2: Spark – part 3

Beth yawned and stretched as best as she could in her car seat, little eyes opening as she remembered where she was and what they were doing. "Park!" she called out hoping she had not missed it. Looking out the window, she saw the familiar swings and slides and got excited. Struggling in her car seat, she tried wiggling out of the straps. "I go slide! Sty slide!" she chattered happily as she managed to get one arm free.

Stiles turned around when he heard Beth getting up. "Oh yeah, we go sliding, little sea monster!" he grinned and finally unbuckled his seat belt too to get out of the car and help the little girl out of her seat, not even asking Derek if he could. He did it without thinking because it felt natural.

Putting her down on the ground and closing the car door, he took her little hand and started walking toward the playground with her. As he saw the slide, he connected the dots and looked back to give Derek the stink eye and muttered an "Oh you're gonna pay for this later" comment. Yes, the slide was small. But maybe he could make it work...

Noah had helped Derek through the night terrors, like he had done with Stiles, and he knew the older man wouldn't go telling anybody about it, not even Stiles. He was a good parental figure, even to those who weren't his own. Like Scott and Derek and pretty much the pack in the past. They had all been kids when they had met after all and most from single parent homes or orphans.

Speaking of single parents... Stiles was a natural. He didn't even ask or mention it, he just got Beth out of her seat and walked with her, leaving the wolf to only need to lock the car as he followed the two. He grinned as the human discovered that the playground was toddler heaven, all made for the minis in life. There was a bigger one not far from here but she was too tiny for it.

"Go slide, Stiles." Yes, he was enjoying this moment a lot and it was worth any payback the younger man had in mind for it. Derek didn't fit on most of it, his height, like Stiles', a problem but also the muscles. Sure he had lost some weight but he had an athletic build and it wasn't made for toddler playground things.

Helping the little girl up on the steps of the small slide by her hand, Stiles flashed an amused look back at Derek and mouthed an 'asshole' to him, but then his attention was back on Beth, who let his hand go and slid down on the slide with a loud happy shriek. It made Stiles chuckle right up to the point when she stood up in the sand where the slide led and ran to his side, tugging on his jeans' leg.

"Now you slide, Sty!" she grinned up at him. And who could say no to such a happy little face? Certainly not Stiles.

"Alright, alright, princess! I'll try, even if this is too tiny for my size..." he put his hands up, barely able to hide a grin. Then he narrowed his eyes, sizing up his opponent, clearly trying to come up with a way he could make this work for the sake of the little girl's happiness. He knew he would look comical, but he would take that risk for Beth. (And probably already much more just to see her happy.)

Climbing up was no big task for him, but the slide was too narrow to make his tiny butt fit in it, so he decided to try and slide down while lying on his side. He more or less succeeded once he managed to get into position, but looked rather funny on the bottom with his limbs tangled. But Beth's sweet giggle was a worthy enough reward for making a fool of himself.

It was impossible not to laugh at Stiles on the slide, with the way he was stretched out on his side, his feet were already at the bottom before he even could slide. Yeah, Derek hadn't even bothered, he had used his hands to slide as the rest of his body didn't touch the metal. But humans, unless they were acrobats, weren't capable of that so it was a good solution. Worse of one when he did slide and ended up in a heap because there was no graceful way about it. A laugh escaped him at the image and he regretted destroying his phone because this would have made a nice video for Noah. He really should get a new phone.

"Alright, I consider this as a success, but please don't make me do it again," he rubbed his butt and side a bit as he sat up in the sand, facing the slide. "Why don't you slide for both of us and I will catch you at the bottom, hm?" he offered as a compromise, opening his arms for her.

"I go again," she said as she climbed back up and sat down. Putting her hands in the air she looked at Stiles. "You catch me Sty!" she yelled out and inched forward till she slid down the slide.

As Beth clambered up, Derek wondered if he should warn the other for his position. This wasn't the regular toddler, she had some extra strength to her and she was limber so her slides weren't ever going as they should. It was possible Stiles was about to get a face full of feet.

Crossing his arms, Derek of course said nothing because he was an asshole like that, as it has been pointed out minutes ago. As predicted, the little girl raced down the metal, squirmed at the end and hit the human who went down like a pin meeting a bowling ball. It was like watching YouTube videos. Only funnier.

"Oh my gaaaawd!" Stiles groaned, catching Beth securely and going with the motion to fall back on the sand, arms wrapping around her a bit tighter as he pretended to squirm and moan under her. "The sea monster attacks again! Help! Somebody help meee!" he yelled, ignoring the slight pain the impact had on his human body. Because seriously, who could be focused on that when Derek's daughter was having such a good time on top of him, trying to tickle him. It was adorable, to say the least.

When he had decided to come for this visit, he imagined it going totally differently. He didn't expect any of this, but he had to admit that he was enjoying himself quite a lot despite the serious task at hand. Having such relaxed and light moments in his life has always been rare ever since Scott had been bitten and all the supernatural stuff got dragged into their lives. During those years Stiles had learned to appreciate moments like these and he knew he was going to treasure such times with Derek and his daughter too. To keep him going. To keep him sane in his line of work.

It was the fuel that's been missing from his life until now, he realized. That's why he's been searching for something, drowning himself in work and research. The long day and night shifts, the little sleeping, constantly burying his nose into his laptop or some books... He had told himself it was to be prepared for the unexpected. But maybe it was also an attempt to fill the void inside his life and heart which he's felt most of his life.

"Rawrrr!" she growled and tickled Stiles. He was fun to play with. "Daddy help get Sty!" she called out wanting her dad to come play too. "We eat him all up!"

It was a game they played, Derek would be the wolf eating her up, he'd chase her and catch her. And then he'd blow raspberries on her stomach while making nom nom sounds. The thought of doing that to Stiles, the thought of eating Stiles in others ways... yeah, that wasn't the way he should be thinking. He was glad there was a squirming toddler on top of Stiles so the human couldn't see the heated look in his eyes, or the slight blush which had momentarily appeared at the images such innocent words created.

"I don't know cub, he's a big meal." And as soon as those words left his mouth, he was momentarily horrified at the way that sounded. Stiles was notorious for his perverted mind, there was no way he wouldn't interpret them in the way the wolf just did. Ignoring the awkwardness, he instead pounced on Elizabeth, taking her in his arms as he ran with her to the little playhouse as if he was kidnapping her. "I'm going to eat you instead!"

Yeah, he was far more comfortable to lift her little sweater and blow air on her round stomach, making loud eating noises.

She shrieked as Daddy snatched her up and took her to his secret lair to eat her up. "No eat!" she yelled laughing as he blew on her belly. "Sty! Help, he eated me up!" She couldn't stop giggling.

Frankly, Stiles was grateful for Derek that he "kidnapped" his daughter because he needed a moment or two to collect himself from the kinky images that all of a sudden flooded his mind from that remark. But he doubted he managed to stop a dirty glance at the other man as their eyes met for a long moment. And did he saw a faint blush on Derek’s face? Or was that perhaps the result of shamelessly laughing on Stiles' "miserable situation"?

Either way, Stiles focused on his breathing and calming his spiking heartbeat while staring up at the blue, slightly cloudy sky for a few long moments. It was so wrong of himself to think about such stuff, but he couldn't help himself. Couldn't stop his mind from imagining how Derek's lips would feel on his toned stomach. Kissing, licking and... biting at his skin... Fuck.... Why could this man still make him horny with one sentence? He had the feeling that it was getting worse, not better after being fully grown up. Not fair...

With a sigh he quickly got up to dust himself off then joined the duo, a big smile on his mole-ridden face while listening to the funny sounds and Beth's squeaks and giggling. They were truly adorable together like this. No doubt about that.

"Not fair! You could've eaten me too like this," he smirked mischievously at Derek. Yeah, he still couldn't help himself... but revenge was sweet. "But that ship has sailed, I'm afraid," he added with a dramatic sigh. To distract his mind and body from the hot images, he rather did a proposal. "How about we celebrate my survival with some sugary sweets at the store while shopping for dinner?" he wiggled his brows at Beth, hoping as hell that sugar worked on hybrids like her too. It would be the second step of his "revenge" having Derek to deal with Beth and himself on a sugar rush...

Derek’s face was pressed against a squirming round belly so the heated look was hidden as he thought about tackling Stiles and pushing his shirt up. From what he had glimpsed, there were more developed muscles happening there and he wouldn't mind getting his lips on those. And what was worse, Stiles knew exactly what he was teasing with. Yeah, he really wanted to tackle the younger man and make him regret everything.

Instead he blew one more raspberry before lifting his head and righting his daughter's clothes as he swung her on his hip with a practiced move. Pale green eyes narrowed at the human when he suggested candy to Beth, because there was no way she was going to allow them to shop without them now. She was going to be insufferable.

"We'll go shopping after the swings." The little hybrid loved them, she was going to demand it and it bought him time from dealing with two sugar monsters so he happily suggested it. They were the safe ones no adult could fit in, with a harness-like seat making it impossible for her to fall out of. With a look to Stiles, he walked over to the swings to settle Elizabeth in one of the seats, her chubby legs sticking out because she was small for her age. There hadn't been any health problems from her being born so prematurely she hadn't developed internal organs yet. Mostly due to her werewolf heritage, Derek's energy and angel healing. But she would always be small.

"Ready cub?" he pushed her gently, knowing with her wiggling and squirming she'd speed it up herself.

Stiles chuckled to himself, pushing his hands into his hoodie's pockets, apparently unable to wipe that smile off his face as he followed them to the swings. As he leaned against the structure with his shoulder and kept watching them, his mind continued reeling as usual.

This was so normal. So idyllic. So peaceful and warm. He couldn't stop asking himself for how long will this probably last for Derek and Beth? Because as we know, the Hales were like magnets to trouble. Stiles would have hated to see if some danger destroyed this perfect picture. He also already knew that he would do everything in his might to help stop that. Realizing that with certainty made some tingling feeling spread in him (and no, not because of the flirty teasing!), warming his insides. Which will only make it harder for Stiles later.

"Show us how high you can go, little sea monster!" he smirked at the excited little girl, but couldn't help his amber eyes from moving to Derek's form time after time, drinking in his sight, the striking contrast in his behavior when he was with his daughter. It was kinda like watching a completely different Derek. But Stiles liked what he saw. He also appreciated the chance that he could see him like this... and wasn't going to tell anyone that Derek Hale indeed had a soft side.

The swings was pretty much them listening to the little girl's squeals and laughter as Derek pushed her. If it had been up to her, she'd be doing that for hours, which wasn't that unusual since he didn't go out that often besides for her. So he usually just stayed here until she was done playing in the playground. It was his way of handling his guilt for her being in Hell, for her having to deal with a useless daddy when he had been healing. Even though he knew she wouldn't remember much of any of this, it didn't lessen the guilt.

Sometimes as he was pushing her, he glanced to Stiles who was leaning against a pole, watching them with this soft look Derek couldn't fully decipher. It wasn't a look he had seen on the human's face before so it was a guessing game. Probably it was around the same thing as the rest had thought when they had to get used to seeing him with a child. He'd always just shrug because they were going to have to get used to him being a father and of course he wasn't going to treat her like he had done his betas. It was completely different. Slowing the swing, he pulled her from it.

"That's enough for today, let's get to the store." There was a large chance they were going to be there forever. Because a toddler didn't make it fast and well, he had once been in a store with Stiles years ago. He had wanted to smash his head against the wall back then, repeatedly. Stiles was a label reading guy, taking his time to sample and chat and make right purchases which weren't too expensive. As to where Derek would get what his list said, get stuff as quickly as possible and get out. It had mostly to do with how he would always be stared at, like he was some criminal about to murder them all. And yes, he did play with that by grabbing all kinds of items or brand names which would only support that. This one time he had bought only meat and a pack of knifes. That had been a fun experience.

Beth was put back in the seat and the drive to the store wasn't long. They could have walked to it but he didn't feel like lugging groceries back so this was easier.

The swings had been fun and she even pouted once Daddy took her out of them but then she remembered something about candy and she got excited again. "We get candy?" she asked and batted her eyelashes at them. She had seen her Mom do that before when she wanted something and right now she wanted candy.

She was strapped back into her car seat and they were going to the store. She liked shopping. There were so many people around and lots of smells. Some good smells and some bad smells. "Store!" she called out when she saw it and again struggled to get out of her straps holding her in.

"Oh. My. God. She is like a mini-Lydia right now!" Stiles whispered to Derek from that eyelash batting trick she just used on the adults. "Definitely no DNA test is needed from that side either," he giggled. "Gonna bring a cart!" he announced while he let Derek deal with her this time. True to his words, he quickly presented one and waved towards it. "Your chariot has arrived, princess." With that he opened the little seat for small kids on the cart and let Derek do all the hard work of pushing it once Beth was sitting in the seat.

He was too busy fishing out his shopping list anyway. "Oookay, so first stop is the sweets section for some candy!" he announced leading the way and quickly finding the isle as it was not a big shopping mall like in San Francisco. He even had to nod and greet a few acquaintances here and there. People whom he had nearly completely forgotten during the eventful years. In any other case he actually would've stopped to chat a little bit with some of them, but they were on a mission now and didn't want Beth to get upset about the hold up. Besides, he had to hunt down quite a few things from his list to be able to later make the dinner he was planning.

She was put in the cart and strapped in but that was ok... for now. "Candy... candy... candy," she chanted as the cart was pushed to the very aisle she was calling out for. Her little eyes grew big when she saw all of the different types there. She reached for the shelves but couldn't quite make it, leaning over as far as she could. "I want candy," she pouted before struggling out of the seat belt. Quickly she climbed into the back of the cart and from there she could reach over further, grabbing handfuls of whatever she could reach.

"Oh! Twizzlers for me! Come to papa..." he licked his lips as he grabbed a few bags from the shelf once he spotted his favorite. "Do you have a favorite candy, Beth?" he asked curious. He was going to spoil this kid rotten. His look that he sent to Derek told him the same and Stiles was sure Derek would decipher that quite obvious message.

"Her favorite is candy," Derek answered dryly for her as she went to town on candy bags. There was no rhyme or reason to what she was picking, colors or shapes didn't matter. Nope, as long as it was candy. Again he wondered why he even bothered strapping her in because she was a Houdini, she could squirm and climb out of anything. "Some of these aren't for you yet, Beth," he carefully pried the lollipops away from her grabby hands to hand her some marshmallows instead. "They are for bigger kids." Was he going to try and make her pick a few items? No way. He knew what tantrum would come from that because Stiles had said she could have all the candy. Usually he would make her agree to one thing before entering the store, mostly because she couldn't count and one was something she'd understand.

No, Stiles brought this upon himself and he slightly glared at the human who was too busy with candy too to even see it. He was half-bent over so Derek quickly reached over him to put the lollipops away, only to get bumped into when the other stood up without realizing the wolf had been right behind him. Which made for some very close pressing of the bodies. Followed by an awkward kind of dance as they both attempted to create space and only sidestepped together. It was a scenario straight out of a romcom. It would have maybe created a moment.

Maybe. Because due to Elizabeth's eager grabbing of the candy, the cart had moved forward with a jolt, ramming into Stiles who out of reflex grabbed onto Derek to avoid falling into the shelves of candy. His grabbing was... very south of the border.

Awkwaaaard. That was Stiles' first thought once he realized what the hell just happened and his frozen brain began to work again. His body not following just yet so they were just standing there frozen to the spot, staring at each other. With Stiles' hand full of Derek's... The color of a tomato was nothing compared to the red shade the younger man's face turned into in seconds. It nicely spread to his ears and down his throat too, the situation making his heart skip beats and then try to make up for those with some faster ones.

Well... this wasn't the scenario which he had imagined about holding Derek like this. At all. His whole being got stirred up not only from the inappropriate placing of his hand or the fact that he seemed unable to remove said hand, but also from Derek's closeness, scent, body heat and look. He was suddenly surrounded and overwhelmed by that and for a change Stiles could only gape for words for a good few moments.

He couldn't really read the other man's expression. Stiles did realize meanwhile that this was probably some back teasing or subtle revenge on the slightly taller man's part, but it maybe kinda backfired?

Elizabeth didn't even see or care about the awkwardness of the two grownups. Her mind was on candy. Not wanting to wait, she put a package into her mouth and ripped it open with her teeth. Sweet sugary goodness filled her mouth as she plopped down in the cart, surrounded by bags of candy, happily eating the one she had opened.

The hand was not moving, it just lingered there with a firm hold and for a moment Derek wasn't sure what to do. He had control of many things concerning his body but not everything and this could get even more awkward if he moved too much. Instead he watched Stiles turn a deep red shade while his heart sped up into that aroused rapid beating he often heard. The hand was still not moving.

There was no real fondling going on, but it lasted for too long to call it an accidental brush anymore. And yeah, his body was starting to appreciate it so of course, it had to get more awkward. It had to happen in a store with his daughter in the cart who was using the distraction to rip open a bag and started eating. He could smell the waft of sugar and the bee wax of something gummy bear-like so it was harmless candy.

"Oooops... Sorry about that, but this is what you might get when you sneak up on unsuspecting people. Think I've told you a few times before not to do that," Stiles finally said on a slightly out-of-breath and hoarser voice, fighting off the urge to lightly squeeze what he was holding before letting it go. He had his balance back so he had to let go, right? He eventually did with a slightly off-sounding giggle, the color on his face staying steadily as he was trying to pull himself together from this unexpected turn of events. But he still didn't step away or broke the eye-contact. From this close he could see the subtle tone differences in Derek's green eyes, feel his hot breath puffing against his face.

Derek didn't exactly blush as much as Stiles did, but there was some distinct coloring in the neck happening, his ears were a little redder too. Sure, he was glad the human didn't knock over all the candy and get the attention of the entire store but did he really have to grab his dick to remain standing? And now Stiles wasn't the only one remaining standing, it wasn't helping. He opted to ignore it though, like it hadn't happened at all while he searched Stiles' face with his eyes, leaning even closer. The hand finally moved away, the body didn't. "Since you just went to third base without buying me dinner, you can pay for the groceries."

It was informed with a hoarse voice, a dry tone to it as he moved away after that announcement, plucking the candy bag out of Beth's hands to grab her and place her back in the cart seat. Only then did he give her the bag back, they'd still pay for it when checking out. There was a glance to Stiles. "Coming, Stiles?" Oh yeah, that was a double meaning on purpose.

She was about to protest when Daddy took the candy and put her back into the cart seat but he gave it back and she happily continued eating it. "You want?" she asked holding out a half chewed gummy candy at him. "I share. Share is good."

No, Derek really didn't want candy, let alone a half-eaten one which had been chewed on but… It was good for Beth to learn to share. And she offered so with a deep, deep inward sigh, he took the offered candy. "Thank you Beth, you're a good girl." The problem was, he had to eat it too so he popped it into his mouth, the chemical taste of pure sugar making him want to pull a face.

Although Stiles' hand was empty now, hanging by his side, he could still kinda feel the memory of Derek's junk. Sizable junk. For a brief moment he wondered if it was an alpha thing or nature was just very kind to the other man. But that thought got quickly interrupted when the star of his wet dreams (after this there will be many more, he was sure!) leaned closer.

Ohmygodohmygod, Stiles repeated that in his head a few times, because yeah, it looked a lot like Derek wanted to kiss him. There, in the middle of the candy isle with a happily munching toddler next to them. But of course he didn't, even if – in Stiles' opinion – it could've been a great setting for a first kiss. But nooo, he had to say some clever/funny remark instead. He should've known Derek would.

In his nervousness, Stiles giggled like an idiot, feeling his cheeks still burning hot as he dropped his eyes and finally stepped to the side. Feeling a pang of disappointment in his chest. What was he thinking? Derek wouldn't do that. Especially not in public... Stupid Stiles...

"I was going to pay for everything anyway, so you might come up with another punishment," he babbled, half-watching what he was saying, so first he didn't even realize the double meaning behind his words. Then the younger man sighed, pressing his eyes closed for a moment once he had his back to Derek. Of course he could make this situation even more awkward for himself... That was just a plain old Stiles move. He will probably never learn.

To roll with the situation, he rather walked down the rest of the isle after the duo in search of things on his list.

"Yeah... coming," he rolled his eyes, but his mood got a bit dampened.

And he never apologized for where his hand had landed...

The oddness coming from Stiles was noted by Derek, and he wondered if that had been his fault. Maybe the suggestive meaning had been too much and he had made the human uncomfortable? At least there hadn't been a stuttered apology for the awkward groping. It had been accidental after all. It happened. If it had been on purpose, which happened to Derek more often than he cared to admit, they might have had a talk about it. Instead he left it be, glancing back to Stiles who was busy studying his list.

Waiting at the end of the isle since he had no idea what they all needed, he scanned the costumers he could see. It was the usual distrust thrown his way, coupled with curious glances to his daughter and Stiles.

"Hey Stiles, since we kidnapped this girl, we should buy her some food." Of course he said it loudly, enjoying the scandalized looks at those words. He only said what they had been thinking.

If Stiles could've heard Derek's thoughts and wrong reasoning, he would've probably screamed in frustration. But luckily (for both of them), that wasn't the case, so he pushed his nose to the list and mumbled to himself, looking around to spot the first victim that would land in their cart.

He blinked up a bit surprised from Derek's comment then he quickly sized up the situation. The Sourwolf was trolling others again. He had witnessed – hell, even suffered! – some of those moments. Either way he enjoyed that in Derek too. He was a secret troll with a delightful streak of sarcasm which made Stiles feel comfortable around him. Most of the time at least.

"Shush, Derek! In the end someone might call my dad the Sheriff about it!" he played along, entirely not subtle with the volume of his voice. "Don't be such an amateur!" he rolled his eyes but couldn't stop a light chuckle and a big grin at the end. He went even as far as grabbing Derek's wrist to pull/guide him further from the outraged people, heading towards the vegetables and fruit section where he actually started packing things into the cart once he let that warm wrist go.

It seemed it was a 'grabbing Derek Hale' day...

Even though there was a pointed look to the hand grabbing his wrist to lead him, Derek secretly enjoyed it. It felt familiar – the fingertips pressing against his skin, the tingle of energy coming from Stiles. Outwardly he had considerably calmed but his energy hadn't changed much. Most likely because the human had found an outlet for it, hopefully a healthy one.

Quietly watching as Stiles loaded up on vegetables and fruit, Derek thought about how there had been a time he had enjoyed groceries, get the right ingredients to cook for his ex but he honestly hadn't enjoyed anything lately. Not even the relationship. It had been only a reminder of what they never had reached. With the bond and his soul gone, it had been emptiness, this sad nagging feeling of being a complete failure. And he knew it's why he ignored knowing about Stiles' sleepy admission to him. He didn't want to ruin more good. Not another mess of fucked up love which will take away the friendship they had, leaving nothing but bitterness and anger behind. Another disappointment, another ex to hate him. There were so few people left, it made him careful and probably standoffish.

Especially since Stiles was going to hear the rumors about Derek, about him losing his mind, being a cheater followed by him not putting out and that's why the ex was happy to be rid of him... Not that those last two even made sense together. People believed rumors, Stiles could believe them. Two weeks was a long enough time to hear it all. It was better this way.

Beth finished her bag of candy and her little bottom lip puffed out into a pout. "All gone," she said as she began to cry, loudly, only supporting their kidnapping jokes.

 "You can have more tomorrow, cub. Not now because it'll make you sick." Probably. He had no idea if werewolf kids could get sick from overeating on candy, they all had a large appetite. Leaning close to her, Derek kissed the top of her head. "You can help Stiles with grabbing groceries, okay?"

Stiles was good at compartmentalizing things in his head. That was what he was doing right now with the previous awkward situation and how it made him feel. He pushed that into its compartment and closed the lid for now. He'll have time later to delve into that scene. Pick it apart just to over-analyze it, get some nice fantasies going just to later pity himself a bit because those would probably never become reality... Because... let's face it, we were talking about Derek Hale... After whom he's been pining for years, but nothing really came out of it aside from a few glances and loaded teasing. Stiles knew he was stupid to let go of hope, but we all know hope's a fucking bitch. Hard to kill off.

So now he just tried to focus more on the shopping and helping Beth stop the crying.

"That's right, my little helper! Let's get to work," he smirked at the little girl and took her out of the seat to put her on his hip as he saw from Derek before. One arm around her, the other holding the list he continued the hunt with the cutest helper ever.

After each time he read aloud the next item on the list, he pointed the bag out for her and stepped to the shelf so Beth could grab it. Stiles then turned to the cart so she could drop it in there. Somewhere he had read that it was good to involve kids in such simple tasks because they not just learned from it but the task kept their minds occupied and they felt useful from it. He had seen it many times how parents only got frustrated by their veiling kids while trying to shop. So this method all made sense to the young detective.

Quietly Derek had followed Stiles and Beth with the shopping cart as the two of them were busy with the list and grabbing what they needed. They had been so engrossed in it, they probably forgot he was even there, which meant he could watch them shamelessly.

It was taking a while to shop like this, but he wasn't prodded into talking and people were leaving them alone. Which, in his opinion, made this trip one of the best groceries run he had went on. At some point he had zoned out, their babbling a hum in the background while Derek kept an eye on their surroundings in a lazy kind of way. Some of the other conversations floated his way, his sharp hearing picking it all up but not focused on it fully. He was so used to being talked about, he didn't even listen to it anymore.

Stiles soon put Beth back into the seat and thanked her only when they got to the line in front of the register. A few times he felt Derek's eyes on him, but he tried to ignore that. Compartmentalizing, right?

By then the other man was glad when they reached the register, packing the items in the brown packs to fill the cart again. By the time it was all loaded up in the car and Beth back in her seat, it was the end of the morning, which meant time for some lunch at home and after that, nap time. For Beth at least.

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