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“It’s so hot.” The whine in that statement was remarkably impressive. It was just shy of being an obnoxious whine, even while still being a touch too annoying to be adorable.
“Tragic,” was the unbothered response.
“Like, unbearably hot,” the whining continued.
“Maybe if you went for a drive, or to the pool, or even just got off of me, you wouldn’t be so unbearably hot,” was the dry rebuttal.
Stiles Stilinski let out a world-weary sound of dismay from behind him, the man having fallen onto his back almost twenty minutes ago, and then proceeding to whine the entire time about how hot he was.
Derek Hale knew his boyfriend was smart. He’d graduated high school as Salutatorian, and was getting some of the highest marks in all the complex university classes he was taking. Derek knew he was smart enough to know that lying half-naked on top of another half-naked man—a Werewolf, even—was only going to heat him up more.
Yet, there they were. Derek lying on his stomach in the middle of the loft with a textbook as he attempted to pass the time brushing up on his chemistry knowledge, and Stiles on his back whining. His boyfriend had somehow managed to lie down on his own back, so that they were lying back-to-back, Stiles staring up at the ceiling as his arms and legs dangled half-off Derek’s body.
He wasn’t much bothered by the heat, since being a Werewolf regulated his internal body temperature—something Stiles insisted was unfair since Derek was mostly human and thus should suffer like the rest of them—but Stiles was practically sweating a small puddle into the dip at the bottom of his spine.
“Derek,” Stiles whined, stretching the vowels out much more than was necessary.
“What?”
“I’m so hot.”
“And?”
Stiles reached out one hand to smack blindly towards Derek’s face. He missed entirely for about five smacks before giving up and smacking him in the side instead. Derek didn’t react, because it hadn’t been intended to hurt him, just show him Stiles was displeased with his lack of sympathy.
He knew it was all a very unsubtle way to convince Derek to buy a portable A/C unit, but he refused. Not because he wanted Stiles to suffer, but because if Stiles was comfortable, he wouldn’t wander around the loft in his underwear. Derek was not going to give up having a mostly naked boyfriend parading around the place.
Did that make him an asshole? Probably, but Stiles knew what he was signing up for when they started dating two years ago. Derek was living up to his assholeish reputation by refusing to buy an A/C unit so he could ogle his boyfriend as he wandered around the loft mostly naked.
And he was currently getting a boyfriend blanket, so he couldn’t complain. Could do without the sweat coating his skin, but he understood it was part of the deal he’d made with himself, so he tolerated it. Though he did have to wonder how unbearably hot it was for a human, because the pool of sweat in his lower back was starting to roll off his sides, suggesting there was a lot of it.
“Derek,” Stiles whined again.
“Let me guess,” Derek said, turning to the next page, “you’re hot.”
“I’m melting,” Stiles countered.
“I can tell, I can feel your body dripping along my skin.”
Stiles tried to smack him again, but gave up after only two swipes, not even redirecting to his side, as if it was too hot to even move that much anymore.
“Can’t we go somewhere?” Stiles asked.
“I’m studying.”
“Your exam isn’t until next month,” Stiles argued.
“And I’d like to actually pass it,” Derek countered.
Stiles let out another world-weary sigh, with less noise this time and more actual sighing, but he didn’t say anything else for a long while.
Derek knew this was probably boring for him, but he appreciated that Stiles had come by at all, even if it was just to lie on his back and complain about the heat.
With everything that had happened since his family’s deaths, Derek hadn’t exactly had the most conventional childhood. Laura had been too scared to let anyone know where they were, which meant Derek hadn’t finished his last two years of high school. When he’d come back to Beacon Hills following her death, the whole situation with Scott and Hunters and everything else had kind of kept his attention, which meant school was out of the question.
It wasn’t until everyone had graduated, the Nemeton had been uprooted, and evil bullshit had stopped trying to tear their town apart every five seconds that Derek found time to breathe. With everyone in university, and the big bads taking their fights elsewhere for the most part, it gave Derek time to sit down and consider his future.
Truth be told, it was a future he’d never thought he’d have. He’d never intended to live this long, and was convinced he wouldn’t have if not for Stiles bullying him into staying alive. At first it had just been as an annoying human who didn’t want to see anyone die. Then it was because Stiles cared about him as a friend. Then it was because Stiles realized he was in love with him and couldn’t bear to lose him.
Derek had skipped all that and gone from not giving a shit about anyone, to laying eyes on a stupid human wandering in the woods with his friend and going, “Oh shit, that’s my mate.”
So he’d skipped a few stages in the friendship totem pole given he’d immediately known the second he’d seen Stiles that he was going to be important to him forever. He’d never intended for Stiles to find out, and certainly never intended for him to have feelings for him in return, but life had a funny way of working out.
Derek would’ve been happy dying for a good cause, but as soon as Stiles admitted he was in love with him, those thoughts went right out the window. How could he possibly hurt Stiles by removing himself from the equation? Stiles was the one person he could never hurt, so despite knowing he didn’t deserve to be alive when so many others had died, and despite knowing we would never deserve Stiles, here he was. Alive. Dating Stiles. Trying to actively build himself a future.
Which was why, when all the other Betas graduated and went off to university, Derek decided he should actually get his high school diploma. He hadn’t wanted to do night courses, because he knew most of the bad stuff in town happened at night and he would miss class more often than not—bad guys didn’t care what inconveniences they brought to the table. With the rest of the Pack gone, and only Parrish and the sheriff to fall back on if things went south, it was safer for Derek to make himself available in case anything happened until the Pack was back during the summer.
So, school during the year was out of the question, but Derek had found a set of classes that ran five days a week from eight to eight for two months, and decided that should work for him.
It was long hours, and a lot of homework, but it was designed for people who didn’t have a lot of free time during the year and could afford to give up two months of their lives over the summer to cram a year’s worth of studies into their brains. Derek had finished grade eleven the previous summer between Stiles’ first and second year of university, and now he was working on grade twelve while Stiles was home for the summer between his second and third year.
If things went well, Derek was planning on applying to the same university, and even though he and Stiles would only have one year of overlap if he got in, the school was close enough that they’d visit each other regularly. They already did that now, with Derek in Beacon Hills and Stiles in San Francisco, so he knew they’d continue when the roles were reversed.
The only downside of this whole school during the summer thing was that he and Stiles didn’t get to spend much time together. Derek was at school throughout the week, and on weekends he was either doing homework, house chores, or studying. Stiles made it work though by just coming by to spend time with him, even if it was just to lie on his back and complain. It was still time spent together, and Derek was grateful that Stiles took the time instead of just going to hang out with other friends who’d be more entertaining.
He couldn’t help the small smile trying to tug at his lips, and he turned his head as far as he could to kiss at Stiles’ arm where he could reach it. Stiles let out a grunt, as if the kiss had made him even warmer.
“I hate summer,” Stiles insisted.
“You hate heat,” Derek corrected.
“Summer comes with heat,” Stiles hissed, and Derek could picture him scowling angrily at the ceiling. “I should’ve taken Lydia up on her offer. Could’ve been lying on a beach somewhere instead of lying on my boyfriend’s sweaty back.”
“The sweat’s yours,” Derek reminded him. “And I don’t see how a beach in Hawaii is any better than the California heat.”
“It’s less humid.”
“Pretty sure it’s not less humid, you’re probably just thinking about the ocean breeze cutting through some of the worst of it.”
Stiles groaned, the sound reverberating through Derek’s back. “I could’ve been at the beach.”
“You should’ve gone.”
“Then who’d be here to keep an eye on your kidnappable ass?”
Derek snorted at that, but didn’t deny it. In his defence, being a Hale had its disadvantages, because being one of the last of the oldest Werewolf family in the world made for a lot of attempts on his life. He was fairly certain the bad Hunters believed that if they killed the source, they could kill all Werewolves, but that was a ridiculous thought.
Then again, it was the Hunters who didn’t follow the code, and they were idiots, so Derek wasn’t surprised.
Besides, he knew that Stiles wasn’t being serious in his comment. He’d stayed behind because he didn’t want Derek to be left alone, since the whole group of Betas had gone out to Hawaii for two weeks to celebrate their summer vacation. He’d been invited, of course, since he was their Alpha, and while he knew he could’ve delayed school for another year, he really wanted to get through this. He was already behind the others by a few years, and he didn’t want to keep being left behind.
He’d tried to convince Stiles to go, but he’d found a million excuses not to until finally just insisting he didn’t want to lose any time with Derek, and he’d feel bad if he was left behind on his own. Considering Derek was alone the whole school year because his Betas were off at university in various cities—and countries—Stiles felt like it would be shitty for him to be alone during the summer, too.
This was one of the main reasons he loved Stiles so much. He’d rather suffer boredom with Derek than go to a tropical island without him. Derek was going to take him to Hawaii just the two of them once his boyfriend graduated university. He deserved to be pampered and spoiled.
“They staying out of trouble out there?” Derek asked as he highlighted one of the sections he struggled with during class. He wasn’t the best at chemistry by any means, but he felt he was pretty good at it. There were just a few things he got confused about, so he wanted to make sure he focussed on them before the exam.
“More or less,” Stiles said, shifting on his back. He almost fell off, but managed to rearrange himself and Derek felt him grabbing for his phone. He could tell that was what he did, because of how he was shifting around and reaching towards the left. “Why are you lying on the floor anyway?”
“Lying on the couch would tempt me into napping,” Derek admitted. “And sitting in a chair too long hurts my back.”
“You’re a Werewolf, your back’s fine,” Stiles insisted, succeeding in closing his hand around his phone.
“You wouldn’t be able to lie on me if I was sitting in a chair.”
“I could straddle you,” Stiles offered, a smirk clear in his voice.
“Because that wouldn’t be distracting at all,” Derek said dryly. He could just imagine sitting there trying to study with Stiles straddling his lap. They’d be fucking like animals within ten minutes, if they even lasted that long.
No, this was safer. Stiles was distraction enough, at least this way he wasn’t suggestive. Though that was honestly probably why he’d laid down on his own back on Derek’s, and not on his stomach, because then he probably would’ve started rocking his hips into Derek’s ass, and he’d be just as distracted as if they’d been straddling in the chair.
Stiles was considerate enough not to distract him when he knew Derek was working hard.
For a few seconds, Stiles was silent. Derek could hear his thumbs tapping at his screen as he texted with the Pack, probably just getting updates on how their day was going since they were three hours behind and still had most of the day ahead of them, whereas Derek would have to get up in the next hour or so to start dinner.
Stiles would argue he could do it, so that Derek could keep studying, but Stiles always made dinner at home for his dad, so whenever they were together, Derek liked to give him a reprieve. He knew Stiles didn’t actually like cooking, he just did it to keep his dad on track with his diet.
Derek had just turned another page when Stiles froze above him, and then laughed so hard he started coughing and almost rolled off Derek. The Werewolf reached up quickly with one arm backwards to stop Stiles from sliding off him and hitting the floor, but Stiles was still coughing even as he righted himself.
He could still feel Stiles laughing once the coughing fit stopped, his boyfriend’s body against his making the action obvious, and he nudged him with the elbow of the arm still up to stop him from falling off his back.
“You going to live?”
“Would you miss me if I didn’t?” Stiles asked around a ridiculous hyena laugh.
“Don’t ask stupid questions,” Derek insisted, fighting off a scowl. He knew Stiles was just joking, but considering their lives, losing Stiles was always front and centre in his mind.
“Sorry, sorry.” Stiles patted at Derek’s side in apology, but he was still partially giggling like an absolute idiot.
“What happened?” Derek couldn’t imagine what would’ve set Stiles off like this. He had a stupid sense of humour, but this had been a lot, even for him.
“Lydia sent me a vacation picture of Jackson.”
That was it?
“Okay?” Derek said uncertainly. He couldn’t fathom why it would’ve set Stiles off like that, even if Jackson was red as a lobster from lying in the sun. He was a Kanima, it would heal within a few hours, and he’d be left with nothing but a tan. He couldn’t imagine that was anything Stiles would be laughing at, but again, his boyfriend had a stupid sense of humour.
“It’s like Christmas came early this year,” Stiles informed him, and Derek could see him shifting, trying to pass over his phone.
Moving to reach out for it without jostling Stiles too much, he took the offered phone, flipping it around, and stared down at the picture he’d received from Lydia.
It looked to be some kind of reptile—an Iguana maybe?—with a pair of sunglasses perched on its face.
Derek stared for a long while as Stiles continued to snicker on his back, and much as he didn’t want to find it amusing, he did. He really did.
But he was the Alpha and he shouldn’t condone this kind of thing, because they were making fun of Jackson. It was all in jest, but still!
“Stiles that’s not funny,” Derek insisted, holding the phone back up to him even as his chest jerked once in an attempt for him not to let out a laugh.
“You think it’s funny!” Stiles accused him.
“I don’t,” Derek insisted, resisting the urge to lower his head so he could smile into his textbook. That would be a dead giveaway, so he just tried hard to control his face and pressed his lips together, even as his chest did a few more jerks as he attempted not to laugh further.
“You think it’s funny!” Stiles repeated before laughing again. “I knew it! I can feel you laughing!”
“I’m not laughing.”
“Totally laughing.” Stiles cackled again and Derek heard him beginning to text rapidly, probably telling Lydia the picture had gotten Derek to laugh.
“I’m surrounded by idiots,” was Derek’s sighed response. “The Valedictorian is sending stupid pictures of reptiles wearing sunglasses to the Salutatorian. The world is doomed if this is the height of intelligence we have to look forward to.”
“It’s funny!” Stiles insisted. “Lydia says the thing ran off with the sunglasses still on. Malia’s chasing it down the beach to get them back.”
Derek shook his head, even as he tried not to laugh again. “Children and idiots.”
“But you love us,” Stiles argued, and when he rolled off Derek’s back this time, he could tell it was intentional and didn’t stop him. He just shifted one arm out in case Stiles fell right off, him but he managed to right himself properly and lay on his stomach beside Derek, crossing his arms in front of himself and resting his cheek against them as he smiled at him.
“I don’t,” Derek lied.
“You do,” Stiles countered, leaning forward to kiss at Derek’s shoulder. “You love us so much.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Just how you like ‘em.” Stiles kissed his shoulder again, then let out a groan and rolled onto his back on the floor beside Derek, spreading his arms and legs out as he stared at the ceiling.
Derek got through another paragraph of reading before Stiles spoke again.
“I’m so hot.”
It was going to be a long summer for Stiles, but Derek was going to enjoy every second of a mostly naked boyfriend parading around his loft complaining about the heat.
END.