#android!scott

“Yeah, hey,” Scott says and looks at Derek through the small slit in the door, “You said that if I needed anything, to just ask. So here I am.”

Derek straightens up and opens the door a little more, “Yeah, what is it?”

“Kinley’s turning eleven tomorrow, but I’m having a party for her this Saturday,” Scott explains, “You wouldn’t have to get her anything, but I’d really like it if you came for cake and ice cream or something.”

“Okay,” Derek says hesitantly, though he’s not sure how this would help Scott or his daughter, but he nods as he leans against the door and stares at Scott, his left half still behind it.

“You’ll come?” Scott asks in surprise, his brows raising a little because he had half expected to have to beg the other man.

“Well, I don’t know where you live,” Derek says as he lifts his brows, “But yeah, I’ll come.”

“Right, yeah,” Scott pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket with his address already written on it and offers it to Derek, “That’s awesome, I’m glad,” he says, smiling slightly, “It’ll be around two.”

Derek glances at the address as he listens to Scott, “Two… okay,” he responds, he might be able to not look like complete shit by then - maybe.

“Cool,” Scott shoves his hands back into his pockets and backs away from the door, “See you then,” he says, relieved that this whole ordeal went a lot smoother than he anticipated.

Derek looks at Scott once more and nods, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“You know, Jessica’s mom is a single mom,” Stiles offers and nudges Scott in the side suggestively, “You two already have something in common, why sit over here with me?”

“I’m not interested,” Scott shrugs and looks at Stiles, watching as the kids squeal and play around in the back yard.

“Not interested?” Stiles asks and frowns, “Kinley’s eleven now, don’t you think it’s time you start like… dating again or something?”

“It’ll happen when it happens,” Scott says, “I dunno why you’re constantly pushing me to get laid, or date people. I’m not much of a people person, I get awkward and things get weird.”

Stiles rolls his eyes, “You don’t actually know that, dude, that was like ten years ago… and counting,” he says as he turns to the door, “Oh Jesus fuck,” he complains and looks back at the other man, “Seriously, Scott?”

Scott frowns in confusion and looks in the same direction that Stiles had, eyes widening when he sees Derek, and the other man actually looks good for once, not quite so ragged. When he realizes he’s practically gaping, he turns his attention back to Stiles for a moment, “Be nice,” he warns.

“Be nice?” Stiles asks incredulously, “You really think a guy like that should be… around kids?”

“A guy like what, Stiles?” Scott asks defensively, “A guy who used to have a bot? He’s not some kind of sex offender, dude.”

“A crazy guy that spends five million dollars on a machine to have sex with, yeah,” Stiles nods, “A machine that looked like you, might I point out. Also, didn’t I mention somewhere that it’s illegal for you two to be in the same state, let alone the same house? It’s… weird to invite someone like that to your daughter’s birthday party.”

“If you’re uncomfortable, then you can leave,” Scott says sadly, he’s lost count of how many times he’s tried explaining to Stiles that it wasn’t just about sex. That, and it’s getting a little tiresome, how judgmental Stiles has been lately.

“Or I can arrest you both,” Stiles responds, lifting a brow, “You don’t think you’re being like… reckless?”

“You don’t think you’re being an asshole?” Scott asks in response, eyes wide as he stares at Stiles, “Threatening to arrest me? Really, Stiles?” he shoves his hands out, “Do it then.”

Stiles frowns as he swats Scott’s hands away, “Stop acting like an idiot, dude, I’m not gonna arrest you,” he responds and looks back at Derek as the other man moves towards them, “I’m gonna go find Malia,” he says and stands from his seat, walking away before the other man reaches them.

Scott glares after Stiles and shakes his head to himself, it’s conflicting when you care so much about someone and they start acting like someone you don’t even know.

He notices Derek out of his periphery and he stands up, offering the other man a small, strained smile, “Hey, glad you made it.”

Derek watches the one man leave for a moment before turning to Scott and offering the present, “I wasn’t sure where to put this,” he says, it’s not like he’s been to something like this in a good few years.

“There’s a table, right over there,” Scott nods to the long, rectangle table over behind Derek as he takes the gift, “You didn’t have to get her anything, you could’ve just showed up to show up.”

“That’s rude,” Derek responds and smiles slightly, “It wasn’t a problem,” he says as he stares at Scott.

“Well, thanks, I’m sure she’ll love whatever it is,” Scott says and motions to the table again, “Uh, walk with me?” he asks, then ambles over to the table, “You want something to drink? We’ve got lemonade, tea, pop… beer?”

Derek shakes his head, “No, it’s probably for the best I don’t drink at a kid’s party - lemonade is fine. It’s Frozen,” he says then, “I noticed the backpack from before.”

“Oh, wow, then yeah, she’ll definitely love it,” Scott smiles a little wider and sits the gift down on the table, moving to the other table designated for refreshments and snacks. He grabs a red solo cup and holds it under the lemonade spout before pulling on the lever, watching the yellow liquid pour out, then he hands it to Derek.

“You uh-you look good,” he says awkwardly, “I mean,” he motions vaguely to his face, “You shaved, it looks nice.”

Derek chuckles and nods, smoothing his hand down the front of his dress shirt, “Thanks, this is the first time I’ve worn a suit since… since I lived in New York.”

“Well, you definitely clean up really nice,” Scott says in observation, “Almost look like a completely different person,” he chuckles nervously, inwardly kicking himself for complimenting the guy so much.

“It seemed better than coming here looking like a caveman,” Derek responds, taking a sip of the lemonade.

“Yeah, good call,” Scott nods and looks around, one of the kids jostling him slightly when they bump into his back, “You wanna sit down or something?” he asks, motioning to the lawn chairs, “She’s not gonna start on her gifts for another half hour or so.”

Derek moves to take a seat, “The other man you were talking to before, he wouldn’t be John’s son, would he?”

Scott narrows his brows and takes a seat next to Derek, surprised that he knows, “Uh, yeah, how do you-how do you know John?”

“I use to live in Beacon Hills,” Derek explains and smiles, “I thought he looked familiar, he looks just like his mother.”

“Yeah,” Scott says slowly in agreement, glancing quickly over at Stiles, “Just wish he acted a little more like her.”

Derek lifts a brow at the comment, “Do I wanna know what you mean by that?”

“No, probably not,” Scott tells Derek as he shakes his head, “Just-um… if he says anything rude to you, I apologize in advance. He hasn’t really been acting like himself for a while now.”

“Acting like himself?” Derek lowers his voice, “Does he know about..?”

“Yeah,” Scott admits, “I don’t think he’d actually say anything to you, out of respect for me, but it’s hard to tell. Figured I’d give you a heads up.”

Derek shakes his head, “I saw my share of LObo hate in New York, there isn’t anything he could say or do to offend me. But thanks for the warning, shame he didn’t take after John much, either.”

“He’s a good person,” Scott defends Stiles weakly, “He’s just…” he sighs, “I dunno, I’m hoping he’ll come around eventually, you know?”

“Yeah,” Derek agrees, looking away from Scott for once, “People just have a hard time accepting what they don’t understand. And it’s not like I don’t understand the hate, there’s a lot of people that use models for the purposes that he probably has the biggest problems with. Even I’m disgusted by most of that community, but it’s not all like that.”

“I know,” Scott says softly and looks over at Derek, observing the other man’s profile, “I’m just trying to get him to understand that. Baby steps, I guess.”

“Sometimes people need to see it to know it. I was one of those people to start off. I didn’t always think of them as people, either.”

“Until Sean,” Scott says quietly, still staring at Derek, in awe of how different he looks.

“Hearing the way he talked about things,” Derek nods, “About how he felt, there’s no way I could think of him as just an object after that.”

“Tell me about him?” Scott presses gently.

Derek looks at Scott, “I thought you said he was like you,” he says, smiling slightly, “What do you wanna know?”

“What was he like?” Scott asks, admittedly curious to compare, “You said he had preferences. What kind of things did he like?”

“Happy endings,” Derek responds as he reaches up to scratch his dull nails through his stubble, “Strawberries and kiwis,” he smiles sadly as he thinks back on it, “Action movies, anything with lots of explosions, and snacks. You’d be surprised how many bags of chips he’d go through while I was working.”

Scott chuckles weakly and swallows down the lump in his throat, because it’s odd hearing someone he doesn’t know very well describe him to his face, “Doritos,” he says knowingly, “Cool ranch?”

Derek blinks and looks at Scott, nodding, “Yeah, how did you know?”

“They’re my favorite,” Scott offers simply, glancing at the house, “I always have like five bags stuffed in the pantry.”

“I don’t understand how he could pick up something like that from you,” Derek says, tilting his head slightly as he stares at the other man.

“I dunno either, dude,” Scott huffs out a weak laugh, lifting his shoulders in a halfhearted shrug.

Derek looks away again, taking another sip of the lemonade, “He was an exceptionally kind person, I spent a lot of time trying to stop him from feeling so ashamed of himself all of the time.”

“Why was he ashamed of himself?” Scott questions curiously, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

“Because of what he was,” Derek explains, “I guess he watched the news sometimes when I was gone, or maybe he just knew in general that models weren’t very accepted.

“He wanted to be… more. He was constantly afraid of being what he was around me. I don’t know if they pre-program those kinds of thoughts-I don’t think they do, it was just part of who he was. I didn’t see any reason for him to feel that way, I reassured him as often as possible. It was always interesting to see him be so insecure, it’s a very human emotion.”

“Yeah,” Scott nods in agreement, “Yeah it is,” he says, unsure of what else to say to Derek because he feels like if he says too much, he’ll just be poking at old wounds.

Derek looks at Scott then, “That’s one of the reasons why seeing you with your daughter was so interesting,” he says then, narrowing his brows, “We’d talked about it a couple times before.”

“Kids?” Scott asks in confusion and turns a little in the lawn chair to look at Derek.

“Yeah,” Derek confirms, “It’s obviously not possible with our current laws, the way things are right now, but it didn’t stop him from wanting things like that.”

“Huh,” Scott huffs to himself and nods, somewhat surprised that an android would want kids, “Wow.”

Derek chuckles as he drinks the last of his lemonade, “I told you, he was different. Not that I’ve had a lot of experience with them, but I’ve seen and read enough to know that most of the things I experienced with him weren’t… to be anticipated.”

Scott nods slowly and looks at Derek, grimacing slightly in sympathy, “I know I keep apologizing, but still, I’m really sorry you lost him,” he says sincerely.

“I know how you feel,” Derek responds, “Fifteen years studying medicine and working in the ER and I was… completely helpless; there wasn’t anything anyone could do. Things just happen like that, I guess. I was glad to have experienced someone like him at all.”

“Better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all,” Scott nods in understanding, “My mom says stuff like that all the time.”

“That’s how I keep trying to think of it,” Derek says and shrugs, “None of my own family knows what he was - that’s how I prefer it, though, because I know they wouldn’t respond well.”

“Sometimes it’s just better to keep the truth from the ones you love, especially if you know they’d handle it badly.”

Derek nods, “That’s why I moved back here, I hate having to constantly lie to their faces. That, and I couldn’t stay in that house,” he chuckles and scratches the back of his neck, “This is actually the most I’ve talked about it… ever - it’s the first time I’ve talked about it at all.”

“I’m just glad you’re talking to me,” Scott admits, remembering how horrid their first encounter went, “I mean, I know I can’t really empathize, but I can listen just the same.”

“I don’t think it’s something anyone can empathize with,” Derek responds, “The entire relationship was unique. But that’s not a bad thing, I wouldn’t want anyone to be able to empathize with how I feel.”

“Well,” Scott starts, “If you ever just… feel the need to talk, you officially know where to find me,” he says, smiling at Derek, “I gotta go get Kinley, have her open her presents. You’ll stick around, yeah?”

Derek nods as he stands back up, “Yeah, of course.”

“Good,” Scott says and turns to go get Kinley, guiding her towards the table full of presents. Her unwrapping everything kind of goes by in a blur, as does the birthday cake and ice cream. It’s not until almost everyone has a plate that he’s able to pull away again, ambling over to where Derek’s standing and offering him a plate with cake and ice cream, “Want some?”

“No, I’m fine,” Derek responds, putting up a hand and shaking his head, with as badly as he’s been eating, something like cake might put him into some kind of sugar coma.

“You sure?” Scott asks and uses his fork to portion off a bite of the cake, putting it in his mouth, “It’s really good.”

Derek nods, “No, I’m sure, but thank you, Scott,” he says and smiles as he watches the other man, “It’s not really why I came.”

Scott chews slowly and turns a little more to face Derek, brows lifting curiously, “Then why did you?”

“What?” Derek asks and lifts a brow, “What do you mean?”

“It’s why I invited you, for cake and ice cream,” Scott points out, even though it’s not entirely why, “If you didn’t show up for that, then why did you?”

Derek shrugs, and he really did step into that question, “I… I came to see you?”

Scott stares back at Derek for a moment, “Because I look like Sean?”

“A little,” Derek admits as he looks away, “But I didn’t really mean physically seeing you.”

Scott nods in understanding as he continues to look at Derek, “Either way, I’m glad you showed up.”

“Me too,” Derek says honestly, “It’s nice just to get to know you - not only because you’re like him, but in general.”

“Maybe we’ll have more opportunities to get to know one another,” Scott muses.

Derek smiles to himself as he listens to Scott, “It’s possible,” he says as he swirls his drink around to mix it with the ice that’s melted along the top, “I’d like to.”

“Makes two of us,” Scott admits as he watches the expression on Derek’s face. It’s probably bad that he’s so intrigued by a guy who probably thinks of someone else every time he looks at him, but he can’t help wanting to know more about Derek.

Derek turns to look at Scott, meeting his eyes and feeling his heart race wildly, “It’s a small enough town, we’ve already bumped into one another twice now.”

“And once on purpose,” Scott smiles, “Who knows what’ll happen?” he asks rhetorically.

“Who knows,” Derek chuckles and stands upright then, setting his drink on the table behind him, “I should get going, though - it was a nice party, thanks for inviting me.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Scott says, trying not to act too disappointed by the fact that Derek has to go, “Um, hey-” he sits his plate down and motions for Derek to follow him into the house, “Let me give you my number,” he offers, grabbing a stationary pad from a drawer in the kitchen, scribbling his phone number down on it quickly before offering it to Derek, “Use it for… uh, whatever, I guess.”

Derek stills and looks at the paper, his hand moving to reach for it before he stops and pulls back, “I-I really need to get going,” he says and shakes his head, moving to walk past Scott to leave the house.

Scott watches Derek leave and he frowns, glancing down at the piece of paper still in his hand. It’s his mistake, he probably shouldn’t have tried giving his number to a man who’s still in love with another version of him. Still, it doesn’t make the rejection hurt any less.

“You know, when I suggested putting yourself back on the market, that wasn’t what I meant,” Stiles speaks up and moves to Scott, watching after Derek, “Weird guy.”

“Not now, Stiles, please,” Scott says softly and moves to throw the paper away, the last thing he wants right now is to have to listen to his best friend’s hateful remarks.

“Just thought I’d offer you a drink,” Stiles says and holds up the cup, “You look like you could use one.”

Scott sighs as he looks at Stiles, but he reaches out for the cup and takes a drink, “Thanks, buddy.”

Stiles smiles and nods, “Anytime,” he responds, letting out a huff of breath, “I know I’m not your favorite person right now, but I’m… I am glad you tried to put yourself out there, even if it was a horrible idea.”

Scott snorts and sloshes the liquid around in his cup, watching it instead of looking at Stiles, “You shouldn’t have been watching, it’s bad enough I had to experience the rejection.”

“I’ve been watching you both pretty much this entire time,” Stiles admits, shrugging, “I can’t help it, I worry about you. and I wanted to see what the guy was like. You weren’t kidding, he’s a pretty broken up dude.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Scott says, “I should’ve expected me trying to give him my number going bad, I’m an idiot.”

Stiles shakes his head, “I dunno if that was the problem, not that I’m psychic, but from my point of view it didn’t seem like something he didn’t want. I think it was the paper.”

“Does he have like… a phobia of paper? It’s just paper, with my number on it.”

“I just said I wasn’t psychic,” Stiles chuckles and looks at the notepad where Scott had written it down, “But it was like-the way he looked at it, when he was watching you write, and when you held it up. He seemed perfectly fine with it before that,” he shrugs, “Body language can say a lot about a person. But I don’t think you were rejected.”

“Felt a lot like rejection to me,” Scott points out, “This is why I don’t date.”

Stiles laughs and pats Scott on the back, “Well, it might have something to do with your horrible choices, this time. You’re trying to put moves on a guy that’s like… seriously broken. Like I watched him this whole time and I’m pretty sure I felt actual physical pain just seeing how he looked at you.”

“I wasn’t even really trying to put the moves on him, I just-” Scott huffs, “I just figured it’d be easier if he had my number, you know? Like, I wouldn’t have to randomly show up at his house to see how he’s doing. Well, yeah, I guess I still would considering I don’t have his number, but still. Fuck, I don’t know.”

“Look, I can’t… relate with whatever you’re trying to do with this dude,” Stiles says as he waves his hands around a little, “All of it is really weird and confusing to me, but I don’t think I’ve seen you look at someone like that your entire life. It was like those weird sex scenes in romance movies where you have to look away because it’s so intense - like Twilight.”

“I just… wanna get to know the guy, is all,” Scott tells Stiles, “When I was working for LObo, I was given Derek’s name and, for two years, I had to get like… pretty intimate, with just the dude’s name. I just wanna know the guy behind the name.”

Stiles nods slowly as he listens, “Yeah, okay, and can i just remind you that it’s illegal?” he raises his hands up, “Not that I’m fighting you on this anymore, but it really is illegal. This is the reason why they have it so that owners and clients and whatever all that shit is - so that you two don’t meet. There were some serious stalking problems in the beginning and crazy shit normally followed.”

“There’s not really any stalking involved, Stiles,” Scott says, then pulls a face because technically he snuck onto Derek’s property, “Well, not the creepy kind of stalking anyway - it’s not about that. And besides, the android isn’t even in the picture anymore, what can they really do to me for talking to Derek?”

“Sue you?” Stiles guesses, “You probably signed some kind of contract. But, then again, he’s probably the one that’d be in more shit than you, because it’s also against the law for him to move to your state, which he did - unknowingly, probably, but he was supposed to file something to confirm moving states, and obviously he didn’t.”

“Or maybe he did, and they just don’t care?” Scott muses, “LObo’s in enough hot shit, I really don’t see them attacking us for talking. Even if they did, you act like Derek doesn’t have the power and the resources to fight back.”

“True,” Stiles agrees and chuckles, “He could probably put them completely out of business, if he wanted to, or buy the company,” he sighs and runs his hands through his hair, “So what’s the plan?”

“The plan?” Scott asks in confusion and looks out the back glass, watching everyone else talk and eat cake as he hops up on the counter, “What plan?”

Stiles holds his arms out, “You know. I mean you tried with the number and he freaked out and fled the crime scene, so what now?”

“Nothing?” Scott guesses, “I dunno, man,” he sits his cup on the counter next to him, “I told him I wanted to get to know him more, basically. And I tried giving him my number, there’s not much else I can do.”

“Did he tell you he wanted to get to know you more, too?”

“Yeah, kind of, but that was before he freaked out on me,” Scott says.

Stiles shrugs, making a ‘pft’ sound, “So, that doesn’t mean that his mind has changed?”

“I dunno, there’s only so many ways someone can take someone else rejecting their number and leaving,” Scott rubs the back of his neck, “It’s a small town, I’ll probably see him around or something.”

“Or you can go stalk him some more,” Stiles suggests, “He’s all dolled up now and shit, he looks like fifty times better than he did when he attacked you in the grocery store.”

“His physical appearance, regardless of how nice it may be, isn’t really a big deal to me,” Scott points out, “And I’m not gonna stalk the dude, I didn’t really stalk him before.”

Stiles laughs, “Uh, news flash, dude, a lot of what you’ve been doing would be considered stalking, by the police.”

“I asked you for his address and went to his place twice, stop acting like I’m some obsessed weirdo who follows him everywhere - it’s not like that.”

“I didn’t say you were an obsessed weirdo, you did.”

“Shut up,” Scott squawks indignantly, “You’re the one pushing me to stalk him.”

Stiles smiles and sips his drink, “I just know what you want, and you want that, so I’m trying to promote as much as I can.”

“I don’t wanna stalk him,” Scott argues, because he really doesn’t.

“No, but you want the D.”

“Everything is sex with you,” Scott groans miserably, “Wanting to get to know someone isn’t the same thing as wanting to jump their bones.”

Stiles nods in agreement and smiles proudly, “No, but you do with this guy, I know that look - the one you gave when he came in, that was the ‘why is my mouth not on your dick’ face.”

“Stiles,” Scott sighs, but he can’t really bring himself to deny it. Derek’s a good-looking man, he can’t help it if he finds him appealing.

“I don’t blame you, dude,” Stiles says and winks, “Just imagine him in a doctor getup.”

“You’re the worst,” Scott says without heat and reaches out to cuff Stiles against the back of the head.

Stiles ducks and spills his drink a little, “I’m the best, you mean. Did you ever ask him why he chose yours?”

Scott blinks then, because for some reason that was one question he never really thought to ask, “Uh, no, actually.”

“You been talking to him this whole time and you never thought to ask?” Stiles raises his brows, “You even ask him why he got one in the first place?”

“No, I didn’t,” Scott admits, “I’ve only known him for a little while, dude. It’s not like I have a list of questions prepared.”

“Yeah, but those would be my first two.”

“Well, if I ever get the chance, I’ll ask,” Scott says, “Maybe.”

Stiles frowns, watching Scott, “Why maybe?”

“I dunno, ‘cause I don’t wanna bring up shit that upsets him every time we talk?”

“Ah, good point,” Stiles says and he feels bad that he hadn’t really considered it that way. After actually seeing the guy, it’s made him start to reconsider his approach on all of it, “It must kill him just to look at you, but also be like the best thing ever… that has to be confusing.”

“And not just for him, either,” Scott mumbles, “It’s hard for me to tell what he’s thinking when he looks at me. The first time I went to his house, he pretty much told me that it was difficult being around me. And then there was the time I saw  him at Walmart, told him it was nice to see him and he said it was nice to see me too.” He breathes out heavily through his nose, “So… who knows?”

“Sounds like he might be conflicted?” Stiles guesses, “Maybe he’s trying to separate you and his sexbot or whatever? I mean, you two can’t act the exact same, can you?”

“I dunno,” Scott shrugs, “I really have no clue. I just know that he has all these memories with a man - with a bot - that has my face, and I don’t really know if it’s me he sees when he looks at me, or if it’s Sean.”

“Or if it’s you he’s been seeing for the past however long? I mean, the bot was made after you, technically,” Stiles says, even though he’s not really sure of how the whole thing works, “So… he’d be in love with you the whole time?”

“He was in love with Sean,” Scott says, “It wasn’t technically me. I mean, yeah, it was modeled after me, but it wasn’t me. But just because he loved Sean, doesn’t mean he loves me, it doesn’t work like that.”

Stiles blinks and shakes his head, “Why not? You’re the same person, just not made to fall in love with him, if he fell in love with the copy and it was you, then he fell in love with you.”

“Love doesn’t just transfer like that, Stiles,” Scott chuckles and shakes his head, watching as some of the other parents and kids start leaving.

“Or it does, because you’re the same person.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think Derek realizes that,” Scott offers, “You should’ve seen his face when he found out I knew what Sean’s favorite chips were. He thinks that Sean was special, one of a kind, and it’s not my place to really take that away from him.”

Stiles narrows his brows, “Wait now, back up… the toaster had a favorite kind of snack?”

“Yeah, he was obsessed with cool ranch Doritos, like me.”

“Like you,” Stiles repeats, “Sounds like you… because he’s you.”

“Right, but like I said, Derek doesn’t really know the extent of it,” Scott explains, “He was telling me the things that Sean liked… and I-I mean… I didn’t really have the heart to tell him that those were the things I like. It was weird, because I asked him to tell me about Sean, and it was basically listening to the dude describe me to… me.”

Stiles puts his hands on his hips as he looks at Scott, “Right, and you didn’t have the heart to tell him, why?”

“Because he was in love with Sean, Stiles,” Scott sighs, “I told you, he-he pretty much thinks Sean was perfect, he literally told me Sean was one of a kind. I can’t just…” he shakes his head, “I can’t.”

“You can’t tell this broken dude that you and the sexbot might as well be one in the same?”

“It’s not so much that,” Scott says, “I just don’t wanna ruin this perfect idea that Derek seems to have of Sean. He’s broken enough.”

Stiles shakes his head, “What do you mean by ‘perfect idea’? Like you’re worse or something?”

“I am worse, compared to the way he paints Sean,” Scott says, “And if I told him, it’d just… He’d be a lot worse than he is right now, knowing that Sean wasn’t one of a kind.”

“Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, dude,” Stiles responds, wetting his lips, “Maybe he’d be in less pain, knowing that he hasn’t actually lost everything, because the guy looks… lost.”

“I think Sean was pretty much everything to Derek,” Scott says softly, “I dunno if I can be that for someone, man. We’re just… getting ahead of ourselves anyway. For all I know, I might not ever speak to him again.”

“Well, why the fuck not?”

Scott shrugs, “I’m not gonna actively go seeking the guy out, Stiles.”

Stiles frowns as he narrows his eyes, “And I think that’s a really bad idea on your part.”

“I’ve been trying, dude!” Scott’s voice goes squeaky, “What would I even do, huh? Like show up and be like ‘hey, despite you freaking out last time we talked, I’d still like to get to know you’?”

“Yeah?” Stiles says, like it’s not fucking obvious, “You do, don’t you? I mean, even though he’s a complete spaz and might be in love with a robot over the human original, you still wanna get to know the guy, right?”

"Yeah,” Scott nods, "But what if he doesn't wanna see me? Or worse, what if I do something to upset him again?"

Stiles swallows tightly at the question, “But isn’t that what relationships are about? Finding out what upsets someone and trying not to do it? I mean, if he does wanna see you. And if you like him, then isn’t it worth checking to see if he’s also still open to seeing you?”

"Yeah, I guess," Scott says and rubs at his temples before picking up his cup, taking a drink, "Any chance you and Malia would wanna babysit Kin next weekend?"

“Got plans?”

"That'll depend on whether or not he ends up shutting his door in my face."

Stiles grins, “That’s my boy,” he says proudly, “Yeah I think we could handle Kin for a couple nights, just let me know how it goes.”

"Yeah, buddy," Scott claps Stiles on the shoulder, "I will."

Sry fer the delayed update, my life has been very chaotic lately. On top of that, I’ve been werking on an original werewolf story, so if that sounds enticing to you at all, you can head over here and download/read the prologue fer free. Also I put up SIX fics in the Vault.

“Because I’m the kind of person that would go and talk to someone I don’t even know,” Derek responds and sips his coffee, “Just ignore him.”

“How the fuck am I supposed to ignore him when he looks like he wants to hump your leg?” Cora questions, glancing back over her shoulder at the guy at the same time he apparently decides to look away, a small smile on his lips.

“I don’t care, I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

Cora looks back to her brother and huffs, annoyed with how unperturbed he is about someone staring at him with fucking heart eyes for shit’s sake, “I will literally go and talk to him on your behalf if you don’t do something. So help me, Derek, I really will.”

She lifts her brows, “I came for coffee and muffins, not to watch some hot guy flirt with my brother.”

“You sound jealous.”

“I’m not jealous, shut up," Cora shakes her head and flicks a piece of her muffin at him in annoyance, “It’s just irritating, knowing someone keeps looking in my general direction when I'm trying to enjoy time with my brother.”

Derek chuckles as he swats the piece of muffin away, “And you’re wanting me to go over and talk to him, taking away more of our time together. Just ignore him, Cora.”

“Or, you could just... you know, give him your number, maybe a flirty wink,” Cora almost gags at the visual, “And then come back over here.”

“I don’t date,” Derek says simply, shaking his head, “And I don’t give my number to people I’ve never met.”

“Then take him to the bathroom and fuck him,” Cora says, shrugging, “It's not like it'd take you that long,” she jabs playfully.

Derek rolls his eyes and stands up, “Brat,” he mutters as he leaves her at their booth and moves to where the other man is sitting, “You keep staring at me and my sister wants me to come over here and acknowledge it,” he says.

“Well,” the man says says flirtily, blinking up at Derek from under his thick lashes, "I'm glad you did." He moves his hand out slowly, offering it as protocol requires, "I'm Sean."

“Derek,” Derek responds and takes his hand, shaking it before sitting down, “You seem less annoying, I think I’ll just sit over here until she complains.”

Sean smiles brightly and looks Derek over, "Fine by me," he says, “It's nice to meet you, Derek.” Again.

Derek nods as he stares at Sean, his eyes running over the other man, “Nice to meet you, too,” he’s seen models before, plenty of times, but this one is even more perfect than he’d anticipated, “Come here often?”

“Every once in a while,” Sean nods and pushes his coffee aside so that he can lean in, resting his forearms on the table, “I’d ask if you do, but I feel like I'd remember a face like yours.”

“Once a month or so,” Derek says as he stares into Sean’s dark eyes, in awe of the model just as he was the first time he saw Sean, “I don’t normally have a lot of free time on my hands.”

Sean smiles softly, “What exactly do you do, that keeps you so busy?” he asks, curious.

“I’m an ER doctor,” Derek responds as he pointedly keeps his eyes on Sean and doesn’t bother looking back at his sister, “It definitely doesn’t leave much time for anything else.”

“Including going out?” Sean asks, “Because I'd love to. Take you out sometime, I mean... to get to know you more... if you think you can find the time.”

Derek blinks at Sean and his cheeks heat, a smile slowly forming on his face as he remembers their conversation the first time they met, and the numerous times he came in after that. “I can... I can try to,” Derek says as he stares longingly at the model, “You don’t seem like that bad of a person to get to know.”

“I’ll... take that as a compliment," Sean chuckles awkwardly, “I can uh-I can give you my number? That'd probably be more convenient, instead of me calling you.”

Derek nods and reaches into his pocket, taking out his pen and offering it, reaching back quickly when his phone starts buzzing, “Uh, one second.”

“No problem,” Sean says quietly and takes the pen, scribbling down his number on a napkin.

“I gotta go,” Derek mutters as he responds to the message and stands up, looking at Sean again and narrowing his brows, “It was nice meeting you, Sean.”

“Really nice meeting you too, Derek,” Sean says back, pressing his lips together slightly before smiling and offering the napkin with his number on it.

Derek takes it and stuffs it in his pocket with his phone, “I’ll call,” he says, still finding it unusual that he’s trying to reassure a model, just as he had every time he left Lobo before. He’s not even sure why he does it, but he actually feels guilty for having to leave so suddenly.

He turns and moves to Cora, “I have to go, see you the usual time next month?”

Cora sighs, but she nods, at least them meeting up wasn't uneventful for the both of them - she totally watched Derek get the guy's number, "Yeah, see you then big bro."

“I’m sorry,” Derek apologizes, leaning down and kissing her forehead before pulling her into a quick, one-armed hug.

"You act like I'm not used to it-go," Cora urges, swatting at Derek and smiling, "You've got lives to save and shit."

“Brat,” Derek responds and smirks back, messing up her hair a little before walking out of the small cafe.