Baking My Way Into Your Heart – Interference Part II
Derek arrived promptly at 7:30 the next morning with a large duffle bag in tow. He had to take a moment while brushing his teeth that morning to really realize what had happened, in a broader sense.
'I just agreed to go on a vacation with Stiles and his friends the day before the trip. And it wasn't even a full day. It was at night. And beyond that, I have no idea what we'll be doing there once we arrive. I don't know what sort of sleeping arrangements will be made; I don't know what sort of restaurants are in the area. It's all very… spontaneous.'
Typically, in a scenario such as this, Derek would be annoyed without a set plan or a list of activities he pre-approved. He liked going places knowing what he could do during his time there. And sure, Peter's previous kidnappings were sudden and unplanned, but his uncle knew him and Derek knew that once the blindfold was off, an itinerary would be dumped into his lap for review.
And sure, maybe Stiles' friends had an itinerary planned out, but Derek didn't know that. For all he knew, they were just going to arrive and it would be a free-for-all after that. And normally, Derek would wince at the idea because he always found it best to make the most out of his time when travelling, wanting to get the most out of his trip by seeing the most or doing the most. Anything less would feel like a waste of time.
But, oddly enough, he wasn't worried this time. He was surprisingly calm. If anything, he might even be a little excited about what might happen on this trip. He was actually eager about the unknown. All he knew was that if he were with Stiles, everything would be all right. As long as he had Stiles by his side, then he was already making the most out of this impromptu vacation.
So it was with keen anticipation that Derek arrived at the train station. He spotted Danny, Jackson, Lydia and Allison sitting together, chatting amongst themselves at a table while waiting for the others to arrive.
"Hey, Derek!" Allison smiled, waving him over.
"Oh good! You're right on time," Danny smiled.
"Yeah, hey," Derek nodded in greeting to all of them.
"Derek, can I just say, it's such a relief that you're coming instead of Greenburg," Lydia said. "If I had to listen to one more fart joke, I swear, I might throw the guy in a barrel of hydrofluoric acid. I don't even know why you guys are still friends with him."
"We've been friends with him since high school," Jackson shrugged. "But I'm a little relieved also. That guy thinks he's staring at you discreetly, but I always catch him drooling whenever you walk by. Not cool." He threw his arm around Lydia's shoulders, possessively.
"Here, put your stuff down," Danny offered. "Let's go buy your ticket."
Derek did just that, setting his stuff down before following Danny to the vendor. He let the boy do all the talking and just handed over his credit card when asked. On their way back to the table, both Jackson and Lydia had mischievous smirks on their faces while Allison was just shaking her head in amusement.
"What?" Danny asked.
"Well, we all know Stiles is gonna flip when he sees Derek here," Jackson stated, nodding in the older boy's direction. "But we figure it'd be more of a surprise if he doesn't realize you're coming along until we're actually there."
"Wait, what?" Derek frowned.
"Think about it," Lydia smiled, slyly, getting up to wrap her arm around Derek's. He had half a mind to yank his arm away, but the other half told him that would be rude. Plus, she's close with Stiles. It would not be a good idea to upset her. "When Stiles sees you here, he'll probably just think you're here to bid him farewell or possibly that you're going somewhere else until he finds out you're coming with us, but by then, it won't be as exciting. But if he sees you there he'll be so excited that he'll most likely leap into your arms and you'll have snuggle-time in the snow."
'Snuggle-time in the snow…' he repeated to himself. He liked the idea of that. Stiles would likely be excited either way, but Lydia did have a point. It was possible that Stiles would be more excited if he showed up in Bear Valley. But then that would mean he'd have to go the whole seven hour train-ride without him. 'But…' Derek thought. 'It would allow me to watch him with his friends from afar… and since I do need more data on how he acts when I'm not around, this could be the chance I need to research just that.'
"I can see your brain's ticking," Lydia commented after Derek just stood there not saying a word. "Trust me. I know Stiles. He'll enjoy this much better if he sees you there."
"And also, he does this funny grin and frown thing whenever we mention you and you're not here but he wants you to be, so it'll be a blast to torment him in that way the whole trip," Jackson smirked.
While Derek was intrigued by this, he also didn't like the idea of Jackson tormenting Stiles.
As if reading his mind, Lydia quickly jumped in. "Oh, but it's not really tormenting him, especially if we're just building him up to his surprise."
Derek sighed. In his gut, he knew that this whole scheme was just ridiculous and he just wanted to forget about it so he could sit with Stiles and possibly snooze on his shoulder like they did last time. 'But this could win me brownie points with his friends… and the data. I definitely need the data.' He glanced over at Allison. She was a rational girl who seemed soft-hearted enough. "What do you think?"
Allison seemed a bit surprised that Derek was asking her opinion. But she smiled. "Well… to be honest, I think he'd really get a kick out of seeing you there. Like Lydia said, if he sees you here he'll be happy for sure, but if he sees you there, realizing right off the bat that you're there in the same place as him for vacation, I think he'll be really ecstatic and overjoyed."
Derek nodded slowly, taking her words into consideration. "All right, fine," he agreed. "So what do you want me to do? Hide at the back of the car?"
"At the back of- no, no, no," Lydia frowned. "He could see you there, obviously. Your jacket is a dead giveaway." She shook her head as Derek looked at his jacket, wondering what was wrong with it. "No. Okay. You'll have to sit in a different car."
Derek didn't like this. That would ruin his chances of spying on them. He didn't even get a chance to argue as Lydia began pulling him towards the train. "Wait, can't I-"
"They're gonna show up any moment now. You don't want to ruin the surprise, do you?"
"No, but-"
"Just sit here. We'll be in next car over. You brought a book or something, right?"
"Well, yeah-"
"Good," she smiled up at Derek, picking invisible lint from his jacket. "This'll be great. It really is sweet how much you care about him. I'm rooting for you."
He didn't exactly know how to respond to that. He found he didn't have to as she made her way back off the train. Derek sighed, resigning himself to a lonely and boring seven hour train-ride. Hopefully, it would be worth it. He pictured the look of surprise on Stiles' face once he revealed himself. He wondered what he'd do then. 'Will he jump up and down in excitement? Maybe run over to me with arms wide open? Hug me? Kiss me?' Oh, the possibilities were endless. Derek tried to calm himself down, stowing away his belongings after pulling out some reading material. Until then, he'd have to wait it out. He sighed. "Just seven hours. No problem."
/\/\/\
Seven hours was a problem.
It had only been one and Derek was already bored. He found he couldn't concentrate on his reading, finding himself distracted by the boy in the other car. He hadn't even seen Stiles yet so all the different scenarios that could happen once they arrived kept replaying with him in different outfits. 'What if Stiles is wearing that blue shirt with the shark? What if he's wearing that red hoodie? What if he's wearing a French maid outfit?' Okay, so that last one was a bit of a stretch, but it was Derek's mind the scenarios were playing out in. He even managed to picture Stiles in one scenario wearing nothing whilst covering himself in batter-soiled clothing. He was sure if that were actually the case, the boy would be sent to prison for indecent exposure of too much sexiness. So lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice anyone coming up to him until they were seated right across from him.
Derek blinked. "Hey Isaac."
Isaac nodded in greeting. "Hey Derek. Danny told me what was happening. Thought I'd give you some company for a bit."
"Oh. Thanks. But… won't they notice?"
The boy shrugged. "Maybe. But Scott and Stiles are the only ones who don't know – since Scott can't keep a secret from Stiles – and they're busy playing red-hands so who knows how long they'll be distracted before they just start hitting each other."
Isaac helped Derek keep his mind out of the gutter for a while, providing him with actual conversation. It couldn't have been more than half an hour before Danny was making his way back there too, snacking on some brownie bites.
"Jackson is snoring and Allison and Lydia are going over the itinerary," he explained, taking a seat next to the blonde. "And Scott and Stiles are still at it. Like, I can't believe how intense they are about it."
"Wait, still?" Isaac gaped.
"Mm-hmm," he nodded, kicking his legs up to rest them on the seat next to Derek.
Derek's eyes narrowed in on the bag in the boy's hand. "What is that?"
"Hm? This? Stiles made us snacks for the ride."
"He made snacks?" Derek abruptly stood, rushing over to the door that would lead to the other car, but he soon found two sets of arms pulling him back. "No," Derek snarled over his shoulder. "He made snacks. That's not fair! I didn't agree to this!"
"Derek relax," Isaac tried, struggling to maneuver the older boy back into his seat. "I can go get you some if you want it so badly."
Derek just gave him a look as if to say he should know how badly he wanted it. Isaac just rolled his eyes and made his way back into the other car. In the mean time, Derek stole one of Danny's bites.
"So what is the itinerary?" he asked around his mouthful. Apparently, old habits died hard. He really did like knowing ahead of time what he had to look forward to.
Danny kicked his legs back up. "Well, tomorrow morning we're heading out to the slopes bright and early. I heard Lydia and Allison talking about some ice sculpture exhibit they wanted to see, but I'm not sure if they're going or not. We're planning to find an ice rink later that day while Scott and Stiles are out at the concert, too. Then Sunday, we're going back to the slopes. Isaac and I wanted to grab some snowmobiles and take a trail around the lake. Oh and of course, when we arrive, we're splitting up into teams, building forts and having a war. Lydia's idea. Hope you have extra layers to throw on once we get there."
Derek nodded, taking it all in. While it wasn't as meticulously plotted out as he had hoped, all of it did sound like it would make for a fun and busy weekend. Isaac was making his way back to them, tossing a bag of brownies into Derek's lap before taking his seat. They all talked some more before Isaac went back to the others, but soon Jackson was taking up his vacated spot.
"The girls are getting violent. And Lydia and Allison are talking about boots," he scoffed. He angled himself in his seat so that his feet were up next to Danny's.
Danny shook his head. "First of all, you have a little drool going on right there," he pointed at the corner of Jackson's mouth. The boy frowned and swiped at it. "Second of all, that's offensive. And third, remember when we played Spoons? They wrestled for almost twenty minutes trying to grab that last spoon from each other."
"By the way, Derek, you should be careful when you do anything with those two. They play dirty."
"You're just bitter about the time they were trading cards under the table when we were playing Uno. It was your fault that you had to get all cocky and throw money into the mix."
"I would've won it had they played fairly!"
Derek shook his head, amused as he bit into another piece of brownie. After a while, and after the bag had been emptied of chocolaty treats, Derek found himself sitting with Allison. She sent the other two back before handing Derek another bag. This time it was filled with coconut macaroons.
"Isaac thought I should bring you these," she smiled.
"Smart guy," Derek smirked, tearing open the bag.
"You should ease up. We're gonna be stopping soon. And it's an hour before our connecting train comes."
He took this into consideration before popping one in his mouth and saving the rest for later. She provided some conversation, although some of her views were just wrong to Derek.
"How can you say that? A person is nothing if they can't fight with their own two hands," Derek scoffed.
"Humans are separate from animals because of their use of tools. And the bow and arrow is the greatest tool in their arsenal. Not only can they stab someone with the arrows, they can attack an enemy from much safer a distance than bare hands can."
"The bow and arrow is for sneaky people who like to hide in the shadows."
Allison gasped. "It's for cunning people who know how to use strategy as opposed to brute force."
"I prefer a Molotov. It makes a bigger boom."
Both Derek and Allison looked to the side to see that Lydia had joined them.
"I can make them, you know. It's not that hard."
Derek stared at the girl filing down her nails, finding himself both intrigued but seriously afraid of her. Allison just laughed at her best friend.
Before he knew it, four hours had already passed on this train ride and surprisingly, all of Stiles' friends had come to join him in the back car, with the exception of Scott. It made Derek feel less ostracized when it came time for them to switch trains. It wasn't because they didn't want him there. It was purely for the sake of this surprise. And while Derek still found it a little silly, and found he'd much rather just sit with Stiles, he figured he'd gotten this far. He might as well see it through. So when he wandered into a restaurant for lunch by himself, he reminded himself it was just a few more hours until they arrived. He felt himself anticipating seeing Stiles' reaction the closer and closer they came.
Derek placed his order and took a sip of his water when he heard a group of familiar voices just behind him.
'What? No! They came here too?' Derek peeked over his shoulder and sure enough, the group of friends was being seated at a table not too far from where Derek was. The whole surprise would be ruined if Stiles saw him sitting there. Luckily, Stiles had been seated with his back to Derek. He breathed a sigh of relief. There was still a chance of this working out. He smirked, seeing him in the familiar red hoodie. He was growing quite attached to it himself.
"Is someone gonna share the nachos with me if I order some?"
Derek recognized the voice as Scott's. Then he realized this would be the perfect opportunity to listen in on their conversations, to see how Stiles really was around the rest of them. He readied himself mentally to take down some notes on the matter.
Stiles really was pretty carefree. He often stole food from his friends' plates and even dunked his straw into Isaac's drink to have a taste. And when Jackson casually mentioned Derek to him, Derek couldn't see his face but did notice how he sat up only to slump back down. He could just imagine the kind of expressions associated with the act. Other than that, the only thing that seemed different was how often the boy checked his phone. Every ten minutes or so, Stiles would pull his phone out of his pocket only to stuff it back in a second or two later after glancing at its screen. It made Derek want to subconsciously check his own.
After finishing his meal, Derek slipped away into the bathroom, making sure he took the long way around to avoid the table of friends. He washed his hands and was making his way back out the door when he saw Stiles heading his way.
'Shit!' Derek quickly jumped back into the room, ducking inside a stall to hide from him.
He heard the door open. Peeking through the crack between the stall door, he saw Stiles stand in front of the sink and check his phone once more before letting out a sigh. 'Is he expecting a call or something? Why does he keep checking it?' It was then that Derek realized that he hadn't even called or texted this morning. Had he not been invited last minute, he certainly would have at least bid the boy a farewell, wishing him nothing but fun on the trip. 'Is he… is he checking to see if he got a message from me?'
Stiles brought his phone up to his ear, and Derek realized he was calling someone. He found out just who that someone was when the phone in his own pocket began to ring loudly in the little stall.
"Shit!" he hissed out under his breath, reaching into his pocket to silence the thing before peeking back out to see if Stiles had been alarmed. The boy had merely looked over his shoulder, a curious expression on his face. Despite himself and the brief panic attack he just had, Derek felt his lips curve up slightly, just seeing the boy in profile.
Stiles frowned, brining his phone back down. He began typing away and before Derek could get a chance to turn off the sound completely on his phone, it chimed once more, alerting him to the text received from The Awesome Cool Guy Stiles :D. Again, Derek held his breath, hoping Stiles didn't think anything of it.
The boy looked over his shoulder again, brows furrowed. He slipped his phone back into his pocket before walking out of Derek's sight. He heard one of the stall doors open and close. Derek let out the breath he had been holding. Slowly, he unlocked the door and was ready to slip out.
"Derek?"
Derek literally jumped, slamming himself back against the wall. He looked up where the voice had come from, his surprised expression matching the one looking back down at him.
"Stiles, what the hell? You can't do that! What if I was some stranger trying to do his business in peace?"
The boy was unfazed. He was grinning, scrambling to climb over the stall wall. He had his arms outstretched to Derek, meaning for him to catch him. Derek helped Stiles over, soon finding himself engulfed in a warm embrace. Derek breathed another sigh of relief. It felt good to be held by Stiles. It felt even better having him in his arms.
"You're here! You're here! What are you doing here?" He was bouncing with excitement, nuzzling the side of Derek's face.
Derek cast a glance at the toilet.
"No, I don't mean in this stall," he groaned. "I mean, here!"
"Um… surprise?"
Stiles took a step back, but not fully out of Derek's arms, which the older boy was certainly content with, keeping his hands firmly planted on the slim waist. Stiles fixed him with a confused expression. "What do you mean 'surprise'?"
Derek sighed. "Danny called me last night and asked if I wanted to come with you guys on the trip since your friend Greenburg couldn't make it. It was Jackson and Lydia's idea to keep it a secret from you. They wanted it to be a surprise, I guess."
Stiles was bouncing again as he leapt back into Derek's arms, pulling him into another hug. "This is great! You're here and we're gonna have the best time and drink hot cocoa and snowboard and ice skate and catch snowflakes on our tongues and everything!"
Derek smiled at his friend's excitement. Although the location wasn't exactly ideal, he was glad he went with the surprise if it meant getting to hold Stiles this closely and this tightly.
Stiles finally took another step back, his grin still as wide as ever. "I'm glad you came."
Derek nodded. "Me too." He let out another sigh before stepping outside of the tiny stall. "I'm also glad that you found out so I can stop hiding in the back of the train."
"Is that where everyone kept going? I thought that was weird. I figured maybe they were handing out free shrimp cocktails or something."
He chuckled, taking Stiles' hand in his to lead them back to their tables. "Well now I get to sit with you for the rest of the trip."
"What? No. No, no, no," Stiles gasped out, pulling Derek back through their joined hands.
Derek frowned. "What do you mean 'no'?"
"Jackson and Lydia went through all this trouble trying to fool me. I need to get them back somehow."
Derek shook his head. "No. I wanna sit with you." He didn't pout. He absolutely did not pout. His bottom lip jutted out on its own, thank you very much. "You made snacks."
Stiles chuckled. "I promise, you can have all the snacks you want if you let me do this."
He cocked an eyebrow. "Do what exactly?
"Just go with it. It'll be great and it'll teach them for trying to mess with me."
Derek sighed. "All the snacks I want?"
"All of them."
"Fine."
"Yes! You're amazing!" Stiles cheered, moving in to plant a tiny kiss on Derek's cheek. "This is gonna be the best vacation ever!" He released Derek's hand, smiling at him once more before leaving the bathroom to rejoin his friends.
Derek was stunned, moving the hand that was just holding Stiles' up to his cheek. Slowly, a grin began to form across his face. Surprising Stiles was so worth it. Not only did he get all the snacks he wanted, he got a hug and a kiss as well. Quite frankly, he should think about surprising Stiles more often if this is what he got out of it.
Derek slipped back to his table to pay his bill before making his way back to the connecting train. He took a seat in the back car again, settling himself in for the next two hours. Soon enough the train started up again, leaving Derek to wonder just what Stiles had planned. He didn't have to wonder long when Lydia came rushing over to him.
"He's getting worried! He's convinced you're not answering your phone cause you're out with some woman. You need to call him. Text him or something. He looks so depressed!"
Derek gaped at the girl. 'So this was his plan…' Just then, he heard his phone ring in his pocket.
"Is that him?" Derek glanced at his cell and nodded. "Well, answer it," she ordered.
Derek tapped his phone. "Uh, hey Stiles."
"Oh good! Derek! You answered! I was getting worried. Thought maybe something happened to you."
"Uh, nope. I'm fine. Everything's… fine."
"Are you alone?"
"Um…" he glanced at Lydia. "Not… exactly."
"So you are with another woman!"
He said it so loud that the girl could hear it herself through the receiver. Her eyes went wide and she shook her head, signaling to Derek he should say no.
"Uh- no. I'm not with anyone. I meant… I was gonna go… to the dentist? Yeah? I'm in the waiting room and there are people here so technically I'm… not alone." He mentally berated himself. He couldn't exactly think of something clever, not with the way Lydia was scrutinizing him.
He heard Stiles laugh on the other end of the line. "Well, that's good to know. I guess all those treats are giving you cavities."
This time Derek had to chuckle. "I'll have you know, I take good care of my teeth because of all those treats you feed me."
Stiles was quiet over the line for a second. Then, "I miss you."
Derek felt himself warm all over, a smile overcoming him. "I miss you, too."
"I'll let you go now. Can't keep those pesky cavities waiting."
Again, Derek glanced at Lydia. "Guess not."
"Bye Derek!"
"Bye Stiles. Have fun on your trip."
"It's better already."
Derek was grinning when the connection ended. He reeled it back in as Lydia studied him carefully.
"The dentist? Really?"
Derek just shrugged. "He seemed to buy it."
She studied him some more through narrowed eyes before she let out a gasp. "He knows!"
Derek blinked. "What?"
"He knows! Of course he knows. It was so weird that he suddenly got so upset. I mean, sure, he wasn't exactly chipper this morning whenever we mentioned you, but it just got so bad when we got back on the train. When did he find out? Did you tell him? I bet it was when he went to the bathroom. Did he call you then, you sneaky-"
"I didn't tell him," Derek frowned. "Not technically anyway. I was at the restaurant when you all decided to go to the same one. I went to the bathroom, he called me and heard my phone go off."
"Ugh," she groaned. "Not only is the surprised ruined, we didn't even get to see his reaction. You know, watching you two is almost as fluffy as a Korean drama."
"You mean without the need for subtitles?"
"Subtitles?" she scoffed with a wave of her hand. "I learned Korean with my downtime back in junior high."
Derek just blinked again. This girl was seriously fascinating.
"Anyway, now that the surprise is ruined and since it's partly your fault, you're gonna stay here while I play with him some more."
"Wait, what?"
"Well, he knows that you're here, but he doesn't know that I know that he knows. It's time for a little payback." And with a flip of her hair, she made her way back to the other car.
Derek rolled his eyes and slumped back into his seat. 'All I wanted was to enjoy a nice little trip with my friend.'
It wasn't long after that Stiles came through the door, running over to Derek. "They think I'm in the bathroom so I have to make this quick," he breathed out, not stopping to sit. "Did you really go out with some brunette three weeks ago? Lydia swore she saw you when she and Jackson went out to the movies. I mean-" he flushed. "Not that it's really a big deal. It's not really any of my business if you did. I mean, I was just curious and-"
"Stiles," Derek said, calming his friend, placing his hand over one of his. "No. There was no brunette. I don't even know what she's talking about. I haven't gone to the movies in over a month now."
Stiles sighed in relief, patting the hand on top of his own. "Okay. Good. I mean, not good, but… wait," he frowned. "Does she know that I know?" He glanced at Derek. "She knows that I know?! Derek!"
"I didn't tell her. She just figured it out and then walked away-"
"Ooh, that sneaky… Well she doesn't know that I know that she knows that I know. Stay here. I'm gonna go get her back."
"Stiles, no- wait-"
But it was no use. The boy was already running back to the other car. Derek buried his face in his hands, shaking his head in disbelief. Surprisingly – or not surprisingly – this happened two more times. After Stiles had retreated, it was Lydia who came rushing back demanding to know what Derek had told him. Then it was Stiles' turn to ask him about some comment Lydia had made.
Eventually, he got a text from an unknown number.
Hey Derek. It's Isaac. They're just arguing back and forth now. You should just come up and join us.
Derek sighed in relief. He couldn't keep up with who knew what about knowing who and whatnot. He picked up his stuff and made his way to the next car. Sure enough, the pair were sitting across from each other making snarky comments as the others watched on in amusement. Derek slid into the seat next to Isaac, across from where Allison and Scott sat distracted.
"Hey Derek," both Isaac and Allison greeted.
"Hey," he nodded.
Scott snapped his head to look at the person sitting across from him. "Dude! Mr. Hale! You're here!" Scott grinned, his face wide with surprise. "Guys! Look who's here! It's funny cause we've been talking about you all day."
Both Isaac and Allison stifled chuckles. Allison patted the confused boy on the leg before resting her head on his shoulder.
Scott frowned. "Did I miss something?"
/\/\/\
Once they arrived, they all gathered into taxis to take them out to the house. It was actually pretty amazing out. The sun was shining, while snow glistened, reflecting its light. It was chilly enough for Derek to wrap a scarf around his neck and slip on some gloves, but not so cold that he needed to seriously bundle up. And now that the air was clear, Derek finally got to sit next to Stiles as he happily munched on the homemade granola bars Stiles had given to him. As they filed out of the cars and made their way up the driveway, Jackson decided it was time to figure out sleeping arrangements.
"So obviously Lydia and I get the master-"
"Wait. Why 'obviously'?" Danny frowned.
"Because. We pitched in the most to get this place and it was Lydia's idea to begin with," he snapped. Danny just rolled his eyes. "The other room goes to Allison cause her dad's friends are letting us use their trucks while we're here." Jackson unlocked the door and led the way in. "So obviously, she's bunking with Scott."
"Wait. Why 'obviously'?" she said in mock confusion. At Scott's shocked expression, she pulled him into the house, giving him a little kiss to ease it away.
"Ew," Jackson groaned. "Take it upstairs." He turned to the others. "There's one more bedroom, but it's a small one."
"Derek can take that one," Lydia offered, before slipping in past Jackson. "He is the oldest one."
Derek didn't know if he should take that as a sign of respect or as a jab at his age.
"Which leaves the air mattress and the futon. Two of you will need to share the futon," the blonde explained.
"I don't mind taking the futon if neither of you mind sharing with me," Stiles shrugged, looking between Isaac and Danny before stepping inside to set his stuff down.
Derek frowned, opening his mouth to say something, but Isaac cut him off.
"I'll share with you, Stiles," he said, nonchalantly.
He followed the boy in, but Derek grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him back out. "I'll take the futon with Stiles, Danny can have the bedroom, and you can sleep on the air mattress," he directed, settling the matter before brushing past the other two to go inside. He didn't miss the knowing smirks both Isaac and Danny shared.
Stiles looked at him curiously as Derek dropped his bag next to the folded futon. "What? You don't want the room?"
Derek hid his blush by pretending to rifle through his stuff. "I let Danny have it… as thanks for inviting me," he lied.
"Hey, technically I invited you first."
Derek glanced up. "You'd rather have the room?" While Derek would like to share the futon with Stiles, he would still be all right with him getting the room because it meant no one else would be sleeping with him.
Stiles just shrugged. "Eh. What's done is done. I'm fine with this. It's not like we haven't shared a bed before. Or a couch," he winked, playfully.
It was true. And now with the futon, it was like a strange blending of the two.
Slipping his scarf and his gloves off and setting them off to the side, Derek took the opportunity to explore the house. The futon he was sharing was in the living room, placed just in front of the fireplace. Derek would have thought it could be romantic if Isaac hadn't decided to set up his mattress no more than ten feet away from them. Derek could swear Isaac was being insufferable on purpose just to mess with him. Also on the first floor was the den with a huge wrap-around couch in front of a big screen TV. The kitchen was also large with an island in the middle and the dining table sitting not too far from it. A sliding door led out to the back porch where both a pool and the Jacuzzi lay covered. Jackson was already out there, familiarizing himself with the settings. There was one bathroom on the first floor and two bathrooms up the stairs with the three bedrooms. All in all, it was a nice place.
Another feature that Derek soon found out about was the large backyard. All eight of them were currently outside. Danny had been right about the war Lydia had been planning. It was actually a good excuse of the eight of them to stretch their legs after being cooped up for so many hours. Somehow Derek found himself building a make-shift fort with his new teammates: Isaac, Scott and Jackson.
"Look. Clearly we have the strength. We can just march right up there, over-power them, take the tennis ball and have hot chocolate within ten minutes flat," Derek shrugged.
"I'm with him," Jackson nodded. "Look who they have. The two girls, Stilinski and Danny. The four of us can easily take them on."
"I don't know," Scott frowned. "Lydia's pretty smart and so is Stiles. I'm sure they've got something up their sleeves."
Jackson scoffed. "Please. I play Call of Duty with Lydia all the time. She doesn't care about this stuff. I beat her all the time."
This time it was Scott who scoffed. "You beat her or she let you win?"
Jackson was about to retort but then bit his tongue, thinking about it.
"Okay fine, Scott. What do you suggest we do?" Derek looked to the messy-haired boy.
"Well they're probably expecting a frontal attack. I think maybe we should try to flank them."
Derek nodded, taking this into consideration. "We'll split up. Go off in pairs. Isaac and I will take down the front and you and Jackson can slip in behind them. All three of you have lacrosse skills so I'm sure you can dodge a few snowballs, no problem. Sound good?"
Scott still didn't seem too sure, but he nodded in acceptance anyway.
"Isaac, you see anything?" he whispered to the boy perched in a tree.
"No. They disappeared behind the trees over there and I haven't seen movement since."
"How much time is left?"
Jackson glanced at his watch. "Just two more minutes before we start."
"Okay. Isaac, come on down. Scott, go bury the ball over by those logs."
The younger boy scampered off to do as he was told while Isaac lithely slipped back down to the ground.
"You guys ready?" Jackson asked, looking at his watch again. "Let's go!"
Derek and Isaac leapt over their wall of snow as Scott and Jackson took off to the side. Armed with a snowball in each hand, the two of them scurried off in the direction of the trees where the other team had disappeared. Derek went from tree to tree, ducking behind one as he made his approach with Isaac following his trail. He was finally able to see the fort the other team had put up. Derek smirked. This was gonna be cake.
Derek charged ahead, leaping over the fort wall, expecting to see someone trying to defend their home base. But, surprisingly, the area was clear. Derek stood upright, looking around, confused.
"Where are they?" Isaac asked, coming to a stop just behind Derek.
"I don't…" A sound suddenly caught his ear. Then it dawned on him. "Isaac, it's a trap!"
Both boys tried to leap out of the way in their sudden realization, but it was too late. Soon they were bombarded by snowballs, courtesy Lydia Martin and Stiles Stilinski, both of which had been hiding under a snowdrift. Having been sufficiently pulverized, both Isaac and Derek rolled their eyes and put their hands up in surrender.
Lydia was smirking. "Well, Stiles, I must admit. You were right."
"He does this every time we play a video game together. Just barges right in without thinking things through. Isn't that right, my grumpy little captive?" Stiles cooed, throwing an arm around Derek's shoulder.
Derek just gave him a withering look while Isaac just snorted in derision.
Not too long later, Danny came jogging up, a tennis ball in his hand. "You guys were right. They tried to hide it by that fallen log."
Lydia chuckled this time. "It's just like a pack of puppies to hide their ball next to their stick."
"Damn it, Scott!"
All five of them turned to look in the direction of Jackson's yell. The blonde came storming up, looking none too pleased, his hands up signaling he'd already been hit. Both Scott and Allison were following closely behind.
"No luck?" Isaac asked.
"None, no thanks to him," he glared at Scott. "The ball was right there, Scott. I went for it, but Allison was guarding it. And then Scott had a chance to grab it, but he decided to fraternize with the enemy instead."
"To be fair, she's a really sexy enemy," Scott shrugged, earning himself a playful ruffle of his hair.
"Ha!" Stiles laughed. "I knew putting Allison as guard would work!"
Scott gasped, looking at his girlfriend. "You duped me?"
She just gave him an apologetic smile, scrunching up her shoulders. "Sorry, but there's no room for love in war."
Jackson rolled his eyes and let out a huff. "I'm switching teams."
/\/\/\
The next few matches were a bust for Derek as well. Even when he tried a new maneuver, both Stiles and Lydia were able to outwit him and his team. He even tried a few tactics from Scott and Isaac, but they were all failures. They all eventually realized that it was a march into death with Stiles and Lydia paired up. Together, they were able to outwit anyone. Splitting them up was the only time Derek, Danny and Isaac caught a win for their team. With Lydia as their strategist, she was able to anticipate many moves the other team could come up with. Stiles was pretty successful too, but at the end of the day, Lydia was the clear winner.
Eventually, they all just stopped plotting things out and just went full-on snowball fight. It was the only time Derek was sort of on Stiles' team. Of course, he threw a few of them at the boy, but shortly after found himself taking a few hits to save him from a spiteful Jackson and an overly excited Scott.
Stiles laughed as snow splattered across Derek's shoulder. He threw his arms around Derek's neck and pulled him in for a hug. "My heeeeero!" Derek would have been warmed by the act if Stiles hadn't shoved a freshly packed snowball into his nicely coiffed hair seconds later. Derek retaliated by pushing him back down into the snow and proceeding to bury him in it. Stiles just laughed the whole way, kicking his legs to try to break free.
"It's cold! It's cold!"
"Now you know how my head feels!" Derek eased up when all you could see were Stiles' legs poking out of the pile. He laughed, patting himself on the back after a job well done.
Legs well stretched and energy well spent, Allison's dad's friends finally arrived to drop off the trucks, giving a few of them a chance to go out to buy some groceries. Scott, Stiles and Lydia went out to do the shopping while Isaac and Derek tried to start a fire. Jackson and Danny were determined to put that Jacuzzi to good use, starting it up to get the water heated, while Allison showed the other two how to properly start a fire.
She smirked. "Six years of Girl Scouts, never gone to waste," she winked at the boys, tossing the poker to Isaac before walking away.
Once the others arrived with groceries, they all helped here in there with dinner, but Stiles was ultimately the one who did most of the cooking. And finally, after a nice meal together, Jackson declared the Jacuzzi ready. They had all changed into their bathing suits and hopped in, letting the hot water relax their muscles and let them unwind.
"I'm gonna get something to drink," Stiles said after a while, thoroughly soaked. "Anyone want anything?"
"I'll help you," Derek offered, moving to follow him out.
"No, no," Danny abruptly stood, pushing Derek to sit back down. "Allow me. I'll help Stiles," he smiled. "Come on, Scott. You help too."
"Uh, okay."
Derek frowned, watching the three of them climb out. His eyes immediately fell on Stiles and his wet skin and how his wet bathing suit was clinging to all the right places and-
"Derek."
Feeling a splash of water hit his face, Derek snapped his attention back to the people still in the hot tub. "What?"
"Let me be frank," Lydia started off. "Why exactly haven't you put the moves on our precious Stiles yet?"
Derek blinked. "Excuse me?"
"There's no point in denying it," Isaac said. "We can all see how much you care about him."
"Yeah, ever since that lunch we all had together, it was clear how much you wanted his attention all to yourself," Lydia added.
"And every time we've seen you two together since, you've just looked less and less… well… grumpy," Allison smiled.
"Quite frankly, it's sickening," Jackson drawled.
"Jackson, shut up," Lydia frowned, splashing her boyfriend in the face. "What he means to say is since it's so obvious, what's keeping you from making this official already?"
Derek splashed his own face with water, rubbing his eyes, wondering if he was really having this conversation in a hot tub. When he opened his eyes again, they were all looking to him for his answer. Derek sighed. "Look, sure. I know how I feel. And I know how he makes me feel. But…" he shook his head.
"Oh please don't tell me you don't know how he feels," Lydia groaned.
"Well, it's true."
"Oh my God…" was the collective sound from all four of others.
"Derek," Isaac said, leaning forward. "That guy. He's crazy about you."
"Like insane."
"Jackson, really?" Lydia frowned. The boy just shrugged.
"Really though, Derek. Stiles is always like ten times happier when you're around. I mean, he's Stiles so he almost always acts happy. But ever since you, he really seems to be it."
Derek looked at Allison, letting her words sink in.
"I said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm rooting for you. I think we all are," Lydia urged. "For whatever reason, you seem to be good for Stiles. And I think he's good for you too."
"We're not saying to jump his bones this very second," Isaac said.
"Please don't," Jackson scoffed. The other three just rolled their eyes.
"We just think that you guys should just save yourself all this time dancing around each other and just admit what's been there all along," he finished off.
Derek looked at the four of them, then to the boy on the other side of the sliding door. He let this all sink in, turning his gaze to his hands under the water. 'They're basically telling me that if I admit my feelings to Stiles right now, he'd accept and return them…' The idea sent Derek's heart pounding. 'These are his closest friends and not only do they accept me, but they accept what I feel for him.' Derek brought his gaze back up to Stiles, laughing with Scott in the kitchen. 'Does he really care about me as much as they say he does?'
Finally he turned his attention back to the other four. "I hear what you're saying. And yes, there have been times where I think maybe he likes me back-" at this, Lydia tried to speak up, but Derek cut her off "-but I need to know for sure. I need to know without a single doubt that he feels for me what I feel for him because I am not ready to lose him if I'm wrong."
"But you're not wrong," Lydia groaned out.
"Has he said specifically that he likes me?"
"Well, no-"
"See-"
"-But he doesn't have to! All you have to do is just look at him! Just one look at him looking at you and you can see the world in his eyes."
"Look, I will tell him how I feel, okay? But on my own terms."
"How's tomorrow sound?" she asked simply.
Derek furrowed his brows together. "What?"
"Tomorrow. We'll arrange it so you have the perfect opportunity to tell him. Ooh, you can have a little lunch date together."
"I'm not gonna tell him tomorrow just because you arrange it-"
"So you don't want a lunch date with Stiles?" Isaac asked, sarcasm clearly dripping in his words.
"I didn't say that," Derek seethed. Considering all the activities they'd all be doing together, Derek quickly found out it would be hard to get any alone time with Stiles at all on this trip. If they were willing to arrange some, there was no way he was going to turn it down. "But," he added. "If and only if the opportunity feels right, then I'll tell him."
Again, Lydia groaned, but it seemed good enough.
"Hey," Jackson spoke up. "You think Stiles will jump in the pool if I dare him to?" They all turned incredulous stares at the blonde. "What?" He frowned. "You don't think he will?"
"Jackson, really?" Lydia scoffed.
"Really, what?" Scott said, shuffling back outside, trying to balance three drinks in his hands. He handed one to Isaac and Allison before slipping back in between the two.
"Hey Stilinski!" Jackson yelled, just as the boy was making his way back outside with three drinks of his own in his hands.
"What?" he barked, handing one to him, the other to Lydia and the third to Derek.
"Go jump in the pool."
Stiles balked. "Are you kidding me? That thing is freezing. I can literally see ice floating." He took his own cup from Danny once the boy had slipped back outside, making sure to close the door behind him.
Danny climbed back in next to Lydia. "What's going on?"
"Stiles is about to do something stupid," she commentated.
"Am not," he frowned, getting ready to climb back in next to Derek.
Jackson smirked. "I dare you."
Stiles froze in place, eyes narrowing at the blonde. "You dare me?"
"Mm-hmm," he grinned smugly.
"See? Stupid." Lydia shrugged.
"Hold my drink," Stiles said, handing the cup to Derek, though keeping his eyes locked on Jackson.
"Stiles don't do it. It's cold," Derek tried. This didn't seem like such a good idea. "You're already shivering."
"It's best just to let it play out," Scott said, shaking his head solemnly.
Stiles started breathing deeply through his mouth, preparing himself as he pulled the cover off just enough to jump in.
"Come on, Stiles," Jackson prodded. "Unless you're chicken."
"Well then why don't you do it too then, Jackson?" Isaac rolled his eyes.
Jackson clenched his jaw. "You know what? Fine. It's no big deal. I will." He handed his cup to Lydia and climbed out. "It's just some stupid water."
"Idiots. The both of them," Lydia shook her head in disbelief.
"Go first," Jackson said, giving Stiles a little push.
"Don't push me," he frowned, pushing Jackson in return.
"Stiles, don't-"
The two started smacking each other until they both just tumbled into the freezing water.
"Holy shit!" Jackson cried, scrambling to get out.
Stiles was right behind him, both breathing through their teeth now. The both leapt into the hot tub, submerging themselves in the water.
Stiles slipped in next to Derek leaning against him for extra warmth.
Derek rolled his eyes, draping his arm over the edge of the Jacuzzi, allowing Stiles to edge closer. "That accomplished nothing. You feel better about yourself?"
Stiles just snorted. "I do actually," he smirked, taking his cup back from the older boy.
/\/\/\
As it got later and later into the night, they all went back inside, taking quick showers before getting ready for bed after a long day. While Stiles was off taking his own shower after Derek had just finished his, his phone began to ring. Derek checked the ID. It was Uncle I Hope Insanity Isn't Hereditary.
"Hey Peter."
"Hey baby boy, how's it going?"
"I told you to stop calling me that."
"And I told you that that's never gonna happen."
Derek sighed. "Did you need something?"
"What? Like I need a reason to call my adorable nephew?"
He tried again. "Did you need something?"
"Vacation spots. As much as you want to stay home with the little baker boy, I'd much prefer to spend time with you sipping some random, colorful drink out of a coconut with an umbrella in it. So come on. You can take a few days away from him. You're not gonna die."
"Oh…" Derek ran a hand through his still damp hair. "Actually… I'm technically already on vacation."
"Derek, how many times do I have to tell you. A tub of ice cream and a History channel marathon on some obscure battle that happened a billion years ago is not a vacation."
"That was one time!"
"Still counts."
Derek huffed. "No, okay. I'm not home. I'm in Bear Valley."
"Bear Valley? What are you doing in Bear Valley?"
"Vacationing."
He heard Peter sigh in exasperation. "I liked you better when you used to poop on yourself."
Derek rolled his eyes. "Stiles and his friends invited me up. So, I agreed, okay?"
"You're with Stiles? I thought we were gonna vacation together! The three of us! One big happy family. Tahitian dancers, Derek. Fast. Hips!"
"We can go in the summer or something."
"In monsoon season, I don't think so. You know what that does to my hair."
"We'll do something together, I promise."
"Mm-hmm."
"In the mean time, it's getting late and we had a long day travelling. So good night, Peter. Love you."
"Love you too, baby boy."
Derek just scoffed at the nickname, ending the call before sticking his phone on his charger. He felt a bit bad for not mentioning it to Peter sooner but it would be all right once they got back. He was sure Peter was gonna do what he wanted and kidnap him anyway. He actually wouldn't be surprised if he ended up buying the coffee shop while they were away just to make sure he could take Stiles with them. And now that he thought about it, Derek was sort of hoping that his uncle was crazy enough to do it.
Derek pulled out his laptop, ready to record the day's events. He was just about to open the file when it dawned on him.
'Tomorrow could potentially be the last day of this. If things go well during the lunch, I just might… he just might…'
"Whatcha working on?"
Derek snapped out of his thoughts as Isaac came up behind him. "No-nothing."
The boy snorted. "Yeah. Sure. Dear Diary, Stiles looked so cute today in his blue plaid."
Derek scowled at the blonde. "You sure you feel like sleeping there tonight? There's plenty of room in the den."
Isaac just laughed. "Why? It's not like anything is gonna happen in here."
Derek tried to leer him into submission as he had been able to before, but it didn't seem to be working this time around. Derek inwardly frowned. 'Have I lost my edge?'
"I'd ask you to keep it down, but I guess there's no real need to, huh?" he teased, laying himself down on the mattress with his hands behind his head, the smuggest of grins donning his lips.
Derek just scowled again before putting his laptop away, turning his back to Isaac, and pulling his blanket up over his shoulder.
"They say you should never go to bed angry, Derek," Isaac called.
"I will physically smother you in your sleep," he growled out in response. He just heard the boy laugh some more before hearing the mattress squeak as he adjusted himself for bed.
Stiles popped in, running a towel over his head before draping it over a chair off to the side.
Derek propped himself up on one elbow, trying to see clearly in the firelight. "Stiles? Is that my shirt?"
The boy looked down then grinned. "I told you, I like it. It's comfy." He crouched down over his things only to reappear with a bundle in his arms.
Derek chuckled, seeing the familiar wolf. "Really?"
"What?" Stiles frowned. "Where I go, he goes."
"You got that right."
Derek pursed his lips, before launching a pillow at the boy lying down nearby. Isaac just laughed again.
"What was that?" Stiles asked, looking between them.
"Ignore him," Derek said, shaking his head. He settled back down as Stiles climbed in next to him. "You okay? You need another blanket?"
"I should be fine."
"That's what you said last time."
"Well this time I've got my own thick blanket, the heater's on, and we've even got our own crackling fire to keep our feet warm. I think I'll be okay. Actually, scratch that." Stiles got back up, slid open the doors of the fireplace and grabbed the poker. He shifted the logs around so that they were separated before grabbing the shovel to douse the flame in ash. Satisfied, he put both tools away before making sure the doors were firmly shut. He looked to Derek while brushing his hands off on his pants. "Just… a precaution."
Derek hadn't even really been aware of it, but when the act was done, he felt a bit of tension release from his shoulders, realizing how anxious the burning fire had subconsciously made him. He glanced at the glowing embers, then back to Stiles, marveling in the thoughtfulness of this boy and how he could know him so well when it seemed he hardly knew himself.
Stiles climbed back onto the futon and settled down on his side to face Derek, one arm draped around Sourwolf and his other pillowing his head. He smiled. "I'm really glad you came," he whispered.
"I'm glad Greenburg didn't," he whispered back.
Stiles chuckled. "Today was fun."
"Mm-hmm."
"Tomorrow's gonna be fun, too."
Derek slowly nodded. "Yeah… hopefully tomorrow will be perfect."
"You and me in the snowy mountains? How can it not be?"
Derek smiled softly. "Yeah…" He stared at the face in front of him, memorizing every detail. He felt his hand move up, wanting to trace over his features, to caress the soft skin of his cheek. But he restrained himself, choosing to settle it over Stiles' hand instead. Stiles flipped his hand around, interlacing their fingers, giving Derek's a tiny squeeze. Derek sighed, contently, rubbing his thumb against the hand in his. "Good night, Stiles."
Stiles smiled softly in return. "Good night, Derek."
As Derek was soon lulled to sleep by the warmth spreading over his body, he couldn't help but wonder just what tomorrow would bring. No matter what the result, at least he had this night to be with the boy he loved.
Notes: I think as much as you like somebody, if your friends just can't accept them, then there's a problem. I mean, of course you should love who you love but if all of your friends have nothing but bad things to say, that should at least spark a warning signal, no? So it's important that Stiles' friends accept Derek because they care about Stiles' well-being and only want what's best for him. And in this case, that's Derek.
And okay, so Stiles' surprise wasn't as glamorous as one might've hoped for, but I think Derek was perfectly fine with the way it turned out anyway and that's all that matters. It also makes me wonder what if there was someone else in another stall? And please don't peek over the stall walls. That's just a huge social taboo. So boo on you Stiles.
I like to think Peter keeps calling Derek 'baby boy' because he knows it bothers him so much, but also because even though he's not his baby, he's still his baby. He loves to smother his niece and nephew as cool Uncle Peter, but also as much as if they were his own. Gah! More Hale family feels!
Oh and please don't jump into freezing pools on a dare and then jump into a hot Jacuzzi afterward. You should let your body warm up first. So basically, Stiles and Derek should have canoodled and cuddled before he jumped back into the hot tub. Haha. Maybe tomorrow.