By the time they arrived at the tiny ice cream parlor, the sky was pink and orange and the evening air was cooling off. A breeze brushed across Stiles' bare arms and he shivered a bit, not because it was cold but because he was starting to feel nervous again. He was nervous about what he was going to order, what was Derek going to order, what if Derek tried to pay? Should he let him? He had never gone on a date with another guy before, he wasn't really sure how it worked.

Derek held the door open for him and he was greeted with the tinkle of the bell above the door and a blast of cool, sweet air. Stiles closed his eyes and breathed deeply, memories of his childhood and of summers and of friendship all rushing back to him. He always got so sentimental when he came to Izzy's; maybe it was the fact that he had spent so much time there throughout his life, or maybe it was just because their ice cream was fucking amazing. Most likely it was some combination of the two.

It was a few seconds before he realized he was still standing in the entry way, Derek still outside holding the door. He blushed and stepped inside, Derek chuckling and following him inside. Stiles pressed himself up against the glass that protected the giant cartons of ice cream, his eyes darting back and forth between all of the flavors. He had decided beforehand what he wanted, but now seeing all of the flavors in their glory he was having second thoughts. Derek crouched next to him, also browsing the flavors and occasionally glancing at Stiles-who was completely engrossed by the ice cream-and smiling.

Every so often Stiles would frown and bite the side of his cheek, lost deep in his thoughts. Derek had already made his decision and rose back to his feet, as Stiles finally made his choice as well.

"How can I help you two?"

Stiles beamed at the girl behind the counter, recognizing her from his many visits there. "I'll take a...medium cone with chocolate peanut butter!" Normally he would order a large but this was a date, so he decided to go easy on the ice cream.

"And I'll take a medium bowl of pistachio."

Stiles raised an eyebrow. "Wow, one of the chosen few who actually like pistachio!"

Derek smiled. "It's been my favorite for as long as I can remember."

Stiles had slight regrets. In honesty pistachio was his favorite too, but he thought that Derek would think him weird if he ordered it. It didn't matter, chocolate peanut butter was a close second.

They waited as the girl scooped their ice cream, Stiles' eyes lighting up as she handed him his cone. He reached into his pocket for his wallet but Derek stopped him. Stiles blushed, not wanting to just let Derek pay, but Derek insisted.

"You already paid for my coffee though!"

Derek smiled, nodding. "I'm paying for this too."

Stiles smiled and attacked his ice cream, rotating the cone so the ice cream wouldn't fall off. Derek grabbed his bowl and a spoon and the two headed outside where it was warmer. There was a bench outside of the store and they sat there, not talking for a while. Stiles finished his ice cream before Derek, suddenly self-conscious and worried that there was some on his face. Sure enough as he turned to ask Derek if there was any, Derek started to chuckle.

"What is it?"

"There's just... there's a little bit of ice cream on your nose."

Stiles went completely red and Derek snickered again, and reached over to Stiles' face. He raised an eyebrow as if to say, may I?

Stiles bashfully nodded and Derek brushed the liquid ice cream away, wiping it on a napkin he had taken from inside.

"Um, thanks."

Derek smiled. "No problem!" He stood up and threw his bowl, spoon and napkin in the nearby trashcan. "So, should we head back? My car is back at the Open Windows."

Stiles nodded and slipped his hands into his pockets, feeling a rush of energy from the ice cream. They walked back the way they came, Derek walking very close to Stiles. Stiles shivered again; he always tended to feel cold after eating ice cream. Derek noticed and moved a little bit closer, not wanting to make the cliche move of giving Stiles his jacket. Stiles didn't want that either, so he tensed up when Derek moved closer, secretly hoping Derek wouldn't give it to him. He felt slightly awkward walking so close to Derek, not holding hands but fingers brushing every so often, their arms swinging back and forth and meeting between them.

Stiles glanced around every so often, making sure he didn't see anybody that he knew. In truth, Scott was the only person he had ever told about his sexuality. He assumed that some of his other friends might have guessed by that point but he wasn't ready for everyone to know, not at that point anyway. He knew there was nothing wrong with it and he actually knew people who were openly gay in Beacon Hills, but he wasn't ready to take that step yet. He was so excited about the date with Derek that he didn't even remember that nobody knew he liked guys.

Eventually Derek noticed how jumpy Stiles was and stopped walking. "Are you ok?"

Stiles jumped and looked at him, forcing a smile. "I'm fine! Why do you ask?"

"You...you keep looking around. Like we're being followed or something-we're not being followed are we?!" Derek then started to look around, Stiles realizing how dumb he was being.

"No Derek, nobody's following us. I'm just..." He looked down at the sidewalk and started counting the amount of cracks that led off from the big one.

Derek frowned. "Are you embarrassed to be seen with me or something? I don't mean to be an ass but it's not like I'm an ugly guy, so what's the issue?"

Stiles looked up at him, slightly shocked by how demanding Derek had been in asking the questions. Suddenly he felt even more uncomfortable. "I just... I'm not out yet. Nobody knows..."

"What, that you're gay?"

"I'm not gay. I...I like guys, that's for sure, but I don't think I'm gay... Regardless, nobody knows!" He shifted uncomfortably, relaxing as he saw Derek's expression lighten.

"I understand. But you do know that nobody's gonna judge you right? Not when you're around me anyway." He playfully winked at Stiles, who smiled back. They continued to walk down the sidewalk, Stiles suddenly feeling much looser and natural.

"Trust me, I'm not ashamed of it or anything! I just don't think I'm quite ready to come out yet. Soon. Really soon, hopefully!"

"So what then, was I some kind of test to make sure you actually like guys?"

Stiles scoffed. "You were the one who asked me out, remember? Plus I don't need some kind of test, I know for sure. Just as sure as you are that you like guys. Which, I assume, is pretty damn sure?"

Derek smiled and nodded. "I'll be honest then, I've never been with a guy before either, I-"

"Wait what?! You have never been with a guy before?! You know I would assume that guys would be all over you, you're just so..." He stopped himself as he caught Derek's eye.

Derek smirked. "So...what?"

Stiles glared at him. "You're fucking sexy as hell and you know it, don't play dumb. I can tell there's a decent brain behind all of that brawn."

"Decent? Is that it?"

Stiles shrugged. "I guess...I guess we'll have to see won't we? On our, um...next date? Whenever that may be?" He asked with a gleam in his eye and slight desperation in his voice.

Derek chuckled. "Yeah, there will definitely be a next date. If you text me later we can figure out details and stuff."

They had reached the Open Windows and Stiles was about to go inside, when he heard Derek in distress behind him. He was circling his car, crouching down at each tire and groaning. Stiles back away from the door to the coffee shop and over to what he guessed was Derek's car. He could see slash marks on both tires on the curb side, and from Derek's reaction from the other side he could tell that the other two had suffered the same fate.

"Who the fuck would do this?"

Derek huffed and squeezed his eyes shut. "I have no idea, but I have no way home now..."

Stiles' eyes widened. "Um, I could totally drive you! Your house is around here right?"

Derek smiled. "Apartment, actually. It's in a building just a couple minutes from here, and I'm too tired to deal with this shit right now. I guess I'll just leave my car here and call a mechanic in the morning..."

"Ok, well let me just go tell my friend Scott that I'm back, and also that I'm leaving I guess!" He ran inside and up the stairs as Derek pulled out his phone.

"Scott? You still here?" He wound his way through rows of shelves upstairs, then rolled his eyes and stopped looking when he realized he should just look for him in his usual spot. Sure enough, Scott was sitting on his windowsill, a coffee in one hand and a book in the other. His eyes were glazed over and he mechanically took a sip of coffee as Stiles approached him.

"Hello-ooo? Scott, buddy, you still human in there? Oh wait..."

Scott rolled his eyes and continued to read, attempting to ignore Stiles.

"Uh, ok... Well I just wanted to tell you the date went well, but some asshole slashed his tires so I'm gonna drive him home... I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

Scott mumbled something indecipherable and Stiles frowned, shrugged, then headed back outside. As he exited the store, he heard the last bit of the conversation Derek was having on the phone.

"...all 4 really necessary?! I'm not paying for this shit, you are! This was your idea in the first-"

He whipped around to see Stiles standing there, a skeptical look on his face. "Shit, I uh, gotta go!" He quickly put his phone away and smiled, his hands hitting his thighs as he let them drop.

"So who was that?"

"It was uh, my sister. Apparently slashing my tires was some sort of fun prank for her or something, she can be like that sometimes..."

Stiles decided to pretend he hadn't heard the conversation and led Derek to his Jeep that was parked down the street. Derek directed him to his apartment building and Stiles was silent for most of the ride, something that didn't come easily to him. He loved listening to Derek's voice, it soothed him and sent chills up and down his spine.

After about 5 minutes, Stiles pulled up to the curb of the building, which was obviously not in the best of conditions.

"Thanks so much for the ride Stiles, I'll talk to you later I guess, have a good night!" He winked at Stiles as he stepped out of the car, and Stiles sighed as his head hit the headrest behind him. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose, wanting to smell all that was left of Derek in his car. After he did so he winced as he thought of how creepy it was, then started his car. He turned on the radio and sang as loudly as he could all the way home, not even realizing that he hadn't seen anyone working the coffee shop on his way our or in,

1 Hour Prior

He watched Derek and Stiles walk down the sidewalk, waiting until they had turned a corner to exit the shop. He had reminded Derek to play it up and really make him seem like someone to be avoided so Stiles wouldn't ask too many questions, and hopefully Derek made it work. He jumped as the bells tinkled over his head when he opened the door, then rolled his eyes at his own paranoia. They were gone, he didn't have to worry about Stiles seeing.

He found Derek's car and checked in the side view mirror to see if he looked ok. Not for any reason in particular, he just always liked to look his best. His eyes flashed as he extended his claws and proceeded to slash each of Derek's tires, afterwards getting into his own car and speeding away.