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“Damn it! Why the hell isn’t this working?”
“This was not a good plan!”
“Try poison! Or fire!”
“Fire isn’t working either!”
From her spot at the kitchen table, Kira shakes her head and takes a small sip of her piping hot tea. She has her laptop in front of her, displaying a recipe for chocolate chunk cookies that she’s been meaning to try for awhile. She’s pretty sure that she has everything she needs for it; an entire cupboard in their kitchen is dedicated to her baking supplies and between her and Derek, they keep it fairly well-stocked.
Over the last few months, since her and Scott took the step to start dating both Derek and Stiles, she has done a lot of baking. Sometimes, it’s just because she’s craving cookies or some cake after a hard week but mainly, it’s because Scott and Stiles like to spend their Friday nights playing video games and, once the Xbox comes on, Derek and Kira go on the backburner.
Truly, Kira doesn’t mind all that much. They spend plenty of time with each other throughout the week and, so long as Kira puts her headphones in, she can use the time to catch up on one of her shows or do some homework that she’s behind on.
Mainly though, she uses the time to bake and be with Derek.
Just as Stiles and Scott launch into another bout of frantic yelling, the front door of the apartment closes. Derek comes straight to the kitchen, clutching a grocery bag in one of his hands. He's come straight from school, still in a tie and buttondown, black rimmed glasses perched on his nose.
“I picked up more chocolate chips,” he says, setting the bag on the counter. “I wasn’t sure if we had enough.”
(There’s definitely at least half a dozen bags already in the cupboard, but Kira firmly believes that you can never have enough chocolate.)
“Thanks!” she says, getting to her feet just as Stiles yells in despair in the living room. “Did they even notice you coming in?”
“I don’t think so,” he replies, loosening his tie. “They sound awfully busy.”
“They probably will be for a few hours. We might even be able to make two batches tonight. Do you want some tea?”
“Tea would be great,” he sighs, the sound enough to make Kira think that it’s been a long day. “But first…” He wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her in close, until his chin bumps against her forehead. Automatically, she tips her head back and cranes up onto her tiptoes, so that she can reach his lips. She’s still getting used to the feeling of Derek’s mouth; the feeling of his stubble against her skin, the way he tastes like coffee or tea instead of sugar and pancakes. It’s neither better or worse than Scott or Stiles. It’s just different and entirely pleasant, in a way that sends tiny shivers coursing down the length of her spine.
“Okay,” Derek says after he pulls away, gently bumping his nose against the end of hers, “what are we making tonight?”
&.
It takes them ten minutes to gather the ingredients and whip them together. Stiles wanders into the kitchen long enough to grab two Red Bulls and kiss them both on the cheek before disappearing again to resume his yelling with Scott. Once the cookies have been popped into the oven, Kira sets the mixing bowls and spoon in the sink to rinse while Derek wipes down their counter space.
“So we’ve got fourteen minutes,” Kira says, peering at the timer she has set up on her phone before hopping up onto a clean, dry section of the counter. There’s flour on her thighs beneath the hem of her shorts and she attempts to brush it off. “What do you want to do?”
“We could go watch Scott and Stiles,” Derek says with a shrug, stepping up in front of her. “We might not hear the timer though.” On cue, both of their boyfriends yell in what Kira thinks is triumph. She bursts out laughing and tugs Derek in closer by his belt loops.
“Sometimes I’m not sure how I fell in love with them,” she says contently, laying her head against Derek’s chest.
“Me neither,” Derek murmurs, wrapping his arms around her back. “But I’m glad I did.”
“Me too.”
For a few moments, they simply stay like that, soaking in each other's affection. Derek’s heartbeat is slow and steady underneath Kira’s ear and his fingers are gentle on her back, slowly tracing back and forth over her spine. The room is starting to fill with the smell of melted chocolate and Stiles and Scott continue to serve as background noise, cursing and planning and occasionally yelping (although Kira is pretty sure that’s mostly Stiles’ doing.) Eventually, Derek sighs deeply and pulls her in tighter, his breath stirring some of the lighter wisps of hair resting against her forehead.
“Are you okay?” she asks, pulling away from his chest and looking up. He smiles slightly and nods, glasses balancing on the end of his nose.
“I am. This is what I needed after today.” Kira is pretty sure that something beyond the usual crap that comes with being a grad student happened to Derek today, but she also knows that there’s a chance talking about it will just upset him more. She decides to let him bring it up when he feels ready to. In the meantime, she leans up as high as she can to try and catch his lips. Thankfully, he meets her halfway, so that her neck doesn’t get strained (again).
This time, the kiss goes far beyond a simple peck. When Derek’s tongue first brushes against hers, Kira can’t help but moan and slide closer to the edge of the counter. She opens her legs further and tugs Derek in closer, until she can hook her ankles around the back of his thighs. His broad hands slide further down her back until they’re tucked into the top of her back pockets. His fingers flex slightly, just enough to make Kira bite back a groan. She tightens her legs around his waist and smooths her hands down his chest to his stomach. The metal of his belt buckle is cool against the heel of her hand, a marked contrast from the warmth rolling off his skin, even through his clothes.
She lets her fingers drop further, until they’re hovering just over his zipper. Derek sucks in a breath and gently bites her bottom lip, just enough for there to be a brief sting that sends a wave of warmth flooding through her.
Just when she’s made up her mind to start working on his belt, her phone starts buzzing beside her.
With a groan, she pulls away from Derek’s mouth and shuts off the timer’s alert. When she glances up at Derek, he gives her an apologetic smile, but she can’t help but notice how dark and blown his pupils have gotten.
“I think they’re done,” he says, smoothing a piece of her hair away from her face.
“I kind of want to let them burn,” she sighs, sliding off the counter and pulling on her oven mitts. It’s not really true; the whole kitchen smells amazing and she’s been looking forward to trying this recipe for some time.
But still. She wouldn’t have minded having another five minutes with Derek.
“Well, there’s always later,” Derek says, opening the oven for her. The cookies look perfect, golden-brown around the edges, chocolate chips just the right amount of melted. Kira’s stomach rumbles just looking at them.
“Well, these have to cool for a few minutes,” Kira says, setting the baking tray on the counter and pulling off her oven mitts. “So later could be now. I mean, if you want to!”
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do now,” Derek says, reaching out to take her hand. “Should we invite them?” Kira thinks on it for a moment before nodding and sticking her head out of the doorway.
“We’re going to the bedroom, if you want to come!” she calls. Both Scott and Stiles yell back an acknowledgement but based on their tone, Kira is pretty sure they aren’t actually listening. She turns back to Derek and squeezes his hand.
“I tried,” she says with a shrug.
“Well, there’s always later for that too,” Derek replies, leaning down to brush another brief kiss over her lips. “Let’s go before the cookies get too cold.”
As Kira follows him down the hall, all she can think is that she wouldn’t want to spend her Friday nights in any other way.