Stiles wanting Derek. Falling in love with him. Over and over. So hard and deep, but asking for nothing. Just letting it be quiet.
Having bonded during high school, and then falling in love with him during his college years, after Derek eventually makes his way back to Beacon Hills one year to finally knock down the burnt shell of the old family home. Derek didn’t have the intention of staying, but after the house was gone, the plot was just… so painfully empty. So he asked Cora to come back, to so they could make a design that honors their family and stands as a testament to the Hale family, a memory to their loved ones–even though neither of them have any intention of living in the place.
It’s just better than leaving the land blank, like they’re trying to erase the memories.
So it’s then, during the two years of construction, that Stiles starts to fall in love–with what Derek is doing, the way he laughs with his sister and they share new stories, the way he tips at the coffee shop even though there isn’t a tip jar and he does it so much that the coffee shop finally puts a tip jar out because of Derek. He falls in love with the way Derek buys 25 different sample paints at the hardware store, gets frustrated when Cora narrows the options down to all of 11, and then finally, after nearly having a breakdown in the paint section, staring at all 11 swatches, goes with the suggestion of a 9 year old girl who passes with her dad, glimpses at his swatches, and casually says, “That one.”
Stiles falls in love with the fact that Derek never tells anyone outwardly that he prefers lemonade made from fresh lemons, just always insists on making it himself until Stiles finally starts making it fresh as well. Falls in love with how well Derek gets to know Frank at the Yarlo’s family owned hardware shop, where Derek gets everything possible as long as it’s available. Falls in love with the fact that he only goes to Home Depot when he absolutely has to. Falls in love with how Derek and Frank somehow become friends and, every time Derek goes in, it takes him at least forty-five minutes because they get caught up in conversation.
Stiles just, falls in a lot of fucking love with Derek.
But he knows Derek. He knows Derek’s history, knows what’s happened when Derek’s let people into his heart before, and he’s not going to be that person. He’s not going to push. He’s not going to force Derek to make that choice, to risk it all, to feel like he has to say yes to make Stiles happy, or risk their friendship or, hell, just feel uncomfortable because maybe he’s just not ready. Maybe Derek doesn’t want a relationship anymore.
And Stiles is so utterly relieved when Derek doesn’t leave after the house is finished, because he’s gotten used to going to dinner with Derek, and making fresh lemonade, and making fun of movies, and having brunch with Derek and his dad, and going to the arcade with Derek and Scott, and running through the forest up to the house, taking a shower in the second bathroom downstairs, the one between the two lower guest bedrooms, and then having Derek drive him home–but stopping for frozen yogurt first.
It’s some ridiculous amount of time later–something like four years since Derek showed up to tear down the old house–when the whole crew go on a camping trip. Kira’s a fierce wonder-mom, just gave birth not too long ago and the moment baby Mia’s ready for the world they’re going camping, christening the woods with a giggles and bubbly laughter of a new baby.
They’re three days into the trip, it’s night and everybody’s asleep except for Stiles, who’s poking at the fire, letting it die slow because he’s really waiting to make sure Derek gets back from his run—the not-so-secret full wolf transformation one that he likes to go on at night, just himself and the trees and the wild. Derek walks into the dying orange glow wearing a pair of faded sweats he left himself just on the edge of camp, takes a seat next to Stiles, and they watch the last embers fade together.
Stiles never expects Derek to ask, “What do you want?” He doesn’t really expect anybody to ever ask him what he wants. Things are calmer in Beacon Hills, but their life has never been normal, not since high school, and Stiles has been careful to never truly dare to wish for anything. But they’re there, in the middle of the night with a dying fire and the chill that bites in the budding summer. The words are soft and imploring, and in the corner of his eye, in his peripheral vision, Stiles notices that Derek isn’t even looking at him, he’s looking into the fire, like maybe looking at Stiles will be all the pressure necessary to make the question too real, make him not answer it.
He doesn’t look at Derek when he says, “For you to be happy. For everybody to just be happy,” and he’s not expecting that either. But it’s raw honesty, which isn’t hard to give Derek. He’s been in love with Derek for years now. He’ll give the man anything, everything. He’d try that spell in that book Deaton told him never to open again, and make the moon whole every night of the year, even if it cost his heart, if Derek wanted to feel the rush.
In the corner of his eye, Derek nods, places a warm hand on Stiles’ knee, and says, “Thank you.” When they stand, almost hot fingers curl around the back of his neck, and Derek murmurs, “Let’s go to bed.” With a soft tug that’s really more like a pressure, a presence, he directs Stiles to walk with him, to his tent, to his sleeping bag, to lay in his space, and curl a place in his heart.
