Derek was grabbing a cup of coffee when he saw the Jeep. Not parked in the garage like it had been while Stiles was away at college but there in person at the comic book shop across the street. Derek really wanted to yell at the Sheriff for not telling him, but then again, Derek had spent most of his time in Beacon Hills, making sure that Noah didn't know that Derek had a crush on his son.

Before it had been because Stiles was underage, and now it was just the way that things were.

Derek got back into his cruiser and headed toward his new section of patrol. He had stopped and got his lunch and then a cup of coffee to get him through the afternoon slump. The only thing that Derek hoped was that Stiles wasn't at the station when he got done with his patrol and headed in to fill out paperwork before heading home.

The rough two years between Derek getting out of college and Stiles heading to college were turbulent. After several failed girlfriends, Derek had tried guys at college and found that he was happy with them in a way he wasn't with girls, even though he did like the girl form. Arriving back in Beacon hills after taking the closest location for training to be a Sheriff's Deputy, Derek had seen Stiles sitting on his desk in the station. He had been shown the desk the day before when he had arrived to meet the Sheriff, and while the desk was empty, it was Derek's. It even had a nameplate on it.

"Ah, Deputy Hale!" Stiles had said as soon as Derek had stopped in front of him at the desk. "Welcome home." Stiles offered up a donut, and for a few seconds, Derek had thought it was a joke until he saw that it was his favorite one.

It had pretty much started then. Stiles looked young, but Derek had known he was somewhere between Cora and Derek's age but unsure of which one he was closer to of the pair. The Sheriff had quashed that when he had come out to tell Stiles to get home as it was a school night and the curfew for everyone under eighteen was in effect, even the Sheriff's son.

Derek hadn't been able to get Stiles out of his thoughts, though. He would never touch anyone under eighteen, but Stiles had been a temptation that he had successfully deprived himself of.

Hours later, Derek pulled into the station parking lot and smiled when he saw that Stiles' Jeep was nowhere to be found. He grabbed his bag of trash from the car and then headed inside. He came in the back way and found that the other deputies were all laughing. He was always one of the last ones in since he didn't take long on his paperwork as he filled out a lot as he did things during the day.

Derek slipped through the deputies and found that Stiles was sitting at his desk, in his chair, playing with the fidget spinner that Laura's eldest had given him after he had played with her for an hour with one like it. Derek kept it on hand for kids that came in with parents who needed a distraction.

Stiles wasn't the cause of the laughter though. He had headphones in while he played with the toy. His head was bopping up and down to the music that no one else could hear. Derek walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. Stiles jerked, and his arm nearly caught Derek in the balls when he spun around to see who had touched him.

"DEREK! You made me wait forever!" Stiles said with a smile on his face. He pulled the headphones out and dropped them onto the desk before dropping the spinner next. He grabbed Derek and pulled him into a hug. Derek returned it but stayed stiff. "Why are you so late?"

"I'm not late. I'm on time. You know that I stay out as long as possible and work on paperwork when I can."

"I would have thought you would have been cured of that before now."

"No," Derek said.

Stiles laughed. He reached back for his headphones and turned them off before pocketing them.

"What can I do for you?" Derek asked.

"Oh, I want to go to dinner with you. I've not seen you in almost a year and you never text, you never call."

"Stiles," Derek said.

"I know you don't have plans unless you haven't told Peter those plans."

Derek was going to kill his Uncle. Peter thought that the height was fun was Derek and his little crush on Stiles. He was never entirely overt in his plans, but he made sure that he told everything that he knew from Stiles. Stiles, who was in school to be a lawyer. His goal was to work as a prosecutor for the area. Derek knew that he had gotten into law school, but even Peter didn't know which one as the younger man was keeping that to himself.

"I do have plans that I haven't told Peter about."

"Going home and working out before vegging in front of the TV is not plans."

Derek half wanted to stick his tongue out, but then that would tell Stiles that he was right about his plans. Though Derek also had jerking off in there. He tried not to look up and down Stiles' body, but he couldn't help it. The flannel overshirt was still there. The T-shirt underneath showed that hint of muscle that hadn't been there when Stiles had gone off to college but had been slowly developing while away. The jeans also showed off the bulge that was his cock, some as well. That one, Derek didn't let himself look at beyond what he had seen when Stiles had stood up.

"I'm going out." Derek figured that if he went out anywhere, it wouldn't be a lie.

"Are you finally dating?" Stiles asked.

"Yes," Derek said in a rush to get Stiles to go away.

"Well, have fun. We can do a rain check on that dinner so we can catch up." Stiles patted Derek on the shoulder and slipped away.

Derek looked up to see a few of the other deputies looking at him like they had seen him kick a puppy. Derek pushed that away, though, and righted his desk before he set about working on the last of his paperwork.

"Beacon Hills Sheriff's Department, Deputy Hale speaking." Derek looked at the time and groaned. He would be stuck on whatever call this was after he was supposed to get off.

"Ugh, sorry. I hit the wrong number in my speed dial. Didn't mean to bother you, deputy," Stiles said.

"Stiles?" Derek asked. There was something off about Stiles' voice.

"It's fine. I just hit the wrong number. Have a good night, Deputy Hale." Stiles hung up before Derek could get him to talk more.

Derek looked at the office where Noah was working on the report that had been kicked back to him by someone above in the line. It was on a case that had been closed after a confession had been had by the guy as he had been cuffed and thrown into the back seat of Parrish' SUV. The man had been read his rights, and he still babbled about killing his wife.

The phone rang again, and this time Derek didn't say anything.

"Give me the phone, Scott," Stiles said.

"Dude, we need a ride. Your father always said that you needed to call if you were drunk and needed a ride."

That was why Stiles had sounded off. He was drunk. Stiles was over the age to be able to drink, so Derek wasn't worried about that. What worried him was that Stiles almost never drank to excess. Even when he had been underage. He had always called to have his father come and get him.

"Dad's number is transferring to the non-emergency line. Just call your mother," Stiles said.

"Why? I'm sure any of the other deputies are willing to come and get us and take us back to your place."

Derek hung up the phone and stood up. He knocked on Noah's door even though it was open. Noah looked up. "Sir, mind clocking me out whenever you want? I'm gonna head to pick up Scott and Stiles from wherever they are and drop them at home, and then I'm just gonna take the cruiser home."

"They call?" Noah looked at his phone. "I forgot to take it off of transfer."

"Yeah, Stiles called, and he was drunk and thought he dialed the main number and not yours. He got confused and hung up but must have realized that he did call the right one. Scott's badgering him, and you know that Stiles will just start to walk."

"Yeah, I'll clock you out on time. Thanks. Let Stiles know that I'll be home when I get this done. I have tomorrow off, or I would do it then."

Derek nodded his head.

"Go. Before Stiles ends up walking and leaving Scott to pout."

Derek gave Noah a salute before he headed out. His cruiser was parked close, given he was on patrol or supposed to be. The town was quiet, so he had come back to at least do some catch-up work for the next day.

According to Noah, Stiles, and Scott only went to one bar in Beacon Hills, and that was the Jungle. Instead of going to a bar where they could pick up women, they went where they could have fun.

Derek found Scott sitting on the hood of the Jeep with an epic pout on his face. That meant Stiles had left him there. Derek pulled up at the end of the Jeep and honked. Scott nearly fell off the Jeep but recovered as he landed. He looked at Derek and gave him a smile. Scott rushed over to the car and opened the back door before slipping inside.

"He left like ten minutes ago. Took his phone. Mine is dead. I was making sure he wasn't coming back before I went inside to call again."

"I heard you guys talking when you called back. Which way did he go?"

Scott pointed, and Derek went that way. Derek took his time on the streets that were in the direction that Stiles' house was.

"So, why did you both get drunk?" Derek asked.

"My girlfriend dumped me, and Stiles has been in a mood since he got home from school. He said it was to do with something else, but he won't tell me what."

Derek nodded his head but didn't offer anything up. He knew what part of the issue with Stiles and Scott was, and despite Derek trying to tell him for years to step away from Scott, Stiles was loyal until the end. Scott had time for Stiles only when Scott wasn't dating someone.

"Where did he go?" Scott asked when they pulled up onto the street where Stiles lived, and there was no sight of him walking.

"He might have gone to another friend's house after walking. Just give me a moment." Derek grabbed his cell phone from the dash, where he kept his personal one. He dialed Stiles' number and waited for him to pick up.

"Who is this?" Peter asked.

Derek balked at that. Did Stiles not have his number programmed in? And What the hell was Peter doing answering Stiles' phone?

"Why are you answering Stiles' phone?"

"He's currently passed out on my couch. I found him wandering the town drunk. He was seven streets off from where he should have been if he was going home. I figured that it was better to pick him up than to have a cop called out to deal with him."

"I'll call his father and tell him. Noah knew I was going to pick him up, but he and Scott got into it, and Stiles went off on his own." Derek looked at Scott, who looked half asleep.

"Thank you. I'll ship him home in the morning with a good meal in him. I know that he and his father have plans to go to San Fran to catch a local game."

Derek made a noise of assent, and then he hung up. Scott was asleep against the glass of the back seat. Derek could at least take him home.

"Parrish!" Noah yelled from his office.

Derek and everyone else in the bullpen looked at Parrish to see if the man flushed or not. He didn't, so it didn't seem that he was in trouble.

"Yeah, Sheriff?" Parrish asked as he got up and walked over to the door.

"Stiles caught an earlier flight home from London, so can you get him?"

Derek dropped the pen in his hand. Normally he would be the one that was sent after Stiles from San Francisco airport when he was flying home. Derek looked at the calendar on his desk and realized that Noah hadn't had him do it at all since the summer between pre-law and law school. Stiles had got into Yale Law School, and after he had passed the bar exam, he had flown off to London to visit with Lydia and Jackson. His stuff had arrived in a large pod thing that was parked in the driveway for him to unload when he got back.

Parrish looked at Derek and kind of smirked at him. Derek wasn't sure what that look was about, but it was enough that Derek didn't like it.

"He still got his boyfriend with him?" Parrish asked as he looked back at Noah.

"I have no clue. He didn't say, but yeah, I would make sure there is room for Steven as well."

Derek looked down at his paperwork and frowned. He hadn't known that Stiles was dating anyone, but it seemed that Parrish did. Looking at the clock, Derek was happy that he would be getting off of shift in a few hours. He could go home and figure out what the hell was going on. Cora would be the best to get information from. She would be tired enough that she would slip. She was in her first year of residency at a good hospital in LA, and that meant that she was tired a lot.

Four hours later, Derek had no more answers than he had before. He was left to wonder what he had done that had Cora telling him to fuck off when he asked how Stiles was doing. Derek texted Peter back, but he got nothing from him. He knew that Peter had read the message. His phone told him that.

Derek tried to remember the last time that he and Stiles had done something together, and it was that same summer that he had stopped being the one to go and get Stiles. He wasn't sure what had happened. Stiles had visited him at the station, and then after that, there had been nothing. Derek hadn't noticed it since Stiles still did a lot of stuff with his father when it came to the station, working there in the file room over the summer for a little extra money.

Grabbing his phone, Derek texted Cora again.

I want to know what I did, Derek sent. It was the only thing that made sense.

You did nothing, Derek. He just isn't following you around like a puppy dog anymore. I would have thought you would be happy that he's not hounding you anymore.

Derek looked at his phone. He had never been upset with Stiles hanging out with him. Stiles had been an only child, and his best friend had spent high school getting new friends that didn't want anything to do with Stiles and a girlfriend that he had ditching hanging out with Stiles for. Derek knew that Stiles liked to hang out with him. Derek's crush wasn't a reason to be an asshole to Stiles over.

Besides, Steven is jealous of you. Came a few minutes later.

Derek just looked at the screen and tried to figure out why Steven would be jealous of him? Was he one of the asshole types who thought that their significant other couldn't have friends? Derek had thought that Scott had been something like that until he had been around Scott when he had broken up with his first girlfriend and came back around as he had never been gone. Scott and Stiles had ended up getting into it in the middle of the station about it. Then it happened again and again.

Stiles didn't give up on people, ever. It seemed though that Derek had been someone he could give up on.

Derek hated Steven. He was a smug asshole who looked like someone who could have anyone in the world, and he was with Stiles. Steven had arrived in Beacon Hills a week after Stiles had gotten back from London. Steven had flown home to New York instead of California before heading to California. It seemed he was moving to San Francisco and had met Stiles at Yale.

A bar blasting past Derek had him looking at his radar gun, and he grinned and turned on his lights and sirens and took off after the person. He was shocked when they pulled over nearly immediately. Derek waited for them to get to the side of the road before he followed behind and parked behind them. He ran the plates while he watched the person in the driver's seat just sitting there. They weren't shifting around like they were all that worried.

The name that came back had Derek smiling. It was Steven. He could get Steven for going ninety in a sixty. Derek started to fill out the form before he got out so that he wouldn't have to talk to Steven for long.

Derek stopped at the passenger side and stopped when he saw a woman in the front seat. He wasn't going to jump to conclusions, though. He tapped on the window, and it finally rolled down.

"Steve, come on, don't."

Derek was about to do something when he noticed that the girl had a fresh hickey on her neck, and when he said fresh, it was like in the last ten minutes. So before they had left wherever they were. Steven's hand was also on her thigh, higher than it should be unless he wanted to show the world that she was his.

"License and registration, please," Derek said.

The items were handed over, and Derek filled out what he needed before handing those items back. He ripped off the ticket.

"You can pay it at the courthouse," Derek said as he leaned down to hand over the ticket.

"Thanks," Steven said. He then saw Derek's face. He flushed in anger. "Don't."

"Don't what? Tell the Sheriff that I pulled over his son's boyfriend after he had given a girl a hickey and had his hand up her skirt?" Derek looked down where Steven's hand was indeed now up her skirt."

"I'll pay you," Steven said.

"There isn't enough money in the world, and with that, you are now under arrest for trying to bribe an officer of the law." Derek tapped the camera that he was wearing on his shirt. It recorded all audio. It was a habit to turn it on as soon as he stepped out of the vehicle.

"You can't do this!" Steven yelled.

"I can. Please step out of the vehicle and move to the front. Lean over with your hands on the hood so I can pat you down before I cuff you."

Derek called for someone else to come and take in the woman and also wait for the tow.

Stiles was in the station talking to his father, laughing and joking when Derek escorted Steven in. Noah's eyes widened in shock, and that had Stiles turning to look. His eyes widened, and then he stood up. Noah was quick to grab him. Derek had never seen that level of anger in Stiles' eyes before and especially not directed at him. The office door shut as Parrish walked in.

Derek chose to take Steven back to the cells so that maybe the blow-up could happen, not where he was around. Stiles was a full-blown lawyer in California so he could be Steven's legal counsel, and Derek really hoped that he didn't fall on that sword.

"Hale?" Parrish asked as he stepped into the room. Steven was at least silent, but that wouldn't last long at all.

"Yeah?" Derek asked, turning to look at him.

"Sheriff wants to talk to you. He's reviewed the log and the codes listed. Stiles has promised to shut his mouth until he hears it all. As of right now, he's acting as Steven's legal counsel." Parrish's face said all that Derek needed to know. Parrish didn't think that would last that long. Derek didn't either.

Noah and Stiles were in the SHeriff's office. Stiles, though was looking at the woman who had been in the car with Steven.

"Her name is Betsy, and she's an old family friend. Her father is a pretty high powered attorney in Boston," Stiles said. His tone was off. Like he was holding back all emotions.

"How about we listen to the audio recorded on the stop?" Noah asked.

Derek nodded his head and waved. The camera was plugged into the computer, and the audio was taken. Derek told the Sheriff the time of the stop.

Stiles' face shut down all the way as he stood there listening to it all while watching Betsy. Derek never wanted to see him hurt like that again. Ever.

"He can find his own lawyer," Stiles said. He was gone from the room before Derek could touch him to give him a hug.

"Don't," Noah said when Derek moved to take off after him. "You and I need to talk as Noah and Derek, not as Sheriff and Deputy. I'm going to hand this off to Parrish and another Deputy, Derek. You are too close to this, and I don't want Steven getting off on this because he tries to make it about your relationship with his boyfriend."

Four hours later, Derek was off of shift. He waited for the Sheriff, who was off as well. Derek wasn't sure what was going on.

"Del's?" Noah asked as he stepped outside.

Derek nodded his head and got into his Camaro. Derek waited for Noah to pull out first and then followed behind him. It gave him something to focus on that wasn't the pit of fear that was growing in his stomach. He groaned and hit his head on the headrest as he turned off the Camaro.

Del's was popular with the rest of the cops in the city, so it was always full of at least one. Sometimes a lot more off shift cops.

"So, Derek, I was talking with Peter, who was talking with Cora. I've stayed out of my son's romantic life. He's got a good head on his shoulders for that. I've never liked Steven, and I could never give a reason why that wasn't pretty much Steven wasn't who I wanted my son to get with."

"That's pretty good of you. My mother is still trying to set me up on dates. I keep ignoring her. She stopped for now after I didn't come to the last family dinner, and she invited a co-worker's daughter."

"Yeah, I never wanted to be that kind of parent, but I had hoped that things would change three years ago."

Derek nodded his head even though he didn't understand.

"Only, Stiles came home one day, and he stayed up in his room, saying that he was working on a few things for Law School. When he came out the next day, his bedding was changed, and he had just changed it the day before. He always did when he got home. Days went by, and I wasn't sure what happened, and then he went out on a date with someone that he had gone to school with. I guess she had a crush on him all through school and had asked him out. I was a little shocked by that. After that, he didn't come to the station as often, and if he did, he didn't talk to the one person that he talked to more than me. He would still say hi to them, and then when he was at Law School, he still asked how he was doing, but a new question came up, asking how the dates the guy went on had gone. That's when I got it. Stiles had asked his guy out that he had been crushing on and had been turned down. That's when Steven came into the picture. They were just friends for a long time and then there was talk of Steven taking him here and there by his third year of school. Then they started fully dating. I didn't like him because he wasn't the guy I had hoped would get his head out of his ass and ask my son on a date."

Derek nodded his head. He wasn't sure what to say to that at all. The last crush that Derek knew about was Lydia, but it hadn't panned out at all, and from what Derek had got off of it, he had been lusting after her brain and had dropped that when he had seen how controlling she was.

"I asked Parrish, and he said that Stiles asked him out and was turned down. However, the guy turned him down by saying he had a date with someone else and that Stiles had known it was a lie. It's kind of crushing to find out that the guy can't even be honest about turning someone down. He couldn't just say, 'Hey, I am not into you like that' instead of lying. That's the one thing that Stiles can't deal with, lying. So, Derek, that's why I pulled you from the case. I'm sure that Steven knows exactly who Stiles had a crush on at the station as Stiles has never been that quiet about it. And it wouldn't do to have the object of said crush handling a case like this."

Derek was still nodding until he realized exactly what had been said. "He likes me?"

"Oh, my God." Noah waved his hand, and the waitress came over to take their order.

Derek ordered dinner and water while Noah got a beer with his. Derek wasn't sure that he should be drinking, but he wasn't going to say that. Right now, it looked like Derek was on his shit list.

"I never took it out on you, turning Stiles down. I figured that something else had happened with your crush on him, but I've spent the last month with a morose deputy who perked up every single time Stiles came in. So, Derek What the hell happened when he asked you out? Why did you lie?"

"How long have you known that I had a crush on him?"

"His seventeenth birthday party. You dropped off the files, and Stiles was dancing in the backyard with his friends. He was enjoying a night of being happy and free, and you watched him. The look on your face said it all. I knew that you would never do anything until he was eighteen, so I waited that whole time, and you never approached him once. You let him go off to college, and I figured that it would happen."

"How long for him?"

"About his crush? Since the first time that he saw you. I knew that look on his face, but unlike Lydia, he got to know you. I don't think anyone ever told you, but he spent more time at the station in the first year that you worked there than the previous three years. He got to know you, and by the time he went to college, he was in love with you but thought you saw him as a little brother. I don't know what happened to make him finally ask you out. The other deputies were going to lock you both in a cell for a night until you talked. Then you turned him down when he did ask."

"I just...I couldn't take going out with him. He had that cute haircut, and I was afraid that I would ruin our friendship. That's why I lied. Cora telling me that Steven is jealous of me makes a lot more sense now."

"Yes. Cora and Peter were both shocked when you turned down Stiles and told him you were going out with someone. They also confirmed with Stiles that you ended up at home."

Derek nodded his head. He wasn't sure what to do now, so he ate his food when it arrived. He listened to Noah talking about the case against Steven. The bribe wasn't going to go over well at all. Derek wondered what he could do to have Stiles actually talk to him. He needed that first. They needed to talk.

Derek wasn't sure that Stiles was even going to show up. He looked at his watch and frowned before walking back to the window of his loft to look out into the parking lot. They talked over text for two months and met up in the station when Derek was there.

Stiles was still a lot out of sorts about Steven cheating on him and trying to bribe Derek into not telling him. The bribe thing had fallen apart as Derek knew it probably would, but the DA who had taken over the case had made sure that Steven knew that they would go after him for it if he didn't take the deal. So Steven was serving out a lot of community service, and when it was done, he was free to leave Beacon County. He had moved to Beacon City, and Derek had been happy to see the back of him.

Time ticked over to seven, and Derek sighed. Stiles wasn't late to things that he cared about. Derek looked at the table that wasn't set for anything romantic, but it was ready for their dinner, which was in the oven.

Derek jumped when there was a knock on his door. He looked outside again, but Stiles' Jeep wasn't out there. He walked to the door and opened it to find Stiles standing there.

"Hey," Stiles said. He looked nervous. His fingers were dancing against his thigh, and Derek could tell that he wanted to bounce on his feet but was trying to hold himself back.

"Where is your Jeep?"

Stiles laughed, and he looked a lot less nervous.

"In the shop. It needed an oil change and new brake lines. So I went ahead and had it all done on it before the lines got too bad. I've been getting a ride to and from work from Peter. He doesn't mind, and I get him coffee."

Derek nodded his. Then he thought about that. Peter had been home for two hours. Stiles had been in Peter's place for two hours. Peter had kept back that he thought that Stiles was special. That if Stiles ever looked at him in any way, Peter would say yes, but despite Peter's flirting, Stiles had never looked at him in any way that wasn't just a doting uncle.

"So you've been hanging out in Peter's place since then?"

"Well, I had to get changed and then Peter wanted to talk about a new book series he read. We got a little lost in the discussion, but hey, I made it on time." Stiles looked unsure as he stood there in the doorway.

Derek stepped back to allow him into the room. Stiles slipped past him and into the loft before Derek could step back too far. Derek laughed as he saw Stiles go right for the snacks he had laid out on the island in the kitchen. There was a bottle of wine and a tray of cheese ready for them. None of it was the kind of cheese that would normally be on a cheese tray, but instead, it was the kind of cheese that Stiles liked. The main bit was hot pepper cheese. Stiles grabbed a chunk of it and popped it into his mouth as his eyes moved over the scene.

"This is a date?" Stiles asked as he looked around. He looked at the wine and laughed as he picked it up. "Yeah, this is. You picked the sweet wines that I like. The cheese that I like and I smell that casserole you make, and I tried to sell my dad for once. Pulling out all of the stops, Derek. I kind of like it."

"Yes, it's a date. I thought I made that clear when I asked you out."

"Well, there are dates that are going out, and then there are dates that are just hanging out. I figured out meant that. You've been moving so very slow with everything. I didn't realize we were at the wining and dining portion. I mean, you have everything kind of perfect here. Hard to top it."

"I think I can top it, but I just..." Derek walked up to Stiles and reached out to hold his hand before slipping his fingers in between Stiles. He raised that hand up and kissed the back of it before he leaned in to kiss the side of Stiles' mouth. He wrapped his other arm around Stiles' waist. "I didn't know that you were asking me out."

"Yes, I know. You've told me that before Derek." Stiles wrapped both of his arms around Derek. It allowed Derek to wrap his other arm around him as well. Derek started to rock them back and forth. There was no music, but it was fun.

Stiles pressed his cheek into Derek's as they moved. He started to hum. It was pretty good to be there like they were. Derek led them around the room as they danced.

"Cheese and wine are both getting warm," Stiles said.

"Yes, I know, but I don't want to let go," Derek said. He did, though, and stepped away. Stiles was smiling, he looked happy and very pleased. It was a good look on him.

"I don't want to let you go either, but-" Stiles stopped, and his stomach growled loud enough for even Derek to hear. "That kind of ruins the mood."

"Never. I'm used to that sound." Derek pulled Stiles along with him toward the kitchen, where Derek pushed him down to sit, and he grabbed the wine to pour it.

"Peter said that I had to be done at nine or he wasn't taking me home," Stiles said after he took a sip of the wine. "Or I could just stay here. Your couch probably still has an imprint of my ass."

"Or my bed with clothes on."

"Derek," Stiles said.

"Look, we are both adults, and we both know that we know more about a lot about each other. That kind of stuff wouldn't be known about each other for a long time if we were just starting out. We can't ignore that we have a past. Sleeping in the same bed won't do anything that we wouldn't always do. We've slept in the same bed several times over the years."

"Yeah, that was before we both admitted that we liked each other."

"And if we wake up with erections, what's the harm?" Derek asked.

"Um," Stiles started, but he stopped on his own and took a sip of his wine. He looked at it and then at Derek. He smiled.

Derek knew that he had him then.

"We can set the alarm so you can get dressed again before I take you home, and then I'll take you to work. We can just enjoy the morning. I'll cook or pour cereal, it depends on when we actually make it out of bed."

Stiles laughed and grabbed more cheese to eat before he drained his wine. He picked up his glass and walked over to where Derek had the bottle, and he filled it up again. He didn't go and sit where Derek had pushed him but instead sat down in the chair beside Derek. "You know I think that I might like staying and seeing what happens."

"Why?" Derek asked.

"Everyone else I've ever tried to be with, I've moved a slow pace. Steven and I were friends for a long time before we did anything. We were close as hell, and I still never saw that he could be a cheating asshole. You'd never do that. You'd be crucified and unable to work in California again by the rest of the deputies and, of course, Dad. You don't have it in you to be like that. So yes, to whatever happens after we finish dinner. I'm all in Derek."

"Good. Me too." Derek leaned in and kissed Stiles for the first time. He enjoyed the taste of wine on his tongue and the way that Stiles curled into him. He just enjoyed having Stiles right there with him after so long of depriving himself and Stiles of what they could have.

The End