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Stiles didn’t want to be here.
Scott had sent him a text message which said: Come to Derek’s loft at 7. He had come, reluctantly, but he was still there. Really, that was all that mattered. They should be happy just for that. Heck, they probably wouldn’t even notice him until halfway through the meeting when somebody would be hungry and demand that Stiles make them some food. He would, because he was nice like that and because it was one of the few things he could contribute to the pack, but he would still resent it. And he hated that he resented it.
Stiles shook his head and opened the door of his Jeep. It didn’t matter. He was here. He would do what they needed him to, whether it be cooking or patching people up or researching. If he couldn’t fight the battles, he would be t0he support team.
As he entered the loft, however, things looked different. Instead of the group spreading out on Derek’s few pieces of furniture or clustered around his desk, everyone was standing up and facing the door. Above them hung a sign, created from what looked like tapped together computer paper, that said “Yay, Stiles!!!”
Immediately, Stiles began to dig into his pockets. He knew he had some of that special truth serum made from wolfsbane and who knows what else. If he could just find it…
Just as his hand closed on the vial, he was surrounded by werewolves. Werewolves who took off his coat and escorted him to a chair facing the rest of the group. When he was firmly on the chair, Scott, Erica, and Isaac joined the rest of the group.
Nobody said anything.
Everyone stared at him.
He stared back.
Crickets chirped.
“What’s going on, guys?” Stiles said.
Derek stood in the middle of the group. He jerked his head towards Scott.
“Do I have to?” he asked, ducking his head down.
“Yes,” said Derek.
“Fine,” Scott turned to Stiles then and took a deep breath. He looked down at the paper in his hand and began to read:
“Stiles, you are my best friend. We have been friends for what seems like forever. When I was turned, you were the one who figured out exactly what was happening to me. You figured out how I could control the shift. You fought alongside me with Gerard, the Alpha pack, and everything else that has come up. Even when I tried to kill myself, you were there, standing in the puddle of gas. My life would have been so much worse without you. Thank you for always being there and never walking away.”
He smiled at Stiles and turned away to go back to his place. Before he could, however, Stiles was out of his seat and hugging Scott with everything in him. He was almost crying. It wasn’t the most flowery or most grand of speeches, but he knew that it was heartfelt. Scott meant every word.
Stiles had no idea how long the hug went on before Derek cleared his throat. With whispered “I love you, mans” and pats on the back, they reluctantly separated, Stiles to his chair and Scott to his place next to Allison.
Lydia stepped forward next. Unlike Scott, who seemed reluctant and shy the entire time he was giving his speech, she walked confidently before him. She looked in the eye and spoke:
“Stiles, I have always known who you are. I haven’t always appreciated you, but you were never invisible to me. What you were was annoying. It is a pretty well-known fact that you have declared your love for me over and over and over again, and I have always rejected you. I could give you a long list of reasons why I believe we are not meant to be, but the fact is that I have never seen you that way. I have always seen you as a friend, and that is where you excel.
“You have an incredibly intelligent brain that takes in so many facts, so much knowledge, that sometimes I think you might actually be smarter than me. You somehow manage to match your intelligence with your heart. Everything you do is for someone else, whether helping figure out what is going on with the killer, nagging your dad to eat better, or supporting me when I start to hear voices and think I’m going crazy. You are brave enough to accuse me of causing death, even though it is the last thing you believe or want. In short, you are an excellent person and an excellent partner in puzzling out the endless weird and dangerous situations we find ourselves in.”
Lydia finished and looked straight him. Stiles didn’t know what to say. Lydia had pretty much deconstructed their entire relationship and then complimented him. Lydia was quick with the compliments when it came to hair or fashion, but she had little patience for giving the kind of compliments that stick with you. And now she had given him an entire speech about how much she appreciated him. How was he supposed to react? His brain was short circuiting with trying to come up with something.
In the end, Stiles did a less emotional version of how he thanked Scott. He stood up, walked over to her, and gave her a big hug. It was nice, a little awkward, but nice.
After Lydia had finally hugged him back, Allison stepped forward and told him how much she working with him as well. Her speech was shorter, full of details about how she enjoyed training him in archery and how he never had a bad word to say, even though he was far from good at the beginning. Stiles gave her a hug too.
Isaac told Stiles how much he loved his cooking and how much he appreciated always being bandaged when he was hurt, that his caring touch reminded him of when his mother and brother had been alive. (Stiles gave a long, long hug after this.) Boyd told Stiles that he appreciated how he was always there for him, even though they never really hung out a lot (Stiles gave him a fistbump that morphed into a hug). Erica simply sang “You are my Batman, my only Batman” to him. Stiles laughed when he hugged her.
That hug morphed into a group hug which only broke up when Stiles tried to pull Derek into it. Stiles stood there with his arm still slung over Scott’s shoulder, when he suddenly wondered why this had happened. Stiles being Stiles, he asked.
“Not that I’m complaining or anything, but what brought this Stiles lovefest on?”
Instead of replying, Derek handed him a wrinkled piece of paper.
“Oh, God,” Stiles said as he smoothed it out a bit more and began to read it.
Stiles’ Pack Skills
1. Access to the Internet and library and willing to use it
2. Planning (does this go along with researching?)
3. Can cook better than the rest
4. Useful with a First Aid kit
5. Have Jeep, will travel
6. Basic self-defense skills, including archery (Allison is way better)
“How did you find this?” he said. He couldn’t believe that the entire pack had seen this and tried to make him feel better.
“I may have gone into your bedroom to ask you about researching something and found it thrown on the floor,” Derek said.
Stiles stepped back and looked up at the makeshift banner and the group of people standing right in front of him.
“So this, all this,” he swept his arm out to encompass everything, “is because I was having a downer day and decided to write a list of why I’m important to the pack, even though I’m not a werewolf or a genius or a badass former hunter?”
Scott exchanged looks with Isaac. Erica and Allison looked at each other, while Lydia and Boyd suspiciously looked away from the group.
Finally, Derek sighed. “I wasn’t sure if this list was positive or negative. Either way, I thought that you should hear how we appreciate you from our own lips.”
Stiles nodded. “Yeah, okay,” he said, “I appreciate what you guys are doing, but I don’t need it. I know that I am just as important as anyone else in this pack. Yes, I get a little resentful sometimes. But I get over it. Besides, we’ve never thrown cheer-up fests for anyone before. Why are we starting now?”
Everyone looked at Derek.
“I…I’m the alpha. I don’t have to explain myself to you,” he said. Before anyone could reply,
Derek had turned and fled to his bedroom area. He tried to hide, but Stiles could see him peeking around the divider.
“Guys, I’m going to talk to him. Enjoy my party,” Stiles said. He followed Derek’s path a little more slowly. He wasn’t quite sure what exactly was going on.
“Derek,” he said, peeking around the divider, “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” said Derek. He was sitting on the bed with his back towards Stiles.
“You sure? Because you look like you are sulking,” Stiles said. He walked a few steps into the room.
Derek sighed. “I was trying to do a nice thing for you,” he said.
“I know that,” said Stiles, “but nobody ever said that I needed a nice thing done for me.”
“Maybe I didn’t do it for you,” Derek said.
Stiles stepped a few steps closer. “Then who did you do it for?” he asked.
“I’m doing it for me,” he said quietly.
“What?” Stiles said. He quickly walked the rest of the way into the room and sat down on the bed next to Derek.
Derek mumbled, “I had them tell you everything that makes you great so I could remember why I can’t have you.”
“Wait, you want to have me?” Stiles said.
“Yes,” Derek whispered.
“Good,” said Stiles, “Because I want to have you too.”
Derek full-out grinned for what felt like the first time ever. Stiles was actually stunned into silence. He couldn’t do anything except watch the glory that was Derek Hale happy.
Derek’s smile started to fade the longer that Stiles stared at him. Stiles knew enough to realize that the smile could not go away, so he leaned forward and kissed him.
As far as first kisses go, it wasn’t perfect. It was a little too firm, a little too off-center. But all it took was a little realigning of their heads, and the kiss was fairy tale perfect. At least, that’s what Stiles will swear to his grave. And Derek knows better than to contradict him, no matter what the betas say.