Archive of Our Own

The pack was all gathered in Derek’s house for their weekly meeting. Okay, technically it was less of a meeting and more of a weekly hangout so long as there’s no supernatural threat. 

This was one of their lucky weeks, meaning that they were all doing their own thing. Derek was in his favorite spot- the overstuffed armchair, reading a book and pretending not to love having the whole pack gathered together like this. Boyd was in the kitchen trying out some new recipe he found. Erica, Lydia, and Allison were off to the side, painting their nails and gossiping with a movie playing in the background on Lydia’s laptop. Jackson and Isaac were locked in an intense game of Mario Kart, full of cursing and stray elbows. Scott and Stiles were cheering them on, and Stiles kept accidentally elbowing Jackson. 

The third time he made Jackson fall off the track the guy snarled at him with yellow eyes and fangs, and Stiles took that as his cue to go steal some cookies from Boyd. 

He was walking back into the living room when he felt the stares. He turned to find the three girls looking at him calculatingly. It was terrifying. 

“Uh...why are you looking at me like that?”

“We were just thinking…” Erica started. 

“You’ve spent some time with the new girl, Maria, right?” Lydia asked. 

Stiles shrugged, feeling like they were interrogating him. “Yeah,” he said slowly, dragging the word out. “I showed her around, we have Spanish together. Why?”

“She seems nice,” Allison prodded. 

Stiles turned to look at Scott for help, but the traitor just shrugged and grimaced like you’re on your own, buddy. 

“I mean, she’s cool? I didn’t talk to her all that much.”

“I can totally see it,” Allison said to the other two. 

“I don’t know,” Lydia hummed. “I still think he’s holding out for next week.”

“Someone wanna tell me what you’re talking about?” Stiles prodded. He didn’t like where this was going. 

“We were thinking that you and Maria would be cute,” Erica announced. 

“Yeah, I saw you walking with her to class, you’d make an adorable couple,” Allison agreed. 

Stiles groaned, annoyance flaring slightly. “Nope. I hate you. Why do you do this to me?”

Erica smirked. “Aw, do you like her?”

“No!” Stiles exclaimed. 

“You’re blushing,” Jackson cackled, Mario Kart apparently set aside in light of his embarrassment. 

“Of course I am,” Stiles said vehemently, feeling his cheeks burn. “This is embarrassing! I don’t like her, I barely know her. But now any time I see her it’s going to be awkward and I’m going to be thinking of this conversation, which means I’m going to turn bright red and she’s going to think I have a crush on her. Guys! Come on,” he complained. 

“Me thinks he doth protest too much,” Isaac cooed. 

Stiles glared at him. “A guy and a girl can just be friends. Case in point: you three. Just because I had one conversation with her doesn’t mean I’m automatically crushing on her!”

“See, that’s what I said,” Lydia said in a bored voice. 

“Thank you!” 

“Scott, back me up here,” Allison implored. 

Stiles turned around to glare at his best friend, surprised when for the first time in a long time, Scott didn’t automatically agree with Allison. Then again, Scott knew about the thing. 

“Sorry, Allison, but I’m with Stiles on this. You know how he gets when he has a crush, and he’s definitely not like that with Maria.”

“Thank you!” Stiles exclaimed again, throwing his arms up in victory. 

Unfortunately, he had forgotten that he was holding a nearly-full glass of water, and was promptly soaked. 

At least then the conversation changed from teasing Stiles about Maria to mocking Stiles about his spazziness. 

Also, Stiles got to borrow clothes from Derek, so who really lost in that situation?

(Still Stiles, but he felt better about it.)

….

Allison and Scott were the last to leave Derek’s besides Stiles, since apparently Isaac had plans for the rest of the night- at least, until his alpha-imposed curfew. Stiles would have left then too, but it was the middle of the movie and you can’t just leave in the middle of the movie!

Besides, more often than not he stayed late and helped Derek clean up- having eight teenagers in your house gets messy, especially when five of them are werewolves and one was a Stiles.  

The two of them went about their routine in near silence, having done this enough times that it was nearly automatic. Stiles stayed until everything was completely clean and he no longer had an excuse to be invading Derek’s space. 

“Well, I guess I should head out,” Stiles said, awkwardly clapping his hands and rubbing them together. Derek glanced up from his perch on the chair. “I’ll see ya next time, big guy.”

He turned to leave, but suddenly his wrist was being held in a loose grip. 

“Hang on,” Derek said.

Stiles swallowed and fought to control his heartbeat. This. This was the thing. This thing between him and Derek. Stiles didn’t have a name for it, because they hadn’t actually talked about it. Stiles just...he wasn’t blind, okay? He saw the way that Derek looked at him sometimes, the way that he treated him differently than all the others. And he wasn’t exactly subtle about his own feelings either. But Stiles was still underage, and he knew about all the hangups Derek had about age and the totally valid reasons for them. And he also had never gotten a confirmation from Derek, exactly. The closest thing he had gotten were the few times that he had been flirting with the alpha and Derek had flirted back. 

But he digresses. 

“Yeah, what’s up?” Stiles asked, aiming for casual as he turned back to face the werewolf. 

Derek wouldn’t meet his eyes, and that threw Stiles off. He could count on one hand the times he had seen Derek look this unsure. 

“Derek?”

“That girl. Maria. You know you can…I mean, you…the girls seemed to think...” Derek broke off with a huff, looking annoyed with himself. He glared up at the ceiling before he lolled his head back down. “Do you like her?”

Stiles blinked in surprise. “No!” He exclaimed, louder than he meant to. 

Derek raised an eyebrow, and Stiles rolled his eyes and softened his voice, waiting until Derek met his eyes. This show of nerves from the werewolf had Stiles’ brain saying fuck it. 

“Of course I don’t like her, Sourwolf. Like I said before, I was just embarrassed. Now it’s gonna be awkward when I see her because my stupid ADHD is going to make me think back to this every time I talk to her now.”

“Oh,” Derek said, taking a miniscule step closer. 

“Yeah,” Stiles responded, taking note of the fact that Derek was still lightly holding his wrist, and if he moved a few inches they’d be holding hands. “Besides, she’s not really my type.”

“No?”

Stiles shook his head. “Nah. The exact opposite, actually. She’s blonde, and kinda short. Brown eyes. Got a really high voice. Also, she’s a girl.”

“Thought you were bi.” Derek stepped even closer. 

“I am,” Stiles agreed, unable to focus on controlling his heartbeat with Derek this close. “But I’m leaning more towards guys right now.”

“Good,” Derek breathed. “That- that’s good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

And suddenly the two of them were practically chest to chest, and Derek was rubbing gentle circles into Stiles’ wrist with his thumb and wow Derek’s eyes were even prettier this close up. Especially when they were all focused and hooded over like they were now.

Stiles felt himself leaning in and felt Derek doing it too, until suddenly Derek jerked back and the spell was broken. He didn’t go far, he was still holding Stiles’ wrist, but far enough that the haze of DerekDerekDerekDerek in Stiles’ mind cleared up. 

Stiles saw him open his mouth, probably to apologize, but Stiles spoke first. 

“You know,” he said, his voice breathless. He tugged his wrist from Derek’s grip so that he could take his hand instead. He pulled Derek back into his space and met his eyes again, but the energy was charged with something else this time. “My birthday’s next week. I’m going to be eighteen.”

Derek chuckled slightly, and Stiles couldn’t help the shiver that left him at the sound. 

“Believe me, Stiles,” Derek said in a low voice. “I’m well aware.”

“Oh yeah?” Stiles breathed. “Did you get me a gift?”

“I did,” Derek answered. “I think you’ll like it.”

“I’m sure I will,” Stiles agreed. 

Before he could say anything else, however, a clock chimed from somewhere in the house and the two of them jumped. 

“Shit!” Stiles yelped. “I’m gonna be late for curfew. Dad’s gonna kill me.”

“Thanks for the help. Drive safe,” Derek said, swooping in to kiss Stiles’ cheek before disappearing up the stairs. 

Stiles ran out to his car, yelling a goodbye over his shoulder. 

It wasn’t for another five minutes that he slammed on the brakes and brought a hand up to his cheek. 

“Holy shit,” he breathed, ignoring the honking cars around him. 

He let out a laugh and whooped, punching the air before he realized that he was two minutes away from curfew and another ten from his house. 

Stiles was practically vibrating with energy for the next week. More so than usual, to the point that his dad asked if they needed to check his adderall dosage. 

“Just excited for my birthday,” Stiles explained. 

“Ah,” the sheriff said wisely, nodding his head. “Right. Eighteen is a big one.”

Stiles nodded, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Yep. I can vote, I can move out- not that I’m going to just yet, obviously. I’ll legally be an adult.”

“Which means that Derek is finally going to ask you out?”

“I hope so- wait! Dad,” Stiles complained. 

“What? You boys have been dancing around each other for ages, it’s not a secret.”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Are you going to make a big deal about this?”

The sheriff sighed, shaking his head. “We both know that it wouldn’t make a difference even if I did. Besides, I like Derek. He’s a good man, and he’s so gone on you I know he’ll treat you right. And that kid was dealt a bad hand in life, he deserves someone like you to make him happy.”

Stiles sort of wanted the conversation to be over, but at the same time…

“You think I could make him happy?”

“Oh, kid,” his dad said, patting his shoulder. “You already do.”

Stiles couldn’t help the smile that overtook his face. 

“But just remember,” John lectured, suddenly becoming stern. “Being 18 means you can be tried as an adult. I’d better not have any of my deputies bring you in on public indecency charges. If that happens I’m not letting you spend the night at Derek’s until you graduate.”

Stiles groaned, flushing. “Dad!”

…

The only part of the week that brought him slightly down was Maria. He had been right- he could barely talk to her without his ears turning red. It was embarrassing, and he was pretty sure she thought he had a crush on her. The way the pack teased him didn’t help either. 

But she was nice and their Spanish teacher paired them together for a project, so he forced himself to act normal around her. She ignored his blushing and awkwardness and he did his best to control it. 

It was only a little weird, and Stiles was too excited for his birthday to really focus on it. 

Stiles’ birthday party was partially a surprise. He knew the pack (read: Lydia) was planning it, it wasn’t meant to be a secret. 

The party was at his house, and he had been kicked out for the day while Lydia took over to decorate. He and his father had spent the day together, which didn’t happen often. When they got back to the house it was full of his friends- the pack and kids from school including Danny, Caitlin, Harley, Danielle, and Heather. Even Chris and Melissa were there. 

The surprise came in the form of Stiles’ extended family, who had apparently flown out from Michigan just for this. His grandmother, three great-aunts, one great-uncle, three pairs of normal aunts and uncles, and five cousins all crammed into his yard with the other fifteen people

His great-aunt Betty had pinched his cheek, cooing “You didn’t think we’d miss our little Mieczyslaw’s birthday, did you?”

His name came out butchered because Aunt Betty was from dad’s side of the family and even though they had Polish ancestors (as their last name implied), they weren’t Polish-speakers. 

Also, this caused Jackson and Isaac to double over in laughter, because they were assholes. Stiles just flipped them off; he hadn’t seen his family in a few years and he had missed them, so he didn’t really care if they were embarrassing or if the others teased him. 

“So, how’s it feel to be eighteen, old man?” Scott asked, knocking their shoulders together as they watched Allison and Erica kick Jackson and Danny’s asses in washers. 

“Pretty much the same as seventeen,” Stiles admitted. 

“Well, you’ll feel older soon,” Lydia said from the other side of him, examining her nails. “You’re legal now, after all.”

Stiles nearly choked on the punch he was drinking. 

“Lydia,” he coughed. “Come on, was that necessary?”

Lydia smirked at him. “Yes, to see that look on your face. Besides, I was merely stating a fact.”

“Even I know what you mean,” Scott whined. “That wasn’t a mental image I needed!”

“Boys are so immature,” she sighed. “We all know that Derek’s finally going to get his head out of his ass and ask Stiles out. It’s not like it’s a secret.”

“She’s right,” Boyd declared from where he was leaning against the porch railing. 

“Guys,” Stiles complained. “Would you please stop? He’s not even here!”

“Oh, he’ll be here soon,” Lydia said cryptically, though Stiles was sure she was just trying to act like she knew everything. Probably. 

She usually did, but that was beside the point. 

“I hate you all,” Stiles announced, heading out to the lawn to talk to his human friends. 

“So, Stiles,” Heather said ten minutes later. “You and that new girl, huh?”

Stiles sputtered at her. “How did you- you don’t even go to our school!”

“But I do, and I have eyes,” Danielle countered. “You’re always blushing when you talk to her, it’s adorable.”

“Aw, Little Stiles has a crush?” Cole (one of Stiles’ cousins) said. 

Stiles groaned. “Is everyone here overly involved in my love life?”

“Yep,” Gina- another one of his cousins- said, patting his cheek.

“This is ridiculous. Okay, look, it’s not like that with Maria and I. I don’t know who started this rumor-”

“Jackson,” Caitlin supplied. 

“Okay, well Jackson’s gonna get his ass kicked,” Stiles continued seamlessly, glaring at the aforementioned werewolf. 

Jackson smirked at him and Stiles flipped him off. 

“Okay, Nope. No more talking about my love life. I could use some food, let’s get food.”

Before he could make his escape he saw Gina’s eyes go wide. 

“Holy hell,” she breathed. “Who’s that?”

“Damn,” Danielle let out a low whistle. “You know Derek Hale?”

Stiles froze for half a second before spinning around. Derek was making his way through the crowd towards him with an intensely focused look on his face. Stiles knew that everyone was staring- the whole pack was smirking at him- but he kinda didn’t care. 

Derek finally stopped in front of him, the intense look shifting into something more nervous, like he was wearing the other night. 

“Sorry I’m late,” he said. “I got stuck on the phone with Cora, and then traffic was a bitch.”

“No worries, you still made it,” Stiles responded, awkwardly wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. 

“Happy birthday,” Derek said with a soft smile. “This is for you.”

He handed Stiles a small box wrapped in colorful wrapping paper. 

“Thanks.” Stiles bit his lip, looking Derek in the eye. “So, I’m eighteen today.”

“You are,” Derek agreed, taking a step forward. 

Stiles’ heart started to beat faster, and he knew Derek could hear it from the way his lips ticked up. 

“It’s a pretty big milestone,” Derek informed him seriously. “You can vote now.”

“Yep,” Stiles agreed. “I can live on my own.”

“You’re legally an adult.”

“I am,” Stiles hummed, and holy shit when did Derek get so close? They were practically chest to chest, and Stiles knew that all eyes were on them but the only eyes he cared about were the ones currently staring into his fucking soul. He vaguely registered someone removing the gift from his hands but he couldn’t bring himself to care. 

“God,” Derek exhaled sharply, shaking his head slightly. He brought a hand up and hovered it over the side of Stiles’ neck. “Stiles, can I-”

“Please do,” Stiles breathed. 

And then Derek closed the distance between them, claiming Stiles’ lips with his own. Finally. 

Derek was everywhere all at once, burning into Stiles’ skin. One hand was at the nape of his neck and the other clutching at Stiles’ hip to pull him impossibly closer. 

Stiles looped both arms around Derek’s waist, holding him close and losing himself in the feel of Derek’s warm lips sliding over his own. Stiles had been waiting for this for years. 

It felt like they had been kissing for both forever and not long enough when suddenly there was a sound like multiple guns going off. Both Stiles and Derek startled and broke the kiss. Stiles felt Derek curl around him protectively until the sounds of the party filtered back in enough for them to register the laughter and cheers. 

Stiles groaned when he saw the pack standing around them, each holding an empty confetti cannon, and realized that he and Derek were now covered in the stuff. 

“Really?” Derek growled. 

“Yes, really,” Lydia responded primly. “It’s about damn time.”

“Yeah, I thought we were going to have to take matters into our own hands,” Allison announced. 

“We had a plan and everything,” Isaac agreed. 

“You guys are the worst,” Stiles sighed, but he couldn’t hide his grin. 

“No, we’re the best,” Erica declared, leaping onto Stiles’ back. 

Stiles stumbled into Derek, who grabbed his arms to steady them. Stiles rolled his eyes, but he was still grinning and Derek was smiling back, the corners of his eyes crinkling. 

“Dude, kiss him again!” Erica insisted. 

“Nope, sorry, Catwoman. I’m not kissing Derek while you’re on my back. You just want a close-up view.”

“Exactly!” Erica whined. She kicked her heels into his thighs like he was a horse. “Come on, you know you wanna.”

Stiles was about to just drop her- though she’s probably land on her feet with her stupid werewolf reflexes- when Derek rolled his eyes and leaned in, pecking Stiles lightly on the mouth. 

“There,” he said firmly. “Now get off of Stiles before you wreck his back.”

“Yeah, that’s your job now, isn’t it Derek?” Jackson heckled. 

Stiles sighed, dropping his head to Derek’s shoulder as Erica slid off his back, cackling. Derek groaned, mimicking Stiles and placing his head on the younger man’s shoulder. 

“Alright, leave them alone,” Melissa chastised. She smiled at Derek and Stiles. “And congratulations, boys.”

They picked up their heads and smiled at her, though Stiles knew his face had to be bright red. 

The sheriff nodded at them with a grin. “Lydia’s right though. It’s about damn time.”

Stiles rolled his eyes, but he had to laugh at Derek’s wide eyes as the man turned red. It looked like he was having an epiphany as his eyes flicked from Stiles’ father to all of the guests and the flush reached all the way to the tips of his ears. 

“Are you just realizing that you kissed me in front of my entire family?”

“Shut up, Stiles.”

Stiles grinned at him, poking him in the chest. “Nope. Never. You’re stuck with me now, Sourwolf. Just ‘cause you’re embarrassed that you were impatient to get a piece of this-”

Derek grabbed the hand that was still poking him, using it to pull Stiles close again. “I waited for over a year, I think I had a right to be a little impatient.” 

Stiles blinked, flushing at the smirk on Derek’s face. “I should’ve known you’d be a smooth fucker.”

Derek leaned in close to whisper in his ear. “I’ll prove that another time.”

Stiles squawked unattractively, smacking Derek’s shoulder while the man laughed. He couldn’t stop his grin, though, because he could count the number of times he had seen Derek laugh like that on one hand and it was his new favorite sound. 

….

That night, when Stiles’ family had gone back to the hotel they were staying in and Stiles’ human friend’s had gone home, the pack remained- even Melissa and Chris had stayed. The pack was gathered in the living room watching Star Wars because they had let Stiles pick the movie and after thirteen years of friendship he was finally forcing Scott to watch it. 

The three adults were having coffee in the dining room, and Stiles could hear the murmurs of their casual conversations from the living room. 

Erica and Boyd were squeezed together in the armchair. Lydia was on the floor, her head on Jackson’s lap and her feet in Allison’s, who was cuddling with Scott. Scott was sitting with his back to the couch, and Stiles had one hand resting on his head. Isaac had his feet in Scott’s lap, mirroring Lydia and Allison, with his head at the bottom of the armchair, a hand loosely wrapped around Erica’s dangling ankle. 

Stiles and Derek had the couch to themselves. Stiles was laying on Derek’s chest, head comfortably pillowed in the space between Derek’s neck and shoulder. His one hand was sitting on Scott’s head and the fingers of his other were tracing small circles on the other side of Derek’s neck. Derek had one arm around Stiles’ waist and his other hand idly rubbing up and down Stiles’ back. 

“What are you thinking about?” Derek whispered. 

“Mmm,” Stiles murmured. He stretched his body before melting back against Derek. He pressed a kiss to the exposed skin of Derek’s neck. “Nothin’. Just...best birthday ever.” 

“I’m glad,” Derek answered, and Stiles could hear the smile in his voice. “Happy birthday, Stiles.” He dropped a kiss on Stiles’ head before tightening his grip and relaxing further into the couch. 

“Shut up, losers, we’re watching the movie,” Isaac called, sitting up and throwing his pillow at them. 

Stiles let out an oomph when the pillow hit him in the head, but before he could even move to be indignant Derek had whipped the pillow back at Isaac so hard the beta toppled over. 

Stiles snorted at Isaac’s face, which was somehow indignant and sheepish at the same time as he settled back into his original position. He relaxed into Derek again, letting his thoughts calm down. 

Surrounded by his pack, by his family, laying on top of the guy he lov- liked- was really all he could ask for. 

Yeah. Best birthday ever. 

“Hey, Stiles?”  

Stiles looked up from where he was shoving textbooks in his locker to see Maria standing next to him. 

It was the Friday after his birthday, and so far it had been the best week ever. 

“Hey, Maria. What’s up?” He asked, smiling at her as he shut his locker. 

He could feel people’s eyes on them and he fought back an eyeroll and a blush. 

“Can we talk for a second?”

Stiles shrugged. “Sure, but do you mind if we head towards the parking lot? My ride is gonna be here.”

“Of course. Don’t you have your own car though?”

Stiles snorted. “Yeah, it’s in the shop. Again. It’s not the most reliable.”

“Ah,” Maria said. 

“So, what’s up?” Stiles asked as they reached the front steps. 

He glanced at the girl to see her biting her lip nervously. 

“Hey, is everything alright?” He asked, frowning. 

“Yeah, sorry,” Maria said, shaking her head with a slight laugh. “I just, um, I wanna be upfront.”

“Uh, okay? Go ahead.”

“Look, I just...I heard this rumor that you, um, you had a crush on me? And um, I mean, you’re a great guy, but I don’t really see you that way? I’m sorry, I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”

Stiles groaned, hanging his head. He felt his face turning red. “Oh my god. I am so sorry. I’m gonna kill Jackson,” he muttered. He lifted his head and looked at her. “Don’t worry, I don’t have a crush on you. Wait, sorry, that came out sounding more offensive than I meant it to. You’re great, but I feel the same as you- meaning, I don’t see you that way. My friends are just stupid; we were hanging out the other night and they were teasing me because they saw me walking you to class, and then Jackson was an asshole and started this rumor. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to get awkward,” he babbled, hoping that he managed to get his point across. 

Maria’s face was bright red, and Stiles realized that she was as embarrassed as he felt. “No, don’t apologize. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“Dude, this is so not your fault,” Stiles assured her, laughing. “I’m glad you talked to me instead of letting it go on. Friends?”

He held out his hand and Maria laughed, shaking it. 

“Definitely friends.”

A car horn honked from behind them and they turned. 

“Stiles!” Derek called from the Camaro. He was wearing his sunglasses and leather jacket, and as Stiles looked at him, Derek flashed a smile. 

Stiles beamed, because the Camaro had been in storage for ages, plus Stiles hadn’t seen Derek wearing his leather jacket in like, a year, and also, just... Derek. He waved at him and held up a finger before turning back to Maria. 

“Damn, I really misread the situation,” she said with a grin. 

Stiles laughed, holding his thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “Just a little bit. That’s my boyfriend, Derek. See you Monday?”

“See you Monday,” Maria agreed. 

Stiles turned to start for the car when three blurs barreled past him. 

“Shotgun!” Isaac shouted.

“No, me!” Erica shoved past him, beelining for the passenger seat. 

Isaac grabbed her arm and pulled her back, and she kicked him in the shins. Boyd just stood back and watched them wrestle. 

Stiles rolled his eyes, standing next to Boyd. “He didn’t tell them?”

Scott, Allison, Lydia, and Jackson came to stand with them, all grinning. 

Boyd shrugged. “He did. They just chose to ignore him.”

“Erica dragged you into it?”

“I was literally getting on the bus and she tackled me.”

Stiles snorted, watching on as Erica shoved Isaac to the ground and triumphantly grabbed the door handle. She frowned when the door didn’t open. 

“Hey!” She said, looking at Derek and tugging on the handle. 

Derek looked at her over his sunglasses, looking unimpressed. “I told you I’m not driving you home today.”

“We didn’t think you were serious,” Erica whined. 

“What part of I’m taking Stiles on a date Friday, I can’t drive you home made you think I was kidding?”

“The part where you were taking him directly after school,” Isaac insisted. “Who goes on a date in the middle of the day?”

“Well, considering that we’re going to the concert in the city, I’d say people who have a long drive ahead of them,” Derek answered dryly, rolling his eyes.

“Also people who plan on being very, very busy at night,” Stiles declared. 

“You may not want to come to the house tonight,” Derek added, smirking. 

“Ewwww!” Erica cried, backing away. 

Stiles quickly slid into the car as soon as Derek unlocked the door. 

“I didn’t need to hear that,” Scott whined, covering his ears. 

“How are we supposed to get home?” Isaac complained. 

“Figure it out,” Derek answered, before taking off his sunglasses and turning towards Stiles with a soft smile. “Hey, Stiles.”

Stiles grinned at him. “Hey, Derek.”

Derek leaned over the center console and kissed him, and Stiles hummed happily. 

“You guys are gross,” Jackson complained. “I don’t wanna see that.”

“So go away,” Derek suggested easily, gripping Stiles’ chin and tipping his head slightly before kissing him again. 

Stiles sighed and brought his hand up to cup Derek’s jaw. 

“Public place!” Scott shrieked. “Pack eyes! None of us need to see this!”

“I do!” Erica insisted. 

Derek pulled away from Stiles with a sigh, hanging his head. 

“And just for that,” Stiles said, looking out his window with a sharp grin. “You guys better stay away from the house until Sunday at least.”

“Stiles, I live there!” Isaac complained. 

“So get your stuff while we’re at the concert.”

“Stiles!”

Stiles shrugged, smirking. “Fine. I mean, it’s going to be awkward for you with your delicate senses and all, especially the sounds. I don’t know how much you want to know about your alpha-”

“Alright, enough,” Derek cut in. “Stop terrorizing my betas, Stiles. We have to get on the road.”

“Wait, so I can come home tomorrow?” Isaac asked, looking adorably confused.  

Stiles looked at Derek, eyebrow raised, and Derek looked back at Isaac. 

“Oh, yeah, no, you’re staying with Scott.”

Isaac groaned. “I hate you guys.”

“No you don’t,” Stiles chirped. “ ‘Cause we’re pack and you’re happy for us.”

“Come on guys, let them go,” Allison said, sounding amused. 

They said their goodbyes and dispersed. Stiles grinned as Erica and Boyd headed for the treeline, apparently running home. 

Stiles looked at Derek expectantly, and Derek raised an eyebrow at him. Stiles rolled his eyes. 

“You’re already feeling guilty for kicking Isaac out, so talk to him now before you decide to try and call him while you’re driving.”

Derek looked at him calculatingly for a moment before leaning over and kissing his cheek. 

“Thanks,” he said, before turning and rolling his window down. “Hey, Is!”

Isaac turned around and jogged back when Derek waved him over. 

“What’s up?”

“I made lasagna for you to take to Scott’s,” Derek informed him. “And there’s pie left over in the fridge. And I left some money on the counter in case you need anything.”

“And if you would really rather stay at the house I have some noise cancelling headphones that I’m pretty sure work on werewolves,” Stiles offered. 

Derek wasn’t the only one feeling slightly guilty- Stiles didn’t want Isaac to think he was being replaced or anything. The beta may act tough but he was the softest of them all on the inside. 

Isaac laughed, but wrinkled his nose. “Thanks, Derek. I appreciate it. And you too Stiles, but unless you have something for the smells then I’m out. I really don’t mind,” he added at the looks on their faces. “It’s a weekend at Scott’s, not like I haven’t been there before. Now go or you’re going to hit rush hour.”

Derek grinned at him, reaching out the window to ruffle his beta’s hair. “Okay. See you Sunday.”

“Alright, you crazy kids, go have fun,” Isaac teased.

Derek waved one last time and finally pulled away. 

“Be safe!” Isaac called after them. “Make good choices! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do- wait, don’t do anything Boyd wouldn’t do!”

Stiles stuck his hand out the open window and flipped him off, but he was laughing. Derek was laughing too, and Stiles beamed over at him. Derek glanced at him, still smiling, before setting his hand palm-up on the center console. 

Stiles obligingly tangled their fingers together and squeezed. 

Derek laughed again suddenly as they left the parking lot, and Stiles glanced at him. “What?”

Derek snorted and shook his head. “Maria just offered Isaac a ride home. He squeaked, tripped over air, and face planted.”

Stiles whipped around in his seat to stare out the back window, seeing Isaac sitting on the ground with Maria kneeling next to him, hovering anxiously. 

Stiles couldn’t hold back his laughter as he turned back around. “Oh my god, he’s got a thing for her. This is going to be great.”

“Lydia’s going to play matchmaker, isn’t she?”

“Of course,” Stiles answered. “But no more pack talk. I’m so freaking excited for this concert. This is the second-best birthday present ever, Derek, thank you.”

“Second best?”

Stiles grinned at his boyfriend, squeezing his fingers. 

“Yeah, obviously. You were the first.”

Derek groaned at the cheesy line, but Stiles saw his ears turn red. 

“That was horrible. I hate you.”

“Nah, you love me,” Stiles teased, then snapped his mouth shut so fast his jaw hurt. His whole body tensed up as his words caught up with him. 

Derek noticed, because how could he not, Stiles was stiff as a board and Derek was a werewolf. He ran his thumb over Stiles’ knuckles and glanced sideways at him for a second before focusing back on the road. Stiles felt some of his tension ease because Derek didn’t flip out or panic or retreat into his shell, which either meant he took it as the teasing it was meant to be (sort of) or...the idea didn’t bother him that much. 

Stiles didn’t have to wait long for his answer. Derek continued to slowly move his thumb along Stiles’ knuckles as he spoke. 

“Yeah,” he said in a soft voice. “I really do.”

Stiles blinked. Opened his mouth. Shut it. Blinked again. 

“Oh,” he said finally, wincing at the way his voice cracked. He cleared his throat. “That- that’s good.”

“Yeah?” Derek glanced at him again, and Stiles was able to read him well enough to see the nerves written in the way his mouth was turned down and his eyebrows were just slightly furrowed. 

“Yeah,” Stiles answered, hoping he sounded braver than he felt. “It is, ‘cause I kinda love you too.”

Stiles watched Derek’s profile and saw the way he ducked his head slightly while managing to keep his eyes on the road, his lips pulling up into a grin. 

“Good.”

“Good,” Stiles repeated. 

“Okay,” Derek breathed. “Change of plans.”

Stiles frowned. “What?”

“The concert doesn’t start until 8. We factored in an extra hour to the drive in case of traffic, so I’m thinking we find a rest stop and maybe park there for a little while.”

Stiles blinked. “Dude, we just started driving. I can take over if you-”

He cut off when Derek looked at him, eyebrows raised. 

“Oh. Oh. Yeah, okay, I like your plan, let’s definitely do that.”

Derek grinned smugly and Stiles rolled his eyes, but he sat up straight as another thought occurred to him. 

“We have to wait until we’re out of Beacon Hills though.”

“Why?”

“Because my dad told me that if I get arrested for public indecency I’m not allowed to spend the night with you until I graduate. Which isn’t for another two months.”

“Point taken,” Derek said with a grin. 

“To Beacon County!” Stiles declared. “Where my dad can’t send any of his minions!”

Derek laughed, loud and carefree, and as Stiles beamed at him as he realized that this was the happiest that he’d seen either of them in a really long time. 

He leaned over the console and kissed Derek’s cheek quickly. 

“Thanks for this, Sourwolf. I love you.”

Derek didn’t even roll his eyes at the nickname, just smiled at Stiles. “Love you too, Stiles.”