do that. He could also find an email for them. And look up some data for Isaac. When he noticed that they were low on coffee, he put on a new pot.
The things they ask of him were easy, anybody could do these tasks, but they cost time neither Stiles nor Isaac had. So they threw them at Derek.
At one point Finstock came out of his office to get fresh coffee. If he was surprised to see Derek, he didn't show it but when he walked past him on his way back to his office, he paused and gave him a questioning look.
"Do I have to pay you now?" He asked but before Derek could come up with an answer he continued: "See me in my office when you're done here." With that, he shut his door. Derek glanced over to where Stiles was sitting at their desk but they only shrugged. At least their boss hadn't kicked him out immediately, Derek took it as a good sign. So he finished the task at hand and then he knocked at Finstock's door.
"What's your name?" Finstock asked without even looking up from the papers he had on his desk. "I can't put Bilinski's boytoy in here."
"Bilinski?" Derek repeated the name under his breath but then his brain caught up with the boytoy part. He choked on his own spit but managed to state his name.
"This is a non-disclosure agreement." Finstock slid a piece of paper towards him. "Sign here. If you steal our data and/or sell or give any information to a third party I will have your balls. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Leave the sir, they call me coach around here." Finstock put the signed paper in a folder. "For now you're an intern. I'll give you a week to convince me that I need you. You fuck up, you're out. We clear?"
"Yes, coach."
"You're a fast learner." Finstock nodded his approval. "You've been in Erica's emails?"
"Yes, coach."
"Some have to be answered today, think you can do that?"
When Derek left Finstock's office a few minutes later, he had a new job and a list of tasks he had to finish today. Stiles mouthed a question at him but Derek waved them off, neither of them had time to talk right now. Derek sat down at Erica's computer and started with the emails.
He was the one to go on a dinner run, Stiles hadn't been joking when they said that they would do overtime, but around eight in the evening Finstock kicked them out.
"Is he living in his office?" Derek wondered because just like the other day their boss stayed in his office and it looked as if he intended to stay there for at least a while longer.
"Who knows?" Stiles glanced back as well. "He's the first one in and the last one to leave."
"If he's ever not in one morning." Isaac caught up with them. "I'll assume he's dead."
"Same." Stiles nodded. "Listen, if Erica isn't out of the hospital tomorrow, I would like to visit her after work. You want to come with me?" Stiles addressed both of them with the question.
"Sure," Isaac agreed quickly. Derek could tell that he was worried about his co-worker. If they weren't drowning in work Stile and Isaac would have visited her yesterday and most likely today as well.
"See you tomorrow." Isaac bumped a fist in the air and then he hurried off. It had been a long day.
"You should come with us," Stiles said to Derek while they walked the short distance to their cars. "She would like that."
Derek wanted to say that he didn't even know her but Stiles was right, it felt like the right thing to do. Looked like visiting almost strangers in the hospital was his thing.
They took their separate cars but they both headed over to Stiles' place. That way they could take just one car in the morning.
He should be at work by now and Laura expected him to come home after his shift so that they could have breakfast together but he was too tired to explain everything to her. He hadn't really comprehended it himself. So he just shot her a message that he would be with Stiles in the morning.
"I'm still not sure how you ended up as my co-worker," Stiles said when they stretched out on the couch. They put their feet in Derek's lap and without thinking Derek started to give them a foot rub. Stiles let out a moan.
"Me neither." Derek dug his thumb into a tense spot, coaxing another delicious sound out of Stiles. "But I already quit my other job." It had been a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. He had been answering emails and suddenly he had reached for his phone and had typed I quit. After he'd sent it off to his boss, he'd been back to answering emails.
"Didn't peg you for such a spontaneous guy." Stiles cracked open an eye. "Hope you won't regret it."
"I don't need that job." Done with one foot, he reached for the other. "Laura made me take it to get me out of my room. To give me some structure." He felt a bitter smile ghosting over his lips. "At that point I needed it but I got everything I can possibly get out of it." He looked at Stiles in hope that they got what he meant.
"I'm glad you had that job." Stiles did understand.
They went to bed soon after Derek had finished the foot massage. They had a long day and tomorrow wouldn't be shorter. He fell asleep, spooning Stiles from behind. He'd gotten the best thing imaginable out of a shitty job.