AN: So, guess who finished this chapter and then forgot about it? Yeah... Sorry. But, hey, it's done now! As always, I own nothing and the original idea and most of the dialogue came from simplystiles on tumblr.

Stiles was pacing anxiously by the front door, waiting for Derek to arrive. He didn't want his dad to be the one to open the door and have time to scare Derek away before the man even made it into the house. Not that he thought his dad was quite that eager to get rid of Derek, but it was always a good idea to plan ahead. Especially when being on the verge of full-blown panic.

The doorbell finally rang, right on time, but Stiles rather wished Derek had decided to come early to help calm Stiles's jangling nerves. In his shaky state he fumbled a little opening the door.

"Hey, Derek…" He greeted his older boyfriend, trying to sound upbeat, but trailed off as soon as he actually laid eyes on the man. "You're wearing plaid." He had to say it aloud in order to reassure himself that he wasn't hallucinating. It clicked after a moment. "Oh, God, are you trying to impress my dad by dressing like a normal person instead of like a gang leader-slash-model-slash-serial killer?" There was a laugh in his voice by the last few words.

Derek scowled at him without any real bite and looked down at the clothes. "Look, it would help if he didn't see me as a threat anymore than he already does, okay? Despite what my track record suggests, I don't actually enjoy getting shot."

"Well, I'm not complaining," Stiles told him with a shrug. And he really wasn't. Derek was surprisingly attractive in the plaid button up shirt. Not that he wasn't attractive in… Well, in just about anything else ever invented.

"Derek." The sheriff seemed to materialize behind Stiles from thin air and both son and son's-boyfriend jumped a little. "Perfect timing. Now stop flirting with my son in the hallway and come inside."

They all got to the table, sat down, and started digging into their dinners without incident, when the sheriff launched into interrogation mode without so much as a warning. "So, Derek, how long have you been sleeping with my son?"

Stiles choked on a bite of mashed potatoes, but Derek stayed impressively calm. "With all due respect, sir, you can hardly expect me to honestly answer a question that might get me tossed in jail."

"So you have slept with him." It was said calmly, as a statement of fact, as blandly as it might have been if it had been a statement about the fact that it was often sunny outside.

Stiles thought it was time to intervene. "It depends on how you define 'sleeping with me'. Because if you mean, like, 'being in a state of unconsciousness while in the same room', then, yeah, that's happened a couple of times."

His dad gave him that look that meant Stiles was causing all his hair to go gray and he could actually feel it happening. "Seriously, Stiles-"

Stiles, who had now reached the point where he lacked the ability to turn himself on, just barreled straight on. "I can't help that I'm dreamy. My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard and all that jazz."

Before the sheriff could respond, Derek gave a light chuckle. It was almost unrecognizable as a laugh, for anyone less familiar with him than Stiles was. "You're so ridiculous."

The sheriff looked up from his plate with a quirked eyebrow. "Is he like that all the time when he's with you too?"

Derek started, as though he had forgotten the man was there. "Uh, yeah."

The older Stilinski smirked. "My sympathies. Sometimes I wonder what went wrong in his upbringing that he turned out like this."

"You guys do realize I'm sitting right here, right?" Stiles interjected, feeling a bit miffed.

Both men ignored him. "There's nothing wrong with him," Derek was saying, "You raised a good kid."

"Exactly, though; he's still a kid," the sheriff replied, as though that was precisely the response he'd been hoping for and expecting. "Now, I can see why Stiles would find you interesting…" He paused, searching for words.

Derek finished the thought for him. "…Because he's physically unable to stay away from trouble."

The man nodded. "Yes, that. But I have to ask, what do you expect to get out of this?"

Derek didn't even have the grace to look offended. "I don't expect anything out of this. I didn't plan for this to happen. But Stiles was just always there and kept showing up and wouldn't go away even when I told him to leave and…" Maybe just a smidge late Derek realized that he probably shouldn't mention all the times he'd threatened Stiles or thrown him into something. "…He's persistent," he finished lamely.

"Yeah, that sound like something he would do."

"Still right here, guys!" When neither of them even glanced over Stiles threw his hands up in defeat. "Oh, God, I can't with the two of you."

"Look, Derek," the sheriff said, "I'm going to be honest with you here. When I first found out you two were dating, I was livid. I still don't know how I feel about it."

"I understand." Derek sounded resigned, and Stiles's stomach lurched as it occurred to him that if his dad forbid them from seeing each other, Derek might just obey.

"I always knew this was serious for him; Stiles doesn't do things half-assed, and when he falls for someone, he falls hard." Stiles winced, knowing his dad was thinking of all the rants about Lydia Martin he'd been forced to endure. "I couldn't think of a reason for a much older guy to be interested in him. I thought this was one-sided, that you were using him. But now, seeing the way you look at him…" Stiles looked up at Derek at that, wondering exactly what look he'd missed. "…It's not one-sided at all, is it?"

Derek shook his head. "No, it really isn't. God know he drives me up the wall like no one else does. But he was there for me when no one else was. I've never met anyone like him. If I was a better man I would've stayed far away from him, but I'm not, and I can't. Believe me, I've tried."

"I believe you, Derek."

The two men stared at each other in silence until Stiles physically could not take it any longer. "Well, that was an incredibly beautiful and heartfelt moment you two had there. Also kind of really embarrassing for me. Now, if we could please move on to the part where you give us your blessing…"

"You know I can't really do that. I'm still the sheriff, and what you're doing is still illegal." He held up a hand to stop Stiles before he could protest. "But I'm not stupid enough to think I can keep you two apart. Stiles usually finds a way to get what he wants eventually. And I also want him to be happy. And since you, Derek, seem to make Stiles very happy, I'm willing to turn a blind eye to this."

"Thank you."

"Thanks, Dad," Stiles echoed, shocked.

Stiles walked Derek to his car after dinner was over, letting out a relieved sigh once they were out of the house. "Well, that went better than I expected."

"Yeah," Derek agreed, nodding. "Not that I had high expectations. I already would have counted it as a win if I didn't get shot. I certainly didn't expect him to be so accepting of us… and of me."

Stiles chuckled. "Dude, I don't know how you did it, but I'm pretty sure my dad is a little bit in love with you." His grin slowly transformed into a look of disgusted horror. "And you should make me stop continuing down that mental road because that would be mildly traumatizing."

Derek just grinned at his misfortune. "What, are you afraid I'll leave you for him?"

Stiles just glared at him. "One - that's never going to happen. Two - stop giving me these visuals, oh my God, you are the worst and I hate you." But the words lacked any bite.

Derek, with confidence he probably wouldn't have had a few months ago, said, "No, you don't."

Stiles rolled his eyes. "Of course I don't." He frowned abruptly. "Now we just have to tell Scott." How Scott hadn't smelled it yet was beyond him, but the fact remained that his best friend remained in the dark.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine."

Any snarky retorts died in Stiles's throat when he saw the way Derek was looking at him. He thought that as long as Derek kept looking at him like that, everything would be fine. And that was pretty astonishing.