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Derek’s and Stiles’ third date turned out to be everything that the first two disastrous dates weren’t.
It wasn’t carefully planned in advance or meticulously thought through in every detail, it didn’t include other people, none of the participants were either nervous, angry or injured and because of that it was completely and utterly perfect. It was the best possible kind of date, an impromptu kind of non-date date.
It just so happened that Stiles went to Derek’s apartment to return a book that he’d borrowed the very same afternoon that Derek had found a new recipe that he wanted to try out. It also just so happened that Laura, who’d spent the afternoon with the McCall twins, phoned and asked to stay the night as they wanted to finish their movie marathon. Derek saw no reason to say no as it wasn’t a school night and both Scott and Allison would love to dote on his daughter as well as the newest member of the Hale family the whole evening. Sometimes Derek started to question whether people actually liked him or if they just hung around because they wanted to spend time with his daughter and her dog. If there would be a popularity contest he’d end up at the bottom, beaten by both Laura and the small dachshund that someone (most probably Stiles) had coerced Laura into calling Leia. While he was happy that Laura had such good friends and a network of caring, supportive adults around her he couldn’t help feeling slightly abandoned as he looked into the kitchen at all the pots and pans and realized that he’d either have to eat until he burst at the seams or he’d have leftovers for a week.
Then Stiles came knocking on the door and since Derek would eat anyway and had made food enough to feed a small army and he hated to eat alone and Stiles probably would eat nothing but Reese’s and Doritos for dinner it made sense to invite him in. Because Derek wanted some company and Stiles needed to eat properly. And just so a sort of non-date date happened to take place.
While Derek finished the food in the kitchen, Stiles laid the table and, on a whim, he rooted through the cabinets to dig out a couple of candles and the nice linen napkins that were rarely used.
“What is this?” Derek asked a bit surprised as he took in his transformed living room. Stiles had put candles not only on the table but also scattered them around the room, dimmed the lights and put on some jazz that played softly in the background.
“Don’t you like it?” Stiles asked nervously as Derek made no move to put the pot down. “I just thought that I… But if it’s too much… Should have asked before… “
“Stiles!” Derek cut off his nervous rambling. “It’s fine. It’s really nice” he said smiling, placing the soup on the table and running his fingers over the tablecloth. “I was just a little surprised. I’d almost forgotten I owned things like that.”
“So you don’t set the table like this for every dinner?” Stiles asked mock-sternly. “I’m disappointed with you, Derek, you should be a better role model. How is Laura supposed to learn any table manners if you just shovel down some cereal over in the breakfast corner instead of eating properly at the table?” Derek shoved Stiles aside and returned to the kitchen to get one of the loaves he baked earlier.
“Shut up, Stiles” he grumbled.
“I don’t think that you should say anything about table manners” Derek muttered pointedly as Stiles was, yet again, so busy talking that he missed closing his mouth properly and some soup dribbled down his chin.
“What can I say?” Stiles shrugged. “I love talking and I love this soup so I can’t really chose between them, can I?”
“Most adults actually can” Derek said drily before reaching out and scooping up the soup with his finger before putting it in his mouth to lick it off. Stiles’ eyes traced his movements and his eyes widened as it rested on Derek’s lips.
“Yes, well, I…” he said distractedly, unable to come up with a retort and Derek grinned.
“Wolf got you tongue?” he asked innocently and Stiles promptly stuck it out, as if to prove it was still there.
“Shut up, Sourwolf.”
They kept up the easy banter between them as they moved on from the saffron fish soup to the main course but the mode soon turned less easy and more heavy and sweaty as Stiles kept moaning around his mouthfuls of pesto baked salmon and Derek’s jeans started to feel uncomfortably tight at the sound. At the time for dessert Derek’s self-control was severely put to the test as Stiles dug into the cream cheese swirl brownies with the same amount of enthusiasm, and kept licking his lips after every bite.
“You know, this is almost like a date” Stiles mused later as they were both lying on the couch, bellies full and only feeling half awake. Derek kept his eyes firmly on the TV and absentmindedly adjusted the throw pillow that covered his crotch. He knew that Stiles wasn’t completely unaffected by him either, he’d heard the other man gasp when his shirt rode up as he stretched, but it was somewhat embarrassing to walk around with a raging hard-on like a horny teenager.
“You think?” he asked neutrally and didn’t really know what kind of an answer he hoped for. He’d wanted to take Stiles on a real date, to properly woo him, and that had failed miserably despite his careful planning. He wanted to do this right, and he didn’t want Stiles settling for a last minute invite to a home-cooked meal as a date.
“Are you kidding me?” Stiles asked angrily, because apparently Derek had thought the last sentence out loud.
“No?” Derek said confusedly. “I mean…”
“Because let me tell you straight away, “Stiles interrupted him, “that this is the best meal I’ve had in ages and you even whipped together that brownie, which was divine by the way, for me when I said I’d stay for dinner, even if you hadn’t planned on having dessert and you’re seriously super hot and no slutty waitress is hitting on you or messing up the food and no dogs are puking chocolate everywhere so this is kind of perfect and just because it wasn’t planned doesn’t mean it isn’t a date and why do you think I kept licking that spoon the whole time and for god’s sake when are you going to get over here and have you wicked way with me?”
“Do you ever shut up?” Derek asked as he scooted closer and Stiles flashed him one of his devil-may-care grins.
“I’m sure you can think of something to occupy my mouth with, Big Bad.”