Work Text:
- Sight
Stiles finds Derek on his porch when he's looking for Scott, figuring that although the two hate each other, there was enough bullshit going on that maybe he could find them swapping information- even if it was begrudgingly. Derek is leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, head titled in a way so he can't see his expression.
"Yo, Derek!" He calls out, "Have you seen Scott?"
That's when Derek looks up and before he can go back to his default expression of anger mixed with irritation, Stiles sees a look he hasn't seen on Derek before. It's such a vulnerable look for Derek, and He knows immediately what it means though, because he's an angsty teenager, surrounded by even more angsty teenagers.
But in a second it's gone and Stiles is left wondering if he even saw it, and Derek says, "Why would Scott be here?"
"Uh," It takes Stiles a moment to remember that he came here looking for Scott. "I just thought that he might have been around to talk to you about, you know," he shrugs, and Derek raises an eyebrow. "Freaky shit."
There's a moment where Derek just observes Stiles, and it makes him more than a little uncomfortable, and Derek says, "He's not here."
It sorta seems like he's going to say something else but the silence drags on and it starts to make Stiles feel awkward so he says, "Um, I'll just... leave, I guess." He waits for Derek to say something, which in retrospect was pretty stupid cause he knows Derek loathes to talk unless he's really pissed at the person hes addressing- kind of like that time he was trying to make Stiles cut off his arm and he vomited toxic whatever-the-fuck all over the place.
So he nods stiffly and turns to make the short walk back to his jeep when Derek turns away, probably assuming Stiles wasn't looking, and that he has that open, exposed look again and Stiles suddenly has the impulse to wrap him up in a blanket and give and got cup of tea. Seriously, he was fighting back some serious maternal instincts, and it's weird because he usually only gets like that when his dad has one too many scotches and thinks his bed is in the drive-way.
Sometimes consciences really sucked, because it's what's keeping him from turning his back on obviously-emotionally-distressed-Derek-Hale and going home to waste time on the internet, and it's what convinces him to sigh, turn back around, and climb the steps over to where Derek is and drop down next to him. Derek stares at stiles, eyes wide and eyebrows burrowing into each other like they do when hes both confused and surprised, but he doesn't say anything about it.
"Derek," Stiles starts, and he knows Derek is listening even if he doesn't make any notion that he is, and asks carefully, "Are you okay?"
And again, Derek doesn't say anything, though this time Stiles wonders if it's less about how he doesn't like to socialize and might instead be because Derek doesn't know how to answer. So the next question Stiles asks is, "Do you want me to stay?" Which is an offer against his better judgment, given how Derek has threatened his life more than once, but when was his judgment a valid source of advice?
Again with the silence. Maybe trying to comfort a werewolf was a bad idea.
Sighing, hes about to jump down from Derek's ridiculously high porch when Derek's hand flashes forward and grips his theigh with a surprising amount of pressure, and he looks to Derek, and his expression hasn't changed in the slightest but Stile's thinks he understands.
He settles back down, and they stay there, simply enjoying each other's company in silence. Which is a total lie, because there is only so much silence Stile's can take before he becomes extremely paranoid, so after approximately 2.5 seconds he starts babbling on seamlessly, knowing that Derek probably won't join in but that's okay because he can carry a conversation easily by himself.
Besides, Derek makes up for the lack of conversation when he loosens up, and Stiles might even go as far to say he was enjoying listening to him (which was impressive /and/ unbelievable because most people had the opposite reaction).
By the time it gets dark and he has to leave, Stiles is feeling pretty good, and secretly cherishes the "Night, Stiles" he gets from Derek.
- Scent
So he figures he should be more concerned than he is about how quickly he and Derek can be considered what people call "buddy’s", but he decides to just go with the flow and enjoy the fact that one: Derek isn't trying to kill him, and two: Derek is actually a pretty decent guy.
Sure, hes still captain of the Brooding-Brigade, but once in a while he makes a joke, ones that actually make Stiles laugh, like really hard, and for someone to who gives everyone the cold shoulder, Derek is was surprisingly warm.
Like, the dude would pay for the pizza he'd order when Stiles invited him over to stay at his house (without his dad knowing of course cause that's just asking for trouble), and when he complained about the unfairness of the near impossibility of finding, let alone affording old, pricey comic books, Derek would show up practically the next day and have a copy of the exact comic book he was complaining about. Apparently Laura had been a huge comic book-enthusiast, and blown a lot of money on collecting them.
"They've been sitting in the storage unit for a while, gathering dust," Derek says when Stiles asks why he's giving them to him. "I think I remember Laura saying that was bad. Besides, I think she'd want her 'babies' to enjoy a new home, and you're probably the best person to hand them over too."
"Huh," Stiles says, but hes really very touched at the gesture. The comics are in perfect condition, and he's awed that he actually owns them now. "Thanks, man, I really- I don't know what to say."
"You don't need to say anything." Derek falls back onto Stiles's bed, where his feet are still stationed on the floor but the rest of his body is flat against the mattress, and he relaxes and closes his eye's. Stiles figures he should probably be concerned about that too- that Derek is completely comfortable napping on his bed, and also why he has no problem that he is. Instead he opens the comic and starts to read, and when he emerges from it Derek is actually sleeping.
He feels like one of the people on those animal documentaries Allison always watches when he watches Derek sleep. The ones who find a rare breed of animal in some largely unexplored rain forest and stop to watch it go about it's business, reveling in the fact that they're lucky enough to witness it. Because how many people can say they've seen Derek sleep? And not a "I've been knocked out by blah and am now unconscious" kind of sleep, but an honest-to-god, peaceful REM session.
Slowly, and very carefully, he stretches out next to Derek, propping himself on his elbow so he can still see his face. He's so close that for the first time, he finds out what he smells like.
He can't say he's surprised that Derek smells like he does- like wood and spice and Testosterone- but he is surprised at how much he enjoys it. He leans in a little closer, still careful not to wake him up, and inhales deeply, and again and again, and he just kind of decides 'to hell with it' and lays the side of his head on Derek's chest so he can breathe it all in and he accidentally falls asleep like that.
When he wakes up, Derek is gone, and Stiles tries to tell himself he's not sad about it.
- Sound
They're sitting side-by-side on Stiles couch, watching Captain America when Derek says, "I really like this."
Stiles is caught off guard, so he can only manage a, "What?"
"I like this." Derek is looking at him, staring more like, in a really intense sort of way, not in the way that makes Stiles instincts go "DANGER, DANGER- MURDER ALERT", but it does give Stiles goosebumps.
"You mean...," He starts, trying to figure out exactly what he means cause he doesn't want to seem like an ass and offend him by not knowing. "The movie?"
He figures that's funny because Derek actually laughs, something he never does because he's Derek-fucking-Hale and this man laughs for no one. "I like that we're watching the movie- that I can do that with you."
"Really? You like hanging out with me?" Stiles has to ask, because no one but Scott seemed to like hanging out with him so he was a little skeptical.
"Yeah, really." He confirms but Stiles gives him a look that says you're-really-not-fooling-anyone so he elaborates, saying, "This'll probably be hard to believe, but not a whole lot of people like me."
"It might have something to do with you being really fucking scary," Stiles offers, half joking when he says it. Derek nods, and it's weird because Stiles always figured that Derek didn't give two shits about being the grumpy creep who lived in a burned home in the woods, because it kept away people and Derek's always seemed to really grossed out by them.
But the way Derek looked away from him when he nodded, how his lips and jaw tightened and his brows drew together, how he had that same exact look he did when he found him on his porch made Stiles wonder-
"Derek, are you lonely?"
Immediately, Derek tenses up, bracing himself against the humility he assumes is coming his was, and doesn't say anything. He doesn't need to say anything though, because Stiles is able to figure out the answer from his body language alone, and figures out a bit more than he asked as well.
When he thinks about it, which he's ashamed to say is the first time he actually takes into consideration Derek's predicament, Derek really is alone. Like, alone alone. Not just in the sense of how his current circle of 'friends' react to him, as Scott obviously isn't a fan, and Boyd and Erica ditched him for a new pack and Isaac was just as prepared too, and Stiles was, until recently the captain of the anti-Derek campaign. But alone in the actual definition of the word.
Because, although all of that sucked, what sucked even more was that while Stiles (considering himself pretty lonely, as his only friend Scott ignores him in favor of his Allison) could go home to his dad, Derek came home to burned hollow husk, where the only thing waiting for him was the memories of his entire family burning to death because he made the mistake of opening up and trusting someone.
So no wonder that Derek acts the way he does, like he doesn't trust anyone. It's because he can't. He can't even trust himself to trust anyone. Maybe, Stiles guesses, he thinks if he does, he'll get burned again.
Stiles leans back against the couch so that hes against Derek's side. He takes a chance and lays his hand on top of Derek's, smiles at him and says, "I like hanging out with you too."
Slowly, Derek relaxes, and holy shit, Stiles might actually see a curve to hips lips that might possibly pass as a smile. He got that smile.
And in that exact moment, Stiles realizes hes completely screwed.
- Touch
"I don't understand the saying 'head over heels'." Stiles says, when he and Derek are leisurely strolling through the woods around Derek's house.
Derek looks up from the ground and stares at Stiles, confused. "What?"
"You know, when someone says "I'm head over heels for blah blah!" it doesn't make any sense cause you head is already over you're heels, that's the whole point of your feet being on the ground and your head being, you know, not under them."
Derek snorts next to him and replies, "I think supposed to refer to the tumbling feeling you get when you're in love"
"Tumbling feeling?"
"Yeah." He stops and choices to lean against a tree and Stiles stops with him. "In that sense, you would be head over heels. Several times."
He 'hmms' in thought. What Derek says actually makes legitimate sense. "You know, Der, you're a lot smarter than you lead people to seem."
Derek laughs and says, "Well you're a lot less annoying than you seem."
"Yeah well, I know a lot of people who would disagree with you."
"It doesn't matter what people think," Derek says.
"It matters what some people think."
"That's bullshit. Who's opinion actually matters to you?"
"Lots of people," Stiles shrugs, hands in his pocket when he thinks about the list of people who's opinions matter to him. "My dad's of course, and Scott's, yours, maybe Lydia but-"
"Me?"
Stiles pauses when Derek interrupts him, the surprise in his voice making him only just notice that he included him in the list of people who he cares about. "Well, yeah," He says. "Of course what you think matters to me. I have spent the last couple weeks chilling with you, I wouldn't have bothered if you weren't important to me."
It seems like that wasn't the kind of answer Derek expected, and he shuffles his feet and stares at the floor, and Stiles thinks he actually sees shade of red dusting across Derek's cheeks. He kind of wanted to just grab him and squeeze him to death because Jesus fuck that's cute. Huh. He never thought he'd think Derek was cute.
Then again, he never thought he'd feel the way he does about Derek, so he supposes the saying "never say never" actually has some claim to it, even if it's a paradox.
"Stiles," He hears Derek say, snapping him out of his inner-monologue. His heart beats heavy against his chest at the way Derek is looking at him, his eyes piercing and making him feel like he's burning from the inside, when Derek says, "You're important to me, too."
He sharply inhales because he really didn't think that Derek would ever say something so nice to him, and damn it that's it.
"Come'ere," Stiles says, arms wide. He gives his shoulder two quick pats and says, "Come on, bring it in."
Derek seems to really try and keep up his confused, slightly annoyed glare but he cracks, laughs and grabs Stiles by the shoulder and brings him into a hug, which has Stiles in shock because Derek Hale is actually hugging him.
But he ignores his shock in favor of savory the feel of Derek against him because Derek is really, really firm and he feels like magic.
- Taste
Stiles hasn't seen Derek for almost a whole week, when he used to see him at least once everyday, and he tried to tell himself that he doesn’t care but it does nothing to stop the hurt that grows every time he goes 24 hours without seeing him.
And he thinks he'd be fine again if Derek would just stop avoiding him, like he'd just say, “hey man” and forget all about it, but he gets a completely different reaction from himself when he comes home one day to find Derek sitting on his bed like he belongs there.
"Ehhaah!" Stiles yells out, almost tripping over some stray clothes at his door. He freezes and listens for his dad to see if he heard him screaming.
"You can relax, you're dad isn't home."
"Oh, good." He takes a calming breath before he continues, "What're you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you."
"After you've ignore me for six days, you want to to talk to me?" He's surprised by how angry he is all of a sudden, and he fights back the urge to give him a piece of his mind. There is a time and place to go off on someone, and now is a time for subtlety, although Stiles is fully aware that that's not his area of expertise.
"I know, I'm sorry." He really does look sorry, the kind that's mixed with guilt and since Stiles knows how that feels he decides it isn't worth getting pissed about anymore, and he probably had a good reason, like fighting off supernatural evil-doers, so he lets it go.
He sits down next to him and asks, "What do you want to talk about?"
"I-," Derek sighs, pointedly avoiding looking at Stiles. "I don't think I should be around you anymore."
Okay. He's mad again. "What? You avoid me for a week and then come back to tell me you're going to keep ignoring me? That's bullshit!"
"Stiles, you don't understand-,"
"Then explain it to me!"
"I can't do that."
"Why the hell not!," He stands up for no other reason than he can't sit still while hes so irritated and starts pacing, trying to calm down before he does something stupid, like piss Derek off so much he's actually capable of homicide.
Derek looks distressed himself, and opens his mouth but snaps it shut just as quickly. He groans, defeated, but by what Stiles has no clue, and shakes his head, saying, "I'm leaving."
Derek stands and makes a move towards the window, but Stiles jumps out in front of him and slams the window shut before he can even reach it, and hits the latch into place. Derek gives him the greatest bitch face he has ever seen, but it's not enough to make Stiles move.
"You're not leaving until you tell me why!"
"Stiles," Derek barks out, but doesn't try to shove Stiles out of the way. His jaw is clenched so hard Stiles thinks he might actually crack a tooth. "Move."
"No, damn it, I'm sick of this- stop," He's bold enough to push Derek back when he snorts and tries to get around him. "Just listen to me, okay?"
Stiles is completely expecting Derek to shove him to the side, like he does to pretty much everything, and to let himself be tossed aside as he feels his heartbreak in his chest at being so callously rejected, but he doesn't expect Derek to stand back, stare (or glare, really) at him, actually about to listen to him, and he is really unprepared for that.
"Okay, um..uh," Holy shit, this is really happening, he thinks, his hearts kind of flipping shit inside his chest and he can't think past it cause it's really distracting, and so is Derek, who's just standing there, expecting him to explain but how does he expect him to do that when he feels like his body is going into shock?
It's when Derek gradually starts looking more and more irritated, and his anxiety levels reach a new high because of it, and Derek's about to say something that started with "Stiles, I-" When Stiles body decides that hes a wimp and takes charge, and he steps forward and takes hold of Derek's collar, and yanks him forward so that their lips collide. He grabs the back of Derek's shirt and holds him tight against him so that Derek could only leave if he pried him off, but Derek doesn't make a move and freezes against Stiles, but Stiles moves against him regardless of that, and the fear that Derek doesn't want him, and he totally made an ass out of himself and he ruined their weird as hell friendship.
There's a sharp pain on his bottom lip and the sudden taste of iron fills his mouth so hes pretty sure he busted a lip on one of Derek's teeth- or fang?- but he barely notices. Derek lips are so soft, like, shockingly so given that Derek is a bonafide hard-ass, and it's almost enough to make him forget that this wasn't a planned kiss.
His tongue flicks out, licking between Derek's lips that are parted in what he can accurately guess is shock, and just when he wishes that he could get inside that wonderfully tempting mouth, Derek presses into him and out of nowhere Derek's tongue is in his mouth, against his own, with Derek grabbing him by his waist and neck and pulling him impossibly closer.
Eventually they have to break the kiss, 'cause air is an attention-whore, and they're panting against each other. Through the oxygen depravity, Stiles manages to say, "That's, ugh.... all I had to... say.."
Derek flashes a smile that makes Stiles heartbeat jump (cause /damn/, it never gets old) and says, "Yeah, I totally agree." and delves back in for round two, and Stiles really isn't going to complain and he puts his spaz-attack-of-rainbow-vomiting on the back-burner cause there are more important things at hand.
Like how Derek tastes like dreams and sex and it's quickly becoming his aphrodisiac.