Work Text:
Derek Hale was brilliant in more ways than one. He graduated college at the top of his class with dozens of offers from the most prestigious software manufacturing companies in the country to choose from. In a bold move, he chose to submit his resume to a low class company that could only afford to pay him one-eighth of the sum that he was offered by the others. To Derek, if you wanted to succeed in life, you have to work hard for it, not take the highest apple on the tree just because someone offered you a ladder. After all, they could just as easily pull the ladder out from under your feet when you’re not looking.
It took Derek years and years of hard work, training, and dedication, but he was now the CEO of one of the largest computer software manufacturing company in the country, HAO Computers.
Derek was dedicated to his job. If anything, he was obsessed with it. Then again, his work wasn’t just his life. Rather, it was also his life’s work. He was highly respected and considered an expert in his field. He was intelligent, a smooth talker, cunning and ruthless in business and fair to his colleagues. But the silent and serious aura he carried was intimidating and his perfectionism and sternness was unparalleled.
Not that Derek cared what they thought of him. He was far too busy for that. No matter how hard he tried, someone always screwed up something and he was constantly on his toes to make sure that none of that affected the company.
There was a knock on the door and a second later, his secretary walked in.
“Good morning, Mister Hale. These need your signature, sir,” Lydia said, bustling in and handing him a folder.
“Thank you, Lydia,” Derek replied, taking the folder and then leafing through the papers quickly before signing them. “Please tell the design team that I’ll be meeting them after lunch hour to preview their presentation to the Board and then inform production that I’ll be down in about half an hour for the testing.”
“Yes, sir,” Lydia replied. “Also, the head programmer of CZB called to confirm tomorrow’s meeting.”
“Tell her I’m looking forward to meeting her tomorrow at three in the afternoon,” Derek said.
“Yes, sir.” Lydia took the folder and left.
Derek massaged his forehead lightly. Lots of people to meet and so little time.
His phone rang. Hardly glancing up from the reports on his laptop, he flipped the device open. The company president was overseas for business, so it can either be the vice-president, one of the department heads, one of their sponsors, correspondents, or dealers, or someone from another company that he had business with.
He never expected it to be a phone call for something not related to business.
“Hello–”
“If you don’t get the fuck down here right now, you bastard, I am going to shave your head in your sleep! And we both know you sleep like the dead and wouldn’t wake up even if a zombie was chewing on your stupid, lying ass!”
Derek felt his eye twitch. “…Excuse me?”
“…You don’t sound like Scott.”
Derek couldn’t keep the irritation from his voice. “That’s because I am not this Scott, whoever he is.”
“Oh. Oh! OH! Ooooh.”
Derek almost growled out in anger.
The other person let out a little chuckle of embarrassment. “Uhm… sorry about that and wow, the stuff I said before, forget about it. It was just… yeah. My friend changed his number because that potato forgot his damn phone on the bus. I could have sworn I copied his number right.”
Derek rolled his eyes. “Well, obviously you made a mistake.”
There was a huff from the other end. “I said I was sorry. Jeez.”
Derek massaged his temple once more. He decided that the other person was right. It was an honest mistake and that Derek didn’t have to act like such a creep.
“You interrupted something very important.”
“Oh. Well. Yeah, I guess you do have the right to be angry. Sorry again.”
The line went dead.
Derek sighed. Well, that was several minutes of his life he wasn’t getting back. He closed his phone and went back to work.
It was another busy day.
Derek gave the keys of the Camaro to the valet and nodded to him politely. He smiled at the greetings from the doorman and the hotel staff as he entered the building and headed to the elevator, riding it up to the seventeenth floor. He loosened his tie, took off his jacket, and rolled up his sleeves. His head hurt.
In a few moments, he was letting himself inside his condo unit and the next thing he knew, a coal-black Great Dane was padding towards him. He kneeled down and greeted him warmly.
“Hi, Rumble,” he said, patting him fondly on the head. Rumble barked appreciatively and pressed its wet nose to Derek’s face. He licked Derek’s cheek affectionately. Rumble always seemed to know when he was feeling more tired than usual.
Derek wasn’t a man with lavish tastes and his condo unit, Camaro, and Rumble were the most costly things he ever spent his money on. Even then, the condo was originally Peter’s, his psychotic uncle who was now locked up in a padded cell all the way on the other side of the country, the Camaro was a college graduation gift from Derek’s late parents, and Rumble was a gift from his late sister Laura.
It was a little past ten. Derek placed his briefcase in his home office and pulled out some food for Rumble before crashing down on the leather sofa. It had been a long day. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, something always went wrong.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and for a moment, he was sorely tempted to ignore it, but it could be important. Rumble nudged his great head against Derek’s hand. Even his dog was used to his constant phone calls.
Biting down a frustrated grunt, Derek took it out and read the text message. It was the VP informing him that the president would be staying in Japan for a week longer and that the VP will fly off the day after tomorrow to join him. This left Derek in charge.
Derek was used to being left without his bosses, and right now he was too tired to even think of the amount of work waiting for him now that he was the only boss around. It made him want to curl up and just sleep. Rumble curled against his him, his head on Derek’s thigh.
Derek could feel his consciousness already slipping away and taking him to slumberland when his phone rang. He flipped it open unconsciously and brought it to his ear.
“You left me again, you asshole!”
Derek’s mind was jarred awake by the loud noise.
“Excuse-”
“You’re probably too busy smothering yourself on Allison’s chest to remember that I told you I forgot the damn keys and can’t get into the damn apartment! Scott! Where are you, you jerk?!”
Derek sat up, shaken awake. Rumble was shaken awake as well. All the screaming jogged his memory from what a similar scenario a week ago.
“If you’re looking for that Scott again, this isn’t him… for the second time.” Derek growled. If he was struggling to be polite before, he didn’t care a flying fuck right now. He was tired as hell and he didn’t appreciate getting woken up and shouted at, even if it was just a wrong number.
“Oh.”
“You said that same thing the last time.”
“Oh my god! I remember! You’re that grouch again, aren’t you?!”
Derek’s eyebrow twitched. How nice this was, to get woken up and then insulted.
“Shit! I didn’t mean it that way, ok? It’s just the first thing that came to mind. Sorry! Sorry! I guess I woke you.”
“Yes, you did,” Derek said. His anger was draining out of him until all that’s left was a big ball of tiredness.
The caller seemed to have calmed down somewhat and he sounded sincere when he apologized. “Sorry and… yeah, obviously I forgot to change numbers again.”
“Obviously.” Derek was slipping back into unconsciousness.
“Anyway, I’m really sorry… again. I’ll make sure not to forget next time. Good night… er, almost morning, by the looks of it.”
The line went dead and Derek was out like a light.
Derek wrote legibly on his notes as his other hand brought his cup of coffee to his lips. It was his regular weekly breakfast trip to Sweeters and he was feeling surprisingly good this morning.
The president and VP had secured good deals overseas, one of which was developing a new software in partnership with another company. Thankfully, it was decided that Derek was much needed at home base and instead the VP was the one overseeing the new million-dollar project.
Derek didn’t fancy flying back and forth for three months for that. He didn’t want to leave Rumble alone and he had already secured his fair share of partnerships and deals here at home, all of which require his constant attention as it was.
Derek placed an order of tarts for dessert before deciding to check out the crowd, only then noticing that there was quite the number of couples around. There was a college couple, school books littering their desks as they laughed. There was an elderly couple sharing a newspaper. There was a woman tapping her fingers on the table until a male burst through the door and started apologizing.
Romance was not a word foreign to Derek. He has had several relationships before, but after the last one had the nerve to toss a hairdryer at the affectionate Rumble and then broke up with Derek after saying his million dollars couldn’t make her stomach his stern personality, Derek had put his all into his work instead.
Derek suddenly found himself thinking about it. He knew he was lonely but he was usually too busy to feel lonely. For a moment, he remembered his family. He closed his eyes and shook away the thought.
The phone buzzing in his pocket proved to be a good distraction. He took it out and held it to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Oh, shit.”
Derek didn’t know whether to be amused or just sigh in resignation that this person was either doing this wrong on purpose or just seriously without the mental faculty of memory. It had been a few days since this happened and Derek would think the caller would at least have it in his head to change numbers.
“Obviously, you have once again forgotten.”
There was a sigh. “I’m really sorry. I’m kind of forgetful.”
“Kind of? Try very.” Derek couldn’t help saying.
“It’s just that Scott and I always hang out so I don’t really have to call or text just to talk to him and well, I only needed to call him right now so… I forgot? For the billionth time.” The caller chuckled sheepishly.
“Is this Scott really your friend if you keep forgetting to change his number? I think he’s glad you can’t call him since he can’t even bother reminding you to correct his number.”
There was short silence before a giggle. “Wow, that’s the most I’ve heard you say.”
Derek shrugged. “Just be glad I’m in a better mood now than the last time you called.”
Now that Derek thought about it, why was he even talking to this stranger anyway?
“Oh yeah, sorry about that. I was late to work and totally forgot my keys to the apartment. Scott promised to be there when I get home, but he has a girlfriend so… goodbye bro code.” There was a sigh. “He didn’t even come home that night too. I had to sleep over at a friend’s. Oh, and Scottie’s got worse memory than me, that potato, so he’s not gonna remind me of this anytime soon.”
Derek raised an eyebrow. “Since this Scott is the same as you, you should just change his number as soon as you get off the phone with me.”
“Huh… I guess I just usually forget as soon as I cut the call.”
Derek couldn’t help sighing. He took a sip of his coffee and then motioned to the waitress for his bill and to have his tarts packed. It was about time he got going.
There was a shout. “Hey! What’s your name? This is the third time I’ve called by accident and I’m really curious to know who’s been getting my calls.”
“I don’t usually offer my name to people I’ve never met before, let alone seen,” Derek deadpanned as he tossed the right amount of money on the table.
“I guess there’s no harm in being careful like that, but I don’t mind giving you my name.”
“Seriously, you don’t have to-”
“I’m Stiles! Well, Stiles isn’t my real name, but my real name is kind of weird – I blame my grandmother, though I love my Gram to bits – but people just end up mangling the pronunciation. So just call me Stiles.”
Derek almost groaned in frustration. This person obviously did not have a sense of privacy. And normally, when one gives his name, the other person was bound to give his back. Derek was a stickler for etiquette like that.
Fortunately, the other person, Stiles, spared him.
“Anyway, I’m sure you’re probably running off to a meeting or something, Mister Businessman.”
“And why do you think I’m a businessman?” Derek asked.
“Because you sound really formal and educated and polite and shit. Plus, you’re always busy and in a hurry or something. Businessmen are like that.”
Derek didn’t want to deny nor confirm that. Instead he said, “I have to get to work. Don’t forget to change the number so that this won’t happen again.”
“Ok. I won’t forget.” Stiles sounded quite disheartened. “Sorry about this, really.”
Derek grabbed his packed tarts and suitcase and stood up.
“Goodbye, Stiles.”
“Goodbye, Mister Businessman.”
After a week, Derek was finally sure that this mysterious caller had finally changed his cellphone number. Everything was back to the way it was before, with days of uninterrupted work. There was nothing unusual going on and everything was running smoothly.
He was wrong.
He looked out the window. It was past seven in the evening and he was still in the middle of evaluating the reports for the new software. He had to finish these before going home. He was sure he didn’t forget to put out treats for Rumble, but while his dog was pretty mellow and patient, Derek didn’t like leaving him alone at home.
His phone suddenly rang.
“Hello?”
There was no sound from the other line.
“…Hello?” he asked again.
“Um… hi.”
Derek almost dropped the phone. “Ok, is your memory really that bad?”
“Ok, ok, don’t get mad!” The other interrupted him. “I’m sorry about this and I know you don’t want me calling you again, but trust me when I say this is not intentional… kind of.”
Derek sighed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“So what is it this time…” He tried to remember his name.
“Stiles. The name’s Stiles.”
“Stiles, ok,” Derek said. “So what is it?”
“You don’t have to sound so mad, you know,” Stiles said, obviously downcast.
Derek bit back the ‘Yes, I do’ on his tongue.
“This is the fourth time, Stiles.”
Stiles sighed, static filling the phone. “Ok, so it’s like this. I’m at my friend’s house, Erica’s to be exact, who’s like a total bitch but is scary awesome, and we ended up playing truth or dare.”
“…Truth or dare…” Derek repeated. Seriously, how old was this guy, anyway? And his friends, for that matter?
“Yeah, truth or dare,” Stiles said, sounding chipper. “And they kind of dared me to call you.”
“…Me?”
“Well, the thing is I did change Scott’s number – so see? I did remember! – but I kind of didn’t erase yours and Erica decided to tinker with my phone and he found your number listed down and dared me to call ‘Grumpy Sourwolf’.”
“I am not even going to comment on that name. And why, pray tell, is my number still there?”
“…Dunno, actually.”
Derek knew a highly incredulous look was on his face at the moment. “…You don’t know?”
Stiles coughed awkwardly. “Actually, it’s kind of like you’re busy, like, all the time, so I was curious if I can actually catch you in a moment when you’re not busy and less grumpy.”
Derek leaned back on his seat. “I’m always busy.”
“…Well, that sucks.”
“And I’m busy now, for instance.” He grabbed his pen, ready to get back to work. “So please go and call someone else.”
“What if I wanted to talk to you again?”
Derek was seriously getting tired of this kid. “Don’t you have anything better to do than that?”
“Normal people will be flattered, you know.”
Derek didn’t bother hiding a sigh. “Ok. Listen, I really have to-”
“Fine. Fine. I get it.”
“Thank you.”
“…But I’m not deleting your number.”
“Wait! What-”
Click.
Derek looked at his phone, resisting the urge to throw it at the wall.
What did he get himself into this time?
“Obviously, you live in the city, right?”
“That would be obvious, Stiles, considering the area code,” Derek said, switching between listening to the other male and then trying to proofread his report to the Board of Directors.
“You live in the city, and you’re a businessman. Definitely the signs of a workaholic. You shouldn’t become such a workaholic, Mister Sourwolf. It’s bad for your health.”
“That is inadequate reasoning, Stiles. And I will take your advice under consideration.”
It’s been a week since Stiles had declared that he was not planning on deleting Derek’s number. It’s been a week of constant phone calls and text messages at the most inopportune of moments. Derek didn’t even want to think about the time Stiles kept texting him while he was in the middle of a meeting. He decided to ignore it, but after the fifth text, he couldn’t hold it in anymore and asked the president if he could check the messages. He agreed but not without lightheartedly suggesting that Derek tell his girlfriend about not calling so much during busy work hours.
How he wished it was some girl instead of this irritating yahoo.
“Hey, Mister Sourwolf, since you’re around the city, we should meet up sometime. You know, like, when you’re not busy or anything. You probably don’t know half of the fun places around the city, which is why you’re always so uptight and grumpy and stuff.”
“No, thank you. I’m a busy man.”
“Pssh. How many times are you going to play that card?”
“It’s the truth.”
There was a sigh. “I know. Anyway, I gotta go now. Boyd is treating the gang to lunch.”
“That sounds nice,” Derek said. Thank God he was going away now.
“…If you ask nicely, I can bring you along. It’s not fun eating alone.”
Alone. Ever since Stiles started calling, Derek found himself pondering more and more about that word but, as always, he would push it away, pretend that little pinch in his chest was his imagination, and then brush off the other male’s offers.
“No, thank you.”
Stiles sighed. “Fine, fine. Hope you have a good lunch.”
“You too.”
Derek waited for the other line to hang up. Whenever he had business calls, he didn’t want to accidentally hang up on someone important. It then became a habit of his to wait for the other person to hang up first.
“…Stiles?”
“… I… er… Never mind.”
Derek sighed. “Spit it out, Stiles.”
“Nothing, just… well, you have my number, so just call me if you change your mind or something.”
“Sure,” Derek said, although he didn’t really agree. Truth be told, he didn’t have Stiles’ number, since Stiles was always the one who called anyway. He didn’t see it useful to save a number of someone he didn’t know, and someone he hadn’t even seen for that matter.
“Goodbye, Stiles.”
“Goodbye, Mister Sourwolf.”
Derek hung up and then checked his watch. His lunch break wasn’t in about half an hour, but with all the work done, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to take an early break.
He placed his reports and papers in order, grabbed his things, and then walked out. Lydia wasn’t in her post and probably still out doing the errand Derek asked her to do. He left her a quick note and quickly slipped into the elevator. In no time at all, he was walking out of the building. He decided it couldn’t hurt to eat at Sweeters again, just three blocks away. Since he was a regular there, he will probably surprise the owner by showing up for lunch.
Unlike what everybody else thought, even Stiles, Derek had other things to live for. Maybe not much, but there were a few. He had Rumble. He liked sports, especially baseball, and had dreamt of being a nationally-renowned baseball player. He was a movie buff, watching all types of movies and documentaries, even an occasional romcom or two. He loved traveling and he usually engaged in some sight-seeing whenever he was abroad on business.
It’s just that he was a realist. There was a very small chance to actually become an athlete, so he opted to watch baseball on TV instead, and maybe an occasional game at the stadium. Movie-watching was fun, but he could afford to buy DVDs instead of going to movie houses. Traveling was fun, but he can’t just travel anywhere and leave Rumble or his job.
Plus, all those activities are best done with family and friends, something Derek didn’t have much of. Or in family’s case, just one psychotic uncle.
Derek looked up, only then realizing that he had walked all the way to the café in a daze. He walked inside. There were few people in, probably because he arrived a bit early. As he expected, the owner was surprised to see him.
“I didn’t expect to see you here, Derek,” Ms. Grant said, smiling.
“Good afternoon, ma’am,” Derek said. “I thought I’ll take my lunch here for a change.”
“Well, you’re most certainly welcome.” Ms. Grant waved him over to a corner table. “Have a seat, darling. I’ll have someone get your order.”
Derek had yet to sit down when the door was thrown open and a noisy crowd walked in. He sat down, deciding that it was much better to just ignore them. That would have worked perfectly if they hadn’t decided to sit down about two booths away. He could hear them perfectly.
“Allison and I take this spot!” One of the males shouted, taking one end of the table. A female sat down beside him, and he placed an arm around her shoulders.
“You get in first,” the other woman was saying. She was blonde and in a rather tight tank top.
“No, you get in first,” the male said, pouting. He had curly blonde hair.
The last other male, a black and buff guy, sighed and took a seat. “I don’t care who sits where, as long as you all sit down.”
“Boyd!” The blonde girl whined. “Make Isaac sit over there.”
Derek raised an eyebrow in interest. Allison? Isaac? Boyd?
Allison, the girl who sat down, sighed. “Erica, come on. Take a seat.”
Erica – and that was another name Derek could have sworn he’d already heard before – crossed her arms over her chest.
“If you two don’t sit down soon, I’m not treating you,” Boyd said.
“Fine.” Erica sat down, pouting. “I blame you, Isaac.” She kicked his shin. Isaac slapped her on the shoulder.
“Do you have your order ready, sir?”
Derek turned to the waitress who placed a cup of coffee and a newspaper on his table. He was so busy scanning his brain for some signs of semblance to the names Allison and Erica and Boyd and Isaac that he didn’t notice her. He placed a quick order and then returned to his brooding.
The owner approached the small group.
“Good afternoon, my darlings,” she greeted them.
“Hey, Ms. G!” There was a chorus of good afternoon from the group.
“Where’s Stiles?” she asked.
Derek’s coffee went down the wrong pipe and he immediately grabbed a napkin as he cleared out his lungs. Thankfully, no one noticed him
“Stiles had a delivery to make so he let us go first,” Isaac said. “He’ll be here soon.”
“I see,” Ms. Grant said. “I’ll have your usual orders out in a minute, my darlings.”
No way. There was no way this was happening.
Ms. Grant headed Derek’s way. “Is everything all right, Mr. Hale?”
Derek cleared his throat, but his voice was still shaky. “E-Everything’s fine, Ma’am.”
“I’ll have your order out soon,” she said, smiling pleasantly. “If you don’t mind me saying, it is a nice surprise to see you here during lunch, Derek. I hope everything will turn out to your liking.”
Derek nodded. “Thank you.”
She left and then Derek was alone again, nursing a cup of coffee while asking every single god or deity he knew why things were happening the way it did, because he knew that this wouldn’t have happened without some freaky divine intervention or something.
The front door burst open.
“I am so hungry!” shouted the male who walked in. “Is the food here yet?” He greeted his friends one by one, dropping kisses to the girls’ cheeks, bumping fists with the male with the uneven jaw, and ruffling Isaac’s curls.
Now that voice there was definitely the same one he’s been hearing on the phone since that fateful call almost two months ago. It was slightly different, but he’d know it anywhere as it had successfully and irritatingly ingrained itself into Derek’s memory.
Derek had always had a picture in his mind of what he thought Stiles looked like. The real Stiles was definitely a lot easier on the eyes than the one he pictured in his head. Stiles had dark hair, doe eyes, the brightest smile Derek had ever seen, and a starburst of moles all across his skin. He was wearing a tight blue shirt, black pants, sneakers, and leather gloves. Stiles was as excitable as Derek had pictured him to be, but he was obviously not a teenager. Derek guessed the two of them to be about four or five years apart at the most.
Stiles peeled off his gloves and it was only then that Derek noticed that he had a helmet with him.
“Sorry I took so long,” Stiles said, chuckling. “I didn’t know where to park my bike.”
“Grab a seat,” Erica said.
Stiles looked around. Derek instinctively raised his newspaper high up, only to hit himself mentally on the head. Why was he avoiding him when Stiles didn’t even know that Derek was his mysterious phone pal?
“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”
Oh, shit.
Derek was suddenly glad he took his newspaper. He concentrated on it, only offering a small shake of his head.
“…Uhm, can I take it, sir?” Derek could feel Stiles trying to peek past the newspaper, as was only proper. Derek kept his head low and nodded.
“Oh, ok then. Thank you.”
There was the sound of scraping chair legs against the floor and after a few short moments, Derek could hear Stiles engage in loud banter with his friends. Derek didn’t drop the newspaper.
“Here’s your order, sir.”
Derek thanked the waitress, still preoccupied as he racked his brains trying to remember the conversations he had with Stiles. After a moment, he finally remembered Scott, Stiles’ best friend and the person Derek had been mistaken as, and then Allison, his girlfriend. Isaac was the curly-haired blonde one, and Erica and Boyd were the couple.
And then Stiles.
They looked like an interesting group, wearing flashy and colorful suits and band shirts and jeans. Derek looked down at his crisp suit. Even on his days off, he usually wore polo shirts and dress pants. He was used to it. In fact, Derek couldn’t quite remember the last time he wore simple jeans and a jacket.
Derek drank down the last of his coffee and then checked his watch. He had some time to kill before going back to the office, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to spend it here where he could eavesdrop on someone who he shouldn’t have seen in the first place. He ran a hand through his hair, sighing, and then motioned to the waitress for the bill.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He whipped it out. It was a text message. From Stiles.
Before opening the message, he cast a glance at the male. Stiles had his phone in hand, looking at the screen, and biting his thumb nail. Isaac asked him something and he looked up, smile suddenly in place, but he kept a hold of his phone.
Derek opened the message.
From: x-xxx-xxxxxxx
Message: Hey sourwolf! Wat r u having?
Derek noticed that Stiles was scarfing down a large muffin. He hesitated, but he realized it couldn’t hurt to reply.
From: Derek Hale
Message: Steak.
It was a lie, but it’ll do.
Derek sent the message and raised his newspaper to his face. In half a second, Stiles was glancing at his phone, reading the message. Derek watched him, waiting for his reaction. Derek guessed that he’d laugh or maybe be offended. Stiles did none of that.
He smiled.
And it was beautiful.
For a moment, Derek didn’t even feel his phone buzzing in his hand. He hesitated for a moment.
From: x-xxx-xxxxxxx
Message: Maybe all dat cholesterol is d reason ur so grumpy. Try sweets. If u ask nicely, I’ll share my muffin w/ u :)
He looked up. Stiles was still smiling.
A waitress approached. “Sir, here’s your bill and-”
Derek grabbed his wallet and wordlessly threw several bills on the table. He didn’t even check to see if it was the right amount but he was sure he ended up paying a whole lot more than he should.
He walked out of Sweeters, immediately getting lost in the crowd.
Today was shaping up to be a difficult day.
First of all, everyone at work suddenly decided that today would be a good day for all of them to screw up.
Derek, being CEO, was used to people informing him about every little thing as well as coming to him for help. So far, a fight broke out at the seventh floor between two competitive interns, one of the secretaries ended up misplacing several very important files, only for the janitor to salvage them from the trash bin, and then one of the computers in production suddenly decided not to cooperate almost making the team late for their deadline. Finally, and this was Derek’s favorite, there was an unannounced power shortage for thirty minutes and by the time the lights went back on, four different departments found important files disordered, resulting in every single pending project being set back a day.
Lydia was efficient as always. “Sir, the testing department had just finished reorganizing their project files. We can go ahead with the scheduled processing.”
Derek shook his head. “Tell them to recheck their files, make sure we didn’t lose anything important. We’ll have to wait for the green-light from all other departments before we go ahead with the processing. If we’re lucky, we can take back the day we lost.”
“Yes, sir.” Lydia walked out.
Derek grabbed his phone and called the President, informing him of the matter. The President was still optimistic despite the setbacks, which helped Derek calm down a little.
Derek rubbed his temples.
He looked at the screen of his phone.
There was another thing that made this day vastly irritating, although Derek would bang his head on his laptop before fully admitting it.
It’s been three days since he saw Stiles and his friends and Derek found himself thinking about him more and more. He was still hard at work, but he was still taking a few moments or two to reply to a text message or take his call.
Stiles had texted him that morning, saying he was busy and couldn’t call him as he always did, but he made up for it with a constant stream of messages and every single time Derek got a text, there would be that small, happy part at the back of his mind.
Derek didn’t want to admit it, but he really did enjoy the random calls and messages. It broke him away from his sometimes monotonous day at work whenever Stiles would suddenly call or text him to ask him how his day went or to tell him some odd story. That was probably part of the reason Derek never blocked his number because it still made his day whenever he remembered Stiles’ text of ‘Did you know if you typed in 5318008 on the calculator, and flip it upsidedown, it spells boobies?’ between two texts from the VP thanking Derek for his hard work and another one congratulating him for being so productive.
Derek’s phone beeped. It was Stiles. After a quick reply, he tucked away his phone.
Where was he?
Oh yeah. Work.
Contrary to Stiles’s belief, Derek knew how to have fun.
During the weekends, he would take a short walk to the park with Rumble to listen and watch the people performing there. There was an elevated stage at the park which was a popular place for street performers to hang around.
Tonight, Derek heard that there was going to be a show sponsored by one of the local radio stations. It will feature performances by several young hopefuls. Derek decided it couldn’t hurt dressing a bit more casually, so he made do with a white polo shirt, black slacks, and black shoes. Maybe it wasn’t that casual but it was better that than his usual suit. There was a hint of winter air that night so he was glad for the small blanket and warm cappuccino he brought with him. He had taken Rumble for a walk and the lovable dog was now dozing beside him on the grass.
Derek took a sip of the drink, relishing the delicious taste, as he placed the blanket over his legs and leaned back against the tree he was sitting under. There was a relaxed atmosphere tonight and the organizers dimmed the lights a little to add to the mood. Derek liked this very much and the people gathered seemed a bit more relaxed and subdued. He turned to Rumble, rubbing his head and he let out a small pleased rumble.
Out of his sudden growing habit, he checked his phone. As expected, there was no call or message. Stiles called him earlier that morning, telling him he had plans and that he wouldn’t be calling or texting until later that evening.
Satisfied, Derek pocketed the device and watched as an announcer walked up the stage. It was a bit too late when he realized that he knew the person up there. It was one of Stiles’ friends.
Erica greeted the audience and after a short introduction gave the stage to the opening act. Derek watched her step down. He tried to pass it off as just a passing coincidence.
He was wrong.
After about five other performances, Erica walked back onstage. Derek was a bit distracted because of his suddenly vibrating phone. A glance at who was calling was all he needed. He answered.
“Hello?”
“Mister Sourwolf, are you busy?” came the outburst.
“Not particularly,” Derek said.
Stiles let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, that’s good. Listen, can I ask a huge, huge favor?”
Derek raised an eyebrow. “It depends.”
Stiles was silent for a moment.
“Stiles?”
“Well… uhm… I’m going to let you hear something, is that ok? I mean, like, um, can you stay on the phone for five minutes or something?”
That got Derek’s interest. He decided it couldn’t hurt ignoring the next performance to hear this.
“Sure.”
“Thanks a lot,” Stiles said, and Derek could just imagine that beautiful smile on his face. “And I swear you won’t regret it, kind of, er, hopefully… but you gotta promise me one thing.”
“I won’t hang up, if that’s what you’re saying,” Derek said. He’d done that once before and Stiles had whined at him for ten minutes straight. He wasn’t going to let his ears suffer that again.
“It’s not that, well, actually you can hang up if you want I mean, I won’t blame you if this isn’t your type or something like that, but I think you’ll like it so maybe you’d-”
“Stiles, what is it?” Derek interrupted him. Stiles was starting to ramble, which wasn’t unusual, but he sounded nervous.
“You have to tell me what you honestly think, ok?” Stiles’s voice was determined. “If you like it or not, if it’s good or not, you have to tell me, ok?”
Derek wondered what this was all about. “Ok.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Ok. It’s going to start soon, so just keep it to your ear, ok?”
Derek waited, wondering what it was all about, when he heard something. It was like an echo.
Erica announced a name, and Derek almost choked on his drink. In a few seconds, Stiles was walking onto the stage.
No.
Way.
Derek looked at his phone and then back on stage.
It couldn’t be.
He pressed the device to his ear and was able to hear Stiles’ static-lined voice greeting the crowd merging with the actual sound Derek was hearing at the moment. There were several cheers and Derek scanned the crowd. To one side of the stage were Stiles’ friends. Boyd had his arms around Erica, who had her fingers in her mouth as she let out a loud whistle. Scott was shouting encouragement and was holding a device in his hand, obviously Stiles’ phone. Allison and Isaac were cheering.
Fate was seriously relentless.
Derek decided it was much better hearing this live than on a cellphone so he held it in one hand and concentrated on Stiles instead as he settled down behind a keyboard.
“Good evening,” Stiles said, grinning at the crowd. “I’m Stiles and fortunately for everybody, I will not be displaying my vocal prowess tonight. It’s a bit too out of this world. Plus, there are kids present and I wouldn’t want to give them nightmares.” He grinned as a few people laughed. “I’ll be playing the piano for you all tonight, a medley of some of the best songs I know. I’m pretty sure you guys will figure these out. If not, shame on you.” He grinned.
Stiles shoot the crowd one last look and launched into his piece. The male’s fingers danced over the keyboard delicately, a playful tune emitting from it. Derek couldn’t place what he was hearing until someone in crowd shouted in delight.
“That’s from Duck Tales!”
Either Stiles heard it or he realized the crowd finally understood what he was going for as he grinned.
It seemed that the best songs Stiles knew were cartoon show themes and he was playing a medley of them to the crowd.
Derek laughed under his breath. He shouldn’t have been surprised.
As Stiles launched into the next tune with a smooth transition, it then turned into a guessing game.
“Rugrats!” A few people shouted at the same time.
Derek watched, amused and delighted. The playfulness of this struck something in him, the way the crowd happily engaged as Stiles launched into one theme song after another. He saw how relaxed and happy Stiles looked on stage, like it was the best place in the entire world.
Erica shouted, “Inspector Gadget!” from the top of her lungs.
The kids in the crowd screamed in delight as Stiles launched into the Pokemon theme song.
Minutes later, as Stiles’ ‘Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers’ theme song tapered off at the end, Stiles was greeted with tremendous applause and most of the crowd even made an effort to stand up and cheer. Stiles flushed, a brilliant smile in place, and then bid the audience good night.
Derek’s eyes followed him as he walked off back to his friends, who greeted him with loud cheers and embraces. Derek saw Stiles thank them and then reach out to Scott excitedly for the phone. Derek pressed the device to his ear.
Derek waited, but Stiles didn’t speak at first. He could hear him though, slightly breathless, and Derek could see him biting his lip and gripping the phone tightly, fidgeting, a light blush across his cheeks.
“I… I… I know it was childish, but I… I hope you don’t think it’s a joke… ”
Derek stood up. This was his chance. He could walk over there right now, introduce himself, and finally put a face and a name to the stranger Stiles had been talking to for close to three months. They could finally meet each other in person.
With one last glance, Derek walked off, his long legs taking him away from the stage, the crowd, and one talented, beautiful male.
Derek paused for what to say. He decided to go for honest.
“I didn’t think it was a joke, Stiles. I absolutely loved it.”
Derek waited patiently for his turn in line. He was once again at Sweeters and had fallen in line to purchase some macchiato and tarts for dessert. The President and VP invited him to lunch earlier with a few business associates and the restaurant was so fancy and formal that it made Derek queasy. Also, the fact that one of their business associate’s daughter kept making come hither eyes at him didn’t help.
He walked to the counter and placed his order excitedly. He pulled out his wallet and contemplated if half a dozen tarts were enough. Maybe he should have bought a whole box.
There was the sound of bells as the door was pushed open. Derek initially ignored it, but when somebody walked past him wearing a semi-familiar helmet, he looked up. The male took off his helmet, revealing a smiling face and Derek instinctively ducked his head to not be noticed.
“Good afternoon, Ms. G.” Derek heard Stiles’ say. “Here are the items you asked for.”
“Hello, darling,” Ms. Grant said. “Thanks so much for the quick delivery.”
“No problemo,” Stiles replied with a cheeky grin.
“I’ll get my purse,” Ms. G said.
Derek watched as Stiles settled into one corner, helmet tucked under one arm, and guarding several plastic bags on the counter as he fiddled with his phone. Without hesitation, he pressed a button and brought it to his ear.
Derek’s hand flew to his pocket and, sure enough, his cellphone vibrated.
At this point, Derek knew it was pointless questioning the Fates for these ‘coincidences’.
He grabbed his purchases, thanked the woman at the cashier, and walked out of the store before answering the phone.
“Hello, Stiles.”
“Hi, sourwolf. What’s on your to-do list for today?”
Why do you care so much, Derek wanted to ask, but instead he said, “The usual, just work.”
Stiles didn’t bother commenting on that. After so long, he knew Derek always worked.
“I’m working too,” Stiles said, even if Derek didn’t ask. “The usual, doing deliveries.”
Stiles, ever the chatter-box, had once told Derek all about his job. He was a delivery boy for his dad’s restaurant and occasionally did errands for other shopkeepers and friends. Stiles even divulged his family’s restaurant’s name in an effort to convince Derek to come see him, but Derek never accepted his invitation to come.
Although Derek did took a peek, just once when he was ‘driving by’.
Derek actually knew the place. He’d heard many of his colleagues talking about it. It served really good pasta.
Stiles admitted that he was working to get himself through his last year of college, especially since he only had his dad now after his mom got sick. Although the restaurant was doing well and they weren’t lacking financially, he wanted to lessen his dad’s expenses by being more independent.
“Did you have lunch yet?”
Derek focused back on the conversation as he maneuvered his way around the crowd on his way back to his office building. “Yes, I had lunch with some associates,” he said.
“Associates, how formal,” Stiles said, not teasingly, just honestly. “So you’re on your way back to work?”
“Yes,” Derek said.
“Shame. I thought we could have eaten out somewhere,” Stiles said, genuinely disappointed.
Derek didn’t say anything to that.
The thing was, Derek wasn’t sure why he was so intent on avoiding a meeting with Stiles, especially when he had seen him thrice now. Stiles seemed like a nice guy, good-looking, friendly, and cheerful. His friends seemed nice.
Why didn’t he want to meet Stiles?
“Hey, did I ever mention that Erica’s a deejay?”
Derek knew that after seeing them at the park that last time, but he said, “No. Do you deejay?”
“Sometimes I sit in with her as a guest,” Stiles said. “She lets me play some stuff on the air, which is pretty cool and her boss lets me so long as I play his requests once in a while.”
Derek almost smiled. “That’s good exposure for you.”
“I play by request mostly,” Stiles said. “But, I’m trying my hand at composing.”
“Sounds good. Do you only play the piano?” Derek asked.
“Nope. I was totally addicted to music growing up which was a shame since I have a voice that’s like rubbing Styrofoam together.” Stiles laughed and Derek bit down a chuckle. “But I play piano, guitar, bass, synthesizer, and drums.”
“That’s impressive,” Derek said, a bit awed.
The happiness in Stiles’ voice was all too obvious. “Thanks!”
“I play cello,” Derek muttered. He suddenly stopped in his tracks. What was he saying?
“Really?” Stiles’s voice was full of amazement. “Oh my god! That’s awesome! Wow! I’d love to hear you play! Or we could duet!”
Derek swallowed. “I used to play. I don’t play anymore.”
“What? Why? Why’s that?”
“I…” Derek hesitated. “I haven’t played since the day my family…”
“Your family what?”
“Died. Fire.” Derek said, throat closing up. “And a crazy uncle who… my sister.” He sighed. “It’s a long story.”
Stiles voice was soft. “…so it’s just you?”
“Just me,” Derek said. “And my dog.”
Stiles was silent on the other end.
Derek hit himself on the head, quite literally. He ignored the woman that looked at him in curiosity before walking a wide path away from him.
“It was years ago,” Derek said. “It’s nothing.”
“I know it’s not nothing,” Stiles said. His voice was full of feeling. “I know the last thing anybody would want to hear is I know how you feel but I… um…” He cleared his throat. “My mom, er, cancer. It’s been years but… I know, like I really know… you know?”
Derek gripped his phone tighter. He pushed away the feeling creeping into his chest and cleared his throat.
“So, I’m… um… almost at the office. I have to go.”
“Oh. Ok, then. I don’t want to bother you anymore than I already have.”
“You weren’t a bother,” Derek said. Honestly, he wasn’t. “But I do have to go. It’s not easy being CEO of HAO Computers.”
“You’re CEO of HAO Computers?” Stiles shouted at the phone. “Like seriously?!” Stiles let out a whistle. “Wow, that must be one sweet gig.”
“Not always,” Derek said.
“I have to go too,” Stiles said. “Hey, now that you told me your job, can I get your name now?”
Derek shook his head. “Considering my work, won’t it be easy to find out my name?”
His name wasn’t that hard to look up, if anybody happened to check their company website, they’d see his name right on the company profile.
“Fine, make me work for it why don’t you?” Stiles laughed. “If I get it right, maybe then you’ll agree to swing by our restaurant with your…” Stiles coughed. “Girlfriend? Husband? Three illegitimate but charming children?”
Stiles didn’t really do subtle that well. Derek flushed. “Just me. And um, my last boyfriend was years and years back. So maybe. We’ll see.”
Derek could practically hear Stiles lighting up. “Oh. Oh! OH! Um… ok then! I mean, if you could drop by, it’ll just be us. I mean, you and me. I don’t have… er… yeah.” There was a sound on the other side, probably the woman paying Stiles for the deliveries. “Um. Anyway, I gotta go. I’ve got a lot of deliveries to make today. I’ll talk to you tonight!”
Looking forward to it, Derek mused. He waited until Stiles hung up before pocketing his phone.
Derek was only in his sweatpants as he settled into his desk chair and looked out the back wall of his home office. It was made completely of glass and gave him a perfect view of the hustle and bustle of the city. The tiny pinpricks of light among the buildings made him feel glad to be in the silence and peacefulness of his condominium.
Rumble sauntered over to him and Derek leaned down, ruffling the dog’s coat.
“Who’s my good boy?” he said, smiling as the dog barked happily. He kissed Rumble’s nose.
Derek looked out of the window as Rumble settled peacefully by his feet.
A certain male had been occupying his mind more and more these past weeks. It was annoying sometimes, particularly when he had important work to do, but lately Stiles had become a usual, even anticipated, part of Derek’s day. There were days when Derek just seriously wanted to block his number all together, but most days, he found himself smiling, even laughing a little, at the daily calls and messages.
Stiles, for his oddity in actually managing a friendship with someone he’d never even met, was different from the people around Derek. He had a good sense of humor and he didn’t care about Derek’s work, although he expressed much concern about Derek’s workaholic tendencies. He was frank, but kind, and snarky but witty. He treated Derek like an equal, even if they had an obvious difference in social classes, and he was constantly up to par with Derek in debates of whatever topic would strike their fancy.
What’s more Stiles never made Derek feel lonely.
Whenever Derek was around other people, his bosses, and his colleagues, he would always feel that little tug in his heart saying that the only thing he had in common with them was work. Stiles made him think of all the things he was missing on, things he pushed aside thinking that they didn’t matter.
After his family’s death followed so soon by Laura’s, he had locked himself away from all forms of friendship and intimacy. The only thing he truly adored was Rumble and his Camaro.
He locked himself away from ever connecting with someone.
Derek had no family but that didn’t mean he couldn’t find someone, right? Someone to make him happy.
He leaned back, looking up at the ceiling.
He was attracted to Stiles. That was the truth; Stiles, who he had met four and a half months ago through a wayward phone call. He should think he was being silly for liking someone like Stiles, especially when, technically speaking, they’ve never even met, but he couldn’t help it. He really liked him.
So, what now?
Derek looked down at the bustling city. Somewhere out there was Stiles doing who knows what with his friends.
Derek would love to be a part of that.
Derek’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He flipped it open and brought it to his ear.
“Hi,” Stiles said. He was obviously smiling. “Hi, Derek.”
Derek’s smile grew at hearing his name from the other’s lips. He can’t deny the fluttery feeling in his chest. It was different, but it was a good kind of different, a kind of different that made him happy.
“Hey, Stiles.”
The weekend came and Derek found himself at the park once more. He was sure Stiles would be here. Stiles told him so. There was another mini-concert of sorts at the park. Stiles didn’t sound nervous on the phone, so Derek knew he wasn’t performing today.
There was a loud bark and Derek smiled to see Rumble running his way. He had a flower tucked into his collar. Derek laughed and waved upon seeing a little girl and her mother waving at him. He waved back and patted Rumble on the head.
“I thought we had a ‘boys-only pad’,” Derek said, scratching behind Rumble’s ears. Rumble barked happily.
Suddenly there was the sound of a motor and Derek turned his head in time to see a red motorbike with two passengers pull over near the road. They got off the bike and pulled off their helmets. Derek recognized Allison and Scott.
Isaac came running towards them. Allison tossed her helmet at the male and Isaac caught it smoothly, laughing. Scott parked the bike and just as he was locking it into place, another one pulled up. It was green and black, its rider wearing a familiar helmet.
Derek watched as Stiles pulled off his helmet. He grinned, ruffling his hair, and greeted his friends warmly. He quickly parked his bike beside Scott’s.
The group made their way to their spot and Derek watched them. They approached Boyd who had several boxes of pizza with him. The group settled down around it and the next thing Derek knew, they were munching on pizza and talking loudly.
Derek watched them for a while, intermittently between paying attention to Rumble and watching the crowd.
Erica suddenly came running towards them. She kneeled down beside Stiles and took his hand, talking fast. Stiles was surprised at first before suddenly nodding. Erica smiled, suddenly kissing his cheek before running off.
Derek wondered what that was about, but he ignored it as Rumble fussed a little and Derek gave him a treat.
There was static and Erica was on stage. Derek only half-listened as she welcomed the crowd and gave a short introduction about the event.
“Unfortunately, our original opening act will be unable to perform,” Erica said. “But, thankfully, we have one of our previous performers here to substitute. I’m sure most of you will remember him. Let’s welcome, pianist extraordinaire, Stiles.”
There was clapping and cheers.
Derek’s looked back at Stiles’ group of friends and saw that he was gone. When he looked back at the stage, Stiles was already making his way up the steps with a guitar on hand. Rumble let out a bark along with the happy crowd.
“Hi, everyone,” Stiles said, grinning brightly and taking his place in the center of the stage. “So, yeah, Erica pretty much forced me to do this. I’ll be going for guitars tonight and this is all gonna be impromptu, so cut me some slack. And sorry, kids. No Pokemon theme song this time around.”
There were some sad ‘Aww’s from the crowd.
Stiles laughed. “But I do have a short medley of Disney songs this time, which I hope makes up for it.” He grinned when the crowd cheered.
The crowd cheered as a soft melody erupted through the speakers. Stiles’ was going for something less playful and something soft and smooth this time around. Everyone was immediately taken in by the soothing and relaxing sounds.
Rumble was swaying his massive head, letting out small and happy whines. Derek leaned back, enjoying the tune. He could pick out the songs, all Disney classics, and watched Stiles, who was concentrating on his guitar, long fingers nimble and quick.
When the last chord trailed off, Derek joined everyone in giving him a standing ovation as Rumble let out a howl. Stiles flushed excitedly and bowed his head before relinquishing the mic to Erica and getting down from the stage.
This was his chance.
Derek took a deep breath.
Derek wasn’t a coward, he knew that. He made bold moves and daring decisions, but all that was for work. This was different. He didn’t think he’d be given a bad reception. It was Stiles, after all, and he wanted to meet Derek. There was no reason to be scared or nervous. It was even more useless getting worried and wondering if he might not meet Stiles’ expectations. He’ll never know unless he tried.
He looked down at himself, at his white polo, black trousers, and loafers. Although he knew it wasn’t exactly casual, it was his most easy-going ensemble. He still wasn’t used to wearing more casual clothing. He knew, hoped, Stiles wouldn’t mind.
He took a deep breath. It was now or never. He made his way to the little crowd, but before he could get close enough, Rumble ran for them.
“Rumble!” Derek shouted.
The massive dog approached Scott, nudging his shoulder with his big face. They looked at him in surprise.
“Hey there, boy,” Scott said excitedly, patting him on the head a bit cautiously, not that Rumble would bite him. “What are you doing here?”
“Cool dog,” Boyd said, grinning.
Rumble barked and moved on, nuzzling his nose into Allison’s hand.
“He’s a sweetie,” Allison said as Isaac reached over to scratch behind his ears.
Rumble moved on to Stiles. Stiles watched as the dog curled up beside him, placing its massive head on his knee and letting out a contented whine.
“Hi!” Stiles rubbed the dog’s head, delighted when Rumble whined happily. “Where’s your owner, boy?”
Rumble looked up at the approaching Derek and let out a bark. They turned to him and Derek gave them an awkward smile.
“Is this your dog, mister?” Stiles asked.
Derek nodded, smiling at Rumble, the sneaky rascal. Rumble let out a smug bark, as if reading his master’s thoughts. He rolled around and gave Stiles’ hand a sloppy wet lick. Stiles laughed.
Derek knew all he needed to do was say something, anything, and Stiles would recognize his voice. He cleared his throat.
“He likes you,” Derek said. I do too.
Stiles smiled and played with Rumble’s ears. “Yeah, I think so too. I…” He stopped and looked up, eyes wide. A look of realization crossed his face at that moment. Derek was scared for a heartbeat, but the way Stiles’ eyes lit up with glee made him realize that yes, this was worth it.
Who would have known all it would take was one wrong number?
Stiles smiled, bright and beautiful, and all for him.
“Derek!”