Random kissing shouldn't be a seasonal thing

Chapter 2: Hit the lights

That night Stiles dreamed about making out with Derek. To be fair, he spend most of his nights dreaming about make out sessions with Derek. Now, though, the dreams actually had a plausible starting point for a kiss: the mistletoe.

(***)

To Stiles' surprise and delight, the mistletoe was still there the next day. And the day after that.

'I thought for sure that he'd take it down,' Stiles told Scott when they were out of Derek's freaky werewolf earshot. Stiles did not want to give Derek any ideas.

'Why hasn't he? Why would he allow it to remain there?' Stiles wondered aloud. While he racked his brain for an explanation of the mistletoe's continued presence – plain indifference on Derek's part? – Scott provided a logical answer that was most pleasing.

'I guess there's someone he wants to kiss. I mean, that could be a reason,' Scott suggested. Yeah, Stiles thought. Yeah. Yeah! And maybe that someone was pale and skinny and male. Stranger things had happened. That thought consumed his mind for the rest of the day. That was probably why, later that day, Stiles said a thing to Derek he normally reserved for his dream conversations.

'Why are you so hot?'

'What?' Derek said. Unfortunately, it wasn't a 'What? I didn't hear you.' It was a 'What? I totally heard you and I can't believe you said that. Please repeat so that I can either make fun of you or punch you in the face. Possibly both.'

'Did I say that out loud?' Stiles asked. Derek nodded. Stiles swallowed and started to ramble.

'Uh, well. What I meant to say was: Why is it so hot? I mean, it is hot, right, isn't it? So, you know, I was just asking… why that was,' he lamely finished. Okay, that was bad. First of all, it wasn't hot at all. If anything, it was cold. Secondly, gah.

'That's not what you said, though,' Derek pointed out. He was almost smiling. Not entirely, of course, because he was a sourwolf, but it did seem like he might be on the verge of cracking a tiny, short-lived smile.

'I misspoke. It happens. Get over it. It's not like I just revealed my subconscious desires,' Stiles over explained. He wished that he possessed the ability to know when to shut up. Could really have done without that last, very specific denial, for instance. Like a wolf onto its geeky prey, Derek leaped at the goof.

'You consciously think that I am hot?' he extrapolated. He was smirking now. Yep, Derek was definitely amused. Better than anger, but still, not really the response Stiles had hoped for, if he was honest.

'That's not…' Stiles feebly protested. 'I don't think you're hot! Alright, you are attractive. To other people. Probably. I wouldn't know, 'cause I don't think of you that way. So, maybe you are attractive, I don't know, but not to me. No offense.'

Something shifted in Derek's expression. He leaned towards Stiles as if about to confide a secret.

'Speaking of desires: I've often fantasised about tying you up.'

Stiles' heart lurched in his chest. He's screwing with you, he warned himself. Don't let your excitement show.

'You wanna tie me up? Hey, whatever floats your boat. No judgment here,' Stiles airily assured Derek. In fact, the opposite of judgement was going on in Stiles' mind.

'I wanna gag you,' Derek added, leaning a little closer still.

'Oh, kinky! Tell me what else you want to do to me,' Stiles begged, pretending that he was faking his enthusiasm.

'I really, really want to gag you. And then…'

'Yeah?' Stiles implored. He was actually holding his breath.

'Then I'd enjoy the ensuing silence,' Derek smugly concluded, sitting back. Stiles glared in an effort to mask his disappointment. He was such a sucker. What had he expected? This wasn't one of his dreams. They weren't going to end up making out.

'You suck,' he muttered.

'Shut up,' Derek snapped back irritably.

'Flirting: you're doing it wrong,' Lydia drily remarked from her seat at the kitchen table.

'We're not flirting!' Stiles objected. Lydia rolled her eyes as Malia and Kira entered the apartment together. Lydia nodded at the mistletoe and they obliged. Blushing slightly, they kissed each other. Derek's face darkened.

'Why is everyone always here?' he growled, startling Kira.

'I don't know,' Stiles answered, following that up with some extreme and uncalled for sarcasm. 'Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near? Just like me, they long to be close to you.'

Too late Stiles realised that was just plain mean. Kira certainly seemed to think so. Malia glanced from Stiles to Derek trying to figure out the situation.

'Did something happen?' she finally inquired, apparently unable to work it out.

'I'm gonna go,' Stiles announced to the room at large.

'You do that,' Derek responded.

'Enjoy the silence,' Stiles sneered at him.

'I will,' Derek acidly replied. Lydia snorted. Stiles ignored both of them. He went outside, feeling confused and irritated. Okay, what just happened? Stiles didn't know. The stupid thing was that he couldn't even leave, because Scott was supposed to pick him up and he was probably already on his way. Stiles had barely decided to pace in order to keep warm when Derek suddenly popped up at his side, nearly giving him a heart attack.

'Oh my God,' Stiles breathed. 'Don't do that.'

He narrowed his eyes and eyed Derek.

'I thought you were going to bask in my absence. You know, the blissful…'

'Yeah, yeah. You never shut up and I'm a dick,' Derek interrupted.

'You're not. Not really. Sure, you can be, but usually you're not. I do, however, talk too much, pretty much always, probably,' Stiles agreed, rambling again. Derek threw him a look that Stiles couldn't decipher and shrugged.

'You're funny.'

'You think I'm funny?' Stiles asked.

'Sometimes,' Derek admitted.

'Are you sure you want to pay me an actual, real compliment? There's still time to take it back.'

'Savour it.'

'Oh, believe me: I will,' Stiles stressed. Wait, I said something nice and Derek said something nice in return, he realised. Was that flirting? Were they flirting?

'You wanna come back in?' Derek proposed.

'Scott will be here any minute,' Stiles told him.

'I'll wait with you,' Derek offered. It was the sort of offer you couldn't refuse. Not because, if you did, a severed horse head would wind up in your bed. No, because Derek was smiling. And for a second there, Stiles was completely in favour of unseasonal random kissing.