Work Text:
“Da-a-addy! I have to go!”
"I know, munchkin, just give me a few minutes…"
There’s a clatter and a crash after that, drawing Derek’s attention from where he had been trying to work out a coding bug, but decided that yelling at an intern for breaking something would be less headache inducing and followed the noise.
What he didn’t expect when he turned the corner was to see a knocked over hatstand, what amounted to a sentient snowsuit the size of a small toddler hopping up and down while tugging off a scarf around its neck, someone attempted to pull themselves from what looked like three jackets at the same time beside it.
"What’s going on out here?" His question causes both of them to spin in his direction, showing him that there is actually a toddler under all those layers and that he also knows who is under all those parkas as well.
"Shi- Shoot! Mr. Hale! I wasn’t aware that you were in today!"
The tone that suggests that that, had he known, he wouldn’t be here either just sours Derek’s mood further and his greeting ends up being little more than a scowl.
Of course, the person that he runs into when he’s in a bad mood and ready to tear someone’s head off has to be Stiles Stilinski, because the universe has it in for him ever since the man had tripped his way through an interview and landed a position at Hale, Inc.
It’s not that he doesn't like Stiles-quite the opposite, in fact-it’s just that he’s never been good with people, and based on the watercooler gossip(Erica), Stiles is under the impression that he spent the whole interview imaging different ways to rip his throat out when Derek was really trying to figure out how to ask him on a date.
Their interactions haven’t improved much since then.
A small hand is tugging him out of his depressing thoughts, and Derek looks down to see that the previously thought-to-be-sentient snowsuit hood has fallen back and a child no more than three or four is looking up at him with the same wide, amber eyes that her father has.
“Please, Mista’ ‘Ale, I hafta go real bad and I can’t undo my zippah!”
Her words remind Stiles of what he was previously doing and he is once more trying to perform a move worthy of Houdini as he insists, “Dinah, honey, don’t bother Mr. Hale, I just need a second to untangle myself-“
"I’m sure I can handle a snowsuit zipper," Derek huffs, the look he gives Stiles making his daughter-Dinah-giggle before moving back a little as he kneels down in front of her.
"It’s really stuck,” Dinah helpfully pitches in, also seeming to inherit her father’s need to have the last word, before showing that she’s also a little bit of her mother by holding absolutely still as Derek reaches for the zipper at her throat.
It wasn’t really, it had just been pulled down over the coat instead of the teeth of the zipper, possibly when Dinah had first informed Stiles that she needed to use the restroom and had been told to wait; what throws him is that there is another jacket underneath that, complete with snow pants.
Dinah can take care of those parts herself, as well as the small vest under that, and chirps a thanks at Derek when he points her toward where she needs to go.
Stiles has managed to extract himself from his own mountain of overcoats by then and moves so he is standing in front of the ladies’ restroom with both his and Diana’s things bunched up in his hands, looking everywhere but at Derek.
"I’m sorry, she’s really better behaved than asking complete strangers to help her-"
"It’s fine. Stiles." He’s a little hurt at the fact that, even after half a year of working together, Stiles still considers them strangers and it makes his voice harder than he wants it to be. Derek shakes his head, reminding himself that Stiles was talking about his daughter, who Derek had never met before despite every other thing out of Stiles’ mouth being about her.
"What are you doing here, anyway? Wasn’t the last I saw of you on Friday of you crowing about having the weekend off? I think there may have been a dance involved…"
"You know what they say, Mr. Hale; pics, or it didn’t happen."
"I’m sure that I can get Danny to pull up the security footage-"
“Anyway,” There is a lovely flush across Stiles’ cheeks and down his neck, making Derek wonder how far down it goes and if he’ll ever get the chance to find out. He’s pulled out of his thoughts by Stiles clapping his hands in front of his chest, coats and snow pants rustling, bringing Derek’s attention back to the present. “I need to get some of my files because I realized that they need to be done now if I don’t want a huge pile up when I get back in on Monday.”
"I’m sure that whatever needed to be done could have waited until your weekend was over." Derek frowns as the thought that he might be overworking Stiles slides through his mind; is he uncaring enough that Stiles was so worried about a little late work that he cut off a rare weekend with his daughter just to make sure that it was done on time? Sure, Derek’s a little tough when people are being idiotic, but he didn’t think he was coming off as a brute…
Stiles sighs the way he usually does whenever Greenburg opens his mouth and Derek is surprised that it’s directed at him this time. “Look, I get that we interrupted your Fortress of Solitude and manly brooding, but if you wanted us gone, all you had to do was say so.”
"That’s not what I-"
"I’m done!" Dinah announces, popping in between Derek and Stiles like a miniature firework, completely unaware of the tension coating the air.
Derek wishes he was so lucky.
"Come on, munchkin," Stiles states, shifting all of their things under one arm and taking Dinah’s hand with the other. "Let’s get Daddy’s files so we can get out of Mr. Hale’s hair."
"Derek."
Stiles freezes where he stands, making Dinah look back at Derek with the same confused frown Stiles shows him only a few moments later.
"Call me Derek, Stiles, and you’re wrong; I don’t mind that you’re here, I just… I just didn’t want to cut into time with your daughter, that’s all."
Dinah grins as Stiles’ eyes widen in surprise. “It’s o’tay, Mista’ ‘Ale. I like you!”
Stiles flames that lovely red color again as he turns his daughter in the direction of his office, leaving Derek behind and feeling like he might be able to move their friendship forward after all.