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Stiles threw down the game controller, bored out of his mind. Not even video games were enough to keep him occupied anymore. He groaned in frustration.
He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head. Sure, he was glad that he wasn’t fighting for his life every few weeks like the last two years, but he missed the excitement and bonding time with everyone.
Ever since his best friend Scott had gotten bitten by a rogue alpha in their sophomore year, the two of them had been involved in the supernatural world. Kanimas, witches, werewolves, hunters, and countless other creatures had occupied Stiles’ mind most of the time he wasn’t in school, and frankly, quite of bit of school time, too.
The town of Beacon Hills was literally a beacon for the supernatural, and the Hale pack had always protected the town. But when a hunter tried to burn down their large manor in the preserve with nearly all of them in it, most of the family had left for New York, including the alpha, Talia. Despite the missing Hales, nothing had bothered the town for years. But when rogue alphas and everything else had started showing up, the two oldest Hale children, Laura and Derek, had returned from New York to start taking care of things once again. They’d given the bite to a few willing teens, and there’d finally been a pack back in town to defend it.
But once the entirety of the Hale pack had returned the past summer, Beacon Hills had finally calmed down. Supernatural creatures of all sorts were no longer trying to destroy the town and its citizens. Stiles really was thrilled that things were peaceful once again, but it made for a far more boring life.
It was now Stiles and his classmates‘ senior year. Stiles wasn’t sure where he wanted to go to college just yet, but he definitely wanted to be within a few hours of Beacon Hills so he could come home when needed. He’d miss his dad and the pack way too much to leave the state. Lacrosse season hadn’t started yet, so he didn’t have to go to any games, even though he was most likely going to be a benchwarmer again. And since he no longer had to go out at all hours to save the town, his homework was done quickly and he was left with far too much free time, which made for a very bored Stiles.
And a very bored Stiles needed to find something to do.
He glanced around his desk, looking for something to catch his interest. His eyes zeroed in on the police radio sitting at the corner. He grinned as he remembered loving going to the station with his father as a kid, playing at his father’s desk while the older man was doing his work around the station. He’d used to beg his father to let him help solve the various police cases, but his father had never let him. And as a teen, he had used the radio to find out about cases that were definitely supernatural in nature and alert the pack about them.
He seriously doubted that his father would let him help now to alleviate his boredom, even though police work was definitely one of the possibilities he’d been tossing around for his future career. John Stilinski might brag about his brilliant son to anyone who’d listen, but Stiles had been found around way too many crime scenes in the past for his father to not be suspicious. And he still didn’t know about all the werewolf shenanigans that Stiles was involved with.
But solving crime wasn’t something to be done alone. Maybe if he was a werewolf himself, he’d be able to handle any belligerent bad guys. But he was only a squishy human, and a not very coordinated one, either, which was why he barely got off the bench for lacrosse, and only when the team was desperate. Unfortunately, his packmates were all surprisingly busy now, too.
He loved Scott McCall like the brother he never had, but he knew that Scott was using his newfound free time to hang out with Allison. He honestly didn’t blame the guy. If he managed to get the object of his desire, he’d be hanging out with them constantly, too. Scott didn’t have any doubt about his future, either. He wanted to be a vet just like Deaton and planned to go to the nearest university before heading off to veterinary school.
Lydia was brilliant and a shoo-in for class valedictorian, though Stiles himself was right behind her. She was using her free time to hang out with, ugh, Jackson Whittemore and studying up on obscure subjects to prepare for college. She’d already gotten an early acceptance to Yale, and Jackson was planning on going to the east coast with her.
Everyone else was studying hard to improve their grades so they could get in the best colleges they could. And the Hale family, while warm and welcoming to the newer pack members, probably wouldn’t be interested in case solving. Laura would have been totally into it, but she’d returned to New York to finish college there. The only one who might be interested was Derek.
Just thinking about the alpha caused Stiles’ cheeks to redden. Derek was just a few years older than Stiles, and Stiles had been attracted to him from the moment he and Scott had seen him in the preserve years ago. All of the Hales were gorgeous, leaving Stiles to wonder if every werewolf was that good-looking, but it was so much more than Derek’s good looks that kept Stiles’ attention.
Derek had been gruff and broody back when they‘d first met, a contrast to Laura’s sunny disposition. Laura had always been the alpha heir, but Derek had killed the rogue alpha, leaving both of them as alphas, though they were both subordinate to their mother, Talia. He hadn’t made the best choices as alpha at first, hiding his feelings and training the new betas too hard, but with Laura and Stiles guiding him, he became someone who could actually show he cared instead of hiding it because he was afraid of getting hurt or getting someone else hurt.
But Stiles was so far out of Derek’s league, it was ridiculous. Stiles had never been popular with either girls or guys, with his tall, lanky, mole-covered body and propensity to talk way too much about just about anything. It was no wonder that Scott had been his only friend until they’d joined the supernatural. Derek would never be interested in a loser like him, if he even was interested in guys in the first place.
Stiles smiled. Yes, he’d love an excuse to hang out with Derek more. Even if they’d never be romantically involved, he loved the friendship between them built out of trust and saving each other’s lives time and time again. He hoped that Derek was bored enough to want to solve crimes with him. He decided to go to the Hale house tomorrow and see what Derek thought about.
**********
The next day right after school, Stiles drove his Jeep over to the Hale house. He didn’t even have to knock on the door before Talia opened it and smiled warmly at him. “Hello, Stiles! How are you doing?”
“Great, Mrs. Hale,” Stiles answered. “Is Derek here?”
“Oh, yes, he’s right upstairs in his room,”
Stiles’ heart skipped a beat, and he was dismayed to see Talia’s smile grow. “Awesome! Gotta go!” And he rushed up the stairs to hide the blush on his face.
He walked down the corridor of bedrooms, and stopped at Derek’s door. Before he could do anything, Derek’s voice called out, “What do you want, Stiles?”
Stiles opened the door and saw Derek sprawled our on his bed reading a book. “You know, you guys could at least pretend that you didn’t already know I’m there before I knock.”
Derek didn’t bother looking up from his book, and he smirked as he turned the page. “What’s the fun in that?”
“I’ll show you fun,” Stiles muttered, then brightened at the perfect opportunity to present his plan. “And I will show you fun! How would you like to try to solve police cases with me?”
Derek raised one of his impressive eyebrows. “Doesn’t your dad do that already?”
“Well, yeah,” Stiles said, sitting on the foot of the bed. “But I’m so bored and I liked figuring out things for the pack because I was totally the brains behind everything… Well, Lydia too, and now I don’t have to do that anymore because the town is so quiet now, but I really want to again, and solving cases would be so much fun, and will you do it with me?” He looked up at Derek with pleading puppy-dog eyes.
“No.”
“Aw, come on, Derek!” Stiles whined. “You know how much I love solving stuff, just like Dad! But he won‘t let me help out, so I‘ll just do it myself! Well, with you,” he quickly amended. “Come on, you must be bored, too! You’re not working right now.”
Derek still looked suspicious. “People are going to wonder why a high school kid is hanging out someone older if we go around together,” he pointed out.
Stiles frowned. It was true that few people knew that he was friends with Derek outside of the pack. It would be suspicious. But then he got the best idea. “You could go around in your wolf form!” he cried out. “People will think you’re my faithful dog! We’d be just like Shaggy and Scooby Doo! This’ll be so awesome!” He fist pumped in the air.
Derek glared at him. “I am not using my wolf form for this,” he growled. “And I am not Scooby Doo.”
Stiles patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, big guy,” he said with a wink. “I won’t be expecting you to try to say things like ‘Ruh-roh’ when you bark.”
“Why do I put up with you?” Derek looked up at the ceiling as if it held all of life‘s answers.
“Because I’ve wormed my way under your skin and now you can’t live without me!” Stiles answered cheerfully, intending for it to be a joke, but wishing it could be real.
But he was taken aback by the genuine smile that blossomed on Derek’s face. It was so open and honest and warm and Stiles wanted him to smile like that forever. He managed to hold in the sigh that wanted to spill out. That would have been so embarrassing.
And what if admitting his feelings ruined the amazing friendship they had now? Stiles wasn’t going to chance it.
Derek finally put his book down. “Alright, fine, I’ll do it.”
“Yes!” Stiles yelled. “Come on, big guy, let’s see what dangers lurk in our town on this lovely Friday afternoon.”
The two left Derek’s room and were about to go down the stairs when they heard quiet voices coming from below. With his wolf hearing, Derek could hear the conversation easily, but Stiles only had ordinary human hearing and he lifted a finger to his lips for quiet and leaned over the railing to see how much he could hear.
“--could have gotten into our vault?” came Derek’s father, Richard’s voice.
“I don’t know,” Talia responded. She was pacing, her hand running through her long hair while she thought.. “But my great-great-grandmother’s jeweled necklace is missing, and the vault shows no signs of being broken into.”
Stiles widened his eyes as he gripped the railing. What they were looking for was apparently right downstairs.
“Well, obviously it was,” Talia’s brother, Peter’s drawl came next. “But it was clearly someone who knows how to sneak around if they didn’t leave any clues.”
“They didn’t even leave a scent in there,” Talia said. “Whoever it was clearly knows how to disguise their scent.”
“Do you think it’s someone supernatural, then?” Richard asked.
“It’s very possible,” Talia said. “Or at the very least someone who knows about us.”
Peter’s growl was clearly audible to even Stiles’ human ears. “What if it’s hunters? You know that there are still Argents in town, even after what Kate did.”
Stiles glanced over at Derek, worried about how he’d react to hearing Kate’s. Years ago, she had been the hunter who had seduced an underage Derek and had nearly succeeded in burning down the Hale house and killing them all. Thankfully, she’d been stopped before lighting the fire and she was now rotting in prison for the rest of her life. Stiles was vindictively happy about that. No one hurt Derek and got away with it.
Derek was biting his lip and clenching his fists. Stiles could see blood dripping from his hands where his claws were cutting into skin. He shook his head and gently took Derek’s hands, carefully opening his fists so his claws wouldn‘t hurt him anymore. The werewolf looked ashamed of his reaction and mouthed, “Sorry,” but Stiles shook his head harder. Only when Derek finally seemed to be okay did Stiles turn back to the conversation that was still going on below them.
“--doubt it was Chris,” Talia was saying. “He’s more likely to team up with us because he and his daughter believe in protection, and they know we only fight to protect ourselves and others. Besides, his daughter, Allison, is involved with Scott, and Chris is okay with that. Victoria wasn’t so much at first, but she’s a little more tolerant now.”
“Are you going to report the theft to the Sheriff?” Richard asked her.
Talia nodded. “Tomorrow. Even though it’s likely that the threat is supernatural or hunter, involving the human police is a good idea just in case it’s not who we expect. I trust John, and he always does a good job trying to find evidence, so maybe he can find something that we missed.”
The three of them left the room, and Stiles and Derek just looked at each other. “This is it!” Stiles said, grabbing onto Derek’s arm excitedly. “This could be our first case!”
Derek slowly nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I know how much that necklace means to my mom. It’s a treasured family heirloom. And it’s worth a lot of money, so whoever stole it is probably going to try to sell it.”
“Then it’s settled!” Stiles declared, pounding a fist into his hand. “This’ll be our very first case together! Let’s head to the school right away! Maybe we can solve this before the police even need to be involved! Aren‘t you excited, Derek?”
“I’m jumping for joy, Stiles,” Derek said in a deadpan voice, but he still followed Stiles down the stairs.
**********
Stiles drove to the school with Derek in wolf form sitting in the passenger seat. “I really appreciate you doing this with me, dude,” he said as he pulled into the mostly deserted school parking lot.
He could practically hear the “Don’t call me dude” that the wolf’s glare exuded. Stiles grinned in response and ruffled the wolf’s fur, dodging the playful bite that followed.
He parked the Jeep and got out with the wolf beside him. Stragglers who were just leaving the school passed by them, and a few commented on Stiles’ beautiful dog, to Stiles’ amusement and Derek’s annoyance.
They were passing by the lacrosse field when Stiles whispered to Derek, “I hope we don’t run into Coach.”
“Bilinski! What are you doing here?”
Stiles cringed. “Speak of the devil,” he muttered. Coach Finstock was coming across the field towards them. Then he called out while sporting a winning grin “Hey, Coach! What’s up?”
Finstock looked at Stiles suspiciously. “What are you still doing at school? You’ve still got a few more months before you get to warm the bench for one last season.”
“Just walking with my dog!” Stiles said breezily. “It’s such a beautiful day.”
The coach, who was still staring at Stiles, glanced over at Derek. “Uh huh, your dog. Nice to see you again, Hale. Been a long time.”
Stiles froze. “Hale?” he squeaked. A quick glance beside him showed Derek looking like he was about to bolt at any moment.
Finstock nearly rolled his eyes. “Yeah, he’s right there next to you,” he said, pointing at the black wolf.
Stiles’ mind was completely blown. “How…?” he began.
“Just how much of an idiot do you think I am, Bilinski?” Finstock snorted.
Stiles opened and closed his mouth. Answering that question probably wasn’t wise, especially since Finstock still had to grade Stiles for the rest of the year.
“You’re not exactly the most subtle person in the world, you know,” Finstock continued, pointing at Derek. “I remember seeing you and your sister sneaking around the school, carrying your clothes in your mouths. Not like your parents were all that subtle either.”
This was all way too much for Stiles to handle at the moment, and he wasn’t sure if Derek still might run away. “Yeah, we’re gonna get going now. Let’s go! Later, Coach!” And he ran across the field, Derek right at his side.
**********
“Dude, can you believe Finstock?” Stiles was still in shock.
He was standing outside the nearest boys’ bathroom while Derek was in a stall shifting back to human form and getting dressed again. He tried not to think about all those drool-worthy muscles and tan skin on display behind the stall door.
“No.” Derek’s voice was muffled, probably putting on a shirt.
“I don’t think he’ll tell anyone,” Stiles continued. “I mean, he’s apparently known for years, like even before me and Scott knew, and we never had a clue before.”
The stall door opened, revealing Derek in a green Henley and jeans that fit him perfectly. Stiles studiously tried to control his heart rate so Derek couldn’t tell how just much Stiles was attracted to him. “Let’s get going.”
They didn’t run into anyone else as they walked through the school, though they saw some teachers sitting at their desks finishing paperwork in their classrooms. They had to sneak carefully by the principal’s office where Gerard Argent was writing some papers.
When they went by the library, though, Lydia was walking out, Jackson following behind her carrying a stack of heavy books. “Lydia!” Stiles said, pointedly ignoring Jackson. “Do you want to come solve crimes with us?”
“Solve crimes?” Jackson snorted. “With Stiles? Lydia has much better things to do with her time.” He glanced over at Derek. “No offense, alpha.”
“Hey!” Stiles glared. “We are solving legitimate crimes here! Before the police, even! We’re like the Scooby gang.” He ignored the growl coming from Derek.
Lydia shook her head, her red hair swaying. “I really do have studying to do. I need to get faster with translating Latin.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to join us, Lydia?” Stiles cajoled. “You’re super smart like Velma, but you’re beautiful like Daphne.”
Lydia looked pleased at the assessment, but she still shook her head. “I really can‘t. But good luck with it.” She gave a sly grin and whispered in his ear softly enough that werewolf ears wouldn‘t hear. “Maybe you and Derek spending time together will finally get you to admit how you feel about him.”
Stiles blushed furiously. Why did everyone he know have to see right through him? It was so frustrating. Couldn’t a guy keep his pining to himself like everyone else?
As Stiles walked off toward the vault again with Derek, he couldn‘t help but snicker at Jackson‘s shout of, “Hey, who would I be?”
Probably a lizard monster.
**********
“I still can’t get over the fact that your family has a vault under the school!” Stiles commented as Derek opened the heavy vault door after entering the correct code. “How’d your family come up with something like that?”
Derek glared and held his finger to his lips. “Do you want Argent or someone else to hear us down here? What about the thief?”
Stiles mimed zipping his lips shut and together, the pair entered the Hale vault.
Most of the things in the vault weren’t particularly valuable, just things that weren’t kept in the manor due to disuse but still sentimental enough to be saved. The things of actual value were tucked into a corner. There was thousands and thousands of dollars in cash kept in a hidden compartment in an old bureau, other pieces of old family jewelry, and stock certificates for all the various shares different family members held.
Stiles’ eyes combed every inch of the vault, while Derek sniffed everywhere, trying to catch a whiff of the thief. But neither of them found anything. The thief had covered their tracks too well.
They were almost about to give up and head home when a tiny light caught Stiles’ eye. “Wait a minute! Let me check this out!” he called out and examined where the light had come from.
There was a small piece of shiny fabric snagged on a nail protruding from a cabinet. “This doesn’t look like something you recognize from your family, does it?” Stiles asked, passing it to Derek.
Derek knelt down and examined the fabric, turning it over in his hands and sniffing carefully. “No. It’s definitely not something of ours. Not even the gaudiest clothes that Laura owned had fabric like this.”
“Our first clue!” Stiles cried, a gleam in his eyes.
Unfortunately, a second sweep of the vault didn’t reveal anything else to them. “Ugh,” Stiles sighed, slumping down against the wall. “I guess that little bit of fabric is all we have to go by.” He checked his cell phone for the time. “It’s probably already dark now. We’d better get going.”
**********
Stiles felt dejected as they traipsed back through the empty school. “I’d hoped that we’d find more than this,” he said, fingering the scrap of fabric.
“It’s more than my mother found,” Derek shrugged.
That cheered Stiles up. They had at least found some sort of clue, after all. But before Stiles could say anything, Derek brought an arm up to block Stiles’ way. “Wha--?”
Derek glared at him and covered his mouth. “I hear something,” he whispered.
Stiles widened his eyes in surprise, but he remained silent and followed behind Derek as he slowly moved towards the noise.
Soon enough, even Stiles could hear the opening and closing of drawers and eventually a door. “We have to catch them before they leave!” he whispered urgently to Derek.
“You stay behind me,” Derek whispered back, dashing ahead soundlessly.
Stiles rolled his eyes but ran as quietly as he could behind Derek. Derek, always wanting to protect people, protect him.
A figure that he could hardly see in the dim lights was walking toward the front doors of the school. And those dim lights shone off of something sparkly it was holding. It had to be the necklace! But the figure had seen or heard them and sped towards the door.
The doors opened, and Stiles ran faster. “Hurry!” he cried out, not caring about silence anymore.
Derek was out the door not even half a minute after whoever they were chasing, with Stiles following up in the rear.
Once they were outside, Stiles could finally see a cloaked figure running across the parking lot with Derek in pursuit. Not only was the necklace shining in the moonlight, but so was the cloak. Stiles whipped out the piece of fabric and sure enough, it glimmered in the same manner.
He grabbed his cell phone and speed dialed the Sheriff‘s station. His father answered the call. “Beacon Hills Sheriff Department. How can we help you?”
“Dad! Thank goodness!” he hissed breathlessly into the phone. “A thief stole a necklace from the Hale vault at the high school! Come here quick!”
His father sighed. “I don’t even want to know why you’re at another crime scene. Be there in about ten minutes, son.”
Stiles sighed as he hung up. He’d deal with his father’s disappointment later.
Derek, far ahead of him, had tackled the cloaked figure down near the edge of the lacrosse field that bordered the preserve. Stiles hurried to catch up to them.
When he finally did, he found Derek pinning a figure wearing a ridiculous cloth mask that covered its whole head. “Isn’t it a few weeks too early for Halloween?” Stiles commented.
The figure didn’t respond but merely struggled to get up. The figure was strong, but Derek was still stronger, and whoever it was couldn’t budge.
“I called my dad. He should be here soon,” Stiles said.
Derek nodded. “Good.”
The figure struggled even harder to get away, but Derek continued to pin him. Stiles admired his restraint. In a normal supernatural experience, Derek would have used punches or claws by now, but with a likely human opponent, he was more careful.
A few minutes later, Derek said, “I hear sirens.”
Stiles heard the sirens as well moments later. Two police cruisers pulled up to the parking lot, and Stiles waved his arms around wildly yelling, “Over here! Over here!” Four figures got out of the cars and headed over to where Stiles, Derek, and the mystery person were.
One of the figures was, of course, John Stilinski. “So, why is it that you’re here with Derek Hale while yet another crime is happening?” he sighed.
Stiles and Derek exchanged a look, then Stiles answered, “Well, you see, Dad, I was bored and wanted to solve crimes, kind of like the Scooby gang does, and Derek and I heard his mom say that a necklace was stolen from their vault, and look, there it is!” He pointed to where the necklace was half hidden by the cloak. “So there you go! We solved the crime for you!” He ended with jazz hands and a hopeful look on his face that he wouldn’t get in trouble or even arrested.
John looked over at Derek. “Is this true, Hale?”
“Yes, sir,” he answered. The figure under him had stopped struggling when the Sheriff and his deputies showed up, but Derek was still holding them down just in case.
Deputy Parrish stepped up then. “Go ahead, Derek, and let him up now.” He said, pulling out a pair of handcuffs.
Derek stood, but kept a hand gripping the figure’s shoulder. Parrish pulled the figure the rest of the way to their feet and handcuffed the thief. Another deputy that Stiles couldn’t remember the name of took Talia’s necklace.
“Alright, now let’s see who you are.” John pulled the hooded mask off, revealing the face of Gerard Argent.
Gerard Argent, who was Stiles’ school principal and the father of the madwoman who’d tried to burn down the Hale family. Someone with the worst vendetta against the Hales and any other werewolf. Stiles could have slapped himself. It was so obvious.
“Should have known it would be an Argent,” Derek muttered in Stiles’ ear, voicing Stiles’ own thoughts.
Gerard glared at the Sheriff, then turned his angry eyes onto Derek and Stiles. “I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for these meddling kids!” he cried out.
Stiles’ jaw dropped before his mouth spread into a wide grin. “Oh my God, I can’t believe he actually said that line!” he crowed happily, nudging Derek in the side. “Now we really are the Scooby gang!” His glee increased tenfold when Derek gave him a crooked grin.
Gerard was struggling in the handcuffs. “The Hales don’t deserve all!“ he yelled. “Wanted… to take… everything I could… from those stupid… w--”
“That’s enough now!” one of the deputies yelled louder than Gerard, thankfully drowning out his cries of werewolves. “Let’s get him in the squad car.”
As they watched the deputies walk Gerard to the squad car, John said, “Well, Stiles, you and Hale should not have been at a crime scene or taken evidence, but you did manage to catch Gerard Argent.” He smiled. “You did a good job. I’m real proud of you, kid.” He ruffled Stiles’ hair affectionately.
Stiles beamed. “Thanks, Dad!” he said.
“So how about you two follow us to the station to give your statements while I call Talia about her necklace?”
**********
After the two had told the deputies everything they could while keeping the Hales‘ werewolf status a secret, Stiles and Derek were getting ready to leave the station when they saw Talia still inside the Sheriff’s office. The door was ajar, so Stiles edged close enough to listen to what they were saying but far enough away that they wouldn‘t see him.
“--and then we‘ll return the necklace to you,” John was telling her as Stiles listened in. “It shouldn‘t take more than a few days.”
“Thank you, John,” Talia said in her regal voice.
“Now,” John continued, “my deputies kept Gerard from letting any secrets out.”
Talia Hale, one of the most respected and capable alphas in the country, actually faltered. “Secrets?” she asked, trying to sound as if she had no idea what he was talking about.
John blinked. “Well, yes, we’re pretty sure it’s not something you or your family want getting around. Anyway, we can have him sent to Eichen House instead, but the prison is certainly secure enough to hold anything.”
Stiles was in so much shock that his father actually knew about the supernatural all this time and he never really hid it from him that he didn‘t notice Derek right behind him. “You know, you could have just asked me what they were saying,” Derek said, sounding just as shocked as Stiles felt.
Stiles asked quietly, “Just how many people in this town do you think know about wolves and other supernatural stuff?”
Derek’s shoulders slumped. “Before this case of yours, I would have said no one outside the pack and the Argents. But now I have no idea.”
“Yeah. I can maybe believe Dad and his deputies, but Finstock?” Stiles cringed. “It blows my mind. Pinch me, Derek, so I know that I’m not dreaming!” He held out an arm towards the werewolf, then yelped in pain when he actually did it.
“Stiles.”
The two looked over to see John at the door to his office, Talia right beside him. “Hey, Dad! Hi, Mrs. Hale!” Stiles said, trying look innocent, ignoring the snort from Derek behind him.
His dad raised an eyebrow at him. “I’ll see you at home, kid.” He glanced over at Derek. “Is Derek going home with you?”
Stiles’ eyes widened. Did his dad know about his crush, too? “No, no, no Derek for me!” he said, waving his hands around frantically.
Derek, his dad, and Talia all stared at him suspiciously. Cheeks burning red, Stiles grabbed onto Derek’s hand and dragged him out of the station to where Stiles’ Jeep was parked. “Oh, man, I am so sorry, Derek! I don’t know what’s gotten into my dad!”
“Why are you getting so upset, Stiles?” Derek asked.
“Because I don’t want you to get scared away because we’re friends and I really like hanging out with you whether you’re a werewolf or a wolf and I‘d be so sad if we didn‘t hang out anymore and…” Stiles was flailing his arms around before Derek stopped him.
“This doesn’t seem like something that’s just friends,” Derek said, raising his hand which was still apparently attached to Stiles’.
Stiles released Derek’s hand with a squeak and hid his hands behind his back. “Sorry! I‘m sorry! Please don‘t hate me!” He looked down and squeezed his eyes shut
“Hey,” Derek said gently, resting his hands on Stiles’ arms to stop them from flailing. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”
Stiles opened his eyes and chanced a look at Derek. The man looked so unbelievably sincere, it almost made it seem like he actually had a chance. I wish I did have a chance with you, he thought to himself.
“But you do,” Derek told him
Oh, crap, he said that out loud. Now he was going to have to leave the pack. It was going to be so hard, but he’d never be able to see Derek, or Scott, or the rest of them again. Maybe Scott would come visit him wherever he moved to. He wondered if he had time to pack…
But then it hit him. “Wait, what did you say?” he demanded, his heart pounding furiously.
Derek took Stiles’ hand back in his, and Stiles couldn’t help but marvel at the warmth the werewolf held. “I said,” he said, his voice getting deeper with emotion, “you do have a chance with me.”
“Oh my God, please kiss me, Sourwolf!” Stiles blurted out, then widened his eyes and smashed his hands over his mouth. “I mean, if you want to, of course!”.
Which Derek apparently wanted to.
Their first kiss really was perfect. Derek’s lips were as warm as the rest of him and so surprisingly soft. Stiles melted and wrapped his arms around Derek to keep himself upright as well as to feel all of those hard muscles. He felt Derek’s arms slide around his body as well. They clung to each other, and one kiss led to another and another and another, and Stiles was in absolute heaven.
When they finally parted, still holding each other, they smiled softly at each other. “That was even better than I’d ever dreamed it would be,” Stiles admitted softly.
“Well, it‘s about time you two got together.”
Stiles jumped and let go of Derek. He turned to see his father standing outside the station, a big grin on his face, Talia smiling back at them as she headed to her car.
“I can’t really say I’m surprised,” John continued. “But I am happy for you, kid.”
Stiles took Derek’s hand again and squeezed, sharing a soft look between them. “I’m happy, too.”