Stiles's panic was wholeheartedly renewed now. 'This is it,' he thought dejectedly. This was when he was going to be fired. Best to look for something new as soon as possible, though he had no idea what else he could be qualified for. At least not something that would pay for the third of the rent he was responsible in the upcoming month.

Without the need of conscious thought, Stiles's feet had carried him towards the other side of the hall to take the elevator all the way up. He hadn't even realized he'd been moving until he was right outside Derek Hale's door. Hearing voices from inside, Stiles creeped up to the open doorway and peeked his head in.

"Well, we'll go to plan B then," Derek was concluding his phone call. "Call me again if something comes up." He sounded serious, much more stern than he had appeared on the plane or the Design Department, and Stiles internally cringed at having that stern tone directed at him. But the moment the cell was placed on the desk, green eyes fell on Stiles, and a smile graced Derek's once solemn expression. "Come in," he motioned, also signaling Stiles to close the door after him.

Nervously, Stiles did as he was told. "Um, about earlier," he started, self-consciously wringing his hands, "Sorry about, uh, well…"

"Laura and I would ask for the Triskelion file."

"What?"

Derek just smiled subtly and explained, "Whenever we needed to take a break, we'd ask for the Triskelion file. Then all we'd do was hide out in one of our offices and share a drink."

"A drink? Like an alcoholic drink? Oh. Well, that's so much worse than coffee." Immediately, Stiles clamped his hands over his mouth, clenching his teeth in annoyance at himself. "I didn't mean…"

Derek's laugh cut him off. "It's okay." And from the softness in his gaze and amusement playing at the edges of his lips, Stiles had a feeling that it truly was okay.

Stiles let out a small breath of relief, his nerves settling to its typical hum."Oh, so, uh, everything's good then?" he nodded to himself as Derek just continued to smile. "Right. Good. So, you needed something from me?" If Derek was understanding about the coffee thing, and was still smiling, then Stiles figured his job security wasn't in as much danger as he had imagined. He was still uneasy about the prospect of being fired, but for now he wasn't too worried.

His unease decreased even more when his question was met with a dust of light pink across rugged, handsome cheeks. Derek was blushing, slightly as it was. "I was hoping that we could keep it between us that I was in Chicago. That it could be our secret."

Stiles had no way of knowing why people couldn't know Derek had been in Chicago, but it wasn't really his place to ask about it. Instead, he readily agreed. "Yeah, sure man. Your secret dies with me. Nothing will get past these lips. Not even torture could get me to tell anyone your secret."

Derek's smile spread to his eyes at Stiles's babbling. Casually, he leaned his desk, his arms crossed over the muscled expanse of his chest. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

"Yeah. Of course dude. And...uh, about those things that I said on the plane. Could we, uh…"

For once, Derek's smile actually showed teeth - pearl white teeth that were slightly crooked with canines that looked maybe just a little sharper than they should have been. "Your secrets die with me."

Stiles smiled back, his blood rushing downwards. At the onslaught of arousal - created by the sight before him and the words that had been spoken in that deep voice - Stiles began to back out of the office, all the while stuttering, "Okay, so, we'll both die for each other's secrets. That's good. Very intimate." He flushed darkly, hearing the phrases coming out of his mouth without any control over them, "Well, I should probably get back to work. You know, be all productive and all that. So, I'll, uh, I'll see you around."

He was already out the door when a bemused chuckle met his ears. "I'll see you soon."