Baking My Way Into Your Heart

by theSilence

AU No wolves. College fic. Derek is an uptight college student, all work and no play. His carefully scheduled life is thrown kilter when his regular barista is replaced with someone new. Sterek. Fluffiness. Slow-burn.

18. Interference - Part III

Baking My Way Into Your Heart – Interference Part III

Derek woke up early that morning feeling a little chilly. He sat up, got his bearings, and easily figured out why. It had nothing to do with the heater. It was still blowing at a warm enough temperature to feel comfortable underneath a blanket. If you had a blanket. Of which Derek did not. The sneaky little blanket bandit had struck again.

'How did he even do it?' Derek wondered, looking at where their hands were still joined. He smiled, rubbing his thumb against the back of Stiles' hand. 'You know… I could really get used to this. Waking up next to you.' He sighed. 'Actually… I think I already am.' Gently, he brought the warm palm to his lips, giving it a soft kiss.

Derek yawned, and with great reluctance, let go of the hand in his to stretch and rub the sleep out of his eyes. He looked around, trying to find a clock or something to figure out what time it was. In the dim light, he could see it was almost six on the wall clock hanging nearby. A creature of habit, Derek wondered how he might be able to get a morning workout in. Jogging would be dangerous considering he could slip on black ice. He supposed he could just go over to the den and workout in there. He was just about to do so when he spotted Isaac shift from where he was on his air mattress.

Derek scowled at the sleeping boy, remembering the teasing he did last night. 'I liked him better when he still feared me a little.' He rubbed the stubble on his chin, an idea hatching. 'Technically, it's not mean. I'm just asserting my authority is all,' he rationalized. 'Plus, it might be a good workout for my arms.'

Derek slid off the futon, doing his best not to stir its other occupant. He went over to his duffle bag, slipped on some socks and a sweater before putting his plan into action.

/\/\/\

About a half an hour later, Danny came downstairs.

"Morning Derek," he greeted.

Derek was standing over by the sliding door, arms crossed over his chest. He looked over his shoulder and nodded at the Hawaiian boy. "Morning."

"What are you looking at?" he asked, curiously, walking up next to the older boy to look out the sliding door. Danny gasped. "Is that-?"

"Mm-hmm."

Danny laughed, before running back up the stairs. Derek could faintly hear the boy trying to wake up his best friend.

"Mornin'," he heard uttered out as it was caught in a yawn.

Derek looked over his other shoulder, smiling when he spotted the sleepy Stiles shuffling over to him in a cocoon of blankets. "Good morning, Stiles."

"You wan' coffee?" he murmured.

"Please?"

Stiles yawned again as he made his way into the kitchen to brew a pot.

Derek returned his gaze back outside. "I hope you don't mind. I had to steal my blanket back from you."

Stiles flushed. "I stole it again?"

Derek merely nodded. "It's okay. I let Isaac borrow it."

From the corner of his eye, Derek saw Stiles look around. "Yeah, hey. Where is Isaac? Did he move to the den?"

"Nope."

"There, there! Look!" Danny said as he came back into the room, grinning as he dragged a sleepy Jackson over to where Derek was standing. He pointed outside.

Jackson's face grimaced in confusion. He rubbed his eyes, blinked a few times then burst into laughter. He turned to Derek, patting him heartily on the back. "Welcome to the group, man. Glad to have you."

Derek snorted. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Both Jackson and Danny just laughed some more.

Stiles made his way over, curious as to what they were laughing at. Derek heard him gasp as he took a step forward to get a better look at what was outside. Or in this case, who. Stiles then began to laugh, which in turn made the other two laugh all over again.

"How- how long has he been- out there?" Danny managed to ask between chuckles.

Derek glanced over to the clock in the kitchen. "Maybe 10 minutes."

"Look, look! He's moving!" Jackson said, excitedly.

"Probably waking up from the cold," Stiles added. "God, I hope he doesn't roll over."

"Oh please let him roll over!" Jackson countered.

The coffeemaker beeped, catching Stiles' attention. With the experience of a barista during rush hour, he quickly made four cups of coffee, balanced all four mugs in his hands, before returning to Derek's side and passing the mugs to his friends.

Derek smiled, sipping his brew. "Thank you."

Stiles smiled back. "You're welcome."

"What are you guys looking at?" Derek looked over his shoulder again to see Lydia making her way over to the boys, rubbing her eyes. "Danny, you're so noisy…"

Jackson wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her over, kissing her temple. "Derek pushed Isaac outside on the air mattress."

Lydia did a double take. "Into the pool?" She smirked, looking up at the older man. "You are devious. You'll fit right in."

Derek just snorted.

"Coffee?" Stiles asked the girl.

"Please and thank you," she smiled as Stiles hurried back into the kitchen.

From where they all stood, they saw Isaac's face contort into a grimace.

"What's going on? What's with all the racke-"

"Allison, hurry and look!" Lydia said, grabbing the sleepy girl's wrist and pulling her over.

"Oh my God, is that Isaac?" she asked, suddenly no longer sleepy.

"Yeah. Derek pushed him out into the pool," Danny laughed.

"Derek?" She glanced at him, smiling. "I was not expecting that. Oh thanks," she smiled again at Stiles, who handed both her and Lydia a fresh cup of coffee.

Derek just shrugged.

Then, Isaac eyes began to open, a frown still firmly in place. A second later, the boy jerked up, forcing the mattress to teeter precariously.

"Oh, please, please, please," Jackson chanted.

Isaac froze, steadying his makeshift raft.

"Damn," the blonde muttered.

Isaac looked around, confused, until his eyes landed on the group of people watching him from behind the glass. A look of realization came over him and he mocked laughter. "Someone get me out of here! It's cold!" He yelled, his voice tinny through the glass.

Derek snickered, handing Stiles his mug. He walked back outside, closing the door behind him to keep the warmth inside. He made his way over to the edge of the pool and looked at Isaac with an amused grin. "Quite the predicament, huh?"

"You did this?" Isaac asked, slightly amused and very surprised. Derek didn't have to answer. The smirk on his face already answered it for him. The blonde boy pulled his blanket tighter over his shoulders. "Well what are you waiting for? Help me out," he frowned, feeling bold enough to splash some water in Derek's direction. He blew on his hand immediately after, the cold water intense.

Derek just took a step back to avoid the trickle. "You know, Jackson's in there hoping you fall in. I have no problem obliging." And for good measure – and to see if his authority over the boy had been fully reinstated – he glared at Isaac.

Isaac lowered his head. "All right, all right. Help me out, please?"

Derek smiled. 'That's more like it.' He walked over to where the leaf sweeper was and held it out to the boy in the middle of the pool. Isaac graciously grabbed it and was pulled in. Once he was close enough, Derek held a hand out, helping Isaac off the mattress and back on solid ground.

Isaac finally laughed, patting Derek on the back. "Man, you're cruel. What if I did fall in?"

"Don't worry. I watched an episode of Man Vs. Wild. I know what to do in this situation. The water's not frozen on the top so that's a good sign right there."

Isaac just shook his head. "Am I allowed to go inside now? I'm freezing my ass off."

'Asking permission?' Derek smirked, leading the way back in. 'My plan worked better than I thought.'

/\/\/\

Scott was pouting. "Why didn't anyone wake me?"

"Cause you're the devil," Stiles hissed, ruffling his friend's hair.

Scott swatted him away and tried feebly to fix it. "Am not."

"You are," Stiles said, matter-of-factly. "Ask Derek."

Scott looked to the older boy.

"It's true," Derek nodded.

"You're just saying that cause he's your boyfriend."

There was no point in denying it, despite it not being true. They all seemed to think so anyway. "Scott, you bit me last time."

"Ew. I hope you got checked for rabies," Jackson grimaced.

"Still," the messy-haired boy frowned. "I woulda liked seeing Isaac floating around in the middle of the pool."

"There's always next time," Danny snickered.

"No next time," Isaac scowled, punching his friend on the shoulder. "We could just push you out there, Mahealani."

"Try it and fail," Jackson drawled, pushing Isaac away.

"If you're all done, we're next," Lydia said, and with a flip of her hair, made her way over to the rental counter.

After a quick breakfast, the eight of them all gathered into the two cars to make their way to the ski resort. Scott was apparently disappointed when he found out about the morning's shenanigans he missed out on, but he quickly bounced back once they got their gear. Like Derek, it would be his first time snowboarding too.

"I'll help you," Stiles offered Derek, lacing up his boots.

"You sure? You don't want to do down the expert trails with your friends?"

The boy smirked. "I have a feeling, watching you fall down several times is going to be much more fun."

Derek snorted. "Gee thanks. I'm glad you have such faith in my failure." Stiles just grinned. "But seriously. Go with your friends. Scott and I will be fine."

"Mr. Hale is gonna get us a private instructor," Scott beamed excitedly, coming up behind the older boy and throwing an arm around his shoulder. "We'll be pros in no time."

Stiles just shrugged, smiling to himself as he tied off his other boot. "Well, no pressure. Everyone falls their first time. My ass and my knees were crazy sore at the end of the day."

Derek had to hide his blush.

"No one wants to hear about your sex life, Stilinski," Jackson snickered, punching the boy in the arm before running out the door, snowboard under one arm, Danny and Isaac laughing as they followed closely behind.

"Oh ha ha, guys!" Stiles called after them, shaking his head.

"You walked right into that one," Lydia shrugged, giving Stiles a kiss on the cheek before following the boys.

"Okay, you sure you got this?" Allison asked Scott, picking up her own board.

"We got this. Right, Mr. Hale?"

Derek looked out to the snow. How hard could it be? He nodded. "Yeah. We got this."

/\/\/\

As it turned out, Derek did have it. He was doing surprisingly well for his first time on a snowboard. He wasn't exactly excited about having this five foot piece of plastic stuck to his feet, but he easily got the hang of it. The instructor showed him and Scott how to find out which foot was their lead – in which Scott had a bit of fun shoving Derek and Derek having no problem shoving the younger boy in return. They learned how to shuffle along on the board, pushing themselves on one foot. Turning was a piece of cake, and although stopping took a second to really get, he still got it a lot sooner than his partner.

Half the time, Scott was just a mess. He turned left when he meant to go right, he stopped when he was supposed to glide, he tumbled downhill when he was instructed it was safer to fall facing uphill. But Derek had to give the guy credit. He never complained once and got right back up with every fall. He found a deep respect for Scott in seeing his determination and positivity.

Even when they finally were led to the lift up the bunny slope, getting off proved to be a challenge for the younger boy as the tiny slope sent him whisking away into a snowdrift. Derek stifled a laugh, but helped him up.

"Thanks, Mr. Hale," Scott grinned, grateful for the hand.

Once their hour was up with their instructor, together they tried an intermediate trail. Derek made his way down the hill swiftly and agilely, while the improving Scott managed to fall down only twice.

However, things somehow changed once Stiles and Allison joined them.

Scott seemed to puff up a bit, wanting to impress his girlfriend. And with the skill he hadn't had just ten minutes ago, Scott managed to board his way down the hill without a single fall, despite his wobbly legs. It was quite admirable.

Derek, on the other hand, couldn't seem to catch a break. Snowboarding near Stiles was dangerous because one second, Derek would be glancing at the smiling boy and the next second, he'd be toppling over a little bump that was certainly not there five seconds ago. Hell, even when they were stopped, Derek still managed to trip. The only consolation to his newfound misery was the pure elation it seemed to be giving Stiles. After a pretty gnarly face plant, Stiles glided over to Derek, offering him a helping hand.

"I'm good at this, I swear," Derek tried. "I didn't even fall once during the lesson."

"I believe you," Stiles said, patting Derek on the arm, although his smirk said he clearly did not.

"Really," Derek tried again. "I don't know what's going on. I was fine twenty minutes ago."

Stiles helped Derek back up on his feet, brushing off the excess snow on the older boy's jacket. "Derek, relax. We're here to have a good time. I'm having a good time. You should too."

Derek smiled softly, soaking in the brightness of his eyes. "I am having a good time."

Stiles grinned. "Good. Now let's go."

Derek watched as Stiles glided away, his lean frame weaving across the trail in expert form. He looked like he had been doing this for years. It made Derek think of the strong muscles he must have in his core and in his legs for him to stay so balanced and still look so good. Stiles glanced back in Derek's direction. Even from a way's away, he could still see the beam spread across his face. It made Derek's heart warm.

But that was quickly squelched as he found himself face planting once more from just standing there. Derek growled in frustration, wiping the snow off his goggles. Snowboarding just wasn't his thing.

As the morning wore on, Derek found a new thing to be happy about despite his incessant failures. With every fall, Stiles was right by his side, helping him up. And while he knew he shouldn't be taking advantage of his kindness, Derek couldn't help but let his hands linger once he stabilized himself with Stiles' help. He may or may not have fallen one or two times on purpose just to be able to lean into Stiles' sturdy frame. His hands may or may not have held his slim waist under the pretense of needed help to stand. Derek would have felt guilty over it, but Stiles was enjoying every second of it. And if it made Stiles happy, who was Derek to ruin his good time?

But it was with great relief that noon had fast approached. It meant freeing himself from this godforsaken board. He knew after all the falls he had taken, he'd be feeling it in the morning. It seemed he wouldn't even need a morning workout after this. It made Stiles' comment about his ass and knees make all the more sense.

The two headed over towards the main building where they had planned to meet with the others. They spotted the rest of the pack just outside.

"Hey Stiles. Let's go down the back trail one more time before we head out," Danny said, sliding over to the boy.

He glanced over at Derek. "Um, that's okay-"

"Go," Lydia piqued. "Derek's gonna take me and Allison back to the house now anyway."

Derek cocked an eyebrow. "I am?"

"How come?" Stiles asked.

"We're going to see that exhibit Lydia was talking about. Don't exactly want to go in all this gear," Allison shrugged.

"Aw, you're leaving?" Scott pouted.

"I'll see you later," she smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Isaac'll go with you for one last run."

"There's an intermediate trail down the same way," the blonde explained.

"But wait. What about lunch?" Stiles frowned.

"There's a place over at the lodge that's supposed to be good. We'll meet there," Lydia shrugged. "Now go play. We'll see you later."

And just like that, the two groups split up. Derek wondered if this was part of Lydia's master plan to get him and Stiles alone together on their secret lunch date. After returning their gear, Derek climbed in behind the wheel, taking the two girls back to the house.

"So, obviously, we're not going to lunch with you. Jackson already knows to drop Stiles off at the lodge and hightail it out of there."

Derek was skeptical. "What if he asks about you?"

"Get creative," she said with a wave of her hand. "Tell him… tell him we decided to have lunch closer to the exhibit."

"Besides," Allison chuckled from the back seat. "If it means lunch alone with you, I doubt he's even gonna question it."

Derek wished he were as confident as they were. Snowboarding almost made him forget about the upcoming lunch. But now that it was here, he found himself nervous yet excited at the same time. 'This is it. This could be it. If everything goes right, I'll finally be able to tell Stiles how I feel.'

"-so don't screw this up."

Derek blinked. "What?"

"Ugh," Lydia groaned. "You weren't even listening?"

"She said to make this chance count. After lunch, he and Scott are gonna be driving out to Tahoe for that concert," Allison repeated. "So this'll be your only chance to tell him today."

Derek scoffed. "No pressure."

Allison just patted him on the shoulder, smiling supportively at him through the rearview mirror.

Once they got back to the house and changed to outfits less bulky and more comfortable – in which Lydia verbally assaulted Derek's lack of dress shirt and blazer for the special event – Derek drove the girls to their destination in his usual attire with the addition of a warm and comfortable sweater. Alone in the car, he couldn't help but feel anxious the closer he got to the lodge. He made his way in and found a seat in the lounge near the entrance so he could immediately spot the boy once he arrived.

'This is it. Am I really gonna tell him how I feel? I mean, only if it feels right. God, how weird would it be if I just randomly blurted it out? Hey Stiles! By the way, I'm in love with you! How are the breadsticks?' Derek shook his head. 'That's… stupid.'

Derek tried to calm himself down. He tried to convince himself that this was just a lunch. Just a regular lunch with his friend. They'd had a handful of lunches together. This one would be no different.

'Except that it could be…'

Again, Derek shook his head, trying to clear it. He tried to relax into his chair as he idly flipped through a magazine that had been laid out on the table in front of him. Once he had finished with one, he started to drum his fingers on the armrest of his chair. Feeling a bit restless, he glanced at his watch. It was about one-thirty. Twenty minutes had passed since he arrived. He frowned. 'How long was that run?' He had taken time waiting for the girls to get ready and took even more time dropping them off. Stiles should've had plenty of time to get to the lodge between now and then. Derek tapped his fingers against his seat again, restless as he began chewing on his bottom lip. 'I'll call him. Just to see if he's on his way.'

Derek pulled out his phone and called his friend. There was no answer.

'Okay… maybe he's still on the hill. He can't hear his phone ringing cause he's zooming down the trail. But… he knows I'd be waiting for him. The guys would know, too…'

The guys. Derek glanced at his phone again, tossing it between his hands. After a few minutes, he tapped through his contacts, stopping on The Kid Who Bit Me.

"Yo, Mr. Hale. What's up?" Scott answered.

"Hey, how far away are you guys?"

"We're all the way across town."

"Oh. So how much longer before you drop off Stiles?"

Scott laughed. "What are you talking about, man? We already dropped him off. Isaac told me what was up and I gotta say, dude, you can tell me things. I'm not gonna blab to Stiles like everyone thinks I will. If you want some special alone time with Stiles, I'm all for it. Anyway, Danny told him that he really wanted to try this fancy burger joint on the other side of town and when Isaac asked him if he thought you'd want to come along, Stiles just shrugged and said it was okay and that he really wanted to try the lodge where he knew you'd be with the girls, but Allison just texted me so I know they're actually at the convention center so that you and Stiles cause have that date. I'm actually surprised. You guys aren't eating yet? I thought you'd be getting it on like those two dogs in Lady and the Tramp. Wait, so does that make you the Tramp?" Scott just snickered on his end of the line.

Derek let the words sink, trying to sift through everything the boy had said. "Hang on, when did you drop him off?"

"Umm… maybe half an hour ago?"

Derek frowned. 'That means he came here before me.' He stood up and looked around. "Oh... Maybe I just missed him. Thanks Scott."

"No problemo, Mr. Hale. Enjoy your lunch date," he cooed.

He just scoffed before hanging up. Derek took another look around, but didn't immediately spot the boy. He tried ringing him again. 'Come on, Stiles. Pick up.' While glancing around, the sound of a phone ringing caught his ear. It didn't grab his attention at first because it could've been anyone's phone. But then when Derek tried calling again and heard the phone ring again, he couldn't ignore it. He spun around, trying to follow the sound. And that's when he spotted a familiar jacket, draped across the back of chair near the elevators.

'That's the one he was wearing earlier…' Derek frowned, picking the article of clothing up. He dialed Stiles' cell once more and sure enough, the ringing was coming from inside one of the pockets. With the jacket in his hand, Derek looked around again. 'Maybe he went to the bathroom?'

Derek searched for the boy but had no luck. He tried the bathroom and the lounge. He tried the bar then the lobby. He even checked outside in the parking lot. He went to the restaurant to see if maybe he was already seated, but Stiles was nowhere to be found. Derek spent a good hour just checking and re-checking areas. He looked in every possible place just short of the kitchens and staff rooms. The fact that his jacket had been there while he was nowhere to be found was making Derek even more anxious than he had been on the drive over.

'He was here. But then where the hell did he go?' Derek ran his hand through his hair. 'What if… what if something happened to him? What if someone took him and now he's trapped in one of the rooms upstairs and is being held down against his will?' Oh, that thought made Derek downright angry. He was ready to make his way to every room to kick down every door to make sure that wasn't the case.

'No… no, no, no. Think, Derek. Think before you do something drastic.' After all his searching, it was now almost two hours since Stiles had been dropped off and Derek was feeling none more at ease. He paused, an idea coming to mind. Derek made his way to the front entrance with a plan. 'It's too early to report a missing person, but at least if I notify the police, they'll be able to keep an eye out for him.' He was just about to call Scott back to let him know what happened, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Derek! There you are! And you have my jacket."

Derek spun around, relief washing over him in hearing Stiles' voice. He was just about to hurry over to him, to wrap him in his arms, when he saw who Stiles was with. Derek blinked in disbelief. "Peter?"

"Hello Derek," Peter grinned at his nephew. "Surprise!"

"I was waiting for you in the lounge area when I saw Peter coming out of the elevator. He was just about to go out to lunch, too. He said he called you. Left you a message, telling you to meet us across the street."

Derek shifted his eyes over to his uncle. "Funny. I got no such call."

Peter grimaced, sucking in air between his teeth. "Oh man. You know what I think happened? I must have dialed the wrong number. I guess that happens when you get old, huh Derek?"

Despite the act, he knew his uncle was messing with him.

"Well why don't you boys come up? The suite I got for the night is amazing. You can see the lake from it and everything."

"Ooh-" Stiles perked.

"We can't," Derek huffed.

Stiles frowned. "Don't be such a Sour-"

"Stiles, it's already three. I need to get you back to the house so you and Scott can go to your concert tonight."

"Oh… that's right…" he slumped. "Oh, but what about you? You didn't get to eat yet, did you?"

"It's okay. Now that I know my dear old uncle is here, I'm sure he'll have no problem splurging on me over dinner tonight."

"Uh oh," Peter winced, leaning into Stiles' ear. "Looks like I might be in trouble."

"Come on, Stiles," Derek said, draping the jacket over the boy's shoulders before taking him by wrist and leading him out the door.

"Bye Peter! Thanks for lunch!" Stiles waved.

"Bye Stiles! If my company reports their CEO missing, tell them my nephew did it!"

Derek just glared at Peter over his shoulder before heading out to the car. Climbing into the driver's seat and buckling in, Derek shook his head. "What's he even doing here?"

Stiles clicked himself in. "He said he flew in for the night for a business meeting. He's taking the jet back to New York tomorrow."

Derek huffed. "How very… convenient for him."

"I know, right?" Stiles beamed. "What are the odds?"

Derek couldn't even comment. He didn't have the heart to tell Stiles about the blatant lie, the huge lack of coincidence and most definite scheming his uncle had pulled. His lunch had been ruined. He could have had a nice lunch with Stiles. Hell, he probably wouldn't have even minded a lunch with Stiles and Peter. But his uncle hid Stiles away, knowing that Derek would be looking for him. And now he was upset and hungry.

Derek frowned. He knew he couldn't be entirely mad at Peter. He didn't know what the lunch meant. Or what it could have meant. Peter was just being his usual impulsive, self-centered self, which half the time Derek found slightly amusing. 'But damn it, Peter… you have such bad timing… This was supposed to be the lunch…'

And to make matters worse, the drive back to the house was filled with Stiles going on about his lunch with the older Hale. It was 'Peter this' and 'Peter that' and 'he invited me to go to Fiji' and 'he really seemed interested in my boss.' Quite frankly, by the end of the drive, Derek was feeling a little bit jealous of his own uncle. Stiles seemed to be over the moon. At this rate, Stiles becoming his new uncle seemed more likely. He shuddered at the thought.

Once they were back at the house, Stiles slipped away for a quick shower. This gave Derek the opportunity to text his uncle while he scrounged around the kitchen for some food.

Damn it, Peter, what are you doing here? And I know it's not for a business meeting.

About a minute later, he got a reply.

what? youre not happy to see me der-bear? im hurt. really i am. and im not old.

The sound of the others coming in through the door pretty much signaled the end of any alone time with Stiles. Today was not going as planned at all. It renewed his displeasure in all things impulsive – most specifically, the impulsivity of one Peter Hale. He typed out one last text, telling his uncle to pick him up for dinner later in the evening.

"Ah! How's the happy couple?" Danny grinned, finding Derek in the kitchen.

Derek just frowned and chomped on an apple.

"That doesn't look promising," the boy winced.

"You didn't tell him?" Lydia asked making her way in next to Danny. "Derek, we arranged it for you and you didn't even bother-"

"We didn't even make it to lunch," Derek growled out. "My nosy and annoying uncle decided it would be fun to crash the trip and take Stiles out to lunch himself without telling me. So no. I didn't tell him. I never got the chance."

"Your uncle?" Lydia frowned.

"Yes. He likes to torture me. Takes pride in doing so, actually," Derek shook his head. "Damn it, Peter…" he muttered under his breath.

"Wait, Peter? Peter Hale? Peter Hale is your uncle?" Lydia gasped. "You're that Hale?"

"Peter Hale? What about him?" Jackson asked, walking over to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water.

"Peter Hale is Derek's uncle!" Lydia gasped.

Derek was seriously confused by the girl's… excitement?

Jackson gaped. "You've got to be kidding me." He rounded up on Derek. "You. Keep your uncle away from my girlfriend," he growled.

"Jackson, shut up," Lydia rolled her eyes, smacking him on the shoulder.

"What am I missing?" Derek frowned looking between the two.

"Lydia's had a crush on your uncle ever since her dad did business with him years ago," Danny explained. "Thinks he's soooo dreamy."

"Ugh. Please. The man runs a fortune 500 company, has successfully made the switch to 'Go Green', and even during the time of economic crises, he managed to not only stay marginally profitable, but did so without laying off a single worker. And I've looked over employee contracts. The insurance policies and retirement plans are amazing. Once you're with the Hale Group, you're practically set for life. There's much more about him to admire than his flawless appearance and good fashion sense," she was practically beaming. She looked at Derek. "Why didn't you ever say you were that Hale?"

"I… don't-"

"Like I said, Hale. Keep your uncle away from my girlfriend," Jackson growled out again, poking Derek in the chest.

Derek glared at the boy, snatching the offending finger and squeezing it until Jackson was backing down with a whiny "Ow, ow, ow!"

Danny scoffed. "Jackson, you're an idiot."

"Oh wait… if Peter Hale is your uncle, that must mean Laura Hale is…"

Derek cocked an eyebrow. "…My sister?"

"Your sister!" Jackson cried, throwing his hands up in surrender and walking away from the conversation. Danny was laughing.

"What am I missing?" Derek asked again.

"If Lydia has a crush on Peter Hale, she's downright in love with Laura."

"Please," Lydia scoffed. "Laura Hale managed to walk into a position she had little experience with and prove herself as a co-chair to the Hale Group. She showed each and every one of those board members that she rightfully deserved that spot and wasn't just a petty little heiress with a 15% share." She rounded up on Derek. "You have to get me a meeting with them. Give me something. A coffee date. An internship!"

Derek balked. This girl knew more about his family's business than he did.

"If you do," she continued. "I'll tie Stiles down to a bed myself so you can have your way with him however you want, however many times you want."

"I don't actually think that's legal," Danny tried, despite his chuckles.

"Shh!" the girl snipped. She was staring at Derek intently, waiting for an answer.

Derek considered the offer. "Well… my uncle's coming to pick me up for dinner…"

"He's coming here? I'm going with you."

She didn't even wait for an answer. Lydia was rushing back upstairs, probably to find an acceptable outfit to impress Derek's uncle.

Derek looked to Danny. "Should I be concerned?"

The boy just scoffed. "Have you met Lydia? You should always be concerned."

Derek sighed, taking another bite of his apple.

/\/\/\

Scott and Stiles left for their little road trip soon after everyone had arrived. Derek slipped his scarf around Stiles' neck, picking invisible lint off of it before wishing the boy a safe and fun journey. He ignored the sly coos coming over his shoulder once the pair of friends hopped into the car, choosing instead to simply smile and wave as they backed out of the driveway. He tossed the whole lot of them his death glare, effectively silencing the bunch, once the car had vanished from view.

Later, Allison drove the boys to the ice skating rink, but not before Jackson tried to make a deal with Derek to keep Peter away from Lydia.

"You like baseball? I'll get you VIP seats to the Dodger games."

"My sister and her fiancé have season passes for the Giants."

"I'll… bake you something?"

Derek just snorted derisively at the idea.

"Well what do you want?" the blonde growled out in frustration.

"Nothing. My uncle is ridiculous. I wouldn't let him come near any of you guys with a ten-foot pole."

"Oh."

"Now go before I decide to take your Porsche."

Jackson laughed at the joke, but his smile fell once he realized Derek wasn't laughing in return. He just gulped and shuffled out the door.

Derek smirked. It was fun having his authority back.

/\/\/\

For some reason, Derek felt like the third wheel on this impromptu dinner date. He looked between his uncle and Lydia, feeling incredibly awkward.

When Peter finally showed up, Lydia practically ran for the door, happy to finally and officially meet the older man. And of course, Peter was his typical creeper self.

"Lydia Martin? Of course I remember you. My, you grew up well."

Derek could have sworn he threw up in his mouth a little.

Once they got to the restaurant, it was like they were off in their own little world. The conversation was filled with business strategies and jargon that completely went over Derek's head. It was with some relief that Lydia excused herself for the little girls' room. Once she was out of earshot, Derek glared at his uncle.

"Can you lay off with the Uncle Creepy? That girl is like half your age!"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Just how old do you think I am, Derek? Besides," he scoffed. "That girl's fascination with me is purely analytical. She's in love with my business, not my package, if you know what I mean," he said with a wink.

Derek shook his head. "Okay. So can you please tell me what you're doing here?"

Peter shrugged. "You said you were in Bear Valley. I wanted to go to Bear Valley. So, I came. And before you go off on me, it was purely coincidental that I ran into Stiles. I was just on my way out the door, preparing to call and tell you I was here when he stopped me. And since he mentioned that you were on your way, I thought it'd be a fun little punishment to play a little hide and seek for all those times you called me old."

Derek sighed. "Seriously Peter, just accept your age with grace and dignity before you throw out your back or something." Peter just balked, looking affronted. Derek inwardly laughed. "And just so you know, his friends arranged it so that Stiles and I could have lunch together alone. I was gonna tell him how I feel."

Peter's eyebrows shot up. "Oh? Really?"

"Yes. If the opportunity presented itself."

"See, that's your problem right there. You're waiting for the perfect moment. What you need to realize, baby boy, is that there is no perfect moment. The moment becomes perfect once you tell him how you feel."

Derek sat back in his chair, letting his uncle's words sink in. They were surprisingly thoughtful coming from a man who thought edible underwear was an acceptable Christmas gift.

"Take it from me, Derek. The next time you're alone with the kid, the next time your heart's all aflutter just looking at him, tell him. If my lunch with him today was any indication, he's already got it pretty bad. You boys are two adorable but oblivious peas in a pod."

"Are you talking about him and Stiles?" Lydia asked as she rejoined the table, nodding in Derek's direction before taking her seat. "Because I can't picture any two more dense than these two."

"I know," Peter frowned. "I mean, what's it gonna take for these two to just go at it?" He shook his head, looking back to Derek. "Do you need me to kidnap him and tie him down on a bed for you? Because I can. Or, I have people who can."

Lydia lit up, smacking Peter playfully on the arm. "That's what I said!"

It was at that point that Derek realized having Lydia here was like having a redheaded version of his sister with him. It only got worse from there.

/\/\/\

"Derek, how could you ruin the surprise like that?" Peter looked appalled.

"I know! We were trying so hard to keep it a secret and then he had the nerve to try to trick me in return."

"The nerve!"

"It's not like I did it on purpose," Derek defended. "Plus, he made snacks!"

Peter scoffed. "My nephew will do anything to get at Stiles' goodies, if you know what I mean."

Lydia snorted. "Oh, I know what you mean."

Derek really wished his authoritative stare-down worked on Lydia, but it would seem his attempts were futile.

/\/\/\

"It was obvious right from the start. All I did was put my arm around Stiles' waist and he was already Scowly McScowlington."

Peter sighed wistfully in understanding. "He wouldn't let me join their sleepover."

"Oh my God, Derek, how could you not? What did you think would happen? It's not like Peter would have bed him right in the Sheriff's house. Especially not with the way you practically snarl at every person who comes near the guy."

"I do not-"

"He does, doesn't he!" Peter perked up. "He did that to me!"

"To your own uncle, Derek?"

Derek just pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing this dinner would wrap up soon.

/\/\/\

Dinner would not wrap up soon. Especially not when Peter pulled out his phone to call up Laura.

"You guys are in Bear Valley without me?"

"You're only a few hours out. Drive up," Peter suggested.

"Yes! That would be perfect!" Lydia cheered.

"Please don't," Derek groaned.

"Wait, who was that? The girl? There's a girl with you?"

"Hi! I'm Lydia Martin. I'm a big fan of yours."

"We like her, Laura," Peter smirked. "We're adopting her."

"Oh my God, yes!"

"No, no, no…" Derek groaned again.

/\/\/\

"You sold her out for snacks, Derek? Snacks? How old are you?" Laura berated. Derek just shook his head. "Lydia, you poor dear. I can't imagine how frustrated you must be watching them everyday."

"It is tough. They're just so hard-headed."

"Derek, buy the poor girl something nice," Laura demanded.

"Ooh! A Hammacher Schlemmer Light Cycle. With pink trimmings."

"A girl after my own heart," Peter sat in awe. "I have one with red. You're welcome to try it out some ti-"

"No, Peter. She has a boyfriend," Derek hissed.

"Derek, shush!" she snapped before turning awestruck eyes back on Peter. "Tell me more. What other gadgets do you have back in New York?"

"I recently purchased a hover chair for my office."

"You mean the one that uses repelling magnetism to float?"

"That's the one. It's like sitting on a cloud…"

"I'd love to sit on one of those."

"You're welcome to sit on my-"

"Peter! No!"

Laura just cackled over the phone line.

/\/\/\

"Actually, I prefer skiing but it's practically impossible to look cute walking around in ski boots," Lydia commented.

"So, how'd you do baby bro? You carve your initials into the side of that mountain on your board?"

Lydia laughed before Derek could edge in a word. "Please. Every time I saw him, he was doing another face-plant."

"That's surprising," Peter said thoughtfully. "Normally, you're so good at sports."

"I was fine with the instructor. But then later, when Stiles and Allison came over-"

Lydia gasped. "That's it! That's why you kept falling over, isn't it?"

Derek looked at her curiously.

"Stiles. He gets you all weak in the knees so that you're falling all over yourself. Clumsy cause you've fallin' in love~" she sang the last part.

Derek opened his mouth to retort but was suddenly silenced when twin booms of laughter came from Peter and Laura from over the phone. Peter was doubled over the table, banging his fist against it. He could just imagine how amused Laura was by everything. And Lydia looked positively pleased with herself.

"Oh my God, oh my God," came Laura between chuckles. "Lydia. Sweetie. You're in. You're so in. Welcome to the family."

Derek slumped in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest, wondering what he ever did to deserve these crazy people.

/\/\/\

Derek was beyond grateful that the restaurant had a closing time, or else he'd be stuck in that damn restaurant for hours with the three most horrible people in the world. They had bid Laura a fond farewell, but not before she had started negotiations on an internship for Lydia. In the car, Derek opted to sit in the back seat with his hands over his ears to block out any conversation happening in the front. Once Peter pulled up to the house, he was ready to bolt out the door, but his uncle stopped him before he could get too far.

"Lydia, it was most certainly a pleasure," Peter smiled charmingly at the girl, giving her a kiss on the back of her hand.

"The pleasure was all mine," she smiled in return.

"I'll have my assistant forward you the info on the internship."

"I look forward to working with you and Laura."

Derek just sighed, turning his eyes up to the sky.

Peter bid the girl a good night before turning back to his nephew. "Derek, all kidding aside, I am sorry I ruined your lunch date. That was certainly not my intention," he said softly, placing his hands on Derek's shoulders.

"I know."

"I just wanted to spend some time with my nephew. Blowing me off for a pretty face? It's begun!" he whined, melodramatically, brining his fist up to his mouth, feigning distress.

Derek just snorted.

"Luckily for you," he continued. "I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon. Come say goodbye to me. And bring Stiles. And Lydia. They're adorable."

"I will definitely bring it up to them."

Peter pulled Derek in for a hug. "Love ya, kiddo."

"I love you too, Peter. As much trouble as you cause me, I am happy to see you. I wish you would've called ahead though, so we could have done more together."

"Next time then. And since Stiles told me about his boss, I think I can negotiate more time off for him, if you want. The alps, if you care the snow so much. However, I will say that I think you might like it better in France. They have a nude beach after all," Peter waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Derek just rolled his eyes.

Peter hopped back into his car. "Oh, and think about what I said, okay?"

Derek nodded, solemnly. "Edible underwear is completely appropriate on the third date."

Peter barked with laughter, throwing his head back against his headrest. "Yes, that and what I said about the perfect moment."

Derek chuckled softly, pleased with himself. He nodded again. "I will."

And with another smile, Peter closed his door and drove back to his hotel, leaving Derek alone to think about what he said. 'Don't wait for it. Make it.' He repeated to himself. Derek went inside the house to think about how he could do just that.

/\/\/\

It was nearly two in the morning when Derek heard the front door open from where he was sitting on the futon, idly surfing the web. The rest of the house was already asleep, but with the noise coming from the door, he was afraid they'd all wake up.

"-ne'er did quite un'rstan' what she meant! In spite of e'rythin'!"

"Scott, shhh!"

"In spite of e'rythin'!"

Derek got up off the futon and walked over to the front door to see Stiles carrying a stumbling Scott. He helped him steady the messy-haired boy, draping his arm over his shoulder to bear his weight. "Is he drunk?"

Stiles snorted. "You would think so, wouldn't you? He's not. He's just stupid happy and very sleepy. I told him to just sleep while I drove the rest of the way, but he insisted on staying awake. And as you can see, he's not very functional when he's dead tired," Stiles tried to shift his friend's weight but almost let him slip in the process. "Can you…? I have to go. I drank like 20 gallons of Redbull to make it back here in once piece and despite that, I feel like I'm ready to crash and I'd rather not do that and wet the bed, especially if I mean to share it with you."

Derek took the hint and took on all of Scott's weight. "You want me to bring him upstairs?"

"Don't bother," Stiles said with a wave. "Just dump him off in the den."

"But Isaac's there. Didn't want to chance a repeat performance."

Stiles snickered. "You know what? That's fine. In fact, that's even better. Dump him off with Isaac."

Derek cocked an eyebrow in curiosity, but didn't question it as Stiles made his way to the bathroom. He half-led, half-dragged the sleepy boy into the den.

"Dude, Mr. Hale. Mr. Hale," Scott slurred.

"What is it, Scott?"

"I gotta- I gotta warn you. About y'r blanket."

Derek patted Scott on the arm. "I already know. Stiles steals it in the middle of the night."

"No, no. I know. I mean, I know with a 'k,' not no with-a, with-a… a 'no'."

Derek just blinked, trying to decipher Scott's words.

"Juss… to stop him. From stealin-it. You gotta…" Scott leaned into Derek's ear to whisper the rest. "You gotta be the blanket."

Derek blinked again, looking at Scott with skepticism. "What are you even talking about?"

"Canoodle him! Give him a lil' snuggy-wuggy time," Scott showed him by hugging Derek around the waist.

Derek just frowned at the boy, slapping his arms away before dragging him the rest of the way into the den. "I've held him like that before. He still stole my blanket."

"No, no, no. You gotta hold him. Lemme show you 'gain," Scott said, slipping his arms around Derek's waist once more. "Be the blan-ket, Mis'r Hale."

Derek slapped him away again. "How do you even know that?"

Scott grinned. "Practice."

Derek didn't exactly know how to take that, so he just dropped the boy on top of the sleeping Isaac.

"What! What's going on?" Isaac yelped, sitting up and blinking sleepy eyes.

"He's your problem now."

The blonde looked down at the boy crumpled into a heap in his lap, struggling to slip underneath Isaac's blanket and use him as a pillow. Derek took in Isaac's blush, making a mental note of it before walking out of the room and climbing back onto the futon just as Stiles made his way into the room.

"Much better," Stiles smiled, walking over to his suitcase. "How's Sleeping Beauty?"

"Getting comfy with his new pillow."

Stiles just snickered again before pulling his pajamas out. "Oh, Isaac…" He slipped Derek's scarf over his neck and tucked it in with his stuff. It looked to Derek like that was another thing he wasn't getting back.

"How was your concert?" he asked.

"Amazing. We almost got our faces pounded in by some guy Scott accidentally spilt his drink on, but luckily we're faster runners than that guy," he chuckled at the memory as he pulled his shirt over his head.

Derek forced himself to focus on the boy's face and not on the sudden expanse of pale skin just within his reach. He didn't have to try all that hard because said skin was soon covered up by the shirt Stiles had commandeered.

"What are you still doing up?" he asked, turning around to undo his belt.

Derek had to shake his head and look away before he could try to figure out what Stiles had asked. "I just… I was waiting for you," he said truthfully. "Wanted to make sure you made it back okay."

Stiles didn't respond. Instead, Derek felt the futon shift before two arms wrapped around him as Stiles rested his cheek against Derek's shoulder. "That's really sweet. My own little Sourwolf waiting for me at the door," he chuckled.

Derek snorted, but placed his hand on Stiles' arm gently.

Stiles yawned. He let go of Derek before slipping under the covers. "I'm beat. Night, Derek."

Derek laid back down, turning so that he was facing the younger boy. Stiles smiled softly at him, his eyes getting heavier with sleep.

"Good night, Stiles." He was quite for a second, just watching his friend. Derek bit his lip. "Stiles?"

"Hm?" He already sounded half-asleep, his eyes already firmly shut.

Derek sighed. "Never mind. I'll tell you in the morning."

"Mm-hmm…"

Derek watched as Stiles' breathing slowly evened out. With another sigh, he edged his way forward, implementing Scott's advice. 'Be the blanket, he said.' Derek snorted. Gently, he eased himself on top of Stiles, resting his head on the boy's shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist, and draping his leg over his. Derek had to snort again. 'I feel like I'm just trapping him under my weight to keep him from moving… But…' Derek couldn't argue that he was quite comfortable, feeling Stiles' warmth against him. The only other time they had slept like this was that night on the beach and technically Stiles didn't steal his blanket – but that mostly had to do with the fact that they didn't have one.

He wondered if sleeping like this would work, but soon, as he began to drift off, Derek – trapped in a world of comfort and warmth – found that he didn't care.

/\/\/\

When Derek woke up the next morning, he felt warm all over. It would seem Scott was right. And while the idea that Scott had been in this position an unknown number of times to actually figure this out made Derek feel ridiculously possessive, he found that he was much too cozy to make a big deal about it. In fact, it was borderline enough to make Derek want to thank Scott for the excellent tip.

Derek took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of Stiles' through the Henley. He nuzzled his pillow, scooting in closer and just allowing himself to relax.

'Okay, so yesterday was a major bust. But today. Today will be different. What's happening today? Danny said… snowmobiling… and then back to the ski resort later in the afternoon. Yeah. I think Stiles would enjoy that. Maybe while snowmobiling we could slip away from the pack while they zoom off on a trail. Or maybe if there's a repeat of yesterday on the snowboard, I can just hold him close when he comes to help me up and just tell him. And then we'll kiss in the snow amongst the trees and then everything will be perfect.' Derek smiled contently to himself, pleased with his plans.

He pushed himself up to rest on his elbow so that he could look down on the sleeping boy, his body no longer pressed up against him. Gently, as to not disturb him, Derek brushed the back of his hand against Stiles' cheek, caressing him tenderly. 'Or…' Derek thought. 'I could just tell him right now. Wake him up and just tell him.' It was certainly tempting.

"Stiles…" Derek called softly.

He saw a little crease form between the boy's eyebrows as they furrowed slightly.

"Stiles…" Derek called again.

Suddenly, Stiles' hand shot out, striking Derek on the nose as it made a grab for his blanket. The blanket was snatched from right off of Derek as it was wrapped securely around the younger boy, he turning onto his side before relaxing into his pillow once more.

Derek held his nose between his hands and stifled a groan. He collapsed back down onto his side of the futon, staring at the ceiling as stars danced across his eyes. 'Again? Really?' He decided it would be best to wait until the boy was fully awake to confess. Telling him while he was still asleep was just too dangerous.

/\/\/\

"All right, who's coming with me?" Stiles grinned, slipping on his jacket as he made his way into the kitchen. Derek was mildly amused to see his scarf back around the boy's neck.

"No one wants to go on your stupid little hike, Stilinski," Jackson frowned, nursing his coffee as he waited for it to cool down.

"Don't be rude," Danny chastised, punching his friend on the shoulder. He looked at Stiles. "No thanks. Isaac and I are gonna do some research to rent some snowmobiles. At least, when he wakes up we will."

Derek inwardly snickered. The curly-headed blonde was probably very startled by his sudden bedmate. He thought about the blush that came over him. 'Does… does Isaac like Scott?'

"Why do you wanna go hiking out there anyway?" Jackson huffed, cutting through Derek's thoughts. "It's like ten times colder today than it was yesterday. Isaac's lucky that Derek didn't decide to push him out into the pool today. He might've frozen his balls off."

"Nice," Danny said, snidely. "Real nice."

"Seriously though. He wouldn't even need the mattress. He could probably just toss Isaac out there right now and all that would happen is he'd skid across the ice. We probably could've saved money by just skating here instead of that place last night."

By now, Danny was just chuckling in amusement at his friend's ramblings.

"Well, if you guys are out, theeeeen, that leaves you," Stiles smiled, sidling up to Derek. "What do you say? Morning hike through the mountains? It snowed last night so think of all that fresh powder!"

Derek snorted. "Stiles, do you even remember our last hike? You remember how well that turned out?"

The boy laughed, patting Derek on the back. "I promise you, all the vicious wild animals will be hibernating by now. You will not need to acquaint yourself with any trees this time around."

Derek rolled his eyes. He doubted he could even make it up a tree with the way his legs felt after yesterday's workout. 'But… it would give me some alone time with him…'

"Pleaseeeee?" Stiles tried again, taking Derek's silence for hesitance. "Don't make me go alone." He gave Derek his saddest puppy-dog eyes, complete with full-on pout.

Derek doubted he could have refused Stiles even without the plea. Finally, he relented. "Let me go change…"

"Yessss!"

After being instructed by Danny to make it back at the latest by 10 if they intended to go snowmobiling with them, Derek followed Stiles out into the woods to explore the surrounding area.

"So, did you go ice-skating with them last night or was it just dinner with Peter," Stiles asked, skipping ahead.

"Dinner with Peter."

"Aw," he chuckled. "I think it would've been fun to picture you gliding across the ice like a princess."

Derek's only response was to scoop up some fresh snow and throw it at the boy's back.

Stiles just laughed. "I kid, I kid. So then how was dinner?"

"Terrible."

Stiles spun around, cocking an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Did you know that Lydia is like in love with my family?"

"Ohhh," Stiles said before bursting into laughter a moment later. "So she found out that you're that Hale. I should have warned you. What happened?"

"She crashed the dinner. And you know Peter. He was being his usual inappropriate self. And somewhere along the line, Laura was called, and now it seems I have a new adopted sister."

Stiles was racked with chuckles. "It sounds fun. Wish I coulda been there."

"Yeah, me too."

"Ooh, look at that," Stiles smiled, scurrying off to look at something in the snow. "You know, I wish I had grown up in a place that snowed every winter. There's just so much you can do in the snow. And don't even get me started on snow days."

Derek just smiled to himself, following the sporadic trail Stiles was leaving behind. "So does that mean no trip to Fiji with my uncle?"

"Ha! Are you kidding me? Free trip to Fiji? I'll send you a postcard when I get there. Ooh, look at that! Oh wait, no. Don't look at that. That's just a pinecone."

Derek chuckled in amusement. How could anyone skip out on a hike with Stiles? He was like a kid in a candy store, running from thing to thing, to anything that caught his attention.

"Hey look, a cabin!" Stiles hurried over and stuck his nose in the window. "You think anyone's home?"

"Stiles, get away from there. You'll set off the alarm," he reprimanded, taking the boy by the arm and leading him away.

Stiles just hooked his arm through Derek's and smiled at him. "We should totally get a cabin in the woods. Just come to the snow every winter and build forts in the day and get toasty by a well-managed fire at night."

Derek smirked. "That sounds nice."

"That sounds awesome," Stiles smirked, pulling the scarf around his neck, hooking it over Derek's head and giving both ends a little tug. Derek just snorted before yanking down the bottom of Stiles' beanie over his eyes, laughing to himself as the boy balked in surprise. Stiles pushed his beanie back up, smile on his face as something over Derek's shoulder caught his attention. "Oh, whoa," he said as he jogged through the trees into a clearing. "Look at the lake! It's so blue!"

Derek stepped through the trees and took in the sight before him. He was mesmerized by the view. The ground was blanketed in snow, pure white glistening in the sun. The trees stood tall and firm across the shore, their evergreen pines poking out. The lake was a deep blue, reflecting the soft hues of the morning sky. But what really took his breath away was the boy standing in the middle of it all. Running off in his excitement to get a better look at the lake was Stiles. His cheeks were rosy, nose red from the cold mountain air. He was smiling. And it was that smile that Derek fell so helplessly for.

Derek felt his heart swell when Stiles turned and smiled back at him, shining in the light of the sun. He was reminded of all the things he fell in love with. Stiles was this bright light to Derek's dark and dismal demeanor. He brought happiness and fun into his life. Derek had just been going through the motions before, but after meeting and just being near Stiles, he'd never felt more alive. He'd never felt more in love. 'Just stop being afraid, Derek,' he tried to convince himself. 'Just tell him how you feel… Just tell him now….' Finding courage, he took a step forward."Stil-"

Derek nearly tripped on a piece of wood. 'Damn it!' he cursed as he tried to maintain his balance. He was just about to kick the offensive object when it actually caught his attention. It wasn't just a piece of fallen timber. It was a post. Furrowing his brows, Derek kicked the snow around, revealing a set of planks under his feet. He blinked, taking in the whole picture. 'I'm on a… dock?'

Then, a sudden movement caught his attention as Stiles slipped, limbs flailing as he came crashing down on his rear.

Derek's eyes widened in realization, heart clenching simultaneously. "Stiles! Get off of there! It's ice!" And considering how far out he was, Derek would bet it was thin ice. And that fall probably didn't help things either. "Stiles!"

Derek saw the surprise and realization blanket the boy's expression. Stiles scrambled to turn around, to crawl his way back to where the ice was thicker. 'Come on, come on,' Derek chanted, urging Stiles to move faster back to safety. Derek felt his heart leap into his throat when Stiles' form jerked, but not of his own accord. A piece of ice had broken, Stiles' weight making it sink to one side.

"Stiles! No!" Derek screamed, seeing the panic in the boy's eyes. He rushed forward, wanting to just grab Stiles and run.

"Derek, stop! You'll fall!" Stiles yelled to him as he scrambled to hang on, to grab on to anything. It was no good. He was slipping away. Slipping down into the icy waters below.

"Stiles!" Derek cried, desperation in his voice. He edged his way closer, praying for the ice to hold.

But it was too late. Derek watched helplessly as Stiles slipped into the lake, the ice that had given way righting itself, like a door being shut in his wake.

"No, no, no," Derek chanted, getting on his hands and knees, hoping the move would better spread out his weight. He crawled over to where Stiles had disappeared, doing his best to shove the block of ice over, to open up a gap, anything to get Stiles through.

The water was freezing. He could feel it through his gloves. 'How long has he been under?' Derek's mind raced. 'Where is he? I have to get to him!'

He pushed hard, but the piece was heavy. He wished he had a hammer or something he could try to smash it with. But with adrenaline pumping through his veins and panic striking his heart, Derek gave the ice one last shove, moving it just enough to be able to pull Stiles back through. If he could find him.

"Come on, Stiles, where are you?" Derek stuck his arm into the water, a thousand pinpricks shooting against his skin in the cold. He hissed, but pushed aside the instinct to recoil. He needed to find Stiles.

He made a sweeping motion, hoping his hand would brush against the boy. He felt something, grabbing it and pulling it up, but it was just Stiles' beanie. Derek felt his heart leap into his throat. "No, come on Stiles. Where are you?"

He absolutely refused to believe that Stiles anything but alive. 'Maybe if I jump in…' Derek took a few short breaths, preparing himself for what he was about to do. But before Derek could even move, Stiles breeched the surface, gasping for air, hands reaching out to grab Derek's. He was coughing up water, holding on to Derek for dear life.

"Stiles! Thank God!" Derek grabbed the boy's jacket, pulling him into his arms and out of the water. But he could hear the ice cracking, could feel it straining under their weight. With an arm secure around Stiles' waist, Derek scrambled backwards as fast as he could across the ice. Using his elbow and his feet, he kicked back towards the safety of the dock. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the post hit his back, feeling grateful towards the piece of wood he earlier hated. Derek collapsed back, trying to catch his breath.

"Y-Y-You're an id-idi-idiot!" Stiles screamed at him, body racked with shivers. "You c-could have fall-en thr-though!"

Derek sat back up. "I had to get to you!" He growled back. There was absolutely no other option for Derek in the moment. He would gladly risk his own life time and again if it meant saving Stiles'. And they weren't out of the woods yet. Having been under for as long as he was, Stiles was going to be dealing with hypothermia if Derek didn't act quickly. His own arm was starting to lose feeling and it had only been submerged a fraction of the time.

Derek gathered Stiles into his arms, holding him close before hurrying through the woods from where they came. "I have to get you warm."

"D-Der-ek. The c-c-cabin," Stiles stuttered.

Derek picked up the pace, seeing the small shelter in the distance. He assessed the situation. There was no deadbolt, so that was a good sign. He just hoped it was a simple lock. Breaking through also meant the alarm would go off, but Derek was actually hoping for that. The alarm meant someone would know they were there. It meant someone would come, someone better fit to take care of Stiles in his current half-frozen state.

Derek set Stiles down in the snow so he could try to break down the door. Bracing himself, he slammed against it, throwing all his weight into the move. It hardly budged. He tried again, crying out as a sudden pain shot through his shoulder.

"Der-?" Stiles looked to him, worried.

Derek rotated his shoulder. Nothing seemed broken, but it still hurt like a bitch. He gave it one last go, taking a few steps back, hoping the excess momentum would help him break through. With a resounding crack, the door gave way as an alarm blared through the trees.

Derek quickly gathered Stiles back into his arms and carried him into the small space, doing his best to close the door behind him despite its broken frame. "Can you… your clothes?" He asked, settling him down in front of the fireplace.

Stiles understood, and did his best to remove his soaked clothing with unsteady hands. Derek took the opportunity to look around the space, trying to find anything he might need. He ran into the bathroom, finding a few towels and grabbing them off the rack. He searched through the drawers in the kitchen, finding some matches to start a fire. He yanked the blanket off the cot, grateful for its thickness.

Crouching down in front of the fireplace, Derek tried to light the match. But his own hands were shaking from the cold, from adrenaline, from the leftover fear in almost losing his best friend. He tossed the broken match aside and tried a new one, willing his hands to steady. With one firm strike, a flame was lit and Derek carefully set fire to the kindling already and thankfully in place.

He looked to Stiles, to see how he was doing. Stiles had managed to unzip his jacket, but was having a hard time taking it off. Derek crouched down next to him, helping him out of it.

"Y-you know. I-I always pic-tured you str-stripping me f-for a diff-differ-ent reaso-n," he chuckled, trying to make light of the situation.

And despite the direness, Derek couldn't help but laugh as he pulled Stiles' shirt over his head. "You know, same here."

Stiles smiled. Derek would have taken a moment to let that sink in. To understand that this meant Stiles had thought about Derek stripping him. It meant that Stiles did picture being with Derek. And if Derek had a moment to let that sink in, he would have screamed in absolute joy to finally realize that Stiles wanted him too.

But Derek had to make sure Stiles was all right. He moved to take Stiles' boots and socks off. He paused then, eyes glancing at his pants then back up to his face. Again, Stiles understood, ducking his head and nodding. He bet if he could, Stiles would be blushing.

"Don't worry," Derek reassured him. "I won't peek."

Again, Stiles merely nodded.

Derek moved to undo Stiles' pants, closing his eyes as he pulled them down the boy's thighs. Despite his earlier claim, Derek might've cracked an eye open.

"H-hey!" Stiles growled out, hand pushing Derek's face aside. "Sn-sneaky little S-Sourwolf."

Derek just snorted, closing his eyes firmly before pulling the rest of the wet clothes off Stiles' body. Opening them again to search for the towels, he set one down near the fire so that Stiles wouldn't be sitting in a puddle. He stuck his arm out in Stiles' general direction, purposefully and somewhat shamefully handing the boy the smaller of the remaining two towels, offering him a bit of modesty. Stiles took the offered towel and did his best to secure it around his waist. And with the final towel, Derek finally looked back at the covered Stiles and began to wipe down his skin.

"S-some-one ne-eds to b-buy fab-ric sof-softener," the boy commented.

Derek just laughed through his nose.

Once the task was done, there was only one thing left to do. Derek began stripping himself of his own clothes.

"Wh-what? What are y-you doing?" Stiles blinked, staring up at Derek.

He kicked off his boots and shimmied his pants off so he was left in nothing but his boxer-briefs and silly little scarf. "Come on. You're smart. You should know the best warmth in this situation is body heat," he smirked, getting on his knees and wrapping his scarf around Stiles' neck.

Derek sat on the towel be the fire, wrapping his arms around Stiles' cold frame and pulling him in close before draping the blanket around the both of them. He pulled Stiles into his lap, rearranging the boy's legs so that they curled around him. This time a blush did manage to grace Stiles' face as he tried vainly to keep his parts covered under the towel. Derek took it as a good sign. He took Stiles' wrists in his hands, stopping him from fiddling, and wrapped them around his torso before returning his own arms around Stiles.

"Stop. I need to keep you warm," Derek chastised the fumbling boy.

Stiles finally settled down – or at least as best he could while still shivering – and rested his head in the crook of Derek's neck, nuzzling into his warmth. "Y-you sca-red me, yo-you know-w."

"I scared you?" Derek scoffed.

Stiles clung to Derek even tighter. "I-I could s-s-sort of see you. Thr-through the ic-e. I-I was w-w-orried you'd fall."

Derek shook his head. How could this boy have been worried about him when he was the one trapped under the ice? Derek shut his eyes, finally letting his nerves calm down, the adrenaline bleed out.

He had been scared. Terrified, really. Stiles could've drowned. He could have lost him today. Fire had taken away his parents; he'd be damned if he'd let ice do the same to Stiles. Derek held him tighter, as close as he possibly could without crushing the boy.

"D-Derek? You're sh-shaking," Stiles said, his voice low, concerned.

He opened his eyes. He was shaking. And it certainly wasn't from the cold. "I almost lost you…" Derek said, voice hushed. "What if I didn't go with you? Would you have still gone out? Would you have still fallen through? What if I wasn't there to move the ice? What if I couldn't move the ice? What if Greenburg never cancelled? Would I have lost you while you were away? Where I couldn't save you? Where I couldn't reach you? Stiles, I was so scared. I can't lose you. I just can't-"

"Hey, hey…" Stiles soothed.

Derek mentally scolded himself. Here he was panicking when it was Stiles who had almost died.

"It's ok-ay. I'm o-kay. You are here. You s-aved m-me. Sourwolf always pro-tects me."

Derek exhaled, breathing a sigh of relief. He let all his tension drain, suddenly feeling exhausted. "Stiles, I-"

"What in the…?"

Derek's eyes snapped to the door. There was a woman standing there, eyes wide as she took in the state of what he assumed was her cabin. Her eyes settled on the pair in the middle of the floor.

"He fell in the lake," Derek quickly explained. "I'm sorry about breaking in, but he fell…"

He watched as her eyes raked over the pale body in his arms, still shaking under the blanket. She shook her head, silenced the alarm and pulled out her phone, calling for an ambulance.

Apparently, the cabin was a part of her much bigger home some few hundred feet away. She thought maybe a bear had broken a window or something, not a pair of college students breaking in to find shelter. The ambulance arrived shortly, and once Stiles was safely stowed away, Derek gave his information to the woman, promising to pay for all damages done to her home. He climbed into the ambulance as well, sirens blaring as they fled to the hospital.

The EMT started asking questions about Stiles, things that Derek didn't know like allergies and emergency contact information. Stiles tried to answer himself, but his shivering had grown more violent now. Derek was worried, wanted to pull Stiles back into his arms where he would be safe and warm, but put his trust in the EMTs. Then Derek thought of someone who just might be able to help.

"Do you have a phone I could use?" He asked, thanking the medic when he handed it over. Derek did his best to recall the number from his memory. He showed Stiles the number, saw the boy's eyes light up as he nodded in its accuracy.

"Hello?"

"Scott, it's Derek."

"Oh, hey Mr. Hale! I didn't recognize the number," came the friendly voice. "What is that? Is that a police car? What did Stiles do this time?"

"Scott," Derek urged the boy to focus. "Stiles fell through some ice."

"He what?"

"We're on our way to the hospital right now. It's just… They're asking me things and I don't know and Stiles can't answer and-"

"Hey, hey, Derek, relax. It's okay. Just hand the phone to the EMT. I got this."

Derek did as he was told. He was only half aware of the one-sided conversation he could hear. He was more focused on the too pale skin and bluish lips of the boy before him. He didn't even notice at first when after a few moments, the EMT tried handing the phone back.

"Mr. Hale? I'm on my way there, okay? I'll meet you there and we'll take care of this together, all right? How's Stiles?"

"He's freezing, but he's alive."

"Good, good. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," Derek nodded, although the boy couldn't see it. "Thanks, Scott."

"No, man. Thank you." And with that, the call ended.

Derek returned the phone before taking one of Stiles' hands in his, giving it a little squeeze. Stiles just smiled softly at him.

They soon arrived at the hospital where Stiles was quickly rushed away. Derek moved to follow, but a nurse was blocking his way.

"Sir, we need to check out your own state. Sir," the nurse tried.

Derek ignored her, wanted to just step past her and be with Stiles. "He needs me. I have to-"

"Sir, calm down. We need to examine you first-"

"No, I-"

"Mr. Hale!"

Derek looked over his shoulder to see a concerned Scott make his way over. He never felt so relieved to see the messy-haired boy.

"Mr. Hale, I'll go with Stiles, okay? You get yourself checked out."

"But-"

"Your fingers man. Look at your hands."

Derek glanced down. The tips of his fingers had started to turn purple.

"Go get yourself checked out," Scott commanded. "I'll go with Stiles. It's okay. He'll be okay."

Derek slowly nodded and allowed himself to be led away. Now that he was away from Stiles, sure that he was in good care, he felt everything at once. His shoulder began to ache, his arms and legs burning from strain. He could barely feel the tips of his fingers. His energy was zapped and he willingly obliged when they asked him to lie down. He felt ready to pass out. They checked his hands, made sure no permanent damage would be sustained. They took an x-ray of his shoulder. The bone appeared to have some minor bruising, but luckily it wasn't cracked. They gave him some medicine to help with the pain.

Later, Derek was joined by Isaac who sat with him until the nurses gave Derek permission to leave. The boy had brought with him a change of clothes of which Derek was incredibly grateful.

"When Scott said what happened, I couldn't believe it. The fact that you guys made it out of there… it's amazing, really."

"Yeah," Derek breathed, pulling a sweater over his head, careful with his shoulder. "Stiles is a lot stronger than he looks."

"No," the boy said, shaking his head. "I mean you."

Derek looked up at Isaac, looked into sincere blue eyes full of concern and relief. He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Thanks."

Isaac just nodded, patting Derek's hand before leading the way to the waiting room. The rest of the gang were all there, concerned expressions on their faces. They stood as Derek made his way over.

"Hey, how are you?" Danny asked.

"Shoulder feels like shit, but other than that, I'm good."

Lydia walked over to him, punching him on his uninjured arm. Derek frowned. "You two are idiots. What were you doing going out there anyway? Read the forecast! You'll freeze your balls off!"

Jackson snorted. "That's what I said…"

"What she means to say," Allison said, taking Lydia by the shoulders and easing her aside to look Derek in the eye, "is thank goodness you're both all right."

Scott finally came out and joined his friends. Derek swarmed him almost instantly. "How's Stiles? Is he okay? Is everything all right?"

Scott pulled Derek into a hug, surprising the older boy. "He's fine, thanks to you. It was a little hard to understand, but he told me you saved him. So thank you, Mr. Hale."

Derek stood there, stiff, muscles taut, unable to find the words to say anything in return.

Scott pulled away before turning to address everyone. "Stiles is gonna be okay. They're just trying to get his body temperature up to a normal level, monitoring him to make sure he's gonna stay okay. He's resting now."

They all took up their seats, relieved by the good news. Derek was about to sit too, just wanted to sit down and fall asleep, when the entrance doors burst open.

"Where's my son! Where's Stiles!"

Derek was surprised to see Sheriff Stilinski hurrying through the doors, his face wrought with worry. The Sheriff spotted Derek and made his way over, hands grasping at his arms. "Where is he?"

"Sheriff Stilinski," Scott said, standing from where he had just sat down, grabbing the man's attention. "I'll take you to him."

He breathed a sigh of relief as Scott led the way.

"Sir! You can't park your car there!" a nurse called.

The Sheriff didn't even bat an eye. He just tossed his keys in Derek's direction, before the doors closed behind him. Derek did as was suggested. He stepped outside to see the Sheriff's patrol car parked haphazardly; half on the street, the other half on the curb. The siren was off, but the lights were still swirling on the top of the car.

'Scott probably called him,' Derek thought. 'He probably raced up here from Beacon Hills. I know that's what I would have done…' Derek moved the car, finding an appropriate parking spot. Before going back inside, he took a few seconds for himself, breathing slowly to really try to accept everything that had happened.

'God, what a mess… I want to see Stiles. Make sure he's really okay.' He closed his eyes, but all he saw was skin too pale and lips too blue. The image was frightening. He would give anything to make the image go away.

He nearly jumped in his seat when a knock came on the window. Derek looked up, surprised. He opened the door and got out. "Peter?"

He suddenly found himself in another embrace. "You stupid, stupid kid. You'll be the death of me, I swear. Your sister is gonna kill you, but only after I kill you first, you got that?"

Derek wrapped his arms around his uncle, resting his head on the man's shoulder and nodded. Despite all their differences, Peter was a source of comfort to Derek. He was love and support, all things Derek needed right now.

"God, you should have called me. Lydia called me."

"I'm sorry. I just- a lot happened and I-"

Peter just ran his hand up and down his nephew's back in a soothing motion. "Well thank God you and Stiles are okay. He's okay, right?"

Again, Derek just nodded.

"Good," Peter sighed, pulling away. "You look like shit."

Derek couldn't help it. He laughed. Peter was all things Derek needed right now.

He led the way back inside where he introduced Peter to the others. They all sat together, waiting to hear good news about their friend.

Scott had returned and was now sitting with Allison, his head resting on her shoulder. He looked tired himself. Isaac and Danny were talking amongst themselves as Lydia struck up a conversation with the older Hale. Jackson just scowled at Peter, glaring daggers.

And despite attempts to get him to sit down, Derek merely stood by the clinic doors, willing them open and reveal a healthier, livelier Stiles. Eventually, though, it was the Sheriff who walked through, looking relieved but as if he had aged ten years in the process. Derek straightened up as the older man made eye contact before heading his way over.

And Derek was once again surprised as he found himself a recipient of another hug. The Sheriff breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he said, voice low as he pulled back, holding Derek at arm's length. "He's all I have left."

Derek nodded in sympathy, understanding.

"Go on in. He's awake now. He's asking for you."

"Sheriff Stilinski."

The Sheriff darted eyes at the man over Derek's shoulder. "Peter Hale?"

Peter just smiled, throwing an arm around the Sheriff. "Come on. You look terrible. Let me buy you some coffee from the cafeteria. I hear it's disgusting."

"Can't be worse than the crap they serve us as the precinct."

Peter just laughed in amusement as the two older men walked down the hall.

Derek watched them go before he made his way into the room where Stiles was recuperating. The boy smiled when Derek came through the door. Derek let out a little sigh of relief. Stiles looked much better than he had a few hours ago. He skin was no longer pallid and his lips were a much healthier-looking red. He raised his arms and Derek instantly complied, rushing over to pull Stiles into a hug; one he felt comfortable with, one he took comfort in.

"How are you?" Derek asked, relieved by the warmth he felt pressed against him.

"Good. I'm good. They want to keep me a little while longer for observation, but I'm good," he pulled back, a grin on his face. "They said I get to keep all ten fingers and ten toes." He wiggled them for effect.

Derek chuckled. "That's good. You need those to make my coffee."

Stiles laughed, the sound like music to Derek's ears. "Almost freeze underwater and the guy's a comedian," he snickered.

Derek couldn't help himself. He pulled Stiles back into his arms. "Don't ever do that again, okay?"

"What? Go for a swim when it's twenty degrees out?" he joked.

"No, Stiles… just… just don't, okay?"

He felt the boy nod against his shoulder as arms wrapped around him once more.

"My dad's taking me home for the week," Stiles said wistfully. "It's not cause he thinks I'm gonna keel over or anything, but I think he just needs me home. Needs to know I'm okay, you know?" Derek nodded in understanding. Stiles chuckled. "He drove over 90 on the freeway with his siren on just to get here under two hours. And he calls me reckless."

'Knew it,' Derek chuckled to himself.

Stiles pulled away and looked Derek in the eye. "Scott's supposed to head back to the house and get my stuff. He decided to come home with me. But, I should be back before the concert. You're still going, right?"

Derek nodded. "Of course. When will you be back? I'll pick you up," he said without hesitation.

Stiles smiled. "Thanks. I should be back on Friday."

Derek frowned. Friday was so far away. He wasn't looking forward to that time away from Stiles. But he didn't exactly have a choice.

"So… how are you? Your shoulder?"

"I'm fine," Derek assured him. "It's bruised, but not broken. They gave me meds so it doesn't even hurt. Also, I get to keep all of my fingers too."

Stiles chuckled. "Good. I don't want to have to go searching for a new shelling squirrel."

Derek snorted at the joke.

It wasn't long after that the rest of the gang came into the room either one-by-one or in pairs.

Lydia came bursting in. "You're an idiot Stiles! There are easier ways to die, you know! If you want, I could just melt your face off with some hydrofluoric acid. That would be a lot easier!"

Once she got the anger and frustration out of her system, she hugged her friend, grateful that he was okay.

After her, Jackson and Danny came in.

"I-I told you your hike was stupid," Jackson muttered, eyes downcast as he drew invisible patterns with the tip of his shoe.

Danny rolled his eyes. "I'm glad you're okay, Stiles. And even though he has a stupid way of showing it, so is Jackson."

Jackson snorted. "You're stupid…" he murmured. He even walked over to Derek, punching him lightly in the chest, although not making eye contact. "You… good job not letting him die." And with that, he fled the room.

Danny shook his head, mumbling about 'emotionally constipated friends' before following Jackson out.

Later, Allison came in with Scott, both hugging Stiles in relief.

"Oh man, you scared us. Remember that one time you fell off my roof and broke your arm?" Scott reminisced.

Allison frowned. "I really wish you'd both take it easy and stop scaring the rest of us."

"Hey, but at least you got a fun and sexy nurse to take care of you," Scott grinned.

Allison shook her head. "Scott, you dressing up in your mom's scrubs and feeding Stiles carrot sticks is neither fun nor sexy."

Isaac also came in and teased Stiles, only to be teased in return.

"Hey Stiles, how was your swim?"

"Hey Isaac, how'd you sleep?"

The boy hid a blush and dropped it.

They all expressed concern for their friends, relief that both Stiles and Derek were all right. Stiles convinced them to carry on with their vacation, assuring them that even though he was going home to Beacon Hills for a while, he'd still be partying it up as best as he could. It was only when they were all assured that he'd be fine that they finally return to the house, though Scott made plans to return with their things. Through all of this, Derek watched over Stiles, finding relief in his proximity. Finding relief in knowing that he was all right, that he was alive. The only time Derek left the room that afternoon was when the Sheriff made his way back in, wanting to give the father and son some privacy.

"Derek," Peter stood as the younger Hale made his way back into the waiting room. "I need to get going if I want to make it back to New York at a decent hour. But if you need me to, I can stay."

"No, no, it's okay," Derek assured him. "Stiles is fine."

"What about you?"

Derek nodded. "I'm fine, too. Thank you, Peter. I know this wasn't exactly your ideal vacation…"

"Please," Peter said with a wave of his hand. "Spending time with my nephew while telling all his new friends about the time he absolutely refused to wear pants is a joy. Best vacation ever."

Derek scowled at his uncle. "You didn't."

The grin on Peter's face said otherwise. "Now before you kill me, let me go say goodbye to Stiles and the Sheriff. And then I'll be on my merry way."

Peter disappeared behind the doors, and after a few minutes came back with a smile on his face. Derek wanted to question him, but was slightly afraid of the answer and so thought better of it. Instead, he just pulled his uncle into a hug, thanking him for coming and promising a good time for their next trip.

It was about an hour later that Stiles was finally released, given strict directions to keep warm and bundled up for the next few days. By then, Scott had returned with their stuff, taking it to the Sheriff's car. The three boys were standing by the entrance as the Sheriff finished off some paperwork.

"So, Friday, right? You're picking me up?" Stiles asked Derek for confirmation.

Derek nodded. "Call me. Let me know when you're getting in."

"What about me, Mr. Hale?" Scott grinned, elbowing the older man. "You gonna pick me up on Tuesday? I'd wait 'til Friday but I have work on Wednesday."

Derek frowned at Scott, swatting the boy's arm away. "You have a girlfriend. And if she can't pick you up, I'm sure Isaac wouldn't mind."

Scott flushed, mouth agape as Stiles snickered. "Wh-what's that's supposed to mean?"

Derek rolled his eyes and pushed Scott towards the door, shoving the Sheriff's keys into his hand. "Go pull the Sheriff's car around."

Scott smiled, easily distracted. "All right, all right."

Derek watched as Scott disappeared out the door. He looked to Stiles, stepping in front of him to adjust the scarf still keeping the boy warm. "Take care of yourself, okay? No hikes."

Stiles grinned in amusement and nodded. "I'll be good."

Derek took another step forward, wrapping his arms around Stiles' shoulders, leaning his head against his. "Stiles… I-"

"Ready to go?" The Sheriff asked, purposefully wedging himself in between the two. Derek stepped aside, immediately missing Stiles' warmth. "Where's Scott?"

"Getting the car," Stiles frowned at his father, rolling his eyes.

The three of them stepped outside just as Scott pulled up, hopping out of the driver's seat to open the passenger door for his friend before climbing into the back, tossing the other set of keys to Derek. He waved to Derek. "Bye Mr. Hale! See you Tuesday! I'll be coming in around 10 at night! Don't be late!" he laughed.

Derek just shook his head.

Stiles paused before getting in, looking to Derek. Sidestepping his father, Stiles rushed back into Derek's arms, holding him tightly. Derek sighed in content, loving the feel of this boy in his arms.

"Thanks, Derek. You were awesome. You're always awesome."

"Even when I'm face-planting in the snow?"

"Especially."

"All right, all right," the Sheriff huffed, getting his son into a headlock to pull him away. "You'll see each other on Friday," he said, pushing Stiles into the car.

"Bye Derek!" Stiles smiled. "I'll miss you!"

Derek felt his heart warm. He opened his mouth to reply, but the cold stare he was getting from the Sheriff made him hold his tongue.

The Sheriff again stepped in between the two, purposefully blocking his son from view as he rested a hand on Derek's shoulder. "Derek, I'm thankful for what you did for my son and I will forever be grateful for it. I just… I want you to know that from now on… I'll keep my shotgun unloaded so you can at least get a running start."

"Dad! Oh my God!"

The Sheriff was unfazed, giving Derek's shoulder a firm squeeze – perhaps too firm – before taking his seat behind the wheel.

Derek gulped down the lump in his throat and waved as the car took off. He watched as Stiles was taken away, continued to watch until he disappeared from view. Finally, Derek sighed, making his way over to where Scott had parked the car. His morning had been way too much excitement for his liking. He was ready to get back to the house and just sleep the rest of the day away.

When Derek arrived back at the house, the remaining friends were being helpful. There was food waiting for him which Derek pretty much inhaled, having missed eating all day. They invited him to go out with them, snowmobiling as they had planned, and understood when he respectfully declined. Derek just wanted to climb onto the futon and sleep. As glad as he was that Stiles was alive and well, he really just wished that the morning hadn't happened. He hoped as he drifted off to sleep that when he woke up, Stiles would be back in his arms, the whole nightmare of the icy waters just a dream.

It was hard waking up to realize it wasn't. It meant the pain in his shoulder was back, full swing. And all the more, it meant that Stiles wasn't sleeping nearby.

The morning was mellow. Isaac went with Derek to settle the matter with the woman whose cabin he broke into. She was understanding, which Derek was grateful for, as she brought in a professional to assess the damage. Derek signed over a check, adding extra for the towels and the blanket and any other damages he might've caused. Once that was done, they returned back to the house, gathering their things to return home.

The train ride back was reserved as well. They all made idle chitchat, making jokes about the fun times on the trip. For the most part, Derek joined their conversations, relishing the fun moments, but in the back of his mind, Derek knew there was just a void in Stiles' place. He missed him. He wanted to see him, to talk to him. He would've found a connecting train that would take him to Beacon Hills, but he wanted to respect the Sheriff's time with his son. So they made it back by nightfall, with no one taking any connecting trains, all tired by the events of the trip itself.

And when Derek got back into his apartment, he simply curled up into his bed, tired and alone, waiting patiently for Friday to arrive.

---

Notes: OMG When are you gonna tell him, Derek? For real? The kid almost drowned and you still didn't say anything? Really? I mean, you almost said it. Maybe three or more times there. But every time, someone or something happened and you couldn't say it. Maybe the whole 'hey, I'm in love with you, how's the breadsticks?' spiel might've worked. You better say something on Friday. I mean, really.

Haha. I think those things. I mean, I would think those things if I were reading this and not writing this. But I am writing this. So instead, I shall say FWEEEEE 8D

I like to think that Scott is able to take command when he needs to. I also like to think that he opted to go home with Stiles not only to play sexy nurse again (which, really Scott, isn't all that sexy) but also cause he misses his mom. Melissa McCall for the win!

Also… Isaac. Derek, don't be mean to Isaac. He worries for you, ya know? But then again, Derek gave him Scisaac snuggles so I think maybe Isaac likes to keep Derek around in hopes that he'll make it happen again.

The whole snowboarding thing… I was Scott during my lesson and I was Derek afterward. So that basically means I was falling all over the place wondering why the heck am I dragging this heavy thing on my foot. But it was still a fun experience and at least I can say I've tried it. And now Derek can say that too what with his creepy lingering hands and leering eyes. Gah! Stiles! You like this guy?

Anyway, while the matter of when seems to be a prevalent question, the real question that needs to be asked is who did Peter buy the edible underwear for? I need to know the answer. It'll plague me for days not knowing.

And Peter. What are you doing? Water you doing?! You don't play hide and seek with people like they're playthings, Peter. You're not supposed to hire a girl based on the fact that she likes to tease Derek as much as you and Laura do, even if that girl is beyond capable of fulfilling the job that is required of her. Although, when you're being serious, you give good advice and nice man hugs so I guess maybe I can forgive you for that. Also, be nice to the Sheriff. Cause I love Papa Stilinski and his shotgun of DOOM.

And on an endnote, let's recap. Derek tried to say it, Stiles fell asleep. Derek tried to say it, Stiles punched him in the face. Derek tried to say it, Derek tripped over a post. Derek tried to say it, some lady interrupts. Derek tried to say it, Papa Stilinski cock blocks. Haha. Oh man. Jesus, Derek. Maybe you should just write it in a letter or something.

Actually, that's probably why this was called 'Interference.' I get it now.