Chapter 3

As expected, Stiles was out cold until Derek woke him up for the first time. Needless to say, at first he was very confused about what Derek Hale was doing in his room and wondered if he was still dreaming, but then he remembered everything and answered the questions, even followed the finger with his eyes which was held up in his face.

"I'm fine..." he mumbled – to Derek's relief didn't slur it – and went back to sleep.

It took another waking up for Stiles to be able to remember to text Scott that he's fine and he doesn't have to come over after practice because he's resting under Derek's supervision. To which the teasing texts came, of course, making Stiles blush furiously and told Scott to fuck off, it wasn't like that. Geez!

Then he was sleeping again and since breathing through his nose was still kinda difficult and noisy, he did that through his mouth. Which in turn resulted in some soft snoring and a bit of drooling might have happened too. And strangely enough, part of him, or maybe his subconscious, could feel Derek's caring presence. Which in turn resulted in dreams of his mom watching over him like this when he was a small child and was sick. Or they changed into dreams with Derek doing so. And some babbling might have happened during these dreams.

After all, Stiles was a livid sleeper too. Lots of sounds and sometimes muttering and even more tossing and turning and sleeping in interesting poses but this time the most extreme was his cover kicked half-way off the bed, one arm hanging off the edge while from all the tossing and turning his T-shirt rode up a bit on his torso, flashing the pale mole-littered skin of his flat stomach. Luckily at least his boxers weren't riding too low on his body – which would mortify Stiles in Derek's presence, if he was awake. But that wasn't the case and he was blissfully oblivious to how he looked at the moment.

Two and a half hours have passed, two waking ups have occurred, and they have been weird because Stiles was sleeping so deeply and wasn't feeling well so he kept waking up confused, throwing Derek into mild panic each time. He had dragged his homework and the drink and chips to the desk in Stiles' room so he could be close by. As if he didn't hear the soft snoring downstairs, it was increasingly loud for a werewolf. It only took an hour to get his assignments done and by then the bag was half empty and boredom started to seep in.

He tried to pass the time by browsing Facebook for a while, texted Boyd why he wasn't in class... just dumb stuff that took some time but not nearly enough. So Derek ended up with the bag of chips in his lap, watching Stiles sleep. The human would fold himself in impossible positions, was tossing and turning constantly so everything was riding up and he was showing off way more skin than intended. Sure, there had been a naked shower but now he could let his eyes roam unashamed since Stiles wasn't aware of it. But then Derek felt ashamed for feasting on the flesh like that with the other boy out cold. It kind of felt wrong so he turned back to his laptop.

Stiles was on Facebook too, the page was up but they weren't friends so he couldn't see much since it had been set to friends only. The page was bookmarked, months ago, but never had he dared to send a friend request, because it seemed to be weird to do. Hesitating, Derek let the pointer fly to ‘send request’ and clicked on it. No big deal, strangers did it all the time. He stuffed another handful of chips in his mouth and checked the time. Nearly time to wake Stiles again. On cue, the doorbell rang. Five PM was a little early for pizza but he hoped that was it.

Jogging downstairs, Derek was indeed faced with three boxes of pizza. Growing boys needed whole pies and there was a sheriff in an hour too. His dad had thought of everything and had paid for them, he only had to accept the warm boxes of food and it smelled so good.

He placed them in the kitchen and decided to wake Stiles by taking one of the boxes with him and letting the tempting scent of pizza trickle into the swollen nose.

"Time to eat, sleepy head."

"Just... five more minutes, mom..." Stiles murmured, stretching then rolling onto his side, facing away from Derek and unwittingly showing off the cute dimples at the small of his back.

But it took his senses only half a minute to catch up with the fact that he smelled pizza and it wasn't his mom standing near the bed with the food. His eyes immediately popped open as he remembered and his body froze for a few moments. It was just Derek... 'just' Derek. Part of Stiles didn't think he'd stick around this long for such a boring program. The injured geek knocked out, babysitting him. Stiles appreciated it, though.

With a little sigh, he finally pushed himself up into a sitting position, dragging his ridden up shirt down. "Oh... pizza? I love pizza. You shouldn't have... But either way, we can split the cost," he immediately babbled, not wanting the awkward silence to make a return.

And to that his stomach grumbled loudly. Breakfast was a long time ago. Especially for a growing teen like Stiles. Contrary to his thin appearance, he could eat a lot and it would never show on him. Many would kill for that, he knew.

"My dad paid for them, there’re two more downstairs since he didn't know what you guys liked," Derek explained, not sure if Stiles was fine with the current pizza or if he was even up to going downstairs to see what else was there. "Do you want to eat here? I can grab some drinks. This is meat lovers, there's pepperoni and one with... I don't even know. I forgot to check."

See with all his stalking, he knew Stiles ate meat, he often got the chicken nuggets at school, but a lot of them did because they were the most edible. "I uh, called home earlier to explain what happened. We always eat dinner at six and I knew I wouldn't make that." Derek got a monthly allowance he used for clothes and games and whatever else a growing boy needed but he didn't need to use it for food, his parents didn't want him to. Probably to encourage healthy eating.

"How are you feeling?"

Stiles' cheeks colored – and not just from the expanding and darkening bruises on and around his nose. "I... I'm okay. A bit more rested. If I have to, I'd be able to sleep more, but now I don't want to faint back into bed..." he said, sliding to the edge of it, just sitting there for a moment to let his blood pressure settle.

"The headache is still there but it isn't as bad as before, so no need to worry, it seems I'll live," he flashed a bit embarrassed smile up at Derek. "I really... appreciate this, you know. Thank you. For your dad too. I hate to pull mine from work when there's no one else to check on me after injuries," he shrugged and got up to inspect the open box in Derek's hand.

"I love meat lover! And Hawaiian. Yes, with pineapple on it, because I'm one of those allegedly weirdos who think pizza and pineapple are good together. Sweet and salty in one!" he held up his index-finger in a warning not to start an argument about it in case Derek was in the other camp. Then he quickly picked up a slice and rolled it up so he could munch on it while moving towards the door.

"We can eat downstairs," he mumbled with his mouth stuffed with half of the rolled up slice. The fact that he could be still understood while talking like this was a skill in itself. "I need an energy drink too," Stiles added more to himself and while holding onto the railing, he started his descend on the stairs.

"I'm also sorry for keeping you from your usual family dinner. I know you have a big family, but no one really seems to know just how big. That must be nice. Having a big family, I mean..." Stiles babbled and went silent for a moment, seemingly just to stuff the other half of the slice in his mouth too, and not because of the small painful stab in his chest he felt for a second. "Here it's just me and dad since my mother's passing. But dad usually works double shifts too, so not many family lunches or dinners," he shrugged as he walked a bit more carefully to the fridge than usual and picked an energy drink for himself before sitting down to the table to inspect the other two boxes too. "I love pepperoni too and oh... it's a Hawaiian pizza! What a nice coincidence!" he beamed once the lid on the third box was opened too. Needless to say, he dug right into that next.

There was so much talking, like a switch has been flipped on and Derek found himself trailing after the other boy, speechless as he listened to the stream of words without getting a word in. A little overwhelmed, he sat down with the pizza box at the kitchen table. He wasn't put off, if anything, he thought it was cute but he wasn't sure if he was expected to answer any of the questions that had been flung his way or if they had been more like observations and Stiles wasn't prying. Best bet was to stuff his mouth the same way the other has so he reached for the pineapple one, because that was his favorite and that's why it was probably there. He wasn't a picky eater, he'd eat anything really but there were definite favorites.

It took a bit of chewing before he realized Stiles was looking at him expectantly and had stopped his word vomit so he quickly chewed to make his mouth empty, flushing for not realizing it sooner. Um, what question was he supposed to answer again? Probably the one about his family.

"My grandma and grandpa live with us, my uncle Peter and his girlfriend, my aunt Esther and her husband Lars with my two cousins and there's my older sister Laura, and my younger sisters Cora, Ruth and Rachel." Yeah, it was a lot and there was always a coming and going of other packs and distant family so no wonder the town didn't keep up with it. Cora was twelve now and went to school like him but the twins were babies. And Cora and Laura weren't even from the same dad but... that would make it even more complicated. "That's why it's a big house. My grandfather is Italian, he likes to keep his family close and it's tradition for us Hales. Although it was nice to have an afternoon like this."

"Wow!" Stiles gaped, leaving his bow-shaped lips open for a few long seconds before he remembered to close his mouth. "I mean, I get it that it probably gets noisy as fuck and it's good to have less noisy afternoons like this. Although I'm sure I was snoring at least a bit thanks to the nose," here he pointed at his colorful face, secretly adoring the blush on Derek's "but yeah... Otherwise... you're lucky you have such a big family. So many people to love and love you," Stiles smiled with a slightly dreamy expression then averted his eyes and rather sipped from his drink before picking up another slice from the pineapple pizza and took a lot smaller bite than before.

"And four sisters? Wow! As annoying that might get, I kinda envy you. I always wanted a sibling but obviously I don't have one if we don't count Scott, who is like a brother to me. We practically grew up together since kindergarten," he shrugged and took another bite, absently licking off the grease from his fingers. "And his mom Melissa is like a second mom to me. She was good friends with mine. I think even our moms knew each other. Yours is pretty well-known and respected around town. She always came off to me like a strong, driven and very pretty woman."

"I don't mind the babies, but Cora is twelve and Laura is twenty-one and sisters are annoying. I mostly spend my time with Peter, he's cool. And my two cousins." It was easy for him to say he wouldn't mind being with a single parent with no siblings because he was sometimes wishing for some alone time. But he didn't have to live it. Stiles sounded pretty lonely sometimes even though he didn't try to be. There were the little hints with the way he phrased some things.

"I remember your mom," Derek admitted as he finished his first slice and grabbed a second. It didn't seem like a topic to continue on about so he quickly went on after chewing and swallowing. "My mom works a lot for the community and dad has his own construction company with a partner, they do renovations. My grandparents and Peter are always home." Derek wasn't even sure why he was telling this all to Stiles, it wasn't like anybody cared what his family was like.

"I babysit a lot, because Laura's in college and grandma is old. So if you heard about the rumors about me being a teen dad, it's so not true. They're just my little sisters." It made him grin, stupid rumors. "I don't mind it, taking care of them I mean. I know it's lame but... they always make me feel good." He ducked his head and stuffed the rest of the pizza in his mouth.

Stiles' smile was genuine as he watched Derek make the slice disappear. He was pleasantly surprised by this conversation and the things the other 'cool boy' shared about himself. This kind of trust – because Stiles doubted many would know about these things outside of the Hale family – moved something in him and made him see Derek in a slightly different light. What he did for Stiles this afternoon only adding to that. So yeah, maybe his opinion about Derek Hale has been a tad bit prejudiced before. But now... when they were actually talking instead of freaking out or yelling at each other... it was nice and it piqued his interest even more about the handsome boy. He seemed to be so different from a typical douchebag jock with an empty head and on the emotional level of a 5-year-old. Nah, Derek Hale was much more complex and mysterious. And part of Stiles really wanted to solve that mystery.

"I don't think it's lame. I think it's cute and nice. As far as I heard, most get annoyed by having to babysit siblings, especially babies. But I think... it's cool that they make you feel good. I'm sure you make them feel good and happy too," he smiled over his slice, waiting until he could look into the green eyes again. Stiles loved their color. "And for the record, I never believed those rumors about you," he winked, his own cheeks coloring a bit again as he took another bite.

To cover his slight embarrassment, he rather focused on the other things Derek had said. "Believe me, most of the boys remember your hot older sister. I think some might have even cried when they learned about her going away for college," he chuckled. That thought amused him.

When Stiles winked at him, Derek couldn't help but grin back, widely. With Paige he had known she had been interested right away once she got over his asshole attitude so he had went for it all the way. But Stiles was different, he hadn't come out, even had a few girlfriends and he had always been so into Lydia Martin. Plus he had never made any attempt to befriend others besides Scott, as if he wasn't allowed to or mostly seemed like he hadn't been interested in it. This was the first time Derek thought he might actually have a shot with Stilinski. There was no acting on it right away though, but a certain plan was starting to form. Derek had weaseled his way into Paige's sight and he was going to do the same here.

At the mention of Laura's hotness, he made a face. "That's my sister you're talking about!" Derek so didn't want to think about her being hot, even though he knew the genes in his family made for attractive people. He was pretty much copy and paste from both his mom and dad, took after them both a lot, mostly his mom as so many would comment on. Laura looked like her father, Cora... looked like Cora. And the twins looked adopted.

"Having so many girls around while growing up, it kind of ruined the whole 'oh wow boobs' thing. Especially when the chick with the boobs was the one giving me a wedgie or pulled my pants down in front of everybody." He didn't get into ’wow boobs’ until he had met Paige, maybe he had been a late-bloomer or something.

"I guess to me it's nice what you have here, and you're not so bad yourself, Stilinski. I don't know why we never hung out before but we're going to from now on." There was no asking if Stiles wanted to.

Stiles outright laughed on the pictures Derek had painted about his older sister. He was a visual type, so he could see it vividly in his mind. Who knew the Hale could be so funny? Stiles could appreciate if someone had good humor.

And for a moment he thought Derek was joking about hanging out with him in the future too. Because... whhhyyy? Why would he want to? Stiles was awkward, restless, had difficulty concentrating on one thing for long, often embarrassed himself and others too, he was a super geek and couldn't shut up no matter what.

Yet... Derek Hale wanted to hang out with him??? He dropped a hand on his thigh and pinched himself under the table. Hard. The pain was real and he managed not to flinch from it. So he wasn't sleeping, right? He glimpsed at his hand and quickly counted his fingers because he had read somewhere that in dreams people have more fingers. He only had five now. So... maybe he was hallucinating from the concussion?

"O-okay?" he said on a small voice, fidgeting on his chair. "But... why? I'm... I mean... you probably have better things to do. I'm not that interesting. I'd say I'm lame and boring and not sure we have a lot in common..." he mumbled, whiskey-colored eyes still a bit wide as he was trying to make sense of the whole situation. "I mean..." Don’t fuck this up! Don’t fuck this up!! "Cool, man... I'd be cool with that…" He was pretty sure next time they'd see each other in school, Derek wouldn't even notice him. Or worse, just walk right past him as if he wasn't even there. That was a high possibility. Because Stiles just couldn't believe this was actually happening.

While Stiles was busy processing it all, Derek took a slice of the meat lovers and happily chewed as the room smelled like anxiety and nerves. Was it so hard to imagine that somebody wanted to hang out with Stiles? That was really sad to be honest, and only made him more determined to fix this weirdo thinking others seemed to have. Who even cared about popularity and who hung out with whom? He didn't. Paige was a band geek, Danny was with the music program. There were only a few jocks who seemed to think they were above the rest of them. It just happened that they all hung out with the ones from their team.

"You don't even know me, so..." There was a shrug. He has seen the DVDs, the games, the music taste of the other boy. He knew they had enough in common to hang out and not be bored or have nothing to talk about. And he had been eager to prove it this afternoon, only Stiles had slept through those hours. "How do you know we have nothing in common? At least get to know me before you make up your mind. Deal?"

The Hale had no idea that Stiles didn't think he was serious. The ones who knew Derek Hale, knew that if he said something, it was going to be get done. He didn't lie, didn't bother with pretending, he did what he liked and felt like and others had to deal. Or not. Not his problem. Sure he knew a lot of them followed him at school because he was the captain and because his family was rich but they weren't bad guys. And he was really trying here so he was kind of relieved Stiles agreed, reluctantly.

"Ask me. If you want to get to know me then ask me something."

"I didn't say I 'know' that we have nothing in common," Stiles corrected Derek because he was a little shit like that about technicalities. A useful skill to talk himself out of trouble, a lot of times. Even with his dad. And why did Derek think that Stiles wanted to get to know him? Not that it wasn't true. Stiles was dying to get to know Derek... He just wasn't sure if it was a good idea. But then again, he'd never know if he didn't try, right? Probably would regret it forever...

Drumming his long fingers against the edge of the table, Stiles studied the other boy's expression. He looked sincere and serious enough. So he finally gave in. What could he lose, right? It wasn't easy for him to start trusting new people, but he wanted Derek to be someone who wouldn't abuse that trust. Besides, life was about sometimes taking risks...

"Okay... Tell me about your favorites. Music, movies, games, hobbies, whatever interests you," he leaned forward, resting an arm on the table, the other reaching for a pepperoni slice to stuff his face with, his clever eyes glistening with interest and curiosity, never looking away from the green ones. And it was a big thing for Stiles because until now he never really dared to keep eye-contact with Derek Hale. Only glimpses. It resulted in a faint blush on his cheeks, but he refused to feel too embarrassed about that.

There was no reaction to Stiles correcting him since Derek knew it was useless. He used that technique often himself when dealing with his family. Instead he focused on eating his slice of pizza before answering all the favorites. They had some of the same music taste and they both enjoyed a wide array of movies so they were bound to have some of the same favorites. Gaming-wise they played what most of the teens their age played, both owning a PlayStation. Derek was more a reader than Stiles was, who spent a lot more time on the computer, browsing the internet.

"I collect comics," Derek concluded his brief list of what he liked. Besides school, basketball, gaming, homework and babysitting, there wasn't much time for more hobbies so he was probably the boring one with how little he had to offer. In the weekends he did some gaming but didn't have friends over or anything. "Dad sometimes takes me to baseball games." When there was time.

He once again ducked his head, a little shy since Stiles was looking at him so intently and eager. "You know what it's like to want to get good grades, it takes time in the weekends to get all the assignments done or study for tests. I usually go to the movies on Saturday by myself to see any movie I didn't see yet." And eat lots of popcorn as he lurked in the backseats of the small theater, enjoying some time away from screeching sisters.

If Stiles expected some elaborate lists and babbling like he would do if asked, he would've been disappointed by the short replies. But he didn't expect these and was grateful for any morsel of information about Derek Hale's private life so he stayed just as curious, if not more.

While listening to the other boy, he finished his slice and deemed himself full enough to switch food to his remaining energy drink.

"It's nice that your old man takes you to baseball. And yeah, I know how it is if you want good grades. I research a lot. Not just for school projects but also for my own entertainment whenever something interests me. I also love comics. Batman in particular. But I guess I'm a bigger movie and game geek. And..." Stiles hesitated for a moment "it's cool that you go to the movies too on the weekends. Sometimes I go too, alone or with Scott. I think I might have seen you once or twice as well..." he confessed, but more often than not he just tried to hide behind a column or Scott and ogled Derek from the distance until they had to go in and he could relax in the darkness. And he definitely hasn’t fantasized about how it would be to be on a movie date with Derek.

"Maybe we could go together some time, if you like?" he asked and WOW, that was out even before Stiles could think it through and stop it from coming out like asking the Hale out on a date. Okay, his face seemed to have found the ability again to turn red like a tomato so the food has started helping on the blood loss thing at least. "As friends... or something like that, I mean... if you like comics then you must like superhero movies too. Those have been picking up lately. I loved the Iron Man movies and I'm dying to see Thor which will come out soon! And then there'll be Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows Part 2 and yes, you can judge me, but I grew up on those books and loved to read them over and over when I couldn't sleep at nights. And did you know that there are reruns of big movies too? Like the Star Wars movies. They do these marathons each year and I'm so there every year. Without Scott because can you believe him? He STILL hasn't seen them!" he said clearly outraged. And the babbling was really about distracting Derek from his mishap.

God, Stiles would die if Derek thought it was a date thing because he'd surely laugh on Stiles and say no and then Stiles' heart would be in pieces on the floor and he'd never ever leave his room again in his shame. No, that cannot happen. It was also stupid since they were just starting to be... friendly, right? So yeah...

For a moment Derek thought Stiles was asking him out. It sounded like it and from the way Stiles’ face turned beet red, that wasn't a weird assumption to make. Only... Stiles was quick to retract when Derek was about to say yes, saying it was as friends and then he babbled on rapidly, leaving no room to talk. Honestly, the rambling Derek was pretty okay with, he liked to listen and if Stiles was fine with doing most of the talking, he wasn't going to be complaining. The whole dating thing though, he wasn't going to let that slide so easily just because the younger teen thought he could blab his way out of it. "Sure, we can go see movies, it's a date."

Yeah, take that Stiles, in any way you'd like it. Probably he’d talk himself out of thinking it was an actual date, and that was okay, Derek would show him differently once they'd go see a movie. Or multiple movies since Stiles had mentioned a lot and they were not all playing in next month. "Iron Man is my favorite but I like the rest too, and Star Wars. I don't like the Harry Potter movies but that's because I really love the books and the movies aren't the same." The book geek that he was, he couldn't help but be a purist. "Same with Lord of the Rings, but yeah, I'd go see Harry Potter with you." He had seen so many bad movies that one more didn't matter, especially if he had company for a change.

Derek had to admit he had never seen Stiles at the theater, but he usually got his food and drinks and plopped down in the back as soon as possible since he never wanted to miss out on trailers. He loved trailers.

First Stiles blinked at Derek like a deer caught in headlights and was glad that he wasn't drinking anything because he could totally see some spraying happening. Either way, some discreet choking up might have happened from that 'it's a date' comment. Stiles hated that phrasing because it could be deceiving in situations like these. But as usual, he did talk himself out of it, because Derek was surely pulling his leg here now. So he didn't pick it apart right now. He'll have time for that while lying sleepless in his bed.

"Man! When it comes to Marvel comic book movies, Iron Man is my favorite too. I love both!" Stiles perked up, glad for the distraction from his internal crisis. He even gave Derek a huge smile. It indeed looked like they did have some things in common. Which in turn made Stiles' heart flutter and feel kinda hopeful. "And as far as books vs. movies go, often times I prefer the books too, but sometimes movies can nail things and might tell more visually too. Sure, they have to cut out many stuff for obvious reasons or make some changes, but usually I can stomach those. Even in the Potter movies," he argued with a shrug but felt happy and smug that Derek would go with him to see the last movie. "And come on, don't tell me you didn't find at least some parts of books, like the long Lord of the Rings books boring! Like the lengthy descriptions of the wilderness and such!" Stiles grinned then grimaced.

Admittedly, Derek is one of those guys who like to read literature, even lengthy proses like Lord of the Rings, because Tolkien had a certain way in writing that makes it easily recognizable. Nothing was left to the imagination, it was all detailed in the same kind of writing throughout the book. "I think Tolkien wanted to make sure we know what his vision of his work looked like. I don't mind it so much but yeah, it doesn't compare to modern literature. He's not my favorite writer." Sometimes it would be easier if some books weren't made into movies so they didn't feel like such a letdown, even though he understood that not all of the details in a book could be made into a movie.

"Okay, fair enough about Tolkien," Stiles agreed then drank the rest of his energy drink, but kept his restless hands busy with the can. "I don't even know who my favorite author is. My interests are too wide-spread, I think."

"So movies is a go for both of us. Just let’s not do bowling, okay?" Now that wasn't something Derek'd ever do, because the smells in the bowling alley were rank and the shoes made him want to rip them apart with how they were drenched with other people and his control over his strength wasn't great so the ball would wreck things if he wasn't careful. Lots of teens went there for dates, not Derek. Especially not around a full moon.

"Are you crazy? You want to kill me with more sports? I'm not fond of bowling anyway. I'm usually not coordinated enough and would probably leave with broken toes or fingers or something both from the balls and the slippery floor and that place is always way too loud and filled with the idiotic chatter of our fellow teens..." he rolled his eyes.

At least they agreed on no bowling even though it was for very different reasons. "Sports are fun! But not all of them. There's got to be some sports you like doing. I mean, why else do lacrosse if you don't even like it?" Stiles had coltish legs, he could be a runner, if he wasn't always busy nearly passing out whenever he had to run a few laps. Derek had seen him and that had nothing to do with being clumsy, but more to do with having no interest in building up some fitness. So either Stiles really was with the team for a good college application or he was maybe doing it for McCall. That seemed like a Stilinski thing to do.

"Sports can be fun, but are inherently dangerous to me," Stiles chuckled low, pointing at his colorful and still swollen nose. "Dad will probably flip out a bit when he sees me," he added with a little grin.

Derek winced when Stiles mentioned his dad was going to flip out. The same dad who was going to be here in less than an hour and was the actual sheriff. "It was an accident, those can happen anywhere." What would he know, his injuries heal so his parents never flip out unless he'd mention it was done by hunters and even then that was pretty normal. He had been hunted when he had been only fifteen so yeah, bloody noses, bruises, broken bones, he'd be told to shake it off, he'd heal.

Stiles just smirked and shrugged at that. "Lacrosse is fine, but I'll never get off the bench and I do it both as an extracurricular thing for my college application and for Scott and to tire myself out. Maybe I should pick up running too. Do you run outside of practice and playing?" Stiles asked, curious. He could totally picture Derek running through the Preserve only in some tight shorts... Oookay, that was dangerous territory again...

"Yeah, I run often, we all do in the family. Keeps us fit." In a way. Nothing more to be added there though, he was careful with what he said since the human was way too smart and would figure things out with even minimal information. It was the one thing his dad had worried about when he found out Derek had a crush on the sheriff's son, the risk of exposure. But it wasn't as if other werewolves were there to fall in love with, they were all family!

Nailed it, Stiles thought, quite proud of himself for being right about the running thing. It made sense as a choice of sport to keep fit since the Hale house was situated right in the Preserve and they could avoid stinky gyms and people all together, instead running surrounded by nature. Stiles had made some attempts to run himself there once or twice, but he didn't really like to run and it was boring to do it alone, so his motivation quickly ebbed down and he stuck to lacrosse practice and P. E. classes. At least for him there wasn't the danger of getting overweight.

Then came the next shock from Derek’s out of the blue question. Stiles didn’t see that one coming at all…

"You're not seeing anyone, are you? I know you and that other girl broke up." Whoever that was. Nobody Derek liked because she was stupid and wasn't good for Stiles.

Stiles nearly gaped from the question which struck from out of nowhere like a lightning of Thor himself... Why would Derek want to know... that? And why... how does Derek Hale know he had broken up with Malia? He had meant her, right?

"Uhm... You mean Malia? Yeah... I wouldn't say there was a break up we can talk about. We weren't boyfriend-girlfriend in the classical sense. More like... friends with sometimes benefits for a while?" he confessed with some more blushing. Other boys would probably brag about such a thing, but Stiles wasn't like those boys. "It was fun while it lasted but nope, no one since her. What... what about you? I remember you with Paige. She's a nice girl. I thought you'd be high school sweethearts... I mean... it's none of my business," he fidgeted a bit uncomfortably on his seat and let his always restless fingers play with the can between them again.

Derek nodded at Malia. Right, that was her name... a stupid name for a stupid bitch. It didn't matter that it was friends with benefits and not really what Derek thought they had been. It was clear they had been having sex. It was a very open-minded thing. Derek had never even had sex. There had been some bases touched on with Paige but they had never gone all the way and there hasn't been anybody else. His mom hadn't thought it would be a smart thing as long as he had no control during the full moon because that meant he would have no control when he'd get hormonal either.

"I thought we'd be high school sweethearts too, but her music was suffering and she's way too good. So she broke it off and it's fine. I mean, it sucked back then but I want somebody to be in it as much as I am. Nobody else since her. I know, shocker. You probably thought of me as captain I would have a new crush on my arm every week." Paige had been the love of his life, and after her he hadn't wanted anybody ever again. Until Stiles. Which he didn't even know about. "When you're in love with somebody, you want them to be all into you as well and not a bad distraction."

"Well... as much as I saw, you aren't really the 'a different girl each week' kind of guy, so not such a shock that you haven't been with anyone since Paige. And I must say, it was very self-sacrificial and kind from you to step aside when you saw her music was suffering. I'm sorry though, it must have been painful. Especially if you loved her. But yeah, I agree. I've never been in love before or was in a real relationship, but if I was, I'd want the same. I mean... that's the whole point of a real love relationship, isn't it? That both are all the way in and into each other and support the other, not hold back for some reason," he hummed.

When Stiles said Derek had been kind to step aside, he laughed, loudly. It hadn't been that cute and he had pathetically cried for weeks and hating on everybody. "I begged her not to and refused to talk to her for months so... I wasn't nice about it. But we're cool now. It's just… I thought we'd be together forever. I smiled the entire day thinking of her, I wanted to spend as much time with her as I could and we did. And then it was gone and it felt so wrong. Mom told me that if I love somebody, I make sure they're happy, even when it's without me. Otherwise it's not real love, it's possession." He sighed, because it was true and he got that but that didn't mean it had been easy. Plucking at a piece of pineapple, he glanced up to Stiles. "You're lucky you've never been in love, it sucks. It hurts as much as it feels awesome."

Stiles’ thoughts were interrupted by Derek's kinda out of place loud laugh, but then he understood why it kinda sounded wrong. "Oh... I'm sorry. I didn't know it ended like that..." he paused and thought about what to say next, knowing that this was clearly still a sour topic for Derek. "But your mom is wise. I always knew that. Dad always says that about her and thinks highly of her." Talia Hale was an enigma for many in town. Some said she was too cold and closed up or even thought too highly of herself and her family, but others said quite the opposite. That she was wise, kind, helpful and genuinely cared about the community and the town.

Yeah, Talia Hale was a wise woman, sometimes it wasn't as fun to be the child of her, because everybody would come to her for advice and due to the large pack territory and her role as alpha able to shift into full wolf, she was a sought out leader. It meant she wasn't home a lot and he didn't get her advice as much as he'd like to, because Peter's advice had sucked. He had suggested the bite. It would have been the way to keep Paige as a mate. Luckily his sister had overheard and had gone against it. The bite was supposed to be a gift, not forced upon. And Derek would always know her change had kept her with him, not her love.

"I have to disagree with you on that, though. I think..." he hesitated "Deep down I always wanted that. To fall in such a deep love like my dad and mom was. I remember how they looked at each other and not just from pictures and videos. Sure, they had their ups and downs too, but they always found a solution and came out of things stronger and very much in love..." he blushed a bit again, eyes dropping to the can in his hands, his expression a bit sad and dreamy. "Although dad rarely talks about her, I know he still loves her the same. And what else can someone ask for? An epic love which not even sickness or death can tear apart?" he asked the last sentence very quietly and sighed softly before looking up and putting on a smile. "Sorry. I... have never told this to anyone. Not even Scott," he said and finally put the can down.

"Everybody wants it. I'm just saying it's not easy. At least he loves her enough to keep her memory alive, both of you. I like that. Knowing that the one you're with wouldn't forget you when you're gone." It was also sad, that the sheriff was going to be alone because he was still in love with his wife who wasn't there. "My parents don't have that kind of epic love, but I agree with you, it would be awesome."

He wasn't sure why Stiles would not tell anybody, it wasn't weird to have the need for that. Maybe McCall didn't believe in love or something, the teen hadn't been seen with anybody as far as he knew. Then again he was more of a nerd than Stiles was, with the unfortunate asthma plaguing his every move when it came to sports. "We can blame the head injury for you telling me that in case Scott ever complains." Most of what he was telling Stiles, he didn't talk about with others, it just happened and it felt right. Of course, if Stiles dared to tell others of this, he was going to punch him in the face. Hard.

Stiles chuckled at that suggestion. "Deal. It's a perfectly plausible explanation..." he smiled kinda fondly at Derek. Frankly, it was nice to have such intriguing and deeper conversations with someone, who wouldn't make silly remarks. God knows he loves Scott to bits, but his friend wasn't so deep or comfortable with deeper conversations. Sure, he was a good listener and felt with Stiles, but Derek was different. Felt more... mature. And not really because he was a year older. It was just... something about him, which made Stiles feel like Derek knew much more about life in general. And he also started to feel comfortable around him alarmingly quickly.

"Thanks. You know... for listening and understanding and not laughing on me. Or maybe you're just good at handling clumsy teens with head injuries," he half-joked, his grateful and a bit shy eyes finding the green ones again and Stiles didn't even mind forgetting to look away or that comfortable silence this time. Which was kinda stretching on.

Right until they heard a car pull up to the driveway. Stiles could recognize the sound of his dad's cruiser from anywhere, so his small mischievous smile made a return.

"Okay, time for you to build your case about my injury..." he warned teasingly.

"Pfft no. I'm not good with injuries. I freaked out a lot while you were sleeping." And that was pretty much the understatement of the century. But that was something Stiles so didn't need to know about. Ever. Whatever the human was going to say to that was lost because of a car pulling up and Derek wasn't sure if he should bolt or not, so the tease wasn't even close to helping. Eyes widening, he decided that the best course of action was to get another slice of pizza so he was busy with that.

Next chapter

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