Chapter Text

Chapter 8

When Derek came back down, banning a way through the dancing crowd to the couch, it was still void of Stiles. At first he figured Stiles was still having important talks with Scott, but unfortunately, that thought was debunked quickly. The bag was gone and Scott was actually talking to Allison not that far away, succeeding judging by the smile on his face. Confused, the Hale walked around to see if he could spot Stiles, and the longer he searched, the more he became convinced that he wasn't there anymore. It made no sense. Why would he leave so sudden without even saying anything? It wasn't like Derek had taken long to talk to Paige, it had been like ten minutes or so.

He glanced at his phone, no missed calls, no texts, not even a messenger alert. What the fuck was this?

"Hey Danny..." Derek found the host of the party, who was well on his way to being very drunk by the way he smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Hey, Derek! What's uuuuup!"

Wow, alcohol breath. Derek wrinkled his nose and steadied the drunk human. "Have you seen Stiles?"

"He left, I think, not so long ago. Do you want beer? Hey somebody get Derek beer!"

"No thanks," he patted Danny on the shoulder and gently pushed him towards the other boys so he could get away. Stiles left, on foot. Without a word. That kind of pissed him off because it made no sense. Since the only reason he even went to the party was gone, Derek left too, wondering if he should go home or at least go find Stiles. Better make sure he wasn't too drunk.

There was no sign of Stiles all the way back to the Stilinski house, Derek had driven his car slowly so he had time to spot possible drunken sprawls, although the other could just as easily taken a shortcut a car couldn't make. A sound of frustration left him, when he came up to the house and hadn't seen him. He wasn't going to ring the doorbell and be faced with a disappointed sheriff, or worse, make the man worry if his kid hadn't come home yet. Turning the engine off, Derek sat in his car for a moment, contemplating if he should use his phone. Chances were Stiles wasn't even going to pick up but it was worth a try. Using speed dial, Derek heard it ring. Wait... what?

Somewhere close by a phone was ringing at the same time as Derek was calling and it wasn't coming from inside the house. Taking his car keys with him, he got out and tracked the sound to a playground where a lone figure was sitting on one of the swings. Quietly, Derek joined him, glancing at him as sad feelings of depression assaulted him with every inhale.

"What happened?"

Meanwhile Stiles was so lost in his dark thoughts and self-pity that first he didn't even hear or feel his phone ringing and buzzing in his pocket, and by the time he did, he decided not to make any moves to pick it up. He just wanted to be left alone to let it all wash over him before he could start dealing and getting over it so he could go back to just being friends with Derek. Because he'd (maybe) sooner or later notice that Stiles was gone and was probably going to be pissed or at least have some questions. If he cared enough now that things have changed for him...

Thinking about what he might be doing now with Paige, or just thinking them being together again was too painful at the moment, so he sighed bitterly and sniffed a few times as he was just sitting there, feeling crushed.

He didn't really hear the soft footsteps either, and only realized that someone had joined him when he heard the creak of the other swing's chains. He quickly turned away to wipe his face with the back of his hand and sniffed once more. Not that it'd fool whoever was sitting there. Not that Stiles didn't just know it was Derek even before he asked him that question.

"I needed some air and got all emotional from the booze too. Sorry. I didn't want to bother you and Paige. That's why I didn't send a message to let you know I took off," he mumbled, avoiding the other teen's gaze. It all was true at least. "But at least it was a good night for you, right? Do people congratulate each other in such situations? Sorry, my social skills aren't that great tonight, I guess."

Derek's face showed his confusion because he wasn't following it at all. "Congratulate me on my ex giving me my good luck charm back?" That seemed like a very weird thing to do and Derek was a werewolf, he was used to very strange things! The tears were so not alcohol induced, Stiles wasn't drunk, he was tipsy which was a huge difference.

"Let me guess, Jackson was the stupid idiot who mentioned Paige?" Fucking asshole, Derek should have seen that one coming. "Not that it was a secret. She just..." Yes what he was about to say was going to sound so embarrassing but she had been right, he wasn't usually so insecure. He hadn't been with her, he had been making his moves fast.

"She saw I liked somebody so she told me to go for it. It's been a year dude. I'm not into her like that anymore." She had hurt him and he had gotten over it, sure. But he wouldn't want to get back together with her even if she wanted to, that was done.

Stiles' confusion was clear on his face and he had to look at Derek from the explanation he was getting. He nodded when Jackson was brought up and that fucking hope fluttered in his chest into life again hearing that Derek wasn't back with Paige and it was all a misunderstanding. Created by Whittemore to probably mess with Stiles – he wouldn't be surprised. Although, most people would think similarly regarding the assumption that the exes went upstairs for either to have sex or get back together, or both.

As much as it was a relief to hear that wasn't the case, Derek's next revelation crushed that tiny hope again, because yeah, Stiles didn't get enough stabs for the night! Derek Hale didn't like Paige like that anymore, but he did like someone else. That's just Stiles' luck, right?

"Oh... I see...." Stiles swallowed hard, trying to bottle everything up and put on a smile like usual. But the smile was fainter and it got nowhere near his eyes, which he averted again, staring at the tip of his sneakers, his hands curling into fists to hide their trembling and to keep his nails pushed into his skin. He wanted to punch that someone because they'd never deserve someone like Derek, he was sure. "I guess then... good luck with whoever it is," he said, forcing his voice to come out with some more enthusiasm. It was fake, of course. He just wanted to go home now and hide under his cover and pillow and never resurface.

The emotions coming off the human were all over the place and Derek could smell them now that they weren't at a party where it was filled with teen humans and their hormones and alcohol. Stiles was a terrible liar. He tried, that was obvious, to find some kind of happiness for Derek but since he thought it had nothing to do him, it was a terrible attempt filled with sadness and contempt towards himself.

"It's you, you idiot!" How did the other boy not see that?! Maybe his self-worth was so low that he never even considered the Hale was genuinely into him. Maybe the past year he hadn't heard all the gossip about Derek's sexuality being way more fluid. Maybe he still figured that it was all a dream or a bet and this wasn't really happening? Whatever the reasons were, the entire week of Derek's flirtations had gone way over his head.

"I like you. I thought you knew by now!"

"W-what?" Stiles' head whipped back to look at Derek with wide, still reddish, eyes. WHAT?! That shout was internal, shaking him to the core. How was this happening? Did he fell asleep and was he dreaming? If so, it was a horribly messed up dream and he'd so curse once he woke up...

His nails dug even deeper into his palms and the pain was sharp, sobering. It wasn't a dream and yes, he'd heard it right. And Stiles was waiting in vain for a punch line or Derek starting to laugh, saying he was just kidding and it was all a lie after all.

No, the teen's eyes and expression were open and serious. Stiles didn't even mind that he had called him an idiot. Apparently he was a big one.

"You... you like me? Like... LIKE me? Like that?! For real?" he stuttered and got a glare. "Holy shit... And I thought... I was so stupid and oblivious.... I mean... WOW. Just... wow! I mean... I wasn't sure. Couldn't be sure. I never saw you with other boys like that and I didn't know and I'm so stupid and I didn't dare to believe you might be interested in someone like me... It was mostly just wistful thinking and fantasies on my part because... I... I like you too. A lot. Been for a long time..." he babbled then finally confessed, his cheeks burning from an intense blush as his mind was still playing catch up with him and for good measure he pinched himself hard too.

Yupp, the pain was there.

"I wasn't with other boys because I had a crush on you for a whole year!"

The babbling continued, Stiles probably hadn't even heard what Derek said, because he was too busy convincing himself that this was real. Reaching over, he pulled Stiles closer to him by grabbing the chain of the swing, so he would have nowhere to go. The cheeks were pleasantly flushed, and Derek wanted to kiss him badly because it seemed like a very good idea to stop the rambling.

It was a quick one, to test Stiles, to see if maybe this was a good thing. Or that was the plan. Because when he leaned that close and the scent of the teen boy assaulted all of his senses, Derek’s lips didn't brush and leave, they lingered on the soft lips of the other, shutting him up. Shutting them both up. It felt good, so good. Gently his lips caressed the pillow-y ones, breathing warm breath against them as his tongue caressed them to wet them. It was asking for permission, he didn't take it. Didn't shove it in there even though he wanted to taste Stiles.

"I like you like that for real," he whispered.

It was rare for Stiles to become speechless, but that was exactly the case right now. Derek Hale managed to make him speechless and his whole body felt like it caught on fire from feeling the full lips pressed against his, a tentative tongue licking along the seam of his lips.

His brain felt like it was being fried. No thoughts came into it aside from just how very good and right it felt being kissed by Derek. He wanted to melt into a puddle. Well, on the inside he was and his body was so hyper-aware of the other boy's closeness and scent and it started to have some... other effects on him too but it was okay since now he knew he didn't have to hide it anymore.

Stiles' shocked brain finally caught up with the program and he slightly moved his head forward to press his lips back against Derek's. His own were closed for a few sweet moments then he opened them and let the tip of his tongue tentatively lick past the soft lips to coax Derek's tongue over into his mouth. This was so exciting and mind-blowing that he even forgot to breathe and only did so once he felt said tongue deepen their slow and already fucking amazing kiss. Wow, Derek was definitely a very good kisser and Stiles couldn't be happier about that and the fact that they were FINALLY kissing!

He could do this all night without a break, that was for sure.

Derek wasn’t sure if the kiss had been wanted, since he probably shocked Stiles into silence with the press of his lips and obviously the brain needed a moment to catch up. But when it did, when the other boy realized this wasn't a joke, a bet or anything to hurt him, he kissed back eagerly. Derek didn't think they would get here since this crush has been so long and it had always seemed like an unrealistic fantasy. Stiles never had hinted at liking boys, had only girlfriends so they both had been assuming too much and had asked so little.

Derek's hand slipped around Stiles' neck to keep him close as their tongues explored and tasted one another. It was mostly alcohol right now with a hint of cinnamon he figured was part of Stiles. Along with how he had always smelled like nutmeg and mint too. Mint because of his chewing gum his mouth loved to be occupy with but nothing plastic got shoved his way when they were kissing. The chains of the swings creaked into the quietness of the night, a lone howl hooting in the far distance and a dog barked. It was kind of a perfect setting for their first kiss. It was all kinds of awesome.

He never wanted this to end, just sit here and taste Stiles and revel in their closeness. It felt like a dream. A very nice one.

The kiss went on and on as they breathed through their noses, each corner of their mouths being thoroughly discovered. Meanwhile Stiles was storing Derek's scent and taste and closeness in him forever. There was a strange but good kind of wildness to the other boy's scent. There was musk and wood and something that reminded Stiles of a rainy forest and the rich earth and he loved this unique combination. He could really get used to smelling it from this close each day.

"For a whole year?" Stiles suddenly pulled back and the move jerked on the chains of the swing a bit too much, which in turn made the boy lose his balance and ungracefully fell off, landing on his back on the ground with an "ouch" and heap of flailing limbs.

Way to ruin a perfect romantic moment. But it was just so much Stiles Stilinski.

He needed a second to comprehend what had just happened. One moment he was kissing Derek then he was looking up at him from the ground, the recently vacated swing moving slightly above Stiles.

"Oh my god..." he squeaked with burning cheeks then burst out laughing so hard that he had to hold his stomach with both hands while still lying on the ground. "Quite the memorable first kiss!"

Derek reached out to stop the abandoned swing from hitting the human in the head if he decided to sit up, the laughter echoing around them loudly as Stiles was sprawled on his back in the little playground. It took a few seconds for Derek to join in on the laughter, after he was sure there were no injuries. Intoxication did seem to make it so much easier for humans to sprawl without hurting themselves, which was impressive.

In a spur of the moment, the young werewolf joined Stiles on the ground, way more comfy than the swings were anyways. The party may have been cut short and there had been some drama but it was the best night ever.

"For a whole year. I came out to my parents because of my crush on you."

At least Stiles had never even noticed his creeping stalker tendencies! Score for Derek, because he had been stealthy in his crushing.

"Oh god... I had no idea. And I'm said to be perceptive and a good observer! Maybe I was too occupied with my own crush on you. Which has started nearly a year ago too. I mean I always found you cool and attractive, but for me it all started a few months after we stopped fooling around with Malia and you won some stupid cup for the school... I mean it was a good match but I don't really care about basketball, to be honest. Neither lacrosse, for that matter," he shrugged kinda apologetically.

There was no surprise at hearing that Stiles didn't care much for basketball or lacrosse. He never seemed interested in either one, was content to be benched and be a team mascot of the sorts. It didn't matter to Derek if he was into sports or not, it wasn't a deal breaker and sure he liked to go to games or watch them on TV but he was fine with missing out too.

"And wow... I had such an effect on you that you came out as a bisexual because of me?! That's huge... and I'm honored, I guess? How did your family take it? Dad only knows about the girls. I didn't come out to him about liking boys too, but I'd be surprised if he hasn’t noticed before. Especially since each time he mentioned your name after the swollen nose incident, I blushed," he chuckled a bit nervous and at the same time elated from Derek's closeness as he laid down next to him.

"My parents took it in stride. I mean, my sisters can keep their last name to continue the family line, it's not like I have to be straight for that because I'm the only son. As long as I'm happy." Honestly, his family had been more worried about him liking the son of the Sheriff and a human at that. It brought danger to them. The Stilinskis weren't hunters but being close to a lawman would mean more secrets. And it wasn't like Derek was that great at control yet.

A bit shyly, Stiles' hand moved to touch Derek's between them and he slid his fingers between the other boy's. "So... what now? What's this? What are we now?" he fired off his questions, blinking at Derek with some coloring on his cheeks again.

Fingers found Derek’s own, they were holding hands now, and he glanced at the joined hands for a moment before glancing back to Stiles. "I don't do friends with benefits. So I guess I'm hoping this means you want to… you know... be my boyfriend." Maybe? Stiles didn't come out yet and it was a huge step to take, and he shouldn't be pressured into taking it. Derek wasn't that great at keeping it a secret when they would see each other at school. When others were going to be all over what was his and nobody knew about it.

Stiles' fingers twitched against Derek's and in his excitement lightly squeezed them too. WHOA, Derek Hale just asked him to be his boyfriend!!! He felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest and had to bite down on his bottom lip to stop himself from letting a loud 'YES!' out into the night. It wasn't like shouting it from a mountaintop but it came close enough...

"I... wow..." Stiles started. This was it. He wanted this so very much, even fantasized about it happening in many different ways. None of them included them lying on a playground at night, under the slightly moving swings they had vacated recently. But even with his fall and the misunderstanding about Paige earlier, it was perfect.

"I'd really like that... Being your boyfriend..." Stiles said a bit hoarsely, his emotions and excitement all over the place. After all Derek said he was hoping, so that meant he wanted it too, right? "I mean... if you want me to be your boyfriend." God, saying it out loud kinda made the world spin around a bit in the nicest way. "And it's so cool that your family was okay with your coming out. And if we are going to be boyfriends, I'd want to do that too. Come out, you know. I don't want to hide you because you deserve more. I'm just... let's see how it goes first? I mean... honestly... I don't think I'm there yet. Only Scott knows for sure. And us becoming friends already put a lot of attention on me to which I'm still trying to adjust to. Imagine how it'd be for both of us if it turned out we go out and stuff? And I don't want my dad to learn about us from someone else..." Stiles turned his head to look at Derek, hoping that he wouldn't get pissed and would understand. "Is it okay like this? Just for a short while?"

Hidden for a short while. It was kinda expected, and as Stiles explained it, it totally made sense, it was too fast and too much. Derek hadn't been thinking when he asked, his focus had been on having his crush returning his feelings and not on what it meant to his newfound friend. Coming out was huge and the town was little. This, what they were doing right now, was already borderline dangerous when they were out in public. It was in the black of night and the playground was kind of hidden so it wasn't a big deal.

"In this town keeping something a secret out in the open is really hard. We'd have to sneak, stick to being boyfriends in our room." Sure, he was okay with that for a short while.  Sneaking around could be fun, but not at school though. No way could they keep it a secret around friends, especially a friend like McCall who was more like a brother to Stiles. "We can just be friends at school."

As long as nobody was going to hit on Stiles or Malia getting close to the human or Derek might lose it. "They will think you're single, and if somebody hits on you, I'm going to punch them." If it was a boy, if it was a girl, he was going to ask another girl to punch her. That was only fair.

"I'm okay with the sneaking around. I have lots of practice with that. It's a perk of being the Sheriff's son," Stiles snorted a bit amused from his memories. Then Stiles pushed himself up into a sitting position – his head barely missing the swing he had fallen out of after their first kiss. There was a shocked little smile on his face. "You'd do that if someone hit on me? Aw! But you don't have to. I'm not interested in anyone else but you. And besides, it nearly never happens to me, so I'm pretty sure you're safe in this regard," he said, still holding Derek's hand in his.

"We can do it this way, yes. And thank you for understanding. It's just so new and a lot of changes and I'm not even sure I really comprehended it's happening. I've wanted this for such a long time and now it is happening. Wow..." he blushed some more then looked a bit more serious. "But I won't be able to lie to Scott. He'll ask about you and what happened tonight. He knows I'm crushing on you and was so supportive. And it's not like I'm asking you to hide us from your family. You can tell them if they won't let our secret get out... I mean... from what you'd told me about your family, you are pretty close to them. I cannot ask you to lie to them. I wouldn't do that. I don't like to lie at all, but sometimes I have to do that around my dad. Which I hate but usually do that not to make him worry more about me than he already does." Yeah, that was usually about the bullying or sneaking around with Scott.

And now he was working himself up on this because he really didn't want Derek to think he was a liar or something.

"I can't lie to my family, so...." Them being werewolves, most of them, they'd be able to tell any lie he'd try to give them. Cora and he were still learning how to be able to tell a lie, they weren't as fluent in it yet, besides the babies of course. With Stiles it was even harder because his heart was frantic even when he wasn't doing much and had that little uptick that was supposed to help him tell a lie. Not that he was too worried about Stiles lying to him, if he would, the truth would come out, especially if Stiles would maybe get to know his family. "They can tell, always."

Derek didn't know if that made him a terrible liar, he had never really tried to since he didn't see the point in it. Sneaking around wasn't lying, not completely. It was omitting some things so hopefully nobody was going to ask him straight if Stiles was his boyfriend or not. "I don't even know if I can lie so... be prepared for weirdo moments at school."

It helped that Scott would know, Danny probably would too, since it was impossible to keep anything from Danny and Boyd. The two Derek trusted completely. They’d never betray his trust to gossip, because Danny didn't do gossip that way and Boyd didn't talk to others. Jackson thought he won so that asshole wouldn't be a problem.

"You don't have to lie to your dad, we're boys and we're friends. So it's fine like that. You've crushed on Lydia since forever I think, so your dad is probably used to you not doing anything about whom you like."

"You forget to whom you are talking to. I'm a weirdo myself, so I'm good with weird and awkward," Stiles chuckled, looking down at the still lying boy then thought about what Derek had just said. "Huh, I guess you're right. He wouldn't think I'd actually do anything about you or get together with you... Which, now that I think about it, is a bit sad, but would usually be true. I mean... if you haven't told me that you actually like me, I'd probably pretended I didn't have feelings for you... You practically had to spell it out because sometimes I'm so very oblivious and all over the place and so not confident about myself..." he babbled then stopped himself. He was supposed to be happy that Derek chose to want to be with him, and not try chasing him off...

"Alright, so we'll see how this goes then," Stiles finally said. Because this was all so new and he wanted to have it and enjoy it just between the two of them (and a few trusted people) before it got out. It wasn't being selfish, it was more about not knowing how it was going to work between them. And Stiles really rooted for it to work! But if it didn't, there was no need for everyone to laugh on him and ask what he was thinking trying to be the boyfriend of someone like Derek Hale. Out of his league and all that.

"For now we'll see how it goes. I don't want to be your little secret forever," Derek corrected, wanting Stiles to know he was okay with this for a short while. He wanted to sneak off at school, hold hands, offer rides after school, watch games when Stiles played. Take him to prom, give him stupid Valentine's cards and flowers. Things people did when they were together, openly, because who even cared. To have it be a secret right now, because of the coming out, sure, he got that, it was a huge thing. But if they were a secret for too long, he'd start to think Stiles was embarrassed to be his boyfriend.

Derek didn't think it would take long because for a guy who wasn't out, the teen embraced kissing another boy pretty quickly. It made Derek grin as he surveyed their surroundings. "Here out in the open? Are you sure?" But going to his car to drive to some place to make out would be worse, because they would get caught and then his dad would know anyway. Here seemed to be a good place as any, since all of the places would possibly get them caught.

Stiles understood the hidden meaning behind Derek's comment. He didn't want to draw out the secret thing for long. He just wanted to make sure it was going to work between them and to muster up enough courage to talk to his dad. He wasn't that worried about him not accepting his son this way, because although Noah had traditional views on some things, due to his work he also had to stay open-minded to some degree. And Stiles never heard any racist or sexist remarks or jokes from his dad. So he was pretty sure he was a man to accept and respect people and things until they respected him and his opinions back. Which only made Stiles proud to be the son of the county's Sheriff. Not to mention that he had raised Stiles to be open-minded too.

"I promise it won't be long and thank you again for understanding," he said. "Okay... so... I still have some time before I'm supposed to be home," he said, tugging on Derek's hand to make him sit up. "Can we like... make out a bit more until then?" he asked hopefully because boy, that first kiss was just amazing and addictive and he craved for more.

Sitting up, Derek slowly stood, brushing his pants off as he glanced to a place they could sit and make out without worried neighbors calling the cops.

Stiles stood too, brushing his own clothes off as much as he could. He was still a tiny bit tipsy, but he had sobered up a considerable amount after the fake news from Jackson.

"There's a bench behind those bushes. From there no one from the road or houses will see us," he suggested, taking Derek's hand back in his to start pulling him towards it. His heart started beating faster again, knowing that there was more kissing happening once they got there and it made some nice warm fluttering happening in his belly from that thought.

"Is this your making out bench?" Stiles seemed to know perfectly how hidden this bench was and since it was near his home, it kind of made sense. As much as he hated Heather and Malia for getting with Stiles, he couldn't blame them for wanting to make out with Stiles, because he was a good kisser. Probably because he used his mouth so much that his muscles had gotten a lot of work out. Derek let the human guide and pull him along to the bench.

They had kissed already so there was no need to be nervous, the fluttering in his stomach was for whole other reasons. Like how Stiles grinned at him in the dark and seemed genuinely happy. It made his eyes light up with this sparkle that was hard to miss. Derek couldn't help but grin back as they flopped on the wooden bench, both unsure for a moment as to how to go from there when they were actually sitting down. Maybe they were both way too eager, as they reached out and smacked hands and heads, which was fitting with the way everything about them went. Derek laughed and stole the moment while the other teen was too busy laughing as well.

Reaching for the cheek, he caressed it with his thumb and pressed his lips against the smiling ones, swallowing the laugh with a kiss.

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