Once the pack was gone, Derek's hand settled on Stiles' shoulder. "You alright?"
Stiles looked up at him. He was calm, stoic. Stiles knew that Derek often wore a mask for the benefit of the pack and that things bothered him way more than he showed, but Stiles didn't know how he did it.
Derek smelled the frustration and stress on Stiles. The air grew acrid and bitter.
"I don't know how you do this. I mean...I'm barely keeping it together here." Stiles pushed away from the computer, causing Derek's hand to fall away.
Derek watched as Stiles started to pace the living room.
"I'm constantly worrying about my dad and now we have this thing with Lydia which is never nothing. I swear it's connected to the missing people, I just don't know how yet. And I'm not finding anything out, which is frustrating the hell out of me. And now I have to worry about the pack finding out about..." Stiles gestured between him and Derek. "Us. I feel like I'm standing on a ticking time bomb. I'm just waiting for things to go wrong and I don't know how to keep it together."
Derek hated seeing Stiles so stressed, but he always found his flailing rants endearing.
"How are you so calm?" Stiles asked.
Derek chuckled, dropping his chin to his chest. "I'm far from calm, Stiles." He said before looking back up.
Stiles let out a sigh.
"I'm just as worried about Lydia's dreams as you are. And I see how much you worry for your dad and it upsets me. Anytime a pack member is stressed or worried it upsets me. And yes, I also feel like I'm standing on a ticking time bomb. But I also have you and the rest of the pack. I know that as soon as we get any clue, you'll figure it out. You always do. And whatever comes of Lydia's dreams, we'll handle it, together. And I promise you I will do everything in my power to keep your dad safe."
Stiles nodded. "I know."
"As for worrying about the pack finding out. I don't want to be the cause of your worry. If we need to stop then—"
"No," Stiles cut in abruptly. "It's been a nice distraction and honestly a huge stress relief. I don't want to stop."
Disappointment and pride fought for control of Derek's emotions. He was glad to be a stress relief for Stiles but knowing that he was only a distraction was hard to hear.
"I think I just need to feel like I'm making progress, ya know?"
"What can I do to help?" Derek asked.
"You already have," Stiles gave a small smile.
"Why don't we swing by the station? See your dad. Maybe I can overhear some conversations while you check on him."
Stiles' face lit up. "That's genius."
Derek smiled, as he grabbed his car keys and followed Stiles out of the loft.
-
"Stiles, what are you doing here?" Noah sighed at the sight of him walking into the station. His annoyance melted into concern when he saw Derek walk in behind him. "What's wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong, dad," Stiles assured him.
"We thought you guys might need a boost." Derek held up the two cup holders full of coffee.
"Oh." Noah deflated.
Stiles handed one of the cups to his dad while Derek handed out the rest to the remaining officers.
"Where's Parrish?" Stiles asked. The last coffee was in his hand.
"Out. Is this a bribe?" Noah asked, his eyes meeting Derek's as if he would tell him the truth.
"No, I just know you've been stressed and wanted to check in on you. And also..." Stiles held up the coffee in his hand.
"That's kind of you both." Noah narrowed his eyes but relented. "Parrish should be back soon. He was interviewing a family."
"One of the missing people I'm guessing?" Stiles asked.
"I told you, Stiles, I'm not discussing this with you. It has nothing to do with...anything." Noah's eyes darted to where officer Williams was close by.
"I know, I know." Stiles rolled his eyes as he waved a hand. "We could actually use some advice."
Noah glanced up at Derek again. "Oh boy." He nodded. "Okay, come on." He gestured to his office.
Stiles and Derek followed him into the small office. The desk was covered in missing people reports and case files. All of which Noah quickly gathered and put into a drawer of his desk.
"If this is about you two dating, I already know and I'm guessing so do the rest of your friends." Noah gestured between Derek and Stiles.
Derek's brows shot up while Stiles sputtered.
"You're always staying the night and neither of you has dated anyone else in years. You two practically finish each other's sentences, you're so in sync."
"That's not true," Stiles and Derek said in stereo.
Noah's brows raised, a smile pulled at his lips.
Derek cleared his throat while Stiles scoffed.
"Derek and I are not together. Why would you even—We are just friends— and frankly how dare you. I've dated." Stiles rattled defensively.
"The last person you dated was that guy, Jeremy at the academy. That was three years ago."
Stiles opened his mouth to argue but paused.
"Okay, well, you know what, when was the last time you went on a date?" Stiles crossed his arms.
"Stiles," Derek put a hand on Stiles' shoulder.
"Right." Stiles waved a hand. "We actually came here for real advice, not dating advice. But this conversation is not over. I'm terribly offended."
Noah held up his hands as if in mock surrender. "Sorry. I'm listening."
Derek released Stiles' shoulder and took a step back to lean against the door.
Stiles took a seat across from his dad. "What do you do when you hit a dead end on a case?"
Noah frowned. "Well I reevaluate my evidence, look for something I might have missed. If I don't find anything, I bring in a fresh set of eyes. Is this about Lydia's dream?"
Stiles' tongue licked along his bottom lip as he leaned back in the chair. "Yeah. We've exhausted all possibilities. We're just spinning in circles."
"I don't know much about prophetic dreams or Banshees but I know Lydia, her dreams are usually indicative of something that is gonna happen right?"
"Yeah."
"So maybe it's literal. You're trying to find a meaning behind it, right?"
Stiles nodded, frowning as he listened to his dad.
"Maybe there's nothing to interpret."
"So the nemeton is gonna sprout and kill Lydia? Why? How?"
"I don't know. I'm just offering my thoughts." Noah shrugged.
Stiles glanced back at Derek who looked like he was listening intently but Stiles knew he wasn't listening to them.
"We've tried finding the nemeton, but the whole 'doesn't want to be found' thing is a problem."
"That's more Deaton's specialty I'm afraid." Noah lifted his coffee to his lips.
"He's not had much to offer either, unfortunately," Derek said.
"Well, thanks anyway, dad." Stiles stood, setting the last coffee on his desk. "Give this to Parrish when he gets back."
"Thanks, kid." Noah smiled at his son.
Before he could follow Derek out of the office, his dad spoke again. "You two really aren't dating?"
Stiles gaped at his dad. "You really think that Derek and I...?"
Noah only raised a brow.
"No," Stiles answered definitively.
"Alright." Noah put his hands up once again.
Stiles scoffed, before following after Derek.
Once outside the station, Stiles turned to Derek. "Anything?"
Derek gave Stiles an apologetic look. "Nothing. Just talk about keeping the night shift staffed more."
Stiles scrubbed a hand down his face.
"Thanks for listening. And sorry about my dad."
Derek's lips pulled into a smirk. "He's not totally off base."
"Okay this is super new and there's no way he figured it out, sheriff or not," Stiles objected. "And we're not dating," He scoffed.
Derek pushed down his disappointment once again. Stiles was making it very clear how he felt about the idea of them dating. He hated how much it stung.
*AN*
Hope you guys like it. 😊