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"Cannonball!"
Derek winced at the wave of water that washed over the edge of the pool. A moment later, Erica poked her head up, laughing gaily.
"Lydia's going to kill you if you get her bag wet," Derek pointed out.
Erica wiped her hair out of her face. "If she didn't want her bag to get wet, she shouldn't have left it that close to the pool."
Derek rolled his eyes. "Yeah, let me know how that argument goes over."
"I'm gonna kill you assholes!" Jackson yelled from the other side of the yard.
Derek looked up to see Jackson, dripping wet, running after Isaac and Boyd with an armful of water balloons and murder in his eyes. Isaac and Boyd were laughing so hard they could barely run.
"Jeez, Jackson, how many did they get you with?" Derek called.
"Fuck you, Hale!" Jackson yelled back.
"You couldn't pay me enough to do that, Whittemore," Cora said, and Derek turned to see her coming out of the back of the house with an armload of burgers and brats. "Where do you want the meat?"
"Next to the grill," Derek said. "It's almost ready."
"Awesome." Cora set the sheet of meat next to the grill with an exaggerated groan. "So Allison and Miss Priss--"
Derek tugged on her ponytail. "You keep calling her that, people are going to think
you have a crush."
Cora made a face and batted his hand away. "Allison and Lydia are chopping up the shit for the burgers, Melissa and Scott just rolled up with dessert, and Scott says Stiles and the sheriff are on their way with the chips, salad, and drinks."
"Good." Derek hooked his arm around her neck and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "You want to join Erica in the pool?"
Cora grinned and patted his chest. "Nah, I'm going to see how fast I can pelt the boys with water balloons."
"Oh, count me in!" Erica said, clambering out of
the pool.
She and Cora dashed off to the laundry basket full of water balloons left unguarded under one of the trees.
"You're all cleaning up the balloons after!" Derek called after them.
"Yeah, we know!" Cora yelled over her shoulder.
No sooner had they run off than Allison, Lydia, and Scott came outside, Scott dragging a cooler of soda and beer.
"Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cheese are in the fridge, just waiting for burgers to put them on," Allison said.
"How long do we have before the meat's ready?" Lydia asked.
Derek eyed the pile of burgers. "About fifteen, twenty minutes?"
Lydia's eyes took on a happy gleam. "Excellent. I'll be working on my tan until then."
Allison followed her and dropped her clothes by Lydia's chair, but dove into the pool and started swimming laps.
Scott set the cooler next to the grill and grinned. "Hey, man, meat looks great."
"I haven't cooked it yet," Derek pointed out.
He heard a shriek from the other side of the yard, and looked over to see Erica riding on Boyd's shoulders, pelting anyone who came near with water balloons. Jackson, Isaac, and Cora darted away, cursing up a blue streak.
"They're going to go through their entire stash before I even start the food," Derek said.
Scott laughed. "Well, then we'll just have to make some more."
"Or settle for throwing them into the pool," Melissa said from the back door. She walked up and pecked Derek on the cheek. "Thanks for having us all over."
Derek gave her a huge hug. "Thanks for coming."
His parents had always had a huge party for the first full moon of summer. Their family had come from all over to stay for a full week and celebrate together, capping it off with a massive cookout and pool party.
It was a tradition he was glad to start again with his new pack.
Melissa grabbed a beer and went to lay on one of the pool chairs, and Scott ran over to jump in the pool with Allison.
Derek shook his head, fighting a smile, and started loading the grill up with the burgers and bratwurst. The sizzle and smoke filled the air, reminding him painfully of all the time he'd spent at the grill with his dad, painstakingly watching to see when the burgers would be ready to eat.
"Aw yeah, is that burgers I smell?"
Derek grinned at the grill before schooling his face into a flat look. "Nope, it's bacon."
"Hey, we had this talk." Stiles sauntered up beside him and bumped his shoulder against Derek's. "No bacon at any cookout my dad's attending, or else I revoke sex privileges for a month."
"Please don't say things like that where I can hear." Sheriff Stilinski walked over and dug a beer out of the cooler, then looked forlornly at the grill. "There's not even a little bacon?"
"Not today, sir, sorry," Derek said.
That earned him a baleful look, and the sheriff took a long pull from the beer. "For God's sake, Derek, call me John."
"Yes, sir. John."
Stiles snorted a laugh, and the sheriff rolled his eyes. "You need any help with that grill, son?"
Derek shook his head. "I've got it. Why don't you go keep Melissa company?"
Sheriff Stilinski looked over the grill to where Melissa was lying on a patio chair and choked on his beer. "I, uh, are you sure?"
"I've got this." Derek clapped Stiles on the shoulder. "Besides, Stiles would love to help me, wouldn't you?"
"Actually, I--"
Derek squeezed his shoulder.
"--would love absolutely nothing more than to stand by this broiling hot grill and help Derek poke burgers with a spatula," Stiles said.
"If you're sure, son," the sheriff said, but he was already moving toward Melissa.
"Was he talking to you or me?" Stiles asked.
"Does it matter?" Derek said. "You don't have to stay here, by the way. You can go swim with Scott."
"Nah." Stiles leaned next to him. "You wanted my company, big guy, you got it."
Derek bit his lip and ducked his head. His heart danced at the words. "If I must."
Stiles elbowed him. "Don't even pretend like you don't love it. Are you going to swim with me later?"
Derek nodded and patted his swim shorts. "Yeah, after dinner."
"Ah, got to keep the hungry werewolves fed before then," Stiles said with a sage nod.
Derek swatted him gently with the spatula, and then flipped the burgers. "And the hungry humans."
"True. Have you seen how much food Allison puts away?"
"Sure." Derek snorted. "Allison's the problem."
Stiles beamed and looked over the grill. "So there'll be food soon, right? I'm starving."
"Go get yourself some chips, then," Derek said. "I'm not feeding you raw meat."
"Those burgers are very clearly at least rare by now," Stiles said, but he made no move to get other food. "Do you think your parents would have liked this?"
Derek started at the unexpected question.
Stiles fidgeted. "Sorry. I just mean...I know you said this was their tradition, and—"
"They would have loved it," Derek cut in. "They would have loved you."
"Oh." Stiles flushed pink, and Derek didn't think it had anything to do with the heat from the grill. "You...really think so?"
Derek took Stiles's hand and threaded their fingers together. "I know so."
He thought about his pack, half of them running through the yard with water balloons and the other half crowded around the pool. He thought about Stiles beside him, sweaty and smiling and so beautiful it took Derek's breath away. He thought about the ring he had upstairs in his sock drawer, and how later tonight, he would ask Stiles to be his, surrounded by their friends and family, under the light of the full moon.
"Yeah." Derek kissed Stiles's cheek. "They'd have loved you."