Before Derek could respond, the waiter returned with their food; a plate of blanquette de veau for Isaac and Derek’s magret de canard. He silently sent his thanks to the universe for helping him avoid more painful smalltalk.

The rest of the evening was spent relatively quietly; they really only piped up every once in a while to ask each other how their food was. Derek felt a pang of guilt in his gut each time Isaac spoke to him; Isaac really deserved better than what Derek could give him, was giving him, and the least he could do was pay for his dinner. So as soon as the waiter returned with the check, Derek immediately stuffed his credit card into the folder.

“Can’t wait to finally get this night over with, huh?”

He looked up at Isaac like a deer caught in the headlights. “What? No, that’s not...no. That’s not it.” He let out a tiny huff through his nose and tightly gripped the napkin on his lap underneath the table. “I just think it would be respectful for me to pay for your dinner.”

“Because you’ve been spaced out all night and know just as well as I do that you’re not into me?” Isaac added.

Derek raised an eyebrow, but Isaac continued speaking before he could say anything. “Look, it’s okay. I’m not into you either. I mean, you’re incredibly gorgeous, but I’m interested in someone else.” Isaac grinned and slid his credit card into the folder as well. “So I think maybe we can split the bill.”

Derek processed his words for a few moments before nodding. “So...why’d you go on a blind date if you were interested in somebody else?” He regretted the words as soon as he said them; Isaac wasn’t the only one between the two of them who went on a blind date while holding a torch for someone else.

Isaac bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck. “When Stiles said he wanted to set me up with a good friend of his, I kind of thought he had been talking about Scott,” he admitted.

Derek shook his head and chuckled. “For what it’s worth, I think you and Scott would be a great couple.”

Isaac’s face lit up. “You think so?”

Derek nodded and grinned. “Mhm. You should go for it.”

“Hm...maybe I will.” Isaac swirled his wine around his glass before taking a sip. “I’m curious, though. Why’d you say yes? You don’t exactly seem like the type of guy to go on a blind date.”

Derek sighed through his nose and rubbed his hands on his jeans. “I couldn’t say no without explaining to Stiles that I’m interested in him,” he confessed.

Isaac burst into laughter and shook his head. “We’re really pathetic, aren’t we?”

“Completely,” he agreed, chuckling.

He and Isaac managed to spend another hour and a half just talking about Scott and Stiles. At the end of the night, he and Isaac exchanged numbers and promised to keep each other updated on their love lives. It was probably the best non-date Derek had ever been on.

-----

“So? How did things go with Isaac? Did you like him?”

Rather than calling or texting him like a normal person, Stiles had shown up at Derek’s door at nine in the morning the next day. Now, he was seated at a barstool in Derek’s kitchen watching him make pancakes. It felt strangely domestic to be making breakfast for the both of them while still wearing his pajamas. It took a lot of effort for him to ignore the happy butterflies that filled his stomach at that thought.

“He was nice,” Derek said. “Interesting guy. He spoke French.”

Stiles had his elbows on the counter and his head propped up in his hands. “Are you going out with him again?”

Derek shook his head and sprinkled a bit of cinnamon into the mixture before beginning to pour the batter onto the pan. “No. He likes Scott.”

He looked over at Stiles in time to see his jaw drop to the ground. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I had no idea, man.”

Derek snorted and shook his head. “It’s okay, Stiles. Really.”

Stiles shook his head and bit his lip. “No it’s not, dude. I totally just set you up on a dead-end date. You should be so pissed at me right now.”

Derek rolled his eyes and walked over to the island across from Stiles. “Calm down. It’s okay. I’m not angry.”

Stiles opened his mouth to argue, but then just sighed and ran his hands down his face. “Why aren’t you angry?”

Rather than answering right away, Derek turned back to the stove to flip the pancakes. “I’m interested in someone already.”

“What? Who? Since when?” Derek was sure that Stiles probably would’ve jumped out of his seat if he hadn’t been waiting for pancakes.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Um, yes it does. It so does matter. Who do you like?”

Derek shook his head and slid the pancakes onto Stiles’ plate. “Do you want maple syrup?”

Stiles balked at him and glanced between his plate and Derek. “Stop avoiding the question! Maple syrup. But answer me.”

Derek rolled his eyes and turned back to the stove to pour more batter onto the pan. “It doesn’t matter, Stiles. I doubt he feels the same way.”

It took a few moments for him to respond. “Well, he’d be an idiot if he didn’t.” Derek turned his head to see Stiles gazing at him.

“Why is that?” he asked.

Stiles got up from his barstool and made his way over to the stove next to Derek. “Because you’re, like, amazing. You care a lot about people and you have this dry sense of humor that I really appreciate and you’re ridiculously smart and you’re totally fucking gorgeous.”

Derek turned to him, brows furrowed. “What?”

Stiles sucked in his bottom lip and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I mean, I just, you know. I think you’re really great, alright?” He ran a hand through his hair and looked everywhere but at Derek.

He wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what. Every word he’d ever learned just vanished from his mind. Apparently he’d been staring at Stiles a little too silently and a little too long, because Stiles grabbed his keys off of the counter.

“Look, I’ll go. That was weird. I’m sorry.” He pursed his lips and gave Derek a slight wave before turning and heading toward the door.

“Stiles.”

Thankfully, he paused at the door and sighed. “Yeah?”

Derek closed the distance between them and took Stiles’ hands in his. “I don’t want to date Isaac. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

Stiles tilted his head and looked at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “So...who do you want to date?”

Derek grinned and shrugged. “You.”

Stiles’ face lit up like the sun. “That’s, uh, that’s pretty convenient.”

“Oh, it is, huh?” Derek bit back a chuckle and gently cupped Stiles’ face in his hand. “Why is that?”

Rather than answering, Stiles surged forward to press their lips together. He rested his hands on Derek’s waist and he felt a shiver run up his spine. He pulled away after a few moments and pressed their foreheads together.

“Why’d you set me up with Isaac?” he asked.

Stiles licked his lips and shrugged. “I just...you’re a cool guy. I figured you’d want to be with someone cool like Isaac,” he said quietly.

Derek chuckled and tilted Stiles’ chin up to peck him on the lips. “For the record, you’re the cool one between us. I work at a museum and you’re an investigator. I don’t think you need to need to worry about not being cool enough.”

Stiles snorted and leaned in for another kiss. “I am pretty cool, aren’t I?” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

“Mhm. Very.” Derek wanted to pull him in for another kiss, but he caught the distinct scent of something burning. “Fuck! The pancakes.”

They bolted back into the kitchen and Derek turned off the stove before anything actually caught on fire. He stared down at the burnt pancakes and sighed. Stiles poked him in the side and held up his plate of pancakes.

“I’m down to share,” he said.

Derek grinned and leaned over to kiss his forehead. “Me too.”

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