At times like these, Stiles didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry from embarrassment. So instead he tells the group a joke, a really bad joke, the one about outstanding scarecrow. He didn’t remember who exactly was lingering in the small group. There was a cousin or two, Derek’s uncle Peter–who was in his face the second he came into the door with his famous grilled shrimp kabobs.
The Hale family barbecue hadn’t been going as well as he wanted it to. Laura and Cora were keeping him company for a good chunk of the beginning while Derek got the chance to mingle, but soon enough they too wanted to branch off, and Stile didn’t blame them. After some time he had attracted something of a crowed, family member taking the initiative to introduce themselves. But Stiles didn’t have much to say other than his name and how he knew the family.
“Stiles, sorry to steal you but I want to introduce you to someone” Stiles tried not to show too much relief when Derek approached him and excused him from the group. He thanked the comfort that came as Derek’s large hand pressed firmly against the small of his back.
The two walked until they were through the large back doors and off to the side of the kitchen, Stiles was sure they were hidden based on where they stood. It was quiet in that part of the house, evidence that no one was around “There’s no one in here, I thought-“
Just then Derek’s entire arm was around his waist and pulling him in close. The words somehow got lost as he held Stiles up against a wall kissing at him tenderly. Passed the initial shock Stiles held him right back, his arms limp around Derek’s own hips. Kisses like this made Stiles think maybe it would be alright not to breathe again, he really enjoyed the taste of his boyfriends tongue and the grip of his biceps “You looked like you were dying out there” the dazed Hale whispered once he pulled away.
Stiles lowered his head with an aggravated sigh, letting it rest against the hard chest in front of him “I’ve just never been good in social settings. I am not making a good impression on your family”
“You are, I promise. Plus you were only talking to the distant family members-” he brought a hand up to his mouth, playfully shielding his words “-I see them once a year, not like their opinion matters”
A genuine snicker left the boy, for some reason that actually made him feel a bit better. But just a bit. He smiled up at Derek just as his cell went off from his pocket “It’s Scott” he said after checking the screen.
“Talk to your friend. Find me when you’re done?” Derek kissed his cheek goodbye and didn’t stick around for an answer.
Scott’s voice rung out the instant Stiles brought the device up to his ear“How’s it going man?”
“I’m totally bombing”
“Really?”
“I don’t know” Stiles pulled at his hair, venturing further into the large house “Derek says I’m doing fine, his family looks at me like they see right through me-“
“Do they really? Or are you just freaking out”
“I don’t know! I just… God I like him so much and I just want to be good enough” Stiles isn’t sure when he went from being just alright with Derek and their relationship to wanting every aspect of life to be perfect with him.
“Stop worrying so much and maybe you’ll see things are fine. When you get nervous you get really weird and they’re probably not able to know the real you”
He rubbed at his brow “You’re right-god you’re so right. I just need to breathe and try again” Stiles straightened himself out, rolling his shoulders in preparation “Alright. If you don’t hear from me tonight I’m drowning myself along with my sorrows. I can’t believe you called to check on me”
“Actually I called to tell you I used your spare key and borrowed your tool box-and your speaker–Oh! and Isaac ate the cookies in the fridge. You’ll do great, love you bye!” Stiles hung up, laughing and jokingly shaking his head.
With his phone away he could finally notice he had wondered into the family room. It was well lived in as any home housing three teenagers at some point would be. He thought about his own childhood home. How small it was, how his walls were filled with photos of his mother, and him as a baby. Derek’s walls held the same, and then some. He was a photogenic kid, dozens of pictures of him with his siblings rough housing and what not.
There was a picture in particular. Not giving it much thought he grabbed the cold frame down from the shelf. Derek was in the sand on a beach, his bucket hat crooked on his head as he stood proudly by a stump that Stiles assumed was supposed to be a sand castle.
“Cute kid right?” Stiles, being the scaredy cat that he was, jumped at the new presence “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you” the man chuckled his apology clearly have gotten a kick out of the reaction.
“Mr.Hale, I’m sorry I was just–I wasn’t snooping”
“Stiles, you’re fine” The man clapped a hand against his shoulder and stared down at the photo along with him “I remember that day. Two seconds later the waves destroyed his castle. He cried and stomped, shouting about how he hated the beach and never wanted to go there again. The next weekend he begged us to take him back” Stiles laughed, picturing four year old Derek throwing a tantrum. “I um…Apologize for intruding but I happened to over hear your phone call”
“Oh…that”
“I would just like to say our family has enjoyed you very much. Even if you turned out to be a douche, there’s been a bright change in my son because of you and that’s all any parent could ask for. I mean I’m pretty sure my wife has already called you her son a hundred times” Stiles agreed, remembering the way she and her brother yanked him from Derek’s grip the second they stepped onto the porch “You’re good Stilinski” He tucked him under his arm once more walking him back to the party.
Later in the night, long after all the guest had left and it was just the immediate Hales, Stiles was in the kitchen beside a doubtful Mrs.Hale. Everyone else was sat around the dining table laughing about something he could quite hear. As for himself he was grinning as he took a bite off of the spoon before him “Mmmm”
“Really? No critiques?” The lady was insistent on having Stiles help her improve her meals.
“Mrs.Hale I assure you your cooking is amazing”
“You’re just being nice because you’re dating my son. C’mon I can take it”
Sighing he bit his lip, was he really going to correct the woman on her cooking “The potatoes. While they are yummy, just a tad over cooked. They fall apart and make the entire meal a little sloshy. You know they’re just right when you poke them and the fork goes through smoothly but the potato itself doesn’t fall apart”
“Hmm” She tapped a her chin “Duly noted. Now come, try my pecan pie. I made it perfectly years ago and I can’t seem to do it again maybe you can tell me what I’m missing”
“No mom. No more food” Derek ordered standing up from the table. She gave her son the side eye clearly telling him to back off, but he ignored the warning “We’re going to play some pictionary. You have all the time in the world for Stiles to judge your food”
“Stiles is on my team!” Laura and Cora some how shouted simultaneously.
Talia slouched her shoulders, dropping Stiles’ arm and sulking to an empty chair beside her husband. Stiles sat with Derek, and Cora wasted no time hopping in his lap, shooting her tongue out and towards her big sister across the room. And the entire time there was just one thing that ran throughout his mind. All the time in the world.
To avoid anymore arguments, neither sister got her hands on Stiles. Instead it was girls versus boys, with Mr.Hale as a mediator. Stiles’ team consisted of himself, Derek, and Dominic. Dom, the oldest Hale child, was quiet unless called for. He and Stiles spoke only briefly and learned they had a bit in common. One difference though was that he was a master artist, putting their team five points ahead. All the while the Hale girls were across the long stretched table shouting at each other about Laura’s pony looking like a palm tree.
Hand in hand the two left the kitchen that was in current disarray due to the girls losing. Derek had a dopey smile on his face. Stiles didn’t really think he was up to something until he stopped, and kissed at pale hands “So…I know it’s last minute, like really really last minute. But I was just wondering if you wanted to stay here…with me, tonight?”
“Like in your old room?”
“Ideally” he chuckled nervously “Its just that…I assumed you’d stay the other night, but Laura so generously interrupted our plans. Plus we won’t have to drive all the way back to the city”
“You want the first time we spend the night together to be in your parents house?”
“Well when you put it like that-“
“No!-Yes I’ll stay- but no, I don’t want you to think that I think it’s weird, because it’s not. I was jut asking…just confirming” He smiled sheepishly before looking down to inspect himself “I hope you’ve got an old tee I can borrow” With a grin, Derek was careful sneaking away from the family, and led Stiles upstairs.
Derek’s bedroom was everything you’d expect from a teenage boy, except for half naked chicks on harley’s for obvious reasons. He had posters of cars and bands, a dusty xbox in the corner, a laundry basket that was forever misshapen from constantly being filled to the brim with dirty clothes. If there was anything he didn’t expect it was the bookshelf in the corner. It didn’t just surprise Stiles because Derek seemed like the jock type, but because he had a similar feature in his own room, with a lot of the same books.
“See something you like?” he asked once he noticed Stiles staring at the collection.
He was so busy running his fingers along the spines of the books that he didn’t think to stop himself from rambling “Ever think that perhaps we were chosen for each other long before we were even born? Like something out there in the universe knew we were meant for each other, it was just waiting for the moment where we existed at the same time?” When he finally looked up at Derek he couldn’t tell if his expression was confusion or interested so he sputtered to change the subject “You know? Forget it, I think I’m just tired”
“No wait. I…I know what you mean. It’s like in school, when they say that when you get your words it because your soulmate was chosen for you in that moment. But maybe we were chosen for each other long ago”
Stiles grinned, elated that Derek didn’t think he was going crazy. He gestured to the bookshelf as he continued “I’ve read a handful of the same books dozens of times. Your mother is a cook just like me. And yet you decided on my bakery, out of the hundreds in New York, to make your sisters birthday cake. Then there’s the small fact that we both were friends with Erica. Too many facts line up well before we met”
“That is quite the coincidence. At least we don’t have to ever again question if we’re apart of the small percentage of soul mates who don’t make it”
“I guess not” Stiles took the moment as time to change the topic. He glanced down at the shirt in his hand, grabbing ahold of it for himself. He hadn’t seen Derek pick it up in the first place. When Stiles finally held it up to read he grinned “Hale, double zero. What’d you play?”
He shrugged smugly, perhaps proud that Stiles was impressed “Baseball, and lacrosse occasionally”
Shaking his head he stepped from the space to strip down to his boxers. The goosebumps on his skin told him Derek was watching his every move. He liked the idea, and slid off his socks not stopping him. Stiles lingered a bit, taking his time to put on the over sized shirt that sure enough smelled just like Derek “How do I look?” he asked, turning around once again.
“Truthfully?” his boyfriend began in a voice that was husky, and kind of shaky “Very sexy”
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