Chapter Text
This was suppose to be a special moment of time. Something to be celebrated for years to come till they old and dead in the ground. He had the ring. The flowers. He even had a fluffy dark chocolate kitten that matched Jennifer's own dark hair with a ribbon to wrap around its little neck to hang the ring from. He saw it from a commercial, sue him. He thought it was going to work and spend rest of the night, just basking in the fact that after three years, they were finally getting married.
Like many things in life, Derek blamed Peter.
If he can get away with it, he would blame just about everything that was bad and wrong on Peter. It wasn't exactly fair but so isn't being told by your girlfriend that they were heading into different directions and she wanted a more traditional alpha. Apparently being a baker and owning a catering business wasn't what a traditional alpha was suppose to be.
What was he supposed to be? A grease-monkey lumberjack Wolverine type or CEO guy in a suit, scaring interns with his beast-man personality? Clearly, people expected male alphas to be Hugh Jackman in any movie he has every done.
Granted he has the mass and the body hair and according to people (Isaac, the little shit), he was grumpy-scary when he first woke up in the morning and hasn't had caffeine. But that was bit sexiest, when you think about it.
After the fiasco that was Kate, baking was just an outlet for him. He can just take out his frustrations and able to focus all that energy into making grand-looking cakes or something simple as brownies. Peter made him think about setting up shop in Beacon Hills and after becoming a chef as well, he also set up a catering gig. Mostly he worked for his uncle, barely branching out to others since it involved talking to people and doing what they want. To the exact dot on the flower petal on the cake.
Peter mostly just gave him a menu and a list and budget and leave him alone till he either has to show off to a client or it was the day of and he wanted to do a grand entrance with the food. Peter has to do a grand entrance everywhere. Even at court, when he was divorcing his current spouse. It was fun when they were teenagers. Not so much fun when it was date night and Peter has to flirt with Derek's dates.
Shockingly, he barely did that with Jennifer. In fact, after the third date, he pretty much never visit the apartment that they both shared. Just came by when she was out. That should have been a red flag.
Now here he was, not yet dawn, at the park. With the kitten sleeping on his lap as he sat on the bench just once again trying to figure out what he has done wrong, where did he go wrong and what would he do now. Clearly he had to move out. Isaac's old roommate just moved out after making it official with his own long term girlfriend. Some blond omega that worked for the sheriff.
He made the cupcakes for that house-warming party. They had white chocolate chips in the spongy yellow cakes with rainbow icings with sugary flakes sparkled on top. He wasn't able to enjoy them cause Jennifer had some big party of her own that night and as a dutiful boyfriend, he put on the suit and tie for her. It was not as fun as a simple party with snacks and the marathon of movies to break in the big screen TV that Boyd's parents bought for their son.
So he had heard. Or seen as he dropped off the cupcakes and Isaac.
Jennifer didn't really liked his..safe to say friends and remaining family members. He would have dumped anyone on the spot if they liked Peter but Cora wasn't that bad. She just had the Hale trademark dry wit. Very hard to love unless you been exposed to it over long periods of time. Their father, God rest his soul, was a saint to put up with the rest of them without wanting to strangle them. His now ex-girlfriend just never wanted to go by the shop or go out for drinks or food after a long day with any of them.
She said she didn't feel that comfortable being around with so many alphas. It was two alphas, beside Derek, and his sister and Peter were omegas. Then there were the twins but he just pretended that they weren't there. Just human-sized bags that followed his uncle everywhere during and after Deucalion's time as Peter's latest husband.
Peter and Derek both seemed to be cursed in not having successful relationships. Though he expected that Peter just wanted to marry for the money and then looked for flaws and reasons to divorce as soon as possible. His reason for dumping Deucalion was that the alpha was a perfectionist and controlling and so on. As a parting gift, he let Peter keep the twins as bodyguards.
Derek wasn't going to think about what Peter do with them behind close doors cause he just rather not and keep his sanity.
The alpha just seemed to fall into love deeply and quickly or allowed himself to be tricked cause of reasons that he wasn't going into after drinking and staying out till seven in the morning with a kitten that lost interest a long time ago.
He puffed out a sigh and rose the little puff ball up to his nose to stare at cross-eyed. It wasn't pleased to be shaken out of sleep and let out a mew while padding its jellybean toes on the tip of the alpha's nose. He dropped his head back against his broad back, putting the kitten down on his lap and rubbed it between the ears. He hoped that Isaac was a cat person cause they already bonded through Derek's heartbreak.
He needed to name it. But after sleep and coffee cause he was done with the world at the moment. He carried the kitten in one hand against his chest as he slowly trekked back to his black camero. Leather jacket that had really seen better days laid out on the seat beside him and winced when the kitten kneaded it to the perfect shape for another nap. Derek then just speed out of the empty parking lot and down the equally empty streets of Beacon Hills towards the loft that Isaac had shared with Boyd.
There was a brief sighting of what looked to be a piece of shit jeep but he didn't really care or pay that much attention to it cause he was still buzzing from shots of cheap vodka at a bar and maybe a lot of beers. It took a lot for him to get drunk and he still didn't hit that limit when he really wanted to. He just ran out of cash first and he spent way too much on the now useless ring and flowers and the cat and the dinner on his card. It was after they both ate and shared a wine with each other that he brought out the cat with the ring, at their home not at the restaurant, that he got dumped.
Ugh, he just wanted to sleep and then try to work on this large order for some couple's anniversary party when he has the energy for it. Isaac was barely alive when he answered the door in just a pair of old boxers and curly hair a mess. He took one look at both miserable faces and grabbed the kitten out of his hands before letting Derek in.
“Payment for my couch. Later we get some clothes and go from there.” The younger alpha yawned as he sleep walked from the door back to his room, letting Derek shut and re-locked the door behind him. The couch looked so nice after the night he had so Derek just silently shoved his now wrinkled beyond repair (some where Peter was feeling such painful cramps about it, the clothes-snob) slacks down his legs and tossed over the arm chair located at the right and just rolled up in the thin throw blanket.
This was supposed to be a special moment in time. Now it was just another bad day in a long list of bad days.
(*)(*)
Later on, after moving a box of clothes to Isaac's and now his own place, Derek just lost himself in the work of making a lavish food menu. Isaac and Boyd helped of course but mainly he just went into his own world where it was just him, spices, and stoves. Peter of course came by and just said his piece on how he was right and now his nephew was free over that witch's claws. He tuned the older man out after 'Hello, Derek.” and just kept working.
It was a party that was set around lunch and rather then deal with even more people that day, he was going let the other alphas to delivered and present the food. It was a weird time frame for an anniversary but he wasn't one to judge people. He just made the food, boxed it up for transport, helped load it up and gave Boyd a list of directions on how to laid out and reheat the dishes when they arrived at the party place.
With nothing to do, nothing that important to do at that time, and he really should maybe take a nap but instead, he just cleaned off his kitchen and pulled out items for a custard pie with whipped cream and looky here, a decent block of chocolate to shave tiny bits of shavings off of. Once again, Derek was in his own orderly world, filled with the smell of flour and chocolate. He didn't even hear the jingle of bells at the front of his little shop. But he did hear someone shouting. He just didn't move to answer till he had the pie crust baking and custard in a bowl being whisked gently but quickly.
“Derek Hale?” A tall and built tanned man, younger then himself and carried the faint smell of omega popped his head from the opening the led from shop to kitchen area. Derek just raised a thick brow up as an answered and put aside his bowl. He crossed his arms against his board chest. “Right. Anyway, I'm Danny Mahealani of Eloquent Events and this is...” The omega dropped his hand when it was cleared that Derek wasn't going shake it and his head jerked around, looking for something or somebody before he groaned out a 'Stiles!' before disappearing back out into the shop.
Oookay...Derek just cracked his sore neck and checked on his pie crust, making sure it was reaching the right level of crust before removing it out of the oven and onto the cooling rack. Then Mahealani came back with another omega's collar hanging from his hand. Two omegas in his shop, must be his lucky day. He frown and frowned even more when the paler skinned omega was clearly eating one of the muffins that Isaac had set out in a basket by the door. They weren't free, just for impulse buying after the breakfast rush.
“Man, dude. These are good! Danny, you need to have some of this.” The littler-looking guy kept eating and moaning over the muffins that he was still snacking on. What the hell is going on?
“Sorry, we haven't had lunch yet.” Mahealani smiled nervously before snatching the remaining muffins out of his buddy's hands who was now disgruntled at the last of food. “This is my co-worker, Stiles Stilinski. We both came by to offer you a very rich spot on Eloquent Events and Lydia Martin's payroll as our primary caterer.” Derek wasn't going to lie, the tanned omega had a very nice smile with dimples .
Wait, wasn't Martin the she-alpha that Peter was in war with? It was a big thing their little town, big enough that even Derek knew a little bit about it, despite having his uncle being a main player in it. Safe to say, Peter just has that competitive nature and didn't like players in his sandbox. Martin was holding up her own well enough but Peter never lost.
Well he did once but it was not a business thing. It was more like a first love thing. A redheaded she-omega, a very terrifying woman too, stole his boyfriend and they were married the next month with a daughter just a year later. It was the first and only time Peter did not get what he wanted. It may be why he divorced his own spouses just a year or two later marrying them. Anyway, Peter just didn't lose and Martin just as well settle for second best and move on.
“I already am got a rich spot in that regard.” Derek spoke for once since Mahealani and Stilinski popped in, very rudely by the way. His name was Hale and Derek already knew Peter's quirks and wasn't about to switch teams and relearn a new whole set of quirks. That and maybe family loyalties but mostly cause Derek doesn't do change well and just rather not.
“Yes well, Miss Martin is willing to let you choose your salary and cut of the profits if you just...you know...switch teams.” Stiles spoke up, standing now in front of his fellow co-worker. “The sky's the limit here. Hell I think she's willing to buy you and your employees new cars. A new shop or two.” the kid wriggled his fingers in attempt to entice Derek to say yes.
A bigger shop would be nice. Maybe get enough room for more helpers for both the shop and the kitchens. But Derek was just going have to say no. He thought that he can get a bigger better deal from Peter if he told him what Martin was willing to do to snag him away.
Deal-making was another Hale trademark. Peter and his mother wasn't the only ones that the best at it, either.
So he stared into those big..wow they really were big and bright...amber-brown eyes with a slow cool smirk and said. “I'll think about it.”
Well let's see how high Martin was really willing to go to get Derek's little business. He really wanted a bigger newer shop to work in.