Chapter Text
Chapter 1 – The Contract
Derek pulled his duffle coat tighter around him as he got off the subway near to Lydia's apartment. He missed his leather jacket but it was much too cold in New York at Christmas to risk wearing it in December. The one year he tried he had come down with the flu so bad that Lydia had scolded him for weeks after he recovered, so it just wasn't worth it.
Walking past the Rockefeller Centre on the way to Lydia's fifth avenue apartment was always a treat at this time of year despite the cold, it was worth getting off the train from Tribeca and walking rather than changing from the 2 to the A train.
Derek took in the lights and the decorations, and breathed in the smell of the ice, listening to the sound of laughter from families skating together mixed in with the Christmas music. Not for the first time he was jealous. He loved Christmas, and what little sadness he felt at not having a partner to share it with he was able to brush aside by celebrating with his family usually.
Ordinarily, a family Christmas with Lydia and his adopted parents was enough to pull him out of any funk, even though he missed his biological parents at this time of year. But this year Susan and Richard were taking a cruise and wouldn't here for Christmas. And even Lydia was abandoning him as she and Jordan were spending their first Christmas as a married couple with his parents in Virginia.
So for the first time in years, Derek would be alone for Christmas. It just made it that much more difficult being single at the happiest time of year when being single truly meant being alone.
He had made the decision to ignore the holiday and get some writing done, but first, he had to get through Lydia's annual holiday party.
He hated it. It wasn't the fact that it was a Christmas party, and he loved seeing his sister and her husband Jordan they were good people, but it was the socialising that drove him crazy. There was a reason he chose to be a writer. It's not that he didn't like people, it's just that he had never been particularly good at making polite conversation, he wished he could talk to people easily but it just wasn't his area of expertise.
"Derek!" Lydia exclaimed as she wrenched open the door to her apartment. After a brief hug, she turned abruptly back to walk through the hallway and called out to Jordan inside "Don't worry, it's just Derek".
"Oh thanks, Lydia, don't sound too excited" he replied following her through to the living area spotting Stiles sitting at the kitchen table working at his laptop. Fantastic, of course, Stiles was already here, of all the people Derek had trouble making small talk with Stiles was the hardest. Not because he didn't want to, he actually wished he could talk more with the amber-eyed man who was so close to his sister he almost seemed to be another brother to her. But he found Stiles so intimidating, he was brilliant and so full of energy that Derek could never seem to find the right words to say, and somehow they ended up bickering more often than not and Derek was left wondering exactly how it had happened. Of course it didn’t help matters any that he was just the right combination of lean and muscular, with the kind of face that made Derek want to sit up and beg for attention.
Stiles looked up from his laptop and they made eye contact for just a moment, and Derek felt that familiar zing of excitement at seeing him before he looked away just as swiftly.
~~~ ****~~~
Stiles carried through the cheese plate from the kitchen to the long table that Lydia had elegantly decorated with white lights and silver and red garlands. Looking up he noticed Derek sitting in one of the chairs at the other end of the living room, one foot resting on the knee of the other and wrapped up in a novel. Releasing a sigh at the sight of his best friends brother once again absorbed in a book and not engaging in a social situation he decided that he couldn't just let this slide.
"No don't get up Derek, please, I've got this" he mocked, sarcasm dripping from every word.
Derek glanced up from his book, spine bent back and clearly very well-read, and Stiles could finally see more than just the top of his dark head of hair. Not that he particularly wanted to, he told himself, chiselled good looks didn’t make up for an antisocial personality, and neither did his muscular build, or the fact that when he bothered to smile it was so amazing it could light up a room, absolutely not.
"No problem Stiles" he replied with just as much sarcasm.
"Derek gets a pass because he showed up" Lydia chimed in as she and Jordan followed in behind him carrying glasses and wine.
"Seriously? That's the standard he's held to, showing up?" the disbelief was clear in Stiles' tone, here he was running back and forth to the kitchen bringing in appetisers and Derek was allowed to just sit on his ass and read!
"We made a deal, I show up and I don't have to help decorate" Derek replied, looking smug.
There! That was why they never made it through a conversation without bickering, Stiles thought. Because Derek was a smug, self-satisfied, ass. Never mind that he looked like he was chiselled from stone, or that his eyes were some sort of maddening mixture of green and brown that made you want to stare at them for hours to try to figure out exactly what that colour was. He drove Stiles crazy, and the feeling seemed to be mutual.
Stiles rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to continue complaining, he had a good comment on the tip of his tongue about slave labour and lazy-ass brothers, but Lydia cut him off with a sharp look. She flipped her strawberry blonde hair over one shoulder and looked between the two of them disapprovingly.
"I don't want a repeat of my wedding where the two of you spent the whole reception fighting over who should give the last toast".
"I'm her brother, and a writer, it should have been me" Derek claimed, quickly reigniting the argument.
"I was the man-of-honour" Stiles shot back, and was cut off just as quickly by Derek's raised voice replying "That's not even a thing!" before Jordan cleared his throat and they both looked over to see Lydia with a steely look in her green eyes. Suddenly they thought better of continuing this argument for the thousandth time. Rolling their eyes almost simultaneously, Derek returned to his book and Stiles walked over to Lydia his gaze apologetic. He might enjoy arguing with her older adopted brother, but he knew it drove his best friend nuts so he could hold his tongue for her. It was Christmas after all.
"Just be pleasant when the guests arrive alright?"
Lydia pointed to the sofa sternly demanding that Stiles sit down and then began grilling him about why he was being moody.
"Derek is being plenty moody" was the best defence he could come up with, which to be honest was pathetic.
"Him? He's always a grump. Why are you so fussy? Are you not excited about going home?"
"Yeah... about that" Stiles said with a small sigh.
"What? You're not going home?" Lydia questioned, her brow furrowing in concern.
"No, I am. But so is Isaac. And his new boyfriend" Stiles replied cringing as he said the words.
"What? Already! It's only been six months." Lydia was outraged for her best friend, he and his ex hadn't seen each other since the break-up, and for the first time they saw each other again to involve a new partner seemed distasteful. Particularly at Christmas. Lydia didn't necessarily think the breakup was the wrong decision, but it hurt Stiles so that automatically put Isaac in her bad books, if he made it worse then he would have to answer to her.
"Yeah, I know, I was already freaked out about having to see him again. And now I'm going to have to hang out with him, and his boyfriend, the whole time." Stiles looked miserable.
"Do you have to see him?"
"Yeah. Our Dad's are getting this big award because they've been putting on the Christmas Market for like 30 years now so the Major wants to give them keys to the city or something. And our parents do this big bonfire every year right before Christmas Eve. They've been doing it since we were kids."
"Any chance of breaking those traditions?" Lydia asked looking somehow hopeful and doubtful at the same time, it was a talent really.
"I mean, I could probably skip that bonfire. But no, the Christmas Market is really special to my family, and me." Stiles replied, there was no way he was going to miss his Dad getting the key to the city just to save face with Isaac, it wasn't worth it.
Derek glanced up from his book hearing Stiles' words from across the room. It was moments like this that made him wish that he could really talk to Stiles, actually get to know him. The little glimpses of his character that he had gotten over the years by being around while he spent time with Lydia made it clear that Stiles was a genuinely good person, loyal to a fault and really close to his family.
"What if you bring a date?" Lydia said, jolting Derek out of his reverie. He pulled his eyes away from the back of Stiles' head and back to his book, but he couldn't help listening to the rest of their conversation.
"Oh yeah" Stiles replied sarcastically, "I'll just go get a date real fast. Every guy I know is either married or related to me!" he pulled a grimace before Lydia could latch on to that idea – relations were out!
Clearly, Stiles was not as enthusiastic about this plan as Lydia, and Derek let out an unexpected sigh of relief which he chose not to think too hard about.
"Alright. It's going to be okay. We'll think of something." Lydia concluded, brow furrowing as she tried to come up with a solution for her friend. She really was a kind person, despite how cold she could sometimes come off.
They sat for a moment looking at each other before they were interrupted by the door and party guests began to arrive forcing them to table the issue for later discussion.
~~~ ****~~~
The party was in full flow, glasses being emptied and refilled in short order, instrumental Christmas music played in the background and Stiles was pleasantly keeping his mind from his earlier conversation with Lydia by sublimating with the party food. That was until she decided to corner him and revisit the subject.
"Come on Stiles" she muttered as she pulled Stiles to one side away from the other guests "we are going to find you a date".
Stiles rolled his eyes but knew better than to resist Lydia as she glanced around the room taking in potential targets. First, she pinpointed a perfectly nice guy, who was also wearing a wedding ring so not an option. Her next suggestion Stiles had to remind her was actually a relative of his, a cousin who had moved to the city just a few months ago that Stiles had invited to introduce him around.
She glanced around the room one more time, getting a little disheartened now but not ready to give up when someone caught her eye and her face lit up "Bingo!". Stiles turned to see what was wrong with her next suggestion only to find her gaze on the last person he would want to ask for help.
"Derek!" Lydia called out and strode over to him, interrupting him in conversation with a mutual friend from their college days as he turned to see what she needed him for.
"What were your plans for the holidays again?" She asked seemingly apropos of nothing "You know with Mom and Dad on their cruise in the Caribbean, and me going to Virginia with Jordan?"
"I feel like you've scolded me for this already" he replied wearily, sensing a trap "but I don't have any plans, I'm just going to write." Derek tried to sound firm as he said it, wanting to head off whatever his scheming sister had in mind for him. Predictably she ignored him and turned back to Stiles who was waiting behind her looking somewhat sheepish - another bad sign. Given the conversation he had overheard earlier Derek had a feeling he knew where they were heading with this topic and he was fairly certain he wasn't going to like it.
"You should go home with Stiles," Lydia said decisively, likely hoping to steam-roll him into agreeing without any argument.
"What?"
"You know, spend Christmas in Louisiana with the Stilinski's." Lydia clarified, far too nonchalantly to be believable.
"What?" Stiles echoed as Derek frowned in his direction as though this was somehow his fault. Those eyebrows were dangerous and Stiles did not deserve their judgement right now.
"You're always saying you want to travel more" she went on.
"Yeah. Alone."
"You can be alone at any time."
"What am I missing?" Jordan asked joining them from the kitchen with a bottle of wine to refill guests drinks as he made the rounds.
"What Lydia is doing, with the subtlety of a baboon I might add, is trying to get me a date for Christmas because Isaac is bringing his new cute boyfriend home with him" Stiles filled him in. "You don't have to go with me to Louisiana" he reassured Derek and his eyebrows, concerned that the brooding writer might think this was some sort of ploy on his part rather than one of Lydia's ill-advised plans. The last thing he needed was Derek thinking he was trying to manipulate him into spending time with him.
"Oh, you should go," Jordan said cheerfully, when Derek looked at him disbelievingly he nodded his head in confirmation "listen, the food alone is worth the trip". Amazing, only Jordan could make this decision seem so simple. Stiles shook his head at Lydia's husband, he should know better than to encourage her.
"Jordan!" Stiles said shaking his head at his friend.
"Exactly! And you can write from anywhere." She reminded him, as though that was the deciding factor. Amazingly Derek looked like he might actually be considering the idea, Lydia was a force to be reckoned with.
Stiles jumped in before the redhead could bully her brother any further. "Guy's he would be like pretending to be my boyfriend! That's, it's weird!" He caught Derek's eye as he spoke, then realised how that might sound.
"I'm weird?"
"No, I mean you're not... you're not weird." He tried to clarify "But the situation is weird..." he trailed off as he felt like every word might just be pushing his foot further into his mouth. Fortunately, Derek only looked mildly offended, which to be fair was more or less his default setting when Stiles was talking.
"See, there you go, you already sound like a couple" Jordan chipped in.
"No we don't" they replied in unison before sharing a sceptical look.
"Okay, what if it’s more like a buffer than a boyfriend?" Lydia stepped in, looking beseechingly between the two of them. "You know, a plus one to make it less... awkward."
"Oh less awkward?" Stiles questioned sarcastically. How could this possibly make things less awkward? He and Derek would probably fight the whole time if he did come, and lying to his family didn't seem like the smartest idea Lydia had ever had. He was beginning to question her usually stellar advice.
"Exactly. But baby, what would Derek be getting out of this?" Jordan continued on as though Stiles hadn't made a very valid point with his disbelieving face.
"Yeah, what would Derek be getting out of this?" He questioned with a smirk, there was absolutely no way he was going along with this but Stiles looked so uncomfortable he just had to throw more fuel on the fire.
"The joy of knowing that you're helping out a friend." Now Stiles knew that Lydia had lost her mind. That was the weakest argument she had ever made. As a lawyer, she had to know that she wasn't winning this case, but she was persevering because she felt bad for Stiles, which by the way made him feel even more pathetic.
"Ooh, hard pass," Derek thought for a moment before realising that there was something Stiles could do for him. "Actually, I could use a website for my novel," he said raising his eyebrows at Stiles in question.
"Yes perfect" Lydia looked at him hopefully, she clearly thought the problem was solved. No, no way, this was not happening.
"No, I mean no offence but you're just not the most reliable guy."
"What does that mean?"
"I'm sorry, do you not remember? What was that, five months ago?" he said accusingly.
"Okay wait, what am I missing?" Jordan questioned as Derek rolled his eyes at the implication, not even having the grace to look sheepish.
"She didn't tell you?" Stiles couldn't believe it, but hey if it gave him a chance to openly mock Lydia's flaky brother then he would take the opportunity.
"Jordan! Okay when I moved here like six months ago, Lydia thought it would be a great idea to set me up with her brother because I didn't know anybody. Only Derek stood me up!" he finished gleefully trying to seem unaffected.
Truthfully, coming off the heels of his breakup with Isaac he hadn't been in a place to start something new. But it still hurt, more than it probably should have, and he would be lying if he said he hadn't wondered sometimes what exactly Derek disliked so much about him.
"Ah no! I did not, I did not stand you up, I called and cancelled there is a VERY big difference!" Derek defended. He hated that this was the impression Stiles had of him, but it would be much more difficult to explain the real reason he had cancelled their date.
"Either way you flaked! So how do I know I'm not gonna put all this work into a website and then you just won't show up at the airport?" Stiles said firmly, crossing the room towards the bay windows. He had to get out of this conversation.
"You know, if I was at the office this would be a quick fix," Lydia stated calmly. Stiles could not believe she hadn't let this go yet.
"What do you mean?"
"Easy. I'd write a contract." Seeing their reluctant faces she powered on regardless, ignoring Stiles' scoff.
"Oh, come on you could both sign. Let me do this, they didn't give me that fancy law degree for nothing!" The large loft apartment they were standing in was a testament to how good Lydia was at her job, but it was sort of insulting how little effort she felt she needed to put in here to convince them. Stiles at least would be a harder nut to crack than this.
"No," he said and started to walk away further, hand rubbing the back of his neck where he could feel it turning red with embarrassment that Lydia was taking this so far.
"Derek?!" She appealed to her older brother. "Come on, you'd get a website, he'd get a date, everyone wins."
"I'm sorry, but you know I was planning on writing alone this Christmas…" Derek shrugged.
"See there you guys go, we're good." Stiles cut him off and put an end to this conversation before shame could swallow him whole, he couldn't even get a pity date with the guy. He turned to the window and feigned interest in looking out at the view he'd only seen a thousand times as he sipped his wine and tried will away the tears pricking at his eyes.
Lydia gave Derek a disapproving look, but he just sighed with a shrug. What was he supposed to do? Stiles clearly didn't want him there any more than he wanted to go. He didn't need some fake knight in shining armour, he needed to find someone who could be worthy of bringing home for Christmas and Derek was just not that guy.
~~~ ****~~~
Two mornings later the whole situation was still playing on Derek's mind as he headed in to meet his literary agent. He was hoping for some good news, but to be honest, these meetings were usually a little fruitless lately and he needed something to change. So he was planning to push a little harder today, he needed to get his own work out there.
Unfortunately, his mind was a little distracted by the conversation at his sister's party. The rest of the night had been unremarkable and Stiles had stood facing the window for a few minutes before rejoining the rest of the group and seeming absolutely fine.
However, despite appearances, Derek just was not convinced that Stiles was as unaffected as he seemed and it had been playing on his mind ever since. He felt like he was letting his sister and her best friend down, but he didn't see how bringing him home to meet Stiles' family would help make a better impression than going alone. Derek was nothing to write home about, quite literally, and he doubted that being himself would make Stiles' ex jealous.
Obviously, Derek knew what he looked like, he had been in enough relationships to be aware he was plenty good looking enough to keep someone's interest for a short while. It was his personality that usually drove people off, he was quiet and didn't express his feelings well which had ended more than one of his past relationships.
"I have something, but you're not going to like it," his agent told him once they were settled into her office and the pleasantries had been exchanged. They had finally gotten down to business, but it seemed like it was going to be the same old dance.
"You realise you say that every time we have a meeting?" he replied, exasperated.
"It's a ghostwriting gig, and I know how you feel about ghostwriting."
"Yeah. I'm over it. I want to write my own stuff." He reminded Kelly for what felt like the millionth time. He'd done plenty of ghostwriting in the last five years, he was so far past done with writing other people's ideas.
"Okay, I'll tell you what. You write this one for me, and I'll try to get some real traction with your novel." She handed over a manila folder to him which contained the plot points required for this project.
"Is this a romance?" He asked in confusion. "You know I don't do romance." In writing or in real life if truth be told he thought to himself.
"You can do it! I believe in you." Kelly pushed as he looked at her sceptically.
He studied the packet a little further and it seemed familiar. "Is this one of those Parker Halliwell novels?" he asked "Those are terrible" he added at her nod.
"He's gotten a little lazy." She agreed reluctantly.
"Dance under the stars? Profess love in a passionate speech?" He read from the list his voice rising in disbelief. "That one's original! This isn't a plot, this is a terrible to-do list!"
"Here read this" Kelly passed him another Parker Halliwell novel. Swell, now he had to read this drivel as well.
"Just have the characters do everything on that list, and follow the same plot as all his other novels. This one just has to be set in Louisiana."
"Did you say Louisiana?" He looked up in surprise. Unbelievable.
Half an hour later when he had finished up his meeting and was headed out of the building, he called Lydia before he could second guess his decision.
"Hey sis, I was thinking about your offer to go to Louisiana with Stiles..."
He was probably going to regret this, but to be honest he had been feeling guilty about brushing the idea off anyway and the fact that visiting Stiles' home town might help him writing his latest project (and he was going to need all the help he could get on this one) just seemed like a sign. In no way was he using this as an excuse to spend time with the intriguing but elusive man he would be travelling with, obviously.
~~~ ****~~~
Stiles knocked on Lydia's office door and opened it a little. He was slightly out of breath as he poked his head through the door, but he didn't wait for her to answer because she had said it was an emergency. However he was confused as he walked into the room further because Lydia was sitting behind her desk looking completely calm, and her big brother was sitting across from her looking about as uncomfortable as Stiles had ever seen him.
"You texted me that it was an emergency and I had to come over right away, what's he doing here?" He was immediately suspicious. Anything that Lydia felt the need to lie about to get Stiles here and that involved her gorgeous grump of an older sibling, could not be good news. He took a seat beside Derek because he wasn't sure what else to do with himself.
"It is an emergency. The two people I care most about in the world are in trouble and they need my help." Lydia looked entirely serious.
Stiles held back his scoff, but Derek wasn't so kind.
"Stiles, my best friend, my beautiful genius, my sad lonely broken-hearted bestie. Needs help getting over his breakup, and a distraction to keep his Christmas jolly." Stiles rolled his eyes. That was being a little dramatic, he was definitely over Isaac. Mostly. He hoped.
"And Derek, my brilliant big brother, needs to rescue his somewhat languishing career and rebrand himself as, not a ghostwriter, but a 'proper novelist'." She used air quotes and even Stiles thought that was a little harsh.
"Okay, are you done?" Derek said, trying not to look at Stiles. It's not like he needed the reminder that Derek wasn't exactly the most successful guy.
"So, I've written this." She went on as though Derek hadn't spoken. "The Christmas Contract."
At this point, Stiles felt he had to jump in. "I thought I asked you to drop this? And besides, I think your brother made it quite clear the other night that he had no interest, so." Lydia was starting to drive him nuts with this now. Did she not embarrass Stiles enough at the party, she felt the need to call him to be further humiliated in front of her infuriatingly good looking brother?
"Actually, I was thinking about it and it could be good for both of us." Derek chipped in, trying to seem casual and not at all like he anything invested in Stiles agreeing to this, least of all any feelings on the subject.
Stiles turned to him in shock. He couldn't believe this, and he actually wasn't sure if it was better or worse now that Derek was on board.
Worse. Definitely worse.
"No." He stated emphatically, it wasn't worth it.
"I thought you might say that," Lydia said cryptically, picking up her phone from the desk.
"Isaac posted this on social media last night." She finished, turning her phone to show Stiles a picture of Isaac cuddled up with Jackson, his new boyfriend, looking disgustingly happy.
Damn.
"Where do I sign?" he said with a sigh of resignation.
A few moments later they had both signed the bottom of the contract and Lydia had left to make them each a copy, giving them a moment alone.
Stiles turned to Derek, thinking he should maybe thank him or apologise or something, only to find him reading.
"Is that a Parker Halliwell novel?" Stiles tried anyway, feeling a little ridiculous talking to the top of Derek's head.
"Uh-huh."
Brilliant. Not exactly the start of a sparkling conversation.
"You don't find those a little..."
"Cheesy? Yep."
"Well, my Mom likes them so..." Stiles trailed off again, feeling as though he was talking to the wall.
"Hmmm." Was the only response he got and Derek had yet to look up from the creased novel in his hands.
"You know you're going to have to speak to my family? You can't just sit in a corner and read." Irritation was creeping into Stiles' voice and he was already wondering if he had just made a mistake.
"Yup."
"So... what are we doing right now?" he continued in annoyance.
"Do you see your family right now?!" Derek responded, finally looking up from his book frustrated that he was being forced to address Stiles directly. He looked back down to his book almost immediately leaving Stiles to shake his head in disbelief. Trying to avoid showing any emotions wasn’t easy with Stiles staring at him, but he was a little nervous now that he had managed to agree to this and he felt he ought to set Stiles’ expectations low so that he didn’t find himself too disappointed when Derek wasn’t able to impress his family.
"Yeah, this is going to go really well," Stiles thought out loud. He sighed sitting back in his chair and already regretting agreeing to this. Derek didn’t exactly seem invested in this situation and so this was probably going to be a disaster.
Just then Lydia returned handing them both a copy of the contract and Stiles took the opportunity to escape before he could think better of his decision and rip the piece of paper in his hands to shreds. He would have dearly loved to have the courage to do that, but he couldn't bring himself to. The idea of having to face Isaac alone while he snuggled up with his new 'beau' was enough to make him want to throw up so he sucked it up and finalised the plans for their trip home.