#derekkira

Kira stretches her arms above her head and groans. She doesn't even know how long she's been sitting at the kitchen table, but her wooden butt and sore back tell her it's been a long time since she moved.

She gets up to get the blood flowing back to her feet and get some feeling back in her numb buttcheeks and ends up in front of the fridge, peering in it to find something to eat.

Somehow, she gets the genius idea that this is the perfect time to bake some muffins.

In her defense, Kira's always had a sweet tooth, and it only gets worse when she's under a lot of stress or sleep deprived. Today, she just so happens to be both.

Kira finds a muffin mix in one of the cubboards and gets out the molds from underneath the sink. She makes the batter, pours it into the molds and puts the muffins in the oven.

While she waits, she pours herself a glass of milk and gets back behind her computer. Work goes by a lot faster now that she has something to look forward to, and before she knows it she's made a connection between the legend of the Wolf of Waasland in Belgium and satanic rituals.

When her muffins are done, Kira jumps up to get them out of the oven. She isn't patient enough to wait for them to cool down and pries them out of the molds onto a plate. She carefully picks one open with her finger and stuffs a piece into her mouth.

It only takes her two bites to realize the mix had been past the expiration date.

Kira spits out the piece of muffin into the sink and holds her head under the tap to drink some water. It feels like she just ate a piece of mildew, bitter and crumbly in her mouth.

"I can't even bake muffins with a muffin mix," she mumbles to herself, staring at the whole batch of ruined sweets.

For some weird, paper related reason, this makes Kira cry.

Derek finds her ten minutes later, literally sobbing on the floor, her fingers stuffed in her hair and her knees pulled to her chest.

"Hey," he says softly, still making Kira startle despite his whisper.

"I thought I heard something. Why are you crying?"

Kira wipes at her eyes, sniffs.

"The muffins were past their expiration date," she whimpers.

Derek raises a thick eyebrow.

"What?"

She sniffs again, a small sob escaping her lips.

"I wanted to bake some muffins and - the mix wasn't good anymore. I - I just wanted some muffins and I'm so tired and that stupid paper isn't going anywhere. Who cares about the devil jumping on your back on crossroads? Who cares?"

Derek sinks to his knees in front of her, his eyebrows knitted together in worry. Kira looks at him and notices his hair is sticking up on the right side from sleeping weirdly.

"Kira, why don't you get some rest?" He offers.

"I can’t! I need to finish my paper!"

"That paper will still be there tomorrow. Please just get some rest, I promise you'll feel better in the morning."

Kira pouts, glancing back at the wasted muffins.

"I just wanted some damn muffins," she mumbles.

Derek chuckles, shaking his head slightly. He reaches out to touch her face.

"I forgot how cute you are when you're tired," he smiles. Kira squints at him.

"I'm not cute," she bites. It only makes Derek smile wider.

"No," he agrees, a fake serious tone creeping into his voice, "you're terrifying. Everyone should fear you, oh Grumpy Kira."

Kira slaps him.

"I'm not grumpy!"

"And I don't have a beard. Come on, let's get you in bed." He reaches for her hand, which she takes after glaring at him some more.

Derek guides her to her room, even pulling back her covers and tucking her in. Kira wouldn't normally let him, but it's 4am and she hasn't slept in 28 hours and her muffins were a disaster and she just wants to sleep. At this point, a goddamn polar bear could've tucked her in and she would've let it.

"There, all good?" Derek asks, looking down at her, a smile still tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Mhh," Kira hums, her eyelids heavy now that she's tucked into her comfortable bed.

"Good. Get some rest."

"I will. Thanks, Der."

Derek bends down to press a kiss to her forehead.

"You're welcome."

The next morning, when Kira wakes up from sunlight streaming into her bedroom and she stumbles to the kitchen to get back behind her computer, a plate of fresh muffins is waiting for her. They're still warm.

Kira calls Derek's name, but then she remembers he had a morning class and probably already left. When she picks up a muffin to sink her teeth into, she sees he left her a note.

Thought you might enjoy these. Good luck on your paper, and I'll bring you home some donuts for tonight so you won't feel the urge to start baking them at 3am. Derek

Kira smiles as she takes place behind her computer again and starts typing.

Lydia always gives her a strange look when she says that, but Kira has only ever been intrigued by the older werewolf. When they first met he was so kind to her, and the way he so obviously cared about Scott and Stiles endeared him to her immediately. He came back to Beacon Hills after they all started college, and his new loft apartment (much nicer than the old one) turned into the pack hangout whenever they were home from school. She’s not sure when her feelings about Derek went from friendly warmth to this insistent want, this curiosity to know what the coarse hair on his chest would feel like beneath her hands, to know the taste of his skin. She’s been single for a while now, though she and Malia sometimes hook up when they’re bored, and the pair of them have been known to join Scott and Stiles every once in a while. For the most part the pack is very open when it comes to sex, with the exception of Derek. He’s never dated within the pack, tends to keep his dating and sex life private. It adds to the mystery, spurs Kira’s curiosity to new lengths.

That’s not why she’s going to his loft now though. She just feels comfortable there, knows she can crash on the couch and will wake up covered with a blanket in the morning, with Derek reading quietly at the kitchen table. She has her own profile on his Netflix account, and he keeps her favorite brand of tea stocked in the cupboard over the coffee maker. She feels almost as much at home at Derek’s as she still does at Scott’s house, like being there with the soft natural light and the understated decor and the fully stocked fridge more than she likes being in her dorm at school. Derek is just an added bonus, with his cuddly sweaters and soft smiles and the way he rolls his eyes more dramatically than any person really should.

Kira lets herself in to the loft with one of the several keys hanging on her key ring, hanging them on the little rack beside the door out of habit. She cocks her head and listens, her senses not as strong as the wolves’ but still better than a human’s. There’s no one here, just the faint thump of Derek’s cat Harriet’s heart in the depths of the apartment. Kira kicks off her shoes and pads down the hall to the living room, tossing her bag of snacks on the coffee table and flopping onto the couch with the remote. She gets caught up in a River Monsters marathon in minutes, mindlessly eating gummy worm after gummy worm.

It’s not until a key turns in the lock that she realizes hours have passed, and she’s seen probably more than enough giant stingrays and catfish and piranhas for one person. Not that she’s ready to stop watching or anything.

“Kir?”

She straightens up, brushing the sugar that gathered on her chest to the floor at the sound of Derek’s voice.

“In here,” she calls back, licking at her lips and teeth to try to rid herself of the sticky sugar residue. Pigging out on the guy she has a crush on’s couch is probably not the best plan she’s ever had, but it’s not like Derek hasn’t seen her having a pizza eating contest with Stiles or covered in mud, three days without a shower, either.

“Hey.” Derek shuffles into the living room, hair sticking up and pieces of leaves scattered throughout. He looks absolutely adorable, but it only gets worse when he collapses across the couch, rubbing his cheek against Kira’s thigh as he pulls a blanket over himself.

“You okay?” She asks, brushing her fingers absently through his hair, turning the TV down with her other hand.

“Yeah,” Derek hums against her leg, squirming up the couch until his arms are wrapped around her waist and his face is pressed against her stomach. “You know how I get after the full shift.”

It is true, Derek’s always cuddly after wolf form, almost desperate for touch, though generally Kira isn’t on the receiving end of it. But she’s usually not waiting for him in his apartment on a full moon, either.

“You act like an actual puppy, you mean?” Kira teases, though her giggles dry up with Derek growls and nips at her stomach, teeth catching at her skin through her thin t-shirt. It’s not like Derek could know she has a thing for biting, that Scott used to cover her in bite marks, hidden between her thighs and across her stomach. She manages to hold back the shudder that wants to ripple through her, manages to not arch against Derek’s mouth, manages not to let out a sigh and grip his hair. But it’s near impossible to stop her body from reacting, and she’s sure Derek will be able to sense it soon if she doesn't get herself under control.

“I can’t believe you actually watch this show,” Derek murmurs after a few minutes, his fingers pressing softly against Kira’s back. “We deal with supernatural monsters every day, why would you wanna see the natural ones?”

“Leave me alone,” Kira huffs, resuming carding her fingers through his hair, ridding it of random pieces of grass and leaves. Derek falls silent, his breathing evening out and his hold on Kira loosening. She tries to pay attention to the TV, tries not to think about how close Derek is, how he’s literally wrapped himself around her, how she can feel his warm breath on her tummy where her t-shirt is riding up. To Derek this is probably just normal pack behavior, and she doesn’t want to take advantage of him, doesn’t want to assign meaning to actions he’s making unintentionally. She redoubles her efforts to focus on the fish being reeled in on the television, stilling her hands and trying to place them somewhere innocent. It’s kind of difficult, with a giant man kind of sprawled across her lap, but she ends up with one on the arm of the couch and the other resting lightly between his shoulder blades.

“Why’d you stop?” Derek mumbles sleepily, shifting and lifting his head up to look at her. “It felt good.”

“Sorry.” Kira immediately returns her fingers to his hair, cheeks flushing when he continues staring up at her, pale eyes looking gray in the TV light. “What?”

“I’m glad you’re here.” Derek’s eyes crinkle in the corners like they do just before he smiles, lips parting just enough to reveal a flash of those adorable front teeth. “I like coming home to you.”

Kira’s heart thumps hard in her chest, and there’s no way Derek could even pretend he didn’t hear it. She could even hear it for god’s sake. She knows it doesn’t necessarily have to mean anything, in the romantic sense anyways. Platonic love is just as strong and just as important (maybe even more so) than romantic feelings. Kira just can’t help that she has them. She smiles weakly at Derek, embarrassment fading into confusion as he continues to smile up at her.

There’s an attempt at a sarcastic comment on the tip of her tongue when she feels one hand slide up her back, thick fingers sliding through her hair. She swallows hard, blinking as Derek sits up, his palm cradling the back of her head.

“Um.” Kira swallows again, breath leaving her in a rush when Derek’s nose brushes against hers. She kisses him without really thinking, their lips just barely brushing. Derek sighs against her mouth before pulling her closer and kissing her in earnest. He tastes wild, and it lights something inside of her, burning low at the base of her spine. She moans and leans into him, sliding her hands across his chest and around his broad shoulders. He feels good beneath her fingers, warm and strong and capable. Derek nips at her bottom lip before pulling back, pushing her hair out of her face with gentle fingers.

“I’m really glad you’re here.” He smiles again, kissing the tip of her nose before settling back down across her lap.

Kira sits there for a moment in stunned silence, her chest rising and falling drastically. After a moment she feels herself start to smile, a big goofy thing that makes her glad that Derek’s turned his attention back to the TV.