"So…"

"So…"

Well, Stiles thought. This has got to be the most awkward dinner in the history of awkward dinners. He shifted uncomfortably on the wooden chair he was sitting on and tried to focus every ounce of his concentration on eating his steak.

Beside him, Derek stared ahead calmly.

Across Derek, Sheriff Stilinski stared back.

The air was-how could Stiles put it in words?- heavy, to say the least. The three men did not say a word for a little while. It was not until his dad cleared his throat and put down the fork he was gripping rather tightly.

"So, Stiles here talked a lot about you, Derek,"

Oh wow, great way to start a conversation, Dad, Stiles grimaced. I applaud you, I really do.

Derek raised an eyebrow. A corner of his lips lifted slightly. "Hm. I imagine he did,"

"You two are…" Sheriff Stilinski closed his eyes briefly and his expression seemed troubled, as if saying the next words took a lot out of him. In fact, that was probably the case. Stiles was beginning to pity his dad. "…dating," he said at last.

Derek nodded calmly, taking a bite of his steak before replying. "Yes, sheriff,"

"For how long exactly?"

"For three months, now,"

If Stiles's dad choked on the juice he was drinking, he certainly did not show it. He set the glass back on the table and took several deep breaths. Stiles was beginning to understand the fear girls feel when they were about to confront their parents about their pregnancy. He watched in nervous silence as Sheriff Stilinski's face slowly turned red to purple then at last, it was white.

This cannot be good, Stiles gulped internally. Derek, however, look non-pulsed. Though his eyes were shining with amusement when he noticed Stiles's nervousness. The latter merely shot him a glare.

"Three months," his dad said carefully, facing Stiles this time. "That would be about 90 days,"

"Um…yeah, I guess so," Stiles mumbled.

"And in those 90 days, you didn't have a single thought about telling me a bit sooner?"

"Yeah well, dad…I…wasn't ready," Stiles managed a sheepish smile.

"Wasn't ready," his dad repeated.

"You have to understand, sheriff," Derek said smoothly, reaching over to wrap an arm around Stiles's shoulder, causing the boy to jump slightly. "Despite his confidence, Stiles is surprisingly shy about these things," he grinned. "It took him a month just to tell Scott and they're bestfriends,"

Stiles desperately wanted to punch Derek in the kidney but that would be like punching a damn rock- a highly attractive with a perfect smile and a body to to die for kind of rock, but still. So he decided to settle for glaring at him heatedly instead.

"So what? Telling your bestfriend is easier than telling your father?" Sheriff Stilinski demanded, crossing his arms.

"In most cases, yes," Derek answered, shrugging. Stiles stilled. He did not know whether to be amazed or angry at Derek's careless manner. It took a whole lot of courage or stupidity to simply answer a parent with a tone like that. Stiles guessed it was the former since well, Derek is a werewolf after all. He could easily overpower his dad. Stiles sighed.

His dad sighed as well.

"Look…Derek, I honestly don't know about this. I mean, I used to arrest you," his dad said exasperatedly. "I don't want to think that my son is dating an ex-convict. And not to mention the age difference,"

Derek merely gave the sheriff a smile.

"Just…" the sheriff rubbed his temples. "Tell me why do you want to date my son so much?"

"What kind of question is that, Dad?" Stiles could not help but to ask. "Are you implying something? I mean, I'm pretty attractive. Aren't I?" he turned to Derek. The latter smirked and leaned in to kiss Stiles's cheek lightly. "Very," he purred.

A heavy blush from Stiles was his only reply. Yeesh…what is with me and my idiotic questions?

"That's the thing," his dad insisted. "I don't want Derek to date you for the wrong reasons. Stiles here…when he falls in love, he falls in hard. I don't want him to end up getting hurt just as hard, "

Derek tilted his head as he considered the question. He looked thoughtful for a long moment. Stiles found himself fidgeting nervously as he waited. When Derek finally looked at Sheriff Stilinski again, Stiles was holding his breath.

"Well," Derek began. "For starters, I love him. I care for him. I love being around him,"

Stiles's dad still look unconvinced.

"His personality attracts me like a magnet," Derek continued. "He's stubborn and he's sarcastic. Sometimes, too much," He shot Stiles a meaningful glance.

Stiles crossed his arms. "In my defense, I'm 147 pounds of pale skin and bones. Sarcasm is my only defense," he huffed, instantly feeling a wave of deja vu washing over him. He had this conversation before.

Derek laughed. "He also had this way of highlighting every paragraph in his textbook, as if they are all important,"

"They are-!"

"But Stiles is also the type of person who is overprotective over the ones he loves," Derek's smile softened. "He's selfless and he is the type of person who helps people even though they don't deserve it," Derek's eyes shone with affection when he said the next words with such clarity and confidence that it made Stiles's heart swell. "I love him. And he loves me more than I deserve. I'm lucky to have met him,"

If Stiles was a girl, he would have definitely start crying by now. Instead, he smiled a tad shyly and looked at Derek and then to his dad. The pair waited for the sheriff's verdict.

Sheriff Stilinski took a deep breath before exhaling it and stared at the two boys -well, one of them was- in front of him calmly. It was a full minute later when he started to speak.

"Well…I can't deny that you do look like you care a lot about my son," he began. "And I don't want to be too controlling over your life, Stiles," he said, looking at his son. "In fact, I'm really proud of you,"

"You are?" Stiles said, eyes wide with surprise.

His dad nodded. "You're taking control over your life just fine despite everything that we've been through. So…" Another deep breath. "I…give you my blessing to date Stiles, Derek," he said. "As long as you take care of him,"

Stiles grinned so wide that his cheeks were starting to hurt. He looked at Derek briefly, who was grinning as well, before he got up from his seat and approached his dad, hugging him abruptly. "Oh wow," he breathed. "Thank you, Dad,"

Sheriff Stilinski cleared his throat, sounding a bit awkward. "No problem," he said gruffly, returning the hug. Over Stiles's shoulder, he gave Derek a meaningful stare. "You hurt him, you're dead,"

Derek chuckled but nodded. "I'll remember that much,"

"You better,"

The dinner ended quite well in the end. When his dad was busy clearing up the dishes (Stiles offered to help but he waved him off dismissively, saying to 'hang out with his boyfriend or something' ), Derek abruptly wrapped his arms around Stiles and pulled him into a hug as they stood at the foot of the stairs.

"What's with the sudden PDA?" Stiles chuckled, a bit breathless.

He felt Derek's lips against his hair. "I'm just celebrating," he murmured.

"Celebrating what?"

"Us,"

"You're so corny, alpha Hale," Stiles rolled his eyes but he returned the hug regardless.

Things were comfortably silent when a thought struck Stiles. "Come on," he said, releasing himself from Derek's embrace.

Derek looked at him in confusion. "Where are we going?"

"I know another way to celebrate us," Stiles replied mischievously, his eyes twinkling as he peeked at Derek. It took him a brief moment before Derek understood. His eyes looked at Stiles with a predatory glint and he smirked. "Hm? My place, huh?"

"Oh yes," Stiles smirked back. "What's more romantic than a hot night out in a creepy mansion in the woods? All alone," he purred.

Derel growled and pulled Stiles along with him as they made their way towards the front door. Just as they were about to exit the house, however, Stiles's dad's voice rang.

"Don't forget to use protection!"

"DAD!" A mortified cry.

"Just saying!"

A/N: Reviews are lovely and appreciated.