#spellwovennight

2) Prohibition Bakery

Stiles really should have learned his lesson the first time he lost out on the book he wanted. He was right about the substitute--Scott did love Granny Weatherwax and was halfway through the rest of the Witches books--but still, it was the principle of the thing.

He should've gotten to the store earlier, maybe. Or ordered online a week ago (although he chafed at that idea; he liked supporting his local store). The point was, there were ways to ensure he got the books he wanted on time.

But now he was standing in the middle of the cookbook aisle, the day before Allison's birthday, with both hands on a copy of Prohibition Bakery.

And the other two hands on the book belonged to none other than Leather-Clad Book Stealer.

"No," Stiles said.

Leather-Clad Book Stealer sighed exasperatedly. "You again?"

Stiles glared. "You're not getting this one. You stole the last book, you're not stealing this one from me."

"You do realize it's not actually yours until you pay for it, right?"

Stiles would have waved his hands, but he wasn't letting go of this book for anything. "Semantics, dickweed. Now give it."

"No."

Stiles widened his eyes, going for the puppy dog look Scott and Allison had perfected. "Please?"

"Interesting tactic," Leather-Clad Book Stealer said. "Still no."

"Then we appear to have reached a stalemate, because I'm sure as hell not letting go."

Stiles was prepared to plunk his ass on the ground right there on the cookbook aisle, taking the book and Leather-Clad Book Stealer with him, when someone yelled, "Derek! Where the hell are you?"

Leather-Clad Book Stealer turned toward the voice, and Stiles seized his chance. He tugged the book free and sprinted to the end of the aisle, crowing his victory.

He turned back long enough to see his nemesis--Derek, apparently--glowering at him, but Stiles just gleefully waved the book over his head. "Hasta la vista, book stealer!"

3) Saga

The bookstore was one of Stiles's favorite places in the entire town. It was cozy and well-stocked with huge shelves, plus a little cafe tucked off to one corner with plenty of tables and plush chairs. It was a great place for studying, and Stiles probably spent a good quarter of his monthly income on the delicious cafe pastries.

Of course, that wasn't counting how much he spent on actual books. He really needed to budget better.

But today he wasn't worried about that. Today, he had a gigantic mug of his favorite hot cinnamon spice tea, a free afternoon, and the entire first volume of Saga to keep him company for a couple of hours.

He'd just settled in and taken his first sip of tea when someone cleared their throat right above him.

Stiles looked up from the book to see Leather-Clad Book Stealer, a.k.a. Derek, standing over him, wearing the same leather jacket he'd been the previous two times. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and his brow knit in a constipated furrow.

Stiles wasn't sure what it said about him that tall, dark, and angry made him horny instead of fearful.

Derek looked so pained Stiles almost felt sympathy for him. "Of course it's you."

Stiles let the hardback book drop against his chest. "It is me, whoever me is for you, oh nemesis of mine."

Derek's dark eyebrows shot up. "Nemesis?"

"Twice you've tried to take a book from me, and only once you've succeeded. I think that makes us nemeses. Nemesises?" Stiles frowned. "No, I'm pretty sure it's nemeses."

Derek nodded at his chest. "I need that book."

"You..." Stiles looked down and then wrapped his arms protectively around the book. "No! I've been wanting to read this for months!"

Derek wiped his hand over his face and cursed softly under his breath. "I need it for a class, okay? That's the only copy they've got left!"

Stiles shrugged. "You snooze, you lose. They'll have more in next week. Or you can go and ask them to order you one! Special!"

Derek closed his eyes and tipped his head back, quietly mouthing something. Stiles kind of wished he could read lips. "What are you doing?"

"Silently counting to ten so I don't rip the book out of your arms," Derek said.

"You're a little violent, dude."

"I'm a little desperate. And my name is Derek."

"Good for you." Stiles snuggled deeper into his chair and hunched further around the book. "I'm not giving this up. Like you need this for a class, seriously."

Derek gave him a flat, unimpressed look. "Actually, yes, I do. Saga is part of my thesis. I loaned my own copy to my younger sister, who is now in Japan for the next six months, and I would really like to have another one before my meeting with my advisor. Which is tomorrow."

"Holy shit, you're doing your thesis on Saga?" Stiles snapped his mouth shut and cursed the excitement in his voice.

Derek's lips twitched, and the scowl softened a bit. "On the move toward diversifying and thus normalizing characters in comics, but yes. Saga's a big part of that."

Oh no. Less scowly Derek wasn't just hot, he was kind of beautiful. Really beautiful, with the pale eyes and the dark stubble and the way his eyes crinkled just a little bit at the corners, like he wasn't quite smiling but he was getting there.

Stiles's heart thumped treacherously, and the next thing he knew, he was handing over the book. Voluntarily. "Fine, here you go."

Derek's eyebrows went up in surprise. "That's it?"

"Just take the book before I change my mind and go hide with it in the back or something," Stiles said.

Derek nodded once and took it carefully, like he was taking a baby. "Thanks, uh..."

"Stiles. And before you ask, it's a nickname."

Derek gave him a full grin at that. "I wasn't going to ask, but that's good to know. Thanks again, Stiles. I'll see you around."

"See ya," Stiles said, and waited until Derek had left the cafe before he flopped against the chair and groaned.

4) The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

Stiles frowned at the Js on the science fiction and fantasy shelf at the bookstore, wishing he'd thought to write the author's name down instead of relying on his memory. Lydia's birthday was coming up and Stiles knew she'd been branching out into reading more fantasy, so he was looking for a book he'd read about online but hadn't had a chance to read himself.

"James?" he muttered. "Jameson?"

"Jemisin?"

Stiles spun to see Derek standing behind him, holding up a copy of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin.

"Yes! That's the one. I knew I should've written it down." Stiles looked back to the shelf, and his face fell. "Shit. I don't see another one. Damn it, I know Lydia would love that."

Derek shoved it into his chest. "Here you go."

Stiles fumbled but managed to grab the book before it dropped. "Holy shit, seriously?"

"Seriously," Derek said, and then turned and walked away.

"Thank you!" Stiles called after him, but he wasn't sure if Derek heard.

That was quite possibly the weirdest interaction he and Derek had had yet.

5) The Drunken Botanist

Stiles didn't start going to the bookstore three times a week in the hopes of seeing Derek, okay? He just needed more study time, and he got the best studying done at the bookstore.

So he wasn't disappointed when he went three weeks without seeing hide nor hair of Derek. Nope, not disappointed at all.

This particular trip wasn't one of his study trips, though.

"Dude, Scotty, Kira likes plants, right?" Stiles asked desperately, one hand on his phone and the other cautiously balancing a stack of six books.

"Yes?" Scott didn't sound too sure. "I mean, she likes them well enough."

"Do you think she'd like a book called The Drunken Botanist?" Stiles asked. "It's plants and booze. She likes those things, right? And there are...wow, a lot of drink recipes in here."

"You know you don't have to get my girlfriend a Christmas present."

"Considering after this Christmas she's going to be your fiancée, yes, yes I do."

"Dude!" Scott hissed. "Not so loud."

Stiles rolled his eyes so hard he almost gave himself a headache. "Oh my God, man, it's not like she's in the bookstore." He froze. "Wait, is she in the bookstore?"

"No, she's here making dinner, but still!"

Stiles was glad he wasn't there, otherwise he'd have slapped Scott upside the head. "Oh my God, will you calm down then? I'm getting her the book."

He started to pull the book off the shelf and into his pile when another large hand landed on top of his, and Stiles reflexively jerked away.

It was Derek. Because of course it was.

"Scotty, I'll talk to you later." Stiles hung up the phone before he heard Scott's response. "Heeeeeey, Derek."

Derek's lips just barely turned up at the edges. "Stiles. Christmas shopping?"

"Yup." Stiles shoved his phone back into his pocket and gestured at the stack of books balanced on his left arm. "Almost finished. You?"

"Just picking up a few more gifts." Derek held up The Drunken Botanist. "Do you know anything about this?"

"I was thinking of giving it to my best friend's girlfriend," Stiles said. "It's got plants and booze, that's about all I know."

"Ah." Derek flipped over the book to look at the back, a fond smile on his face. "I was thinking of getting it for Cora. She's started to get really into mixing drinks and stuff, she'll get a kick out of it."

Stiles's heart sank. Any woman who could put that smile on Derek's face was a special one, and Stiles immediately berated himself for thinking that, because he barely knew the man.

He cleared his throat. "You should do that. Get that. You'll win present of the year."

"You think so?"

Stiles nodded. "Yeah. Totally. I'm just going to go find something for Kira and then, you know, finish braving the madness."

"Do you want some help?" Derek asked.

Stiles shook his head. He wasn't that much of a masochist. "Nah, thanks though. I'm fine. Have a merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," Derek said, and Stiles wasn't sure if he was imagining the slight disappointment in his voice.

Imagining it, definitely.

+1) Good Omens

Between Christmas and New Year's and the post-holiday recovery that took just about the entire month of January, Stiles didn't get a chance to go back to the bookstore until nearly Valentine's Day. It was one of the few places that wasn't utterly overwhelmed by pink and red hearts, although he noticed the romance novels had been moved to a position of prominence near the front door.

He wandered the aisles in the fiction section, not really sure what he was looking for. It wasn't until he spotted Good Omens on the shelf that he remembered he'd been intending to read it for about five years now.

He picked up the book and flipped it over. It was almost weird, now, to pick up a book without Derek's hand landing on the same one. Stiles resolutely shoved the thought away. Derek had a life, Derek had a girlfriend, Derek definitely did not spend all his spare time lurking the aisles of the bookstore to snatch books away from fellow book lovers.

"It's a good one."

And apparently Derek also lived to prove him wrong.

Stiles raised his eyes from the back of the book and turned to see Derek there, hands in his pockets and looking almost shy. His heart thumped at the sight.

"Have you read it?" Derek asked, nodding at the book.

Stiles shook his head. "Nah. I've been meaning to, but it's always gotten pushed to the bottom of the TBR pile."

"You should," Derek said. "If you like the Discworld series, you'll enjoy it. Pratchett and Gaiman work really well together."

"Cool." Stiles gripped the book a little tighter and hope he sounded like everything was cool. "I'll have to check it out, then."

"I, uh." Derek cleared his throat. "I've been meaning to reread it. It's been a few years. Would you want to read it together?"

"Together?" Stiles repeated, his heart beating a little faster. "Like how?"

Derek shrugged. "You know. Read it, and then get together over coffee to talk about it? Like, maybe Saturday?"

"Saturday?" Stiles counted up the days. "Wait, don't you have plans?"

Derek looked confused. It probably would have been adorable any other time. "Why would I have plans?"

"Saturday's Valentine's Day," Stiles said. "Don't you have plans with your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?" Derek frowned. "I don't have a girlfriend. Where did you get that idea?"

Stiles's cheeks heated. "Uh, at Christmas, you were buying a present for Cora--"

"Who is my sister," Derek said. "The one who took my copy of Saga overseas, actually."

"Oh." Stiles felt like an idiot. "Okay. Yeah. I'm an idiot."

"Hardly." Derek smiled. "Well, you are, but it has less to do with that and more to do with you stealing my copy of Prohibition Bakery."

"Hey!" Stiles swatted his shoulder. "I won that one fair and square. And you got Guards! Guards!, so that was only right. Justice was served."

Derek snorted. "If by justice you mean your own personal self-interests, then yes."

Stiles grabbed another copy of Good Omens and shoved it into Derek's chest. "Well, maybe you should come to the cafe with me right now and let me buy you a drink to make up for it. We can go ahead and get started on that 'reading it together' thing."

Derek looked from the book back up to Stiles. "Is this your way of asking me on a date?"

"Depends. Was asking me to meet on Saturday your way of asking me on a date?" Stiles said. "Because if so, then yes, this is totally me asking you on a date. If not, nope, just hanging out, no pressure whatsoever, just going to enjoy some hot beverage and delicious pastries and--"

"It's a date, then," Derek cut in. "Definitely a date."

It took every ounce of his willpower not to do a victory dance right in the middle of the fantasy aisle. "Awesome, then. Definitely awesome."

Stiles needed to stop talking before he said anything else stupid, but he couldn't keep the idiotic smile off his face.

That was okay. Derek's answering grin was just was wide and he ducked his head a little, like he was shy. It was so adorable Stiles thought he was going to die.

"Yeah, I would really, really like to date the hell out of you," Stiles said.

Derek looked up at him and nodded back to the café. "Well, why don't we get started, then?"

"Sounds good.” Stiles bumped into his side deliberately, pressing against the warm length of Derek’s leather sleeve. “Fair warning, though: if I like the book, I absolutely will not shut up about it."

But whatever the reason is he's stuck here because he was between productions and the Hale family did guilt like no other. Here, with a bunch of underprivileged kids who don’t know how to speak clearly let alone act. Whose parents are either helicopters or nonexistent entities. Which just makes him more depressed about being back in Beacon Hills, the town he’d escaped from the first chance he’d gotten. 

Not that high school or life here had been bad. He’d been popular and good looking, he’d just wanted things that didn’t involve sports which hadn’t been available in Beacon Hills. At least he hadn’t been picked on in high school. 

“Derek Hale?” comes from a voice from behind him and if he hadn’t recognized the crooked jaw he wouldn’t have recognized the speaker. 

“Scott McCall?” Scott had been one of those people who hadn’t fit in high school, but had never had real problems. His best friend, on the other hand, had had a weird name Derek can’t recall and limbs too long for his body. “You still live here?”

“Yeah, I’m Deaton’s partner now,” Scott tells him proudly. “What are you doing here? Last I heard you were some hotshot in Broadway in New York.”

Yeah and that's exactly where Derek wishes he were right now. "Laura asked me to direct the community center's play this year. I'm only here for a couple of months."

Derek wants to say more but that's when the door of the small cafe opens again and Stiles Stilinski, up and coming actor who Derek will be working with next fall and has yet to meet in person, walks in and all the puzzle pieces fall into place.

Stiles Stilinski, the guy in high school who'd talked too much and couldn't focus and limbs too long and too uncontrollable. The one with the name no one could pronounce and him refusing any nicknames because his mother was sick and she loved his name. Stiles Stilinski, the actor who had taken a small off-Broadway play and brought so much life to his character that he'd almost single-handedly made it a success. The actor whose limbs moved with grace and even when still gave the impression of motion. The actor Derek had been looking forward to meeting ever since he'd first heard about him.

"Scott!" Stiles cries and there's the guy that Derek remembers from high school, the one who was unashamedly open and enthusiastic. Scott grins and waves his friend over.

"I guess you'll be working with Stiles then, too."

"What?" comes from two voices and Derek and Stiles stare at each other in shock.

"Stiles is going to give your actors some acting lessons," Scott explains to Derek before turning to his friend. "Apparently Derek is going to be directing the community center play."

Stiles' eyes widen and then he grins at Derek and Derek has to fight back a blush, reminding himself of what happened the last time he'd dated an actor. Kate Argent had tried to set his house on fire in a fit of "artistic sensitivity" and Jennifer Blake had accused him of working against her when he hadn't given her a part in one of his plays.