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It was Stiles idea, it was always Stiles idea, and Derek hated it. He hated every second of it. He hadn't even known that there was a laser tag place in Beacon Hills. Let alone that the pack liked going there. How the hell did they manage to play this stupid game? It stunk, the floors were uneven and poorly kept, and the strobe lights blinking on and off were fucking with his vision. The stupid chemical smell of the fake smoke made his head throb painfully. His vest beeped again, letting him know he'd been hit, and he could hear Erica cheering as she ran away. He waited for his vest to vibrate, so he knew he could fire again, not that it mattered. He didn't think he'd managed to hit a single one of them in yet. They had split the pack into two teams, "dividing the couples!" Stiles had said.
"So are you sitting these games out then?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Not everyone in the pack was dating, but Stiles always made it sound that way. Stiles was newly single, after leaving his boyfriend before coming back home for his summer vacation from college. Derek was always single, and he actually kind of hoped that, that meant he wouldn't have to play since he didn't have a boyfriend or girlfriend to be on the opposite team of.
"Rude, just for that, you're on the other team," Stiles said. "And I rock at laser tag." He hadn't been lying either, Stiles had gotten the most points for his team during the last round. Which made Derek wonder why the hell Stiles didn't use a long ranged weapon when they were in real trouble, instead of just running around with his baseball bat. In the end, they scrapped the idea of splitting up all the couples and the teams had been mostly split by gender instead of anything else.
"It'll be fun," Jordan told him as they headed out to the cars. Stiles climbed into Allison's car, giving Derek a shit eating grin as he did. The jeep had broken down earlier that week and he hadn't been able to get it fixed yet, and Derek thought it looked weird as Stiles crawled into the backseat. "I've gone a few times. Loosen up a little Derek, have some fun." Jordan patted him on the shoulder, smiling his stupid cheerfully optimistic smile at him. Derek wanted to refuse, go back upstairs, and read for the rest of the night. The whole pack wasn't even coming with them. Cora had rolled her eyes, said that she wasn't going, and no one fought her on it. Peter had straight up laughed at him when Derek had glanced in his direction, though Peter not going was probably for the best anyway. Ethan had seemed interested in going, but Aiden had pointed out that they already had plans. Mason and Hayden both bowed out too.
"It's just so loud," Hayden had said, and she was right. It was so fucking loud. When they arrived at the huge warehouse looking building, Stiles had already divided them into teams.
"Me, Erica, Lydia, Allison, Danny, Malia, and Kira will be team one, also known as team awesome. Team two will be Derek, Boyd, Jackson, Isaac, Scott, Jordan, and Liam, also known as team suck," Stiles said.
"That's a terrible name," Boyd said and Stiles agreed.
"I was honestly distracted, it's not my best work, but here we are," Stiles said as he flung the door open.
Derek's vest beeped again, and a second later the round was ending. Lights came up slowly, and Stiles and the girls cheered loudly from wherever they were. He heard Jackson groan as he trudged past Derek to the exit. The scores appeared on the board on the wall in the main area. Stiles name--The Stilesinator, no really, that's what the asshole went with--was at the top of the board again. Derek's name--The Big Bad, Stiles' picked that name as well--was at the bottom of the board. Stiles was there a second later, next to Derek and grinning so widely that Derek hoped his face split in half from it. "How does it feel to know I'm better at something than you are?" Stiles asked. "Shouldn't your huge muscles, super powered nose and ears give you a one up on me, the lowly human?"
"You're an emissary in training, Stiles," Derek said.
"Okay, true, but I'm not using magic. These are just skills I was born with, baby," Stiles said tugging on the edges of his plaid over shirt.
"It's not like the rest of the pack is doing well," Derek said.
"Yeah, but you're the only one who has managed to get zero points in two rounds," Stiles said.
"Who says I'm trying?" Derek asked.
"Oh please, you're trying to tell me that you're being that bad on purpose?" Stiles asked sharply.
"It's a game where you point beams of light at other people," Derek said dryly and Stiles flailed next to him.
"Are you insulting this hallowed activity?" Stiles snapped.
"Hallowed, Stiles?" Derek said.
"Hallowed, Derek!"
"It's a game," Derek said and he knew he looked smug. Getting Stiles riled up was literally one of his favourite activities. He liked watching Stiles stumble over his words, lose his train of thought, and then end up doing something stupid because of it.
"A challenge!" Stiles shouted. Derek was suddenly aware of how many people were watching them, including a birthday party of ten-year-old who Stiles had been high fiving earlier.
"Stiles," Derek said sternly, but Stiles shook his head.
"No! You have insulted my culture Derek!" he snapped.
"I didn't know laser tag originated in Poland," he snapped back.
"If you tag me more times than I tag you, I'll clean the loft after every pack meeting for the next three months," Stiles said.
"And if you win?" Derek asked.
"You have to drive me around wherever I want, whenever I want, for three months worth of time when I'm home from school, even if I get Roscoe back!" Stiles said, poking Derek in the chest.
"Fine," Derek snapped.
"Fine," Stiles agreed. He held his hand out for Derek to shake on it, but Derek just stared at him until Stiles huffed and stormed over to the girls and Danny. They all had smug looks on their faces. Every. Single. One. Of them. Jordan stepped between Derek and the other group, blocking his line of sight and looking so goddamned concerned.
"Got a little heated there?" Jordan asked quietly, in a voice Derek knew he used at work for suspects.
"Apparently," Derek answered. Isaac came up next to him, tugged Derek back and out the front door, the rest of his team following him.
"You know you're gonna lose, right?" Scott said.
"Yes," Derek answered.
"Oh, good, as long as you're sure," Isaac snapped.
"It doesn't even affect you," Derek said.
"I think we could win," Liam said and everyone just frowned at him. "What? I do! Seriously, we're freaking mythological creatures, how hard is it to beat them?"
"We're at a slight disadvantage," Scott said. "There are five people on their team with fairly human senses."
"Yeah, but Derek just has to hit Stiles, no one else. We don't even have to win the round," Liam said.
"It'd be nice to take Stiles down a peg," Jackson said and shrugged. "But, we're going to need help making sure that happens."
"What do you suggest?" Derek asked.
"Cheating," Jackson answered.
"I'm not cheating to beat Stiles in a bet," Derek snapped.
"Okay fine, not cheating then, just... leveling the playing field," he answered.
"How?" Scott asked.
"Lydia knows this spell that she learnt for Stiles, it's a quieting spell... it helps when his ADHD is bad or his anxiety acts up," Jackson explained. "She hasn't had to use it for years, not since Stiles figured it out himself."
"I remember that," Scott said.
"No," Derek snapped. "I can do this myself."
"And how are you going to do that?" Jordan asked.
"I'll... I'll..."
"You could kiss him, that'd distract him," Liam said, and Isaac laughed.
"Yeah, do that, Derek. Kiss Stiles," he said, and Derek growled at them. It wasn't a secret that Derek had feelings for Stiles, but it also wasn't as funny as the whole pack seemed to think it was. Besides, Stiles wasn't interested in him, Derek had already tried asking him out. Stiles had turned him down. The fact that they've maintained a comfortable friendship should have been enough for everyone to shut up.
"You think Lydia is just going to willing cast that on me?" Derek asked after a minute of silence. Jackson glanced at Scott, who just nodded his head.
"Yeah, I think I can convince her," Jackson said and without waiting for an answer, he sprinted back to the building. Derek watched him go, and when he looked back to the others they were sharing weird looks, that made him nervous.
"This is stupid," Derek snapped.
"Nah, this is good," Scott said cheerfully. They clearly knew something he didn't, and it made his stomach twist, even Boyd was smiling at him and that was just unnerving in the current situation. Before he could say anything, the doors to the building flung open, and Lydia came outside with her hands planted firmly on her hips. Jackson was half a step behind her and seemed pleased with himself.
"I don't have long, Stiles is going to notice I'm gone," she said. "Kira and Malia are keeping him busy at one of the arcade machines. What do you need me to do?"
"Why are you so willing?" Derek asked, and she rolled her eyes at him.
"Please, the UST is disgusting, Derek. If I can fix that, 90% of the pack's current problems will be solved," she answered.
"UST?" Derek asked furrowing his brow in confusion. She rolled her eyes a second time and turned to look at Scott.
"Well?" she asked.
"The quieting spell?" Scott said. "Do you have what you need to do that?"
"Oh... Oh!" Lydia said and now she was grinning. "Yes, of course. Derek, come here." She waved one of her hands at him and then pointed at the ground in front of her. Derek took a cautious step toward her, and then let her adjust him until she was happy with where he was.
"Perfect," she said. She placed her hands on either side of his head, not actually just touching him, but almost. Then she started muttering softly in another language until Derek could feel something rush through his head. He could feel a soft wind curl through his mind, pulling out the pain from his headache, and replacing it with soft warmth. He blinked a few times, and when she pulled her hands away from him, he shook his head. "Don't take too long now, the next game starts in five minutes." She turned around with a flourish and was off again. The world didn't seem that different to Derek after the spell, and for a minute he wasn't even sure it had worked. But, then they went back inside. The screaming of other people, the noises from the arcade machines, and the thumping dance music that played in the lobby was almost silent. He could hear each pack member perfectly, zeroing in on their heart beats like they were alone in the room together. He picked out Stiles' jack hammering heartbeat almost instantly and he focused on it.
They had a plan now because, for whatever reason, the team wanted Derek to win. So, before the game started, Danny disappeared for a few minutes coming back just as they were let into the first room to get their vests and guns again. "No strobe lights anymore," Danny said. "I told the guy you're prone to seizures and are too stubborn to not play. He said he'll keep them off."
"Cheating," Derek said, but he didn't do anything about it. They scattered through the room, the teams spreading out as they waited for the game to really start. Derek hadn't had trouble hearing them in the first two games, but now it was even easier. He could pinpoint each person, where they were leaning, crouching, or hiding. He could hear the soft shuffling of shoes on the ground, and the way the plastic of the guns creaked as they were being moved. The originally overpowering smells of sweat and fake fog were gone and were replaced by the scents of his betas. The game started, and for two minutes, Derek didn't move. He just listened to the others start a slow spiral around the arena and start firing at each other. He heard the beep and vibration of the different vests as they were hit, and the annoying grunts or soft swears as the pack waited to re-enter the game.
Stiles started to move last, creeping slowly along the ground, crawling even though it was against the rules of the game. Derek moved then, hopping silently on top of one of the barriers, and scaling until he was at the top of the tallest one. The rest of the pack didn't seem to notice, and more importantly, neither did Stiles. Derek scanned the arena, and finally spotted Stiles. He was pressed close against a barrier, a few feet away from Jackson, who didn't seem to have noticed him. Stiles pointed his gun, tightened his fingers and fired. Jackson swore and looked around, trying to see who had hit him but didn't find him. Derek knew he was too far away from Stiles to hit him, so he waited for Stiles to creep closer. Stiles peeked around corners with the same caution and determination he took into real world emergencies. He kept crawling forward until he was so close that Derek could have dropped down on top of him. Instead, he pointed his gun down and fired.
The soft buzz and sudden vibration made Stiles jump, and spin around to look for someone. Derek didn't wait to watch him; instead, he rolled back and dropped to the ground again. He landed silently, ducking around another barrier. He pressed himself against the wall, listening for when Stiles vest vibrated again, and he was able to keep going. Derek went the long way around the arena until he found himself behind Stiles. Without the strobe lights, there was nothing keeping him from just seeing Stiles. It was satisfying; in a way he hadn't expected it to be, stalking Stiles through the arena. Derek got another two shots in before he was hit by someone else--Allison he thought--and he moved to a safer spot. Stiles was moving to the edge of the arena now, his heartbeat thumping more aggressively than normal. Derek followed it once his gun worked again, staying away from other pack members, and keeping close to the walls.
Derek pressed close to one of the walls, Stiles was right on the other side, breathing heavily and sounding just a little frustrated. Derek waited for just a second, before he dove around the wall, and fired. He expected a squawk or a string of swears but got neither. No one was there, the heartbeat was suddenly gone, and then his vest beeped. "Got you," Stiles snapped. Derek turned around to find Stiles standing over him. "You're cheating," Stiles said.
"Am not," Derek answered, but Stiles was grinning at him.
"I can cheat too," Stiles said and then he was gone in a puff of smoke. Derek stared at the spot Stiles had been and then listened for his heartbeat. He was across the arena now or... or at least it sounded like he was. Derek set off after his heartbeat, being more careful this time. He climbed to the top of the tallest barrier again, only to have his vest beep and vibrate half way to the top. He couldn't be sure that Stiles had hit him, but he thought he heard Stiles laugh when it happened. Derek was hit a third time when he was following Stiles scent across the room. He growled low in his throat, and this time he was sure he heard Stiles laughing. It wasn't often that Derek let himself go, let himself do stupid things just for fun, but he was sure it would fine here and let his eyes bleed red. He shifted half way, and everything became even clearer.
He was hit with the smell of Stiles' magic; a soft curling trail that made him think of home and comfort. He followed that, instead of the heartbeat, or Stiles normal scent. He followed it like a cartoon character floating down the hallway toward a pie or tray of lasagna. Derek found Stiles, pressed against the wall, and peeking around the barrier. Derek took a step forward, gun in his hands, and pointed at the other. Derek was so focused that when his foot hit a bump in the ground, he stumbled forward. It was something that seemed more at home on Stiles, as he tumbled forward, and crashed into Stiles. "Holy shit," Stiles said, as both of them fell. Derek lost hold of his gun, sending it clattering to the ground, and then he was on top of Stiles.
Stiles moved sharply, straightening his gun, and--Derek panicked, and kissed him. For a second there were fangs, but then Derek let himself shift back and there were just soft warm lips. Stiles whole body froze, the gun fell from his hands and hit the ground near Derek's. Derek pulled back a second later, staring at Stiles shocked expression and hating how endearing he found it. Then, like it had been his plan the whole time, he grabbed his gun and shot Stiles in the middle of his chest. The game ended then, and Stiles sputtered and looked around frantically. "What the hell?" he snapped.
"What?" Derek asked, getting to his feet.
"You wolfed out," Stiles hissed. "A-and.. and you..." Stiles snapped his mouth closed and shook his head. A strange set of expressions played over Stiles' face before it settled on hurt and anger. Derek didn't know how to process that. Allison was next to them a minute later, helping Stiles off the ground, and smiling at them both.
"Excited to see who won?" she asked.
"Yeah," Stiles answered and stormed off toward the exit. Allison gave Derek a puzzled look, but he just shrugged at her. Team Awesome still won the last round. But, when they got their individual score cards they could see that Derek had hit Stiles four times, and Stiles only managed three hits. Stiles just looked at Derek and said, "Congratulations." He called a cab to take him home and refused to explain why he was suddenly too angry to speak.
"I didn't think he was that much of a sore loser," Jackson said.
"Shut up," Derek snapped.
"Geez, whatever," Jackson mumbled and went off to find Danny.
"Did something happen?" Jordan asked once the rest of the pack was distracted.
"Yeah," Derek answered, "I'm just not totally sure what." Derek wanted to follow Stiles, but he had driven too many people to just leave. So, he had to wait. He was relieved when the pack didn't take much longer, but as soon as he had dropped Isaac and Scott off, he drove to the Stilinski house. He sat in front of it for a few minutes, staring at the cruiser in the driveway, and wondering if it would be better to just ignore this. Stiles would be going back to school in a few weeks, the pack meetings would probably be no more awkward than they had been after Derek asked him out. He didn't realise how deep into his thoughts he let himself get until John knocked against the passenger side window.
"Front door's still unlocked, but Stiles did lock his bedroom window," John said. "So, I hope you've got a good argument to get him to talk."
"I--I..."
"He hasn't eaten yet," John said and then tapped the top of Derek's car twice before he headed to his cruiser. Derek watched John pull out of the driveway, wave, and then drive off. It was a little surreal feeling. Derek drove ten minutes to get Stiles his favourite curly fries and a burger, also stopping long enough to grab a pile of candy. He parked in the driveway, and let himself into the house. He could hear Stiles upstairs, pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself as he did. The mumbling stopped as soon as Derek's foot hit the bottom step.
"Go home, Derek!" Stiles shouted from his room, but Derek pushed forward. He knocked softly on the door when he reached it.
"I brought you food," Derek said.
"If you think you can bribe me out of my room, you've got another thing coming!"
"It's a burger and fries," Derek said. Stiles seemed to think about this and then swore.
"No, uh uh, that's not good enough," he snapped.
"There are curly fries... and I stopped to get some Reese's," Derek said. Stiles was silent for a few minutes, and then finally he yanked his bedroom door open.
"Fine," Stiles snapped. "Go to the kitchen." Derek listened, hurrying down the steps and into the other room.
"Here," Derek said, setting the food out on the table.
"How did you even get inside?" Stiles asked frowning at him.
"Your dad let me in," Derek answered.
"Traitor," Stiles mumbled. "What do you want?"
"I want to know what happened," Derek said.
"I'm sorry?"
"What happened during the game?"
"What part of it? The part where we set up a silly contest for fun? Or the part where you took it too far and used my crush against me to win a fucking bet?" Stiles snapped.
"What?" Derek asked.
"I know you don't return my feelings, but if you hated the idea of driving me around so much, you could have just told me! I know we both say stupid things when we get going, and I figured that's what that was. I'd win, you'd drive me to the airport when I went back to school, and we'd call it good. Or you'd win, I'd clean the loaf a few times, and it'd be over. It was a game, Derek!"
"You don't have feelings for me," Derek snapped, sounding way more angry than he meant to. Stiles stared at him for a minute, looking confused and a little hurt.
"Look, you can't growl this away," Stiles told him. "You can deny them, but they're here and I've done a damn good job of keeping them to myself. Making sure there is always room for Jesus between us and all that jazz. But... but come on, Derek. How can you be that cruel? It's just a fucking bet."
"No," Derek snapped and Stiles looked at him. "No, you... how can you... I asked you out and you turned me down!"
"What?" Stiles asked, looking shocked.
"I asked if you wanted to go out for dinner and then watch that Russian Avengers movie. You said no and that you'd make other plans," Derek said and Stiles gaped at him.
"You didn't ask me out for that!" Stiles shouted. "You... you said you'd watch it with me because no one else would!" Derek dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, he tapped at the screen for a minute, searching for the message. He thrust his phone out to Stiles, waiting until he took it. Stiles seemed scared for a second, but then pulled the phone toward him.
Derek: What was that Russian movie you wanted to watch?
Stiles: Guardians! It's apparently a really weird Avengers-like movie but set during the Cold War and showing off the values of the USSR.
Derek: Have you found someone to watch it with?
Stiles: No, it's an awful movie apparently, so no one will risk it.
Derek: I'll watch it with you.
Stiles: Is Scott putting you up to this?
Derek: No.
Derek: We could go out for dinner together and after we could watch it at the loft. Like, Netflix and chill.
Stiles: Oh my god Derek. One, I don't think you know what that means. Two, no one says that anymore.
Stiles: But, nah. I can find someone to watch it with.
Stiles stared at the messages for a few minutes, and then looked up at Derek, still gaping at him. "No," Stiles said slowly. "How was I supposed to know you meant a date?!"
"I asked you to go out!" Derek snapped.
"That could have meant as friends!"
"I added that stupid Netflix thing because Isaac insisted it would get the point across!"
"That means watching part of a movie and then having sex, Derek!"
"I know!" Derek snapped.
"I'm 156 pounds of sarcasm and missing the point, Derek!" Stiles said. "Why would I think you liked me?"
"I've liked you for years; the pack makes fun of me constantly!"
"What? No way... that's not..." Stiles said. Derek could see him desperately trying to jump start his brain again. He watched as Stiles' hands opened and closed, and his mouth did the same. He looked desperate and panicked and just a second away from crying. So, Derek surged forward before Stiles could get any further than that, grabbed him by the shirt, and kissed him again. Stiles didn't freeze this time, instead, he threw his arms around Derek's neck, and yanked him closer. The kiss was frantic and heated, and it made Derek's toes curl. Stiles tangled his fingers into Derek's hair, making Derek moan into his mouth. It spurred Stiles on, making him push against Derek until he had stumbled back and collided with the table. Derek wanted to flip them around and throw Stiles onto the table, but he was sure they'd break it. Stiles' hands didn't wander to his body; they both just held each other and kissed until it hurt. Derek broke the kiss and pulled away from him. It made Stiles whine and grab at him, only to be met with Derek holding his hands up.
"Wait," Derek said, and Stiles paused. Stiles' pupils were blown wide, and his hair was a mess now. It made Derek want to lunge back at him, press him against the closest wall and keep Stiles shut up with his mouth. Instead, he shook his head and snapped. "Just, goddammit... just eat your curly fries."
"Really?" Stiles asked, sounding almost hysterical. He ran his hands up through his hair again, and Derek tracked the movement with his eyes. "You want me to eat the fucking food instead of...?"
"They are awful reheated," Derek said and Stiles panic softened at that. "You'll just be bitching in the morning, that they're gross."
"Are you saying you're going to be here in the morning?" Stiles asked, suddenly grinning again.
"If you shut up and eat the food, then yes," Derek answered.
"Fuck, okay then," Stiles said and sat down at the table. "Come 'ere, eat the burger."
"I'm not--"
"Eat the burger, Derek," Stiles ordered and pushed it toward him. "We'll worry about the candy tomorrow."