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It started when Stiles moved back to Beacon Hills. If Derek is being honest it started before that, but he was the undefeated champion of lying to himself.
This flaw is also why it took him so long to notice it.
Derek was restless one night, the best way to get some sleep is to take a run through the woods for a bit. It always settles him. He jumps out of bed and pulls on his running shoes and a shirt. He grabs his keys but leaves his car, he didn't live far from the woods, he made sure of that. As soon as he's deep enough in the woods an itch starts under his skin, his gums ache and he grinds his teeth to relieve the pressure, a dull pain starts in his fingertips and toes.
Derek kicks his shoes off first, his basketball shorts are next, last his shirt. His bones shift under his skin and it only takes a moment before he's on all fours and covered in fur. He runs full speed through the woods before his attention is caught by a creature. The bunny runs away from the wolf but the scent is easy enough to follow. It doesn't take long for him to pounce on the animal. One twitch of the jaw has the animal falling limp, dead. Derek is vaguely aware of what he does next but it makes his wolf happy so he doesn't fight it.
_______
The loft door bursting open wakes Derek up in the morning. His eyes are heavy but he forces himself out of bed anyway. He should be scared but he knew Stiles heartbeat and scent better than his own so he was calm.
"Derek we're having a pack meeting, it's an emergency! Everyone will be here soon!"
Derek puts on a shirt and walks downstairs to find a frantic Stiles.
"What's wrong?" Derek squeezes the back of Stiles neck and the younger man exhales and his shoulders slump in relaxation. Before he could answer the question though Scott and Malia burst through the door, a minute later Lydia follows.
"Okay, so who is threatening you?" Scott shouts and Derek immediately goes stiff. His chest rumbles but the growl isn't heard by the humans.
"What?" Lydia asks.
Stiles goes to the dining table.
"I woke up this morning to a dead rabbit on my porch!"
"That's disgusting," Lydia exclaims.
Derek's body runs cold. Flashes of his wolf dropping a dead rabbit from his mouth onto Stiles's doorstep flash through his mind. Why didn't he remember doing that? Why did he DO that? Malia is staring at Derek strangely, probably because his heart's beating so fast.
"What should we do?" Derek asks the group.
"Alright, we'll do surveillance around your place for a couple of days..." Scott suggests.
"Come on man, I'm a detective. Do you think I really need surveillance?" Stiles argues.
"Yes, who knows what this is? Do you think the sheriff's department of Beacon Hills can really protect you from ohhh I don't know. Another Alpha pack, the ghost riders, or hell even Theo Raeken if he goes bad again?" Lydia points out.
"Hey, I dealt with all of those before didn't I?" Stiles sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I just wanted you guys to know what was going on but I think we should hold off the bodyguard until we get more info or at least more threats."
Scott puts his hand on Stiles’s shoulder and squeezes lightly. Derek couldn't stop the low growl that erupts. Luckily it's on a wavelength too low for the humans to hear but both wolves look at him. Scott raises an eyebrow and tilts his head in that puppy-like way he normally does while Malia flashes her eyes blue in a warning. Derek stops and blushes confused about his reaction.
"Alright if that's all for this meeting. I have to deep clean the loft." Derek says as a way to excuse himself from this weirdness.
_______
It wasn't long before another meeting was being called.
"A deer?!" Lydia asks in shock.
"Bambi was on my front porch this morning!" Stiles confirms.
Malia has a weird look on her face and Derek is quiet. If it wasn't for Derek's personality, some might view this as strange.
Finally, Stiles agrees to let the pack check up on him while he's home. When the meeting ends Malia hangs back.
Derek stares at her for a moment waiting for her to speak.
The Hale cousins weren't strangers anymore but considering they both were the least talkative in the pack, conversations were rare amongst them.
"How is your courting going?" She finally asks.
"My what?"
"You're courting Stiles aren't you?"
"No!" Malia furrows her brows. "Why would you think that?"
"You don't know..." Malia trails off making Derek more confused.
"Know what?!"
Malia takes a deep breath and sits on the couch and waits for Derek to join her. He does so after a moment.
"The rabbits, deer, growling whenever anyone else touches him. You're in the process of courting Stiles as your mate."
Derek freezes for a moment and tries to remember every fuzzy detail about when he goes into the woods in full shift. Then he tries to remember what little his mom would tell him about courting rituals before she died.
His expression must have changed because Malia says "Now you get it."
"How... how'd you know but not me?" Malia shrugs.
"Your wolf has taken over and out of all of us I'm most connected to our were instincts." Malia was right, spending years in the woods stuck in full shift means Malia was closer to her animal than most. Her human traits were a little rusty but her coyote side wasn't.
When Derek stays silent for too long Malia pats his shoulder and stands.
"Don't overthink it. Stiles is amazing. He was my anchor too you know..." she leaves him to his thoughts.
Derek thought back to the last couple of years. He thought about when Kate shot him with wolf's bane and Stiles drove him around while he died slowly. He thought about Stiles holding him for hours in that pool even though they were technically enemies and how his heart jumped when Stiles said Jackson was an abomination. How he didn't see being a werewolf as a monster, didn't see Derek as a monster but normal. He thought about how when he was human before the full shift how he didn't hesitate to protect Stiles & laid in Mexico, dying with no regrets in his mind as long as Stiles was safe. He thought about the friendship they had now. Now that Stiles was out of school and had come back to Beacon Hills as a detective. How they had lunch every Friday, just the two of them away from the pack. How they talked about Stiles's work and Derek's furniture building. They discussed books and movies and music and Derek always ordered his burger with onions even if he didn't like them because he gave them to Stiles because he liked extra and Stiles did the same with his pickles. He thought about how they never discussed where they should sit because they both picked the booth in the furthest corner. Derek's back to the wall because he liked to watch everyone come in and out and yes it was his PTSD but Stiles didn't comment because sometimes Stiles had nightmares about the nogitsune still and he always called Derek and no matter how late Derek would talk him down until he could fall back asleep and they just FIT.
Because that was love right? Sometimes it's fast and exciting like a rollercoaster and sometimes it’s slow and comforting like hot chocolate on Christmas morning. Sometimes it's not someone who is just like you but the opposite like a puzzle piece who completes the bigger picture. Sometimes it's the annoying kid who argues with you and challenges your every decision. It's not the "yes man" you think you want. It's the one who will call you out on your shit when you're being stupid. It's the one who will fight heaven and hell to get you out instead of sit and mourn your fall.
Sometimes it's a hyperactive sarcastic human and a gruff angry werewolf.
Love is Stiles and Derek.
_______
It was finally Derek's turn to drop in on Stiles. His heart was pounding and he was glad Stiles wasn’t a wolf or else he would stop it. He grabs his plastic bag full of snacks and makes his way to Stiles apartment door. He answers after two knocks and allows Derek to come in.
"As you can see I'm still alive," Stiles greets sarcastically before grabbing the bag from Derek's hand and inspecting the contents.
"I know we usually do movie nights on Sunday but I figure we do it today since I'm on babysitting duty."
"I am not a child!" He argues as he goes straight for the chocolate bar, Derek rolls his eyes like he just proved his point.
"Fine, make the popcorn while I grab the movie."
"Do I get a vote this time?" Derek calls after Stiles whose down the hall.
"You know you don't!" Stiles calls back. "You have no taste when it comes to movies." Stiles continues the conversation when he comes back while Derek is standing in front of the microwave. A DVD case of Alien in his right hand. Derek rolls his eyes at the accusation considering he loves sci-fi movies and would've picked that one anyway. The microwave stops and by the time Derek pulls out the bag Stiles is handing him the bowl to pour it in.
They move easily around Stiles's kitchen. Stiles's grabbing them both a soda while Derek adds the M&Ms to the popcorn (Stiles's idea) which Derek didn't completely hate. The routine calms Derek's earlier worries and they settle into the couch. Stiles starts the movie and swings his legs onto Derek's lap holding the popcorn bowl into his. Derek holds Stiles's ankle in one hand and the other he grabs some popcorn. Derek thinks back to before. Before he and Stiles were like this. When the closest they came physically was Derek slamming Stiles into walls. When Derek threatened Stiles instead of just asking nicely. He doesn't know exactly when things shifted but he's glad they did. He's happy where he is now.
They just fit.
_______
“Can we do something different for lunch tomorrow?” Derek sends the text and doesn’t have to wait long for the reply.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Dinner instead, my place at 7 pm.”
“Sure…” Derek tried hard not to think about the reply and immediately got up to go to the grocery store for supplies.
Sauerkraut
Potatoes
Sour cream
White pepper
Flour
Baking powder
Beef broth
Beef
Red wine vinegar
Bottle of red wine
Bay leaves
Carrots
Derek was looking over his list in front of the wines when he hears someone beside him clear his throat. He meets the eyes of Sheriff Stilinski himself. He nods his head in a greeting and Derek returns it.
He eyes the wines and gives Derek a sharp look.
"Stiles tells me you two are having dinner tonight?"
"Yeah..."
"What's on the menu?"
"Beef stew and pierogi..."
"Stiles loves pierogi." The sheriff stares off to the side like he isn't there anymore but in a lost memory.
"I know, he told me..." Sheriff snaps back into the present and studies Derek for a moment.
"Stiles can... be a handful I know but... he's a good man who'll take care of you if you let him... You gotta take care of him too though or..." he trails off letting Derek fill in the blanks. Derek allows himself to be surprised for a moment only a moment before nodding in understanding.
At that the Sheriff continues on and heads to the check out with his basket, Derek finishes his shopping.
Back at the loft, Derek took all the ingredients out for the stew so he could start it first as it would take the longest. When he was sick or not in the best mood growing up his mom always made him this stew. It was definitely a comfort food and he needed all the comfort he could get for tonight.
Derek combines the flour and pepper in a bowl, he tosses the beef around until it's fully coated. He heats up a pot full of oil & adds the beef. He cooks the beef until it is brown. He takes the beef out and pours the vinegar and wine into the pot.
Wine does nothing to him but the taste is still enjoyable which is why this wasn't a problem for him to eat as a kid. It's like grape juice to werewolves. Derek puts the beef back into the pot along with beef broth and bay leaves. After it starts to boil Derek reduces it to a low simmer.
While that cooks Derek starts to clean the loft which doesn't take too long considering Derek is pretty good at keeping things tidy.
It was finally time for Derek to prepare the pierogi. He starts with the sauerkraut filling. First, he melts some butter in a skillet. He adds chopped onions and cooks them until translucent. He drains the sauerkraut and adds it to the skillet cooking for an additional 5 minutes. He adds seasoning until it's perfect and removes it so it can cool.
Next, it's time to do the mashed potato filling. He had already made the mash potatoes. The process starts similar to the sauerkraut where he has to melt the butter in a skillet and stir in the onion to cook until translucent. He stirs this into the mashed potatoes, and seasons it also.
After that, he turns his attention to the dough. He whisks together eggs and sour cream until it's smooth. He adds that mix to the flour, salt, and baking powder until the dough comes together. He kneads the dough on a lightly floured surface until firm and smooth. Derek divides the dough in half, then rolls out one half to 1/8 inch thickness. Last he cuts it into 3-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter.
Finally, he places small spoonfuls of the mashed potato filling into the center of half of his dough and spoonfuls of the sauerkraut filling in the other half. He uses his fingers dipped in water to moisten the edges and folds the dough over before pressing together with a fork to seal.
Derek brings a pot of salted water to a boil and adds the perogies and cook for 5 minutes. When they start to float to the top he removes & plates them.
_______
“I wanted to talk about the dead animals on your porch.” Stiles pauses mid-bite it Derek felt warm and content watching Stiles enjoy the food.
“Do you know anything about it?” He asks carefully.
“Yeah actually, I know everything about it… I was the one putting them on your porch.” Stiles studies Derek for the lie for a moment but doesn’t interrupt. “It appears that my wolf has started the process of courting you without my knowledge.” Derek hears Stiles heartbeat speed up a bit and he starts to smell hopeful and anxious. “It seems that without noticing I have fallen in love with you.” Derek hears the chair scrape on his floor and even though Stiles wasn’t a wolf he still ran at Derek with a speed he only saw on full moons. It wasn’t long before he had a lapful of Stiles. Their lips crashed together and time seemed to finally slow. Derek’s hand slid up the younger man’s back and settles on his neck, he can feel Stiles’s heart beating through the blue button-up and it was comforting. After a long blissful moment, Stiles pulls away slowly.
"Finally, I was waiting for you to catch on. I feel like I was courting you for ages." Stiles explains.
Derek blinks, once, then twice.
"You were courting me?" He asks.
"Yeah, come on, movie night, all the times I saved your furry ass, don't forget all the research I've done for you!"
"You've called me names and had nothing but sarcastic remarks when I asked you for help!"
"Oh, and giving me dead animals is SO MUCH MORE sophisticated!?"
"Werewolves have been court-" The argument continued for another 10 minutes until Derek kissed Stiles again and they dropped it in favor of making out.
Yeah, love is Stiles and Derek.