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It’s been a few days since what the entire school has dubbed “The Stilinski Meltdown” and so far Derek has only kissed Stiles twice.
Both of which were absolutely awesome and made it a little hard-pun intended-to walk afterward, but both had also been out of school and when Derek knew that Stiles’ dad wasn’t home.
Stiles isn’t upset, considering it took a rogue Omega and him nearly getting identified as a werewolf himself to get Derek to even kiss him once, he’s just not sure what kind of dramatic gesture he needs to do to make it so Derek will hold his hand where everyone can see.
He wants to be able to say that he’s dating Derek, that shows the people throwing themselves all over the Senior-which Derek has always looked uncomfortable about, which is why Stiles has never just gone for it and kissed Derek himself-that they need to back off because he is well and truly spoken for.
It would mean being able to brag to Scott that his crush on the basketball player isn’t as one-sided as they thought and that they could go on couples dates now, instead of Stiles being the awkward third wheel.
Asking anyone about it would only mean being given useless advice like ‘talk to him and ask him where you stand’ or ‘if he doesn’t acknowledge you, then he isn’t worth your time’.
(Talking to his dad had been the biggest mistake Stiles had ever made, accumulating in a ten minute lecture on age and consent, as well as a terrifyingly pleasant invite to dinner that Stiles will never tell Derek about.)
It’s understandable that Derek’s a little jumpy, considering how careful he has to be given that the one wrong move will not only endanger him, but the rest of his family.
Stiles just wants him to know that he doesn’t have to keep his guard up around him, that Derek can trust him.
It’s that thought that makes him visit Talia Hale at the District Attorney’s office on a Friday Stiles knows Derek has basketball practice.
His hand are sweating even before he makes it through the door and he knows that Talia can smell it on him by the way her grin at seeing him slips a little before she pulls it back up.
She’s a lot like her son that way…
"Stiles! This is a pleasant surprise," Talia had always given off this air of knowing exactly what was needed to get someone to relax and now that Stiles knows about her role in the hairer side of things, it doesn’t surprise him as much as it used to when she waves him to a chair and asks, "I’m sure that this isn’t because you need me to get you out of trouble, so why don’t you tell me why you’re here?"
"It’s Derek," Stiles blurts, biting his lip when Talia’s brow does the exact same furrow Derek’s does whenever he’s confused, "I don’t know how to make him understand that I’m not going to tell his secret to the first Hunter I see."
Talia’s brow smooths out and she has that smile that she wore when he had gone over her house for that Werewolf 101 class that he has yet to follow up on. “Oh, sweetie, that isn’t what he’s worried about at all.”
“Then what is it?!?” Stiles bursts up from his chair, not able to sit still anymore, and begins pacing around the room. “I mean, it’s not like he’ll just tell me what’s wrong, that would be too easy! Maybe he just regrets kissing me in the first place and just is trying to let me down gently.”
The silence in the room makes Stiles realize exactly what he just told Derek’s mother and he keeps his gaze turned to the wall as he stammers out, “Uh, I- I mean…”
"While I’m delighted that my son has finally acted on his feelings, you are both right and wrong on why he’s been so careful with you.”
"Yeah?" He’s still staring at the wall, feeling the flush on his face spreading to his neck as Talia giggles a little before speaking.
"Stiles, have you ever seen my son dating? Anyone at all?” She waits until he shakes his head and continues, “That’s because no one has ever captured his attention like you have, like you still do. You should have been here yesterday, when he was asking me almost the exact thing you are, and slumping out of here like a kicked puppy when I told him he needed to talk to you.”
"Yeah?" The word is more hopeful this time, and Stiles can finally turn around to face her, meeting Talia’s smile with one of his own. "So, that advice I got about talking to him might not be so worthless after all?"
"I certainly think a good, long talk between the two of you would solve a lot of headaches," Talia winks, standing as gracefully as ever, making Stiles once more feel like a clumsy gazelle when he follows her.
"Now, I need to get back to my appointments, and you have my son to woo. Scoot."
Stiles scoots.
It’s not until Monday that Stiles has a chance to talk to Derek and it’s when they’re in the middle of Home Ec.
(Which Stiles originally only took because he wanted to learn how to make healthy foods that didn’t end up tasting like cardboard, but he stays now because cooking is fun and not all mistakes ruin something…)
Derek looks a little surprised when Stiles moves all of his equipment to the station next to him, but he smiles that soft smile that Stiles is starting to call his in his head before looking back down at the cookbook in front of him.
"Do you want to bake some cookies with me?"
"Huh?" Stiles had just been opening his mouth to start that talk they needed, but Derek’s question came from out of the blue and it took him a second to answer. "Oh, uh, y- yeah. Sure!"
It’s a common thing in the class, a couple of not-so-good students working with a better-than-average student so their food doesn’t end up setting off the fire alarm again. It’s a little different this time, because Stiles doesn’t know if either of them are the ‘better’ student, and there is a set expression on Derek’s face that wasn’t there before.
"So, I talked to my mom on Thursday."
"Okay?" Stiles tries to concentrate on the flour he’s pouring instead of the knowledge that Derek can hear the way that his words have caused an upkick in his heart.
"She made me realize how I was screwing this thing up between us," Derek reaches out and stops Stiles from adding more flour, his fingers lingering before retreating and handing the milk over instead.
"And what is this thing between us?” Stiles doesn’t make his voice more than a whisper, doesn’t need to because as soon as the words are out, Derek tenses beside him for a full minute and a half.
Stiles knows, because he’s sure that his breathing stopped for just as long as it takes Derek to slump in his seat, bringing to mind what Talia had said about a ‘kicked puppy’.
"Shit, I must have screwed up even more than I thought," Derek turns so he can take the milk from Stiles, but he keeps his hand over Stiles’ this time, making his heart beat even faster than it had before. "I want it to be a relationship, but I was scared that all you wanted was… all the other things…"
Derek is absolutely adorable when he blushes, chin tucked to his chest, but a firm grip on Stiles’ hands that say even though he is embarrassed, he is going to talk about this.
Stiles can’t find it in himself to do any less, but he needs the tense line of Derek’s shoulders to ease a little, because his own are starting to ache in sympathy. “What if I wanted a relationship and ‘all the other stuff’?”
Lifting his head and frowning a little, Derek pins Stiles where he sits as he searches Stiles’ face for something, his gaze making Stiles feel like he’s on the other end of a hypnotist’s charm…
After a few moments of feeling suspended in time, Derek sighs heavily, almost like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders and murmurs, “I can do that.”
Stiles feels like his face is going to split from the smile that’s blooming across it and Derek doesn’t seem to be faring any better when Stiles squeezes his hands before reluctantly pulling away to finish their cookies before the teacher sees them.
It’s even more fun than Stiles remembers; Derek teasingly griping at him when he adds ‘way too much’ sugar, Stiles turning the tables when Derek adds three cups-he double counted, three!-of peppermint shavings to his batch, both of them claiming that their cookies would be the better ones.
(Both batches end up slightly burnt, because Stiles had been distracted when Derek’s hand had dropped to his thigh and started to gently rub in circles, his face growing hot when Derek had taken a discrete inhale of el du Stiles, grinning-yes, Stiles was going to say it-wolfishly.)
It didn’t matter though, because Derek ended up walking him to his next class and kissing him in the middle of the hallway before sauntering off to the whistles and claps of Stiles’ classmates.
Stiles could barely concentrate for the entirety of that lecture, his lips still buzzing with the taste of peppermint.