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Stiles stood on the porch of the newly rebuilt Hale House. He knew Derek had finished the night before when the Pack group chat had received a text from Derek inviting everyone for a barbecue that weekend. Stiles, being Stiles, didn’t want to wait that long to see the house. He’d texted Derek to ask if he could come over that morning but hadn’t gotten a response.
He had a drink carrier in one hand and a paper bag in the other. Using the hand holding the paper bag, he knocked on the door and waited. After a few minutes, Stiles heard nothing from inside the house. He glanced over his shoulder to see Derek’s SUV and knocked again.
After another couple of minutes, Stiles put the edge of the paper bag in his mouth and used his now free hand to try the handle. The knob turned easily under his hand, and the door swung open. Stiles’ breath caught as he took in the foyer of the house. He’d seen it before as a blacked-out shell and again during construction, but he’d never imagined it would wind up so beautiful.
When Derek had announced that he’d planned to rebuild the house himself, with only the occasional help from contractors, the Pack had laughed at him. Stiles had gone to the library and checked out many construction books. While contractors came, he’d sat at the house because the strangers made Derek edgy. Even as the house came together, the rest of the pack bet on how long until Derek either gave up or the house fell down around them.
“You can’t be here yet,” Derek said, startling Stiles. Derek stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at him, but he wasn’t glaring.
Stiles noticed the way Derek’s hands twitched. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Inspector’s coming,” Derek explained. “The house isn’t officially habitable until it passes inspection.”
“You already sent out the invites for this weekend,” Stiles pointed out.
“Might have been a few steps ahead of myself.”
“Derek,” Stiles said, setting the bag and carrier on the small table to the left of the front door and heading up the stairs. “Everything is going to be fine. The house will pass inspection.”
“You don’t know that. You haven’t seen anything except the foyer,” Derek argued, but Stiles saw the corner of his lip curl up slightly.
“I have believed from day one that you could do this,” Stiles said. “My faith in you and your determination never wavered.” A knock sounded on the door, and Derek pressed his lips together. “Now, c’mon, let’s get this house okayed to live in so I can pick out my room.”
The following weekend, Stiles sat next to Derek on the back steps of the house while the Pack ran around, roughhousing and eating. The house had passed inspection with no problems. The inspector had claimed that it was the highest rating he’d ever given in all his years as a housing inspector.
Stiles nudged Derek when Scott approached, looking sheepish and his hands deep in his pockets. When he reached them, Scott pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to Stiles. “You had to have cheated,” Scott muttered as he walked away.
“What’s that?” Derek asked as Stiles counted out the money, taking half and handing it to Derek.
“The pool winnings,” Stiles said. “I was the only one who bet you could do it.”
Derek’s smile was small as the tips of his ears burned pink. “You bet on me?”
Stiles grinned. “I’ll always bet on-” Stiles cut off when Derek leaned forward and pressed his lips to Stiles’. “What was that?”
“You like me,” Derek said, reaching out to tangle his fingers with Stiles and flipping Erica off when she started cheering. Stiles saw money changing hands out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn’t look away from Derek’s face.
“You don’t know that,” Stiles said but not arguing because Derek wasn’t wrong.
He smiled and kissed Stiles again. “I’d bet my life on it.”