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“You’re dumping me? On Valentine’s Day?” Stiles screeched, staring at his boyfriend, well, now ex-boyfriend standing in the hallway in front of their apartment.
Stiles had dressed up for dinner at Chez Luna, having made the reservation a month in advance to surprise Curtis. When he’d answered the door, he’d been surprised to find Curtis dressed in jeans and a ripped shirt. In his arms, he carried a box of everything Stiles had left at his apartment in the three years they’d been together.
“Could you keep your voice down?” Curtis hissed, rolling his eyes. “You always have to make a scene.”
“You are dumping me! On Valentine’s Day!” Stiles hissed, keeping his voice low even though he was reasonably confident that every resident on the floor had their ears pressed to their doors, listening to the drama unfold. “I had plans! Big plans.” He refused to think about the ring he’d almost purchased but had to pass on when his Jeep needed new tires.
“Look, I’m sorry, but we both knew it hasn’t been good between us-”
“How long do you expect me to wait?” A woman’s voice asked, drawing both of their attention towards where she stepped out of the elevator. “I can only go up and down so many times.”
Curtis dropped his head to his chest. “Lana, I told you to go to the car.”
“But I wanted to meet your brother’s friend,” she said, holding a hand out, and Stiles gaped at the bright, shiny diamond on her ring finger. “I’m Lana. Curtis’ fiance.” She said the phrase with a small giggle as if saying it was still a novelty.
Stiles stared at her hand, unmoving, a million thoughts running through his head. The top of the list was a double homicide. He was a Sheriff’s kid; he knew how to cover up a murder. As he was calculating just how much peroxide he had in the bathroom for removing blood without discoloring the furniture, someone cleared their throat.
Turning to look down the hall in the opposite direction of the elevator, he saw a man. Stiles choked when he identified his neighbor from the far end of the hall. The man had only moved in a few weeks earlier. Stiles had not spent the day looking through the peephole as the men and his beautiful friends lugged heavy boxes from the elevator to his door. So what if he had? He’d been in a relationship, not dead. He shot a glare at Curtis as he remembered he was in the middle of being dumped by an apparently two-timing son of a-
“Are you ready?” the man said, looking at his expensive watch that peeked out from under the cuff of his well-fitted suit coat. A royal blue color that made his eyes glow.
“I’m sorry?” Stiles said.
“You should be. We’ll be late for our reservations,” the man said, holding out a small bouquet. “These are for you.” Stiles reached for them automatically as the man looked him up and down. before looking Stiles up and down.” You look nice. I like the red vest.”
Stiles’ cheeks burned, and he fought to find words. “Who are you?” Curtis snapped, glaring at Derek.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m being rude. My name is Derek Hale,” he said. “Stiles’ date for tonight.”
Stiles choked, wondering if he’d opened his door to an alternate timeline where he was in a relationship with the hottest guy on the planet. His imaginings of how he and Derek had met were interrupted by Curtis’ scoff.
“Yeah, I don’t think so, man,” he said.
Derek raised his eyebrows, an amused look on his face. “And what say do you have at all?” Derek focused on Lana and held out his hand again. Lana took it, looking a bit dazed. “Did I hear you say that you’re this gentleman’s fiance?” Derek’s voice was pointed, and Stiles enjoyed the shade of purple that Curtis turned as he opened and closed his mouth a few times.
She giggled and held out her left hand to show her ring. “He proposed at lunch! We were just one our way to tell our families, but Curtis wanted to drop off this stuff for his brother’s friend.”
Derek lifted her hand to his lips, brushing the knuckles. “Well, congratulations to you both. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Stiles and I have reservations at seven-thirty.” Derek glanced down. “You might want to get your shoes. Chez Luna is pretty strict about that.”
Derek pushed between Curtis and Lana, his elbow jerking out enough to send Curtis back a few steps. “I’ll take that,” Derek said, grabbing the box. He moved into the apartment, giving Stiles no choice but to back up and let him. Once he was over the threshold, he slammed the door in Curtis’ face.
Stiles gaped at him, trying to figure out what had just happened. He watched Derek tip his head to the side, his lips curved into a smile, and he let out a deep chuckle. “He’s not happy. Probably not easy when you can’t tell your fiance you’ve been cheating on her.” Shrugging, he set the box down at his feet, turning his attention to Stiles. “You alright?”
“Did I hit my head?” Stiles ran his hands through his hair. “Is this some kind of strange concussion-induced hallucination?” He glared when Derek started laughing. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Look, I was leaving for work and saw what was happening. I’ve seen that guy coming by a lot and putting two and two together. I’m sorry if I’ve upset you.” Derek looked a bit sheepish. “I guess it was a bit weird.”
“How did you know my name?” Stiles asked, skipping everything else. The situation was crazy, but Derek’s explanation made a little bit of sense. “We’ve never met before.”
“That will take a bit more explanation than I can give right now,” Derek said. “As will this.” He tilted his head. “Curtis is still outside, so I suppose you should get your shoes on so we can head out for dinner.”
“Do you really have reservations at Chez Luna?” Stiles asked. “Because, honestly, if you don’t, I do, and it’s the least I can do for you saving me from that situation. God, how pathetic am I to not only be dumped on Valentine’s Day but be dumped by someone cheating on me long enough to be engaged to the other person.” Stiles froze as he put one foot into his dress shoes that had been waiting by the door. “Wait, what if he wasn’t cheating on me? What if he was cheating with me?”
Stiles felt his knees go weak and would’ve probably hit the floor if Derek hadn’t reached out to put a hand under his elbow. “I was the other man,” Stiles said, feeling ashamed and a bit sick to his stomach. “I’m a homewrecker.”
“You’re ridiculous is what you are,” Derek said, kneeling down to help Stiles put on his shoes. “You can’t be a homewrecker if you didn’t wreck the home, and from the looks of it, they are doing perfectly fine. She didn’t have enough sense to pick up what was going on, and he’s probably not dumb enough to tell her.”
“Yes, he is,” Stiles mumbled.
Derek stood up and smiled down at him. “He did let you go, after all.”
Stiles snorted and shoved at Derek’s shoulder. The man barely moved. “That was cheesy as fuck.”
Derek smirked and gestured towards the door. “Shall we go?”
Stiles grabbed his jacket from the hook by the door and nodded. “We can take my Jeep.”
Derek’s eyebrows rose. “The blue one in the lot?” Stiles nodded. “I think we should take my car instead.”
“If you say so, but I’m paying for dinner,” Stiles stated, patting his back pocket to check for his wallet. Derek smirked and opened the door.
Curtis and Lana stood by the elevator; their heads bent together. Curtis looked up as Stiles and Derek stepped into the hall. His eyes narrowed, and Stiles stepped closer to Derek, trying not to show his surprise at Derek’s hand on the small of his back. Derek leaned down to whisper in his ear, “Act natural.” His warm breath sent a tingle down his back.
Stiles snorted, wondering what acting naturally entailed. He took a couple of steps and tripped over his own feet. He figured that was the most Stiles-like thing he could do and looked up when Derek quietly snorted. Stiles glared at him.
The elevator arrived. The four of them stepped inside, and the door closed. Stiles clenched his fists when Lana wrapped her arms around Curtis’ arm and snuggled into him. She stretched up to press a kiss to his cheek and giggled as she held her hand out to admire her ring. Derek’s arm moved to Stiles’ shoulders and pulled him into his side. He pressed a kiss to Stiles’ temple, and a crack sounded from the other side of the elevator.
Looking over to Curtis, he was shaking out his hand. Half of an Iron Man keychain Stiles had given to him on their first anniversary was on the floor. Stiles had to bury his face in Derek’s chest to hide his smile, and he could feel Derek shaking with silent laughter. Stiles bit his lip and huffed out a breath through his nose.
The elevator ride seemed to take forever, even though they only lived on the fourth floor. When the doors opened, Curtis sprinted out of the elevator. Lana waved over her shoulder as she tripped over her heels while Curtis dragged her behind him. “Bye! It was nice to meet you! We’ll have to invite you to the wedding!” Stiles hated that she was so nice because he wanted to blame her and not Curtis or his own stupidity for the situation.
Derek ushered Stiles out with his hand on his back. “Guess we have at least one more date coming up, then,” he said, pulling Stiles out of the shock that Lana’s words had sent him into.
“Plan on making this a habit?” Stiles asked, laughing. The laugh cut off abruptly when his mind switched focus onto the current situation rather than the one that had just raced out the door. “I don’t know anything about you. In fact, how do I even know I’ll be safe getting in your car with you. You could be kidnapping me. This could be an elaborate setup.” Stiles’ breaths started coming faster, and he paused with his hands on his knees.
“Stiles,” Derek said, his voice even and soothing. “If it will make you feel better, you can take your Jeep and meet me at the restaurant. I don’t want you to feel like you are in danger.” He knelt down and looked up into Stiles’ face. “I don’t know if you should be driving right now. I’ll pay for an Uber to take you if that will help. Or if you want to come with me in my car, you can send a picture of my ID to your dad. He can run a background check.”
A background check? That wasn’t a standard assumption that someone would make about a parent. Somehow, Derek knew that Stiles’ dad was a Sheriff, but they’d never spoken before that day. In fact, they barely acknowledged each other the few times they had run into each other in the hallway. “How…how did you know about my dad?” Stiles asked, forcing the words out as he tried to bring his breathing under control.
“Shit,” Derek muttered. “This is not going to be easy, and we shouldn’t do it in public.” He looked around. “Come have dinner with me at my place or your place if you prefer. I’ll have food delivered.”
“Yeah,” Stiles said after a beat. “I think I need to hear this, but I’d prefer my place if you don’t mind.” He pushed himself upward and took a step back when Derek handed his license over to him. “Thanks.” He took a photo and sent it off to his dad. Even if the suggestion had been an odd one, Stiles wasn’t going to pass it up. He took a quick moment to study the ID for himself. “Derek Hale,” he murmured, something about the name tugging at his memory. “Christmas baby.” He shook his head with a laugh, wondering what about Derek put him at ease and on edge at the same time.
After handing the card back, Derek lifted a hand, hesitating with it a few inches from Stiles’ back. Stiles nodded and felt Derek’s gentle, guiding warmth. They stepped back into the elevator and traveled back up to their floor. Derek kept one hand on Stiles and texted with the other. “What do you want to eat?”
“I’ll eat anything. Except shrimp. The last thing we need is for tonight to end in the hospital,” Stiles said.
Derek nodded. “That’s probably the only way this could get stranger,” he said. His thumb flew over the screen, and then he looked up. “Dinner should be here in about half an hour.”
Stiles nodded and unlocked his apartment door. He reached into the closet behind the door. He pulled out the Louisville Slugger his dad had given him before he’d moved and hoisted it over his shoulder as he toed off his shoes. Derek looked at him in alarm but then relaxed. “If that makes you feel better.”
“For now,” Stiles said. His stepmom had given him the bat when he’d moved out. She used to keep it under her bed before she’d married Stiles’ dad. She swore it made her feel safe from the things that went bump in the night.
Although he’d let Derek into his apartment earlier without hesitation, he was feeling less at ease now. The vast knowledge of Stiles that Derek seemed to have made him suspicious. He remembered when his stepbrother Scott came to visit shortly after Derek had moved in. He’d passed Derek getting off the elevator when he was leaving. Scott had said something about the guy that made him nervous, but Stiles had chalked it up to Scott’s wolfy senses being on the blink. Derek had never done anything to draw Stiles’ attention until that night. Except for being absolutely stunning.
Stiles watched Derek as he removed his shoes and then stood awkwardly by the front door, his eyes taking in the apartment and his nostrils flaring. Stiles sniffed surreptitiously but didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary and definitely nothing offensive. He didn’t know what was going on with Derek, but he was starting to act like Scott did when he’d helped Stiles move into the apartment.
Everything Derek knew about Stiles could have been overheard. Scott had commented on hearing the woman next door having phone sex with her boyfriend for hours one night. Something he’d only been able to hear because of his enhanced senses. Stiles reconsidered how Derek had sniffed the apartment and tilted his head to see what was going on in the hallway. The blue glow to his eyes that he’d thought was a trick of the light.
“Holy shit,” Stiles said, and Derek looked at him, eyes raising as he reached out a hand. Stiles wondered if he heard his heartbeat. Scott always got that look on his face when Stiles’ heart started racing. “You’re a werewolf.”
Derek took a step backward, his eyes wide. A crash sounded in the hallway, and a moment later, he heard frantic knocking on his door. “Derek!” a woman shouted through the door.
“I better let her in,” Derek said sheepishly, reaching behind him and opening the door.
“Laura, meet Stiles,” he said when a brunette with glowing red eyes tried to push past him. “Stiles, meet Laura. My sister and my Alpha.”
“Alphas a real werewolf thing? Not just for porn?” Stiles asked. “Oh my God, I have so many questions!”
The red in Laura’s eyes faded as her brows lowered in confusion. Derek looked lost. “Dude, you met my bro, Scott! You were getting off the elevator as he was getting on!” Stiles scowled. “He didn’t tell me you were a werewolf!”
“Wait. That ‘wolf that was here right after I moved in? That’s your friend?” Derek asked.
“Yeah! My brother from another mother, although actually, his mom is now my stepmom, so I guess….well, never mind, not important.” He set the bat down next to the couch. “Derek, don’t be rude and let your sister come inside. Sit down, both of you.”
“You know what, DerBear, I think you can handle this one on your own,” Laura said, laughing and backing out of the doorway. Stiles heard her giggling as a door slammed down the hall.
“She lives in the apartment next to mine on this side of the hall,” Derek explained. “In fact, you’re really the only non-Pack member on this floor.”
“How did that happen?” Stiles asked. “Isn’t that like a big no-no? Oh shit, I’m invading your territory!”
Derek laughed. “Well, it wasn’t ideal, but the former tenant, my Uncle Peter, decided to go off on his own without letting any of us know.”
“Peter Hale? Kind of creepy middle-aged guy who seems to have a thing for twinks?” Stiles asked, remembering the man who’d sublet the apartment to him.
“My Uncle.” At least Stiles knew why Derek’s name had rung a bell earlier. “And he has a thing for anything with a pulse…or at least I hope he sticks to things with pulses.” He shuddered.
Stiles gestured to the couch, and Derek sat down on the edge. Stiles settled on the coffee table, shoving the comic books he’d been reading to the side. “So, that’s how you know everything about me,” Stiles stated. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of that as a possibility. Of course, Scott didn’t tell me you were a werewolf. He just said there was something weird about you.”
“How is your friend a werewolf if you didn’t know Alphas were real?” Derek asked in response.
“He doesn’t have one. Scott got attacked in the woods one night, and next thing we know, he’s getting all growly once a month,” Stiles explained, holding his hands up in an approximation of claws that drew a laugh out of Derek. “I did a ton of research, but I didn’t know how to search for other Packs or if there even were other werewolves out there. I mean, I figured there had to be, but I couldn’t exactly post a Craig’s List ad looking for them.”
“No, you really couldn’t,” Derek said, looking like he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
A knock on the door drew their attention. “Food,” Derek said, rising and crossing to the door.
“Here you go, loser,” someone said when he opened the door.
“No tip for that,” Stiles muttered.
“Fuck you,” the girl said.
“Another werewolf?” Stiles asked, getting to his feet and standing behind Derek to peek over his shoulder.
“Stiles, meet my other sister, Cora,” Derek said, pulling the door completely open, revealing a slightly younger, angrier version of Laura.
“Thank you for bringing the food,” Derek said.
“You better appreciate it,” she snapped. “The place is packed, and I had to leave the sous chef in charge.”
“Isaac is good at his job,” Derek told her.
“He better be. I have to pull double duty since our manager didn’t show up,” she snapped, glaring at Derek.
Derek ducked his head and looked at Stiles. “Something came up.”
Cora looked between Derek and Stiles, a smirk crossing her face. “I just bet I know what that something was.”
“Stop complaining,” Laura said, appearing in the hallway again, dressed in an elegant black dress. “I’m on my way to take over for Derek so you can hide in the kitchen,” she told Cora before turning to Stiles. “It was very nice meeting you officially. Perhaps you should invite Scott for a visit, and we can all sit down and get to know each other.”
“But I have questions now!” Stiles exclaimed.
“Derek can answer them. Over dinner,” she said, gesturing to the bags in Derek’s hands.
Stiles and Derek were left alone after a flurry of movement and arguing between the siblings. They stared at each other. “So…” Stiles said. “That was what you didn’t want to tell me in public.”
Derek nodded. “Especially not at Chez Luna. My family owns it, so I don’t think finding out my family secret would be very good for business.”
Stiles burst out laughing. “No, I suppose not.” He led Derek to the small dining table and helped him sort out the food. “Is this from your restaurant?”
Derek nodded as he removed his suit coat and hung it over the back of the chair. “I know you like cheeseburgers and curly fries, so I hope that’s alright.”
“Is that even on the menu?” Stiles asked.
“No, but neither is delivery. Cora owed me a favor,” Derek said, smiling.
“You listen a lot, don’t you?” Stiles asked after they’d been eating for a few minutes. “Should I be concerned about your stalkerish tendencies?”
Derek laughed. “My sister calls me a creeper,” he said. “I don’t mean to listen, but you can be really loud especially compared to the rest of the floor.”
“Shit, I’m sorry. Your Pack probably hates me. I’ll try to keep my voice down in the future.” Stiles began to wonder if he would need to move out of the building.
“Erica wants to adopt you,” Derek said, and Stiles looked up at him with a curly fry hanging out of his mouth. “The blonde from across the hall. She lives with Boyd, the big black guy who hardly speaks.”
Stiles nodded. “The curly-haired cherub with the shy smile?”
“Isaac. The sous chef at the restaurant. He thinks you’re sarcastic, but secretly I think he likes you.”
“Hey! I am sarcastic!” Derek laughed, and Stiles took another bite of his burger. “This is delicious, so I’m guessing your Pack doesn’t want to kill me. If they are poisoning me, this is a hell of a last meal.”
The tips of Derek’s ears turned pink as he ducked his head. “I’m glad that you like it.” He glanced up. “I’m sorry about your boyfriend. You don’t deserve that.”
“Did you know?” Stiles asked. “In all your creepiness, did you realize he was cheating on me?” Derek frowned and looked back down at his food. “You did.” Stiles nodded. “I guess you couldn’t really tell me without giving yourself away, though.”
“I thought about leaving a note on your door,” Derek said. “But my sisters said it was none of my business. We had to keep Erica from banging down your door one night and telling you. Instead, she slit his tires.”
“That was her?” Stiles asked, laughing as he remembered the morning Curtis had been stranded during a rainstorm because Stiles had already left for work. “Honestly, that was awesome. Tell her I said, ‘Thank you.’”
“You’re welcome!” a voice called from the hallway.
“That’s going to take some getting used to,” Stiles said, laughing.
“You don’t want to move out?” Derek asked.
“Why? It’s a great apartment, and now I find out my neighbors are superheroes. I couldn’t be safer if I wanted to be.” Stiles shrugged as he ate the last bite of his sandwich and looked around. “I’m going to get rid of Curtis’ things that he left here. Maybe I should return them at the wedding.”
Derek laughed and tilted his head. “Boyd suggests joining us for a bonfire next full moon and using it for fuel.”
“I like you, Boyd,” Stiles said, raising his voice slightly.
“I’m glad you like them,” Derek said as he started cleaning up their mess. “I should really go help out at the restaurant. Tonight is one of our busiest nights.” He looked reluctant to leave, and Stiles realized he felt the same way.
“Thanks for dinner, but I did offer to pay to thank you for keeping me from looking like an utter ass earlier,” Stiles pointed out.
Derek looked over his shoulder with a smile. “Next time?”
“Next time? You want there to be a next time?” Stiles asked.
“Well, you know my family secret, so I suppose I should keep you around,” Derek responded with a smile.
“I think I’d like a next time,” Stiles admitted as he walked Derek to the door, grinning when Derek pulled him into a hug and brushed his nose over Stiles’ temple.
One Year Later:
“I can’t believe they actually invited us to the wedding,” Stiles whispered as Derek helped him out of the car.
“I can’t believe you actually agreed to go,” Derek countered.
“Hey, if it weren’t for that disastrous night, we never would’ve gotten together,” Stiles pointed out.
“I’m pretty sure we would’ve figured things out eventually.”
They walked to the reception hall, having skipped the ceremony. They found Lana standing near the entrance with Curtis as they entered, talking to an older couple. “Stiles!” she called out. “Derek!” Stiles was impressed by her memory. “Caleb! Your friend’s here,” she shouted to someone on the other side of the room.
“Caleb?” Derek whispered.
“Curtis’ brother,” Stiles responded without moving his lips.
“What friend?” A guy who looked enough like Curtis that they could have been twins walked up and looked around.
“Stiles. This guy right here,” she said, pointing.
“Sorry, Lana, I’ve never seen him before,” Caleb said. “Maybe he’s a friend of Curtis’. Looks like the kind of guy he used to date,” he said before walking away.
Stiles bit his lip, and Derek’s shoulders shook as Lana looked at them with a look of dawning realization. “I think that might be our cue to get the hell out of here,” he said.
“Agreed.” Derek grabbed his hand, and they walked backward until they were out the door and hurrying hand-in-hand back to Derek’s car. “Curtis is in trouble,” he said just as Stiles heard Lana screeching from inside the hall.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have come,” Stiles said. “Nah, we totally should’ve. Although I feel bad for Lana, she seemed nice.”
“She did,” Derek admitted. “So, are you ready to go to dinner?”
“ Chez Luna for cheeseburgers and curly fries?” Stiles asked. They hadn’t planned on going out to dinner. Still, they’d eaten it every month on their anniversary, so why should that night be any different.
“Why don’t we pick it up and go back to your place,” Derek suggested. “We could do some packing afterward.”
Derek’s Uncle Peter had contacted Stiles a few weeks earlier to inform Stiles he needed his apartment. He offered to let Stiles stay with him, and while Stiles wanted to remain in the building, he didn’t want to encourage the man. Stiles had been spending the time since packing and figuring out where he would be going next. He had a couple of apartments to look at the next day but didn’t have very high hopes.
When they got back to the apartment, Derek said he had to run back to his place for a few minutes, so Stiles left his door ajar as he went inside to set out the food. He looked up when the door opened and smiled at Derek, who had a giant stuffed fox in his arms. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said.
Stiles shook his head and crossed to take the fox from him. “Another thing for me to move, eh?” he asked, laughing. He froze when he noticed something tied to the fox’s paw. A small velvet box hung off it, and Stiles looked between the box and Derek.
“Um…Derek…are you? Are you proposing to me? On Valentines’s Day?” he squeaked.
Derek’s eyes widened. “No. Um..shit…” He reached around to take the box off the animal’s paw.
“I mean, not that I’m opposed to the idea, but we’ve only been dating a year, and you haven’t even met my dad yet.” The Pack was planning a trip to Stiles’ hometown to hang out with Scott and meet Stiles’ family in a few weeks, but it hadn’t happened by that point.
“Stiles, no…just…ugh.” Derek popped open the box and turned it to reveal a silver key attached to a fox keychain. “I’m asking you to move in with me. You know my apartment is twice the size of this one and since Uncle Peter’s coming back and you need a place to stay now, I thought it was the perfect time to ask. If you don’t want to, I’ll help you find somewhere else.”
Stiles held up a shaking hand, cutting off Derek’s rambling. “Yes,” he said after a few moments. “I would love to move in with you.”
“Really?” Derek asked.
“Really, now give me my key, and let’s eat.”
Derek laughed and pulled Stiles into a hug. He pressed his lips to Stiles’ and brushed their noses together. “I love you,” he said.
“Yeah, I love you, too,” Stiles said, pulling away and taking Derek by the hand, pulling him to the table. “I can’t believe I thought you were proposing.”
Derek smiled, watching Stiles. As Stiles took a sip of his beer, Derek said, “Yeah, I have to save something for next year.” Stiles spit out the beer all over the table. Derek burst out laughing, and Stiles joined in soon after.