we could drown this love drought.

After Stiles left, Derek lounged on the couch and finished up the second Matrix but it wasn't nearly as entertaining without Stiles' dumb commentary and nerdy facts that only Stiles would know and he dozed off in the middle and only woke once the credits were rolling on the screen. He stood up and shut the tv off and the lights before he made his way upstairs into his bedroom where he quickly texted Cora for any other galleries or artsy places he needed to check out and once he told her Stiles was going with him, she ooohed with some emojis that he didn't really understand but that it would be good for you, d and he scrunched up his face because it reminded him of how much she was like Laura in that aspect and he could hear Cora's voice like when she told him he needed to move out of the loft It would be good for you, Derek. because who would want to live in a place that held nothing but despair but then again, Derek had never been good with letting go of guilt that ate away at him and he didn't miss the irony of him rebuilding the family home like new flooring and walls would wash away the events that took place. Derek's phone pinged with one last text from her. tell the little pipsqueak hi for me with an emoji blowing a heart kiss and he rolled his eyes and sat his alarm and settled into bed.

It was just a little after eleven thirty in the morning when Derek stood at his counter finishing up some bran cereal when he texted Stiles.

to Stiles:
10 minute warning

He drank the last remains of the milk in the bowl before rinsing it out and loaded it into the dishwater before he grabbed his phone, made sure his wallet was in his back pocket and headed out to the Camaro, cranked it and slid on his sunglasses before reversing out of his driveway.

@ dead upon arrival

Stiles slept well with the herbs still tucked under his pillows. He woke up around nine in the morning and took a twenty minute shower under hot water before getting dressed in a nice fitting pair of washed out blue skinny jeans and a white tee. He didn't even bother trying with his hair that had grown a bit long but he did shave his awful stubble, remember to put on some lotion and deoderant before grabbing his wallet, keys and phone then running out the house. That is, until he remembered that he had forgotten to put shoes on so he immediately grabbed the door and put on some black chucks before heading out and locking the door behind him with a black bookbag in his Jeep and starting it up. He figured he'd probably end up staying at the diner for a whole with Scott, which was a thought he was proven correct.

Breakfast with his best bud was awesome, as always. Stiles filled up since it had been a while since having waffles this good (it had something to do with the fact that this had been his mom and dad's favorite diner when they were dating, Stiles had never claimed to be unbiased). Just as he and Scott had wrapped up their breakfast and were hugging tightly by Scott's bike, Stiles' phone started vibrating in his back pocket signaling what Stiles expected was Derek's ten minute warning. Time definitely flew whenever Scott and Stiles were hanging out. Stiles threw Scott another wave as they both parted ways. It took nine minutes for him to drive from the diner back to his house, so Stiles was perfectly on time with his bookbag perched on his shoulder standing on his porch when Derek would be pulling up to pick him up.

@ dead upon arrival

Stiles slept well with the herbs still tucked under his pillows. He woke up around nine in the morning and took a twenty minute shower under hot water before getting dressed in a nice fitting pair of washed out blue skinny jeans and a white tee. He didn't even bother trying with his hair that had grown a bit long but he did shave his awful stubble, remember to put on some lotion and deoderant before grabbing his wallet, keys and phone then running out the house. That is, until he remembered that he had forgotten to put shoes on so he immediately grabbed the door and put on some black chucks before heading out and locking the door behind him with a black bookbag in his Jeep and starting it up. He figured he'd probably end up staying at the diner for a whole with Scott, which was a thought he was proven correct.

Breakfast with his best bud was awesome, as always. Stiles filled up since it had been a while since having waffles this good (it had something to do with the fact that this had been his mom and dad's favorite diner when they were dating, Stiles had never claimed to be unbiased). Just as he and Scott had wrapped up their breakfast and were hugging tightly by Scott's bike, Stiles' phone started vibrating in his back pocket signaling what Stiles expected was Derek's ten minute warning. Time definitely flew whenever Scott and Stiles were hanging out. Stiles threw Scott another wave as they both parted ways. It took nine minutes for him to drive from the diner back to his house, so Stiles was perfectly on time with his bookbag perched on his shoulder standing on his porch when Derek would be pulling up to pick him up.

@ slumflower

Derek turned down his music once he pulled into Stiles' driveway behind the old blue Jeep that honestly, Derek wasn't sure how the thing was still running, just on faith and ductape. He noticed the Sheriff's cruiser wasn't in the driveway and he could only assume the Sheriff was at the station and taking care of the few fender benders and cats up trees that was the only thing that plagued Beacon Hills these days.

He put the car into park and opened his door, got out, and leaned on the open door as he could smell Scott, waffles, soap, and something that was just Stiles from the porch. Derek drummed the top of the Camaro as he raised his eyebrows."Have you really been standing there for ten minutes?" He let out a snort of a laugh.

@ dead upon arrival

Stiles grinned at the sight of the Camaro pulling up behind his Jeep, his stomach going warm and doing something funny at the sight of Derek moving his hands against the top of the Camaro with sunglasses perched on top of his nose. Stiles pulled up his jeans a bit and rolled his eyes (at this rate both Derek and his own eyes would be falling out with how much they both rolled their eyes but, Derek would heal he guessed). Stiles was walking over to the Camaro when he greeted the man now directly across from him. "Hello to you too, Sourwolf," Stiles smirked before answering Derek's question. "I just pulled up in the Jeep a minute ago after breakfast with Scott but I wasn't sure if you'd literally just be ten minutes," he explained as he pulled open the passenger door of the Camaro and climbed in with even longer limbs than from the last time he'd been in the car. He put his bookbag at his feet and could hear the music that Derek had put on while driving over here.

"Don't call me that." Derek reprimanded as he ducked back into the Camaro, shutting his door behind him."Were the waffles good?" He asked with a smirk playing on his mouth as he glanced over to Stiles knowing how much it annoyed Stiles that he could literally smell what he ate or how he felt because it was some sort of werewolf etiquette that you don't announce those things aloud. He reached over Stiles' body and pulled his seat belt around him and clicked it into place."Safety first." He said as he quickly reversed before slamming the car into drive.

@ slumflower

@ dead upon arrival

"Yeah, yeah and stop sniffing so hard," Stiles grumbled, pulling his arms up as he felt Derek leaning into him to wrap the seatbelt across his body. Getting 'Sourwolf' out of his vocabulary was pretty unlikely considering how long it had lasted. It took a minute for Stiles to process that Derek had buckled his seatbelt but once he got over it he settled in, adjusting the seat so he has more leg space too. "Waffles are always good at The Dalliance," Stiles confirmed, patting his stomach as he remembered the diner less than ten minutes away from his house. He could also tap into the runes embedded into his skin and maybe find ways to conceal his scent but that took energy he didn't feel like wasting, especially when he was just around Derek. "Rested up last night? Ready to go? Oh! Did Cora tell you where the gallery was? I hope it's near the taco place I know," Stiles asked in a quick succession of questions.

Derek almost wanted to tell Stiles that he liked how he smelled but that would probably be a bit more creepy spoken out loud than in his head so he said nothing about the comment because scent was just apart of being a werewolf."You should try their blueberry crepes if you haven't yet." Derek nodded as he could agree it was probably one of the best diners in Beacon Hills. He maneuvered onto the highway that would take them to San Francisco as he snorted and picked up his phone that sat in the console between them and thumbed it to life and brought up his text thread with Cora before passing it over to Stiles so he could see the names of the galleries."Cor also says to tell the pipsqueak hi for her." Derek flashed a smile over to Stiles knowing the weird friendship that Cora and Stiles had formed over the years.

@ slumflower

@ dead upon arrival

"Noted," Stiles nodded, mentally adding "blueberry crepes" to the list of things to try at The Dalliance diner, he didn't like blueberries that much but he knew Derek had pretty good taste buds so he'd risk it. Stiles rolled down the window a little bit so a slight breeze brushed his face every now and then, before looking over at Derek fiddling with his phone before handing it over to him. Stiles took the phone, half of his hand brushing against Derek's in the process as Stiles pulled up the brightness and laughed at Cora calling him a pipsqueak since he definitely had her on height. Stiles snickered and lay his hand over his heart briefly, looking at Derek comfortably drive and said, "she's always so affectionate," Stiles joked before using his other hand to grab his own phone and use his GPS to see the route between the gallery and the taco place. "Cool," Stiles said, handing Derek back his phone before saying, "It's only a 15 minute drive from the gallery place to the taco place."

Derek took his phone back and dropped it back in its original place in the console."Yeah, I'm sure it makes you all warm and fuzzy on the inside, really gets you in the heart." He teased because much like Derek, Cora showed her affection with snide remarks and back handed compliments but if it hadn't been for Stiles, once upon a time, Cora wold probably be dead, Stiles had a knack for saving the Hales."I must be lucky that you postponed an xbox marathon otherwise I would just have to sniff these tacos out." Derek switched lanes as he drove with one hand on the wheel and the other propped up on the console box between them."I could still do that, give a howl when I found them, think that would be frowned upon?"

@ slumflower

@ dead upon arrival
"Well, you Hales sure show affection differently so I've adapted, dude. I totally know you guys love the shit out of me," Stiles joked, smiling fondly at Derek's teasing. "Believe me, not taking you to these tacos would be an err on humanity aka me - it's for the good of the world that I show you," Stiles said before snorting loudly at Derek's comment about howling. "People see and hear what they want to so you could maybe get away with howling," Stiles mused, basking in the sunlight that filtered in through the Camaro and peeking out at Derek with one eye open. "Do you want to pick up the flooring stuff for the house after tacos?" Stiles asked, knowing that had been the first reason that Derek had invited him up there to SF.

Derek didn’t want to think about just how true Stiles’ statement was because beneath the surface, he admired Stiles more than he wanted anyone to know. Stiles was strong and intelligent and believe it not, he was probably the core of the pack, he was never been the weak and vulnerable human that a lot of packs think as a liability.”I was actually thinking we should go order the flooring first so we can have the rest of the afternoon to look around and eat tacos and anything else that catches our eye.This place orders customized flooring and it’ll probably take a few weeks to come in and I’ll make another trip down to pick it up so pencil that into your xbox gaming schedule if you want to go.” He extended the invitation to Stiles as he glanced toward him.”I’ll let you be in charge of picking food too. Wherever you wanna try, we’ll do it.”

@ slumflower

@ dead upon arrival

Stiles listened to Derek's plan for the day and nodded in agreement, since that would make the most sense. "Sounds good," Stiles chimed in at the order of today's plans and didn't bother to clarify that his and Scott's Google calendars were merged to best plan their Xbox dates so it'd be no problem penciling in another trip to SF with Derek. He patted his stomach and grinned, already knowing of some new places that he wanted to try in SF, "You won't ever regret putting me in charge of food, Derek," Stiles said.

Derek quirked an eyebrow in Stiles' direction because that had to be the first time Stiles had used Derek instead of Sourwolf since he had been back and it sounded weird on Stiles' lips and in all honestly, Derek liked that Stiles had a name just for him no matter how much he pretended to hate it but he decided to not say anything. He snorted at Stiles' comment."Oh, I'm sure I won't. You're such a Foodie."

@ slumflower

@ dead upon arrival

Stiles looked at Derek mock-seriously before shaking his head. "Who isn't a foodie? I mean, I'm lucky my empty's not wallet most of the time so I can be picky but if we need food to eat, might as well really fucking enjoy it," he said, reaching over and fiddling with the radio station until he found the station that he usually kept on in his Jeep. It was the same kind of station that his mom used to listen to, even if not the exact same one, with oldies music and late at night, that cheesy advice section. He looked up and saw a sign that marked San Francisco as coming up soon on the highway and made a pleased little hum. "We're making good time," Stiles noted, his stomach doing something weird again when he saw how nice Derek looked with the background of the coast just outside the window, the sunlight making Derek seem warm and the sound of seagulls singing up above since they were close by water. Stiles caught himself staring and shook his head at himself before leaning back into his seat again and hanging his fingers outside his own side of the window.

Derek snorted because Stiles wasn't wrong, if you were gonna eat something then it should be something tasteful and enjoyable."I'll be sure to let you know my rating on these tacos. See if your hype adds up to the taste." Derek said as the exist to San Francisco was next, he checked his mirrors to see that it was clear to merge into the lane and he could hear the crashing of the waves of the ocean, salt in the air, and Stiles mixing all together and it made him feel something strong within his gut and he vaguely thought about what it would be like to go on more road trips together, stopping at road side diners and rating the food, singing oldies that played on the radio out of tune, and then kissing him as they stayed in shitty motels and that was just something he had never even crossed his mind, kissing Stiles and as he came to a red light in San Francisco, he glanced over to Stiles sitting in his passenger seat, relaxed and comfortable, like he belonged taking up space in Derek's car, life and house and Derek couldn't think of anything more. The light turned green and Derek quickly looked away as he maneuvered around the main strip until he saw the building he came for.

@ slumflower

@ dead upon arrival

Stiles brought his hand back in from feeling the breeze from the window and lazily looked over to Derek, exaggeratedly rolling his eyes. "If they don't live up to it, I'll find a way to make up for it," Stiles drawled out, now drumming his fingers against the door to the rhythm of the song that was playing on the radio. "Oh, we're here, yeah?" he said, the last part coming out as a question even though he knew that it was sinec they were parking and all. Stiles rolled up the cuffs of his jeans, the orouboros snake tattoo becoming visible as he did so and smiled at Derek while undoing his seatbelt once they came to a full stop. Stiles was excited to be spending another full day with Derek, and that Derek felt like he could have Stiles be with him while doing something important that related to the Hale house, and then also want to do things like go to galleries and out to eat with him. If he even thought about it for more than a few seconds, it even felt intimate in a way that was new for him and Derek, but still felt incredibly good.

"I'm gonna hold you to that. I want it in writing maybe even some blood." Derek teased as he looked toward the building and nodded as his eyes caught sight of Stiles' tattoo becoming visible and it was new such a new and weird thing, Stiles having tattoos but god he looked good with them. He returned a smile to Stiles as he climbed out of the Camaro."Yeah, hopefully we won't be here long."

Derek led Stiles inside the building that smelled like wood and varnish. There were all sorts of different floorings on display from marble slabs to cheap linoleum and carpets. They were greeted by a sale's associate and Derek explained he was there to order wood flooring and the salesman gave a smile as he looked between Derek and Stiles."We definitely can get you guys set up. Do you know what type of wood, coloring, and budget you're looking for?" Derek nodded because money wasn't an issue and he had been steadily going over flooring because it was a big part of the house."Right this way then." The salesman gestured for both Derek and Stiles to follow behind.

@ slumflower

@ dead upon arrival

Stiles wrinkled his nose at the thought of willingly spilling his blood, "Writing's fine, and take your time, Sourwolf, I'm in no rush," Stiles smiled at Derek, following him into the large store and eyes quickly scanning at the many things that were present, and out of habit, finding other exits too. Just in case.

Stiles shoved his hands in his pockets, and followed after the sales clerk and Derek, lingering a little bit but still close enough to Derek that their shoulders brushed together as they walked and if Stiles wanted, if he was going to acknowledge his pestering thoughts in any way, could easily put his hand on Derek's and lace their fingers, which nope, nope, nope Stiles was absolutely not going to think about that right now because where did that come from and even more immediately, as friendly as they were right now, Stiles couldn't imagine Derek reciprocating the feeling that was simmering at the bottom of his stomach. Besides, things were going well as they were so he didn't need to let his own wandering thoughts and feelings to fester and grow. When the sales clerk got to the flooring that Derek had mentioned being interested in, the sales clerk started talking about the pros and cons, durability, etc and then said, "And it'll be great for kids, if you're thinking about that family aspect now or in the future as well," smiling while looking between Stiles and Derek with an assuming look on his face. Stiles snorted a little bit, even as he felt the blush rise on his cheeks and at the back of his neck, choosing not to directly correct the thoughts of the sales clerk since it wasn't outright or anything.

Instead, Stiles touched Derek's back lightly, enough so that he could step away if he felt like Stiles was too close. "Derek, are these the ones you want to order or do you want to look at others?" Stiles asked softly, not really knowing what Derek's process was or what he envisioned for the house but wanting to make sure that Derek got what he needed out of the store.

Derek glanced to Stiles after he heard him snort and Stiles’ face was flushed. There was a weird mixture of scents coming from him but Derek couldn’t make out what it meant. Stiles didn’t correct the salesman and neither did Derek and for a second, Derek wondered what they looked like together from an outsider’s perspective but the entire was just a dumb thought because Stiles would never see him as anything other than a packmate or at least friends, at best since that was more new than anything and Derek couldn’t mess that up because he enjoyed having Stiles around and he didn’t want to put a strain between them with this crush which was nothing more than that, a silly schoolboy crush.

Ever since Stiles came back, these feelings bubbled up to the surface and maybe they had always been there somewhere in the far corners but they were always sidelined by things that go bump in the night and now, he was quite sure what to with these feelings.

It was a bit overwhelming, having Stiles so close, his warmth and scent like a blanket around him, feeling his hand low on his back and Derek quickly cleared his throat and nodded as he went on with specifications for the flooring, a matte gray stain, to the clerk who nodded happily as he gestured for the two to follow to check out so he punch in the order and Derek was handing over his credit card and signing the slip as the clerk let them know the flooring would be in in two to three weeks with a smile.

Derek stuffed his card back into his wallet as he turned to Stiles.”Ready to go blow my mind with these tacos?” He asked with a flash of a smile as he needed to get out of this building.

@ slumflower