Stiles gave him a chance to fight for him.
For Derek and his wolf, that was more than enough.
Every day for the next week Derek was there from the moment the shop opened to the moment the shop closed, from 7 AM to 7PM, 12 whole hours spent there, he just kept to himself and from hour to hour asked for a coffee, spending money there to eat and drink. Stiles wanted to make him suffer a little bit, but the way he looked at him like a lost puppy always managed to make Stiles hesitate before striking on his girlbossing gaslighting gatekeeping, he couldn't do it to Derek, so he kept sending Taylon to poke Derek where it hurt- Telling him bits and pieces of how Stiles suffered through the years without him, always pondering why he wasn't enough for Derek that he just left without even saying goodbye or some nightmares he had, how he would wake himself up shouting and crying before and now always woke up silently, how he would call his name whenever he was crying while having a panick attack
Or when Stiles called Taylon by his name when he woke up from a nightmare, thinking his mate was there for him.
Every time it would sting, but Derek knew he needed to hurt to make Stiles feel better and if that made Stiles happy- He would hurt and hurt bad. Sincerely, a part of Stiles felt like it was too much, Derek's been through so much in his lifez to make him suffer through more was just cruel of him- And another part of hin wanted to make Derek feel worse, feel hurt, feel at least a little bit of how he felt- Stiles didn't want to make Detek suffer, so after the end of that week he no longer sent Taylon to poke Derek but went himself to look at him in silence while he tried to make small talk about random things. It's been three weeks since Derek and his pack came to New York to find hin and it's been a week since Derek found him- And he still doesn't know why.
Why are they here? What do they want? Because he is sure as hell they aren't here because they are worried about him, they had three years to look for him before his dad died, now he lost a part of himself he doesn't know he can get back- The ability to love without the fear of loss.
"Void dear, I've come to bargain." A flamboyant and slightly annoying voice made Stiles sigh before turning to look at the young man before him, he was wearing a black tight top shirt that exposed his abdomen and stomach, as well as a beautiful black skirt. His long eyelashes and big brown eyes were- pun not intended- eye-catching, his name was Alan Jack, and he was one of Stiles' most persistent pursuer. The man was charming and confident, why else would he wear a skirt and heels in public other than being hot? Confidence is hot, everyone knows that. "Yes Alan?" Stiles, however much he wants to deny it, has only eyes for Derek. He has an idea why, he has seen many Werewolves with their mates, chosen or true mates, and the possesive behavior is great among them- True Mates are even more so, not being able to reject them without risking your and their death by grief is also something that must be taken in consideration. So yes, the fact that he ks utterly attracted and in love to Derek Hale and everyone else seems bland in his eyes just proved the fact that they are Mates.
True Mates.
However, this does not erase the 5 years he spent suffering alone, he has a huge bone(r) to pick with him about that.
"I want you to come on a date with me! We'll buy many clothes." Alan's invitation to go shopping reminded him of the time he would go shopping with Lydia, which made him smell like sadness for a solid second before it went away, Derek of course was listening to everything they were saying to each other, so he heard Stiles say: "Of course i would go on a date with you Alan, you have always been here for me when i needed your help with the decorations for both the shop and my home." The hidden meaning behind his words was easily caught by Derek's ears 'He have always been here when i needed him, and you wasn't.' Alan beamed happily as he took Stiles' hands in appreciation and said: "Then it's a date!"
"It's a date." Stiles repeated his words, he felt a little hollow inside but he was able to perfectly hide it away from anyone hearing him. "Wait, Void! You'll go out with him and not me?" Another man asked from behind Alan, a tall, ruff-looking man with short red hair and ginger beard. He had a Scottish accent and his chest vibrated when he spoke: "What does this slutty cat has that i don't?" Alan's irritation was clear as day when his cat tail sprung out of his skirt in an angry hiss, the red-haired man growled at him as his eyes shone red, making Alan huff and flash his red eyes as well. Both were Alphas of different Werespecies, while Alan was clearly a Werecat, the red-haired man was a Werebear by the name of Bernard. "Bernard, what Alan has that you don't is the courage to ask me out on a date, if you asked i would've said yes and you know that."
"I know." Bernard huffed, his large body lowering in stance while Alan proudly puffed his chest, making Stiles chuckle at these two. "You can still ask me out you know?" His words brought back the fire in Bernard's eyes while extinguishing the fire in Alan's eyes, while Derel had to hold on a wince or whine from escaping his lips as his wolf wanted to just jump out of his body and ravage these two other Weres that dared to ask his Mate out! "I can!?" Bernard's excited exclamation was what everyone else who had an interest in Stiles (Half of eveeyone inside the shop, really) thought when they heard him say they could ask him out if they wanted. "Of course you can, I'll just have to write down the date of our date, like, where and when, It can be on Saturdays since i plan on closing the shop on Saturdays and Sundays from now on too."
"Can our date be the next Saturday then?" Alan quickly asked, his eyes scanning his competition who was wearing a stripped red-orange shirt with dark green baggy leggings and black boots, he at least had nice clothes, a handsome face, and thick arms- "Then our date will be on Sunday, if that's okay for you?" Bernard's surprisingly shy and cute request had Stiles smiling sweetly at the cute bear: "Of course we can have a date by the next Sunday." Soon another man asked the same and Stiles had another date for the next week's Sunday, the another, and another, and another, in the end, Stiles had four months worthy of dates with several hot men and women, both supernatural and mundane.
After everyone had asked him out, Derek hesitantly approached him and touched Stiles' shoulder, who immediately turned around with a dark glow on his hands, ready to strike, but when he noticed it was just Derek he relaxed and looked at him indifferently. "I..." Stiles cut him out: "Wanna go out with me?" Derek only nodded and Stiles looked down at the notebook on his hand, he signed Derek's name at the bottom of the list and signed [Sunday, 7:00 AM, Void Caffee, wear unformal clothes]. Derek just observed with curiosity as Stiles' hand suddenly vanished from thin air and when it appeared again, he was holding a piece of paper with the same words on his notebook. "Be here, or else I'll cross you out of the list." Saying this, he turned around seemingly indifferent to Derek's stunned face, he was smiling happily and exposing his bunny teeth which was utterly adorable to look at.
Stiles couldn't help but sigh in relief once he was back at the kitchen, he squealed as he threw his hands in the air in excitment: "I have a date with Derek fucking Hale, ohmygodohmygodohmygod- Wait, you can't go soft on him Stiles, make him beg! On his knees, with preferably a ring in hand- No, can't think about that yet, we didn't even start to date yet- I haven't even forgiven him yet! And i don't even know if i can forgive him! He's been through so much and I'm making everyone worse for hin- Well, he kinda deserve it to be honest- but it's kinda cruel as well-" Stiles didn't notice how fast he was talking to himself, if he were to try to become a rapper he would destroy Eminem completely. "Boss?" Taylon's shocked voice broke Stiles out of his stupor, he coughed awkwardly and smiled professionally to him before asking: "Yes, Taylon?" Taylon looked behind himself again and then turned to Stiles: "There's... Uhm... Someone with Derek- A red head girl and argh- A black haired one, they're holding hands while talking to Derek... I think they're Lydia Martins and Allison Argent, the ones you told me about."
Stiles closed his eyes as memories rushed through his head, Lydia's hands holding the bleeding corpse of the dead Argent Matriarch and screaming really loudly... "Well, did they ask for something?" Taylon on shaked his head while Stiles got to the kitchen cabinet and began to make somr dough, turning the tea kettle on and watching the water boil, he was going to make olive and citrus fruit flowers tea mixed with mint and apple juice. This may sound weird, but it's great. It was sweet and sour, it calmed the body as well as it gave it energy. The baking process was easy to do for Stiles, he tends to stress bake, so maybe he should expand his menu and be also a bakery as well as a coffe shop- It sounds wonderful.
"I'll personally deliver this to them." Stiles got the same cake he made for Derek alongside his chocolate milk, he remembers how sad Derek looked when he said his favorite drink was something he avoided because it brought some resemblance of joy to his life of suffering and grief, Stiles understands it now, he hasn't eaten curly fries ever since his dad died... He finds them bland now. That's something he'll never understand why it is- Why he can't seem to just lose all apetite whenever he puts the fries in his mouth!
The first thing he saw was Lydia and Allison sitting at the same table on the down left corner Derek always does whenever he's inside the shop. "Ah, here we go. Can't have you three starving now, can we?" His voice seemed to disrupt the heated conversation they were having, both girls froze as they recognized his voice, heads turning slowly towards him... He smiled at them as more memories of how he stabbed Allison and almost killed her came to his mind, before they could get up from their seats he placed the trays down and said: "Here, a special for Derek Hale, Lydia Martins, and Allison Argent. You three are very welcome on my shop, the name's Void and it's nice to see you after 5 long years, isn't it? And congratulations on your wedding i guess" Stiles looked down at their intertwined hands with a expressionless face: "An invitation would've been nice, but i guess it's kinda awkward to invite your murderer to your wedding so i can understand where you're coming from."
His harsh words and flat tone brought the duo out of their stupor, Lydia looked at Derek who looked to be a lot paler than a Nosferatus, her face got red like her hair as she turned towards Stiles and asked: "Stiles Stilinski, why are you acting like you don't know us?" Stiles was frustrated at this, he knows Lydia is smart, so why did she ask something so dumb now? This must be a trap of some sort, she's maybe trying to fish some information by feigning ignorance, or maybe she's trying to irritate him, make him angry at her so she can have control over the conversation like she always does- But not today, not now, Stiles won't fall for her tricks so she can manipulate his reactions and learn what he's been through so she can better apologize or understand or something like that, who knows why she's doing this anyway?
"Well, you see Miss Martins, when someone you thought would stay at your side whenever you needed them leaves you alone to deal with your worse nightmares, it makes you question ever knowing them in the first place." Stiles calm smile seemed to catch Lydia off guard, which was rare for him to do so, but he didn't care about it. "And when they suddenly reappear to you asking how you are, checking up on you, acting like they care, makes a man paranoid, y'know? So of course i have to keep myself afloat in such circumstances, right? Like right now when you feigned very falsely ignorance at the circumstances surrounding you to get control over the conversation and learn something, anything- which is kinda abusive not gonna lie- i couldn't stop thinking that this-" He gestures to the trio. He looks back at the Alpha Werewolf at the table and holds the urge to hug him when he sees the sadness in his eyes "That you came looking for me when I just stabilized... I still am trying to find what you want from me, you can't possibly not have an ulterior motive..."
"Stiles-"
"Void."
"What?"
"The name's Void, Mieczyslaw Stilinski is dead. Died after his father Johnathan Noah Stilinski died after being bitten by an Alpha Werewolf."
There was shock in the trio's eyes, they of course didn't know how Stiles' dad died, if they knew they would react better than this. "Oh, you didn't know? I thought old pal Scotty boy told you how it was my fault, didn't he? Or how sickening right he was about that too. Well, it doesn't matter anymore, does it? He's dead, I'm alive, and that's it. Can i get you anything else or is this enough for you three?" Silence reigned among them, Stiles took it as a cue to just leave, and leave he did.
Later that day, after the shop closed, Derek was back at the Venus Pack House together with every single member of the Hale Pack: Cora Hale, Peter Hale, Malia Hale, Chris Argent, Allison Argent, Lydia Martins, Jackson Whittemore, Vernon Boyd, Isaac Lahey, Edward Lahey, Erica Reyes, Danny Maheallany, Aiden and Ethan Duelly- Apparently their surname was Duelly? The fuck?- (Oh, Kira's there too, she doesn't leave Malia's side...) They all were together to discuss the matters at hand, them being three:
1: They found Stiles.
2: Stiles is, unsurprisingly, not even bothering to look at them (But he's hurt and it's their fault, they all just wanted to leave that city, and they ended up leaving him behind to deal with all his shit) and as Erica says "BAMFed up and super hot, Derek was drooling when he saw him, surprisingly cold though."
3: Stiles dad died, but only now did they find out how he died. Alpha Bite, two years ago! And Scott didn't even say anything about it... Derek of course is not saying it was Scott who bit the Sheriff- Cora disagrees, she thinks it was him- but not sharing how Stiles' dad died was way worse than saying he kicked him. No wonder Stiles thinks they want something from him, he wasn't safe with Scott and they all left, he must think they all just want to use him (Erica: "Well, Derek wants to use him in a different way")
Knowing this hurts them, knowing Stiles doesn't trust them, or no one else... (Derek: "There's no way to know, he's been unnaturally calm, whenever his scent shifts to show panic or fear, it chanhes back to this dull, sickening calm scent.")
They want Stiles to forgive them, that's only natural, but they don't seem to understand that they abandoned him- in his eyes they did, in their eyes they left him beside his best friend, which vowed to protect him from any danger- and left him there to suffer, they need to at least try to make up for it.
"So, suggestions?" Cora sips on the tea she was drinking, green tea without whiskey, it felt horrible. "Maybe leave him alone?" Peter sarcastically suggests from the sidelines, his usual smirk is nowhere to be seen, which means he is truly considering it. Derek huffs a little but can't help but somewhat agree- he just wants to run away from him, it would he easier if he did, but he can't do this to Stiles again. "I got a date with him." As soon as Derek finishes his phrase, everyone is looking at him, most of them with their jaws haging low. "What?" Derek asks, he sounds a little offended by their shock and gaping mouths, what? He's bad at feelings but he can do it when its a life or death scenario- Which when it comes to getting Stiles to at least be happy, it is a life or death scenario for him.
"You? Date? Stiles?" Cora, Malia, Erica, Isaac, Danny, Chris, Allison, and even Boyd asked at the same time with the same incredulous look on their faces, making Derek growl, him and his wolf were very offended at that. "I mean, I'm not that bad am I?" Derek muttered under his breath but everyone there that was a Werewolf xould hear him, so everyone- but Lydia, Danny, Allison, and Chris heard him, Lydia and Allison and Chris, however, can read lips and Danny's only a Witch, he still doesn't know that though. "But it's... you." Cora just stares at him up and down, making Derek feel self conscious about his appearance for a second before Peter interrupted his self loathing: "But it's Stiles, everyone here knows that he has the hots for Derek, i mean, he always smelled like fear amd arousal around him when they first met, and then it turned just to arousal, and then the sickly sweet scent of love... Now i really am curious if i could sniff anything on him though..."
All the Werewolves who were with him back in Beacon Hills, Danny, Lydia, Allison, Chris, and even Edward snicker at him when he turns to look away, pretty sure his face is completely red with the blush he had, he's pretty sure he heard Erica call him cute, but he doesn't want to hear that from them- He wants to hear from Stiles' little mouth, calling him cute, calling him Alpha, moaning his name every time he- "Okay! You reek of lust now, so whatever you're thinking if, stop it." Malia makes the best disgust face she could while most of the pack can't keep their grins to themselves, Derek's always so stiff... It's nice to tease him a little, brings this great feeling to the pack- There's only one person missing though, and most of them don't even remember his scent anymore.
"Does Stiles know?" Lydia suddenly asked, her eyes locking with Derek's, giving him a hard time, hw wanted to break eye contact with her, but if he did it showed he was weaker than her- And although that may be true- he isn't. "Know what?" His voice was flat and his heartbeat steady, in any way showing that he, in fact, knew what she was talking about. But of course, he couldn't fool Lydia Martins, and of course a few peolle scoffed together with her, them being Peter, Cora, Malia, and Allison, who all knew what she was talking about. "About the fact that Stiles Stilinski, or should i call him Void now? Nah, Stiles is good. Does he know that you are his True Mate or are you keeping it from him?" Edward, Chris, Aiden and Ethan are all shocked to learn this, Isaac, Boyd, Erica, and Jackson are all bitten wolves so they don't know what True Mates are, meanwhile Chris is just giving him this look alongside Peter who just nodded to his beloved Mate.
"I... No. He doesn't. But i think he suspects it at least." Derek flinches at the sudden hand that touches his shoulder as Boyd asks: "Is it something he needs to know?" Before he can answer, Lydia beats him to it: "Definitely." Boyd grins, Derek can't see it, but he can hear it in the way Boyd says: "Then you should tell him exactly that." Derek couldn't help but sigh, he wanted to add something but everyone else seemed to agreed to Vernon 'voice of reason' Boyd's reasoning, so he would have to tell him that. "What if he rejects me?"
"We were there and we saw him giving you a chance at fighting against all of your competition." Erica's new information just made everyone look at her like 'Really? Derek's got competition?' like it was difficult to believe Stiles could get some people attracted to him- First of all, rude, second of all, yes he can! And Derek has a lot of competition, he's literally fighting against several packs of different Werespecies and other Supernatural Creatures out there that wants to get in Stiles' pants! "It's not that hard to believe... I got on the waiting list to go out with him. At the bottom of it to be more specific." Derek feels a little bit down at that, his wolf whines inside his head when all the excitement of actually having a date with Stiles dies, making him realize he had several people before him that could very well destroy his chances- if he has any to begin with.
"He's got a waiting list!?" Jackson's clear disbelief was heard through his voice as Erica chuckles: "I didn't know that!"
"Well, it started when this Werecat asked him out, then a Werebear asked him out and he created a waiting list for his future dates, soon the list was full and i could only get on the bottom of it." Derek feel clearly sad at that, but determination just seems to come to him when he thinks about the way Stiles always brought him his favorite drink and cake whenever he was there, which okay, can be just Stiles being a nice human being- If it wasn't for the fact that one day he was late and couldn't get in the shop when it opened, but instead he arrived then minutes later and found the exact same thing he always ate there, on the table he always sat at. As if Stiles was waiting for him...
"Who would've guessed... Stiles Stilinski with a list of people that want to fuck him? The world's gonna end." Jackson whispered as his face broke into a grin, Boyd huffed beside him while pressing his lips and the blond's forehead, successfully silencing him when Jackson blushed slightly at the display of affection between them. "Anyway, the real issue here is not Stiles not wanting to bone Derek-" Peter chose to wisely ignore Derek's growl at his comment, but kept talking anyway: "But the issue here is how we didn't know that Noah died by an Alpha bite and Stiles thinks its his fault somehow."
"We need more information..." Derek tiredly mumbled as his face lit up, he looked at Danny and said: "Danny, can you try one thing for us?" Danny opened his eyes, recently he has been having terrible nightmares, so he doesn't get much rest. "Yeah?" He whispers as Ethan cuddles closer to him while Aiden just watches, Derek tries to hide his envy to show on his face, but the smirks that the trio had clearly showed he didn't do it well. "Can you try and hack around and find out what happened? You're our only person here that can do that."
"Sure, i can look around... After i take a nap."
Stiles took his time and went on various dates with various different people, they were apl unique and interesting to talk to, some even kissed him- But that was it. And while on the dates, Stiles kept comparing them to Derek Hale, even if he didn't want to. Alan was a fun catman, Bernard was a surprisingly shy guy who took him on his first romantic boat ride where they had dinner by candlelight, he kissed Bernard that night before sadly rejecting the man- It broke his heart but Bernard understood him, they became truly great friends even if it was never meant to be.
Surprisingly or not surprisingly to Stiles, Alan and Bernard started boning. It started with the hate sex but it quickly developed into aore meaningful relationship between them when Alan came to knock on the door of the shop in the middle of the night dragging a bloodied Bernard, he told him after that Bernard got on a fight against a whole pack of Werewolves just because they were- pun not intended- cat calling him and slut-shaming him for his outfit, which was rude. Stiles banned the entire pack from his shop of course.
That was when they confessed and confirmed their feelings for each other that went from hate sex to true love in less than two weeks... Stiles wasn't jealous at all
At all.
"You should give him a chance you know?" Standing on the little balcony on his window where some of his potted plants were, Stiles heard Bernard's rough voice as he spoke slowly, Stiles turned around to see the Scottish Werebear holding a green mug of hot chocolate in his left hand and a blue one of his his, givinf him the blue mug, he got to the balcony and stared into to starless sky with him. "I mean that Werewolf... The gruff one? I see how he looks at you, that utterly look of adoration and earning, but the hesitation is also there too." Stiles couldn't help but just sigh deeply at that. "I don't know what happened between you two but i can see that he genuinely cares about you"
"Then why did he left!?" Stiles shouted, his eyes glowing dark as a sense of dread spread around , the pressure was enormous but Bernard stood tall jusr looking at the lost look in Stiles face, the fear, the hesitation, the sadness and much more there, but he saw the same expression the wolf did when he saw him, the face of longing, desire, but also the same hesitation and earning. "Why did he left me if he loves me so much!? whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy!?!?"
Tears. That's all Stiles could do. Tears and wail.
He wanted to hate him, but why can't he!? Why can't he just hate him!?
It would've been so much easier.
But life is never easy, is it?