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“Nope! Not this one! Clearly not this one!”
Derek couldn’t help the smile that threatened to take over his face when Stiles hastily stopped the game and ejected the disc. He was grumbling under his breath and sorting through the very small pile of remaining games for them to play, clearly becoming more and more frustrated.
He kind of felt bad for how annoyed Stiles was getting, but he also found it endearing and sort of hilarious. Because it was so very Stiles, after all.
Derek had come over to see if Stiles wanted to spend some quality time together since his father wasn’t home. He knew Stiles was home, but he was outside ringing the bell for a good thirty seconds before giving up and trying to door. Finding it unlocked, he climbed the stairs to the second level and found Stiles in his bedroom stabbing mercilessly at his controller.
There was only the slightest sense of satisfaction when Stiles won the round he was playing and thrust most arms in the air, only to shout and almost leap a foot off the bed in fright at the sight of Derek in his doorway.
Apparently Stiles got really hyper-focussed on his games when he was playing them.
Derek didn’t mind spending time with him where all he did was support Stiles while he played. As long as he got to stay with him, he was happy, and he told him so. Stiles had patted the spot beside him on the bed and then promptly stood to find another controller.
When he handed it over and said he and Derek could play Super Smash Brothers together, Derek had admitted he’d never played. When Stiles had clarified if he’d never played that game, Derek had admitted he’d never played any video games.
Of course, that wouldn’t fly with Stiles, and he immediately proclaimed Derek was going to be playing with him all day—“Not in that way, Hale, get your mind out of the gutter!”—and had proceeded to explain the basics of the game to him.
He’d been very clear in his insistence that Derek would probably suck a lot at the beginning, but to just be patient and he would end up having fun once he got the hang of it.
Derek creamed him in under five minutes.
“Beginner’s luck,” Stiles had insisted with a good-natured laugh, and they’d played another round.
And another.
And another.
And Derek kept on winning. Over and over again. Even when Stiles made him choose atrocious players. Even when Stiles switched his characters around so that Derek didn’t know exactly what they did anymore. Even when Stiles tried to sabotage him by sitting on his lap and almost blocking the screen.
Derek still won.
Stiles had insisted the game was at fault for this, and had proceeded to put in another two-player game. Derek didn’t mind, he thought Stiles’ pouting was cute, so he just let him do as he pleased.
When they started the new game, Derek kicked Stiles’ ass at that one, as well. They got about three levels in before Stiles ejected the disc and eyed Derek suspiciously.
“Is it a Werewolf thing? I play with Scott, and he sucks at these games, so I feel like it can’t be a Werewolf thing unless it’s a born Werewolf thing.”
“Beginner’s luck,” Derek offered, because he didn’t know, either.
Stiles had switched out the game, and this is what they’d been doing for a good five hours now. Stiles would make Derek play the beginning of multiple games, sometimes making him skip tutorials or not telling him anything about the game. He even put in Halo and made Derek play it on Legendary, “For science, Derek. It’s for science.”
Derek had been doing exceptionally well, and was actually really interested in that game, but Stiles pulled it out looking annoyed and had moved on to the next one.
It only occurred to Derek much later that Stiles was getting annoyed not because Derek was better than him, but because all the games were too easy for him, which meant Stiles couldn’t play with him because Derek would always be ahead of him.
Derek didn’t mind slowing down for Stiles. He often did, because he didn’t want Stiles to feel like he was being left behind, and if Stiles wanted to play a game with him, Derek was fine with doing it at Stiles’ pace.
Stiles didn’t seem interested, though. It looked like he wanted to play a game with Derek where they were both at the same level, but so far, they’d found nothing.
They’d gone through every game on his Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PS4. They were now working through his old PS1 games, and after Stiles pulled out the last disc, he proclaimed they were going old school and pulled out his NES.
They played Donkey Kong Country first before moving on to another game. And another. It was getting later in the evening by then, and Derek was actually quite hungry, but Stiles seemed determined to trap them in the room until Derek wasn’t beating games like they were boring or poorly done.
Derek had honestly really liked that Halo game. And MarioKart had been fun, as well. Hell, even Donkey Kong Country had been entertaining, and the story in Kingdom Hearts seemed pretty fun, too. Actually, there were a lot of games he wouldn’t mind playing, or even watching Stiles play, and he’d said so many times as discs were being switched, but Stiles was determined to find a game he sucked at.
Or at least didn’t decimate in under ten minutes.
They went through all of his NES games save for one, which had Stiles sighing and staring at.
“I feel like this is almost pointless,” he muttered. “Clearly you’re some crazy gaming expert and are just lying to me about not knowing how to play to impress me.”
“Clearly,” Derek said, rolling his eyes. “Of course. My goal in life is to make sure no one ever knows my expertise in gaming.”
“Stop being a smartass, I don’t like it when you think you’re being funny,” Stiles insisted, but Derek knew he wasn’t serious.
With another sigh, Stiles muttered about getting it over with and moved forward to pull out the last game. He blew into the bottom of the new cartridge before locking it in, and then went back to sit beside Derek, looking sad.
The game loaded, and Derek let out a soft hum at the name. Tetris. He’d heard of it before, and he felt like he had a basic understanding of the game itself. Something about making sure pieces fit in such a way that a whole row was completed so it would disappear. Something like that, at any rate.
The top scores list loaded, and Stiles actually had impressive scores. Derek didn’t want to unseat him, he felt like that would just depress him. Maybe there was a way he could ensure his top score didn’t save.
Feeling guilty, he started the game, watching the pieces as they came down from the top of the screen and moving them accordingly. It was surprisingly hard, which he hadn’t been expecting, because he’d put a piece he didn’t want down to fill a gap, and then the next piece would be the one he’d wanted a moment ago.
It was all very frustrating.
He leaned forward slightly, keeping his eyes locked on the screen, and after only four minutes of game time, the screen crackled when his blocks hit the top and proclaimed ‘Game Over.’
“Did you do that on purpose?” Stiles accused with a scowl. “That was terrible.”
“I didn’t,” Derek said, a little surprised. He’d been doing well in every other game, how was it possible a game with little blocks was besting him? “Let me try again.”
Stiles shrugged and motioned for him to go ahead. So Derek started another game and began to play. He tried to be mindful of pieces he needed and didn’t block areas with ones he didn’t want, but he still found himself getting closer and closer to the top of the screen until he finally got another error glitch from the game and he lost again.
He didn’t understand, he had to be doing something wrong.
Starting the game again, he leaned forward so his forearms were resting on his thighs, eyes locked on the screen and thumbs moving along the controller. When he lost again, he actually stood up and moved closer, as if it was his eyesight that was making him suck this bad.
By the seventh game, Stiles seemed to believe he wasn’t doing it on purpose. Which he wasn’t, because he was getting so frustrated.
By the twelfth game, Derek was swearing at the television and proclaiming the game a giant cheating asshole.
By the seventeenth game, Stiles was beginning to sound amused behind him.
By the twenty-ninth game, Derek was ready to punch a hole through Stiles’ television screen.
He nearly did on game thirty, which was when Stiles took the controller back, eying Derek with both interest and confusion.
“I don’t get it. I mean, it’s kind of like a strategy game and a puzzle game had a baby. You were doing well at all the other strategy and puzzle games, so why is this one different?”
“The others weren’t both at the same time?” Derek offered grumpily.
“Aw, are you pouting?” Stiles leaned over to kiss his cheek, then rubbed his own against Derek’s. It calmed him somewhat, because he liked it when Stiles scented him like that. Stiles didn’t really get it himself, but he was always conscious of the fact that Derek liked it and worked to do it when he thought of it.
“No.”
“You’re pouting because you can’t play Tetris. That’s adorable, and infuriating. You were destroying all the other games, why does it matter that you can’t play this one?”
“It’s not that it matters, it’s just annoying. I was having fun playing all those other games, and finding one I can’t beat is just frustrating.”
“Yeah, welcome to my world,” Stiles insisted with a laugh. He let out a small sigh, kissing Derek’s temple, then hit a new game.
Derek watched him while he played, trying to see if there was something he could’ve done differently, but there really wasn’t. Derek decided Stiles was just better at this game because it required a lot of planning ahead and strategizing, both things Stiles was exceptionally good at.
While Derek was still annoyed he sucked so bad at the game, he at least found himself calming down and enjoyed watching Stiles play the game. It wasn’t as interesting as any of the others would’ve been, but it was still fun to watch.
When he finally died—a good eighteen minutes later, seriously—Stiles stood up and turned off the game, unplugging the console and plugging his Xbox back in. He moved back to the bed and fell down onto Derek’s lap, wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing him.
“Don’t pout.”
“I’m not pouting,” Derek insisted, kissing him lightly twice in succession. “You’re really good at that game.”
“I’ve played it a lot. You can borrow the game and the console if you want. Practice it at home so you can beat me at that game, too.”
Derek smiled a little, because he liked that Stiles wasn’t boasting about being better. He just was better, and had even offered to let Derek improve and inevitably beat him.
“That’s okay. I think I can manage to suck at one game.” He kissed Stiles again. “Dinner?”
“I’m starving, yes. Chinese?”
“Sure.” Derek patted Stiles’ butt where he could reach it and Stiles stood, heading out of the room with Derek following so they could hunt down the takeout menu. “So while we’re eating, I wouldn’t mind watching you play one of those other games. That Halo one looked really fun.”
“You can play, if you want,” Stiles said, reaching the kitchen and rifling through one of the drawers for the takeout menu. “You’d get bored watching me play.”
“I’d never get bored watching you play,” Derek insisted, kissing his temple before resting his chin on his shoulder, arms wrapping around Stiles’ waist from behind. “I had fun watching you play Tetris.”
“Yeah, but I don’t suck at Tetris.”
“Doesn’t matter. I want to watch you play something. Anything you want.”
Stiles turned to eye him suspiciously. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Derek promised, eyes still on the menu. “I like spending time with you, I don’t care what we’re doing.”
“Okay,” Stiles said after a few seconds of silence. “I can play Halo, since you’re interested in it.”
“Thanks.” Derek bit lightly at Stiles’ shoulder. “Hurry with the food, before I devour you.”
“I’m not concerned,” Stiles insisted with a laugh, but he confirmed Derek’s order before using the kitchen phone to make the call, Derek still plastered to his back and enjoying the comforting sound and feel of Stiles’ heartbeat so close to his own.
So maybe Derek sucked at Tetris, but he was actually kind of happy about it. He was glad a game he sucked at seemed to be a game Stiles was exceptionally good at. It was probably why they worked so well together. They didn’t both have to be amazing at everything. As long as one of them was better at something than the other was, it allowed for a good balance. A way for both sides to support one another because they could pick up where the other failed.
Derek was so, so glad he hadn’t been good at Tetris.
Though he anticipated an entire night of Stiles giving him the controller whenever he couldn’t beat a level. And really, to Derek, that was the most important thing, because it meant Stiles wasn’t mad Derek was better than him. It meant he was glad Derek was better than him, because he had someone to beat all the hard parts for him when he failed repeatedly and got frustrated.
It was perfect.
Balance. Always about balance.
And Derek loved that his balance was with Stiles.
END.