Title: Counting Blue Cars

Rating: T

Characters: Stiles, Derek, Laura Hale, OCs, Sheriff Stilinski

PART TWO

"Stiles," called out Monica's familiar voice from upstairs, "Sweetie, is that you?"

"Hi, Monny!" called back Stiles, dropping his backpack in the entry of the large Hale house before making his way into the kitchen.

He grabbed a can of cherry cola out of the refrigerator, cracked it open, and took a sip before looking around the kitchen for something to eat. There was a plate of cookies sitting on the counter calling his name, so he grabbed two of them before heading to the staircase in the living room.

"Oh my... Mon!" exclaimed Stiles, after taking a bit of one of the cookies while running up the stairs. "These are the best cookies I've ever tasted, and that's saying something because our neighbour, Mrs. Flannigan bakes these chocolate chip monstrosities that could give any cookie a run for their m... Monica?"

He had expected her to be in Anastasia's room like she normally was after school, but the room was empty.

"Over here," called Monica, and Stiles switched directions to head down to the sitting room at the end of the hall.

"Seriously, though, these cookies," said Stiles as he stepped into the room, "you should teach me how to bake them so I can woo... w... uh, hi."

Monica and baby Anastasia weren't the only people in the room, there was tall, lean young woman standing near the balcony door. She had long dark hair, a perfect figure –like almost surreally so, and a lot of the same facial features as Peter. Sitting on the floor next to Anastasia with a wooden block in his hand was a young man with dark hair, huge arms and prominent eyebrows.

"Stiles," said Monica, smiling apologetically at him from the formal wingback chair across the room, "I don't think you've met Laura and Derek before."

Mouth hanging open like a moron, Stiles shook his head in response.

"This is Laura and Derek Hale," she said, "They're my niece and nephew from Peter's side. Laura, Derek, this is Stiles Stilinski."

Laura moved swiftly across the room without making a sound, a predatory smile on her face.

"Nice to meet you, Stiles," she said, moving in for a quick hug and a lingering kiss on his cheek.

Stiles sputtered in reply; nearly certain she had been sniffing his neck.

"Uh, nice to meet you, too?" he managed, before chuckling self-consciously. "I see the whole ninja thing runs in the family, you guys have got to show me how you do that."

"Do what?" asked Laura, tilting her head to the side as her eyebrows drew together a tad in confusion. Yep, she was definitely related to Peter.

Stiles motioned with his hand in a weird gesture that probably didn't mean anything to anyone other than him. "The whole walking without making a sound thing, it is seriously creepy-cool."

"Oh, Sweetie," said Monica, laughter in her voice, "even if they did show you how to do that, there's no way you could keep that mouth of yours silent long enough for it to matter."

Stiles' mouth dropped open, "Hey!"

He jerked his head around when he heard an indelicate snort come from the floor. Derek was biting his lips together in a way that definitely meant he was trying to keep from laughing outright.

"Hey, Bub," said Stiles, feeling indignant and a little swoony –what? The guy was gorgeous, okay? "We do not know each other well enough for you to be making fun. Just because your biceps are bigger than my head doesn't mean I can't take you."

Derek's fluffy eyebrows shot up and he gave Stiles a look of disbelief. Yeah, Stiles didn't believe it, either.

"Don't be so cocky," said Stiles –his self preservation instincts never really had kicked in properly, "haven't you heard the old adage, 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall'?"

"Oh, I like him," said Laura, grabbing Stiles' attention so he wasn't looking to see the grin his words had pulled from Derek. It was a good thing, too, because he probably would have lost control of his legs had he seen those devastating pearly whites.

"What is this? Pick on Stiles day?" asked Stiles, glaring around the room.

"You're the one who came in swinging," said Monica with a fond eye roll.

"I did not come in swinging, I came in singing your praises as a homemaker," said Stiles, remembering the second cookie still in his hand. He shoved the whole thing in his mouth and let out a happy groan at the taste.

"Actually, Derek baked those," she said, laughing softly.

Stiles' eyes widened in what was sure to be a comical way before he turned his attention over to Derek. His expression must have been asking 'really?' because Derek shrugged and nodded.

"Dude," exclaimed Stiles, moving to plop down on the floor next to him and Anastasia, "I have a feeling we are going to be the best of friends."

That earned him another amused snort from Derek, but at least it wasn't a 'not on your life, freak'. Either way, Stiles' attention was busy. The moment he sat down, Anastasia had let out a little squeal and reached out to Stiles with frantically flailing arms.

"Hey, little Anna," cooed Stiles, smiling brightly at her as he scooped her up to hug close. "Have you made new friends?"

"And now there'll be no getting his attention for at last an hour," said Monica with a fond laugh, but Stiles was barely listening, he had his baby girl in his arms and she was smiling up at him like he had hung the moon. "We may be her legal guardians, but she knows whose girl she is."

"That's adorable," said Laura, "—actually, maybe a little too adorable. I think I'm going to go see what Uncle Peter is doing."

Stiles cooed at Anastasia, before setting her down on the floor and picking up some block to build a tower for her to knock over. She could sit on her own, but she hadn't quite mastered the whole crawling thing. Stiles had tried to show her on a few occasions, but she seemed quite content to have her family chauffeur her around instead.

The distant sound of the front door closing broke through Stiles' Anastasia-fog and he suddenly remembered what Monica had said.

"Hey," he said, "I take offense at that! I'm not all that bad."

"Hmm?" asked Monica, looking lost.

"She said that five minutes ago," whispered Derek where he was still sitting next to Stiles.

Stiles startled at his proximity. He looked over at Derek in surprise just to find the guy giving him a look with one eyebrow raised –another expression he had seen on Peter. Yep, Derek and Laura were both very much related to Peter.

"Okay, maybe I get a little wrapped up in her," admitted Stiles, feeling his cheeks start to heat. "So, uh, you and Laura just visiting, or...?"

"Yeah, for the new moon," said Derek, nodding.

"The new moon," repeated Stiles because what?

He glanced over at Monica for help only to see here shaking her head frantically at Derek. Yep, still the weirdest family he'd ever met.

xXxXxXx

Stiles didn't see nor hear from Dana again after the day Anastasia was born. He hoped she was doing well, wherever she was, that she was safe and healthy and maybe even happy. Things were much better than he could have possibly foreseen when he had decided he would take Anastasia. Peter and Monica Hale were a godsend. They didn't just adopt Stiles' itty bitty illegitimate princess, but they had pretty much brought Stiles and his dad into their family along with her.

Stiles was enamoured with her, but fortunate that he still could focus on himself. He was starting his final year of high school and was busying himself with preparations for what would come next. He was trying his best to actually focus on the topics covered in class so he would do well on his SATs. He had plans, okay? And now, he had more than just a dad to make proud, he had a baby girl as well as Peter and Monica.

One would think Stiles had learned his lesson on the relationship front, that since he was working hard to get his life together, he didn't have time to worry about a love life —well, unless they saw him around Derek.

Stiles wondered if he was forever doomed to pine over people completely out of his league. To fall so head-over-heels for them that he'd be driven to have a one night stand with whomever to was game in hopes of getting over them only to end up getting her pregnant and… Okay, stopping it right there. The fact was, Derek was incredibly out of Stiles' league —maybe even more so than one Lydia Martin whose indifference to Stiles had driven him nearly mad throughout his first years of high school. Plus, to make things worse, he was Peter's nephew, which made him Stiles' daughter's cousin. So, that was weird and creepy and probably not a good idea.

But, it wasn't Stiles fault that Derek made him feel goofy and even more of a derpy klutz than he already was. It wasn't Stiles' fault the guy had the most ridiculous face with the prettiest profile and startlingly sexy features. It wasn't his fault the guy's interests seemed confined to lifting weights and protein rich diets, and it definitely wasn't Stiles fault that Derek seemed to be around all the time —though he wouldn't mind being Derek's reason.

Derek was laying in the grass with baby Ana beside the large Hale manor when Stiles pulled up in his jeep. It was Friday and he had just finished school, so, as per usual, he was stopping at the Hale house to spend time with Anastasia and his "surrogate parents". His heart did a little double beat as he turned off the ignition while watching Derek out the windshield. He was smiling brightly at baby Ana, picking clover blossoms and dandelions out of the grass to hand to her. He laughed when she tried to put one particularly bright dandelion in her mouth, quickly moving to gently push her hand down. Stiles took a deep breath and pushed his door open.

"The night owl emerges," called out Stiles teasingly while metaphorically patting himself on the back for keeping his voice level, "I was starting to wonder if you were allergic to the sun."

"Did you have a good day at school with your little friends?" replied Derek faux-sweetly.

Stiles let out a sharp laugh before plopping down on the grass next to Derek.

"Oh, Derek," he said, "you know you and Baby Ana are my only friends."

"Unsurprising," murmured Derek as he handed Anastasia another dandelion, rumbling in fond amusement when she squealed in delight.

"Hey," snapped Stiles, pushing his shoulder roughly against Derek's. He may or may not have used it as an excuse to shift a bit closer to the guy. He couldn't help but notice and quite enjoy how Derek didn't correct him on the whole 'them being friends' front.

"So, Ana-Sue, what can you tell me, today?" asked Stiles, laying down on his stomach in the grass so his face was level with hers. She grinned and shrieked, smacking him in the face in her enthusiasm.

"She cut her third tooth, today" offered Derek.

"Is that so?" asked Stiles, turning back to Anastasia as if he thought she'd actually confirm or deny Derek's statement. She squealed at him and threw her dandelion at his face. "That's it, we've got to get out the grill and BBQ her some steak!"

"That's what Peter said," muttered Derek sounding long-suffering.

Stiles snickered.

He liked being able to sit and banter back and forth with Derek, liked that at least this crush responded verbally to him. It had been three months since he had first met Derek, and he and his sister seemed to be popping up every couple weeks ever since. Stiles loved it, though he could never get a straight explanation out of them as to why. It wasn't unusual for family members to visit or anything like that, but why all of a sudden and why so regularly? Stiles might not have noticed it if Derek hadn't mentioned it the first time they met, but their visits seemed correlated to the full moon. Odd.

Stiles set to making Ana a crown out of dandelions, picking the ones with the longest stems and braiding them together. She crawled around in the grass between Derek and Stiles, trying to put everything she found in her mouth.

"Where's Laura?" Stiles asked after the silence had stretched out between them for some time, comfortable and peaceful.

"Out with Peter," said Derek, handing Stiles a dandelion he had picked.

"She's out with him a lot, huh," mused Stiles, nodding his thanks as he took the dandelion and braided it into the crown.

"Yep," replied Derek, letting the 'p' make a popping sound.

Stiles rolled his eyes; of course Derek would be torturously vague and not even a little easy to get information from.

"Don't you want to spend time with Peter?" he pressed.

"I do," said Derek, smiling at Anastasia when she climbed into his lap. Stiles wished it were so easy for him to just do the same.

"You do want to spend time with Peter?" asked Stiles, using a fingernail to make a slice in a dandelion stem so he could thread another through it.

"I do spend time with Peter," Derek corrected, laying down on the grass on his back and placing Ana on his chest. She giggled at him before putting her thumb in her mouth and laying her head down on his left pec. Stiles would bet his beloved jeep that pec was better than a fucking pillow.

"Not as much as Laura does," said Stiles, forcing himself to look away from Derek and continue working on the crown.

"She's older," said Derek, his voice doing the shrugging for him so he wouldn't upset Ana who was looking completely comfortable curled up on his glorious chest –errm, right, not looking.

"I don't know what that has to do with anything," said Stiles, feeling his face heat as the longing in his chest turned to desire twisting in his gut.

Stiles kept his head down, working on the final link of the dandelion chain that would be a crown. He heard Derek's sharp intake of breath and wondered if he had made him mad somehow. He looked up to see Derek's eyes shut and his nostrils flared like he smelled something awesome. Stiles took a deep breath in through his nose, but all he smelled was the regular smells of fall in the forest, which was nice, but it was no freshly baked pie.

"It has everything to do with everything," said Derek, but his eyes were still shut and he looked like he was going to try to nap right along with Ana.

Stiles spent a few minutes longer wrapping dandelions together. He finished the crown and then, since Ana was sleeping and not going to enjoy it, he placed it on Derek's head and quickly pulled his cell out of his pocket to snap a picture. He was snickering to himself as he walked up to the front of the house when the crown suddenly hit him in the back of the head. He let out a soft yelp and turned to see Derek glaring sleepily up at him from further down the lawn where he was still lying with Ana on his chest.

"Jerk," muttered Stiles.

"Idiot," replied Derek and Stiles was impressed the guy had even heard him from that distance.

xXxXxXxXx

It was mid December and Stiles was in his room buried under a sea of applications and college catalogues when the doorbell rang.

"Dad!" he called out, knowing his father would assume he would get it.

"K," came his father's muffled reply from downstairs.

Stiles listened for the volume of the TV to turn down and the telltale shuffling of his dad getting off the couch. He waited a few moments once he heard the front door open. Even though it had been a year since he and Scott had hung out properly, Stiles still half-hoped he'd hear the familiar "Stiles, it's Scott".

A few moments later, he let out a heavy sigh and turned his attention back to the paper in his hand, deciding whoever was at the door wasn't asking for him. He was trying to decide if comparing the psyche of Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark would be an acceptable topic for an entrance essay in the psychoanalysis class he wanted to take when he heard a creak on the stairs.

"Hey, Dad," he called out before biting down on the pen in his hand, "who was that?"

There was movement but no answer. Stiles finally looked up to see Derek standing in his doorway looking a little sheepish. Stiles bodily jolted, nearly falling off the edge of his bed in his surprise.

"Oh my g— what are you? Some kind of creeper?" asked Stiles, stuttering out exclamations as he clutched at his chest.

"Do creepers come through the front door after ringing the bell?" asked Derek, the corners of his mouth twitching with amusement.

"The extra creepy ones do," snapped Stiles, trying to glare at Derek but, unfortunately, it somehow came out as a smile.

Derek quirked and eyebrow at him but Stiles just shrugged. He suddenly felt incredibly nervous as Derek stepped further into his room and took a seat in his computer chair. Derek Hale was in his room.

"So…" started Stiles, letting the word draw out, "what can I do ya for?"

"Nothing," said Derek with a shrug before reclining back in the chair and looking comfortable —smugly comfortable.

Okay, maybe not smugly comfortable, maybe it was just Stiles feeling uncomfortable that made Derek seem smug about being comfortable. Can a person even be smugly comfortable? It seemed ridiculous but if anyone could do it, it would be Derek because Derek was a sassy asshole. One wouldn't guess it looking at him, but he really was a sassmeister.

Stiles gave Mister Sassmeister a confused and exasperated look before humming out a disbelieving "um, okay."

"I was sent with a message, but now Sheriff's got Ana, so, I might be here a while," Derek explained, though it was hardly explanation when it made no damn sense.

Stiles hadn't even known Derek was back in town and here he was at Stiles' house and… Wait; how did Derek even know how to get to Stiles' house? Stiles glared at him for a few beats for being so annoyingly vague and ridiculously attractive and completely out of his league and fucking sitting in his room like a tantalizing tease. At least Derek wasn't sitting on his bed, just reclining back on Stiles' worn comforter with a provocative look on his—

"The full moon isn't this week," sputtered Stiles, suddenly.

Derek blanched, his eyes widening like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Uh," he finally said, after a few beats of pregnant silence, "okay… thanks for that information?"

"Don't play dumb," snapped Stiles, rolling his eyes. "Dude, you're the one who even put it on my radar to begin with. I mean I'd like to think I'd have thought of it on my own, eventually, but who lives their lives around the moon's movement anyway?"

"Uh?"

Stiles took a moment to feel smug that he was able to get the upper hand on Derek in a conversation, finally.

"Anyway, it isn't now, so I'm confused," said Stiles hoping for an explanation.

"Well" started Derek, after a pause where he was obviously collecting his wits and putting an airy look back on his stupid face, "Laura and I are here for the Christmas holidays… which I didn't realize was such odd behavior that it needed to be investigated."

"Ah yes, Christmas," said Stiles, leaning back on his bed trying to look carefree and not at all feeling idiotic or still mildly freaked out over his crush being in his room or still ridiculously curious and kind of annoyed that he hadn't figured out what was going on with Derek and Laura yet. Yeah, there were a lot of things going on in his head at that moment. Really, he was impressed he hadn't exploded yet.

"What are you working on?" asked Derek, twisting the chair back and forth casually.

"College applications."

Derek raised an eyebrow, surveying the mess of Stiles' room.

"All of them?"

"I'm keeping my options open?" suggested Stiles feeling sheepish when he realized the extent of the mess of papers across his bed and floor. "Where do you go to college?"

"You looking at getting as far out of Beacon Hills as you can?" asked Derek, holding up the catalogue for a school on the east coast. He sounded like he was teasing, his voice light and a small smile on his face, but the question in his eyes said otherwise.

"Well, not really," said Stiles, "I mean, I'd like to get out and see the world or whatever, you know? I don't wanna be one of those guys who never left his home town and doesn't know what else is out there. But, I mean, I have Dad and Ana and... uh... you guys... back here, so, I don't think I'd ever wanna be away from here that long. I don't think I could escape so easily."

"Yeah, probably not," agreed Derek jokingly thoughtful.

Stiles couldn't help but notice how his body seemed to loosen up after that, though, like Stiles had answered the question correctly and Derek was relieved. Why would he be relieved? What would he have to worry about?

"Hey!" exclaimed Stiles, giving Derek a squinty-eyed scowl, "you were just trying to get out of answering my question! Smooth move, but not smooth enough, buddy!"

"I'm not in college."

"Oh... kay," said Stiles, slowly, because Derek was being annoyingly vague again, "well, where did you go to college or university or whatever?"

"Who says I went to college?" asked Derek with a tiny smirk.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Stiles, throwing out a hand for emphasis. "Have you met your uncle? There's no way Peter would let his niece and nephew skip the whole post secondary education route, no way. Seriously, he has a fake old boys club accent!"

"Who says it's fake?"

Stiles exhaled loudly in frustration

"Are you being purposely obtuse right now?" he asked, "because, dude, this is my room and I don't remember actually inviting you in here so—"

"I'm not a vampire, Stiles," said Derek, rolling his eyes.

"W...wha...OH, hah! Funny with the night-time jokes, I see how this is gonna be," said Stiles, shaking his head. "I tease him about sleeping in pretty much constantly while he's visiting his family and instead of just bearing it, he decides to run with it. Why can't you let me have any fun, Derek?"

Derek shrugged, smirking to himself as he paged through the college magazine still in his hands.

"I don't see why you have to be so vague and mysterious all the time," grumbled Stiles.

Derek snorted.

"Mysterious?" he asked, "seriously Stiles?"

"Well, you won't tell me anything!" exclaimed Stiles, flailing a hand out and wishing he were close enough to Derek that it'd smack him in the face on 'accident'.

"Okay, fine," said Derek, setting the book down on Stiles' desk and swiveling around in the chair so he was facing Stiles head on, "ask me anything."

"Anything?"

"Any one thing and I will give you the complete, truthful answer," said Derek.

Stiles studied his face for a moment; there was some sort of excitement in him like he was anticipating having to answer a really big question, like Stiles would force him to reveal his deepest, darkest secret. Stiles was no moron, he knew there was something there. He knew that there was a secret, something just beneath the surface that, once known to him, would cause all the puzzle pieces to fit together. Derek was looking at him with a steady stare. Stiles took a deep breath.

"Who says I wanna ask you anything, anyway?" asked Stiles, instead, with a shrug and a sly grin.

For a millisecond, Derek looked disappointed, but then a faux-annoyed grin tugged at the corners of his mouth and he made a show of rolling his eyes.

"Okay," he said, slapping his hands on his knees for emphasis before standing up, "We're done here. I'm going to go see what John and Ana are up to."

Stiles grinned triumphantly, feeling like he somehow just managed to win a game of Chicken.

"Hey, wait!" he exclaimed as Derek headed for the door, "what was the message?"

"Message?" asked Derek.

"You said you came over here with a message."

"Right," said Derek, leaning against Stiles' doorframe, "Monica sent me to invite you guys to Christmas. You can come Christmas Eve if you want and stay over, or you can come early Christmas Day –either way, you gotta be there early so we can open presents before breakfast."

"Right, don't wanna keep Derek waiting for his new footie pajamas," laughed Stiles.

"Keep that up and all you'll be getting is coal," growled Derek, lowly, and how pathetic was Stiles that it turned him on? Seriously, he was being teased about getting coal in his stocking the same way his grandpa used to do back when he was little and yet... wow, yeah, Derek was just terrible to be around.

"Did you at least tell this to my dad when you arrived?" asked Stiles, getting up from his bed and shrugging to himself when half his papers tumbled onto the floor –he'd deal with them later. "How lame would it be if you came all the way over here to deliver a message and then completely forgot to do it? I will not be writing you a letter of recommendation to the US Postal Service, so don't even ask."

"Yes, I told your dad," said Derek, pushing Stiles's shoulder lightly, though it didn't seem all that light when Stiles had to brace his hand on the wall to keep from toppling over. Damn people built like fucking Atlas! "And I doubt your recommendation would carry much weight, Stiles."

"I take personal offense at that, I'll have you know I'm an excellent judge of character!" said Stiles, trotting down the stairs after Derek.

Derek hummed, sounding completely unconvinced. Stiles paused in his step to give Derek's muscular back (the lines visible even under a heavy cardigan, whateven!) a glare before continuing on.

"Okay, but you can't leave just yet, I need to get my Princess Ana fix while she's here," he called after Derek.

xXxXxXxXx

His first day back at school after the Christmas holidays had been a trying one. He had been paired with Allison, Scott's girlfriend, for a lab in Biology class. It has been extremely awkward to try to work together when they both could see the big elephant in the room. After gym class, Stiles might have slipped coming out of the shower and, in his flailings, pulled down Jackson's towel that had been slung around his waist. It wasn't that big a deal considering they were still in the locker room, but it had been enough to have Jackson throwing Stiles up against the lockers to hiss with too much saliva a bunch of threatening words into his face. On top of everything, his English teacher had the audacity to assign them an essay on their first day back.

He needed a 'pick-me-up'; some sort of sugary, calorie heavy, comfort food. Of course, it was his luck that when he swung by the local coffee shop, they were uncharacteristically closed. The sign taped in the window said something about repairs to the plumbing.

Spirits low, Stiles headed to the Hales like he often did after school. He did it to see Anastasia, but also because his dad worked long hours and was barely home. Without his best friend to hang out with, Stiles was a lot more aware of just how lonely his house was.

When he arrived, he was hit with a little fizzle of excitement to see Derek and Laura's sleek, black Camaro in the driveway. He hadn't seen them since Christmas.

"Hunny, I'm home!" called Stiles as he stepped into the house.

Laura was lying on the couch with Anastasia balanced on her chest.

"Look, Ana, it's our favourite motley fool!" said Laura with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"Motley Fool?" repeated Stiles with a quirked eyebrow, dropping his bag on the floor before throwing himself onto the chesterfield across from Laura.

"Aunty Mon says I'm not allowed to curse or call people names around Baby Ana now that she's trying to talk," explained Laura, with a minute shrug.

"Trying to talk?" asked Stiles, perking up.

"Yeah, she's been babbling a lot more, trying out different sounds," said Laura, gently prying Ana's hand open where she was pulling on Laura's long, dark hair.

"Oh," said Stiles, a little disappointed.

"With your blood in her," said Derek, walking into the living room from the kitchen, "I'm sure once she figures out one word, she'll figure out them all and then she won't ever shut up."

Stiles threw an arm over his face and let out a long whine.

"You're not allowed to be mean to me," he moaned, " I've had a bad day."

"Aww, poor baby," cooed Laura, "did they run out of Mac and cheese in the cafeteria again?"

"Hey!" grumbled Stiles glaring from under his arm, "that is a legitimate day ruiner!"

"Of course," said Derek with a fake straight face. He took hold of Stile's ankles and moved them out of the way so he could sit on the chesterfield, too.

Stiles could feel his heartbeat pick up at being handled by Derek, even in such an unsexual way. His ankles tingled where Derek's hands had wrapped around them and his stomach did a weird swooping thing then Derek allowed his feet to fall back down onto his lap. When Stiles glanced over a Laura from under his arm, she was smirking at him like she knew the effect Derek had on him. Stiles glared at her.

"So, tell us about your stupid, awful, terrible day —title pending," pressed Laura while she squeaked a little baby toy for Ana.

"Ugh," groaned Stiles, "I don't want to, it's too stupid and awful and terrible. Let's just say things are still messed up between me and my best friend, Jackson literally wants me dead, and I have a buttload of homework."

"Who's Jackson?" asked Derek, nearly growling. He had gone rigidly tense under Stiles' legs.

"Whoa there, Big Guy," said Stiles, "maybe not literally. Calm thyself. It's nice to know someone cares, though."

He gave Laura a pointed look.

"Hey, I care!" she argued. "I just also know you're a bit of a drama queen."

"Drama king," corrected Stiles.

"Queen," said Laura with a smirk.

Stiles let out a frustrated groan and rolled onto his side facing the back of the couch. "I hate everything," he grumbled, "and the coffee shop is closed so I couldn't even drown my sorrows in baked goods."

Ironically, it was in that moment that Stiles caught the faint scent of cookies baking.

"Ten more minutes and you'll have your heart's desire," said Derek.

"Oooh, Derek," groaned out Stiles, "I love you so much right now!"

Silence followed. It felt like an awkward silence. Stiles pulled his arm away from his face and rolled onto his back to look around the room for the reason. Derek was glaring at Laura, his cheeks and tips of his ears a bright pink, and she was giving him some sort of look that Stiles couldn't decipher but definitely meant business.

"Well, I'm going to go put Ana down for her nap," said Laura, giving Derek another look before cradling Ana in her arms and getting up.

"Where's Monny and Peter?" asked Stiles once Laura was out of the room.

Derek still looked uncomfortable and awkward, probably grumpy from whatever Laura's severe looks had meant.

"We told them to go have a date night," he said after clearing his throat. His voice did a weird pitchy thing on the word date. It was surreal.

"That's nice of you," said Stiles. "They must trust you better than me," he joked, finding self-deprecation to be his best mode of lightening the mood, "cuz I always offer and they decline."

"You are plenty trustworthy," said Derek uncharacteristically earnest.

"Uhh, thanks?"

"You are," he pressed, "they just never want to leave her. They love her so much. Laura had to practically force them out the door."

Stiles let out a soft, awkward chuckle. "Yeah," he said, softly, "Ana and I are lucky to have them."

"And we're lucky to have you," offered Derek before blanching and correcting himself with a quick "they're".

Stiles laughed awkwardly wanting to dispel whatever the weird tension in the room was. He dug his toes into Derek's thigh sharply and grinned evilly at him.

"You're lucky to have me, too, ya big lug," he said, "not everyone gets the honour of my presence."

Derek opened his mouth to speak, but the timer in the kitchen began to beep. He closed his mouth, flared his nostrils in annoyance, and slid out from under Stiles' feet.

"Will you bring me one?" Asked Stiles as Derek left, "your cookies are crack but I can't move."

"You'll burn your mouth," warned Derek.

"Don't care, need one now," mumbled Stiles, flipping over onto his stomach and nuzzling his face into the upholstery. Derek snorted in that 'fondly amused' way of his and left the room.

He returned a few minutes later with a small plate of cookies. Stiles rolled onto his back, again, and blinked blearily up at him even as a grin began to stretch across his face.

"I love you so much right now," said Stiles, "I could kiss you."

"Okay," said Derek.

Stiles made a weak grabby hand for the plate before what Derek had said caught up to him.

"Uh, what?" he stuttered.

"Oh… Kay," said Derek, slowly, giving Stiles a look that had way too many emotions behind it.

Stiles' heart skipped a beat, was Derek serious? Was he joking? Was he messing with Stiles? Stiles studied his face for a few beats. He suddenly wanted so badly, but he was terrified that he was getting the situation all wrong.

"Too tired from my stressful day," he said in a grumbly voice, pretending he wasn't affected by Derek. "If you want kisses, you have to come down here."

He half hoped, half expected Derek to do his derisive snort thing and walk away. Instead, Derek carefully placed the plate of cookies down on the coffee table before slowly kneeling down in front of the couch. Stiles' heart jumped in his chest, his breath caught in his throat.

He scrambled to sit up. The intensity and trepidation in Derek's face let him know how real this was. It was crazy intense and Stiles couldn't believe it.

Derek cupped the side of his face, stiles pulse jumping again at the touch, then tentatively leaned in. It started with just a soft brush of lips, like he was asking for permission. Stiles exhaled shakily through his nose before pressing in.

It was all the permission Derek needed before he was kissing him in earnest. Stiles made a strangled sound in the back of his throat that he was instantly embarrassed of, but Derek just pressed closer, tilting his head.

Stiles was overwhelmed, happily caged against the couch by the bulk of Derek's chest and broad shoulders. It was glorious and claustrophobic at the same time having his space so invaded after months of wanting. Stiles was caught between wanting to pull Derek closer or push him away, it was so intense.

Derek pulled back, ending the kiss with a gentle pull at Stiles' bottom lip. Stiles opened his eyes to stare wide eyed up at Derek. He didn't know what to say, but his mouth was already opening, his instinct to fill the intensity of the moment with babbled words.

But, he was cut off before he began by Derek leaning back in for another taste. This time, Stiles surged up, fingers pressing into thick, dark hair on the sides of Derek's head, mouth open and a little rough with intensity. Stiles still couldn't believe he was getting this, but damnit if he wasn't enthusiastic for it.

It may have progressed into something a little too advanced for something so new, but they were pulled out of their shared euphoria by Laura.

"Fucking finally!" she exclaimed as she re-entered the room. "The sexual tension between you two could have powered a small city for a year!"

"Wha…?" asked Stiles unintelligently.

Laura just rolled her eyes at him and stole his plate of cookies.

"Hey!" squawked Stiles.

"I'll get you more," whispered Derek a small smile on his face and colour high on his cheeks. Stiles took a moment to be enamoured by Derek's twinkling eyes before grinning at him and letting go of his shirt. He wasn't sure when he had grabbed the front of Derek's shirt and couldn't help but blush when he realized it was what was keeping Derek bent over him at an awkward angle.

Once Derek had left the room to get Stiles more cookies, Laura caught Stiles' eye and wiggled her eyebrows at him. Stiles grabbed a throw cushion from behind his shoulders and threw it at her face. She let out a happy cackle before jumping out of the way, shielding the plate of cookies against her chest.

"Bitch," muttered Stiles without any heat.

"Dick," she countered gaily.

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