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ugh i hate school.
geology sucks.
i’m gonna drop out and become a stripper. Stiles texted out before slumping in his seat.
He was in his second year at USC and honestly couldn’t wait to be finished. Don’t get him wrong, he loved college. He’d met some really cool people and generally enjoyed his classes, but he missed home, and, well, all the people that came with it.
Sorry.
Don’t do that.
Stiles smiled before quickly darting his eyes around the room. His professor was still droning on in the front, so he glanced back down at his phone. God, he missed him so much it hurt. Dragging his eyes back to the front of the room, he typed out a reply.
ugh fine. who even cares about stupid rocks anyway :(
Stiles hesitated before sending another text.
i miss u. i wish u were here rn
He and Derek weren’t a new thing, far from it, but Stiles still got butterflies in his stomach every time he thought about Derek and his ‘stupid face’.
I miss you too. Derek texted back almost immediately. Stiles could practically see him chewing on his lower lip. He wished he was with him right now so he could cup his face and gently tug it out from between those cute little bunny teeth, then he’d stand up on his tiptoes, lean in, and—
Stiles.
Stiles quickly shook off his daydream.
yeah?
Stop daydreaming and pay attention.
‘ Damn mind reader ,’ Stiles huffed, but did as he was told.
・・・・・
After class ended, Stiles shouldered his backpack and headed to the door to meet up with Charlie so they could walk to lunch. He liked Charlie. They’d met in Chemistry last year when Stiles tripped over Charlie’s foot, spilling pink dye all over himself, the counters, the floor, and, somehow, the ceiling. Charlie had laughed in his face for a good five minutes before offering to help him up. They became fast friends after that.
“Hey man! How was your weekend?” Charlie asked as they made their way down the hallway.
Stiles just made a vague grunt of agreement, too absorbed in his phone.
out of class. call soon?
Three dots appeared before quickly vanishing. Stiles stared at the screen for a few more minutes before shutting it off and groaning.
“Dude. What’s got your panties in a twist?” Charlie asked.
“Nothing. I just…” Stiles shifted his weight quickly back and forth, “Derek’s not responding.”
“That again?” Charlie snickered. “Dude, it was funny the first few times, but now it’s just sad. You know… I have a distant cousin I could set you up with. I think he still has all his teeth but I’d have to double-check,” Charlie bumped their shoulders together and winked.
“Ya, no. I’m good,” Stiles grimaced. “Come on. Let’s just go.”
When they finally arrived at the table his friends always used for lunch, Stiles’ mood had soured further. It had been fifteen minutes and Derek still hadn’t responded. Instead, he’d gotten the dreaded three dots a total of four times without anything actually coming through. Stiles swung his legs onto the bench before letting his head hit the table with a loud thunk and even louder sigh.
“What’s up with him?” Christy asked plopping down in the seat across from him.
“He’s mad cause his imaginary boyfriend is ignoring him,” Charlie replied with a shrug before taking the seat to Stiles’ right.
Katie and Lily quickly filled the two remaining seats at the table.
“Stiles,” Lily said softly. “You don’t have to keep this up. None of us think less of you just because you aren’t in a relationship.”
Stiles just sighed again, louder. “I don’t know why you guys don’t believe me. I’ve literally shown you photos.”
Katie just snorts. “Ya, you showed us photos of literally the hottest man on the planet. Like, don’t get me wrong Stiles, you’re a catch, but come on.”
“Totally,” Christy chimed in, taking a loud sip of her coffee. “Like, what did you do? Search up tall, dark, and handsome on Google and just pick the first photo that came up?”
Stiles scowled at her.
“Plus,” Katie continued, pointedly ignoring Stiles, “we’ve never seen a photo of the two of you together.”
“Well, that’s because… because…” because they’re private, Stiles finished in his head.
See, Stiles did have some photos of him and Derek together. Not many, but some. The thing was, Derek didn’t like to be on camera, so the few photos they did have together were pretty… intimate.
A picture from junior year where Derek is passed out, head resting on Stiles’ shoulder, nose turned into his neck. He looks peaceful, eyes held gently shut as he sleeps in Stiles’ arms. Stiles is flashing a cheeky grin at the camera, one hand curled in Derek’s hair, while the other reaches out of frame to take the photo.
There was also the picture that still managed to get Stiles all hot and bothered just looking at it. It had been nearly two weeks since they had last seen each other because Stiles had taken a trip up north to visit his uncle. It was pretty soon after they first started having sex, and the longest they had been apart in ages. To say that they were both a little amped up when Stiles finally got back would have been an understatement. Derek had practically tackled Stiles the moment he had shown up at the loft. That was the moment this photo was taken. Stiles sitting down with several pounds of werewolf boyfriend in his lap, said boyfriend’s arms wrapped tight around his waist. Derek's eyes are glued to Stiles’ neck, flashing red in the low light of the bedroom. His mouth is open just slightly, as if to breathe Stiles in better, and if you look closely you can see just a hint of fang. Stiles has his head tilted to the side to give Derek better access and is staring directly into the camera, eyes half-lidded and arm aloft as he snaps the photo.
Then there's Stiles’ favorite photo. It wasn’t from the first time they had sex or even the second, but it was the first time they’d had a chance to just enjoy themselves after. Nowhere else to be, no monsters to track down, and no overbearing dad just waiting to put a bullet between Derek’s eyes. They are lying together on Derek’s bed. Derek is half flopped over Stiles, arm draped over his stomach, back to the camera, and head turned just enough to glance at the camera from the corner of his eye while still managing to keep his face pressed to Stiles’ side. He’s smiling Stiles’ favorite smile, the one that seems reserved just for him. Derek’s practically glowing as the sunlight streaming in through the open window bathes the plains of his back in deep gold. Once again, Stiles is the one taking the picture, but this time he's not looking at the camera. Instead, his eyes are glued to the top of Derek's head, giving him a soft smile of his own. Stiles doesn't remember a time he'd ever felt more content than in that moment.
And that was pretty much it besides some really bad, blurry candid shots that the rest of the pack had taken at one point or another. Stiles shuttered at the thought of showing his friends any of the pictures he had saved on his phone and it's not like any of the other photos would make his story more believable anyway, so he just sighed inwardly and decided to let it go.
“See! You can’t even come up with a good excuse!” Katie crowed.
“Whatever guys.” Stiles sighed, “Let’s just eat. I have Orgo in 20 minutes and I can’t afford to be late again or Prof. Peterson will kill me.”
The conversation soon turned away from Stiles and his ‘imaginary’ boyfriend and towards other things like Katie’s upcoming history exam and Charlie’s bad roommate.
・・・・・
The thing was Stiles loved his friends. He did! He loved how Katie always had a snappy one-liner loaded to destroy creepy guys at the bars they snuck into, and how Christy always knew the best spots in town for cheap shit. Hell, he even liked the way Charlie teased him relentlessly for being a “hopeless clutz”.
There was just one problem. None of them could believe that a loser like him could get with the six-feet-tall wall of pure muscle wrapped in an endearingly grumpy exterior that was Derek Hale.
And listen, on a basic level Stiles got it. Derek’s literally a god in human form, and Stiles is the weird kid with ADHD who always talks too loud, fidgets too much, and pushes everyone's buttons. Sure, he’d mellowed out a little since high school, but at his core he’s still just plain old Stiles.
But he also doesn’t because to him, Derek was just… Derek. The kid who’d cried for literal hours when he accidentally ran over a butterfly with his scooter until Stiles agreed to help him put together an elaborate butterfly funeral. The friend who’d held Stiles every time he’d woken up in the middle of the night, tears in his eyes, asking for his mom. And the crush who’d asked him very politely, eyes wide and bunny teeth on full display, if Stiles would like to “get dinner with him sometime… please.”
So ya, to him Derek was just Derek, and no amount of freakish beauty-enhancing werewolf hormones was going to change that.
And sure, it hurt that his friends didn’t believe him, but Stiles knew Derek was real – that they were real – and honestly, that was all that mattered.
Stiles looked down at his phone again as he stood up to head to class.
Ya, just give me five minutes. Sorry, Isaac needed help with something.
Stiles smiled. It was fine. Totally fine.
:)
—————
It was a warm, sunny day and the gang was once again crowded around their table for lunch.
Stiles was trying to pay attention to the conversation, something about a new Marvel movie coming out next week and making loose plans to see it together, but he was too busy checking his phone every few minutes. He couldn’t help it. Normally, he and Derek would have sent a few texts back and forth to each other by now, but instead, nothing. Not even their obligatory “ good morning ” text that was born more from a tradition of making sure the other was safe than any attempt to be cute. He hadn’t gotten anything from Derek all day and it was starting to make his skin itch. Beacon Hills had calmed down a lot since they had managed to use a generous amount of Stiles’ spark and a weird ritual Deaton had found to subdue the Nemeton. So weird shit was no longer literally crawling the streets of Beacon Hills, but that didn’t mean it was perfectly safe. And Stiles knew, okay. He knew Derek was perfectly capable of protecting himself. But that didn't stop him from worrying.
He chewed on his lip absentmindedly, a habit he had no doubt picked up from Derek, as he refreshed his messages again.
“Stiles, man. Chill out,” Charlie said, interrupting the beginnings of a patented Stilinski doom spiral, “You’ve got the whole table on edge.”
“Sorry. Sorry,” Stiles said, waving his hands around as if it would dispel the nervous energy swarming under his skin. “Just distracted.”
“What’s up, man? I haven’t seen you like this since you forgot you had that mandatory meeting with Ms. Blake last spring.”
The table laughed.
Stiles sighed. “I— I’m just worried. I haven’t heard from Derek at all today and—”
“Stiles,” Katie cut him off.
Stiles snapped his head up from where he’d been checking his phone again and looked around the table. They were all staring at him pityingly.
For a split second, Stiles felt white hot anger roar up inside of him.
How dare they? It was bad enough that they thought he wasn’t capable of dating someone like Derek, but seriously? Right now? When he was literally out of his mind with worry? Did they really think he'd go that far just to keep up a lie?
But it left as quickly as it came, he didn’t have the energy for this when Derek was still MIA.
Stiles sighed. “Fine. Whatever. Don’t believe me.”
He looked down at his phone again. It was almost 1:00 p.m and still, nothing. That was almost a new record. Shoving a piece of salami into his mouth, Stiles stood up.
“Come on then,” He announced to the table, “Let’s just get to Waldens. I’m sure his boring ass lecture will do wonders to calm me down, or put me to sleep at the very least.”
—
Stiles was walking down the hall flanked by Charlie and Katie, Lily and Christy trailing behind them, when he began to hear the whispers.
“Did you see him?!”
“Dude, how could I not? He was practically radiating sex appeal.”
“Damn. What I wouldn’t give to climb that tall hunk of man like a tree and just…”
“What’s up with them?” Stiles questioned aloud before nearly smacking into the person in front of him. “Woah! Watch it!” Stiles said as he began to push his way through the mob of students blocking the door. “Seriously what’s gotten into all of y—“ Derek. Derek was right there at the bottom of the steps, face lighting up as he caught sight of Stiles.
“Stiles!” He called, giving a cute little wave.
“Derek!” Stiles screamed back as he took off like a shot, launching himself into Derek’s arms. Derek caught him easily. He always did.
“Holy shit,” Katie whispered from behind them.
“Wow, they actually look really good together,” Charlie whispered back.
But Stiles didn’t notice, too busy staring at Derek. He brought his hands up to cup Derek’s face like he’d been wanting to do since he'd seen him last, looking forlornly down the road as Stiles took off for college.
“You– I– What? How?” Stiles started, still staring at Derek, eyes wide. “How are you even here right now? I thought you were helping Cora rebuild the deck today?”
Derek just laughed, giving Stiles’ waist a squeeze before gently setting him down. Always so gentle.
“Surprise?”
Stiles smacked him on the chest before reaching back up to hang from his neck. “Ugh, you are the worst. You owe me literally all the pizza and cuddles for how much I worried about you.”
“Sorry,” Derek said, not sounding sorry at all.
“Ughhh at least pretend!” Stiles groaned, tucking his face into Derek’s neck. “I missed you,” he whispered before lightly kissing the strip of skin in front of him. Derek shivered.
“Stiles,” Derek growled in warning.
“What?” Stiles smiled, blinking innocent eyes back up at him.
“You know what,” Derek said, tightening his hold on Stiles before pulling back slightly. Derek slid his hands down from where they were wrapped around Stiles’ back, until they settled on his waist instead. “I really am sorry,” he whispered.
“I know,” Stiles whispered back. “Now kiss me before I literally die of–” Stiles cut himself off as Derek's lips touched his own.
God, he'd missed this. Derek let out a breathy little noise as he opened his mouth to let Stiles in further. Derek was literally melting into the kiss as Stiles tilted his head to deepen it. Stiles wound his fingers through Derek’s hair, tugging lightly just the way he knew Derek liked it. Stiles didn’t think it was even possible, but Derek melted into the kiss even more, biting playfully on Stiles’ lower lip before pulling back.
“Stop,” Derek said, dropping his head to Stiles’ shoulder and just taking a few moments to breathe him in, secure in the knowledge that Stiles was safe in his arms, back where he belonged. “We’re gonna get campus police called on us if we keep going.”
Stiles laughed. “Later then,” he murmured, dragging his nails lightly down Derek’s neck, making him growl.
“Down boy,” Stiles smirked, giving Derek’s ass a little pat.
Derek just rolled his eyes as he straightened up, giving Stiles one last close-mouthed kiss and humming against Stiles’ lips. He stepped back from Stiles’ embrace and reached down to lace their fingers together. Tugging playfully at his hand, he said, “Come on. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?”
Stiles grinned before pulling Derek back over to where his friends were standing, mouths open and eyes wide.
“This is Katie, Charlie, Lily, and Christy,” Stiles said, pointing to each of his friends in turn.
Derek shuffled on his feet before waving awkwardly causing Stiles to smile fondly.
“Holy shit, you’re real!” Christy exclaimed, seemingly coming back to life.
“Huh?” Derek tilted his head like a confused puppy. “Why wouldn’t I be real?”
Stiles just laughed and tugged Derek closer to his side, winding an arm around his waist.
“And this, my friends,” he said with a flourish, “is my boyfriend, Derek.”