#braedenderekstiles

He holds up his hand, telling Louis to give him a sec,then pulls out his phone.

To Sour Wolf:What are you doing Saturday?

Derek replies almost immediately

From Sour Wolf:Why?

To Sour Wolf:Remember that secret admirer? They want to meet

This time, it takes a little longer before Derek answers.

From Sour Wolf:I can’t, butBraeden’s free

To Sour Wolf:Even better

From Sour Wolf:I thought so

Stiles quickly messages Braeden with the details, thenturns back to Louis.

‘I gotsomeone else.’

‘Andthey’re better than me?’ Louis asks, affronted, flexing hisbiceps.

‘Shecarries a gun and I’ve seen her take out guystwice your size with her bare hands, so yeah,’ Stilessays.

‘Goodpoint,’ Louis nods. He climbs downand sits back at his desk. ‘But ifyou need me, I’ll be there.’

‘Thanks,dude.’

~

Come Saturday, Stiles feels like he’s about to explode with nerves. Hekeeps tugging at his new scarf, praying that his admirer isn’t dreaming of strangling him with it.

‘Stopthat,’ Braeden says. She reachesout and squeezes his hand. ‘Everythingwill be fine.’

‘Butwhat if–‘

‘Theentire pack, plus your roommate and Agent McCall, knows where we are. It’s a public place, one frequented bypeople who always have their phones in their hands.’ She squeezes his hand again. ‘And if they turn out to be an asshole, I’ll happily kick their ass for you.’

‘Thanks,’ Stiles squeezes her hand back. Helooks at her, and his chest feels a little tight. He quickly pulls his handback and stuffs it in his coat pocket.

Maybe asking Braeden, or Derek, to come with him was abad idea. Last summer, they’d spenta lot of time together, gotten a lot closer, and, well, Stiles may havedeveloped feelings. Or not so much “developed” as getting smacked in the face withthem. He’d been relieved when he’d gone back to the east coast,creating a little distance, but he soon realized his crush could be sustainedquite easily over text. When the first package of his secret admirer arrived,Stiles clung to it like it was a lifeline. Because what else are you supposedto when you’re falling in love with two ofyour best friends who are in a relationship together?

And now he’s goingto meet them, his secret admirer, and all he can think about is how Braeden’s hand felt in his.

‘Youready?’ Braeden asks when theyarrive at the coffee shop.

Stiles nods. The bell over the door feels like an omen.Though he doesn’t know if it’s good or bad.

He looks around the coffee shop, scanning the tables,searching for the purple flower. He doesn’t find it,but he does find someone else.

‘Derek?’

‘Hey.’ Derek waves him over.

‘What’s going on?’ Stiles asks as he sits down across from Derek.

Derek moves his coffee cup, and slides a purple origamiflower to the centre of the table. Braeden drops down in the seat next to Derek’s.

Everything falls into place in Stiles’ head. With the two of them travelingso much, they could easily go to New York every once in a while to send Stileshis gifts. The sender seemed to know Stiles really well, to a degree that only thepack really does.

Stiles’shoulders slump in disappointment, and hurt. At least Derek must’ve guessed at his feelings, right?Stiles has never been good at hiding them. Why would they mess with him likethis?

‘We’re not messing with you,’ Derek says, like he can read Stiles’ mind.

‘You’re not?’ Stileslooks up at his friends. They’re bothsmiling at him, soft and beautiful.

‘Wewouldn’t do that to you,’ Braeden adds. ‘We like you too much for that.’

‘Are youserious?’ Stiles has to ask.

‘I don’t make scarves for just anyone,’ Braeden says.

Stiles fiddles with the scarf, looking down at the table.When he looks back up again, his face feels like it’s about to split in two from how wide he’s smiling.

‘Ireally like the scarf,’ hesays. ‘And you. I really like youtwo, too.’

Derek pushes a piece of pie and a cup of coffee in frontof Stiles. ‘Well, thank god for that,because else this could’vebecome really awkward.’

Stiles kicks Derek’s shinunder the table.

‘Thatwas me,’ Braeden deadpans.

Stiles grimaces. ‘Youalready said you liked me. No take-backs.’

Braeden and Derek look at each other for a moment, doingsome silent couple’s communicating that Stilescan’t wait to get in on, then Braedenreaches over and grabs Stiles’ hand,sliding her fingers between his.