Derek twisted the knob that stopped water from pouring and he stepped out of the shower, wrapping one of her towels around his waist. The first thing that caught his attention was the aroma of some concoction of Meredith's that was coating his nostrils.
When he walked out of her bedroom still dressed in nothing but the cotton towel, he spotted her standing near the stove stirring a wooden spoon into a saucepan.
Meredith was so wrapped up in making her pasta sauce perfection that she didn't notice his presence until he was standing directly behind her with his hands on her waist. "What are you doing?" she asked and her breathing started to quicken as Derek smoothed his hands up and down her hips.
"I'm watching you cook,'' he murmured with his chin resting on her shoulder. Meredith grasped her spoon tighter when she leaned back against his chest to find that he wasn't wearing a shirt.
"Didn't I ban you from the kitchen after that fiasco that cost thousands of dollars to repair?" Meredith reminded him of the time he attempted to make her a grilled cheese when she had the flu; which only led to her having to get up and help him put out the fire that he started.
"That was years ago," he left one hand firmly grasping her hip and let the other slide under her shirt to roam her stomach. "I've improved since then." His voice was low against her ear and it made her shiver. Meredith bit her lip involuntarily and continued stirring her flavorful sauce.
"Have you?" she contained the sounds that were begging to emit from her lips and cleared her throat. "Can anything that you make taste this good?" she turned her head to the side and took a spoonful of her boiling marinara sauce, bringing it to his lips.
Derek moaned as he tasted one of his favorite dishes that she somehow managed to remember after all these years. "I don't think so," he admitted. "But my grilled cheese recipe has gotten a whole lot better,'' he nodded and returned to his previous position with his chin rested against her shoulder.
"If I remember correctly you made me two of them and only managed to burn the second one," Meredith sighed as his lips hovered over her ear enough for her to feel his breath against her skin. Her heavy breathing combated with her ability to speak at a normal speed. "The first one wasn't that bad...but then again I was sick so I'm not sure my tastebuds were working to their fullest abilities."
"Well are they working now?" The lust in Derek's voice was evident as he asked her a question that made her turn her head in confusion.
That question was answered when his hand covered hers and he grabbed the wooden spoon, holding it in his hand and scooping up a spoonful of sauce for her to taste. Meredith's eyes shut and she lolled her head back as the sensations of the sauce on her tongue and Derek's mouth on her neck took over her. Her shaky hands had trouble retrieving the spoon when he handed it to her and Derek chuckled into the crook of her neck before kissing it again.
Meredith returned the favor and gave him another spoonful of the marinara, giggling when it dripped down his lip. All noble thoughts left her mind and she turned her body enough to trace her tongue against his bottom lip and lick the sauce that didn't make it in his mouth. His hand tangled in her hair and the other held her waist firmly as he opened his mouth, allowing her tongue to make its presence known. Just as he began to react to the new limits she was allowing them to cross, Meredith's apartment intercom buzzed and Derek's mother's voice was blaring through the speakers in hopes of finding out the code to her building.
After repeating the passcode multiple times when Carolyn failed to hear her, Meredith shifted out of his embrace and turned off the stove. "Go put some pants on, your parents will be here soon and I'm not sure seeing you naked was on their list of catching up activities," she ordered. Derek groaned in retaliation but followed her instructions and let go of his hold on her waist. She observed his toned back as he walked towards her bedroom, her eyes shifting lower onto the area covered by her towel.
"Mmh," Derek hummed when he caught her staring.
"Oh shut up," Meredith blushed embarrassedly and turned her attention back to the stove where her boiled noodles were ready to be coated in sauce.
***
"Did I really?" Meredith questioned as she took another bite of her garlic bread.
"Oh yes," Derek's mother answered and her husband Michael nodded. "You looked terrified.''
"She was," Derek budded in. "She spent the entire morning rambling," he brought his fork to his mouth.
"I do not ramble," Meredith protested with an unconvincing scowl on her face.
"You do, it's kinda cute actually," Derek admitted unintentionally. He turned to his parents and continued letting them in on what happened eight years ago when he first introduced Meredith to his parents. "She changed her outfit seven times before she decided on one. And the one that she did choose looked just...awful,'' Derek admitted with a scoff.
"Seriously?" Meredith asked offendendly and Carolyn reached across the table to swat her son on the wrist.
Derek quickly yanked his hand away and chuckled. "Don't get me wrong it looked amazing on you, but the jacket was hideous. Oh and those shoes!" he recounted her of the dark green converse she swore matched well with everything.
"You told me you loved those shoes?" Meredith accused.
He looked around the room to get out of the awkward lie he got himself into while his parents and Meredith erupted into laughter.
The dinner went better which was to be expected as Derek was being truthful when he went on about how much his parents admired Meredith.
"Well, it's getting late. We should get going," Carolyn set her fork on her plate. "Where is the guest room dear?" she asked Meredith.
"We...uh, it's the second door on your right," she pointed. Derek's father followed behind his mother to store their bags in the room, leaving the two of them alone at the dinner table.
"They're staying here!" Meredith scolded.
"Wha- their flight got delayed until tomorrow morning I didn't have a choice!" Derek whispered in the same frustrated tone.
"I cannot believe you," she crossed her arms and huffed, sitting back in her chair and instantly returning to her appropriate and kind-spirited state when Carolyn approached the table.
"I almost forgot! We got you two a little gift," Carolyn scooted her seat back and sat down across from them with a gift bag in her hands.
"A gift?" Meredith pondered. "That wasn't...you didn't have to,'' she shook her head.
"I haven't seen either of you in years. I'm not sure why you aren't married yet, but if it's any encouragement, I wanted to give you this." Carolyn pulled out a teal ratty piece of cloth and handled it like it was the earth's most delicate possession.
"Mom is that?" Derek sat up and examined the fabric closely.
"This was Derek's when he was a baby, much quieter and behaved than he is now," she teased and handed the blanket to Meredith who had fear written across her face. "I was waiting until you two had a baby of your own...but there's no reason I can't give it to you now, you know, in case anything were to ever happen to me."
"Mom!" Derek shouted, "don't joke about that."
"I'm not as young as your girlfriend here, I could pass at any given moment," she told him and turned her attention to Meredith. "I'm just saying you should start soon. Maybe if Derek had siblings he wouldn't have come out as spoiled as he is now."
"Hey!" Derek replied.
"She's not wrong," Meredith chuckled and placed her hand on top of his, squeezing it without thinking.
"Well I don't know Meredith I guess you were lucky. You're an only child and you are a lot more mature than my son," she added.
As soon as his mother finished her sentence Derek turned his head to see that Meredith hadn't reacted. Instead she sat there, not moving a muscle other than her foot that was tapping against the ground eagerly. His first instinct was to place a comforting hand on her thigh under the table.
"What?" Carolyn murmured when she realized the room had gone silent. "Do you have siblings and Derek didn't tell me? It wouldn't be the first time my son left me in the dark," she tried to lighten the mood but they remained sitting uncomfortably while Derek rubbed his hand up and down her thigh before squeezing it and excusing them from the table.
"Mom, like you said it's getting late and...Meredith and I have work early tomorrow." He got up and put his arm on the small of his mother's back. "Come on,'' he walked her to the guest room and said goodnight to his parents. When he came out Meredith had already vanished from the dining room.
"I didn't know she was gonna bring that up. She shouldn't have....I should've told them Meredith I'm sorry," he stepped into the pitch black room with his hands in his pockets.
"There should be an old pair of your sweats in that drawer," Meredith pointed without looking away from the spot on the wall that she'd been fixated on since she sat down in her bedroom. "The blankets are in that closet. You can use it on the couch or make a pallet on the living room floor."
He nodded and began his journey to her dresser when he accidentally stepped on the television remote. The bright light flashing from the screen lit up the dim room and it gave him a clear view of what he wasn't sure of at first glance.
"Meredith..." his apologetic voice cracked at the site of her sitting in the dark with an empty look in her eyes; one he hadn't seen since her sister died. Meredith and Lexie were as close as two can be. Growing up and taking care of each other when their parents weren't around. It took her weeks to get out of bed after she'd gotten the phone call and Derek stood by her side every second of it. "I'm not sleeping on the couch," he stated - and not in a sexually demanding way, but to let her know that despite their obvious conflictions, he wasn't going to let her be alone after bringing up traumatic memories that he knew she was determined to suppress.
When she finally glanced up at him he had no other concern other than to comfort her. The mattress creaked and bent to accustom his weight as Derek sat next to her. He was reluctant to wrap his arm around her but when her head leaned into his shoulder he figured it was worth a shot. Silence filled the room and the only thing to be heard was her heart beating rapidly and his following shortly behind. He wasn't sure if she was dozing off or allowing herself to cry until a damp spot formed on the neck of his shirt. He held her tighter as she let out tears that she'd been holding it for as long as either of them could remember.
Meredith sniffled and slowly sat upright, wiping the wetness from her face and looking up to meet his gaze. His thumb reached out to rid the last tear drizzling down her cheek and she didn't stop him. Derek pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and rested his hand on the side of her face, stroking her cheek with the ball of his thumb as she leaned into him. They didn't realize how close they actually were until she could feel his breath against her skin and her hands that were rested in her lap were also skimming his thigh. Before they knew it his lips were less than a few inches away from her own, parting when she impulsively licked hers.
"I should..." Derek pulled away and picked up the sweats that she allowed him to wear. He
looked back and forth between her body and the wall before getting up from the bed and making his way to the door.
"Wait," she demanded before he was able to make it completely out of the door. When he hesitantly turned to face her she gulped and continued speaking: "Your parents are gonna know something is up if you're sleeping on the couch," she pointed out.
"Oh," he nodded, understanding what that meant. "I could just make a pallet on the floor in here, it's not like they're gonna come in in the middle of the night,'' he suggested.
"That's..." Meredith shook her head, "It's okay. You can sleep in the bed, Derek."
He knew he shouldn't. He didn't want her thinking that the only reason he was comforting her was to get in her bed because that wasn't the case. He treated her terribly in the past and Derek knew there was nothing he could ever do or say to make up for it, but since the day she went away he'd been trying to forgive himself for his mistakes - and that plan did not include leading his ex-girlfriend into believing he manipulated her into letting him into her bed.
"It's just one night," Meredith assured him and scooted to the head of the bed, sliding underneath the blanket and leaving enough room for him to get in next to her.
They both slept on their side facing opposite directions, neither talking to the other but nothing uncomfortable about the situation in any way.